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 Posted: Tue Aug 31, 2010 10:58 pm
How did Julian end up here? Had Mercedes lost track of him again, and he'd hopped a bus to the down town book store for some quiet reading? Or had she ordered her chauffeur to simply take the boy wherever he wanted, as long as it was away from her? Either was entirely plausible, and only time would tell which was the accurate answer to those questions.
Because really, Julian didn't care how he'd ended up here. His passion was quiet, settled places like this where he could sit in a back corner with piles of books and read forever. His delight was being away from that wretched woman, and if he could make her panic about his whereabouts, all the better. So really the hows where unimportant. What mattered is that he was here, and aside from the fact he dearly missed his twin...he couldn't have been happier.
He wandered the isles, already with two books in hand and looking for a third. He'd loosened his tie and untucked his shirt, a thin white chord drawing a line from the front pocket on his shorts to ear-puds; one in his ear, the other hanging in the loop of his tie for safe keeping. Music played, just enough to be heard...the child wasn't about to make himself deaf, after all. He was silent in every move he made. Usually his cloven hooves clipped shortly on concrete or marble when he walked, but in the carpeted bookstore he shifted around noiselessly.
He would live here if they let him. He'd just eat their pastries and drink their milk at night, feeding silently from the men and women who fell asleep in the cozy chairs in back during the day. He'd moved Isaac in with him, and their lives would be complete.
The dream made him sigh wistfully...the only noise he made as he continued to scan the shelves in the young adult section for a third title to pick up.
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Posted: Tue Aug 31, 2010 11:32 pm
As much as she may have felt like taking the trek alone, once the word 'bookstore' had left her mouth, Nina found herself unable to leave home without her guardian wanting to go as well. It was a little frustrating, but simultaneously, she had to admit that it was also amusing. She shifted her glance to spot Ephron through the shelves of books, musing that his smile reminded her vaguely of a kid in a candy store. Funny, wasn't he suppose to be the guardian? Well, at the very least, they seemed to have different interests when it came to genres, so it was easy to feel like she had made the trip on her own.
Inhaling slowly, she took a random detour down a row, getting a feel for the place. She hadn't been in here before, so wasn't all that familiar with the layout of the books. At least while she was preoccupied looking, she was able to take in the cooler temperature. She didn't like the scorching summer weather that had decided to camp out over the city, so it was nice to be able to find some reprieve from it.
Back to the matter at hand, she finally noticed that she was in the horror section of the store. Flicking her eyes over the titles on the bindings of the books, she couldn't help but snort in laughter at some of the ridiculous titles that plagued the shelves. Picking one up, she scanned over the digitally-painted cover, repeated the words in near silence, "Plague Rats?" There was no creativity with it at all, clearly displaying darkened, disease-ridden rats with glowing red eyes, mouths agape with terrible teeth as if ready to attack. Couldn't they show a little effort? She liked horror when the writer was actually trying.
Attempting to put the book back, she managed to bump a small stack of books that were resting on top of the shelves. Perhaps someone had left the stack there when they realized they had grabbed too many or something, but some of them didn't even belong in the section. Unfortunately, one or two had dropped into the aisle on the other side, and she yelped in response. She was a little too short to see over the shelving, so could only silently fret as she made her way around, I hope that didn't fall on anyone.
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Posted: Wed Sep 01, 2010 12:52 am
It wasn't like he hadn't realized there was someone the other side of the shelves. Quite the opposite, his un-plugged ear twitched slightly whenever the figure had moved or said anything, and he'd been absently tracking her. Not exactly conscious of the action, but he was prone to just following people around to listen in on conversations and observe what they were doing. While one part of him focused on reading the titles to the books, the other...a much more sinister part...waited intently for her to come around the corner.
Which was not to be, obviously, at least not yet. As Julian's free hand (the single one on his left side) reached to take a closer look at a book, he felt something shift a few shelves above his arm. His second pair of eyes saw the books start to fall before he really noticed them, and in that quick and silent way he took a long side step out of the path of the falling books. They connected with part of his right shoulder and arms at the same time he heard someone yelp, and it made his face darken considerably once they landed fully onto the floor.
She'd done it, the person on the other side had made the books fall. He could hear her coming around to his side, and all four of his eyes glared unhappily in the direction she was coming from. Whenever she rounded the corner, she'd find a very disgruntled three-armed fawn boy staring her down.
"That hurt," he would inform her, rubbing his 'injured' shoulder, though he still clutched the two books defensively.
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Posted: Sun Sep 05, 2010 4:40 pm
As Nina rounded the corner of shelves into the next aisle over, she couldn't help but toy with the fabric of her skirt as a nervous habit, trying not to tangle her talons in it. She hadn't heard anything when the books had fallen, not so much as a swift side-step, but then again it was difficult to listen when one was also moving at a rapid speed.
Her pointed ears twitched downward once her eyes caught sight of a figure down the row. Her eyes fell on the books, now lying still on the floor, and how near they were to the kid. In her running thoughts, never did she once stop to study the situation and notice that the other individual was a spawn from the facility -- nor the fact that he was rather unusual, even by the standards of the labs. The only thought that came to mind at that instant sprouted from her mouth before she had any chance of catching it, "D-Did those hit you? I'm sorry; I didn't see them!" Not the best defense, but then again, she wasn't thinking things through at the moment.
Instead, she came over to pick the books up. Rolling them slightly in the palm of her hand, she released a tiny sigh of relief when she realized they were paperback and not hardcover. At least that meant they would cause less damage. She glanced up as she rose from her crouched position, fidgeting once she realized the piercing frown on the kid's face. "You okay?" she asked, now getting a glimmer of realization as to who she was speaking to exactly. It was more of a question of what she could do, now comprehending that the books had hurt him.
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Posted: Sun Sep 05, 2010 11:08 pm
He wouldn't move when she neared him, and only shifted out of the way as the girl bent down to pick up the books. Part of that was his upbringing; Julian was very much used to having people clean up messes for and around him, only having to get out of the way when needed. The other part was his nature - why should he pick them up? She was the one who knocked them down, and onto his shoulder, no less. Regardless, he observed her movements and took note of her interesting appearance.
Julian was painfully aware that people like himself - and like the girl - should not exist. Mercedes thought he didn't hear her calling him a monster and an abomination behind his back, but his hearing was much better than she gave him credit for. So he knew, that if he was a monster, this girl must be also...and she must also be from the Facility, since the only other monsters Jules had met (including his twin) had been from there.
The momentary pain in his shoulder gone, and mostly dismissed, he simply stood as she spoke more. His fingers touched the edges of the books he held, contemplating a response. "I suppose," he answered slowly, deliberately. "You should be more careful." It was something Mercedes had said to him once, and it sounded appropriate for the situation.
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Posted: Sat Sep 18, 2010 9:23 pm
Nina had probably been feeling far too tense about the situation than she should have been, something that she had noticed once the wave of relief had washed over her upon the boy's response. Honestly, she wouldn't have minded throwing a book at someone if they had deserved it, but not as a greeting to someone she had never so much as seen before! She forced a sheepish smile at Julian's comment, "Yeah, I didn't see the stack of books there. My bad."
She repeated what she had just said in her mind, grumbling to herself when she realized that it sounded as if she were making an excuse over the situation. It was not something she ever held in high regards to others, so she found herself continuing, "I should have been paying better attention, yeah." Hmm... seems she wasn't as good at apologizing as she thought she might be.
Glancing down at the cover of the book in her hand as Nina let her mind wander slightly, she frowned in confusion, as the only thing depicted on the front was a sunset. With a bristled p***k of embarrassment, she realized it was probably a romance novel, immediately hiding it by clinging it to herself. Someone had a strange mix of interests! A romance novel in the horror section? To hide the action further, she quickly tried to change the subject, before anything else bad was focused on her, "I-If you don't mind me asking, are you looking for anything in particular here, or just browsing?" Perhaps a little nosy, but if asked to, she could always leave the kid alone. She was intruding enough as it was, she contemplated in exasperation toward herself.
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Posted: Mon Sep 20, 2010 4:17 am
It did sound a bit redundant to Julian for her to be saying again that she hadn't seen the books. Obviously, otherwise she wouldn't have knocked them over onto him, now would she? Some people couldn't be helped, he supposed. After all, he knew he tended to take an unusual amount of time to think about what he was going to say and how he was going to say it. He also knew his stillness tended to unnerve people. That he really didn't mind...rather, he enjoyed it.
So, in his typical fashion, it took a moment for him to decide how much detail he'd give her pertaining to the books. In the end...eh, why not make an acquaintance? If nothing else, maybe she'd help him reach the upper shelves that he couldn't reach.
He raised his double set of arms which clutched the books being mentioned. One was a mystery collection, bound in red faux leather with an embossed magnifying glass on the back. The second book, another collection, boasted about classic short stories in gold lettering on a black background.
"A horror collection, to round things out," he commented.
However, don't think he didn't notice the blush or the nervous nature of her stance. His eyebrows (the ones belonging to his left eyes) arched curiously as he then pointed to the book she clutched so desperately.
"Is that your favorite?" Obviously, he hadn't seen the cover, and had no reason to expect anything other than the book meant something to the girl.
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Posted: Thu Oct 14, 2010 9:26 pm
With the interval of time it had taken Julian to consider responding to her, Nina mentally fidgeted in place, trying to not let her nervousness surface any more than it already had. She wasn't a very shy person usually, even if she wasn't the most talkative, but she never liked it when things started off badly without reason. There wasn't a reason. She slid a foot backward an inch, in the off-chance the kid didn't want anything to do with her.
She didn't need to do much else other than that, however. Blinking, it was only then that she had realized that Julian was sporting three arms, and that it wasn't just a figment of her scattered mind. Instead of being put off by it, she actually found it... pretty fascinating. However, that's not what the matter-at-hand was about, and she quickly refocused. Seems this other spawn's interests weren't too much different from her own, which wasn't exactly something that she was expecting. It helped her ease out of the uneasiness, and once she realized what she had been doing, she readily abandoned her grip on the initial meeting.
Nodding in agreement to a statement not made, she responded, "Get more 'bang for your buck' with the collections, don't you? Smart move, really." She hadn't really thought of looking toward the short story anthologies, tending to overlook them more for the trilogies or longer series that seemed to dominate the majority of book shelves nowadays. Wonder if they're any better, she pondered.
She was confused with Julian's question for a fraction of a second, as she was sure that she had been successful in changing the subject, but stiffened once more once she realized that he was much more observant than she had expected. Had to search for an answer, quick, without shoving too much attention to the book. Ah, she cleared her throat and thrust forth a sheepish smile. "N-No, it's not mine. It..." she glanced down at the side of it, gripping hold of it to hastily shove it to the top of the shelving, as it had been sitting on the other side of the aisle before it tumbled down, "It doesn't look all that interesting, no. Definitely not something I'd like to read, at least." She wrinkled her nose as she glanced up at it, like a child would when presented with a food they didn't like.
"I'm Nina, by the way," she introduced, holding her untaloned left hand out, "Nina Falco."
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Posted: Wed Mar 02, 2011 7:39 pm
He watched her shove the book hastily away, but left it at that. Very well, whatever she said. He was growing bored with the conversation anyway, so best to move on to something else.
"Julian Fauve," he responded in kind, reaching out to shake her hand with the single one he possessed on his left side. A little awkward, honestly, as he was always taught to shake right hands...but with his own right side being just as different as her's he understood her avoidance.
"Julian?" said a deep voice, and a man in a chauffeur's uniform stepped from around the corner. He paused, glancing at Nina with...was that fear? "Julian, I believe it's time we started home."
It was obvious the man felt uncomfortable. Julian, he could handle...Julian didn't appear to be able to rip his head off. This other spawn, whatever she was...she looked to be a totally different story.
Julian regarded the man with a sigh and a roll of all his eyes. Really, human needed to get over themselves. Turning his attention back to Nina, he glanced down at the book he carried.
"Well, it was interesting to meet you, Nina. Perhaps we'll see each other again someday."
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Posted: Sun Jun 19, 2011 9:31 pm
Being forced into left-handed mannerisms, it was rare that Nina regarded her backwards actions out of habit. "It's nice to meet you, Julian," she smiled, glad that he had accepted her offer of... erm, acquaintanceship?
Before she had a head to come up with any other subject matter, however, their conversation was cut short. Taking her hand back, she pulled herself away, mildly hesitant. She hadn't been keeping him from doing anything, had she? She didn't want to get him into any trouble, and flashed a slight twitch of a sheepish grin to display this notion, to an extent. However, it was then that she noticed that the man wasn't the most confident of individuals. She turned her red-on-red eyes down, nudging a foot back before her attention rose back to Julian.
If nothing else was accomplished today, she could at least count her lucky stars that she didn't just end up irritating the kid. "Same to you," she replied, a touch of a smile returning, "Hope you enjoy your books!"
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