londoncallingrpg

When he'd first returned to London, Prometheus had found himself back at his old studio. It was nothing special, a narrow building wedged between a high street shop and a bakery. The second floor served as a modest apartment, but the ground floor had, at one point, been a small shop. ...A shop the titan had ignored until today.

Old paintings hung from the walls, trinkets and treasures lined the shelves... There were crates of books- Vintage by now, and the case by the counter held everything from women's compacts to queer amulets. Things the titan had gathered and created over the years. ...Things he was ready to let go of.

He'd spent the night dusting and sweeping, washing windows and tidying away the mess. This morning he'd opened the shutters for the first time in ages, allowing the sunlight to pour in as he flipped the sign to open, and sank into a comfortable leather chair near the ancient looking register.

An old boom box sat on the counter, filling the shop with sound as the titan flipped open his old sketchbook and picked up where he'd left off years and years ago.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

From:

harrowgate

Felix watched this, to him, rather impressive display of strength with interest. How accommodating this young shopkeeper proved to be. "Aren't you ingenious?" he nearly purred, favoring the fellow with one of his prettiest smiles. "If all your customers earn this the level of service, you should do very well indeed."

From:

pecked_by_birds

The titan only shrugged, not really charmed by the idea of success or wealth. Those things had never appealed to him.

"I just need to move some of this stock to make room for my paintings and sculptures," he admitted. "I'd have given it all away, but there are some items here that aren't meant for the wilds of a thrift shop."

Things that belonged in specific hands- Things that were too dangerous to leave with the wrong person.

From:

harrowgate

That sounded like an unusual answer. "Such as?" Felix inquired, intrigued despite himself. Had the shop been doused with magic, or the proprietor, he would have felt it immediately. There was nothing like that, but Felix did feel somehow interested in everything around him, as if there were some knowledge just beyond his grasp.

From:

pecked_by_birds

Prometheus considered the other man, then shrugged as he decided he could share just a little.

"Well, many of the amulets are blessed and charmed," he said.

From:

harrowgate

Felix couldn't quite determine if he meant actual magic, or some manner of New Age faux-enchantment that some annemer believed in with remarkable fervor. "You don't want to spread blessings among the patrons of secondhand shops?" he asked, a playful half-smile on his lips.

From:

pecked_by_birds

"Not all blessings are good- And not everyone can be trusted with power," the titan shrugged.

From:

harrowgate

Felix surely didn't disagree, though he wondered about this young man. Without much outward sign, he began watching, opening his senses to hints of true magic, whether in the shop or within the proprietor. "From the Old English bloedsian, derived from the Proto-Germanic word for blood, due to the ancient practice of sealing a consecration with blood. No, I imagine the blessing would be very much not good for whatever supplied the blood."

From:

pecked_by_birds

"Often not to the one who drew it either," the titan grinned. "Blessings are often tainted by true intention- Magic can be so dangerous, and yet it's everywhere. ...You, my dove, reek of the stuff. It clings to you like ash clings to the feet of those who walk barefoot through the fire."

From:

harrowgate

Quickly, Felix was beginning to recognize the familiarity he sensed around the (seemingly) young fellow. His lyrical speech, the sweet pet name, and the startling recognition of what Felix was -- it put him in mind of his first meeting with Robin Goodfellow.

He smiled, slowly and carefully, in response to the other man's observation. "That will come of being a wizard," Felix noted, with a small half-bow.

From:

pecked_by_birds

"I see- And what sort of wizard are you then?" the titan asked curiously.

From:

harrowgate

In response, Felix tugged back the sleeve of his jacket and held up his left hand, displaying the riot of tattoos encasing his fingers, hand, wrist, and disappeared up his sleeve. On the palm, a faint outline of a blue eye was similarly inscribed.

Cabaline wizards had worn these tattoos on their hands for centuries. If the shopkeeper knew anything about English magic, he would know them.

From:

pecked_by_birds

"Ah," the titan grinned. "It's been a while since I last saw these. ...Come closer, allow me a better look."

From:

harrowgate

It was rare to meet someone who recognized the Cabaline tattoos. Most of his fellow wizards remained sequestered within magical society. Felix was one of the few who lived fully in the world, not mostly in the Mirador.

He stepped nearer, offering out both hands for the shopkeeper to examine. Felix did not wear his magic-focusing rings in public, but he did wear a men's gold ring on one center finger, adorned with a pair of entwined leaves -- a gift from Shannon. "When was the last time you met one of us?" he inquired, wondering if his sense of this person being far older than he looked was correct.

From:

pecked_by_birds

"A very long time ago," the titan admitted. "It was a brief meeting, but images have a way of lingering in this mind," he said, tapping the side of his head as he studied the wizard's hands.

"Things get jumbled up, but they rarely fade."

From:

harrowgate

"How long is 'long ago'?" Felix inquired, allowing him to look as long as he liked. "More than twenty years, I expect, no matter how the blush of youth becomes you, darling."

He'd once had a delightful time bothering Robin by guessing his age at forty. Felix smiled to himself at the memory of it.

From:

pecked_by_birds

"Far more than twenty," the titan laughed, taking hold of the wizard's hands and squeezing gently before letting go. "It was before cars filled the streets, I'm sure of it."

From:

harrowgate

"We were a touch more visible in those days," he allowed, inclining his head in a nod. When his hands were released, he slid back a half-step and offered one of them in proper greeting. "Felix Harrowgate."

His name had faded from the news once again, and the memory of his photo and the suspicion of his guilt. Felix had stopped caring about the reactions of others.

From:

pecked_by_birds

The titan rarely followed mortal gossip, and the name meant nothing to him.

"Prometheus," he replied, taking the offered hand. "Nice to meet you, Felix."

From:

harrowgate

To Felix, that name was a metaphor, not a living being whose hand he could clasp. He still looked a bit surprised to hear it. "The pleasure is mine. Do you always go by your full name?"

From:

pecked_by_birds

"It's not one easily shortened," the titan replied, laughing softly at the idea of being given some odd little nickname.

From:

harrowgate

And yet, the long-lived seemed delighted to call the merely mortal by a host of complimentary pet titles. Robin rarely called Felix by his given name, at least. He smiled. "I suppose that's so. I'm not fond of mine being shortened, either. So," Felix went on, stepping back to take a look around the shop with fresh eyes, "anything you'd recommend for a wizard about town?"

From:

pecked_by_birds

"That depends on what you fancy, dove," the titan purred. "What do you hunger for?"

From:

harrowgate

Felix's brows climbed delicately. He felt he ought to answer the question honestly, for some reason, rather than flippantly. Honesty was not something to which Felix Harrowgate was accustomed, and he hesitated for a long time. Power. Knowledge. Control. More. "I'm... not sure I know how to answer that question," he finally said.