The Adventures of IceT and Limon (A Chikin Nuggit OC Fanfiction)

Chapter 11: Nice with Spice

(3rd Person POV)

Synopsis: While at Crafty Corner, Limon finds a rather interesting squirrel and gives him some guidance regarding his attitude.

                 "Limon, guess what I found!" IceT exclaimed as her mouse feet quickly walked towards the owl with eagerness. "As I was cleaning up the back closet over here, I spotted this rusty old watch in the corner! Do you think I can keep it?"

Glancing towards her feathered friend, IceT saw that Limon was silently stewing in her thoughts, eyebrows furrowed as she swept the wooden floor of Crafty Corner. It would be a few minutes before the shop officially opened, and the duo was tidying up anything that was out of place.

"Are you alright over there?" Upon being asked, Limon shook her head and snapped out of her thoughts, looking down at her worried friend.

"Oh, I'm okay," Limon replied as she focused back on sweeping the floor. "It's just that - a few days ago I was watching to catch up on the news, and I saw this politician who had the audacity to say he'd pay women much less than what they have on their paychecks!"

At this, Limon started to clean dust at a more aggressive rate with an agitated tone. "I mean, I can't tell if he's just extremely dumb or plain sexist. Did that sleazebag really think he'd be earning any votes with that promise?"

The owl heaved a sigh to calm herself as IceT moved to give her friend a reassuring squeeze on her side. "I'm not a politics mouse, but I sure won't be giving my vote to that guy. I just hope he doesn't actually become our mayor."

"He better not be! If paying women less was just one of his ideas, I can't even begin to imagine what else he'll suggest," Limon retorted, using a dustpan and brush to clean up the collected pile of dirt on the floor. "But what were you saying about a watch?"

"Oh, yeah! I found this old watch in the back closet I've been meaning to clean up. Do you think I can keep it?" The watch IceT was talking about was gray with a leather strap, seemingly in perfect working condition.

"It looks kind of bland," Limon replied, brushing up the floor's dirt and placing it in a nearby trash can. "But if no one comes for it by the end of today, you can have it."

As customers came and went, Limon did her best in assisting anyone who needed it. At some point while the owl was restocking bundles of yarn, a red squirrel approached her.

"Hey, nice store you guys got here!" He complemented, looking at the various paper decorations and fairy lights (turned off) hung on the ceiling.

"Well, thanks," Limon said, putting away the last ball of yarn in its place as she turned towards the squirrel. "Is there anything in particular you're looking for here?"

"Oh, not really. I just wanted to tell you guys that."

Something about this squirrel felt similar to Limon, but it wasn't until he laughed after his comment that the owl realized where he recognized him.

"Wait, you're the squirrel who called out that sexist politician on TV!"

The squirrel blinked before answering her with an embarrassed blush on his face. "Uh...Yeah, I did that."

"Don't be ashamed, that jerk deserved it!" Limon said, now focusing all her attention on him. "And you had a point: he really wasn't gonna get a girlfriend with that kind of face."

At this, the squirrel chuckles with a mischievous grin. "I know, right?"

The two laughed for a moment before the squirrel went quiet, looking up at the various stacks of colored construction paper with a pensive expression.

"I've been thinking: recently, I'm trying to be a better person and less of a jerk to everyone, but I'm not so sure how to do that without losing my spice. It's fine if you don't understand-"

"I do, actually."

The owl's sudden statement caused the squirrel to turn his head towards her.

"I know it can be hard sometimes to stay true to yourself and who you are. Especially without offending other people. But, what's important is that you learn to balance both of them out, so that you don't hurt people or lose sight of yourself."

The squirrel only blinked in response as Limon started back at him. "Hey, what's your name, by the way? Just realized I never got it."

"...Hawt Saus," The squirrel replied, now regarding her in the eyes. "What about yours?"

"Limon," The owl said, scratching her feathery chin with her wing. "If you decide to buy anything here, I recommend getting the mason jars with some paints for decorating. You can't really go wrong with those."

"Eh, maybe next time," Hawt Saus responded, turning to walk out the glass doors of Crafty Corner. "See you later, feathers!"

As Limon went back to her job of helping customers, she didn't realize Hawt Saus had given her a nickname until the day had ended and she was drifting off to sleep in her nest-shaped bed.

Sincerely, Creative Stream