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Posted: Fri Apr 14, 2017 9:27 pm
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After a major ******** at their last service (and not the first mistake by that florist), Horace had been given the task of finding a more suitable florist for their funeral home. He was told explicitly to make no deals without Ripley's input (by Ripley), but he could scout. Victor had told him to use his best judgment, and it was somehow so satisfying to know he was trusted this far. The first florist had been massively sub par, even the flowers pulled from the fridge in the back had looked drooping, lackluster, and just sad. The second had been underwhelming, and the third - a shop clerk had confessed the store was planning to close in a few months. A shame, that: the shop had such gorgeous displays.
Now he was standing in front of Pocket Full of Posies, wondering if the owners really meant to allude to the black plague in their shop title. It was just morbid enough to make him crack a smile. The window displays were lovely, and it was always good to patronize locally owned businesses. (Most florists usually were, anyway, but he could tell himself he was doing a good job anyway.) Horace poked his way in and, not immediately seeing anyone, meandered over to stare at some of the flowers on display.
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Posted: Fri Apr 14, 2017 10:24 pm
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The owners were in the store. Insofar as there was one owner, and he was behind the counter, being short and easily missed behind an arrangement he was just finishing.
"Hello," said Aleksy, peering around the glass vase and all its greenery. He was small, redheaded, and overall kind of reminiscent of what a fox might look like as a person, if the fox also had thighs that could crush a man. (The thighs were obvious when he came out from behind the counter, dusting leaves off his gloved hands.) "Can I be of assistance?" He had a strong Russian accent, but he wasn't unintelligible. Small favors.
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Posted: Sun Apr 16, 2017 2:12 am
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"It is fine," said Aleksy, who frowned for a moment at the squeak, and looked for it. It wasn't hard for him to see Horace for what he was (which was a warg) and to notice where exactly the bond between man and beast went. It also didn't seem worthwhile to point it out. Still, Aleksy was glad that Horace wasn't looking to shake hands. He'd been electrocuted, and he had no desire to experiment with even static-shock voltage again. "I do arrangements for all occasions," he said, "funerals among them."
He turned back towards the counter, and gestured to the pre-made arrangements throughout the store. "My condolences for your loss ...?" Aleksy trailed off, waiting for a name, obviously.
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Posted: Sun Apr 16, 2017 8:51 pm
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Aleksy nodded, and wasn't at all put off by Horace's introduction. He was not an epitome of grace himself, and Horace was polite about it, which was all Aleksy really wanted or expected from customers. Especially customers that might create new business relationships and increase his revenue. He had been looking into hiring someone to manage the store more often... a new relationship like this would be a great help in that regard.
"Aleksy Spektor," said Aleksy, "A pleasure."
He frowned, then. It must not be comfortable for Horace's warg, tucked away like that. If this was to be some sort of business meeting, then it would be polite to... "If you would like to let the bat out of your pocket, I do not mind," he said. Aleksy leaned on the counter, pillowed his chin in one gloved hand. "Provided it does not s**t in the store."
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Posted: Fri Apr 21, 2017 12:44 pm
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"No," said Aleksy grumpily, watching the bat, "I am unfortunate enough that everyone I ever knew was replaced by them. No, my powers are such that I can see people as they truly are. Your bat friend was obvious to me."
He paused, then, with his portfolio in hands. "As is your propensity for shocking those who touch you. Please do not touch me, I have no desire to play with electricity." Aleksy set down the black binder. "Some samples of prior work are in here," he said, "along with a general listing of prices. Of course an established working relationship would result in lower prices, as is custom."
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Posted: Thu Apr 27, 2017 1:51 pm
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"No," said Aleksy. "I suppose if I went blind... but magic finds away, which is unfortunate."
He watched Horace. Aleksy, what do your spook eyes see? Someone who looked fairly normal, for once, without the hyperrealistic cut-out effect of someone from another world. The dancing electricity between the strands of Horace's hair, between the cuffs of his sleeves and his skin, was intriguing and off-putting. Between Horace and Nugget, there was a strand of something brilliant gold. It would dull and tarnish as the warg bond got older, more lived in.
Someday Aleksy would find out what he looked like to other people with his ability to See. It'd be interesting. It wasn't today.
"My boyfriend glows," he said. "He cannot turn that off, either."
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Posted: Tue May 02, 2017 12:59 am
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Aleksy's smile did reach his eyes that time. (He was a lot like Renard, actually, though Horace had no reason to know Aleksy's sort-of adopted parental set.) "Yes," he said. "I call him that, sometimes. He finds it embarrassing."
He pulled out a business card. "Sometimes I am not in the shop, and if I am not, this is my personal number. I can speak most business hours, but I close early on Friday and open late on Saturday, so earlier in the week is better." Aleksy wrote this down on the back of his card, and passed it to Horace. (His gloves were tightly fitted, dark brown leather, with a bronze zipper along the line between his index knuckle and his wrist.)
"Of course," he said. "Is there a particular purpose for them?"
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