Apple Adventure!

As the LED 'Open' sign crackled to life, a new day had dawned on the counters of Super's Stuff. A record was plucked from the shelf, and as the needle dropped smooth jazz floated through the shop. The electric teakettle behind the counter chimed once, the smell of freshly brewed chai lending a finishing touch to the store's cozy atmosphere. 

Ready for the day, Diana finally settled into her comfortable armchair behind the cash register, book in one hand and warm drink in the other. The store rarely had any customers at all, and even slimmer were her chances of an encounter this early. She was prepared for another comfortably solitary morning.

Just as she had begun to lose herself in the book, the gong near the front of the shop clanged, echoing through the room. Diana nearly spilled her warm drink, mentally cursing the noise maker as she sorrowfully set down her book. If she had things her way they would have a proper doorbell, or perhaps just a small bell above the door frame. But this was not her shop, and one of the few things the owner had insisted on was that terrible gong. Diana had been working at her position for nearly half a year and still struggled to get used to the booming sound each time somebun entered or left.

She readied her customer service smile as she rose to her feet, preparing to meet her unexpected guest. "Hello, and welcome to-" Appearing before her was a bundle of smiles and sparkles, purple hair and star-shaped glass giving Diana a deep sense of deja-vu. "Hold up- Super?" The newcomer's grin only grew. The shop's owner was rarely found in doll form, far preferring the extra exploration opportunities available with the bun form's small size. Diana couldn't even remember the last time she saw that sparkly skirt pulled from the bun's closet.

Diana furrowed her brow. Super rarely showed up fully dressed, and never this early in the morning. Diana felt a chill run up her spine. It was likely she was in for a- "Let's go on an adventure!!"

Super bounced up and down as she gave her proposition. Diana only shook her head. "I can't. I'm busy watching your shop, remember?" With a giggle, Super twirled her way over to the 'Open' sign hanging in the window, clicking it off and turning back to Diana. "Would ya look at that? Shop's closed for the day!" Diana massaged her temples. It was very unlikely she was getting out of this. She met Super's sparkling gaze with a tired look. "I'm still getting the full day's pay."

"Of course, of course!" Super grabbed Diana's hand, hardly giving her a moment to lock up before she had dragged her out of the shop and off in some unknown direction. "Where are we even going?" And why me... Diana couldn't help her mild confusion, usually she was not at the top of Super's adventure buddy list. Her lack of enthusiasm and desire to always get paid didn't help. "We're gonna pick some apples!" Super sparkled as she skipped along, tugging Diana behind her with a surprisingly firm grip. "And it's basically still work, ya know, 'cause we can sell whatever's leftover!" She winked. "Folks'll eat it up, 'tis the season and all that!"

"I suppose I wouldn't mind a nice cider..." Diana mumbled as she kept pace with Super, tugging her hand from the sparkly bun's grip and raising an eyebrow quizzically. "Where's Cryssia?" Cryssia, an aqueous bun and Super's roommate, was the mutual friend who had introduced the two in the first place. More often than not, she was the one who ended up as Super's 'adventure buddy', as she was happy to be anywhere with an abundance of sexy doll forms. Today, it seemed she and her ever-present jellsi were nowhere to be found.

"Busy, yet again! She's been soooo busy lately, ya know she and that pink gal are opening that salon? 'Parently it's been a lotta work, guess those two just aren't as efficient as I was when starting my business!" If 'efficient' meant 'doing as little as physically possible', Super was one of the most efficient business owners in Burrowgatory, since Diana was the one single-handedly running the shop. 

"Her name's Leia." Diana corrected offhandedly before giving Super's shoulder a double-take. Her patterned scarf had started wiggling suspiciously. Suddenly, a small black wing popped out from underneath, followed by the rest of the silly little blob. "It's been a while since I've seen Stell out and about." Super grinned "Figured it deserved a lil' adventure! Poor guy's been stuck in it's tank 'cause a training camp." Super reached up, giving the thulu's chin a scratch as it floated off her shoulder. "Thought it'd be for the best, after the... catastrophe." Diana's expression soured at the mention of the event. 

"Ayyy, would ya look at that? We made it!" Super's exclamation snapped Diana out of her reminiscence, and she briefly took in her surroundings. Indeed, they had arrived at an apple orchard. Diana turned to look down the road they had been walking along, unable to see even the tallest of the city buildings through the light fog. How far had they come? 

Diana had no idea there was an apple orchard in this direction, but clearly she had been out of the loop as most trees had already been picked bare by the barrage of buns swarming the place. There were buns with baskets, buns with bags, buns up trees, buns that looked like bees, and considerably fewer unpicked apples than she had been hoping for. "It seems we are not alone."

"Awww, would ya prefer that?" Super winked as she bounced into the orchard, enthusiasm unwavered by the lack of apples. Diana followed, the two making their way to the far reaches of the treeline as they searched. A friendly face tossed the pair an apple apiece, but not a single one was left in the branches for picking.

As they stepped out of the busy treeline, they found themselves in a soft meadow. Gem toned flowers swayed gently in the breeze, and the cool mist sparkled slightly as it settled. Though it was nothing Diana had not already seen (or read about), the sheer contrast from the orchard's activity made her gasp at the sight. 

The two stared in comfortable silence for a moment. Diana was the one to break it. "We didn't really find any apples." She took a bite out of her pity prize. As she munched, she felt Super's hand take her own once more. "We didn't find any apples... yet!" Without giving the other bun a moment to swallow, Super began dragging her at high speed through the meadow, tearing off into the mist. Diana did her best to protest, though it was rather stifled by a mouthful of apple. She tugged her hand away, slowed down, swallowed, coughed, rolled her eyes, and finally resumed her jog to catch up with the speedy bun. As she neared the trail of sparkles, she did her best to shout to the other bun. "Really? What in the hells was- Where are you going!!" Super sped up once more at the sound of Diana's voice, giggling like mad as she sprinted through the meadow. 

Even Stell was having difficulty keeping up with Super, and as Diana was about to overtake the thulu she scooped it out of the air, clutching it to her chest as she ran. The last thing she needed today was another lost imp. As she focused on running, which was not something she did often, nor something she wanted to do often, Diana failed to notice Super skidding to a sudden halt. She nearly took out the sparkly bun as she slowed, steadying herself with the other bun's shoulders as she tried to catch her breath. 

"You..." Diana took a moment to breathe. Somehow, Super wasn't winded at all. Diana sometimes had to wonder if that bun was even a bun. "You forgot... your imp." She held up the squishy thulu which quickly wiggled out of her grasp, snuggling back into it's owner's scarf. 

Super remained silent. Once her composure had been regained, Diana finally looked up, first at Super's sparkling grin, and then at their surroundings. Their journey had led them to the edge of a forest. A natural orchard, untouched by bun or demon, full of apple laden trees farther than the eye could see. Diana's eyebrows shot up as she met Super's gaze. "I kinda lied when I said 'we made it' earlier," The sparkly bun was almost sheepish, as if lying wasn't expected of Burrowgatory citizens. "This is what I really wanted to show ya!" Super twirled into the orchard with arms spread wide, wild imps skittering away from her sparkly entrance. "All the apples we could ever want!"

For once, Super wasn't exaggerating. There were enough apples here to make any bun sick of apples forever. "So? Ya wanna start picking?" Super was already halfway up a tree, stretching her short doll form as far as she could to grab a low-hanging fruit. "We could wait for them to fall, but they'd need help to start a'peeling!" Diana rolled her eyes, pulling herself from her shock as she wandered to a branch within her reach. "This... I admit, this is quite impressive." She took a tentative bite from her freshly picked apple, humming with pleasure at the flavor. Not too sweet, not too tart. These apples were just right. Diana discarded her half-eaten apple from the first orchard, quickly replacing it with an armful of fresh ones. 

A glance back at Super showed the other bun spreading her scarf on the forest floor, a treasure trove of apples soon piling up on top. Diana added a few to the pile before picking her own armful, stuffing apples everywhere she could manage. She put apples in her pockets, apples in her bra, apples in her sleeves, and as many apples as she could carry in her arms. Super tied up her makeshift apple sack, swinging it over her shoulder before grabbing a couple extra to carry in her free hand. The two shared a grin as they stepped out of the orchard, weighed down by enough apples to feed a dozen hungry loafkis. 

As the pair started the long trek home, Diana's smile grew strained. "Next time, we're bringing a bag."