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 Posted: Sat Apr 15, 2017 10:59 pm
who Vesna, Lorenzo, and Leigh
what Shopping!
where Leigh's shop, The Shy Violet, in Barton
when A weekend afternoon
weather Drizzly and grey
______________
While this weekend wasn't honestly "free" for Lorenzo, it was the first time in a long time he had been able to make an excuse to do something as simple as window shop with Vesna, and she had seized upon it. The Licensed Necromancer Committee had given him some work that he needed to consult with Nicolina about, which meant a weekend staying with his parents, which meant that his parents forced him to spend at least a couple of hours relaxing. It was dubious how relaxing Lorenzo found window shopping, but Vesna was enjoying herself with him, which didn't happen quite as often as it used to.
Vesna had been babysitting more and more often now, and she had a little spending money. It would be nice, she thought, if she could find some kind of gift for Lorenzo today, but she didn't really know what he liked- or at least, anything he liked that wasn't edible, unaffordable, or totally uncool.
The store they were in now sold cute knickknacks, and Vesna drifted along the shelves carefully as Lorenzo walked a little further behind. Spying something, she pumped her fists triumphantly, and waited until he walked a little ahead, grabbing the gift and floating stealthily up to the register.
She put the object on the counter. It was an eraser set with cute mascots on it, proclaiming things like, "DO YOUR BEST!!" Lorenzo loved writing things, right?? And also when people did their best??
"I'd like to buy this, please!" Vesna asked in a low whisper. "Secretly."
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Posted: Sun Apr 16, 2017 6:52 pm
Leigh had been somewhat distracted going over a few slips of order receipts when they two had entered the shop. It was only once the young lady approached her counter she looked up, first noticing a bed of soft blue hair before meeting her eyes with a smile.
"Oh," she chimed, leaning in just a bit to whisper in return, "A secret, huh? No problem." The woman winks, pulling the eraser set over to her side to turn it over and type in the price on her register. Glancing back at Vesna curiously, she raised her brows upon noticing some of her more conspicuous features: wings, and a missing torso that trailed off into a shimmering ribbon instead.
"Is this a gift," she asked, smiling a bit wider. She couldn't help but feel a little excited to have a Ravaen show up in her shop, let alone one so charming. She wondered if the girl decided to wander in due to the store's name, which matched the violets blooming in her hair, but attempted to avoid staring by pulling a small box of ribbons out from below the counter. "If you'd like, I can wrap it for you...! No charge."
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Posted: Sun Apr 16, 2017 7:26 pm
Vesna smiled at the shopkeeper's enthusiasm and nodded. "It's a very important gift," she confirmed in a hushed voice. "For my Guardian! He's still wandering around the aisles, sooo..."
"Vesna?" a voice came from a few shelves away.
"I'm, uh, still looking, Lorenzo!" Vesna replied hastily.
"I've been looking all over for a gift for him," she said again, leaning over the counter to chat while Leigh wrapped. "But he's so boring, and I didn't really want to get him a boring gift, you know? He's got a ton of boring stuff already! Plus, I don't usually get him gifts, so I'm not, you know, experienced at it. But I do babysitting now, and he's been, like, super busy with work, so I thought, why not get him something cool to remind him that I'm the best?? And then we came in here, and we saw all your cool stationery, and I was like, normally, stationery is boring... But this stationery is very interesting! And I knew I found the perfect gift."
She asked, "Do you have a lot of cool stuff like this? I live in Durem, so I've never been here before! It was my first time seeing so many cute erasers, I really want to get some more some time for my friends. I collect phone charms and stuff..." She dangled her phone on the counter, which was laden with various cute charms.
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Posted: Sun Apr 16, 2017 8:57 pm
Carefully selecting a matching ribbon for the gift and beginning to wrap it, Leigh nodded as Vesna explained her situation. While she ties a ribbon atop the eraser set, fluffing it up, she chuckled a bit at the mention of her very boring caretaker.
"I know a lot about trying to get gifts for boring, busy people," she sympathizes with a smirk, sliding the now decorated box over to the girl. "I think your guardian will love it. You've got great taste!"
Leaning her forearms onto the counter top, she gave the Frei her full attention, enamored with her bold energy. "Oh, yeah! We have new stationary coming in all the time. Erasers, pencils, letter sets...," she listed off on her fingers before being distracted by Vesna's phone charms tapping down in front of her. Moving in for a closer look, the lady grins at the assortment of characters and colors. "Cute! You know what, I just got these in..."
Leigh steps back from the counter, lifting a finger as if to gesture 'just one sec' before digging into a cardboard box by the wall behind her. After a moment of crinkling bags and indistinct jingling, she returns to the girl holding out a black phone strap with a small daisy-shaped bell dangling from it. "You think these'll sell well?"
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Posted: Sun Apr 16, 2017 9:08 pm
"Thank you!" Vesna said, accepting Leigh's compliment magnanimously. Gesturing around the whole shop, she said, "You also have great taste!"
The prospect of all the products she could get to make letter-writing cuter seemed to be a lot for her to take in. "I never knew that stationery could be cool," she said. "Maybe I should write some letters sometime?? But I don't know if any of my friends would write me back... I have, like, a Russian tutor who likes that kind of thing, but she lives in, you know, Russia."
She seemed pleased that Leigh appreciated her carefully curated collection of charms, informing her, "I like them because a lot of them match with my friends'! Because I give them matching ones, but still." She craned her neck to see what Leigh was up to as she dug out a box, and gasped when she saw the charms that Leigh eventually managed to display.
"Those are so cute!!" she said. "I really love flowers, one of my best friends has them growing in her hair! She can change the type and everything, and it's really cool because she always has, like, really fancy flowers, but I really like wildflowers a lot, too." She hesitated, and asked, "Is it okay if I buy two of those, now...? If you gotta put them out still, I'll just come back some other day."
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Posted: Mon Apr 17, 2017 12:44 am
Leigh beamed when the girl complimented the charms, proud to of made a good choice in merchandise. Listening to Vesna continue on about flowers and her friend, the shopkeeper pulled a small lavender colored bag out from beneath the register.
"Of course you can," she said, placing two charms into the paper slip, then folding the top to seal it with a gold foil sticker. Extending the bag out to the girl, she smiled. "Consider it a gift to you and your friend, though. Just be sure to tell people you got them at the cutest shop from the nicest lady." She laughed a little at herself, placing her hands on her hips with a raise of her brows. "You two must make quite the pair, though-- You're pretty flowery yourself!"
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Posted: Mon Apr 17, 2017 5:47 pm
"What?!" Vesna gasped as Leigh gave her the charms. "That's so nice of you! Of course I'll tell everyone!" She pumped her fists determinedly. "You're gonna have, like, a million customers when I'm done!"
She put the charms away and said, "Mmmhmmm! Eden was the first friend I ever met! We've both got flowers in our hair and everything, so our guardians thought we'd get along, and we totally did. She can change her flowers and stuff because she's, like, part nymph?? It's kind of complicated. I'm, like, sort of, kind of part nymph, but I can't do anything cool like that. I, uh, don't think I can take my flowers out, either. Like, I've never tried, but if they are attached to my head, I don't wanna just yank them out or anything, you know?" She laughed awkwardly. "I'll probably give one of these charms to her, I bet she'll love it! Plus, she's like, super popular on Instagram, so if she has one, that'll make them super trendy, right?"
As they chatted, Lorenzo came up from behind them with a set of stationery in hand. "Making friends?" he asked Vesna lightly.
"Yep!" Vesna affirmed. "This is Lorenzo, my guardian! Lorenzo, this is, ummmm... Oh my gosh! You're so nice and we never introduced ourselves! I'm Vesna. And you are...?"
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Posted: Mon Apr 17, 2017 8:47 pm
"Thank you," Leigh replied with an amused smile at Vesna's excitement. She was happy to listen as the girl went on about her friend, nodding in agreement and a small laugh at the mention of yanking the flowers from her head. It wasn't until a man approached the register and addressed Vesna that she drew her attention away from their conversation.
She offered the stranger a welcoming smile as he was introduced before gently extending a hand out to him. "I'm Leigh. It's nice to meet you, Lorenzo," she greeted, then looked down to grin at Vesna as well," and nice to officially meet you, Vesna!"
"I appreciate you both stopping in," she mentioned, moving to rest her arm atop the register casually. "It's always nice to see fresh faces in downtown Barton! Vesna's been lovely conversation!" She pauses momentarily, before giving Lorenzo an inquisitive smirk. "Though, I hope it's not too rude of me to ask, but would you two happen to be a part of Lab 305?"
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Posted: Mon Apr 17, 2017 8:53 pm
"Leigh! Nice to meet you," Vesna repeated diplomatically.
"Charmed," Lorenzo agreed. "Thank you for keeping Vesna company."
They both seemed surprised by her next question, however. Vesna leaned in. "Are you a guardian??" she asked eagerly. "That would be so cool! What essence do you have? Is your raevan born?" She craned her neck as if she could spot a raevan behind the counter. "We should meet!"
Lorenzo simply nodded. "I'm Vesna's guardian. About a year ago, I was entrusted with the false reflection essence to use on one of my clients- I'm a necromancer by trade. Vesna's the result of that encounter, her soul is a rusalka, or a sort of Russian water nymph. Are you interested in the Lab, by any chance?"
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Posted: Mon Apr 17, 2017 9:11 pm
Leigh raised her brows at Vesna's excitement, surprised by her reaction before giving a nervous laugh. She feels a little bit bashful at the questions, and is taken back a bit by Lorenzo's detailed explanation of his connection with the Lab. Still, she smiled and answered all the same.
"Y-yes, well, my niece is a Raevan and I'm almost a guardian. I'm still waiting for them to be born. The essence was endless tide."
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Posted: Mon Apr 17, 2017 9:30 pm
"Oh!!" Vesna exclaimed. "A water essence, same as me! When they're born, we should meet, and I can give them some hot tips for being a floating aquatic torso."
Lorenzo chuckled awkwardly. "Well, as Vesna said, our door is always open if you need to meet more fellow Lab patrons. My schedule is a little full, but we try to make room where we can."
"We live in Durem," elaborated Vesna. "And my schedule is free whenever you wanna visit!"
"I have a business card here-" Lorenzo said, rummaging through his wallet to retrieve one. Handing it to Leigh, he said, "The address is also our residential address, although if you do need any necromantic services, you're free to call."
"Dad resurrects pets mostly," Vesna said offhandedly. "But lately, he's been doing all kinds of things."
"Needs must," Lorenzo retorted. "The necromantic community has been very busy lately."
"I'm jealous of your raevan!" said Vesna to Leigh. "They'll probably have the cutest phone charms!"
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Posted: Mon Apr 17, 2017 9:51 pm
"I'm sure they'd love to meet you once they're here," Leigh agrees with Vesna before nodding at the mention of their home town. "I'm always looking for more excuses to head out to Durem. I haven't gotten to visit much yet."
When Lorenzo offers his card, she accepts it and looks it over curiously. She'd never heard much about necromancers, other than one or two comments mentioned by a friend who was a witch by trade. As Vesna explained her father's usual services and Lorenzo mentioned the community, she raised her brows in interest. "Thank you," she chuckled a bit, " I don't need any pets resurrected yet, but I'll be sure to keep your number on hand if it ever comes up."
Carefully tucking the card into her pocket, she shook her head when the Frei complimented her future Raevan's possible charm collection. "Well, it'll definitely take them a while to get a collection as nice as yours. Plus, you've got so many matched up with friends! They'll have a lot of catching up to do."
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Posted: Mon Apr 17, 2017 9:57 pm
"We necromancers like to hope for the best, even if it's bad for business," Lorenzo said diplomatically. "But if you need any pets resurrected, I'll be happy to answer any questions you might have at that time."
"You should come to Durem!" said Vesna. "We come to Barton sometimes because Lorenzo's parents live here, but not that often." She flashed Leigh a thumbs up, adding, "I'll give them a head start- I'll find the perfect charm for them as a birthday gift! What's their soul? Have you caught one yet?"
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Posted: Mon Apr 17, 2017 10:11 pm
"I like that sentiment," Leigh chuckled, "and I appreciate knowing I have someone to call if I need any necromancy questions answered."
"I'll be sure to stop by sometime," she assured Vesna, patting the hip pocket where she's stowed Lorenzo's card. "I'll go ahead to give you two a call to make sure you aren't too busy for a visitor, though. You're also welcome to stop by any time you're in Barton."
Her smile widened when the girl gives her a thumbs-up, "Hey, that's really sweet of you! I'm sure they'd appreciate that a lot! They've got a pearl soul, I captured it a few months back." She shrugged after mentioning the soul, and upturned her brows a bit. "They'll probably be born any time now, actually. I'm pretty nervous, to be honest with you."
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Posted: Mon Apr 17, 2017 10:24 pm
"I will!" Vesna reassured. "I still have to buy some things for my friends, after all!"
"Did you buy something this time?" Lorenzo inquired.
"That's a secret," Vesna replied airily, winking at Leigh conspiratorially.
"A pearl soul certainly is an interesting choice," Lorenzo said thoughtfully. "Lovely, even."
"You can tell he likes it, because he hardly ever calls anything lovely," Vesna joked. "So you're already doing great! Plus, you seem super nice, yeah? I get a good feeling from you. If you ever need a vacation, though, my babysitting rates are extremely reasonable."
"We should be going," Lorenzo said, checking the time on his phone. "Whatever it is you have up your sleeve, I suppose I'm going to find out soon?"
"Whenever your schedule is free," Vesna joked. "Thanks so much, Leigh!! It was so nice to meet you. I'm gonna stop by again soon, so please stay in touch!" She reached into her purse and pulled out a business card that looked very different from Lorenzo's; for one, it was handwritten in sparkly gen pen. "That's my number there, if you wanna come visit or anything."
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