𝚜𝚑𝚒𝚕𝚘𝚑 𝚕𝚊𝚛𝚔 (iceblasts) wrote in worldsapart_ic, @ 2019-03-05 22:12:00 |
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There was something special about bookstores, Shiloh believed that was true the world over, every store she'd visited in every country she'd been in, they were just so special. The walls of knowledge, uncracked spines just full of enchanting places or distant worlds, exotic places with adventures and mysteries. Shiloh loved being able to get lost in books, whisked away for a few hours to enjoy the unfolding of the authors vision.
She'd just donated a few older books, things she'd owned for longer than she'd been in Los Angeles, things she'd read over and over to the point of almost memorised and it was time to let someone else maybe enjoy them. But it meant she could afford, space wise, to pick up one or two new ones. After all, there was no such thing as too many books.
She was in the fantasy section, seeing if anything pulled her in before she moved over to the non-fiction, already wondering what topic she could start to learn about now, if she wanted to choose another period of history or geography or even something along the more social sciences, learn about the mind or how societal constructs were formed.
Probably not the most engaging of topics, but to Shiloh there was no such thing as an uninteresting topic.
---
Dawson loved books. He'd spent years working in a library, after all, surrounded by stories and information at the tip of his fingers. He loved technology too and the internet was fantastic but there was something special about holding a book in his hands.
He had been browsing the non-fiction section for a while looking to see if there were any new books out surrounding werewolf psychology. There had been an 'incident' a few years ago in Chicago which had really pushed a desire in the the human medical community to try and 'understand werewolf psychology' to prevent that incident from happening again. He enjoyed reading through them to see which ones were factually incorrect, and which ones had been purely formed by popular culture assumptions.
Glancing up when he caught a scent that was familiar only in the deepest recesses of his recollection - which told him that they had probably bumped into each other once or twice but not enough for a name to be associated with the scent - he glanced up to see a young woman (dragon, he knew, from her scent, so a deceptively young looking woman) flicking through a book on sociology and offered her a small smile. He hadn't read that specific book, but he'd read some of that author's other work and it was good.
---
Meeting people in book stacks wasn't utterly unheard of, other people did enjoy reading after all, so the attention, quiet and a little distant, wasn't a bad thing. She gave a soft smile back, lowering her book a little while she caught some of the chapter names, deciding if she would bother trying to break it down to understand things a little better.
It wasn't like they were in a library, so Shiloh was weighing up saying something. It was difficult to know if to strike up a conversation and when people were likely to just want to have a little privacy to shop in peace. Ultimately, Shiloh was feeling somewhat brave that day, wrapping an arm around her book to hold it against her chest, raising her other hand to wave with a soft, "Hello," offered.
What else was there to ask someone in a book store? Come here often? Like to read? "Picking up anything interesting?"
---
Dawson's eyes dropped to her mouth as she said hello, catching the wave out of the corner of his eye. He tracked her hands as they held the book against her chest and then looked up again, seeing her mouth moving in something that looked like interesting. He took in a subtle breath and confirmed again that she wasn't human, so he was less afraid to use his charm which was hanging on the outside of his dark t-shirt anyway, thrumming gently with magic.
He shrugged in response to her question, holding up a finger asking her to wait for a moment as he rubbed the thumb of his other hand over the crystal to activate it. A single swipe was all it took.
"Not really," he said, lips not moving, the words being projected directly into her mind. "I can't hear your thoughts," he added quickly, "And I don't use this with humans... if it's a problem, I can type my responses on a phone." He gave her a sheepish, hopeful smile, rubbing the side of his neck, then tapped his ear in the sign for 'deaf'.
---
Her held tilted a little to the side, hair dropping down in a curtain, waiting like directed before a voice, not her own, projected into her mind.
It was startling, of course it was, she'd never experienced anything like that, and while she wasn't old, she'd been around a while, and visited a fair few places. Neither of her parents had ever told her about anything like this, "That's okay," she quickly attempted to put him at ease, her smile sheepish but sweet, "You know I'm not... I mean, how do you know?"
Her mark wasn't obvious, and while it wasn't utterly unusual for some people to know she wasn't human, strangers didn't tend to pick up on it automatically.
---
Dawson's eyes were focused on her lips as she spoke and he tilted his head, replaying the way they had moved and assuming from the context of the conversation she was asking how he knew she wasn't human. He tilted his head, sniffed the air and then lifted his eyebrow.
"Werewolf," he told her. "Been around LA long enough to recognise when people aren't human."
Taking a step forward, boldness getting the better of him, he held a hand out. "Dawson."
---
She wasn't sure if she should slow down her speech or articulate better or how to be more clear. If he couldn't read her mind, and it looked like he was straining a little to catch what she was saying, it must've been difficult for him to carry on conversations when people weren't able to communicate. "I suppose that helps." Werewolves had better senses of smell than dragons, which was clear, since she needed to be told rather than knowing by scent that he was a wolf. She might need to work on that, or it might just be how things were going to be.
"Hello Dawson, I'm Shiloh." She shook his hand, pacing her speech a little to pronounce her name. "I'm sorry, I haven't learned sign language or anything."
---
Dawson looked pleased when she shook his hand, like he’d half expected her to have told him to go away and leave her alone, that people didn’t want to be approached by random folk in bookstores to talk to. Or, to talk with. At? Dawson was just out of practise with meeting new people, and he’d never really been that good at it. Communicating in general was awkward, without Drew it was often near impossible, his brother was a very good interpreter; he’d had a lifetime of practise, after all.
”It’s okay, most people don’t know sign language.” There was a slight tone of resignation in his voice; like he’d accepted that people didn’t bother learning which was why he went to a great deal of effort to at least be able to communicate with hearing folk, even if the effort wasn’t always reciprocated. ”I’m quite a good lip reader, most of the time. And my brother’s usually around to interpret if I get stuck.” Not today, though, Drew was working and had pointed out that Dawson couldn’t just mope about the house forever.
---
Shiloh couldn't really think of a reason not to learn sign language -sure, she'd always been a little more interested in history and geography and what she could see. But language was just as, if not more, important. It was how to communicate with people all over the world, and Shiloh could do it, she had the drive, she had the time.
"They should make it mandatory." Maybe that was short sighted, but why shouldn't it be mandatory for everyone to learn how to communicate with those who couldn't use traditional methods. Tucking her hair behind her ear, Shiloh felt a little sheepish at her own lack of awareness. "But it's good that your brother can help, I wish it wouldn't fall to family though."
Was it foolish if she was already thinking on how she could learn ASL?
---
Dawson chuckled and nodded. ”I agree. It’d be nice if everyone knew even a little bit. It’s hard to talk with humans.” Especially in more recent times, where anything remotely magical had been greeted with panic and hostility. He had to be careful, not just as a werewolf but as someone who had a magical object.
He rubbed the back of his head and nodded. ”It tends to be a lot for Drew, I don’t think he minds playing interpreter but he’s done it our whole lives. It’s nice for him to have a break sometimes.”
He paused, wondering if that was curiosity he could see on the edges of her expression. He bit the inside of his lower lip and then said, ”Would you want to learn?”
---
It was probably a lot, if Dawson was careful about talking to humans himself, which she understood. Non-supernatural people probably didn't have the best response to voices in their head. Even Shiloh was a little startled at first. "It's probably hard, feeling like you need him, or that he needs to be there. And then both of you managing to have your own lives." It was an oddly deep conversation for a bookstore, but Shiloh felt that when she could hear his voice projected to her mind, it was okay to get a little personable.
Of course, when he asked her if she wanted to learn, it was impossible to not look a little hopeful, "I mean, it wasn't something I thought of, and I think that's a missed opportunity on my part. I'd like to, yes." Because she was going to be around a long time, and if she could be a little inclusive, that would be nice -even if it did stem from a random meeting in a bookshop.
---
Dawson lifted his shoulder. "I don't wanna be a burden to him but sometimes you can't avoid it."
Any sadness in his face disappeared the moment her expression shifted to looking hopeful. He felt his chest tighten with an excitement he hadn't felt in a while and he nodded his head eagerly, looking ever so much like an excited puppy. "I mean, do you- could I teach you?"
---
And it was that exact thinking that made Shiloh believe that learning was all the more important. Because no one should feel like a burden, least of all to family.
“Would you?” She probably looked a little weird, having this one sided conversation with someone who mostly made motions and gestures without obviously communicating, but at that moment, with excitement thick and bubbling inside, the prospect of knowledge at her fingertips, Shiloh wasn’t that fussed about looking odd. “I mean, I would really appreciate that. And I can pay you, to be my tutor I mean, I can pay for your time.”
In all honesty she wouldn’t hear about not paying him, it was just proper to pay people for their time.
---
Dawson ducked his head bashfully before he shrugged his shoulders. ”I’d love to teach you,” he told her, excitement clear in his tone and in the lines of his body even though he was trying not to let it show because he didn’t want to scare her off. The thought he’d seen her say ‘pay’ which made him shake his head.
”You don’t have to do that, though. I don’t- I mean- I wasn’t- that’s not why I offered.”
---
"I know it's not why you offered," she was careful with her words, keeping her expression open and bright, making sure he saw that she wasn't feeling obligated. "But I'm using your time, and your good will. And anyone else would've charged me too."
And if she could spend the money she tended to hoard -not out of need, just because her own temptations were few and her parents were wealthy from centuries of hoarding themselves, Shiloh wanted it to be on something deserving.
---
Dawson felt uncomfortable even thinking about taking money from someone and it had thrown his concentration a little so he missed some of what she said, but her body language told him that she wasn't taking no for an answer with regards to the payment. He hoped, at least, that once they started their lessons she'd maybe change her mind, or that she'd be happy covering coffee or something. But he had to admit he was excited to teach someone sign language, excited to have something to do with his time right now while he was searching for employment.
He dug into his pocket and pulled out his phone again, spinning it in his hand and holding it out to Shiloh. "Do you wanna put your number in there?"
---
Taking the phone in her hand, Shiloh quickly entered her number and her name into his contacts, grateful for a sharp memory that let her memorise all her numbers. "Don't worry about where or when, because I um, I keep my own hours. Self-employed." Which, honestly, was stretching what she did a little, but it was enough to cover costs that meant she wasn't dipping into her nest egg too much on the regular.
Not that it would really matter if she did.
"I'm really glad we bumped into each other." And that he had sharper senses than her.
---
Dawson grinned. "Me too," he replied, having shoved his phone back into his pocket. "Oh- hang on." He lifted his hands and signed, whilst speaking to her [Me too, thank you.]
Tipping his head, he asked, "Do you want me to just text you? And we can set a date?"
---
Shiloh took her time to emulate his movements, changing just slightly when she messed up until she got it right. It felt like something to grab to, something that kept her hands moving while she was talking.
"Yeah, whenever you're free, just let me know when you want to do it." After all, Shiloh could make her own hours to work around, she could schedule her blogs and wait a day to do her stream. "I'm free a lot."
---
"I'm free a lot right now," Dawson joked, having watched her coping his signing and repeating it a few times so she could get it right. He beamed, quite obviously excited at the turn of events and rocked up onto his toes.
He cleared his throat and rubbed the back of his neck, "I should let you get back to your books, but I'll text you soon?"
---
Getting back to her books was going to be difficult, although she knew she'd probably be looking into a few more biology books rather than sociology. She would likely wait a little while before she got some ASL books, to see how Dawson's techniques were first.
"Good, soon. Because I'm very excited to start." When Shiloh had things to do, when she was learning she was at her best.
---
Dawson grinned. "I'll be in touch," he promised, taking a step backwards and lifted his hand in a wave, deciding that it was best to head away now before he started rambling at her some more.
Glancing back before he disappeared towards the door, he smiled and waved again, feeling a lightness in his chest that he recognised as excitement, as alien as that sensation was.