♥ Rowan ♥ (Quest)

Bean there, done enough (Rowan Quest 1) by Ruki-Ki, Apr 20, 2019, 11:01:28 PM "Many beans have fallen quite ill, recently. A local healer thinks they can make a cure from a certain plant in the woods. It’s up to your bean to gather enough for everyone!" Rowan sighed as she headed to work, expecting today to go like every other. It started with her waking up at 5 am and getting ready, giving Eric a little kiss as he started to wake up and she was ready to walk out the door. Every morning it was like that. Routine. Safe, and domestic. Everything she loved, and hated about life. Everything was predictable... everything was predictable. Except the only thing that's true about life is that it's unpredictable. She started the morning like normal, preparing the Coffee Bean for opening. The floors had been swept before closing last night so she set the little bistro tables up to prepare for the day. The coffee beans were roasting as she worked on wiping off the counter tops and counting change in the registers. By 6 am, there was already a steady trickle of customers who were waiting on her to serve them. She only focused on work and the smell of fresh coffee. Sometimes, when the days felt particularly long, those were the only things she wanted to think of. Having something to stall your mind helped it stay still and not run away with thoughts that turned her stomach tight. Today wasn't one of those days, not yet at least. By 11 am the morning rush had calmed down and Rowan could work again on cleaning the countertops and coffee presses. She would socialize with some familiar faces here and there, but for the most part it was monotonous. It'd only been a few hours and the day had already turned from mindlessly settled to heavy on her heart, for no reason. But she'd smile through it, for no one's sake but the customers and keeping business. She didn't need this job for money- Eric makes sure they're not in need- but she needed something to do, to keep her focus on something and find small bits of purpose every day. Rowan watched as a new face came in. It was ten till 1 now and she had nothing better to do than lean on the countertops and smell coffee beans until this stranger arrived. He looked frantic and scared, peering back and forth as he entered. He walked to someone sitting at the bistro seat and talked to them for a few moments before looking defeated and moving to the next dragon available. Three times now he walked up to others for help and must have been rejected. And as he approached Rowan it was going on one more. "Welcome to the Coffee Bean. How is your day?" She spoke, ritual words that meant nothing to her now, since everyone answered the same. "Not well." The new JBD spoke. He was starting to sweat and perhaps about to cry. Not a unique answer but still more than the usual 'good'. Either way, nothing worth focusing on. "Sorry to hear that. Can I help you?" "Yes! Oh yes you can! I've been asking for someone to help me but no one can!" "Can I help you pick out a drink." Rowan motioned to the menu. "Oh." The dragon gave a small smile and laughed. "N-no I uh..." He trailed off and took a deep breath to regain composure. "Do you have any chaei? It's a spice! A-A spice that has been known to have healing properties. Anything from gout to cancer and even depression! It's really important that I should find some, y-you see, my village, it's in danger!" "We sell coffee here, sir..." Rowan smiled pleasantly. Fakely. "Well, yes but you must look! It might look familiar to you." He pulled out his phone and showed her the screen, which had a leafy plant that grew something like pink berries on it. Same as any plant someone might stumble upon. Rowan nodded for him, to acknowledge him and his problems but not associate with them. The kind of nod that says you're listening for only as long as you need to. "I see. I'm sorry sir, but I haven't seen anything like that here. Perhaps the drug store across the street?" He shook his head. "No no! You see, modern medicine itself can't produce the same effects that chaei can. This is what I need, this!" Rowan nodded once more and pointed to the menu. "Can I help you find a drink, sir?" The bean looked at her in awe before chuckling to himself. Any resolve he had before was gone. "No. I only... If you may, could you keep your eyes open? And.. should anyone mention it, or bring up this spice, please..." He trailed off. Rowan handed the man a pen and paper. "Gimme your number and I'll call you if anyone says anything. I can't guarantee they will, so don't make me your last hope. But I'll be listening for you." She smiled again, fakely, as the bean suddenly felt a little bit of hope left. He put down his number and left. If that's all she could do, at least it'd be off her conscience... By 4 pm, Rowan had left work and was walking back home on the normal beaten trail back to the estate. The predictable trail on a predictable day. She knew this trail inside and out, seeing it every morning and every afternoon. It was ordinary and simple, much like life, and was easily taken at face value. Rowan's eyes searched it for something different. Every tree, every rock, every plant looked the same. Though now.... maybe something did catch her eye. Pink berries in a particular plant. Rowan stopped on her path and stared at the plant. She squinted since it was far off and hard to see. "Mm... Had I really... never notice them before." She slowly, fearfully... bravely stepped off her path and into something new. "Can it be that easy?" Rowan walked up and inspected the plant, half hoping it wasn't the one she'd seen on a frantic bean's phone hours before. Seeing them close though, she was surprised to see they were. It was the closest feeling to living in a dream that she'd ever experienced. .. She couldn't hear her thoughts as she picked the plants and one by one put them into her work bag. It didn't feel like work though. It felt surreal and uplifting. She'd dig into the ground, getting dirt under her claws to pull out the entire plant. Her bag was full of soil now. It was 5 pm now and she still picked the plants, without a thought... It was 8 pm now. Lots of plants. And no thoughts. It was 10 pm now and the plants were now with the frantic bean from earlier and Rowan had gone home to rest. She played down on the couch, not feeling heavy in her heart now. Maybe this is what purpose feels like... She smiled. For real. The next morning, she hoped, wouldn't be routine. //1157 words