rain rain go away [o]

[rinne01]

“well, isn’t this just great.”

the sky over primula was overcast and laden with heavy grey clouds, and a fine drizzle was trickling down. that, even though it was only noon time. that could only mean one thing – spring storms. and dylan hated storms. the radio had said this morning “expect sunshine all day!” and although he usually took the weather forecasts with a grain of salt it was never this bad.

the light patter of raindrops soon became a heavy drumming as the rain picked up. everyone else was out grabbing their lunch at primula square and the store was currently empty, though, so at least he didn’t have to expect anyone around for the next few hours. that was, at least, if anyone wasn’t crazy enough to try to brave this storm.

dylan got up from the wooden chair behind the cash wrap and stepped out onto the floor. he tended to compulsively tidy the shop when nobody was there. make sure the large racks and cases of unpolished ores were free of smudgy fingerprints. check the drum of lamp kerosene for leaks or spillage – wouldn’t want an explosion, after all. arrange the pith helmets in descending order of size. menial tasks, really, ones that he’d usually delegate to the newbies. but there weren’t any right now, so what could you do.

so engrossed was he in his work, in fact, and so loud was the rain against the wooden roof that he didn’t hear the tinkle of the bell announcing a new customer. he instead was too busy on his hands and knees trying to get a geode out from the shelf it rolled under.

[maeve]

It'd been a long winter and Maeve had been away for all of it. She and her brother had said their goodbyes and left, as they were apt to do and had done for the past few years. Today was officially the first day she was back in the small, sleepy town. She'd never been the sort to grow attached to things, but this place had found a way into her heart and hooked itself there. She'd always come back to it, she imagined.

At her side, Maeve had a pouch of gold, earned from her expeditions (and more than that, her silver tongue). It was begging to be spent, used on something nice and shiny. She was going to buy some jewels, but the ship was in need of a bit of fine repair and she'd been the lucky one sent off to get some iron and gold. That could wait, though. Maeve spent her time window shopping, oblivious to the oncoming storm until it actually happened. It just came so suddenly. One moment it was a cloud, dull day, and then it was just pouring rain. Terrible. It hit her with such surprise that she didn't even consider going back to the small shack she took residence in. She just made for the nearest building and that so happened to be the mining shop.

Maeve darted into it in nothing short of a flurry. She'd been smart enough to wear a coat to deal with the cool weather, but now it was drenched and so was her hat and her hair, which hung in heavy red curls and clumps against her shoulders and back. Bright eyes locked onto Dylan as she took the coat off and shook her hair out.

"It's a lovely day isn't it?I was hoping to come back to sunny weather, not the pouring rain," she stated, more chipper than she actually was. "I feel swindled."

[rinne01]

finally finding the mislaid geode with the aid of a handy ruler, dylan pushed himself up off the floor, only barely dodging an overhanging shelf on the way up. his eyes caught the figure of the newest arrival to the mine shop, and inwardly he groaned.

it was maeve. she had a reputation in primula that was certainly… interesting. from what he’d heard, she never seemed to stay during the winter and always holed up on a shack near the beach the rest of the year, where she did fortune telling for cheap. dylan didn’t head down that way much, so he hadn’t seen too much of her native element, but she was a regular customer at the mine shop in the two years it was established. they were friendly, but not much more than that.

“hello, maeve. been a while,” he said calmly, eyeing her sopping wet hair and drenched jacket. “and yes,” he continued, “quite lovely out. was expected sun until nightfall.”

dylan wandered back to behind the cash wrap as he continued to watch maeve. he groped behind his chair, checking to see if there were any spare towels or shirts the ersatz pirate could use to sop up all the rain. he’d feel a bit bad if she got sick, but that’d probably be because she’d blame him for it in the first place.

maybe a thermos of tea would help too.

[maeve]

She watched him as she pulled her hair over her shoulder, squeezing out rivulets of water. What was he doing? Whatever it was, he finished, standing up and Maeve offered a smile that certainly did not go with her otherwise sour mood. She was cold and wet and god knew what sort of disaster her hair was going to turn into. That was the worst part of it all - her hair. Already an unmanageable mess and now it would just gain a life of its own. Awful.

"Whole winter, you know. And a few days - left early last year," she chirped, walking over to the counter to drop her wet jacket down. Maeve took her hat off next, setting it gingerly beside the coat. "You'd think I could foretell this sort of thing. At least the farmer's are going to have a good day."

She raked a hand through her hair, pulling her distraught bangs away from her face. At the same time, Maeve leaned over the counter, one leg crossing behind the other. She watched Dylan as he attempted to find something again - Maeve presumed it was something for her, maybe a towel.

"I don't suppose you'd give a poor lass in need a brush and cup of tea," she chimed, rapping her fingers against the counter. "You're not going to like me when my hair is a wreck. I'm not going to like me."

[rinne01]

his brows furrowed as dylan watched maeve squeeze her hair out like it was a sponge. she didn’t seem to be terribly tactful in that regard – if there was one thing dylan couldn’t stand, it was sloppiness. the woman left a big dark spot on the unvarnished floor, and the jacket and hat that followed them on the way down would probably add up, too. he made a mental note to have one of the newer employees check for water stains later.

“doesn’t look like i have a brush on hand,” dylan said, letting the geode he had previously scrounge up roll from his fingers onto the wooden counter. “however, hope you like lemon,” he added, throwing a towel over the counter in hopes that maeve was alert to catch it. “don’t have any hot water up now, though, so i’ll run up real quick and nuke a cup in the microwave.”

he turned to the stairs behind him, which lead to the loft apartment above, but paused for a second. “just… keep your hands off anything,” dylan told maeve. although much of the more valuable stuff was under lock and key, he wouldn’t trust her any further than he could throw her. he then quickly trudged off upstairs, leaving the pirate alone on the floor. hopefully she didn’t do anything too stupid. or illegal.

[maeve]

She was quick to grab the towel, squeezing it between her thin fingers. Her eyes brightened and she pressed it to her face. "Mmhm, sounds lovely," Maeve said, words muffled against the fabric. She began to pat herself dry and then wrapped it around her hair, squeezing it against the strands to help dry it out further. She was somewhat disappointed he hadn't offered to invite her upstairs with him. Maeve would have liked to see what his house looked like, learn more about him than she could guess from just simple appearances and a few shared words.

His comment earned a mischievous smile and a cheery laugh. "What do you think I am? A thief?" she chuckled, rubbing the ends of her hair. Sure, Maeve wasn't exactly the savory sort - but really, she had some tact! She was by no means a common criminal! She was far above the pettiness of thievery. That he might think that - well, that was rather irritating.

"I'm kind of hurt you'd think that sort of thing about me, Dylan," she sighed, "Here I just find you absolutely darling." Maeve turned, hoisting herself up onto the counter. She crossed her ankles and continued to pat her hair dry.

[rinne01]

“can never be too sure,” dylan grunted in reply as he plodded back down the stairs. his shoulders shrugged. it took only two minutes before the coffeepot he held in his right hand was done, and from the steam leaking from around the lid, it was obviously piping hot. he set the pot down on the counter next to the cash register and yanked a small wooden box from out under.

“remember when i said we only had lemon?” he asked, turning the box around and pushing it and the pot towards maeve. “guess i lied. take your pick.” he pulled two convenient mugs out and poured the water into each. steam curled out in long plumes and rose to the ceiling, on which the rain continued to drum mercilessly. knowing the weather on the peninsula, this wasn’t going to sotp anytime soon.

“but yeah,” he continued. “don’t be offended. couple of weeks ago a few quartz specimens went missing from inventory. and i’m not one to miscount.” he stopped for a second, leaning on the other side of the counter from maeve. “then again, i never got around to installing cctv. wouldn’t be a bad idea. i’m just confused why they didn’t take anything more valuable.”

[maeve]

Maeve took the box and gently thumbed through the packets. She picked one up and sniffed it before putting it back. Finally, she settled on one. Maeve kept the box in her lap, but unwound the string from the teabag and then set it gingerly in the mug. Out of the corner of her eye, she looked up to the ceiling. "Maybe I should just start coming back in summer. Leave for the winter and spring and come back when it's actually nice," she half joked. Maeve would probably never do that, though - she liked the town too much and the spring wasn't that terrible, most of the time at least. She grabbed another tea packet and sniffed it before returning it to the box.

His statement earned a tilt of the head and a bemused look. "Quartz is popular on the market. Not like diamonds or anything, mind you, but popular. It's also picking up favor in therapeutics. Flavor of the month, I suppose. Next thing they'll be after moonstone," she said, taking the mug in her hands. She held it in her lap and fanned at the curls of steam. "Got any sugar, lovely?"

Maeve looked at him, a sly smile crossing her lips. "You know, speaking of moonstone, it's great for fortunes. If you have some, I could tell you or a thing or two. For a piece."

[rinne01]

after the pirate woman returned the tea to the box, dylan slid it back towards himself and pulled out a packet of oolong. he poured the leftover water into his mug and dropped the tea in. a pleasing aroma rose from the glass, one that was very familiar. he had always loved tea – it was a calming process to make and steep the drink.

“and miss the planting season?” he replied lightly to maeve’s suggestion. “we’d love your help. besides, it’s weird that we’re getting rain this early in the spring.” as if to punctuate the statement, a bright flash shot through the window pane in the corner of the shop, followed by a loud peal of thunder. dylan grimaced. “see what i mean?”

he listened to maeve as he nursed the mug, letting it cool a bit. “lemme guess. ruby’s gonna be in demand after that?” his lips twisted upwards in a momentary confident smirk. birthstones were always popular – at least, that was what he was gathiner from maeve’s predictions. “anyways, advice taken. might as well go into town next weekend and see if we can get something on the cheap to install in terms of a security camera.”

a slight frown creased dylan’s face. “i’ll pass, thanks.” although he wasn’t too personally familiar with maeve, he knew enough of her reputation. for all her sweet talk, she never contributed much physical to the town, and dylan wasn’t a big believer in superstition and fortune anyways. unless maeve could actually do something for the shop, he intended on always keeping her a bit further than arm length.

[maeve]

Her nose scrunched up at the idea of helping with farming. Maeve was not the sort to get her fingers dirty - not in such a literal way. She'd leave the planting to the people that didn't care about dirt under the nails and more than that, were good at it. She let her expression do the talking for her and instead looked to the window at the sudden burst of light. Her lips pursed and she squeezed the cup a little bit tighter between her hands.

"Maybe, although ruby is always popular - along with sapphires. People love the bright colors," she sang, raising the mug up to take a sup from. Maeve adored rubies, but that was vanity talking. She liked their color and how well they matched her.

She was disappointed that he rejected her offer, but it wasn't like she was surprised. Dylan was a little bit too smart, a little bit too... serious, to fall for her ploys and sweet words. Maeve almost disliked him for that. It made her life so much harder when people didn't want to go along with her. She was quiet for a moment, bright eyes watching him and occasionally flicking to the window while she nursed the edge of the mug.

"Then, how about I tell you it for free?" she offered, beaming at him. She'd just have to be a proper salesperson, giving him a sample and then reeling him in. "No harm in that, right? Just entertain yourself - and me. We're going to be stuck in here for a while."

[rinne01]

dylan saw maeve’s face scrunch up in response to his comment. although he couldn’t call her shallow for it, it wasn’t like he was expecting a different reaction. she didn’t seem like the type to be digging in the earth all day, which the miner at least had to respect (even begrudgingly so). the sepulum peninsula appealed to a very specific frame of mind, the “salt of the earth” type of people. maeve, however, was definitely a different salt. she exuded the sea and all its fickleness in everything she did. maybe being a pirate was appropriate.

he appraised maeve's outfit with her eyes, slowly as not to arouse suspicion… or anything else for that matter. "i can see why," he said in response to her confessed love of rubies. "they're a rather... apt choice, for someone like you." with all the red she had on, he wasn't even sure if she owned any clothing of another color. it wouldn't surprise him too much.

“fine. why not. you do have a point – it’s not like we’re gonna be going anywhere in this weather.” his eyes flitted towards the window, as if they were plotting a course of escape. what in the world was he letting himself get into? rolling his eyes only slightly, almost imperceptibly, dylan proffered his hand to the waiting redhead. he could hear the storm getting stronger outside.