Pretty Things & Evil Deeds

@ BearGirl

Elliot had been ill-tempered all month. The botany shop that he'd been going to for the past ten years had closed when the old wizard who had run it decided to retire (despite his best efforts to convince him otherwise), and he'd been without a reliable supply of herbs and materials for his spells and potions for weeks. He'd tried ordering some online, but they hadn't been nearly the same quality as the ones he'd bought from the store, and he'd begun to panic and worry about how he'd manage to make a living as a necromancer if he didn't have any supplies to make potions. Fortunately, earlier this week he'd realized that the shop that was replacing the old wizards was also going to be a botany shop, and he'd been hoping that whoever was opening the shop would at least have decent quality items for him to buy, although he was worried since he'd heard a rumor that the owner was a young and a first time business owner.

Walking into the shop within the first twenty minutes of opening he ran his fingers through his hair to shake away the rain droplets that were clinging to it, it having started to rain when he was only a block away from the store. Normally he kept a spell or potion on him to ward of the rain, rather than carry an umbrella, but he was out of the herbs he needed to make it, and he was praying to the gods that whoever owned this shop would have everything that he needed. Looking around he was pleased to see a good assortment of items, tugging the list that had grown quite a bit over the last month out of his pocket, glancing it over to mentally tick off the items he'd already spotted in various jars and bottles as he approached the counter, looking around with a little frown when he didn't immediately spot the owner. He waited a few moments before ringing the little bell that had been set on the counter, hoping that would draw out someone who could assist him with locating all of the things he would need.

@ katahdin

It had been a busy month as Azana was getting ready to open her shop. So much had needed to be done, and she wasn't even allowed into the store until this current week. There had been workers in there and gathering up her greenhouse to move it had become more of a challenge than she had been prepared for. Even so, Azana was able to open the store on time and with most of her inventory. A few rarer items were missing from stock as they were still recovering from the trip to the town. And Azana certainly wasn't going to put out anything less than quality.

Within the first few minutes of opening, some people were already entering her store. While others were just curious about the new business, there were a few customers that were clearly in need, having missed the previous store while it was closed. She was assisting an older woman, showing her which plants would be best to relieve aches and pains for lotion when the bell rang in her store. As it rang, a pink magical outline of a flower appeared into the air next to it. Something that Azana had whipped up herself to keep her customers entertained when she wasn't immediately available.

Azana looked back at the man, a gentle smile on her lips. "Just one moment, sir." She told him before turning back to the woman. Once she pulled the items she could use from the shelf, Azana turned and left the woman to think it over. Her fingers shifted up to her face, pushing back a loose strand of hair, tucking it under one of the flowers that was braided into her hair. As she grew closer, Azana spoke. "Good morning, how may I help you today?"

@ BearGirl

The flower that appeared above the bell surprised him, but he swatted it away as it drifted closer toward him, not interested in little parlor tricks at the moment. Someone with less skill than him might be entertained, but he was hear for business. He turned to look in the direction of the shopkeeper's voice when she said it'd be just a moment, nearly dropping his list of ingredients and knocking over a few jars that were balanced on the counter at the sight of the shopkeeper.

She was beautiful. He'd never seen anyone so gorgeous, from her hair to her smile to the glow of her skin.. He regretted not dressing in something nicer today, and he certainly wished he'd known such a lovely woman was going to be running this shop, or he'd have been in a much better mood the past month. He was definitely still staring at her as she approached the counter, admiring the flowers in her hair and the way the sunlight coming in through the windows lit up her eyes, so when she was suddenly in front of him asking what he needed he cleared his throat awkwardly, looking down at his list of ingredients before holding it out to her.

"I need these.. I'm hoping you have everything and glancing around it looks like you have a lot of what's on here, but I haven't seen some of the rarer items.. I also hope you have enough, since I'd like to buy quite a bit of some of these herbs." He explained a bit awkwardly, rubbing at the back of his neck. Nice, idiot. Real smooth.

@ katahdin

Taking the list that the man handed out to her, Azana glanced over it quietly. He did have quite the list and the mix of items that he was buying was quite interesting. She could only figure that he was using all of these herbs, roots and other plant material for magic. Though of what nature, she was not familiar with. Not that it mattered but Azana did easily find herself getting curious about those around her. Even more so now that she knew no one close by.

But, even so, she had a job to do. "Unfortunately, some of the items on your list I would not be able to sell to you today. Like the Ghost Orchid roots, for example. Some of my plants had a rough trip to town and I need time to repair them until they are of quality. Though in a week...next Tuesday, I will have the rest to sell. I can set some aside for you to pick up then, if you would like."

The young woman looked up from the list to look at the man in front of her. Her eyes shifted over his dark tousled hair for a moment, thinking that it seemed almost as wild as some of the vines in her greenhouse. She rather liked the texture. Leaving that momentary thought, Azana turned and moved through the store, heading to an area that had some of the items he needed. As she walked, it seemed that the plants leaned in closer as she passed before moving back into place. "I should have enough of what is currently in store... Though I suppose that depends on how much you need." She glanced back at him, a light laugh leaving her lips at the thought of the man buying an atrocious amount. "If you tell me how much of everything you need, I'll package it up for you." With that said, Azana picked up a glass jar. Some of the items had to stay fresh in jars while others were safer in cloth bags that kept air through them.

@ BearGirl

Elliot nodded a little in understanding as she explained that she couldn't give him everything he needed today. If it had been anyone else, he might have gotten upset and yelled, especially given how important the Ghost Orchid roots were to his potions, but he'd never dream of yelling at such a lovely creature as her. "Tuesday. I can come back Tuesday." He said with a little nod, offering her a little smile as she offered to put some aside for him. "Thank you.. I appreciate it."

He was quiet as he followed her through the store, watching curiously as the plants leaned into her, as if just as captivated by her as he was. She must be a witch, to be able to tend to such a wide variety of plants. Ghost Orchids were hard to tend, he'd tried to do it himself, although to be fair, his magic revolved around death, making it ill suited for caring for plants and animals. "I've written, down the amounts I need on the list, although the ink might have smudged a bit from the rain, and my handwriting is atrocious, so I won't blame you if you can't read it, and I'd be happy to try to decipher it." He offered, holding his hand out for the list after a moment.

@ katahdin

As the man said that the amounts were written down on the list, her eyes shifted back to the piece of paper. They glanced along until finding the area where the amounts once were. Instead, now, the ink was bleeding across the wet paper and only a mere reminder that something was there. It even stained her the tips of her fingers that held the page as the rain had refreshed the ink.

"It looks like the rain has gotten to it," Azana told the man as she handed his paper back. Though she said nothing of his writing. While it wasn't the prettiest, Azana did not find it all that difficult to read. She wiped the ink from her fingers on her garden half-apron not wanting to get ink on any of her items. Once he started to list off what he needed and in what amounts, Azana turned and started to package everything. Some items were placed delicately into jars while others were carefully put into cloth bags. She was gentle with the plants but still moved quickly.

@ BearGirl

Elliot made a face as he passed the paper back to her, upset that the rain had ruined his list. "Figures.. Seems like everything that can go wrong will go wrong." He mumbled mostly to himself, sighing as he ran his fingers through his hair before he began to list off ingredients and the amounts he needed. As she packaged everything up he'd pause his reading to take them and set them on the counter before continuing with his list.

They were done far sooner than he would have liked, and after she read the total for him he tugged his wallet from his pocket, pulling out the required cash and setting it on the counter. It was easiest to deal in cash, especially considering the magic he practiced. "Thank you for your help. You said I could come back next Tuesday for the rest?" He asked, hoping it wouldn't be any longer than that. He wasn't sure he could go without seeing her for a week, but he'd do his best.

@ katahdin

Azana wiped her hands on her garden apron before taking the cash from the counter. She turned to the till under the counter and placed it in before closing it up again. "It is my pleasure," Azana told him sweetly. "And, yes, I will have the rest of the items that you need on Tuesday. So you can swing by any time you want during open hours to collect them." Pulling a notepad from behind the counter, Azana started to write down the items that he needed and the amounts.

"What is the name I should put on the order?" She asked, looking up at him as she did so. As she waited for him to respond, Azana took a moment to look him over again. Her curiosity was getting piped again. There was no doubt in her mind that he practiced some kind of magic but she wanted to know what it was. And he truly had gotten an odd assortment of herbs, and other plant life. Maybe she would find out at some point what he did, assuming that he was a local.

@ BearGirl

"Elliot Thurston." He said as began to carefully place the herbs he'd purchased in the reusable grocery bag he'd brought with him to make it easier to carry everything. He'd practically melted with how sweet she was, and the was she was looking at him definitely didn't help. So instead he busied himself with loading up his back with his items so that hopefully she wouldn't catch him staring at her.

Once he was done though he leaned against the counter a bit to look at her, smiling as he pushed his dark locks away from his face. "You have a lovely shop. Thank you again for all of your help, miss...?" He knew that once he knew her name he'd be done for, but if he was being honest with himself he was already done in with whatever crush he had on her at the moment. "I'll be sure to come back on Tuesday, although I may be back sooner, depending on how long these ingredients last." He said teasingly as he held up the bag loaded with his supplies, which looked like it could be enough to last weeks or months, but in reality would probably only last him a week or so at most, if not days depending on what his own clients needed.

@ katahdin

Once he spoke his name, Azana wrote it down on the order sheet before placing the pen down. Though her eyes stayed on the man as she did so. There seemed to be a slight nervousness about him, under the surface. Perhaps he did not like meeting new people. But his smile was quite charming. "Thank you,"

"Miss DeRose." Azana told him. "Azana DeRose." In the least, she had his name now. Though Azana did not think herself so nosy as to look him up. But, at least, if someone in the town mentioned something, Azana would know who they were referring to. A light laugh left her lips as the man mentioned possibly coming back on Tuesday for more supplies. She doubted that would be the case. He bought so much. Though, if he was being honest, Azana would quickly consider the man her new favorite customer. "Have a nice week, Mr. Thurston."

@ BearGirl

Elliot's smile brightened when she introduced herself, giving a little nod. "It a pleasure to meet you, Miss DeRose. I'm very grateful you've opened this shop, I was beginning to think I might have to move, or find a way to travel the hour to the nearest shop like this one." He chuckled, grabbing his bag and moving the straps up over his shoulder to make it easier to carry.

"Have a nice week, Miss DeRose." He echoed, smiling and giving a little wave before he turned and left the shop, thankful that it had stopped raining, and that the new shop keeper was adorable.

@ katahdin

"It sounds like I opened just in time then," Azana said with a warm laugh. "Well, I hope to continue to assist you with all of your ingredient needs then." As Mr. Thurston walked out the door, she let out a small hum in thought. But Azana wasn't able to focus long on him as another customer was walking in.

---

Azana let out a little sigh as she looked out the window of her shop. A huge thunderstorm had rolled into town. The lightning was so close that it shook her store, causing Azana to jump each time. Thus, it was a slow day at the shop...well by slow there had been no customers so far thanks to the weather. So, Azana had decided to pull out her spellbook. She was leaned over the counter, working on a smaller spell.

@ BearGirl

Elliot had been hardly able to wait the week before going back to Azana's shop, although most of the herbs he'd bought had lasted, but he still wanted to pick up some extras, just in case. This time though he'd remembered to cast a spell to keep the rain off during his walk, since the weather was quiet awful and carrying an umbrella seemed impossible with the wind. When he reached the shop he opened the door at the same time as a clap of thunder, making it so that Azana apparently hadn't heard the little bell chime to announce his arrival.

He took a moment to watch her with a little smile before approaching the counter, clearing his throat a bit so he wouldn't startle her. "Reading anything interesting?" He smiled down at her, tugging his list of ingredients that he needed from his pocket, this time the ink not ruined by rain. "It's Tuesday, and I'm hoping you'll have these herbs for me?"

@ katahdin

At hearing a throat being cleared in front of her, Azana's head snapped up and surprise came over her face. She certainly had not been expecting anyone to come into the shop during this storm. Though at seeing Mr. Thurston, curiosity came over her features. Both wondering why the man would come here during the storm to just get potion ingredients but also how he managed to make it there without getting wet at all.

"Oh, I am just playing with my spellbook today," Azana told him as she slid off of the stool she had been on. "And, yes, I do have everything ready. Just packaged them this morning so they are nice and fresh. Though, admittedly, I wasn't sure I would see you today thanks to the weather." She said honestly before disappearing into the back door of the shop. A few minutes later, she came out holding a full bag. "Everything we discussed last week is here, but is there anything else that you need?"

@ BearGirl

Elliot grinned a bit at her surprise, chuckling a little as he shook his head. "A little rain never hurt anyone. And i desperately need the herbs. Without them I'm sort of at a stand still with my job, which means no money, which means skipping meals and angry landlords." He chuckled again, watching her disappear out back, taking a moment to glance over her spellbook while she was gone.

"I'm not sure I'm familiar with this one.. What kind of magic do you do?" He asked curiously when she returned, hoping he wasn't bothering her with personal questions. He could just get his herbs and leave, but he was infatuated with her, and wanted to try to get to know her a little if she'd allow it. "I do actually need some more herbs.. not as much as last time, but I've written it all down, and made sure the ink didn't smudge this time, so you should be able to read it." He smiled, passing her the slip of paper with the information on it.

@ katahdin

At his question regarding the type of magic that she did, Azana glanced off to the side sheepishly. Although Azana loved her craft, she tended to get quite polarizing reactions from people. Neither she cared for. There were those who saw it as the epitome of life and sweetness. That the people who crafted with it could 'do nothing wrong'. It was actually creepy how badly those people wanted 'flower magic girls'. Not for their actual abilities but for what they thought the woman with those abilities would be like. Then there was the fact that, although the magic was seen as light and pure, it wasn't very respected in the magical community. Non-magic users were impressed by it, of course. Though those who also had abilities, especially more respected sections tended to look down at her...

And she knew that Mr. Thurston had some magical abilities, although she didn't know his craft. "Flower magic," Azana told him, her voice softer. "It is a lot more than just flowers but..." She held out the bag for Elliot, just letting her thoughts on it drift off. As he passed the paper, Azana took it and glanced it over with a little nod. "Yes, I have everything you need," Azana said before turning and beginning to gather the materials from her shop.

@ BearGirl

Elliot smiled warmly as he noticed her sheepish look, hoping that she didn't think he was being pushy by asking. His smile only brightened when she said that she practiced flower magic, giving a little nod. "I've seen a few people practice it before.. They can accomplish spectacular things. It's no wonder you're running such a successful business here, since many of these plants are quite tricky to care for. I've tried my hand at it a few times, but I've always failed spectacularly, so I really commend you." He said sincerely, hoping that she'd believe him. He tried not to look down at other magical talents, especially when most looked down on his, even if he did try to use his magic for good.

He watched her as she headed off to gather the rest of what he needed, tugging his wallet from his coat pocket to begin counting out the cash he had, cursing silently when he realized he likely wouldn't have enough for everything. He needed the rarer herbs desperately, but they were also the more expensive, putting him in quite the predicament..

"Er, actually, I'll just take these. I can make due with what I have left at home." He called, sighing as he shoved his now empty wallet back into his pockets. The old store owner would have just traded him the herbs for some potions, but he didn't want her thinking ill of him for the kind of magic he did, and he highly doubted that she had any need for a necromancer's brews.

@ katahdin

Azana was quiet for a moment as she listened to the man's response to her practicing flower magic. It hadn't been what she was expecting, especially from another magic-user. But, in truth, Azana was able to relax, her shoulders untensing. It seemed he didn't fall on either side of the spectrum, which was preferable. At least, it seemed that Elliot was neither looking down at her or concocting ways to get his own 'precious, innocent flower girl'.

"Thank you, that is really nice of you to say," Azana said softly. She turned over one of the herbs in her hand before setting it back in the pot that it came from. Though her head lifted up as Mr. Thurston changed his mind about the other plants. "Well, if you change your mind, they will be here." She told him before setting the items she had grabbed back. The young woman just assumed that he decided he didn't need more for now.

At the sound of a shop-shaking thunder, Azana jumped a bit. She was not afraid of stores or thunderstorm. But the woman certainly was not appreciating how close the lightening was striking and how loud it was now that it was so close. Azana pressed a hand against the side of her head for a moment. "Are you sure that you will be okay out there, Mr Thurston? You could stay here until the storm lightens up, if you would like.'

@ BearGirl

Elliot felt relieved that the money he had on hand was enough to cover everything she'd already packaged, having been a bit worried that he might still not have enough. "I apologize for changing my mind, I just figured I probably have enough at home, and it's better to spend my money on these, since I'm out of all of them." He explained with a little smile, although he frowned at her reaction to the clap of thunder which shook the shop, tensing a bit himself as he turned to look out the window. He wasn't even sure his spell would be enough to keep himself dry in this storm.

He turned back to her when she offered to let him stay until the storm was over, blinking a little in surprise at the offer before nodding, smiling warmly at her. "Yes, that's very kind of you, Miss DeRose.. is there any help you need around the shop? I'd hate to not earn my keep."