Dusting is Fun! [Open]

[Baal Nelson]

The worst part of going on vacation, every single time, is cleaning up when you get home. Baal was enjoying this particular task, having just gotten back after a little more than two months in Brazil. Not that that visit had been a pleasure cruise, but it was still a vacation. and two months' worth of dust doesn't exactly remove itself from the shelves, the display cases, the crystal balls. That is, unless you're a wizard. Except this wizard had forgotten the incantation and was stuck with an old-fashioned feather duster.

He wasn't exactly giddy about the whole affair.

[Rollo/Open]

[Rollo Winner]

Rollo was in his usual form that morning as he strolled along Diagon Alley his scarf wrapped tightly around his neck despite the sunny day. His attachment to the garment of clothing was some what of a mystery even to himself but regardless it was one of the few things he felt comfortable in so even on days such as this he donned the scarf. It's blue and black end fluttered in the wind as he walked to no where in particular. The bar would be his destination in an hours time but for now Rollo felt that a walk would do him some good before he started to develop his usual drunken stupor at The Leaky Cauldron. Rollo decided to deem what he was doing as a bit of a health exercise and a bit of practice in self control. After all he was waiting a whole hour before actually hitting the bar which was something wasn't it? He wasn't spending the time in his apartment either or nibbling on peanuts at the bar he was actually walking around which was healthy right? Rollo knew that it was lame but regardless it made him feel a little better about himself.

Rollo needed that kind of thing though and it was a bit of a change in his usual actions. Usually at this point he would be discounting himself and thinking the worst possible things but instead he was almost sounding encouraging. Turning the corner in Diagon Alley Rollo realized that he was in front of a shop that he had never entered before. The reason why was quite obvious as he really wasn't much of a Divination buff. Actually he had no taste for that branch of magic what so ever but this was understandable as he had no talent in that area. For some odd reason though Rollo felt compelled to enter and did so. It was at least decent to look at as the shop was filled with Crystal Balls from shelf to shelf. The circular orbs reflecting him as he passed by Rollo couldn't help but feel like he was a child in a candy shop. That was until Rollo became his usual self again and disaster insued.

The dust seemed to swirl around him and as he inhaled it flew up his nose and he sneezed. In his usual fashion Rollo found himself thrown backward into a case that perceded to fall over on top of him. Rollo's chest now pressed to the floor he was pinned by the shelf and while it seemed as if nothing had been broken he thought it better to be safe then sorry. Sighing Rollo managed a meek whisper hoping that whoever was dusting would come to his aid.

"Help?"

[Baal Nelson]

Baal had been simply dusting as he had been all day, and he decided to let the chime telling him someone had entered go. If the person actually wanted to buy something or talk to him they would call out. He really doubted that the person would buy anything anyway. With summer over, he got no business from Hogwarts students, and very few adults bought crystal balls. Usually, if you were into that kind of thing, you bought one in school and never needed another one. Mostly, people came in just to look. So he really didn't pay much attention to the man who entered.

CRASH!

"Help?"

Baal ran to the section of the store where the sound had come from, and saw a man in a scarf lying on his floor. He wondered about the scarf for a moment and why the man was lying there before noticing the shelf pinning him. Oh. He went to try to lift the shelf, but couldn't get it more than a couple of inches. He let go of it to grab his wand, cringing as he realized it had fallen back on top of the man from a couple of inches up.

And his wand was still in the back room, where he had left it before he started dusting. He dashed around the shelf and the man, back to his back room, where he grabbed the wand and hurried back to the crushed customer. With a swish-and-flick, the shelf lifted up. Unfortunately, several crystal balls had been on it and fell out onto the man from about three feet up. He righted the shelf and held out a hand to the man on the ground.

"Baal Nelson, owner of this shop, at your service."

[Rollo Winner]

Rollo knew that he should have expected this. Knew that he probably should have avoided the shop altogether. It was a recipe for disaster. Entering a shop full of shelves filled with glass balls spelled trouble so why hadn't he seen that? For Christ sakes he couldn't even manage to walk into a book store without bringing a shelf down on top of him and this store proved to be no different. Silently Rollo vowed to never again enter a store unless he absolutely needed something and if this was the case he took note to not touch anything unless he was going to buy it. It was probably a rule he should have adhered to before now but for whatever reason had not thought to deeply into it. Now though he was trapped beneath the case which was far too heavy for him to lift himself and was entirely at the mercy of whoever ran the shop. If they were even their at the moment because while Rollo doubted that anyone would leave their shop unattended it wasn't impossible and in Rollo's opinion it was very possible. After all who exactly went around stealing crystal balls?

While Rollo decided it was for the best to just not imagine that the shop owner was here he soon regretted this moments later. Maybe had he been lucky he could have managed to dig out his wand from his pocket and lift the shelf himself. Sure it would have taken some time but anything was better then what occurred next. Sure at first it had seemed nice as the air flowed back into his lungs full force but like most joy in Rollo's life it was short lived. Just as he let out another breath he felt the shelf and all its weight come crashing down on his body once more. Wincing he wondered if he was now bound to simply lay here trapped underneath this stupid shelf in this stupid shop for all time. It served him right after all for stumbling into this stupid situation, especially when he could have been at the bar getting drunk.

Rollo now felt the shelf lift from his body and opening his eyes he was caught a bit off guard. A hand was placed in front of his face and he was almost tempted to take it. While he would have actually very much liked to at the moment the idea wasn't exactly feasible due to his position on the ground. His chest was pressed to the ground and because of this his arms were positioned at a much more awkward angle then usual. Rollo though dealt with it and pushed himself from the ground. Standing straight now he straightened his shirt and scarf checking that all of his body was still there. After the brief check showed that nothing too serious had happened Rollo took the man's hand and shook it awkwardly introducing himself in the same fashion.

"Um hi I'm Rollo uh Winner and sorry about the, you know, shelf falling down thing I didn't mean to I swear I'm not some kind of chronic crystal ball destroyer or something."

Rollo scratched the back of his head and offered the man a weak grin. What he had said had sounded so stupid and outrageous too boot. Chronic Crystal Ball Destroyer? Where in Merlin's name had he pulled that on from? It was so stupid, so awkward, and sadly so Rollo. Resigning himself to his failed attempt at his apology all Rollo could do was find himself longing for a cigarette. One which in his opinion was much needed.

[Ivy Xin]

Ivy caught a glimpse of him through the crowd, while shopping for a new cloak. She saw the slightly familiar mess of hair and distinctive scarring of the face. The former Hufflepuff wanted to open her mouth and grab his attention, but she just froze in the spot-- too nervous to say anything. Rollo disappeared into an old, scruffy shop. She unconsciously walked towards him, following him into the store. Hearing a loud crash, she panicked slightly and ran into the store.

By her natural clumsiness and haste, she crashed into Rollo. And stumbled around in a confused manner around the store-- knocking down several stands of moderately inexpensive crystal balls, before she settled onto the floor knocking her head on a table.

"Argh-" she groaned, in pain.

She needed to be more aware of her surroundings and take a class or two to improve her balance. She had been falling down a lot lately... Pretty much everytime she saw someone she knew, she crashed into something, and broke several things on her way down. Ivy didn't possess the natural grace that most models were gifted with.

[Baal Nelson]

Baal actually thought that it was a little bit funny with the man, Rollo, babbling a bit to try to apologize. No harm had been done, though; these crystal balls were tough. This hadn't been the first time something like this had happened. I really should stick these shelves to the wall or something, Baal thought. He racked his brain, but couldn't come up with the incantation for a sticking charm. Oh, well. Just one more thing to do.

"That's fine, really. Do you want a cup of coffee? Tea?" Personally, Baal really wanted a cup of coffee right now. A large amount of dust had made it into his mouth and throat, and he was really thirsty because of it. And he had only had one cup today. He didn't like tea, tea was too weak. But he was quite aware of how many people preferred leaves to beans.

Before Rollo had a chance to answer, the girl Baal had met the other day ran in. He watched, a little shocked, as she crashed right into Rollo. Then she stumbled around, knocking off even more of his crystal balls than Rollo had. At least they weren't the good ones, though. Those were the ones that Rollo had knocked off. He was still a little stunned, so he didn't know what to do as she stumbled, finally hitting her head and settling. He tried to remember her name, but it wouldn't come to him. All he could remember was that she was a model.

"For a model, you're not very graceful, you know."