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 Posted: Mon Aug 22, 2016 7:30 pm
Bookstores, Nathaniel decided, were excellent places.
The smell of them, the feel of them, the dusty, well worn aura of the whole place of the less modern ones were all wonderful to him. He loved the sense of mystical curiosity that accompanied places like this, because there was simply so much that could be gleaned from the hundreds and thousands of books on the shelves.
He stood now, in the dimly lit back corner, leafing through a book on different types of poisonous plants, Nathaniel's bag slung over one shoulder and resting against the opposite hip. With all the extra work he'd been picking up lately, he had a tiny bit of extra money he could put towards next month's rent.
Or a book.
Yes, books were a much better option.
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Posted: Mon Aug 22, 2016 7:58 pm
“Can I help you find anything?” The voice was soft and well intended, leaning into a Tenor for pitch but with a face and dress that more leant to an androgynous effect. Galaxy painted boots, close fitting jeans, multiple necklaces and bracelets, and one more accessory that was fairly distinguished because it was purring. A white cat was draped over the attendant’s shoulders, legs to either side, tail curled and swaying back and forth as a golden gaze squinted at you from under tiny grey ‘moon’ brows. Attention went for a moment to the book in Nathanial’s hands and back before offering. “If you’re interested, there is a book that’s in with Holistic medicine, but it has the medicinal applications of plants including some that are more historically used for poisons. But, I mean it also has the history of them like, cosmetic use of Nightshade in the past.” He might be over sharing, he wasn’t sure.
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Posted: Mon Aug 22, 2016 9:47 pm
Nathaniel wasn't entirely sure where the voice had come from.
He turned first to the left, and then, when he saw no one, turned to the right, and found a young attendant standing there, a white cat twined about slim shoulders. Nathaniel's gaze naturally went to the creature first, then back trailed down to the attendant's face, open and curious.
"Oh," said Nathaniel, in some surprise, but he offered a little smile. "That's actually fascinating, I'd love to read more about that if you'd be so kind as to point me in the right direction...?"
He gestured at the cat.
"I like your pet, by the way."
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Posted: Sat Sep 17, 2016 4:32 pm
“Ah! Thank you!” He said reaching up almost distracted to stroke behind the cat’s ears. “His Name is Mogget!” He said with a flick of a smile. “This way if you don’t mind!” he moved to step around the newcomer, leading him towards the section in question. He had a fair idea where to find the book he had mentioned too, he might have been perusing it the other day. “There is actually a garden too, I think it’s in England. It’s made of poisonous plants, like every plant in it is toxic in one way or another. “
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Posted: Sat Sep 17, 2016 4:54 pm
"Mogget," Nathaniel repeated, as though testing the word out. "That's an unusual name, where does it come from if you don't mind me asking?"
He followed down the aisle as he was led, Nathaniel glancing this way and that at all of the miscellaneous books here and there. There was a lot to take in; he wanted to pick up everything and take them all, but his meager budget hardly would have allowed for that.
"Oh, yes," he said, smiling. "The Alnwick Garden, in Northumberland. I've always wanted to go there, they have hemlock and foxglove, belladonna, Brugmansia..."
Nathaniel trailed off.
"Well, a lot of things."
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Posted: Sat Sep 17, 2016 5:01 pm
“Oh, Um, it’s actually from a Book series by Garth Nix, there is a creature disguised as a cat and it is called ‘The Mogget’, but… Moggie is just a European slang for Cat apparently so, I liked that.” “You’re a big fan of plants then?” He asked making a note in his mind. “My guardian, He’s married to the Shop owner actually, they have a really beautiful garden, but they are a lot better at plants than I am.” He turned down one more isle and scanned the shelves for a moment before reaching up and pulling down a book with a dark paper cover and offering it. “It does focus only on Herbalsim both modern and historically, but if you want one that includes more of…say the progression of medicine we can order a good on one that topic too.”
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Posted: Tue Sep 20, 2016 6:41 am
"Oh, I don't think I've read that series before," said Nathaniel thoughtfully, tapping a finger against his chin thoughtfully. "Is it good? I assume you like it if you're naming your cat after it, right?"
He smiled pleasantly at the other and then laughed. "Oh, yes, plants are my favorite thing - and oh - " Nathaniel blinked, trying to put two and two together until they came out as four - or three, in this case. "Do you mean Jeremiah and Algernon? I tend to Jeremiah's garden sometimes. He's your guardian?"
Nathaniel's expression was all open curiosity, following down the rows until they stopped and a book was pushed in his direction. He plucked it up, flipping through the pages with interest, catching sight of all of the things on each one and trying to commit them to memory already.
"Oh, yes, that would be good too," he added, looking up. "Is it going to be a hassle to order?"
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Posted: Tue Sep 20, 2016 7:06 am
“Yeah, it’s a very good series, I mean, I like the first three best, the newest one was a bit odd to me but it wasn’t awful.” He admitted thinking for a moment about the books. He was surprised that Nathaniel knew both Jer and Alg though, “Yes! Yes Jeremiah has, been like a father to me for some time. I’m really happy he’s finally married though. It was hard not to tease them a little about liking each other.” He led towards the computer where he could put in the order. “Not at all, some book sellers just take more time than others to send out individual books. Most will be able to do it by title alone but worst case I can do a search and get the ISBN number. Plus it’s not something that I think Algernon would object to having on the shelves if you don’t fee it suits your needs!” Not that, he doubted most things wouldn’t sell having found ‘Lolita Bible’ among the oddities in their shop.
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Posted: Tue Sep 20, 2016 7:13 am
Nathaniel made a mental note to look up the series when he got to a computer next; books made up the majority of his life, after studying and gardening, after all, and he was always looking for a good read, whether educational or not.
His lips quirked upwards in a smile, though Nathaniel was privately hoping that, in spite of this, Jeremiah had mentioned anything about his cases to his adopted child. He doubted he would be the type to do anything like that anyway, but the old fear was still there, gnawing at him.
"They're good men," Nathaniel said, still flipping through the book. "And if it's not too much trouble, then I'd be glad if you would be so kind as to order that for me, I can pick it up later."
There was a pause, and then he said, "My name's Nathaniel, by the way."
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Posted: Tue Sep 20, 2016 7:27 am
"Pleased to meet you Nathaniel!" Zac sounded very much like he meant it, and typed in some words and passwords into the computer screen, pulling up an List to which he added the book in question and did a serch for the publisher. "Ok. So they aren't open yet, but since I have to order these other books..." He tapped the screen noting two or three other titles that were listed from the same publisher. "I'll add yours to that order, that should help get it here faster too so that's perfect. Let me just..." He typed in a message into a blank box "I can add your contact information here, and when it comes in we can notify you! And um... if you want I can show you the book series where my cat got his name too. It is... young adult." he admitted with a flush staining his cheeks.
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Posted: Tue Sep 20, 2016 4:11 pm
Nathaniel peered curiously over a shoulder to watch the screen, his gaze flickering across all of the numbers and letters. He wasn't entirely proficient in anything electronic, save for his fancy calculator given to him by the school; but he thought he understood what was being shown to him.
"Oh, that's great, thanks," he said, smiling. "Here, um, lemme give you my phone number..."
He rummaged around in his bag for a moment, found his phone and flipped it open; an old, battered pay-as-you-go type, which Nathaniel used to bring up the "your number" contact, sliding it towards the other.
"Here you go, that's mine - and that would be great, nothing wrong with young adult," said Nathaniel with a shrug. "I'm sorry, I didn't catch your name, what was it again?"
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Posted: Tue Sep 20, 2016 4:18 pm
He typed in the number – and hit save on the program. Now the books would be ready for ordering. “Oh! Um My name is Zac sorry!” He nodded with a smile. “Ah! Here…” he stepped away from the computer, turning the screen dark with the tap of a button. He led the way over to the young adult section and headed strait for the ‘N’s, reaching almost without looking to pull a book from the shelf. A paper back, black spine with soft gold writing that said simply ‘Sabriel’, which he then offered.
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Posted: Wed Sep 21, 2016 6:24 am
Nathaniel committed the name Zac to memory, giving the other a slight once over of curiosity. He couldn't quite distinguish the age of Algernon and Jeremiah's apparently adopted son, but he seemed to be somewhere around Nathaniel's age, if he was right. Or maybe younger, it was difficult to tell.
He followed Zac over to the young adult section, reaching for the offered book and flipping it open atop the one he already had in his hands. The cover was beautiful, the scent of new book wafting up to meet Nathaniel's nose as he thumbed through the pages.
"Books are hard to resist," he admitted. "I shouldn't get anything more, but between them and plants, it's a little difficult."
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Posted: Wed Sep 21, 2016 7:03 pm
“I can especially empathize with the books.” Sympathized Zac. He did want to sell books, but… in this case it seemed like it might be a better idea to provide an alterative. “I know the library has this too… if you wanted, you could rent it first, see how much you enjoyed it and then come back for your own copy!” He offered. “It’s something we tend to keep in stock because it’s a popular series.”
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Posted: Wed Sep 21, 2016 7:18 pm
"Oh," said Nathaniel, tapping his finger against his chin thoughtfully. "You know, I never thought of that, checking out the library. Do you just mean the local library, then? I can go and check things out there and get it instead of paying for a book."
He smiled at Zac.
"If you got - ah, have - " Nathaniel corrected quickly. " - any other recommendations, I'd be glad to hear them."
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