Another casual day

Shala frowned at Vicky. She was confused as to her motivations. Though her focus was more stuffing more bread in her mouth, followed by listening to the upset house owner.

Shala winced as she was introduced. "Vick, no more introductions. I don't want my name going everywhere. I'm just passing through...Until I get a few more bits."

When the broom was held out to her she completely ignored it and enjoyed her stolen food. "I ain't doing nothing. I am finished doing favors."

Victoria promptly replied to Doodle in murmur, feigning apathy. "Worse 'zan angry, dear, for she is a grieving alcoholic; bitter when drunk and even more bitter when sober."

Then, with expressiveness restored, Victoria rejoined Shala. "Excuse my imprudence, sweetie," she answered, choosing to portray a humble lack of discretion. "Do no favors if you will not, but won't you at least exercise due reciprocity?"

The mare turned to the house owner. "I frankly doubt she can be persuaded in 'zis state of mind. As for 'ze damages -- may I reimburse you? Please, name two digits." Imbued with the sense that an offering of wealth could distill the true intentions of any pony, Victoria readily drew her satin purse and unfastened the brass clip. She doubted that the mare would accept the bits as a solution, but more than anything sought to learn more about her counterpart based on her reaction.

Doodle sighed and quietly swept up the floor. "No, it's alright. All I want to do is help her, I can't imagine how awful her life must've been for her to be like this..." Doodle whispered quietly to Victoria. Once she finished the floor a soft sigh whistled through her clenched teeth as memories from her past enveloped her. She sighed and quickly shook it off and sadly looked at Shala.

"Ah, well..." Comical started while playing with his hooves. "This has been quite the experience..." He scanned the room and everypony in it. "Just moved into a house after being homeless... and it has already been broken into." He said breaking into a laugh

"Reci-what?" Shala stammered at Vicky. "I don't speak fancy Prench. My stomach speaks plenty of languages though, and right now it could use some alcohol."

Trotting like she owned the place, she stuck her head in the sink and drank straight from the faucet to quench her thirst. "I have to get out of this town soon before I run into someone I know." She grumbled as she wiped her mouth dry.

Victoria hastily endeavored to fold her wing around Shala and guide her towards Doodle Bug and Comical. "Love, I mean for you to relent! I can promise you a drink and meal if you will just be a civil mare in the now."

"Now," she began in a divertive mirthful tone, tugging at her sorrowful companion. "I'm afraid I've yet to learn anything about you two, distracted as we have been. Won't you introduce yourselves?"

She smiled gaily.

Doodle smiled and said. "I'm Doodle Bug and, like my name states, I'm a doodler. Although I'm still trying to find where I fit in most..." She sighed and started Tidying up her messed up silverwere drawers.

"You can call me mister amazing..." Said Comical in a playful attitude. "... Im playing, nobody calls me that." He slapped his knee like an idiot and laughed to himself. "gah... well I'm Comical." He said, and saluted as if he were a soldier. "At your service."

Shala reguarded Vicky for a moment. Considering her offer. Playing nice for a little while could get her the booze she needed. And fill her stomach for another day.

"...Fine. So long as I get something to drink and eat as promised." She pointed a hoof at Vicky as if it drove her promise even deeper.

"Right, so you are McDoodles, and you are Bongo the Clowno. Got it. I'm nobody. And try not to use my name you may have heard in public. I just need my alcohol and some money."

Victoria nodded, still with Shala partially under her feathers. “’Tis a pleasure to meet you. Might I add, Mademoiselle Doodle Bug, ‘zat here is just the place to be to discover ones place in the world? ‘Zere are so very many opportunities for discovery in ‘zis quaint little town.”

Then, turning to the stallion, she curtsied politely. “Et toi, Monsieur Comical, ‘tis a pleasure no less. You live up to your name, do you not?”

Lastly, Victoria extended her own hoof to gently lower that of Shala. "Rest assured, dear; you shall have it. Will you smile at 'zat?"

"Well it is nice to meet you both as well, would anypony want any herbal tea?" She asked while digging through her cubbords for tea bags and four mugs and cleaning off the sink where Shala had drunken from before.

Comical heard all that was said, yet payed attention to none of it. It took him a couple of seconds until he snapped back. "Uh… no ma'am, sadly, I'm not as comical as I used to be." He chuckled, answering Victoria's question, not knowing whether it was meant to be answered or not.

Shala rolled her eyes and sighed with far more emphasis than the situation called for at Vicky's words to Doodle. "...And tragedies." She added in under her breath a bit too loudly.

Again, she rolled her eyes at Vicky when asked to smile. After a few moment's staring, she forced a twisted smile and dropped it just as quickly. "There, I smiled. That means I get more alcohol, right?"

The offer of tea made Shala stick out her tongue in disgust. "Blah! Only tea I'll have is a Manehattan."

"Tea would be lovely, 'zank you," Victoria answered courteously. Then, as to acknowledge Comical without pressing him, she replied rhetorically once more, "Is 'zat so?"

In contrasting response to Shala's crassness, Victoria knowingly began to smooth the mane of her contemporary. "Chin up and tongue in, dear," Victoria commanded; but docilely so, as if to determine the extent to which Shala's compliance had been won by her offering of food and drink.

Doodle Bug quickly prepared the teas and handed out small sugar cubes to put in the piping hot tea as it was cooling. She quickly mixed and stirred the tea, then poured it into one cup for Victoria. "Would you like some Comical? It is my grandmother's recipie. She was an amazing cook!"

'Hmm... why not?" Comical accepted the offer with a content tone, he was finally going to get something in his system. The pony just sat, and waited for the tea. Hopefully it would be good like she said.

Shala eyed Vicky with narrow eyes. She knew exactly what she was trying to do. Normally, she would be happy to reject such words and drink from her flask, but she had nothing to fall back on. Grumbling, she sat down in place and looked away from the group.

"It better be worth it. This ticking is ruining my mood." She pointed to her head. With the mention of ticking, it was notable to see she had a clock for a cutie mark.

Victoria perceived Shala's facial gesture and swiftly turned to face her with a soft, tender smile; though, in the depths of her own violet eyes, there dwelled an almost imperceptible presence -- one which, with its ghostly black tendrils, pounced ravenously at the scarcest breath of misery and coercion, and feasted upon the flesh of the very soul.

Then, in an instant, the mare was again nonchalant about her motions. "Ticking, dear?" Victoria inquired in a conversational manner.

Doodle then prepared one cup for Comical and passed him sugar cubes. She then handed the cup to him and quickly began preparing one for herself and took a sip of the amazingly warm cup of bliss. She closed her eyes for a moment to enjoy the warmth that enveloped her. With the sweetness and tartness of the berries mixed with the minty-lemony flavor of the 'special' tea leaves her grandmother grew, her tastebuds only yerned for more. She licked her lips and opened her eyes again to prevent them from thinking she was weird.

Comical eyed the cup for a few seconds. It was a while before he had something that looked as nice as this, even though it was just a drink. He took a sip, then raised his cup and in a jolly, yet kidding voice shouted "To a new home" even though that only really applied to him. he sat back, sipped, and chuckled.

Shala eyed Doodle oddly. Her passion for tea made her raise and eyebrow and derail her train of thought for a moment.

"...Yes. Ticking." She went back to her lost thoughts with aggravation. "Always a ticking in this damn noggin of mine." It then occured to her to look around and try to spot any possible clocks that may have been in the room. Her eyes looked around like a wolf looking for prey.

"You don't have any...CLOCKS...do you?" She twitched and grinded her teeth oddly at the mere mention of possibility of any such things being near her.

Victoria sipped her tea after graciously thanking Doodle. The murky beverage complemented her mentality; it, being a stimulant with a particularly strong taste and scent.

Quite intrigued by Shala's speculative utterances, Victoria produced a little brass pocket watch. Shifting her posture, the mare brought her eyes to the level of Shala's. "'Tis twenty-four minutes and seventeen seconds past the hour," she observed, probing for a reaction.

Doodle Bug nodded and pointed towards the west wall where an old grandfather clock stood. "My Grandfather and Father made that together when my father was just a colt. It's the only clock in the cabin but it still runs as if it was new..." She then noticed Shala's discomfort and cocked an eyebrow at her. "Are you alright?"

Comical studies the ponies and what they were doing. Nothing really amused him. "Excuse me doodle, but im going to go find a room, im a bit sleepy." Comical said, walking down a hall and into a room. He laid himself down and went to sleep.

Shala twitched her head and grinded her teeth. The sight of the watch, the time being told, it was more than enough to get a reaction.

"Its TWENTY THREE minutes and FIFTY FOUR seconds past!" She swiped her hoof violently at the brass pocket watch that Vicky had, hoping for its destruction.

Then it got worse. Shala slowly turned her head toward the next abomination that dared challenge her well being. With a a growl she charged at the grandfather clock and bucked it hard repeatedly. Her magic tossed it about, shaking pieces of it out until nothing at all could possibly function. The ruin of the clock fell aside, defeated and silent. All that was left was Shala huffing to catch her breath, her eyes twinkling lightly with moisture.