2019-09-18 - Bookstore Bums

It's a lazy Wednesday afternoon at Likely Stories, around lunch time, and a few people come and go from the shop, wandering the shelves and choosing their purchases, checking out with a girl who is a student from WSU Hoquiam. Elias is upstairs, crashed out on the couch in the loft area reading a book. The shop's quiet music plays, and there's the murmur here and there of people shopping, but otherwise it is pretty quiet.

With her texts ready for pickup, after several unexpected delays from the publishers, Isabella finally receives the call that she has been waiting for from Likely Stories, though this has been left in her smartphone as a voicemail. Having somehow extricated herself from the mountain of documents she has been buried under while working on her thesis, she decides that the time for a break is nigh, changes out of her clothes and hits Gray Harbor's downtown area.

The September night is warm enough to leave her sunkissed skin dewy with the lingering traces of the dying Summer's humidity, leaving the sheen of her biodegradable sunscreen visible under the light when she breezes through the doors of the bookstore, in seemingly better spirits than her distant cousin had seen her last, though she seems to be checking her text messages with furrowed brows, and the occasional exasperated sigh. Her slender, athletic figure is dressed in a loose, dark blue linen top with fancy beadwork on the neckline, sleeves gathered under her elbows by ribbon detailing, a pair of jeans shorts that had spent its former life as full jeans, judging by the torn-up hems, and a pair of sandals with a slight heel, making the most of the silver rings that decorate her toes - an array of three total. A butterfly clip keeps the loose arrangement of her hair in place, left in a careless knot that makes her look artfully disheveled rather than genuinely messy. The moonstone pendant she is never without swings with every step.

She stops at the counter, to inquire after her books, though once they are handed to her in a bag emblazoned with the very familiar logo of the store, she quietly inquires where Elias is. It eventually leads her to the spiral staircase that wind upwards, towards the fondly-named 'Spooky' section, where all the couches are.

The archaeologist approaches from behind, a light fingertip reaching out to tap gently on the top of Elias' head, if he allows. "Boo," she greets, flashing him a smile.

For half a second, Elias considers screaming in "fright" when she taps the top of his head, but truth be told, he saw the movement in the reflection of the glass cases housing some of the books before she got allt he way to him. So instead he tips his head up and stares at her upside-down with an idle sort of smile. "Came to pick up your books, I see. How's it going, cousin of dubious origins?"

The tilt of his head back with his long, dark hair spilling back and the downward curve of his lazy smile - his face is upside down, after all - broadens the quirk of Isabella's smile as she wiggles her bag in demonstrative fashion, indicative that she had picked them up. "Oh, you know, the usual," she says, gesturing to the cup of coffee from Espresso Yourself that she had picked up before stopping by. "Feeding my caffeine addiction, being dubious. How's it going with you, cousin of equally dubious origins?"

Emerald irises and their flecks of shattered sunlight flit over the furniture in the upper loft, marveling at the look of it - not of it has changed, and some part of her will forever be eternally grateful for it. She eases down on a nearby chair and sets her satchel and new textbooks down.

"You going to come around this side of the couch or are you going to make me continue to stare at you upside-down like this?" Elias asks. He's sprawled on one of the couches upstairs in the occult section loft talking to Isabella, who is standing behind him. He glances over at the cup of coffee and asks, "And you didn't bring me one? So mean." He's clearly teasing, however. Considering the question he says, "It's going alright. You know, another day, another set of grisly murders going around town." He straightens his head as she moves over to a nearby chair, pulling himself up only a bit to lessen, but not eradicate his sprawl. He grins and says, "Looks just the same, doesn't it? Haven't changed a single piece of furniture in the last ten years."

"See, now I'm tempted," Isabella ribs Elias with a laugh, and makes a big show of lingering at that side of the couch, and even lowers herself to crouch so she could level him with that exaggeratedly wide-eyed, creeper-stare that she had subjected him to the first day of their reacquaintance. But she does flash him a grin and settles deep in the worn cushions of the seat that she has chosen, groaning quietly as she props her feet up on the nearby coffee table and tilts her head back. For several moments, she looks like she's about to fall asleep.

She doesn't, though. Eyes laden with mischief finds her companion again, and unabashedly offers him her coffee cup. "Well, if it makes you feel any better, some part of said grisly murders are probably going to be over sometime soon. Though I guess there's a new set now, with what happened in the thirteenth." There's a faint frown in remembrance, before her head tilts back again, lashes kissing her cheeks when they shutter her virid gaze from view. "And I'm glad it hasn't changed. Not a piece, not even an inch. It feels like..."

Coming home, is what she means to say. But these are words that she keeps to herself.

Canting her head sideways, she cracks open a single eye. "So hey, this is something you might find interesting. Are you familiar with the author, Dante Taylor? British-born and raised, he's written a few mysteries but also some non-fiction books about strange phenomenon. He's in town, staying in Byron's building."

The door to the book store opens, and Tyler slowly walks in, looking around. He always looks around when he enters this place as if every time was the first time and he has no idea where to look or what to do here. He runs his hand through his floppy brown hair and then meanders into the store, glancing down the aisles of books as if looking for something.

"Creeeeeeeper," Elias calls her again with a chuckle, shaking his head just a little bit and grinning once she settles in. He doesn't bother her while she relaxes, though he does take a moment to stick a slip of paper into the book that he was reading to mark his place before dropping it on the coffee table and instead folding his hands over his stomach. "Yeah? That's good to know.. I mean, about the murders stopping." He looks at her a little askance. "How do you /know/ they will be stopping? You're not the serial killer, are you?" Though when she mentions Dante he says, "Yeah, I think I saw him in town at some point. I've heard of him. Never met him, though." Their voices can be heard, at least that there are people talking. The girl behind the counter says to Tyler, "If you're looking for him, he's up there." She nods up toward the stairs, having seen Tyler from time to time in the shop.

"Doctor Creeper to you," Isabella tells Elias with a crooked smile, lashes lifting partially as she regards her distant cousin. "As for me knowing, I don't know, cuz. You're a witch, and I hear some of that runs in the family tree. Maybe I'm just psychic." She waggles her eyebrows at him playfully.

The discussion shifts towards the British author, and she follows the flow of conversation like a board on the water. "He dresses in a way that's relatively hard to miss," she observes, dryly. "If he and Vyv Vydal forged some kind of three-piece suit alliance, they'd be able to muscle Byron out of his crown in that regard. And yeah? That's too bad, from what I heard from B now that he's a tenant of his, he wrote plenty about the supernatural in the New England area." Where the man's family is from. "You could have asked him if he's ever written about your family."

Tyler nods at the lady at the counter, and then makes his way to the stairs. His hiking boots clomp a little on the spiral staircase as he ascends, and when he reaches the top, he pauses just a moment, looking at Isabella and Elias. He pulls a paperback from his back pocket, and then approaches hesitantly, clearing his throat. Holding the paperback out, he says, "Excuse me. Sir? I was um... I was wondering if you would be willing to sign my book?" Indeed, the book he is holding is one of Elias' works.

Elias wiggles his fingers at her as though casting some sort of spell or something, which he totally isn't, just being silly. "Careful, Dr. Serial Killer Creeper, or I might put a hex on you." When she mentions the author and his mode of dress, Elias can't help but raise a brow. "What, does he go around in Victorian attire? Tell me he's all waistcoats and silver headed canes and is just as pretentious as that all sounds.." But then when she goes on to describe his three piece suit and he looks almost disappointed. "Oh, so he just has style and taste. I suppose that's.. alright, too. Maybe I will have to see if he will come do a signing at the shop. Then I can grill him for details." He grins a little sidelong, then looks up as Tyler comes up the steps. He instantly smiles when he sees him, but when he brings over the paperback there's a momentary flicker of confusion, and then surprise, and for a moment he glances between Isabella and Tyler, realizing that Tyler just outed him. The name on the book is not his own. It's the pen name that he writes under, the pen name that nobody knows, except maybe a small handful of people. But even so, he says, "I suppose I could do that." He reaches into a small table for a pen, and then straightens up, trying to look serious. "Who should I make this out to?" his eyes are sparkling with amusement.

"Well, he is a British citizen, so if he does have Victoriana hiding in his closet for some of his more high-society theme parties back in Jolly Old England, I wouldn't be surprised in the least," Isabella laughs. "But having met him, yes, he does have taste and style - one would think his accent would make the entire combination utterly inequitable in the best and worst of ways, but I would say the same about Mister Vydal." She seems to consider something in talking about suits and men, however, mischief lighting up her expression. "I should ask them who their local tailors are, to see if they make customized ones at reasonable prices. There's an experiment I would like to try, one day."

With Tyler's well-built shadow falling across their small collective, the archaeologist angles a look over towards the intruder, brows lifting faintly when Tyler offers his book to Elias - she can clearly see the author's name, but considering her career as a professional adventurer with dreams of tenure at Oxford, she is well familiar with the publishing game. The usage of a nom de plume is not unfamiliar to her and surprise colors her expressive features as she tries to get a better read on the title. "Elias, you're published?" she wonders. "What? May I see that?" The last directed to the newcomer, a hand out, palm up in a request for the book just to see what the title and subject matter are. "Oh, Mister Weber. I misjudged you, you sneaky bastard."

Tyler returns Elias' smile, and he shrugs a little sheepishly. "Well... I have to be honest... I'm not really much of a reader... But... Well... It's for my friend who IS really into books. So, um... could you, can make it out to 'Eli?'" He grins a little, and then looks at Isabella. "Sure, but be careful with it. I had to get it on Amazon. They don't seem to carry it here. Or I couldn't find it. Or something." He hands it to her.

"You know I have a couple of very nice suits," Elias tells Isabella. "I just don't bother to wear them unless I'm dancing on the rooftop of an abandoned building.. but,.. there's a time and a place for everything." And apparently formalwear is for shenanigans. "Vydal is the one with the pastry shop, right? Never met him, but I've inhaled some of his desserts."

He takes the book from Tyler and doesn't exactly wait for the guy to answer the question before he writes something in the cover and hands it back to him with a grin, dark eyes sparkling with amusement. But then Isabella asks for the book and he looks a bit surprised, but doesn't argue if Tyler hands it over to her. The name on the cover is Noah Silas, and it is the first book of his Shattered Reflections series, an Urban Fantasy novel series. "Yeah," he admits to Isabella, "But that was a secret." Was, being the operative word. He reaches out then to capture Tyler's hand and pull him toward the couch, to sit with him. "Tyler, this is Isabella, Isabella, Tyler."

Tyler glances at the inscription and he smiles. "Nice." He moves to hand the book to Isabella, but before he does, her cell phone rings. After a quick moment on the phone, she's stepping away to take the call, offering the boys a mouthed, "sorry," as she goes. "So, who's your friend?"

As Isabella moves off and heads downstairs, Elias turns back to Tyler and smiles over at him. "Isabella? I knew her growing up. She used to come hang out in the book store a lot when we were kids. But turns out we have distant relatives in common. Like, five generations back distant. So we're technically cousins. I was doing some research into our past common ancestors." He smiles and leans over to bump shoulders with Tyler. "So you found one of my books, huh? Guess I can't keep that secret forever."

Tyler makes a bit of an uh oh face. "Yeah. I'm sorry. I... Ugh." He sighs, "I'm not really good with secrets. It never even occurred to me. I was so excited, you know?" He glances over his shoulder to watch Isabella as she goes for a moment. "Used to? You two have a falling out?" He returns his gaze to the other man. "She's pretty."

Elias smiles at that uh oh face and leans over to press a kiss to Tyler's cheek, "Don't look like that. I was just surprised. I'm not mad. I love that you were excited. And that presentation was kind of adorable." He follows Tyler's gaze and then shakes his head, "No, she's just been away. She's been working as an archaeologist, playing in the dirt, and being across the pond at Oxford. She just came back not too long ago." He smiles a little crookedly and asks, "She is. Should I be jaelous?" his tone teasing.

Tyler lifts his brow, and is suddenly defensive, "Jealous? Oh, no!" His cheeks flush, "No no. I just... I was just saying... you know... she was, is all..." He looks at the book in his hand again, because it's easier than looking at him. "I'll try not to let anyone else know, I promise." He smiles just a little, and dares to peak back at Elias then.

Elias looks a little surprised at the defensiveness over his teasing and he reaches out and lightly catches Tyler's cheek with his hand, brushing his thumb against his jaw, even when he looks away. "I was totally teasing you, Tyler." His voice is gentle then, the teasing gone out of it and he says, "It's alright. If you tell people, I won't mind. Really." He tilts his head when Tyler looks at him, "Really. I promise." He leans in then, and places a kiss to the man's lips.

Tyler allows that kiss, enjoying it, and returns it with the same endearment. "You know, you're pretty okay, you know that?" He smiles a little, and he takes Elias' hands. "So... tell me, what's new? Were you two talking about a murder?"

"Yeah? You think so? Pretty okay?" Elias asks, letting Tyler take his hands, giving them a warm squeeze. "What is new? Well.. turns out I have an ancestor who was a witch who married a witch-burner. Still trying to figure that out. That's some of the research I was doing. As for the murders.. there's been a bunch of murders recently. Over at the Bayside Apartments, and then there some more on Friday the 13th. Isabella was saying she had a feeling that it was going to be solved soon. I asked her if she knows that because she's the killer. She claimed psychic powers." He chuckles a little and then says, "Aside from that? Not too much. I've been working on a lot of writing lately." Which he admits out loud since the cat is out of the bag. "What about you?"

Tyler nods, "Yeah. You're pretty okay." He gets some recognition now about those murders, "Oh, yeah. I heard about those. I haven't had to work any of them. Maybe she's got the woodge like Frankie?" He notes, "She did sparkle." With a little shrug, Tyler runs his hand through his hair. "You know me. I don't really DO anything. I mean, I work. I go home. I dunnow." He laughs a little at himself. "I think I'm boring."

"You can't tell me that all you've been doing ever is working and going home," Elias says with a slight furrow to his brow. "I'm definitely going to have to take you out more. But you are not boring. I don't think so, anyway." He glances after Isabella for a moment and then nods. "Yeah, she's about as powerful as I am, though I'm not really sure what her particular abilities are, comparitively." He then looks back to Tyler. "I wouldn't think that you would have to work any of them. No fires involved, just murder. Do you actually end up on scene for murders sometimes?"

"Well, I jog a lot. I workout. When I can and the weather is good, I surf or go hiking. Maybe I'm plain, not boring." About working murders, he nods, "Sometimes, yeah. If someone finds a body and calls 911, a lot of times we can get there faster than the police or an ambulance. If they're dead, obviously, we don't hang around. The cops and the coroner take over pretty fast."

"I think you just enjoy a quiet life, which kind of makes sense given how dangerous your profession can be. Mine's pretty tame and quiet, so maybe that's why I like to stir things up a bit. Maybe it's kind of a way to find balance?" Elias asks, considering. Then he nods when Tyler mentions they can get there faster. "I guess that makes sense. I never really thought about it that way." He seems to get lost in his own thoughts for a moment or two, and then he looks back at Tyler. "I want to take you out, on a real date."

Tyler nods slowly, taking a moment to reflect as Elias does. The final thing surprises him a little, "You what?" He tilts his head a bit. "Like, what? You mean like, you want to take me to like Olive Garden or something?" He's completely serious, as if that's the fanciest restaurant in the world.

"I mean like, I want to pick you up, and take you somewhere, that will be a surprise, but not like the whole rooftop cupcake thing, probably dinner somewhere.. if you /like/ Olive Garden and want to go there, we can go there. Or somewhere else that I'll pick, and I don't know what else. Maybe dancing. Maybe see a show. Maybe just go for a walk somewhere interesting. I haven't figured that part out yet.. but I will." Elias pauses then and asks, "What do you say?"

"Oh." Tyler is genuinely a little surprised. "I mean... that's a lot. Are you sure? I mean, you don't have to do that..." A little corner of his lips turns upward, though. "We can go to Olive Garden, or like, wherever you want. Honestly, if you want to do this, you pick." He smiles warmly, and nods, "If you're sure."

Elias tilts his head just a little bit to the side and says, "Of course I'm sure. I wouldn't have asked if I wasn't." Then he pauses for a moment, glancing around the shop. It's getting on toward late afternoon and he considers before looking back at Tyler. "Want to go out tonight? What are your plans for the rest of the day?" There's a little smile that tugs at the edges of his lips. "I have an idea."

Tyler is a little surprised by that. "Tonight? Already? Oh... um..." He laughs a little to himself, "Okay, yeah. Yes. Let's go out tonight." He leans forward and gives him a kiss. "So, I guess, what ARE my plans for the rest of the day now, Eli?" He smiles, curious.