ROLEPLAY HQ - dungeons-and-dice-rolls

Winter was in full swing, this side of the Central U.S. The small town of Beaver Creek, somewhere off in the lowest left corner of Minnesota. Out of the way, less than 300 people residing there, and even less households split between them. The highway was where most of the population resided. Passing through, rarely stopping. The town itself was much like any other. And aside from a few attractions, easily forgettable. Danny Thomas was one of the few souls to be born within the town. Used to its small size, and population. And despite the odds, he took it upon himself to found the Woodsman's Waycraft, inspired by his character, Moreau. With few friends to occupy his time, much of it was spent learning how to create things related to his favorite passtime. Creating props. Shields, potions, tables, dice, and even a few fantasy inspired candies. Nothing was truly off-limits. Nor was there any set direction, or theme for his shop. As long as it made him happy, even if it did not bring many customers. Sat on the corner of a small street, the building was bought in disrepair. The floorboards were tarnished, and rickety, the paper of the walls peeling. But, Danny somehow seemed to use this to his benefit, leaning into its rather old nature by adding fur rugs, and furniture. Utilizing his props to cover up the worst of it. It was almost like an artform. And he was immersing himself in his own little world. This particular day, a thin layer of snow dusted the ground. It was common for Minnesota to be cold. But the day seemed rather windy, and miserable. Enough so that even a shop as worn down as the Woodsman's Waycraft would seem warm and welcoming. Danny sat behind the counter, legs kicked up, as he flipped idly through a book. The hearth functioned, and so it was rather warm. The shop was open everyday, even if no one really ever came.

09:32

@Naka in Wonderland

She could hear the snow crunching underneath her boots as she once again made her way over to the small shop that lived at the end of the street. She had been here before many times, yet every time she had kept walking. She pulled her scarf closer over her chin as small clouds were forming out of her nose in the cold. Her ginger hair just barely peeking out from underneath her hat. She reached the little window that was by the shop and peeked inside of it. The shop barely ever changed and she didn’t think she had ever seen someone actually inside of it. The fire was on and the wooden inside made it so inviting. She saw the owner sitting at his desk. This time he was simply reading a book, the times before she had seen him mixing liquids or chipping away at a piece of wood. “Come on Liv, you know you want to go inside.” She tried to talk to herself. She stayed for another ten seconds, her hand on the doorknob. Eventually she took a deep breath and pushed the door open. When the door opened the warmth from the inside instantly greeted her. Going from the white world outside into the yellows, browns and red that were dominant inside the shop. It was almost like stepping into a whole different world. She closed the door behind her softly, half hoping the owner wouldn’t even notice that she had come in. She stayed in the small hallways as she took of her hat and scarf as it as to warm inside to keep them on. Her hair fell in red waves around her shoulders as her eyes looked around in bewilderment.

@Stellar

The icy cold of the metal doorknob gnawed at her hand the longer it remained, until she had finally made her choice, and opened the door. Heat poured from the shop as she stepped inside, and a small bell rang as the door was opened. While it could not be seen from Olivia's point of view, she could hear what happened as soon as the bell was heard. "Wha-- oh wai-- NO!" And then a crash. One could surmise the ringing of the bell caught him by surprise, and the chair he was sitting in had fallen over. A groan followed shortly after, as well as the chair being picked up and set back to its original position. The room inside was certainly similar to something out of a novel, even if a lot of it appeared cheap and-- handmade, putting it kindly. The fur rugs were authentic however, as well as all of the furniture in place. Several tables and chairs could be seen from the hallway, a lot of them with small tabletop board displays. Grassy fields, snowy mountaintops. There were even some 3D printed models of castle interiors, and ships, as well as some hand painted figures to go with each. There were about three or four tables in total, each with little price tags marking their cost. And past them, were a set of stairs leading up to the right, towards the main room, and the source of the commotion. "Uh-- welcome.. Hey.. If anyone just walked in." He called out from behind the counter, fixing his hair. He could be heard mumbling thereafter. "..I hope the wind didn't just blow open the door and I sound like an idiot.."

@Naka in Wonderland

The crash didn’t go unnoticed and all it did was make her stay in the little hallway, still out of sight of the guy who had been reading a book a moment ago. She could hear him scramble from the floor and the moving of his chair. She rolled up her scarf in her hands as she was unsure if she just wanted to turn around and leave again. “Uh— welcome.. Hey.. If anyone just walked in.” She heard him say from around the corner. “..I hope the wind didn’t just blow open the door and I sound like an idiot..” he continued as she didn’t answer him yet. She couldn’t just turn around now and leave.. So she stepped forward, out of the little hallway and into the more open space in the shop. She stopped only a few steps in and put her hand up in a slightly awkward wave. “Uhm.. Hi.” She just said back with a shy smile. Her cheeks were slightly red from the sudden warmth after the cold. She was wearing a long dark green coat that reached till almost her knees and accentuated her small waist. Underneath was a black skinny jeans and a pair of black boots. She held her other hand in front of her, clutching into a small handbag. “I just uhmm.. wanted to look around.”

@Stellar

As she stepped around the corner, she could see Danny standing behind his counter glancing towards the hallway, his eyes meeting her own. Out of all the people he did see enter his shop, it always seemed to surprise him when a woman was one of the few customers, today being no exception. There was a fair bit of awkwardness in this realization, but he quickly pushed this observation to the side, still recovering from the fact that he just fell on the floor like an idiot. "O-oh! Right. Sure, yeah.." He stammered through his words. "The first floor as you saw are all of my battlemaps and figure props, you'll find buildings, bridges, landscapes, environment stuff there. Then up here I keep all of my immersive props like wall hangings, mock potions, shields, faux weapons. Up here by the counter I have some candies that I made to mimic magical treats, and stuff." He would pause, pointing to the far end of the shop, furthest from Olivia. "And way over there I keep all my dice, small figures, player handbooks, and a few small tables for groups if they need a place to play. I allow game nights on Wednesdays and Fridays at around five in the evenings." The way he spoke seemed to imply that he knew Olivia was already accustomed to the tabletop genre. Afterall, everyone who had entered previously knew what they were doing. Olivia, following blind instinct, was one of the very first of her kind. The first soul to enter out of sheer curiosity, rather than a knowing desire of what she was after.

She listened to his explanation of what was all in the shop and the more world came out of his mouth the less she knew where she actually needed to look. She had been interested in the shop because it looked like it came straight out of a storybook, she had never even though about what it would be selling. But even with the confusion clear on her face she was to embarassed to tell him so. "I see." She just said, trying to seem like she knew what she was talking about. She played the conversation one more time in her head and looked over at the tables. So was it a game? He had mentioned dice. But all the games she knew came in boxes that contained everything you needed to play. This one seemed to involve so much more. She walked over to one of the scenes that were build there. It was complete with animals, buildings, roads, graslands and people. It reminded her of the christmas villages that some people made. She carefully picked up one of the miniatures and looked at it. It was a woman with long hair made into two braids and a fireball in the palm of her hand. "Do you make these?" She asked.

Danny had taken a seat after pointing everything out, glancing over to one of the figures she pointed out. "Oh, those? I make a few of them, yeah. Some of them I buy and paint myself. Others I print and then paint over." It didn't quite click with him that she was in over her head just yet. Maybe it was that she was a bit far to really read her expression, or maybe he was truly just oblivious, but he tried his very best to just let her be. Especially considering if he was too nosey he feared he would just scare her off. Either way, he sat behind the counter once more, looking down to his book. Even though there was no chance he was reading it in that moment. Appearing as though he were doing something, if anything.

@Naka in Wonderland

“Cool.” She said with a bit of a smile on her face as she looked over the little miniature once more. She placed it back on the display with care, putting it exactly from the spot she had taken it. She walked into the store more, taking slow steps as she took everything in that was around her. All the decor around the store was giving her more ideas for stories. She could imagine this being some sort of tavern in a fantasy setting. The place where he was would be the bar, the tables for the game would hold customers. There would be people around the hearth warming up. She picked up several things and looked them over, but always put them back down. Even though she liked what she saw, she didn’t know what to do with it. Eventually she landed in the section that had the rulebooks and dice. She couldn’t help but be surprised when the rulebook was a big bulky thing. What was this game and why was there enough to it to create an entire store? She picked up a set of dice from the table. They were partly see through with streaks of red/orang and yellow that made it look like they were on fire. The numbers were painted in gold. She brought the to a little rolling area where there were already dice and let one of them roll.

@Stellar

As she walked through, she could see the several other things he'd pointed out. The entrance of the shop was stone, but up the small set of stairs towards the main area were where there were wooden boards. And they creaked with every step, no matter how quiet one tried to be. Walking through, she would catch a glimpse at several of the immersive props. On one particular table were bottles of various unusual shapes, with liquids of unusual colors. Some were shimmering and red, some were glittery and blue, along with some saturated yellow, and purple ones. They all had corks with a wax seal on top of them, and tags around the bottlenecks with various labels. HP, MP, STR, INT Further along were other various items, a few prop weapons, such as daggers, or swords. Candles, skulls, kegs, keysz each of which with their own little price tags. Finally, Olivia had made it to the far end of the shop. Finding that, not only was there just one book, there were several editions. Each supposedly with different rulesets, campaigns, playable characters, classes, sub-classes, and likely a whole lot of other things that probably hurt her brain just thinking about. So much so that the distraction of pretty dice was all too enticing. The specific dice she had picked out were part of a set. There was a bin with assorted dice of varying colors, shapes, and sizes, and then there were those like the ones she had picked up, placed in a neat drawstring bag, with a thematic sounding name. These specific fiery looking dice were labeled 'Solar Flare'. As she examined them, and brought one over to roll, she would feel that they were rather light. The edges were sharp, the shape of each dice was very satisfying to behold. She let the twenty-sided dice roll onto the table. And once it settled... 13 Danny looked up from behind the counter as he heard the dice land on the table. "Ah- you a dice hoarder too? I've racked up quite the collection over the years. I've started making the

21:07

m only recently. But I've always been fascinated by the themes and naming conventions of each dice set. It's like art, in a way."

@Naka in Wonderland

She looked down at the dice as it finished rolling. 13. An unlucky number. She wasn’t the type to particularly care for superstition, yet this time she took note of it. She almost jumped when the owner suddenly spoke behind her again. She quickly turned and found him looking at her with a smile on his face. He seemed excited. “I.. Uhm..” she stammered as she looked at the dice in her hand. “These would be my first.” She just said as she picked the d20 back up and placed it back in the little velvety bag that they had come in. She closed the drawstring and kept them in her hand. She would get those in the very least. Even if she didn’t know how to play, they would be nice to just play around with. She was the type to fidget a lot. She looked back up at the immense row of books again, reading their spines. Some just had names that made them seem almost like story books, but others were clearly part of rules or information for the game. “Do you need all these books to play? There are so many.” She asked, perhaps finally giving Danny the hint that she had no clue what she was doing here.

@Stellar

Danny blinked for a few moments, finally realizing that perhaps Olivia didn't really know about tabletop RPG's like he initially thought she might. "Oh-- I'm sorry. I was sort of under the impression you already knew all about this stuff." He laughed a bit awkwardly, scratching behind his head for a moment. "Ah, yeah. You don't need all of them necessarily. Essentially the thing with dungeons and dragons is that they've made changes to the way the game is played over the years. Whether it be making new campaigns for players to explore, or adding new rules to make the game more interesting. Some books are more focused around the mechanics and rules, while others talk more about the stories, enemies, items, encounters, and so on. It's a bit hard to explain, but usually you wouldn't need to worry about all of that if you were just planning to play the game." He smiled slightly. "Were you curious about learning more about it?"

@Naka in Wonderland

She could feel the heat rising to her cheeks as he said he had assumed she knew all about what he was talking about. “I really don’t.” She just said in a soft voice. She wished she had her scarf on still so she could hide away in it. Yet he didn’t laugh at her, instead he took his time to explain the books to her and she followed what he was pointing towards with her eyes. Even with everything he was telling her she had no clue how everything connected. She saw miniatures that seemed like landscapes. She had seen maps that looked like they were from whole made up countries. There were the dice as well and the immense rack of books. When he asked if she was curious to learn more about it she looked his way again and nodded. “I think so.” She said to him as she really looked at him for the first time. So far she had been trying to avoid eye contact, but he seemed kind. He was cute. She instantly found herself looking at his brown curls that fall messily around his face. She almost wanted to run her hands through it. His glasses seemed to fit him very well. He was quite a bit taller then she was and shouldn’t be too far off her own age. Maybe a bit older. She felt herself being jealous of his shop. He seemed so in his element when she had seen him working on his things the previous times she had walked by, she desperately wanted to feel that at home somewhere. “How do you play?”

@Stellar

It seemed his nerves all but washed away when it came to talking about what he liked. Somewhere along the lines he had moved from behimd the counter to join her, standing just a few steps behimd her. Tall was certainly a fitting word for him. Not incredibly so, but at least a solid six feet from the ground. His hair seemed to naturally curl in all the right places. And his choice in clothing seemed somewhat vintage, or dated by today's standards. A checkered patchwork longsleeve shirt, and brown pants, with a necklace he'd likely made himself. A silver chain, with what appeared to be a small dragon's egg at the end of it. It was black, with flecks of red throughout. "Well," He started. "It's a lot easier to think of it in a video game perspective. More specifically an RPG. Even though this is the precursor to video games, they essentially play in the same way. So, you would make a character, by picking a race. Like human, elf, orc, and so on. Then your class. Fighter, ranger, sorceress. And then after making a cjaracter sheet, you can essentially play the game."

@Naka in Wonderland

She couldn't say that his explanation helped her much in understand what she was meant to do. She looked around again and remembered the miniatures. "Like the miniatures?" she asked. She had seen them and they seemed interesting. She had seen others play the video games he was talking about. She had seen people playing as elves and orcs and dwarfs. She also knew from books that she had read about different types of fantasy. Yet it didn't explain how you actually played the game. She didn't see how making a character could let you play a game. "So you make a uhmm... character?" she said, trying to remember the way he had called it. "And then what? How do you win the game?" because that was what games were about right? The goal was always to win the game.

@Stellar

"Right, so you would make your character, get all your stats and stuff out of the way. And after which, actually playing the game is quite simple. At its base, it is a roleplaying game, or an RPG. The game is about roleplay. So, you have a dungeonmaster, or a DM, for short. This person is basically the guide for the entire game. They tell you about all of the places you are going to. They are responsible for describing the world in a way that feels compelling and immersive. And they also make the rules." He would pause, letting her process that informatuom before continuing. "You, as the player, are playing, or pretending to be a character. So, if you are an elven ranger, you act like an elven ranger. Each book has a different campaign, or story. These act as the objective for your characters. So if one campaign is about, I don't know-- killing giants. Your group will be guided by the DM to kill giants and save a town or something. That's an oversimplification of it. The campaigns are really long. Some of them take several years to actually complete."

@Naka in Wonderland

"Years? To play a game?" she couldn't keep the surprise from her face. It didn't even sound like a game really in the way that he was talking about it. She tried to put together what he was saying to her inside of her head. "So.. it is almost like telling a story?" she said, hoping that this time she was understanding it right. She loved writing stories. She was always writing little snippets in her journal about fantasy worlds far away or alternative universes that she would like to be in. She even had this character she liked to write as and pretend it was her. Pretend that she wasn't a shy person, but outgoing and fun. But telling that story to others? She wasn't entirely sure she could do that. Just the thought of it made her feel flustered and cling the little dice bag to her chest. "Isn't it weird to like.. pretend to be someone else?" she asked him, wondering what his thoughts on it were. He probably didn't care about it much. He ran this shop, this game must be special to him or he wouldn't do it. "I don't know if I could do that."

@Stellar

Danny smiled at her last statement. "Well it's not for everyone. But I personally don't think it's weird. Afterall, people act in movies, and in plays. It's a lot like that, just without a script to follow. You kind of just follow what your character would want to do. The game is less about one large victory, and more about the small personal victories you achieve along the way." He would payse, moving over to the few dice sets within their bafs, and tidying them up, before looking back to her once more. "I felt the same when I first started, you know. It's certainly a bit odd, at least to start. But it's easier when you're around friends and people that you know well. It grows on you. Yeah? And I know if I can do it there's no way that you couldn't do it." He stopped in his tracks, realizing what he said might've sounded.. Flirty. "Uh, just.. Because I'm weird, and you're not.. haha.." He turned away from her, starting to move back in front of the counter.

@Naka in Wonderland

07:58

(Sorry about my fat thumbs and typos lol)

Stellar

(Sorry about my fat thumbs and typos lol)

(I will have them to eventually xD haha)

He might think what he was telling her was helping, the part about people acting in movies, but she was sure that she couldn't do that either even if she tried. She would freeze the moment someone saw her doing it, scared that they thought she was weird or doing it wrong. It was one of those fears for failure that she had never been able to get over. She did better being in a corner and watching other people do it and then writing about it in a book that would never be seen by anybody else. Her whole life was basicly done within her own little comfortable bubble and not many got to come into that bubble with her. She bit down on her lip when he claimed that he was the weird one there, that was not how she felt. "You are not weird.." she just said as she looked away from him and into the shop. "You have your own shop, doing what you like doing most." or at least it seemed like that. She almost wanted to tell him about how it had taken her about ten trips before she had even worked up the courage to walk inside, but she didn't think that would be good to tell him. "Could I just.. watch sometime?" she asked, not sure yet if playing was what she wanted, she didn't yet fully understand what playing meant.

@Stellar

Danny sucked in his lower lip at the mention of having a shop, doing what he liked most. He traced one of his hands along the wooden surface of the counter, before turning back towards Olivia. Did he really want to tell her? Mention how his shop was likely going out of business within a few months, at best? He glances towards her. The hopeful question of just wanting to observe one of the games as they happened. How could he ruin that? "Uhh- I.. Yeah. Sure. I haven't really played myself in a while. There's not ehm.. I don't really know a lot of people interested in playing, if you get me. But, there is a group that comes in on Thursdays. Five in the evening to ten at night. I'm sure they wouldn't mind if you wanted to watch. I usually do.." He'd offer a faint smile, before glancing towards the dice she'd picked. "Do you like those dice? I'm not really a resin dice kind of guy, but they are probably the prettiest. Next to metal dice anyways. That's my preference."

@Naka in Wonderland

She didn't notice the hesitation in him when she had mentioned his shop, she had been looking around her instead of at him. She was still amazed everytime she looked around it. All the decorations spoke to her so much. She really wanted to sit down at one of the tables and write. She felt so inspired by the space. She wondered if that was why people played the game he seemed to like so much. To escape into those fantasies, to be inspired to use their creativity. "I would like that.. if you could ask them if that is alright? I don't want to be rude and just show up." She chuckled nervously. Even just watching a group of people play like that somehow felt intimidating, but her curiosity won it this time. She looked down at the dice in her hand when he mentioned them. The red and oranges were still visible from the opening in the velvet bag. "Yeah." She said, giving him probably her most genuine smile so far. "They look like little bonfires that were frozen in time." She said with a smile as she looked over to the other dices. He mentioned he liked the metal ones so she picked one of them up. It was cold to the touch even in the warm shop with sharp edges. "It's so heavy compared to the other ones."

@Stellar

He watched as she picked up one of the sets of metal dice. It had a gilded trim around its edges, encasing purple dragon scales carved upon the metal within, and golden numbers. They were ornate, and as she had mentioned, heavy. "Those are the Royal Scales set. I like metal dice because they just have a bit of heft to them. The rolls feel more satisfying. And-- I don't like to be that guy, but, personally. I think they roll better than other dice." He'd offer a half shrug. "Either way, I don't really think I need to ask. I mean I will-- but I figured you could just come, hang out with me by the counter. We could eat a few fireballs.. Just.. Relax. Y'know?" He seemed to skip around the words a bit, trying to find a way to word it without sounding like he wanted to spend time with her, or make it seem like some sort of date. In reality it seemed like a simple offer. But to him, he didn't really think of himself as the sort that people liked to hang out with.

@Naka in Wonderland

“They are pretty.” She said giving him a smile. “But, I think I like those others more.” She decided and placed the dice back on the table, making sure the set stayed together. She love seeing how much he was into whatever this was. She liked people who were passionate about things, admired them from a distance. She looked back up at him, tucking her ginger hair behind her ear as she felt a small bit of a blush rise to her cheeks again. When he invited her to just come and hang out with him anyway that blush only became even worse. She hated how easily she blushed. Stop it Liv.. he is just being nice. She told herself. “I just.. think it I would prefer if they were alright with it.” She said, biting down slightly on her bottom lip. “If they are really pretending to be others I just.. It would feel like reading a story somebody wrote and I wouldn’t do that without asking them first.” She tried to compare it to something she knew. “So what would you recommend I buy to get started?” She then asked, trying to change the subject to something else.

@Stellar

Danny already seemed like quite the oblivious sort. Thus, it came as no surprise that her blush flew right over his head. "Oh-- okay. I'll ask them. Sure.." He struggled to pace his words in a way that wasn't awkward, but smiled, moving onto the next subject. It seemed equally as beneficial to him as it did to her. "Well if you did want to play. As a player you don't really need much. The DM will usually have the books on hand as he will use them quite frequently. They can also be a bit expensive, so not everyone needs one. They do help to make your character, but you could honestly just pull something up on a laptop or phone for free. Other than that. Paper, pencils, and a character sheet. I sell the character sheets, but you could print one of those up at home. So honestly, a pair of dice and you can already go a long way. Unless you wanted a figurine for your character."

@Naka in Wonderland

It just seemed that the moment he started to talk about the game that he was so invested in, he would confused her. “DM?” She said looking confused. Who was that and why was it important that they had the books? Was that the person who told the story that the others followed? She just shook her head, hoping that it would make sense once she could watch some people play it. “So.. just dice.” She said and looked back at the little dice bag in her hand. She had already decided to get those. She walked with him towards the counter and looked around one more time. The displays were beautiful and part of her wanted to learn how to make them. Maybe she would ask him one time, but she felt like she had already wasted a lot of his time.

08:42

She placed the dice on the counter and as about to open her handbag when she saw the little last minute pick up items he had laying around the counter. There was a pen that had a little black and gold dragon sitting at the top of it. She added that to the dice on the counter as well. “Then I would like these please.”

@Stellar

"Ah, DM is the uh dungeonmaster. I don't know if I said that already. I thought I did. But they are the one who tells the story essentially." He would nod, wandering behind the counter as she was getting readied to check out. He didn't have any barcodes on anything necessarily, just typing on an old fashioned cash register. "Okay.. so, one set of resins, annnd the pen." He'd finish punching in on the register, as it dinged and the drawer popped open. "Comes to about $20. I won't charge you for the pen." He'd smile.

@Naka in Wonderland

She got her handbag open then and got a wallet out that had a small cat charm on it’s zipper along with a small bell that made a small sound as she opened it. She was about to get the $20 bill out of her wallet when he said he wouldn’t charge her for the pen. “No.. I want to pay for it.” She said as she looked up at him with a bit of a frown on her face. Why would he give her the pen for free? She took an extra 5$ bill out and placed it on the counter along with the 20$ that she had already put down. She was not going to accept not paying for something like that. She had wanted it, so she would pay for it. Once the money was on the counter she took out the journal she carried with her always. A pink booklet that was held closed with an elastic band. The edges were damaged from how much time it spend in her bag and it as clearly a well used notebook. She clipped the pen into the cover before placing it back into her handbag.

@Stellar

Danny seemed a bit confused when she would not accept the pen for free, but would nod after a moment, taking the $20 bill and putting it away as he made change for the $5, handing back around $3.50 when it was all said and done. "Well-- okay. There you are." He'd gesture to the dice after he'd taken the money he was owed. "Feel free to come back anytime, I practically live here." He'd snicker quietly. "Miss.. uh.." He stopped, realizing that they'd never even exchanged names. Awkwardness set in, as it had felt like he knew her more than he did most people, at this point. He tried to correct himself. "Enjoy the rest of your night, miss."

@Naka in Wonderland

Olivia took the change that he gave her back and close the bag on the dice and put a knot in it to make sure that it would not spill out into her back. She looked up as he seemed to struggle with how to adres her. Hearing him call her Miss just made her blush once more. “It’s Olivia..” she said, giving him a shy smile as she started to wrap her scarf around her neck again, preparing to leave the calm and warm shop to go back into the harsh cold air outside. It was probably starting to get dark already. The last piece of her outfit was her hat and she plopped it on top of her head, almost completely hiding away her ginger waves. “It was nice to meet you.” She said. “Thursday night was it?” She asked to confirm once again.

@Stellar

"Olivia." He repeated, as she'd started to wrap the scarf around her neck. He smiled for a moment. Perhaps finally picking up on the shyness of her, which he'd found rather adorable, even if he did not say anything about it. "Thursday, yeah." He offered quietly, a bit of redness forming in his cheeks as well, beneath the brown mess of curls and glasses. "And it was nice to meet you too. I'm Danny, by the way.. Eheheh.."

@Naka in Wonderland

Somehow him saying her name didn't help too much either. She quickly ducked even further into her scarf to hide the flush on her cheeks. "It was nice to meet you too, Danny." She said back, smiling into her scarf. She turned around then quicker then she should and stepped towards the door to greet the winter cold. The freezing wind instantly greeted her and it was mixed with small white snowflakes. She turned around to look at the shop once more and to look at Danny through the window. She really did envy him. He seemed so in his element and she wished she had a place where she could feel like that. The closest thing she had was her journal. She sighed a warm breath into the cold air, making a small cloud of smoke. Then she finally turned to head on her way home.

@Stellar

As she had left, Danny went about, starting to close up the shop. Most of the lights went out aside from a few electronic candle props that always remained on. The sky was starting to darken as the crisp, cold air washer over Olivia. It seemed less windy than she'd arrived. The night was calm. Snowflakes were falling, as the town's streets were well lit with the streetlights. It was quiet, as it was most days. Most of the cars off the streets, aside from a few passing by. The memory of how the two of them met was free to play over in her mind as many times as she pleased without interruption. It was peaceful. And while it was cold, it was serene. A thin blanket of white dusted the streets and sidewalks. Snowflakes tickled her face as she walked.

@Naka in Wonderland

She walked slowly, minding her steps in case the roads had gotten slippery from the snow. Her mind wandered and all kind of thoughts were starting to cross her mind. She thought about the game, about playing out a story with other people. No matter how much fun it sounded, she felt nervous about it. What if they thought her ideas were dumb? What if they didn’t like what she had to say? It was the reason why her journal lived in her handbag and had never been seen by anybody else. They were her stories and only hers and she felt like they were not good enough to let others read. She was scared of what they might say. She had liked Danny though. He had been kind to her and patient when she had not knew what he was talking about. Explained everything in a way that she could at least somewhat understand it. A part of her wanted to be around him more and just that realization made her blush once more. “Someone like that would never be interested in me..” she just whispered to herself. She didn’t believe she was a pretty girl, she saw herself as plain and boring. She also was convinced guys wanted someone who was outgoing, not someone like her who was shy and timid. She had walked quite a bit when she took out her notebook from her handbag. By then the night sky had been fully taken over and it was just the streetlights giving the place light. She looked at the pen she had brought that was now clipped into her notebook, moving a finger over the little dragon on top. She instantly froze.. Did it just move? She stared at it for a bit longer, but nothing happened. Did she imagine it? She moved her finger towards it again. Once again it moved and this time it tried to get her finger. “What the!” She held it as far away from her hand as possible, watching the dragon move around like it was a live. What was happening! The dragon turned itself around, balancing on the very top of the pen and looked at her. It opened it’s mouth and a flame just quickly travelled tow

20:05

ards her. She let out a scream as she let the pen drop into the snow. She felt her heart beating fast in her chest as she just stared at the pen that was now in the snow, the dragon no longer moving. She had not imagined that.. it had spew fire at her. She moved to pick it up again, hesitated, but then picked it up keeping her arm super long. She took her scarf and wrapped the whole thing around it, hoping it wouldn’t burn straight through the scarf. She then turned around and made her way back to the shop. What the hell did he sell her! She had ran the whole way, almost slipping on the snow a few times. She was out of breath by the time she reached it. “Shit..” she said as the sign on the front door had turned to the ‘closed’ side of it. Yet she tried the door and to her surprise it opened. “Hello?” She said, her voice still a little frantic from what had just happened outside.

@Stellar

As she had made her way back to the store, the slick powdery snow challenged her footsteps the entire way, leaving skids within the snow every so often as she had tried not to fall. Cold winter air filled her lungs, and her mouth had no doubt gone dry from all of the panting and panic that was instilled within her. She was not terribly far. At least five minutes on foot. But it was certainly enough to take the air from anyone's lungs. The store was dark, aside from the candles that had lit up where they were plugged in. But.. Something felt strange as she had entered. The shop was mostly empty, but there was a certain noise that could be heard. No.. Several noises. There was a certain.. Clack.. Clack.. Clack.. Almost as though something were being struck over and over again. And it was very faint, and hard to tell from the entrance. But it sounded like it was coming from one of the battlemaps, as Danny had referred to them, whom, was still nowhere to be seen.

@Naka in Wonderland

No answer came from the call she had made. She waited just a bit more before she actually walked further into the shop. In the silence she noticed the clanking but she couldn’t even start to begin to figure out where it came from. “Hello?” She said again, a bit louder, but once again no answer came. She moved through the store then to where she remembered the counter was. The light from the candles was dim, but enough for her to move around. She unwrapped the scarf and just dropped the pen out of it like it was on fire. Honestly, that wasn’t far from the truth. She could instantly smell the smoke that came from the scorch marks that were in the scarf. Whatever this thing was, it had not stayed quiet in her scarf. She stepped back from it and left the scarf on the counter as well as she turned around to look for the clanking sound. It quickly dawned on her that she was not supposed to be here, the shop was closed and the owner nowhere to be found. But that pen had spewed fire! And what was that sound? She walked towards it.

@Stellar

The pen was set onto the counter as the golden pen dragon wriggled from the scarf. It huffed from its nostrils as she walked away, a puff of smoke coming from them both. As she walked towards the source of the noise, she could begin to make out where it was coming from. The grassy forest battlemap that was on display. There were prop trees, and a rope bridge crossing over a rushing whitewater river. The grass flowed gently in the breeze as the treetops swayed, and the water ran rapidly down the stream. Wait--.. The grass was flowing? The trees were moving? The river was actually rushing? The battlemap was alive. And the sound that could be heard was able to be found with ease. The results of which may have surprised Olivia even more. One of the figurines was moving. One of the 3D printed lumberjack figures was alive. With the plastic base beneath its feet, it clambered to one of the trees, and was striking it with his little axe. After a few swings, the tree fell over.

@Naka in Wonderland

She could do nothing but stare in disbelieve at at the display that was right in front of her. It was no longer something that had been crafted and put on a table. It was alive.. Her eyes went big as she watched the thing unfold before her. She even sort of flinched when the little tree fell down with the smallest thump. She must be dreaming.. this whole thing was just a dream that she thought up. She had never gone to the shop, she had never met Danny, she had never bought those dice. She just needed to wake up and she would be in her bedroom and it would just be a funny little dream she had. Something she could write about in her journal. It could even make an amazing book to read for others. I mean, who would think something like that up?

@Stellar

Speaking of her dice, she would start to notice a glow coming from the pouch that her dice were stored in. As she drew nearer to the table, the glow intensified, until it was like a small torch coming from whichever pocket she had stored them in. The experience was undoubtedly surreal. A small wind flowed through the tops of the tiny trees. Water from the stream spilled onto the grass, as more figures seemed to traverse the miniature map. A merchant figure clambered over the rope bridge. The tiny planks creaked with every step, the ropes swaying to and fro. Wolves traveled in small packs through the tree line, as they would reach the edge of the map, and simply disappear. They could be heard barking still. Growing faint, until the noise, just like them, was gone. A faint glow seemed to encompass the board, almost as if it were in sync with her dice, as if beckoning her to touch it, and interact with the realistic landscape laid before her. However, before she got any ideas, a familiar voice came from the flight of stairs leading up to the second floor. "Hey--.. Um.. Welcome back..?" Danny stood at the foot of the stairs, a toothbrush in his mouth. His clothes were changed to a pair of comfy sweats and a simple black t-shirt. He glanced between the board, and Olivia. He did not seem nearly as surprised as she may have in that moment. In fact. He seemed to treat it as though it were normal.

@Naka in Wonderland

She noticed the light from her purse and took out the small pouch with dice. As she opened the strings she almost had to shield her eyes against the beautiful orangey light that came from them. As she took one of them out the flames inside the resin had come to life and were dancing. It came of an orange light that illuminated the room for her. The light would flicked soothingly and make it almost seem like a hearth was stored inside that small velvety bag. She never took her eyes away from the dice and the display that as now easier to see. So she had not noticed that Danny had come down the stairs. The sudden voice behind her made her jump, the dice bag falling out of her hands and scattering into the floor. She stood there frozen for a moment, taking in how casually he was standing there, about ready to tuck into his bed. He didn’t seem alarmed at all by the things happening on the table behind her. She opened her mouth a few times, trying to find the words to say, to speak. “I..” she tried. She felt like she had been caught doing something she wasn’t supposed to, see something she shouldn’t see. “The pen.. the dragon.. it.. uh..” she tried, but kept getting stuck. “It burned my scarf!” That seemed like a thing to be mentioning.

@Stellar

Danny blinked as her dice scattered and fell onto the floor. They sparked each time they hit the ground, but seemed to remain in tact. Most notably. They were much harder and hefiter than they were when she'd first purchased them. She had bought them as resin dice. But once she held them in her hand once more.. They felt much more genuine. Like precious gemstones. The battlemap being alive was certainly commonplace for him. But upon hearing that the dragon on the pen came to life, and seeing the dice react to her presence. This confused him. "Wait-- I'm.. I'm not the only one?" He took the toothbrush from his mouth as he moved towards her. "You said the dragon came to life.. And-- and the dice, just now. They are acting like mine do.. I thought I was the only one this could happen to." He paused, glancing towards the dice. Their swirling internal flames went dormant from no longer being within Olivia's palm.

@Naka in Wonderland

She couldn’t help but take a step back when he walked towards her. She still wasn’t sure what was going on and quite frankly, she was freaking out about it. “What are you talking about?!” She just said in desperation. Why was he acting like it was completely normal that the battle map was moving. Why wasn’t he confused just like she was. Why was the only thing he was wondering about the fact that she could see it too. “Why are they moving?” That seemed the most important question. “They are made of plastic and wood.. why are they moving!?

@Stellar

He stopped moving as she stepped away from him. He raised his hands, steppung back from her. He didn't want to seem like he was going to harm her. "I.. can't explain it myself, really.." He started, quietly. "Ever since I'd gotten the shop. It has been like this. I don't know how it's possible. I don't know how to scientifically explain this. Or if anyone even can." He would stop for a moment, gently pointing towards her dice. "But-- what I do know.. Is that these things don't come to life for just any person. Everything that I sell? It is supposed to stay that way. To my knowledge. Whatever this is? Has only ever happened to me.. and.. I never talked about it because I didn't think anyone would believe me." He glanced back towards her. "I don't know how. But you are like me. In some obscure inexplainable way. Those dice. That dragon. Tuey were brought to life by you. Or by something about you.. Something involving you."

@Naka in Wonderland

She just stared at him in disbelieve. “I am dreaming.. this has to be a dream.” She just said. She brought her hands up to her hair, running her fingers through her ginger waves as she started to walk back and forth, needing to move as she thought. He was claiming this was something that was happening to just them. It sounded like magic, but magic was just something in fairytales, it didn’t happen in actual life. Yet that dragon spewed fire at her and he had nearly hit her with that fire. “That dragon I brought to life tried to roast me!” She let him know. She had woken up that morning just a regular girl. She had taken ten tries to actually make it to this shop and now that she did she somehow discovered magic? It just wasn’t real. “I am just me.. there is nothing special about me. Whatever is happening, it is not me..” she just tried to say to him as her eyes found his again. “How can you act like this is normal?”

@Stellar

"Well.. I don't really have a choice. Look, you can-- leave this all behind. If that's really what you want. You can forget that you met me today and about coming on Thursdays. I wouldn't really blame you.. But.." He'd pause, moving back to sit on one of the steps. "There's more. There's a lot more than things just coming to life." He sighed, rubbing his forehead with the palm of his hand. "These battlemaps aren't just alive. They're part of a different world. And if you had touched any part of it, you would have been brought to that world. I'm sorry-- I really don't know how to explain this in a way that makes sense."

@Naka in Wonderland

When he gave her even more information she just couldn’t believe what he was saying. Not only were these things coming to live, they were part of this world that was actually living? It was like a view into the lives of another dimension? She wasn’t that big into sci-fi stories, but surely that was a story that was written somewhere. She once again just paced back and forth and buried her face in her hands. “You think I can just forget about this? How can I ever just go back and not thinking about this every single second of my life?” She asked him. A part of her wished she had never came here, that she had been too shy to actually enter the building and kept walking. “This is just.. a lot..” she said, looking down at the dice on the ground that had seemed to have turned back to normal. “Does it only happen at night?”

@Stellar

His expression seemed somber. Part of him wished he could have prevented dragging someone else into this conflict of his. But, he had no way of knowing. As far as he was aware, he was the only person affected by such an odd occurrence. With a deep breath, he tried as best he could to answer her questions. She deserved that much, at least. "Yes. It only happens at night. And to make matters worse, I fear that if I ignore it.. Something awful will happen." Danny glanced off towards the counter where the dragon was sat. "The way this odd magic works goes far deeper than probably either of us realize. Everything I create comes to life. But-- some of these things. Some of these figurines, I did not create. To put it simply. There-- are other forces at work. Somewhere within this world. And while I don't know what will happen if they are left unchecked, I do know it will not be good."

@Naka in Wonderland

“It just doesn’t make any sense.” She said. She wanted to move towards the table and pick one of the miniatures up like she had done before, until she remembered that if she touched it she would be sucked into that world. She quickly pulled her hand back almost like had touched fire. She looked back to Danny. Her brain was going to so many placed at the same time and she simply couldn’t figure out what she should do or shouldn’t. He was right, she could walk away if she wanted.. But a part of her compelled her to stay. “Why did you continue making them? Were you not scared of what you were creating?”

@Stellar

"Well-- I did learn my lesson, once I knew that they could come to life. But the figures I've created are not evil. Like the woodsman." He'd nod towards the lumber jack on the board who was working to strip the tree of its branches. "Most of my figurines are guards, or adventurers. I may make a neutral figurine every now and then, like a wolf, but even if it proves dangerous on the board, it does not pose an actual danger outside of the board." He paused, moving over towards the edge of the board. "But some of these figurines are not painted by me. They do pose a threat outside of the board. And the reason I continue to create battlemaps is because I need to see as much of the world as I can. The more I see, the more I will know." Danny glanced down towards the forest below him.

@Naka in Wonderland

When his eyes moved down to the forest, her eyes followed. It was still moving, the little miniatures unaware that they were staring at them from probably a whole other world. “So, does more exists in that world? Or do only the parts that you create exist?” She wondering. When he made battle maps did they turn into something because some unknown force was guiding him to create them that way. Or did building the maps literally create parts of the world that he said you could jump into. She then looked back towards the front desk, the small dragon still sitting there though he was no longer spitting fire. “What about that one? Did you make it?”

@Stellar

"I don't know exactly how it works, but I can surmise from what I've learned that when I create a battlemap, at night, it shifts to become the closest thing within that world. So-- I created this forest. There wasn't really a river in it by design. But, at night, after the props had finally set, and the glue had fully dried, it changed to this. With a river, and a rope bridge. Same with the mountain map. The only thing that doesn't seem to change are manmade structures and figurines. If I create a keep, it stays a keep. When I create guards, they remain as guards." He offered a sigh, before continuing on with his explanation. "The dragon was just a part of a pen. You brought it to life, I had only just gotten it in the other day. But-- since it was created by your hands, you at least don't need to worry about it becoming life sized, and scorching the entire town to cinders." He smiled weakly, before snapping his fingers. "Which reminds me. Grab your dice, this-- is probably pretty important."

@Naka in Wonderland

"So the design isn't how you made it? Once it came to life it simply changed itself to how it would look in the other world?" She asked him. This was so much information, so much impossible information to process. She could feel a headache starting to come up as she was simply trying to understand what was going on. He continued with his explanation for the dragon. It was her fault it had become that way? "But I didn't make him? I just.. bought him?" She had assumed creating them was part of the process of making them move. In her confusion she completely misses the part where she said they could become life sized. When he told her to grab the dice she didn't question him a second and grabbes them off the floor where they had fallen before. She got back on her feet with the whole set in the palm of her hands.

@Stellar

Danny had already gotten to his feet and made his way up the steps towards the counter where she had left the dragon, explaining on the way. "You did not need to make it. It simply came alive at your fingertips. I-- there's not really a science behind this. I don't really have a formula or textbook definition of why things happen the way they do. But, if you are like me, which you are, I would assume everything that is fantasy related, made by your hands or not, will come to life at night if it has been touched by you. And-- if it is a finished product." He would nod towards her as they approached the dragon. It was sat in the scarf, glancing towards the two of them as another puff of smoke flared from its nostrils. "Okay.. This is going to sound weird.." Danny started, looking towards Olivia. "But since this thing can breathe fire, it is a fire hazard. And a lot of this store is made from very flammable wood. So, what I need you to do, is to try and befriend the dragon. Just.. Say something friendly to it. About how you want to be friends or something, and then roll the d20. I'll explain it after."

@Naka in Wonderland

She still didn't fully understand what he was telling her, but it must be true that she had brought the thing to life. It had been a simple pen moments before and now it was puffing smoke as they moved closer. At least she followed until he said she had to befriend the dragon. Her head just whipped his way with a look of disbelieve towards him. "Befriend it?!" She said, almost a bit too loud. "What do you.. it's.. it's a toy! .. it breathes fire!" She tried to protest, to scared to even come that close to it. But one more look to Danny did tell her this was important to him. She swallowed deep and took the d20 into her other hands. She inched closer to the table, ready to jump back if it even showed the smallest bit of fire. "Hi uhmm.. little guy?" She said unsure of what to even say. "Can you just.. not breath fire anymore for me? Truce?" She landed on and she rolled the dice on the desk next to it.

@Stellar

Danny's lips drew thin as she tried to protest. He knew it sounded stupid, but he also seemed to know what he was doing. Since Olivia seemed to oblige by his request, he did not seem to intervene. She drew closer, the little golden dragon's tail coiling up as it defensively readied its chompers at her. Its jaw closed a few times. If it weren't for the fact that it could breathe fire, it might have actually been cute. She rolled the twenty on the desk, and the dice sparked to life once more, sparks came from it, and died upon the desk as the twenty-sided dice landed, and settled on the desk. 14 Glancing back over towards the dragon, she would find that it actually listened to her and considered her words. And after a few moments, and a huff of smoke from its nostrils, it relaxed, and sat upon the counter once more. Danny breathed a sigh of relief. "Oh thank god.."

@Naka in Wonderland

She too watched the dice as it rolled over the able and eventually landed on the number 14. She didn’t understand what it meant at all but judging by his reaction it was a good thing? She just looked between him, the dice and the little dragon that now seemed to just sit down on the table and no longer seemed like it would attack them out of the blue. “What.. happened?” She just asked him, feeling so unsure. She was trying to make sense of everything, but the more information he seemed to give her, the more confused she seemed to get by it. Nothing he said could ever be taken as logic and she had always known that if magic did exist in the world, surely it wouldn’t follow any rules at all. But she had never expected this.

@Stellar

"I had you roll for animal handling, and the number you got was high enough to succeed. It probably still doesn't like us all that much, but it will at least not burn down the shop." He sighed. The dragon seemed to passively look between the two of them as they spoke. To Danny, then to Olivia, waiting for her answer. "When dealing with things that have come to life here, they do not act like you and I do. Your dice are the only way to communicate to them. They also determine how effective that communication is. Otherwise they will not listen by default. At least in this instance, the dragon won't be of any harm to us. But-- he will probably live here now. Least during night time."

@Naka in Wonderland

His explanation barely helped explain what had just happened. “So he will just roam around here now? Doesn’t he need a place? Like a cage? Just in case?” She didn’t even know if what she said as making any sense. Would there even be a cage that was small enough to hold the little lizard? She walked a bit closer to him now that Danny said that it wouldn’t hurt them anymore and kneeled down to look at it more. It really seemed as alive as it could be. She could see it breathing in and out. She even swore she could see the slight glow in his chest of where the source of his fire had to be. The details on it were incredible. She suddenly came to a realization. “What would have happened if I rolled low?”

@Stellar

Danny would offer a half shrug. "Ahh-- maybe? I don't really think I have a cage he could be put in. I also can't imagine he'd be very happy about it either. But as far as we know, he's not going to breathe fire anymore." He would scratch the back of his neck as he'd finished his explanation. Though, as Olivia had inquired what would happen if she rolled low, he laughed nervously. Awkwardly. "Um-- anything below a 10 and he probably would have tried to set us, and by extension the shop, on fire." As she observed the dragon, it seemed each individual scale could be seen on its body. Brilliantly golden, reflecting light effortlessly off its magnificent scales. The dragon itself sat proudly. It knew Olivia was examining him, and he was merely blessing them with his presence. "Think at most we just need to worry about him starting a hoard of something in the shop. If I had to guess, the dice bin or the candy bin will probably be what he decides to hoard."

@Naka in Wonderland

(Oop, sent twice. Sorry. Internet is weird rn)

“He would have set us on fire?!” She exclaimed, making sure that she was hearing this right. “Don’t you think you should have told me that before you made me roll that dice?” She just said. She listened to him explaining about how it would probably hoard stuff and just be in this shop, being a tiny dragon, doing it’s little dragon things. “This just.. it’s too much. It is just too much.” She suddenly said. She had taken everything in so far and it seemed that not being told that a chance of a dice roll would have set her on fire was the limit for her. “I just can’t…” she said and threw her hands up in the air. She was not going to touch anything anymore, or do anything. Part of her wished she had never walked into that shop in the first place. “I just.. I need to go.” She suddenly decided.

@Stellar

Danny stopped, falling silent as she'd gone on and finally decided that she wanted to go. He knew it was a lot. He'd been through the very same himself. Taking a step back towards the counter he would allow her to pass. "Right.. Sorry.." He offered quietly. The dragon glanced between the two of them. While it seemed he did not have a whole lot to say, or simply did not have the heart to say it. He did feel it was worth mentioning something. He glanced back up towards her. "Just.. Be careful, okay Olivia? Things aren't going to stop coming to life just because you left the shop."

@Naka in Wonderland

She gave him an apologetic look as she just walked past him and made her way to the door. Her head was just too full of everything and she couldn’t make sense of it anymore. She needed to get out of here, time to put everything straight in her head, to process what had just happened. Within just a few seconds she was back on the street, the cold air swirling around her as the wind had started to pick up again. She suddenly realized she forgot her scarf, and with the realization of forgetting the scarf she realized her bag was still in the shop as well. She considered turning around to go and get it, but she couldn’t bring herself to go back there right then. She would need to go and grab it later..

@Stellar

Danny watched her go. It hadn't occurred to her that she left behind her belongings, as he turned from the counter and headed back up the stairs, cursing quietly underneath his breath, as the dragon seemed to comfortably nest within the partially burned scarf. As Olivia exited the building the cold air nipped at her now bare neck as she decided to ultimately head home. The night was now in full swing, as street lights cast on the blanket of white that had formed over her prior foot tracks from when she had left the first time. Left to her thoughts, and the cold night sky. Amongst all of the other information she was processing, perhaps it had also just occurred to her that Danny seemed to live in that shop. Afterall, he did come down the stairs in comfortable clothes and a toothbrush. And just what was it like being transported to an entirely different world from your own? There were likely countless things racing in her mind. Both about the modern world she was living in and otherwise. And of course his warning as well. Things won't stop coming to life just because you left the shop. Just how true was that? Would every little thing start coming to life around her now? Why now? It all tied back to the shop, and to Danny.. It must have.

@Naka in Wonderland

Danny

(occurred to him*)

She rushed herself home. She almost felt like if she just made it to her house everything would turn back to normal. By the time she made it there she was winded and maybe even more upset about everything then she had been when she left. Her mind had yet to put everything together. She unlocked her small apartment and just got herself straight to bed, not even bothering to get herself changed. Eventually she would find herself winding down and falling asleep, though her dreams were strange and vivid. She dreamt about that world that he had been talking about and how she got sucked into it. About how she lived among those people in that little village. How she could actually see the guy chopping down the tree this time. It soon took a darker turn however as the black and golden dragon that had been sitting at the top of her pen suddenly doomed over the town and burned it all down. She woke up in cold sweat, sitting up straight in her bed as she noticed how she had never changed into her pyjama. By then the sun had already risen and she grumbled as she knew she had to get herself up again. Her entire morning was filled with thinking about the day before. About the strange shop, about Danny and about the world he claimed existed within those miniatures. She also knew her purse was still there and her notebook was in there and she needed it back. So just a little bit after noon she headed back to the shop, opening the wooden door as the warm air greeted her once more and stepped inside nervously. “I.. uhmm.. forgot my purse.” She half stammered.

@Stellar

The morning after was a much more pleasant one than the night before. The sun was out in the sky, and its warm rays challenged the cool winter breeze as sunlight reflected off of the pure white blanket of snow from the night before. As she'd opened the door, her voice traveled throughout the shop, and Danny's voice could be heard from behind the counter, seemingly just as nervous as hers. "Oh-- um.. Right. I-- kept it behind the counter so no one would take it." His wooden chair could be heard scooting back as her purse could be heard being set on the counter. As she wandered up the steps, she could see Danny in his chair behind the counter, the chair backed all the way up to the wall, as he seemingly kept his head down, underneath his long curly locks. There was a book in his hand. Maybe he could have been reading it? But the chances were just as strong that maybe he just didn't want to look Olivia in the eyes again, and spare her the awkwardness of the situation. She would find some dollar bills on top of the purse. It was the money she'd spent on the dice and pen. Danny was still and silent, staring down into the book between his two hands.

@Naka in Wonderland

She walked up to the counter and would notice that he seemed to avoid her eyes. Instead of being welcoming and inviting like he had been to her yesterday he now seemed distant and out of reach. It didn’t make her feel much bette about the situation and she just pressed her lips together as she was not sure what to say. He would place her purse on the top of the table and she saw the dollar bills on top of it and just felt unsure what to do about it. She knew it was the money she had spend the day before, yet a part of her wanted those dice back. They had been harmless, beautiful. Even after they had come to ‘life’ they had just felt good to her. Yet she thought maybe it was not the time to argue about taking the money or not in that moment. “I.. uhmm.. I am sorry for running out.” She just offered him, needing to break the silence that was growing between them. “Did everything..” she thought about the right word to say. “Go back to sleep?” She ended up on.

@Stellar

Danny didn't seem ready to meet her gaze just yet. He casually played it off as being interested in his book, even if the two of them knew exactly why he was looking at the book in the first place. "Yeah.. Mhm.. Everything-- went dormant. Yeah.." He nodded twice in quick succession. Judging by his voice, maybe he just seemed a bit nervous. His foot tapped quietly against the floor as he seemed to answer her question without providing much to the conversation. Realizing it likely didn't leave much room for her to respond, he'd find himself speaking again. "Don't uh.. Don't worry about running off. I know it's crazy. It was sort of a first for me last night as well. I kind of just assumed I was the only one, y'know? I'd been doing this for months. Nothing like last night had ever happened before." He'd glance up to her for a brief moment. "I'm sorry."

@Naka in Wonderland

She just stood there as she awkwardly rubbed over her arm, unsure really what to say to him. "That's good." she simply said as he said that all the things had seemed have gone dormant again. She just looked around the shop for a moment. It looked no different then it had done yesterday. She could even swear that everything that was there was in the same place she had seen it. Even if these figures had moved during the night, they had also returned to where it had been before. It made her wonder as she looked back towards the counter, wanting to see if the little dragon was back on the pen. "It was just all a bit much yesterday." she then said after that. A part of her still didn't want to believe that it had been her causing things to act like that. "Do you know why it happens..?"

@Stellar

Danny would sigh as he closed to book and set it on the counter. He stood with his hands tucked into his pockets, finally meeting Olivia's gaze. Even if his eyes did not directly meet with her own. "Ahh-- I'm still trying to figure that out, telling you truthfully. I don't know why it happens. But I can only surmise it'd somehow related to the shop. It only started happening when I started creating things within the shop." He pursed his lips, partially shrugging his shoulders. "I've been entering that world almost every night to get answers, but I haven't been able to get very far. People have their own sets of problems in that world. And none of them thay I've met seem knowledgeable about what's happening or why. I've only been able to tackle problems as they pop up and work slowly from there." He reached behind the counter, pulling free a mini figure that seemed to.. Represent Danny, in a way. Their facial structure was similar. But the figure was a more broad shouldered, elven man, with long brown hair, and leaves woven throughout them. "That's me.. Funny thing? I didn't make it."

@Naka in Wonderland

#dungeons-and-dice-rolls has been archived.