A Business Transaction 01/07/09 - 01/08/09

[Nakarumi]

<Toby> It was a brisk yet comfortable night in Alkesh, and even in the slums, people seemed a bit more cheery than usual. The streets were busy with people heading to either The Tankard or a friend's house, and it was helped along by the fact that people needed a breather from work. Unlike humans, Anthros generally liked to take Thursdays off from work and make that their weekend, so as to avoid conflict with humans. However, one young fox was waiting inside his shop for someone to show up. Toby had asked Naka to come by in order to show him around the shop. It had taken him a while to do so, but being in the middle of a concept sword took precedence, especially if it was for himself. Looking out the window with his ice blue orbs, the red fox smokes what appears to be a cigarette, but has a distinctly different aroma to it. "C'mon, Naka...where are you?" Sure, it was still a few minutes til the tiger was due to arrive, but it seemed like he just couldn't wait that long.

<Nakarumi> Nakarumi was all too excited to finally have a chance to visit Toby's store. It had been a few days since the two first talked about Naka starting a new job with Toby at the sword shop and the anticipation has slowly been building up over time. The evening was perfect. Not too cold and not hot. The humidity was just right as well. Afterall, Naka couldn't stand the rain or to get wet either. Tonight, Naka chose the best out of the limited wardrobe he had to make his appearance look somewhat more professional than normal. In fact, the outfit he had on was actually uniform he had from a couple years back when he worked as a general caretaker of a store. It was rather simple but clean cut. Red polo with black pants and a rather nice leather belt he happened to find laying around out behind his house. It was a little difficult for Naka to find the shop considering how bad he was with directions but he still managed to find it by the time he was asked to be there. Naka approached slowly and knocked at the slightly open doorway. "Hello?" He called out in the open. The store looked very welcoming from the outside and Naka would easily expect some other customers to be coming in behind him whether for shopping or just out of curiosity.

* Toby grins as he sees the familiar white tiger walk up and knock on his door. He himself is dressed in a black t-shirt and gray jeans, as well as his skate shoes. Walking to the door with a little bounce in his step, the young fox opens it to the sight of Naka standing there, his ice blue orbs shimmering with appreciation. "Hey there stranger. Glad you could make it." He keeps his voice casual, but it seemed to soften quite a bit whenever the tiger was around, and it probably didn't go unnoticed. He steps out of the way. "Come on in. I'll show you around."

* Nakarumi proceeded into the store with awe and amazement just as he did when he first entered Toby's house. The place was not as clean cut and modern as Toby's apartment but it will still more impressive than what Naka was used to. "I would almost say that you're a neat freak which is really saying something considering how clean and kempt I like to be myself. That is a compliment by the way." Naka was afraid that what he said may have come off a bit strong as if to say that Toby was OCD but he was actually glad of the fact. ^_^

* Toby laughs and runs a paw through his headfur. "I just like making sure people have something a little different than what's the norm. Helps me stand out a little more." He smiles softly and motions for the tiger to follow, slowly beginning to walk further into the shop. "This is just the display and sales area. A majority of the things here are easy to make and basic. Custom orders are always kept in back, because they're usually more expensive." He motions towards a door at the back of the shop. "That leads to the back, and it's also where I make everything. I have a forge in there, so it gets really hot. Perfect for winter weather."

* Nakarumi couldn't hlep but imagine a half-naked sweaty fox hard at work laboring away at his latest creations. Day-dreaming couldn't be written more boldly on his face no more than if someone took a permanent market to his forehead. "For the most of the basic creations up here to look so appealing I'm sure the custom made one are indeed dazzling.

* Toby smiles some and gives a little wink at Naka as if reading his mind before walking behind the counter. "The custom ones are made exactly to order, so sometimes, they really are. I even wonder how I did a few of them." He reaches under the counter and pulls out a rather plain-looking box, with no special markings or wording on it whatsoever. "This right here, is my pride and joy. It's a new sword concept I had, and it suits my needs just fine." He looks over at the tiger with a grin. "You wanna see it?" Boys and their toys....

* Nakarumi gave a sarcastic glare. "After all you just said about it do you really think that I would NOT want to see it?" Naka slightly stuck out his tongue just as a domesticated pet house cat would do in it's sleep.

* Toby chuckles and leans over, giving a little lick to the tip of the tiger's nose. "But of course. How could I forget?" He grins and grabs the top of the box, opening it to reveal a rather interesting sight. The first thing one would notice is the interesting design of the hilt and handguard. The hilt itself was shaped exactly like a fox's tail, and was even colored appropriately. The handguard was a pentacle, and gleamed silver in the light. The blade was hidden by its scabbard, but seemed to be shaped in a similar fashion to a fox tail's curve, and even the tapering. The scabbard itself was a matte black with red accents, giving it a rather nice appeal. He lifts it out of the box and pulls it sharply in one direction, so that three specially designed snaps came off and allowed the sword to come free. It gleamed with a mirror sheen, and it was even lightly etched to show 'color differences' in a fox tail. The blade seemed razor sharp, and no doubt was. "I call it the Spirit Fox."

* Nakarumi was quick to rub his nose from the unexpected wetness of another's tongue. "Yeah, how COULD you forget?" Naka was picking on Toby's pride of his work. It was odd for Naka to be such a pest but his mood was more open with the weather warming up a bit and how Toby and him have become so.... close. Toby took no hesitation in revealing the sword he spoke of so proudly and it indeed was a beautiful piece. Not only was it just a sword within it's own being but it was a piece of art. Something that portrayed it's creator's true passion and dedication to his work. "That is amazing..." Naka's voice was low and nearly resembled a whisper. "How long did it take you to make such a piece?"

* Toby smiles lovingly at the tiger for the compliments before looking at his reflection in the blade. "Thank you...that means a lot...." He smiles softly at himself as if thinking about something before turning to Naka. "And it took me the last two days. It's why I've been so busy lately, and I'm sorry about that."

* Nakarumi shook his head vehemently. "No no no, don't apologize. For something as magnificent as that, I'm glad you took the time to do it properly and with such attention to detail. That is talent in one of it's purest forms. I wouldn't be surprised if it has some magical ability to boot." Naka slightly laughed at his own suggestion but meant every word of it.

* Toby turned such a shade of crimson at the remark, it almost seemed unbelievable. His ears looked like tomato-red triangles, and the grin on his face was wide enough to almost split it in two. He puts the sword down and hugs Naka gently, still smiling all the while as his tail practically wags with happiness. "That's the nicest thing anyone's said about my work. Thank you -so- much."

* Nakarumi wasn't really expecting Toby to take what he said to heart at such a genuine level but was not regretful of it what-so-ever. "Well, I'm not one for flattery but I'm quite good at giving the truth." Naka returned the hug of course but was quick to refrain from prolonging it for too much longer. "Hey, focus, I'm here to learn about your shop remember? I need a job." Naka winked at Toby while...

* Nakarumi ...resting his own paws on the fox's shoulders. It wasn't that Naka minded the affection - given past experience Naka LOVED the affectionate attention - but he didn't want this evening to get too far 'distracted' from the original intent like their dinner plans ended up the other night. No complaints of course.

* Toby laughs and nods before stepping back a bit. "Right, of course. Now, where was I?" He blinks as he tries to remember and then laughs. "Oh yeah, that's right." He puts the sword back in its scabbard and secures the latches again before putting it back in the box and back under the counter. "C'mon, I'll show you the forge and custom stock." He smiles and walks over to the door he previously mentioned, opening it up to reveal a set of stairs going down and a nice gust of heat blowing up. He grins and shudders at the temperature shift sensation, laughing. "I love that feeling." He then begins to walk down the stairs, which were made of stone and actually evenly spaced with a gentle incline. Better to walk up and down all day, more than likely.

* Nakarumi was glad that things were so much more comfortable between the two of them now. Even though it took place within not even a week, Naka was finding himself to be so much more relaxed around Toby's presence. There was just something about the fox that made the common ideals of the outside world sort of melt away. As Toby opened up a door to another area of the store a warm, if not hot gust, rushed Naka's face and it was somewhat sleep inducing compared to the cool weather outside. "It does feel good." Naka said with a homey smile stretching his face. The stairs that proceeded downward were easy to tread on. The declining degree was very shallow and the warmth made it a peaceful descent. "How far down does this go?"
"Just ten feet." He says as he rounds the landing to go down the other flight before walking into the basement of the shop. It was quite warm down here, and just as spacious as the store, if not a little more so. The forge was all the way to the back of the basement on the left side, with a chimney merely poking above ground on the side of the building. On the wall closest to the stairs were many shelves that held a couple custom items that had yet to be picked up. There were materials all over, yet it was still neatly organized into groups. "And this is where the magic happens." He says with a grin, looking around as he steps out of Naka's way.

* Nakarumi was only a few feet behind Toby but didn't expect an area as large as the store above to be found below. "The stairs are very misleading. I was expecting to be going down a bit further but wow... it's still rather large down here and look at all the stuff." Naka, out of natural curiosity, began to carouse through the many different tools and materials located all over. He was like a kid in a candy store almost."

* Toby chuckles and waves his hand about the room. "Feel free to have a look around. If you have any questions, just ask." He smiles and then snaps his fingers as he remembers. "Oh, and as to your job, you're gonna mainly be working upstairs as a salesperson until I can teach you some swordsmithing skills. Shouldn't be too hard to do for now."

* Nakarumi almost looked dumbfounded. "I wouldn't even know where to begin as far as questions are concerned. There is so much stuff here and most of them I'm not even sure what they are called." The snapping noise slightly caught Naka offguard but he was quick to come to attention. "Oh yes! That much would be easy for me. I have plenty of experience there." Naka almost seemed too excited about the proposed position.

* Toby smiles and nods. "Good, then you should have no problems." He closes the distance between them and runs a finger down the front of the tiger's shirt. "And you don't have to dress how you're not comfortable either...what you were wearing before would work nicely." He grins a little before walking towards the shelving, his tail swishing back and forth almost teasingly. "Hmm...ah, here it is." He says as he pulls out a small box that had a thin layer of dust on it. He brushes it clean and holds it out to Naka. "An old custom order that was never picked up. Better for you." Inside was an ornate dagger made more for looks than for use. It had an intricately detailed hilt and blade that had images of tigers all over it. It was still sharp to the touch, but obviously not made for fighting.

* Nakarumi blushed uncontrollably as the fox teased him a little bit about his attire. "Well you know, I just wanted to look the part. Many jobs before hand require uniforms of some kind and I was lucky to keep this one. But you're right, I'm more comfortable in Jeans and a tank top than anything else." Naka watched Toby walk off and take a small box down just to bring it back to hand to the tiger. He took the book almost with precarious warning and opened it to find a display of tigers along what seemed to be an untouched dagger. "Oh Toby, I couldn't possibly... I mean... it looks costly." The temptation to a cat with anything made of shiny material was too much at this point in time.

* Toby holds up a hand to stop the protesting before laying a finger on the tiger's lips. "Now now, it's a gift to someone who deserves it. I won't take it back. Ever." He smiles and removes his finger, his eyes glimmering in the light being created by the forge and the few lightbulbs in the basement where they stood. His fur also seemed to glow from the red light of the forge, giving an almost ethereal presence to him.

* Nakarumi shook his head hard as if he was in total disbelief. "Thank you, and now I'm the one that owes you a hug." Naka wrapped his arms around the fox's neck and squeezed tightly. "I have never really received a gift like this ever since my mother had given me my bracelet. Thank you"

* Toby returns the hug and laughs, smiling brightly. "You're more than welcome." He pulls away and gives the tiger a little lick on the cheek before letting go. "Now c'mon. I'll take you to dinner. Tomorrow, we'll work. But for now...let's go have some food and some r-and-r."

* Nakarumi smiles slyly and shyly - if that's possible - at the suggestion. "That sounds awesome. I am indeed 'hungry' afterall." Naka nearly shocked himself at his own statement. Yes, he was still warming up to Toby quite quickly but for him to make such a suggestive remark with that tone of voice was nearly unheard of from this particular tiger. "Although let's make sure we do actually consume something first this time." Not as suggestive as his first remark but Naka had to find some kind of humor to hide his embarrassment. Such a shy little kitty.

* Toby grins a little coyly before nodding and holding out his hand to Naka. "Come on then, tiger. Let this fox get you some real good food." He kept it as innocent as possible,  but there was no denying the subtle undertones to his voice. He doesn't bother to hide his blush though, or even his slight embarrassment at the situation. He was more than comfortable around Nakarumi, and he didn't care anymore. It felt right to him, so who cared if he acted a little more forward than normal?

* Nakarumi took Toby's hand without hesitation. How lucky Naka was to find someone such as Toby. The many things that this fox has almost instantly brought into this tiger's life was beginning to become uncountable. "So, what's on the menu?" (Oh the temptation to put something here.) "Let's not spoil me too much. You might not be able to get rid of me." Naka laughed in spite of himself as he was led on by the fox.

* Toby smiles and laces his fingers with the tigers, blushing a little as he does so. "I doubt I'd want to, Naka." He says softly, still smiling. "As for the menu...I think I'll let you choose tonight." His tail swishes around behind him as he walks up the stairs and towards the front of the store, grabbing his sword on the way and clipping it onto a special harness he wore on his back, scabbard and all. "Because I chose what we ate before."

* Nakarumi held a newly acquired dagger in one hand and clasped on to a fox's hand in the other. It was pleasing. "Hmm... well now that I'm in the spotlight I'm not to sure. I am rather large meat eater afterall. Know of any place nearby that's good about selling some sausage?" Naka was thinking more along the lines of Italian or Polish sausage but never really had the chance to eat out much before; therefore, he didn't even know where to begin. Sadly enough, his suggestion was meant to be innocent by all means even though the given suggestions would have said otherwise.

* Toby chuckles a little and nods. "Actually, yeah, I do." He smiles at the tiger and leads him out, locking the door before giving him a little kiss and leading him along towards the restaurant he thought of. "You'll love it. I promise." With that, he and Naka walk off towards the restaurant and the rest of the night, the young fox's tail bouncing all the while.