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Posted: Sun Apr 19, 2009 10:14 pm
"My magic isn't so good as to make people disappear, but I can do some small tricks for you, m'lady," Fao told the child, not at all minding the lapful of Sera. He reached in his pocket and pulled out some of the smaller magic tricks he used for close audiences and began performing a few for her.
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Posted: Mon Apr 20, 2009 6:07 pm
Willis gave a slight wince at the mention of the dreaded shredding stage. "Oh, yes. He's destroyed a rather rare and expensive daylily, two of my shirts, a pair of shoes and more of Sera's toys than I can recall." He pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose. At the mention of disappearing he glanced over his shoulder, a little dismayed to see Sera had weaseled her way into Faolan's lap - the young man didn't seem to mind too much, thankfully. "You'd break daddy's heart if you disappeared."
Sera gave a nod, snuggling back against Fao's chest. "Okay." She was intent on watching the trick her new friend was performing right in front of her. She kept her small hands on his wrists, feeling the movement of them. She liked how warm and strong they felt. At a particularly splendid trick she gave a cheer of delight, laughter bubbling up from her. "Daddy look'it! Daddy! Daddy! Daddy, look! He's doing magic, look'it!" She only stopped calling out to him when she was satisfied he was paying full attention to Fao and his tricks.
She looked up, the top of her head brushing against Fao's collarbone as she gazed in unabashed amazement at him. "You're a wizard, aren't you. Is that why you have horns?"
"Sera!"
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Posted: Mon Apr 20, 2009 6:43 pm
Elst's eyes widened just slightly at the mention of the Daylily.
"A daylily, you say? You know, I actually run a nursery not too far from here, and I'm fairly certain I have at least a daylily or two, not to mention any other flowers you need. If you'd care to stop by, we can see if you like any of the ones I have in stock."
He nodded slightly to himself, pleased with the prospect of potential customers, possibly even guests.
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Posted: Mon Apr 20, 2009 9:12 pm
Fao grinned, eyes crinkling a bit, and patted the child on the head. "Dear child, my horns have nothing to do with my magic tricks. They're just a mark for dubious heritage." He rested back against the bench, rubbing Sera's back affectionately. "I should love to show you the magicians at the carnival sometime. They have much better tricks than I."
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Posted: Tue Apr 21, 2009 6:27 pm
"A nursery? What are your hours? I don't have the most bendable of schedules but I actually would like a new plant... perhaps a few things for the garden." He leaned forward, lowering his voice a little bit for Elst alone. "For Sera... I think it might be nice if she had a garden to take care of. Something to keep her occupied."
Really there had been no reason for Willis to lower his voice, though. Sera's full attention was focused on Fao, her eyes wide in amazement. "Carnival?! Are there rides there? Fast ones? And games?!" She had turned around in the man's lap, kneeling on his legs now. She reached out to settle her hands on Fao's cheeks, making him look into her face. This was a very important question she was about to ask, and she wanted to be sure he was paying full attention to her when she asked it. "Is there cotton candy there?"
Behind her Willis gave a small sound of dismay. "Sera, don't climb all over him like that. Mr. Grady, I'm so sorry, is she bothering you?"
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Posted: Tue Apr 21, 2009 8:32 pm
Elst thought for a moment, trying to remember if he'd ever even set out a 'Business Hours' sign yet.
"Oh, you can come by any time, the only times I'm not there are when I'm here, pretty much. Actually, I've been out long enough... If you want, you can swing by right now."
He lowered his voice.
"And I'm sure you'll find plenty of things she'd like, if you can name the plant, and it isn't illegal, I have it in stock, even if only as seeds. Anything in particular you're looking for? I'll make sure to give you two a special steep discount on your stuff as well."
He grinned, and checked the time on a rather large brass pocketwatch he'd removed from a jacket pocket.
"Yeah, I wouldn't mind taking you over there now, if you'd like to go."
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Posted: Tue Apr 21, 2009 8:50 pm
"She's no bother," Fao laughed at the rather worried man, rising to his feet while he simultaneously scooped the child up from his lap and swung her about to sit comfortably on his shoulders, holding her legs to steady her. "I live in a carnival. I'm use to children climbing all over me." He looked up at the child sitting on him. "And we do have many sweets including cotton candy."
He shifted his gaze to the plant-man, tilting his head slightly. "Would it be much trouble if I came along? Might be nice to have a plant for my tent."
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Posted: Tue Apr 21, 2009 10:57 pm
Sera gave a shrill laugh of joy as she was lifted onto Fao's shoulders. Immediately she wrapped her arms around his forehead, one hand grabbing a fistful of hair, the other clutching at a horn for balance.
Willis smiled at the two. It was good for Sera to be able to play with someone who had more energy than he. They'd all barely met and already it felt like this was something that happened, or should happen daily. A meeting between friends.
"Well if we're all interested in going then who am I in saying no? Lead the way."
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Posted: Tue Apr 21, 2009 11:21 pm
Elst's grin widened into a full-scale smile.
"Oh, of course you can come with us, Fao, the more the merrier! Not to mention, I doubt Sera would want to leave without you. Just let me get my stuff, then we'll be off."
He walked over to his towel, and folded it, reaching for the basket he'd brought. He placed the towel inside, carefully cushioning the wine bottle inside, and shut the lid. He began the walk towards the gates to the park.
"Just follow me, and we'll be there before you know it... And Sera, I believe I may still have some of the sweets I'd made from the sugarcane reeds I raise..."
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Posted: Tue Apr 21, 2009 11:25 pm
Fao adjusted his hold on little Sera's legs, making sure she wouldn't fall as he walked. He winced slightly at her hand on his horn. "Carful, little one. I don't want you hurting your hand.. or my horn." He walked along behind the other men, following them to the plant-man's shop.
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Posted: Wed Apr 22, 2009 5:41 am
"Sera, be gentle." Willis looked over the brim of his glasses at his daughter. "He's being nice enough to let you ride." With a happy bark from the puppy he soon fell into step beside Faolan, just being Elst. He was grateful for the other man carrying Sera on his shoulders as he was - Willis definitely had his hands full trying to keep Aesop on the same path as everyone else. Occasionally he'd have to pull the pup forward, other times he'd nearly fall completely forward as it lunged ahead.
"So, you work at a carnival, Mr. Grady? That sounds like an exciting life. What do you do there, if I might ask?" Genuine interest marked his words as he spoke to the horned man beside him.
Sera reluctantly let go of Faolan's horn, even releasing the tuft of hair she had. Instead she settled for curling her hands beneath his chin, leaning forward to rest her chin on his head. The mention of sweets had her attention immediately. "Can I have some?" A brief glance towards the top of her head had her adding the word, "Please?" as sweetly as she could as an afterthought.
Magic tricks, an outing with her father, and now maybe candy?! This was progressing very quickly into The Best Day Ever!
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Posted: Wed Apr 22, 2009 7:31 pm
Elst nodded warmly at Sera.
"Why of course you can have some, if your dad's okay with it. And... See that green dome thing way over there? That's one of the greenhouses, we're almost to my nursery."
He pointed far down the road, where an apparent green bubble shone brightly in the sun. As he walked, something in his basket shifted, likely the bottle of wine, and his eyes narrowed ever so slightly as he thought about just how heavy the bottle was.
Hopefully, not heavy enough to damage a small rock...
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Posted: Wed Apr 22, 2009 11:32 pm
The young man nodded to Willis. "It can be rather exciting at times. We get to travel and there's never a dull moment with that much personality in one place." He thought a moment, trying to decide how best to explain what he did for a living. "I work as a fortune teller. However my success is determined by how much people can pay me." Looking at the man, Fao hoped he'd get his drift on what that meant.
He looked toward the building Elst indicated and gave a low, appreciative whistle. "That is a nice place, plant man. How's the upkeep on it?"
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Posted: Thu Apr 23, 2009 6:24 am
Willis lofted an eyebrow, frowning a little. He DID catch the hint, though the sight of the nursery dome was enough to have him push those thoughts to the side... for now.
"Oh, very impressive."
Sera's reaction was far more exuberant. With an excited gasp she bounced on Fao's shoulders, pointing ahead of them. "Let's run! Please!"
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Posted: Thu Apr 23, 2009 6:22 pm
"Upkeep? Well, to put it one way, huge. I'm simply fortunate the land around here's so arid, very few people would even think of making a business off of selling plants with soil this bad. Luckily, I have a decent bit of knowledge regarding plants, as you may have noticed." He spared them a quick wink as a leaf grew out from his neck.
As they crested the slight slope in the road, the full nursery finally came into view. Two large greenhouses, the second eclipsed by the first, sat on a three-acre plot utterly bustling with life. As they drew closer, the hum of bees slowly surrounded them, seeming to come from everywhere around them. Lined up in rows, the massive sections were organized by a variety of categories; 'Perennials, Annuals, flowering, non-flowering, fruit/vegetable-bearing...', with their layout managing to allow every plant to have sun at once. In the middle of it all sat a few decent size buildings, and Elst led them to the front one, the Main Lobby. The building itself was set near the Flowers section, more specifically the Perennials.
"Alright, I keep the sugarcane candy in here, and I also need to, uh, store a few things, I'll be back in just a sec. The flowers are over there on the right; feel free to go check out the Daylilies, Willis, they're in...row three I believe."
He began to head into the lobby, but stopped.
"Oh, and Fao, come on in with me if you like, you can tell me what sort of plant you're looking for."
He entered through the Lobby door, gesturing for Fao [[and Sera]] to follow.
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