Meteora.
Title: Airquotes
Word Count: 215
The girl leaned against the counter beside him, watching him as his eyes traced the knives in the display case, her smile gentle but friendly. He'd seen her before, once or twice at Dante's and occasionally in the work crowds at the Hound's Tooth - it was hard to forget an exotic face like hers in a sea of eerily similar humans.
"You seem lost," she mentioned, bracing the heels of her hands on the edge of the counter. The muscles in her thin arms flexed as her shoulders lifted, pulling her t-shirt away from the flat slope of her stomach. "Something I can help you with?"
"You work here?" he asked, glancing sidelong at her.
"This is my shop," she replied evenly, her nonchalant tone suggesting she was used to correcting people. "Taki Muhiro." She extended her hand and gripped his firmly when he shook it. "Sketch, right?" When she saw his eyes narrow in suspicion, she waved a dismissive hand at him. "Small world down here, you know. You happen to run with a friend of mine."
"I do?"
"Azazel," she said, and abruptly lifted a hand to cut him off. "And before you say anything, anybody who regularly spends money in my store is a friend. I use the term very loosely."
Word Count: 215
The girl leaned against the counter beside him, watching him as his eyes traced the knives in the display case, her smile gentle but friendly. He'd seen her before, once or twice at Dante's and occasionally in the work crowds at the Hound's Tooth - it was hard to forget an exotic face like hers in a sea of eerily similar humans.
"You seem lost," she mentioned, bracing the heels of her hands on the edge of the counter. The muscles in her thin arms flexed as her shoulders lifted, pulling her t-shirt away from the flat slope of her stomach. "Something I can help you with?"
"You work here?" he asked, glancing sidelong at her.
"This is my shop," she replied evenly, her nonchalant tone suggesting she was used to correcting people. "Taki Muhiro." She extended her hand and gripped his firmly when he shook it. "Sketch, right?" When she saw his eyes narrow in suspicion, she waved a dismissive hand at him. "Small world down here, you know. You happen to run with a friend of mine."
"I do?"
"Azazel," she said, and abruptly lifted a hand to cut him off. "And before you say anything, anybody who regularly spends money in my store is a friend. I use the term very loosely."