When Marron woke up, something was already sizzling in a pan, and the smell of pancakes filled her nose. It wasn't the angry sizzle of a too-hot pan. Instead, it was the confident sizzle of someone who knew how to cook.
Mokko's gotten really good at this. Maybe that's part of his skill as a culinary guardian?
She shuffled out from under the covers and found Mokko at the stove, apron on, flipping pancakes that could double as shields. Lucy slowly oozed on a stool, watching him flip with the kind of amazement most people reserved for fireworks.
"Good morning," Marron mumbled, half-yawning.
"Sit," Mokko said, without turning. "First batch is almost ready."
She sat. "What's the occasion?"
"We've got a supply list to make. Fuel for the brain."
Lucy raised a shiny tendril. "And paint. Bright colors. Candy colors."
Mokko slid a pancake onto Marron's plate. "Lumber. Nails. Hammer. Paint goes last."
Marron cut into the pancake and sighed in approval.
"Okay, yes, lumber and nails first makes sense. But paint's not last. We also need rope, a barrel for the well, sacks for grain—"
"Pie tins," Lucy said.
"We don't have an oven at Meadowbrook," Mokko pointed out.
Lucy tilted just enough to look tragic.
"But if we did..."
Breakfast turned into a full negotiation session.
Marron scribbled on the back of an old envelope while trying to keep syrup off her fingers. By the time they were done, the list read: barrels, nails, rope, hammer, sacks, pie tins, paint, candy jars, possibly oven? in progressively messier handwriting.
The salt air and coastal wind hit them as soon as they stepped outside. Beyond the Seaglass Lounge's balcony, the market was already in full swing. She saw bread stalls with open baskets, fishmongers yelling prices, and, best of all, the unmistakable tail wag of a wolfkin vendor selling spices.
"I'll be surprised if that's the only wolfkin I see today. Let's get going."
+
At the market, a snakekin baker waved a steaming loaf under Marron's nose.
"Fresh from the oven, chef!"
Tempting. Especially since she used a lot of seeds... But Marron kept moving.
She had a mission, and made a List.
But then--
"Seeds!" Lucy shouted, pointing at a stall stacked with little paper packets.
"Grow in Meadowbrook! Like candy plants!"
The seed seller blinked. "Like strawberries?"
Lucy bobbed decisively. "Yes."
They left with a few seed packets, a coil of sturdy rope, and a bundle of nails from a blacksmith who threw in a jar of wood polish "for the cause."
Every seller wanted to know what Marron was building, and she tried to keep it vague without sounding suspicious. While she was at the cooper's stand, Marron ran her hands along a smooth water barrel. That was when she heard voices from a nearby stall.
"Yes, so...human from the feast. Got the Snake Queen and the Jackal Lord to eat at the same table."
"Means she can pull people together," the other voice said. "And if she's fixing up that old commons... some might see a free bed and a place to take from."
Marron didn't look up. She pressed her palm to the barrel's curve like she was checking for leaks, and waited until the voices blended back into the noise of the crowd.
Yeah. That was what I wanted for Meadowbrook Commons. Just a place for people to rest. It's okay Marron. It's okay.
She reminded herself that they weren't going to talk her out of building for Meadowbrook Commons, they were just...talking. So Marron picked the barrel and gave the seller the Seaglass Lounge as her delivery address.
The snakekin immediately got excited. "So you're--"
"Mmhm. Marron. Chef who hosted the Feast."
"O-oh my, please take the barrel, you don't even have to trade me anything!"
Marron looked at the hyperventilating snakekin with concerned eyes. "Are...you sure?"
"Are you kidding me? The mere fact that Chef Marron herself is choosing a barrel from my store...such an honor! My trades will more than double!"
As soon as the words left her mouth, about five people turned their heads to look at them.
"Oh! It's her, the chef! She bought something from that vendor? They must be really good...might be worth picking up a few things before I go."
Marron thanked the seller and quickly left the stall.
Even in another world, people could still be influenced into trading something.
+
By the time they got back to the Seaglass Lounge, she and Mokko were both carrying armfuls of supplies. Lucy bounced ahead, somehow carrying nothing but managing to look like she'd contributed the most.
They wedged the barrel into the kitchen corner and unpacked the rest. Marron took out her copper bowls and set to work on dough for simple rolls. Lucy helped by poking the flour to "check its quality," and Mokko kept declaring himself the official taste-tester.
The smell of warm bread and melting jam filled the kitchen. They ate the first rolls straight from the tray, jam running in shiny red lines down the sides.
"So first," Marron said, licking jam from her thumb, "we patch the roofs. Then fix the well, set up the barrel, maybe add a bench. Paint comes after."
Lucy sighed. "Fine. But I'm choosing the color."
That night, Marron sat on the balcony with the enchanted lantern glowing steadily beside her. Across her lap was a scrap of sanded pine, painted a dark blue, thanks to Lucy.
She dipped her brush in white paint and with slow, careful strokes, she painted:
Welcome, Traveler.
Rest up before continuing your journey.
It was a small sign. But the moment the letters dried under the lantern's light, Meadowbrook Commons felt a little more real.
Like it ceased becoming a village she saw on her virtual map and became a place of possibility. Where someday people could walk into and just knew it would be your home.
Maybe it's a little delusional to think about all that from finishing this one sign, but...I have a good feeling about this one.
And now I have a sign to put up the next time we're there.
She looked up and saw Lucy, fast asleep in her glass jar.
Across from her, Mokko had fallen asleep sanding some more planks. In the future, they would be used to repair the rundown houses and maybe even a food stall or two.
She stretched, and, placing the brush back in its water cup, decided this was a good place to stop.
Each day, Marron was inching closer to 'We've done all that we can in Snakewater Cove. It's time to repair one house in Meadowbrook.'