thetwistedarts

[thetwistedarts]

Master list 🌿

Lucy Gray Baird

The Apothecary girl - Ch. 1, Ch. 2, Ch. 3

[thetwistedarts]

Postgames! Lucy Gray Baird x Fem!OC!

Chapter One: Chance Encounters

Word Count: 1200

Chance Encounters: an unexpected or unplanned meeting with someone, often leading to unforeseen interactions or opportunities

The apothecary in the town square of district 12 is a small building, dated but inviting, sage green paint licking the rotting wood of the store front, a large glass window displaying a small bonsai tree, and a row of herbs dangling from a drying rack, the shop seemed to bake in the rays of the June sun. It’s not exactly the place Juniper imagined spending her Saturday morning, her parents had decided to spend the day at the Hob, trading the illegal substances they happen to produce now and then, knowing they can earn them a pretty penny. Juniper had naturally been left alone to man the shop, her three older brothers inevitably spending their days on shift in the mines or out causing havoc. Saturday morning’s are usually quiet at the Apothecary so Juniper busies herself organising the shelves, restocking them and checking the back for remaining stock, making note of any more balms and syrups that���ll need making up for the Monday restock. As she rearranges the jars on one of the shelves, the shop door opens, creaking and groaning as the hinges sway, the small gold bell ringing as the customer walks in. Juniper turns around at the noise, noticing Lucy-Gray browsing a nearby shelf, picking up jars, looking at them, putting them back. She watches her momentarily, finding the movement almost soothing as she meticulously checks each and every jar on the shelf.

Juniper clears her throat, “um, hi, can I help you with anything?”. Lucy spins around, her purple gingham dress flowing as she turns to face Juniper, “well darlin’, I was wondering if y’all have any peppermint leaves lying around”, she smiles softly, the words flowing off her tongue in that infamous southern drawl. Juniper pauses momentarily, completely in awe of her presence before shaking herself out of the daze, “o-of course, just over here”, she leads Lucy to a shelf labelled herbs, grabbing a jar. Juniper passes it to her, their fingers brushing softly as Lucy takes the it, “Just great, that’s perfect sweet pea”, she says, smiling as she rotates the jar in her hand, “how much’d i owe you?”. Juniper looks at the jar in her hand, and then back up at Lucy’s face, her eyes running over her features, “don’t bother, call it a favour for getting outta those games alive”. Lucy-gray pauses her movement of the jar, looking up at Juniper, “oh, you don’t have to, I’m happy to pay”, her gaze soft as she looks at her and then the shop, noticing the signs of wear and tear from the years of use. Juniper places a hand on top of hers, encasing the jar in a mixture of body heat, “no, please, it is the least we can do for someone who has survived the worse”. Lucy looks at Juniper’s hand on top of hers, before looking at her face, smiling, “thank you darlin’”. Juniper smiles back at her, absentmindedly squeezing her hand softly “of course, anytime”. Juniper watches the swish of Lucy-Gray’s skirt as she leaves the shop, the door softly closing behind her as she walks back out into the town square. Watching her go, Juniper wipes her hands over her apron as she turns back around to check the register, jolting in shock as she sees her older brother, Taiga, stood behind her.

“Fuck me”, She gasps holding her hand to her heart, “stop doing that man”. Taiga chuckles as he watches her, “thought you’d be happy to see me June, got off my shift early just to come and help out”. Juniper looks up at him, smiling, “oh, that’s great, thank you”, she weaves her way around him as she moves to check the register. Taiga watches her, “So you and that Covey girl huh?”, Juniper looks up at him, her eyebrows furrowing, soft wrinkles appearing on her freckled face, “what’d ya mean?’. Taiga raises his eyebrows at her, a smile brushing over his vitiligo marked dark skin, “oh come on Junie, you were completely enamoured by her”. ”Yeah, but can you blame me Taig, she is drop-dead gorgeous, and god, that accent man” Juniper sighs, pulling her hair up into a ponytail, tying it with a leftover piece of twine on the counter. Taiga laughs, shoving her in the shoulder, “i ain’t blaming you Junie, i think y’all are adorable together”. Juniper swats his hand away, smiling as she checks through the money in the register, “so how was your shift?” She asks, flicking through a collection of coins. Taiga shrugs, sliding his bag off his shoulder and onto a hook as he rounds the doorway into the back room, “same old, same old, where’s everyone else?”. Juniper hums as she slides the coins back into the register, “Ma and Pa are at the Hob, fuck knows where Fen and Birch are, but they ain’t here, I’ll tell you that for free”. She slides the register shut as she turns on the small oak stool she was precariously sat on to face Taiga, watching him flop onto the antique sofa that sat in the back room. A soft moment of silence falls between the pair as they both look at one another, almost communicating without words, before Taiga finally speaks up. “So how ya feeling about turning 18 tomorrow?, finally an adult huh”, juniper hums in agreement, “feel like I’ve been an adult for years with how ma has had me filling in shifts”. Taiga chuckles as he stretches his arms “our baby Junie all grown up”, he pretends to wipe tears from his cheek, “funny”, juniper mutters as she turns back to face the front of the shop.

The bell rings again, this time Juniper is not blessed with the sights of Lucy-Gray strolling into the shop, instead she sees a young girl she knew as Daisy whose mother had been suffering from arthritis recently. “Hiya sweetheart”, Juniper smiles, leaning over the counter to look at the small blonde girl in front of it. Daisy looks up at her, her green eyes wide as she rocks back and forth on her heels, the small coins in her hand jingling as she sways, “um, my mommy said she needed some more medicine”. Juniper nods, smiling softly at the little girl before moving around to a shelf across the shop, grabbing a jar labelled ‘turmeric, ginger, cat’s claw, and white willow’. She turns around, dropping the jar into the girls bag, “there ya go sweetie”, the little girl smiles, taking a look into the bag before passing the coins to Juniper, “thank you, my mommy thinks your really lovely”. Juniper smiles as she takes the coins, holding the door open for Daisy, “tell her to look after herself sweetie”. The door swings shut softly as Daisy skips away, Juniper returning to the counter, dropping the coins into the register. She hears the bell ring again but ignores it momentarily to lean around the doorframe, “Taig? Can you grab me some more sage? Think we’ve got some in the back cupboard”. Taiga groans as he rolls off the sofa, landing on the floor with a soft thud before standing up, “you might wanna turn around Junie”. Juniper looks her brother up and down, “why’s that?” She mutters watching the smile paint Taiga’s face as he walks to the cupboard.

“Your little lover girl is here”