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 Posted: Thu Nov 24, 2011 12:58 pm
The shop was both small and unassuming; he would have missed it, save for the faint scent of something strangely familiar wafting towards his nose, filling his senses with vague, distorted thoughts. Luciano Locke pushed the strands of black hair away from his face, eyes moving towards the storefront with a curious look in them.
It was late; he normally was not out at this time, but lately his artistry had been severely lacking in something. What, exactly, he was not entirely certain of, but there had been a distinct piece missing and he had not really felt the inspiration to continue.
So he'd taken a walk. The evening was brisk and cool, a light breeze - barely there - brushing against his face like the touch of a butterfly's wings, faint and soothing. Luciano wore no coat; none were strictly necessary right now, he supposed, though there were a few that he walked past that seemed to pull their jackets a bit tighter around them out of instinct. He'd had no particular direction to go, instead wandering aimlessly through the crowded streets with their throngs of chattering, laughing people and letting himself be drawn to whatever passed his way.
At least until he'd seen this particular shop, quiet and pressed between buildings much larger than it. Only then did Luciano turn his feet, allowing himself to wandering curiously towards it, wondering what that scent was.
He pushed open the door, his footsteps echoing on the wooden floor as he stepped inside, eyes falling on the figure behind the counter, half drenched in shadows from the waning sunlight streaming in from the streets and sky.
"Good evening."
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Posted: Sun Nov 27, 2011 10:38 am
"Good evening," Lu Xiong replied, dipping his head in acknowledgement from across the room. His smile was small and enigmatic, flickering beneath fleeting light. The inside of the shop seemed almost oddly muted, patrons huddled into the smaller alcoves and side tables, conversations hushed. A little boy in a strange hat and stranger clothes wrapped pale hands loosely around Luciano's arm.
"If you would follow me, please, honored customer."
Pulling gently, he ushered Luciano in front of the Peddler, pulling an ancient looking chair in front of the counter. If one were to squint enough, just so in the light, you could almost make out the faint outline of batwings in the boy's shadow. However, he was gone quickly, extending the bamboo room divider to afford them better privacy.
"So we meet at last," Lu Xiong murmured, golden eyes glinting brightly.
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Posted: Sun Nov 27, 2011 6:09 pm
The peddler was a tall man, dark hair flowing about his shoulders in thick waves. The nod he gave Luciano was returned with one of his own, eyes flickering from one thing in the shop to another, carefully taking in each and every object and memorizing what he could in his mind.
"Of course," he replied mildly, gaze moving to the hands that rested on his arm. The boy was almost abnormally pale, his skin tinged faintly pink, and Luciano watched him for a moment, curiously tracing his features. He stepped forward, however, and followed the boy around towards the shopkeeper.
The chair was dusty, but elegant, and Luciano moved towards it, gently brushing his fingers over the top of it, moving along the grain of the wood before he sat down carefully, lifting his eyes to meet the shopkeeper's.
"At last?" he repeated, tilting his head, a bemused expression on his face.
"Might I ask what you mean by that?"
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Posted: Sun Nov 27, 2011 11:12 pm
Lu Xiong reached for a small, earthenware tea pot just off to the side, pulling it closer till it was in the center between them on the counter. He reached for the handle, as if to pour, but there were no cups in sight (only tiny plain saucers, one for each).
"I have been waiting for you to find me," he said, voice liltingly soft. "I had thought you would come sooner........but perhaps where the mind is willing, the mortal body needs longer yet to follow."
He pulled his sleeve back out of the way with slender fingers and tilted the pot just enough to pour a splash of tea into each saucer. "I am the Peddler. Welcome to my very humble shop. Please, drink - I'm afraid we are still searching for teacups." Painted lips stretched in a secretive smile as he nudged Luciano's saucer closer.
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Posted: Wed Nov 30, 2011 1:22 pm
The Peddlers' movements were slow, carefully calculated without any sort of extraneous gestures; a quietly elegant man, where each and everything he did was for a specific purpose.
Such as the tea that he poured into each saucer, gently pushing it closer towards Luciano. He might have thought it odd, drinking from a plate, but something about the shop was relaxing - and the plates were not simple ones used for everyday eating. Plain, perhaps, but clean and still pretty.
Long fingers reached out, running one along the rim of the plate.
"Thank you," murmured Luciano, still confused, but he lifted the saucer carefully with both hands, holding it at the tips of his fingers, and pressed the edge to his lips.
The tea was hot, burning down his throat.
"What is it that I am 'willing' to do, then?" asked Luciano, tilting his head to give a long look to the man.
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Posted: Sun Dec 04, 2011 12:07 pm
Lu Xiong took a delicate sip out of his own saucer, watching Luciano through slitted eyes.
"That, my dear, is a question you must ask yourself."
That said, he waited till Luciano had finished his small portion of tea before speaking again. His fingers skirted the edge of Luciano's saucer and he gave a small contemplative humm, peering into the shallow dish where the leaves had gathered at the bottom. Crumpled together, they seemed to form the vague outline of something feline, but before Luciano could get a good look, Lu Xiong was secreting the dish away into an ornate box on the counter.
"Tell me, do you have any desires in life..? You seem troubled."
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Posted: Sun Dec 04, 2011 10:02 pm
Perhaps it was the fact that he was no longer in Italy that Luciano felt more comfortable here - surprisingly so. The Italians, while a warm and welcoming place (at least from his own small city and the people with which he spent his time), were just a select group, one that was difficult to break away from.
It was not that he wished to break away from them; in fact, he loved his nationality, but it was not what he wished would define him. When he had moved to the city after Italy it was all that people recognized - every comment had been about his accent, his heritage, where he was from, what he did while residing in another country.
Luciano had merely accommodated their rather irritating questions with quiet, muted answers, laughing politely before moving on. It was rather tiring, all in all, and sometimes he wished there was a way to hide the somewhat incriminating accent that had been a part of him since birth. It was a part of the reason why he tended to stay on the side of observation, rather than be particularly talkative - and probably why right now, with the carefully worded questions of the Peddler - that Luciano did not actually feel as though he were on display.
It was a rather liberating thought.
"Is it now," replied Luciano noncommittally, inhaling the spicy, warm scent of the tea that wafted upwards towards his nose. He did not really answer the first statement, since it was clear that it was spoken rhetorically, but the second question caught him a little off guard, Luciano giving the Peddler a scrutinizing look. He had set his tea down, but it was no longer in front of him. Instead, the other had moved it briskly away, tucking it into a box.
"Desires?" repeated Luciano, with a tilt of his head. He had not quite decided on an answer when the words slipped from his throat anyway.
"I desire company, I suppose."
The corners of his lips quirked upwards in a half sort of smile.
"It is rather tiring, spending all of one's time with oneself. Sometimes it gets redundant, and I find that I do not have enough thoughts to keep myself occupied - or, oppositely, I find I have too many thoughts and not enough outlets."
Black-clad shoulders lifted and fell in a mild shrug. "A selfish desire, perhaps, but I'm quite certain I am not the only person who wishes for something other than what I have."
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Posted: Mon Dec 05, 2011 5:43 pm
Lu Xiong smiled, the corners quirking upwards in a cryptic sort of curve as he replied good-naturedly, "The best desires, are of course, the selfish ones. Otherwise, they would not be true to our hearts, yes?"
His fingers drifted down to the string of small bells looped around his waist, a sweet cacophy of chimes as he searched for just the right one before loosening it with a satisfied hum. The bell he finally chose was small and rounded (like a jingle bell), but the sound it produced was surprisingly low. In a moment, Xiao Bao was at his elbow, gently placing a steaming cup on the table.
"Perhaps a cup of warm tea will assuage your troubles? Please, take it with you. Compliments of our humble shop."
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