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Post by Noah Rawlings on Jan 17, 2010 14:53:03 GMT -5
A lot of people would probably say that telling stories to children was sort of like work but to Noah, it wasn't. It was a joy to do. Seeing their faces light up as he told of some dinosaur running through the town and a brave man coming after the dinosaur and saving the town, was a great way that he passed the time away.
Noah never really buried himself in work. Maybe that was one of the reasons he was still able to let loose and just cut up with the children during the time he spent with them.
Being 25, he didn't have any children of his own. He was actually still single. During school, he had dated, but the girl would end up finding someone that she was more interested in. Noah didn't have a problem with being on his own. In fact, being single gave him more time to doing his job and then do other things he loved.
Today, Noah had the day off. He was going to get things together for the next time he told stories, which would be later today. Sometimes Noah would draw pictures to go along with the stories he told. Granted, he was not an artist nor did he claim to be, he still drew the pictures because the children seemed to enjoy it.
London was the place that was going to have what he needed. He needed groceries as well as more paper and ink to draw the small pictures.
The weather was getting warmer by the day and for once the sun was shining brightly. Noah stuffed his hands into his jean pockets as he entered the crafts store.
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Post by Marcy Buckley on Jan 18, 2010 1:23:28 GMT -5
Marcy loved spending the day in the muggle part of London. Specifically, she loved the shopping. She wasn't exactly rich, and she couldn't afford to buy most of what she saw, but she loved looking in the beautifully decorated window displays and imagining what it would be like to be a fashionable, sophisticated lady. Usually, when she splurged, it would be on something practical, like a pair of jeans, or a pretty pair of heels. Unfortunately, since she worked at the Ministry, she couldn't really wear muggle clothes to work, so it was kind of pointless to buy a lot of nice clothes. They would just be hidden underneath the baggy, shapeless, ministry-issued robes. Shoes, at least, were one way to stand out.
Today she was carrying just one bag, which contained a pair of red high heels she had bought on clearance. They weren't actually her size, but the best thing about being a witch was that she could make the shoes fit by magical means. So if all they had was a pair of size 8s (and she wore a size 6), she could make work anyway.
She was on her way back to Diagon Alley, walking in her typical "bouncy" way, whistling as she walked. It was a beautiful day, after what seemed like an endless winter. But as she passed the craft store, an idea came to her. Although she would hardly call herself an artist, she often liked to decorate her apartment with paintings of her own creation. Her current theme "inksplots" was starting to get old, and she was sort of thinking of trying something a little more classical. On an impulse, she walked into the craft store and began to look around.
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Post by Noah Rawlings on Jan 18, 2010 9:11:28 GMT -5
Easily, Noah found the aisle with all the paper, ink, and stensils. Seeing the colored paper and the stensils, the idea that he could just create a book all his own crossed his mind. There were all different types, so he could just make up a story and then cut the shapes out that would illustrate what was going on on that page. Of course, he would still draw things free handed, but he wouldn't have wocky looking dinosaurs or things that were supposed to be animals. The best thing he could really draw was stick people.
Picking up several packs of white paper, along with the packs of multi-colored paper, labeled construction paper, Noah held them in one arm when he turned to see the ink. With his free hand, Noah picked up several things of ink and placed them on top of the paper. The thought occurred to him that maybe he should have picked up a basket, but then he shook his head. He could carry everything.
Now with the paper and ink, he was going to have to find sisscors and glue. With everything in hand and ready to check out, Noah left the aisle he was on and accidently turned the corner a little to fast. When he did, he bumped into someone. It wasn't hard enough to knock anyone down or make them move even the tiniest bit. However, it was hard enough to cause the ink to go off balance on top of the paper and roll into the floor.
"Sorry," he apologized looking at the woman. Moving out of her way, he bent down to pick up his ink. Whenever he did, everything else he didn't have a good hold on fell out of his arms as well.
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Post by Marcy Buckley on Jan 18, 2010 15:18:05 GMT -5
One of Marcy's worst traits were her tendency to burst out laughing at the most inappropriate moments. It often got her into trouble, whenever she laughed at the wrong person. And of course, it was never just a little laugh or even a cute little giggle. No, she would laugh loudly and uncontrollably, and sometimes she would even make the most decidedly undelicate snorting sound with her nose.
Seeing this guy--who she just happened to notice was very attractive--spill his things all over the floor was naturally just the thing to trigger one of her inappropriate laughing fits. She burst out laughing so hard that when she dropped down to her knees to help him pick everything up, she fell back on the ground herself.
"Oh... Oh, I'm sorry, it's not funny, it's just...." she managed to say in between laughs. "Well it is, but I'm not laughing at you, really, it's just... I can't help it..."
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Post by Noah Rawlings on Jan 18, 2010 16:42:23 GMT -5
Hearing the laughter coming from the woman caused Noah raise his eyebrows. He was relieved that the woman wasn't angry with him for accidently bumping into her. Quite a few people probably would have given dirty looks, but this woman was laughing. Never had he had anyone just start laughing.
Noah started gathering his things together as she dropped to her knees to help him gather what fell. The woman's laughter caused a smile to appear on Noah's face. He couldn't just look at her weird. He wouldn't be Noah if he just walked away from her with a strange look on his face.
"Maybe I'll get a basket next time, hm?" Noah looked over to her and let out a laugh. Laughter was usually contagious. "It's alright," he said amusedly. Once he had his things gathered, Noah offered her his hand. "Let me help you up."
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Post by Marcy Buckley on Jan 24, 2010 14:33:06 GMT -5
His response caused a fresh burst of laughter from Marcy. "Yeah... that would be good," she said between giggles.
She still hadn't really had a good look at him, because she was laughing too hard. It took her a few more minutes to calm herself down, and when she did, she looked up at him with a smile still on her face. Before she realized that he was holding out a hand to help her up, she found herself staring at his face. He was actually better-looking than she had even thought, and for a moment, her breath seemed to catch in her throat.
"Hi," she said, suddenly shy. She noticed that he was holding his hand out to her, and she bit down on her bottom lip as she placed her hand in his. "You're Marcy," she blurted out. "No... wait... I'm Marcy. You're, um... Actually, I don't know who you are. But it's nice to meet you."
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Post by Noah Rawlings on Jan 24, 2010 17:29:19 GMT -5
Everything was balanced once again in one of Noah's arms. Hopefully his items wouldn't take another spill into the floor. It was good to see someone laughing. That was one of his favorite things to see.
Finally being able to, Noah took a look at the person who he bumped into. He would have been lying if he said she wasn't pretty. He immediately liked the way her face was tinted the light pink from her laughter.
Noah's smiled widened when he heard her voice become shy. He closed his hand around hers and started to help her up. A laugh escaped him. "It's nice to meet you too Marcy. I'm Noah."
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Post by Marcy Buckley on Jan 31, 2010 1:30:50 GMT -5
Marcy grinned as she got to her feet. He really was good-looking, and she felt sort of warm with the touch of his hand.
"It's nice to meet you, Noah. I'm Marcy. Oh... wait... I already told you that, didn't I?"
Embarrassed, she covered her mouth with her hand and giggled. She probably wasn't making the best impression, but Marcy wasn't a girl who held anything back. She said what she felt and felt what she said. And she could find the humor in just about anything, even if it was the fact that she was making a right arse of herself in front of a cute boy.
"So... Noah. Like the Ark?"
She wasn't sure how much he knew about muggle religion, but she had heard the story of a guy named Noah who had built an ark--which was apparently a really big boat--and saved two of each animal from a terrible flood. It was a fascinating story.
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Post by Noah Rawlings on Jan 31, 2010 21:25:33 GMT -5
Another laugh escape Noah. Marcy had actually left a decent impression on him. She liked to laugh and found humor in almost everything. Not many people would have just started laughing after someone running into them. It was fairly refreshing actually.
"Yes, well, Noah was the one who built the Ark, but yes. My parents have been pretty religious people and my mum thought it would be nice to have a son named after him. She also thought that it would make me into a pretty good man." Noah gave a shrug.
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Post by Marcy Buckley on Feb 3, 2010 16:35:39 GMT -5
Marcy giggled. “That’s cool,” she said.
She had no idea whether he was a muggle or a wizard or anything else, but she assumed from the way he was talking, that he was a muggle. It didn’t matter to Marcy one way or another. Although her mother may have had her prejudices, Marcy wanted nothing to do with her mother or her beliefs. She liked all different kinds of people.
“So, what’s all that for?” she asked, nodding to the supplies that were still precariously balanced in his arms. “Building an ark?”
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Post by Noah Rawlings on Feb 3, 2010 20:13:12 GMT -5
"Not today," he said with a shake of his head. "I'm going to be telling stories today. The children love the little pictures and everything. I make up stories for them and if I'm able to have some kind of illustration then I think it makes it more fun. I can't draw that well, stick people are the best things I can draw, but the children love it. They don't judge me on my artistic abilities." Noah gave a laugh.
"At least once a week I go to Hogsmeade Library or sometimes I'll go to the library not too terribly far from here and tell stories there too." Noah was aware that Hogsmeade Library slipped out and if she wasn't like him, then he knew he could make up where the library actually was.
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Post by Marcy Buckley on Feb 4, 2010 23:11:36 GMT -5
"Ohhhhh, that's really sweet," Marcy said, her smile spreading. Guys this sweet and attractive and funny and attractive and friendly and attractive... were rather rare, and she had started to think that maybe her friend Anita had got the last good one. Maybe this guy was just making things up to impress her, but she somehow doubted it. There was something genuine in his smile, and it made her heart beat a little faster.
"I bet their little faces light up when you read to them, right? And all the little girls have stars in their eyes?"
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Post by Noah Rawlings on Feb 5, 2010 17:57:58 GMT -5
"They do," Noah said. That was one of the things that drove him when it came to telling stories to children. "They get excited and want to know what happens next. I made up a dinosaur story actually, and so far they have requested it almost every week as one of the stories. They almost know the story by heart and last week a few of them wanted to act it out." There was a fond look on his face as he told her.
"It's a great way for your imagination to run wild and just have fun. Those kids are something else. They love it when you get dramatic while telling a story."
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Post by Marcy Buckley on Feb 7, 2010 2:55:14 GMT -5
All that, and he liked kids. He was just too adorable for words. Marcy was thinking quickly, because a guy like this didn't come around every day. She had caught the accidental mention of Hogsmeade Library, and she realized that he was a wizard, too. She didn't make a big deal out of it, but it definitely caught her attention.
"Well, you know, I'm a pretty good artist. I mean, I'm not really an artist, exactly, but I can draw and paint a little... maybe I could help you. Not that there's anything wrong with stick figures or anything, but... well, if you're interested, I could help."
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Post by Noah Rawlings on Feb 7, 2010 20:30:32 GMT -5
As Marcy preceded to tell him that she could help him with drawing, Noah had a light smile on his face. "A pretty good artist hm? I think I might take you up on that," he said widening his smile. "My uh, dinosaurs, castles, and other things need a little work." He gave a laugh and looked at the markers on the end cap of an aisle.
"Maybe I could get markers too. If you can draw, I could cut and paste decently if we needed that. That's about the only thing other than story telling and my job I can do alright." Noah reached down to grab a pack of markers while carefully balancing his other items in his opposite arm.
"And you might regret offering with drawing," he teased.
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Post by Marcy Buckley on Feb 9, 2010 16:12:04 GMT -5
Marcy just smiled. “Hmm, let me check. No… no regrets so far,” she said. “it’s not like I have some exciting plans or anything. And you seem like a nice guy, so I wouldn’t mind spending time talking to you. And besides, I love kids. I plan to have a whole house full of them one day. Come on, why don’t we take this stuff to the counter before you drop it all again? And maybe we could go somewhere to talk more about the kinds of pictures you want me to help with… I could totally go for some ice cream. What do you say? My treat.”
She was now being somewhat forward, but she wasn’t really the type of girl to care about such things. Sometimes it scared guys off; they wanted to be the ones to make the first moves. But right now, all she was offering Noah was friendship. She hoped he wouldn’t be put off by it.
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Post by Noah Rawlings on Feb 9, 2010 20:49:45 GMT -5
"Ah, but you see the work hasn't even started yet," he said teasing Marcy again. Hearing that she thought he was already a nice guy made his smile remain on his face, as well as hearing that she loved kids. Kids were something else. They were so young and innocent, untouched by the world around them. They all had great personalities and they weren't scared to show it. That made Noah want to have a house full of children, but for now he was settling with reading to all the children at the library.
"And are you calling me a klutz Ms. Marcy?" He raised one eyebrow but he couldn't hide the smile on his face. "But I suppose I forgive you since you mentioned ice cream." Noah wasn't put off by Marcy's being forward. It was actually nice to have someone just say something. "And ice cream will help me focus on the project at hand."
Noah gave her a wide, boyish like smile before heading toward the counter with his items.
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Post by Marcy Buckley on Feb 14, 2010 2:06:04 GMT -5
Marcy couldn't help but laugh. "Oh, not at all," she replied. "That would be like, hey kettle, this is the pot, guess what? You're black. Right?" she giggled at this. "I mean, I am not exactly Marcy Full of Grace here. I trip over my own feet sometimes. And the other day at work, I went to pick up my coffee cup and it just slipped right out of my hand, spilling coffee all over the floor. Really, I find it refreshing that you're not trying to act all macho about it, you know? Most guys will act all stupid when they do something clumsy and pretend that they meant to do that or something. Which is dumb, because you'd have to be a brain-dead moron to be fooled by that."
That boyish smile made her heart pound a little faster. And of course, she responded by running off at the mouth. That was another one of her bad habits. "I know a really good place for ice cream.... you probably know it, too, actually," she added, remembering that he'd mentioned Hogsmeade. She was now pretty sure he was a wizard.
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Post by Noah Rawlings on Feb 14, 2010 20:48:15 GMT -5
"I don't see the point in the attempt to act macho about tripping or dropping something, however the dropping something can be more intended than tripping, but personally I think you make yourself look more like a fool." Noah gave a laugh. He didn't have a problem with the fact that he could be clumsy unless it was at the moment when he needed to be a bit more suave. It could be a little embarrassing, however, he had learned to not get embarrassed extremely easily.
"I might," he said turning to look at her over his shoulder. "After all, I do like my ice cream." Noah laughed then paid the lady at the counter before he grabbed his bag.
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Post by Marcy Buckley on Feb 18, 2010 22:46:18 GMT -5
Marcy smiled. She liked him more and more by the second. She was going to have to be careful, though. She had a tendency to get ahead of herself and start expecting things. She needed to learn how to start out as friends and work her way up to something more. Guys didn't like when girls took the lead in such things, and she had already made a couple of bold moves. First she had offered to help him with his drawing, and then she had invited him out for ice cream. Now, any other moves had to be made by him.
As they walked to the door, she gave him a sideways glance. "I heard you mention Hogsmeade," she said. "I take it, then, that you've heard of Florean Fortescue's?"
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