The Candyman rings [open]

[Oliver T.]

"Oliver, you're amazing! Who did this? Oliver?  Yeah, he's that really amazing young lad who works the desk.  That's what they'll say."

Oliver was talking out loud to himself as he walk up the pathway from the Marketplace which lead to the Inn. He was pulling a hand cart which was filled with various candies and sweet. Most of them were chocolate, but there were gummies and lollipops as well.

Earlier that day a flyer had come while he was tending to the stables. While the boy had trouble reading there were a few words that he had managed to make out, and they were: Free. Sweets. Shop.  The flyer was riddled with hearts and lipstick markings and things that were rather 'girly' in his option, but that didn't matter much.  What did matter was that the flyer was offering free sweets!

The name of the store was on the flyer, but he couldn't make it out, though the symbol was there too, and that was a bon!  The boy knew just about every shop and stand in the Marketplace, and this shop had the BEST sweets! He knew what he had to do.   Oliver stopped his chores, gathered the wagon (which he normally used to carry supplies back and forth with) and went as fast as he could to the shop. Boy oh boy did he score!

When he got back to the Inn he set up a make-shift stand - wooden crates for legs and a flat wood top.  He went inside for the bell  and took his place behind his stand. The wagon behind the stand he started to ring the bell and loudly declare, "Sweets to eat!  Get your sweets for your eats!"

[Armandeus]

There weren’t many things more tempting than the promise of sweets, which was perhaps why the cloaked figure was drawn from the shadows it had been lurking in at the dual siren call of the bell and the boy’s words. It had been a long time since this particular figure had been seen around New Haven and even longer since it had tasted anything remotely sweet. It moved silently from around the side of the inn where it had been standing in the shadows and slowly advanced upon the boy and his makeshift stand.

It stopped just shy of a few feet away, the tattered purple cloak fluttering as the figure slowly lifted a pale hand up to push the hood back from its face. There was the flash of dark green hair, long pointed ears, tanned yet paled skin that hadn't seen the sun in far, far too long and then vibrant purple eyes were regarding the boy as a smile slowly stole its way across the elf’s face. A voice, hoarse and ragged from disuse followed the smile: “Hello Oliver.”

[Oliver T.]

With the noise he was making person would think that Oliver wouldn't have been surprised!  But he was!  For you see, Oliver was focused on looking down the road and whomever may be coming from that direction. He should have had an ear out for behind him too, but he didn't.  Nothing like a scare to set a person right.

Oliver had dropped his bell and was now looking at Armandeus as if he'd seen a ghost. While many people had reappeared at Inn he had yet to see any of the people who brought him on - until now. He had thought they'd be the first ones back. "Uh. da, ah. bah..." Oliver battered incoherently as he gathered his wits about him.

"You're back!" Stating the obvious. "You look dead." Maybe he didn't remember the elf looking as pale as he was now, but to this boy here, the Elf looked like he'd been under ground for a long time.

Then he perked up.  "Have a spot of candy.  Put some color back on ya."

[Armandeus]

A good rule of thumb was always to keep a keen eye on your surroundings for one could never know what would pop out of the shadows...including a half-dead-looking elf! As it was Armandeus was enjoying the look of shock upon Oliver's face and the stammering; his mouth twitched as his smile grew wider. It had been far too long since he'd had the chance to do something as harmless as sneak up on someone!

Whereas some would be put off by the boy's blunt words Armandeus took them in stride. To be fair Oliver wasn't far off the mark-- the poor elf did look like he was close to being dead. Armandeus had never been a buff type of guy but as he shuffled closer to the makeshift stand it was impossible to ignore that now he was little more than pale skin stretched over bones. Under the tattered cloak he was wearing a simple pair of drawstring sweat pants and a loose shirt that hung off his left shoulder showcasing the heavy white bandages underneath. It was the only part of the arm that could be seen, the rest was nothing but a lump hidden by the shirt's fabric.

"Thank you," Armandeus told the boy before his attention was taken by the candy spread out on the makeshift table. "You are looking quite well. Where did you find so much candy?"

[Oliver T.]

Armandeus asked his question and Oliver looked at the elf with a wide-eyed guilty expression. The boy had nothing, nothing, to be guilty over (besides his secret plan to eat all the leftovers) and yet guilt was etching itself all over his features.

“Um… Ahem.” He began and coughed into a hand before pounding a few times on his chest.  Olivera was composing himself. “I didn’t steal it. It’s legit, I swear.” Admitting innocence was always reassuring, wasn’t it? Now it was time to take his presentation back.

“And a right batch of well-made, fresh out the maker they are too!” Oliver exclaimed.  He pulled out a few selections from his inventory.

“This chocolate covered strawberry will have your teeth smiling.  This miniature lime tart will go straight to your heart.”  He placed the appropriate items on the table as he spoke. “You’ll never be a sucker with these lollipop puckers! So what do you say, man?  Er.. elf.  Armandeus. Sir.” Poor Oliver stumbled in trying to correct himself but he ended it all with a smile!

[Armandeus]

Happily engrossed with eyeballing over the selection of sweets laid out before him—and taking care to ignore all the chocolate ones with an internal sigh—Armandeus completely missed the growing look of guilt crossing over the boy’s face! It wasn’t until he spoke again and the coughing started that the elf looked up, and at seeing the guilty expression, he felt one eyebrow shoot up in surprise because what was all this? Where was the guilt coming from Had Armandeus said something wrong? Granted it had been quite some time since he’d spoken to anyone aside from his sister and Elessar but Armandeus had thought things had been going well!  

“I did not mean to imply anything.” Armandeus said, still somewhat baffled though his attention was swiftly captured by the mention of a lime tart. It sounded, and looked, quite delicious and the elf’s eyes lit up in anticipation. “The tart has no chocolate in it, correct?” He didn’t think anyone would pair the evils of chocolate in with lime, but one never knew.

[Oliver T.]

The best way to get over anything was to quickly engage in something else that made you look busy and you knew how to do. He had heard that somewhere. Therefore, when Armandeus said what he wanted, Oliver got busy.

Perhaps next time he would do a better job in sorting everything out. He had a few bits - the ones displayed on the table - but everything else was in a heap in the cart. Oliver found the tarts and pulled out two kinds.  

"Did you want chocolate... or not.. chocolate?" He was a bit confused.  His brows knotted together as he looked between the two sweets which were now in his hands. One was a simple lemon tart with cut strawberries and another was a vanilla tart with blueberries and chocolate drizzle.

He set them both on the quasi-table for him to decide. "So..." Oliver decided to approach his question cautiously.   "Is Elessar around?"

[Armandeus]

Sweet Eru must he tempt the poor Elf so? Armandeus watched the tart removal from the heap with interest and a watering mouth! How long had it been since he'd tasted anything sweet? Far, far too long in his opinion! It was in him to request both of them, chocolate allergy be damned because surely just a taste couldn't do much harm, could it? but he managed to reign himself back in at the last moment. "No chocolate." He said, resigned, though at least he could have the lemon one and maybe the lime, right? He gave Oliver a questioning look, wondering if the boy would let him have more than one of the treats.

"Elessar is..." Ar paused, all thoughts of treats flowing out of his head momentarily as he struggled for a way to answer the question. A simple 'yes' would suffice he supposed though what if the boy wanted to talk to Elessar? It wasn't easy to speak to one who was deep in the throws of healing sleep, this Armandeus knew from personal experience, and so he landed on the only thing he could think of. "Sleeping." A clearing of his throat followed by what he hoped was a normal-looking smile. "Elessar is upstairs sleeping."

[Oliver T.]

Armandeus was really interested in the treats on the table, so Oliver was apt to let the elf take what he wanted. At the question the boy put a few more on the table. The ones without chocolate.  

"They're really tasty too," Oliver boasted. He was talking from experience. "Makes the best sweets in the Marketplace, he does." It was probably a good thing that Armandeus was going to take some of the treats, but that's. It to say that Oliver didn't have a stash saved up for himself.  

"Maybe even take a few for Elessar. For when he wakes up." Seemed only right. "Nothing quite like waking up to a spot of good pastries to start the day."

Elessar must have be sleeping for a really long time. He hadn't seen him. Then again, Oliver didn't know when the elves had gotten back either. It could have been today for all he knew. "I'll set them all in the kitchen later. Or maybe I'll carry them down to the orphanage." That seemed like a good idea to him. It was rare when he ever got things like this when he was still living there.

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