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 Posted: Mon Oct 17, 2011 9:41 pm
Matthew smiled at her with amusement. "Haha, well, thank you." He brought up a hand in front of him, holding up a finger and wagging it back and forth. "But I don't really-" She cut him off. His hand fell back down to his side.
After the invite, he shrugged. "Oh, okay. Yeah, ' can do that." He quirked a brow at her and chuckled under his breath, keeping pace with her easily as she continued on her way. Even though she still left the choice up to him, he appreciated her new-found boldness of sorts.
A few minutes of walking in silence, then suddenly Matt perked up and moved to meet her stride. "Hey," He started, looking to his side. "I don't think I ever caught your name."
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Posted: Mon Oct 17, 2011 10:21 pm
Despite the fact that she knew he was right behind her, the sound of his voice made her jump a little when he asked her name.
"Saffiyah...."
With that she stopped in front of a tall wooden house that sat off rather by its self at the edge of the cliff that the walkway had followed. She fumbled for a moment with the door knob and a key she had produced from a pocket, but finally got the door open and walked in. Stepping to the side, she waited for the man to enter before shutting it behind him.
Inside, the first noticeable thing was the numerous kites that hung from the high ceiling. They were in all shapes, sizes, colors and themes. Some resembled small brightly colored birds while other were large and more industrial looking. Some were quite intricate and probably simply for show, though a few looked to be made for purely practical purposes.
Instead of different rooms, the entire house was open, the top of a bed peeked out from a loft straight ahead and a clean and pristine kitchen to the right was opened directly to the living room that sat in the center. Off to the left was obviously her work station, which was quite possibly the messiest part of the entire home. Lining most of the walls were shelves overflowing with books as well as randomly placed tools and supplies.
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Posted: Mon Oct 17, 2011 10:47 pm
"Ah, pretty name." Matt complimented as he entered the house. He tapped his chest with his thumb and said simply, "Matthew, call me Matt." He took a moment to look around and take in the sight in front of him. A sudden onset of guilt hit him when he realized he was frowning a bit. "My apartment doesn't have s**t on this place!" He pointed up to the walls. "An' I swear I haven't seen this many kites in one place before! You make these?" He asked, but then quickly corrected himself. "Oh, duh, that's what the glue's for, yeah? Guess I should've paid better attention. Sorry 'bout that."
He moved over to the kitchen area and picked up a few cooking utensils, gripping them and testing their weight in his hand. "Nice stuff ya got here." He put a pan back down. "Does...does somebody make these here? I mean, I know somebody makes these, but is there a guy in the city that makes these from scratch?" He leaned against a nearby counter and fiddled with a spatula.
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Posted: Mon Oct 17, 2011 11:45 pm
Saffiyah blushed for no reason as he gave his own name. Then stood near the front door, still clutching her jar as she watched the man walk around the house, eyes a bit wide for some reason.
She simply blinked as he apologized. Why would he feel guilty over something like that?
Then at the second question she hesitated, formulating her answer, and when it almost seemed like she wouldn't answer at all she finally spoke.
"There are a few smiths here," She walked over to the kitchen counter and finally sat down the jar."But for the most part we import." Staring at the jar for a few minutes as if wondering whether or not she was glad to finally be rid of it, she tried to sneak glances at Matt as he poked through her things.
After a few moments she turned and went to the opposite side where her work station was. Picking up a kite that lay off to the side of the main table she brought it over. Holding it out to Matt with both hands she swallowed hard then spoke again.
"This was what I was going to give you." And instead of explaining verbally, as she was sure she would just botch it, she proceeded to show physically.
The kite she held out was about a foot across and in the design of a bird with swoop like wings and a trailing tail. Quickly she folded the wings and with a small click latched them to the the sides of the main body. Then she stood there for a few seconds, eyes on the kite, silently directing Matt's own gaze to it as well.
After a little, the wings snapped back open on their own.
Quietly she added.
"It's good for tricks." She actually found herself wanting to explain more about it, but at the same time unable to as she felt her face heating up. Glancing away she practically shoved the kite into the man's hands.
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Posted: Mon Oct 24, 2011 1:43 pm
Matt slowly bent to top half of the spatula back and forth in his hands idly. "Ah, yeah. He started. "We 'ave most of the stuff shipped in where I come from, too. People are too lazy t'make their own things nowadays..." He glanced at Saffiyah sideways and quickly looked at the ground, realizing his error. "Err, I meant, um. Most people." He cleared his throat.
When she came up to him with a really neat looking kite in her hands, his eyes lit up. He watched her fiddle with it, quietly, trying to show him what it did. He smiled brightly and accepted it when it was shoved into his free hand. "Hey, thank you! This is awesome. Felix loves s**t like this. He'll be amused for hours. Kid's crazy." He chuckled and shook his head a bit, then set the kite gingerly on the counter he leaned against. He still held the spatula and returned to bending it back and forth.
On one particularly large backwards bend, his fingers slipped and the spatula flew out of his hand and onto the counter in front of him, smacking dead in the center of a pile of ceramic bowls. A few from the top swayed and tumbled forward to the ground. Matt flinched and closed his eyes when he heard the deep, earthy shatter against the floor. He let out a breath and slowly scooted up to the edge of the counter and looked over it to the floor, seeing several large chunks of what was once a few ornately decorated bowls. He grimaced, his shoulders slumping and his face taking on a guilty puppy look and braved a glance at Saffiyah.
"Um...s**t. L-look, I um, I didn't mean to..."
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Posted: Mon Oct 24, 2011 2:13 pm
Standing there eyes half lidded and face beet red, Saffiyah's gaze was locked on the bowls that lay in ruin on her floor.
Those, had actually -not- been imported. In fact they had been made by a local merchant using the clay that could be gathered from the bottom of their cliffs, a rather dangerous place to go in general.
Should she get angry? Most people would in this situation, but then it might lead to a fight or Matt apologizing even more. Both sounded terrible to her. When it came to strenuous or conflicting things she would much rather ignore it all and let it be. Where as she was definitely upset at the pointless loss, she figured it would be best if he just left.
Eyes turning upwards to the man as he finished his first apology, her stare locked onto him with incredibly intensity.In her mind it was a neutral gaze, but on the outside her inner thoughts were obviously showing.
"..............." She took a few steps closer to Matt, still glaring up harshly.
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Posted: Mon Oct 24, 2011 4:22 pm
Matthew backed up and rounded the counter silently. He ignored the heated look from Saffiyah and started to pick up the broken pieces. Luckily they had broken pretty cleanly so there wasn't much debris to gather from the floor. Finally, he plucked the last piece up and stood, turning to place them on the counter. He faced Saffiyah and frowned. "Hey, I'm sorry, I didn't mean ta break anythin' of yours."
He visibly deflated, looking beaten as he reached into his pocket and pulled something out. He brought his other hand up and pushed around a few coins in the palm of his hand, narrowing his eyes at them for a moment before slapping them down near the broken bowls and scooting them closer to where Saffiyah stood, glaring. "I...I hope this covers the cost of the bowls. I haven't exchanged the rest of my money yet, so...this is all I've got." Matt stood there awkwardly for a few minutes, eyes glued to the bowl shards, his lips pressed into a thin line. In the span of a few seconds, things went from pleasant to horrible, and he felt he had far overstayed his welcome.
Moving quickly, Matt spun in his spot and started for the door.
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Posted: Mon Oct 24, 2011 4:30 pm
"Wait." She grabbed the money and the kite he had left behind. "I don't want your money . Here." She forced the coins back on him followed by the kite. "Your apology was enough. Here's the kite. Thank you for your help earlier." Her tone wasn't angry, but it was definitely brisk. Though that mixed with her actual words didn't come across very well still.
With that she nodded and stepped back, allowing him to leave at his leisure.
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Posted: Mon Oct 24, 2011 4:38 pm
Matt froze near the front door, poised to open it, but her words made him turn around. He frowned at her as the coins were pushed into his hands, though he was grateful she was still giving him the kite. He was upset at the idea of leaving such a work behind.
"Thanks..." He mumbled, avoiding eye contact. His hand went up to rub at his neck again. "I guess sayin' 'nice to meet you' would be a lil' strange given the circumstances, but it was nice all th'same." He held the kite next to his chest and opened the door, taking a step through the doorway. He paused then, mulling over something before looking at Saffiyah and giving her a polite nod. "M'lady."
A moment later, the door closed behind him and he was gone.
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