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Post by Markise Sterling on Apr 6, 2009 22:07:00 GMT -5
Markise's tongue swept lightly over his lips and he glanced toward the door that led back into the shop. If Ariel did it like that, then he'd be downstairs when Markise finally made it upstairs. Wouldn't that be better, though? He wasn't sure. He'd asked Ariel here to help, to try to give him something constructive to do, but he knew he wanted the company, too. "It'd be fine if you wanted to go out there first," he said. He glanced up at Ariel, then back at the notebook, hopefully before he gave himself away. "I'll still be in here and I can talk to anyone who comes in." If anyone came in.
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Post by Ariel Logan Callahan on Apr 6, 2009 22:10:57 GMT -5
"Yeah," Ariel said, unsure about that way of doing it. Starting with the extras made more sense to him. "But if I start counting out front, then I'd have to edit it every time someone came in. It would be easier to wait until you've closed, by then I would have everything else done." He hoped. But then, when he got in the pattern of doing something, he was quick at his work. Besides, once everything was counted and there was a specific way of keeping track, then everything would go much more smoothly.
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Post by Markise Sterling on Apr 6, 2009 22:17:26 GMT -5
Inwardly, Markise was frowning. It made perfect sense and he couldn't bring himself to argue, but he wanted to keep Ariel as late as he could. If he could keep him here until they could only just make curfew, then he'd be safe for the night, right?
Markise nodded. "That makes sense," he said. "I guess I'll... show you upstairs. Hold on." Markise trotted out into the shop and flipped the sign to closed by hand. He still hadn't quite gotten that charm and didn't want to risk knocking over a display with Ariel here. He walked back, one hand pushing back that same strand of hair, his eyes almost continuously flickering to his new bracelet. There was no reason to be nervous, this was just Ariel. Ha.
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Post by Ariel Logan Callahan on Apr 6, 2009 22:20:47 GMT -5
Ariel watched Markise as much as he could. Why was he putting himself through this? But he would be able to work and help Markise, he wouldn't even be around him much longer. That thought immediately set off a string of others as he tried to figure out how to keep Markise with him for just a few minutes longer than necessary. Was that one night really enough to do this to him? He wrinkled his nose slightly. Apparently it was.
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Post by Markise Sterling on Apr 6, 2009 22:25:01 GMT -5
Markise felt it as he reached Ariel, and he glanced up from under his lashes as he passed. Don't watch my ass too much, straight man. He pushed nervously at his hair again as he reached for the doorknob. "I don't know if you'll want that book," he said, gesturing to the one he'd abandoned. Then he turned, inhaling deeply as he moved into the stairwell to ascend to the second floor.
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Post by Ariel Logan Callahan on Apr 6, 2009 22:28:29 GMT -5
Markise had said there was one upstairs, but Ariel grabbed the book anyway, just in case. He tried keeping his eyes low, but low was just at Markise's moving hips. So he tried to move them up, which only succeeded in giving him a great view of Markise's upper back and hair. His eyes went flat in annoyance. It seemed like everything was working against him. He finally decided that looking at Markise's back was the safest bet, so he kept his eyes slightly elevated, just enough to be safe, as he followed.
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Post by Markise Sterling on Apr 6, 2009 22:37:52 GMT -5
The second floor was probably supposed to be an apartment, though Markise hadn't used it as such. The main room had a wooden futon in the corner with a full-size mattress or cushion-- he wasn't sure what to call it --dragged off onto the floor in front of it. The futon drove him crazy, so he just didn't use it. That corner was where his coat and book bag were.
That entire corner was likely lost to the rest of the room. There were a few tables here, with rolled-up fabrics on one, boxes and papers on another, and one that had an open pad of parchment and a stack of loose pages. Markise headed directly for those, shuffling the pages into a neat stack, then into the drawing pad. He wove his way around a few more mannequins, one with a male shape and a sketchy drawing pinned to the chest.
"I'll show you the other room in a second," Markise said, flustered again. "I just don't want these getting lost."
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Post by Ariel Logan Callahan on Apr 6, 2009 22:42:23 GMT -5
Ariel wanted to go and put his arms around Markise and tell him to just calm down. Ariel had seen much worse when it came to clutter. He kept himself from doing it, just barely. "I don't think it will take me long..." he said as he looked around. In his mind he was already making plans for how he could make everything much more organized in the room. It wasn't the largest room, but he was sure he could make it seem bigger with just a few things moved around.
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Post by Markise Sterling on Apr 6, 2009 22:54:47 GMT -5
Markise grimaced slightly, though he was still turned away from Ariel at the time. He set the drawing pad down and grabbed the nearest heavy object, a full pencil holder, to pin the cover shut. Then he turned back to Ariel. He gestured toward one of the doors, then another. "That's like, a kitchen, but there's nothing in there, and that's a bathroom," he said. He'd allowed himself some nice-smelling soap as a luxury, and he had a flickering thought about whether Ariel would complain. He sighed, then headed for the open doorway. "Follow me," he said.
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Post by Ariel Logan Callahan on Apr 6, 2009 22:59:13 GMT -5
Ariel flicked glances to the two rooms as Markise pointed them out, his mind wrapped in the upcoming work. Then he looked away and followed Markise. He sighed through his nose and put his hands in his pockets. He could slide the tables against the walls and organize those boxes...whatever they were, and he could certainly find a better place to put those mannequins...
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Post by Markise Sterling on Apr 6, 2009 23:14:59 GMT -5
It wasn't at all a long trip to the other room, likely the bedroom, though you wouldn't know by looking. There was a closed door to a full bath, one that was as empty as the kitchen, and an open closet, where he kept the overstock of expensive dress robes. At least, he knew the bathroom and the closet were there.
It was hard to see either through the maze of boxes that, as haphazard as they might look, were arranged and categorized in an echo of the downstairs. The boxes were stacked halfway to the ceiling, with the largest sizes at the bottom, working up to the smallest sizes at the top. Markise gave Ariel a brief description of how it was all arranged, then turned to a thick book on a small table beside the door.
"Everything in this room should be in here," he said, though he didn't sound convinced. He could have miscounted something.
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Post by Ariel Logan Callahan on Apr 7, 2009 21:15:38 GMT -5
Ariel just kept himself from wrinkling his nose when he looked around. He figured he should probably start there, since that was currently where the business resided. Yes, the designs were important, but currently, the business was held up by the premade things in the boxes. He could move on later to the other room. At least it would keep him busy for quite a while. "I think I'll have fun," he said absently, then began to move around the room. For the first time since coming to Diagon Alley, Ariel wasn't thinking about Markise, well...not that way, anyway.
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Post by Markise Sterling on Apr 7, 2009 21:20:27 GMT -5
Markise gave Ariel a skeptical look, but it went unnoticed. He stood for a moment, pushing again at that errant curl before turning to the door. He hated inventory, and he felt bad for making Ariel do it, even if he seemed more resigned than nauseous at the task. "If you need me, I'll be downstairs," he said. Again he paused, then turned to leave and reopen.
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Post by Ariel Logan Callahan on Apr 7, 2009 21:33:30 GMT -5
Ariel was able to keep himself from going back with Markise much easier than he would have before. He nodded absently and then found the book that had everything in it, though he soon flipped to empty pages to begin again. He would count and sort first, then he could go about organizing it all into something easier to get around than just a room full of stacked boxes.
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Post by Markise Sterling on Apr 7, 2009 21:45:18 GMT -5
Markise had gotten downstairs just in time to see someone turn away from the door, and though he'd hurried to let them in, they'd disappeared into another shop by the time he reached the storefront. His brows narrowed as he flipped the sign to Open again, and his lips pressed tight as he turned back to his mini-workroom. At least he had something to do, and just maybe it would look like something by dark.
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