Realistic or Modern In Lavender - Mute x Human

[Cychotic]

RP WITH JinxedJoy​

"Yes, Mom, I'm on my way."

"Honey, make sure to water the plants and follow the instructions I set out for you."

"Alright, alright."

"And don't forget—"

"Mom, I'm at the shop, talk to you later."

Click.

Jake Alspaw scrambled off of his bike, his face flushed with red. The man was frustrated. His mother had hounded him with instructions and questions pertaining to the family flower shop for the past thirty minutes. Despite how he constantly told her that he could handle anything that came his way, his mother still fretted. Her worries followed him from the moment he jumped onto the bike 'til...now. He pursed his lips and brought his hand upwards to rub his face.

Jake had jumped for the chance to return to his home town when word of his mother's broken leg reached him. His father too busy bringing in money for the family and Jake being their only child, it seemed fitting that he swooped in to care for his mother's flower shop. The woman opened the small thing in the corner of the street when he finished high school to congratulate him for doing so well. And so, when he was asked to come, he came, knowing he wouldn't be doing much with his college break anyways. With a sigh, he wheeled his bike over to the side of the building and locked it to the small metal bar before making his way to the shop.

It was small, a blue one story building with white trimming. Two windows adorned the outside, each pouring with foliage. Hanging pots dangled from the ceiling, an assortment of lavender and other flowers were neatly organized. The entire place smelled like pink petals and rose. Avoiding the pots by the entrance, Jake entered the shop. The slight tingle of a bell followed behind him and he ducked underneath a particularly low hanging plant. He flipped the sign on the window over so it showed 'open'. Jake had assumed there weren't many customers at the shop. Actually, he figured there were none at all so he found it perfectly fitting for him to sit behind the counter. Nestling himself on a stool, he leaned back onto the wall and slipped out his phone to set an alarm. He would water the flowers in a bit after he took a well deserved nap. Around twenty minutes later, Jake was fast asleep with no worries at all.

 

[JinxedJoy]

• Sweet Tea Packets
• Band-Aids
• Flowers

One would think that such a simple shopping list would be easily taken care of in a short amount of time, but as the sun settled near it's highest point in the sky, what should have been a quick trip downtown ended up taking most of the day to complete. Granted, Rachael had ended up making more than a few pit stops for a plethora of reasons- her raging appetite for pastries being her only excuse as to why the trip from the tea store to the corner store a few blocks down had ended up prolonging into a good hours worth of browsing instead of getting what she actually needed- but she really hadn't intended to be out this long. She even left extra early that morning in an attempt to get home before noon, but it seemed all was for naught.

Sighing as she gazed at the bulging reusable burlap tote bag in her hand, Rachael could only shake her head with a rueful smile spreading onto her face. She wished she was better at staying on track, but seeing the kind old bakers always managed to lift her spirits and empty her wallet. No matter, she only had one last thing on her grocery list, and she was determined to get in and out within an hours time. The lovely lady who owned the shop, a Mrs. Alspaw, always took the time to catch up with her whenever she visited, so a less than brief visit was inevitable. Having to write everything she wanted to say out didn't help in saving time either, but it never really bothered her since her conversations with the older woman were always enjoyable.

Hearing the familiar tinkling of a bell as she entered the humble store overwrought with copious amounts of fauna, Rachael was immediately swept up in the whirlwind of gentle floral perfumes that emitted naturally from the garden that surrounded her. Flowers always managed to calm her, which is why she always made sure to keep fresh ones in various corners of her home. Once they started to wilt, she'd string them up to dry and use them for teas and other herbal remedies. No flower went to waste, but they always started to die much too soon for her liking. It was a pity that she had such a terrible lack of a green thumb, even succulents couldn't survive in her hands, so she could only be grateful that a flower shop had opened not too long after she had moved to the area or she'd really be in a bind. Without flowers, her empty home would have certainly driven her to a deep depression as it had many times before. They were her remedy for bad days and sleepless nights, things that had once been common place in her life.

It wasn't until she wandered to the far back by the check out counter that she noticed something was off. She hadn't been greeted as she usually would have been, nor could soft humming be heard from the back where the owner would be nursing the younger plants, the only other person in sight was a man around her age slumped in a chair, dozing peacefully without a care in the world. Quirking a brow in frustration and worry, she did a quick check around just in case Mrs. Alspaw was near, only to be met with an eerie silence. Just who was this person, and where was Mrs. Alspaw? Rachael wanted to be worried, but certainly a burglar wouldn't stay at the crime scene- let alone fall asleep- so she opted to assume this young man had been put temporarily in charge. Still, she needed some assistance, and there was no one else here that could help her pick the right flowers. All these years of frequenting this shop and she still had yet to remember the uses and meanings of more than a select few flowers. It was something she really needed to work on, but right now her main concern was how she was going to wake up this stranger without being completely rude. A gentle tap seemed to be in order... Nope, out like a light. Maybe a shake? ... A little harder maybe? ...Okay, how could someone be so unaware of their surroundings? She almost felt jealous, she herself was a terribly light sleeper, but now this was getting a tad ridiculous. Okay, both hands this time. And... Oh! That seemed to do it!

She waved sheepishly, feeling awkward about the situation, but she shook off her bashfulness to instead try to communicate with the person in front of her. This was going to be interesting.

Pretending to clear her throat by patting her chest and straightening out her sweater, she did her best to make it clear that she had something to say, but instead of opening her mouth to do so, she began to dig around in her bag to look for her pen and pad. It had been in there somewhere... She just used it to talk to the baker in the pâtisserie! Ah, there it was. Sighing in relief, Rachael wrote out a quick message before turning her pad to face the male.

'Hi, my name is Rachael Robinson. Where is Mrs. Alspaw?'

It was blunt, but it got the job done, so she could only hope he'd answer her question without too much hesitation.

 

[Cychotic]

Dreaming was a wonderful thing—if only Jake could submerge himself in such a world for a bit longer as he planned. The man was a deep sleeper and waking up took a tremendous amount of work. As Mrs. Alspaw would say, 'one day, you're going to sleep through a robbery!' He noticed little to nothing when the tap of the shoulder occurred, nor did he rise when the woman gave him a gentle shake. Instead, his lips only produced a soft groan of irritation. It was only until his dream of lounging in a particularly beautiful field turned into one where the ground shook and shook that he woke. Jake's brown eyes fluttered open, widening at the sight of an unknown woman. He blinked. Once. Twice.

Could she be a burglar? Most likely not. A burglar wouldn't choose something as small as a flowershop and nor would one wake up the person it was stealing from. Jake ended up with the realization that the lady waving rather awkwardly at him was no other than a customer. He hiked a brow, surprised that anyone visited the shop. No less people of his age but that was only his opinion. Rising to straighten himself, Jake gave the woman a curious look before attempting to salvage some of the messy curls that had managed to flatten during his short lived nap.

The man expected her to speak. Seeing that she attempted to clear her throat, Jake was ready for some words to be thrown at him. Expecting such, the man slid open one of the counter's drawers. His mother notified him of a book that would help him serve customers. He couldn't remember its exact purpose but Jake hoped it had descriptions of the flowers. He hadn't a single clue as to what each petal did or even what most of the flowers were. Granted, he had the ability to research but Jake was far too lazy for that. To his relief, he found the book. Taking it out, Jake skimmed the pages—how much did his mother write? He would tend to it later. As of now, there was a customer.

To his surprise, the woman pulled out a writing pad and began to scribble on it. Rachel. Jake cocked his head—maybe she was too shy to actually talk or maybe she had a sore throat. He might as well give her an answer.

"Mrs. Alspaw has a broken leg so I'm taking care of the shop until it heals." He cleared his throat, surprised at how raspy his voice sounded. "Nice to meet you, Rachel. I'm Jake Alspaw and I hope your sore throat heals soon." Jake stood, rounding so he was no longer behind the counter so he could better tend to her needs.

JinxedJoy

 

[JinxedJoy]

What if? It was an age old question, and yet it was still relevant as ever, and here Rachael found herself asking that same question. What if she hadn't come here today? What if she just let this Jake person believe she really only had a sore throat? What if she just walked out right now and waited until Mrs. Alspaw came back so she wouldn't have to deal with all of this? What if she just sucked it up and got what she needed and then got out? Really, the questions were endless, but the last one really stuck out to her. It couldn't be all that bad to just take the odd events that have occurred into her stride and leave here with what she needed. But then again, she already felt immensely awkward, and she couldn't see things taking a turn for the better any time soon. She gave him a sour smile, trying to convince herself to just tell him she was mute, but her more mischievous side told her to just let it slide and see where this goes.

It couldn't hurt, could it? To just withhold the truth? Wait hang on, when did she become a liar? The poor guy is just doing his job and here she is debating whether or not to mess around with his head. No, she had better rip off that band aid before things got too out of hand. Eyeing him one last time before scribbling out another message, she couldn't help but notice two things. One: He actually looked a bit similar to Mrs. Alspaw in a very fleeting way, but she couldn't pinpoint as to why, and two: he had the book full of Mrs. Alspaw's notes in hand. That eased her a bit, knowing that she could trust that he'd have the right answers for all of her questions instead of having to just rely on a total stranger who didn't even seem to pleased to be here.

Also, how did Mrs. Alspaw break her leg?! That thought worried Rachael to no end, and she could only hope her friend would be alright.

'Hi Jake! I'm actually mute, but that's okay, people mistake it for a soar throat all of the time.'

Oh, she ran out of room... Quickly turning it and letting him read it, she waited for his eyes to once again meet hers, indicating he was finished reading, before holding a finger up to silence him so she could finish writing down her thoughts.

'Anyways, I'm looking for some flowers to help me sleep?'

It was simple enough she hoped. She was sure he could find it fairly quickly in the book. Offering a kind apologetic smile, she hoped she could now start on the right foot, because she's sure she already screwed up her first impressions.

 

[Cychotic]

She was mute. The revelation triggered his imagination. Jake couldn't help but believe maybe the girl had lost her voice because of a tragic accident. Maybe she was born with an inability to speak and had been struggling with it for years. The humorous side of him assumed her to be another 'Ariel' from the 'Little Mermaid'. Unfortunately for him, Jake knew it was best not to pry. The girl was odd enough and probably feeling quite out of her element with the absence of Freya Alspaw. It wouldn't make it better for him to hound her with questions.

"Oh, sorry about that," he mumbled, giving her a curious gaze.

He watched as she scribbled on the pad, flipping to a new page as Rachel ran out of space. Jake's eyes widened a fraction.

Flowers for sleeping—could they really do such a thing? Jake was apalled. For sleep, he simply relied on boredom to lull him into a useless slumber—the man never really had any difficulties with sleep. And hearing that flowers could be a good remedy baffled him. Were they not supposed to only be useful for smelling and giving someone horrid allergies in the spring? Apparently to Rachel, they had more than just aesthetic purposes.

"Right," Jake said, flipping through the book. "Sleeping, flowers for sleeping..." He cleared his throat, peering closely at the notebook before finding what he was looking for. "It says lavender, gardenia, and jasmine are good flowers," Jake smiled. However, his grin quickly faded as he had no clue where the flowers were in the shop. None of them were labelled and the only ones he could recognize was the bundle of roses in the corner. He sent a concerned glance to Rachel. "I...don't know where any of these are." Jake ran his hands through his hair before skimming through the pages once more.

Nothing. No index or directory of where they could be found. The store had many, many flowers—he wouldn't be able to find them on his own. Jake glanced at Rachel sheepishly before gathering up the courage to ask for assistance. "Would you mind helping me find these?"

 

[JinxedJoy]

Rachael immediately caught his curious gaze and chuckled mentally. She was grateful that he had decided not to ask her about it yet, but she could already see the gears turning in his head and it amused her to no end just imagining the things he might have been thinking. In all honesty, it was kind of hard to pinpoint anymore just why she didn't speak. Perhaps something triggered it that she had long forgotten? It wasn't like she couldn't talk, she'd give her parents the occasional word, but now her voice was fleeting even to them. She knew it had started at a young age, a time when the demand to speak had frightened her out of her wits and the once rebellious girl became a mouse. It had progressively gotten worse, she couldn't allow herself to speak to close family friends anymore, and now that communication block stuck with her. She was as friendly as can be, but the thought of talking to someone was something that literally choked her up and made her panic. She wasn't sure she was even capable of making conversation anymore, it had just been so long.

Now what stuck in her head was just how unprepared poor Jake was. The scrunching of his eyebrows and curling of his nose indicated a strong sense of confusion, and it became obvious that flowers were not his forte. Mrs. Alspaw had really hired someone who didn't know plants? Well she supposed in a time of need, anything would do, he at least was nice enough and didn't scare Rachael off with a bad attitude of any sort. He was pleasant so far, so maybe if he could give her a few clue words she might recognize the flowers. She even cracked a grin at his glances and nervous habits, he reminded her of herself in a more exaggerated way.

Gardenias, Jasmine, and Lavender...? Oh! She remembered now! Curse her terrible memory. Yeah, she could picture them perfectly! They were her favorite, and freshly brewed Jasmine tea was no laughing matter. How could she even forget? She had even gotten the same arrangement a few weeks earlier. She really needed to work on this problem of hers, not that her memory was terribly short-term, it was just that she often made room in her head for more important matters like her favorite T.V. shows and names of flowers seemed to be what was left to rot in the depths of her mind.

At hearing his request for assistance, she waved him off as if to assure him that she didn't mind one bit and gestured for him to walk with her. She played with her fingers as she walked, something she did to keep herself grounded and her mind from racing, Looking around to make sure she was guiding him through the right isle, she spotted some familiar purple blossoms and made her way to them. Thankfully, it seemed that Mrs. Alspaw had picked up on her usual orders and the three plants that frequently took residence in her windowsills were gathered together in neat rows. Lavender on the highest tier, which is why she had been able to spot it, then white petaled Jasmine, and lastly the Gardenia in a similar shade to the Jasmine.

Rachael smacked her forehead, sighing at her luck, before pointing to all three individually with an easy smile while looking towards Jake who had been moseying up behind her. She hoped he'd understand that all three were what she wanted, which is why she pointed at each one separately, but just to make sure she wrote down a quick note on her pad.

'These three are the ones I need, one of each if you don't mind."