| Details for Hanging on His Every Word |
| Summary: | Leonard Zabini spots Rhyeline Diderot in the snow and informs her he requires companionship and drink. The girl grows rather bewildered and Thomas steps out of his shop to make sure she's alright. |
| Date: | Sunday, March 17th, 1939 |
| Location: | South Verdic Alley |
| Related: | It immediately follows: Broomshop Breakfast and could be seen from inside the shop once Rhyeline stepped out. It also immediately precedes Understanding at Last. |
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This morning dawned clear and bright- but quite cold. And as clouds settled in, darknening the sky, the temperature continued to drop. Spring is coming soon, but winter isn't done freezing the earth quiet yet. Now snow has started to flutter to earth. Rhyeline slips out of the broomshop across from Books Unbound and pauses to squeak at the cold. Hugging herself tight, squinting against the chill of the cold, she bows her head and scurries down the street. The little one is not looking where she's going nearly as well as she ought to.
"Careful." The words come out in a way that would normally command and demand squeaks and respect of their own. However, a glance at the man speaking, Leonardo Zabini, might show that while his presence and gait are that of unwavering ego, his chosen attire is something a bit less than ostentatious. Still, he makes sure to pause in his own steps as to not be run into by squeaky filth. His eyes are locked on Rhye at this moment, as if he were impatiently waiting for her to clear away from his chosen path.
Rhyeline freezes in place at the sound of the quiet command. The girl trembles slightly as she hugs herself against the cold. She doesn't move, as if not quite sure what he wishes of her.
There is a long moment in which Leonardo stares at the woman. He can only stare so long before he finds himself breaking into a smile. "Well done." The praise is cold, at best, but at least it is praise. He doesn't do much of anything else at the moment, but reach up to adjust the scarf that he's wearing to keep himself warm. "I have been away for quite some time. Doing things that the likes of you could never imagine." He has no idea who this woman is and it doesn't matter. "I require companionship and a drink." He looks back to her at this point with a look of clear impatience on his face.
Rhyeline blinks, looking rather bewildered. Doing her best to keep her teeth from chattering, she murmurs, "Forgive me, I… but I- I have work that I must at-t-tend to…" But she does not brush past him. Instead, she remains rooted to the spot despite the cold.
There is another long moment that Leonardo stares at this girl. He really cannot understand why there hasn't been movement towards a place of drinkage right now. He thought his words were very clear. But, apparently, they were not. "You would rather work than accompany Leonardo Zabini on his return trip from abroad? You would rather work than wait with baited breath and hang on every word that I utter as I speak in volumes about my latest adventures?" And as if those indiscretions were not enough. "You would rather /work/ than to be seen in the presence of Leonardo Zabini?" Rhetorical? Maybe. Either way, it does not seem as though Leo is too happy with this turn of events.
Rhyeline parts her lips to speak, but it takes a moment before she murmurs, "I think perhaps that- that you have mistaken me for someone? I… My name is Rhyeline Diderot… and… and I- I am… already promised." The girl takes a small step back that would betray her shyness had her halting, hesitating speech already not done so. Of course, with her hands clasped tight behind her back, he cannot see her engagement ring.
Thomas has been inside his shop, you know doing Thomas things, like reading, dusting, organizing books, drinking coffee, drinking more coffee. When he peered out the window of Book's Unbound, spotting Rhyeline outside, appearing slightly frozen and another individual talking to her, he picks up his coffee and takes a sip, before quietly moving towards the door and opening it, causing the small bell to ding as he did so. Sticking his head out, his clear and rather calm voice, said loud enough for both of them to hear him, "Miss Diderot, is everything well?" he says taking a slow sip of his coffee, his ice-blue eyes moving between the two.
The rolling of Leo's eyes is such that they would appear to never come back around at this moment. But they do, finally. And that is when Leonardo takes it upon himself to reach up and refiddle with his scarf, pulling it around his neck even more to perhaps 'toss' both of these people out of his mind's eye. His first words are to Rhyeline as she has grossly misunderstood him. Time to set her straight: "I would be vastly amused at the fact that you would even believe that I would catatonically lower my standards enough to waste precious breath on courting you if I weren't so insulted by the implication that you were actually worth that time being spent." Leonardo actually shudders at that thought. Which cues another rolling of the eyes as he turns in the direction of the arriving Thomas's Head. "She is fine. Go. Read something." Leonardo does not like the non-implications that have been implicated in his own mind.
The caution in Rhyeline's eyes eases as Thomas' appearance draws a soft smile from her lips. "H-Hello, T-thomas…" she murmurs, doing her best to keep her teeth from chattering. Despite how submissive a creature as the girl seems, Leonardo's insult makes the little one frown a bit. "Sir… I am consort to Cassius Malfoy… you should mind who you insult." Although it looks as if the slightest glare would make her try to hide, for the moment, the girl gazes up at Leonardo with an unwavering and dignified calm.
Thomas takes a step out of his shop and takes another sip of his coffee, "I think I was asking Rhyeline, not whoever you are, Mr Scarfy." he says with a small nod, "Now I think I will wait for Rhyeline's answer as too if she is okay or not, correct me if I am mistaken but normally the person in question of aggravating a situation is far from the one who you listen to when insuring that everything is well." he says slowly. Looking back at Rhyeline, "Miss Diderot, how about you come inside for a spot of tea, rather a slow day and I got a couple books in that I think you might find interesting." he says slowly, his gaze moving back towards Mr. Scarf.
"I am surrounded by fools." Leo says this to himself, before he adjusts his scarf once more. "The two of you bore me to no end." He gives a dismissive wave of his hand at the two of them, before he shrugs beneath his scarf once again and makes with the walking towards any direction that does not include Thomas & Rhye. "An insult is only an insult if the one being insulted is afraid of the truth." is remarked as he makes with the walking away because that's just how he does. He's always attempting to get himself the Last Word.
Rhyeline's footsteps lead from the broom shop across the street. The little one had just been on her way home, no doubt. However, the promise of books seems enough to lure her away from whatever work she had intended to attend to. Leonardo's parting words return the furrow between her brows, but the little mouse of a girl does not try to engage. Instead, she turns back to Thomas with a soft smile and murmurs, "Thank you, Thomas… I- I can only stop in for a moment, but- but I'd love to see what you have…"
Thomas takes a sip off his coffee, watching the two for a moment, as Mr. Scarf leaves trying to be witty and Rhyeline makes her way towards him, his finger moving and tapping his chin for a moment, "A fool thinks himself to be wise, but a wise man knows himself to be a fool." he says slowly looking back at Mr. Scarf, "I got that from reading something." he says with a small wink, before opening the door for Rhyeline, "But of course, and no need to thank me, you certainly know that." he says as the bell rings slightly as he opens the door all the way moving to let Rhyeline enter.
Rhyeline peeks up at Thomas with a shy, but warm smile as she slips into his shop.