fanged and alone

“Alright, then,” she said, a little smirk on her lips. “Let’s start with romance, then. That tends to be my go to. Nothing over the top sappy, though. I like a little drama mixed in.”

he hummed at the mention of romance, getting up from his seat and slowly walking past the aisles, already expecting the woman to follow. once they reached the romance section he paused, grabbing a book off the shelf. “you should try this one, love triangle things, lots of drama.”

Mary knew there were many reasons people would have for working at this or that store, she didn’t quite understand why anyone would pick working at a place with customers if you didn’t enjoy being around people. Of course she didn’t think it was her place to judge anyone, but sometimes she wondered, perhaps especially when around Ceasar. Though if anything it was reassuring to not be the only awkwardly shy person around the store. “Yes, but luckily easy to fix.” she said with a smile. Nodding a bit, not about to disturb him further if he craved to have his solitude back, Mary moved down the shelves to find the book in question. Truth be told she was hoping she could drag this out a little, so that maybe she didn’t have to spend any more time at l’enfer than necessary. 

if it was ceasar’s choice he would never have to interact with anyone ever again, truly he would rather just being rid of his immortality, but he knew that wasn’t right to think of. “thankfully an easy fix,” he replied, watching as she moved towards the aisle where she was getting the book. he stayed right where he was, arms crossed over his chest, “are you going to participate in the festival?” he questioned, figuring small talk was at least expected in this situation.

“You don’t say,” she teased. It was definitely part of why she hired him. Someone like Ceasar was a good employee because he wasn’t going to be partying or doing something wild that would make him miss work. It suited her own personality as well. “Yes, you may as well beat the rush now before the fireworks go off.” She expected that everyone would be piling into the streets after that. “The moon does funny things to wolves,” she said, shrugging her shoulders. While she would have to shift and run to let loose, there were others things that made her “It might be best if I just stay indoors or I’ll want to do something nefarious.” 

he practically groaned at the mention of fireworks, how annoying. he hated loud noises and the fireworks just meant constant noise outside his house of crowds on the streets. “yes, try and cherish the quiet while i have it,” he rolled his eyes, shaking his head. “yes, i’ve heard.” he rose a brow as she mentioned ‘nefarious’, “and what would that be?” he questioned purely out of curiosity.

“Nah, the night is young– she’ll find a reason.” He responded, eyes looking over his face. A receipt sounded like the reasonable thing to get for her. He nodded his head, “Yeah– probably better I show up with some proof or she’ll just say that I was lying.”

he couldn’t help but let out a soft laugh at his reason, shaking his head slightly. “i see, is she really that cruel?” he rose a brow. he knew the elite’s could be a bit mean sometimes, he hadn’t really come to meet one yet. “well, here’s the receipt then,” he tore it off the machine and handed it to the wolf.

She smiled a little knowingly at Cesar, not surprised that he had mistaken her for a customer, nor that he was probably just a little bit nicer for her to deal with than anyone else. He was a peculiar guy, though she found him easy to work with and be around. Then again old vampires intrigued her so she’d tried to be sneaky about asking him things now and then, without prying or being too chatty. “I forgot to put aside a book for a customer. She called in late last night as I was counting the registry and I was a little stressed for time so it slipped my mind before I rushed back to L’Enfer.” she explained calmly, hoping that he wouldn’t fault her. She kind of hated closing up because the guards had gotten stricter about curfew and she always felt like she didn’t have enough time to finish closing the store in time to make it. 

while ceasar did his best to try and keep away from almost anyone, the fact that he had to work with actual people was what stumped him. mary always seemed to keep wanting to talk to him no matter how quiet he tried to stay. he clicked his tongue as she told him what happened, nodding his head. “simple mistake,” he flicked his hand in the air and turned to start puttng books away. “go ahead,” he wasn’t going to hassle her when she had to get back to l’enfer.

“Fair enough,” she said with a little smile. He leaned forward, and she couldn’t help but lean in a little bit herself. She tucked her hair back behind her ears. “Um…I’m not entirely sure,” she admitted. “I’ve never actually been here, before, you know?” she said, raising a brow. “What do you tell the newbies?” she teased.

it tinged ceasar’s annoyance knowing she hadn’t been here before. so close to closing and a newbie had to come in. “well, usually we ask what kind of book they are looking for, we have romance, all the way to spell books if you need,” he shrugged. he didn’t know how he had gotten a job that involved social interaction, even trying to be nice he wasn’t nice.

   When the man asked if it was his, he nearly snorted in response. Anyone that knew him knew that he would never be caught dead with a book. He eyed the man and shook his head. “Nah– just some mistress who decided she was going to send me with an impossible task no doubt. If I show up and say the order was submitted, no reason for her to get pissed at me.”

a soft hum left the vampire, nodding his head. “i see,” he moved back towards the cash register to type in the order. “well, she won’t have a reason to get pissed at you now,” the vampire may have been annoyed that the wolf was there after closing, but he wouldn’t be cruel and let him go out to get yelled at and punished. once the order was submitted he looked up at him, “you want the order receipt for her?”

She laughed softly, enjoying the shy look on his face. Ceasar was a good employee, even if he always looked ready to escape at every turn. “It’s okay. I wasn’t planning on coming in but I was on my way past,” she explained. “I’m guessing you don’t want to go join the festivities?” she asked, moving towards the counter. Esme had come to offer him an early mark considering everything that was happening in town. The Lunar Moon had a way of making her feel more aggressive and needy at the same time so she didn’t blame him. She absently clenched her fists at her side, trying to shake off the urge to shift and mate and whatever else the moon wanted her to do. “You can take an early mark if you like.” 

ceasar nodded, pursing his lips a bit. “oh no, not me. i’m not a festivites type of person, i would really rather stay at my home,” it seemed to be a dull thing to do but he couldn’t help it, he wanted his privacy and not to be surrounded by people. “i can?” he questioned, he knew the store was already closing early but he was glad to get an earlier mark because he was already feeling some weird things happening to him. “what are you planning on doing for the rest of the evening?

Kora isn’t one to hate other species - but vampires tent to make the wolf that lurks within her very uneasy as it recognizes another predator. So the dryness in this ones tone only makes her attitude threaten to rear its ugly head. However - this is her job, and though it pays very little, its better than some others have it around here. 

“Is there something in particular you are looking for?” Enchanted had lots of odds and ends, catering more so toward witches, but that didn’t mean an undead creature wouldn’t find something of interest here as well. “I can help you find it,” as Kora offers her assistance she places the knife back into the display case.

“ah, some kind of herb i read about in a book, i can’t remember the name off the top of my head but i’ll know it when i see it,” the herb was supposed to make things easier for him, with his thirst. it had been quite strong, stronger than usual since the festival had gotten closer, almost like foreshadowing something. he glanced to the wolf, eyeing her up and down for a moment. pretty, for a wolf. they weren’t exactly his favorite creatures. “thank you anyways.”

Just the thought of being out and about in such a crowd tonight was making Mary nervous. Even with the knowledge that Hvitserk would be right there next to her, she was kind of hoping they’d end up finding some private space away from people after a short while. But before that time, she had to go by Book and Pencil and put aside a book she had forgotten to reserve for a customer before her shift ended yesterday. Because of the festival she had been told she didn’t have to come in today, but she would hate for the customer to show up tomorrow, like promised over the phone, to find that the book in question was not put on hold like promised. Finding it quicker, she went in trough the front entrance, unsure who would be behind the counter today. Recognizing one of her co-workers she smiled softly. “I know. I just forgot to do a few things before closing up last night. I’ll be quick.” she promised. 

he glanced up at his book as he heard the familiar voice. it was just mary. “good, thought you were a customer,” he spoke, nodding his head towards her. he didn’t know much about her, he was sure they hadn’t spoken much at all if barely anything when they crossed paths working together. “what did you forget?” he questioned, standing to go and put his own book back. he could see a few things that needed to be done but he couldn’t be sure if that was from her or just things he had avoided doing today.

“Not looking for a little drama? A little chaos?” Natasha chuckled, eyeing him. She bit her lower lip a bit. She could feel it. She could feel the things that were bubbling up inside of her, but she wanted to test herself. See if she could handle it. And, if she couldn’t? Well, at least it would be interesting.

“never, i’d rather die again than have to go through that kind of thing,” ceasar liked to keep to himself, but he could tell this one was all about it. a wolf, it was usual of them around the festival. “what can i help you with?” he questioned, leaning forward in his seat.

     “Fuck, man– don’t fucking tell me that.”

    The mistress who had rented him had demanded that he drop off an order request and so here he was. If he went back and told her that he couldn’t complete it, well– Dexter wasn’t exactly looking to get into trouble that day at least. He clenched his jaw. “Can I at least drop this fucking list off? You ain’t gotta do anything with it… not today anyway.”

he blankly stared at the wolf, he was obviously nervous, that much the vampire could tell. his eyes moved to the list he held in his hand, eyeing it. “an order request?” he questioned, standing and walking towards the other to take the list. he eyed it over. “i can do that,” not that he wanted to, but why not. “this for you?”

There was something about the Lunar festival that always left her feeling strange. With the movements of the moon, her senses as a werewolf were heightened beyond belief. While Esmeralda was old enough to keep herself in control, it was still a struggle. Deciding she wanted to escape away from the parties on the street, she went to the Book and Pencil, wanting to check in on the store. The bell chimed when she walked in and she saw a book out of place and moved to adjust it instinctively. Esme was between the shelves of books when she heard Ceasar speak up, making her chuckle. “Well, honey. I don’t think you can kick me out of the store,” she hummed, stepping out so he could see her. “I own it after all.” 

that was just a tad bit embarrassing, “ah... sorry,” he hadn’t realized it was his boss that had been in the store, he was just getting antsy to go home. “that’s my bad, didn’t realize it was you,” he shyly rubbed the back of his neck, if he could he would’ve blushed too, but thankfully due to being undead he couldn’t. “i was just making sure no new customers rolled into the store, wouldn’t wanna have to chase them out,” the last part was a slight joke, maybe.

“Oh, crap,” Natasha sighed, rolling her eyes a bit. She ran a hand through her long blonde hair, shaking her head a bit. “Sorry.” She bit her lip a little, looking at him curiously. Her nostrils flared a little bit, as she took in his scent. She smiled lightly. “Are you participating? In the festival, I mean/” she asked curiously.

“eh, it’s whatever, no one’s seemed to known so,” he shrugged, raising a brow. “me? in the festival? no,” he would rather do anything else with his time than sit and have to deal with screaming people and busy crowds cause of the festival. “i’m going to be attempting to stay far away, hopefully in my own home,” he could already feel the way it had a strange effect on him, the feeling made his fangs ache.

Jax could only arch up a brow of his own in response to the greeting his presence in the bookstore received. First that pretty little wolf back at the magic shop, and now this guy. “You know –I’m starting to think this charming little town isn’t exactly know for it’s customer service.” 

a dull laugh left his lips, “you certainly came in on the wrong day, i think the other book keeper would’ve been nicer,” he was known to not be a nice person and he didn’t really mind that much what other’s thought about it. “hurry, what do you need?” he just wanted to get out of there to go home.

“Shops closing early.” Kora called from one of the back rooms of Enchanted as she heard the bell over the door chime. Walking back toward the front of the magic shop, the chattel stopped toward the front desk and idly lifted an old, decretive knife that had probably been used in a sacrifice or two many years ago before leaning back against the wooden counter. “The fireworks start in a couple hours.” Not to mention the full moon had her too on edge to man the place alone.

@waywardrosestarters

the fact that almost everywhere was closing down for this festival had the vampire rolling his eyes, “i’m aware they are,” a slight narrow-eyed gaze fell on the wolf as she came to the front of the shop, eyeing the knife she held in her hands. “i just need to find something, i won’t be long,” he would be seriously irritated if she insisted on him leaving, but still he continued inside the shop, glancing around for the certain herb he had read about in a book.