what a butcher's shop needed a mannequin in its storefront window for, those who milled up and down the underground couldn't surmise. at the very least, it was a pretty thing. pleasant enough to turn heads and draw glances out of the corners of odd - shapes sockets for a second glance. not many wanted to out - right stare at it, however, no, for it seemed to do enough of the staring on its own. a sentry in the window of seraphina's shop, its head cocked at an angle that must've been possible, yet appeared impossible with the crook of the doll's neck; what was it looking at, what was it looking for?
a white shard of sunlight slashed across its still face. one eye glittered like a lake on a sunny day; the other was a pit in the doll's face. neither the light or the heat seemed to bother it very much, as it simply continued to stare out the window and down the alley - way at a store slotted into the BRICK AND MORTAR three doors down and across the way.
the shop was an eatery of some sort, styled in the newly fashionable style of an east asian restaurant or café. charlotte had yet to identify never mind understand what particular kind of curiosity owned the shop. she'd seen them only a handful times, but only ever under the heavy cover of night. here was her chance to observe them in the day. three of them were standing in the shade of their storefront with the front accordion style folding door pushed wide open. they were arguing about something.
charlotte couldn't quite hear them through the distance, sunbeams, and the glass keeping her cool from the coming summer heat. though she doubted it would do her much good even if she could hear more than the sheer volume of voice; the family spoke in their native tongue, an uncommon dialect of chinese charlotte might've been able to put her finger on, but certainly couldn't hope to comprehend. so, she simply watched. with one eye in sunlight and the other shadow, she took note of their expressions, the shape of their mouths as they grimaced, the graceful, almost violent motion of their limbs as they performed their drama. high emotion could be felt in the glass' vibrations, the subtlest of which charlotte could still feel through the bone and cartilage of her knee, pressed against the pane for balance.
@saintvampe / DON'T BE RUDE.
the saint was in her usual spot, poised and reverent behind her counter. priceless gore before her, currency at her side, and an air of heady pleasure hanging about her head and shoulders like a bride's veil. yet when she spoke, her voice rung like a bell inside the canal of the vessel's ears, as though she had spoken right into her mind, the hush that followed almost leaving a fog of breath on the window. or perhaps that was charlotte's own little gasp. without shifting anything besides the eye - balls that rolled sorely within bird - bone sockets, charlotte looked away from the scene for just a moment.
seraphina's reflection was the ghost of a ghost in the sunny glass. she saw a dark stretch of red and the gleam of something silver. the glint of a controlled gaze. it was a good thing charlotte had stopped fearing gods and saints a long time ago. she smiled and returned her attention to the drama unfolding. a fourth had joined in. " It's fine. I could just say I was checking the tall - ish one out. He is kind of cute. Besides, they're always staring at me every time I walk past. This is only fair. "
she gave a chuckle as three of the talking heads suddenly whipped around to stare at the smallest of the bunch, a young woman by the looks of it, standing at the top of the store steps with her arms crossed over her chest. " Oh, she just said something none of them liked the sound of, " she remarked, amusement as bright as the day itself colouring her voice. " Can you understand what they're saying? Is there going to be trouble? "
