#oh and he's also like a while head taller than your builder so Height Difference

[carterashofficial]

@greyias​ b/c of you I’ve logged 60+ hours in one week with this game And the captain of the civil corps is just *chef’s kiss* b/c he saved me from a bunch of jump dancers

Anyway if you too want some lovely wholesome post-apocalyptic vibes where you can kick the local constabularys ass so hard he sees hearts instead of stars, My Time at Portia is on super sale on Steam until Monday.

For just $6 you can craft to your heart’s content, and romance a wide array of eligible bachelors and bachelorettes! And maybe break the game’s code by hugging them so they never leave your side ever again.

[alienduckpond]

Back in town - ch 3 - BooBoo Pouch

1 - Good Day / 2 - Different Feelings

Accidents happen, and it’s always good to be prepared for them

-~-

Whistling as he let himself into Ella’s yard, Arlo looking around curiously at the machines she’d set up in various places.

“Hey Ella? You here?”

“Hey Arlo,” drifted back to him, her voice sounding from somewhere in the group of trees beyond her fence. “I’ll just be a minute, and then I’ll come play host properly for you.”

There was a grunt, then a muttered swear, and he chuckled as he walked over to her grinder, moving the basket of baked goods he’d picked up from Martha behind him to keep it out of the way of all the moving parts.

“No rush, I’ve got all afternoon,” he called, leaning down to watch as a hunk of bronze was flattened.

“Oh? What happened to all those jobs that’ve kept you from seeing me all week then?” she asked teasingly, sounding a little closer, and he rolled his eyes as he huffed a laugh.

“I delegated,” he said flatly, earning him the laugh he’d been hoping for, turning from the grinder to eye the large pile of wood waiting to be turned into planks, and then the even larger pile of neatly stacked boards. He winced slightly, remembering the half heard conversation between her and Emily about how chilly her house was, and the strange things she’d found in some of the holes in the walls and floor. He’d meant to clear out the ‘haunted house’ before the new builder arrived, but had completely forgotten.

“Sam can handle all the monster requests for the other builders today,” he told her, forcing himself to be blandly cheerful, and not let his guilt through. “And Remy has neater handwriting than me anyway for the reports. And the boys are grounded for the next two weeks after their little stunt the other day. Alice has got them watering her flowers and weeding, so I don’t need to run around making sure they aren’t in trouble.”

“Good! Because I was going to tie you to the chair and barricade the door so no one could steal you away otherwise,” she said, hardly shouting now, and he shook his head fondly.

He was glad she was making jokes about it, since he really did feel guilty over what had happened. Their lunch together the first day had been thoroughly sidetracked by Oaks, and then he’d had to leave to go investigate the monster Abu had reported. And then all his work at the Corps had left him with barely enough time to sit down, let alone get more than a quick hello as he raced past Ella each day. 

“Don’t worry. I have the entire rest of the day off, bar something big like the sky falling, something catching on fire, or pirates showing up. I’m looking forward to hearing what you got up to while you were away.”

And finding out who she was now, and what she wanted their relationship to be. While she’d seemed happy to see him that first day last week, throwing herself at him and letting him hug her, ever since she’d seemed to be keeping her distance. She’d been happy to talk to him in the few minutes they’d had as they’d passed each day, but she hadn’t been making any attempts to hug him, or hold his hand, or ruffle his hair, or even call him any of the many names she’d had for him as a child.

If he were honest with himself, he was finding it a little upsetting. It almost felt like something was missing, and it hurt. Like he had his little sister back, but he also didn’t.

“Please don’t jinx us,” she groaned, sounding like she was right behind him. “I’m almost tempted to not bother boiling water now, since you’ll probably have to leave before anything’s ready.”

He laughed as he turned towards where her voice was coming from, opening his mouth to reply, and distantly heard the basket thump to the floor as his fingers went slack. His jaw dropped open while he stared in disbelief at the sight before him. 

Ella was walking around the edge of her fence from the small group of trees just beyond it. A dark branch taller and thicker than she was was balanced on her shoulder, and then a bundle of thinner, lighter coloured branches that all looked as long and round as her arm was dragging behind her by a rope.

She was smiling brightly at him, all toothy grin and shining eyes, like what she was doing was perfectly normal.

“I picked up some tea leaves yesterday from Sophie just for you, because that church lady, Nora was it? Yeah, Nora. She mentioned you like red tea sometimes when you take her to lunch. But maybe we should stick with the apple and orange juice I got from Sonia this morning…”

She kept talking at him as she walked past, something about snacks, not that he really registered it. The branch, if he could even call it that, was more like three times her height he could see now, and looked completely solid. 

His mouth moved, trying to find words to ask the important questions. Like what, why, and how? But his brain wouldn’t engage, and he only managed to make a spluttering sound as his hand rose up to point at her, then the log. She laughed lightly, walking down to the gate and turning so she could walk through it, and he watched as the branch swung wide, wobbling slightly on her shoulder.

“Hmm? Oh, this? It’s for the bridge. I’ve finally got an axe good enough to cut through the bigger trees.” She lifted the hand wrapped in rope to pat the shiny looking bronze axe stuck through her belt, then gave the rope a good yank to bump the bundle of branches in through the gate. 

“Don’t worry,” she continued, sounding incredibly amused as she walked towards him. “I bent my knees and everything when I picked it up. Kendra taught me a whole bunch about making sure I could carry things safely over the years.”

He nodded dumbly as she got closer, eyes glued to the log. It was balanced perfectly on her shoulder, though he could see now that it was taking more effort than she was letting on to keep it there. And now she was next to him, muttering something about where to put it, he could see the impressive muscles in her arms straining against the short sleeve of her t-shirt–

He yelped as the branch swung round and the end of it caught his shoulder, sending him stumbling sideways from the weight of it and tripping over the basket of food. His side hit the edge of the assembly station, driving the air from his lungs and making him gasp, but he ignored it as he scrambled back to his feet when he saw her wobble dangerously, swearing under her breath.

He hobbled forward, prepared to help as she tried to steady herself, but she grunted and simply dropped the wood next to her before he could, letting it land on her cut boards. Wincing as he heard cracking as the neatly stacked pile collapsed, he made himself meet her concerned eyes when they snapped to his face.

“Shit, I’m so sorry, I thought I had more space. Are you ok? Where’d I get you?”

“My arm but I’m fine,” he quickly tried to reassure her, wincing at how raspy he sounded as he coughed a few times, meeting her halfway as she walked over to him. “How about you? How’s your shoulder?”

“Don’t worry about me,” she told him tersely. “It was my fault. Here, how bad is it?”

Fingers wrapped around his elbow and gently lifted it, and he grit his teeth to try and stop the wince from showing, but he guessed he failed from the way her brows scrunched closer together.

“I’m sorry about those boards,” he said, hoping to distract her, but she just looked at him flatly, conveying her immense disapproval with a single raised brow.

“Forget about the boards, I can always make more. I can’t make another you. So jacket off, I’m getting you some bruise cream and an ice pack. And a herbal juice. Do you want a plain one, or one I stuck some mint leaves in?”

She let go of him and turned to leave, and he sighed as he grabbed her arm, pulling her back round. Reaching up with his fingers and ignoring the slight twinge in his ribs from moving his arm, he tilted her face to the side. He hissed in sympathy when he saw the grazes on her neck and cheek, and several small bleeding scratches on her shoulder.

“Depends on which one you prefer, since you’re having one too,” he told her bluntly, smirking at her when she glared. “Nope, no arguing, or I won’t let you have the shiny plasters I found for you.”

“I’m not a kid anymore Arlo,” she growled, frown turning into a glare. But her eyes followed his hand as it moved down to his hip anyway, looking puzzled as he patted the belt pouch he’d found at the back of his wardrobe, before she burst into bright laughter.

It was the sickly yellow “Ella’s booboo” pouch they’d made together when she was four, with pink yarn stitching and mis-sized wooden buttons holding the flap down. She reached out and ran her fingers over it, smiling fondly as she giggled. 

“Oh wow,” she drew out, shifting to his side and leaning down to see it better. “I can’t believe you still have this. Or that it’s still in one piece.”

“The yarn isn’t actually holding it together, I sewed the seams with thread on the insides after you were done,” he told her fondly, watching as she flipped the cover and started to look through the supplies he’d filled it with that morning.

“Yeah, and that’s why I’m surprised,” she snarked back, poking her tongue out and winking, and he let himself laugh as he grabbed her elbow.

“Come on, I’ll show you the shiny plasters once I’ve cleaned up your neck. I got a brand new bottle of antiseptic from the clinic as soon as I knew you were here, though I honestly wasn’t expecting to need it so soon.”

“Oh piffle to you Lolo! I was just fine until you stood in the way,” she told him with a laugh, pulling free of him to bend down and grab the basket he’d forgotten about. “And don’t think I haven’t noticed you being careful with your right side. You’re going to stop being all annoyingly protective and big brotherly when we get inside and let me check you out, you hear me?”

He felt his grin grow wider, despite the pain he was in as she stepped forward to reach up and ruffle his hair, squeezing his cheeks together with her other hand. He wrapped his arm around her waist, pulling her close and bumping his nose into her forehead.

“I hear you I hear you. And you can check, but I’m not ever going to stop being your annoying big brother,” he told her around the warm, happy feeling bubbling up in his chest. They still needed to talk, but he finally felt like had his little sister back, and he loved it.

-~-

4 - Slip Up