turnedouthuman | Off to Get a Book

The misplacement of one of his books, even one that hadn't made its way to his hands yet, is no laughing matter for the angel. Granted, he does feel a bit silly for jumping to conclusion as he first did. But, to be fair, it wouldn't be the first time the local underground rings would have done something to try and get to him, and they have been rather quiet for a few decades. But, no, the boy was right and it should just be a simple case of mistaken addresses.

Regardless, he's happy to see Adam again. They could do with some catching up.

"Ah, dear boy, hello! It's lovely to see you." Said with all the gentleness of a odd old uncle. "Do come in, make yourself at home."

"Hullo," was Adam's grinned response, coming in and doing the automatic thing of looking around. Honestly, there were so many books here that he had to wonder how Aziraphale ever noticed if one went missing in the first place.

"Full shop," he commented, nodding. "Do you sell a lot?"

Call it divine intuition. He puts a lot of care into his books, even if the haphazard way they're overwhelmingly populating the shop may make it seem otherwise.

He begins to answer, although he lingers for a moment on what exactly to say. "I do get a few clients now and then." And they almost always leave with their hands empty. He prefers it that way.

He spots Dog and smiles. "And hello to you as well, fuzzy fellow."

Adam may have pointed out that divine intuition can seem a little like cheating but then again he's only referring to the fact that Aziraphale probably can say where any specific book is within his store. When it comes to Adam's mess at home, well, he can say he has a system and knows where everything is, but still...

"Is a few enough to keep the place open?" He's curious. The rents in this area must be expensive, so surely he needs to sell a lot...

Dog barks in return to the greeting, apparently happy at being noticed.

Aziraphale smiles at the former-hellhound. Usually, he wouldn't allow pets in there, but Dog is a bit of a special case.

"Ah, don't you worry about that." They do cheat, a little bit. But can you really call it cheating, when it's all really just investing your innate abilities in making things a little easier? Rent's always payed. Nobody gets grifted. It's just a little magical economical boost.

He notes Adam's look at the shelves. "Oh-, would you like to have a look? We can spare a few minutes."

Dog is being a Very Good Dog and not bouncing around and barking at everything or anyone who passes in front of the shop. See, he knows how to behave.

"... Is this some elaborate fraud scheme?" Look, he can't help but be a little curious about it all!

Dog is a Very Good Dog and he's allowed in the shop as long as he behaves.

The question catches Aziraphale by some surprise. "Oh--no, no, none of that."

Not in the legal definition of it, anyway.

Dog will behave well, then. Well, as well as he can. If he sees a cat, he cannot be held responsible for his actions. Dog's gotta chase a cat, angel being. It's in his name.

"Right," there was a nod as if Adam wasn't quite sure if he entirely believed Aziraphale or not. To be fair, he hadn't meant much by the question - it was just that he had watched a thing the night before about an elaborate fraud scheme that had been managed along by always keeping to the letter of the law.

It had been fun watching it, even if Wensley had been saying that he didn't think they were using the right forms...

Aziraphale would probably like Wensleydale. They have a lot in common, and all of it rather mind-numbingly dull.

The angel gives the boy an uncertain smile. There is always a kind of pressure to cause a good impression on the boy, despite him being very human and certainly very normal, by sheer virtue of what he’s done for the world and, both tangentially and directly, for Aziraphale and Crowley.

Aziraphale eventually breaks the silence with what is clearly not a diversion. “Well, would you like to have a look around?”

"Oh, yeah," Adam grins widely. "That would be cool. What kind of books would you think I should start at?"

With a steadier smile, the angel looks towards the shelves. There's a world of knowledge here, and he doesn't often care to entertain guests or so readily allow any hands on his collection, but Adam's not exactly a normal guest.

"Well, perhaps you may enjoy classical folktales? Or perhaps poetry?"

He would have showed him his prized collection of books of prophecy, but Adam made quick work of them those some odd years ago. As much as it pained him to lose them, Aziraphale supposes it had been a fair trade.

Books of prophecy probably were not the best idea, as Adam could still unintentionally make some of them come true. It was hard work, this constant being to be aware of what his subconscious could do with his powers. He sometimes wondered if a conscious use of them would do...

"I kind of am not good at the whole studying poetry thing," Adam said with a shrug. "I don't get why they keep going about about Literature, and don't just let us read a good story."

Aziraphale, being who and what he is, isn't exactly aware of the nuances and issues with the educational system, so he takes the comment completely at face value. He is an old, old being, who values knowledge and adores books, so that's mostly what he bases his opinions on.

"Ah, but good stories are part of Literature as well. And poems can also tell grand stories of any kind." Said with a kind, knowing smile. This is the angel in his element. "But, if you wish, I do have many works of prose fiction."

"Not the way my school teaches it," Adam snorts back in a reply, eyes rolling just slightly as if to better express his entire done-ness with the educational system. It's a very typical, human teenager reaction.

"Are there any you like best?"

Aziraphale smiles and nods like he has any way of knowing what Adam's actually talking about.

"Oh, well, there's many - as you can imagine." He vaguely gestures towards the multitude of shelves, which doesn't even include the ones upstairs. "I do have a collection of Wilde first editions, and he dabbled in both prose and poetry."

Would most people suggest Wilde to a teenager? Is Aziraphale most people? Who even knows.

Adam looks around at all the shelving units and wonders if the shop is somehow bigger on the inside. Angels would have TARDIS technology like that, he's sure of it. He's pretty sure they don't call it that, but he bets he has it.

Though there's a blink.

"Uh... I don't think I've read any Wilde?" What was the last book he'd read? Not the one for class, because that was terrible, but the last one he'd read and actually enjoyed?

There's a distinct possibility that Adam may be right about the size of the shop. It really wouldn't be difficult to do at all, just a little bit of reality warping. It's unclear whether or not that's the case, but there's definitely other things afoot in there, such as the current lack of dust, and the surviving quality of most of these tomes.

"Oh, my dear boy, what are they teaching children in school these days?" He literally has no idea.

The angel steps out from that particular aisle and around to the back area of the shop. "Wilde was a wonderful fellow. Very modern for his age. Wise old soul. Unfortunately, like in any age, that meant not everyone was quite prepared to hear what he had to say."

Aziraphale looks through the shelf facing opposite from his desk, muttering titles under his breath and figuring out what would be a more suited publication as an introduction.

Oh, he's noticed the lack of dust lying around but he can't be sure that Aizraphale hasn't just given everywhere a really good clean before he arrived. That was a thing that happened, and Adam had to guess that when an angel cleans... well, things would stay clean. It's a talent, he thinks.

"Oh, not much, education kind of stops me learning," was the cheerful reply. Someone did not have a high opinion of the educational system at all. Mind you, someone was also in a bit of a mood that he was being taught maths that would never be helpful for things he actually needed to know.

A talent, yes, and a little bit of magic. Aziraphale may not be quite as imaginative or prone to use miracles as Crowley, but a little something here and there to help maintain the shop won’t do any harm. Specially now that no one’s tracking what he’s doing.

...he hopes.

“Oh, well, that sounds entirely unhelpful.” Aziraphale comments rather genuinely. He picks out a couple of books off the shelf.

“Ah, here we are. Wilde was a brilliant author. While I fully encourage you to look into his poetry works, I believe his fairytales may be a bit more suited to your tastes.”

He could go on and on about the man, although the angel does wonder if all public aspects of Wilde’s life are appropriate to share with someone of Adam’s age - not that the boy isn’t incredibly smart, quite the contrary. But it’s also, in part, that the angel rather focus on the more positive aspects of his old friend’s life.

“Say, do you like ghost stories?”

Edited 2019-11-29 15:19 (UTC)

Adam wouldn't know if Aziraphale was being tracked. Would it be like in the films and shows where they have little devices placed all around in obvious but hidden places that somehow managed to pick up any use of miracle ever? ... Actually, never mention it to Adam or that is exactly what it would become.

"Fairytales and poetry," he repeated, looking at the books in the angel's hand. There's a frown. "Wait, is Wilde they one they said was mad, bad, and dangerous to know, or am I thinking of someone else?"

Well, good thing that Aziraphale doesn't really make it a habit to talk about his former employers anymore. It's all dreadful business and unless it comes up, he's more than happy to not give the idea of them the time of day.

"That would be Lord Byron. He was a few decades before Oscar's time." First name basis? Quite accidental. "I do also have some of his works, if you're curious."

From the selection in his hands, he takes out one of the books. "The Canterville Ghost. A family, a haunted castle. Murder, mystery, and the macabre. And yet quite amusing at times. Oh, Oscar was quite the wit." He hands Adam the book, small and rather old, but somehow not yet fallen apart.

Adam wouldn't want to talk much about them either, he doubts they'd want him talking about them either. So... yeah, that's a two way street that is always empty.

First name basis? Okay, so he's not the best listener in school, but Adam knows you don't call an author by their first name unless you happen to know them. That means Aziraphale knew Wilde. That's... actually pretty cool.

"Is his stuff any good?"

He looks at the book, and frowns. "So... how is it amusing then?"

Indeed he did. Might have something to do with the circles he found himself in during the Victorian era. He did have a nice time then, for the most part. He's quite the ancient creature, but certain points in time do stand out.

"Oh, yes. One of the best writers in human history, I would say." The angel smiles brightly, although he's slightly discouraged by the boy's doubtful expression.

"Well, he would often find a way to sneak in some social commentary into his works, in a rather humorous fashion. It's a short read, if you'd like to see it for yourself."

It's rare for Aziraphale to ever actually offer his books to someone, even if temporarily, which only goes to show how much he appreciates Adam. Attempting to convince a teenager to read a classic tale and trying to explain it in a way they both understand, however, is quite difficult.

It's not that he doesn't trust Aziraphale, it's just that his English classes have sort of put him off any sort of 'classical' literature. They don't really get to enjoy the stories, and that always puts him off. It's all about looking for themes and answering questions with huge essays when a couple of words would do. He's not in favour of it.

"Would I understand the social commentary?" Since he hadn't lived through that time period, he means.

Unfortunately - or fortunately, depending on how you look at it - Aziraphale really has no idea what goes on in schools, and what young humans go through. A vital piece of information he's missing here.

"Hum, I believe so. It's quite universal." At this point, he's fishing for encouraging answers.

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