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Post by Nikolaas Lars Hasbrouck on Jul 23, 2010 20:59:46 GMT -5
"Take your time, it's not like it's busy in here right now" Nikolaas chuckled and leans back in his chair - sipping his coffee. "You know...one of the reasons I painted this shop oranje is because it tends to subconsciously draw people to it. Plus it's a pretty cool colour" He grinned and let Eva browse through all the things in his shop.
After a while he got bored of the silence. He stood up and walked around the counter, positioning himself next to her. "See anything you want or need then Miss?" He asked with a friendly smile. He had noted her clothes seemed rather worn and old - she really needed some new ones, he mused to himself...she would most likely look adorable in one of the dresses hanging on the racks. "Tell you what, it's your first day in town, choose and outfit you like and I'll give you a discount" He ruffled her hair a bit while smiling - a habit that was usually reserved for his younger sibling at home, but for some reason his hand had just done so automatically. He quickly withdrew his hand and blushed a bit, smiling awkwardly. "ahh..sorry...didn't mean to do that....my fault" he cringed and hoped she wouldn't scream or hit him. "you know what..screw the discount, just pick and outfit for free..."
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Post by Miss Belgium on Jul 23, 2010 21:18:48 GMT -5
"Huh." Truth be told, Eva did not really know what to say to that so she simply nodded; it was a smart scheme though, she at least had to give him credit for that. Orange was a nice colour, but it made her feel a lot of different things - sometimes it was pleasant and sometimes she could not stand it at all. Sometimes it even made her scared that wearing it would mean that something bad would happen.
Admittedly, he sold a lot of interesting things, many of which she had never seen before - so she was staring in awe when he appeared next to her, making her jump a little. She briefly wondered why he was even being so nice about clothes but... He did have some pretty neat stuff for sale. However her train of thought right about crashed at the next gesture.
He. Ruffled. Her hair? But the strangest was that she did not scream or try to punch him and she didn't even freeze in her spot - she laughed at the gesture; a soft, honest laugh like she was almost used to this. It was over as soon as it started and that is right about when she was slightly scared with this familiarity. She looked up at him briefly, her own cheeks tinted pink, but immediately looked away and back down at her feet.
"N-nee. It's fine." She swallowed dryly, nervously bringing up a hand to make sure her hair band was in place. "A-and you don't have to do that, really. Y-you have some very pretty things. They are worth their price a-and I cannot afford it either way. I still need to pay for a room at that inn." By now, Eva was just trying to avoid the previous subject. She was not doing very well, however.[/color]
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Post by Nikolaas Lars Hasbrouck on Jul 24, 2010 5:11:01 GMT -5
What the hell was wrong with him today? He never opened up so strangers this easily, so what was it about this girl that made him do so? She was hiding her face from his view, so he turned around to the rack of clothes and started sifting through them. "If you're low on money you're going to need to find a job, and despite what it looks like, it's a lot easier to get work around here if you're dresses decently...And new clothes are always nice, right?" His hands traced along the rack of clothes, looking for something suitable. He found what he was looking for and pulled out 3 different dresses, holding them up to determine if they where the right size, satisfied he smiled and handed them to Eva.
"Here, go try them on over there" he pointed to a small changing room in the corner of the shop "see which one you like the best..." He smiled at her reassuringly "They're not all worth that much...but what if we strike a deal then? I 'lend' you the clothes until you have enough money to pay me back. Does that sound better?" Part of his mind was screaming at him for going against every merchant business code he had been taught, but another part of his mind just really wanted this girl to be happy.
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Post by Miss Belgium on Jul 24, 2010 15:52:07 GMT -5
“But…” The Belgian looked down at the clothes that had suddenly been handed to her. They were nice, very nice indeed; she felt somewhat bad about this. She was not stupid to the point of not knowing that what he was offering to her was also what brought him his money at the end of the day; anything less would also mean less money for him in the end and she always thought people would care for themselves before caring for others. Strangers like her, no less.
Eva remained silent for a few minutes, contemplating the situation before nodding in agreement; if he really did mean that – if he was really willing to make such an agreement, she could perhaps accept it... Just this once. Just this once. If anything went wrong, the most she could do would be to not really trust anyone again (which would really be the wisest thing to do but go figure) and punch him in the gut.
“I will be back in a minute.”
Well, perhaps longer than that. She quickly made her way to said room, hesitating by the door but eventually stepping in when she was sure no one else was there to do a thing about it – hey, she still had to be careful. There was no way she was letting her guard down even further if she could avoid it. Three dresses; she looked them all over – alright, so maybe one of them was not exactly something she would wear, but she gave them all a try, if only because Mr. Hasbrouck had been that nice. In the end, she rather liked a green and white one – it matched her hair band, too. However, she was not sure if she was supposed to just change back and pull a ‘hey thank you for the dresses, I’m leaving now’ card, or actually show up dressed like that. So after spending a good while leaning against the door, she opened it just a little to take a peek into the shop; hopefully this wasn’t all a big, stupid trick.
”Are you sure it is alright to make such a deal, Mr. Hasbrouck?”[/color]
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Post by Nikolaas Lars Hasbrouck on Jul 24, 2010 16:46:46 GMT -5
"No 'But's... Go try them on so I can see if I have to alter anything on them for you" He flashed her a warm smile and turned to tidy a bit up in some of the shelves while she went to change. He knew he'd look like a totally creep if he just stood there waiting for her to come back out again.
After several minutes Nikolaas was rather absorbed in dusting the top shelf of the weapon wall. A the sound of Eva's voice he turned around to face her. "hmm? Oh of course! I was new here in this place myself a few months ago, no real help from others got me this far, so I figure you might get pretty far yourself now." He put away the dust rag and turned to face her fully. "now get out from there and show me what you look like. Can't have you running around in a dress that's not properly fitted" Nikolaas mentally kicked himself, that...didn't quite sound the way he wanted it too...oh well.
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Post by Miss Belgium on Jul 24, 2010 16:59:57 GMT -5
Running around in a dress not properly fitted, eh? Eva shot him a blank stare for a moment, but soon shook her head. Well, at least he had not been waiting by the door or something, so she felt a bit more at ease - though this whole thing.. It had a sort of familiar ring to it. Perhaps she was just feeling a bit homesick though, so she quickly shook the thought away. She did not take any longer or opened the door slowly or anything though - really, if she began acting like that, her life would suddenly become a thriller or something. So, really, Eva was quick to step out of the room, making sure to wipe some imaginary dust off the dress before looking over at him again.
"I like this one."
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Post by Nikolaas Lars Hasbrouck on Jul 24, 2010 23:56:15 GMT -5
Nikolaas looked at Eva with a smile on his face when she came out of the changing room, the dress suited her perfectly. "Turn around for me will you?"he made a circle motion with his hand, satisfied that the dress was the right size and length he crossed his arms and leans against the wall. "Glad you like it, you do look very pretty in it" with a small chuckle he looked at her again, trying to again determine why she was so familiar. Like and old friend you have not seen in years, yet when you meet you can pick up exactly where you left off...that was the familiar feeling this girl was radiating. "it looks the right size to me, but is there anything you feel needs to be altered?"
Somehow, he had a feeling she would like the green and white one. Well her eyes where green, so the green in the dress made her eyes shine even more. However there was something in the back of Nikolaas' mind that whispered that perhaps green was one of her favorite colours...and perhaps she wore that colour a lot. But that would be silly, he couldn't know someones favorite colour having only met today. His mind was probably just tired and was making stuff up. Maybe he'd go smoke his pipe later, to relax...
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Post by Miss Belgium on Jul 25, 2010 1:06:24 GMT -5
That simple gesture made her cheeks burn – it was as if, suddenly, a little part of her was ridiculously proud that he approved of his, which made no sense considering he still was a stranger. Except that little part was not considering him a stranger, but rather... Well, she was not sure. Perhaps a friend; a good friend. But she could not quite make sense out of it; how frustrating. She did turn as he requested her to, however, finding it rather easy to comply at the moment. It also gave her a chance to not make any stupid faces as he spoke - she did take her time before finally turning back to face him once more, though by then she was flashing him a cute smile.
”I think it is perfect just like this. I love the colour.” She looked down, touching the fabric with the tip of her fingers. Had she been able to read his thoughts, she would have proven him right – green was one of her favourite colours; even her favourite hair band, which she was wearing at that moment, was green.
”Thank you. You are too kind.”
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Post by Nikolaas Lars Hasbrouck on Jul 25, 2010 14:07:28 GMT -5
Nikolaas was pleased she like the green dress, he had hoped she would at least like on of them, he smiled again at her - this girl really did bring out the best in him...he had to wonder why... "Well I'm pleased to hear that. And you really suit green...it..looks good on you" He smiled rather sheepishly, she must think him to be an utter creep by now...most people did...
He gave a small chuckle and headed back behind the counter, sitting down in his chair. "Kind? Me? Can't say I remember anyone in this town referring to me as kind..." It was rather true though. Nikolaas was being oddly kind to Eva. He was usually a cold and brutal merchant and tradesman, but towards this girl, he really couldn't be his usual self. God damn..how the hell do you try to explain that to someone you've just met?
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Post by Miss Belgium on Jul 25, 2010 14:53:48 GMT -5
Truthfully she did not think of him as much of a creep as she originally expected. Well sure, he was complimenting her a whole lot and he was being awfully nice about all of this but she was gradually beginning to feel more at ease about all of this. Which was good, unless that was what he wanted and soon she would regret it, but when that train of thought hit her, she just ignored it completely.
Watching him, she leaned against the door; perhaps she should change back? She was not sure, so she did not move away from there. Not to mention the crowd of seemingly suspicious folks that she could spot through the window did not inspire confidence. Well... Sure, they were at a relatively long distance and their attention was turned elsewhere, but she did not really want to take her chances just now – which was odd, really; she was perfectly capable of standing up for herself. Perhaps it was just the other’s presence in the shop; maybe it made her feel safer than being outside alone, go figure why.
"You are not usually this kind, then?"
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Post by Nikolaas Lars Hasbrouck on Jul 25, 2010 15:29:35 GMT -5
A warm and friendly laughed escaped from his lips at Eva's question. "In this business, in this town, kindness is seldom the way to start or make a profit. But...I'm not completely hearless...but it helps to have that reputation around here. The tougher you look and the more intimidating you can appear, the better." Nikolaas hoped that was explanation enough...He didn't really care much for others, they where people who he earned a living from, nothing more...
He scratched his head and gave a little grin "I must sound like a rambling fool, you'll have to excuse me...it's been a weird day..."
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Post by Miss Belgium on Jul 25, 2010 15:44:38 GMT -5
At his explanation, Eva arched an eyebrow - well that made perfect sense, really, but it also left her with a question; was it different for women - were they meant to look prettier instead of tougher? She could not exactly voice such a doubt like that.
"Shouldn't I look intimidating too, then?" The dry tone surprised her - she was simply curious and had hoped he would not take her wrong, but she didn't mean to make it sound so... Displeased. Like she otherwise would have said to someone who nagged her about something over and over.
She immediately shook her head. I-I'm sorry I did not mean it like that. It has been a strange day for me as well."[/color]
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Post by Nikolaas Lars Hasbrouck on Jul 25, 2010 16:31:45 GMT -5
"Intimidating?" He gave a little laugh "If you're worried about not being taken serious or not being intimidating because you're wearing a dress, don't worry" a reassuring smile appeared on the dutch man's face - he knew very well that a lot of women in this town where very powerful. "trust me when I say a lot of the scariest people in this town are women...or wear dresses...either or...aperances isn't everything. Besides...if you're worried you can always come hide in here. I won't let anyone harm you"
Nikolaas wondered if Eva's day had been as odd as his own..maybe he should ask... "A weird day for the both of us then...Again..sorry for being so rude earlier today...I...I have..well..missing memories I guess you could call them. I get..flashback of places I know I've never been too, or of people I've never met...you...um..seem to..have..'triggered' one of these...memories...or well..a familiar feeling anyways" Nikolaas was stuttering trying to find the right words to explain his earlier actions. It was proving more difficult then he'd have imagined.."ahh...sorry...I'm making no sense" he tried to hide the small blush that was creeping onto his face..this was not going to end well..
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Post by Miss Belgium on Jul 25, 2010 16:56:00 GMT -5
It was strange – she felt like this Mr Hasbrouck could almost read her mind; he knew what she meant exactly and practically left her speechless – she could only nod as he spoke, barely being able to mumble a soft «I don’t need a bodyguard» – though art of her hesitation at that was her own doubt, really. She felt like she really did not mind being protected... Or just a little bit, really. The blonde did not step a away from the door – in fact as he kept talking she was sure that, if it was not closed, she would have hid behind it. It was clear from her gradually more nervous and fairly surprised expression that his words were not foreign to her – or their meaning anyway. This similarity was frightening and she could feel her heart beating even faster; was this some sort of joke or...? He couldn’t possibly know what she was thinking. ”I- I know what you mean...” She lowered her head, eyeing the front door momentarily. ”I- I think I understand you perfectly.”
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Post by Nikolaas Lars Hasbrouck on Jul 26, 2010 19:07:49 GMT -5
Nikolaas stared in confusion at Eva. "Y-Y-You do?" his eyes went wide with surprise. "Do...do you mean you get those f-flash backs or deja-vu's too? I-I was so sure it was only me" an expression of relief appeared on his face and he sunk down in his chair, leaning on the counter. "You have no idea how happy that makes me to hear that it's not just me...I'd almost started to think I was going insane.." he gave short laugh before smiling at Eva. "But if we both have these, 'forgotten' or 'cloudy' memories, could that mean others out there do too?"
The relief he felt was endless, if Eve too had these odd dreams and memories, maybe they could somehow solve this 'mystery' together? It had been bothering him for years, but lately it was getting worse and worse. He had taken to smoking various things to stop the headaches, but he had quickly realized that he needed much more than any other normal person did to relieve the pain. But with another person who seemed to 'suffer' from the same thing, he might be able to be rid of it once and for all.
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