andhiswife: (resolved)
As far as Darrow antics go, this one might top the list for bloody eeriness. At the cottage, they can almost pretend nothing's happened. Between the garden, the chickens, and the staples she always keeps well-stocked, there's no immediate threat of starvation. The power hasn't failed yet, but even if it does, she thinks they'll be able to work around it — neither she nor Anne are exactly accustomed to being without it anymore, but that doesn't mean they've forgotten how to get by.

And surely things will go back to normal sooner or later. They always do, and she refuses to believe that—that whatever this is might be special in that regard.

But it's still unsettling. Even though it only seems to be the locals who have vanished, there were always far more of them than anyone else, and never has she felt the difference so keenly. Whole blocks are abandoned, shops either permanently shuttered or, more often, left unmanned mid-shift: the lights still on, but no one at home. But what she hates most are the littler signs of lives abruptly interrupted. A lone briefcase sitting at a bus stop; half-drunk beverages glued to their coasters by dried condensation; shopping carts left idle halfway down an aisle.

Regan is taking it especially hard, and no wonder.

It would be easier to avoid town entirely, and she'd be lying if she said she wasn't tempted. But she can't abide the thought of hiding out in the countryside when there are still plenty of people who need help. Not when her hands still remember how to feed a Village.

So she's stolen a bakery. Or, well... borrowed. She's borrowing a bakery.

It hadn't been hard to find. Even cleaning it up hadn't been too much of a challenge: people had already made off with the displays' contents, so there was little rotten food to be dealt with. Obviously there were no fresh ingredients worth salvaging, but things like flour, baking soda, and spices don't go bad overnight. There's plenty to start with, at least.

Getting the word out had been the bigger challenge. She's texted everyone she can, and Saoirse has made some very colorful signage to post in the bakery windows and in other places around the city, letting people know that there are fresh-baked goods available. She can't imagine charging for any of it, but after the first few hours (and some discussion with Anne), she'd added some signage suggesting that she wouldn't question where any raw ingredients might have come from, if people wanted to bring some.

It's mid-afternoon when she slides two more trays of muffins into the oven, sets a timer on her phone, and then steps out of the kitchen for some slightly cooler air. Her hair is falling out of its bun and she's probably a mess, but it's satisfying to see people eating something she made: something fresh and good that hasn't come from a bloody can.

[ooc: a mini-gathering for the vanishing NPC plot! If your pup knows Greta, you can assume they've received a text; otherwise, there's plenty of signage letting people know there's still one functioning bakery in town.]

Date: 2021-09-20 12:00 pm (UTC)From: [personal profile] selkiesaoirse
selkiesaoirse: ([age 9-12] giggles)
Saoirse nods like that makes perfect sense. She's seen garden sheds with big barn doors on one side that open up to showcase how large they are on the inside. Until right now, she never would have considered putting a cow in one. But as they talk about it, she realizes she doesn't really know how cows work, entirely.

"Are cows like chickens?" she asks curiously. "Chickens lay eggs all the time, even if there isn't a baby inside. Do cows do that, too, just with milk?" She looks at her curiously, sipping milk and giggling to herself a little as she considers that, once, this came from a cow.

Date: 2021-10-09 08:54 pm (UTC)From: [personal profile] selkiesaoirse
selkiesaoirse: ([age 9-12] sideways glance)
"Oh," she says. She's obviously a bit disappointed, but she doesn't so much pout as she does frown a bit. "That sounds like an awful lot of work just for milk," she reasons. "I'm not afraid of work, though," she adds. "But I don't know any farmers for a bull, and I don't think we have enough room for two cows."

She doesn't add that she wouldn't want to see any calves go to the butcher. She knows that's where meat comes from, but it probably would be hard to watch a baby cow born and grow up, just to send it off like that. And if they don't have enough room for two cows, then they definitely don't have enough room for two cows and however many babies cows have.

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The Baker's Wife

October 2024

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