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Post by Iris Elliot on Jul 16, 2011 19:30:45 GMT -5
Iris couldn't believe her luck. There she was going through her unusually long list of custom orders, most of which were surprisingly orders for muggle books, when one of the customers came in asking about their own order. Upon checking, Iris found that he was third to the last on the list. So there she was looking through the innocent book boxes, searching for his innocent little book, when she absentmindedly lifted one of the innocent little boxes to get to another seemingly innocent little book box.
Iris, from where she lay. made a mental note to never think of them as innocent or little. When she had tried to pick up the box she found out the hard way that it was in fact the box that held the one hundred volume Encyclopedia collection written about muggles from a wizard's point of view. At first, Iris thought it quite interesting. Now, she wanted to extensively damage them. And Iris never thought that about books.
Iris reached down to rub her bruised foot. You know, the one the box landed on after she dropped it because it felt like she was ripping her back in half. She winced just thinking about it and reached with another hand to adjust the ice pack on her back. She wasn't very good at healing spells, so a muggle remedy would have to do.
Iris had already flipped the open sign back to closed and took this moment to groan and lean back into the cozy, antique armchair she was slouching in and closed her eyes. She was there all of two minutes before she heard the chime above the door tinkle.
"I'm so sorry, but we're closed for the rest of the afternoon." She said, with her eyes still closed and in the sweetest voice she could manage under the circumstances.
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Post by Dylan Woods on Jul 16, 2011 23:09:20 GMT -5
Dylan had never had any reason to feel insecure about his appearance before. He rarely left the forest, and when he did, it was usually just for short periods of time to make a little money and buy a few supplies. He'd never really cared what anyone thought of him before. But somehow, he wanted to look presentable for the pretty bookstore owner. He told himself it was just because he was excited about the opportunity and he wanted to look decent so that he wouldn't scare off the customers.
He'd used a few spare coins he had to buy some real soap in one of the shops. Usually he made his own out of natural ingredients he grew in his garden, but he thought it would be better to use real soap this time. Then he had showered under the waterfall and shaved. Finally he dressed in his best clothes, even taking time to mend the holes in them first. If the clouded, slightly warped old mirror was any indication, Dylan was pretty sure he looked, if not respectable, at least passable.
This had probably taken him longer than he would have wished. He wanted to get back to the bookstore as soon as possible, so that she wouldn't think he had changed his mind or that he was unreliable. But mending his clothes, in particular, had taken time, especially since Dylan had never been very good at sewing. Instead of one hour, it took him two.
But at least he loped into town, his head down and his hands stuffed in his pockets. He made his way over to the bookstore and pushed the door open hesitantly. Miss Iris was no where in sight, but as the little bell above the door chimed, he heard her voice call out, saying that the store was closed for the afternoon.
"Miss Iris?" he said uncertainly. "It's.. it's Dylan. From the Hog's Head. You said you needed some help in the store.. do you want me to go?"
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Post by Iris Elliot on Jul 16, 2011 23:57:24 GMT -5
Iris's eyes flew open and she called out as quickly as she could, "Oh, Dylan, I'm sorry. Please! Just one minute!" She jumped out of her chair and let out a yelp. Had she really hurt her back that badly? Impossible. She barely managed to lift that box a couple of inches. She worked her way through the pain and walk over to check herself in one of the many antique mirrors hanging on the walls. Her mother managed to collect quite a few antique things and throw them all in the bookstore office making it extremely cluttered, but Iris liked it that way.
Iris made sure she looked presentable enough for her guest and made her way, slowly mind you, towards the front of the store. She limped her way snail like towards the doorway that connected the front and the back and stopped abruptly. She couldn't help but stare. Dylan looked completely different from when she had seen him earlier that day. He looked...cleaner and his clothes less ragged. He had obviously shaved and combed his hair. He didn't look so tired either. He was quite handsome when he cleaned up.
"Dylan." She said with a wide smile. "Thank you so much for coming. You look very handsome." She limped slowly over to the window of the bookstore where she had two antique chairs and a small wooden table set up for customers to sit and enjoy a cozy read. She sometimes offered tea to them. "Please, have a seat. Would you like some lunch? It's about that time."
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Post by Dylan Woods on Jul 17, 2011 0:38:34 GMT -5
Dylan felt an unfamiliar warmth flood his face when she told him he was handsome. He didn't really know how to judge such things, and certainly no one had ever told him anything like that before. He found that he rather liked it.
But his first attention was on her. She was walking strangely, a little stiff and with a bit of a limp. He followed her with his eyes, a troubled expression marring his features. His wolf extincts weren't all dormant when in human form; many were ingrained within him and he could easily spot things that others might not notice. In the woods, he could spot when an animal was sick or injured, and it was no different with people, apparently.
And yet, she was offering him lunch, seemingly unconcerned about her injuries. He had expected to get right to work, not to sit and eat lunch with her, although he appreciated for the offer. But he wanted to make sure she was well first.
"Are you hurt?" he asked, still somewhat uncertain. "You're limping. What happened? I can help."
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Post by Iris Elliot on Jul 17, 2011 1:32:03 GMT -5
"Oh, I'm fine. Nothing serious. I just had a customer come in extremely early for an order I hadn't gotten to yet. So you know, I had a little accident with a box. No big deal. I'll be fine." She said with a small shrug and she tried to fall gracefully into her chair, but she managed to only fall into it rigidly. Her mother was a bit picky about etiquette and Iris usually appreciated that, but now all she could manage was to "casually" place her elbow on the arm of the chair and lean forward slightly.
"Please Dylan, sit. Don't worry about me. I promise to let you know if I really need some help, but how about that lunch first?" Iris pulled out her wand and gave it a wave and soon a tea set came through and settled on the table in front of them. She turned back to him and gave him her best smile and motioned for the chair next to her.
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Post by Dylan Woods on Jul 17, 2011 15:29:17 GMT -5
Dylan wasn't sure what to do. He'd only just met this woman, and didn't know her well enough to insist that she take care of her injuries. But she was hurt, and he couldn't very well just let her continue as if nothing was wrong. He could tell by the way she sat down that she must have a back injury, which would surely get worse if she didn't take care of it. He also suspected by her limp that she must have hurt her foot as well. But what was he supposed to do about it? If she were an injured bird, he could treat her injuries, but he wasn't sure what was acceptable among humans, especially ones that were virtually strangers.
He sat down, noticing as he did that her chairs were much more comfortable than his own hand-crafted one at the cabin. He watched quietly as she made a tray float over to the table, and he felt a flash of worry about the idea of eating with her. He wasn't exactly what one would call refined, and although he knew a little about table manners from books, he still didn't exactly dine with other people. He hunted and cooked his own meat and grew his own vegetables. Occasionally when he was in town and had extra money from some job or other, he would buy cheese and bread, since those were things he didn't have the resources to make himself. But looking at her pretty little tea tray, Dylan wondered what kinds of food she was used to eating. He didn't want to embarrass himself.
"Thank you," he said, not knowing what else to say. "It's very kind of you."
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Post by Iris Elliot on Jul 17, 2011 17:19:57 GMT -5
Iris smiled brightly down at the kettle as she poured him a cup of tea. That's one thing she could say for herself. She could make some amazing tea. She looked up at him as she slid his cup across the table, her smile faltering a little. He looked rather uneasy.
"Dylan, I'm sorry." Her smile falling completely. "Have I made you uncomfortable? I'm so sorry." She repeated while she poured herself a cup of tea and gulped it down quickly. What was she thinking? She should have known that he was probably to shy to sit down for lunch with someone he didn't know. After all, in the pub he barely looked at her, much less offered to share a meal with her.
Dylan probably wasn't even hungry. She wanted to smack herself. She didn't even ask if he was hungry, she just practically threw lunch in his face. She was more than a little embarrassed so she couldn't look him in the eyes when she asked, "Would you rather save lunch for another day?" This was a new personal best for her. Under five minutes and she's already made her new stranger-friend uncomfortable.
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Post by Dylan Woods on Jul 17, 2011 21:32:33 GMT -5
He was beginning to think this might be a mistake, but not because of anything that she had done. She was very kind, very polite, and very friendly. And as much as he appreciated that, he wasn't entirely comfortable with her attempts to reach out to him. There was a reason he lived alone in the woods, after all. If she were to find out what he was, he was positive she would be repulsed by him.
She was so pretty, a true lady. He wasn't even completely human. When would she wonder why he never did magic? Where he lived? Why he settled for odd jobs, rather than having a real job?
He looked down at the teacup uncertainly. He had actually tried tea before, and he did like it. In the winter he kept warm by drinking herbal teas made from dried herbs he grew in his garden. But something about her pretty little china teacup made him feel ridiculously out of place.
And yet, he didn't want to make her feel that she had done anything wrong by inviting him to eat with her. He felt strangely anxious to set her mind at ease. She was being kind to him, it was ungrateful to turn down her offer.
"No... no, it's fine," he said quickly. "You've been very kind to me. I just... I'm not used to..." people, he almost said, but stopped himself. "I can be a little rough. I don't want to break your china."
But he gingerly took the teacup in his hand and sipped slowly from it, managing a nervous smile.
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Post by Iris Elliot on Jul 17, 2011 23:39:33 GMT -5
Iris giggled from behind the second cup of tea she was bringing to her lips. He looked so awkward, picking the cup up like it was a a priceless family heirloom. She couldn't help but think that even in the awkwardness, he looked rather cute, trying so hard.
"Dylan, don't worry about the china. I can always buy more. Besides, all the good china, as my mother referred to it, is kept away for special things like holidays." She said with a small smile, hoping to relieve some of his nerviness about breaking her cup. It touched her that he was trying so hard though. She didn't know many people that would do that for someone that had just met and barely knew.
"So, how do you like the tea? I can make a different kind, but I always tend to make a green tea since it's a little healthier." She said, flicking her wand again and watching as a tray of biscuits and assorted jams and toppings came in and settled on the table by the tea. She heard clinking in the back which told her that things were preparing themselves like they should.
She hesitated a little before speaking again. She got the impression that questioning him about his life was out of the question, so she had to tread really lightly when it came to any sort of conversation.
"So, um, Dylan. Do you have any...hobbies?" She asked, trying to pretend like she wasn't nervous about freaking him out. She sipped her tea and with a small smile, motioned towards the biscuits with her head
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Post by Dylan Woods on Jul 18, 2011 22:35:49 GMT -5
Dylan was grateful that this was only a light lunch and not a full-course dinner. At least there were fewer plates and utensils and chances for him to appear crude and uncouth. He wasn't aware that he actually didn't appear anything like that; he was sure that she must see how uncivilized he really was.
"The tea is good," he replied, taking another ridiculously dainty sip. "But.... do you have honey? I... I like it a little sweet."
Of course, there was sugar right in front of him, but he didn't really ever use sugar. Where would he get such a thing in the forest? He knew how to collect honey, though, and usually managed to avoid getting stung.
He turned his eyes to the biscuits and jam she had laid out in front of them. Bread products of any kind were a luxury to him, and he eagerly grabbed a couple, forgetting for a moment that he was trying to be more polite and genteel. "Oh, sorry," he added, a sheepish expression on his face as he remembered himself. He set the biscuits down on the little plate in front of him, then carefully picked up a butter knife and a jar of strawberry jam.
As he was preparing the biscuits, he looked up at her shyly. He found it odd that she would be so interested in him, but he didn't really have any problem with the question. After all, his hobbies were really rather... normal-sounding.
"I like to read," he confessed, a shy smile on his face. "I also like gardening... but I prefer reading."
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Post by Iris Elliot on Jul 19, 2011 14:10:13 GMT -5
Iris nodded and slid a small jar towards him. "My mother loved honey with her tea. She could never drink it without some." She smiled slightly, sad that her mother couldn't be here to meet Dylan. Iris had the strong feeling that she would have liked him, but she didn't think on that for long. Dylan was helping himself to the biscuits, which didn't offend Iris in the least bit, but when he apologized, she had to laugh.
"Dylan, my biscuits are delicious. Please don't be sorry. Well, unless they're absolutely terrible of course." She spoke as she put grape jam on her own biscuit and wondered if her cooking was really as good as she thought. Well actually, she knew that answer. She could bake up wonders, but her cooking was horrible. "You know, on second thought, they're probably disgusting."
She watched as he made his food. He was quite graceful and gentle. Although Iris knew that he was trying hard, she didn't think that he would be any different even if he was acting normal. And although it didn't surprise her that reading was one of his hobbies (it seem to fit him rather well), it surprised her that gardening was one of his hobbies. It surprised her more that he told her. She had expected some sort of fight. But nonetheless, she was pleased.
"I love to read." Iris said, her biscuit momentarily forgotten on her plate. "It seems we have something in common there." She smiled, hoping that maybe if she saw that they were alike in some way, he'd relax a little. "You know, I've always wanted to grow my own herbs and teas. I love to bake and obviously I love tea, but it seems I have no green thumb whatsoever." She shrugged, taking a bite of her biscuit and chewing daintily.
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Post by Dylan Woods on Jul 19, 2011 16:06:55 GMT -5
Dylan finished spreading jam on one of the biscuits, smiling slightly at her comments. He actually found it difficult to imagine that she was anything less than perfect, and he was a little surprised at the way she humbly tried to backtrack, saying that maybe her biscuits weren't very good. What she didn't know was that he usually couldn't afford more than the most basic breads, which were often dry and tasteless.
"I'm sure it's good," he said, taking a bite of the biscuit. Immediately, he broke into a smile and raised his eyes to meet hers. "It's very good. You shouldn't doubt yourself."
It was at that moment than Dylan felt something change in the air. He no longer felt so awkward in her presence; in fact, he was almost comfortable. Even more amazingly, he felt strangely... connected with her in some way. He couldn't put his finger on it or what it meant, but he liked it.
Too bad she would hate him if she knew what he really was...
"Gardening takes time and patience to do it well," he said. "Not that you're not patient... I mean... I have a lot of free time on my hands."
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Post by Iris Elliot on Jul 19, 2011 17:26:09 GMT -5
Iris blushed under his compliment. "Sometimes I get them, sometimes I don't. Seems I got lucky this time." She smiled, pouring the honey he used for his tea onto one of her biscuits. "Have you tried this? It's more like a dessert than anything, but still good." She shrugged and took huge bite, shutting herself up. She was talking a lot. She had been fine this whole time, but she suddenly felt shy. He was different and Iris couldn't help but feel like they connected and it wasn't just because they both liked books.
Taking a drink of her tea to wash down that huge bite, she spoke. "When we get done with these, I'll get some fruit. It'll help clean the palette...or something like that." What if that had been wrong? Well now she was just making herself look stupid.
"You know, besides the store, I don't do much either. After I inherited it, my life became pretty monotonous. You're really the first friend I've had in a really long time." She watched him for a minute before she gave him another smile. "Maybe when we both have some free time you could teach me a few tricks for growing things. I can't seem to get it right. That's only if you want of course."
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Post by Dylan Woods on Jul 20, 2011 17:12:03 GMT -5
Dylan had to keep reminding himself to chew his food slowly, rather than scarfing it down like a ravenous wolf. He didn't want her to think that he was starving; like some kind of homeless peasant out on the street. He did have a home, and he was perfectly capable of gathering and preparing his own food. It was just that his way of living was not the kind of polite, proper society that she was used to.
He certainly couldn't think of her as being stupid, so it was lucky that she had never voiced that thought to him. If anyone was stupid, it was him. Everything he knew, he knew from books, but he knew very little about the real world. He compared the world to novels that he'd read. He was, he figured, like someone in a Dickens novel--a poor orphan, living on his own and forced to work for scraps. She was more like a Jane Austen novel--genteel and polite. He wasn't sure the two worlds could ever really mix.
"You-you think of me as a friend?" he asked, somewhat surprised. They had only just met, and she knew nothing about him. And the more she learned about him, the more likely he thought it would be that she would turn away from him. "I mean... I don't really have a lot of friends."
Dylan really didn't have any friends--unless Elijiah counted. Since they actually didn't like each other very much, though, he didn't think that counted at all. In a flash, he actually wondered what Elijiah would say if he saw Dylan sitting here in a bookshop with a girl, drinking tea. Hadn't Elijiah once told him to "find a girl"?
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Post by Iris Elliot on Jul 20, 2011 20:14:29 GMT -5
[OC: Yes, Elijah did say find a girl...*smiles sheepishly*]
"Dylan, of course you're my friend." She smiled brightly. "You don't think I have lunch with just anybody do you?" It was hard for her to picture when they met and then never being friends with him. She felt like that they would've been friends even if they had met some other way too.
"I guess that's another thing we have in common though. Books and people. I love books. They're my friends. Real people, I don't have many of those in my life and ones you can trust are hard to find." She shrugged. It was the way her life went these days. She couldn't complain. Ever since the attack on Hogsmeade, she rarely tried to go out and meet people. She didn't know who was for who and who did what anymore. That wasn't to say she was unhappy, but then she had always been a happy girl growing up. Always smiling, saying a good word, even-tempered, happy Iris.
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Post by Dylan Woods on Jul 20, 2011 22:19:54 GMT -5
Dylan's brow wrinkled in confusion. He rather had assumed that she must be the friendly type; a social butterfly who had many friends and liked to cook for them. Why else would she reach out to a shabbily-dressed, unshaven drifter that she met in a pub? Most people wouldn't do that... he knew that for a fact, because he'd walked into the Hogs Head many times and no one had ever even looked at him twice.
But she said she didn't have many friends; didn't trust easily. And yet, she had chosen to trust him? To make him her friend? He couldn't comprehend the reason why. It wasn't like he had much to recommend himself to a lady like her.
"How do you know you can trust me?" he asked softly, a hint of sadness in his voice.
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Post by Iris Elliot on Jul 20, 2011 23:58:57 GMT -5
She smiled sadly at him. After all, she really had no reason what so ever to trust me. It wasn't like Iris to think about the bad first and then the good later. Quite the opposite actually. She always thought good and then when it came down to it, when she absolutely had to, she might ponder someones motivation for something. It wasn't like her. She was a good person. Friendly and open. Albeit she's secluded and has very few acquaintances, let alone friends, Iris was good. She liked herself that way.
"I don't know. I mean, if I couldn't, I imagine you wouldn't have offered to help me with my injuries." Which Iris seemed to have forgotten about in her time spent with Dylan. "If you were going to do something to make me not trust you, you probably would've already done it. I mean, I think you would have." She looked curiously at him. He was different. She'd give him that, but she didn't think he was at all dangerous to her.
"Is there something I should be worried about?" She smiled at him. She didn't really expect him to blurt out any dark secret or tell her not to trust him for that matter. She didn't think Dylan would hurt her or make her distrust him. But she couldn't blame him. These days, it was hard to trust anyone.
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Post by Dylan Woods on Jul 21, 2011 22:06:29 GMT -5
Yes, there was something she should be worried about. Or at least, most people would think that way. It didn't matter that he'd never bitten a human. He knew that there were still plenty of people who would say he should be locked up, shunned, hidden away. He didn't expect that Iris would think any differently, even though he couldn't quite bear the thought of her turning away from him in horror and disgust.
"I'd never hurt you," he replied softly. It wasn't an answer.
He'd never complained, never regretted what he was. He didn't remember being anything else, although he knew he must have been human once. He had accepted his lot in life, and made every effort to stay away from people as much as possible, so he wouldn't hurt anyone. But for the first time, he found himself wishing that he was normal. Human.
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Post by Iris Elliot on Jul 22, 2011 0:24:05 GMT -5
Iris was almost giddy at his words. She blushed furiously and blinked a couple of times. Was she hearing him right? She barely knew this man and he was promising to never hurt her. He couldn't know that he was never going to do that. He couldn't know that one day he might want to and yet he was promising to never hurt her? And she believed him. She didn't know why, but a feeling told her that he wasn't lying.
"I believe you." She said just as softly. She didn't know what else to say. They had definitely connected, no doubt and she didn't want to lose the moment. He was actually opening a little. So she settled for studying him. Not staring so much, but watching him.
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Post by Dylan Woods on Jul 22, 2011 8:18:13 GMT -5
It wasn't a promise; it was a fact. He would never hurt her... not physically, anyway. Emotionally, on the other hand, was a little harder to promise. He couldn't know that. He would never do it intentionally, but emotions were fragile things. They were all too easy to hurt with just the wrong words or actions.
When he said the words to her, he meant them with everything he had, but he wasn't thinking about the full weight of them. He meant that he would never physically want to hurt her. It didn't occur to him at hat moment that she might take it another way, or that she might be hurt simply by learning the fact of what he really was.
But her reaction to his comment made him realize just exactly what he'd said. And he still meant it... but now he was afraid that he might not be able to keep that promise. Sooner or later, the truth about him would come out. Would she be hurt by it? Would she hate him for it?
He could feel the connection building between them already. After less than an hours' acquaintance, they had somehow formed a bond. It scared Dylan, because he'd never felt anything like it before. Between this realization and the way she was looking at him now, Dylan felt a strong urge to run away, but somehow he stayed rooted to the spot.
"You're a good person, Miss Iris," he said, staring down at his plate. "I like you. I just... I don't want you to ever hate me. I know you can't promise that..."
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