“You’re very obvious about your crush, so I’ve decided to help you.” Toller and Theodorooooos!
HOHOHO MORE OC THINGS AMAZING thank u friends
This one was tricky, but I feel like I’ve fulfilled the prompt!
“You’re very obvious about your crush, so I’ve decided to help you.” For this prompt thing
“I didn’t need to be looked after,” Toller sulked from thecorner of the shop. Theodoros ignored her, or seemed to, at any rate. Herattled drawers around behind the counter and didn’t answer. “I can handle thecapital.”
Theodoros made a sound of quiet delight, curly head nearlyhalfway inside one of the drawers. Toller cast a glare at him, but he onlybustled about some more, taking dried and ugly plants out of other drawers andwrapping them in various lengths of twine. He was awfully unsympathetic, butshe hadn’t expected anything less from whomever Cloran called his closest friend.
“I’m sure whatever Cloran’s doing is much more exciting thanbeing here with you,” Toller added a little louder. Childish, but if Theodoroshad already cast her off as petulant country riffraff, she would notdisappoint. “In your dusty old plant shop.”
“I highly doubt that,” Theodoros finally answered, a fewseconds too late for it to be a proper response. “Cloran spends hours lookingat dusty old plants, too.”
So he had been listening. “I know my spices,” she insisted. “I’ma chef.”
“Cloran told me the chef’s last trip here landed her at hisdoorstep, robbed blind.”
Toller passed a hand over her head at the memory, frowningnonetheless. “I—that was most certainly not what happened. I never asked forhelp, nor did he offer it. And,” she added with no small measure of annoyance, “Icannot believe he would have told you that.”
“No? Does that not sound like Cloran?”
“I suppose.” She glared out the window, and Theodorosreturned to his humming.
After several more minutes of glaring, the humming quieted. Ittook her another minute to realize so too had the sounds of rummaging andwrapping. Toller glanced up from her seat in the corner to see Theodoros fixingher with a curious expression.
“Justice redeem you,” he said, mild tone failing to concealthe impatience in the phrase. “You’re awfully rude.”
“I’m from Zaben,” Toller snapped, aware she was rising tothe bait. “We’re allowed to be rude there. Not like your beloved Bay Feroa withyour tasting parlors and citizens—“
“And you’re awfully obvious. For Cloran’s sake, I’m going tohelp you.” She stared at him. “In the back room, on the desk, you’ll find theletters Cloran wrote me, describing his initial impressions of you, yourheretical adventures at sea, and, of most interest to you, his plans for todayand why he had to leave you with me.”
“These don’t interest me.”
“Like I said, you’re obvious.” They looked at each other inmutual distaste. Toller rose as casually as she could from her seat and headedtowards the back room.
“It’s better than watching you.”
The letters were right where he’d said, on the desk. Just asshe began to open the first one, the door shut behind her. A distinctive clickresonated throughout the back room.
“Theodoros!” She pushed on the door handle, but the lock wasone-sided. It didn’t budge.
On the other side, Theodoros picked up his humming where he’dleft off in the movement and continued wrapping his herbs.
