[AuroraSky]

Ronnie immediately pulled herself away from him and blushed at his tone. Stupid Ashley, making her look like a fool in front of everyone. She gulped. "Sorry." She said softly before dashing off to find her friend. Something about that Peaches guy just made her really uneasy. Without a second glance she had located Ashley, who was whisked away.

"Ouch! What's wrong with you? I was dancing with Bergamot!"

"What's wrong? You shoved me into Peaches, who by the way isn't very happy!"

Ashley bit her lip to stifle a little laughter. "Calm down, I'm sure it's because his mother forced him to dance." She held her friend's hand and they both started swaying to the music, finding comfort in each other.

"Yeah well...he freaked me out. Don't do it again." Veronica twirled Ashley around and laughed as her friend crossed her eyes as if she was dizzy. "That's kind of scary you know. You better hope no one sees you like that."

"What, like this?" Ashley asked, shoving her face towards Veronica's and making her pupils disappear into her sockets. Veronica screamed lightly and jumped, turning her face.

"STOP."

Ashley laughed and noticed that everyone was getting ready to go back to the table, where the waitress was setting down all that they ordered. The pair went back to their seats and Ashley eagerly waited for Bergamot to join her.

[38][16]

[Freezair]

Bergamot winced too. "Gee! That's terrifying! And I mean that as a compliment," he added hastily. "I could never do that. It creeps me out. It reminds me of some of the less friendly spirits. ...And I imagine it's not a good thing to do if you're wearing contacts."

"Can ya turn yer eyelids inside out?" Rosie urged.

"Mom! Don't encourage her!" Peaches chided.

"Well, iffin we're turnin' it into a freaky-skill-off! Ah kin touch my tounge to my nose!"

"So kin Ah," Kane said, and he aptly demonstrated.

"Daddy, you're in Lucain form. Well, you ARE a Lucain. It ain't impressive when ya do it thataway!"

[98, 111, 56, 41]

[AuroraSky]

Ashley blushed at all of the sudden attention, and was yet secretly proud of her talent. She hadn't meant to cause a stir, only to frighten Veronica a little. "You were contacts?" She asked Bergamot, actually intrigued. "I would have never have guessed. I do wish to see you in your glasses someday."Ashley said with a small smile.

In truth, she thought that Bergamot would have looked absolutely fantastic: the beautiful nerd. The kind of man that she always dreamed of, yet never had the courage to approach. Look at her, fantasizing about a man she barely knew. And yet, it seemed like she had known him forever. That was just the type of spell he put on her. Rosie suddenly snapped her out. "Um..." She paused for a second, turning around.

Veronica tried to peek to see what was happening, and then suddenly Ashley was turned around and her eyelids were soft and plushy....turned inside out. "AH!" Veronica said, jumping back and bumping into someone..

[39][17]

[Freezair]

Bergamot shrugged nervously. His voice blundered through a correction. "Oh--no! I only meant--I don't wear contacts. I've just heard horror stories, you know. About them getting stuck in nasty places in people's eyes. Needing operations to get contacts out of--"

Everyone on the Peppermint side of the table winced. "Eww! Didn't need to know that; thanks, kiddo." Peaches stuck out his tongue. "So nice when lunch is coming any second now."

"Sorry," Bergamot chuckled. "I didn't mean to turn this into Gross Eye Stuff Theater." He looked at Ashley. "Sorry. Only a monocle for me. I know some people wear empty frames, but... that feels kinda like lying. I dunno."

"Didja know they make peels for canines like me with white fur s'that their tears dun stain 'em? S'true. 'Course, Ah never had a problem with that... ...Just on the topic of eye stuff."

Affectionately exasperated, Rosie said, "Oh, look, here come out orders... children."  

[99, 112, 57, 42]

[AuroraSky]

Veronica quickly composed herself and didn't even turn around to see who she had bumped into; probably just some random stranger anyway. In a moment she was back at the table with Ashley and they were all once again seated. She casually leaned her head on Ashley's shoulder and yawned, finally tuning into the conversation.

"A monocle? That's quite rare. But I do understand what you mean about empty frames. They just seem so...costumey? Well, that's not a word, but I can't think of anything else to say for it." She shrugged, starting to feel a little more open to Bergamot and his family.

"That Joe Jonas guy wears those." Veronica said with a smirk, enjoying the little blush creeping up on Ashley's face.

"So?" She asked, taking a sip of her water as the waitress placed the food in front of everyone.

"Did you tell Bergamot about that?"

"No."

"Maybe you should."

"Maybe you should hush." Ashley replied hastily, shoving a fry into Veronica's mouth.

[40][18]

[Freezair]

For Ronnie's benefit, Bergamot explained. "Oh, yes. Not your ordinary monocle, mind you! No, no--it's magical." He pulled a silvery chain out of his pocket and displayed the fine little lens to her. The sheen on the surface bubbled with unreal light. "It lets me see spirits, auras, and all of those unusual things. I can tell things like who has Ballama spirits about them. Very useful!"

Rosie, meanwhile, accepted their dishes from the server and put them in front of other's spaces. She turned into a sort of assistant waiter. Peaches, at least, noticed and nibbled at his meal. Kane dove ravenously for his and slurped it up.

"Joe who now?" he wondered, swallowing heavily. "Never heard of 'im."

"Eh, it's somebody famous, I'm sure. Probably some pretty boy or other," Peaches shrugged. "People who other people act all embarrassed about liking even though I don't know why. That kinda thing."

[100, 113, 58, 43]

[AuroraSky]

Ronnie peeked over Ashley's shoulder, very intrigued. What little magic she had been exposed to had come from Aurora, and that was only for plant life. But being able to see spirits? Now that was something that could come in handy. She stared at the small object, for once speechless. Ashley looked over at her and smiled, happy that maybe for once Veronica was finding some way to appreciate Bergamot. "Is there anything you would like to ask Bergamot, Ron?"

Veronica jumped a little and blushed, but then again she was never one to hold back. "How long have you had it? Where did it come from? Did you buy it or was it a gift? How does it work? Have you used it before in like a quest or something? How powerful is it?"

Ashley slapped her palm to her forehead, sorry she had ever asked. And then of course, Joe Jonas' name was brought up to the conversation and for the millionth time at the lunch she found herself blushing. She suddenly felt defensive at Peaches words.

"I am not embarrassed!" She squeaked, which in turn embarrassed her. She looked away and stabbed a small piece of her salad. "Just...I went through a small phase." The last words were quiet.

[41][19]

[Freezair]

Suddenly deluged, Bergamot looked questingly at Ashley. Ashley just looked exasperated. Eep! He was on his own for this one.

Or was he? It looked like his father was going to step in for this one. "Actually, I bought it for him," Peaches said proudly. "There's a great little magic shop called Midnight Magic; the owner Devyn made it special for Bergy. It's not too much, really, but it is useful."

Bergamot had to laugh, too. "A quest? You think my life is much more exciting than it really is! I did have fun with it at a library once... But, sadly, no. I did, however, once foil a shoplifter asking her Ballama for help."

"Aww, that was plenty excitin'!" Rosie bubbled. "An' it's a nice little gadget too! Bergy reads magic books an' the like; he an' his cousin Fenrick get along real nice."

"Fenrick's mah buddy Hal's kiddo," Kane clarified. "We got ourselves a biiiig family, we do!"

At Ashley's embarrassment, Bergamot shrugged. "Honestly, I've never heard of him, so I don't really care if you had some sort of... 'phase' or not. I don't understand it anyway," he smiled.

[AuroraSky]

Veronica shrugged, still intrigued by the magical instrument. "Can't blame you for not having that much of an exciting life. Not as if Ash and I are going around and chasing criminals. But this is sort of an adventure. On the quest to find Ashley's true love." She whispered the last part so the whole table wouldn't hear, but just loud enough so Bergamot would. Veronica loved toying with her friend, the most rewarding parts when Ashley turned beet red and looked away. Cruel, yes. Fun, absolutely.

"So a big family, you say?" Veronica asked. Since she was at lunch with the family she might as well get to know them. "How many of you people are there?"

"Veronica."

"What?"

"Ask nicely. And don't say 'you people' either. It's rude. I swear Jasper is getting to your head more and more each day."

Veronica shrugged and took a bite of her burger, waiting for the answer instead of choosing to fight with Ashley, who was looking appreciatively up at Bergamot for dismissing the little Jonas issue. They were so cute together. Ashley could feel Ronnie staring but chose to make more conversation with Bergamot instead. "What Veronica says is true though. We rarely go out. How often do you go out?"

[42][20]

[Freezair]

"Hoowee! Y'all want numbers? Even Ah dun know anymore," Kane said. "When the shop next door went outta business, Ah had'ta buy 'em out to give us more room! Fer the shop, and us! We live crowded-like, we do--but it's a happy sorta chaos."

"An' Ah think it's plenty excitin'," Rosie said. "I'd tell y'all, but some of it's secret. Truth it is!" She nodded.

Peaches sighed. "I have a Werecain who thinks he's my twin brother and hangs around. I can tell you that at least. And I don't mind going out to escape him!"

Bergamot blushed a little, but he tried to smile. "Me? I am a bit bookish... I don't travel as often as some other people. But I do enjoy going out once in a while. Going out to eat, for examle! I do like that. It's nice to just..." He smiled. "Enjoy a nice meal, and talk to someone you really enjoy being with."

[AuroraSky]

Veronica nodded at their words, the very thought of having such an incredibly large family not even fathomable to her. She could barely stand being with everyone in the Villa; having to deal with an even larger amount seemed quite painful. "Wait...you said live? Do you guys live in the candy shop?" Veronica wasn't sure she had heard them right, but if they did well then that would be pretty un-freaking-believable.

Ashley curled a piece of her green hair around her finger, getting a little more shy all of the sudden. "Yes I completely understand. I don't really...get out that much. As you know, I'm a herbalist, so I usually spend the days going through the forests outside the Villa and seeing if there are any new plants I can find. I know it's nerdy, but I just love it so much."

"Don't call yourself a nerd...you're more like a scientist." Veronica said, nudging her friend with a grin. Although she did give a lot of crap to Ashley sometimes, she hated to hear her friend put herself down so much.

"Thank you." Ashley replied, nudging her friend lightly back.

It was weird, the relationship that the two had. So...wildly dysfunctional but in the end they did truly love each other. Wouldn't you?

[43][21]

[Freezair]

"We do," Kane said. "It's one o' them old-fashioned style'uns. Shop below, with an apartment up top! Gotta be near my work, y'know! An' it means we don't have to spend on air fresheners!"

Bergamot smiled at Ashley. "I don't know. That sounds an awful lot like getting out to me! The forest, the smell of the trees, the quiet of the woods... Sounds great if you ask me. Do you ever go camping? I bet it's amazing! Not to mention all the nature spirits that live out there... Have you ever met a Tousan? I'd love to meet a real one," Bergamot said dreamily. "...I bet you have. Loads of times!"

"Aww, ain't nothin' wrong with nerds," Rosie said sweetly. "Peaches is a real nerdy-type, aintcha, Peachy?"

"Mooooom..." Peaches stuffed his mouth to avoid having to answer further.

[103, 116, 60, 46]

[AuroraSky]

Ashley and Veronica both exchanged a glance as Bergamot spoke, his voice wavering off in wonder. Veronica bit back a laugh and turned her attention back to the others, leaving Ashley to handle that one by herself. "I could never imagine living where I work. I mean, most people hate work and hate being around it. Then again I can see that you guys aren't really most people. A very rare breed in fact."

"What she means is that you're very brave to want to live where you work." Ashley said quickly, giving a swift glare to Veronica. Her friend simply shrugged and took a bite of her burger, using a napkin to dab at her lips.

Ashley watched her in wonder, trying to contemplate how such a blunt and tomboyish girl would whip out manners at the most random of times. Then she remembered she was supposed to talking to Bergamot, and turned her head quickly. "A Tousan? Not sure I've come across one in my travels. But I assure you, my life is not that interesting. Sure exploring the forests are always fun, but they are just vast and perhaps a little boring. Then again any trip can be boring when you go by yourself."

"Well maybe if you would let other people join you you wouldn't be so lonely!"

"Who? You? Please Ronnie you hate herbs."

"But I love the outdoors."

"Hush."

[44][22]

[Freezair]

Kane looked at Ronnie. His face was somewhere between imperious and gentle. He looked like someone who knew a wise truth, but didn't want to seem smug when he spoke it. And yet, the knowing made him feel empowered anyway.

"Lemme tell ya a secret, girl," Kane whispered. "When it comes the jobs, the key to doin' it right is--if you've got the right job, you'll wonder why they're payin' you to do it! If you're lucky enough to do what you love for a livin', then you ain't got nothin' to be scared of."

"Of course, we can't all be so lucky," Peaches rebutted.

"Aww, there now, Peachy," Rosie said, petting his head. "Ya'll git yer counsel-ma-thingy soon'er later!"

"A camping trip?" Bergamot perked. "Well, I don't find the woods boring at all! Maybe you should do that, Ashley! Organize a trip for us! We could all go, and hang out beneath the stars, and cook over an open flame, and tell ghost stories at midnight..."

[AuroraSky]

Veronica listened to the older man's words intently, respecting Kane and liking him the most out of all the family members. She wasn't going to lie, the man was a teensy bit off his rocker. But at the same time, he knew what he was talking about and was frankly a nice person to be around. "Well I guess you are lucky. Working in a candy shop must be really exciting, personally I'm a huge fan of candy. But I understand where you come from...this is kind of a silly dream of mine. I've always wanted to own my own skateboarding rink and store. Is that weird?"

She raised her eyebrows and took another bite of her burger, embracing the family more. As Peaches grumbled a bit, Veronica couldn't help but give him a sympathetic smile. "You and me both."

Ashley suddenly got very excited at the thought of seeing Bergamot again. And a camping trip? That sounded like it could in fact be a lot of fun, even if the thought of staying out past midnight in the middle of the woods was a bit...scary. "Absolutely! It'd be so much fun!" She held her composure as he spoke about ghost stories, but hopefully he would forget about it by then. "We should start planning right away! I have some friends from the Villa who would adore it..."

[45][23]