Missrecalled TDM 6

[missrecalled_mods]

Auradon

Jack Frost Nipping At Your Nose

While the dusting of snow everyone had woken up to shortly after returning from the Isle is long gone, cold weather is definitely settling in in Auradon. There has yet to be any more snow, but the leaves are all but gone from the non-evergreen trees and most mornings the school's lawns are covered with glittering frost. Time to curl up by the fire with a cup of hot cocoa, coffee, or tea, and a good book or snuggle up in bed under an extra blanket.

Except not so fast. Because while normally there might be servants around to do things like prepare fireplaces and chimneys, hunt out extra bedding, and make various other cold weather preparations, that's not the case now. And that's not even mentioning needing to figure out if they need to put the ent in the greenhouse for the season, and how to get it in there if they do. Best get to work!

A Sweet Surprise

Those wandering in the school's gardens, meanwhile, will find themselves in for a surprise. Because despite the coming winter, three of the school's rosebushes- one red, one white, and one yellow- have overnight sprouted numerous buds. No leaves, just flower buds. Upon closer inspection, however, it becomes clear that the buds aren't normal flowers, but are instead made of candy. If plucked, they come away cleanly from their branches, and prove to have the consistency of stiff taffy; fairly solid while out in the cold, but softening quickly in the mouth or ungloved hand. The red buds will prove to be cinnamon flavored, the white peppermint, and the yellow butterscotch.

The question is, what to do with this new development? Pluck them and eat them right away? Wait a bit and hope they bloom into full on candy flowers? Study them to better understand their obviously magical nature? Better decide fast though, before any of the local cute woodland creatures catch wind of the sugary bounty.

Gone Fishin'

It's rare that Auradon takes a page from the Isle's book, but now that both of them have access to the coast, it's hard to deny that having access to the ocean is a handy way to supplement their food supply. And while not everyone might want to sit outside for extended periods as the weather gets colder, the coming winter does make for a prime chance to harvest things like crabs and other shellfish. Of course, for those who are willing to brave the cold, they'll find the waters teeming with herring. Like, a lot of herring. So many herring that the water looks silver with them in the right light. A few particularly enterprising people could even probably take one of the smaller fishing trawlers out to catch a whole netful of the things, but best only do that if they've figured out away to clean and preserve their catch before it spoils.

An Enchanted Adventure

It is still weird to see how different the world outside is now, compared to Abula Alma's stories, isn't it? So much has changed, but at least the people have been welcoming so far.

In the interest of being available to help set up for a party the next morning, though, spending the night in the dorm rather than in Casita made sense. At least... it did when the idea was suggested.

But now... how is one supposed to rest in a place this quiet and still? Maybe someone else is also awake and looking to talk? Or maybe just getting some fresh air will help you settle?

Isle

Herring Do

Did we mention there are a lot of herring in the waters around Auradon lately? Because there are. So many that even those on the Isle are having a relatively easy time reeling them in. This makes for a prime opportunity to shore up their ever shaky food supplies, but again, only if the fish can be cleaned and preserved fast enough. Which given the Isle's smaller population and said population's general lack of teamwork skills isn't as easy as it sounds. It's always something, right?

The Weather Outside Is Frightful

Cold weather is setting in, not just in Auradon, but on the Isle, and given the general lack of insulation in the school and overall scarce resources, this is something of a problem. Staying inside provides at least some protection of course, enough to remove the true dangers of exposure, but even there it's still chilly. Made worse by the ever present humidity in the air making sure it's damp and chilly in most places. Finding ways to keep warm is thus a concern on most everyone's mind.

Of course, with all the thorny vines blocking them in, there's a potential solution readily available. The vines, and even the thorns themselves, would likely make for excellent firewood, and clearing them in the right direction would make them that much closer to being able to access the bridge, killing two birds with one stone. The catch, of course, is finding a means to chop them up and dry the pieces enough to burn well. In the mean time, at least the exertion of trying is likely to warm one up a bit. Right?

Cleaning House

Being stuck inside more often has made it even more obvious than usual that the normal denizens of the Isle don't have a clue how to keep house. Yes, the place is something of a dump, in more ways than one, but that didn't mean it was necessary to lean into it the way they clearly did. There might not be much to be done about the multiple layers of graffiti covering most paintable surfaces or the general griminess, but cleaning up all the random bits of trash scattered around the school? That is definitely doable.

Time to grab a broom (if you can find one) and get to work. Of course if you can't find a broom, bare hands will have to do. But hey, that way you might actually find something useful among the trash. It's a possibility, at least. Or so you keep telling yourself.

Comments

[believe_it_or_not]

"We just arrived here too," she said apologetically. "Me and Grey." Because there was no magic in any worlds strong enough to separate that. She believed in it with all she had, and he disbelieved in his own way, and so far it had worked for them. "But look at it this way," she said. "Now you got two new friends already!"