Nodding to myself, I close the door to my forge-oven and seal the hatch, my hand resting on the cold, black iron. Looking to the front of my shop, I watch as disappointed, potential customers go about their day and I head to the stairs. Going up them, I turn to Nin's room and walk in slightly through the open door. He puts on his hat right as he comes into view.
Still managing to put on a smile, I put one hand over the other's back and he picks up a few things. My mouth opens but I can't think of anything to say and it just closes up again. Nin closes the distance between us and his soft, fresh bandages touch my skin. I move against him, giving him a quick hug that I close my eyes for so I can focus on his warmth.
"You're going to be fine on your own?" he asks and while I want to act like it's a rare thing, it's really not. I'm more than capable of handling the shop on my own. However...
"I'm probably going to be using this time to catch up with my deliveries and stock shopping. People who want to come in will be disappointed regardless. But, anyone who's local to this part of the city knows how it works by now with me. I'm a one-ddrai'och business and sometimes I need to do things I can't otherwise. And, that means closing shop for a bit." I explain and he nods along, though, a finger rises as he makes those curious little noises of his. Slightly different from usual, just like any other person when something catches their interest.
"How... How come you haven't hired someone yet? I know full well the bank account is swelling." he asks, the initial slip-up going a fair way with keeping my smile up.
I shrug, looking around the second floor's hallway, "It's never really occurred to me. Guess you're a little too often on my mind."
He nods with what must be a mask-hidden smirk while I play with the bits of my hair on the sides, "Again, I'll look into this and it will be solved."
"It's fine, Nin, don't worry. I... I can manage you being gone for a week or so. Besides, that gives me plenty of time to say... Bake a surprise!" I tell him, losing my focus for a moment when bad memories come to the spotlight. Thankfully, I am able to recover the smile with a more endearing thought. A vast, well-decorated cake with jam, icing, fruit, chocolate and...!
"And I bet it will be delicious." he rightly puts his money on as we start to go down the stairs. With a gentle hop, I skip the last few and grab onto his back as I refind my footing. My smile pushes my cheeks up and he pats my hand with his after teasing one with his beak. Letting go, we get moving again.
"Uhm, Nin." I go as we start to near the counter. He stops and turns towards me, his cloak sweeping aside to reveal the mess he insists on calling his usual outfit. I really need to write a note down regarding a visit to Uibaity so we can get him something actually considered clothing. She's got the talent and with his earlier reference to my finances, I can probably afford a house's worth!
"Yes, Liada?" he seems to finally answer, his claw coming down from a wave aimed at me. I walk up to the counter's display area and start to guide a nail over the panel protecting the contents.
"Are you perhaps going to want to take anything to eat? Closing the shop for a week means I'm probably going to send this lot off for charity or leave it out on a display in the open. I'll trust people to pay for what they take and if not, I hope they enjoy it still." I offer, rambling off for little reason. Nin takes the mask off and the hat briefly as well, the former rattling while the latter finds his head.
"Oh, sure, if you're offering." he excitedly chitters out with flexing fingers as he eyes what I've made. My smile flushes with red heat and I rush behind the counter to get what he needs. My hands go behind my back and fidget away while he gets himself a paper bag to take them in.
"I can either explain what it is you want or you can go with a bag of mystery!" I giggle, taking a step forward and forgoing the usual courtesy of tongs and similar tools. It's not much, but, I like to believe it means more to him if I hand them over more personally than I usually would.
"Let's go with a bit of mystery, then? When I get back, we can have longer conversations with me trying to describe what it is I like the most." he suggests with a quiet laugh and I follow suit, covering my mouth when it grows into something greater.
"Ok!" I go, hand at the ready while I watch his finger smooth over the panel.
"That one, also that one. Oh, maybe this one. This entire section. That section. Every other one from that shelf and a slice of that." he goes with growing speed and I blink as he leans back with a smirk.
"Alright, a challenge, I can do this." I go, leaning forward whilst my memory does its best to recall the movements of his hand and eyes. I get going, slowly taking what I believe to be correct and filling out his bag as I do so. The bag reaches maximum capacity and we're not done... Picking up another, I open it with a firm flick and carry on.
And a slice of this and done!
Huffing my chest out, I push the filled bags towards him and he loads his arms. A short distance later and they're out of them so he can get the mask back on and I head towards the door. Getting it for him, I lean on its hard-set edges while he lingers in front of me. Our eyes are initially on the immediate city but they meet as a cloud gives us some relief from the Orbital-Halo.
"Going to enjoy wasting Inerish's time with this." he chuckles and it passes onto me. Taking the moment, I wrap my arms around him as softly as I can and snuggle my face against his neck.
"Come back quickly." I demand and I feel him nod and give me the signs he should be going. Letting go, I wave him off and he takes off down the street, his usual flair not being there with full arms. Moving a step forward, I switch to leaning on the doorframe and my smile steadily vanishes. I sigh and head back inside, someone clearly calling out for me before it goes silent with the snap of the lock.
Moving into the darker interior of the shop, my tail goes limp while one nail catches on another.
"I love you..." I whisper with a trembling body that breaks out into a heavier shiver. Patting my cheeks down, I get my focus back in order and head into the kitchen. Quickly looking through the cupboards, my stomach growls its wants at the most pointless of times. A bowl of ingredients quickly builds up and I pop it onto the side, my eyes lingering on my kitchen's oven.
I look towards the counter and what is beyond it.
"Nah..." I go, finding a reason to smirk a little as I ponder going through the steps to get my forge-oven going so I can have that slightly different flamebaked flavour. I empty the bowl carefully and keep an egg in my fingers. Rearing the hand back slightly, the bowl starts to ring as the shell breaks, a joyful tune building in my throat.