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 Posted: Tue May 19, 2009 8:18 pm
When Nusumu had set out, it was a beautiful day. The sky was blue, the air was crisp, and while it wasn't all that sunny, it was pleasant enough for a nice stroll. Not that Nusumu's reason for being outside is trivial. No, she has an important parcel in her arms, in addition to the usual basket on her arm. She heads towards the udon-ya not for fun, but for business!
And, as if sensing her mood, the weather begins to turn. The sky grows dark, the wind whips up, and the occasional drop of water splatters on her face or robes.
Not one to be bullied by the weather, Nusumu merely hunches over her package and basket and walks faster. It isn't raining too hard, and she's almost there-
But when she gets close, she notices a number of new buildings that were not there the last time she visited. Apparently the udon-ya has neighbors. And while she is close enough to get inside, her curiosity is piqued. Who could these new houses belong to?
Approaching the ones on the other side of the road, Nusumu projects a tentative greeting. Best to find out if anyone's home before attempting a closer look. ninja
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Posted: Tue May 19, 2009 8:37 pm
It was fortunate for Nusumu that the change in the weather had chased Hitsuga out of his workroom, unable to focus on his projects with the wind howling and rattling the glass in its pane.
And so he had been busying himself with things that required less concentration about the house. And, at the moment, was in the front room attempting to affix a series of shelves to the wall. The perfumer wasn't, exactly, built for doing such tasks as the one at hand, but he was giving it his best effort.
He was certainly not going to trouble Master Setsushi, despite his offers to help, in this weather. ....though if it hadn't been the weather serving as his excuse, he would have found something else, surely.
As he pauses to shake out his aching wrist, the screw and screwdriver stubbornly refusing to work together, he freezes, blinking. .....was someone there? He was almost certain....
He sets the shelves gingerly back on the floor to enjoy their victory over him for the moment, offering an open projection that he'll be right there as he bustles to the door, opening it.
....to reveal someone he has not yet met on its other side.
He blinks a few times, but then quickly favors Nusumu a warm greeting and a smile. Can he help her?
A chilled wind gusts past, making him have to wedge his shoulder against the door to keep it propped open.
.....and would Madame care to step in out of the weather...? sweatdrop
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Posted: Tue May 19, 2009 8:44 pm
Nusumu is slightly surprised to find someone actually home, but pleasantly so. She didn't mean to disturb him though; she was merely curious about all the nice houses. If not new they must at least be remodeled, or had she just failed to notice them before?
Either way, she apologizes for dragging him from whatever he was doing, and should really be moving along-
A sharp boom makes Nusumu flinch, and she looks up at the sky uneasily, then to the stranger. If he's sure she won't be an imposition, maybe it wouldn't be a bad idea to wait the weather out a bit. sweatdrop
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Posted: Tue May 19, 2009 8:54 pm
Hitsuga had not so much flinched as had yelped and shied back at the sudden boom of thunder, his projections an intangible flurry of fright for just a split second gonk
No, no, it is not an imposition at all, he assures her when he has recovered from the startling, moving aside to allow her entry, seeming to be eager to close the door on the brewing storm one way or another.
He was only working on getting his shop in order, he adds. Nothing she is interrupting or that needs to be done right this minute.
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Posted: Tue May 19, 2009 9:07 pm
Hitsuga's fear startles Nusumu far more than the thunder did. She quickly wonders if she should attempt to do something, or run for help. When he appears to recover on his own, though, she relaxes again and gratefully steps inside.
Before coming in too far, she sets her basket and box down on the floor by the door, and stretches her arms over her head. Even though neither burden is particularly heavy, holding her arms in that position has left them stiff, and being stiff is no way to meet someone new.
Now then, what was he saying? A shop? Nusumu looks around, but half-built shelves don't tell her much about what the products could be. What does he sell, she asks curiously, privately hoping he isn't another cook. Not that she doesn't like Setsushi, but she isn't sure she can take much more competition.
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Posted: Tue May 19, 2009 9:21 pm
He closes the door, leaning against it for a moment even as he hears the latch click into place to give his heart a chance to slow itself from the patter it had become a moment ago.
What a way to start off an introduction...
A flutter of embarrassed apology brushes Nusumu's mind as he straightens up once more, straightening his outfit a bit. She must excuse him, he's afraid he and loud noises don't get along well with one another...
At her query, he shakes his head.
Cook? No, not as such...
He sells (or rather WILL be selling) perfumes once he has finished making some stock for the shelves. 3nodding
....err....and finished the shelves as well....
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Posted: Tue May 19, 2009 9:30 pm
There is nothing to apologize for. Nusumu is not exactly fond of loud noises either, though she has perhaps had more time to get used to them, what with having upstairs neighbors. She is simply relieved that he is alright.
And, admittedly, relieved that she doesn't have to worry about more competition at the moment. sweatdrop
Nusumu has never really had an interest in perfumes. Largely because she is concerned about having scents on her hands when she cooks, but also because she had thought it was all done in factories with chemicals. It had never occurred to her that people actually made perfumes by hand.
She looks at the unfinished shelves and sighs. If Sneaky had come with her, they might be able to be of some help. Then again, if Sneaky had come with her, she may well have scared the poor man out of his wits.
Though she is not as able-bodied as her partner, is there anything Nusumu can do to help? She would be pleased to assist him in return for the warm welcome. 3nodding
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Posted: Tue May 19, 2009 9:45 pm
For a moment he seems to try and wrap his mind around the idea of what he does being done on as large a scale as to require a factory and then shakes his head. The only chemical that is employed, really, is alcohol, he gently explains. The rest are natural oils and essences.
He inclines his head a bit, inquiring as to who Sneaky might be? ...and then admonishes himself for his rudeness in asking names of her when he's not even introduced himself yet.
"Hitsuga." he offers, smiling and giving her a polite bow, as well as assurances that she needn't trouble herself. The shelves will get on the wall eventually, he imagines, giving a small chuckle.
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Posted: Tue May 19, 2009 10:11 pm
Though Nusumu cannot say she's seen a perfume factory, she's seen a number of mass-produced fragrances at department stores. She's even sampled a few, but they were too strong and too floral for her tastes. Nusumu much prefers the smells of cooking to the smells of flowers, personally, but she would like to see (smell?) what a true artist has to offer sometime.
... oops. Yes, introductions are in order, aren't they? Nusumu forgets these things sometimes. After a moment's hesitation, she nods firmly. She is Nusumu, and Sneaky is her... her Sneaky. More than just a partner in crime and not quite a guardian even though she did raise Nusumu. Sneaky is simply Sneaky. For the moment, Nusumu refrains from adding an image to her projections, just in case.
But she is pleased to meet Hitsuga. Very much so, considering the circumstances.
She pauses then, thinking back to something else he had mentioned. Essences? What are those, exactly? surprised
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Posted: Tue May 19, 2009 10:38 pm
He seems a bit confused by her explanation, but he will not pry. And he will simply leave it at the idea that Sneaky is a well-loved Sneaky.
In the meantime, it is a pleasure to meet Lady Nusumu as well 3nodding If she likes, he can put some tea on, while they wait for the storm to blow over.
Essences, he explains, are....well, its more or less taking something, like a flower blossom, and extracting from it the source of its scent. It sometimes is very time-consuming to get enough of what you need to use it effectively in a fragrance, but it is much preferable, in his art, to using synthetics.
It would....
His eyes wander back in the direction of the workroom.
....well, maybe it would be easier to just show Lady Nusumu. sweatdrop
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Posted: Tue May 19, 2009 10:47 pm
Now Nusumu feels bad. All she did was pull Hitsuga away from his work and barge into his home, but he's even offering her tea! She really must do something to repay his kindness. And as she glances at the door- and the box next to it- she thinks she might have just the thing. whee
The explanation is interesting for more reasons than one, and she nods eagerly. If it would not be too much trouble, she would like to see. It might be just what she has been looking for.
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Posted: Tue May 19, 2009 10:58 pm
A small flurry of reassuring projections issue from him. She has pulled him away from nothing and owes him nothing, he insists gently. Lady Nusumu is his guest and he is happy to offer her what he can.
To punctuate this, he moves out of the front room and into the small kitchen area that connects the living area of the house to the storefront. Taking the washed teapot from where it sits on the countertop to dry, he gives it a quick rinse and then fills it with water from the tap, placing it on the stove to heat.
He had, admittedly, put his work up for a bit due to the wind picking up, he continues. It had made it hard to concentrate on what he was doing and far too easy to spoil things if he were to be distracted.
.....or to, perhaps, hit the ceiling after a thunderclap, he adds, accompanying it with a flustered laugh.
While the tea is heating, he will show her what he hopes to have on the shelves fairly soon, he says, motioning her to follow him.
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Posted: Tue May 19, 2009 11:13 pm
Very well then. Nusumu owes him nothing... but Hitsuga will accept a gift from her, won't he?
While Hitsuga prepares the tea, Nusumu retrieves the box by the door and brings it to the kitchen area. After removing the red string and brown paper, it appears to be an unmarked white box. She lifts the lid a crack and looks inside nervously. Satisfied that the contents are unharmed, she closes it again.
It is best not to work under such conditions, she agrees. This weather is much better for enjoying tea and cookies and watching the television, or looking through cookbooks. She would not have thought it a good time for entertaining, but Hitsuga is showing her otherwise.
Setting the paper and string aside, she follows him towards the back.
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Posted: Tue May 19, 2009 11:42 pm
He had not noticed her fetching of the package or he might have fallen all over himself, as seemed to be the trend with him and accepting gifts from others.
Hitsuga pauses in the doorway of the workroom, reaching around the corner to pat at the wall for the lightswitch until his fingers catch it and flick it on, flooding the room in yellow-white light that greatly contrasts the churning gray of the outdoors.
The air is a faint bouquet of spices, florals, musks, and fruits all at once, though they are not enough to be cloying.
The workroom itself seems to finally be taking shape and looking moreso like work is actually being done in it and not just that a bottle-littered table has been deposited among a sea of shipping debris. The cardboard boxes have been disposed of, the glassware not currently being used has been placed carefully against the wall out of harm's way, and the bottles have been meticulously arranged according to size and their contents. Against the wall stands a lone refrigerator looking a bit out-of-place.
As he ventures further into the workroom, he seems a bit more centered, as if having entered his element has calmed him a bit. He urges Nusumu over to the table as he retrieves a larger bottle from beneath it which contains a pale pink-tinted liquid in it.
This is one of the few he's made that ought to be ready for bottling, he tells her, seeming a bit excited about the prospect as he removes the stopper. And perhaps one that may interest her, or...if nothing else, at least show her what can be done without the intrusion of synthetic scents. Lady Nusumu did say she enjoys flowers? 3nodding
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Posted: Tue May 19, 2009 11:50 pm
Nusumu can smell something, certainly, but she's never smelled so many different fragrances mixed together before. She might recognize a hint of citrus, but in general it muddles together into something she cannot hope to identify.
And the room itself is fascinating too, with all sorts of glassware that Nusumu is unfamiliar with. She knows bottles of course, but little else. The refrigerator she eyes with curiosity, but decides to inquire about its purpose later on. For the moment, she is content to see whatever it is Hitsuga wishes to show her.
They take time? They must, she supposes, bread dough needs time to rise before it can be baked. Nusumu does like flowers, though she prefers the scents of spices or fruits or cakes while they bake in the oven~
Is that what this is, an essence of a flower? surprised
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