February 20th, afternoon :: Genta Timepieces @unmarkt
Avery usually wasn’t one for calm, but she liked the calm of Genta Timepieces.
Mr. Hanzo gave her the same dispassionate look he always did, the same look he probably gave everyone, and handed her a simple leather watchbox that felt a lot heavier than it should. She thanked him with a cheeky wink and a smile, but rather than head right back out the door, she lingered to look at the display cases. For the better part of twenty minutes the only sound was his tinkering, quiet and precise, until the door opened again to let in the sounds of the street. Avery straightened and figured that was her cue to leave, but only until she saw who it was that entered.
They were sisters but only nominally, only on a technicality; by law they shared a father, but Avery didn’t consider Fumiko nor Katashi her siblings. She wasn’t even sure they considered each other siblings, really, they way they acted more like business partners. ‘Family’ was a completely different concept to the Shibatas than it’d been to the St. Martins.
And that frustrated Avery.
She never understood how Fumiko could be so demure and dispassionate about the way her family looked down on her for the crime of lacking perfection, and how she could serve them so diligently despite all the ways they overlooked her. Avery didn’t feel sorry for her, not necessarily; but it did supply her with the undeniable urge to keep getting under Fumiko’s skin just to see if there was anything underneath there, or to find out if the Shibatas’ lovely but imperfect daughter was filled with Mr. Hanzo’s immaculate clockwork.
“Hiya, sis,” Avery quipped as she strode over, watchbox in hand and an easy smile on her face. “Been a hot minute. Mom ‘n Pop keeping you busy?”