[C] Feeding A Small Army

For Tom, the minutes passed by quickly as they spoke. Everything she said was so remarkable to the man. And she knew so much! Much more than anyone else he'd ever talked to on the subject of necromancy.

A half a pizza and a few drinks later, Tom finally sat back in his seat, scanning over his notes.

"Fawzi you're incredible!" He exclaimed.

Her lips quirked up in a half grin.

"Well I do try," she chuckled softly.

Their conversation had been long and rather interesting. Between both their combined knowledge of Necromancers, they'd had quite a nice conversation.

If only she had other people she could talk to about Necromancers as she did Tom. She loved this conversation.

"Is that all you want to know?"

"Well... at the moment, one other thing does come to mind." Tom said, and then cleared his throat nervously. He looked down at his notepad.

Fawzi arched a pierced brow questioningly.

"What is it?"

She had promised him that she'd help if she could. If he had any questions for her that she even had a chance of answering, she'd answer them.

Very shyly, and with a considerable redness to his cheeks, Tom pulled out his cellphone.

"Can I have your number so we can do this again sometime? If you don't mind of course!"

The woman bit her lip to stop herself from giggling.

He was so awkward.

She was also adding to the awkward situation herself. These two were helpless.

The action of biting her lip and cracked the scab on her lower lip and split the skin again. Blood tricked from the wound and down her chin.

The woman blushed a little as she reached for a napkin to mop up her blood, holding the napkin to her lip as she reached for his phone.

She blinked down at the phone for a moment, making sense of the words on the screen before going through the process of adding her number to it.

"Are okay? Your lip..." That was a pretty bad cut, splitting open so easily. He wondered how she'd gotten it, but knew it wasn't his place to ask.

He could't help but smile when she took his phone and started putting in her number.

He just hoped it was't fake!

"Yeah, it's fine. Just a little blood."

It'd be a little sore for a bit longer but it was nothing she couldn't handle. She'd dealt with worse.

The number wasn't fake. She actually liked Tomaso.

Getting in touch with him again wouldn't be a terrible fate.

She held out his phone for him as she peeled the napkin away from her lip gently. "How bad does it look? Not much blood, is there?"

"It doesn't look too bad considering... how did it get cut in the first place?" He asked. He knew better, but it just slipped out.  Curiosity had gotten the better of him.  

He took his phone back and glanced down at her number entered into his contacts list.

"Rowdy kids picking a fight outside work. I broke it up but got caught in the crossfire." The answer was automatic now.

It's what she told everyone when she got a bruise or cut on her face.

When Tomaso looked down at the screen, he would have seen her name and a little extra typed into his contacts.

FAWZI A <3
XXX XXXXXXX

Tom furrowed his brow.  Stupid kids, causing trouble.  And in the process an innocent person got clipped in the face.  He hoped those kids felt like shit for doing that to her, but he doubted it.  

He had no idea that Fawzi was lying.  

"You're very brave for stepping in like that.  Most people would't do that." He admired her.  

He couldn't help but smile at the little heart she added, even though it took him a second to figure it out and not see it as a "less than three".

"They're just little kids. Not scary at all."

Now she could speak the truth. Sometimes she did step into fights and get a little rouged up. It was common enough around the shop that she worked in for some kids to get rough and she did occasionally step into those fights.

"The worst they can do is give me a cut or a bruise. I had to deal with worse when I helped at the farm back home."

Wild animals back home could do worse than the rough and tumble kids here ever could.

"What was that like? Living on a farm...." He leaned in, a genuine interest in his eyes as he fiddled with the phone in his hands mindlessly.

"Tiring but very fulfilling," she answered truthfully.

She had done a lot of that farm; put blood, sweat and tears into it as she helped with crops and livestock.

She'd been through failed seasons and sickness in the livestock. She'd helped birth and cull animals. She'd suffered injuries at the animals, equipment and wild animals breaking in.

"I loved it so much. If travelling hand't meant so much to me, I would have definitely stayed there."

She returned often to see her family and help around the farm. Numerous times a year.

"I can only imagine." He said, giving her a soft smile. He'd been raised in the city his entire life. Farming was something he'd only ever heard or read about.

He let his thumb press the call button. He'd claim it was an accident, but it wasn't.

He wanted to see if her cellphone would ring.

The woman jumped a little as her pocket buzzed.

She pulled her phone out, grinning as she flicked it open. her phone was an old, beat up metallic blue flip phone. It did the job it was supposed to and she didn't really have the money to replace it with a newer model.

She grinned widely as her eyes caught Tom's across the table.

Tom's eyes widened as he pretended to look surprised.

"Oh, oops! I must have accidentally clicked call... sorry about that." He apologized, but he could't help and grin really big.

She'd actually given him her phone number, and that made him very happy.

She chuckled softly as she stuffed her phone back into her pocket.

She could see right through that fake surprise. He was testing for a fake number.

That amused her more than anything.

"Sall good."

She picked up her lemonade, sipping from it as she reached for a slice of banana that had fallen from the pizza as they had all but torn it apart.

She chuckled softly as she stuffed her phone back into her pocket.

She could see right through that fake surprise. He was testing for a fake number.

That amused her more than anything.

"Sall good."

She picked up her lemonade, sipping from it as she reached for a slice of banana that had fallen from the pizza as they had all but torn it apart.

When he had his guard up, Tom was a great liar. But around someone that he really liked such as Fawzi, it wasn't hard to see past his little lie.

"Well I guess I better let you go then. I'm sure you have places to be and people to see, right?" He asked, still smiling as he held his phone.

Her eyes flickered to the large window of the diner, lips pursing a little.

It was getting late. It would be dark soon.

She needed to be home before Claudio appeared at her apartment anyway. It was a shame they had to leave this off, though. She liked this.

"I'll give you a call later." Fawzi leaned over the table, pressing a quick kiss to the man's cheek. "I had fun."

"I-I-I.." He stuttered, and then took a deep breath. His cheeks were very hot.

"I look forward to that..." He finally said, giving her a shy smile. He stood up straight and fixed his shirt, and then extended his hand to her for a final handshake.

She smiled as he stuttered.

Cute.

The woman chuckled softly as he held his hand out for a handshake. Oh so very proper.

She shook his hand with a grin then pulled out a few notes, dropping them on the table. That should cover the meal.

"Thanks, Don," she called out. "As good as usual. I'll be back soon."

"Here, let me help you pay." He said quickly, pulling out half of the payment and handing it to Fawzi.

It wouldn't be right to make her pay for the whole meal. Normally he'd pay for it himself, but he respected that for some women that was an insult. Still, he wanted to help equally.

"Well, sure, thanks."

The woman was genuinely shocked that he was offering to help pay.

She took the offered money from the man and smiled brightly at him as she stuffed it in her pocket.

This man as proof that chivalry still lived on in at least one person.

"Thank you."