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Post by Morgan on Dec 8, 2021 23:22:51 GMT -6
Morgan had to pick up some catering for the event (they weren't going to be caught dead helping anyone cook in anyone else's kitchen; even the thought of being in the type of kitchens that most people used made them grimace), but they had several different concerns to attend to first before they could do that. First off, they had no idea where this help-requester even was located, nor exactly what the problem was. They assumed that the people had lost all their food; they could remedy that easily. They could cater for the event and if need be, have someone pick up a week's worth of groceries for them (which would be enough to get most people to the next paycheck at the very least). However, the lack of an address or a name made this difficult. They reached up to pull off the banner, and then shook their head. No, it couldn't be helped. There was probably no information on the back.
Kaodie followed close at Morgan's heels as they bee-lined for the help desk.
[16]
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Post by Morgan on Dec 9, 2021 22:13:23 GMT -6
They really doubted that the Help Desk would be open this early, and they'd never really used it before. However, they did know that it was there, right alongside the place where quests could be picked up. They hesitated at the door, not quite wanting to leave Kaodie out in the cold by himself (even though they were sure that he would stay right there and they would do their best to make this social engagement take as short a time frame as possible) so they have him come inside with them- it wasn't like there was a sign prohibiting pets specifically, and he was very small (Coming up to about Morgan's mid-calf, and Morgan was fairly petite-built).
They are surprised when the door opens (so it was open!) and they stepped right in and went up to the desk. They clear their throat, readying the practiced basic social skills that they'd been working so hard on over the last few years.
[17]
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Post by Morgan on Dec 9, 2021 23:02:13 GMT -6
Of course, Morgan was still a little bit rusty, and exhausted from work- so their request came out quite a bit less tactful than they had meant, and belied their exhaustion. "Um-" Good morning? No, skip that. "I-I'm going to take t-that-" What to even call the request? They grimace a tad. "That quest on the makeshift b-banner outside. C-could I get any other information that was left?" They asked, half of their teeth showing during the verbalization as they lift one corner of their mouth higher and sort of 'speak out of the corner of their mouth'. The person at the help desk looks up and squints at them for a moment, and if they do recognize Morgan standing there they do not show it.
Instead, their gaze lands on Kaodie, who had a bit of his tongue hanging out of his mouth and of course the toy held between his jaws. The person at the desk's eyes widen with delight.
[18]
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Post by Morgan on Dec 9, 2021 23:09:01 GMT -6
Morgan glances down at Kaodie for a second and then back up at the person at the desk just as that individual begins absolutely gushing over little Kaodie. Of course Morgan had seen individuals have that same reaction over Kaodie before, so they just stood there a tad awkwardly (purposefully) and then they reach up to touch their chin will glancing down at their little malii. "W-well yes, Kaodie's a good fella." They murmur, agreeing since it was both true and the polite thing to do. Then they crossed their arms over their chest and tilted their head ever so slightly down to look at the counter in front of the individual in the vague direction of them.
"S-so, about that info." Morgan asks, redirecting the conversation back to the issue at hand as opposed to Kaodie's (alleged) cuteness. "Did the requestors leave an address o-o-or any other information that could help?"
[19]
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Post by Morgan on Dec 9, 2021 23:19:15 GMT -6
Now that the individual had Kaodie's cuteness out of their system Morgan does listen, having flipped their WATT out of their labcoat pocket and case with their fingers to note down any important info. Apparently the people lived on Centu, down towards the far end that would get close to the far end of town as well. There were a few small farms out in that direction that Morgan had heard of in the past. They were sure to put the address in, as well as take the information that the people had allowed their many children to work on the banner. That explained so much and did well to assuage any concerns that Morgan had about the request being a little bit odd. It would seem that a family had a bit of a difficult time with their farm. After getting the information about how many people would most likely be at the 'shindig' and that a few others were going out to 'get the livestock back', Morgan decided on a course of action.
[20]
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Post by Morgan on Dec 9, 2021 23:28:14 GMT -6
The human left the help desk and questing area with a vague idea about how their day would go, and of course with Kaodie following closely behind after getting a goodhearted scritch or two (that he didn't feel anyway- not that Morgan needed to tell anyone that since it would probably just cause issues) from the help desk attendant. They close the door behind them and take a moment to take in their surroundings before they stepped off of the short 'porch' in front of the door and onto the cobblestones below. They had to make sure that whoever had set Kaodie off earlier had not returned. Morgan had a bad feeling about that. The air was still cool and had not yet started warming up, though the sun most be beginning to peak over the buildings by now if not for the overcast skies that were doing a perfect job turning the possible golden morning light into silver fade as opposed.
[21]
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Post by Morgan on Dec 9, 2021 23:35:57 GMT -6
Morgan nearly slipped when stepping off of the step and onto the cobblestone due to the condensation and general light frost on the cobblestone. They'd remembered it well, but there was only so much that could be done to avoid slipping. They managed to catch themself, and then they gave ANOTHER look around because they were generally worried about someone having seen them in such an undignified manner. Afterwards, Morgan attempted to check their WATT to see if maybe the Cloud-Nine was open yet. Was it a weekday or a weekend? They'd nearly forgotten what day of the week it was. It really made it difficult to keep up with things when they got lost spending so much time in the Labs like they had been... At least everything was well taken care of at home despite this.
Upon figuring out that the shop would be open in thirty minutes, Morgan decided to hit up a grocer first. "Alright Kaodie let's go."
[22]
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Post by Morgan on Dec 10, 2021 15:24:29 GMT -6
Kaodie follows close by his human's heels. He barely walks behind them, and usually tries not to (Kaodie knows that Morgan doesn't like being followed much- something he has learned over the years) however he couldn't shake this odd feeling about this trip. If Morgan noticed his slight hesitance, they did not show it at all. He did recognize the area that they were going to though; a place where we was often given treats! He catches up after sniffing in the direction of something that smelled really appetizing to him, a pep in his step along the way and across the chilly cobblestone.
Morgan doesn't pay much attention to the market district that morning. It was still too early for most of the shops to be open, but there was one that they knew that took bulk orders in the morning to be fulfilled by the evening. They stop there to give a good request to the grocer and to pay them, and afterwards gave the address to the place that they had been given.
[23]
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Post by Morgan on Dec 10, 2021 15:34:44 GMT -6
After dealing with their business at the grocer, Morgan stops at another stand to pick up a small breakfast for Kaodie and at a different stand to pick up a light breakfast for theirself; a bit of a splurge in that it was a plastic cup of fresh yoghurt with some berries that had been grown in a greenhouse and were still quite good even in this 'off' season. They spooned small bites into their mouth after giving Kaodie the large piece of natural Salmon Jerky (he was still a malii, despite his looks!) as they walked to their next destination; the Cloud-Nine. They wanted to pick up a few breakfast items to bring with them, since they assumed that the family would be hungry, as well as some coffee. They would pay a courier that they found on the closeby street corner to send the gifts ahead of them. After paying the courier and having them wait a moment, they step inside the freshly opened Cloud-Nine Cafe.
[24]
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Post by Morgan on Dec 10, 2021 16:06:32 GMT -6
Morgan steps in and walks up to the counter, with Kaodie at their feet. They are a common enough sight to the workers at the shop (they were one of their most prolific customers) but not usually this early in the morning for anything other than a quick cup of coffee. The person at the desk was quite surprised whenever Morgan showed them what they planned on ordering instead; but they dutifully began collecting enough of the items requested so that Morgan could buy the family breakfast. After ensuring that everything would be cared for adequately, Morgan also paid for a cup of coffee for theirself and some of the starry treats for Kaodie before stepping out and onto the street. The next stop was going to be that farm on the edge of town; and though Morgan left on foot before the courier they knew that the courier would beat them there due to the trusty Pasha-Sarane that the courier had.
[25]
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Post by Morgan on Dec 10, 2021 16:14:50 GMT -6
The walk out to the farm that was indicated on Morgan's WATT took a decent amount of time. However, it was a leisurely activity. Sure, Morgan could have planned a little better and perhaps rode one of their mounts into town this morning, but they were enjoying being out of the house and on their own a bit. They weren't too worried about being attacked either, despite not quite knowing the area as well as they would have liked. Kaodie looked small and weak, but Morgan was anything if not dangerous in their own right. Still, they kept an extra eye out; mostly noticing the slight uptick in people on the street as the early morning quickly transitioned into the part of morning where most people where either already at work or getting there about now.
All of the people were dressed very warmly. Even Morgan had a slightly thicker black turtleneck on instead of their own usual plaid beneath the labcoat.
[26]
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Post by Morgan on Dec 10, 2021 16:49:09 GMT -6
Kaodie looked up at all of the people they saw along the way with his blank expression and quite a few of them cooed at him for being cute, however; Kaodie was a little wary. He hadn't seen a lot of people with scarves and the like before- and it wasn't uncommon that creatures would sense something 'off' about people wearing clothing items they were not used to that obscured their silhouette. Morgan could tell that he was a little anxious, and made sure to keep him close and give him another piece of the salmon jerky to snack on (which he somehow managed to eat over the top of his toy, which he still stubbornly refused to let out of his sight) to try to keep him distracted.
Soon enough they were standing in front of the large farm yard, which had a long and winding gravel driveway. Morgan stepped onto the gravel quietly, noting that the courier was already coming back their direction along the path.
[27]
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Post by Morgan on Dec 10, 2021 17:26:12 GMT -6
That was part of the reason why Morgan had sent the courier ahead of them. They knew that there was going to be a long driveway winding through a small copse of trees, and they were anxious about that today. So they thought two things; one that if there were any 'creepy' vibes given off by these people (the person that they had seen earlier weighed on their mind a tad) that they would hopefully be less likely to do anything stupid while someone else was there. Also, they knew that sending 'gifts' ahead of oneself was generally a good thing. Morgan dipped their head in greeting to the courier, who seemed to be all smiles so Morgan figured that the family was doing well enough.
They made it all the way down the gravel road and then knocked on the front door (the screen door was still closed, but the front door was open).
[28]
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Post by Morgan on Dec 10, 2021 17:35:41 GMT -6
Morgan's knock is answered right away, probably because whoever had greeted the courier and helped to unload the breakfast was probably still up and about setting up a spread. Morgan was greeted by an individual that looked at them oddly, and then glanced down at Kaodie. Morgan had taken the entirety of the walk on the gravel road to ready theirself for what they were about to do, but they still didn't feel any less dauntless. "H-hello, I'm Morgan, this is Kaodie-" They waved to the tiny malii, who was (to his credit) looking especially derpy in that second. "And we are h-here to help with the lost uh, feast." Morgan stated.
"Well, yeh ain't here ta help catch the critters, that's fer sure." The woman states, looking a little winded. Her boots were thick with dried gumbo and her face was haggard.
Morgan shook their head. "No, I suspect y'all have p-p-p... A lot of people that can help with that already." Indeed, a small party of hardy looking folks were taking part in the breakfast Morgan had managed to get delivered.
[29]
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Post by Morgan on Dec 10, 2021 17:41:19 GMT -6
Morgan shook their head. "N-no, But an order of fresh farm-grown g-groceries will be delivered tonight that should last the week, with an extra large meal for the feast tonight." They explained, handing over a small list they'd made on a scrap of paper from a notepad they'd found in their pocket (they found things they forgot in their pockets all the time- so they weren't surprised to find something to write during that time). The woman took it and looked it over, very relieved at first- and then shocked.
"We cain't afford all this!" She says, exasperated.
Morgan raises a hand. "No need. I suspect your electricity appears t-to be functional again." They noted, glancing up at the bare bulb above them before continuing. "I'm also willing to find more folks to h-help locate your herds, if you need." At this, they wait.
The woman wipes her brow, smearing gumbo on her forehead. "Oh no, that won't be necessary- thank you so so much! We- We cannot possibly take all of this-" She is quite flustered at this point, and Morgan catches a glimpse of a child sitting on the bottom step of a staircase not far away.
They shake their head, "You can and you will. In that case, I bid you adieu." Morgan turns to go, Kaodie following close behind.
"No-no, Wait! At the very least, come to the feast tonight!" The woman offers.
Well, this had went much better than Morgan was expecting, but of course there had to be some sort of monkey wrench in this, wasn't there?
[30] - [The pair goes home.]
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