fandomtownies | Fandom Post Office, Wednesday (09/26)

Go ahead, ask her about anything. So long as it starts with Aa-An.

Sometimes a little bit before lunch, some dorky art kid came into the post office with two (unfortunately Styrofoam) cups, one in each hand. A.J. had tried to be more stealthy about it, but it wasn't very easy to stealthy carry milkshakes. "I come bearing pre--" he started to announce, but then saw that Beauty was reading....to the cat?...and bit his lip, not having meant to interrupt. "Sorry," he whispered, moving in toward the counter.

Beauty looked up from her reading, a bright smile appearing on her face when she saw A.J. Not Tiddles took this momentary break to escape under the Sorting Engine.

"A.J.! It's all right, I don't really think she was all that interested anyway. I've discovered that cats really don't care that much about their education." Pushing the book aside, she eyed the cups with a hopeful expression. "You were saying?"

Getting near enough to check out which books Beauty had been reading with a tilt of his head, A.J. grinned. "Well, I know why," he told her importantly. "You've got the wrong volumes. Nothing about cats in the A's, and cats only care about hearing about themselves. But, right, I was saying that I brought you a present." He handed her the cup, which contained a super surprise milkshake, coffee again, but he kicked it up a bar by adding a good amount of caramel. And he had time to chill the coffee this time, so it wouldn't even be as melty.

Beauty nodded her head mock-seriously. "Maybe I'll be up to the C's by next week, and she'll be happier about that. If anything, she at least hasn't attacked me the way she did Annette."

With a plainly pleased expression, she accepted the milkshake, and then looked around behind the counter. "I think there might be another stool in back, if you'd like to sit down." She took a sip while she waited for A.J.'s answer, and then shot him a grateful smile. "Oh, caramel!"

A.J.'s expression was momentarily cynical at the mention of Annette as he wondered if it wasn't possible that Annette would have paid the cat to attack her, but he wasn't going to dwell on it. Not when Beauty was quite clearly approving of his milkshake choice. He waved a dismissive hand. "Nah, that's okay," he said, leaning on the counter and taking a sip of his own chocolate shake. "I shouldn't stay long, because I'll have to get back to the diner soon, but I did say I'd visit, so I can spare at least a little bit of time. And I take it you like?"

Beauty noticed the momentary darkening of A.J.'s expression, and wondered at it. Although she didn't mention it, figuring she certainly didn't know him well enough to be poking her nose into his private business. Still, she couldn't help but wonder what it was about.

"I approve very much," she replied. "I would never have thought to put caramel and coffee together in something like this. But I suppose that's why I'm working at the post office instead of cooking. Not that anyone would ever want to sample my cooking." Beauty leaned her elbows on the counter as she sipped at the milkshake. "I talked with Adah about the painting, and all she asks is that there isn't too much really bright color."

"Technically," A.J. pointed out with a smirk on the edge of a sip, "you don't cook it at all." And his eyes, mostly for comedic effect, widened. "She talks?"

"See? Good thing I don't have your job," Beauty said, with a grin. Then she made a face at A.J.'s question.

"Actually, I only said that I talked to her. She writes things down. I'm not certain if she speaks out loud or not, I haven't heard her do so. But I'm hardly going to complain about having a quiet roommate, and I like her. She did mention that she'd met you, though."

"That's one way of putting it," A.J. said,shifting his mouth a little. "I stopped in, hoping to catch you, but it was just her. All she did was just kind of....stare. Tried to find out what she might like for the room, but, yeah." He paused for a nervous, thoughtful look at Beauty's expression, that face she made at his comment about Adah's talking. "She's a bit...odd. I mean, that's cool, but...yeah..." He frowned.

"You stopped to see me?" Beauty asked, managing to actually be surprised by that fact. "I'm sorry I wasn't there, I was probably in the library or out with Greatheart."

She felt disappointed that she hadn't been there to see him. "I feel strange saying it, because I don't know if it's true or not, and so it feels like gossip. But I don't know for certain if she can talk. And I suppose she is a little odd, but I don't mind that. She likes books, and she writes a lot, and I'd rather have a quiet roommate that I have something in common with than a noisy one who only wants to harangue me about the way I dress or not going out to parties and things." Beauty laughed a little and added, "And I suppose most people probably think I'm a little odd."

"You," A.J. said with a firm expression on his face and an important sip of his milkshake, "are not odd. Or, if you are, you're hiding it extremely well. But...okay, she said no bright colors. That's fine because that doesn't go with what I was planning, anyway. And she likes books, writes a lot, is quiet and stare-y. Know anything else about her? Not gossipy; I just....I really want it to be something both of you will like, you know? But she wasn't exactly chatty about any ideas..."

"I'm just odd in a very boring way, so you don't notice it," Beauty replied, with a smile at the very firm expression.

She shook her had ruefully at A.J.'s question. "I don't really know very much about her. I should, I know, but I'm afraid of seeming too nosy. You know, once I get started on the questions, it's hard for me to stop." Beauty tried to think about the few details she'd been able to pick up so far. "I don't think she's exactly from this time -- she didn't know what to do with the alarm clock either, but she did understand what the telephone was for. So I suppose not as far back as I'm from, but not so modern either. I get the feeling that she thinks a lot, just doesn't say what she's thinking out loud. And she did tell me that she didn't really mind what the painting was, that she could adapt to anything."

Trying to hold herself back from prying too much, Beauty added, with a hopeful expression, "You've thought of something?"

Well, that all didn't seem very helpful. A.J. briefly wondered if maybe he should give cracking Adah's head open a bit another chance before deciding that he'll worry about it later. He gave Beauty a crooked smirk. "Yup. I have. And, no, I'm not going to tell you, because I want you to be a little bit surprised when I get started on it."

Beauty pursed her lips, because although she definitely liked the idea of being surprised, it was hard not to want to know now. But after a moment, she nodded acceptingly and smiled.

"All right, I trust you." She took a moment to savor the milkshake -- and wasn't that something she could get hooked on quickly. "Did you bring your list of questions with you?"

"List of...?" There was a moment of confusion flashing across A.J.'s face, and then it changed suddenly with a jolt of realization. "Oh! Those! Uh...no. Not yet. Haven't had enough time since the last time we talked to come up with any! I need at least...." He did a quick tally on his fingers. "Six days, I think, to come up with a good list of questions."

Beauty wasn't sure why specifically six days was needed, but it was kind of endearing in an odd way, and it made her laugh. "All right, well, six days would mean you'll have your list finished by next Tuesday. Or Wednesday. Unless you're counting from the last time we talked, and that would be Sunday? Which means six days will be Saturday. Unless you're not counting Sunday, and then it would be Sunday again."

Uh...yeah. Beauty realized she was sounding very confusing. "I met Charlie the other day. She told me about the illustrated book."

Because it was less confusing to leap unexpectedly to a completely new topic. Yes.

A.J. wasn't sure why six days, either, especially after Beauty tried to reason through it. "Let's...just...say...Saturday," he decided with a light chuckle. "And awesome. Charlie's something else, isn't she? And graphic novel, really, would be the preferred nomenclature. Did she tell you anything," he went on to ask with a slightly mischievous glint in his eyes, "about where she gets her inspiration?"

"She's very interesting," Beauty agreed, wondering at that mischievous look. "We talked about stories, and she did tell me that she writes things about the people she meets. We've got a competition between us to write a fairy tale about a girl and an enchanted forest, but I'm afraid I'm cheating at it. Her story will be much more interesting though, I'm sure. She seems very creative."

Not quite certain if she should ask permission to actually see this work that Charlie and A.J. were creating, Beauty instead asked, "What's the difference between an illustrated book and a graphic novel?"

"Illustrated books have got more words," A.J. explained with a smile. "And the words drive the story, while the pictures just sort of illuminate it. But, with a graphic novel, the pictures tell the story, so it's mostly all pictures. Ever seen a comic? They're like those. I could get some for you if you'd like. Or...."

There was that mischievous look again. "How about...I could, uh, design you a character? And have Charlie write me up a scene and I'll draw it and then I can show you what I mean."

"No, I've never seen anything like that. But it sounds interesting. I'd like it if you could show me some."

Beauty was sort of starting to like that mischievous look of A.J.'s. "Would you do that? What kind of character? I haven't seen any of your artwork, you know, except for the mural at work. I'd really like to. Do you think Charlie would mind writing something like that?"

"I'd be honestly surprised if she did mind," A.J. assured her. "And it'll be good, since you met her, so she'll have a good angle to help write something with. And the character would have to be nice, and sweet, and not odd all all and she'll be a rider, of course, so Greatheart'll have to be part of it, too, even if I haven't met him yet. It's kind of a superhero type of story so far, so we'll have to give you a power, or maybe Greatheart could have one. Like...flying or something." He chuckled a little at the ideas spinning out of his head. "Hoof feathers," he nodded. "He'll be a Hermes horse."

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