Covent Garden Flowers, Monday

[greenexorcist.livejournal.com]

Shiemi was in the shop today, but you may have to get her attention. She failed a test in Demon Summoning at Cram School yesterday and has to make it up, so she's a bit buried in her books today.

But if you choose to come in out of the cold, it smells of warm peppermint inside the store, there's tea ready, and some pretty winter wreaths (now half off!) are still hanging by the register.

A homemade sign on the door says, "Bet no one is getting them a hand-selected personalized bouquet for Christmas! Why don't you?"







[come in! ✿Flowers!✿]

Comments

[that_oldsaying]

Alluka had decided to wander a bit on her lunch break, mostly because the cookie-buildings and the sugar she'd gotten from nibbling on them made it hard to sit still.

So she checked out a store she'd never been into before.

"Oh! It's so pretty in here!" she said happily. "And wow, it smells good too!"

[2_old_for_this]

Peter shook his head at the gingerbread building before coming in, then smiled at Shiemi. "Hi. I thought I'd stop by and see how you were doing."

Not at all because he was concerned after the whole...island...thing. He just liked to check on his employees.

Okay, maybe both. So sue him.

[greenexorcist.livejournal.com]

Shiemi looked up and smiled. "Welcome to the shop! And thank you for coming in."

[greenexorcist.livejournal.com]

It took a moment, having just gotten to the part about stars versus pentagrams, but Shiemi finally noticed another customer. "Welcome to the store!" She smiled her best business smile... and then giggled when she noticed who it was. "Ooops! Sorry, Octavian-san. Welcome! Is there a problem?"

[2_old_for_this]

"No problem!" Peter promised, grinning. "Good to know you're getting the hang of it. I just thought I'd see how you were. Studying hard?"

[greenexorcist.livejournal.com]

"I'm sorry. The shop's been quiet," Shiemi blushed and slid her book closed. "And all the chores were done so I thought it would be okay? I kind of messed up a test. I haven't been rude to any customers, I promise."

[2_old_for_this]

"No, it's fine!" Peter hastened to reassure her. "I don't mind. I was just making conversation. I'm getting better, but I guess I'm still a little rusty." He rubbed his neck awkwardly. "Sorry about your test, though."

[greenexorcist.livejournal.com]

"Thank you." She breathed a sigh of relief. A huge sigh of relief. "It's to be expected, really. My test, I mean, not your rusting." She smiled. "I've only been studying this for a year. Until then, all I cared about was my Grandmother's garden."

[2_old_for_this]

"You come by your green thumb naturally, then," Peter said. "What're you studying? I thought this school didn't go in for typical stuff."

[greenexorcist.livejournal.com]

Shiemi beamed proudly. "My family's been supplying Exorcists for generations. We grow many types of flowers and herbs so we can make most of the preparations and medicines upon request."

"Oh. And the studying isn't for here." She then raised her book so he could see the cover said Demon Summoning for True Cross ExWires. "The test was in my Cram School back home."

[2_old_for_this]

Peter opened his mouth, then shut it again. There were so many questions.

"I...don't think most of those words mean what they do in my world," he finally said weakly. "What does all that mean?"

[greenexorcist.livejournal.com]

"Words?" Her head tilted confused, then gasped and covered her mouth with her hands. "Ah! I'm sorry, did I slip into Japanese?"

[2_old_for_this]

"Um...no," Peter said. "It's just...an exorcist pushes out spirits possessing people, demons are things you really don't want to summon, and...I have no idea what medicine would be involved or what an exwire is. And cramming just means studying a lot."

[greenexorcist.livejournal.com]

Ah! Shiemi nodded. "Well, Exorcists definitely exorcise demons from people and things. Basically we send demons back to Gehenna. And demons aren't all bad, but it is best to assume that they are. I am studying to be a Tamer, though - that's a type of Exorcist that can control certain demons and use them as familiars - so I need to be able to summon the ones that help me." Shiemi opened the book and flipped to the section on summoning Greenman demons (http://aonoexorcist.wikia.com/wiki/Greenman), holding it up so that he could see.

"And if you find a summoning circle somewhere, it can help to be able to read it and know what you're about to fight."

...

"What else was I supposed to explain?"

[2_old_for_this]

Peter looked over the book, noting the similarities and differences to what he was used to. At least it didn't sound like Shiemi was going to try calling up demon lords, which was a bit of a relief. "What's an exwire?"

[greenexorcist.livejournal.com]

Demon Lord summoning and contracting was at least Middle Second Class level stuff, silly!

"ExWire is what the True Cross Order calls the lowest rank of Exorcist." She tapped her cheek, considering something. "First Dante-kun and now Octavian-san... Is it really that weird that True Cross has a school, ranks, and specialties?"

[2_old_for_this]

"Not really, I don't think?" Peter shrugged. "It's like college here, I guess. I just never heard of an organized magic school like that. Magic is...or was...pretty underground in my world." Lord knew what it might be like now.

[greenexorcist.livejournal.com]

"It's not magic; it's... well, exorcism," she finished lamely.

[2_old_for_this]

Peter frowned. "How is it different? You're using spells and sigils to focus energy, right?"

[greenexorcist.livejournal.com]

"But we don't get special powers or transform!"

Wait. She taped her chin and thought a moment. "Well, you can a little? I mean, you can use spells and contracts to give you a demon's fire breath for example. Or you could allow a demon to possess you so you can gain its powers for a while. But it's only temporary." Or is supposed to be. "And you have to be strong enough and have all the right skills. I couldn't do it."

[2_old_for_this]

Peter blanched. "That's...a really, really bad idea. Possession. But there're all kinds of magic. You only do...exorcist things?"

[greenexorcist.livejournal.com]

"A very bad idea." She knew that personally. "Only really highly trained Exorcists should attempt it on purpose."

Shiemi tapped the counter with her finger, considering his question. "I guess magic is different where I am from. You can use it for things other than exorcism but not really? I mean, Rin and Yuki-kun have a demon who cooks for them?"

[2_old_for_this]

"A -" right. Her little familiar was a 'demon', too. Not the same things as what he was used to.

"Magic can do all kinds of things," Peter agreed. He went for one of the simpler things he knew, and with a gesture and flick of his fingers, a catalogue on the end of the counter rose up, surrounded by bright green magic, and spun slowly in place.

[greenexorcist.livejournal.com]

"Oooooooh!" Shiemi watched in amazement. "I can't do that."

[2_old_for_this]

"It's a mix of things," Peter explained. "Will, gestures, sometimes sigils like yours." He nodded at her book. "But most of the things I know that take those kinds of things are a bit dangerous. Or they're protection against dangerous things."

He let the book fall, then looked at Shiemi. "If you can do magic, though, you could probably learn this."

[greenexorcist.livejournal.com]

"Do you think so?" Shiemi's mind was full of ideas about how to use that kind of magic. Imagine how many different plants she could tend to at once! "It does seem like it would be helpful!"