NTWF Mafia II: The Idyllic Village of Wafflenet

[Tiger]

Fluffle...didn't seem that upset. Mick had sort of expected more of a reaction than a loud raspberry and a point to a waffle. He was almost as startled by the news that Waffles, No Nets served paper as a side dish. First the stairs to the roof, now sides of processed tree. Apparently Mony had thought of absolutely everything.

"Oh, Bits...let's see...one Bit equals *mumble mumble* shinies...divide by four...carry the two...add the number of published Neopian Times issues...Okay." Mick took just one Bit from the pony's hoof, hoping the math had come out right. NTWEconomics had never been his strongest subject, even with Professor Stalos as a teacher.

"Okay, I'll get that started righ- uh, you okay?" Fluffle had just hidden her face.

Mick thought for a moment that she was about to cry, some delayed reaction to his mention of Alex or something...but apparently it wasn't, as she tried to hug him. Mick was surprised, and it was a little awkward what with a table between them and one being a quadruped and the other a biped, but he tried to hug her back.

"Pbblbbt."

Mick had no idea what that meant.

Suddenly the pony's face was in her hooves again. It occured to Mick for the thousandth time this week that he lived in a really, really weird town.

"It'll be okay, Fluff," Mick said, rising from the table. "Let me get started on these waffles before Tanya throws a fit about us staying late. Oh - keep an ear out for Osi, would you? He's on the roof."

Tanya was standing with her hands on her hips when Mick entered the kitchen. "Mick, we can't stay here all night!"

"It's two orders, Tanya, and all I need you to do is make some tea." He reached into the fridge for one of his bags of mixed waffle dough.

Tanya muttered, "I'm not gettin' a shinie outta this, am I?"

"It could be none of us are getting a shinie out of this - this is Mony's restaurant, down to the sides. Did you know we serve paper?"

"Of course I did."

"Weird. But this is Mony's restaurant. None of the staff except you and me showed up today. I don't know if we can keep this place afloat."

"I guess it won't matter if the mafia keeps killin' people." Tanya slammed the tea kettle onto the stove and set the oven flames to "H" for "Holy Hell tHat's Hot". "Or if we've got dead bodies takin' up our freezer space. I know you're king of waffles or whatever, but hon, it's the Conedavers sundaes people really come here for."

[icon]

Osi gratefully ducked through the door which Mick offered, making his way up the stairs. It was rather considerate of him to send the food up; the sooner he could get out of that place, the better. The birds weren't kidding when they said this town was caked in death.

He reached the top, and pushed open the door. Cold evening air whipped around, and Osi tugged at his turtleneck collar as he made his way up. The owl in the cafe's roof hadn't yet begun hooting tonight- low air pressure, he thought. There'll be a storm on the way before long.

The view from the Diner was rather impressive, he had to admit. It seemed to match that of the general store, only the roof was lower and wider and not slanted enough to tip over anyone who got attacked by errant doves. Wafflenet's streetlamps had flickered to life a few hours ago; they weren't really very noticeable from down below, but from above they illuminated a far greater area. He could see just about the entire town square from here; Osi made a mental note to save the Diner roof as a prime birdwatching spot.

The weather patterns meant that birds were, in all likelihood, less inclined to spend time outside. But he was already up here, and the tea wouldn't arrive for a few minutes. He thought about what the birds had been calling; death, death, there is death in this town. He wasn't sure what he could do about the town, starting to fall apart. There had to be something, anything, that he could do.

He sat on the roof with a resigned sigh, and stared vapidly at the expanse of town that lay before him.

[Avery]

((Narrator Note: Round 3 will begin tomorrow afternoon, probably between noon and three o' clock EST (9am-noon NST). THERE WILL BE ANOTHER TIME SHIFT. Ergo, if you have any pressing things to settle, do so promptly, dear townsperson!))

[Gelquie]

While Julie was happy to see Alex's mood improved, she wasn't quite prepared for Alex's sudden movements or the words that he had spoken. Still, she couldn't help but look back into his eyes, although that was more because she didn't have a choice.

"Death can not stop true love. All it can do is delay it for a while."

Julie put those words through her head multiple times, each time giving quite a different facial expression. She knew Alex and did speak some words to him sometimes, sure. But love? Did Alex have a crush on her before he died or something?

"And my true love is to treat all women as if they were royalty!"

A look of clarity expressed itself on Julie's face before it contorted again into confusion. She knew enough of Alex to know that this sort of behavior from him was odd, to say the least. Then again, she figured it was better than treating all women as servants. She listened further to his explanation, but was unable to form words, and merely started in awe. Well, stared in awe until he disappeared in front of her. And then he reappeared behind her, making her jump. She then turned as she watched him float off, still completely and utterly confused.

But still... They had come back. Despite all they had gone through, they had come back. Even if they might be... different. Irrevocably so. They likely still lacked so many things. Warmth, the ability the touch, other things in life that they'll miss... They'll live on, but what do they have?

...No. She couldn't think that negatively. The point is that they have returned. Perhaps they will find their own way. Perhaps it will all be okay.

Perhaps...

Julie let out a shiver and looked around her. She hadn't realized how fast it was getting dark. And she was left alone now... It wasn't safe.

She let out a yawn as she began to make her way back home. The taste of coffee on her tongue was a memory that she now struggled to recall, and the fatigue she had attempted to block out of her system unmasked itself. So much has happened in the past few days, or heck, even in the past day. And there was just going to be more...

But for now, that was enough for one day. She continued on, trying not to dread what more may come.

[Mostly Harmless (flufflepuff)]

(((I counted five references to fandoms/memes in this post alone! xD Can YOU find them all?)))


Oh goodness Mick was sweet. He only accepted one Bit! Fluffle knew right then and there she'd definitely return to Waffles, No Nets. She didn't understand the reason for the discount but took it as a sign of a new magical friendship.

And he'd hugged her back (or tried his best to)! *squee* Fluffle was just about ready to swoon when he told her it would be okay.

Suddenly, instructions.

"Oh - keep an ear out for Osi, would you? He's on the roof."

Keep an ear out? Keep an ear out...side? Ah, yes. He must have wanted her to check on him.

Fluffle clip-clopped up the stairs to the roof where Osi gazed at Wafflenet at Night. The roof was slightly slanted but she knew as well as anyone Osi did not like to be told things like "getofftheroofgetofftheroofgetofftheroof!" He probably wouldn't understand her anyway.

She knew only one other way to get the poor fellow down safely. Fluffle leaned over where he was sitting, her face peeking over the edge of the roof.

There were no piles of hay in carts. Dang it! Fluffle couldn't push him off the roof, much as she wanted to. In her experience, she found that falling from ANY height, landing in hay in carts would immediately stop a fall safely.

She resignedly waved at Osi, and clip-clopped back down the stairs. He'd find another way to get down.

Fluffle returned to her table and was greeted by the waffle and strawberries on her plate WITH THE CRUMPLED PAPER ON THE SIDE!

Tonight was gonna be a good, good night.

She tucked in heartily and found that she adored the taste of waffles especially with strawberries. They tasted like joy, safety, and even...home...

As many a person saves the cherry on top of their ice cream for last, Fluffle, having finished all of her waffle, started on the paper.

CRUNCH. That didn't taste like safety at all. What was on this paper? It tasted familiar, like...danger, a flavor Fluffle was in no mood for.

She unrolled the paper to find...

OMG *squeals*
I mean seriously

you mafia guys are like

SO COOL.

Fluffle felt a chill, despite her thick fluff and the warm weather. She'd come back to Waffles, No Nets at a later date, and hopefully see Mick again.

She trotted out the door, all the while wondering where she could find some paper. Of course! It was so simple. Penny's bookshop café.

While she was alive, Penny didn't mind her eating the books so long as Fluffle found a cleaner, newer replacement for each. Fluffle thought that was a grand arrangement, and consented. Cleaner books tended to be cheaper.

Maybe Penny had come back as a ghost as well!

Fluffle blushed through her thin facial fluff, remembering how badly the meeting with Mick went. She had said the wrong thing, and he reacted as such. This time though, Fluffle carefully planned what she was going to say:

*knock knock knock* PBLBLT!*knock knock knock* PBLBLT!*knock knock knock* PBLBLT!

Which directly translates to:

*knock knock knock* Penny! *knock knock knock* Penny! *knock knock knock* Penny!

Fluffle passed by the cows cheerfully. They snickered, apparently happy to see her.

Hold on a second.

Fluffle trotted backwards and looked at the cows again...

They had fedoras on. Every last one of them. A knife was embedded in a piece of wood. And on the ground were words of stone that read "COW MOOFIA."

The cows?! The cows to whom Fluffle entrusted her precious thoughts? They betrayed her directly and on top of that accepted fluff and cupcakes as bribes? They were the ones killing people?!

The cows mooed eerily, as if to say, "We're going to get you..."

Fluffle tried to run, she really did. But for the second time that day, an offscreen bleating sound rang out, and her legs stiffened.

Fluffle toppled over, incapacitated. After she came to, she would go right home..

In the meantime, the cows chortled and high hoofed each other, glad that one ghost had a creepy sense of humor...

[Robyn]

Time passed without event or hurry, and Dove was having none of it. She'd topped off every drink, cleaned every booth, and even played a round or two of Hello Kitty Video Poker (the only Japan-related memorabilia Mr. Armadi had relented be allowed, and only for its horribly fixed odds) before giving up and slumping in her chair behind the bar. She had better things to do than sit here waiting on customers who were just trying to forget all of the miserable happenings in their town. The plan she'd formed earlier had snowballed in her mind, taken on legs and wings and transformed into what maybe, just maybe, could be the thing to save them all. She drummed her fingers against the hardwood, and she counted down her dwindling patience. Go, shi, san, ni, ichi...

"Ugh, forget it! I need to get home!" she finally announced.

Dove tugged the glittering headband out of her hair and started kicking off her heels as she flung open the side door to exit the counter. Brutus looked up from his copy of Garden Fancy at the commotion. He started to stand up, confused, but Dove barreled past him, shedding stockings and fake eyelashes on her way to her dressing room. He scanned the bar. All the customers were just as listless as they'd been all night. He rolled his eyes and supposed he could spare a minute.

The door to Dove's room slammed, and Brutus leaned on the wall just beside it, hoping this wouldn't be another diva fiasco like the famous meltdown of 2011. Although that had been a different girl named Wren. Brutus made a mental note to never name any of his potential children after birds-- too unpredictable, obviously.

"Sweetie?" Brutus called, tapping the door with his magazine, "You, uh. You know you're still on the clock?"

"Brutus-senpai, there's no time to explain!" Dove cried as she burst through the door in her street clothes, nearly flooring Brutus. She rushed to the back entrance, and Brutus followed after her in bewilderment.

"Dove? Where are you going? It's not even midnight yet! I mean, it's nothing I couldn't cover myself, probably, but--"

"Oh, Brucy-chan!" Dove stopped in her tracks, swiveled around, and gave Brutus a bone-crushing hug ("Oh--ow."). "I just KNEW you'd understand! The people of Wafflenet have always needed me, but now more than ever before, don't you see? I must away!"

She then dashed through the double doors and out into the night.

Futilely, Brutus called, "What about the rest of your shift??"

And from the faraway darkness, he faintly heard, "Just take it out of my sick days! There's REAL work to be done!"

* * * *

Dove bustled through her house, burst through the bedroom door, and promptly stifled herself from screaming, both hands pressed to her face in horror. Birds. Everywhere. A flock of finches tittering on her quilt, two owls staring from atop her TV, sparrows nestling in her fabric swatches-- was that a hawk sitting on her newly purchased box set of Neon Genesis Evangelion? O-oh. It was.

Osilon, she mentally hissed. She had no idea how she was going to get rid of them. Maybe...maybe if she just opened the window?

Dove took a step and everything exploded into feathers. Shrieks and caws and hoots and screeches ricocheted through the room as fabric went flying and DVDs crashed into the ground in a vortex of aviary hell, which only ended when Dove finally fought her way to the window, using her replica broom from Kiki's Delivery Service to usher them all out into the sky. She fought for breath, her shredded kitty hat now hanging limply over one side of her face.

The place was a mess, but after carefully applying some Mangasporin to her scrapes and donning a fresh hat, Dove went straight to her sewing machine and got to work. The room could wait, after all.

Wafflenet couldn't.

[Chao]

Whatever reaction she had expected, Kay O certainly had not expected Melvin to become so totally shell-shocked. So, yes, it was nice that he was shocked into silence and could not spout his sexist nonsense, but to stand there like she was Medusa and had just turned him into stone with a single look was a bit disconcerting. As disconcerting as the mob was, which gathered outside to lynch the next supposedly guilty person out of their midst. Any moment, Kay feared, they would decide it was her, and come into the pharmacy to drag her out to the gallows. But then the crowd picked this Melvin-wannabe-guy... Truly, what were those townspeople thinking? Yes, the kid was a little strange and needed a good dash of real life to bring him back into the normal sphere of people, but this? Kay O seriously doubted that the crowd had picked the right person and feared that the next morning would only bring more death.

Just as she was about to sink into a paranoid semi-depression or depressive semi-paranoia - she was not sure which it was and would most likely need to write a list of things to do in order to survive the night to see whether paranoia or depression won out - Tracy Chaetura entered the shop.

"Hi, Kay O!" she said, and pulled out the hat made for her. It was shaped like a stack of closed books, and by now it was also a little covered in pink pony fur. Tracy picked off some of the strands and passed it over the counter. "If you'd wear this, it'd mean a lot to me. Might help a little, with all the alien interference going around." She paused for moment, then asked hopefully, "So have you seen anything interesting in the stars recently?"

Kay O needed a moment to realize that Tracy was referring to the sign she had put up earlier to advertise her new website. Though she did not know how alien invasions read into astrological charts, she was glad for the distraction from a) the Melvin dilemma (what was she do to with him) and b) the list of necessary things to do in order to survive the night. But how to answer Tracy's question? For the online-service she could simple refer to numerous other online sources and pick out the most interesting and most unlikely - especially the latter held the greatest potential of becoming true for Wafflenet in the current situation. But this was no online request. Real and life, Kay's brain only offered a lot of nonsense, which either would delight Tracy or make her kill Kay right on the spot. Not because Kay thought Tracy to be a member of the Mafia or even the serial killer, but people were prone to harsh reactions if their favourite object of fascination was treated with derision and in the current violent climate of Wafflenet Kay would not put murder in the heat of the moment out of the question. Besides, Kay O did not want to affront Tracy, who was weird but nice. The tin foil hats she made for everyone was just proof of it.
Eventually she decided for a diplomatic route: "I'm not sure what it means, just that it has to mean something, but ever since the murder of the salesman, the night sky above Wafflenet has been overcast, so I could not get true readings... I have to rely on star charts from other towns with clear skies and everybody knows that this will render readings for Wafflenet somewhat inaccurate. The most suspicious sign I could however spot on the last clear night was a slight shift in the angle of Eridanus."

Then she noticed how late it had gotten. Turning to Melvin she cleared her throat and said: "Pharmacy will be closing in half an hour... So... either you shake yourself out of your statuesque state, or I'll have to lock you in..." Then, in a much lower voice, she added: "Which, given the situation, might at least keep you alive for the night."

[Dan]

Time seemed to have slipped past him in fits and starts as he watched the town from his vantage point on the bench. It'd felt like days since he sat down, but a quick glance at his watch told him it had been only hours. Wait, hours? He'd spent hours sitting on a bench? What was wrong with him?

The town was wrong, that's what. Not twenty minutes after he'd crumpled into his seat had he been accosted by a wolf. A freaking WOLF. He nearly bolted in fear as he saw the canine approach, but he was unable to move, even for something as life-threatening as this. (It worried him later to realize this -- not even the fight or flight response held sway over Don Dan any longer. Things were bad.) But his fear seemed to have been for naught, for the wolf, fearsome in his galloping towards the bench, turned on a dime and started panting heavily, forming that familiar canine smile that he was so fond of. It reminded him of his childhood dog, Fredo. A sweet thing, he was...a bit dim, unfortunately, but nothing to be done about that. And there was that time the dog had torn apart his room when he was at school. He'd trusted that dog, and the dog betrayed him.

But that was all in the past. Now, here, as he sat glued to the bench, a wolf was slobbering all over his face. He halfheartedly tried to push the animal away, but the wolf was stronger than him, and frankly it was strangely comforting to have the companionship of the canine, at least for a brief moment. His heart lifted a little bit...but it was not to be, for the wolf's owner quickly approached and yanked her away.

“I’m so sorry,” said Blaze. “So sorry. Won’t happen again...”

He glanced up at the girl. A strange one, he remembered, but her name wasn't quite coming to him. Ember, Ashes? No, something a little more fierce. Like her voice, which he found a little grating to be perfectly honest.

"Don't worry about it," he said with a grim grin. "It sent me to happier times."

She watched him with a suspicious stare (as if she had any other emotion, it seemed), and left him to mull things over on the bench once more. He wished the wolf had stayed.

After that, time seemed to speed up once more. The reverie he'd been in prior to the wolf's slobber attack returned to the forefront. It was like watching one of those time-elapse videos; he could barely keep up, and found that he didn't really want to, either. He briefly wondered where his wife had gotten off to. Watched as Tracy handed out more tinfoil hats. Heard the screaming of the messenger, but couldn't really make out why across the town square. Saw his idiot of a brother-in-law approach the pharmacy, grateful that for the past few days he'd managed to avoid him entirely, though he supposed that would have to change eventually, what with Penny's death weighing on their minds. Not even a mob forming, just like the night before, could break him free of his confusion, his thoughts, his spiraling.

Watching the hanging, though. That did the trick.

The body fell and Don Dan stood simultaneously. He had to get out of here.

He left for home.

[Avery]

Round: Three
Round Name: In a muddy pasture...

The morning after the deaths of Mony, Penny, and Alex was a cold, dreary, and wet one.

Rain fell from the sky in sheets, lashing and sharp; a thick, chilly mist permeated the air; the dirt roads segued quickly from hard-packed and bone dry to squelchy, muddy messes. And the fields and pastures took it worst of all, the grass quickly growing heavy and slick, the soil beneath it mushy. Still, the village was a farming place, and a rainstorm wasn't an adequate excuse to stay in: there were livestock that needed tending to, chores that had to be done.

Sparky Drama O'Llama was no exception to this necessity of country life, and as a very dim dawn approached, he dragged himself from bed and suited up in his most waterproof clothes. Then, he set out from his farmhouse and into the abutting pasture, his rubber gumboots making horrible squishing noises with each step he took, as if the mud was trying to swallow the shoes-- and him-- whole.

At least Sparky ultimately didn't have to walk too far, as he hadn't made it ten feet into the pasture before something up ahead caught his eye: an animal, on its side, dead.

"Aw, crud," he said, assuming it was probably one of his livestock. But then he drew closer, and his heart skipped a beat as he realized it wasn't one of his cows or sheep, but a horse.

A horse with a bullet wound in its head.

Water-logged, and in such a prone position, it took Sparky a moment to realize that this wasn't just any ordinary horse, but the town baker, Fluffle. His throat dropped into his stomach as it dawned upon him the magnitude of it, this dead horse on his land. She hadn't come to be this way by accident. Someone had deliberately, and with malice, killed her in this place.

The mafia!

"Oh," murmured Sparky, running his fingers across her thick, soaked fur. "I... I must tell the town!"

And with that he gave the dead horse one last pitiful look before running into the town centre. It was sleepy at this hour-- especially because of the rain-- but the early risers were up, as always, most of them inside Waffles, No Nets. Stamping the copious amounts of mud off his boots, Sparky pressed open the door to Waffles, No Nets and stepped inside.

"Hi there, Sparky!" called the diner's last remaining server, Tanya. "What can I do you for this morning?"

"Nothing," said Sparky glumly. "You won't believe it, friends! I've just found another murdered body in my pasture! The baker, Fluffle, is dead!"

Fluffle was an innocent townsperson-- and the last FREEMASON.

[Mostly Harmless (flufflepuff)]

(First of all, Chris, calm down. She’s just a character. And secondly...I had half a mind to make her return as a zombie but idk if that's allowed.)

Fluffle awoke with a start. Ugh! Her fluff was wet. She needed that like she needed a hole in her hea--…there really was a hole in her head, wasn’t there.

The cows in front of her mooed in terror, begging her to get away. It served them right, after what they’d done to her. Fluffle tried to stand up, but her wet fluff weighed her down. After a few strains, she wrenched herself upright. Wait. Her body was down there…

She’d never be able to donate to the Salvation Taco now.

It was a peculiar feeling, being an apparition. She jumped into the mud puddles and yet she didn't splash. No indentations, nothing. She jumped with all her might and sank into the ground! Hm. She could definitely use this to her advantage.

The cows were beside themselves with fright, practically weeping, in their own language, "stay back"! Fluffle smirked. It was time to get even. With the same stones, she rearranged THE COW MOOFIA to FLUFFLE. Her slightly blue and puffy frame easily slipped through the fence, for she was ghostly, and ghosts have a tendency to do such things. She willed her hoof to solidify, channeling the particles of herself that were half there, half not there, into her hoof—and pushed over the block of wood with the knife in it! Having done this, she said the perfect rebuttal she could think of.

“Pbblbbltbb.”

Fluffle cantered away with head held high. She occasionally stopped to shake out the blasted water from her swollen figure while trying to remember how she died. What had happened? There were the cows, she fell over out of fright, she saw humans approach her just before fading into blackness, and then…BANG.

“Miss Puff? There you are, Miss Puff!” a tall alicorn flew over to Fluffle’s side, landing with hardly a sound. He was golden, at least three times her size, and his horn radiated with a slightly bluish aura. He shook his head and smiled in amusement as he approached her, hooves never creating an indent in the moist ground. “It was difficult to locate you. You do know it violates the pony laws to mingle with the humans, but you were clever (albeit rather simple-minded) enough to evade that law during your lifetime. I must take you with me now. In spite of that law you disregarded, you have been pious, never being dishonest with your establishment and for that, you prospered. You will be rewarded for that if you just,” The tall youth placed a hoof on Fluffle’s wet shoulder. “Come on home.”

Home? Leave Alex? Penny? Mony? Mick…? Everyone? Holy crabgrass, she could be petted by a ghost now! Fluffle came to this realization just as the alicorn had touched her. Home was not an option, wherever it was.

Fluffle looked at the alicorn. His initially gentle expression seemed hostile to her now. Fluffle galloped away from him, knowing her little hooves couldn’t outrun his large, majestic wings.

“Whoa, now. I realize you’re still quite young; there’s no need to get so upset.” He floated in front of her with ease, and she crashed facefirst into him. “You can stay here if you like, but it will cost you.” The alicorn raised a hoof to her throat. Whatever it was, this couldn’t be good. Fluffle “PBBLTTLB! PBBLBRTL!”ed in protest, and he lowered his hoof gently. “No voice, huh? That is indeed a quandary. I shall settle for the water in your fur. Ghoul water is hard to come by these days.” He touched his horn to her fluff, absorbing every drop, and storing it in his horn.

Fluffle shook herself out. She was dried! And she could stay! She immediately tip-hoofed up to embrace the alicorn, more than happy for his service. He chuckled. “You are a strange, silly pony, do you realize that?”

Fluffle nodded, not quite hearing what he said. “Very well. Enjoy your time here. If ever you change your mind, let me know. You will find a way to contact me later.” The alicorn snapped his comely wings out, leaped nearly as high as himself, and beat his wings furiously, quickly vanishing in the murky sky.

The bluish pony tried to imitate him, but she hadn’t gained wings by dying. What a shame. She did, though, leap farther than she had known herself to leap. In this manner, she traveled to Waffles, No Nets. Only then would she find the best view of Wafflenet, and hopefully the rest of the deceased. There was so much to talk about and so much petting to catch up with!

Fluffle slid through the wall of Waffles, No Nets, trying desperately not to attract attention. There were people working, making waffles, failing at making eggs, and trying to keep the ice cream cool. She’d slid right into the kitchen.

Fluffle murmured, wondering how to go about revealing herself and discovered that she’d retained her voice after all! You see, she’d known how to speak the entire time she was in Wafflenet. She just chose not to. Even now, it was difficult to speak, so she decided to stick to raspberries.

Fluffle looked inside the freezer. There she was, along with the rest of the dead. Her frozen wet fluff stuck out, making her look like a large pink porcupine. She glanced at the other humans and nearly smiled. Without the blood, they would look so peaceful.

The pony turned around and left the kitchen, walking into the main hall of Waffles, No Nets. Where was the stairway to the roof? Straining, she willed her hoof to solidify, and tapped the nearest person on the shoulder…

[Terra]

Welp.

Someone else was dead.

“Well, that’s just FANTASTIC,” said Blaze, when she heard the news.

It was that pink fluffy pony who ran the bakery...poor kid.

(It crossed Blaze’s mind that a “kid” was a young goat, so it might be offensive to call her that...but then again, plenty of humans called THEIR young kids, so really it wasn’t any different.)

She had brought Primrose into town again; couldn’t hurt to have some extra protection if these killings were to continue, though she wasn’t sure how much help Primrose would really be. She wasn’t sure what to make of Primrose’s behavior the previous night; she wasn’t sure what scent, if any, Primrose had been following. After all, the crime scene was probably horribly contaminated by anyone who’d come to look at the body, which was a lot of people.

Anyway, this rain had probably washed away any remaining scent that could be used to track anything. Blaze pulled the hood of her raincoat further over her head in an attempt to keep herself from getting wet, though Primrose was getting rather soaked. Blaze didn’t own any raincoats for her wolves - she didn’t believe in forcing them to wear clothing - but she wasn’t sure that letting her get so wet was a great solution, either.

Primrose certainly didn’t look happy, anyway.

Blaze was looking around the town square for some place they could go to dry off when she saw a familiar figure. Someone with bright red hair the same shade as Blaze’s, but much longer and curlier and prettier, just like her face and, well, all of her, really -

The figure turned toward Blaze and their eyes locked.

Blaze cursed under her breath - she did not need this right now - and pulled Primrose away from the figure, toward the nearest door, which happened to be the door of Waffles, No Nets (which seemed to be the only restaurant still in operation in the town square).

Blaze hesitated for a split second. She knew pets weren’t usually allowed in there, but maybe they’d make an exception just this once, long enough for Primrose to dry off a bit and for them to get some food to go.

She opened the door and the two of them strode in. Immediately, Primrose shook herself vigorously, spraying water all over the entrance to the restaurant.

Blaze glared at the staring townspeople, as if daring them to say something about it.

"SHUT UP," she said, as a preemptive move. You know. Just in case.

[Avery]

Britknee had not been sleeping well since the murders began.

Like, barely at all, winking in and out of slumber, and what little sleep she did get plagued with horrific like, nightmares. Brit was usually late riser, but these past two days she'd found herself up and in town around dawn, 'cos like, she was too scared to be alone. That was why she was in Waffles, No Nets so early-- and on such a rainy, yucky day (BLECH!)-- when one of the farmer people (Sparkly?) came in and like, totes said that someone else was dead. And the bakery horsie, no less!

And even worse, right after Sparkly told the diner about the death, in came yelly lady with like, that stupid wolf! WHAT! Britknee's stomach twisted and she gave Snuggles (who was tucked covertly in her purse) a pat on the head, hoping that the stupid beast wouldn't smell her wuvvy duvvy puppy and think it was food. Jeez, hadn't her yelling at Blaze yesterday about the stupidity of bringing such a dangerous animal town made any dent? OBVIOUSLY NOT! Like, Brit was suddenly furious.

"Umm, excuse me!" she nearly shrieked as Blaze looked around for a table. "Like, what the heck are you doing with that MONSTER in here? WHAT IF IT EATS ONE OF US!?"

((NARRATOR NOTE: The serial killer will be striking again, poor town! His/her kill will be posted most likely late tomorrow night (May 21st). Ergo, if you'd like to get yourself established in this scene/react to the latest death before then, lest you risk dying first: please do so prior to then! Furthermore, like last round, if you are sending in your execution vote before then, please send me TWO names in case your initial choice kicks the bucket first.))

[Gelquie]

Julie wasn't happy.

She had already had trouble sleeping that night, although this time she allowed herself more time to sleep, so any tiredness she felt wasn't entirely due to sleep deprivation. But it only got worse when it got chillier and when she began to hear the pitter patter of rain outside. Unfortunately, it didn't let up by the time she had to get up. Far from it, in fact.

Now she was rushing from the post office to Waffles No Nets, a large rain poncho over herself and her instrument, now inside a case. She hated the rain. She could reconcile with the fact that rain is necessary, especially for the farms in the area, but it also meant that she couldn't do any music-related thing outside other than sing. And she was partial to instrumental accompaniments. She could probably attempt to play her mandolin under her poncho, but honestly, it usually just made things more complicated than it should be.

She entered Waffles No Nets early in the day and placed her order for a plate of blueberry waffles and a cup of coffee. She figured it would be a good place to go today, with the crowds of people meaning that her messenger job is just that much easier. And perhaps there would be safety in numbers, considering the state of the town. Besides, her only other option--the pony's shop--was mysteriously closed that day. A thought that made Julie feel uneasy.

Julie had just gotten her waffles and coffee when a farmer came in, announcing the death of Fluffle. Her face fell. Another one? And Fluffle too... Someone who had never really caused any problems, and was merely a curiosity among the town. But now she was taken too... Now she was sure it would never end...

And then the wolfmaster entered, and with her was her wolf, who had started shaking off the water on its fur, to Julie's horror. She was thankful she was further away from the entrance, but she couldn't blame those who got angry. They were wet and they'd probably have to get new food. She sighed. She always wondered whether the wolf Blaze took around was fully tame, but she never had the courage to speak to her about it.

In any case, she figured that the restaurant owner could probably step in. ...Whoever was running the restaurant now. She sighed and look a glimpse out the window as she started humming. The rain didn't look like it was going to stop for some time, sadly. So she cut into her waffle slowly, trying not to think about the murders; she wasn't going anywhere anytime soon.

[Tiger]

Mick threw the egg pan and its burning contents into the sink. The pan landed in a soapy-water-filled bowl, extinugishing the blaze. "Will someone else please take the eggs orders!?" he snapped. One of the cooks grumbled and pulled out a new pan, and Mick took over his station at the fryer. Why did people let him handle eggs? Did they just think it was funny to watch him set things on fire?!

He was almost back in the kitchen, Julie's waffle freshly delivered, when Sparky entered with his grim news. Mick froze in the kitchen doorway, squeezing the wooden frame so hard his hand started to shake. Fluffle...why were you out there alone?! I should've...I mean, I don't know what I could've done, but..." Mick swept into the kitchen, leaning against the wall and knotting his fingers in his hair. "How long is this going to go on? Until everyone in the whole town is dead?"

There was a sudden commotion from outside - Mick snatched a spatula from the nearest counter and yanked open the door - only to find it was Blaze and her wolf terrorizing the restaurant.

"ABSOLUTELY NOT!" Mick shouted, brandishing the spatula at Blaze. Some part of him was shocked by the uncharacteristic hostility, but mostly Mick was just angry. All these deaths, everyone was loosing their minds, and all of a sudden he was supposed to...

"You were going to actually try and help people through this. Remember?"

Mick lowered the spatula and squeezed his eyes shut. "Blaze...you can't have a wolf in here. I'll...I'll set up the awning over the patio, okay? Can you just wait out there? For a minute?"

[Mostly Harmless (flufflepuff)]

Fluffle forgot all about startling the person she'd tapped on the shoulder. Before he/she could turn around, she noticed Blaze and her terrifying wolf enter. They did look soaked but there was something about Primrose that made Fluffle feel very uneasy. It was probably the teeth.

Shuddering, Fluffle backed into the kitchen, where another mess of eggs was dripping off of the stove. Ew. The guy who was supposed to make the eggs was engrossed in his iTalk, communicating with others while Mick was out. Fluffle concentrated very, very hard, and increased the concentration of ghost particles in one hoof. She grabbed a spatula and turned over the eggs in the pan once it began to smoke, and took them off the stove and onto a plate once the pan smoked again. Perfect.

Fluffle slumped onto the floor to catch her....breath (?). Solidifying took energy, and lots of it. That was enough of that. There was a roof to find, a view to see, and fellow ghosts to locate! Fluffle bravely tip-hoofed out of the kitchen, unseen, and spotted something that stopped her mid-trot.

"ABSOLUTELY NOT!"

The poor gentleman seemed distressed, lost, and angry. The pony glanced at the stairs. Her fellow ghosts could wait.

Fluffle trotted over to the patio, and waited...