Who: Peeta and a strange doll that sounds and acts like a certain owner of an antique store What: The doll wants a coffee and something to nom on When: Sometime today Where: Mellarky Rating/Warnings: Low / Log contains links Status: Complete!
It was a normal day at Mellarky and Peeta was finishing up a cake in the back room. He kept the door between the front and back open when he was by himself or most of his crew was back here so he could hear the bell that was above the door. He stepped back from the cake and took it in as it was in the current state. It didn’t have the frosting on it yet, but he had managed to cut it properly and stacked the cakes how the bride had commented that they wanted it.
His excitement was short lived when he heard the bell go off and he dusted his hand off on his apron. He padded towards the front of the shop and his eyes searched for the customer that had just entered. Perhaps they were smaller in stature so he moved to the counter and peered over it and was astonished to behold a small doll in front of him, “Hello? May I help you find something?”
A small porcelain dollpeered back up at him from under a plaid hat. She was clothed in a similar plaid skirt and blue shirt with a tiny plaid purse across her shoulders. She stared up at Peeta for several long moments, doe brown eyes unblinking, but looking very much alive and furthermore, intelligent.
“Hello, Mr. Mellark.” Even though her mouth did not move, the voice definitely came from the doll. The voice itself was satiny and breathy and that of a full grown woman. No pull string canned voices here. The mouth remained still, but there was a distinct smile in the voice “It’s very good to see you today.” The doll raised its arm and pointed its tiny finger towards the display case. “May I order a couple of sweet muffins, please?”
What in the world was going on? Was there suddenly a dream bleed-over of people turning into dolls? Because he felt awful for whomever was dreaming of cognisant dolls on their dreams. But she seemed perfectly capable of moving around and apparently talking although there was a very long pause while it was thinking of what to say. Although, Peeta had to admit that he also bolted when the doll first spoke and again when suddenly that arm was raised and pointed at the case. This might be the stuff of nightmares.
His brow furrowed as he gave a nod, “Of course. Do you have a particular flavor that you want?” He might as well make sure that he got the order correctly and not make the doll mad. He didn’t want something like Chucky happening to him even though he was deeply confused by what was going on.
The doll seemed to study him for a moment, it’s head tilted to the side as if confused that Peeta hadn’t greeted her in return. When she spoke again, however, that pleasant tone was still present in her voice, as if the doll herself was smiling back at him genially. “Oh, yes,” she said and here her eyes actually closed, as if that smile in her voice was so great that it had made her squint. “I would love a chocolate muffin. And, hmmm….” She opened her eyes again and looked at the case thoughtfully, her tiny hand going to her chin as she pondered her choices. “All your muffins are magnificent. What would you suggest today?”
This was one of the most unnerving things he had to watch and he had seen a lot of strange things in his life. The doll was so animated and yet not at the same time because the facial expression never changed. But there was so much going on with her voice and the gestures. “I’ve got a really nice almond flavored muffin today that I really like. It would pair nicely with your chocolate muffin. If you like that one then do you want the two or would you like more? I’ve also got a lemon poppyseed that has really great icing on it.”
The doll considered the options. Poppyseed was a favorite, pleasantly sweet without being overbearing, but almond was unique. She thought for a moment more, her tiny foot tapping the floor. “Both of those sound delicious,” she said. “And I’ve always really enjoyed your muffins, Mr. Mellark. Hmm. Oh, I don’t know.” Her foot continued tapping. “How about…” she lowered her arm and looked up again at the very helpful bakery owner. “The almond flavored one,” she said at last, that bright smile back in her voice. “You like it and therefore I would like to give it a try. If it’s really good, I’ll order a few more to take to my friends!”
“Perfect. I’m excited to hear that you’ll give it a try and rave to your friends if you like it. I’m sure you will. Give me a minute to box them up for you,” he was a little worried about how in the world the doll would carry the box out of the store, but she must be stronger than he knew. He went to the case and put the two muffins into a box and packaged it all up properly for her, “Is there anything else I can get for you today? Did you want coffee?” He was trying to figure out the voice coming from the doll so he could place a name with her because she acted like she came into the shop often enough.
“Thank you very much, Mr. Mellark,” The doll said politely and again her eyes closed as if she were squinching them up in a smile. “Your muffins are always so delicious! I’ll be happy to share them with my friends. I’m sure they’ll love them.
She waited politely for Peeta to box up the muffins, even stepping out of the way of the counter to watch him. Well, kind of watch him. She stood up on her tiptoes and peered up at him through the case as he picked out the muffins. “A coffee would be wonderful,” she said. “Cream and sugar too, please.”
“I love hearing rave reviews. I really appreciate how much you enjoy them,” that much was completely true. There had to be a customer inside of that doll or something. It must be a dream thing. Was everyone turning into dolls or a select group of people? This place was so strange.
The muffin box was set next to the register as he went to get her coffee and prepared it just the way she liked and brought it over to the register as well. “Alright, I’ve got a coffee and two muffins. Your total will be $8.50,” he was prepared to lean over the counter to grab her payment if he needed to. He was amusingly curious about what was going to happen when the doll went to pay.
The doll seemed very pleased with the box of muffins and coffee. She turned her attention from the box back towards the helpful baker. “I’ll come back soon and tell you how much everyone enjoyed the muffins,” she said happily.
When Peeta told her how much she owed, the doll nodded her head. She moved, surprisingly fluidly considering she was made up of porcelain and fluff, to search through the little bag that was across her shoulders. Her tiny stiff hands fumbled with it for several moments before she pulled out a ten dollar bill. Where she had gotten the money was a mystery, but she stood high on her tiptoes to hand the money up to Peeta.
The sight almost made him burst out laughing and he leaned over the counter to close the gap between them and processed the transaction. He leaned back over to hand her the change. “Let me bring this over for you and I’ll grab the door for you on the way out. Thank you again for coming in, it was really nice to see you.” At least he knew this had to be a regular of his, but he just wasn’t quite sure which one. He grabbed the items off the counter and walked around it to hand them over to her. He wasn’t quite sure if she could handle the load, but at least he could be there to assist her if needed.
The doll took her change and put it away in her little bag. “Oh, thank you, that will be a big help,” she said. She toddled over to the door, her little shoes making faint clicking sounds on the floor as she walked. Once she had reached the door she waited at the door for Peeta to join her with her box of muffins and coffee. When he joined her she raised her little arms to take her purchases. Then she paused and seemed to suddenly realize the size of the box compared to her own size. “Oh. Oh dear. That box seems quite big today.” She lowered her arms and seemed to contemplate her predicament.
“My apologizes. Do you think you’ll be able to make it or would you like more assistance?” Peeta bit his bottom lip and tried to look concerned. This was actually quite adorable to watch the doll attempt to move with that large of a box. He was a little nervous about trying to figure how to give her the coffee, but if she somehow had a vehicle he could put it in there. Actually, if the doll did have a vehicle then how in the world did she drive here? Oh this was become far more complicated by the moment.
“Oh, it’s not your fault at all, no need for apologies,” the doll said. She giggled faintly, “everything seems very large for me today. It must be one of Those Things. How odd. I wonder who dreams of giant lands.”
She waved her little hand at Peeta’s offer of assistance, “It’s nice of you to offer, but I don’t want to trouble you,” she said. “I was just going to go back to my shop and message my friend Leon to come over and enjoy a muffin with me. Perhaps if you took the muffins out of the box, they would be easier to carry?”
“Sure, I can do that for you,” Peeta removed the two muffins out of the box, “do you want a bag or anything? It might get a little complicated with the coffee cup.” He was surprised that the doll hadn’t picked up on being so small, but apparently that wasn’t going to click anytime soon. So, the least he could do was at least help her out with her purchases right now, but he could only do so much because she was certainly independent.
The doll was fiercely independant, fueled by the soul of a woman who was used to doing things on her own. Carrying around two muffins shouldn’t be too difficult a task, especially now that they were out of the box. “A bag might be the best way to go,” she said after a brief moment of thought. “It will be easier for me to carry. Yes, please, if you don’t mind putting them in a bag for me, Mr. Mellark? Then I should be able to carry the bag with one hand and have my coffee in the other…” she looked up at the coffee cup Peeta was holding. A touch of a frown entered her voice. “Oh, my. That cup looks rather large today too, doesn’t it?”
“Let me set this down for you and we can figure the cup out later. I’m going to grab a bag for you,” Peeta moved to go grab a bag and let out a quiet chuckle when he was out of earshot and returned with the bag. This was definitely getting interesting and he quickly packed the muffins into the bag for her and rolled it up so she could get a good grip on the bag to carry, “And like you said, land of giants today. Here are your muffins. You sure you don’t need any assistance? More than happy to step away for a moment if you need it.”
“Thank you,” the little doll said as Peeta stooped down to tuck the bag into her porcelain hand. Ahh, that was much better. The bag was still a little large considering it was holding two muffins, but it was far more manageable than the box would have been.
The doll glanced out through the door at the street then back up at Peeta. Her facial expression did not change, but there was a glint in her all too intelligent eyes indicating that she was giving some serious consideration to Peeta’s offer to help. “It might take more than a minute,” she said at last, “But I did walk here from my shop and I’m afraid that cup might be too large for me to carry. Would you mind taking it back to my shop for me?”
“Not at all,” he promised with an easy smile. He would just yell to the back to let them know that he would be right back and he would happily take her coffee to the shop. He stooped down to pick the coffee cup back up and moved to hold open the door, “More than happy to help you out. After you, m’lady.” At least it was a beautiful day out and Peeta wouldn’t even mind walking with a doll to her shop, which he realized it must be Robin inside of that doll or something. Maybe it would help him figure out this mystery, so with a smile on his face he was ready to follow behind her.