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Post by Deleted on Jan 28, 2014 5:30:34 GMT
Her sleeping schedule is all mussed up, and she has no idea what day of the week it is. At some point last week she did a small runway thing, and since then it's all been a little bit of a running blur.
She yawns, tosses her hair over her shoulder and rolls out of bed, pulling on a sheer robe that's hanging on bed frame. Spoilt to the core, she straightens her silk babydoll and walks towards the door. Ella rubs her eyes, yawns again down the stairs. It's probably three a.m. but she know she won't be getting to sleep any time soon, even if she is yawning.
Down the stairs - they creak ever so slightly. Her mind's on a half-bottle of wine her parents opened at dinner. They'll notice if it's gone, but they won't say anything to her about it. She's looking forward to killing it and bringing herself and her warm stomach back to bed.
This plan is ruined when she walks into the kitchen and sees Malachi working on something. With the wine thing ruined, Ella's mind is reeling and her eyes are bleary. Why's he even awake? "What?" is the only thing she can really formulate - not what are you doing or why are you here and awake at three in the morning just a stumbling what.
@malachi
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Post by Deleted on Jan 29, 2014 2:27:04 GMT
Malachi was up during the wee, wee hours of the morning and he didn't really know why. He was working at his second job, an easygoing job where he just did some cooking for the Montanero family, and things quickly got away from him. That was easy enough, especially when it came to the culinary arts. Malachi lost himself in his craft and before he knew it, it was 3 a.m.
Leaning back and wiping his brow with his chef's jacket sleeve, he rolled it back up as he looked down at his newest creation. A fusion of Japanese and Swedish cuisine, and it looked really good. Looking wasn't just everything, though. Food could look divine and taste horrible. Not that his food would taste bad at all, but a chef always tested his creations before feeding them to others.
Turning to grab a fork, he dug in and took a healthy-sized bite. It was good. Of course it was. Still, he nodded his head happily, pleased with his work. During the day he didn't have a lot of time to experiment, as working in a restaurant kitchen was stressful and high-octane. His kitchen at home was expansive as well, but it was nothing like the one at the Montanero home. So he experimented in this kitchen, and it was a great place to work. He used the excuse to say that it was going to be their dinner the next night.
Just as he was finishing his bite, savoring the aftertaste, he heard a noise behind him and a small voice. Turning, he saw Ella, the daughter of his employers. While she was younger than him by quite a few years, Malachi would have to be blind to not realize how attractive she was. Still, he was capable of being a professional.
"Good evening, Ella," he said politely. "Why are you up so late?"
He could be asked the same exact thing.
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Post by Deleted on Jan 29, 2014 2:39:43 GMT
Ella runs a hand through her hair, and then turns to sit on the marble counter. She fans the robe out behind her, being careful not to sit on it.
"Couldn't sleep," she says, and covers another yawn with both of her hands. She looks at Malachi's creation suspiciously. "What's this?"
@malachi
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Post by Deleted on Jan 29, 2014 6:08:33 GMT
She moved to sit on the counter, and Malachi repressed the urge to tell her to not do that. It wasn't necessarily sanitary, especially since she wasn't even fully clothed, but he couldn't just tell his boss's daughter to not do something in her own home. He'd just have to sanitize that spot before he left...
Not that Ella was disgusting, or anything. She was well-kept, at least from what he saw, but even if the Queen of England hopped up onto his counter top for a chat, he'd still have to sanitize after her. Even the queen's royal bum got no free passes.
When she mentions his creation, he can't help but smile. Food is obviously Malachi's first passion, and it's something he takes a lot of pride and ownership in. Lifting the plate, he admired it and grabbed another clean fork.
"Japanese and Swedish fusion cuisine. I combined traditional Japanese flavors with Swedish kaldomar. They're like cabbage rolls. It sounds kind of weird but it's really good, do you want to try it? It was gonna be served tomorrow night, but I'll give you a sneak peek."
He'd spare her the (thrilling) technical talk and just let her try it for herself.
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Post by Deleted on Jan 29, 2014 6:15:33 GMT
She's feeling slightly more awake, but Ella is never truly alert unless coffe or cocaine is involved. The thought is blunt and direct, but true. Nothing better to wake you up than a shock. Right now though, her eyes are still heavy and she feels that if she leans too much one way, she'll just fall over.
And then there's Malachi, who she wasn't expecting to find at all. She was hoping the kitchen would be empty, but then she finds this rare gem of a chef who she'd freely admit was fuckable. Oops? Not that it's any sick off her back to admit it. Ella has always gotten away with whatever she wants. Blame it on disinterested parents and a trust fund that would make your head spin - she doesn't tack it onto anything. She just accepts it.
When Malachi first describes the dish Ella isn't sold, but she snatches the fork from his hand to decide for herself. She can't make any solid opinions yet, but she sort of nods and smiles to herself. "Unexpected, but good." And that should be a compliment, with a pallet as refined as her's and normally reserved for things inedible.
@malachi
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Post by Deleted on Feb 1, 2014 1:59:06 GMT
Malachi couldn't help the elated smile that brightened his features when she said the dish was good. Getting a compliment from another tasting his creations was always a rush. Food could be such a gamble, and so many people had such different tastes, finding something that someone likes is a high-stakes game. The fact that Ella enjoyed it made all of his toiling into the night worth it.
"Well, that's what I was going for," he simply said, setting the plate down for her if she wanted to eat more as he went to go clean up his mess and write down exactly what he'd done. He was certain he could replicate it, but writing down the process helped in case he missed a simple step. Even though he was confident in his abilities, he was only human, after all.
Wiping his hands off on a towel after putting the cookware into the high-powered kitchen dishwasher, he looked back at the robed strawberry blonde sitting on his counter top. Well, it was her counter top, since her family owned the place, but the kitchen was his domain.
"How have you been otherwise...?" he asked, leaning against the counter near her, unbuttoning a few buttons on his chef's coat to give himself some room to breathe. "I haven't seen you around much. Well, in person. I always end up seeing a photograph of you somewhere," he said, referring to her modeling. He had no idea how the modeling industry worked but Ella seemed to be good at it, so he was happy for her.
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Post by Deleted on Feb 1, 2014 3:14:57 GMT
Ella smiles smugly at his comment. Her mother says she looks a bit like a corpse in the wrong light, but the comments online of her latest editorial says she looks wonderful and that she is a fresh face to watch out for.
Her hair has fallen over her shoulder, and she pushes it back. "I don't mean to brag, but the modeling is going well, at least." She kicks her feet against the cabinets. "And I'm keeping it exciting, of course."
Ella bites on the fork and watched the chef unbutton the top of his shirt. Her smile turns to a smirk, and she tilts her head, trying to be coy. Truthfully, she's never had much luck with flirting - there's was always someone else to do it first, do it for her so she'd just play along. She takes another bite and then gestures at the plate with the fork. "You don't seem like you're doing too bad yourself."
@malachi
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Post by Deleted on Feb 3, 2014 7:33:52 GMT
Malachi smiled a bit as she ate more, watching as she lifted the food to her mouth to eat. Watching someone eat was such a seductive thing to him; he wasn't turned on by food or anything, but eating was such a sensory activity that it could be highly sensual. Besides, watching someone's lips wrapping around a bite of food and pulling it off of the utensil was always a little suggestive in the first place. At least he hadn't fed her strawberries.
"I'm doing pretty well," he shrugged. "I work at four star, plus I still work here from time to time." He'd gotten his main start working in the Montanero kitchens, but a fly-by-night chance came to work at a real restaurant so of course the young chef took it.
"I can't really complain about life." And it was true. Malachi was living pretty comfortably now, and he was working a job that he loved with all of his heart and soul. Not many people had the chance to stay that sort of thing for themselves.
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Post by Deleted on Feb 3, 2014 19:16:34 GMT
Maybe Ella's a little jealous that his dreams seemed so effortlessly realized, and he's able to enjoy them instead of keep working for them. Then again, he's older. She's got time, she assumes.
She looks at the food again, tapping the prongs of the fork to her mouth. Should she even have another bite? To do so would probably be indulgent, but she likes the idea of stoking Malachi's ego (or at least making him smile) so she does. After that she puts the fork down.
Swinging her legs against the cabinet, she watches him for a minute. It's quite a feat to be interested in someone while something wasn't in her system. She means interested in, simultaneously, the most innocent and sinister ways. "So, what do you do for fun, Malachi? Seems like a lot of work and no play." She smiles ruefully.
@malachi
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Post by Deleted on Feb 4, 2014 2:45:10 GMT
He was cleaning up when she asked him, and he looked up from what he was doing to ponder for a moment. Most of his life was thrown into his work, but he really loved what he did for a living. It wasn't really considered work to him. Well, washing dishes was, but that was a necessary evil.
"I dunno, most of what I do I love to do," he said, reiterating his thoughts. "So most of what I do for fun is cooking. I mean, if I hated cooking, I'd hate my life right about now."
He smirked and dried his hands, letting one fall to his side while the other went to his hair, pushing his dark fringe off of his face as his fingers ran through the shaggy strands, scratching a little as he stretched.
"I'm really boring compared to you, I bet," he said. "If I'm not cooking I just spend time at home and watch TV or read, or I hang out with my girlfriend. You've got a fast-paced lifestyle with all of the modeling, I'm sure."
He didn't know the half of it, honestly.
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Post by Deleted on Feb 4, 2014 3:18:54 GMT
So much for being coy.
Ella immediately frowns when Malachi's done talking, and abruptly hops off the counter. "I want to show you something," she says and grabs his hand to pull him out of the house.
She can cover ground quickly on those model's legs and she can only hope he'll keep up with her. It's cold when she gets outside, and the robe unfurls behind her in the dark, because the barn is settled a couple hundred yards from the house. The grass is wet on her bare feet.
Ella pulls him inside onto the cobble stones, flips the lights on with her free hand and continues to pull him to a stall at the end (it's not that bad - there's only six stalls and half of them are empty). Inside is probably something just from Greek mythology, and that something stares up at them with young, blinking, iridescent eyes.
The pegasus has grown since Ella found him in the woods behind her house, but he's still small - his shoulders are probably at her breast level. He's got more room to grow, but his wingspan is almost too big for the stall. He's all black except for one front sock, and the small round, white spot on the center of his nose.
Dropping Malachi's hand, she tells him "His name is Shu, after the Egyptian god, the creator of wind and stuff." She walks forward and leans on the stall door, folding her arms over the top of it and resting her head on them. The colt picks his head up and curiously touches his nose to Ella's face, as if he's inspecting her for any damage. "I found him in the woods behind my house. Surreal, huh?"
She wants to tell him about Merlin and Jude, the two of them now sticking their heads into the aisle, but she figures this is enough to take in. Merlin (a girl, despite what you'd think) bobs her chocolate head up and down and neighs shrilly, as if yelling at the redhead for waking her up so late.
@malachi
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Post by Deleted on Feb 4, 2014 4:58:35 GMT
Before he had a chance to retaliate, Ella hopped off the table and grabbed his hand, pulling from the house and across the yard to the barn. Malachi knew it was there, of course, but he'd never had a chance to go out there before.
It was a little strange that she was dragging him along so suddenly, but he didn't ask any questions. Maybe he was intrigued or maybe he had realized that his life was actually pretty boring, so a spark at adventure was welcome.
When they got into the barn she led him to the very last stall and what he say inside made him rub his eyes a few times. Was he seriously seeing a pegasus in the stall? It was a beautiful creature, of course, with a black hide and iridescent, sparkling eyes, but it couldn't be real. Pegasus weren't real.
But Ella's words betrayed what he knew to be real. A few other horses down the way started to catch on that people were there, nickering and whinnying to get their attention, but Malachi was concentrating on the pegasus, trying to will his brain to stop hallucinating.
"Uh, yeah," he said in response to her question, too late, but he was lost in his head. "Is this seriously real?"
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Post by Deleted on Feb 4, 2014 5:06:30 GMT
Instead of answering him, she slides back the latch of the stall door and goes inside, grabbing Malachi by the wrist this time. When he's next to her, beside the not-so-little black pegasus, she takes his hand and places it on Shu's wing.
Her hand is tiny on top of his, holding it in place. She knows what the feathers feel like because she's wandered in here fucked up before, fallen asleep curled under a wing. It's her little secret and now she's sharing it, mostly because she wants attention. Her little hand is pale and fragile on top of Malachi's, and her fingers remind her of a spider's legs.
One spider's leg, the index finger, slips off a bit and touches the feathers itself. They're like a raven's, slightly purple in the light. Like bruises on her hipbones when she sleeps on her stomach. They feel like satin, velvet, a goodbye kiss. Ella sighs.
"A happy coincidence," she says quietly. Shu is too busy eating some left over hay he had forgotten about in the corner to pay attention to them, but the wing they're touching twitches a little, seemingly unconsciously. "If he's not actually real I don't want to know." She closes her eyes, comforted by Malachi's body heat beside her and his hand under her's, even if she's holding it prisoner.
@malachi
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Post by Deleted on Feb 8, 2014 5:58:46 GMT
Ella says nothing as she takes his hand and leads him inside the stall and he follows dumbly, too entranced by the creature in front of him to worry about anything else. He still wasn't sure if he was dreaming or not, but when his hand brushed against the feathers, he didn't care.
Malachi had never been that interested in horses but no one could deny that this creature was amazing. Ella held his hand in place and he felt the feathers of the wing as the thing barely acknowledged them, munching away on his hay. The feathers were softer than a cloud and felt like a dream and he still thought he was hallucinating.
"You seriously just found this guy wandering around?" he asked quietly, not looking at her as he was still entranced by the creature.
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Post by Deleted on Feb 8, 2014 18:16:12 GMT
Ella takes her hand off of Malachi's and instead holds it in her other hand, close to her chest. "Sort of," she says quietly. Moving her hand broke whatever was happening, at least for her, and she looks at her feet. "I was riding Jude out there and I saw this little thing. He was too little, so little." Her voice sounds tight and sad. "He couldn't exactly wander, but he got excited when he saw Jude and sort of haphazardly followed him back."
It feels like yesterday but it also feels like ten years ago.
"Anyways, I took care of him." For some reason she doesn't want to talk about herself anymore. She doesn't want to say that there's probably a few times when the nagging thought of taking care of Shu made her come home when she otherwise might have disappeared into the seams of her profession and a club, or the back room of someone's house with crushed velvet walls. "I made him better."
There's a ounce of pride in her voice.
@malachi
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