♕ |[57]| she smoothes her hair with automatic hand

[had_not_lived]

[Accidental Video]

[There is a girl on your screen. She's not doing anything particularly interesting. With her chin propped up on a hand, she's reading a book, looking a little bit cross. She's wearing a collared white shirt, too big in some places and too small in others, the wrinkled sleeves rolled up to the elbow. And she's sitting at a counter in a dim space in what's probably a store, judging by the vague shapes of shelves in the background.

Those who frequent it might recognize the shop as a certain second-hand bookstore. Whether that's enough information to work out why the young lady looks so annoyed, though, is a different matter...]


[ooc; backdated to earlier today, replies from girls_at_welton ♥ open to action in the store, too!]

Comments

action;

[chessmastering.livejournal.com]

[And in walks a dapper young university student, backpack slung over one shoulder, with a confident yet carefully deadpan look on his face.]

Hello.

action;

[girls-at-welton.livejournal.com]

Hello,

[Neil answers, glancing up with a slightly weary but relatively friendly smile. After all, Rudy doesn't look so different.]

action;

[chessmastering.livejournal.com]

I'm a time-traveller here in search of Neil Perry. Presumably he still works here, unless my calculations are grossly incorrect.

action;

[girls-at-welton.livejournal.com]

Oh, he's here. He's just cursed. [Neil shifts a little.] What can I do for you?

[No change in emphasis there, this is probably the closest he'll come to having a bit of fun with this curse.]

action;

[chessmastering.livejournal.com]

Cursed, but not incapacitated.

[As he silently examines the girl he's speaking with, prompted by the careful way she'd phrased her response. It's the sort of answer he would give himself, if he were attempting to mess with someone, which is what makes him ponder now that he's on the receiving end.]

You could direct me to a book.

action;

[girls-at-welton.livejournal.com]

[He hasn't said anything untrue, or even implied it, really. Neil doesn't think he can be held accountable for anyone else's assumptions.]

What book are you looking for?

action;

[chessmastering.livejournal.com]

Il Principe. I seem to have left my copy in class.

action;

[girls-at-welton.livejournal.com]

There should be a couple of copies in the back corner. Near the bottom, I think.

[Second shelf up and sixth over from the wall, because Neil's never seen the need to change the previous owner's incomprehensible filing system.]

action;

[chessmastering.livejournal.com]

Much obliged, Neil.

[It's a guess, nothing more, but jumping to conclusions--even when they're incorrect--has always been one of Rudy's most useful ways of getting information. And with that, he heads in the specified direction, a suspicious gleam in his eye.]

action;

[girls-at-welton.livejournal.com]

No problem.

[Well goodness knows he's not trying to hide it; being recognized without having to explain himself makes him feel a bit better.]