Chapter Text
Emeraldville. Once the home of the Restoration, now... well, better than it used to be. Once a smoldering ruin, it was now… almost resembling a village again. It still wasn't a functioning town, half the buildings still rubble beneath the currently setting sun, but... it was getting there. The current project was the market, a few residencies had been built and people were starting to trickle back in. However, Jewel decided that they would have an easier time staying if they didn't have to trek all the way to Central City for their groceries, and jobs wouldn't be bad to have around here either.
Lanolin grunted, a strain in her voice as she took a step backward onto cold, hard concrete. She was helping carry a large palette of materials for building the grocery store. She growled as she felt the tips of her fingers digging into the wood; this was quite a bit to carry. She looked to the person on the other end of the palette, Belle, checking to see how the puppet girl was faring.
Belle had a steady, focused look on her face. She wasn't sweating the way Lanolin was, the sheep would be more concerned if she could, but it was clear moving things all day was starting to take a slight toll. Though the bigger concern here was the sheep herself. After all, she's been moving this kind of stuff all day. Belle locked eyes with Lanolin, her voice calm and her tone ever so slightly concerned.
"Lanolin, are you doing okay? Should we take a minute?" The polite puppet asked, tilting her head. "You're uh... sweating a lot...." She gave a nervous chuckle, concerned for her friend. As the two carefully timed their steps, Lanolin felt her arms beginning to shake. The sheep glanced backwards, trying to see how close to their goal they were. The marked off area was right there! Just a few more steps! Just! A few!! More--
Where did that loose paper come from?
Lanolin felt her entire world freeze as her boot found purchase not on concrete, but on a loose sheet of paper. Before the sheep could even react, she suddenly found herself laying horizontal, staring upwards as the heavy material was slowly falling towards her.
“This is it. This is really it. I’m going to die in the stupidest way possible.” Lanolin thought to herself, her perception of time slowing as she watched the materials slowly plummet towards her.
Though thankfully, that had only been what she thought, and not the truth.The pile... stopped. Lanolin's heart pounded, her eyes staring up at the stilled pile, when she finally saw it; a striped, gray and white tail was wrapped taut around the palette. Her eyes traced the shape of the limb, all the way back to a lemur standing on a wall above them, a big grin on her face as she held the tail still as best she could.
"Looks like... I arrived... Just in time, hahaha! You might wanna move Lanolin, unless you're eager to stress test that sheep brawn of yours!" The Lemur cracked, the palette groaning as she and Belle desperately tried to keep it steady. "Okay... Just need to... lower it.. without setting it on my tail..." The lemur mumbled to herself. Lanolin lay there, panting for a second. She just stared up at the palette, before a chime from Maggie inside her bell reminded her of where she was, the sheep rolling to the side.
THUD!!!!
The Palette slammed to the ground, Tangle's tail unfurling so fast most couldn't process it. Meanwhile, Belle let out a sigh of relief, and slowly walked over to where Lanolin was laying and held her hand out. She let out a shaky laugh. Maggie had left the bell, the magenta wisp currently pressing its little face against Lanolin’s cheek while its face remained seemingly bored by the scenario.
"...Oh my gears and starters... that was close. Are you okay?" Belle asked, looming over the fallen girl. Lanolin nodded slowly, the sheep looking over at the large palette. As she sat there, before she could even grab Belle's hand, a fluffy limb suddenly curled around her, Tangle emerging from behind the palette to smirk as she pulled Lanolin upright with her tail, grabbing both her and Belle and pulling them into a group hug.
"Ohhh man, it's great to see you two again! I was returning that video game I borrowed from Jewel, you know, that brightly colored RPG game with the Chipmunk and Lynx! I'm glad I was here, otherwise you would've been counting sheep for longer than you’re supposed to, Lanolin!" The Lemur grinned wider as she squeezed the two close, the sheep starting to fidget. This was far, far too tight of a hug, and Belle looked caught off guard as well, the other girl letting out a small chuckle as she tried to think of a polite way to ask for her freedom. Tangle finally released the hug, practically beaming at the two, " I didn't know you were going to be here too, Belle! Taking a break from your big fixing stuff adventure?"
"S-sawdust, that was like a vice...!" The puppet girl said to herself, taking a moment to dust herself off. She then looked back up at Tangle, smiling. "Sorta! My route took me through here and I figured I should help a bit before I got back to my journey! And Motobud's been zooming around a bit too, he gets a bit restless when he’s been stuck pulling the cart too long! So, we figured we might as well help while we're here!" Belle giggled, before glancing around, realizing an absence." If you're here... where's Whisper?" The girl asked curiously.
"Whisp? Ohh, she's currently checking in with Jewel! We've been trying to find Big, looks like after our last adventure a certain little green troublemaker stowed away in one of her cloak's pockets! And Big is... surprisingly hard to find soemtimes!" She laughed, the Lemur rubbing her nose with a snicker. "I guess we're setting out again once Jewel figures out where we last saw the big guy!" She then turned to Lanolin, smiling. "Hey Lanolin! Would you like to join us?"
"...J-join you? I don't know... I've still got work to do here." The sheep said, rubbing her shoulder a bit. She chuckled, "Finding Big isn't really a three person job... and I doubt you'll need my skills for anything. You and Whisper'll do it no problem." She tried to smile, though the grin she gave was maybe a bit too forced. Before she knew it though, Tangle had placed a hand on her shoulder, the Lemur taking a moment to step slightly closer, her smile dropping ever so slightly to a look of friendly concern. Her voice was a bit more gentle.
"...Hey. Don't put yourself down like that, Lanolin. Look, if we need your help, we'll give you a call, okay?" She said with her smile brightening back up. "...You're our friend." The sheep was stunned for a second, before sighing, nodding with a small smile.
"...Thanks Tangle. Keep in touch, okay? If you do end up needing me... I'll be there." The sheep gave the Lemur a thumbs up, who grinned very wide in response before returning the gesture with an enthusiastic nod on top of it.
"Of course Lan! The sun's almost set… I'm going to go see if Whisper's prepped to track down Big. We'll set off for now, but we'll be in touch if we need you!... or if I find something really cool and want to yap about it, ehehehe!" She winked, before running off with an energetic jog, leaving Lanolin and Belle next to the heavy palette of materials.
Lanolin sighed, dusting herself off. She looked up at the sky, seeing the orange tinted hues, and how long the shadows were starting to get. She turned to Belle, smiling.
"Guess we're calling it here for the day. Thank you for your help again Belle." She looked over, noticing someone walking away from the donation center... Vanilla. The motherly rabbit had brought some of her own stuff to donate to the reconstruction effort, like canned goods. The rabbit waved politely at the two girls, closing her eyes with a gentle smile.
"Hello there dears! Looks like the work day is wrapping up, I assume?" She gave them a courteous bow, which Belle returned. Lanolin meanwhile waved shyly, before nodding.
"Yeah. I'm going to go back to my tent myself for some rest! I think Belle intends to work a bit more, but I'm feeling pretty beat after that last task admittedly." Upon hearing this, Vanilla then frowned, glancing over at the tent she knew to be Lanolin's. She tilted her head.
"... Have you truly been sleeping there, since the reconstruction started?" She asked, a hint of concern entering her voice. "... That sleeping bag can't be comfortable. And you're so exposed to the elements out here... even if the town's rebuilding. Why don't you have a proper bed at least?" Her eyes drifted back to Lanolin’s. The sheep blinked, looking sheepishly to the side.
"...W-well... beds are low in supply here. And i don't mind sleeping rough... I don't think I've had a good night's sleep in years." She laughed awkwardly with her eyes closed, though the look on Vanilla's face when she opened them told her the rabbit wasn't in a laughing mood about it herself. The rabbit shook her head.
"... That simply won't do. Hmm... tell me dear. How would you like to join me for dinner tonight? I bet you've not had a good home cooked meal in a while." She looked to confirm, and Lanolin awkwardly shifted as she stood there, mumbling something under her breath about fast food or rations. The rabbit chuckled, "Thought so. I'll make a lovely home-cooked meal, and you can sleep in the guest room for the night. I'm used to waking up at sunrise, so I can get you back here bright and early if you're worried about that."
The sheep took a moment, fidgeting on the spot.
She's not really... used to people inviting her out like this. Especially not such a kind, sweet lady like Vanilla. She awkwardly glances at Belle, as if trying to gauge what she thinks. Belle just gives her a thumbs-up, and Lanolin takes a deep breath.
"...O-okay. I'm... I appreciate the offer. I'll accept." She smiled gently, her tail swishing slightly behind her. "...I promise I'll behave." This got a laugh out of Vanilla, who simply shook her head.
"...Ohhh, dear. Trust me, I don't think you'll misbehave. And even if you did, it couldn't be as bad as the time Tangle stayed the night due to a twisted ankle. That dear felt so bad after she knocked over an entire shelf of things while trying to reach for something with that tail of hers!" She chuckled, shaking her head again. She then straightened up, the rabbit walking up to her. "Why don't you go tell Jewel where you're going, and then we'll head off? I'll wait for you by my car."
The sheep gave her a firm nod, and began to head towards the central tent. As she walked, she passed by Tangle, Whisper, and a certain Froggy perched on Whisper's shoulder. Tangle grinned as she waved enthusiastically, while Whisper gave her a small, controlled, singular wave of her hand. Froggy... Lanolin couldn't read his expression. He seemed as hard to read as Big could be. The sheep finally reached the tent, smiling as she knocked on the canvas flap as a formality.
"Direct- ack, sorry! I mean, Jewel!" The sheep had to remind herself that Jewel had stepped down. "Just wanted to let you know I'm... heading over to Vanilla's for dinner and staying the night. I'll be back in time for work to begin in the morning, I promise!" She stood firmly at attention, looking down at the short beetle in front of her, who blinked in surprise at Lanolin's words.
"Oh, of course Lanolin! I will say, I'm rather surprised by you heading off with Vanilla... although..." she glanced to the side, "I guess I'm less surprised after that... event last month. She cares about you, and you clearly like being around her! I say go for it! I'll hold down the fort for the night!"
Lanolin blinked, glancing away as she remembered that day. Her cheeks turned pink with embarrassment as she remembered the stress, the tears, her being hugged so tight by the motherly rabbit who just wouldn't let go even if she squirmed. It was such a contrast to her own mother, who....
The sheep froze for a second, before shaking her head. She's not important right now.
"Y-yeah. Vanilla's cooking is... really good. And it'll be nice to sleep in a bed, I guess..." she mumbled a bit, trying to look away to hide her embarrassed cheeks. Jewel just chuckled, the small beetle shaking her head as she waved.
"Go on then Lanolin, I'm not going to keep you!"
Lanolin nodded, taking a deep breath as she began to walk towards Vanilla's car, which seemed to be a Little Lady model from the Donpa Motors brand, modified to have multiple seats. She could see the motherly rabbit waiting for her, the older woman closing her eyes and giving a polite wave as the sheep approached. Lanolin smiled up at her.
"So... you live in Floral Forest right? I think I've been there once, but I was mostly just there to take out a stray Badnik." The sheep asked, smiling. "I've heard it's a very pleasant place this time of year!" The rabbit laughed, nodding as she began to get into her car, opening the other door for Lanolin. Lanolin smiled, and climbed into the other seat, buckling herself in.
As the car began to drive, the sheep looked over to the side with a small sigh. Watching Emeraldville vanish behind them filled her with a feeling she... didn't quite know how to voice. But she was okay for now.
Now, it was time to brace herself for the dinner to come. She just has to relax and enjoy herself... right?