Let Me Tell You A Story...

[Hayden Faragher]

The day was bound to be a hot one. Spring had arrived, and Hayden could already feel that lingering winter chill that morning as she walked down stairs with her steaming teacup. Nearly tripping over the devil cat as he rushed between her legs, yelling obscenities at her that she was too slow in letting him out. "I'm going, I'm going." She grumbled as she ran a hand down over her face. She'd piled her hair up on top of her head, off her neck. Reaching the bottom of the stairs, she turned and side stepped a stack of books near the bottom, and navigated her way to the book shelf counter. Yawing as she set her tea cup down, she side stepped another stack and then went to the shop door. Lucifer waiting impatiently for her and as he began to yaowl in annoyance. She sighed at him, rolling her eyes as she unlocked it and then pushed it open. Taking the large rock she used as her door stop, and put it in place. It had a badly painted portrait of the store's resident devil on it. 

"Ah, thank you mistress, you're to kind in letting me out to do my business." She said in her best foreign accent. Her "Lucifer" voice as she called it, as she watched the cat dart off. She rolled her eyes, and then went to the counter. Picking her cup up she held it in both hands as she began to wander the disorganized mess that the shop was. Books were everywhere. Hayden herself knew where a good majority of the sections were, just because she'd wandered and read nearly every book there at least twice and somewhat remembered where's she'd tossed it. There was no rhyme or reason to her organization. It was a bit of a treasure hunt she liked to think. You never knew what you were going to find. 

She had a couple of books in mind for her "Today's picks." Which usually involved her picking books at random, but they generally had a theme to them. The other day had been mysteries, yesterday had been romance, today? "Aaaaadvernture!" She spoke quickly to herself. "Adventure, adventure..." She sipped her tea, blue eyes looking over the mounds of books. "Hmmm." Her long fingers suddenly reached out and picked one from the middle of a stack. Setting her cup down on another to pull it out, and making sure she didn't knock the shelf over. She scanned the cover and flipped through the pages. "Ah, my fair Lizzie and Jack..." She said fondly. Grinning widely. "Sexy, and Adventurous." She said delighted. Remembering the two main characters. She picked her tea back up, and continued her search. Once she had a good armful she wandered to the counter and began putting them up on end for their "spotlight." 

She felt something rubbing against her legs then and looked down to see Lucifer had returned, being somewhat pleasant as he rubbed against her legs. "I know, you want breakfast." She huffed. She learned right quick to not reach down and pet him. It was all apart of his trap. To appear nice and sweet, when you reached down to pet him and ultimately falling for his trap, he'd attack your hand with either claws or teeth. 

She could hear voices coming down the street, and she busied herself with getting his breakfast. Reaching into the locked cupboard under the counter she pulled out his jar of dried fish and filled his bowl. She was bent down, hidden from sight for the time being, when Lucifer suddenly came out of no where, startling her. She stood up too quick, and slammed her head on the underside of the counter. Muttering a curse, she reached up to rub the back of her head. "You damn cat!" She scowled. 

Ethan Carver

[Ethan Carver]

Ethan had barely dragged himself out of bed--he'd been up late into the night wondering about where his new path was going to take him. The way the Unseelie talked it all seemed so simple, like a fight for justice straight out of a book, but he'd learned the hard way that life was rarely that simple. After all, if the good guys always won, wouldn't his family still be alive? Would he and Finn have been captured and tortured?

That could all be part of our tragic backstory, I guess, he mused as he trudged down the street. But life isn't a storybook, and there aren't nice lines. This problem has three sides, every single one thinks they're in the right, and people are dying every which way. He groaned and rubbed his face with both hands. By the time he'd finished mashing his face, they were right outside the bookshop. Finn plopped himself down on the bench and began to whittle--although he gave Ethan a knowing look, first, which Ethan returned by flipping him off.

As he walked into the store, that hellish cat was watching him with it's luminous eyes. Lucifer was a gorgeous creature, practically begging to be pet with that long, shiny fur of his, but Ethan had learned the hard way that it was safer not to touch. It reminded him of his brother, a bit--startle either one and you were bound to wind up bleeding. He didn't have the patience for it this morning. Ethan rolled his eyes and flipped the cat off too. Lucifer hissed and took off somewhere Ethan couldn't see, until he heard a thump from under the counter, and the sound of the owner swearing as her head came into view above the counter. He grimaced.

"That's my fault there, Hayden. I set him off." He held out the book he'd brought back as a kind of peace offering. "Would this make you forgive me, or do I gotta haul some more boxes for you?" He grinned, doing his best to be charming, even though he actually felt a little bad that he'd made her hit her head. Stupid cat making him look bad...

[Hayden Faragher]

The voice had her slowly peaking up over the counter. Her blue eyes the only thing seen as they settled on the dark-haired face of Ethan. A frequent customer. He hadn't looked the book reading type when they'd first met. In fact, his brother Finnian seemed the more bookish sort, but he'd surprised her. He knew his books too, which was another surprise, and Hayden found herself frequently picking his brain or giving him new reads. She'd eventually warmed up to him a bit to be less of a bitch... But she didn't have patience for men. Or trust really. They really only wanted one thing in her experience.

Her blue eyes flickered to where the devil cat was currently eating from the bowl she filled and she shot him a glare. She rubbed the back of her head more, before she was standing up, and reaching over for the book offering. "S'okay, the little shit was probably going to do it anyway. He has no patience when it comes to breakfast." She sighed, turning and sticking her tongue out at the furry creature. She let those bright blues drift over to see that grin of Ethan's, and she gave him a small smile. The charm might have worked on others, but not her. "I think this'll do, but don't tempt me." She told him. "What did you think?" She asked curiously flipping it open to see which one he'd had again. She picked her tea cup up, taking another sip, grinning widely behind the rim of the tea cup. "Ooooh Bion..." She found herself murmuring as she took another sip and set the cup down. "There's a sequel to this if you're interested. He makes up with his dad in this one, but in the next one he really sticks his nose where he shouldn't." She waved the book slightly at him as she set it down beside her on the counter.

She leaned on the counter then, resting her chin in the palm of her hand, while she looked at him. "Working today?" Her eyes wandered to the doorway, knowing Finn was probably out there in his normal spot. "He knows he can come in too right? I don't bite...much..." There was a small smirk curling up her lips. 

[Ethan Carver]

Ethan grinned. "Hey, I wouldn't say it if I didn't mean it." He genuinely wouldn't mind doing a bit of work around here--the disorganization of the books was somewhere between whimsical and genuinely stressful. If he hadn't figured out that Hayden pretty much knew where things were, and that she actually did like books, he might have sworn never to set foot in the place. It made him uneasy, sometimes, how hectic it got in here. When Hayden wasn't looking, he sometimes straightened the stacks he was browsing.

"Oh, loved it. Bion's a riot. I wasn't as attached to some of the others, but Poseidon and Hades were alright too." He shrugged. He watched as she flipped through, and actually perked up a little when she mentioned a sequel. "Well you know me, I'm a sucker for people getting themselves into trouble. I'll take that one next, if you don't mind."

He moved to lean against the counter next to her since she seemed to be settling in to chat, and followed her gaze to where Finn sat outside. "Yeah, he knows," he answered, sounding a bit distracted as he watched her smirk and thought that he might not mind if she bit. He reeled himself in, though, to answer her a bit better as he looked back towards the door. There wasn't really any point in letting himself go there, anyway. They never stayed in one place long enough to make real connections, so he'd better not get any ideas. The only reason they were still in the city was because he'd been on the trail of the Unseelie, and now that he had them, well, they could send him wherever the hell they wanted.

"He's just too caught up in what he's working on, and he's kind of in a mood since they separated us again. I'm working on repairing the top floor of an inn--the whole chimney collapsed into the place, so they've got us redoing the stonework for that, plus fixing the roof. It wasn't really the kind of thing where you can just set Finn loose. More the heavy lifting and three guys swearing at each other kind for dropping shit of a thing."

[Hayden Faragher]

Those blue eyes flicked back to the pretty face before her, but that's all he was. Possibly a friend, but even then. Hayden didn't let people in. It was even a surprise she'd gone this far with Ethan and his brother. They were smart boys she'd realized quickly, and she found it was surprisingly rather easy to talk to Ethan once she got him going on books. Finnian on the other hand was a lot quieter. When she'd first met him he was a bit standoffish. He just...didn't speak really unless Ethan was there. Over time though, she noticed he was opening up a bit more. Talking more than a few brief words. It had something to do with Ethan she'd learned over time. If Ethan warmed up to someone, Finn did. She thought it was a bit cute how close the two were. She often didn't find one without the other, and when she did, it was usually Finn out in his normal spot waiting for Ethan to get done.

She'd never had a sibling. Well, she did. But she didn't even know her half brother, and she was pretty sure he didn't even know she existed. But she'd often dreamed of maybe one day having one. If her mother had found someone to actually take care of her and take her out of that hell hole they'd been in.

She gave her full attention Ethan as he talked about the job he was currently doing. "And what's the sort of thing you set Finn loose on?" She asked curiously. From what she'd seen he really liked his wood working. She'd managed to recruit him to help move a new shipment in the other day. He'd seemed more than happy to help, and they'd had a quiet conversation but he still hadn't said much, and she had to carry it. It mostly ended up with her chatting his ear off about the book Ethan had just returned. Finn probably knew the entire plot without picking the book up.

"He seems like he can do some heavy lifting with what he helped me with." She said. Her eyes flickering back to the doorway. Was there something she wasn't seeing? She pursed her lips in thought, her brows furrowing slightly. 

[Ethan Carver]

Ethan frowned and rubbed his jaw as he considered how to answer Hayden's question in a way that made some kind of sense. He hadn't talked to anyone about this since he was a kid. Back then it had just been explaining to kids that Finn was real focused, and that if they messed with him, they messed with Ethan, too. It had been a pretty surefire way to start fistfights. Usually he won. He'd always been determined to defend his brother come hell or high water.

Explaining it, how it worked, as an adult...well, that was a new experience. It took him longer than he would have liked to come up with a decent starting place.

"Somethin' with detail. Or...not so much that as something that needs focus. So if you tell him to move a bunch of boxes by himself, and you direct him on where to put 'em, that's fine. But if you want to really see what he can do, you've got to give him something where he can just go. Like the carving." Ethan stopped for a moment and crossed his arms over his chest. "It's complicated. But that's the basic gist. You don't want to put him in a situation where there's a bunch of shit all over and people yelling and he's gotta communicate with three different guys who are all talking at once---do that and he's just gonna freak out or punch something."

Obviously, that version was more than a little watered down, but he felt he'd done a passable job of explaining. He was taking a bit of a gamble, telling someone about his kid brother this way. He'd be pretty disappointed if she turned that on them, he realized. He enjoyed Hayden's company. But if it came down to it, no matter how much he liked talking with Hayden, he'd choose Finn over her before she had time to blink. That was just the way things were.

[Hayden Faragher]

Hayden listened to Ethan's explanation. It slowly making sense to her. Finn was...Different. Was what she was gathering. Not in a bad way, he just had his own quirks, and being so focused and detailed was probably half of it. He didn't do crowds and probably got overwhelmed easily. Her expression softened and she glanced back at Ethan, leaning back to pick up her tea and take another sip. Nodding her head in understanding. It was making a bit more sense now why Finn always parked himself outside on the bench on the quiet part of the street, waiting for his brother. Finn was lucky to have a brother so willing to look out for him. It spoke a lot about the brothers.

The information Ethan provided about his brother was actually very helpful. It helped her understand him a bit more, and would help her take things less personally in the future if he didn't laugh at her jokes or kept up his quiet front. She was bound and determined to get him to laugh one of these of days. He just had to get over whatever it was keeping him from coming in and being social.

"He's meticulous, and has a great deal of patience not many would have for what I've seen him do." There was that small smile again. She cupped her teacup with both hands, those eyes looking back to the door. "You can tell him he can always come in here and work. It's generally pretty quiet, and I can park him in an arm chair that's a lot more comfortable than that old bench." She offered.  She took another sip, looking at Ethan over the rim. "He's lucky to have a brother like you looking out for him." She said softly. Setting the cup down as she hopped off her stool. Her skirt dark navy skirt swished around her ankles and she adjusted the light grey long sleeves blouse. She walked around the counter passed Ethan, though she stopped right next to him to grab her tea cup again, and then began her search for the sequel of that book. "Oookay, it's around here somewhere." She sighed a bit wistfully, her eyes gazing up and down stacks. "How much longer do you think the inn job will take you?" She asked continuing the conversation. 

[Ethan Carver]

Ethan's eyes widened slightly as Hayden offered to let Finn sit in here in a more comfortable chair, and he wound up just watching her in stunned silence as she neatly swung down from her stool and came around the counter. He wasn't sure if Finn would be willing to accept the offer or not, but it was definitely kind of her. And, really, it might keep him out of trouble. He hadn't gotten the whole story, but apparently some young girl had scared the hell out of his brother the day before and nearly got her throat cut for her trouble. If he could be inside, and know that someone decent was keeping an eye out for him, he might actually be able to relax. Honestly, they were lucky that girl hadn't been a noble who wanted to press charges. They couldn't really afford that kind of trouble.

"Thanks," he quietly answered as she reached him, and he hoped she knew it was for both things--for being kind to Finn, and for thinking he was a good brother. He didn't always feel like it.

He pushed up off the counter and followed her into the shelves. "Eh, depends on how much we get done today. We spent most of yesterday arguing about the best way to make sure the whole thing didn't fall in again. I think we've got it settled, though, and we cleaned out the mess of old stuff while we were grumbling so I think we're good. Maybe...three or four more days? I can always leave off and find something else, if Finn needs me, but the pay for this one is good."

[Hayden Faragher]

Hayden hummed quietly to herself as she listened to Ethan. As she strolled down a particular aisle, she lifted several books, glancing of the covers. She put them back down, not being what she wanted. She paused at a stack on the floor, setting her cup on the shelf and grabbed half the stack. Setting it on the ground, she pulled out the very bottom book, flipped through it, and tucked it under her arm before putting the rest of the stack on top of it. She grabbed her cup again and continued on the initial search.

"Three men standing around arguing? You need a woman supervisor." She found herself smirking. "Definitely would cut out some of the time spent arguing." She hummed. They'd just have to put up with a bossy lady telling them what to do, but hey...they might get done a whole lot faster. She found herself rounding the corner, going down the next aisle of books. "I think your brother has been doing pretty good by himself. I gave him a job the other day he didn just fine with." She took another sip of her tea, frowning at some of her stacks. "I've been keeping an eye on him." She glanced over her shoulder at Ethan before she was reaching out and giving him her tea cup to hold. "Hold that." She ordered before she was suddenly getting down on her hands and knees, pushing aside two tall stacks of books before she was crawling forward a bit. Shuffling around through some of books on the lowest shelf. "Oh, where are you?" She whispered annoyed. It had to be around here somewhere! She swore she'd seen it last over in this area...

She crawled back out, sitting back on her heels and huffed. She climbed back to her feet then, turning and adjusting the hold on the first book she had, she reached out to take her tea cup back from him. "Aside from the girl the other day, did he tell you she was cute?" Her smile turned a bit more mischievous before she turned and continued down he aisle. "He's been fine."

[Ethan Carver]

Ethan scoffed at her suggestion. "That's not less arguing, it's more. We'd all be grumbling behind your back the whole time, and then when someone took it too far, I'd have to kick their ass for insulting you, which would waste time and lose us a worker. We'll get it, the arguing is just part of the process."

He followed her down the next aisle, got hopeful when she pulled something from the bottom of the stack, then saw that it was something for herself. He chuckled and shook his head. Keeping an eye on him, eh? That was good, at least. He knew Finn wasn't a baby, he could fend for himself, but he still felt better knowing someone was watching Finn's back when he couldn't.

He raised an eyebrow at her when she shoved the tea at him, but obediently took it and waited as she crawled around on the floor like a madwoman. See, this was why she should just let him fix up the place. If there was some kind of system, she wouldn't have to work so hard to find one measly book. He passed her back the tea when she reached for it, then rolled his eyes at her mischievous grin. Good gods, was she trying to set Finn up with one of her customers?

"Oh, she was cute, was she? That explains why I could barely get two sentences out of him about it." He laughed softly to himself. He'd tried to encourage Finn to get out there, at least to blow off some steam, but he was never able to relax enough to let someone close enough for that--literally or figuratively. "What'dya think of her? She must have handled it alright or I'd be hearing something other than 'cute' right now, huh?"

[Hayden Faragher]

Hayden stopped in the aisle, looking over her shoulder at Ethan with a raised eyebrow. "I didn't say I would be the woman bossing you three around." She said as the amusement began to show on her face. "And I don't need you to defend my honor, I can kick my own asses if need be." She shot him a quick wink before she continued. "I'll keep you in mind if I need backup though." She chuckled lightly to herself. Despite the light humor she had, she most certainly had to fend for herself and fight of a few suitors who just wouldn't take no for an answer or who had wanted more than what they paid for. She was used to being by herself. Fending for herself since leaving Candle Lights, and wasn't afraid to remind a man of his place. She could drop him to his knees in more ways then one. 

"She was! A sweet little chatty thing. Her name is Cami." She said gleefully. Walking into the main aisle she sidestepped a few stacks of the tall book stacks. Some of them on the verge of toppling over if you so much as bumped it wrong. "Well, she surprisingly didn't scream. Me on the other hand, I about fell off my stool thinking Finn was going to cut her throat. I was actually rather impressed at how well she handled it, didn't even bat an eye. Even apologized for scaring him, and he spoke the most words in one go I think I've ever heard him say before." She navigated around another stack of tall books, continuing to hum. "She seemed rather forgiving though. Has a nice smile. I think Finn thinks so too." She was grinning then, hiding it behind her teacup as she finished off the rest of the tea. Knocking her head back. She hooked a pinky around the handle and then wandered towards the back corner of her "adventure" section. She placed a hand on her hip. Sucking in on her bottom lip as she slowly turned around, her eyes looked at the shelves. 

[Ethan Carver]

Now that was something he'd like to see. He would bet that she knew exactly how she'd take out the asshole bold enough to insult her to her face. He had no doubt that Hayden could handle herself, but that didn't mean he was going to back down if it came to that. Funny, he hadn't really heard himself when he said it, but testing the idea in his mind, he knew it was true--if anyone fucked with Hayden, they were going to wind up missing a few teeth. He'd just have to remember to leave them conscious enough for her to get in a few hits too. That would have to be enough. If she didn't want him to throw punches, she'd have to hold him back herself. He almost said so, but decided she didn't exactly need to know he was that attached. He wasn't sure how comfortable that would make either of them.

Thankfully the conversation was taking a less serious turn. He listened with interest to her description of this 'Cami' person who had apparently made a good impression on both her and his brother. Hm. That wasn't easy, so she must be at least passable. "Interesting. I've seen grown men flinch when Finn gets going, so she's tougher than most."

He was a bit distracted, then, watching her finish off her tea and suck her bottom lip into her mouth. He wished he wasn't noticing. The whole idea was not to be interested or attached. But how could he not? He ran a hand down his face and sighed heavily. Not going down that track. Not at all. Book, he was here for a book. And maybe to keep tabs on Finn, just a little. Did he actually like this girl that had shown up?

"I know I've been trying to get him interested in girls, but seeing you this excited about it somehow makes it seem like a bad idea," he teased, crossing his arms over his chest and leaning on one of the more stable shelves. "You keep giving me that grin and I'm gonna think the two of you are in cahoots or somethin,' Hayd."

[Hayden Faragher]

Hayden paused in her book search to look up at him. Sticking her tongue out at him. "I get bored being in here all day, aside from the exciting things happening in my books, your brother nearly stabbing a girl outside my shop is the most exciting thing I've seen all month." She told him. Ouch! Did she have to say that? It...didn't sound too desperate did it? Or was it sad? Honestly though, she was thankful for the quiet life this store had given her. That Lucy had given her. It had meant more to her than the old woman could ever know. The life of a prostitute was not for the faint of heart. And Hayden had been born into it. Four years ago she knew nothing else than sex and manipulating men into giving her whatever she wanted by batting those pretty blues of her at them. The only good thing coming from Candle Lights had been Faith and Angel, and she missed her friends terribly. One had gone off to be a pirate, and the other, as far as she knew...was still there.

She received Faith's letters periodically, telling her where she was and what she was up to. Living the life of one of Hayden's stories, but Hayden could never write her back. Faith was constantly moving and Hayden had no idea where to send the letters. She couldn't risk writing Angel either for fear of Linus getting a hold of it and finding her. She would sit in her bookshop, reading her stories with her devil cat, until the end of time. 

Well wasn't that a really sad and fucking depressing thought? 

She playfully glared at Ethan, before she chuckled. "Hard to be in cahoots with someone you just met." She said with a slight shake of her head. "And what do you mean grinning at you like this! I smile at everyone like this. Don't think your the only pretty face I smile at like this." She said walking up to stop in front of him. Having to tilt her head up slightly to look up at him. She leaned up, standing on her tiptoes, as she stood dangerously close to him. Her body nearly pressing into his. She reached up then, reaching for a book that was behind his head. Seeing did a quick glance at the cover before there was a coy smile on her face. Her bright blues looked into his nearly black eyes. Reminded again how handsome Ethan was, but knew nothing would come from it. This was all just playful banter was all. She could do playful banter. Not the other. Not anymore, it wasn't real. At least for her. She was hard pressed to believe feelings of that sort even existed.  "And I have fantastic Ideas." She murmured before she was leaning back down, placing the book she'd grabbed into the middle of his chest. Giving him a pointed a look, before she was slipping away

[Ethan Carver]

Ethan chuckled when she said that was the most exciting thing she'd seen all month, and barely resisted telling her that he could make her life a lot more interesting, if she'd let him. That had 'bad idea' written all over it, but then, so did most of his "romantic" entanglements, if they could be called that.

Oh, she grinned at everyone like that? Who exactly was everyone? He'd like to give 'everyone' a piece of his mind, if that was the case. But hey, at least she'd admitted his face was pretty. His eyes followed her as she drew closer, and a sly smirk lingered on his lips. He was perfectly prepared to let her get up in his face, that much didn't bother him, but the way she reached casually up past him was practically daring him to catch her by the wrist and kiss her. And damn him if he wasn't tempted. Since when was he this into anyone, let alone a little book shop owner who gave him more sass than books? It made him want to tear his hair out, but here he was, showing up in this damn store every day and letting her psycho killer cat scratch him whenever it wanted if it meant he could get his fix of both books and flirting.

He held perfectly still to keep himself from doing anything he might regret. Gods he was lucky he has a lot of fucking practice at keeping his emotions bottled up, or else this would have a very different ending. He could already feel the burn of the slap he was sure to earn if he crossed that line. He met her eyes with an indulgent smile as if he had all the time and patience in the world. Fantastic ideas, huh? Fantastic like making him want to--Whoa there, that was graphic. Not going there, Ethan Carver. He slipped up and swallowed hard as she fell back onto her heels and pressed the book against his chest. He brought up a hand to catch it before she was pulling away and he gave himself the liberty of rolling his eyes at the two of them while she was turned away.

He took the welcome distraction of the book in his hand to get himself to cool the hell down, but he knew pretty fast this wasn't the one he'd been looking for. His dark brow knit as he flipped through a few pages to make sure he wasn't totally wrong...but no, that wasn't it at all. "Hey, wait a minute, weren't you looking for the Olympus sequel? This is definitely not that."

[Hayden Faragher]

The smirk grew on her face as he pointed out the clear obvious she'd just given him. It was certainly not the book they were after, but it was another one he definitely needed to read. "You're right, it's about Captain Parks and his Quartermaster Milo and a revolution that changes the entire world." She said walking around another stack of books. "It's another one you should read." She said simply. She glanced over her shoulder at him, smiling softly before she rounded another corner. Placing her hands on her hips this time, she was getting rather annoyed with herself. She knew it had to be around here somewhere...No one had come in and bought it she was pretty sure.

So where the heck was it?

For a brief moment she actually thought about organizing the entire bookstore to make life easier for her, but where was the fun in this? The thrill of the hunt! Besides, it certainly gave her, her exercise as she looked high and low for whatever it was her customers were looking for. Allowing her to come out from behind the counter was nice, and she certainly got a brain workout.

She stood up on her tiptoes, having to tiptoe back a bit to read some of the higher shelves. As she walked backward she bumped into one of the taller stacks on accident. Feeling it sway behind her she whirled around, sticking her hands out to try and keep it steady, when....the devil appeared. "Lucifer!" Hayden scolded in alarm as the cat went darting by, right past her legs, and into the stack. Hitting it as he ran on by. The stack didn't stay steady for long then, already books began to topple down towards her as she tried desperately to try and steady the stack still to prevent the whole thing from coming down.