Jeannette Di Pulvinus is currently arming herself for the Manhunt. She completes her outfit by tugging her vest over her body, which fits tightly. It consists of generic clothing: a plain earthen-colored tunic, a leather belt, and dirt-brown pants. The vest includes a hook on the back to attach an enchanted purple cloak which deterred detection by further minimizing any observer’s attention. The cloak also helps hide the gigantic and absolutely pronounced pillow serving as her helmet.
After popping open a secret compartment, she retrieves her secret weapon. Then, Jeannette marches inconspicuously out of her room, out of her home, and out into the world. She will hunt down the criminal that took her by surprise. She will take revenge for the altercation that happened a week ago. And she will do this by hunting the dastardly scum that dared to flout a lowly replication of her Maximus Pillow!
Of course, Jeannette won’t be going alone. Her Mother assured her adequate support from afar, as to allow her daughter the satisfaction of catching the perp. And her Mother is way more than enough to deal with the common rabble of criminals. This is why she is so confident in the success of her mission to the Market Square.
Jeannette moves swiftly, giddy with excitement as she took her first adventure “alone” in the town of Pluis. It is not wrong to call it the capital of the Royal Family’s Kingdom, and as an extension of this, her “Fluffy” Kingdom.
After all, it was her demands which led to the Royal Decree that all citizens of the “Fluffy” Kingdom were to be provided ample amounts of pillows, blankets, and various implements required for a good rest. The common-folk all had homes and more than satisfied with the provisions by their rulers. These results were what Jeannette wanted to observe, as well as the wares and wonders they offered.
Jeannette speeds down the hill which her home rested upon and slips undetected into Pluis. It is there that she is awed by the crowded streets and amount of merchandise. Many vendors sported unique goods displayed for all to see on their stalls. A constant babble hovers in the air and an indiscernible scent is aloft. Prices are negotiated over a few copper or so, a hint of cinnamon or freshly roasting beef wafts through the crowd, and an overall air of free commerce shows that this is indeed Market Square.
Jeannette’s small figure can luckily squeeze through the people and gaze upon the majesty of regulated capitalism. She sees a general goods merchant selling toiletries and comfort goods, a farmer promoting his produce of grains and citrus fruits, a jeweler offering gemmed necklaces and bracelets, an entrepreneur advertising his new “revolutionary” backscratcher, an old tool bag at the “low, low, low price of 3 silver” according to a portly man, a seamstress pricing her dresses and sashes at “affordable prices”.
Jeannette’s mind is quite overloaded by how much happened at Market Square. In fact, she temporarily forgot her purpose here. She is increasingly enticed into the fervor of spending. However, her funds consist of a disparagingly low amount of 3 copper, which cannot afford a majority of the products provided. She begins another search, not 20 minutes later after the first, for something to buy.
Jeannette uses a whole hour for this new purpose. Sadly, she obtained no results, as everything teases her with their cost being out of her reach. She still continues until noticing the rumble of her belly. With an empty stomach, she shifts her focus from getting something fun to getting something tasty. She sniffs the air again for some smell of heavenly culinary culmination.
Jeannette then inhales a whiff of grilling meat. She weaves through the crowd and approaches it with determination. The same thought circulates in her mind in a perpetual loop:
(Jeannette) This meal will be the first thing I buy.
Jeannette finally arrives at the stall of a middle-aged man. His thin and flexible arms fly through the air in flashes and she witnesses him put on a performance of absolute perfection: The man swipes a sizable piece of meat from the cooler behind him and adds the requested degree of cooking by tossing it in the air and frying it with fire from his hands. Then, he pulls out buns, aligning it with lettuce, tomato, and some swiftly heated cheese. Finally, he lets the meat drop in the center of the burger and closes it within the buns.
The man gives his female customer the finished meal with an appreciative wink. She giggles at him and eats the burger ravenously.
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Jeannette watches on in burning jealousy. She walks up to the man and orders some food.
(Jeannette) “Gimme one too, Mister!”
The man looks at her in surprise as he just noticed this little girl pop up right in front of him. He scratches his head in confusion but complies with her request…at a price that is.
(Middle-aged Man) “Sure. That’ll be 6 copper.”
Jeannette reaches into her pockets and drops 3 copper on his wooden stall. She realizes she doesn’t have enough and begins to upend her clothing, pockets, and anything that can possibly hold money. She still gets the same result: all she has is 3 copper. Her stomach rumbles in anger that it isn’t fed and she stares at the man with tears in her eyes. She sniffles as tears pour and she wipes them away silently. Seeing that she still can’t buy anything, Jeannette scoops up her copper and walks away.
However, the middle-aged man is going through some incredibly mixed feelings right now.
(Middle-aged Man) Damn it, Steve! You know there are poor kids out there without money and food in Pluis. There are slums in every town. So calm down and pull yourself together! If you try and feed all of them, they’ll become moochers. You hate moochers, right? They’re the ones which destroyed your 5-star restaurant by making you broke! Remember. Remember. REMEMBER!
But the middle-aged man cannot fight his instincts. He is kind-hearted and weak to children. For what reason do they deserve to walk the streets in a life they did not want? Kids are born without any idea of the world. And orphans are the result of the worst or most unfortunate parents. Murders happen in the slums and dirty kids like her are in the thick of it.
Sure, they may have a roof over their heads and somewhere to snuggle into during the Winter, but how will they eat? Who will clean them? Who will teach them? No one will. That’s why he tried reforming the last town he was in and had to move here. Although there are still kids in poverty like her, at least there are less in the capital of Pluis.
(Steve) “Wait, kid!”
Jeannette turns around to look at him. Her bleary, red eyes and snotty nose hit Steve right to his core. The tears streaming down her face hammer it hard and the way she looks up at him… The ultimate finisher! Steve is relieved he didn’t let her go. If he did, his consciousness would collapse under the guilt.
(Steve) “I can take half the price for half the meal, okay kid?”
Jeannette smiles at him gratefully and rubs her face into her sleeve.
(Steve) Cu.. Cu.. CUTE!!!
Steve’s rosy cheeks and hot stare at the little girl results in his possible customers looking at him strangely. His previous outburst attracted their attention but when they notice Jeannette, their hearts melt too.
(Older Man) “Hey kid, you don’t have to pay for this. Let uncle here do it.”
(Older Woman) “Stop it, Morris. Don’t you see Steve’s going to give her what she wants? Don’t embarrass yourself.”
(Morris) “Aw, but Rachael… She’s so cute. It’s just a few copper.”
(Rachael) “Seriously stop it. You’re so embarrassing. You have your own daughter right here and you’re saying things like this? You can’t go and spend your money helping out any kid in need.”
(Daughter) “Daddy, I want one too.”
A small hubbub erupts out of the incident but Jeannette and Steve are left oblivious to it. Steve swiftly finishes a smaller burger and hands it to her. She nibbles at it at first and then munches down as much as she can. Steve picks up the stool he was sitting on and puts it on the other side of his stall for Jeannette to sit on. He sighs, content in his cooking for satisfying the hungry. But there is a nagging regret for repeating his past mistakes.
Jeannette, on the other hand, lost herself in the food. A mouthful of tantalizing flavor after another. The cool lettuce. The chilled tomato. The soft taste of cheese. The filling, succulent meat. It is too much to describe: food is to be experienced, not regurgitated into bland words.
Jeannette finishes the burger and pays her compliment to the chef. With the people around her making such a fuss and her just noticing it, she becomes extremely self-conscious and nervous. She messes it up by stumbling over her words and biting her tongue, but she gets the point across.
(Jeannette) “Nnn…Ice Berg…er.”
Jeannette runs off into the distance and loses the crowd. Eventually, she makes it home and feels embarrassed.
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Journal Entry #4025
Today, I went to a certain food stall I come to every so often because they have good burgers. Steve, the chef, is a cool guy who likes to be showy in making his food. He may play party tricks by “casting” fire from his hands, but his food is great and he makes his burgers fast. I won’t go to fast foods if I still have Steve. But today was different.
My little sister was buying a burger from him. My mom thought it would be a good idea since she knows Steve’s a good guy. My little sister would get more life experience and a good meal to boot in her mind. However, there was a problem.
She didn’t have enough money. When she was walking up to him, I saw she dropped a dollar. She panicked when she couldn’t find it and started crying right in front of Steve. Poor Steve. He has a soft spot for kids so he let her have half of one. Some people even wanted to pay for her. It was funny to see her running off and my mom picking up the dollar discretely.
Ah… Well, time to finish my own burger…