#« 𝗿𝗶𝗸𝗮。 » / 「 & bernadette. 」

[charmwisp]

Autumn had always been her favourite season; although the warm and sunny days associated with Summer had already passed a couple of months ago, it seemed as though the world had truly slipped into a new Autumnal realm the second the calendar approached late September. Now, in early October, the air was crisp and cool and the trees that lined the perimeter of the park were casting a warm glow over those who passed under their leafy canopies. The pathways were flanked on either side by raked-up hills of rusty-coloured leaves, the piles broken up with gaps every few feet like golden-brown battlements. As she walked in an aimless circle around the park, looking only to enjoy the fresh air and the sites of the seasons changing, Rika was in her element.

Or, at the very least, she had been, until a voice had cut through whatever daydream she'd been having. (Funnily, this interruption was so abrupt that Rika could hardly recall what she'd even been thinking about.) She tried and she managed, albeit with some effort, to keep from looking as surprised as she felt as she turned to face the source of this voice; a young woman, likely about Rika's age. If she was older, it couldn't have been by much, and she looked about as awkward as Rika imagined she probably did herself. As for the question itself, Rika didn't have to think very long or very hard. Her sleep had been disrupted the past few nights, not by cryptic nightmares (thank goodness) but by the sound of cats fighting and yowling from just outside her apartment building. If she somehow slept through that, then she'd be woken by the sensation of Charmy, her beloved black cat companion, jumping to attention at the foot of her bed.

"I don't know what kinds of animals you're looking for," said Rika, tapping a finger to her lip in thought, "But there's this group of cats that's been hanging around outside the Seal Harbor complex?" She'd passed them on the way out of the building too and even tried to approach them. They hadn't struck her as true-blue strays and some of them had been far too friendly to be feral streetcats. "It's kind of a trek from here but I could show you, if you'd like?" she offered. "There's probably other animals around the area too. I guess between the cinema and all the people who live in the building, it's a good place for them to go hunting for scraps."

( the local park, october 5, afternoon ) @anchoragestarters

Looking around at the crowds of people milling about the park that Saturday afternoon, Bernadette wondered belatedly if this was a horrible idea. Call it immersion therapy if you want, but for some God-forsaken reason, the illustrator got it in her head recently that the best way to beat her aversion to crowded places filled with strangers was to stick herself right in the middle of one. She had to take a moment to remind herself that this undertaking was ultimately to help her mother, and that if she got overwhelmed at any point, she could easily blend right into the crowds and slink back home to the safety and seclusion of her apartment. But she couldn't sulk off in defeat until she'd at least made an attempt to find the animals that had escaped from the veterinary clinic. And how best to go about this? She supposed she'd just have to ask around.

Cautiously clearing her throat as she steeled herself for the challenge, Bernie approached the first person that crossed her path. "Excuse me. I'm sure you must have heard what happened at the local vet a few days ago. There was an escape of sorts, so a lot of animals are roaming free around town. I was just curious: have you seen any packs of stray animals recently? We've been searching, but a lead would be helpful to steer us in the right direction," she explained, trying to mirror the verbiage used by the reporters in her orbit at work.