A New Sanctuary?

Dione lowered her hand again and scratched behind her ear. "Nice to meet you." She slowly started making her way over to the isle with the drills as Caen had pointed out before.

The canine looked around and tried to remember the exact size she needed. 6 mm? 9? Probably both. She grabbed a drill from both sizes and turned around to see if the other two were behind her. 'If only Felicia were here, she's way better at this stuff than me..'

While the hedgehog whom she was convinced she knew but didn't went to try and calm down the man running the shop, Yukiko went off to help out with the drills Dione wanted to get. She had no idea what to do and what she needed, but she was spooked, to say the least. 

She noticed as she was keeping a discreet eye on the green wolf, that Caen was keeping a concerned eye on her. Hmm, perhaps he felt guilty for zoning out? She couldn't exactly blame him however, he didn't have the most boring life in the world, so his mind must always be reeling with potential dangers and how to stop them. She thought of it as possible omniprescence, without actually being there. 

"C-caen, you have n-no need to worry. It was just a dizzy spell. P-please, lets get M-miss Dione the help she needs,then w-we shall attend to our items fir the c-chao garden."

The shy leopard stood beside Dione and pressed her fingers together, trying to work out a way to start a conversation with her. She seemed nice enough, and maybe even a little like herself in a way. A pink dusting appeared on her cheeks when she found herself staring at the slightly taller female and shook her head, making her black and violet hair wave about freely. 

"Uh, h-hi.. So uhm what k-kind of drill are you trying to get? Is there a p-particular size? Are you looking f-for a wireless one? Ohh, and do y-you need extra pieces? 

The way she was going on was as if she knew half of what she was talking about, when in reality she just spotted stuff on the side of a box conveniently nearby. If it worked she would be happy, if not then at least she managed a few sentences. 

As they were looking at the small metal tools, Melody spotted some things she believed they would need to clean the garden up with and picked up a small shovel to carry back over to her partner. "Chaooo chick kik kiko!"

The sounds of babbling perked the violet felines ears as she turned to see the tiny white and blue creature holding up the tool. "Oh my, let me take that for you, Melody. Thank you for showing us where these are. You've been very helpful, little one."
As Yukiko praised the chao, Melody puffed up her chest in pride and then flew off to go explore the shop some more and to try and help. amber orange eyes kept an eye on her to make sure she didn't cause any trouble.

When Yukiko had noticed Caen constantly checking up on her, his face became ever so slightly redder, again. It was odd to be so flustered, but the hedgehog's screw up had completely thrown his confidence at that point.

When they finally reached the drills, Caen took a deep breath, trying to calm himself down, again. He turned to the two walking behind him "I would guess you'd need a set of drill bits, as well?" He asked, after Yukiko's... Less than expert language regarding the power tools.

He only payed for the wrench, and went outside. He leaned against a wall, frowning. "Man, that didn't go well." He sighed. He watched as the leopard, hedgehog, and the still unknown creature. He thought of something. He knew he knew them. Then it hit him, he knew them from the woods that one time.

"Wait, those guys?" He turned to look directly at him and put his hands on the glass. "I wonder what they're up too?" He questioned.

((I am so sorry for the late post, but I can explain. A lot has gone down the past week and I needed a short break from everything. Sorry for not letting you guys know, I know I should have done that. I'm sort of okay now and back in the normal posting rythym I hope.))

"...Yes! Drill bits! That's what I need. Forgot the name of it." Dione tilted her head slightly, turning away slightly to try and hide the red flush of embarrassment on her face. Carefully she put away the case of the drill she was holding and moved a bit further into the isle to find the part where they kept the bits. She was already standing in front of the right part of the isle and she was holding a few packs of bits when she started thinking to herself. How could she have forgotten the name of such a simple thing? Smooth work, very smooth. 'What if they think I'm a loser now? They probably are laughing at me right now.' 

Dione glanced over to the hedgehog and the snow leopard, only to look back at her hands immediately after. "I- I think that t- that's it for now.." The wolf ran a hand through her hair and turned around to face the others. "What d- d- do you.." A small cough escaped her before she could finish talking. "What do you n- need?"

As soon as the green wolf spoke up that all she needed was in her hands, she asked what they needed. How exactly could she say without the female thinking there may in fact be a murder or something going on with what they were looking for? 
"Well, uhmm..." The violet female started, holding up the small tool her Chao had brought over. "Y-you see, we actually were fortunate enough to find some place rather secret and not very common nowadays."

She knew it wasn't the best idea to just blurt it out in the middle of a shop, so tried to be quite open about it without actually saying they were aiming to restore a Chao Garden of all things. The media would be all over it. How can the little creatures live in peace if they're overrun with the wrong type of visitors? 
"We are r-restoring the area as it is in dire need of it. The 'tenants' cannot d-do it themselves."
Quoting the word tenants by pointing to the small white chao now perched above the two females. "Anyway... We need uhm... S-shovels, weed killer... Some stone filler, shears, and... A filter. P-probably more, but we are only t-two sets of hands after all."

Great, she rambled in her silly stuttering way. She bet anything the wolf girl would bail on them any moment now.. 
Turning to her red companion, she nodded. "Caen, are y-you alright? You seem unlike yourself?" She slowly went to raise a hand to the red hedgehog to place a hand on his forehead, only to see he was in fact more red than usual? Was he embarrassed or something? Surely he wasn't still hung up in his earlier actions. Sure he wasn't all there, but these things happen. She was sure there was a reason for it, so never asked as it wasn't her place to do so. 
After checking that the fiery male wasn't coming down with something suddenly, Yukiko made her way to where the tools they needed were in the compressed store. She turned to the other two as Melody began floating around chirping happily that they were on the move again. 

Yukiko caught Diones flushed face and an image hit her unexpectedly, earning a gasp to come from her before her own face flushed dangerously. She whipped back around and speed walked over to the tools to begin picking some up. "L-lets g-g-get this done!"

(Well this thread got messed up, don't worry tho~ The way it goes is ForevaYoung, The Red Blur, Me, Dione, then you.)

(To Foreva: Speaking of which, should we just skip Red for now?)

(It's ok, I didn't know you had the 'you're good to go' on discord.)

The hedgehog stayed relatively silent as Yukiko talked of what exactly the two would need tools for, without announcing what it exactly was, which was smart, considering how rare a place like that was. As Caen finally opened his mouth to agree with Yukiko's statement of what tools they would need, he suddenly felt a hand on his head.

Yukiko asking whether or not he was okay hardly helped the heat flowing to his cheeks. He looked away, laughing nervously "I-I'm fine, Yukiko, really."

(Skip, I don't think theres anything for me to do here.)

Why was this leopard girl so incredibly flustered around Dione? It made her feel slightly uncomfortable but she managed to shrug it off. Maybe it was just the girl's general response to strangers, maybe it was something else. She didn't know but she was too shy to ask why the cat was acting the way she was. 

The rather cryptic way she spoke about her mysterious destination was also kind of weird. However, she got the hint once she pointed at the small chao floating beside her. "Oohh right, okay. M- maybe I can help? I was supposed to meet a f- friend here but she didn't s- show up so I got nothing else to do here except getting t- these tools. U- unless you don't want me to help, that's okay t- too of course. Whatever seems best." That was a ramble and a half and she shut herself up before she made a fool out of herself. 

It was a rather awkward situation. All three people were stuttering and blushing, either from embarrassment or shyness. Great. "Uuhh.. I saw shovels when I was l- looking for these drill bits? I'll take you to them." The green canine started walking in the direction towards the other end of the shop, close to the entrance. There were many sizes of shovels ranging from small gardening shovels to the larger ones you had to use both hands with to even snow shovels. "S- soo.. Which one do you need?"

Everything was going in a weird way right now. Between meeting that hedgehog whom she vaguely remembered from a previous encounter, to Caen now acting like he committed a personal crime that she couldn't even understand, and even someone she saw in a dream now offering to help them out with renovations to a Chao garden?

It was safe to say Yukikos head was spinning.

Walking over to the other side of the shop, Yuki managed to spot a fair sized filter for the water as they walked, so she snagged it and made her way to the gardening equipment.
Amber eyes watched as Melody floated over Dione, cooing and chirping as she went, almost as if she was having a conversation with the green wolf girl. It was a positive sign. She could be trusted. Her partner wouldn't want to go near her if there were any ill intent towards her after all.

"T-that would be so kind of you to do that," Yukiko replied softly. "It is really just myself and Caen who are doing this as we believe they deserve a safer and cleaner home to live in."

Yukiko looked over the shovels and picked up a few she believed would help them with pulling up some weeds and laying down some other things, like flower and fruit seeds to grow. After hoisting a large one over her shoulder, and holding it securely with her large tail, she smiled to Dione before nodding and making her way over to the counter to pay. 
"If there is anything you believe that would benefit the garden, pick it up and I'll get it."

Yukiko aimed the question to both parties she was associated with inside the shop. She was very appreciative that Dione had offered her services, even  if she was supposed to be in the store for a drill. She made a mental note to assist her with that later as a way of repayment to helping them out. She turned to voice her response to the purple haired canine.
"I-I can assist with your shelf fitting if you wish? It would be the least I could do if you are helping us out here."

((Not too sure on the turn order, but I believe its my turn, now. Can we get a check on the turn order?))

Caen stood still as he watched the two girls make their way to the shovels "ugh, I really need to calm down," the hedgehog spoke to himself, using one hand to straighten the spines on top of his head. Finally, Cinder flew upwards, delivering a swift punch to the head of the overly worried hedgehog. Caen recoiled, with a quiet "oof". He looked to the red Chao, who looked at the hedgehog with a frown, before pointing to the snow leopard, and also to a box, which seemed to hold some kind of pump to empty out the pond. "Chao chao chao," Cinder demanded, crossing his arms.

Caen couldn't help but smile at the adorable nature of Cinder's attempt at snapping him out of this trance-like state. He nodded, taking hold of the box pointed out by the chao before making his way over to Yukiko and this other girl.

His eyes scanned the shovels set out before them, laying his eyes on a relatively large one and taking hold of it, slinging it onto his shoulder. "I believe this is all we should need, for now," he spoke, a sudden jump in his confidence. Somehow, that Chao of his worked wonders!

(I'm going to skip again, I have some personal issues to deal with currently, but I believe the turn order goes like this: 
ForevaYoung, The Red Blur, SmookiSmooku, Dione
And another person joined named Amaris Tollkirsche.)

"OH!" That was louder than she intended. Dione's tail swished around nervously and she started fidgeting with her hands inside the pocket of her hoodie. "S- sure? If you want to... I suppose you can?" They would talk about this later, when they got to know each other a bit better. That's what the canine told herself. 

The sudden 'Oof' coming from Caen behind them made her turn around to see what was happening. It seemed that the chao accompanying him had hit him or something. Very polite of it to do. Not. At least the fiery hedgehog didn't seem to mind all that much, in fact, he seemed happy the chao had hit him. Odd. 

The green girl turned back to the shovels and after a short few seconds of thinking, Dione realised that maybe rakes would be handy to bring along as well, to get rid of any leaves or weed that may or may not be there. After all, she hadn't seen the place yet. "What about r- rakes? They seem useful?" Her shyness slowly started to go away a bit and with that her stutter disappeared as well. Finally. 

She grabbed one with metal rake spikes and one with plastic ones so they could be used for weeds and leaves. "I hope this is okay. I can pay for them?" While talking to both Yukiko and Caen she was scanning the shop to see where the rest of the stuff was they needed. She also noticed the turquoise hedgehog was still at the counter, seemingly arguing with the cashier. 

"Eh.. Yukiko? Should we maybe.. help him? Since you said you know him from something?"

The quiet noise that escaped the red hedgehog didn't exactly go unnoticed, as told by the ears twitching from the two females. Yukiko flicked her long tail slightly in confusion to where the male could possibly be getting hurt, only to turn around to see Cinder grinning at a smirking Caen as if they just bonded over a punch. 
"Men," Yukiko shook her head at the typical way guys would 'help' each other out. They definitely suited the other perfectly. She couldn't help but allow a soft smile to find its way onto her face as the two made their way back over to the girls.

Turning around, the violet feline was met with Dione asking about the possibility of getting a rake. "O-oh! That's a good idea! T-then the leaves can be gathered up to help t-tidy the garden up more. The place needs a lot of TLC, but you don't need to go into your pocket, I g-got this."

Yukiko eye-smiled at the green canine as she got to the counter and placed everything she was holding in front of the shop assistant. She looked over to Caen who had picked up some stuff, along with a larger shovel and gestured for him to place everything down where her bundle was. Then she did the same to Dione. She didn't want them paying for things when it was her idea to even start this in the first place.

Once everything was placed, Yukiko swivelled her ears at Diones question regarding the turquoise hedgehog who was standing outside in front of one of the windows peering in at them. "Oh... w-well if he needs it we could assist, I guess..."
Ambers looked out to the hedgehog who looked to be more than curious at present. Maybe he would be another to trek back to this garden to help out with repairs? She couldn't say.

But the more the merrier, she supposed.

Melody meanwhile, had been flying around the shop, picking up smaller things, such as flower seed packets. By the time she was done, she was struggling to keep herself afloat, even though she wasn't carrying an awful lot. 
"Hmmm! C-chaooo..." The tiny creature mumbled before dropping the items atop the pile of tools and wiped her forehead dramatically.

Caen nodded at Dione's suggestion of getting a rake, before saying "right you are, Dione," before placing the objects that he was holding onto the conveyor as Yukiko had ushered towards moments ago. The violet feline suggested that she would pay for all of them items, to which Caen chuckled. "Nonsense, I can cover at least half of it. This is my problem too, after all!" He spoke, reaching into one coat pocket and taking out his wallet.

Caen, along with the other two, looked over at the cyan hedgehog, and sighed "considering he ignored you offering help, I'd doubt he'd really want to help, but... The more, the merrier, I guess."

Cinder, meanwhile, looked at the near-exhausted Melody with a worried look on his tiny face. He tapped her on the shoulder, presumably asking if she was okay when speaking the words "Chao Chao?"

The hedgehog walked in, closed the door and looked at the group. The cashier was confused why he was back. "You're that guy." He pointed at Caen. "And I know you too!" He pointed at Yukkiko as well. "You guys were at the fight, right?" He asked then two of them. He knew both of them from the fight. He remembers the whole fight. As he remembered, he remembered that he sort of crashed the fight.

((Due to speaking with Dione personally, she has requested to be skipped for this turn, so it is now Amaris' turn! You're up. ^^))

((Nothin' ta do here, skip ~))

A young mallard wearing a simple jacket and brown boots walked up to the shopsighing to himself about the fedora that was ripped to shred sitting in his pocket.Why?Because while fllying to the shop he had been caught up in a strong storm and he barely maneged to escape.He noticed the group and walked up to them,maneging to get confident enough to talk to them."Do you have any idea how much wrenches cost in this place?and if you need assistance with all those tools,I would be more than happy to help!"He asked,noticing all the tools they were carrying.

The tiny white and blue chao chirped happily when Cinder voiced his own concerns to her about the heavy load she had carried to the checkout area where the group of Mobians had gathered to pay for their things. She babbled in their cute language to assure her small red friend that she was okay before beckoning him to get back to the task at hand; Getting these supplies back to their garden. Melody noticed another Mobian enter the store with a sigh, as if they weren't entirely happy about coming in the store. She frowned slightly, but shook it off before returning to her partners head to sit back down.

Yukiko's ears twitched when Dione suggested asking the turquoise hedgehog who had left the store if he needed help. She turned her head to the doorway where the hedgehog stood just off to the side and a small confused frown formed on her white muzzle. She presumed by him leaving the store that he was on his way home, but now that her attention was brought to him, she wasn't sure what to think. She swivelled her rounded ears to Caen at his comment and nodded.
"That is a valid p-point. We d-do have a lot of things here..."

A small squeak of surprise caused the purple feline to raise a hand to feel that the tiny Melody had landed atop her head. She sighed in relief that it was only her and not something that could have scared her somehow, looking up to smile softly at the little face that peered down at her with a question mark forming from her little blue bobble.

Once her orange eyes left her partners big black ones, she found her gaze on the Mobian whom had entered the shop not too long ago. She tilted her head slightly in question to the windswept look he held. His question surprised her though, seeing as he was offering his services so quickly after just seeing them. 

Yukiko didn't know how to respond without turning into a stuttering mess, so took a small step back and pressed her fingers together with her head lowered.