InsaneJournal

Tweak says, "butterflies on parade"

Oriel Summerby (isign) wrote in wished,
@ 2010-09-06 12:25:00

Entry tags:

!2003: 09, !complete, alfred cattermole, oriel summerby

Who: Oriel Summerby and Alfred Cattermole!
When: September 6th. Afternoon.
Where: The Velveteen Rabbit.
What: Book shopping?
Rating: Low?
Status: Closed/Complete.

Oriel had drifted into the Velveteen Rabbit like a leaf brushed along like a summer's breeeze. He was just out for a walk, with no real purpose in mind, but as he passed by the bookshop with the lovely name - The Velveteen Rabbit had always been a book he liked (although it made him cry, and probably still would) - he decided that he wanted to go in.

He passed through the doors, into the interior which smelled of books. Oriel had never quite been sure if it was a product of being deaf - other senses making up for the lost one - but he had always had a good sense of smell.

He paused once he was inside, half wanting to look for books for himself, and half wanting to go to the children's section and pick something (or somethings) out for the little brother or sister who would be coming in less than six months time.

It was the latter that he decided upon, and he went down to the brightly coloured books with happy pictures and big lettering, and began to browse. He saw some books he recognized from being a child himself, and many he did not, either because they had come since, or because they were Wizarding books.

(Read comments) - (Post a new comment)

alfiecat
2010-09-06 10:53 pm UTC (link)

Alfie looked up from the book he'd been looking at and saw the younger man wave to him - for a second he couldn't quite place him, then it clicked that he was one of his sisters' friends... Summerby? And he grinned at him and raised a hand too.

There was something he was supposed to remember, right? Something about him...

He called out , "Hey, mate. How are you?" Before it clicked.

(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

isign
2010-09-06 10:56 pm UTC (link)

Oriel's eyes darted to Alfie's mouth, so he could follow what he was saying. Since Alfie was only partially looking at him, that made it more difficult, but he thought he got the gist of it. A greeting of some sort.

He walked closer to him, and tilted his head to the side, licking his lips lightly. Oriel was always a bit uncomfortable speaking in front of people he didn't know really well. He was always worried someone would tease him, because his voice sounded flat, having never learned inflections or anything like that - things he couldn't hear and thus couldn't understand. But he didn't think Alfie was right that.

"Good," he replied after a pause. "How are you?" His fingers moved as he spoke, unconsciously signing the words out of habit.

(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

alfiecat
2010-09-06 11:02 pm UTC (link)

Alfie remembered just after he'd spoken, and his head snapped to face Oriel straight on so that he could read his lips. Still, probably a bit too late for that to have been clear.

He could remember from now on, at least, and his sisters would probably be upset he'd forgotten at all. "Good. Just got off work." He jerked a hand to the street to indicate he worked in the alley - he didn't really know how to explain the grocer's stall.

(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

isign
2010-09-06 11:04 pm UTC (link)

Oriel glanced over his shoulder briefly, following the pointing gesture. However his eyes did not stray from Alfie's face for very long, incase the other boy said something. He didn't want to miss half a phrase and be lost. That was always awkward.

"Need something to read?" he guessed as his hands moved as well. That was generally the reason for being in a bookstore, after all!

(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	alfiecat 2010-09-06 11:05 pm UTC (link)
	"Me?" Alfie laughed a little and shook his head. Reading wasn't ever really something he'd been very good at, or very likely to enjoy. "You remember Julien? It's for him. Just trying to find something he'd like." (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	isign 2010-09-06 11:07 pm UTC (link)
	A laughing smile lit up Oriel's face, although he didn't laugh himself. He rarely laughed, in an audible way. "I remember him," he nodded his head. Julien was also someone he didn't know very well, but he knew who he was, that Alfie and Julien were quite close. "What kind of books does he like?" he asked him curiously. (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

alfiecat
2010-09-06 11:11 pm UTC (link)

"Everything," Alfie said with a roll of his eyes. "Ravenclaw, you know..." He shrugged, putting the book he was still holding back into the space it had left in the shelf as he'd taken it, then looking back at Oriel. "Anything new you'd recommend? You like that sort of thing?" He realized he didn't really know, one way or the other, but it was safer asking someone than hanging about the shop all day reading covers.

(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

isign
2010-09-06 11:14 pm UTC (link)

"I like books," Oriel sasid, bobbing his head. And then he was looking to the shelves, although he kept glancing back to Alfie, every so often, so that he would notice if Alfie started speaking again.

His eyes scanned over the shelves, over titles, and he started moving down the aisle.

"There's this," he said, pulling a book off the shelves. Faerie Wars by Herbie Brennan, which had come out that February. "It's fantasy. About a faerie who finds allies in the regular world."

(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	alfiecat 2010-09-06 11:17 pm UTC (link)
	Alfie took the book and looked over the cover. He asked, "What sort of - " Before he remembered and rolled his eyes at himself, then looked up to Oriel again apologetically. "Sorry, mate. Forget my manners, you know? But... what sort of allies? Is it violent?" He didn't really think Julien would want something violent. (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	isign 2010-09-06 11:19 pm UTC (link)
	Oriel blinked and caught the words the second time around. He waved a hand, a silent way of saying that it was alright. "A human boy. And an old man. It's... not really violent. There are fights but.. not in a violent way." Because it was a book aimed primarily at youth and was glossy in that way. (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	alfiecat 2010-09-06 11:23 pm UTC (link)
	"Kinky.." Alfie said, about the old man and the boy it, then caught himself and blushed a little, shaking his head and then turning the book to read the cover. It didn't sound bad, and Julien tended to like fantasy things, didn't he? (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

isign
2010-09-06 11:27 pm UTC (link)

Oriel didn't even know what could be kinky about what he had said, but he blushed as well, just at hearing the word! He was pretty sure he hadn't ever had someone just randomly say that before and he wondered if he had misread Alfie's lips. Except he couldn't think of any similar-sounding word that would make any more sense.

"It's good. It's going to be the first book in a series," he said quickly, to push past any mention of kinky things.

(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

alfiecat
2010-09-06 11:29 pm UTC (link)

Alfie chuckled to himself, even if he was the only person who'd gotten the joke, and nodded. "It sounds good. Then if likes it I'll be able to get him the rest of them..." Without having to worry about what sort of books he liked. In Alfie's mind, series' were a bonus.

"Thanks, mate." Then, because he though it was rude to use him to find a book and then brush him off to pay for it, he thought for something to say. "Seen my sisters lately?"

(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

isign
2010-09-06 11:33 pm UTC (link)

"You're welcome," Oriel said in a friendly manner, pleased to have been able to help. He was the helpful sort, and liked to be able to lend a hand to a friend or a stranger or anything in between.

He tilted his head, letting his thick dark bangs slide across his forehead. "I saw Ellie, the other day," he replied, fingers forming the words as well. "And I've been speaking with Maisie." He hadn't seen her in a little while though, something which would have to be rectified.

(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	alfiecat 2010-09-06 11:36 pm UTC (link)
	"Maisie's dead busy with her job..." Alfie said, understanding the difference between being able to see his sister versus just talking to them. "She's living with Rose Zeller, though, you remember her?" (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	isign 2010-09-06 11:39 pm UTC (link)
	Again Oriel's face lit up. "I know Rose," he confirmed. Rose was one of his best friends, had been for years. "They must have fun," he murmured, thinking of the two of them, living together. How fun! "Do you live with Julien?" He thought he had heard that mentioned. (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

alfiecat
2010-09-06 11:45 pm UTC (link)

Oriel obviously knew Rose. That was nice, that she and his sister had some shared friends. "I think they both stay busy, but yeah I 'm sure they have a good time."

At the question about Julien, Alfie couldn't have kept himself from smiling despite himself if he'd have tried. "Since we left Hogwarts, actually," he said, then shrugged and explained, "He's my...." But he couldn't really think of a world that really encompassed it. "He's mine," he finally settled on.

(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	isign 2010-09-06 11:46 pm UTC (link)
	Oriel watched as the words trailed off, a pause there that said more than words did. The young former Hufflepuff dipped his head in understanding. While he didn't have anyone like that in his life, he understood. "That's great," he said. He was always happy when people fell in love, when people were happy. (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

alfiecat
2010-09-06 11:55 pm UTC (link)

"Yeah," Alfie said with another shrug, as if it wasn't something important. It was the most important thing he thought he'd ever had, but it was also commonplace now, the way his dad once told him he felt about his mum - like they were a part of each other, so he didn't feel the need to talk about her all the time. He hadn't really understood it then, but he was like his dad - better with his hands than he was with words.

"Well..." He said after a second, smiling and waiting for Oriel to look back up to him. "Thanks again for the book..."

(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	isign 2010-09-06 11:57 pm UTC (link)
	Gaze lifted again so he could see that, those words of parting. "You're welcome," he said again and he took a step backwards. "It was good seeing you." And then with a little wave of his hand, he let Alfie go to pay for the book, and continued his own browsing. (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	alfiecat 2010-09-07 12:12 am UTC (link)
	Alfie walked past him, but before he left he turned back and tapped in on the shoulder so that he'd turn around before he said, "We should all get together. I'll find out when my sister's off and have some party or something? If you wanted?" (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	isign 2010-09-07 12:14 am UTC (link)
	The tap made Oriel jump a little bit, as he had become lost in his own little world as he perused the books. He turned around, his mouth curving into a smile when he saw it was Alfie again. "That sounds like fun," he replied. "That would be great." (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	alfiecat 2010-09-07 12:20 am UTC (link)
	Alfie nodded, smiling too. "I'll write you. You have one of the journals, yeah?" Almost everyone had them now, it seemed like, so it was better than owls to get someone. (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	isign 2010-09-07 12:22 am UTC (link)
	"I do," Oriel agreed. He liked the journals. Writing was always easier for him, an easy way to express himself, to communicate with people without having to worry about them understanding, or thinking him odd. (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	alfiecat 2010-09-07 12:27 am UTC (link)
	"I'll write you then, when we get it figured out." Alfie gave a wave and headed back toward the counter after he'd finished the offer - he liked the idea, though. He could make sure Julien was off that night, and maybe try to make it seem like his idea. So he wouldn't feel so guilty about the Cup. (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	isign 2010-09-07 12:28 am UTC (link)
	"Sounds great," Oriel smiled and gave another wave, watching as Alfie headed off again, and then he returned to the books, heading down towards the children's section. (Reply to this) (Parent)

(Read comments) -