Raindrops Keep Fallin' on My Head (Vasilia)

[Deleted]

April 12, 2025

It was rainy and wet in London, but what was really new there? Muffy hadn’t been having much success with handing out her pamphlets in the spots that she usually went to, although maybe that was because so many of them were filled with tourists who didn’t have a lick of interest in what she had to say—though she questioned if half of them could even understand English. Her next goal was to try to get some commuters to listen to her, because at least they were local. But bankers and lawyers, unfortunately, had better things to do than to pay attention to some American lady ranting about witchcraft. With a larger collection of pamphlets and other materials than she would have liked to have had with her at that time of the evening, Muffy begrudgingly made her way back to Charing Cross.

As she was walking past a few shops to try to find somewhere to stand where neither she nor her pamphlets would get drenched if she were to forgo the use of her umbrella, Muffy’s bad luck only worsened. She didn’t notice a large puddle on the sidewalk before her and slipped. Although she had managed to catch herself and thereby avoid serious injury, a number of her pamphlets fell from her bag as it was jostled and got soaked.

vasilia abigail fortescue

[vasilia abigail fortescue]

April 12, 2025
@muffet

Vasilia had just gotten out of class and was headed for St. Mungos. Normally she'd be heading in to work but her father had been readmitted to the hospital last night. He'd been sick for quite some time, so it wasn't a surprise, but they'd been hoping that he was on the mend. Unfortunately, not quite. It wasn't serious though, or so the head healer had mentioned last night. They just wanted to monitor him for a few days. In her bag was a box of freshly baked sugar free cookies, though you'd never guess if you tasted them, all to help give her father a few comforts during his stay.

It was a pretty rainy and wet day, though her rain jacket and umbrella helped keep her semi-dry. She was just walking past a few shops when she noticed a woman slip on the sidewalk. The woman caught herself, but papers scattered everywhere onto the wet cement. Immediately Vas forgot her initial goal and hurried over. Without any regard for if she got wet herself she set her umbrella on the cement and started trying to gather as many papers as she could before they got totally soaked. "Are you alright?"

[Deleted]

A young redhead who appeared to be somewhere around the same age as her sisters' children came rushing to her aid. "Are you alright?"

"Yes, yes… I'm fine," Muffy hurriedly assured the stranger, stepping away from the puddle as quickly as she could without sliding into it. She was unhurt, although she couldn't say the same thing for some of her poor pamphlets. A few were completely unsalvageable, the paper too drenched and the ink too smudged to be of any use to her or anyone else for any purpose whatsoever. All of the pamphlets that had gotten wet, in fact, weren't of much use. By the time that they were actually dry again, the paper would still have the crinkly sort of look indicative of having been wet at some point, not to mention any sort of dirt that had gotten on them from having been on the ground.

The younger woman helped her in trying to recover what she could, setting aside her umbrella to assist. Muffy, who would have preferred to keep her umbrella overhead if at all possible, had to let go of that idea in a hurry, bringing her own umbrella down and setting it on its side to keep it from pooling with rainwater in the meantime.

Muffy shook her head and tutted as she bent down and picked up one of the more visibly ruined remnants of her hard work. Printing so many hadn't been cheap, either. With a dismayed scowl, she held the pamphlet between her thumb and index finger as it dripped—not unlike the way that the rest of her was going to look in a while, she thought. "Well, I guess I'll have to go print some more of these," she observed, not exactly thrilled about that realization.

vasilia abigail fortescue

[vasilia abigail fortescue]

April 12, 2025
@muffet

Vasilia tried to gather as many fliers as she could, to save the from the water, but it seemed to be a futile effort. Despite being futile, Vas was an overachiever. She still tried, gathering as many fliers as she could and the woman who'd lost them worked along side her. The ink was smearing badly. Though, Vas could make out a little. Something about evil of witchcraft. Ah, she'd heard of people like that. But, Vas didn't judge. People could belief what they wanted. After gathering what they could, Vasilia sighed. It really was a tragedy. The woman had lost all the fliers to the rain. She got back to her feet, frowning just a little at the poor paper. Then, she spotted the woman's discarded umbrella by her own. She reached for it first, and held it out for the woman with a warm smile. There was no reason for them to both keep getting soaked. "I'm really sorry about your fliers. I don't think any of them are salvageable."

She glanced around, the rain looked like it didn't want to let up any time soon. She set the pages she'd managed to gather, though terribly ruined, on a nearby bench, then picked up her own umbrella. "That's London weather for you, unfortunately. Rain for days."

[Deleted]

April 12, 2025

Though the younger woman was truly trying to help her gather up what could be saved of the fallen New Salem Philanthropic Society pamphlets, there didn’t seem to be much hope for the soggy pieces of folded paper anymore. If magic weren’t such an evil, Muffy would have wished for some sort of spell to make those pamphlets crisp and clean and dry. Muffy heard the redhead sigh a little as she looked at what was left of the pamphlets—not that there was much at all. Probably seeing that there wasn’t much else that she could do to help, the younger woman got to her feet again, and Muffy straightened herself back up again, too. The redhead even did her the favor of handing her umbrella back to her. “I'm really sorry about your fliers,” she apologized. “I don't think any of them are salvageable.”

“…Fiddlesticks,” Muffy answered, smiling sadly. “Thank you for your help,” she acknowledged, So many opportunities to spread the word about the New Salem Philanthropic Society… gone.

The redhead set the ruined pamphlets onto a bench before picking up her own umbrella. “That’s London weather for you, unfortunately. Rain for days,” she lamented.

That was true, too, Muffy thought. As thrilled as she was to have leads in London, she couldn’t wait to get back to somewhere that wasn’t so wet. She had, perhaps, misjudged one thing: A lack of opportunity to spread the word about the NSPS now that her pamphlets were wrecked. “Sorry,” she paused. “Do you have a minute?”

vasilia abigail fortescue

[vasilia abigail fortescue]

April 12, 2025
@muffet

Vasilia matched the woman's sad smile with her own, much warmer smile. It was only paper, thankfully. There were a great many things much worse than ruined pamphlets. Yes, it was an unfortunate cost. But pamphlets were far cheaper than many other things. "It was no problem. I only wish I could have salvaged at least a few for you. You must have put quite a bit of work into them." Despite her initial disagreement of what the pamphlets said... Though that was still undecided as the pamphlets had been ruined. Maybe she'd misread. Or not. Either or though, it was a shame to see hard work go to waste.

Raising her umbrella to protect her from the rain it was almost pointless. Her curls were wet, and her clothes damp from the rain. But at least it would protect her from any further rain. Vas, deciding her attempt at a good deed was, unfortunately done, was near ready to just step away, wish the woman a better day, and leave. To her surprise though, the woman posed a question, asking if she had a minute. Vas blinked, surprised, though also slightly confused. She glanced at the watch on her wrist, to check the time. Visiting hour at the hospital was still several hours away. Her parents wouldn't mind if she took a few extra minutes. "Yes, I do! Is everything alright? Is there something else I could help with?"

[Deleted]

April 12, 2025

“It was no problem,” the younger woman assured her about her help in trying to save all of those poor pamphlets. “I only wish I could have salvaged at least a few for you. You must have put quite a bit of work into them.”

Muffy nodded, though, even with the heavy rain, she wasn’t going to waste an opportunity to share information about the New Salem Philanthropic Society. It seemed to confuse the redhead, though, and she blinked a little as she looked at her before checking her watch.

“Yes, I do! Is everything alright? Is there something else I could help with?” she asked. She really was a nice young woman, Muffy thought.

“I don’t mean to keep you,” Muffy smiled. Since the young woman had checked her watch, she must have had an appointment or something that she needed to worry about. “I was just wondering if you’ve heard of the New Salem Philanthropic Society?”

vasilia abigail fortescue
OOC: I know this post is mega sucky. Sorry!