We all have those little things we do when we get up in the morning, well so does Ridley!

I wrote this mostly as just something to..well..get me writing! A little bit of an exercise to see where I stand currently. I haven't written in awhile :p.

Anyway! I hope ya'll enjoy ^^.

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It’s early morning and once again the early sun’s rays are pouring through the second story windows of an aging peculiar corner book shoppe of downtown Coast City. Bazaar Books is what reads on the large sign just above its heavy antique doors. A curio shoppe for most, a book store for others. But for the focus of our tale, it’s both work and home for one Ridley Roux. It’s in the tiny second story of the building that our lady Roux sleeps, warmed by the entering sun. But like every other week day, it’s time to work! The radio alarm next to Ridley’s bed begins to blare out with morning upbeat music, yet most of it is muffled out thanks to all the fluff. As one might already know if they’ve met her, Ridley is a squirrel girl and likely one of the floofiest in the entire city. Well, her tail is anyway. And it’s this fluff monster of a tail that our dear Ridley so often uses as a bed. Due to the tiny nature of her one bedroom apartment, most of bedroom is filled by her own tail floof, and such, drowns out the noise of her alarm. But this squirrel girl has some sharp ears and soon enough she’s lifting herself up and stretching her back, giving a wide mouthed yawn to the early morning sun.

For Ridley, getting ready for the day is no easy task. As such, her mornings usually begin extra early to accommodate her hours long morning rituals. It starts with a healthy amount of stretching and back cricking to get herself woken up. Next it’s off to the bathroom for a cold shower. Why cold you may ask? Well when you’re as predominantly floofy as Ridley is, humidity can be a nightmare. The tiny apartment though didn’t really have someone as floofy as Ridley in mind when it was built, with only four tiny spaces for bedroom, bathroom, kitchen and living space with a single narrow hall connecting them together. Thankfully Ridley already had enough experience to make sure everything she decorated her walls with was nailed firmly and securely to the walls, lest she brush everything down with one swoop of her tail. That said, navigating the hall just to the bathroom, which was the first room on her way, was still a challenge. Being the voluptuous squirrel that she was, her hips always found themselves intimately squeezed by either wall of the hallway and every doorframe in her apartment. For Ridley though, this was a plus, as it always made her feel all that more curvaceous.

But now on to the bathroom. The space was too small to accommodate a bath tub and so Ridley was forced to settle for a standing shower stall. It was by no means large enough for both herself and her tail, and so taking a shower was often a two part event. First was the relatively easy task of washing up her figure. The second was the, what some would say, monumental task of lathering up that incredible amount of tail fluff. This was the part of the day that Ridley loved the most though. Like most squirrel girls, she took great pride in how large and floofy her tail was. But Ridley had more reason than most. Her tail was well beyond the norm, and many times her own size. Much of her morning ritual involved its upkeep. As such, just getting it washed was an undertaking a good hour in the works. Once she had gotten herself all squeaky clean though, she could move on to getting herself dry. This was as simple as most, simply drying herself off with a towel and wrapping it about her torso once she was done. Her tail though required yet another hour of work with a near industrial strength hair dryer as she’d work combing and brushing every last inch.

Despite its size, Ridley is more than capable of wearing all that fluff ‘down’. That is to say, minimizing its poofiness in an effort to not take up so much space! She does this as she brushes it and once complete, she moves on to the no less impressive poof of knee length hair, of which she most commonly binds into a voluminous ponytail. By then it is already two and half hours into her morning ritual, the second, is breakfast! This is the second room on her journey down the hall, thankfully this room is a tad bit more spacious. Sadly, our dear Ridley is not the best of chefs. But she can crack an egg or work up a salad easily enough, and so breakfast is made and eaten in the last room down the hall, the living room. That is if it can be called such. It’s no bigger than her bedroom, but is large enough to accommodate a decent sized couch and coffee table. Not to mention a small desk for her computer and a large glass enclosed cabinet filled with all sorts of odds and ends Ridley has collected over the years. All in all, it’s a small and homely space that Ridley wouldn’t trade for the world. She enjoys the intimacy of a small space.

Thirty minutes later though, breakfast is finished and dishes are washed. Clothes are carefully chosen and drawn (with several minutes set aside to squeeze herself into a chosen outfit) and finally it’s time to head outside and down the alley staircase to the shoppe below. Bazaar Books has sat on this same corner for as long as the city has existed, and its age shows to this day despite several renovations. Its exterior still shows the original dulled red brick walls it was built upon. Large display windows are still inset into finely crafted wooden frames that have since begun to chip and fade. The twin double doors set into its corner facing store front have many times been repainted a bright white. The heavy wood of their construction still manages to get stuck from time to time, but they still chime with the antique bell hanging from their frame. The interior, while fairly more modern, still shows its history. The wooden floors creak silently with each step, and the walls are still decorated with artifacts from over the years, mostly newspapers and magazine covers depicting the various major events during the shoppe’s history. Placed alongside one of its large display windows is a small sitting area complete with leather couch and armchairs, coffee machine and windowed fridge for various drinks. Beside it sit the various glass displays containing all many of curious objects one might expect in an antique curio shoppe. Alongside its far side however, and filling most of its space, are large book shelves filled with books both new and old (not to mention several grimoires chained together in their own glass displays).

That’s Bazaar Books though, an odd shoppe for odd things. About the only modern thing about it is the cash register from which Ridley sits, far in the back with a television for entertainment. Behind her, a hall way leading to the shoppe’s bathrooms and a small lounge for employees (of which Ridley is the only one). The only odd part of this hallway is the large single cellar door placed into its floor. This led to the basement, of which Ridley has never seen, having been told by the owner that it was particularly off limits. Ridley often contemplated what was down there, but never really gave it too much thought. She didn’t want to anger her landlord, after all. But now was not the time for such things. Right now it was nine’o’clock in the morning, and time to open shop. And so lights are turned on, books straightened, fresh coffee made, and open/close sign flipped over to OPEN.

Let the day begin.