ᴡᴀʟʟᴇᴛ: $558XXXXXXXXXʟᴏᴄᴀᴛɪᴏɴ:In front of her apartment XXXXXXXXXᴄᴏᴍᴘᴀɴʏ:Za'saadXXXXXXXXXᴍᴏᴏᴅ:Nervous, CuriousXXXXXXXXXᴏᴜᴛꜰɪᴛ:Take a picture. ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Wiping away the condensation off the mirror, Charlotte took in her freckled reflection. She kind of liked her freckles and how they stood out against her tanned skin, but knew that it was a constant annoyance for her father. He would force her to wear huge amounts of makeup, just to cover them up when she had to make a public appearance. It was because of this that she refused to wear makeup. If she did, the only thing she did was her eyes and lips. Letting her freckles stand out as a silent ******** you to her a*****e of a father.
Narrowing her eyes, she watched as the light toffee colored darkened with her anger, but she forcefully pushed away her spiraling thoughts and stalked into her bedroom instead. Toweling off her body, she threw the damp towel over towards the hamper, but missed it by a mile. With a roll of her eyes, she left the towel where it was and pulled on her clothes before shaking out her wet hair and throwing it into a messy bun. Her blunt bangs, she pulled out and slowly dried them so that they would lay down correctly. Once that was done, she swiped on some mascara and used a light blue liquid eye pen to give her lids a cat-eye look before pulling on her shoes and grabbing her leather jacket.
Walking out the door, she made sure to listen for the lock clicking before reaching inside her jacket pocket and switching out her tinted lip balm in place of her keys. She had barely gotten down the steps when the sound of a closing door had her stopping and looking behind her. She blinked in surprise as she took in her new neighbor’s appearance. She had known someone had moved in next to her but had yet to meet them. This would be a perfect time, but she hesitated to say anything for a few moments. Chewing on her bottom lip, she tugged on her flesh before making her mind up. With determined eyes, she walked back a few paces and looked up at the neighbor with a dimpled smile. “Hey! You just moved in, right?”
tabtab ooc: First post ^^ hope it functions ! tabtab outfit: clicks! - the shoes are without-lace, he can't tie them obviously. tabtab wallet: $1000 tabtab posting colour: #D19FE8
Moving in had been easy enough - despite it being a very new experience. In fact, due to the community Za’saad had been with thus far, the transition was smooth. Day one he arrived and spent most of his time being lost, eventually finding his way back ‘home’ and slept on the floor for the night. Day two all his junk -or lack thereof- arrived and some kind men helped him move in those four or so pieces of furniture he owned. Then he got settled as well as he could, spending the rest of that day being--- well, being lost in the neighbourhood. Second night, day three (today if someone was wondering) he spent the morning walking, getting to know the areas, and the early afternoon netting a job.
Now it was evening and Za’saad was unfortunately low on general supplies. He only noticed this because he was hungry and in charge of his own meals, finding that he had neglected to stock up on basic wares for the pantry. This was something to get used to, but he had been shown the general gist of things over the past two years and how hard could it really be? Slipping on a pair of non-lace shoes, he grabbed a cotton-shopping bag and yeeted himself out the door for yet another adventure. With the bag tugged under his arm, Za’saad prodded the keyhole with the house key, turning it back and forth a few times before finally finding the right little ‘click’. It was about then a voice called out to him, his head perking up before he turned to face in the direction of the feminine voice.
He gave the sky a quick look, determining the approximate time of day before speaking. “Good evening, Mydame.” Za’saad kept his voice even and cool, friendly but not too much. “I indeed just did.” He responded to her inquiry, turning fully to face her. As he usually did with his clothing, he had the empty sleeve of his shirt tucked into itself, hiding along his torso as it seemed dumb to leave the sleeve flapping about in the wind. Glancing from her to the building she had come from, and then back again, he let his expression fall into a more pleasant smile. “I presume you’re already well acquainted with the area. It’s a bit of a jungle getting to know a new place and I haven’t quite found my way around yet; you wouldn’t happen to know the path to the grocery store?” He hoped he got that term right. He still wasn’t quite sure what the difference between a market, mall, and grocery store was yet - but in due time he’d get it.
Retrieving his keys from the door and pocketing them, he walked over to meet her, giving her a court nod of his head. "Excuse my manners; name’s Za’saad Zabirith, to whom do I owe the pleasure?"
MzDuchess
Charlotte Hines
Posted: Tue May 26, 2020 9:51 pm
ᴡᴀʟʟᴇᴛ: $558XXXXXXXXXʟᴏᴄᴀᴛɪᴏɴ:In front of her apartment XXXXXXXXXᴄᴏᴍᴘᴀɴʏ:Za'saadXXXXXXXXXᴍᴏᴏᴅ:Nervous, CuriousXXXXXXXXXᴏᴜᴛꜰɪᴛ:Take a picture. ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Charlotte watched him head towards her and allowed her smile to widen, hoping she was expressing a friendly enough expression. “I do, actually. I’ve only been here a few weeks, but I know precisely where the liquor store, grocery and bookstore are. I’m actually heading to the market right now. Would you like me to show you the way?” she asked him as she watched him fiddle with his door some more. Once he was satisfied with the lock, he managed to head in her direction, only coming to stop next to her.
“My name is Charlotte. It’s nice to meet you Za’saad.” She said, extending her hand out to him. It was then that she noticed the way one of his sleeves was tucked up into itself, but she only briefly glanced at it before meeting his unique eye. She tried not to let her startled expression show when she noticed his eye patch as well.‘Poor man must have been through it.’ She thought, her compassion rearing it’s head. The dark-haired woman knew what it was like to be stared at for something that couldn’t be helped, so she made sure to pretend to not notice he was missing an arm, or an eye. Instead, her smile got bigger as she motioned towards the sidewalk in hopes that he would accompany her.
“And the city isn’t really all that bad. I’ve lived in far bigger ones, so once you get the pattern down - it’s pretty easy.” Charlotte said with a shrug. Placing her hands in her jacket pockets, she casually watched him from the corner as they walked down the sidewalk. The grocery store was only a few blocks away and normally she would take her bike, the one piece of property she still had left after her old apartment building burnt down. However, tonight she had wanted to walk and stretch out her stiffening limbs. She would need to get back into her workouts before her muscles went lax on her, but that was a worry for a different time.
Silence descended between them as they walked, and in the awkward silence, Charlotte chewed the inside of her cheek to keep herself from spurting out random nonsense. She hated awkward silences, so she always overcame them with talking, but this time she didn’t want to scare off her new neighbor yet. Most people hated being around someone who felt the need to talk all the time. But she honestly couldn’t help it. You would think all those lesson her father gave her would have cured her unconscious habit, but it didn’t. If anything it has gotten worse over the years. “Did you know that every fifth person you meet is a psychopath.”she blurted out before slapping a hand over her mouth. With widen eyes, she looked at him as she froze immediately. “I’m not saying, I’m one. Or you for that matter! It’s just-“ she stuttered through the gaps of her fingers. At his look, she could feel her face and ears growing warm, letting her know that she was blushing.‘That’s just great Lottie. Freak out the new neighbor, so he’ll never talk to you again.’ She berated herself mentally before forcing herself to stop blushing. “I’m sorry. I tend to blurt out random s**t when I’m nervous.”
tabtab ooc: xoxo tabtab outfit: clicks! - the shoes are without-lace, he can't tie them obviously. tabtab bank: $1000 tabtab posting colour: #D19FE8
“Much appreciated.” How quaint - a neighbour with a local map to booze and food, that was a good connection to make on the third day. Za’saad reached out to grab the hand presented to him, with his lonesome right, and gave her a hearty shake before letting go. “Likewise, Charlotte.” he returned in a soft tone. Noticing her hesitation and the look on her face, he couldn’t help but give a crooked smile. There were two types of people in this situation: those that could deal and those that could not. He was of the former. In fact, he found her sudden silence rather humorous and briefly considered making a comment on it, but decided he didn’t want her backing out of showing him these wonderful places.
But alas, they were soon on their way with her generous offer to guide him. Keeping her to his left as much as possible, it made it so he could keep an eye on her as much as she was on him. “I’ve seen great pictures of these cities - grand indeed. I have to admit I’m more used to less uniform environments, so it’s an adjustment I still have to make, but I’m sure I’ll figure it out given time.”
That conversational piece soon died out though, and the two of them made way in silence. While Za’saad didn’t mind the awkwardness, his companion seemed to be affected by it and she soon enough spouted what sounded like nonsense. He turned his head to look at her directly, following her motions carefully as she covered up her mouth and tried to hide her embarrassment. He kept up his stare while she bubbled out an attempt to save her statement, following up with an apology that had him quirk a brow at her. Letting his thoughts wander for a bit, the silence between them returned for just a few moments so he could enjoy her panic, he finally graced her with the sound of his voice. “All paths are dangerous, but how that danger takes shape might depend on our reaction. Though, being wary hardly hurts, one could never truly know, now could they?”
Psychopath. It was a word foreign to his world, but one he had encountered a few times while here. The word had some actual meaning and theory behind it, but he found it mostly used as a negative and derogatory expression of a person’s actions. “Does following a stranger make one brave and strong or stupid beyond saving? Neither of us can know the true intention of the other --- unless of course?” He held an artistic pause, giving her a look up and down as he exaggerated a pondering expression. “- You don’t happen to possess some kind of psychic ability; the reading of past, present, and future? Glancing through that keyhole of infinite possibilities?” Za’saad smirked then, mostly to himself. “It is quite the conundrum, is it not? - Having to trust someone. If we were to say that we cannot by first glance determine whether or not someone is able to defend themselves, what would our situation look like? If you were the dangerous factor in this game, would that make me just as or more so dangerous, or maybe a fool with severe lack of survival instinct? If I on the other hand were, how strong would you have to be to walk so confidently by my side? It’s all in theory of course. Fascinating though… how deceiving looks can be.”
While that went off on a tangent semi-unrelated to her blurted life-fact, it would at least keep a conversation going for a little bit - and who knows; perhaps she'd enjoy the theoretical discussion of 'don't judge a book by it's cover'?
MzDuchess
Charlotte Hines
Posted: Fri May 29, 2020 2:30 pm
ᴡᴀʟʟᴇᴛ: $558XXXXXXXXXʟᴏᴄᴀᴛɪᴏɴ:In front of her apartment XXXXXXXXXᴄᴏᴍᴘᴀɴʏ:Za'saadXXXXXXXXXᴍᴏᴏᴅ:Nervous, CuriousXXXXXXXXXᴏᴜᴛꜰɪᴛ:Take a picture. ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Charlotte blinked at him with a sort of confused expression before letting a small grin take over her face. “I guess when you put it that way..” she murmured to him. She was caught off guard that he seemed to just roll with her randomly blurted word vomit and turned it into an actual topic. Never before had she met someone who could or even would do that. It gave her a sort of warm feeling in her chest as she listened to the rest of his argument. No, argument was the wrong word for the conversation she was having.
“Well, I guess it would depend on the situation and place to whether or not following a stranger makes them brave or foolish.” She said when he paused. However, when he looked her up and down with a strange expression on his face, her footsteps stumbled a bit as she returned his look. Shaking her head, she let out a nervous laugh before waving away his words. “How can anyone really have a psychic ability? But you’re right about it being a conundrum. To do or not to do, isn’t that always the question? Two people could make the same steps and decision, but the outcome would always be unrelated and unsimilar. And I think trust of the other person has nothing to do with it. Its how well you trust yourself to determine whether a situation or person is a danger.” She said in counter of his words.
Coming to a stop, Charlotte looked both ways before motioning her neighbor to continue with her. Raising her hand out of her jacket, she pointed to a lit-up store, up ahead. “That’s the grocery store. It’s not overly huge, but it packs nearly everything you could want. Tomorrow, if you don’t find things you like, I could show you where the Farmer’s Market is. We’d have to take my bike because that would be a little longer of a hike.”She said, shooting Za’saad another dimpled smile.
When they came upon the grocery store, Charlotte grabbed a handheld basket and started towards the frozen section. Tossing a look over her shoulder, she called out to her new neighbor, “I’m going to get my stuff, but I’ll wait for you afterwards, and we can walk back together, if you want?”
tabtab ooc: xoxo tabtab outfit: clicks! - the shoes are without-lace, he can't tie them obviously. tabtab bank: $1000 -> $938 tabtab posting colour: #D19FE8
Oh? Well she was certainly playing along. Za’saad resumed his pondering look and lifted up his hand to rub his chin in thought. “Well said.” he praised her. “I like that.” And it was true too - it almost felt like a ‘cup half-full half-empty’ talk. “If one is the most capable person in the world and they never believed in their own ability, I think you’re right that they’d never succeed. At the same time, if the most incapable person believed they could, they might still not reach the goal of their task. Effort versus skill is quite a cruel force of nature, unforgiving yet valuable to learning. As for time and place, well… we never quite know what fate has in store for us - if you believe in that sort of thing.”
Za’saad didn’t elaborate on the psychic thing - he knew the type existed in all shapes and forms, and could be quite detrimental to the sanity of one’s mind. It made him wonder if he would find such telepathic powers nearby and if they’d be able to foretell whether or not he was meant to be there - did he even want to know?
Stopping as Charlotte motioned for the grocery store, he gave the building a once-over, keeping his bag tugged in under his arm and his hand in his pocketed. “Looks like we made it in one piece and without any diversions from our path here.” Teasing lightly he followed her inside, mimicking her action of grabbing a basket after he had deposited his cotton bag into it. Heading into the green section, he started browsing, but hesitated when the woman waved over her shoulder, promising to catch him outside.
“My, my.” narrowing his gaze at her with a grin, he soon took on a pout trying to look innocent despite the mischievous hiding behind his unwavering smile. “You must have quite a bit of faith in my navigation skills to abandon me in this lush area.” Za’saad commented, but exaggerated his tone of voice to let her know he was just messing with her. Putting down the basket, he waved her off. “I’ll catch up with you outside, though I may take a minute.” he warned, beginning to fill his basket with fruits and veggies.
The shopping itself went fairly easy, though he was mindful of what he dropped into his purchases, as to not overburden himself with weight. Well, the weight wasn't as much an issue as just carrying it - if he were to need two bags he’d be having trouble. As he made way through the store, grabbing cereal, canned foods, and such, he took the liberty of sneaking two popsicles onto his shopping list. He bagged everything himself, using the cotton bag he brought as it was sturdy and had long handles he could better pull over his shoulder - then he paid with a credit-card (because don’t you know, that’s easier than learning how to use an ATM).
Za’saad stepped out into the fresh air again, locating his companion for the walk. “Hey, sorry for the wait.” approaching her with a smile he held up the two popsicles between his fingers, making sure not to let the handle of the shopping bag drop from his shoulder. “Strawberry or lemon?” he proceeded to ask, holding them out towards her to pick one, though before she had the chance he pulled them back close to himself with a grin. “Unless you’d rather have neither, then I’ll eat both.” holding the two out towards her again, he’d let her pick if she wanted one.
MzDuchess
Charlotte Hines
Shopping list (this is 100% for my own amusement)
Veggies x 1 (6.00) 6.00 fruits x 2 (8.00) 16.00 Cup noodles x 6 (0.75) 4.50 - chicken flavour x 3 - beef flavour x 3 canned food x 6 (0.75) 4.50 - chicken soup - tomato soup - beef stew x 2 - baked beans x 2 eggs (12pk) x 1 (4.00) 4.00 Cereal (rolled oats) x 2 (3.75) 7.50 Popsicle (single) x 2 (3.00) 6.00 beer (12pk) x 1 (13.50) 13.50 total = 62.00
Posted: Sat May 30, 2020 8:45 pm
ᴡᴀʟʟᴇᴛ: $483XXXXXXXXXʟᴏᴄᴀᴛɪᴏɴ:In front of her apartment XXXXXXXXXᴄᴏᴍᴘᴀɴʏ:Za'saadXXXXXXXXXᴍᴏᴏᴅ:Nervous, CuriousXXXXXXXXXᴏᴜᴛꜰɪᴛ:Take a picture. ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Charlotte smiled at Za’saad again as he waved her off, before continuing her trek towards the frozen food sections. Humming under her breath, she casually browsed the ice cream section, before picking up a pint of her favorite – raspberry sherbet. She normally didn’t do a whole lot of sweets, but there was just something comforting about burying her anger and tears into tangy sherbet that made her reconsider her take on sweets. I mean, who could ever really say no to ice cream? ‘Monsters. Monsters would say no to ice cream.’ She thought, smiling to herself in amusement at her thoughts.
Once her sweet tooth was taken care of, Charlotte headed into the deli to get some fresh turkey, before heading to the dairy aisle and filling her basket up with five different types of cheeses. Normally she would have gotten the freshly sliced cheese from the deli, but with her being on a budget now, she couldn’t afford the high prices. Instead, she shopped thriftily on the pre-packaged cheese that was on sale. In fact, almost everything in her basket was a sale item, but instead of feeling ashamed for having to budget so carefully, she held her head high because there was nothing in this world that would ever beat her down again. Whether physically or emotionally – it didn’t matter.
Charlotte browsed a few more aisles, making sure to stop by the toiletries and get some more of her shampoo and her sunflower scented body wash before heading towards the checkout. Once there, she swiveled her head around to see if she could see her new neighbor, but he must have been in the back somewhere because she could place eyes on him. Shrugging it off, she finished paying for her groceries before re-packaging everything into the reusable bags she had just purchased. “Thanks, sweets.”She said with a smile at the girl manning the checkout lane.
Walking out of the grocery store, Charlotte looked around casually for Za’saad, but did not see him immediately. She knew that eventually he would come out, so she adjusted the bags on her shoulders, so they sat more comfortable before leaning against the side of the building. It wasn’t long after that her new friend came out of the store and stepped towards her, holding out two popsicles.
Charlotte raised an eyebrow in amusement while he asked which one she wanted, before giving him another dimpled grin. “Hmm. That is a good question.” She said, tapping her finger against her bottom lip in thought. It wasn’t a hard decision, but both popsicles looked so good that she kind of wanted them both. Instead, she did the most immature thing she could to help her make the decision. “Eeny, meny, miny, moe. Catch a tiger by it’s toe. If it hollers, let him go. Eeny, meny, miny, moe.” She sang quietly while watching her finger bounce between the two choices until it finally settled on the lemon one. Smiling cheekily, she took the chosen popsicle off Za’saad’s hands and popped the top of it in her mouth. Her eyes closed in delight while she hummed her pleasure as soon as the tangy lemon hit her tongue. “Thanks, love.”Charlotte finally said after a few seconds once she pulled the cold treat away from her mouth.
tabtab ooc: xoxo tabtab outfit: clicks! - the shoes are without-lace, he can't tie them obviously. tabtab bank: $938 tabtab posting colour: #D19FE8
Quicking his eyebrow as he watched the woman bounce her fingers between the cold sweets, he tried not to smile too much as she sang that little song still foreign to his ear. “What a strange chant.” he commented as the lemon coated popsicle disappeared from his hand. “Is it some kind of decision making spell?” The question was more rhetorical than anything, honestly he heard similar songs from his home, but not quite as cuddly as this one.
Taking the lead in walking back towards the neighbouring homes, he gave her another questioning look as she petnamed him, taking a little bite out of his strawberry treat. “Love? What an upgrade and on the first meeting; you must really like that ice cream.” he teased, grinning like an idiot, and giving off a little hum as he took another bite out of his popsicle. “So, Charlotte-dear, now that I’ve found out you have a spell for making decisions, perhaps you could tell me a little bit about yourself? - it doesn’t hurt to know the ones around you after all.” Za’saad mused as he glanced at her from the corner of his eye, once more sticking to her right side so he could actually see her.
MzDuchess
Charlotte Hines
Posted: Sat May 30, 2020 9:58 pm
ᴡᴀʟʟᴇᴛ: $483XXXXXXXXXʟᴏᴄᴀᴛɪᴏɴ:In front of her apartment XXXXXXXXXᴄᴏᴍᴘᴀɴʏ:Za'saadXXXXXXXXXᴍᴏᴏᴅ:Nervous, CuriousXXXXXXXXXᴏᴜᴛꜰɪᴛ:Take a picture. ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
A few soft giggles soon turned into a snort, and Charlotte had to pull her popsicle away from her mouth lest she choke. Using her hand to wipe her chin from where it dripped, she turned to look at him, choosing to walk backwards as she answered. “Spell? Ha. If you think that is a spell, then you’re going to think I do voodoo before all this is over.” She said with another giggle.
After a few minutes of walking backwards, Charlotte realized how tiring it was to do so and was about to turn around the right way but the male next to her caught her off guard by commenting on her calling him love. Suddenly, her heel caught on an uneven piece of slab and caused her to stumble into Za’saad with a soft ‘oof’. Embarrassment flushed through her body, causing her face and ears to once again turn red. “I’m so sorry!”she murmured before righting herself properly and pulling away. It was then that the rest of his words caught up with her fumbling brain. “Oh! I-“she started before stopping herself. So what if he thought she was flirting with him by calling him love. Maybe she unconsciously was and didn’t even realize it.
Laughing awkwardly to cover up her blunder and the slightly awkwardness, she waved at the ground as if nearly tripping over her feet was a normal thing for her. “Silly me. That’s what I get for not watching where I was going, huh?” she said before hurriedly plopping her melting popsicle back in her mouth. She was doing so good, but now she was on the verge of embarrassing herself once again by spewing word vomit. ‘Sweet baby Jesus, don’t let me make a fool of myself anymore tonight.’ She pleaded eternally as she kept her eyes in front of her and away from Za’saad’s amused ones. However, Charlotte knew that no matter how hard she prayed – she was most likely to embarrass herself at least twice more before the night was over.
And just when she thought she had managed to get her blushing under control, there he goes calling her dear. So caught up in trying to settle her flaming cheeks that it took her longer than normal to realize that he was asking to know more about her. “Oh, well.. let’s see. My name is Charlotte Hines. I’m 28 years old. My parents are deceased, so I live in my tiny apartment all by myself. However, I do own a metal baseball bat and I know how to swing it, so don’t think about trying anything funny, mister!” she said, shaking her fist mockingly at him, a serious expression on her face. However, she couldn’t keep that look up for long before she was giggling again. Bumping her shoulder softly into his, she teased, “What about you, Za’saad? Any deep and dark secrets you're hiding?”
tabtab ooc: xoxo tabtab outfit: clicks! - the shoes are without-lace, he can't tie them obviously. tabtab bank: $938 tabtab posting colour: #D19FE8
He had a choice here. Save her or his ice cream - you do the math. While he did let her stumble into his body, Za’saad made sure to hold his hand up to keep his ice out of knocking-over danger, almost breaking that smirk of his into a chuckle at her misfortune. She might need to elaborate on that voodoo stuff later though, he wasn’t quite sure what kind of magic that was. raising his brow at her again, stifling his laugh but showing a line of white teeth from his smile, he really couldn’t help himself with this next one. “Don’t go falling for me now, you haven’t yet learnt how much of a jerk I am. I might still lose that love title.” he mused, then popped his ice cream into his mouth before adjusting his shoulder-straps so they could continue walking.
She soon began her nervous sputtering again, earning yet another look from the one-eyed male before his questions for her were answered. “Well then. I definitely know not to mess with you.” he said, smiling, still quite amused by her antics as they kept on walking. “Do try not to hit too hard when you think I deserve it; I’m very fragile.” he said in a sarcastic tone, even if it was a partial truth. Charlotte then proceeded to bump her shoulder against Za’saad’s side - specifically the one that was missing a whole arm. He wondered if she even noticed, but bumped her right back with a playful smirk. “My my, going straight for deep and dark are we. Well then I guess I have no choice.”
Taking another big bite out of his icecream, he hummed and swirled it in the air like a wand, as if he was about to perform a magic spell. “The truth about my arm.” he said dramatically, letting his expression become more serious, though in an exaggerated way to still show the mischievous glint in his eye.
“I usually tell that it got lopped off during an altercation with dangerous criminals - but the truth is; I fought a much, much fiercer enemy, only known by the name of ‘Vending machine’. I don’t know if you’ve ever encountered this beast before, but it is huge and has big nasty teeth, and makes a lot of really nasty growling noises. Of course, I can’t have you go telling everybody about this, but I must admit I lost that fight.” still smirking, he didn’t falter the least in his expression as he scanned for her reaction, popping his ice into his mouth again. "It was a glorious battle, a true sight to behold when I finally slew my nemesis."
MzDuchess
Charlotte Hines
Posted: Sun May 31, 2020 1:53 pm
ᴡᴀʟʟᴇᴛ: $483XXXXXXXXXʟᴏᴄᴀᴛɪᴏɴ:In front of her apartment XXXXXXXXXᴄᴏᴍᴘᴀɴʏ:Za'saadXXXXXXXXXᴍᴏᴏᴅ:Nervous, CuriousXXXXXXXXXᴏᴜᴛꜰɪᴛ:Take a picture. ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Charlotte raised an eyebrow at him, her face still flush with her embarrassment. “You, fragile? Well I don’t think I believe you, Z.” She said, a smile breaking across her face. He seemed to take her clumsiness in stride so even though he was teasing her a bit, she could feel her blush slowly fading. One would think she had never flirted with a man before with the way she kept stuttering over her own feet and words. I mean, it has been a while since she dared flirt with someone, but she was safe here so maybe it would be ok.
His deep tenor brought her attention away from her thoughts and back into the present. His arm? ‘Oh! That’s right, he’s missing one!’she thought. Her curiosity was in full bloom about not only his missing arm but also his eye. However, she didn’t feel like it was her place to ask such personal questions when just meeting him. She may not have the name Velireaux anymore, but that didn’t change who she was on the inside. She could almost hear her tutor scolding her for her lack of proprietary manners.
Shaking her head, she sent him a curious look as she tugged a little on his armless sleeve. “Well, I’m not going to lie. I was curious about what happened, but my mother raised me better than to ask such personal questions when first meeting someone.” She said, a small shrug of her own. Seeing his face turn serious, had her really paying attention to his words, her half-eaten popsicle slowly melting in her mouth as she waited for his tale. So focused on his mouth that she missed the gleam in his eye as he told his story.
“No way! Seriously?? How do you get into a fight with a vending machine – and LOSE?!”she gasped. Her eyes widened as she took in his ever so serious smirk. Wait – smirk? Coming to a complete stop, she pointed her yellow popsicle at him before narrowing her once widened eyes. “You’re having a go at me, aren’t you? You, sir, are a terrible fiend!” she said with a sniff, her voice suddenly high pitched in a heavy posh accent. With her nose pointed in the air, she marched away from him with a loud ‘hmph’ and towards their shared stoop. Because he was behind her, he never did see the small grin that took over her face and to disguise it once he caught up with her, she popped her popsicle back in her mouth and vicously swirled the juices on her tongue, completely content to devour the entire thing to keep him in the dark about her joking. Let him stew just a few minutes and wonder if she was being serious or not. This would be a test to see if they could be friends, because she couldn’t be friends with someone who couldn’t take a joke after making one.
tabtab ooc: xoxo tabtab outfit: clicks! - the shoes are without-lace, he can't tie them obviously. tabtab bank: $938 tabtab posting colour: #D19FE8
Her reaction to his lies earnt her a hearty chuckle as she stomped off ahead of him. “Indeed I am!” He responded, still very amused by their combined antics. “The worst of the worst.” But in a sense it was true - while his lies were usually quite harmless and more of a fun tone to daily life, his past was less so. He could not count the amount of lives that had fallen to his cruel magics - mages and humans alike. If she knew how many lives he had taken, would she still turn her back on him so easily? Still show him around and display this joyful nature towards him? Would she even be able to comprehend the danger he once was. While he no longer possessed the same pools of power, the devastation had already been done.
Jumping into a light trod he caught up to her without issue and kept up with her by her side. “Say Char,” he started, quick to lick up a melting bit of his ice cream before continuing. “You can ask me anything, anytime you want.” smiling at her, he waited for a very specific moment as he spoke. “Who knows, there might be a lot of interesting things to know; I may not be this psychopath of yours, but what if I was a master thief? Don’t be fooled by my crippled wing, I can still be quite the adversary.”
Za’saad kept his dark coral eye on her, intently, trying to keep the smirk off his face as he leaned in close as if to whisper her something - but in truth, he was just waiting for her to pop that yellow treat away from her lips so he could snatch it right up. Without missing a beat, he chomped right down on the remaining ice cream, snatching up the whole stick between his teeth, and took off into the evening at a strong pace. There was little time to waste - stealing the last bite of a woman’s ice cream had to be pretty high on the ‘get your a** kicked’-chart, so he was running for his life to the best of his abilities. It was a bit of a struggle since he couldn’t properly adjust the straps on his shoulder and frankly it felt like they were slipping - he could use his magic to aid him, but even then he wasn’t sure if it’d be enough.
A couple of blocks down and he almost doubled over. So, okay. Maybe he was out of shape. Panting he leaned back against a wall for a few seconds to catch his breath. “Truce!” he stuttered out before she’d jump him, still holding her now empty popsicle stick between his teeth.
MzDuchess
Charlotte Hines
Posted: Sun May 31, 2020 3:23 pm
ᴡᴀʟʟᴇᴛ: $483XXXXXXXXXʟᴏᴄᴀᴛɪᴏɴ:In front of her apartment XXXXXXXXXᴄᴏᴍᴘᴀɴʏ:Za'saadXXXXXXXXXᴍᴏᴏᴅ:Nervous, CuriousXXXXXXXXXᴏᴜᴛꜰɪᴛ:Take a picture. ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Charlotte snorted at his shortened version of her name. “Lottie.” She said in response, tilting her nose even further up in the air. Her neck was strained so far that she knew she probably looked ridiculous, but she didn’t care. All she cared was about making a point.. and possibly getting him to laugh. Hearing his chuckle as he continued to keep pace with her, had a warm feeling spread through her chest but this time it wasn’t embarrassment.
“Hmph. You’d say anything right now to make up for you trying to trick me earlier. You scoundrel.” She teased around her popsicle. When she noticed him leaning in closer to her, she popped out her frozen treat to ask what he was doing, this time the tiny corner of her mouth losing the fight she was trying to win and tilted up in an amused fashion before it dropped in astonishment. Did he-?“Hey!” she shouted, as the fiend took off after snatching her popsicle right out of her hands.
Tugging on the straps, she tightened her grip on the bags so as not to dislodge them from her shoulders as she took off after him. In her stunned reaction, he had manage to get a block or so in front of her, but that lead would not last. If there was one thing Charlotte could do, and that was run. It was part of her boxing regiment. Her old teacher always said the best way to warm up was stretches then run a mile and work on her breathing. How she missed that grumpy old man, but was incredibly thankful for his learning the short time she had it.
Charlotte put on a burst of speed, still monitoring her breathing but it was a wasted effort. No sooner did she get in a good running pace, Za’saad stopped running and hunched over. “Aha! Out of breath already? And here I thought you said you’d make quite the adversary?” she smirked, barely out of breath. When he called a truce, she noticed that his strawberry popsicle was slowly melting in his hand, while the stick of hers was still in his mouth. A sly little grin quirked her lips and before he could fully catch his breath or even grasp what she was about to do, she darted forward and snatched his popsicle out of his hands and pushed him away before dancing out of his reach. Popping the delicious cold sweetness in her mouth, she finished his treat before raising a brow, triumphant gleaming in her eyes. “You should know better than to underestimate a girl, Master Thief. Just because I’m smaller than you doesn’t mean I’m weaker.”
tabtab ooc: xoxo tabtab outfit: clicks! - the shoes are without-lace, he can't tie them obviously. tabtab bank: $938 tabtab posting colour: #D19FE8
Snorting a laugh as he was still catching his breath, almost sumbling as she nudged him away from her, he kept leaning up against the wall and used his now free hand to adjust the straps on his shoulder. “You, my fair lady, have no idea.” he said, still slightly out of breath but chuckled at her attempt at a comeback instead. “I must admit though, I’ve lost a lot of form over the past two years.” he sighed, taking the popsicle stick out of his mouth before taking a deep breath and doing his best to get back properly on his feet. “- I’ve had my arse handed to me by women before now, I’d never underestimate their combat skills.” at least not at first glance.
Smiling as he pushed off the wall he motioned for their path. “Shall we continue, miss Lottie?” he teased, moving on tossing the stick into a trashcan at first available opportunity. With the run it seemed they were brought closer to their home a little faster - was that a bad thing? “Tell me, how are you at board games? Perhaps I have yet a chance to redeem myself? A battle of the mind is definitely more on my turf than a race.” casting a challenging glance over his shoulder at her, he grinned impishly. “I haven’t had dinner yet though, how about you?”
