Hazebloom Investigation | Model Detective

The knock on the door was polite, but hard enough to be heard. No sound came from the other side until the blue-haired doll opened the door their flat expression looking towards Jarlath. "Hope you're doin' well, Velv." The rough looking doll started. "Jarlath. It is pleasant to see you. Are you here to assist me in modeling a new outfit? Maybe you've finally gotten that little boyfriend of yours to help me model some of my more tight-fitting experiments?" He couldn't help but give a small laugh in response. "Not this time, Velvet. I'm here to ask a question regarding some recent occurrences around Burrowgatory. Mind if I come in?" Velvet shook their head. "Not at all. Come in and sit down. I'll make some coffee." 

 

Jarlath did as he was asked, sitting himself down on one of the chairs set up in the room, placed next to a mirror, of course. He took note of the fabrics and materials. His eyes moved to a note on one of the tables, simply saying 'corsages are delayed'. Safe to say, he already had a bit of an idea as to why that might be the case... He didn't get too much time to think about it however, as soon enough Velvet returned with two cups of coffee for the both of them. It was rather early in the day, and Jarlath could use a bit of a morning pick me up before he continued on with assisting Hops- how that girl could scream so early in the morning was beyond him.

 

"You know how I am about wandering around outside my studio, Jarlath. But if you truly think I'd be able to help answer whatever questions you might have, I'm not going to deny you the assistance." Velvet started, taking a sip of their coffee and staring at the other blankly. It was true, Jarlath rarely saw the model out and about. He had heard that Alimir was able to get an autograph from them while they were going about their regular business, but Jarlath wasn't entirely sure if he believed him. However, with this- he knew that he'd get some help. After all, the note on the desk made it clear that the other was having some... planting problems. "I'm sure it'll be fine, Velvet. You don't need to tell me a lot, just as much as you know, okay?" They nodded, a simple response, but a clear one.

 

"I'm investigating recent occurrences involving the destruction of various gardens. It would seem that the creature that caused these incidents has no preferred food, taking bites out of everything they can get their mouth on. I had already asked Oleander, Dan, and Hops about their gardens- been helping Hops with her hazebloom harvest, even. At the moment we only have so much information, that our creature is horned, that they're hooved, and they have black fur. I decided to come to you to ask about any gardens that you might have, and the state of them." Jarlath explained, watching as Velvet took a sip of their coffee, nodding along to his explanation. 

 

"I see. Well, I will tell you that I've had similar troubles. I have a garden that I use to grow flowers for my corsages as well as other floral-based decorations for any outfits that may need it- and this morning I woke up to see that the garden had been torn apart by something. There was enough to salvage for the next week, but due to it all, the rest of my corsages for the next month are delayed. As for what I might give you as a hint, I will say that the creature didn't eat any of my plants whole, and... well, perhaps it would be better if I showed you instead of just taking my word on it." With that, they lifted themselves up out of their chair in order to go grab the flowers in question, humming softly as they brought the destroyed foliage over to the table, making sure not to knock anything over while placing them in front of Jarlath. "Look at the bite marks left over, Jarlath."

 

He did as he was asked, and looked closely at the marks left behind- they were small, very small. "If our culprit was a bun, you'd think that the bite marks would be a lot larger, don't you think?" Jarlath nodded. "Yes, much larger- these definitely look like they were made by and imp... not to mention that I've never seen a bun with horns that could be described as antlers..." Velvet nodded. "Quite so. You can take the flowers as evidence, if you'd like. It's not as if I'm going to use them."

 

Jarlath smiled and gave a small laugh, picking up the flowers from the table as he got up. "Using me as a garbage disposal, huh? Well, either way, thank you for the help, Velvet. Oh, and for the coffee as well." Velvet nodded, Jarlath almost got the idea that they would be smiling if they ever did so. "Anytime, Jarlath. I do hope to see you again soon, hopefully for something a bit more positive than this."