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Permalink Reply by 0dqnarnhsce80 on April 13, 2019 at 17:58

Music. It was one of the universal languages, no matter what your age or walk of life or culture there was one thing that linked all people together and it was music. Given the wide range of genres and time periods music was diverse and rich, adding to the spice that was the living condition. For many, it was an outlet, for others an escape, and for still others, a way to express themselves; for Wade music was an essential tool to dampening his perceptions. With the absence of his sight, his other senses had taken up the slack, increasing the noise level exponentially with each passing day. Living in the city was even harder upon him than it had been in New Orleans, back in NOLA he had been able to escape to the Sanctuary where it was peaceful and quiet.

Thankfully music gave him some respite, blocking out some of the more annoying sounds while still giving him the ability to maneuver and function properly. With his headphone firmly plugged in he walked confidently down the street, Tink a firm and steady presence at his side. Lately, his work hadn’t been enough to occupy him, as his body was used to the manual labor sleep was becoming hard to accomplish. His mind was given time to wander now that exhaustion wasn’t shutting his cognitive functions down which had lead him to searching out another pastime. Nearly two years upon the planet and the Celestial felt like he knew next to nothing about his surroundings, about the history and other cultures that made up the populace of this strange place.

Ophelia had suggested books, an avenue that was relatively inexpensive and opened up an entirely separate world that he could indulge in. Wade had scoffed at the idea, pointing out a little cynically that he couldn’t read without vision and landed himself a full dose of humble pie when braille was explained to him. He was still learning, working with a specialist volunteer who was helping him learn to read through his fingers and he felt confident enough now to start reading on his own.

Rounding the corner he counted the steps to the shop he was looking for, pushing through the door with a slight hesitation. From his experience, small book stores had a habit of keeping piles of books on the floors and walkways. Tink lead him through the door and towards the right, the sounds become more closed in and the scent of paper became heavy in his nose. Reaching out the tips of his fingers traced along the spines of the books as they headed towards what he was going to assume was the counter, though he found his steps faltering as he was suddenly assaulted with an out of place scent. Tilting up his head he took a deep breath in catching sweet notes of spun sugar mixed with some floral and slightly exotic aroma that made the male pause.

A feminine voice floated to him from off to his right, soft yet sanguine in its presentation. So distracted was the male that he didn’t heed Tink’s warning as to the approach of said person and thus didn’t halt the collision that occurred. Letting out a light grunt the sounds of books falling to the floor barely registered as that voice spoke again, identifying him as not being the person she was talking to. “Guilty.” He chuckled, carefully crouching down and reaching out his hands to attempt to help her pick up the fallen books. Grinning at her apology he held out the small stack of 3 or 4 books in her general direction, “No harm done.”

Willow. Beautiful name, matching her voice which was smooth and sweeping holding onto the syllables for as long as possible before letting them go. Her voice and scent alone had some sort of strange effect on him, making his chest tight and his mouth dry. Despite his confusing reaction he cleared his throat and managed to speak, “Wade. Ummm...my name is Wade. I’m umm looking for braille. Books in braille.” He nodded as if that one gesture might explain away his scrambled answer and awkwardness.

CelestialPermalink Reply by ✓ Willow Eleonora Braelynd on May 1, 2019 at 16:54

As of lately Willow had been finding she spent more time at the bookshop than back at the castle where she lived. Putting in a lot of hard work and long hours trying to turn the bookshop around. It wasn’t in a bad state of course but needing some improvements. For her to use her ideas of putting something old into something new. Moving on with the times. It was the one thing that every bookshop was lacking these days, always stuck with the past. Doing all the reorganising trying to change things around making better systems until Willow was satisfied enough. If not she’d be changing it till she was. Happy that when she was given the job she was in a way giving free rein to do all she wanted without any restraints. Happy that Leigh had enough faith in her to give a total stranger all the responsibilities without interviewing or knowing her properly before. Willow had been trying to persuade him telling that they needed to change the way that they processed books going in and out. Not solely replying on the stamping and logging system that many other book shops do. Nowadays everything all was online, easily tracked with the click of a button. Then they’d properly know their books are all accurate and up to date then. Yet Willow didn’t want to seem like she was being too pushy too early on. She’d probably wait a little while till giving him the idea, knowing he’d already had too much change. 

Willow was starting to get to know the regulars who choose to seek comfort in a good book. Coming here as a way of escapism. She knew that feeling too well. It was one of the main reasons why she fell in love with books. It was a reminder for all the bad things going on there was still some good in the world. Letting her mind not completely go to all the dark places. People were starting to recognise her admiring the new work that her and Leigh have put in for last few weeks. Willow appreciated when others complimented her hard work, making her feel that all she’d been doing was being seen. Of course not taking all the credit as it was a team effort. All little things about the bookshop reminded her of the past back to the days when everything was much simpler. Not forever worrying about a target on her back for what she was before all things went hell for her. It was only now she putting back the pieces. Books and keeping busy helped it.

Not expecting anyone to come in, thinking that it was only Leigh coming back early than expected. Willow didn’t know who was coming her way until she’d come tumbling down, bumping into an unknown figure. It weren’t too soon she had noticed that it was a stranger who she’d taken down. When noticing that he was blind she thought at least he wouldn’t able to see the fumbing mess she was at the moment. “I didn’t expect anyone to come in, I almost thought for a minute we were closed” She admitted laughing softly as she picked up the books with the help of the stranger. “Thanks” Willow’s fingers brushed against his as she took the books from his grasp, feeling something like an electric shock as their skin touched. Noticing how both of their skins were glowing more brighter than before. If any human walked in and see that they’re glowing, it would be noticed straight away.

Willow ran her fingers through her strawberry blonde locks as she was trying to averting her gaze from the glowing. Wade was a name she’d not heard before in her years since she’d fallen but know she’s thinking of it. It does sound like a star name suiting him. Putting the books to the side leaving them till later to sort and put back away but properly away so that Wade wouldn’t trip or walk into anything because of her. She kind of expected that he was looking for books with braille, no brainer and all. “Well Wade, I think you may be in luck. I think I remember some braille books being out in the back” She mused before grinning. “I’ll just be a moment” Letting him know what she was leaving but be back, not abandoning him.

Quickly she hurried through into the back to the storeroom that she and Leigh were in the process of straightening out. Remembering seeing some braille books in there somewhere just the problem was where they were. Not yet put them out into the shop thinking that there would be no rush for the. Leigh was about to check them out before but Willow insisted that there may find some use for then that someone may want or need them one day. Here she was right. Scanning the room looking out for the stack of books, she soon found what she was looking on. Picking up the pile of braille books but not carrying more than earlier, not wanting to have another collision in one day. Willow returned to Wade who was there waiting for her “Found them, knew that we had some hiding away” She chimed in as she appeared in front of him. Holding out the books to him she waited for him to take them from her instead of her putting them into his hands not wanting to seem like she was overstepping because of his disability. Willow weren’t like other people, she’d give her help when someone asks or seem to need it.

Permalink Reply by 0dqnarnhsce80 on May 9, 2019 at 15:58

“I hope you aren't closed, I thought someone told me you were open until 8.” Taping the watch on his wrist he focused on the buzzing, counting in his head as the watch told him it was close to 5 PM. He supposed it wouldn't be a huge deal to wait until tomorrow if they were closing early, it just meant spending another night puttering around in his room with music and a restless need to do something. Television didn't do it for him, he could hear but the lack of surrounding context made the whole thing frustrating and asking for someone to describe things was out of the question. One of his customers had introduced him to podcasts, which had helped but he was in between shows at the moment.

Holding out the books he waited, feeling gentle fingers ease the weight from his grasp. Her hands brushed against his, his lips parting on a shuddering breath as a shot of electricity skittered across his skin and made his insides hot. With his lack of vision, he didn't notice or realize that his body began to glow brighter, putting off an illumination that brightened the interior of the store just a bit. Never having experienced such a reaction to someone's touch before the Celestial rubbed his palm on his thigh as he replied, “You're welcome.” It flustered him, the reaction and the sudden desire to want more of her touch, to trace his fingertips over her face so he could see what she looked like. Tink must have sensed his turbulent emotions, the warm weight of her body pressing against his thigh allowing him to bury his fingers in her thick fur. That simple action calmed him, his glow dimming as he unconsciously relaxed and calmed.

Thankfully the conversation turned to his request, her voice and words indicating this might be the right place for what he was looking for. Nodding his head as she told him to wait, Wade tilted his head listening to her retreating steps. In her absence he shifted from foot to foot, continuing to pet Tink who sat at his side in relative silence her steady panting a comfort to him in this odd environment. For some reason the Fallen Star found himself focusing on her, the scent she left behind and the memory of the sound of her voice. It was an interesting reaction for him to have to her and yet he couldn’t seem to wait for her to come back. Given his limited time thus far on Earth and the even more limited experience he had with people Wade couldn’t even begin to guess why he felt this way or how to deal with it.

Thankfully she wasn’t gone long, picking up the sound of her approach before she announced her success in finding the books he had requested. Grinning he stood for a moment, Tink letting out a little huff to indicate the female was standing in front of him. Hesitantly the male reached out the back of his hand hitting the bottom of one of the books which gave him a guide to grabbing the small stack. “Thank you. Is there a place, I can uh, set these down and see what they are about?” Reading braille meant he needed to have at least one hand free and he was curious what sorts of books she had just handed to him. He wasn’t going to picky but he did want to see what he was getting himself into and perhaps request a fresh order.

CelestialPermalink Reply by ✓ Willow Eleonora Braelynd on June 22, 2019 at 20:03

It felt more than a month or 2 since she first started working at the bookshop. To her it felt more like a long time but in a good way. Never finding a job that she fitted in and felt so at home early on. Like here. All down to down to earth manager like Leigh and the customers that come to the shop. Sometimes she wondered if things were different she would probably hadn’t stuck around. Things went the right way for her. Often finding herself staying longer at the shop than she’s supposed to. Either finding herself looking track of time with organising and tidying or stuck in a good book. Willow lifted her head often distracted for a minute hearing Wade talk about closing times. Almost forgetting. “Oh yeah, Sorry. We don’t close until 8pm but this afternoon has been a quiet one. No other customers except you” Always making sure to stay till the time to lock up, Willow knew how annoying it was to go somewhere to find it was closed. “Don’t worry you still got around 3 hours to lose yourself in books” She grinned looking at him. Noticing how if you didn’t know, you wouldn’t know that he’s blind, not ghostly grey. Seeing how there was still light in them.

Finding herself staring, Willow tried to turn her attention away but couldn’t help but be shocked watching how Wade was glowing a lot brighter. Able to feel an imense surge of celestial energy, if a human was anywhere near inside they would be able to see it clearly. Willow was starting to grow more curiouser about Wade, never seeing in her years of being a Celestial to this amount of celestial energy and brightness. It was powerful enough for Willow need to shield her eyes with her hand from the glowing. Remembering reading somewhere where if a Celestial light is so bright like how Wade was and looked and it for too long it could cause blindness. Of course she didn’t know if that could of been the reason, and weren’t going to talk to him about it. Willow couldn’t help but think that their touch had caused it, having felt a spark almost.

Getting up from the floor the Celestial went in search for some braille books for Wade. Seeing if she could find anything that could help him. Knowing that braille books are hard to come by nowadays compared to years ago when more people were using them. Willow had to keep Leigh from chucking them away knowing someone may want to take them out. Collecting the books Willow made sure not to overload her stack not wanting to trip over and nearly injuring Wade again. Coming back through seeing he was where she’d left him, he wouldn’t have gotten too far anyways. Holding the stack out to Wade letting him take them “I hope one of these will be any good for you, truthfully I don’t know how old these are or if they are real books. Well we’ll see” She mused laughing softly. “I can see if I can order any more braille books in if you want?” Almost another excuse for him to come back again.

“You're welcome, of course there’s a table though further into the shop. Did you want me to guide you there or you can try to find your way” She offered, not knowing if he’d prefer finding his own way around. “I’ve got no work or other customers than you and I’ve had the chance to read braille before” Almost asking for an invitation for herself to join him. “I know there’s a trick to it” Willow laughed a little already able to see herself so horribly at it, not understanding any of it, yet it’s worth a shot.

Permalink Reply by 0dqnarnhsce80 on August 9, 2019 at 1:42

Grinning wide at her answer Wade nodded, glad that he had managed to catch the store open and even more happy that he had met her. There was something alluring about her, from the sound of her voice to the moment they had shared that small touch he found himself wanting to be closer to her. It was wishful thinking and all one-sided he was sure though, the woman seemed a bit distracted though he couldn’t blame her all that much. She was trying to do her job which Wade was sure was a whole lot more interesting than answering questions from a blind guy in desperate need of a good distraction or hobby.

“Oh good.” He responded, nodding his head some more for a lack of any other words or a particular answer. His contact with other individuals had been few and far between, limited to the nuns who had raised him since falling and then Ophelia and now expanded a bit to include his newly found brother and one or two others. The male Celestial tended to be distrustful of people as a rule and for some reason felt immensely protective of his own kind, which made it difficult to relate to others. There was something about this woman in particular though that made him want to get to know more, made him want to ask a question and sit and talk.

That sensation alone was just odd.

Once she was back and the books were in his possession Wade nodded with another grin, tilting his head a bit as he considered her offer. “Let me see what these are first and then we can talk about what to order next, eh?” He chuckled, thinking that he didn’t quite know what he wanted to read or what he might be interested in as of yet. He did want to get more involved with reading, more books meant more knowledge which gave him more of an outlook on this strange world he now found himself a part of.

Her offer both surprised and pleased him, causing him to nod his head vigorously as his grin turned into a full-blown smile. “Yes, please. I’m afraid if I’m left to my own devices I might knock over something.” Stepping back from the counter he waited, his body hypersensitive to touch and anticipation singing through his blood. He wanted her to touch him again, wanted her to be close to him and couldn’t wait to spend just a little more time in her company. Chuckling at her comments regarding reading in his language Wade shrugged, “It’s not hard once you get used to reading with your fingers. The bumps take on words of their own and your mind just processes what you feel.”

Tink shuffled at his side, making room for what he assumed was Willow coming around to his side. “I imagine it’s just like how your mind processes the words that you see written across a page. Just requires a little bit of reprogramming.”