Elleny--

My summer project is trying to build birdhouses to attract birds to our yard. I go to the library and find a book of templates, take it home, and then find some old boards near the side of the house, from when my dad made another set of birdhouses. He took those down recently, though, and I don't know how much he'd want to help me--he'd only been assisting with those first ones, as well. 
The person who did most of the work was Justin.
Justin, who used to be my brother.
Justin Corbin Rice was nine years old when his sister, me, was born. He was a great, and I mean great, brother to me. Even when he was a teenager, he still included me in most things--he and his best friend, Connor, would take me and Connor's little sister to the Lavender Cafe together. 
Then, when he was eighteen and when I was nine, he was called away to serve in the war. He really didn't want to go, and he was one of the last people drafted. He survived the war, actually. People, whenever I tell them about Justin, always ask why he's dead if he was never killed. The answer, the horrible truth, is that on the day after the war ended, his regiment was marching home, and the soldiers had actually reached Jenseng and gotten off their floating boat, when the tide of young soldiers running toward their childhood houses pushed Justin over the edge of the bamboo walkway. 
He did not survive the fall. We could not even find his body. 
So, this past year, I've been remembering Justin day and night, and I think my parents are also always thinking of him. The birdwatching, by the way, is an homage to him. He loved birds, and he was good at looking for them, as well. I don't have any of his skill, not whatsoever. 
Around noon, I take a break from my fruitless efforts (actually, the problem is my fear of using a saw--I'm trying to snap the boards, which isn't working) and sit on the porch chairs, looking. For birds, I tell myself, but I've always been a little nosy, and I end up looking into Enola's yard. I see her drag a large table out onto the porch. It (the table, not the porch) looks very new. She considers it, and the bricks of the porch, before she goes back into their house, finds some kind of wooden block, puts it into a space that must be brickless, finds the block sticks up too much, goes back inside, and comes out with a pencil and a saw. Then, she marks the point where the block and the brickwork line up, and saws off part of the block, as calmly as though she's simply cutting a slice of bread. 
I think I know who can help me with this project. 

Enola---

"So you want me to help you build a birdhouse." 
"Agreed," says Elleny.
"Well..." I want to devote some time to trying to get my mom out of bed, but it's probably pretty useless. "Sure." 
"I've marked the patterns already!" says Elleny, chipperly.
"Um, okay," I say. "What do you want me to do?"
"Cut the stuff out," she says, pointing at two boards with lines.
"All right," I say. I go back into the garage, grab the saw, and use my foot to hold the board in place. It only takes me about five minutes to cut out the parts for the birdhouse, and this is considering that this saw is not a power tool, but a handsaw. 
"Now what?" I ask Elleny.
"I like your dress," she says.
"Um. Thanks," I say, because nobody has ever told me that before. I rub the line of buttons down the front of the dress.
"I have some nails," Elleny continues, "to put it together like the instruction book said to." 
"Okay," I tell her. "Why don't you do this?" 
Elleny seems to be afraid of whacking anything with force. She puts two boards together in a way that makes sense to me, puts a nail on top, holds it there, and taps it a few times. 
"You've got to go like this," I say, demonstrating the proper use of a hammer. I bring it down just hard enough to retain a bit of accuracy, and then, now that it can hold itself up, really bang it into the wood. 
"Um, okay," says Elleny, gently retaking the hammer and doing the next nail. Still not hard enough, but enough for it to function.

The birdhouse takes about an hour, after which me and Elleny go into our house. I make Elleny a small sandwich. 
"Sorry we don't have a lot of food," I say. "We haven't bought a lot yet and they didn't let us take Earthling food to Jenseng." Also, with zero members of the household having a job, we don't exactly have loads and loads of money, but we do have enough. For now, that is. 
"I need to go check on my--rabbit," I say. Actually, my mom, but I don't want Elleny to know. It seems as though very little is imperfect in her life. "Then I have to do something with my mom." That, at least, is true. I go upstairs to my mother's bedroom. 
"Did you eat?" I ask, noting that her plate is clean. I know that sometimes she dumps it out the window. 
"Yes, Enola." 
"Did you do your mist?" My mom's Earthling doctor prescribed medicine for depression, which he said could be mixed into food, and because my mom doesn't think that a sickness of the mind can be cured with physical things, I did mix it into her meals and it ran out recently. However, the therapist gave us a mister bottle that was supposed to have helpful aromatherapeutic effects. I used it less in the past because I was also dubious about how much it could help. Now it's the only thing we have. 
"No."
"Let's do it, then," I say. 
"We'll need to do the downstairs bathroom," my mom says. 
I freeze. "Why?" I do not want Elleny to know about this.
"I was using the upstairs one for washing and I haven't cleaned it yet," she says. 
"We don't have to do it," I say. "We can do it later."
"Enola," says my mother. "I am convinced that somehow word of Jenseng medicine has reached that therapist. When I was young, every ailment we had was treated with the inhalation of a mist or the swallowing of a medicinal powder." She seems to think that this will work, but not the pills. "We will go into the downstairs bathroom." To my relief, she yanks me, with the amount of force I haven't seen in days, down the back stairs instead of the front ones. If we do it this way, we'll only have to cross a hallway where Elleny might see us. We go into the bathroom, my mom stands in the shower (fully clothed) and I squirt mist on her. It smells like cinnamon candies, something I used to like but will never eat again. We do this for about two minutes and then leave. As we cross the hallway, me carrying the spritzer bottle, I see a face staring at us. 
Elleny.
She does not appear at all flustered to be caught spying on us. Indeed, she says, 
"Hi, Ms. Malone."
My mother, who has not seen someone other than me in her home for about seven or eight months, bolts upstairs. The therapist told me that she has an intense fear of people that also makes her a bit more prone to being sad. I'm angry that Elleny's intruded on us like this.
"Elleny Rice," I growl angrily. "You should not have done this. Take your birdhouse and leave." 
Elleny does, and, I'm almost satisfied to be, she does so just a bit sadly.

My infinite apologies everyone for not being active lately. I know this is being unresponsible and I hate it too, but I'm currently under the weather with another fever, and I can't find the energy to keep this up right now. I'll try my best to continue being active on the RP as soon at this bug cuts me some slack.

Elleny--

I don't know why Enola was overrreacting to me wondering what was happening. Perhaps she has a secret. I do know, however, that the person that I saw was definitely an adult human (probably Enola's mother), not a rabbit. 
The morning after the day of the incident in Enola's house, I go outside before my parents are awake. I quickly leave a note--gone to the cafe, be back by 10, love, E-- and then leave another one on Enola's doorstep: 
I'm sorry. See you at the Lavender Cafe around 8:30? --Elleny
Then I get into the Rice family floating boat and steer myself to the cafe. The boat has three rows of benches that seat two, which used to be necessary--I loved having a bench all to myself, Mom would always paddle, and Justin didn't like to share a bench either.
Now, whenever we go boating, Mom paddles and me and Dad sit together on the foremost bench, next to her, even though sometimes bits of cloud drop from the paddles and land on our heads or in our laps. And right now, there is absolutely no way to have any of the seats be occupied. 
I have never felt so alone. 
I arrive at the cafe and tie up the boat, then go inside.
"Hello, Elleny," says Elen, who is busy cooking something in a pan. "What would you like today?" 
"I think I'll wait," I say. I take off my jacket and put it on the table closest to where the only person, other than Elen, is sitting. I know that this is Elen's son, Lantus, although he's never said a word to me. Today he is wearing a black shirt and gray pants, which go well with his hair, eyes, and cat ears. I wish I had cat ears, or at least a more useful power--all I can do is make my fingernails light up. 
"Hi," I say.
"Hi!" he says, somewhat nervously, as though I've managed to scare him but he's trying not to show it. "Yes. Hello. What's your name?" 
"Elleny," I say. "Elleny Rice."
"My name is Lantus Hartwish," says Lantus, still seeming nervous.
"It's nice to meet you," I tell him. "Do you like living here?" 
"It is better than not living here," says Lantus. 
"I've always wondered what it's like outside of Jenseng," I say. "I have a neighbor who just moved here from Earth, and I want to ask her lots of questions, but things aren't the greatest between us at the moment." 
"That is regrettable," says Lantus, still jumpy and nervous. The number of people I have scared just by talking to them, in a week, now appears to be 2. But Lantus is right: My situation with Enola is very, very regrettable indeed. 

~Violet~

"Is there anything else to do here?" Celeste asked, souding bored. "I mean, I think we visited literally everywhere in Jenseng."

"Not yet!" Violet said. "We still have plenty of places to explore! For example, wasn't there a museum about the history of Jenseng somewhere? I also remember seeing a research center regarding magic-related things."

"There we go again," Celeste grumbled. "Alright, where to? But be quick, because I feel like my legs are about to drop off."

"How about we go visit the neighborhoods instead? It would be nice to feel for what it would be like to live here," Violet suggested.

Celeste nodded reluctantly, and they walked through Jenseng. Everything seemed so magical and mysterious to Violet, and she wanted to do everything there. Up ahead, she saw a building labeled 'Rent a Boat' and she hurried over there enthusiastically.

"Celeste, look!" Violet exclaimed while pointing at the sign. "We should try taking a boat. Even though we've paddled on water before, we've never tried doing it on mist!"

"And I thought we already tried everything here," Celeste muttered, just loud enough for Violet to hear, but Violet ignored her.

"Come on!" Violet said, entering the building. Before long, she had paid for a 24-hour rent of a boat. They cautiously stepped inside the boat, careful not to wobble it, and set off. Violet smiled, enjoying the scenery, as she paddled her way across, watching the colorful buildings go by. And although Celeste didn't say anything, Violet knew she enjoyed it too.

Soon, they stopped at a dock. Violet tied the boat to one of the posts before walking over to the neighborhood.

"Remind me again what we're doing here," Celeste said.

"To familiarize ourself with the neighborhood, of course! Who knows, maybe one day we'll live here! Or at least nearby," Violet added as Celeste looked increasingly disgusted by the idea.

As they walked past the neighborhood, Violet called out a greeting to everyone who went by them. Most people called out a greeting back, but others stayed silent, walking by quickly as if they didn't want to be seen. I wonder if they're alright, Violet thought to herself silently. Meanwhile, Celeste stayed quiet, hopefully taking in the scenery.

When they finished, Violet felt more than ever determined to make their trip longer, and to stay somewhere near the neighborhood. "There's this small place nearby for rent, and we could stay there for a month, in order to properly explore Jenseng," Violet said.

"Do we really have to?" Celeste asked.

"Yes," Violet said. "Please?" 

Celeste grumbled something under her breath, but said, "Fine, but I'm doing it just for you."

"Oh, thank you!" Violet exclaimed happily.

Afterwards, they returned to their boat and paddled back to where they had rented it. Violet then suggested going to the Lavender Cafe again for a quick snack. Celeste agreed, only because she was tired and needed a break.

Violet decided to order a cinammon croissant along with a cup of tea, while Celeste ordered a chocolate muffin and lemonade. As they waited for their order, Violet saw a young girl and a nervous-looking teen in a black shirt and long pants. Violet walked a little closer, casually, and noticed that the girl looked rather troubled, as if she had something on her mind that was bothering her. Meanwhile, the teen looked super nervous. 

Hoping she wasn't making a rash decision, Violet said to the girl, "I'm sorry if I'm intruding, but are you alright?"

Enola--

As soon as I walk into the cafe, I see Elleny, sitting and talking to a girl with purple hair wearing purple clothing. Purple must be her favorite color. Mine is sepia. 
"I'm fine," Elleny says. "Friendship issues, you know?" 
Nosiness issues, more like. I take a deep breath and will myself to be sensible. The girl in the purple walks away and I sit down with Elleny. 
"Hi," says Elleny. "Sorry for spying on you yesterday. I just wanted to know what was going on."
"Some things I'd actually like to keep secret," I mutter under my breath.
"What?" Elleny asks.
I know that Elleny won't be my friend unless I tell her the secret. "It's fine," I say. "My mom is depressed." 
"Why?" 
"I don't know, something about Earth being sad? Ask her if you want, but no, don't, because she's also scared of people." 
"It seems everyone is scared of people these days," says Elleny. "It's fine. And, um, I..." 
She trails off. 
"Do you want anything to eat?" she asks. "My treat."
"I'm fine," I tell her, and leave. Things are very fine in Jenseng, but it seems Elleny might have a secret of her own. 

I'm so sorry this took so long. I wish I could advance the plot more, but I'm really not sure what to do. I have a few things to fix in Koge's character sheet btw. Hopefully the italics come through; I'm not sure it'll make sense if they don't. For reference they're kind of the flashback parts if that makes sense. @Ultimatium, I would love for Koge to interact with Lantus. Also, thank you so much for using Koge's pronouns! It seems like you might have still had some trouble. Would it help if I wrote a short thing about vim in third person? I don't want to nitpick, just maybe see if that could help it be easier. Lastly, thank you Admins! Sorry this is so long.

For reference, this is Koge's break-in. 

~~~

There’s no reason to do this. Why do I want it so much?

I pull down the seat on my rollator, savoring the smells of chocolate and cinnamon and yeast wafting out of the bakery. The street is empty, a far cry from how it was only yesterday in the afternoon. Then, the cafe was full of children laughing as they dined with their parents and artists and other creators scrawling in leather journals that could pay for almost everything I’ve bought in this city. 

Not that I’ve bought much, of course. For one thing, people have actually given me bread - free bread! For no reason! Why? But even without that, people are far too trusting here. They let their guards down. It’s so easy to take advantage of. At that I smirk.  

But it fades when I remember what really pulled me in.

There was this kid, my age really, smiling and talking to someone else. Perhaps a parent or guardian, perhaps not - nobody can tell. But the person was sure acting like they were one - there was a gentle hand on the kid’s shoulder, a soft voice, bits of laughter. The kid was laughing too. It was… 

Pointless. It doesn’t matter how long I stayed there, close enough to the door to almost hear it, wishing it was me. It never will be. 

Not again.

When a light comes into my vision, I panic. But it’s just be a boat in the canal of clouds in front of the cafe. I shouldn't be suspicious, just sitting here. So I watch as the light fades in the distance, shining through wisps of cloud like a moth wings illuminated by a fire. 

And then my mind returns. I could steal some bread, even a pastry. And they smell so good… 

That settles it. I walk over to the cafe, scoping things out. Thankfully the path around it is cement, not grass. My rollator does not work well on grass. 

And then I find the back door, complete with a “staff only” sign that means it’s sure to be the right one. It’s unlocked. 

I freeze - is it a trap? Or are the people in this city just this foolishly trusting?

The latter is more convenient, so I take that option. And for a second, I hope that the person with the kid doesn’t run this place. I don’t want them to be incompetent. But then I focus my attention on the quest because that doesn’t matter. I’m just getting something to eat.

The kitchen is chaotic - whisks and wooden spoons fly around from bowl to bowl, mixing heavenly-smelling pastry creams and icings. A board full of cinnamon pastries with crusts in perfect, flaky layers bursts out of the oven. I consider grabbing one, but I don’t want a burn. Even without that, though, it’s hot in here. I’m sweating. A bead of sweat drips down my chin, and suddenly everything freezes. 

The back of my mind plays a scene, warping in and out, clear in some parts, gibberish in others. I don’t know what’s going on. Where am I? Who am I? All I know is that -

I’m in the army’s mess hall, far from alone and praying I will be soon. There’s only one person staring at me. But she’s analyzing my every move, waiting for me to make a mistake so she can pounce. It’s dark and my ankle throbs so bad I almost have to hop on the other, leaning on my cane to move. Guess what? That hurts too, and it’s not very steady. 

But I don’t have a choice. I have to clean today, and it’s so hot my head hurts. But that’s okay, because I got off easy, and if I hadn’t been so incredibly lucky - 

I crumple to the floor in a haze. All I know is that I did something wrong, that everything I do is wrong, that everything about me is wrong -

It’s hot in here. I’m sweating.

A pan crashes on the ground.

I scream. What did I do? I leap up, full of enough adrenaline to ignore the sharp grating that’s worst in my ankle. I hurry to grab my rollator’s handles -

I have a rollator? Since when?

What the heck? When did I not have one?  

I have no idea what’s going on. Already I’ve forgotten everything that came before this. I was… I was… something with sugar…  But there’s sugar everywhere.  Do I know this place?

The door opens and my mind freezes. Because it’s the man with the kid. The person I can’t stop thinking about.

And now he’s going to hate me, just like everyone else.

In the army, before my arthritis worsened too much, at least people feared me. I had status. People knew I could hurt them, so I could twist to do whatever I wanted. It almost makes me smile to think of, even as thinking of it makes the fuzziness in my head throb. 

When the man talks, I yelp again. I’d forgotten he was there. His voice isn’t loud, and he isn’t armed. But he seems serious. “Excuse me, but what are you doing here?”

I almost laugh. What am I doing here? In Jenseng, or in the shop, or generally in this life? It doesn't matter which one it is. I don't know the answer to any of that. 

Not anymore. 

Elleny--

I leave the cafe in a haze, then curse myself for not asking the purple girl for her phone number or some way of contacting her. Then I curse myself again for thinking of trying to get a new friend before I've resolved the conflict with Enola, because she doesn't seem exactly like herself. 
Well, she seems completely like herself--unhappy, sad, hiding things, and with no one to turn to. She just doesn't seem approachable, but then again, she never did. I could, of course, become the person she turns to, but I don't want to because it would be too hard. 
I go back into the cafe, remembering what my grandma, a longtime resident of Jenseng, once told me: If you want your secrets safe, tell a family member or a perfect stranger. The purple girl hasn't left yet; she's sitting with her friend, who has wolf ears and a tail. Again with the ears--I might want to start wearing some soon, but then I wonder if people would accuse me of faking. 
"Um," I say, my voice quieter than I want it to be. You can do this, Elleny. Your parents always yelled at you for talking to Justin during their meditations. You are LOUD. "What do I do with an acquaintance who I want to be my friend who I was nosy to and cornered and made tell a secret?" I ask. 
The purple girl cocks her head like Tillie does when she's thinking. "Well, I don't know. You could try giving them something, if they're avoiding you." 
"I don't think that will work." Enola doesn't seem like the kind of person who'd be easy to bribe. Well, not quite bribe, but it seems like she's too hard to get to be won over with gifts. 
"Or ask them to come see you at someplace, like here." 
"I already did that, just now."
"How long ago was your fight?" asks the purple girl. 
"Yesterday," I say. 
"Try giving it time," she suggests. I don't want to. I'm impatient. 
"Try an exchange," says the girl with the wolf ears. "Secret for secret."
"What do you mean?" I ask.
"Well, she told you one of her secrets, now you tell her one of yours." 
"I don't want to," I say.
"Well, do you think she did?" says the girl with the ears.
After a few seconds, I know what I'm going to do.
"Thank you so much," I say. "Will I see you around?" 
"We're just visiting," says the purple girl. "I'm Violet Shimmercress and this is Celeste Starcreek. We might see you soon, though." 
"I'm Elleny Rice," I say. "I live here." I wave at them and walk away, then get into the boat.
The solution to the Enola issue is not one I want, but at least it's a solution. I have to tell her about Justin. 

-Celeste-

Violet was talking to the girl who I believed was Elleny or something. And Violet always seems to have the sense of when to talk to someone who needed it. Elleny had talked briefly before going out to do something else. She later returned, where after she explained her problem, Violet offered some advice. So I decide to put in a sentence or two as well. After Elleny leaves, Violet turns over to look at me, a small smile on her face.

"I hope our advice helped Elleny," she said.

"Maybe," I said, shrugging. "Well, what do you want to do next?"

"Hmmmm, I was thinking about taking a tour of the place we just rented out," Violet suggested. "And to put down our luggage."

"And later can we take a break there?" I asked hopefully. "For one, I agreed to stay for a month, and two, I'm completely exhausted."

"'Kay, I guess that would only be fair," Violet agreed, sighing a little. 

We left the Lavender Cafe and returned the boat to the rental place. From there, we went on foot, eventually arriving at the place we rented earlier. It was small, but rather charming, I had to admit. It was painted a light aquamarine, and the roof was made of reddish-brown shingles, where it met to a point over a small white circular window. Vines draped over the house here and there, with small flower buds decorating it, and two windows were on either side, each with a white windowsill decorated with succulents and flowers in multicolored pots. There was a mini roof over the door, and a lantern underneath. On the door, which was a dark brown, was a wooden sign with gold lettering in cursive on top. 

Violet went over to read it. "Welcome to the Flowerwood Cottage. Well, that sounds charming and cozy! Let's go in!"

"Flowerwood Cottage," I repeated under my breath. "What a cutesy name for a house." I followed behind as Violet opened the door and went inside.

The house interior was rather nicely decorated, with a light aquamarine-and-white scheme throughout the furniture. I immediately went over and sat on the couch, which was white with aquamarine pillows. I smiled a little. Perhaps this house wasn't too bad after all.

"I knew you would like it!" Violet said triumphantly, pointing to the smile on my face.

I quickly morphed my smile into a frown. "No I don't. And even so," I continued. "I'm more used to my own house, with a purple color scheme."

"Perhaps if you see the bedrooms you'll change your mind," Violet said.

"I think I'll take my break for now," I said, shaking my head a little. Violet didn't protest, going upstairs to tour the bedrooms herself.

---

I'm changing it to 1st POV now. 

Enola--

The next morning, Elleny comes to my house, empty-handed, which is unusual. Most of the time, somehow, the grounds of our meetings involve baked goods.
"Hi," she says, seeming just a bit less chipper than normal. More resolved and reserved, like me. 
"Hi," I say back. "There's room on the deck chairs, just don't touch the table, it's sticky." I've been varnishing the table, even though it doesn't really rain here. 
"Okay," she says, sitting down. "There's something I'd like to tell you about." 
"What is it?"
"I used to have a brother," Elleny says. "His name was Justin and he was nine years older than me. He was really nice to me and he liked birdwatching. He got sent off to be in the army recently when the war happened. He died when they were coming back from the war." Her voice is shaky. 
"And?"
"Um, well..." Elleny looks down at her hands. "I was wondering if you wanted me to tell you something since I found out about your mom. Like, secret for secret?" 
"Honestly, I didn't need you to, but now..." I reach for her hand across the table, careful not to touch it. "We don't have unnecessary secrets anymore. And that's good. How are your parents since Justin...died?" 
"They're good, better than they were, but not like they used to be. Sad and kind of washed-out," says Elleny. 
"Maybe our parents could meet," I say to Elleny. 
"Where?" she asks. "Not at your house, I guess." 
"No, not at yours either, so nobody has to host. We could do the Lavender Cafe, but at an un-busy time." My mom doesn't like places that are full of people. 
"There's a park near the Lavender Cafe that has this muffling effect on it? It's called the Oasis," Elleny says. "That sounds like a good place to me." 
"Perfect," I say. "You can tell your parents now?" She nods and goes back to her house.