Athelstan Wilder (whereareyoulord) wrote in valarlogs, @ 2013-08-20 02:00:00 |
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Entry tags: | !complete, brother athelstan, raven darkholme (mystique) |
Who: Brother Athelstan & Raven (Mystique), aka "Irene"
What: Raven likes to mess with people.
When: 8/16
Where: Navi's garden center, where Athelstan works
Rating: PG, flirting/innuendo
Status: Complete
Athelstan was hard at work at the garden centre, hefting huge bags of dirt from outside to inside. Today was a bit more busywork than usual, but it was all right with him. First came the dirt, then he could get to moving the plats of flowers. That tended to be the good part. Navi had told him to stop and help customers if need be, and he would, but hopefully they would ignore how sweaty and dirt-streaked he was.
Raven stepped inside, dressed like a bombshell on the hunt, in a tight dress that complimented her hair. She walked up to the first employee she saw. “Hey, handsome.”
Athelstan turned around and promptly blushed beet red. In front of him was an extremely attractive woman dressed to show it off. “Hello, ma’am. How can I help you today?” He felt awkward being so dirty.
“I’d like to get some flowers for a friend of mine. Do you have any suggestions?” She leaned forward, hands on her hip.
He did his best to avoid her eyes, but that put him into looking at her bosom. Damnation. “Certainly, ma’am. May I ask what manner of occasion it is? Different flowers say different things.”
Raven smirked at him, knowing exactly where his eyes were going. In a breathy voice, she said, “I want it to say just how very much I want you.”
Athelstan turned the color of the roses he was working with. “Oh. Erm. Well. I might suggest red. Anything red. Especially these roses. They signify, erm. Lust.” The word on his tongue felt awkward.
“Lust?” She let the word roll off her tongue. “That’s a fun little word.” She started going through the word in the various languages she knew, voice growing deeper with each translation.
He was all too familiar with the word, having gone to confession for it more than a few times. All he could do was blush and stammer, wondering just what she might be. “I know that my girlfriend loves lilies,” Athelstan finally managed, hoping he didn’t sound like a complete pillock and wondering why he cared.
She pulled a wad of bills out from between her breasts, slowly and deliberately, and separated the money for the roses - and a little extra. “Buy her some with the change.”
Athelstan’s eyes went wide. “I .. oh, no, ma’am, I couldn’t. But I’d ... I’d be happy to get y - your roses.” This lady gave him some uneasy feelings.
“No, I insist. Any lady who’s caught your eye deserves her lilies.” Raven smiled, a little wolfishly. “There was a movie I saw once. I think a quote from it was that lilies means you dare her to love you.”
“Oh?” He was genuinely interested; he had never heard that. “She is extremely unusual.” So was this woman, but she might just be a bit, well, oversexed.
“That’s another way of saying very interesting,” Raven replied, winking saucily.
“Well ... she is interesting.” Athelstan blushed, feeling the absurd impulse to defend himself.
“You make it sound like I think it’s a bad thing.” She leaned forward again, to give him the full view. “It’s not. Interesting is the spice of life.”
“One can hardly imagine you would be thought uninteresting,” Athelstan blurted. Well, it was true. She was interesting, just ... terrifying at the same time.
She gave Athelstan a kiss on the cheek, then straightened. “You have a lovely shop here. Thank you for letting me browse it.”
“Oh, it’s not mine, ma’am. It’s Miss Navi’s.” He could take refuge in being literal, thankfully. It scared him less.
“Tell Miss Navi her shop is beautiful and she knows how to hire a good looking staff member. Is she your girl?”
“No, no. She’s my boss.” Athelstan blushed harder. He’d faint at this rate. Getting this woman’s roses helped distract him. “She’s my extremely pregnant boss.” He started to pick some of the best single roses he saw in the soil, going to separate them.
“Mm. Some people like that,” she replied, and sauntered over to the counter, ready to check out.
Oh, good lord. Athelstan inwardly sighed, praying for strength. Not because he was incapable of resisting her wiles, but because she wasn’t using wiles. It felt disloyal to even look. “Should I enclose a card with the roses, ma’am?”
“Please.” She gave him another smile. “To Zoe, from Irene.”
Interesting. Athelstan simply said “Yes, ma’am,” while he snipped off leaves and thorns. He did his best to arrange them into an attractive bouquet - he still tried to do his job, despite wanting her gone. Maybe she would go sooner. “Will these do?”
“That’s perfect! Thank you. My lady friend will appreciate them.” Her eyes gleamed.
Had she simply flirted with him so heavily to watch him squirm? Athelstan was beginning to think so, which was mildly irritating. Still, he took it in good stride. God did test one in mysterious ways. “I’ve tried to remove every thorn I could find,” he said, managing to look her in the eye for once. “I hope that I’ve been successful.”
“I believe you have. But without a little danger….? Well that’s life. I’ll take the risk and trust you,” Raven replied.
Athelstan raised an eyebrow, but he didn’t say anything. What kind of lady friend would leave thorns to find?
“I’ll have to refer my friends to this place,” ‘Irene’ said, and gave him a little waggle of her fingers. For exactly 1/10th of a second, Athelstan was staring at himself. Carrying her roses, the woman sauntered out of the shop.
That flash of time was enough. Athelstan froze in something approaching terror, but then she was just another woman, paying and leaving like nothing had changed.