Welcome to Paradise (Anastasia)

Ajax was a man of books, preferring classics to the new which was why he offered to sort out the old books as they have been discarded in the back of the store. He waltzed in, nodding his head towards the shop owner and when he was finally in the back of the store, having had to weave through the maze of bookshelves and books left on the floor, Ajax smiled at all of the books. He sat himself on the floor, not caring how it may of looked if someone stumbled upon him surrounded by towers of books. This was his paradise, the smell of the books comforting him in almost the same way his twin sister would and he sifted through the books, having stumbled upon a muggle classic; A tale of two cities and decided to lean back to read it. Whilst he did believe Purebloods were superior, or at least he was over other people, he couldn't fault the Muggles for their incredible books. His attention would've been caught by the footsteps coming closer and closer to him, the lightness telling him it was a woman but he was so fixated on the book in his hands, he didn't notice anything at all.

Anastasia entered the bookshop, offering a polite smile to the owner as she always did. The girl loved books just like anybody else, but the reason that she was so familiar with the place was simply because she came often. She also visited many of the other shops in the port, especially during the holidays. She lived alone in a small flat in Moscow, and often flooed to the port simply for something to do. Her parents were on the other side of the country, so it was not so easy to visit with them, and she tended to enjoy her solitary living arrangement.

The blonde skimmed through the new releases, picking out the books she would need for school that coming year as she did so. She placed them on a table, where she could pay for them later, before venturing further back into the shelves. Gentle fingertips traced the intricate designs on some of the books' spines as she found herself in the section filled with older stock. In fact, Anastasia was sure that many of them were centuries old, having been collected by the passionate store owner over time. At first, she didn't see the older boy sitting on the floor, but when she almost stepped on one of the books on the ground next to him, she finally looked away from the shelf. "Why are you on the floor?" she asked in her usual clipped tone, raising an eyebrow as she took in all of the books surrounding the boy, as well as the boy himself.

Ajax flipped page after page, his fingers trailing along the familiar lines and could practically recite them if he weren't in public, his lips moving now and again when he stumbled upon a word that seemed to stab at his brain in recollection; the definition floating in his mind before he continued on. His eyes snapped away from the book, onto the woman before him and he furrowed his brow, actually taking in the sight around him. "Reading. As well as sorting." He said, his own tone blunt and sharp as usual and he placed the book in his hands into the bag that rested beside him. "Anything you're looking for in particular?" Ajax asked, raising his eyebrow and began sifting through the piles, organising it by age instead of size.

Anastasia tilted her head slightly, noting the way that the boy seemed to be pulled from some kind of trance. She wished that she had something that could hold her attention like the books appeared to hold his, but she had nothing that she was particularly passionate about. When he answered her, she rolled her eyes, but asked nothing further. She could see that he was reading, and had been wondering why he had chosen to do it on the floor. He asked her if she was looking for something, and she shook her head. She had already picked out the books that she would buy. "Just looking for something to do," she replied, before she stepped over some books into a small space of clear floor, and she sat down on in with crossed legs. After settling her bag next to her, she offered a smile that was so unfamiliar to her that she probably looked slightly pained and asked, "want some help?"

Ajax watched her, trying to figure out her face with narrowed eyes until they went back to the books in front of him. He recognised her, the name somewhere in the depths of his mind that he knew began with 'A' but the rest came up blank. He also knew her house but that was all. He noticed in the corner of his eye that she too sat down on the floor, offering help to which he had to fight to not crinkle his nose at but nodded sharply. "I suppose company could be nice." He said with a shrug, nodding towards the shop owner who wanted to know if they were okay. "Introductions are required if we are to be working together. I'm Ajax." He said, bowing his head causing his dark hair to move in front of his face.

Anastasia kept the same awkward smile on her face even as she thought, company is almost never nice. She never had company at school, nor in her home. It was only when she returned to her parents' house that she had company, and while they were not cruel nor cold, they were simply... well, nothing really. She knew that she loved them, but she had never been able to show it, despite her reserved character not having been learned from them. They were warm and kind, and showered her with anything that she wanted. That was how she had her flat, and why she didn't have to work to live during the holidays. "Anastasia," she replied, "you go to Durmstrang. I've seen you around." She then looked around her at the books and smirked. "So what exactly are we doing with them?"

Ajax noticed the awkward smile, it evident that the woman was so not used to showing her emotions to the point where Ajax had to mention it. "You know if you don't want to smile, you don't have to. I'd actually prefer it instead of it looking like you need a shit." He said with a simple wave of his hand, as if dismissing her smile. He had almost a Eureka moment when she spoke her name, it ringing a bell to call forth the bubble of knowledge about this girl. "Yes. I'm in Istrebitel and you're in Khitrost, sixth year? Halfblood." He quipped, just saying the extent of his basic knowledge but if he desired to know more, he would have the sources to do so.

He snapped back towards her, his thoughts having taken over his mind and raised his eyebrow. "Sorting them. If books are not usable, we will place them in a separate pile and I fix them later on in the evening and bring them back. There's an art to it so I require more time to do it. But with the rest, we sort by age. I'm not sure why age. He just prefers it that way and I kind of like it also. It's a challenge to find the date it was written so most of the time, you just got to date it by the styling of the writing." Ajax admitted, having picked up a book and the cover hung by a simple thread and he stroked the gold writing on the dark leather. "This would be around 100 to 200 years old but once I repair it, it'll be easier to figure out." He said as an example, placing it into a large trunk that already had a selection of books that needed repairing.

The smile dropped instantly, her expression turning to a scowl. She was offended for a moment, before she nodded in ascent. "I'm not exactly used to the whole smiling thing," she admitted, "or, you know.. conversation." She was also quite sure that she probably did look as he had described when she made an attempt at such a thing. "Perhaps I ought to practice in the mirror on occasion," she added dryly, a smirk pulling at the corner of her mouth. The blonde raised an eyebrow as he offered his house and began to state information about her. "Correct, correct and correct," she responded, a slightly amused tone to her voice, "do you know everything about everyone, or should I consider myself special?" All she had known about him prior to their meeting was that he attended Durmstrang, and so she found it interesting that he could rattle of information about her.

The girl nodded as he explained how they would sort the books. She could manage most of it, and figured that if there were any that she wasn't sure about she would simply ask. Reaching out, she pulled a book into her lap and opened it, quickly finding a year. An easy one to start. "Shall we sort into piles by century to begin with?" she asked, figuring that it would be less confusing that why with both of them doing it. "Do you come in often?" she asked as she used her other hand to pick up a book with an obviously frayed binding before placing it gently into the trunk.