OTA - debut

[treasuredtales]

The board meeting had had a few hiccups, and in the end, Belinda had resorted to magic to see things settled to her liking. The two newest members seemed to have believed Belinda being board chair and majority shareholder meant nothing when she was also young (apparently), black, and female. True, she generally let the business-minded handle the business aspects of the company, but delegating responsibilities was the mark of a good leader. Padding the bottom line at the expense of the creators who were the soul and source of the products Loreworks traded in might work in the short-term, but it was bad business over time, and Belinda had had to be rather insistent on that subject.

After the meeting, Belinda felt she’d earned a bit of a treat, so she stopped in at one of her favorite bookshops. In a manner of speaking. She wasn’t sure she could pick one favorite bookshop, when there were reasons to love them all. So much, she decided to make a day of it, going from one shop to another: from the large Waterstone’s and Foyles to Shapero’s rare books, shops specializing in signed first editions, and those with shelves and shelves of yellowing paperbacks, new books and old books, and everything in between.

Belinda sat cross-legged on the floor, surrounded by small piles of books she'd pulled from the shelves, her choices following an impulse that would probably seem random to anyone watching. Children's books, weighty literary fiction, sci-fi and fantasy both, mysteries and romance, and more - if it was a kind of fiction, it was probably represented in her selections. She paid no mind to how she was blocking half the aisle, although someone coming near was enough to get her to glance up from the book she was flipping through.

Comments

[harrowgate]

Felix wanted to be rather annoyed with the obstruction to his progress through the shelves. He quite liked being annoyed, especially at other people, especially in public, especially in a place like this where knowledge and stories and metaphor were better appreciated.

Only he couldn't be as annoyed as he wanted, because the individual surrounded by this worshipful congregation of tales was worrying at his magic in a way Felix did not understand. He had circled once or twice, attempting to work out what that was, and coming up with only more questions every time. At last, he gave in, and let himself be drawn down the aisle. "Gracious, leave a few copies for the rest of us?" Felix suggested at a properly low volume.

[treasuredtales]

To Belinda's mind, she'd shown a great deal of restraint in her selections. But she had to, when it came to bookshops, when she wanted to take everything home with her. She clutched to her breast the book in her hands as she looked up at the oh so colorful man.

"I've left plenty," she said, scanning the shelves to either side - a hungry look in her eyes as she spied another title she needed to add to her stacks. But it was the only copy on the shelf, and most of the time she did try, as one way of maintaining that restraint, to limit herself to ones where the shop had multiple copies. So for the moment, she stayed as she was, and left the book on the shelf.

[harrowgate]

He should have let himself sound more playful, Felix mused, as she seemed to have taken him too seriously. He was too curious and had too many questions about this strange shape of magic that seemed far too large for the space occupied by a single woman. "Ah, so you have," Felix answered more lightly, as though only just noticing the other books on the shelves. "I almost didn't notice. Can I assist you with your purchase? A basket, perhaps? Or a cargo ship?"

This time, he let a tiny smile play on the corners of his lips.

[treasuredtales]

"Ooooh, a cargo ship might work." Imagining a cargo ship full of books all for her made Belinda all warm inside, and not the way her fire did. "Might."

The man had the smell of magic on him, and then Belinda noticed his hands. Cabal. This was either going to be another act of the morning's tiresomeness or a good deal of fun. "But you're hardly one of the clerks, to offer your assistance. I wouldn't want to put you to any bother."

[harrowgate]

Felix couldn't miss the way she reacted. What sort of magically-imbued being would have the avarice for books that came naturally to wizards, yet not be a wizard? It would be much too rude to ask -- and manners were of paramount importance to a great many magical individuals.

That meant he really couldn't tell her to just get out of the way.

"We could just levitate them to the counter," he suggested, with the dry kind of finality that indicated he didn't want to beat around the bush about who-are-you, what-are-you.

[treasuredtales]

"Not everyone is so obvious as to wear their nature on their hands for all to see," Belinda answered, although she was amused at the thought of levitating all her books over to the counter.

Spying one of the actual shop employees, Belinda raised her hand and made eye contact enough to get the clerk's attention. "I'll be taking all of these today. If you wouldn't mind beginning to ring them up?" Book sellers wanted to sell books, and Belinda was well known at the store for her shopping sprees, so she likely didn't need even the tiny push of magic embued in her words to get him to agree. But the wizard might appreciate it.

[harrowgate]

Felix rather wanted to object to her first statement, but stopped himself at the presence of the annemer bookseller who approached. He managed to bite back any sharp retorts until she had finished, pretending to glance over a nearby shelf, but the little glimmer of magic drew him back again.

He lifted his chin, eyes faintly narrowed. She wore no tattoos and he knew she wasn't a wizard, let alone a Cabaline, but that pulse of magic accomplished something, and Felix had the uncanny feeling that she'd just used magic on another person. Such a thing was anathema to any Cabaline wizard, categorized as gross heresy among them, and it sat distinctly uncomfortably in Felix's heart.

"You're not a wizard," he said quietly, once the employee was out of earshot.

[treasuredtales]

One eyebrow rose over an inscrutable Look. "No." Belinda would have thought that much was obvious to a wizard, although perhaps it was better he didn't seem to know precisely what she was. Wizards could be both predictable and unpredictable in the worst ways some times. "I am not."

[harrowgate]

"And that is why you got away with doing what you just did," Felix observed, his tone carefully mild and reserving any judgement. She wasn't a wizard, but she had magic, and she didn't mind using it in front of others. It probably wasn't a good idea to piss her off, but Felix was excellently practiced at doing just that.

"Among my sort, people get burned for that."