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Neutral
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"Your problems aren't any less valid th-" He trailed off when he heard the footsteps of someone approaching. He removed his hand from the prince's shoulder turning to look to see who it was. What he saw, made his lips curve into a smile. It was the younger prince, wearing a ridiculous looking hat and a cat. Of course trust the royalty to go off to look at glowing things and return with a cat. The cat seemed rather comfortable too. While the princes talked, he busied himself with putting the mirrors that they didn't want back. He wasn't sure how the king was going to response to a castle cat but that wasn't really none of his business. "Do we need anything else from here?" Aspen finished putting everything back and grabbed the mirror that they had decided on. He made sure to hold it with the reflective side against his leg so Prince Avery couldn't see his reflection. "I believe that's all here. The next store would be the one across the street-it sells rugs and furniture," He explained, moving toward the counter to pay. |
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Darkseeker
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Avery and his brother waited at a respectful distance from the counter until Aspen was done paying, and Robbie swept his hat up in a dramatic goodbye to the woman who ran the shop, before setting it at a jaunty angle on a doll near by. They headed out into the warm sunshine, and Avery let the last of his gloomy thoughts slip away. Robbie was busy playing with the kitten, who was happy to be cradled like a baby, and Avery laughed. "Who knew you'd be a father so young?" He joked. Robbie rolled his eyes, and shot back a snarky comment about his impeccable good looks. As they reached the door of the other shop, Robbie announced that he'd stay outside, since the establishment might not be pleased to have a ragamuffin kitten inside, and Avery agreed that that would probably be a good idea. It was only once he'd gone inside the other shop that he realized that that meant it would just be him and Aspen again. It wouldn't be too bad, he hoped. They seemed to have gotten past the more awkward stage of their relationship, and seemed to be reasonably more acquainted with each other. Avery started to survey the store, trying to not judge it either way too soon. It seemed like a pleasant store, and in good order, the rugs neatly rolled and wrapped, standing on end, and the furniture arranged comfortably. |
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Neutral
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He was quick with paying. He didn't want to keep the princes waiting by talking to Cassandra again. He did love catching up with her but they only had a day to get the supplies that they need. He said his farewells and the two hugged one more time before he left her shop. Aspen made a slight detour from the store to put the mirror and the cat antique in his truck. He sat them in the backseat before joining the others again. He heard Prince Robert announce he was going to stay outside. He agreed with that plan, speaking that very few shops allowed pets inside. Although, he was sure the prince could wiggle himself out of that rule. He gave a nod toward the younger one and held the door open for Prince Avery.
The smell of furniture surrounded them as he entered the building. It wasn't until they were both in there did he realize that it was only going to be the two of them again. But perhaps that wasn't a bad thing. After all, the prince seemed more friendly toward him and they both seemed to be adjusting to each other's company.
"I just love the smell of furniture stores," Aspen moved to lead the way. When he did, he miscalculated the distance between him and the prince and his hand accidentally brushed his thigh. He blushed heavily, not daring to turn around. Why were they always accidentally getting into each other's space? Also, why did it matter so much or make him so embarrassed when it did happen? |
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Darkseeker
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Avery felt something brush his thigh, but he ignored it, knowing it would just make everything more awkward if he said anything. Instead, he held back for a moment, waiting for Aspen to take a couple steps before following after him. "I don't think I've ever been in this kind of store," he said, trying to remove the awkwardness between them. "When my parents buy anything it's usually special ordered from some far off country. Or we go to live auctions sometimes. Those are always interesting. I like silent auctions better though. One time I got a stuffed lavender cashmere bear for the low, low price of two thousand dollars." The memories made him smile, and he was now almost back in step with Aspen. "What are we looking for now? You said something about rugs." He waited for a response, and then a thought struck him. "Oh. If you dont find what you like here, my parents have a huge warehouse full of furniture and rugs and stuff that they've purchased but never used. We're allowed to go poke through it, but that's just another option." Avery didn't want to force him to feel like he had to go, it was simply a suggestion. He wasn't sure if Aspen could find everything he wanted at the shop, and wanted to give him an option that was not only close, but everything was already purchased, and ready for use. |
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Neutral
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He grabbed a cart and began to lead the way around the furniture store. The furniture store had basic household appliances, furniture, rugs, vanities...it was compared to a Lowe's that would be found in the city. They also had paint but the paint wasn't high quality and it was very cheap. Sometimes cheap wasn't always a good thing. He wasn't surprised to hear that Prince Avery hadn't been in a store quite like this one. He wouldn't see the purpose for the prince to be here when his family could get stuff through special shipment. However, he was sure the businesses would appreciate their support if they had decided to. "I've been to a few auctions myself," He told the prince as he took him down the paint isle to grab new brushes, a paint pan, and painters tape,"Mostly cattle auctions back in my hometown. Cassandra used to drag me to them. Not really my cup of tea or at least not those type." He was about to tell Prince Avery what they were looking for here when the prince continued to speak. He mentioned a warehouse and Aspen grinned. His parents having a warehouse would most definitely save money. "I would love to see it. I'll save furniture and rugs until I have a look," He lead the way to the windows section. He figured the royal family wouldn't have a bay window hiding in their warehouse,"Most of our supplies will come from here. The hard wood flooring I mentioned before, the bay window, more woodwork trim for the doorframes..." They made their way to the window section. He realized that this was one of the things the prince never saw-household items not inside of a house or in his case a castle. He smirked a little at the realization, deciding to play with the prince for a little bit. "You see, when we pick out windows, we have to be careful about which ones we pick,"He pointed to a display of a regular window that had the dimensions written on them with dry erase marker,"Each of the windows are put together by the hard labor of the store workers. Each worker gets a number and the number is written on each window they make. The higher the number, the more experienced they are at making windows." He pointed to the writing on the display,"We have to pay attention to that number written in marker there to make sure we only choose the most experienced worker's work or else our window might break before we even get back to the castle." |
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Darkseeker
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Avery listened to Aspen as he explained about the windows, but it made no sense to him.
"Why in the bloody hell is it so complicated to get a window?" He muttered, scowling at the rows of glass. "It's just sand thats been smashed together!"
He decided to ignore Aspen's words and poked at a piece of glass. "Yeah, I'll let you pick it out then, since you know so much." He insisted, leaning against a wall casually, waiting to see which Aspen picked. Before he could watch, his phone buzzed again. "It's dad again. Sorry, I'll just be a moment." He stepped slightly away from Aspen, into a aisle full of lamps, and picked up. His father chatted with him for a bit, giving him an important peice of news, and then hung up. Avery hurried back, hoping Aspen had already picked a window. "Sorry again. Dad says that later this week we're going to the Island. That's where the other palace is. He says that if you're at a spot in your work where you can come, you can, and you can look over that palace. Dad wants it fully redone, and it could be a 5+ year job," he explained, flicking a peice of hair out of his eyes. "Oh, and the warehouse will be unlocked soon." |
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Neutral
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Aspen was thankful that his back was turned to the prince at what he said about the window making process. He had to cover his mouth with his hand to keep from laughing. The prince actually believed that ridiculous story about making windows. He was also very lucky the prince had to answer his phone. He lost it after the prince left, busting out into laughter. He didn't expect the prince fo believe such a ridiculous story. He was able to recollect himself and began looking for a bay window. He found one and smiled to himself. This one would be perfect for the castle. "Sorry again. Dad says that later this week we're going to the Island. That's where the other palace is. He says that if you're at a spot in your work where you can come, you can, and you can look over that palace. Dad wants it fully redone, and it could be a 5+ year job." What he heard, he couldn't even begin to comprehend. An opportunity to repair a whole castle? That couldn't...wait a minute. Maybe the prince figured out his joke and was pulling one of his own. The king wouldn't dare offer somebody like him a job like that. The closest royal or rich bloodline he had dated back to the first humans. "You're messing with me, aren't you?" He turned to Prince Avery, his eyes narrowing. A window joke was far less extreme than lying about a job opportunity like that. He wasn't one of those people that just got jobs handed to them,"That's not funny." |
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Darkseeker
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Avery kept the hurt out of his eyes at the accusation, and instead held his neutral mask.
"Why would I lie to you? My father is offering you the job of a lifetime, and instead you accuse me of lying to you?" Avery could only keep so much of the hurt out of his voice, and he sighed. "Anyways, I'll meet you outside."
He turned sharply on his heel, hurrying out of the store. Once outside, he slumped in a chair by his brother, putting his head in his hands. Robbie left his in peace for a few minutes, and then tapped him on the shoulder, passing the kitten into his lap. "So...what happened?" Robbie waited for an answer, then a thought dawned on him, and his mouth dropped open. "Oh my god, did you guys kiss! Cause, like, you came running out, and your face was all red?!" Avery smacked Robbie's arm. "No, we did not kiss. He accused me of lying to him about dad after him a big job." Robbie sighed.
"Much less romantic, I agree." Avery scowled at his brother, then turned back to his hands.
"I thought we were finally getting along. I opened up way too far to him." Robbie gasped. "You told him about your mirror thing? Bro, that was too much. You probably scarred the poor guy." |
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Neutral
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Aspen cursed loudly when the prince left the room faster than he had seen anyone before. He hadn't meant to accuse Prince Avery of lying. The job opportunity was great...just too shocking to believe. Sighing he went to find a worker and told him them what window he would like.He then had the worker escort him to pick out hardwood for the castle. He went through his list quickly and once he was finished, he told the guy the castle's address to deliver the window and hard flooring. When the worker asked if he would need help installing, he shook his head and showed the worker his business card. The rest of the stuff that didn't need to be delivered, he brought to the register to ring up. Gold spray paint, wood trim, the brushes and paint...He paid quickly and grabbed his sacks. He felt awful for what he said to Prince Avery. He should have known better, the prince wouldn't joke about a job opportunity. The opportunity was just too great to be true. He found both princes outside and sitting on the ground with Prince Robert's new cat. "Hey," He spoke quietly, setting his supplies down on the ground. He bit the inside of his lip before reaching and offering his hand to Prince Avery,"May I please ask to speak to you...alone?" He owed the prince an explanation and an apology. |
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Darkseeker
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Avery ignored the hand offered to him, and stood up by himself. He was honestly a bit nervous, wondering why he wanted to be talked to alone. Aspen had seemed pretty upset about the offer, and he didn't really want to be alone with him.
He glanced at the bodyguards. There were three, two familiar guys who'd been his special friends when he was younger, and one newer guy, who was younger than the other ones. "One moment, please." He stepped slightly away from Robbie and Aspen, two of the bodyguards tailing him. He stopped a bit away, and the two men walked up beside him, looking slightly concerned. "Is everything alright, sir?" This was his favorite bodyguard speaking, the one he'd had since he was 5. "Uhm. Look, Lorenz, I don't know what gonna happen during this conversation..." "I understand, sir," the bodyguard said with a smile. "I'll be right behind you. So Avery returned to the spot where his brother was, and gave Aspen a tight smile. "Alright. We can go over there," he said, gesturing a few feet away, by a bench. Lorenz tailed him over, and Avery draped himself over the bench in a casual manner, but with a slight air of superiority. "Yes?" |
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Summer 
Day Weather: 
