Skipping Steps

[Rosemary McIntyre]

It was almost hard to see the thin young woman behind the stack of boxes she was carrying. Each one held a different type of herb--yarrow, feverfew, marigold, angelica, vervain, catnip, lavender, st. john's wort, and meadowsweet. It was her first delivery to Pandora's shop, and she may have gone a bit overboard in one trip. Or at least, she needed to think of a better way to get things here. Bringing them herself might not be the best plan. She'd been able to put them into the carriage a few at a time, but now that she was getting out...

She sighed heavily. There was no use putting it off, she was just going to have to get out. She made it down the first step ever so slowly, doing her best to keep the stack level by nudging the top one with her nose. Okay, so far so good… She felt blindly for the next one down and found it with her heel. She lurched, nearly falling, but managed to keep her footing. Alright! Now the ground… She found it. And then she got her next foot down too, but the ground was all muck from the melting snow, and her foot went skidding forward, the momentum of sending both feet sliding through the mud as if she were wearing ice-skates.

Involuntarily she let out a tiny shriek and tried to hold onto her mass of boxes as she went sliding; she was sure she was about to wind up flat on her back in the sludge and knock her head off the carriage steps.

Finnian Carver

[Finnian Carver]

Finn had left Ethan where he normally left him with promises of seeing him again later. Honestly, when was the construction going to end? He was beginning to get annoyed that they were still in the city. Not yet moving on like they normally did, though now that they were with the Unseelie, Finn had a feeling he'd be seeing a lot more his bench.

Maybe to day would be the day he carved "Finn's spot" into the infernal thing. He had his hands shoved into his pockets, a warm winter scarf was wrapped around his neck as he walked down the street to the bookstore. His bright eyes flickered too and fro, taking in his surroundings. Noting the fact there was a carriage outside Pandora's shop with some woman carrying way to many packages in his opinion. Don't do it... Don't do it, just take then in a few at time... He thought. But nope...Some people were just far to stubborn and insisted on carrying everything in go. Ethan being one of them.

Finn knew she was going to fall probably before she did, as he saw her leg slide on the snow. Bless, yet also curse his mother for also raising a gentleman.... Finn himself was sliding across the ground, hurling himself forward, but unlike her, he knew where to put his feet as his boot slid against the cold ground. As she shrieked and went falling backward, Finn was suddenly there. Holding his arms out as she fell back into his chest. His feet sliding each way to gain friction. His eyes were on the packages though, and his hands went out to rest over hers. He steered her hands where they needed to go to keep the packages level, a focused look on his face.

When everything seemed to finally calm, and he regained his footing, he stood up straighter, taking the woman with him. His hands were still over hers and once he felt like she was steady, he reached up and lifted half the stack up. "Are you going into Pandora's?" He asked. His voice was deep as he looked down at her. He couldn't see her face yet, but he could get she was probably beat red from her near fall. He could faintly smell the herbs and from their weight, he didn't think she was going to be visiting Hayden.

[Rosemary McIntyre]

She'd been so certain, already scrunching her eyes closed to brace herself for the sting of impact that was sure to come. And yet, rather than hit the sharp edge of the carriage step or the unyielding rock of the cobblestones beneath her feet, she hit something firm, but relatively soft. She didn't fully realize it was a person until she felt arms around her, and his hands overtook her own on the boxes. Before she even had time to wonder where he'd appeared from, she was being set back on her own two feet, and he was taking half the stack of boxes from her.

Really? How could she keep getting herself into trouble she had to be rescued from? It would only be the consequences of her own actions catching up to her if she had been bitten by that snake, or if she had cracked the back of her head on the carriage steps. It would probably serve her right.

And yet, here she was, getting protected by strangers. Again. She didn't deserve it, not really, and yet here was this gentleman helping her without hesitating.

The sentiment passed quickly through her mind, but it left a lasting flush of burning shame creeping across her cheeks, nose, ears, and even her neck.

"Are you going into Pandora's?"

Rosemary nodded mutely in response to his question, though with her head hung like a scolded child, he probably couldn't tell. That thought was enough to get her to properly straighten up. She was only making herself look worse, being that way, not helping matters. She was a grown lady, the least she could do was act like one.

"Yes, I am. I um, I'm one of her suppliers, I suppose you could say." That was more information than he needed, Rosemary. You're talking too much.

"I'm sorry about the trouble, you really don't need to take those. I can manage from here…"

She realized her mistake as soon as she'd said it. She could absolutely not manage from here on her own. She'd been stupid to try and get everything out in one go, but the carriage was meant to go back home, she wasn't even supposed to have--As if on cue, it pulled away from behind them, making her look back over her shoulder at it mournfully, feeling ever so slightly betrayed. There went her means of escaping this mortifying incident easily. She sighed.

"I'm sorry, that's not true at all, is it? I could absolutely use the help if it's not too much trouble. I just need to get these boxes inside on the counter."

[Finnian Carver]

That was all he needed to know. He saw the nod and went to turn away, only stopped. Those blue eyes in the way her head hung, how her shoulders hunched, and she all but shrank. Even if no one else noticed, he did. It was something he couldn't turn off. Reading body posture and everything else was like a second language to him, and he found his head tilted a fraction of a cm to the side. She straightened up then, and he was met by a pair of green eyes, and a freckled face. 

Pretty... He thought suddenly, but quickly discarded the thought. He let her rambled on and he merely nodded at her. "I don't mind." He said simply. He was just going to go sit on his bench anyways and whittle. Though...with it being cold he might take Hayden up on her offer of that armchair... He watched as the carriage started pulling away and then his eyes flickered back to the woman. He shrugged at her, not caring if it was true or not. He'd intended to just go put them where she told him and be done with it. 

"As you wish." He told her, before he turned and made his way towards the shop. He caught the patch of ice out of the corner of his eye, and looked down. "Careful there's ice." He warned her. Not wanting his rescue efforts to be in vain if she were to nearly fall again. He waited until she was safely out to ice range before he'd follow after her into Pandora's shop. The herbs and heat hitting him all at once. His nose wrinkled and he glanced around out of habit. Searching for any possible danger before he came and set the packages on the counter. He adjusted the strap on his bag then. Intending to leave if that was all. 

[Rosemary McIntyre]

Rosemary chewed anxiously on her lip as she followed the stranger toward Pandora's shop. She'd been staring squarely between his shoulders, willing herself not to wilt like a delicate plant deprived of sunlight. She could act like a reasonable adult. She could do this.

His warning about the ice caused her to hesitate and glance down--with her foot caught midair above the patch he'd mentioned. Oh. Her blush returned as she quickly stepped back, and she ducked her head again.

"Thank you," she said, so softly she might not have spoken at all.

She bit her lip harder as she walked carefully around the patch, trying not to think about the fact that he'd known exactly what mistake she'd been about to make before she made it. She was awfully predictable, wasn't she? Don't be ridiculous, he's not thinking about you at all, he's being polite. Just get inside before he really is sick of you.

It took a bit of fiddling to get the door open, but soon they were both inside the shop, and all her things were safely on the counter. She could hear Pandora rustling around in the back of the shop--probably making more coffee, by the smell of it. She sighed softly in relief as she straightened her jacket. She turned to the man, feeling she should say something, but not quite sure where to begin.

She clasped her hands tightly in front of her, to keep from wringing them or clenching handfuls of her skirts. "Thank you, truly," she told him and curtsied. "I wouldn't have made it inside without you."

She paused, then smiled shyly and tucked her hair behind her ears. "I'm Rosemary McIntyre, by the way. Um. You seemed like you know Pandora, so we might run into each other again."

[Finnian Carver]

Finn’s hands tightened around the strap of his bag. Watching the woman like he usually watched people, which was usually a cautious look. However from what he’d see so far of the woman’s body language, she was nervous. Unconfident in herself, hesitant… It actually put him at ease. Calmed him, where normally this type of person might put him on edge. She was easy to read and he liked that, she wasn’t overwhelming like Pandora or Cami.

Maybe that was why he stayed just a fraction more. Her behavior and the fact she’d come out of a carriage told him she came from somewhere with money, and the way she clenched her hands in front of her and curtsied confirmed it. He gave her a small nod of his head, neither agreeing, nor disagreeing with her statements.

His eyes watched her tuck the hair behind her ears and watched her grow shy. Her smile was soft and for a brief second, Finn’s bright blues flickered to her mouth before he went back to looking into her green eyes. He sniffed as she introduced herself, and commented on the fact he knew Pan. Finn was apparently going to know all the shop owners at this rate between Hayden and Pandora.

He knew it was polite to give her his name back, and Finn hesitated for a brief second. At the rate him and Ethan were going, they’d be here longer than either of them had planned. “Finnian.” He said. His voice was the usual roughness he spoke with. “I sit outside her shop most days.” He shrugged a shoulder. It was an honest statement. Finn was always out there, on the bench between Hayd and Pan’s shops.

“Probably.” He said. Not for long though… At least that was something he continued to hope. “How often do you come here to drop packages off?” He found himself asking. A stupid question, but he also saw how much she’d struggled with bringing in the current ones. If he could pull himself out his hyper focus with his whittling, or see her coming before he got the bench, he might be inclined to help her again. If only to do the gentlemanly thing his mother had ingrained in his brain.

[Rosemary McIntyre]

Finnian. She could remember that. He was a bit gruff, but not mean. He seemed… Well, she wasn't sure what he seemed. Just something was a little different about him, and she couldn't put her finger on it.

“How often do you come here to drop packages off?”

Rosemary's brows rose in surprise, then she tipped her head to one side slightly as she sorted out an answer. "Well, that's a good question. This is my first one, actually."

Absently she brought one hand to her mouth, tapping her thumbnail against her lips as she thought it through. Really, she could grow things as fast as Pandora wanted, even within a couple of days, but that would give her away. She'd have to pick something a little more reasonable so her plants would have time to grow "naturally." It was ok if she was a little ahead of the others, to just say she had a green thumb, but too much would get suspicious.

"I think every week or so ought to be a good start? I'll have to adjust from there...It depends a bit on what's selling and what isn't, I suppose."

With the more complicated thought out of the way, it was as if she remembered her anxiety. She reclasped her hands in front of her and lowered her eyes, only flickering them up here and there to check his expression.

"Um, a-anyway. Thank you again for your help. I'll try not to make the same mistake next time."