|
Post by Lynette Pearlcombe on Jun 29, 2005 2:42:22 GMT
A large, lawless group of Magic Horizon students jostled around outside the window of a rather impressive Firebolt exhibit. The rollicking mess of students were being loud and obnoxious, rubbing their noses up against the glass. It was a warm summer eve, a Friday, and it made sense that they be outside enjoying themselves.
It was getting late. Most of the people had cleared out, many of the shops were closed. The only place that appeared to be open was a smokey pub at the end of the street. The crowd heaved in harmony and pulled away from the store window, gallavanting away down the sidewalk, probably headed back to school.
This left slight, fragile Lynette, her fingertips still resting gently against the glass. But she hadn't been peering and drooling at a broomstick display like the others her age. She was gazing through the dark, dusty window of an antique book store. She so badly wanted to go inside, but the place was long since closed. A mischeif tickled her insides, but she squashed it down.
She rocked back on her heels and pulled her black winter coat tightly around her dainty waist, despite the heat of the evening. She didn't want to go home. Back at the school there was that temptation of sleep. And she only had three more days to go to finish her method writing. I need a coffee, she thought grimly.
Pulling out a tiny notebook and muggle pen, she leaned backward against the window. She squinted in the dark, her eyes following her tiny, messy scrawl.
|
|
Ace
Professor
Vampire
Passion rules us all
Posts: 495
|
Post by Ace on Jun 29, 2005 14:35:01 GMT
It had been a good day.
Firstly, Ace had had his first training session with young Cain, who seemed to be picking up on Ace's criticisms with minimal trouble. Secondly, Ace had capped off that training session by feeding on a young witch and wizard who owned a small bookstore in town. Thirdly, as he came down the hidden stairs from where the couple lay stretched on the landing, together even in death, he spotted a Magic Horizons student gazing wistfully through the dusty window.
As she turned away, her fresh face betraying her disappointment, the Vampire hidden within grinned wickedly.
Ace stepped out from the shadows, wiping any remaining traces of blood from his face on his shirt sleeve. His green eyes were intent as walked through the messy rubble of antique books, the dust in the air glinting with secret magic in the weakening sunlight of the mid-afternoon. Darting around the patches of sunlight, he opened the front door of the shop, turning the small key in its lock, and let the door hang open, not wishing to get burned just yet.
Stepping back, he waited.
|
|
|
Post by Lynette Pearlcombe on Jun 29, 2005 19:35:04 GMT
The sharp click of an opened lock reached Lynette's ears and she flinched away from the window, her stomach lurching up into her throat. She reeled around, her elbows out in some artless, unripe self defense. After a moment of wide eyed silence and seeing nothing but shadows through the slightly cracked open door, she tucked her pad and pen into her coat pocket.
But it was locked only a moment ago, she thought, her eyebrows lifting quizzically. With surprising audacity for someone who always considered herself a coward, she reached out to the doorknob and pushed the door the rest of the way open. Then, with a discreet look down both ways of the empty street, she took a timid step inside onto the carpet.
She took a deep breath, tasting the old, dusty bookcase smell she was so fond of. Her uncle had a study that smelled nearly as wonderful. Hugging herself tight around the middle, her boot heels clicked forward, leading her into the shop. Her eyes soaked in each case of books until she reached the end, where she spun back around. In her turn, she caught something out of the corner of her eye. A hint of green.
"Oh!" She dragged in a startled breath, assuming the slowly forming outline of a man to be the shop owner. "I'm sorry, I thought this place might be - and the door was open, and I - didn't - sorry."
|
|
Ace
Professor
Vampire
Passion rules us all
Posts: 495
|
Post by Ace on Jun 30, 2005 17:32:44 GMT
Ace watched the girl's laughable attempt at self-defence with bemusement. She was somehow very enchanting to the green-eyed Vampire, whose turbulent gaze followed her as she stepped timidly into the bookstore, in a show of confidence that he could tell was awkward. Her reaction to the stacks of dust-covered books was deliciously lucid - he knew instantly that he had enticed her into a place she adored. He wondered, briefly, how many times he had done this... when she caught his shy gaze.
"Don't worry - I opened the door for you," said Ace, remaining in the shadows beyond her reach, only a glint of green poking through the musty dark. He felt an odd desire to stay hidden - once she saw his fangs, and knew what he was, she would leave, and he wasn't finished watching her yet. He could watch her all day.
"Look around if you wish... it's a bit of a mess at the moment, but the shop is open to you if you want to take a look."
He knew he shouldn't want to watch her, but he did. There was something so frail and vulnerable about humans, he couldn't resist staying in their company for a little longer than he should. Of course, this girl would probably end up being the second course of his evening meal, but for now, all he wanted was to watch her look at the books she loved.
|
|
|
Post by Lynette Pearlcombe on Jun 30, 2005 23:09:21 GMT
Lynette locked eyes with the mysterious shadowed man for one investigative moment, then nodded, a thankful smile running to her lips. She turned energetically on her heel and strode back toward a bookshelf. Feeling his eyes on her, she dared herself to relax her shoulders, uncurl her fists.
"So I guess you saw me rubbing my nose all over your window, huh?" She dared to joke, running a fingertip along the unswept spines, leaving a long, dustless line that extended down the books. She brought herself close to the shelf, ignoring the dust that got into her eyes and her nose as she pulled her face down close to admire the scrawling titles on the books.
Seeing a spine without a title, she carefully extracted it from it's place in line, brushing off the dust gently with her sleeve. There was no title there either. The leather that bound the script together was old and battered, though not abused. Just worn with affection. Making an inaudible oh of admiration, she turned back toward the green eyes.
"What is this one?" She asked, looking down as she flipping delicately through the pages of tiny text.
|
|
Ace
Professor
Vampire
Passion rules us all
Posts: 495
|
Post by Ace on Jul 1, 2005 8:39:10 GMT
Ace smiled. She suspected nothing.
"Yes, I did... I can't seem to resist a young person who adores books. It doesn't happen very often these days, which is a shame... the secrets hidden within long-forgotten volumes can change the life of whoever discovers them. That, to me, is one of the greatest magics of them all."
Ace's voice was low, and reverant - he was mildly aware that his words should match the age of a much older person, and for fear of betraying his identity to her just yet, he addressed her next question, moving only slightly forward to view the book, a few strands of his dirty-blonde hair coming into view. The sky outside was darkening - it wouldn't be long before they were both swaddled in shadow.
"I could not tell you - I am aware of what a book's power may do, and I rarely open the books we recieve. The people who shop here are usually antique buyers, who know precisely what they are looking for, and that is why we purchase these books wherever we may find them." Ace paused. He had almost been caught. He was confident enough in his lying ability, but if her questions persisted, he knew it was easy enough to slip up.
"Why don't you open it and find out?" he prodded gently, watching her avidly as she traced her finger down the blank spine of the thin book, warm admiration coming off of her in waves.
|
|
|
Post by Lynette Pearlcombe on Jul 1, 2005 13:56:53 GMT
Lynette smiled faintly at him, then looked back down and held the book up closer to her nose. "The writing is so tiny," She murmured, mostly to herself. She rested her fingertips against the edge of the bookshelf carefully, wishing to sit down with her find. She could rule out the idea of it being a spellbook; the text was too little in comparison to the big bold words of the books she'd find in school. A history scripture, maybe?
As she poured over the pages, trying to make out the words painted by a quill thick with magic, she glanced up occasionally at the man. "I'd read every single one of these books if you'd let me." She said, her confident tone a pleasant surprise to herself. "I guess you've read enough life changing books to hold you over for several lifetimes, then?" She added thoughtfully, squinting down at the page.
She was faintly conscious of the hour waning. Being off school grounds after curfew was generally frowned upon by the administration. No one will notice, she assured herself, pushing the thought to the back of her head.
|
|
Ace
Professor
Vampire
Passion rules us all
Posts: 495
|
Post by Ace on Jul 11, 2005 8:34:23 GMT
Ace watched the girl mutter to herself, letting himself fall into self-possessed entrancement. Curling his fingers around the bookcase, he resisted the urge that was pushing him toward her, and into the sunlight.
He grinned at her comment; how little she knew how accurate she was. Letting out a gentle chuckle, he nodded slowly to himself. "Oh yes. More than I could ever care to remember."
He stole a glance at the window; the sun's last rays were fading beneath the horizon, splashing the cold street in brazen colours of orangey-gold, and the bookshop alight with golden orbs as dust whirled around in a state of frenzied chaos. Soon early darkness would fall, total around the pair as they gazed hard at the books. Once the sun had gone down, he would light some candles, and watch her read.
"You know, this store will always be open to you," said the Vampire slowly, coming to some distant conclusion that he would not, after all, kill this girl tonight; she could wait for another night, when he was too tired to hunt. Until then, he would quite like to observe her in her element. "If you wish to come and sit and read for a while, you would be more than welcome."
|
|
|
Post by Lynette Pearlcombe on Jul 11, 2005 16:06:43 GMT
Lynette bit the corner of her lip, considering his offer as she looked down at the book wrapped up in her arms like an infant. She realized that she sorely didn't care to leave.
"Only for a moment," she murmured in reply. "Don't let me stay long."
Tucking the book closer to her, she leaned her chin against the top of the papers and ignored the paper cuts that slit onto her jaw. She strayed from the bookcase, spotting a lumpy armchair through the dust filled last rays of the afternoon. Perching on the edge of the lump, she laid the book in her lap and delicately opened it back up to one of the first pages. Her fingertips slid against the rough edges of the aging parchment, looking most content.
Feeling slightly shy about how much she treated each page like a child, she looked back at up the man occasionally, silently curious as to why he wouldn't move.
"You're much kinder then the other students say you are." She told him thoughtfully after a moment, apparently able to double task her thoughts. "They described you as very uptight about who should touch your books. I figure I understand. When are teenagers ever trusted?" She leaned her elbow on the arm of the chair and cupped her chin in one hand, eyes down on the Page as she tried to pry apart the words from each other. It was a task she took on with a smile that was growing more at ease by the moment.
|
|
Ace
Professor
Vampire
Passion rules us all
Posts: 495
|
Post by Ace on Jul 13, 2005 8:42:52 GMT
Ace looked once more at the window, his impatience growing. Only a few more minutes until he could come forward, introduce himself properly...
"Indeed. I am afraid my experience with your age group has not always been pleasant -" He paused, thinking of the students he had 'entertained' in the past. "- but I know a book lover when I see one, and those I trust unquestionably with the contents of my shop. I can see my books could not be in better hands."
From behind the bookcase, Ace's eyes twinkled at the girl who turned every page of her book carefully, her eyes probing the pages thoughtfully and with more care than he had ever seen someone look through a text. He watched her carefully, inching forward now and again as the sun died in the room, she apparently not noticing the lack of light as the last of the sun's lethal rays disappeared behind the horizon.
With a smile, Ace stepped out from his hiding place. Taking a box of matches from his pocket, he lit the candles that were half-melted in the elaborate sconces on the wall. The room was thrown into half-light, shadows playing their games in the far end of the room, irrepresible light bouncing in the corner of the room where Lynette sat, Ace stood only a few feet behind her, silent.
|
|
|
Post by Lynette Pearlcombe on Jul 13, 2005 18:12:50 GMT
"Thank you," Lynette murmured, seeing the candlelight dance across the page. She glanced up for a moment to see the room bathed half in darkness, half by the comforting yellow light. Not seeing the man, she bit the corner of her lip and quickly looked down. A wisp of her long red hair fell down her shoulder and gently onto the page. She didn't bother brushing it away.
"Your shop?" She continued, her voice still gentle, but louder; she wasn't sure where he was. "Does your wife not have any say in who you do and do not trust with your books?"
Her words were a bit of a stretch. She wasn't sure if she had dreamed reading about a couple in the Daily Prophet, or if it had been the couple who owned the ice cream parlor. Nonetheless, she was growing increasingly aware of the sharp silence that enveloped the room with her in it, perched on the lumpy armchair with a man she had never met before. Her confidence was beginning to wane as the sun departed.
She tugged her jacket closer around her and leaned nearer to the book.
|
|
Ace
Professor
Vampire
Passion rules us all
Posts: 495
|
Post by Ace on Jul 19, 2005 8:40:11 GMT
Ace grinned slightly at her words, and the slight shift in tone that lay beneath them. It was astounding how intuitive humans could be - Ace had always suspected than even Muggles had some kind of power in this sense, and it was the one thing he always had to battle against in order to successfully gain the trust of a human.
"My wife doesn't care for books like I do," said Ace slowly, still standing behind the girl, staring with fierce intent at the back of her head, still bent over the book. "She likes the galleons that come from selling and trading; she's more the business mind of the partnership. I'm useless at it myself, which is why she allows me free reign over the shop itself."
It had never bothered Ace how easily he could lie; they came as easily to him, perhaps even more easily, than the truth. And somewhere, in the back of his mind, a little voice whispered dreamily, I had a wife, once...
Ace finally took the last few steps forward, so he was at her side. His eyes fell to the pages she was studying with her fingers as well as her eyes, and he couldn't help but smile at it. "Is it any good?" he asked softly, nodding his blonde head toward the book.
|
|
|
Post by Lynette Pearlcombe on Jul 20, 2005 1:45:32 GMT
Lynette inclined her head the tiniest fraction upward, acutely aware of his presence next to her. She wished that she wasn't so aware; it made her work so hard at relaxing her shoulders. But this is what she had been doing since the tiniest age. Clamming up, tensing up, making awkward situations appear out of midair. She took a deep breath.
"They sculpt the words together perfectly." She answered rather breathlessly. "You know what I mean? Some writers like to sound harsh, and some like to make their words sound soft, and that's one things that makes someone so excellent a writer - to have such tight control over that tone. No matter what they're saying, it comes out...right."
She smiled sheepishly and glanced sideways at him, catching his smile. Brow furrowing slightly, she squinted to look closer at something in his row of teeth. Realization dawning, her heart skipped a beat.
"Oh, my."
|
|
Ace
Professor
Vampire
Passion rules us all
Posts: 495
|
Post by Ace on Jul 20, 2005 19:05:02 GMT
Ace's grin had grown wider - the girl's explanation of a writer's ability was uncannily like something he would have said. He was about to say as much when she finally turned her gaze towards him, and then paused. A slightly puzzled look turned to one of realisation, and then...
"Oh, my."
Ace froze. His eyes, no longer full of bemusement, held something that might have been fear - but it was only visible for a moment before he took several steps back, into the labyrinth of bookcases. How could he have been so stupid? What was he doing? Fraternising with humans, again!! God, what did this place do to him?!
"Get out." The strangely disembodied voice came, choked and muffled, from where the Vampire had retreated, hidden once again in shadow. "Get out."
|
|
|
Post by Lynette Pearlcombe on Jul 20, 2005 20:23:17 GMT
"I-" Lynette leaped up as he drew back to the shadows. The book she had been caring for was dumped unceremoniously to the floor. She sunk to her knees and scrabbled around to pick it up, her heart beating frantically in her chest.
After several panicked moments of embaressed crawling across the floorboards, her hands found their prize. Her fingers curled around the book binding and yanked it back to her. She jumped up, eyes searching back in the bookcases for a sparkle of green, or maybe a glint of pearly white...
"I'm - sorry!" She burst rather hysterically, back peddling to the door, book still pressed protectively to her. "I'm an idiot to intrude!"
She backed straight into the closed door, cringing.
|
|