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[provincialbelle]

She had read a great number of books on the subject of leaving one's home for a new one, but the majority of subjects she was familiar with spoke of 'real estate' and the need to sell and buy. She didn't technically need to do either of those things on the island, but it was something that lingered in the back of her mind. Now that she was an adult

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[giftless]

Wandering as he was, with only his thoughts to guide him and those not very clear at that, Edmund needed little more than the sound of Belle's voice nearby to cause him to change direction. Curious as to whom she was speaking and what she was doing out here in the first place, Edmund came up behind her with a frown.

"What are you catching?" he asked, hearing only half her words.

[provincialbelle]

"Hopefully nothing," Belle replied, turning to give Edmund a small smile as she turned back to the empty hut and gestured inside with her pencil, an unsure smile on her face. "What do you think? Would you live here? If it were up to you?"

[giftless]

Edmund's eyebrows rose slightly and he gave the place a more considering look. "Well, to be honest, I'd stay right where I am. It's got all my stuff in it," he replied. But he knew what Belle was asking, really, and continued with a soft smile. "But I think it could do nicely, yeah. With a bit of work."

[provincialbelle]

"But what if you were willing to do the work," she continued, her forehead still caught in a thoughtful furrow. "Edmund, I know that I've been so lucky to have people to take care of me, but is it wrong if I want to start taking care of myself? It's been so long since I have."

[curiously_cora]

"Boo!" Coraline yelled, jumping out at Belle from behind the door. Coraline grinned at her, pulling the door open as she looked at Belle curiously. Coraline didn't know why Belle had followed her up to her old hut with Adam and Sarah, her home, but well Coraline wasn't really sure why Belle did much of anything. Except date Jacob but that one was obvious as to why as Jacob was awesome. "You are trespassing but that's okay I'll forgive you this once. What are you doing anyway?"

[provincialbelle]

Belle jumped back slightly, startled by Coraline. She pressed her free hand to her heart, letting out a soft exhalation as she caught her breath and tried to come back to herself. "Lord, Cora, you terrified me," she breathed out. "I'm just looking at huts. I didn't know if this one was empty or not and I didn't want to leave without checking."

[curiously_cora]

"It's not empty, well it is but it's taken. This is my hut, my old hut." Coraline explained, taking Belle's hand and tugging her inside. Coraline had been keeping it neat and tidy for a while now in the hope that Danny would persuade Shari and Bill to let her live on her own. He hadn't yet but she knew he would eventually. "Why are you looking at huts? Are you adding onto the Homestead?"

[provincialbelle]

Belle frowned slightly, because she hadn't really anticipated what she was going to say when she spoke to other people about it. She didn't want to lie, but she also didn't want rumours flying around when they weren't even true, yet. "No, not like that," she said, gently. "I'm looking at what I might like."

[quileutejacob]

"Doing a survey of island population or something?"

Jacob had been, admittedly, in a very good mood since Bella had shown up and there wasn't much that could happen short of everyone disappearing and getting replaced by bloodsuckers that could ruin it.

Belle, though, seemed to be on some kind of project today and while he was normally amused by that (it was cool, the way her mind worked) today, he couldn't quite figure out what was going on with her.

[provincialbelle]

Belle smiled over her shoulder at Jacob as she tucked the pencil behind her ear and coaxed him closer to properly greet him with a kiss to his cheek. "No, not quite," she responded with an enigmatic smile on her face. "You know, if I tell you, I can't guarantee that you're going to be very happy with it," she admits, wanting to reveal that in full disclosure.

[quileutejacob]

"I'm pretty sure if it has to do with you and it make you happy, I'm going to be more than okay with it," Jacob pointed out. It was true, for the most part; making Belle happy was one of his long-term goals as a boyfriend.

"What's going on?"

[provincialbelle]

Belle took in a deep breath and turned to face him. As a last moment's decision, she grasped hold of both of his hands and held on tightly, looking straight into his eyes. "I think I want to move out of the Homestead," she confessed. It felt so difficult to say, and yet so easy at once. She did, however, feel a bit jittery for having said it aloud.

[lucked]

From a distance, it quickly became clear to Claire that Belle was not the best at sleuthing. Of course, neither did that fact come to Claire as any amount of a surprise. On the whole, she didn't think that Disney characters- especially not the princesses, and whether or not Claire liked thinking about that in particular was another fact entirely- were all that adept at sneaking around and keeping themselves hidden. Jasmine had managed, for the most part, smart enough to wear clothing that helped her blend in. But on the island, Belle always stuck out like a sore thumb- one especially beautiful, clueless, and still graceful in spite of it.

Glancing from side to side before she rushed forward and stood by the hut's entrance, Claire pursed her lips as she knocked on the doorframe, watching Belle's pen rush over paper.

"You realize that you could totally ask the Building Crew to tell you whether or not a hut is vacant, right?" she teased, leaning against the siding.

[provincialbelle]

Belle shared a fond smile with Claire when she finally looked up from her paper. "Yes, but then I wouldn't get to experience the thrill of hunting through them," she confessed, her eyes bright at the mere prospect of doing something. For three years, she had lived in the Homestead and it had been so good to her, but she felt like she had to move on if she wanted to grow up. "Would you like to help?" she offered eagerly.

[lucked]

"Um... depends!" Claire smiled in return, even if it was just a touch forced, thanks to her slight apprehension. Not that she believed that Belle could ever have been capable of doing anything unsavory, not by a mile, but those days, Claire was cutting back on adventures more often than not, or at the very least trying her best not to involve herself in anything that she would later want to cut back on.

Because that wasn't fair to anyone. It wasn't the sort of thing worth pushing herself for, especially when failure would just end up letting everyone else down.

"What... are you doing, exactly? Just trying to find abandoned huts? Or are there more nefarious plans at hand?"

[provincialbelle]

"Would that I had the patience for nefarious plans," Belle joked as she peered around one of the beams back at Claire, placing her hands on it to support herself. "I'm looking for a place to live, but you mustn't tell, not yet," she pleaded. "I don't want people to think I'm ungrateful for my current living situation, after all."

[teambatgirl]

"Can I help you?" At the sound of someone poking around in their house, Steph had begun creeping around from where she'd been sweeping the back porch. Now, she's standing in the front door with her hip leaning against the doorjamb and looking at her would-be burglar with one eyebrow raised.

As far as would-be burglars go, she's not a very impressive one. And they usually don't carry notebooks. Perhaps she is a very studious cat burglar.

[provincialbelle]

Belle jumped slightly, but she tried to keep her movements from being too startled and shocked. "Oh my gosh, I'm sorry, I didn't realize someone was living here," she admitted, sharing an apologetic look with the girl. "I'm looking at possible new homes. And I can't really tell, in some, which are abandoned or just have new owners."

[teambatgirl]

"Oh, well, that's okay." Stepping into their new little home, Steph smiles and does her best to turn off the threatening vibe and turn on the friendly vibe. Thank God for small favors that Damian wasn't the one to stumble upon their potential trespasser, it would not have gone well.

"No worries, we just moved in." She glances around their place, which is slowly becoming more lived in but definitely in need of a good cleaning spree. "It doesn't really have that cozy vibe yet."

[provincialbelle]

"Not yet," Belle agreed, a smile on her lips as she regarded the space around them. "It has potential though!" She tucks the book away in the back pocket between her dress and the outer apron, extending a hand out eagerly. "I'm Belle. I'm sorry, again, for trespassing on your space like this."