The sounds of reverberating metal could be heard throughout the clearing. Most every time Ivy whipped and lashed out at Alice, the beautiful rose etched shield protected her from harm. The two both fought valiantly, making equal ground in who would potentially come out victorious. If one whip had fallen upon Alice, it was followed by a bash by shield to Ivy. They were truly equals, and both fought with zeal. They each knew they needed to win in order for their creator to come out the victor in their fray. Ivy paid no attention to the goings on of Erryd and Ryder. She had no need to. Her goal was set. Kill or incapacitate the objective. She was trained from the start to have no feeling, no emotion. Just do whatever Erryd had set her out to do. Alice, on the other hand, had been keeping a close eye on both situations. Her own and Ryder’s. She deeply cared for her creator and wanted to see him succeed not only for his own well being, but the well being of all his imaginings. Had she focused solely on the battle at hand with Ivy, she may have been victorious, but her worry got the best of her and she felt she needed to concentrate on Ryder as well in case anything did go terribly wrong, regardless of what Ivy was doing. As the battle between the opposing frei paused for Erryd’s speech, Alice looked at the shadow with anger burning in her eyes. A fire she had built within herself every day since being locked away in that burning tower all those months ago. She noticed Erryd’s hands glowing with the reality magic and a ball being formed within them. Even she could feel the magical energy that was emanating from the mystic orb. Taking her attention back to her own situation for the moment, Alice saw another vine whipping down at her from above. She threw her shield overhead to block it before lunging forward and punching Ivy in her throat. Then, with quick feet, she turned to bash the creature upside her head with the shield, causing her to fall to the ground unconscious. It was at this point that Erryd’s orb of magic, which seemed to let off sparks of magical energy in small bursts, was about to blow up. Erryd himself couldn’t even contain his magical energy any longer and shook under the weight and power the magic held. “Die, Ryder!” he screamed with anger, tossing the magical orb up above his head before throwing it down in front of him and blasting it forward, straight towards Ryder. “Ryder!” Alice cried as she leapt with all her might to Ryder’s aid. As the magical energy came rushing toward Ryder, Alice had shoved her shield into the ground right in front of him and ducked down, pushing herself into the buckler to brace for the impact just in the nick of time. As the magical energy collided with the shield, a small explosion of sorts occurred. Magical and physical dust along with the smoke created by the blast began to fill the air. Erryd collapsed to the ground, completely fatigued from all that had just happened. He used up every ounce of his energy to blow up Ryder. He couldn’t even flap his wings. However, he was still conscious. He laughed in a hushed tone maniacally as the smoke and dust clouded the clearing. He had won. He had finally killed Ryder. There was no way he would have been able to survive such a blast. Now, when he was rested, he would be able to assume his place and truly take over Ryder’s life once and for all. However, as the dust began to clear, Ryder and Alice both appeared making their way towards Erryd completely unharmed by the magical blast. “Wh-what!?” Erryd said as he saw them nearing him. “How did you-” he began, cut off by Ryder. “You lost your strength when you cut everyone out of your life, Erryd. Locking yourself away to practice this magic was not the answer. Look where it landed you; alone, weak, and helpless. I have friends to aid me, Alice to care for me, and myself to rely upon. So now I ask, who has all of the power now?” “You fool!” Erryd shouted, his voice shaky, weak. He weakly propped himself up the best he could with what little energy he had left, adrenaline beginning to fade. “You’ll never amount to anything. I was your greatest creation and even then I became the superior being.” Ryder reached into his armor and pulled out the intricate gold dagger once more. He unsheathed the blade to reveal the golden glow in the darkness of the surrounding night. Leaning down to Erryd’s level, he waved the blade about a moment and said, “You have absolutely no power here any longer, Erryd.” “Go ahead, stab me, cut me, kill me even. I no longer care. Do away with me like I did away with Alice all that time ago. Kill me for her, your little pet. Kill me for what I did to you. What I did to your family. Please, go ahead, I will even revel in the moment,” the shadow replied with yet another maniacal chuckle, his head falling limp to the ground in his weakened state. Ryder narrowed his eyes, his face cross with anger. Why was he baiting him to do this? Oh how the frei wished to dig this dagger deep into the flesh of his opponent, the one who had done so many horrible things to him and his loved ones. Oh, how he would relish the moment to take the life of the one who had caused him so much pain. But, through everything, he couldn’t. The frei closed his eyes and took a deep breath as he slowly brought sheath over blade, tucking it away in his armor once more. “I will not do such a thing.” “Ryder,” Alice stated as she took a few paces closer to the frei, tightening her grip on the shield. “Now is your chance,” she pleaded. “No, I shall not do as he wishes,” Ryder stated firmly, straightening up over Erryd’s body. Erryd became enraged by this. He lifted his head and spoke, “You are such a pathetic little worm, you idiotic rainbow! You can’t even bring your blade to finish your greatest foe!? You will regret that decision gravely, I assure you.” Ryder shook his head. “I will not bring my blade against you or any of my creations,” he began, floating away from Erryd a moment to gather his thoughts. “Every imagining of mine is a part of who I am. You, Erryd, just so happen to be one of the largest parts. You are my insecurities, my desperation, my fears, anxieties and anger. But,” he took a breath, turning to see Erryd lying on the ground staring at him with fiery anger in his eyes, “you are also my passion, desire, and dedication to my craft. Even though you always brought me down, I knew I needed to get back up and try again harder. Even when you caused me to doubt myself day after day, I learned to believe that, with a lot of hard work and dedication, I can achieve my goals. You also taught me another valuable lesson through all of this.” Ryder floated back over to Erryd’s side, leaning down to his level again, a genuine smile growing on his face. “You have taught me to love myself for all of who I am. My strengths and flaws, the magical and mundane, the good and the evil. To believe in myself when nobody else will. And for this reason, I will never forget you.” Ryder placed his hand on Erryd’s forehead, who was physically shaking with anger. “Plus, I would much rather you suffer for eternity than be taken out of this world completely. See you in the tower.” Erryd grabbed onto Ryder’s arm quickly with what little energy he had left, fueled by anger. “Why you little-” “I renege the deal!” Ryder called into the clearing as loud as he could, utilizing what little magic and every ounce of energy he had left to steal back the magic that Erryd had stolen from him, draining Erryd of all his color just as he had done to Ryder all those months ago. “Nooooooooooooooo!” Erryd’s scream echoed with an almost electronic dissonance throughout the clearing, his pitch heightening with each passing second as the color drained from his skin. Once completely depleted of magical energy and color, Erryd began to dissolve into Ryder’s palm in a majestic pixelated form. Ryder closed his eyes and with a smile on his face, for the first time in his life, he accepted himself for who he was. He felt the power that he once wielded, long ago, before the Trader entered his life. Before even Erryd first emerged. He had finally realized that these imaginary powers were perfect just the way they were. They were what he wanted, even if he had to accept himself with his biggest insecurity of all, his poisonous skin. It was all worth it to go back to the beginning. Behind him, Alice, with a tranquil look upon her face, began to disperse just as Erryd had, her armor and shield floating ever-so-softly to the ground. Ivy, too, began to disintegrate into pixels and float up into the air. Even the damage that had been done to the surrounding foliage from the absorption of magical energy to the blast and both battles had slowly dissipated into the sky, leaving behind the perfectly tranquil clearing from which Ryder had entered to begin with, without the looming magical force of Erryd. It was as though everything either frei had ever created in reality, was now imaginary once again. It was sudden, but Ryder felt a tightness and warmth around his chest. Opening his eyes to see the magical energy below his chest just above his rune glowing red. Before he knew it, the luminosity dimmed and there it was -- a stomach. After admiring it a moment, Ryder felt invigorated with all new energy. He took in the tranquility of the scenic clearing before him, taking note of the fireflies advancing from the forest and moonlight which enveloped the area. With a happy, fulfilled heart, he gathered Alice's shield and armor along with the things Erryd had stolen from him and quickly left the clearing to seek out his friends in hopes that they had finished off the Trader once and for all. As he left the clearing, had anyone been there to witness it, a small creature could be seen in the center of the clearing, glowing wildly with bright, expressively cheerful eyes conveying the pride he had in Ryder’s growth as he was greeted by fireflies all around. Click the image above to be taken to the doc RP. ◈ WHO: Xiu, Cesc, & Ryder (Rapidashtrainer, Atmadja, & Skyeforge)
◈ WHEN: Sunrise on July 7, 2019 ◈ WHERE: Wooded clearing near Barton Town. ◈ WEATHER: Cool and dewy. The Trader had been dealt with, Erryd was taken care of, and the three raevan were free once again, safe and sound. After the three had a bite to eat, utilizing Ryder’s new body part right away, they decided to say their goodbyes and Ryder headed home. He had been gone overnight, and had told Reuben he was going to be with a few friends for the night, which Reuben agreed to after some convincing. He had no idea the battle that had transpired. When Ryder approached the Rothmore estate, his heart began to race. He had to explain to Reuben everything that had happened. He floated silently at the front door more nervous now than he had been fighting off Erryd. He stared at the door knob, debating whether or not he even wanted to enter. He knew he would be in trouble, especially when Reuben found out the previous nights occurrences. Suddenly, Ryder felt the warmth of a hand on his shoulder. He turned around to see Alice in her normal attire, a large smile strewn across her face. She was there for him, and with her, he could battle anything. With his self-assurance renewed, he opened the door and floated in. The living room was empty, meaning that Reuben may be out at the shop or by the gazebo. He quickly floated into his room, deciding it was high time for a shower before trying to explain anything to Reuben. Had his guardian seen any signs of a struggle on Ryder, he would be much more concerned. If, however, Ryder explained that it was all fine and no real harm had come to him, maybe Reuben would be more understanding. Ryder locked the bathroom doors and turned on the warm water. He continued to think about how he would explain the previous night to his guardian without setting off too many alarms. As he washed himself, he felt his new stomach, it was truly real and his ribbon stemmed downward further than before. It was a magnificent sight to behold. He was proud of himself and proud of his friends for what they had done as well. His mind couldn’t stop spinning however, all the possible things Reuben could say or do. It wasn’t going to be completely over until Reuben knew everything. As he exited the bathroom into his room, he had a towel wrapped around his shoulders as he picked something out to wear. It was a nice, long-sleeved button up with a nice collar with which he could adorn some fine tie to. As he looked at himself in the mirror, he realized that the bottom of his belly peeked out just a little bit under the shirt. He realized that he now needed new clothing that suited him better. He took off the long-sleeved button up and put on a long t-shirt he normally used to wear to bed. The sigel floated out into the living room, hearing a rustling and mumbling at the front door as he dried his hair with the towel. Click. Creeeeeak. “We’ll find him, Reu, don’t worry so much. He’s probably-,” sudden shock stopped the man mid-sentence. “Ryder?” “Ryder!?” Reuben exclaimed, pushing his lover out of the way a moment to come into the house first. “What the hell is going on!? Where have you been!? And why did I find your phone in the middle of the forest!?” Reuben questioned, pulling the phone out of his pocket to show to his charge. "My pho-oh...” Ryder stated, realizing he hadn’t even checked his phone in hours. Shit. He didn’t even realize he took it to the battlefield and probably dropped it along the way. But...that didn’t explain how Reuben found it. “O-okay, pray, let me explain,” he began, "But first, how did you know where to find my phone?” he questioned. Reuben shook his head. “That isn’t the problem at hand. The problem is you lied to me, now please...PRAY...explain. Now!” The anger fumed, it was so clear. Evan simply stood back and closed the door behind them and slowly drifted off into the kitchen to grab a bottled water, only to reenter the living room with a sigh and a roll of his eyes. Here they went again. “It was never my intention to lie, Reuben. I...needed to take care of Erryd, and I did.” Reuben’s eyes widened further. “Y-you…you did WHAT!?” Reuben clenched his fists tighter around the phone in his hand. “Reu, l-let’s just have a seat and let Ryder explain, okay?” Evan stated, almost afraid of the repercussions he would no doubt endure, however, he wanted the two to calmly talk it out and Reuben seemed far too fired up. Reuben took a deep breath and walked around to sit on the couch. He sat the toadstool’s phone on the coffee table in front of him before staring back up at him with anger in his eyes. Evan joined him on the couch and began patting his lover’s knee. He knew he had to be the mediary between these two, if not only to stop Reuben from saying something he’d regret later. “Thank you, Evan. Now, let me start at the beginning,” the sigel took a deep breath and began to speak about the events leading up to this moment. Reuben gawked in disbelief. His charge, his son, had been having issues utilizing his imaginary magic for months and became so depressed and frustrated that he was approached by some mystical evil being called “the Trader” who had lied to him and took his poisonous skin as compensation for this “reality power”, which explained why they had been able to touch him for the past months without a second thought even though Ryder had originally told them he learned to control it and after months of utilizing these new powers to no avail, Ryder had basically given up practicing magic altogether, which led Erryd to using this opening to come into reality and take over his life at which point Ryder fell into a coma and was placed beneath the floorboards to be forgotten about entirely. During that time, Ryder had to defeat his inner demons within a nightmare dreamscape and, when completed, that’s when he awoke under the floorboards and created Alice in tangible form utilizing this new power he was given. After recovering from everything he had little magic left within him and so he decided to team up with a Xiu and Cesc, which Reuben had never actually met but had heard about, in order to go off into the deep abyss of the forest and confront his shadow self and the Trader in order to bring balance back to his life. So, in the end, Ryder, along with the held of Alice, had just defeated this crazy, maniacal being who had some strange, otherworldly power to create reality and took back control of his life, which caused everything to go back to normal?
“...and the best part...is this,” Ryder stated, lifting his shirt to reveal a full fledged stomach, even with some definition in his abs and a “belly button” that was even shaped like a mushroom, an outie to say the least. Rainbow freckles speckled across his entire torso. Reuben’s jaw, still agape, snapped shut as he covered his mouth in shock. He stood up and came close to inspect it, reaching out to touch his charge’s belly. Ryder’s instincts kicked in. “Reuben, no!” he shrieked, jerking backward, pulling his shirt down quickly. “My poison is back. I mustn’t allow skin contact.” Reuben jerked back also, “R-right, I’m sorry,” he began. “But...that is...amazing. H-how did that-” “I defeated Erryd, that is how. I was able to overcome an issue and I believe that is what triggered this,” Ryder said, a smile growing on his face. “Wow,” Evan started with a nod, eyes wide. “That’s all a little too crazy for me though. Congrats, kid,” he concluded with a chuckle, standing up as well and patting Ryder on his belly through his shirt as he walked passed to go into the bedroom. The whole raevan concept and Lab 305 shenanigans were too much for the bartender to comprehend. He was a man of a simple life. He hadn't the mind to process all of what Ryder had even gone through. Reuben shook his head in disbelief. “I’m…” he began, “I’m so proud of you, Ryder.” Reuben’s eyes began to tear up, him realizing that his charge, the one that had been with him for over two years now, was growing up. He could take care of himself, granted he was getting himself into turbulent waters, but he was able to navigate it himself and make it through on his own. It was a ‘proud parent’ moment for sure. “I’m just so glad you’re safe,” Reuben said, grabbing Ryder’s shoulders and wrapping his arms around the sigel’s covered torso for a hug. At this point, the guardian didn’t care if they came into contact, it would be worth it to finally show how proud he was of his charge. Ryder lifted his arms and lightly pat Reuben’s back, being extra careful to not have any skin contact with his guardian, a crooked smile growing on the sigel’s face. “But,” Reuben said as he pulled away. “That doesn’t mean you’re not grounded,” he said, a smile on his face, patting his charge's shoulders. "I can understand that; however, you never did answer my question," Ryder stated. "How did you know where to find my phone?" "Well, I guess I owe you an explanation. You...err...Erryd was constantly going out into the forest late at night and sneaking out. One night I placed a tracker on the phone so I could know where you...he...was off to. Though I think he caught wind of it all and stopped taking it out with him after a while. But luckily when you came back you continued to take it out. I just remembered I had it and decided to search for you, only to find that your phone's location was deep within the forest. It took us most of the morning to get there just to find it.” Ryder shook his head. "I am grateful, Reuben. But I shall be removing the tracker from my phone now," he said with a smile, leaning down to pick up his phone from the coffee table. "Fair enough," Reuben said with a smile. "Just promise me you'll keep me in the loop from now on? I just want you to know I care," he said, blinking multiple times to keep back his ever-growing tears. Ryder nodded with a soft chuckle. "I know you do. I promise," he said with a soft smile. It had been so long since the two shared an enjoyable moment of complete relaxation. It was nice, and both hoped it would continue from here on out. Another day, another dollar. Reuben had been working all morning. His shop was full of customers. From the curious passerby to the few loyal patrons. He looked out of his shop window and noticed a few families walking along the sidewalk. A crooked smile appeared on his face. He wished to have that kind of reality one day. Evan, Ryder, and himself all walking (or floating) down the street together. A sight he’d love to be apart of. Sadly, his shop was too bustling for him to take much time off; especially these days.
When he first opened the shop he was able to close a few days here or there and no one cared. Now that business was booming, he seemed to never have a day off. One client wanted a potent potion while another was seeking a specific crystal and yet another wanted to look into buying a tarot deck. Another whole sect of customers wished to buy fresh herbs or specialty glass bottles for their own potions which Reuben would order from one of his importers. Reuben’s business had grown tremendously over the years and more and more people seemed curious as to what the Mystic Herb was all about. Nowadays, however, the tarotist wasn’t as interested in the monotony of work. Yes, this was his passion, but ever since his fight with Erryd, the things the shadow had said to him, although hurtful, were true. He threw himself into his work day in and day out. He knew he needed to make a change. Now that everything with Ryder had seemed to settle, Reuben knew that his focus should shift. He hadn’t been there for Ryder nearly as much as he should have been. His heart ached for what Ryder must have gone through. Especially that he had gone through it all alone. And what kind of guardian was he to not even realize that his charge wasn’t really his charge? It was all an illusion. Erryd. Ryder. It was all a large confusing mess, but something he couldn’t ignore. Erryd was right, and Reuben knew it. That night, after Reuben closed up the shop, he made his way back into the house. The place was dark and everyone had no doubt gone to bed. Reuben sat in the darkness of his living room with a cup of tea, dwelling on the days events. After what seemed to be an hour of sitting there sipping tea, he had an idea. An apprentice. He would hire an apprentice to help care for his shop! He could then have more time to spend with Ryder and Evan, and shift his focus from work to his family. A smile grew upon his face as he had the idea. He took his, now empty, cup to the kitchen and placed it ever-so-delicately down in the stainless steel sink. Reuben retired to the bedroom, only to find Evan playing a video game on the television. “Oh, you’re still awake,” he said, taking off his shirt and tossing it into the hamper. “Yeah,” Evan said, not taking his eyes off the screen, mashing buttons on his controller. “How was work, babe?” Reuben slipped under the covers and wrapped one arm around Evan’s stomach, laying his head on the pillow beside him. “It was...work,” he said plainly. “I was actually going to ask your opinion on something,” he concluded, rolling around and sitting up next to Evan. Evan paused his game and set down the controller. “What’s up?” he questioned, looking at Reuben with concern. “I want to hire an apprentice,” he began, looking off into the distance for the right words. “I want someone who has just as much passion for this craft as I do and, in turn, can help run the shop.” He smiled as the thought progressed in his mind. “I want to be able to spend more time at home with you and Ryder especially.” “That sounds good, babe. You should definitely do what your heart is tellin’ you to do,” Evan stated, wrapping one arm around Reuben’s neck. Reuben pulled himself closer to Evan’s side. “Yeah, I think this will be really good for all of us,” he said with a deep breath and a smile. The skies were bright blue with not a cloud to be seen for miles. The sun was bright and the grass was green. Heat radiated down upon the grounds of the Rothmore estate. Reuben was up early, as usual, to get things prepped and ready to go for the opening of his shop. He had printed out many fliers to give the patrons of his shop letting everyone know that he was opening an apprenticeship. He also called the local paper and placed an ad as well as put an ad up on his shop’s website. He hoped the more avenues he utilized to get some interest flowing, more people would step forward and want to apply.
As the day progressed, a few patrons had taken fliers and others didn’t, he hadn’t received any calls or emails about the position as of midday. He had expected a bit more enthusiasm in regards to the job posting, but to no avail. The day turned into night and day one had been a complete flop in finding anyone or getting any feedback. He curled up in bed and fell asleep. Over the next week, Reuben awoke to find a few emails inquiring about the apprenticeship. A smile grew upon his face as he went through the inquiries. A couple of promising emails, a couple of people he knew weren’t going to work the moment he laid eyes upon their resume. It was a guessing game at this point, but he’d decided to conduct a few interviews and see who was promising and who wasn’t. When the tarotist went out into the shop one morning, he had a few letters on the floor at the front of the shop as he had a mail slot in his door for any notices coming after hours. He picked up the letters and brought them back into his office. He set them on the desk and began to open one by one. The first letter had stains on the paper and scribbled handwriting very unprofessionally written and barely legible. Reuben sighed and placed it in the trash bin right away. The second letter was written well and typed on white paper, but the passion behind the craft wasn’t there, that much was for certain just by reading. Reuben could tell that they wrote it as though they just wished to have a job, not be involved in all of the process that was required. He placed the letter to the side and shook his head. Then the third and final letter crossed his path. He used a letter opener to tear back the dark brown recycled envelope and lifted the handwritten letter up to eye level. As he read the letter, he could sense this person’s passion and drive. Even by the choice of parchment for both the letter itself and the envelope was environmentally friendly. The words this person used were also very wise. He could sense the old soul through this. As he got to the end of the letter, it was signed simply, Giselle. Reuben loved the way her name sounded, it rolled off the tongue so nicely. She also wrote with such eloquence, he had to at least request they meet. It was the first letter that stood out to him for all the right reasons. There was an email as well as phone number written at the bottom in case he needed to contact her. He took to his email right away at his desk and began to write to her, requesting they meet whenever convenient. He hit send and sat back in his chair, crossing his arms. He was completely stunned with this written request for an interview that he felt as though he’d give her the job right away. But of course, he couldn’t do such a thing. The day went on, more and more customers came in and took more and more fliers. The second day had been a grand success. He even found a potential apprentice! As he closed the shop doors and locked them, he went back to his office for the end of day paperwork and recording. He took a look at his email and realized he had received a response back. This woman definitely had a way with words, as she wrote back extremely thankful for the opportunity and stated that she would be available the next day around three in the afternoon. With the confirmation email sent, Reuben smiled as he put his computer in sleep mode and stood up, making his way to the bedroom for a nice night sleep. Tomorrow would surely be a great day. The morning sun crept into the room earlier than normal, but the tarotist was already awake and readying himself for the day. Nerves overcame him, it would seem, for he was fidgeting the entire morning awaiting the fateful encounter with his potential apprentice. He stood out under the gazebo, taking in the morning dew and seeing how beautiful the summer morning was. He sipped his tea as he thought about what kind of woman this could be. How would she act? What would she look like? She seemed to speak of a lot of experience with the tarot and told her story of self-discovery and how she wished to learn about the different types of herbs and what could be used medicinally. Everything pointed in the right direction and Reuben was fascinated. As he made his way back to his shop, he sat his tea cup near the register and went around, watering the fresh herbs and making sure everything was clean and ready to start before opening. He went to the front doors and unlocked them, walking over to the window and flipping the sign to OPEN before walking back and overlooking the shop, making sure everything looked ready. Then, the door opened. His heart skipped a beat, was this her? Did she decide to come early? An elderly woman walked in right away and began to stroll down the isles. It didn’t take long for Reuben to realize that this woman was a simple patron, not the woman he was looking for. Once she left, an hour passed with no sign of any customers whatsoever. It was unusual on a given day not to have any patrons enter the shop whatsoever. This only perpetuated the anxiety Reuben was feeling about his upcoming meeting. He began to pace back and forth across the shop, looking over every crystal, bottle, herb and potion. Fiddling with most anything he could find. He looked at his Apple Watch and then at the door. It was 2:57. Finally, the door creaked open. There stood a beautiful young woman, tall in part due to her 5” heels, slender with caramel skin and radiant light honey eyes. She shared a bright pearly white smile with a small gap in her front teeth as she entered the room. She had a few dark freckles across her nose and cheeks. Her long wavy dark to light brown ombre hair flowed down her back and was topped a floppy golden straw sunhat and a beautiful cream colored boho sundress with cut off shoulders. She adorned a long pendant necklace that held a rather chunky rose quartz stone that draped down to the middle of her person and a couple of beautiful handcrafted rings, one on each hand, which contained clear quartz crystal and a jade crystal. She was quite modelesque and held herself with poise. “Hello sir,” she said spritely as she waltzed into the room, holding her hand out for a shake. “My name is Giselle.”
Reuben’s eyes widened, this was her? She spoke with such experience in her letter, he hadn’t expected her to be so young. “H-hi!” his voice cracked. He cleared his throat before speaking again. “I’m Reuben,” he said firmly shaking the girl’s hand. “I’m glad you made it, it’s wonderful to meet you,” he concluded with a smile. “Me too,” she said with that same smile never leaving her face. “I didn’t know if you’d recognize me or not, but I am a huge fan of this shop,” she stated with a small laugh. “Oh~” Reuben replied with a chuckle. “Is that so?” “Quite,” She said walking past a small aisle of herbs and towards the bulk stones Reuben had imported. “This metaphysical store has been a huge influence on my jewelry,” she said with a smile, holding out both hands to show off the beautiful stones that were embellished in her rings and necklace. “Though I guess I should be honest.” Honest? What had she already kept secret? Reuben almost held his breath, thinking this girl too good to be true. “My name isn’t really Giselle,” she giggled. “I just go by Giselle. My name is actually Gabriela Flores-Garcia,” she concluded. “Name ring a bell?” Reuben burst out laughing. He had never met her, but it was true; her name definitely stood out. “You order from my website,” he laughed. “A lot.” “Yep! That’s me,” she stated with a chuckle as she tapped her nose with her pointer finger, winking at him. “I live kind of far away, so it’s just easier for me to do all my shopping online. Now you know what all those stones go towards,” she laughed. “I saw your ad for an apprentice on your website and decided to apply, which I’m very glad you found. I’m sorry I dropped the letter off so late.” Reuben laughed. “I’m glad I finally get to put a face to the name. Don’t worry about the time, that’s why I had that mail slot installed. I’m just glad you were able to drop it off,” he said with a warm smile. “Well good,” She said with a smile, walking over to some of the fresh herbs and flowers Reuben had for sale. She picked up a couple fresh herbs and smelled them. “I am very excited for the opportunity of being able to work in such a calming environment. I hope that’s alright to say, I just really appreciate the aura this shop gives and would love to be apart of it.” Reuben smiled. “I believe we can make something work,” he said walking towards her and lifting a bundle of herbs and fluffing them before putting them back into the container. “Can you start first thing Monday morning?” Giselle closed her eyes and took a deep breath. “Thank you,” she said, turning her attention back to her new mentor. “Yes, of course, thank you so much.” Reuben didn’t even realize how badly she needed this position. The two continued to talk and get to know each other little by little. Reuben was impressed by her experiences at such a young age and was already growing fonder of her. He saw her like a little sister, one that had the potential for greatness if she continued to apply herself the way she had thus far in her life. Summer turned into autumn and autumn to winter. The months were flying by and the Rothmore household had just celebrated their annual winter solstice traditions. Nothing had been out of the norm in the past half a year. At least not on the surface.
Reuben had officially hired Giselle as an apprentice in his shop, showing her the ropes of alchemy as well as the business side of it. She was given a kiosk to sell her jewelry made with precious stones that the Mystic Herb had to offer. She was also given a small workbench in the back room so she could work continuously whenever she liked there at the shop in her own designated spot. One thing about Giselle, however, was that she is very private. Reuben would try and pry here or there to find out something about her, yet she was very tight lipped. She either didn’t like to speak about herself, or she really just hadn’t had much to say. She was always well dressed and full of her own handmade jewelry, so her home life couldn’t have been that bad, right? Reuben had discussed these things with Evan, yet the everwise Evan had always said to stop being so nosy and mind his own business. “Let her know you’ll be an ear if she ever needs to talk,” he would always say. Reuben finally stopped pressing the subject and all seemed to be fine. Giselle had been an eager worker, always very willing to help out in any and all ways she could. Reuben was frankly quite thankful for the help, too, even if he was always itching to ask questions to find out about the apprentice he knew next to nothing about. Meanwhile, over the past months, Ryder had been practicing his magic and having a grand time with Alice, who was much more present now more than ever. Not only was Alice always around, so was Bastian, a newer creation of Ryder’s that he vowed helped him during his time in the dreamscape. This Bastian character was either a large monstrous creature when outside, or a small fawn-esque creature the size of a cat who sat upon Ryder’s shoulder or head or walked along behind him throughout the house. It was all dependent upon his mood. Bastian would come and go as he pleased, popping in and out of reality whenever he felt like it. It was a surprising turn of events, but the Rothmore home was more than used to these random visitors due to Alice. Alice, no longer being fully human, was so relieved. The fact that she could fade in and out of existence whenever she wished was so much better. Also, not needing to run to the bathroom or feed on any actual food for sustenance was the largest relief. She loved her life so much more and her own abilities would grow as Ryder became stronger. Having all of these different personalities in one home was a challenge, but they all seemed to mesh so well when push came to shove. The inquisitive nature of Alice did tend to bother Reuben occasionally, but overall the entire family had been getting along very well. It was the quiet, quaint life that Reuben had always envisioned for himself. A home full of happy spirits living their lives and enjoying what they could. Throughout her time at the Mystic Herb, Giselle still hadn’t had the chance to meet this fabled character of Ryder. She was either busy or away whenever Ryder did decide to visit the shop. Now that Giselle was helping to run things, Reuben hardly asked for his help, which in his mind was great and gave him more time to focus on the things he wanted to do. But Giselle was aware of Ryder and Lab 305 simply from Reuben’s descriptions of the raevan and their abilities. They seemed like they were fascinating creatures, but it wasn’t in Giselle’s personality to pry and ask too many questions; after all, she didn’t really like putting her own information forth, another reason why she never liked to go by her real name. Instead, it was just Giselle. It was easier, prettier, and just overall much more her than her real name. She preferred it and Reuben had been very kind to let her go by whatever she wished. She wanted to open up more about her home life, about her past, and Reuben had stated if she ever needed someone to talk to, the doors were open. That was something she always appreciated. Though she just wasn’t ready, it wasn’t a good time. She decided she would rather live silently and come to work to escape it all. This was her sanctuary. This was where she loved to be. She could be creative here, her inspiration abound. Everything was more simple and things went smoothly here whereas everywhere else there seemed to be chaos. Over the last year, business at the Mystic Herb was booming, everything was going so splendidly and the money flowing in was wonderful. Reuben had been able to get gifts for everyone in the home to enjoy. It was a wonderful time with friends and family at the Rothmore home during the holiday seasons. But something seemed rather inadequate to Reuben. It was always something with that man. He wanted to grow and build more in the new year. The new decade was a chance for him to start fresh with a new endeavor. His first baby, the shop, was booming after all and he wanted to keep going in an upward trajectory. So it was time for something new.
A thought kept creeping up in Reuben's mind; especially towards the end of August and the thought never left. When he originally bought the property all those years ago with the two buildings on it and spent time and money upgrading them, Reuben had always planned to, one day, build a swimming pool in the free area behind his home near the gazebo; but since there was a small stream just past his property in the forest, his thoughts shifted. It was here that he had the brilliant idea to go with the small studio instead. With his business booming and with the extra help from Giselle, Reuben was able to undertake a lot of other projects in the garden and freed up a lot of time to make future plans for his property. So, over the course of November, he obtained the appropriate building permits and began sketching up floor plans. He went through multiple plans, and with the help of Ryder's imagination magic, Reuben settled on the perfect one. With everything settled, Reuben planned for construction to start at the end of the year. He hoped for the best, but he knew that the construction was projected to take approximately three months. He hoped by April, he would have a tenant in the home or at least have the home completed. Though he knew these things often came with delays. He had hired the contractors and put everything into place, and by the end of December, the grounds had been leveled and construction had barely begun. The new year was certainly looking bright. |