Margaret
Freddie hated the way the bell above the door of the general store always rang when you pushed it open. 
He understood the *Point* Of the thing, of course, because it was just Miss Carina running the store all on her own, if she were to be distracted by a task she oughta know when a customer entered and might be needing her attention. But that was precisely the problem, for the last thing Freddie wanted was any kind of attention from the woman behind the counter. 
Granted, she'd done little wrong to him beyond a few scowls thrown his way, and some thinly-veiled insult that very first week he'd come to Briar Ridge and managed to stupidly mis-count his coins before heading up to her register, leaving him short when it came to paying for the armful of shopping his mother had sent him to fetch for her. He'd panicked, of course, over what to put back, and the paper bag of flour had split when he grabbed it a little too eagerly and left an awful mess behind. 
He'd run away that day, and refused to return for all but the most essential of shopping trips ever since. He ducked in the street and took the long way around if he ever saw the woman coming his way, and his father was the one who organised most of the groceries for the house anyway so it wasn't as though he had any need to face up to her.

Until now, when the blasted bell rang out overhead, and he cringed at the sound and ducked between the nearest rows of shelves. 

He'd sharpened his last pencil down to nothing but a stub barely the length of one finger-joint, no doubt in part thanks to all the lines in his journal taken up by waxing lyrical about Florian Barca. He'd have rather *Died* Than ask his father to add more to the family's shopping list - he wasn't even sure that his parents knew how much time he spent writing by candlelight when he should have been sleeping, and he wasn't about to bring it up to them for fear they'd ask to *Read* The thing and he'd have to come up with more excuses as to why they couldn't and *Lord above* It was easier, somehow, to face up to Carina's potential wrath than it was to ever consider lying to Alfred and Elizabeth Lovejoy. 

Still, he'd need a minute. And he needed to actually find the pencils he was looking for. How was the store organised? Was he looking for school supplies? Other writing implements? Art supplies? 
It seemed that the shelves held an array of all kinds of convenient items one might find themselves in need of in a place like Briar Ridge, and yet there was little rhyme or reason to their placements. Sugar and flour were stacked beside one another, which made sense, and canned things appeared to all be found down the same aisle. But though he hunted high and low, Freddie couldn't seem to find himself a simple pencil. Entirely lost in his scouring of the products around him, it should have been no surprise that he found himself walking right into someone. 

"Shi- I'm sorry!"

He took an instinctive step back, and then another, wanting to give the stranger space to right themselves without his intrusion. At least he'd had the grace to somehow not knock her over.
She was a small woman with long black hair and a man's jacket that seemed too big for her. Her face wasn't one he recognised, and what a hell of a first impression he'd made.

"I'm real sorry, ma'am. Swear I didn't see ya there at all. Not because you're short or anything! I mean. I-I was jus' lookin' at the shelves and then... I ain't know nobody else was here. I didn't mean to. Please say I didn't hurt ya." He bit his lip in anxious anticipation of her response.

||
Taylor
Akira had her own lists of things she was looking to buy at the store. It wasn't written down, in fact it was all in her head. If anything, said shopping list kept growing the more she explored the building.

 Originally, she came for tea, as her father nagged her about it for at least two days. Then, she remembered they ran out of sugar, and then flour, and given the fact that she had no physical reference to read, she came to the realization that a notebook would be useful in the household.

 The woman had to be careful with her spending. While her past injuries were healed, a good portion of fall left the Hirano family with little work to do in the farm. Sure, Akira could chop wood for a quick buck, but money didn't grow on trees as some people would believe. 

Akira was in no rush, however. Exploring the general store was her new adventure for the day, as she focused on each product on the shelves for anything that could be useful for her and her old man. 

Perhaps her sudden fixation on different notebook sizes was that the reason she thought she was alone. Aki hadn't realized there was someone else, at least not until the stranger bumped into her. 

"Weh-!" 

Aki stumbled on her feet with a yelp, more worried over not dropping any of her items rather than falling herself. Somehow, she managed to hold the bag in place while keeping her own balance. She had to use her free arm to hold onto one of the shelves for dear life, the fact that she didn't knock anything over was a miracle. 

The woman looked more startled than upset. Sure, he didn't need to remind her of her size, but she was more focused on the stranger's well being than anything. Her eyes turned towards him, a younger man who seemed to be fearing for his own life. 

"Ah! All good, all good!" Akira giggled as she managed to stand up, waving one hand to reassure him. 

" Don't worry I won't bite you, I wasn't lookin' either. "

That poor boy. The way he stammered made Akira start to wonder if her scar was starting to intimidate people at this point! She felt the need to save face.

"Name's Akira. You can call me Aki! And you are...?"
Margaret
She was laughing, and that put him slightly more at ease when he realised it, relaxing and allowing his shoulders to drop. It didn't seem that she was hurt, which was a relief, and nor was she angry at him for being so caught up in his own world that he'd ploughed headlong into her. She was still on her feet, as he was, nothing was dropped or broken, and she was even introducing herself. So he figured he was safe for the time being. And thank God, because he really didn't want to attract Miss Carina's attention, and having the woman yell at him would definitely have caused something of a scene. 

"Hi, Miss Aki. Yeah, I- I'm still real sorry about that." Cheeks flushed, he folded his arms across his chest, and smiled back at her the best he could. "It's Freddie. It's good to meet you, ma'am - though not the best'a circumstances considerin' I almost took you off your feet." 

As luck would have it, she was standing right in front of just the display he was looking for. He laid eyes on a jar of assorted pencils, all kinds of colours, and reached out to pick up a couple. A purple one - like the flowers he'd given to Florian on Valentine's Day - and a regular charcoal grey one stayed in his hand, while he put back the orange and green with only the slightest bit of regret. He only had a few coins with him, and he needed colours that would show up on the pages. 

"By all means, don't let me interrupt your shoppin' any further, but I gotta pry and ask what you're lookin' for. This place feels like a damn maze sometimes, don't it?" He laughed, but made sure to keep his voice quiet for fear of being overheard. "No disrespect to the owner, a'course. Sure she's doin' her best to keep it all in order on her own."

||
Taylor
"Well, nice to meet you, Freddie!" 

Akira was glad that she had been able to ease the young man's anxieties by just being herself. She found peace in making people smile, it was everything she wanted to do in the end. 

Her gaze followed Freddie's hand as he put some of the pencils he picked up earlier back into the jar. As she turned back to him, she saw the regret on his face. In silence, she counted the coins in her pocket, with a free hand scratching the scar on her cheek as she hummed in thought.

"Oh, you ain't interruptin' anything. It's just easy to get lost in a shop like this!" Akira chuckled. "I was just lookin' for stuff my pa and I may need in the house... And the list just kept getting bigger! " 

The woman then got on her tip toes. She struggled to reach the shelf but her determination was stronger, and used tiny hands to reach out to pick up the same pencils the young man put away.

"Do you write or draw?" She asked, now holding the items. "I can cover cover these for you."
Margaret
He liked her, he decided, and was glad that of all the people he could have bumped into, fate had chosen for him one that didn't mind too much about it. He spun the purple pencil between his fingers as he looked at the things she had in her arms, wondering what he could find out about her from the contents of her shopping. She held paper sacks of sugar and flour, and before he'd run into her she'd been paging through the pile of notebooks stacked all haphazard on the shelf. 
She picked up the pencils he'd put back, and offered to buy them for him, and his cheeks flared pink.

"No - no, that's really not necessary, Miss Aki, I- I can come back for 'em after pay on Friday," He protested. "I don't need 'em. Jus' liked the colours is all... For writin' with. Nothin' important, it's only a journal, so it ain't even like anyone's gonna see it lookin' all pretty. It's a private thing." How pathetic it sounded, said aloud, keeping a diary for the sake of naught but his own selfish wanting. "You don't gotta buy anythin' for me. I work hard, Miss. Ain't in need of charity, kind as it is of ya..." 

||
Taylor
"Well..." Akira hummed in thought for a moment, looking at the pencils she had picked up. "I understand that feeling well."

It was same feeling the young man experienced was reminiscent of the time she and her father came to Briar Ridge for the first time. The Hirano had nothing but what was left of their belongings from their long trip from California, and both daughter and father stubborn on their decision at first.

_'Please just let us work... Is all we want. If you must insist in helping us, at least let us pay your kindness back._' Were the words that came from Akira's father when he first met Mayor Cooper. 

It took a lot of convincing, but the town gave them land and cattle, something that people like the Hirano weren't even able to _own_ in the West coast. 

Sure, comparing their situation to buying pencils were apples to oranges. But how else could Akira pay them back, especially after everything they had gone through in the last months?

"But I'm not offering 'cause I got to. I'm offering because I want to. " Aki continued, handing the pencils to Freddie. "You said you'd get to pay them back on Friday, yes? You're more than free to pay me back by then instead. This way, you get to finish your journal entries sooner. Sounds like a win-win situation to me!"

The woman then looked for the coins in her pocket and counted them. 

"Of course, you're also free to still decline. I trust your hardwork will still allow you to get these pencils by then, too~"
Margaret
Aki was kind. It seemed like a lot of people in Briar Ridge were kind and good, as though the town just attracted the type - and good people were Freddie's favourite type of people. He hadn't known so many of them existed until he came here and saw them at every turn, on the streets and in the homes, and now apparently hidden behind the shelves of the Bigby general store. 
How could he reject her offer a second time when she looked at him with such earnest? He recognised the expression, for it was one he often wore himself, desperate for approval, aching to be accepted and to feel as though he was doing right by the people around him. And so, he accepted the pencils as she pressed them into his hand, and held them to his chest. 

"If you're really sure, Miss Aki, then I'll accept. It's mighty generous of you to be offerin' at all, and I'll owe you back tenfold. Whether that be in money, or a good deed in hand, I promise I'll make it up in good time an' conscience." He smiled, looking down at the colours again. The orange of a winter's sunset on a freezing day, the green of new-growing plants, a sign of spring. He could ask Florian to show him how to draw the leaves again and they'd look a damn sight better in green than they did before. "I'll work all that bit harder knowin' I get to go home and write with 'em, knowin' a nice lady wants me to enjoy 'em all the more. Thank you. Really. I ain't got the words for how I appreciate your kindness."

||
Taylor
How polite this young man was. Akira smiled more and more the more he spoke. She wondered if she'd ever see Freddie's writings, or what good use he'd put to those pencils. The woman knew that at least someone would be there to witness it and appreciate it. 

"Ah, in times like these, kindness is what Briar Ridge needs." The woman said, without the need to overexplain why the whole town had been dealing with such hardships. They dealt with it every full moon. 

Akira's eyes then looked over the counters again, just to make sure she wasn't missing anything from her ever growing shopping list. The brief thought of the werewolf attacks reminded her that she and her father needed to restock in even more items. 

"Is there anything else you're looking for, Mr Freddie?" She said as her hand returned to the scar on her cheek, focusing on the items on the shelve, picking up one or two of them to put them on her paper bag. 

"I feel like I keep needing even more stuff the more I look around here, isn't that funny?" 

The sight was funny indeed, as the bags that Akira was holding became perhaps too big for her small hands, yet it didn't seem like she struggled with the weight.
Margaret
He couldn't help but agree with her every word. Everyone could use some more kindness, and if he could use his time in Briar Ridge to spread even a little then he was for sure going to do it. It was good to know that other people felt the same way, that there was good even in a world that was being ravaged by violent beasts.

*Mr*, she called him, and though he knew he should have been used to it by now at the grand old age of twenty-one, it still sounded nice in her voice. Not a stranger's voice any more, no, Aki was past the point of stranger, had been from more or less the moment she introduced herself to him. He was good at that, jumping straight over the line that was *Acquaintances* And headlong into *Friends* If he judged a person to be the sort he liked to align himself with. Aki definitely fit the bill. She was gentle and accepting and he could see himself enjoying her company, so he only hoped she wouldn't mind him tagging along at her side more often. 

"Tell me about it! I ain't needin' anythin' else - I don't think I'd be allowed to come back to the store if my father knew jus' how much time I'd already wasted here lookin' at all the unnecessary shelves," He admitted with a laugh. "He handles the finances an' the groceries, for good reason too or no doubt I'd be comin' home with more'n pencils and a friend." He grinned at her. "Does mean I can help you with carryin' things if you need it, though. Looks as though you might be needin' extra arm space if you're gonna go pickin' up more yet."

||
Taylor
"Pffffft, and here I am getting lost in these shelves! I wish me and my pa knew how to organize things... Better." Akira admitted with a hearty laugh. "But! We do our best.. It's just the two of us so I can't imagine how it'd be with more people around!" 

Surely, the house would be more of a mess, but the Hirano always appreciate having guests over. The idea of inviting Freddie for a cup of tea or dinner popped in Aki's mind. She knew her old man would adore him, he always had a soft spot for the younger generation. 

But now Akira had other matters in her hands, literally. While she was sturdy, the fact of the matter was that her size still made everyday life harder for her, making her put extra effort into things as simple as reaching shelves, or carrying many bags. 

"Oh, I'm fine...!" The woman would had waved her hand if they weren't so busy. Just after she said that, however, she stumbled. 

"Weh-!"

Yet again, Akira was holding for dear life to a shelf, but now there were casualties. The notebook she just put inside the bag fell off, the sugar bag rolled over like a ball, a couple of cans were dropped. At least the flour was still being held in place, squished in with one arm that held what was left of the bag.

Poor Akira looked at the fallen items with a defeated sigh.

"...Okay maybe I need your help..."
Margaret
Freddie was about to say something when she mentioned her father at home, but as he opened his mouth, he was cut off by her dropping her groceries. Though he dived to try to catch, well, any of it, he wasn't quite fast enough, and everything fell to the ground, the cans making an awful din as they landed. He was just glad that her notebook hadn't lost any pages, as he knelt down to pick things up for her. And he really hoped that the commotion wouldn't attract Miss Carina's attention and end up with them both being kicked out of the store for making a mess!

"I got it! You hold onto that flour." He laughed, making a neat stack of what she'd dropped to make it easier to pick up, the pencils temporarily stuck in his shirt pocket to free up his hands. "I'm good at carrying things, don't worry. And fitting a lot of things into not a lot of space." He thought of the pack on his horse's back and the weeks it had taken to get filling it down to a science, not wasting any room and squeezing everything in tight so the flap would close and keep the contents safe. 

He stood up, her shopping now clutched close to his chest in one arm, leaving him with one hand still free for anything else she ended up needing him to hold onto. "See? Easy. What else do you need? I'll be pack-pony." He grinned.

||
Taylor
How embarrassing, to be struggling with her own feet to the point that she had her groceries scattered on the floor. In the midst of the panic, Akira glanced over two or three times to make sure Miss Carina didn't hear the commotion, now coming to understand the young man's fear towards the woman. 

But nobody came, which gave Freddie the time to pick everything up, and for Aki to attempt to stand up like a normal human being.

"Heh, you know it." Said the woman as she made sure she didn't break the paper bag, that'd sure be the last thing she needed to see. Once it was confirmed that everything was in one piece, Akira was able to breathe again, and she had a free hand, too!

" Well, you sure are very useful, thank you!" She grinned at Freddie, giving him a gentle pack on the back. 

"I think I got everything I was looking for..." Akira then hummed in thought, browsing in the bags again to make sure.

"Wait... No.." She corrected with a laugh, scratching the scar on her cheek. "Think I could use some candy for a snack for later, just a small one! My pa doesn't need to know!"
Margaret
Freddie loved to help, so he truly didn't mind carrying things for Akira. There seemed to be no point in letting his strength go to waste, not that he didn't believe that she could do it on her own. He'd been raised to be a gentleman, after all. And the pencils in his pocket were proof that she, too, was good. There were plenty of people in the world that needed a bit of kindness. 

He couldn't help but grin at her mention of candy. "I think that sounds like a great idea. Like a reward for getting all the things you really needed. Does your pa like sweets too? You could share with him and then he really won't mind at all. What's your favourite kind?" 

She seemed close to her father, just from how she talked about him. Freddie understood that feeling all too well - though he was closer to his mama, he and his father shared an inseparable kind of bond too, forged through years of working side by side and only strengthened as his sisters began to fly the nest and begin families of their own. Freddie knew he was all his parents really had left now, and as their age began to catch up with them he grew more and more responsible for them. He hoped to have them with him for as many years as Aki had with her father. 

||
Taylor
"Actually, now that you mention it..." Akira's eyes lit up the second Freddie brought up the perfect excuse to spend more money. The woman managed to motion her hands as if she tried to snap her fingers, though they were busy carrying her portion of the groceries. 

"He loves chocolate." She said. " As to what kind of candy is my favorite ..Ah, I'm afraid I can't get those around here... "

More than two decades ago, it was her father who used to do the same thing for Akira when she was little. Mako would sometimes return from a hard day of labor, holding a dango skewer for her to indulge. 

 Indeed, Freddie was right with his assumption, Akira was a papa's girl, though at one point in her life she was doted on by both parents. She never talked about her mother though, and it was possible she never would.

 She couldn't remember her face at that point in her life, though she could remember her voice at the very least. 

With a hearty laugh, Aki led Freddie to another aisle. Surely in a town as small as Briar Ridge, the candy section wouldn't be nearly as extensive as the ones she saw in San Francisco, but even then, the woman was just as excited to bring something nice to her pa.
Margaret
Freddie beamed as he followed her - she was easy to talk to, the two of them more or less bouncing off one another, and any worries he might have had about bothering Miss Carina upon entering the shop had all but evaporated now. He was all smiles and laughter, close behind Aki as she located the few shelves that held chocolates and candies, still being careful so as to not drop her groceries. 

"I like chocolate too. Your pa has good taste. Even if they ain't got your favourite sweets here, I'd still like ta' know what they are. And tell you what - next time my mama bakes, I'll be sure to save you both somethin', alright? She's a real talented lady when it comes to cakes an' the like." He couldn't hide the note of pride in his voice when he spoke of his mother, for though delicate tasks like the decorating didn't come so easy to her these days, she still did all she could to make sure there was always something sweet in the pantry. If he closed his eyes and thought real hard he could imagine the taste of her shortbread cookies, or the sweet cherry pies she always made in the season when the fruit was at its best. 

||
Taylor
Akira was endeared by Freddie's excitement and curiosity. She was used to people not showing plenty of interest in her own culture. In the past, some people even rejected her by simply looking at her. But Briar Ridge was different, like a mother's warm hug as she welcomed you back home.

"Oh so, you wanna hear my favorite type of dessert and candy?" She giggled after taking a chocolate bar. 

"Oh, my favorite sweet is a dumpling made out of rice flour called _dango_" Akira's intonation changed as she said the word out loud, now visibly excited "They come in different varieties, and some are even seasonal! I'm pretty sure my family back at home is gonna eat plenty of those once spring hits, everyone gathers to see cherry blossom flowers bloom. It's a beautiful festivity. " 

And now, Akira was hit with the Lovejoy's kindness, her heart melted at the idea of having homemade cakes and cookies offered. 

She felt so undeserving of the people of Briar Ridge.

"I'll trust your word and I'll be more than glad to try your mama's cooking! Tell you what, once I get the chance to visit you, I'll bring some tea. Gotta do my part, right?"
Margaret
Freddie smiled as he listened to her talk. Sure, he'd never heard of the sweets she mentioned, he wasn't even so sure he knew what rice flour was, but her passion was the kind that was contagious even in small doses, and he was just happy to have made a friend. A friend who smiled and gushed over the things she was excited about, much the way he did. Someone who wouldn't look upon him like he was a child for it.

He liked Akira. And she seemed to like him.

"Tea and cakes go great together!" He agreed, rounding the last of the shelves and realising that together they'd made their way to the end of the small store, and there was nothing to do but go up to Miss Carina before they had to go their separate ways. Despite himself, Freddie found himself shrinking back at the concept of facing up to the stern store-keeper, and he let his new-found friend go first up to the register, though he still held most of her things. 

Outside, his new pencils tucked into his pocket and her groceries transferred into bags to make them easier to carry, he thanked her again and promised to pay her back when his wages next came to him on Friday. 
From there, he turned, and headed off in the direction of home, though he stopped on the corner to wave to her one last time before they disappeared from one another's sights. 



|| a whole month and some change later,,, I finally come to end this. I am so sorry it took so long