Welcome to Gaia! ::

Huni had just finished placing the very last of the boxes upstairs, a feat the red head found almost insurmountable given her physical strength. It was time for a break and Linneas had just woken up.

"Morning sweetie." Huni greeted, cradling the infant into her arms. "You hungry?"

Linneas yawned and rubbed his eyes, not understanding what his mother was saying. Icing was perched on Huni's shoulder and was eyeing the Tale warily in case Linneas thought to make a grab for him.

"Well lets go down then." Huni smiled as she headed down the stairs into the shop.

The red head had just reached the first floor when the sound of the door opening caught her attention. At first, she shielded herself from the oncoming cold wind and wasn't aware of who it was that entered. Was it Syrie, the only other person the Study would let in? Or was it a customer?

The moment the door closed, Huni's eyes grew wide in delight. "Chao!!!" she squealed, rushing over to her friend. Icing nearly fell of if he hadn't gripped onto the red head's shoulder tightly. Linny was a little surprised at the loud noise his mother made, and curiously turned to where Huni was moving towards.

"What brings you here?" Huni asked, carefully embracing Chao so as not to squish Linneas.

"Hmm, fate eh?" Huni chuckled, "I actually have no idea who used to own this place, just that I now do. You should have seen how the second floor looked, there these claw marks and stuff." she shuddered, "Good thing Syrie helped me clean this place up."

Icing flapped his wings a little indignantly, being ignored wasn't something he liked. But the Dream's flapping made Linneas giggle and try to bat at him with the broom plushie.

"Oh this?" Huni grinned, adjusting her hold on Linny. "This is Linneas, I call him Linny now and then. You wouldn't believe how I got him."

"Yep, clawmarks, but I think they were just the way the wall paper fell and chipped away and then all these vermin started to nibble at it. Ah who knows." Huni shrugged, "I've been here for a few nights and I'm still alive."

Icing stopped his flustered beating and contented himself by preening his wings. He was safe on Huni's shoulders, Linneas couldn't reach him, not even with the plushie.

Upon hearing his mother say his name, Linny squirmed a bit, trying to reach out to Chao. "Preeee." he gurgled, waving his plushie at the woman.

"Well now, the story goes like this..." And Huni narrated the first time she saw the shop and discovered the study, sans a few of the embarrassing details of course. "He was under all that paper and a bucket and some rags were with him. How a baby got there and with cleaning products is just mind boggling. I placed those things in his room, inside a closet, who knows what sort of germs are crawling all over them. As for the plushie," And for emphasis, Linneas snuggled against the broom. "Well, Linneas won't part with it."

Shiroi walked through the streets of Barton, often pausing to look at the different shops. Glancing down the street, a quaint stationary shop caught her attention, and she walked closer to get a better look.

"Tall Tales by Huni Pi," she murmered, "I think I heard something about these... They're worth a look-through, at least."

She slipped inside the shop, following the sound of voices.

Huni laughed at Chao's reaction, understanding completely how looney it made the red head appear.
"Yeah, Linny's a cheerful little tyke. I just hope I don't end up traumatizing him with my randomness." she chuckled. "And thanks for the congrats," she nodded, "hear that Linny? Aunty Chao says congratulations to us."

Linneas tilted his head at his aunt and nuzzled back, giggling happily. She was nice, like the other girl he had met the other day who wore white fur.

"Who knows, really. You know how crazy Gaia can be." Huni sighed, feeling herself grow sad and worried. "But we all have to do our best."

The sound of the door opening caught Linny's attention and he cooed at the new comer. "Pleee."

"I hope so, but you'll help me take care of Linny won't you?" Huni asked, almost pleadingly. She was still unaccustomed to being a mother, receiving Icing from Arrikanez was wonderful and exciting as she had been prepared for a Dream. But Linneas came out of no where.

"Hello," Chao said cheerfully.

"Hm? Oh! Hello there, welcome to Tall Tales." Huni greeted.

The red head chuckled at Chao's response, "Then it's settled! You are going to be Linny's official godparent! Now if only Gaia had some means of baptising..." she grinned, the glint in her eyes indicating she was kidding about the latter part.

Linny just tilted his head at the two women. He had no idea what they were saying, but their smiles and their tones didn't make him feel worried.

Icing on the other hand would have rolled his eyes if it was physically possible. Instead, the dream decided to practice his flying some more.

Nyxa had taken a fondness for perusing the shops lately; she'd found that, much like goldilocks would, that Gambino was much too hot, Durem was much too cold, and Barton was juuuuuust right. The prices, the atmosphere, they all suited her just fine, despite the fact that her home was in Durem.

Pausing in front of a curious looking stationary shoppe, Nyxa shoved open the door and made her way inside. "Hello? Is anyone here?"

"My we're getting lots of visitors today." Huni remarked to herself happily, "You two must be some sort of lucky charm." she grinned to Chao and Linny.

"Hello and welcome." Huni greeted.

Icing looked at Nyxa curiously, he had never seen a gaian with dark skin before. Believing that personal space involved only him, the Dream fluttered over to the new comer in a crooked line.

Nyxa cleared her throat, eyeing the Dream warily. She'd passed by the shop for these creatures many times before, but she'd never once been this close to one of them.

"Does it bite?" Nyxa was almost always wary about meeting new creatures. It was funny, watching a grown woman acting so frightened over a bird-like creature.

"Oh don't worry, Icing's harmless." Huni assured the woman, the red head wasn't fond of destructive things. But whether destructive things were fond of her was another matter...

The Dream sensed Nyxa's fear and didn't quite like it. He wanted to make friends and be noticed so he tried his best to send out emotions of friendliness. Icing looked silly as he flapped his wings in attempts of hovering. Unfortunately he was getting tired and promptly perched on Nyxa's shoulder.

Nyxa nodded, flinching only slightly when the Dream perched on her shoulder. She trusted the redhead was the owner of this particular dream. "I was just passing by when I noticed your shop.. something drew me in, so here I am." With a wry grin she reached up to delicately touch the Dream's wing; the creature wasn't so bad a'tall.

Icing made himself comfortable on Nyxa's shoulder and was tempted to preen her hair to show his affection. Then again, he remembered that his 'mother' didn't like it when he tried that on her. Something about pain?

"Really?" Huni blinked, a little pleased at why Nyxa was here. "The shop's front is open to all, although the Study is currently off limits." she stated, not wanting to explain why just yet.

Linneas squirmed in Huni's arms, he wanted to move around on his own. And play with Aunty Chao some more as well. "Preee." he said, gesturing his free hands to the floor.

Nyxa chuckled at the Dream, blowing gently into its wing. "What sort of stationary do you sell here?" There was an odd feel to the shoppe, as if unspoken secrets emanated from every wall.

Nyxa eyed the baby. "So cute. I'm Nyxa, by the way."

"Oh, just the usual, scented, plain pad paper, some with pressed flowers, nothing out of the ordinary." Huni explained, "We also have some notebooks and pens available." she added.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Nyxa. I'm Huni and this little cutie is Linneas. You've already met Icing." the red head chuckled. Though Linneas' squirming was making things difficult. At Chao's offer, Huni nodded gratefully. "Will you? Thanks a lot." Huni breathed.

Linny gave Nyxa a curiously and a darling smile. With a wave of his broom plush, the Tale turned his attention back to Chao. "Preee~" he cooed.

Shiroi stood there for a moment before her manners kicked in at the sight of Nyxa introducing herself. "I'm Shiroi, nice to meet you all."

Nyxa chuckled, gleefully waving at the baby as soon as it noticed her. "It's really a pleasure to meet you all. It's always nice to find a shop where people are warm and easy to talk to."

The raven haired girl tilted her head, "Why is the study closed? Under renovations?" She knew the question was silly; who would renovate in the dead of winter?

"Hello Shiroi." Huni nodded, as Chao took Linneas from her. "Ah, that's better. Icing, don't try to preen Nyxa's hair, remember the last time you tried that on me?" she arched her brow. "Now, what can I interest you two ladies with?" she grinned.

Icing looked indignant and 'hmfd' at Huni.

The infant squealed in delight and snuggled against Chao affectionately. He wanted to show his Aunt all the neat stuff he had. The plushie was easy enough, all he had to do was raise it upwards. Besides, he'd already shown her that. The bucket and the rags were upstairs so that would be a little harder to do.
"Plaaa, plaa!!" He babbled, pointing upwards. Though it looked more like he wanted to be raised rather than be brought up.

"Hm, I actually could use a notebook," Shiroi stated thoughtfully, "I've been meaning to write down a story I've had floating around in my head a while. It's just I've never had the time to do so."

Nyxa chuckled at the childs antics; her little Zora was so different from him. "I was just passing by when I realized I could use some stationary, myself. Perhaps a new journal, for my Adrienne." She moved over to some shelves and perused the contents.

"Do you have pink journals? Dri's favorite color is pink."

"Erm..." Huni trailed, "It's kind of a long story." Not one she was comfortable telling to people she had just met. "Maybe tomorrow I'll have the time to tell it." she chuckled.



"Oh certainly, they're this way." Huni nodded, gesturing to the bookshelf where the notebooks were displayed.

Shiroi browsed through the wide selection of notebooks, finally grabbing a dark red one.

"How much will this be?" She asked Huni, gesturing towards the notebook.

Linneas clapped in delight as Chao picked him up, his own mother wasn't this perceptive. It usually took Huni a while to understand what he was saying. The Tale tried to reach out to the stairs that leads to the second floor, as he remembered going up and down those things to get to his room.

"Well we're having a special offer since it's the first day of the shop's official opening. It's free so long as you come back again tomorrow." Huni chuckled.

Nyxa, in the meantime, had been perusing the journals. She'd probably have to bring Dri back here to pick out her own journal. The girl could be darn picky sometimes.

"A sale, eh? I like the sound of that."

"Are you sure?" Shiroi asked, "I don't want to rip you off or anything. But if you're sure, I'll definitely be back tomorrow."

Suddenly, she noticed the clock that was hanging on the wall. "Oh no, it's getting late, and I've got to get home! I'll see you all tomorrow!" With that, Shiroi hurried out of the store, slipping the notebook into her bag.

Still having no idea what Chao was saying, Linny carefully stared at the second floor. It was a narrow hallway lined with doors, similar to apartment buildings or boarding houses, the wall papers were old and faded and the 'claw marks' Huni described could be seen at the very end. Thankfully Linny remembered which door his things were in. He pointed to the second door on the left and excitedly waved his plushie. He was proud of the bucket and rags for some reason.

"Heee, better take advantage of it while Syrie's not around. Not that he jacks the price up too high, he just thinks I'm too generous at time." Huni chuckled to Nyxa.

Nyxa giggled, "No doubt! I'll be back tomorrow, you can be sure of that. I can't say no to a sale." Idly she thumbed through a book she'd pulled from the shelves before setting it back up onto the shelf she'd taken it from.

Moving back towards the entry of the shop, Nyxa waved to the occupants, "I'll be here bright and early!"

"Thank you, please come again!" Huni waved enthusiastically. It didn't matter to her if she didn't make much of a profit. Having visitors was payment enough for her. Of course she wouldn't let this be known to too many people, she had to think about how to pay Syrie for his invaluable service after all.

Icing fluttered off from Nyxa's shoulder and landed on the bookshelf where he proceeded to preen wings.

"Now where are Chao and Linny?" Huni murmured, realizing the two weren't on the first floor anymore.

Linny crawled over to the closet where his other stuff were and pointed at the handle. Huni didn't lock it, she didn't see a reason why after all.

There was nothing out of the ordinary about the closet, a few shirts and pants, and some scarves and that's all. The only things aside from the clothes were the bucket and rags. Linny excitedly gestured to the cleaning products. "Pweeee!!" he cheered.

Linny wasn't quite finished in showing his things to Chao but he didn't make a fuss of it. He looked a little disappointed as they left the room though.

"There you two are." Huni declared, "Thanks so much for taking care of him, Chao." she smiled, taking Linneas back from her weary friend. "You look tired, maybe you should be getting some sleep?"

"I will, and you be careful on your way home, y'hear?" Huni nodded to her friend. "Say bye bye to Aunty Chao, Linny."

"Chlaaa." Linneas babbled, trying his best to repeat the word Chao.