An empty pantry!

[melko]

The sun started to set, painting the horizon in a myriad of colors. Chimon lived near the edge of town, in a humble abode nestled a cluster of dense packed jungle trees. His humble abode was small, a little shack with a small store house located about a couple of feet away. The shack had a rustic appeal to it. The wood used to create the shack seemed to have been discolored and old, almost as if it had been made from broken bits of much nicer houses; nonetheless, despite its hastily built together appearance, the shack was as study as a stone. Chimon made the house when he arrived at Dojo Island a while ago, with the help of his tea mentor and best friend, and well, since then he has been staying there for a while.

Chimon followed the trampled path of dirt. A custom satchel made from leather hanged over his shoulder, usually the satchel would contain his tea set and some leaves, but in truth, Chimon satchel was filled with other supplies—mostly groceries. Instead, his teapot remained tucked underneath his arm pit, wrapped in red cloth, and held closely to his body. Chimon managed to arrive at his house before the sun set, he unpacked the satchel. Placing some meats, fruits, and herbs onto a nearby table, that rested in the center of his kitchen, and setting his kettle right next to his stovetop; unwrapping it so that he could place on a pot of tea.

Pouring some water in the tea pot and then placing it on the kettle, Chimon searched through the group of herbs that carried with him. He chose some simple jasmine tea, taking out the needed herbs and placing it onto a safe space for him to lose later. With that, he smiled, and picked up the rest of his groceries in order to place them into the store house.

Chimon: 321 words | 1 post

[Bobbie]

First Lyneel, then some island known as Spider Miles, and now Dojo Island… Tanako was making quite the wanderer of herself as she found herself to grow quite restless very easily. Perhaps more than that, she was in constant search for food. Unfortunately, no donation - willing or otherwise - that she’d stumbled upon so far was endless, and thus the time to move on would always arrive.

Tanako’s antennae that hid perfectly well beneath her hair could pick up the scent of food from considerable distances, allowing her to follow a trail that would lead her to some juicy reward. All food was welcome, no matter what stage of decay it was in, and regardless of its substance, some items on her list of edible foods consisting of things that most people wouldn’t dare devour, such as cardboard, leather, and any materials that originate from organic matter. She did, however, have a soft spot for the starchiest foods.

As the girl moved through a range of scenery of Dojo Island, venturing into both urban areas of the town and rural, she would pick up any items along the way that she hoped would silence the rumbling hunger that never seemed to be satisfied. Maintaining its reputation, all the plant matter she would eat amidst the grassier areas and woodlands would never be enough to fill the bottomless pit that that was her stomach.

It was as she roamed through a forest in the morning that she would catch a whiff of something delicious, though she couldn’t quite put her finger on it. Eager for some kind of relief in the battle against her perpetual hunger, the ironically malnourished-looking woman made her way in the direction of the glorious smells that were wafting through the air and tickling her senses. Twisting and turning to manoeuvre through the thick foliage that resembled what one would expect to find in a jungle, her frame was flexible enough to get through some tight gaps, following the shortest route possible to whatever was giving off such a delicious scent. Eventually, she would reach an opening that was surrounded by trees, with a single little shack in its centre.

“There you are…”

Without a doubt, whatever food she was smelling came from within that old rustic building. As her jaw fell open, saliva hungrily dripped from the corner of her mouth as if the poor soul hadn’t eaten in days. She was grateful - it was like stumbling upon a goldmine, and for a few seconds she simply stood there to appreciate the beautiful sight.

Then she carried on, moving one foot in front of the other while her joints rolled and turned unnaturally, her arms hanging forward in anticipation as she got closer… and closer…

For the day, the space was hers, and anything that was within it had also become hers, although none of it really lasted very long. Whatever she got her sights on, she devoured. She emptied cans and jars, ripped packaging to devour its contents and then devoured some of that too, stuffed and compressed any bread and cakes that were left lying around to fit in her mouth until those too went down the hatch.

Eventually, there would be nothing left. Cupboards were emptied and shelves swept clear. With a soft hum, Tanako was finally satisfied… for an hour or two… then the hunger came back.

As the sun was beginning to set, the long-haired girl walked around the shack that she had claimed, moaning in anguish as she was beginning to feel so hungry once more. Her demeanour took a shift as her energy was yet again depleted, her head hanging low and her shoulders slouched, while her brittle frame seemed to have difficulty in holding her body up, despite it appearing to weigh very little. In a final effort to search for crumbs, she disappeared back into the pantry, eyeing each and every inch of the room for anything that she could eat. After she climbed up the unit of shelving to the very top, desperately praying that perhaps she missed a can up there, she suddenly froze.

Her bony fingers clutched the wooden shelving tightly, her body skinny enough to almost be concealed by it if not for her dark hair that draped over the edge of it, her fingers concealed beneath.

“Food.” She could smell it. Meat, fruit, herbs… Tanako wanted to devour it all. Peering out from atop the shelf of the pantry, one large brown eye peeked through the curtain of hair that hid most of her face, staring intently at the entrance to the room she was in.

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Tanako: #c1ddfd

[melko]

Cradling the groceries, Chimon nudged the door open with his shoulders. A soft breeze carried the hint of oncoming rainfall, but at last, the now dark sky hid any lurking rain clouds from sight. Rain was coming, that much Chimon could feel, but he couldn’t tell when it would come. He needed to hurry up and place his groceries in the store house before it started to rain—he couldn’t risk ruining fresh food, nor could he waste his beli. Chimon placed the bundle of groceries on the ground, placed a wooden block to keep the door opened, then swooped the groceries back into his loving arms. The storehouse was about thirty feet away from his home, a bit far yes, but also close enough that Chimon could reach it in no time. Plus, he didn’t want to attract too many critters into his home! He’d rather them raid his storehouse, then dirty up his house and break valuable dishware.

“The summer mountains, great and orange, sing warm songs” Chimon sang, his melody was off. His voice cracked he tried to hit a high note at ‘songs’. He paused, as he sang, whistling a foreign tune, and then began again. “Brave mountaineers, singing with the songbirds, comes wandering home,”

Chimon held his eyes shut, his head tilting side to side as he sang. He memorized the path to his storage house and knew it like the back of his head—a man like him didn’t need to see to find food. The only thing he needed to be worried about was those lizards, but even then, they did not bother him. They never really bothered him anyway. One might say that Chimon needed to be concern about bandits or thieves, but even those threats did not intimidate the older fishman. If a thief was desperate enough to raid the storage bins of an old man, then, they must really need the food—bandits on the other hand, well, Chimon knew how to take care of himself. You don’t survive in a cruel world like this without knowing a few tricks or two. After placing the extra groceries in the storehouse, Chimon returned to his shack.

Entering into the kitchen, Chimon discovered that it had been raided. Cans and Jars had been opened, ripped apart and thrown onto the floor, shelves were swept clear of food. A bit confused and perplexed, Chimon wandered into his pantry, to find a bizarre sight. An seemingly emancipated woman, bony and frail looking, peered out from the top shelf of the pantry; a single brown eye caught Chimon’s attention. The elderly fishman rubbed the back of his neck, and stroked his beard in confusion.

“I am pretty sure this isn’t a Friday night again,” he muttered underneath his breath. He started to wonder if he got into those special mushrooms again. “Why don’t you step into the light, hungry person.”

[Bobbie]

For several seconds, Tanako merely stared at Chimon from her elevated position, considering his request. Of course, this was his home - blinded by how hungry she was, she must have missed that detail. A very fine detail that was easy to miss, she thought to herself. It wasn't like there was a huge sign about the shack that read his name or anything.

Finally, one skeletal hand emerged from the shadows to grab onto vertical support of the shelving unit, then a leg came out, the blue tones of her deathly complexion darkened by the stockings she wore, and she began to climb down. Carefully placing her feet onto the now empty shelves, she lowered herself in as graceful a manner as she could - which was remarkably not so, her elbows and knees protruding at awkward angles as her body twisted until she reached the floor.

Standing there, however, she made no attempt to step closer to him or out of the darkness. There was enough light to reveal her general appearance as she stood there in a kimono, wearing no shoes, and most of her face hidden beneath her hair. The bit of light that reached her did an excellent job of accentuating her skinny frame and highlighting her glistening eye that peered through her hair at him.

“I did not know this building was occupied, I am sorry.” The woman uttered in a soft tone of anguish, as if she had been suffering her hunger far longer than any living creature should.

Then her sensors twitched slightly, blending in with her hair otherwise, and her wings only began to flutter. Before they could spread out, however, Tanako leaned forward, while her feet remained rooted to the spot, to get a little closer to Chimon. She realised that he must be the source of the new wonderful scents that entered her vicinity! “Do you have food?”

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Tanako: #c1ddfd
Post: 2

[melko]

Chimon’s gazed soften, as the skeletal hand emerged from the shadows to grab onto shelving unit. He held onto his long white, sagely, beard, and stroked it thoughtfully—what was he to do in such a situation? Judging from her appearance, she was hungry—no, beyond hungry—starving. She appeared to be nothing more than bones and flesh and hair, wrapped up in kimono. Shouting and yelling would no doubt create some sort of trouble, and while he was upset, he couldn’t be mad at someone desperate for food. The old catfish-fishman sighed in a dramatic tone and reached down to pick up an empty can that rolled at his feet. He examined it, making sure that there wasn’t any beans leftover, and tossed it over his shoulder.


“You’re all skins and bones” he observed with a small frown. Chimon was a large man, with a round body, with relatively thin limbs, and a long sagely beard. He wore a blue kimono with wave-like patterns, which was dirty now from work, a dark purple obi around his waist, and a white cloak over his shoulders.


“Aye, I have more food for us to eat, you don’t gain a belly such as mine if you didn’t have more food” he said, patting his stomach, a huge grin pushed his mustache-like whiskers up. “How about we do this, I’ll cook us something good to eat, if you help me clean things up. I can promise that cooked food is much better than cold food, wouldn’t you agree? Sounds like a deal?”

[Bobbie]

Withdrawing once more, Tanako’s head drooped, her hair concealing her face other than through a little gap between the strands, created by tilting her head enough to allow one eye to peep through. As he spoke, she stood silently, her body swaying with the occasional flick of her shoulders to ease some tension in her joints.

The woman didn’t reply to his observation, but upon hearing his proposition, she offered a quick nod and her body lurched forward once more. However, she came to a quick halt that caused her hair to ripple and her body to jolt with the sudden stop. Cleaning up didn’t sound like much fun, but eating a proper meal certainly did sound lovely… she was tired of scavenging.

“Do you have… rice?” She asked for the starchy grain, caring very little for toppings at that moment. With a soft sigh, her attention shifted once more to the mess that she had left in her wake, turning her head to face the shelves that were filled with torn, empty wrappers and containers, cans, and the like, all of different materials.

There were so many of them that it disheartened her. She regretted not devouring those too, as she had learnt that her body could digest unusual things that a human stomach would otherwise struggle with. Of course, some were more appealing than others, but perhaps her work could be reduced…

“Okay,” she uttered, softly, before she approached the shelves once more and first picked up some paper wrapping that still bore the crumbs and remnants of what it previously held within it. Without a second thought, that went into her mouth, her tongue welcoming whatever flavours had been left to soak into the paper until it was all sucked into her mouth. Then she moved on to the next wrapper to continue cleaning things up, just as the large man of a round body requested.

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Tanako: #c1ddfd
Post: 3