Raven's Roost

 I tucked my camping equipment into the tiny closet to keep it out of the way for now and arranged the rest of my items in their proper places. A slight scowl formed on my lips as I observed Megan, who was surprisingly lively and animated for someone who had just spent hours on the road. My eyes drifted to the clock, annoyance bubbling up as I wondered about its accuracy.

"Are you all set to share the scoop on why you're here?" Megan asked with a smile. "Is it for the Samhain celebration?"

"Oh, you knew about the festival?"

"I go every year, and it's always a blast!" said Megan.

"So you must know your way around town fairly well?"

"That's right, I could give you a tour or help you find something in particular."

"Actually that would be a lot of help. Do you know where I could find a tourist map? Something that will show me where everything is and all the different places where festivities will be taking place. Are you going to be in town for long?"

"I plan to be here for most of the festival! I'm staying with a dear friend, Willow Gaia, who I've known for ages since we were in school together. Although my family home is nearby, I'm not staying with them because I often feel like the black sheep of the family."

"Why is that?"

"Something I couldn't control which they find repugnant, it's a long story," said Megan. 

"Sounds complicated. If it makes you feel any better, things are difficult with my family too, I haven't seen my Grandma for who knows how long, I don't even know where she lives and I haven't talked with my mom for months, she seems to think that every aspect of my life is something for her to control, I disagree so we aren't talking," I said.

"Why would your suffering make me happy?"

"Misery likes company?" I said and shrugged my shoulders. 

 "I know that's a common saying, but my upbringing was shaped by different beliefs. I was taught principles like do no harm, seek no evil."

"It seems like a wonderful way to grow up, depending on how they define evil. I'm really hungry, and since you'll be in town for a bit, would you care to join me for lunch? June mentioned a great pub in town. Right now, a juicy burger with cheese curds and a chocolate malt sounds incredibly tempting."

"Ah, Raven's Roost, I love that place."

"The town here is heavily inspired by ravens; it's intriguing to see so many raven-themed items. For instance, there's a beautifully crafted wooden raven perched on the stair railing at June's Spoon."

 "It's something that has really caught on, and it seems the tourists enjoy it as well, so it's a success."

"Hmm, is it far away, because I'm starving."

"Not at all! Lock up here and I'll drive you over."

"Alright, maybe after we're done eating, we could walk around so I can get better acquainted with the area?"

"Sure! That sound fun," said Megan.

"Sure, I'll just take a moment to get ready, and then we can leave. I stepped into the small bathroom connected to the bedroom. It was a reasonably sized space featuring a single-stall shower, no bathtub, and a single sink with a good-sized mirror hanging above it. I applied some leave-in conditioner to my naturally curly brown hair, added a bit of mascara to accentuate my dark brown eyes, brushed on some mauve blush, and finished with a light coat of mauve lip stain."

 I dressed in a mauve cap-sleeve blouse, accessorized with a silver friendship bangle from Megan, and wore some relaxed black slacks that have a hidden elastic panel in the back—ideal for enjoying a hearty meal, and they come with pockets! I paired this with slack socks and my comfortable black flats, which provide excellent arch support. I also grabbed my black windbreaker, a stylish Calvin Klein piece that offers more warmth than it looks, along with a charming black and tan shoulder bag from Kate Spade, featuring a delightful bow. After making sure my purse was stocked with everything I might need, I packed in a recording device, pepper spray, lip tint, my card, a mini hair gel for my unruly hair, a hair pick, a giant clip, little camera, and a couple of little miscellaneous things. 

"Do you have everything you need? I notice you even packed hair gel," Megan said.

 "Imagine walking through a foggy landscape with your beautiful, naturally curly hair, completely free of any styling products. We're not in the 70s anymore; I can't just flaunt an afro without people feeling the need to comment."

"Fair point, although I do love your naturally curly hair," Megan said.

"You say that because you don't have to deal with it," I said. "I'm ready to get going though, I'm going to be so full."

"Is your diet finally over?"

"My diet gets paused while I'm on vacation and I'm going to treat this trip as far as eating goes as if I'm on vacation, feeling like I'm starving will only make me more depressed," I said.

"You really don't need to lose any weight. You have beautiful curves, and there's no reason for you to look like a stick figure. That negative comment from your ex about looking chubby was just his issue, especially since he seemed to prefer women with eating disorders. You're not with him anymore, so it's time to let go of all those hurtful things he said. Focus on embracing who you are!"

"I understand, but I still can't shake this feeling of self-consciousness," I said.

"How about we set all that aside for now and savor a lovely meal together? Afterward, we can swing by the visitors' center to grab an event pamphlet and a map, and explore all the charming little shops!"

"That sounds appealing! How about we find a place where people gather for drinks afterward? Is there somewhere like that nearby?"

"Sure! How about grabbing a few drinks together after shopping? I'm totally up for it!"

"I want to see if people some of the people in town are willing to answer a few of my questions and people are more open after they've had a few drinks," I said.

"Oh, you brought up an investigation earlier. Would you like to share what it's about?"

"Not yet, I'll talk to you about it in a couple of days."

"That works too, maybe that'll be enough time to figure out what you're doing on my own," I said. 

As we walked down the staircase, we came across the strange portrait of a man with a handlebar mustache. I observed Megan bow her head a bit, likely glancing at the nameplate that had a witty remark. "I found it funny as well, declaring him a third-rate wizard," I chuckled. "June must have an incredible sense of humor."

"You noticed it?"

"The portrait is huge. He must either be a family member of hers or perhaps she stumbled upon a humorous image and decided to add the nameplate for a playful twist. Regardless, I find it charming."

"It is a nice portrait," Megan said while looping her arm with mine and hurrying me down the stairs, she must be starving too. "He was June's great great grandfather, a kind man from what she told me."

"Wow, she actually had a chance to meet her great great grandfather and she remembered it, that's amazing! He must have been ridiculously old at the time," I said.

"Yes, he was over one-hundred at the time," said Megan. 

"Ha! No wonder she joked that he was a wizard, that's pretty funny," I said. 

We walked down the stairs arm in arm until we arrived in the reception and lounge area. June was sitting exactly where she was when I first met her, reading that same murder mystery novel. 

"Is it good?"

June looked up with a smile on her face and set her book down on the desk. "It has some fun recipes in it, you can take a look if you want, this author has an undine," said June.

"An undine?" I said and frowned while reaching out for the book

"We're a bit pressed for time at the moment since we're heading out to eat and have some plans afterward. However, there's something important I need to discuss with you privately regarding Terra," said Megan.

"Is that so?"

"Could you head out to my car and I'll meet you there in a moment?"

I pulled my hand back, "sure, no problem."

Then as I was walking to the front door, I heard the sound of whispering, "r...is that alright?" said June.

"Well I can't tell her all...can I? Ju...please for now," said Megan.

"Alright, but you need to ma...right," said June.

"I will," Megan said. 

We passed by a few quirky shops that sparked my curiosity. I'm definitely going to check them out before I leave this place.

Then we pulled into the back parking lot of Raven's Roost and walked into a place that was decorated like an old German pub. A young blond woman came to get our order a woman who wasn't far past twenty and had more cleavage showing than not. I almost felt like doing what my mom did when I was her age and yank the neckline of her dress up to cover her cleavage, but she's an adult, and no doubt it helps her get good tips.

I ordered the burger, cheese curds and shake and Megan ordered a large wet burrito with steak and a strawberry margarita.

"Starting the drinking early."

"Hey, I'm officially. on vacation, you're going to see me drinking a lot more than usual," said Megan.

"I'm getting old, I wanted to cover that girl's cleavage and I nagged you about drinking," I said.

"Thirty-five isn't old, you just need to get laid. You'll feel right as rain afterward. You don't feel a strong sudden desire to get knocked up do you? 'Cause if you do, wait for the nesting instincts to calm down before playing hide the pogo stick."

"No," I said while chuckling. "No sudden nesting instinct although I do miss having a boyfriend."

"You miss Roger? He was a horses ass," said Megan.

"I don't miss him at all, it got to the point that I couldn't stand being around him. No, I miss the feeling of not being alone. The feeling that my life was going in some sort of direction. I don't know if that makes any sense," I said.

"It does, sometimes I wonder what it would be like to have a special someone, then I look at some of my married friends and think, thank goodness I'm single!" said Megan. 

"You're awful," I said while throwing a complimentary pretzel at her.

She caught it in her mouth and crunched loudly.

"So I take it that your off and on relationship with Steve is currently off," I said.

"Off and done. We're done done," said Megan.

"You said that last time," I said.

"This time I really mean it. I got home from work early because I wasn't feeling well and found him in my apartment, in my bed, having sex with Stacy. I had just given him a key for emergencies! We weren't even living together, but he thought it would be exciting to let himself in and use my bed. That's what Stacy told me while she was gloating about it, completely unashamed! Afterward, he ended up with a terrible rash on his face, probably caught something nasty from her. Not long after, he came to me saying he regretted being with her and promised it wouldn't happen again. I told him he could keep his STD to himself because I want no part of it," said Megan.

"Good for you, I'm glad you're finally done with him," I said.

As our food was served, we eagerly began to eat, but my attention was drawn to the surroundings of the restaurant. I scanned the room, hoping to spot someone who might have information about the dancers from the previous night. Surely, there must be someone here who knows about those dark blue cloaks. But first I need to go back to the scene of the crime and see if there are any clues. The Officer Donnivan said that there were no signs of anyone else being there, but that can't be right. There were at least a dozen people there, not including the so called murder victim that I never even saw. I need to check out the crime scene before it's disturbed too much.