Isle of Ikea, Tuesday

[spin_kick_snap]

Kathy and Raven had a new apartment in need of decoration and furnishing and they also had a lot of things to not think about and/or work their way through, depending on how they were feeling at the time. Conveniently enough, both of those things worked with the other. Kathy had spent her sleepless hours the night before making lists, flipping through magazines for inspiration (seriously, how many Williams-Sonoma catalogues did you need Eliot?!), and doodling layouts to try to figure our furniture arrangements. Then, once it had gotten bright enough outside that it wouldn't be weird to be up and about, Kathy had put together a trip to the Isle of Ikea. Because what could be better than combining a caffeine buzz, a ridiculously generous budget, and four teenage girls?

You were welcome, Ikea employees!

"So we need pretty much everything," Kathy said, as they landed on the shores of the isle. "Two bathrooms, a kitchen, a living room, and our bedrooms. Pretty much the sky's...the..." She trailed off, looking at the building in front of them. She'd known the whole island was devoted to the store, but she hadn't really thought about how big that store would be. "And this looks like it has everything," she added. "Okay then."

[For those invited, and I have no idea whether the Isle has squirrels or not! Also open for phone calls]

Comments

[that_oldsaying]

Alluka clapped her hands together around her elephant (it had seemed fitting to bring, since Kathy had given it to her) and laughed delightedly at the size of the store.

“Just think of how many friends could hang out if you bought everything in here!”

Did she mean toys? Or people? It was hard to tell!

[spin_kick_snap]

"There isn't a house on the island that could fit all this stuff," Kathy said, smiling down at her. "We'd have to tuck everyone into the nooks and crannies where the furniture was wedged together and hope it fit!"

[that_oldsaying]

"It'd be amazing if we could manage it, though," Alluka insisted, giggling. "Some of the stuff could go outside! We could put tables on all of the stairs and slide around the island."

That was a terrible idea, really, but it sounded fun.

[spin_kick_snap]

"Anything to make those stairs less ridiculous," Kathy said with a nod. "Though we should put big mounds of pillows and blankets on the bottoms, just for safety."

Like anything involving riding tables down stone stairs could make it 'safe.'

[that_oldsaying]

"With tarps so that the rain doesn't make them wet!"

Because adding slippery plastic was going to make this safer, right?

Alluka considered that carefully. "Do you think they sell tarps in fun colours? Or maybe fuzzy ones?"

[spin_kick_snap]

"I think we're a lot more likely to find tarps in bright colors than fuzzy textures," Kathy said. "But if we find one that is furry, we'll have to get it, won't we?"

[tigerundercover]

"They sell stuffed animals here, too." Raven didn't know Alluka very well, but it was hard to miss the girl's enthusiasm for stuffed toys. "Or at least, there were a bunch on the website."

[that_oldsaying]

"Do they?!" That was amazing! That was thrilling! That was--oh. They weren't here to shop for her.

Alluka's gleeful expression dimmed slightly before perking back up as a thought occurred to her.

"Do you, do you think Kathy would want a couple of friends? Or maybe a few for you? I could help you pick some out, if you'd like."

[tigerundercover]

"I don't know about Kathy, but I could probably use a new friend or two," Raven said.

She was going to get all the soft and squishy things. All of them. Maybe then she could convince herself that soft and squishy -- and beds -- were things to be lounged on and enjoyed and she could get some sleep.

[that_oldsaying]

"Then I'll help you," Alluka said, pleased. She liked being able to help, though she still didn't think there were many things she was good at. "Unless you don't want me to."

Which would make her sad but--

"After all, it's important to have friends that suit you."

And if Raven didn't know Alluka, then Alluka didn't really know Raven either, except for knowing that she was sometimes blue and sometimes not.

[tigerundercover]

Hey, that was more than some people knew.

"Well . . . I'm pretty sure you know more about these sorts of friends than I do," Raven said. "You won't get upset if I don't end up getting any even with your help?"

She'd never been much of a teddy bear person. And if she made Alluka cry or something -- well, there was going to be plenty enough for Kathy to be mad at her for eventually. She didn't want to add that to the list.

[that_oldsaying]

"For a long time they were my only friends," Alluka admitted, hugging her elephant. "So I know a lot of toys really well, but I won't cry if you don't find one. It just means maybe this store doesn't have the right ones for you."

Also, more for her.

[tigerundercover]

"That's a good policy," Raven said. "For a long time the only friend I had was my brother. It can get pretty lonely, huh?"

[that_oldsaying]

"I don't know," Alluka said slowly. "I didn't really know anything else. I have brothers, but only one ever visited me. When he left, though, my friends and I were quiet for a bit."

Was that what being lonely was?

[tigerundercover]

"Sounds about right." Raven shrugged. "That was probably about Charles' reaction when I left."

She really should call him.

"So, what else do you think we should look for in here, huh? I'm thinking a bed, of course, and lots of shelves. Somewhere to put a stereo."

[that_oldsaying]

"How much room do you have?" Alluka asked curiously. She hadn't seen the apartment yet. "Do you want one of those beds with a desk under them? Or, or just a normal bed?"

A beat.

"What do you do for fun? Won't that help decide what you need the room for?"

[tigerundercover]

"Beds with a desk under them?"

Raven was going to be all over the loft beds when she saw them. But she'd never encountered one before.

"I like music," she said, considering Alluka's question. "So, you know, the stereo. And TV, but I think we'll use the living room for that." TV was more fun when it was social, anyway. ". . . I think practicing different shapes and impersonations probably isn't much of a bedroom hobby, though."

[that_oldsaying]

"It sounds like fun, though!" Alluka chirped. "It sounds like, like having a never-ending closet of dress up clothes."

Alluka would kill for a never-ending closet of pretty clothes.

"Do you play an instrument? Or maybe thinking of learning one? I've been thinking of that, but I don't know what to pick or where to start." She was pretty sure her papa was partial to the guitar himself, but Alluka didn't know if that suited her. "And yes! Beds with desks under them! Like bunkbeds only the bottom bed isn't there and there's a desk or a dresser or space for shelves under there!"

[tigerundercover]

"It's exactly like that," Raven confirmed, and with a quick glance around to see who might be watching, shifted the color of her dress from black to purple. "I actually don't have any real clothes at all," she confided. "I used to, but I threw them all away."

Actually, they were in a box in Eliot's attic. But as far as she was concerned, they could stay there forever. They were mostly from the '50s, and '50s clothes were terrible. The foundation garments alone. . . .

"So I could put, like, a big mirror set up under it? Or a fluffy couch? It could be like a reading nook." Or a internet browsing nook, let's be real.

[that_oldsaying]

Since Raven was trying to keep it secret, she did her best to keep her delighted squeal to a low-flail.

That was so, so amazing!

"A big couch might be too big, but a small, fluffy one or a chair would look really pretty under something like--" Alluka went up on her tiptoes to peer around the store. "Like that! That's what I was talking about! And there's one with a desk!"

[tigerundercover]

"Oh!" Raven immediately rushed over to the one Alluka had pointed out, running her fingers along the black wood. She climbed up on the first step of the ladder and craned (and very slightly grew) her neck to get a better look.

It was almost like a little hidey hole. Zombies tended not to do a lot of climbing.

She tilted her head to look at the space underneath it again, then looked back at the bed. And spotted one in one of the little display rooms nearby, showing the way it hugged in close to the ceiling. It even had a little couch underneath it (and a laptop desk!). Raven hopped down from the ladder and headed over to check that one out.

"Alluka, this is perfect! Good eye!"

[that_oldsaying]

"Oh! I--"

She hurried after Raven, beaming with pride.

"You really like it that much?"

[tigerundercover]

"No one would even be able to see you up in one of these things!" Because the really important thing about your own private bedroom was the ability to hide in it. "Someone's going to have fun getting it up the stairs to the apartment, though."

And then putting it together. Raven was not that mechanically oriented.