"Fresh Start" | DSMP Runaway Tommyinnit AU |

"Rest Stop at a Creek"

Tommy groaned little as he stretched out his limbs. He had fallen asleep during the night and let Appendix pull the wagon on their own while he rested. It seemed the hoofed animal seemed to have stopped moving as Tommy wasn't awakened by the vibrations of the wagon. He slowly sat up and took in his surroundings. He had moved to the makeshift bed in the storage part of the wagon where Shroud and Clementine were. The buggy children were curled into the fluffy wool of Friend, who was still sleeping. He decided to leave them be for now since he was going to see what was up with Appendix. Pulling his boots back on and tying his hair back, Tommy climbed off the wagon to check up on his larger hoofed companion. He traced the side of their gray & black coat until he reached his snout.

"Good Morning, Appendix" yawned Tommy, as he patted the horse.

Appendix whinnied a reply as they leaned into the blonde's hand. As he greeted the horse, Tommy took in their surroundings. They were standing just beside a riverbed at the edge of a dark oak forest. Small fish could be seen swimming up the shallow water, a frog could be seen sitting on a rock just a few feet away, few twigs had collected on the opposite side of the water, and what looked like an old plank bridge was just a few yards away. Tommy squinted at it before walking towards it. He tugged on Appendix's reins to follow behind him. As they made their way over the plank bridge, another ambience began to fill the air. It sounded like people talking to each other. More than two but a large crowd. It was very faint but close as they approached the bridge. Once they reached it, they found the source. Just on the other side of the riverbed was a village. It wasn't noticeable at first glance since it blended well with the forest. The blonde shared a look with his horse and shrugged before walking over the bridge. They made their way towards and into the village. There didn't seem to be much security besides the walls around the place but the gates were wide open. A golem could be seen wandering but its focus was on a small flower patch. The villagers seemed to be just simple workers of the land such as farmers and fishermen. Yet they didn't pay any attention to Tommy as he walked around the village. It was odd at first since he was literally pulling a giant wagon through a quiet town. That was until he saw what looked like a small inn with a decent parking stable in the middle of town. Just outside of it was a sign that said "Welcome to Creak Point''. Curiously, Tommy parked Appendix outside of the inn and headed inside. A small bell rang as he entered the inn. Sitting at the counter was an old woman reading a book. She looked up from it as Tommy approached the desk.

"Hello, young man! How are you doing?" greeted the woman, as she placed her book down.

"I'm doing alright, just passing through" replied Tommy, stretching his arms out.

Ah, so you are a traveler" remarked the woman. "Stopping to rest your horse I assume?".

Tommy nodded.

"Yeah, but to also ask for some direction" he added.

"Where are you going?" she asked.

"Nowhere in particular, just somewhere to settle, like near a village" claimed Tommy, "Do you know of a place like that?".

The woman hummed to herself before looking under her desk. She reached under it and grabbed a folded piece of paper. Unfolding it revealed a map of what Tommy could only assume to be the surrounding areas. She placed it atop of the desk so that he could view it clearly.

"Well there is a bustling town in the south and it's pretty big but more of a city than anything" claimed the woman, gesturing to a party on the map where it seemed to lead out to the corner of an ocean.

"Not really, I was thinking more of a quiet and forestry" stated Tommy.

"Quiet and forestry?" parroted the woman, as she pushed her glasses up.