Lydia Bennet

As one does.

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One can, however, get a 'raven box' of various appetizers.

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I have to take a foster kitten to the vet so I may not be around much, heads up.

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"This feels thematic," Rey said, trying to shove down the reminder that she still didn't have a costume, yes it was last minute, she knew it, okay.

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Perhaps she would find something fantastic shoved to the back of a rack at the Spirit Halloween in the burned out Walmart in the woods, like Lydia had last year! You never knew.

Or she could always be sexy popcorn again.

"It does, doesn't it?" Lydia said, sounding pleased with her selection.

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"It is odd to be back here after bein' surrounded by the sea all the time," Henry mused.

He wasn't sure what the spooky was all about, but he was also not going to let it put him off.

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Or she'd end up with something worse than the sexy popcorn! If there was such a thing!

(There was.)

"I like it," Rey decided. "How are you doing this week? Good vacation?"

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"Is it more of a good odd or a bad one?" Rey asked him.

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"Well," Henry said, thinking about it. "I spend less time worrying about drowning, I suppose."

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"You did well with the snorkeling though," she said, though she'd say that as long as he didn't drown.

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Henry, whose feet had left the ground exactly once during that whole debacle and who had regretted every second of it, shrugged. "Didn't feel natural, did it? Sucking air down through a straw."

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"Oh, absolutely not natural," Rey agreed. "And plastic tastes horrible."

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"And there's so much going on beneath the water," Henry agreed. "I think I saw a fish tryin' to eat my toes, actually."

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"I do doubt it was actually trying to eat your feet."

Maybe just the dead skin off of them!

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"But Flint said there were sharks in there."

Henry, it had to be said, still had no idea what a shark was.

Edited Date: 2025-10-30 05:58 pm (UTC)

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"Good evening, everyone," Flint said, stepping into the tavern. "This feels familiar."

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"Glad to be back," Lydia said with a smile. "It was a pleasant change of pace, though, wasn't it?" Made her appreciate being rather farther from the sea most of the time.

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"And thank goodness for that," Lydia agreed, or thought she agreed, depending on what his sentiments had actually been.

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"I suppose it would," Lydia agreed. Taverns were taverns, after all.

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Considering Henry's distrust of the water remained...

"Right?" he said, nodding. "Good to have our feet on the ground again, so to speak."

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"It's all right," Henry agreed. "Hullo, Flint. How's being back on solid ground treating you?"

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"The floors are decidedly less sticky," Flint said.

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"I miss the weather," Flint said. "It's getting too cold, wet, and dark here."

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"I think they have rules about cleanliness now," Lydia said. "Probably we could have used those."

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"Of course, the school is still on an island, but...well, one can be rather further from the water there."

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"And there's not as much of it," Henry said, nodding. "As opposed to that other island, where it felt like the water was everywhere."

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"Ah, it's not so bad," said Henry, who'd never experienced anything else in his life. "Just a good excuse to be indoors with a pint and a full stomach."

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Flint chuckled. "I'm certain of it. I also think it would have been a difficult argument to make in my line of work."

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"And a good book," Flint added.

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"Ah, I'm still workin' on that."

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"It was. I enjoyed myself a lot more than I expected."

Don't sound so surprised, Rey.

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"You would definitely know if a shark wanted your toes," she told him.

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"How big is a shark?" Henry asked. "I know it's supposed to have--" He formed a little cone with his hands-- "On his head or something..."

Poor Steve M and his failed attempt to communicate the concept of a shark to Henry without words back in summer.

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"I think they're different sizes but the one in the movie is bigger than me."

Cool cool, definitely turn him on to the meta for Jaws.

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"Were your taverns also spooky?" Rey asked.

She knew the answer.

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"I have a whole shop full," Flint said.

Especially because he never opened up to sell any of them.

"Many have pictures," he added.

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"Yes," Flint said, flashing her a smile.

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"As did I!"

Except for the snorkeling. A fish had touched her.

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