#honorary addition to the tag mhm!!!!!

[plumadot]

ok here it is! cleo fic with formatting yay!! -🍳

>You are a traveller. 

>Your footprints stain the path behind you, imprints in the slick mud. Rain is lazily pouring down from mushy clouds, and the sky does little to light your way. 

>You wish that your hometown was closer, but alas, it’s still a day’s walk away. You won’t make it with this rain, so the smarter choice would be to look for shelter. Somewhere warm and well-lit.

> Also dry, you think, as a cold raindrop meanders down your back. 

>Thankfully, you can see small lights in the distance. A glistening town lies in front of you.

>You walk faster.

~~~~~~~~~

>Within the town, it’s easier to hide from the rain that tormented your journey. Lamp posts give the air a soft glow as your search for some place to hide away for a while. 

>The first sign you see reads “The Crastle”. It connects to a small yet lively tavern that smells of ale and cider. It seems safe enough (a quick glance assures you of no shadowy figures or incapacitated drinkers), so you enter. 

>Instantly the warmth of a fire and closely packed bodies floods over you. You let out a sigh of relief, shrugging off your wet coat onto a nearby coat rack.

>You approach the bar and find an empty stool. The bartender and another patron are talking, and you decide to let them finish before interrupting.

>The bartender’s hair drapes over her face, so you can’t see what she’s whispering to the man with a green cloak (is it…fuzzy?). He fidgets with a few small blue flowers before placing them gently in her fiery locks. When he’s done, she musses his hair (which produces a sound close to a squawk) before turning to you.

>Cleo: Welcome to the Crastle! Name’s Cleo, how can I help you?

>You: Uh, I can get something to eat? Preferably warm.

>Cleo: Storm got to you?

>You nod.

>You: Yeah, it came in while I was traveling. I’m soaked to the core.

>Cleo: Of course, of course! Let me find something for you in the kitchen.

>You: Thanks.

>They turns around to get your food, and that’s when you notice their sleeves-or rather lack of them. 

>What you had originally taken for long, detached sleeves is actually…skin. Almost purple in tint, but skin nonetheless. You didn’t notice at first, but now it sticks out like a sore thumb. Painfully obvious.

>The stitches holding her bicep together stretch as they balance a tray skillfully. They hand the first bowl to a masked man (who accepts with careful hands and a small nod) before they hand the second to you. 

>Cleo: House stew, hot off the stove!

>You take the bowl off her hands, look up to thank her, and notice that her eyes have no whites.

>You: Th…thank you.

>Cleo: ‘Course! 

>Cleo: …

>Cleo: Do I have something on my face?

>You say nothing. CLEO turns to the same cloaked man from earlier. 

>Cleo: BDubs, do I have something on my face?

>The man scrunches his nose up in concentration.

>Bdubs: Uh, you have eyes, a nose, eyebrows, lips? What am I looking for?

>Cleo: Something out of place! Like a food smudge or bloodstain.

>BDUBS squints his eyes.

>Bdubs: Nothing out of the ordinary, but…

>He turns to look at you, then back at CLEO. You, then CLEO, a few times. 

>Bdubs: Your stitches. And eyes. 

>Cleo: Oh, my stitches! No wonder.

>They turns to you.

>Cleo: I’m undead! Technically a Hollow One, but most people just say undead. The stitches are normal, and so are the eyes, don’t worry.

>You: Oh. Sorry for staring.

>Cleo: Nah, you’re good! All newcomers stare a bit. 

>You: And thank you for the stew. 

>Cleo: Of course, of course! I’ll be back to my duties, but holler if you need me!

>You nod, and CLEO walks off to assist another customer. 

~~~~~~~~~

>Throughout the evening and into the night, CLEO tends to customers, embroidered robes swishing around her knees as she walks.

>BDUBS, apparently the other worker for the tavern, waits tables during the dinner rush. You notice that the flowers on every table are visibly brighter each time he passes by.

>Everything about this tavern is a little strange. The fire burns in pastel colors, the food tastes like memories, and the singer on stage has a chair that looks like…a spider. He notices your lingering gaze and waves. You wave back.

>But it’s nice. No one seems to care about the state of their clothes or the shape of their ears. They just want to drink some beer, eat some food, have a good time. 

>You have seconds, then thirds of the stew. CLEO smiles each time you ask for another.

>Cleo: I’m glad you like it! Etho brought the recipe back from one of his quests. Isn’t that right Etho? 

>The masked man (presumably ETHO) nods.  

>You: Well, it’s really good. Thank you.

>ETHO nods again, and you think you see a flush of pink behind the mask. Seeing the stoic man blush with compliments was quite satisfying. You should try giving them out more often.

>The comfy atmosphere in the tavern, combined with the mixture of stew and ale settling in your stomach, makes you sleepy. Eventually you ask to rent a room from CLEO, give them pay for the night and for the food, and head to bed. You’re asleep the moment your head hits the pillow.

~~~~~~~~~

>Soft sunlight filters through the closed shutters as your eyes flutter open. You prop yourself up to a sitting position and yawn. That was the best sleep you had gotten since you started your journey. Even still, the warm blankets tempted you back to the land of dreams. But you are a traveler, and your journey is not over.

>When you head back to the bar, CLEO is still there, exactly where you left them last night. Now they’re cleaning dishes, plates and bowls and silverware that pile up on both sides of them. 

>Cleo: Hey you! Looks like you’re up bright and early. Heading back on the road?

>You: Yeah, I still have a day’s walk ahead of me. Do you serve breakfast here?

> She smirks and hands you a bowl of…stew. 

>Cleo: If you don’t mind leftovers. 

>You’re too hungry to care, digging into the cold stew almost immediately. CLEO laughs.

>Cleo: Ha! I guess you don’t! 

>She continues to laugh, and then you’re trying not to laugh with her, which is unsuccessful and only results in you spitting out a mouthful of stew, which magically transforms her laughs into guffaws, and then you’re laughing so hard you have to put down the bowl and clutch your sides. Somewhere in between, a sleepy BDUBS shuffles in.

>Bdubs: What in the WORLD is going on here??

>Cleo: I finally found someone who likes cold scraps as much as Etho, if you can believe it!

>Bdubs: Well, you interrupted my schreep. Apologize.

>CLEO rolls her eyes overdramatically, but her laughing smile never leaves her face.

>Cleo: I’m sorry I interrupted your beauty sleep, princess. Will you ever forgive me? 

>BDUBS slouches onto CLEO’s shoulder.

>Bdubs: Only if we can take a nap later. With Etho, because he makes a better pillow than you.

>Cleo: Deal. 

>CLEO ruffles BDUBS' hair as he wraps his arms lazily around their neck. It’s sweet and intimate in the way close friends usually are around each other, and you can’t help but feel like you’re intruding on some morning ritual of theirs (not that they seem to mind). You eat faster to make up for it, then walk back to your room to start packing while CLEO and Bdubs continue their embrace. 

~~~~~~~~~

>You leave the Crastle with a heavy bag but a light coin purse. You can’t find it in you to regret it though, because the experience was far better than any musty hostel room you’ve been to. It felt like an actual rest, and not a waiting place where you anxiously waited to begin your journey again.

>You hope to see CLEO and BDUBS again, smiling, laughing, loving. You hope you can come back and find something to compliment ETHO on and watch him blush and fidget with his shirt collar in embarrassment. Because all those things reminded you of safety, comfort, home.

> But home wasn’t here. Home was a day’s walk away, and if you wanted to get there before sundown, you’d have to start now.

>After all, you are only a traveler. 

ok first of all: AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!

secondly!!!!! i love the way you wrote this!!!! it's like you're the dm and i'm the player and clethubs are the loveliest npcs i will ever meet. which is true!!!!! they are so soft and gentle and sweet and lovely and mysterious and cool and strong and open and friendly and charming!!!!!!! aaaaaa the little things like cleo not immediately noticing why the traveller is staring at them, bdubs making flowers bloom brighter with zero effort, etho seeming a little absent from the conversations but still being included in his own little way... AND SCAR PROVIDING STELLAR BACKGROUND MUSIC,,, the crastle is just such a lovely... ecosystem in this, definitely homely vibes even though it might not actually be "home",,, it feels wonderful and magical but also light!!!! whimsical!!!!!!!!! i love it i love it i love it,,, i love THEM!!!!

ahhhhhh thank you for this gift... i hope the traveller finds a place to call home too...