Curiouser and Curiouser! (open)

[Deleted]

Walking into the store, Omari stopped for a moment to look around, remembering how odd it felt the first time he saw the bookstore. He remembered being taken to his first big stall at the market in Marrakesh by his father to get some books and the wild variety they come in from unbound, scrolls, animal skin & wood, bamboo, and even large tomes. It had always amused him how Westeners's idea of an old bookstore having all you needed was so different from what he had grown up and still used in some parts of Egypt. His wife's love of book reading had reminded him about it and now he wanted to look for some new gem of a book to bring her, to show he was thinking about her. The other things they had found in the Moroccan stalls had delighted and amazed her in their variety, but he wanted stuff she would and could read as well.

Dressed very casually in jeans and a silk shirt (which was very casual for him used to business suits), he breathed in a minute looking around and then chose to start at the back of the place. Walking past people and stopping when a pair of kids ran past him at knee height pursued by a harassed teenager, he made his way to the back and looked for something which would jump out at him. His wife Veronica was interested in crafts, but he didn't think a book like that was quite right for a general find. As he searched the stacks with his eyes, he ran a finger down the shelves, looking for something unusual. He didn't have to look very far to find a few wild ones.

While Goblinproofing One's Chicken Coop: And Other Practical Advice In Our Campaign Against The Fairy Kingdom sounded quite entertaining in it's own way, he didn't have a yard. Jurassic Towel Origami had some amazing pictures however and thought it would amuse her so he kept that one in his hand as he looked on. Turned sideways (and clearly not in the right place) he found three books which sounded like it might intrigue her. The Devil's Cloth: A History of Stripes and Striped Fabric was more history then craft, as was Royal Knits: Designer Knitting for the Monarchy and Monarchists in a way, though very tongue in cheek. Who needed Corgi slippers after all? Knitted Historical Figures was pure craft art however and surely she had never seen anything like that before! He kept that one and the 'Devil's cloth' one out of amusement.

And then he found it, remembering his wife's wonders about her parent's choice for her brother's contract. Help! My Brother's Dating A Psycho seemed to be filled with advice on how to deal with a sibling's dating and marriage. Seemed ideal so he picked it up with a chuckle and was leafing through it his eyes amused at the pictures chosen on the inside as well...

[MARCELINE ABIGAIL BELLEFONTE]

Marcy quietly walked into the book store, her footsteps where light as if she subconsciously thought about each one she took. She didn't need any book in particular but she had read all the ones lining the shelf in her apartment. Which was probably because she rarely did anything with anyone unless you counted getting a tattoo because she wanted the guy who owned the shop. Walking down the isle of books, she seemed to dance. She always kept her footsteps light because the floors of her childhood home creaked, the slightest bit of noise setting off her mother's headaches. Every room seemed to bright, stage lights made her cringe but she danced through them all. Dragging her hand along the books she felt the spines beneath her finger tips, each felt different.

The smell of the store was different than the mirror cleaner and the treatment stuff she had the floor cleaners place on the studios floors every couple of months. it smelled of old parchment and leather, not to mention the binding glue. Reminded her of all the late night studying she did because she was too busy dancing away her frustrations. There wasn't anything there but silence, the occasional ding of the shop door and the turning of pages. Marcy couldn't understand how people could handle the quiet, her life was always filled with music and chaos, never standing still because the past could catch up to her. She guessed that it was book store and the quiet was needed to transport the reader into the book, a far away place they could escape. If only she had that privilege, it was the privilege of the "less fortunate" as her governess liked to say.

She stopped when there was someone blocking the bookshelf, it was a man and she groaned. She was sure there was a book she was interested in on that shelf, it was where all her books came from. Well not the exact shelf more like the general area and he was blocking it. "Excuse me?" She said quietly her voice going in an out with that one word, she only talked at the tattoo pallor. Her heart hammered in her chest, that one word causing her mind to spin, telling her to shut up.

@shava4444444

[Deleted]

While leafing through the book with great amusement, Omair was becoming quite certain that this book if anything was going home with him. His wife would certainly crack a smile at the very least when she saw the cover whether the book was helpful or not afterwards was purely not the question. Anyway the inside had no glaring bits about dark magic as far as he saw and on the shelves Cameron might even see it one day and be amused. It was clearly a win-win! Another glance over the book in front of him and he saw no other titles which snagged his attention off the bat.

It was then he became aware of someone approaching.

It was only when 'she' spoke that she got his attention and he turned his eyes upon her with a curious look. "Pardon?" he said in that Arabic-accented English of his sounding so different to most of the public in this country. "Did you need help with something?" Since he rarely frequented bookstores he wasn't aware of her body language saying she wanted into the same space as it simply went right over his head.

A glance at her face showed her nerves and an eyebrow went up. What could she possibly want with-- and then it clicked and you could see the comprehension in his eyes pop into place. "Ah, my appologies. I was so into searching for a book I did not realize I was blocking access to it's neighbors." Holding the few he had selected so far he stepped aside, enough to let her slip pass so he could move towards the next case where she was currently standing.

A glance over her and he knew she would never have been on his marriage list. Clothing wise she fit what he thought of as the 'typically wild Westerner" in style which so many did not realize fit a type at all.

MARCELINE ABIGAIL BELLEFONTE

[MARCELINE ABIGAIL BELLEFONTE]

Marcy was starting to realize why she didn't like talking to people. Perhaps she didn't talk not because she didn't want to hear her mother's voice but because she didn't want people judging her. It was obvious that the man was judging her, even if she was dressed appropriately for a pure-blood girl, she would be judge. It was why her tattoos were so important, she could be a dancer and have them. Of course a lot of them were covered up but it was an all or nothing type thing for her. It wasn't a lie when she said most guys deemed her the wild type because of it, which wasn't exactly a lie but it wasn't the truth either. Her father was a man who had many parties and demanded many things, she had to cope and well it lead her to the life she lived now. There was nothing wrong with it as far as she could tell, she got her dance studio...she never wanted for anything and she was in the process of maybe getting who she wanted. It was simple, except it wasn't because sooner or later she'd have to face her dad.

"Nope" She was doing well, if she had anything to do buy, three words and she had fled or blushed. It was better than when she got her first tattoo. Although the Young man who gave her tattoos was far more intimating and dangerous then the well dressed man in front of her. Maybe he was also slightly more interesting, and well groomed. She personally hated stuffy business people, even if she was a stuffy proper ballerina all her life. Maybe she still was, except she was a bit more aware of the awful things, or rather her moral compass was so far south she didn't care for stuffy people who thought they were better than everyone else. Her old governess would have a fit at what she was currently wearing, the dress was kind of short and the combat boots weren't girly at all. She resisted the urge to roll her eyes at the man when he finally understood.

"Thanks, I guess" She said walking towards the bookshelf and studying the books. She didn't particularly know what she wanted, and she had read most of the books she happened to come across. Running her fingers over the spin, she came across one where the letters were smooth but metallic and took it off the shelf. There was a colorful picture on the front but she hadn't paid attention to what the book was actually about. To be honest she just picked books based on the spine and the cover. She sort of knelt down and plucked a couple of books from the bottom shelve, she had heard a couple of dancers talking about them. Was three books enough for the next couple of weeks. She knew she was supposed to be back in Spain in a little while, her father had called a meeting. She just kind of wished she could ignore that and go home to sleep for the whole summer.

@shava4444444

[Deleted]

Being from another culture, Omari often found himself weighing what for him was weirdness in other places against his homeland. The desert required one to cover up in the day for coolness, something that these more humid countries had to do the opposite in. Far beyond religion that meant he was not used to exposed skin on women often and still found himself staring at some sometimes as if unable to believe they had decided on their own to go out that way. It was definitely not out of desire! While his wife was a very pretty young lady, he would not have ogled her if she was not his. Manners had been drilled into him since childhood as well as what was proper and what was not.

The much more rigid society he came from found westerners often obscene without realizing it, laying out temptation on all side as a minute by minute deal. And while some of his countrymen jumped right in, he mostly found it puzzling. Although he found the tattoos that peeked out form her outfit a bit disturbing, his wife's bothered him more in a way. The idea they were on there forever bothered him as it was he skin he wanted to see in all it's natural wonder; smooth, flawless, and desirable. Changing what was natural was an issue he didn't get really. This woman however spoke little and he took that to mean she didn't want conversation nor to have company.

However as he stepped farther back and she passed him, he realized what she was wearing made his eyebrows go up. From what she was wearing it seemed totally inappropriate. The boots screamed tough guy, such as one from the military coming along to kick you out of their way and yet she was wearing a dress, short at that. The two made little sense to him and thus forced him into speech again. It didn't help that shoes were the only thing worn in the desert at all, nothing similar to boots unless it was feet just being just wrapped in cloth which was as useful as shoes or sandals.

Traction was never an issue. Heck, you'd slip with boots as well as shoes no matter where you walked. Only being at the top of the dune provided you any chance of moving with more control. "Pardon, but may I ask what are those on your feet? I can see they are not like normal shoes, but I do not understand their purpose..." Sure, he sounded odd, but his accent already marked him as foreign. He doubted anyone in this land could accurately guess his Egyptian background enough to pick out his individual accent however.

MARCELINE ABIGAIL BELLEFONTE

[MARCELINE ABIGAIL BELLEFONTE]

Marcy was patting herself on the back for a job well done, she had made it through her first encounter with someone and she had talked. Of course it was because that person hadn't made any sudden noises or rather hadn't really spoken to her. Which meant that she really didn't have a real conversation and that she shouldn't have pat herself on the back. She chose to think of it as the first step at fixing her problems, well one of her problems. She really did have a lot of problems that she needed to fix, starting with this whole being held thing. She wasn't going to wait around for her father to choose who she married and of course it was the ultimate act of pissing him off, the tattoos had only done the job for so long before he agreed to like the tough girl look.

She was reaching for another book she found the changing colors on the cover to be captivating when she heard his voice. It was a bit unexpected and she dropped said book forgetting about it as she spun around to face the man speaking. It was easy to tell she had mobility in her boots and she had almost forgotten that she wasn't in her dance studio the spin reminded her she needed to finish her so she could go back to dancing. "Marceline or Marcy my full name sounds all stuffy and proper and i'm trying to make my old governess roll over in grave so Marcy would be better" She waved her wand and her book floated off the floor and on top of the pile with another wave it was hoovering in the air. She didn't really forget she hadn't answered his question until she found another book where the title moved around the cover...she wondered how it did that.

"Oh, they're good for running, and balance, fighting because fighting in heels is never good. It has the added bonus that they clean fast, keep dry and last long. Plus they're kind of tough looking don't you think. But no they're good for my job." She raised an eyebrow at him and smiled politely hoping that she answered his question enough for him to go out and buy a pair they were a good investment. Adding her book to the pile floating beside her she searched for another book she didn't even bother to really look at unless you counted the titles.

@shava4444444

[Deleted]

The young woman, who seemed very uptight, dropped a book as he spoke and did a most artistic spin around! Taking a step back with raised eyebrow to be sure he wasn't within her reach, he listened to her speech about her name with some astonishment. "Ah, nice to meet you then, Marcy..." What was it with the spin? Omari, not trained nor interested in any kind of fighting, wondered what he had stepped into! "My name is Omari Zander."

He noticed, of course, that she had not really answered anything, but had instead come up with an explanation of her name almost as if she expected that to be what he could possibly start a conversation with instead of listening to his actual question. People sometimes did that, prejudging what you were going to say and he did find that a tad annoying. However, her mind apparently caught up to his words and she launched into another assault on the English language. She said what the shoe things were for, but not what they were.

Was she some sort of Muse of Misinformation? He felt very puzzled.

After she finished, he felt a tiny bit bewildered. "So you do a lot of fighting then I take it for a job? Are you an auror of some sort?" His voice sounded taken aback for certain! "And it wasn't what you did with them I was actually asking about so much as what are they called. I've never really seen any shoe that was like them before..."

MARCELINE ABIGAIL BELLEFONTE

[MARCELINE ABIGAIL BELLEFONTE]

Marcy smiled and nodded "Nice to meet you" She felt a bit awful as the conversation went out. She felt it was rude he hadn't introduced himself before he talked to her. she was pretty sure that was the first thing you did, she might have been about...14 years out of practice with speaking but her governess said introductions were first. Then you ere supposed to ask questions and such though she had no questions to ask him besides one. Perhaps she was just expecting to much of him after all not all wizards had proper manners and pure blood etiquette.

She tilted her head to the side and shrugged, his shock shouldn't bother her. a lot of the people she worked with when she wasn't at the studio were sexist and completely condescending until she proved herself. "Nope, not an Auror...I own the Dancing dragon...my father is a sort of very....focused on fighting and self-defense so by defualt being an only child i learned to cope. They're called combat boots by the way, sorry I should've said that first."

Turning back to the book shelf she busied herself with picking out the books that had some sort of flashy appeal to them, not really caring that her pile was growing and the books had started a new by themselves. In truth she did this often, her book shelves were almost full and no two books had the same animation. "Is your hair naturally that curly or do you use a bunch of hair products?" She asked with head tilted to the side. She didn't realize that her question could've been a bit rude but she was always taught not to question males, especially ones that were and looked older than her. She figured it was a safe question, a question that woman could ask a man..hair care. She really wanted to know about his accent...she liked accents but weird Italian ones...

@shava4444444

[Deleted]

She was not like the women from the desert for sure, not with all her changes and tattoos, though she had a reluctance in her speech as if not used to talking lots. Mostly they let a man speak as he would and filled in with stuff like a good 'yes-sir' sort of approach in tune with the dictates of their culture, but she was English. And the Englishmen were barking mad he knew, so he allowed for her oddities. At least she didn't start out about his accent and where he was from and all that which he normally got. She got a bonus point in his mind after that.

Dancing dragon? "Interesting name, do you teach and train fighters then? Or is it a dance sort of place?" And raised by her father to know how to fight, yes it sounded like she was one of those rare female fighter types which back home didn't exist. Which also struck him as odd even as a child; women were the fiercest and most viciously protective of the genders as far as species on the planet went, yet there were no female fighters in his country? Just didn't make sense to him.

His eyes fell back down to the boots as she said the name. Boots. Interesting. "Yes, I can see how those would fit in with an army or such. We have none of these 'boots' as you call them back home in Egypt." He chuckled once. "They would be no good in the desert of course which would explain why not. But in the mountains I imagine they would be popular." She questioned his hair as she turned her back on him again and he took the opportunity to check her out carefully before she caught him.

A dancer and a fighter. Yes, he could see she had the lines for it.

"Natural, I got it from my mother. My sister's have it as well, but most of my father's side the hair is black and fairly straight. I'll be curious to see how my son's hair grows, but he's too young for it to establish much beyond a hint of a wave in it." Judging by his wife's brother, curls ran in her family so who knew?

MARCELINE ABIGAIL BELLEFONTE

[MARCELINE ABIGAIL BELLEFONTE]

"It's a dance studio...I managed to save up enough money to buy it." Marcy didn't want to admit that most of the money was drug money, rarely anything in the world was truly pure. She had learned that at an early age and it was something she didn't like admitting to people or see people realize because she was a kind person somewhere deep inside. She didn't really care where he was from, she knew that someone with his type of accent wasn't from anywhere in the UK or Europe. Considering the fact that she had heard an american accent she figured he was from one of those countries where a woman wouldn't dress like her...ever. She wondered exactly where he was from but she didn't want to ask...to be honest she figured he'd leave after he moved from the bookshelf. She could definitely consider her mission to socialize a success.

"Egypt huh?, that's pretty far out i'm from Spain myself..I really don't like English accents to be honest" She shrugged and turned back to the shelf decided that she had enough books to last her for awhile. Since she was always busy these days with work and dealing with her father. Not that she didn't like being bust because her apartment got a bit lonely at times and she never really had people over. She didn't get the point of having people over every day because she would have to straighten up everyday. Occasionally her friends from school came to visit but they were all dancers like herself, they never stayed for more than a couple f day..a week at the most.

"Aww you have a son, that's so cute. I kinda want a son but I'm dancer so a kid would ruin my figure and I'm not married so its a no go" she shrugged and began counting her books, twenty-two books in all. she was trying to figure out which shelves to put them on, the ones in her bedroom got knocked over alot so she supposed they could go in the study but there weren't much room on them. And she could always move the ones in her room into the sitting room that way she could stop spinning into them or tripping into them when she got out of bed. "How long have you been married?" She asked, before relizing she shouldn't have assumed he was married, now a days people had kids without being married but she was curious to see if he was. That must be love right...to get married at young age..he couldn't be that old. She hadn't met anyone that was actually in love their husband or wife.

@shava4444444

[Deleted]

Enlightenment came onto his face. "Ah yes, I see. A dancing dragon, that fits. Most often when I have heard of something with a dragon attached in the title is was about fighting or self defense. My apologize for jumping to a conclusion." Although with those boots sh could easily knock a student across a room during a spin he would think, not the dancing stuff he was familiar with. "What sort of dancing do you teach? Traditional, modern, a particular style...?"

Omari highly doubted his wife would ever be into belly dancing though he thought it was amazingly sexy in it's own way. Hearing she was from Spain caused a smile. "Nice country. My family's company is working on access there for selling goods. I'll have to make some trips there in a month or so. How did you end up here in this country?" He nodded at the English accent part; it was very odd sounding to him.

He seemed a bit taken aback at the news a dancer could not have kids. "Uh, what? So if you have a career as a dancer you can't have kids till your career is finished? That seems rather wrong." While he was puzzling on that one which seemed odd, she asked another question. "Nearly two years now, another month and it will be our anniversary."

MARCELINE ABIGAIL BELLEFONTE

[MARCELINE ABIGAIL BELLEFONTE]

Marcy nodded a small laugh coming out "No, that's quite alright it was kind of named that before I bought it, the owner was going bankrupt and I really wanted a dance studio" She found that the conversation was going better than she planned. Maybe she was a bit weird for not wanting to talk to people. "I've never been to a dojo or anything like that, my dad was a fan of private teachings so he just paid to have them come to the house. I find it interesting that there are places like that though" While not entirely a lie, there was one time she saw one but she wasn't allowed to go in because she was a girl and her governess didn't think it was proper. Then again she was only allowed to go with her because they didn't want her to be afraid of people when she went to school for the first time.

"Uhm, I'm technically a ballerina but I teach all types of dance. There's even a class on club dancing for the other older students. Mostly though I stick to ballet and contemporary dance, it's less of a hassle to explain why I have to do partner dances." She tilted her head to the side when he asked her what brought her to the states. She was kind of glad he didn't ask her why she stayed because that would be a can worms she wasn't quite willing to answer. Probably because she herself was in denial but that was okay, she was fine with being in denial about some things.

"My dad is ill and I'm an only child and his business expanded her and the states along with south America so I'm kind of in charge of that. it's kind of boring but it's easier to stay here since a lot of the cliental travels from America to here so it's the best." Marcy was pretty sure that was a good answer since he talked about his family business. Though he was pretty sure he didn't know she meant illegal business and she kind supplied for about a fourth of America. "No but I'm really old fashion, my parents are kind of strict purebloods and as a dancer my figure is everything so if I get pregnant I cant dance and look after a baby."

@shava4444444

[Deleted]

Ah so she had turned a place into another purpose. Well if she did that successfully she was good. Too many people had tried to change businesses and ended up going under by not successfully making the transition. And as someone in the business field he understood that all too well! "Congratulations then on your studio, late as it may be." Sounded like her father was into fighting moves however! "I've only heard of them, never been in one."

He shrugged, fighting and dancing had never been his thing though his mother had made sure all the children could dance the basics for society purposes. That society was Egypt, of course, so very different from here. "Interesting. I guess you learned part of your dancing from your father then? I've always avoided fighting styles myself, not my field of interest." However then she blew his mind a bit with a simple statement. "Ballerina?"

She looked nothing like one to his mind.

A tattooed ballerina. The concept made his mind confused for a moment or two before he got a grip on the concept. "I'm not even a partial expert on dancing or such, but I thought ballerina's were not the, uh, boot type to begin with. Do you perform still or just teach?" The idea of her with tattoos doing one of those odd dances that he had seen in the only western performance he had ever seen boggled the imagination. The family connection he could certainly understand given his unique background.

"That I understand. My sisters are in scattered countries across the Middle East and I am stationed here to run this end. That gives the family control over all the different aspects of involvement so I can see why you would be here. A lot of places can be reached internationally from this Country. I'm working on a North America expansion right now to start up in a couple of years. What does your business involve as product?" Then he gave her a look with an elevated eyebrow. Old fashioned? Not usually a tattoo thing he thought either. "Well, you are a unique person."

MARCELINE ABIGAIL BELLEFONTE

[MARCELINE ABIGAIL BELLEFONTE]

"Thanks" Marcy said with a small smile on her face, perhaps the conversation wasn't a complete loss after all. Then again she didn't quite understand how to people could stop what they were doing to just talk. It must have been that she was a bit confused about things like this, how to interact with other people she didn't have to be around all the time. "That's nice, sadly I'm not the same.....I think a good fight is nice every now and then." She admitted with a shrug, that probably wasn't the most, she almost snorted when he asked appeared shocked about her career.

"Yep, I have been since I was like five." Marcy happened to enjoy dancing, it was when she learned other forms of dance besides ballet that she wanted to own a dance studio. Now a days having tattoos wasn't all that bad if you were a great a dancer and Marcy knew she was a great dancer. Call it boasting or having to much pride but it was the one thing she could be proud of.

"Yeah, to be fair I only recently starting wearing them and the tattoos can be covered by Make-up. Both actually, though recently I've only had time to teach seeing as my father keeps me busy." Marcy bit her lip in thought, she couldn't very well say she sold guns or drugs. Then again she didn't exactly have a logical explanation for anything besides shipping. "It depends, Most of the money comes from shipping things for other companies, potion ingredients and the such." She hoped that was a good enough answer and he wouldn't ask for specific. She had no idea why guys liked to ask so many questions, didn't they ever get tired of the sound of their own voice. Maybe that was a bit harsh though.

@shava4444444

[Deleted]

Feeling the conversation was winding down he decided to watch for an easy exit. He had had a decent (if odd ball) conversation with a new person and beyond that, a female. And while he had to work with women and loved his sisters, it was more a woman from another culture he was trying to adjust more to. That made it significant to him at least! "I'll leave the fighting to you then, I prefer conquering by business. Much less personal pain that way," he chuckled.

The idea of her being a ballerina had surprised and quite truthfully shocked him, but her easy comments about them being covered up or hidden by make up seemed too pat. Deciding to watch out for such in the future, it also told him his wife's own tattoo was something that could be hidden as well. Not that she would appreciate it, but for particular gowns and such it would work. And that made him feel a bit better about the fact she had ruined her perfect skin with one. "Ah! I see, so the tattoos came after."

Slipping into interest in business had one eyebrow go up. The way she had said it earlier hadn't sounded so involved on a big scale. "Really? Interesting business I am sure, we specialized in things made by craftsmen rather then in the everyday." Holding up the stack of books he gave her a small head bow as he said "It has been nice talking with you, but I have book to wrap before my wife sees them and I should get moving. Maybe we shall run into each other again sometime here!" With a cheerful smile (though his eyes were serious) he turned to head towards the front counter.

MARCELINE ABIGAIL BELLEFONTE