shepherdesses | inbox for deerington;

[That... Hits close to home in a way that Ruby hadn't really expected. She doesn't often think about it but she's only just hit the age where she could have properly went out and applied to be a huntress. She's been doing work for meant for someone at least four years older than her for months now.]

The world isn't always kind to kids, huh?

Maybe they just a need a reminder that taking a little bit of time to play isn't a bad thing.

It did me a whole lot of good.

No, it isn't. And I don't know if I necessarily always understood that.

[ you have a very different perspective on things while you're spending most of your days on a nightstand, or even within the four walls of the same hours, for years at a time. she hadn't gotten a sense of what the world, the real world, was like until she'd been given away. ]

Exactly! [ mostly, she's encouraged that ruby seems to understand what she means. ] Life doesn't have to be so hard all the time. Maybe, every once in a while, we can take a break from the... everything that happens here and enjoy ourselves.

I think it's something that you pick up on as you go along. Some just happen to learn sooner rather than later.

[Ruby was the hopeful optimist out of her travelling band. She had grown up wanting to be like a storybook hero who protected those who couldn't protect themselves. Getting out into the real world had shown her just how hard it was to actually do that, but it didn't take away her desire to keep trying.]

You're right. It's not like the pain and hurt isn't there, we know it's not just going to go away. But there's more to life than just that pain and we can't let it harden our hearts.

I think that's something this place needs. A group or something made for the kids. To give them a place where they can go and at least feel like they can still be kids. I don't know. A youth center or something where they can go play sports, or video games, or with toys. Just a safe spot for them.

And the less exposed you are to the world, the longer it might take for you to even realize what it can really be like sometimes.

[ but even in the time she'd spent beyond the davis house, going from family to family to dorm room and finally to that antique store, she'd found examples of true kindness and love, the significance of which was never diminished no matter what else happened along the way.

so to hear ruby say something along those lines now, it's encouraging, to know she's like-minded. ]

Do you think there's a space that could be used for something like that? A safe spot? I mean, the reality here is that there are four of us toys in this townhouse and we certainly don't need all of the space to just ourselves, if it comes to that.

You're right about that. I grew up on a small island with the occasional visit to one of the kingdoms where I went to school. I was sixteen when I got pushed out out into the world and had to start fending for myself.

Well... Myself and my friends but you get the idea.

It can be tough trying to find your way out there.

[She gives a hint of a shrug.]

I think it's worth looking into. I don't think I'd want to use any of the local buildings like the schools or libraries. The townspeople have access to those and they'll just sour the experience. A townhouse could work, or a farm house. Something with a big yard where we could get some games going for some of the older kids.

I wouldn't want to impose an idea like that on your home. You all deserve your own privacy and from what a couple of you have said that you aren't all public about being alive.

I spent a lot of my life on a shelf. Well, on a side table dresser, actually. The sheep and I, we came as part of a little nightlight, one that ended up with the Davises after Andy's little sister Molly was born. But there were all those years in that house where my only real knowledge of the world was based on what I could see out the bedroom window, until I ended up going to another home, and then a dorm room after that, and —

[ she decides to cut herself off before she ends up launching into the entire story, because that's probably an entirely separate conversation. ]

But the point is, eventually I had a chance to explore the world. To see it from a different perspective. And I guess the same holds true for a lot of kids, too.

[ a thoughtful hum follows ruby's words. ]

I can't imagine every house in town is occupied. Maybe there's a property that nobody's been using, something that would only benefit from a fresh coat of paint and some cleaning to be turned into more of a playhouse.

We all have to set out on our own adventures eventually. It's how we grow and hopefully change for the better. Maybe sometimes it's a little too early but it's a real testament to their strength if they can pull through that and still manage to smile.

I can only imagine how different everything must look from your prospective. It sounds like you and the sheep have managed to stay together through thick and thin.

[She taps her chin in thought briefly, but she smiles when Bo seems to like the idea.]

I think that's definitely worth a shot to look into. I could always ask around and see if any of the older kids around here might want to pitch in and help out.

I think it would say a lot if we had a project that we could all work on together.

It might sound a little strange, but... that's exactly the kind of thing that gets discouraged when you're a toy. Having adventures, I mean. Letting yourself be lost. You're supposed to find your home and stay there, maybe even as long as it takes for you to sit on a shelf and gather dust, but —

[ she sighs quietly, almost reflectively. ] I think I just came to the realization that there could be more to life than that. Not that making a kid happy wasn't important, but... that it didn't have to come at the cost of me being happy, too.

We really are all stuck here in the same boat. And I think there are more of us who are willing to help each other out rather than try and go it alone. But you're right, it could be nice if we all had something to work towards. Building ourselves.

I mean it sounds great when you have a home and family to stay with, but it sounds awfully lonely when you don't have that. The place you're in might not be right for you either.

If it makes you feel better I think you made the choice. Sometimes you have to go out and do what's best for you. One of my best friends went through something similar. She ran from a cause she really believed in because the methods the people around her were using just weren't right. She ended finding us along the way and I think she's finally starting to find her own happiness.

I hope you found the same kind of happiness on your adventure.

I agree completely. I think there are plenty of people here willing to help out that just need a common goal to bring us together. We're stronger when we work together, we just need the chance to prove it.

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