“So they tell me,” she joked when he called her ‘somethin’ else’. She plucked the end of blue fabric from his hand and promptly dropped it onto the floor with the rest as he shook her other in greeting. When he told her his name, her bell like giggle filled the air. “Hey, I wasn’t too far off there, was I old Jim?” She clapped him on the back at that and then turned to face the counter top, eyes peering through the store room door at the back of the common hall.
“You know, that isn’t such a bad idea. I like you already, Jim,” she chimed as she climbed right over the counter, instead of walking around; landing on the other side with the faintest patter of her foot paws and then disappeared into the back. She barely glanced over her shoulder at Jimson, but she did catch the most fleeting glimpse of him picking up some of the mess she had made. The poor man did not yet know the futility of the task he had undertaken.
A moment later a giggle came from the stock room. “I guess you haven’t had breakfast yet, there’s still food in the pantry.” She supposed a man of his stature had an appetite to match. The cupboards were not exactly full to the brim or anything, but the reserves were still quite well stocked.
“Eep! A mouse!” She cried in a high pitched voice, then her hand poked out of the doorway. A dead mouse dangled by the tail for a second before she dropped it with a thud. Laughter trailed after her as she once again disappeared, and then a suspicious silence fell over the room. All was well for a moment until Orin stepped out of the storeroom, arms full of goodies, and there was a loud crashing behind her. She went stiff for a minute, looked sheepish, and glanced over her shoulder to see a jar rolling out after her. “Hmm, I didn’t realize that thing was holding up that shelf…” she muttered, and then kept on walking like nothing had happened.
She skipped back over to Jimson and set some items on the table. There was an assortment of foods; venison jerky, a half bottle of room temperature milk, some crackers and goat cheese that smelled like it needed to be eaten today or given to the pig tomorrow, and a few other delectable goodies. It was kind of a smorgasbord for one person, so clearly she had brought out enough for the both of them.
She let the things fall onto the countertop very unceremoniously, except for the bottle of milk which she took out of the crook of her arm and set down right. That milk had come from Soraya the Cow herself, Orin’s very own friend whom she found when she lived in Cercatori d’Arte, and who taught her many of life’s lessons, including that it was possible to chew on food for hours, even when there wasn’t a source of food for miles.
Grabbing a fistful of jerky, she walked over to him (going to all the trouble to pace around the counter this time) and stood behind him, peering over his shoulder and watching him gather the material while she munched away. A moment of silence went by, and then her hand lashed out and swatted at his. “No no no, that’s all wrong, you can’t do it like that.” She grabbed a piece of cloth and tugged on it, but she wasn’t really trying to yank it from his hands with much force. All she wanted to do was totally mess up whatever he was doing because she didn’t bother to tell him what he was supposed to be doing to begin with.
“I don’t want it all gathered up, we need to lay it-“ she took a bite and then kept going with her mouth full, ”-all out…” Chew. “Like flat, like,” chew. “So we can-“ Chew. “See what piece is the-“ Swallow. “Longest. Want some?” She held out a piece of the jerky to Jimson.
“Or for that matter, no use working on an empty stomach,” she tottered away before he could take the jerky from her. Two wooden plates were plopped onto the counter top before Orin crawled up onto it again to sit. She then placed the bread on one plate, the meat and cheese on another, and then pushed the plate of bread towards Jimson and looked at him with laughing eyes.
“I’m just kidding!” She chuckled a moment later. “Help yourself to whatever you want.” She swung her legs like a child. “That way I can blame the mess in the back on you,” she added with a wink.
“Ok, spill. Where ya from, whatcha doing here, who ya visiting, when didja get here, how long’re ya staying, do ya like puppies, and please don’t eat my cow during your stay.”
Photo courtesy of Alaskan Dude
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