Stumbling into the shop a mere fifteen minutes before it was due to be opened, Jonathon cut a far less dashing figure then some of his friends in the merchant community would during a business day; his clothes were caked in dirt not common to Great Britain, his muddy footprints were apparently being seen as Hawthorns' arch nemesis, and to top it all off he hadn’t had a proper cup of coffee since he had left five days ago on behalf of a client. Listening as his House Elf went on and on about her ‘naughty master’ tracking in dirt, he couldn’t help himself “Hawthorn, now really isn’t the time; I have burrs in several uncomfortable locations, a botched healing job by some hack healer who apparently only knew four words in English, and to top it all off I really need a shower.” Smiling ever so faintly as Hawthorn seemed to immediately shift into ‘mother hen’ mode, he simply patted her on the head “I’m going upstairs to clean myself up and everything turned out fine despite the hiccups, better then fine actually so don’t worry; I managed to track down that litter of steppe polecats so our client can have pick of the whole lot…”
About to say more on the matter, he was rudely interrupted by Hawthorn’s insistence that he head upstairs Did she say something about coffee if I hurried… And here I thought that House Elves were supposed to serve their masters faithfully and not entice them with treats… She’s been spending too much time with my parents. Making it a priority in his mind to lessen the amount of interaction between his shop mother and real mother as he trumped up towards the second floor, he made no pretense of caring as he shed his outer clothing in a hap-hazard and devil may care fashion.
Knowing that he would be receiving a scolding from Hawthorn latter for leaving his clothes on the stairs, but also knowing that she had already picked them up, a slight sigh of contentment slipped past his lips On one hand I feel bad that she refuses her freedom so insistently but on the other hand she does take great care of me… Maybe a gift is in order? Moving passed the flotsam and jetsam that seemed to congregate in his small upstairs apartment, no matter how hard anyone tried to organize it, he made a beeline for the bathroom and the hot shower that awaited him.
Allowing himself to soak for the better part of a half hour, his hand instinctively reached for the now puckered scar across his right pectoral “Russian Healers… Might as well have asked them to bleed me while they were at it, what a bunch of quacks.” Shutting off the water and stepping out in front of the bathroom mirror, he performed his daily ablutions before heading towards his closet “Lets see; jeans, jeans, yet more jeans... and a formal robe?” Pausing for a moment before instantly shoving it towards the back, a muffled curse escaped his lips “Parents probably snuck it in to make me look respectable... I just might have to set up some wards.”
Shaking his head as he decided to go with the ever-popular jeans and tee-shirt ensemble, he took his time in lighting his first cigarette of the day as he went over what needed to be done “Update the portfolio and catalog, inspect the snakes and other reptiles for parasites, see to any appointments that have been made with clients.” Ticking them off on his fingers, he could only smile ruefully So much for being the high and mighty owner, then again I would probably go around the twist if I lounged about all day… Best to suck it up buttercup and get a move on. Tromping down the stairs, he unfortunately overlooked the steaming cup of coffee that had just been placed on his dresser.
Offering a faint wave towards Paul and a choice set of profanities in Gobbledegook to an already ornery Fellclaw, he stopped for a moment in shock as he spotted Sarah trying to look busy “Well huzzah! Sarah, the Dark Lady of Irresponsibility, has graced us with her presence!” Mimicking a courtly bow, with great skill and an obvious amount of exaggeration, he made things short and sweet “You no show again Sarah and your gone; it isn’t fair to me and it isn’t fair to the staff.” Holding up a hand he continued “I don’t care what kind of emergency it was, be it exaggerated or real, you either floo one of us or you stop in to explain the situation." Refusing to entertain any of her transparent excuses, he simply directed her towards the back aisles "The spiders have been molting so start cleaning their terrariums.” Situating himself behind the counter as he began to update the catalog/portfolio, he wisely chose to ignore her huff of exasperation, Paul’s barely hidden smirk, and Fellclaw’s crow of triumph.
Rummaging through the paperwork which he had once sworn never to do, a reprieve was granted by on high from the rather generous hindquarters of a Maine Coon obstructing his view “Ahh Pudge… We meet again” Placing his quill by the wayside, he laughed as his cat managed to look slightly offended “Not that I don’t appreciate the distraction, but kitty butt is not the way to go about it.” Hoisting his familiar unto his lap, he took time to offer up supplication to the true owner of the shop by means of a belly rub, before looking mournfully at the counter “Seems I’m now down to one hand and still need to get this done; what I wouldn’t give for a torrential rainstorm, a blizzard, or even a walk in customer right now.” Taking up the quill, he resigned himself to actually finishing the task at hand.
