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 Posted: Sun Aug 21, 2016 10:47 am
Alg felt a bit bad catching onto the money woes and speaking aloud about it. The look on the other's face was telling. Still- better to move past it than to apologize and linger on the topic. Alg reached for his hand, shaking firmly, and the older man's hands were strangely warm and comforting. Shaking with him seemed to ease any nervousness and worry, though Nathaniel wouldn't understand how. "Algernon M-" He paused and smiled, "Mercer. Professor Mercer if it's easier." The young man seemed the type to prefer a title and he didn't like 'Mister' very much. "Sorry I got married recently so the name changed. Books will still be written under Mixlin though." He glanced down at Violetta and scooped her up. She stretched to an amazing size before he held her in his arms. She seemed very lazy. "Several months.. she's young but grew fast. Got her when she was a kitten. My husband owns her brother who is - well - he's diminutive in comparison."
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Posted: Sun Aug 21, 2016 12:29 pm
Algernon Mixlin's handshake offered a surprising amount of comfort to Nathaniel, who felt the warmth from his fingertips all the way to his toes. It was a strange, pleasant sort of warmth, seeming to encompass him, the earlier anxiousness of his monetary woes slipping out of Nathaniel's head.
It was very nice. Nathaniel didn't quite understand it, but he found it reassuring. His eyes widened a little at the new name, and a smile touched Nathaniel's face.
"Ah, congratulations on your marriage!" he said, making a mental note about this fact, which was just one more on a list of exciting things he'd learned about Algernon Mi - Mercer. "That's wonderful news."
The cat was very pretty, long and enormous. Nathaniel let his gaze sweep across her lounging form, a small ache somewhere in his chest that made him long for something other than himself at his tiny, pathetic little apartment a few blocks away.
"I'd love a cat someday," Nathaniel said, a little wistfully, and he stretched out a hand towards Violetta tentatively. "Will she let me pet her? Is your husband's cat friendly?"
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Posted: Sun Aug 21, 2016 6:27 pm
"Thank you," Alg seemed a bit sheepish a moment, much more than he'd been about his books. Violetta was walked closer and she seemed very lazy even though she leaned to sniff Nathaniel. Her head bumped his fingers when she got close enough. "I'll do you one better," Alg seemed to stretch Violetta over the young man's head to settle her like a scarf across the back of his neck. "It's her preferred method of travel. Anything to not walk I swear."
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Posted: Sun Aug 21, 2016 7:45 pm
It was kind of...endearing? No, that wasn't quite the right word...simple? Sweet? Casual? Human? about watching Mix - Mercer - get a little bashful over his recent nuptials, perhaps because Nathaniel wasn't used to seeing anything but the smiling picture on the back cover of the books he read.
It was nice. Nathaniel felt a tiny bit more at ease.
"What? Oh - "
He was slightly startled by the cat around his neck, but he could feel her warmth against his head and a smile found its way across Nathaniel's face, bright and pleased and unguarded. He lifted his hand and stroked the cat's head, feeling her warmth.
"Well, to be fair," he said reasonably, "If I could do this instead of walking, I'd be pretty okay with that."
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Posted: Sun Aug 21, 2016 8:55 pm
Alg chuckled, "It would be the life to be a cat. Do you think it's above or below us on the karmic reincarnation chain?" Violetta began to purr from Nathaniel's shoulders and flick her tail idly. She was fine here, this was comfy, thank. "And yes her brother is very friendly. In fact you may see him around he's small and hyper. A white cat with a mohawk," Alg made a fin motion on his head with his hand, "His name is Hellbine. He wanders around the city."
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Posted: Mon Aug 22, 2016 6:02 am
"I'd like to think above," said Nathaniel, enjoying the softness of the cat's fur beneath his fingers. "Cats are a lot easier to deal with than humans, at least most of the time. Aren't you, Violetta?" He added, as the cat thrummed pleasantly, nudging at his hand.
Brows rose as Nathaniel turned back to Mercer, looking a mixture of surprised and curious.
"Cats have mowhawks?" he asked interestedly. "I haven't seen any cat like that around, but now that you've said it, I'll have to look for one..."
Nathaniel felt Violetta's purring all down his back, and something in his expression softened.
"Animals are such wonderful creatures," he murmured. "Maybe one day..."
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Posted: Mon Aug 22, 2016 6:41 am
It was a bit hard to explain Hellbine's mohawk without seeing it, "You'll know him when you see him." "To be honest before Violetta I didn't keep pets." He stepped forward to rub a warm thumb over her head before stepping back again. He nodded to the book in Nathaniel's hand, wondering if he needed to be checked out since they were just standing around. "She was given to me and I couldn't say no." She yawned and put her head down. Yes she would absolutely sleep on people's shoulders. "But I did feed the strays-" He confided with a soft chuckle and lean, "Cats are valuable friends to have." That part went unexplained and before he learned of other ashdown he hadn't realized either.
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Posted: Mon Aug 22, 2016 8:56 pm
Nathaniel made a mental note to look for this mysterious mohawked cat as Mercer nodded at the book in his hand, which Nathaniel had almost forgotten that he still needed to actually pay for. He carefully started to walk towards the register, not wanting to disturb the happily purring Violetta, warm and content on his shoulders.
"I never had pets as a child," Nathaniel confessed; a tidbit of his life that was just the barest glimpse into it, though he was careful not to word it in a way that indicated he had never been allowed. "I would love to have a cat some day. Or a dog. Or a bird."
He laughed, setting the book on the counter and rummaging around in his bag for his wallet.
"Just any pet, really, I love animals."
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Posted: Tue Aug 23, 2016 8:41 am
Violetta, having had Nathaniel approach the counter, decided to worm and slide off of his neck until she was stretching across the wood with another yawn. She flopped sideways, purring still, and Algie gave her a firm body stroke before he let her alone. "I'm sure you'll get one in the future-" Alg smiled reassuringly, "They are really not as much hassle as everyone makes it out. When you're ready. Though birds are a bit noisy and messy for me-" Never much been a bird fan. The book was taking, scanned, and the total appeared on the register. Alg's lips quirked and he typed something in, possibly an 'employee discount' and it brought the cost down a few dollars. "Do you need a bag?"
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Posted: Thu Aug 25, 2016 11:18 am
He was still watching Violetta with a look of slight wistfulness on his face. Nathaniel imagined his tiny, crappy little apartment would be much better if he had a pet to come home to; but pets were expensive and needed a lot of care that Nathaniel did not have the time for at present, not with his multiple jobs and schooling.
"I don't mind the noise so much," he said with a little laugh. "It'd sure beat things being too quiet."
Or too lonely. Nathaniel fiddled in his pocket for his wallet, not noticing the discounted price as he carefully and precisely counted out his remaining dollars before deciding against that and handing over his card instead.
"No, I'll just stick it in this bag, thank you," he said, beaming. "I'm very much excited to read it."
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Posted: Thu Aug 25, 2016 12:49 pm
"Let me know what you think.." Alg opened his mouth and closed it before smiling, crows feet crinkling slightly, "No spoilers." And there was a friendly and quick wink from the man. The older man leaned on the counter with one hand, the other running over Violetta's head again. Unfortunately no one, even his cat, was safe from his warm and calming touch and she seemed to turn into jelly on the countertop. Without control, it hadn't been there one moment, and then it was - there was a small purple violet by her ear. Just there. Like she was wearing an accessory. Alg noticed, and straightened, making some effort to distract, "You know this is a college town. Perhaps you could find a roommate or move into a house. It'll be less quiet.. and a roommate may have a pet." Hadn't Zac moved out of Wil and Nasir's house? Not that he'd inflict Wil on most people but the young man, despite his questionable career path, wasn't really all that terrible.
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Posted: Fri Aug 26, 2016 2:49 pm
He was inwardly pleased that Mercer wanted to know what Nathaniel thought of the book; a slightly surprised laugh escaped him as he said, "I'll have to come back and give you my little review. I'm sure it's totally great, all of your books are great."
Nathaniel's eyes flickered towards the cat again, lying docile on the counter, and he could have sworn he saw something flowery by Violetta's ear. Blinking, head tilted curiously, Nathaniel opened his mouth to say something - but Mercer's comment was successful in deterring his attention towards that instead.
"A roommate..." Nathaniel murmured, tapping fingers idly against the counter top. "I suppose that's one option, though..."
He gave a rueful shrug of his shoulders.
"I don't really know anyone here, really, not as well as I probably should."
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Posted: Fri Aug 26, 2016 4:38 pm
Alg sort of waved off, again, a compliment to the books with a polite sort of smile. Now his large hand seemed near mashed over his cats head so if there were flowers there, you couldn't tell. Violetta did not seem to mind at all. "You don't necessarily have to know them. Expand your horizons." The professor encouraged, "Besides with school starting up there should be flyers and listings. There's a lot of students looking for a cheap place to live-" No, Nathaniel you were not alone. "Just keep an eye out."
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Posted: Thu Sep 01, 2016 8:57 pm
Expand your horizons.
It sounded easier said than done, but Mercer was at least trying to be supportive and encouraging, which Nathaniel appreciated. He gave a little nod, fighting the blush off of his face tooth and nail, and gathered his things together carefully.
"Thank you," he said, and then, after a small pause, he said a little more sincerely, "It's really been great meeting you, I really do love your books."
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Posted: Thu Sep 01, 2016 9:07 pm
Alg smiled, "Thank you." Because you bought his books, "And I'll see you soon, hm?" The professor motioned to the book idly, "To talk about it." Nathaniel was given a cheerful parting wave.
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