cujo. and Sphye

[cujo.]

as an unrelenting flow of fat, cold droplets bounced off the window and cloth awning that adorned the shop doorway, delia's shoulders eased a little at the soothing rhythm. head titled a little and brow creased in concentration, she separated the flowers deftly with her hands and let out a soft sigh. beside her on the counter, half hidden beneath a bundle of wayward hydrangea and violets was an old book; the pages yellowed and curled at the edges that listed the meanings of almost every flower across eldemore. the old cursive, small, handsome and somehow managing to be both neat and messy at the same time, was beginning to fade. delia knew it by heart but she pushed the flowers to the opposite page to look down at the writing anyway.

"i really should have the wedding bouquet first," she mumbled softly to herself, moving the flowers around in the plastic grey vase she ran through their meanings. white carnations for remembrance and peonies for healing and poppies for consolation and ... and ... 'forget-me-nots, maybe? or blue iris' for hope or heather for solitude or ...' it could make a nice funeral bouquet, maybe. or, more likely, someone would buy it because it looked pretty. she reached up to smooth down the heavy, silky fringe that covered her left eye unconsciously, tongue pressed between her lips as she worked.

{{ssssh, i have no idea if those flower meanings are right. every website told me something different so i did the smart thing. i used the first one i clicked on x3 i went with meanings that kinda related to my first impression of limbani
i'm so rusty. sorry.

[Sphye]

There was a gentle chiming sound, just barely louder than the rain. The bell above the door. A tall figure stepped in, ducking to avoid hitting the doorframe. A faded, black cloak and hood hid her features, all but her stature and what little of her olive skin was visible oh her hands and forearms.
She closed the door gently, taking care to stay quiet. She straightened up slightly. She shivered as she took the time to glance about, as though unsure where exactly she had brought herself.

There were scents of flowers, of lilies and roses and many more than Limbani could name. Blooms were everywhere, like an organized chaos. Her eyes fell upon the shopkeeper- a young girl, her hair covering nearly half of her face - and she averted her gaze just as quickly, busying herself with trying to look interested in the nearest display.

She tried to keep her wings still, tried to keep them from shifting or moving beneath her cloak. So long as she could keep them and her other features hidden, she could get out without question as soon as the rain let up. She clenched one hand into a fist, digging her talon-like nails into her palm to distract herself from her nervousness.


(That's so sweet of you to coordinate the meanings like that! Your opening post is lovely.)

[cujo.]

lost in her thoughts as she mulled over what to add and what not to add the the bouquet, delia didn't hear the soft chime of the bell. it was hardly the first time she hadn't heard it, probably wouldn't be the last time either. she'd been meaning to get around to seeing if there was anything she could do to make it louder or getting a new one but the thought only ever resurfaced during busy moments and was swiftly forgotten.

a soft smack for a big, heavy white paw on her boot efficiently roused her from thoughts. one. then twice in quick succession when she didn't move her foot. from a cub cleo had taken to lounging beneath the main counter which doubled as delia's desk, when she'd still been small enough to sit on delia's foot to alert her that there were customers she hadn't heard come in. 'dolos please have mercy and don't let it be that son of a glitch, she thought as she moved her foot back from a third smack from the ligeress. him being the owner of the wedding bouquet, a nightmare groom if ever there was one. ranting and raving, not even bothering to listen to the answers to his constant bombardment of questions. it'd taken him two weeks to settle on white flowers and ivy. lots of ivy. she'd already done four others that had been met with 'oh no, no, no, no! that won't do at all.' she'd rather face gerdyn's temper in a rowboat, thank you very much.

turning her head to the left out of habit - having a fringe that effectively hide one eye unfortunately led to a limited range of vision - to ensure her other companion hadn't disappeared. but osha was comfortable in her usual spot near window and the allium gladiator flowers, tall, round and splendidly purple, where she was preening her damaged wing. a glance around the shop located the potential customer. not the dreaded nightmare groom, thankfully; he wouldn't have been caught dead in a bulky cloak like the other occupant was wearing. "heh-hello? is thur-there an-any-thing i can help yuh-you with?"

{{ aha, thank you ^^

[Sphye]

Limbani tensed, hearing the stutter of the shopkeeper.

Would she believe that I didn't hear her?... she thought, reaching for a label to seem busy. Her taloned hands fumbled with it, knocking over the thick card before picking it up. She took a deep breath through her nose, deciding against ignoring her.

"Just browsing," she said quickly through her hood. The cadence of her voice was faintly unusual, as though she hadn't spoken in a while. The loud pouring of the rain could very well have drowned out her words, but she refrained from saying more.

She only needed to spend enough time to catch a break in the rain. If she was lucky, she could avoid much interaction-- It might be too hopeful to wish to avoid any, but she could cross her fingers.

She looked across at the shopkeeper through the corners of her eyes. The part of her hair, hanging down the right side of her face from the cloaked woman's perspective... how reminiscent it was of another. Limbani shoved the thought away.

Limbani felt a tickle against her wing. She lifted it reflexively, moving her feathers away from the irritant-- Nothing but an arrangement of tall grasses and flowers. She flattened it back down quickly, hoping that her movement was subtle enough to have avoided notice.

[cujo.]

cordelia watched the only other humanoid occupant in the shop fumble and thought about moving to be of some assistance but thought better of it. customers rarely appreciated staff of any shop getting near their personal space bubble, let alone a rather small, packed store like her own. and of course there was her aunt's cautionary warnings about bumps and knocks that might alert someone to her more ... unusual features.

it took her a moment to realise her potential customer had spoken. she blinked, hands stilling their gentle rearrangement of the flowers. it'd been a few seconds, would answering be too awkward now? or would it be awkward to not answer? it wasn't like they'd spoken particularly loudly or anything, it would have been easy to not hear them over the pattering of the rain. "kay," she hummed softly, scrunching up her nose as she winced. hopefully they wouldn't notice how awkward she sounded.

shifting her weight between her feet, delia tried to busy herself with the bouquet in front of her. her would-be customer didn't seem to be the chatty type, anyway. after staring down at the flowers blankly for several moments she gave up, shoulders dropping a fraction as she leaned back a little from her work; one finger softly tracing patterns on the grey plastic. it wasn't long before she found herself watching the other out of the corner of her eye. they didn't seem like they were from around and delia couldn't help but be curious despite her aunt delphine's chiding of curiosity killed the liger ringing in between her ears. adventure intrigued her just as much as the thought of leaving town scared her.

a twitch from beneath the other shop occupants cloak made her still. 'son of a glitch,' she thought, her hand tightening on the pot she'd been fiddling with. 'it can't be ...' there couldn't really be wings beneath the cloak, what were the chances of an avian walking into her shop to get out of the rain? 'well,' a little voice snipped in the back of her mind as she stared, unabashed in shock, at the other woman's back. 'pretty high if the library is still closed while they try to get the runes under control.'

her aunt had always been so cautious, so careful, about keeping her away from the odd avian who happened under their town. "o-oh are yuh-yuh-you -" her tongue felt fat and clumsy in her mouth and heart was beating far too loudly in her ears. she couldn't just come out and ask, now, could she? no. that'd probably be considered pretty rude. "um, suh-sure i can't b-be of a-a-any heh-help?" alright. definitely better to reflect to to her earlier question and be annoying than possibly offending someone.

{{my small child is so awkward.
and i'm super sorry this took so long.

[Sphye]

She clenched her teeth. No such luck that her mistake had avoided notice, she thought. She held her wings, thickly feathered in mousey brown feathers, particularly still beneath he cloak, as though the shopkeeper might believe she had seen nothing if Limbani was still enough.

She shook her head emphatically, her hood softening but not hiding the motion. Would honesty in saying that she had only found her way in to seek refuge from the rain help? No, she doubted it. To feign busyness would allow her to "browse" on her own, but to admit that she only meant to pass time until the storms had subsided would be an invitation for conversation.
"Still looking," Limbani said. Her voice was low, so strangely so- Not the faintest bit feminine, but not particularly masculine in nature, either. She glanced to the windows, hoping for the rain to have let up. It seemed only steady, an unrelenting downpour determined to keep her trapped. The way the clouds and water reflected light in shades of grey and silver, it would have been beautiful if appreciated.

She turned her gaze back to the shopkeeper, then cast it down again to the flowers upon seeing that she was still looking.


(Clever little Delia! Limbani just wants to escape, but she knows better than to flee in the rain with no particular shelter to find.)