This happened to be our biggest co-write of the mission. (No solo came even close to matching the size of it, not that we had a ton of solos.)

It all starts with Iris, but Wildfall and Mary Kate come in later. Enjoy!

 
Iris stomped away from the Spookyraven plot excited, perplexed, and completely out of sorts all at once. She had had a very thrilling time fighting monsters with that girl who could manipulate ice and create frosty winds, but those monsters had tried to kill them all, dammit! And the Council had only stepped in... for what?? They hadn't even said, they'd just stopped the battle and dismissed everyone, as if nothing serious had really happened. She'd wasted her time trying to reach the Council, and then this. It felt very suspicious, almost traitorous. There was something strange about their intervention. Had the Council and the Giant, et al, been in league this whole time??? Or were they planning to be? A fresh wave of anger went over her and her pace quickened. She wished the Burly Sidekick were there. He'd kick the whole Council's ass just for stopping the fight. And she knew his incessant roaring would make her laugh.

Her stomach started to growl, and just as she was thinking that she was too angry to be hungry, she wondered what had happened to the rest of the adventurers. Some of them had looked a little worse for wear...

She didn't know where they had gone, though, they had all dispersed so quickly into the night. She decided to take a look around the town and see if she could find a place to eat and sleep for the remainder of the night. Maybe once she'd taken a rest she would seek some of them, one of them, *any* of them, out and talk to them about that very strange battle that had happened.

Her steps took her further from the devastated mansion, across the train tracks, to the more disheveled part of town. "This must be where the 'riff-raff' lives that the Penguin was talking about," Iris thought with a sneer of contempt at him. As she got closer, laughter and the sound of general merrymaking emanated from a disreputable-looking club that was obviously trying to look fancy, and lots of robotic-sounding "pings!" and "bleep blerps" from a gaming arcade. There was a very long row of what must have once been nice apartments or dancing halls that were now in complete and utter shambles. At one corner she could see a man with a dirty, torn cap and broken sunglasses leaning against a building, drinking from a huge bottle and watching her, and the scene behind her, with very mild interest. As she walked past, she looked at him almost defiantly, and he looked back and then stumbled amiably into the squalor and laid down. Further on there was what looked like a junkyard with a ton of weeds all throughout, and beyond that there was what looked like a hut. She thought she heard talking coming from that direction and decided to investigate. As she neared, she could make out that it was a high-pitched voice belonging to someone who was arguing with himself fastidiously. "No no no, that color with THAT brushstroke simply will not do, it isn't delicate enough. Now what about this?- no. Too big, too big. Hehehe, that's what she said! Hehehe. What about this one? Oh dammit-oh! Curse my foul mouth. Ronald has moved a smidgen. Dammit. I mean, bother. What shall I do now?" Iris peeked into the dirt hovel to see a wiry looking man hopping back and forth on his toes and dabbing paint onto a canvas, talking to himself, and pretentiously tidying his blue scarf and the blue beret that was sitting atop his wiry green hair.

As soon as he caught sight of her he opened his mouth with a little "Eeek!" and adjusted his clothes and hopped even more.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to startle you-" Iris began, but he cut her off with a, "Oh my dear. Just look at you. Look at those clothes! Dirt and ash all over you- and are those snowflakes??? It's snowing?? (Here he peered out at the sky.) Hmmm, how very strange. But oh, you must be an adventurer! And oh my, that tattoo! I simply must draw it. Yes, yes. You are *quite* filthy but I think I could make it beautiful. Hmmm. Oh, dear, why must people always get themselves so dirty before portraits?"

The situation felt all too surreal to Iris. She had just been dumped from a messy fight into a messy part of town and now was being harangued by someone who wanted to paint her. Her last day with her crew-members seemed like eons ago now, even though it had only been a few days.

"No, thank you, I wouldn't like any portraiture done today. I've actually... just... had a very, very long day, I'm looking for somewhere to sleep and for some food, would you happen to know where any I-"

"FOOD?!" squealed the pretentious artist. "Where is food, you have some?! I'm a starving artist, I need food for my painting, or I mean, for my belly so that I *can* paint (paintings don't usually eat, you know. Or at least, not yet they don't. I don't think)."

Iris was starting to feel an edge of hysteria along with a new wave of irritability, and decided to extricate herself from the situation. "No, I don't have food. I'm looking for some."

"Well," said the artist-

"If you find any, let me know!" they both said at the same time.

The artist fussed with his scarf nervously and Iris quickly backed out of the hovel before any more awkwardness ensued.

Bits of paper bags and other garbage crunched under Iris' feet as she moved along the plots of land. Crickets paused their songs in suspicion at her passing, and then started back up even louder, and suddenly without warning exhaustion fell upon her like a ton of bricks. She became acutely aware of how filthy she was, and the smell of dried rat and demon blood and singed fur and hair, and ash assaulted her senses.

She started to go faster, until she was running. The wind barely brushed the odors away, and just when she thought she might give up and go to the other end of town, something caught her attention. It was a very dark, secluded building, with dim green lanterns hung on the outside walls. She crept closer to it, and could see that masquerade bandit masks were strung along almost like wind-chimes on one side. A sign on the top proclaimed that it was the Department for Shadowy Arts and Crafts, and since it was such Iris decided that she wasn't going to bother to knock.

She snuck up to the one of the doors and slipped in as quietly as possible. Once inside, she surveyed the building and concluded that either everyone was hiding much better than she could ever hope to, or it was empty. She scrubbed herself off as best as she could with a bucket of hot water and the slab of soap, and then she helped herself to a tankard of ale from a tap in another room, a hunk of bread, and some musty sharp cheese from a cupboard. She found blankets scattered about in a cabinet, and she took the wooliest one, and just to be safe, went and curled up in a cozy hollow outside of the Department, with her knives carefully nestled against her stomach. After the past week's events, there wasn't any harm in being too careful.

Iris was awoken from a very sound sleep by the high sweet chirping of birds and what sounded like murmuring but was really the muffled sound of Seaside Town waking up. Ronald was now dim and barely visible across the horizon, from where the sun was peeking its face out and Grimace was a very muted face in the sky. A lark flitted right over Iris' head, and she thought she heard the light pounding of children's feet in the earth, probably from the poor orphans who, she had discovered after her first night camping, liked to play in the overgrown junkyard. She also heard some spooky noises, which she thought was odd especially for morning, but she hadn't had a chance to really check that out yet.

She sat up and stretched, and then quickly folded up the blanket and snuck back into the Department to return it. Upon returning to the field, she strung her bow and notched it, and quietly went into the nearby thickets to see if she could find anything for breakfast. The leaves in the thicket were rustling, but even her sharpshooter eyes couldn't detect anything. She squatted down to wait for a few minutes, but when no animals or birds appeared, she decided to move on to the lot. Perhaps there were some rats there that she could shoot down.

Once she reached the lot she pulled out her knife and started belly-crawling through the grass. It sounded like the orphans were at it once again, chasing each other- and suddenly a quick, soft rush of air went past her with a whispering "OoooOooohhHhh", startling her. She ducked her head down, and then raised up to look around. She didn't see anything, and then a few feet ahead of her, and again much further off, a ghostly shimmering wind disturbed the grass and made the children shriek in laughter and run. "Ghosts?!" she thought in bewildered amazement. What a strange place this part of the kingdom was! The ghostly apparition, or whatever the spook was, disturbed some field mice, but they were far too small for any sort of meal. A mourning dove, however, was cooing not far off on a pile of rubbish, having been disturbed from wherever his previous perch had been. Iris carefully laid her knife down and pulled her bow off her back. She held it in front of her like a crossbow and fitted an arrow. "FWING!" it shot through the air at lightning speed and hit the bird so fast that it was thrown off the box backwards a few feet away. Iris ran over to it to make sure it had been killed (it had, instantly), and picked it up, looking pleased with herself. It was a very fat bird….but for some reason she felt that she should get more. She had no idea why. But roasted dove didn't sound good this morning. Maybe she should make a very big pot of stew. The thought made her mouth water, and she trudged through the tall swishy grass until she had hunted down and shot a couple more birds. She tied them up in a sack and decided to make the long walk to town. She remembered there had been a noisy marketplace, and she had enough meat that, if that dirty, noisy place had it, she would be able to buy a few squash. And some tomatoes or some other tasty veggie if they were in season. And a pot, of course, to cook it in. With this mental list in her head, Iris took a deep breath and started for the town.

*-------

The night before

Jarlsboris Wildfall found himself curiously drawn to the main room of the house. It was a spacious house, to be sure, and it was also a nice enough room. Certainly nicer than most houses Wildfall had stayed at during his time. But mostly, it was the view from the front window that kept the Ireacan's attention.

Mary Katherine O'Toole walked up behind him, put her arms around his waist and said, "This is a lot different from back in Ireaca, isn't it, Jarlsy?"

Wildfall stiffened, but immediately relaxed. "Huh? Oh.. yeah.. sure is MK. Thought you were still reading?"

Mary quickly answered, "No, I was looking through my medical supplies and taking note of what I need when we go to the market square. Also it occurred to me that I totally forgot to give you the surprise I told you about when you were recovering from the bat attack. We have been so busy I completely forgot about it." She started to chuckle as she walked over to her packs and pulled out three nice sized packages and returned to Wildfall, who found himself distracted staring out the window again.

Noting his preoccupation, she asked, "Do you want these now or do you want to wait until you are not so distracted?" Then she chuckled again and said, "Maybe I should just return the packages, what do you think, Jarlsy?"

"What?" Wildfall's head snapped as he looked over. "Sorry, honey, it's just I've been so used to living in the forest, or sleeping outside, and I never figured a lad like me would be livin' in a place this nice again.. especially after. . . . nevermind that, did you say something about picking up a package MK.. I mean. . . honey?"

As Mary handed the packages to him, she said with a big smile on her face and glint in her eyes, "I had these made for you and hope you like them. Sorry it took so long to give them to you but with everything that has been going on……." She stopped mid-sentence to hide the quiver in her voice and lowered her head a bit to hide the moisture forming in her eyes.

This time it was Wildfall's turn to slip behind her, holding his arms around her tenderly, almost protectively. "You're fine, honey. You're fine."

"Well, do you want these or do you want me to take them back?" Mary asked still holding the packages out for Wildfall, who quickly took them and laid them on the nearby couch.

"You didn't have to get me anything, MK, but I'll definitely take a look."

"Yes, I did have to get you something, Jarlsy. You'd look pretty funny walking around in your birthday suit and your other things are getting pretty tattered. I've patched as much as I can."

"That's true, although I think I look pretty good in my . . ." Wildfall's comment trailed off as he opened the first package, pulling out the nicest silk shirt he had ever seen. Wildfall audibly gasped. "Are ya sure this is for me? Cause it looks like it should be going to a king or something. . . Maybe we should get it back before we get in trouble for royal theft or something."

Mary laughed so hard she had tears in her eyes as she said, "No, that is yours and so are the other packages, hun. Capt. Horatio gave me the materials and stuff when he came back from his trip to Slumgolia and I had Mr. SewRite, the tailor make the clothes for you. Now, are you going to open the rest and put them on or just stand there with your mouth open?" Mary couldn't resist the smile that formed on her face as she saw the expression on his face.

Wildfall finally closed his mouth.. "I'm afraid to put it down."

"Then let me hold it so you can look at the rest." She took the shirt from him.

Wildfall moved onto the next package with a grin. "Careful with that, it's a gift from someone very important to me. Let's see, looks like I lucked out and got the good gift first, but let's see what else you got me."

Mary couldn't help but notice how much more deliberate and careful Wildfall was opening the next gift, however. "Well, what do you think of them? Do you like them?"

Wildfall smiled the biggest grin she'd see him smile in sometime as he pulled out the white lion skin pants. "Do I like 'em? Mary, these look perfect for me! Bit bright, but I'm sure a lil time in the dirt will take care of that. I can't believe ya got these for me, and they're almost as nice as the shirt. Color me impressed, lass."

Mary took the pants and pointed to the last package saying, "Will you hurry up and open it so you can try these all on? You're making me nervous."

WildfaIl nervously half-smiled. "I'm afraid to."

Mary let out a hearty laugh and said, "Well I can assure you that item won't bite you, but I might if you don't hurry up."

"Okay," he answered, moving to the final package. "I just feel like you're gonna tell me this is a Sneaky Pete's day prank and they're not really mine or something."

"No, this is no prank and they are all yours," Mary replied with a big smile.

As Wildfall opened the last package, Mary anxiously grabbed for the package and opened it herself, allowing him to reach in to retrieve the contents. As he held up the red blanket jacket, he stared at Mary with tears in his eyes and trying hard to give one of his wise-ass comebacks but nothing came to mind.

"Ahh- I didn't get you anything, either."

"I never expected anything. I saw how badly your clothes were shredded and wanted you to have new clothes." Mary replied. "Besides I had to think of something fast to get you to rest and not rush right back to adventuring. You needed the time to heal."

Wildfall's eyes glazed a little as he reflected, remembering that time. "Oh, yeah. After the thing with the bats. These clothes are amazing, honey. I kinda want to get out and show them off now. Todd'll be so jealous. If we ever find Todd. We really gotta get on that sometime."

"I agree with that comment, We do need to find Todd and Fahari. Can't wait to see the look on Todd's face. We need to make a list of the things we both need and what other supplies we need then we can head to the market square."

Wildfall rolled his eyes. "Already? So much for stayin' inside for a few months.. haha. But I am kinda gettin' an itch to get out myself, MK. Aren't you gettin' a lil sick being inside? What's it been, a whole week?"

"Oh, hun, it's only been three days that we've been here at home, but I can tell you're getting the bug to adventure again. Hehe…." Mary snickered.

"Alright, MK, start the list and I'll go try these sweet things on. Thank you again, so much. You don't know how much this means to me, honey. You're the best!" Wildfall kissed her on the cheek and made his way up the stairs, eager to try the new clothes on.

*-------

Not long after. . .

Wildfall had a certain sturt in his step as he and Mary Kate walked down the Right Side of the Tracks. He couldn't help but smile, and Mary was loving it.

She noticed a difference in Wildfall's step and asked, "What got into you today? You find some magic in those clothes? You are strutting around like a peacock spreading out his tail feathers."

"What do ya mean, Mary?" Wildfall asked, oblivious. "Maybe it just looks like I'm struttin' cause of my awesome new clothes. Did I thank you for them yet?"

"Yes, you thanked me several times already, honey. I keep telling you it's fine. Glad they fit. Oh, you look so handsome. I better stick close to you, no telling what stranger might come along and try to kidnap you since you look so good," Mary said teasingly.

Wildfall smirked. "Story of my life, babe. Ya know, I know I said I'd grab the shopping list, but I was so distracted by my outfit . . ."

"Well you go look for the food that you want and I'll go get my medical supplies. I'm not sure what you needed," Mary replied.

Wildfall took her hand in his, almost without thinking. With the two getting closer to Market Square, he raised his voice to be heard over the streets as they started to crowd. "Come with. I wanna make sure we get something we both like, MK. Besides, we gotta decide how soon we're gonna check in with the Council."

"Well, if you insist. I thought we'd get done faster if we split up to shop. Not much of a list since I have no clue what you're used to eating and I have to wander around and find the herbs and stuff I need for my medical bag. You will be so bored following me."

"Following you?" Wildfall smirked. "Honey, I'm kinda bored listening to it. Don't worry, though, I'm sure I'll find a way to amuse myself."

"Yep I'm sure you'll have no problem, especially since you are dressed like a king. You'll have no trouble attracting attention, honey, Just don't get so distracted by the attention that you forget to get us some food and you get the supplies that you need for yourself," Mary replied with a wink.

Wildfall rolled his eyes and looked her over. "Anyway, I also wanna make sure we get food you like. Besides, we're almost to the first veggie stands. It's a pain figuring which ones are a rip off, and which are fresh and which aren't. I figured having a second pair of eyes would help. And if we they don't make us a deal, maybe you could make a fist at 'em or something, babe."

Mary glared at him and said, "The only way I know things are good or fresh is by using my eyes, nose and hands. You look at the stuff, smell it and feel it to make sure it is firm. You do know how to do that right? And as far as price goes, if I think it is too much I walk away and go elsewhere, hehe. Gets them everytime." She looked at Wildfall and noticed him looking around. "Are you expecting someone or did you lose something, babe?"

Wildfall looked around once more then frowned and let out a deep sigh. "Sorry, just it's usually about now Todd shows up. I guess I was kinda hoping . . ."

Mary nodded and replied, "Yes, I'd have thought he'd be hanging around here already. Wonder if he and Fahari got held up or are in some kind of trouble. You know how Todd is, hun."

"He's in trouble," Wildfall said. "And we should really start lookin' for him soon. Maybe the Council could help."

"You must be reading my mind. Do you want to hurry up and get the stuff we need and then go to the Council or go there now? I really am worried about the two of them," Mary replied with a frown of concern on her face.

"Sure," Wildfall said, forcing a smile. "We should focus on the shopping first. We can get to that after, alright?"

"You're the boss, so let's get it done. Not into hanging around crowds that much."

Wildfall nodded. "Especially after things like that big brawl at the mansion huh? My knee's still sore as it was the morning after."

Mary nodded but said nothing, choosing not to relive the battle scene. "There is a strange looking elf over there looking confused about fruits. Guess we better make sure she doesn't buy the wrong thing and then we can get on with our shopping."

Wildfall chuckled. "Not quite as exciting as fighting rats, bats, or a mummified rich guy, but I guess beggars can't be choosers, so we might as well help a few beggars choose wisely, huh?"

Mary elbowed him. "You're good at rescuing people so go rescue her."

Wildfall nudged her forward, holding his ribs. "Not so hard. No way. Last girl I talked to, you picked a fight with and punched me over. Besides, you know fruit better than I do. I'm more of a big game hunter."

Mary jerked away from Wildfall and stomped over to the elf. "Is there something you need? Are you having a problem with the fruit?"

Iris turned to see the young brunette girl that addressed her. "Oh, thank you. I was actually looking for vegetables, but I haven't been here in so long I don't know what's in season. Would you mind terribly if I asked you to help?"

"I don't know my way around this place but maybe my friend here can help you. I only came here to get supplies and get out of here. I think the vegetables are two stalls over."

Wildfall smiled as he walked up. "Unless the sugar-coated artificial fruit flavored sticky crust stand is up, in which case, who needs veggies anyway? Am I right?"

"Whatever you say, babe," Mary replied, looking at him like he lost his mind.

Iris laughed. "I don't know if that would go very well in a dove soup, but hey, if that's what they eat here, I'll try it."

After smirking at Mary, Wildfall turned to the elf. "Hey, do you happen to be from the wood areas? Cause you really remind me of someone me and Mary Kate were running with for a short while."

"I was born and raised in the Distant Woods. I haven't been there in quite a few years, though," Iris replied. Then her expression turned a little somber. "You both look a little familiar though... were you at that catastrophic fight at the mansion a few nights ago? I'm afraid, if I heard you correctly, that you said something about a brawl there."

Wildfall nodded as the smile vanished. "Yeah. I kinda lost track - after Spookyraven knocked me down - of what was going on.. I remember Mary standing over me, then us heading home. The stuff in between is pretty much a blur."

"Sorry I was too busy fighting for my life to pay attention to who was hanging around watching. A little hard to look around when you are being choked to death by a boney hand and beaten by a rat. I don't remember much till someone helped me up and I saw Willdfall lying beside me." Mary replied, clearly not wanting to talk about the events that happened.

"The whole battle was pretty much a blur," Iris said looking at Mary sympathetically. "That whole thing with the Council ending it was so fishy it smelled bad." She shifted the things in her hands and pressed her lips together in a line. "You know... I think I have a bit more fowl here than will feed me… I know we've just met, but if you all want, I'd be very happy to share with you. I was going to make a hearty pot of stew!"

Wildfall smiled proudly. "My gal Mary makes a mean pot of stew herself. What kind are ya plannin' to brew up?"

"Honestly I hadn't decided yet, I wasn't sure what would be in season. I was thinking I'd put in some squash or maybe radishes. What do you think, Mary? I've got fresh mourning dove here." Iris indicated her bag.

"I think whatever veggie you want will go fine. The squash can be boiled or baked so it is up to you. In order tell how fresh things are, my mother told me to use my eyes, nose and hands. Your eyes tell you if the color looks fresh, your nose tells you if it smells fresh and your hands tell you if it is fresh: soft feeling veggies are not as fresh as firm ones." Mary continued, "I hope that helps and now if you'll excuse me I've got to go get some supplies for my medical kit. Wildfall can help you till I return. He knows the area better than I do. I just tag along with him." Mary turned to walk over to the herb booth but Wildfall gently grabbed her arm, getting her attention.

"Nuhuh, that's not how we do things anymore." As she turned, he gave her a quick, almost shy kiss on the lips. "Hurry back, MK. I mean.. take your time. Um.. you know what I mean."

"No, I don't really, do you want me to hurry back or take my time and leave the two of you to feel the fruits and veggies?'" Mary kissed him full on the lips and whispered in his ear, "Remember you are mine, don't get kidnapped." With that, she turned and hurried off to the herbs.

Wildfall cracked his knuckles and turned back to the fruit stand. "So let's see what we got here.. so which one were you in the fight? Oh, right. MK, that's Mary Kate. Call me Wildfall."

This is actually the first co-write Iris is in for AIL, so it's fitting that it opens with basically an Iris solo, followed by a section with just Wildfall and Mary, who are usually together. Even more fittingly, the Iris opening continues off the theme of reflecting on the previous mission's Finale, which has been one of the themes for Wildfall and Mary's first two co-writes for the mission.

Ichiro again praises the writing styles of Iris in voter comments, and just like her solo debut, it's earned for the vivid descriptions in her pieces. In this case, Ichiro said her writing style reads "very much like it is directly from her mind, while still being third person." That is really high praise. High enough. It impressed the voter enough to award Iris runner-up for Most descriptive writing, thanks to her opening descriptions in this one. The voter called it "super strong," adding it "evoked a lot of knowledge towards what was happening." (It makes sense. The handler plays KOL and it's set in Seaside Town.) The title, which Iris's handler gets credit for, also took Top RP title as well, standing out in a crowd of a solid field of pun and joke titles.

As the voter mentioned, "Wildfall and Mary Kate continue a journey through being a cute couple, which is an enjoyable read." I loved the part that brought the two together as well and I do hope we'll see all three together outside the confines of a Finale story in the future. We see the three together again in this mission as well as the Finale. In fact, that's next!! Enjoy! :)