Showin' Whatcha Got (FranceSeychelles)

[seychelles]

“You flatter me sir... I think,” she said, her decorum dropping a little. Was that what he was trying to do by calling her younger? Sixteen wasn't a bad age, but she wasn't sure she wanted to look like a child. Michelle still had no idea that he believed her to be a boy. She grabbed her ponytail and tugged it lightly. “But, truly, I'm nineteen. I hadn't realized I looked young.”

There wasn't any room for speculation there. He had done more than implied that she was incapable of creating working machinery. Once again, the knocks on her experience were founded and she took no offense to them. But she wasn't devoid of skill and she made many things that worked perfectly. Typically that came after a prototype. That was the whole point of a prototype. “Well then perhaps they would simply need to view my finished creations rather than those projects that are still incomplete.”

Maybe she had worried about her livelihood before, but she wasn't just going to cower and allow him to say whatever he wanted.

Honestly, she considered denying him on principle, but she didn't have enough commisions that she could turn a prospective one away. When he hinted that he wanted to see her workshop, her tone changed right back to being gentle. “No, not at all, if you'd like to see it, we could be there within ten minutes.” She had only gone as far as she had to in order to find an empty stretch of land.

[Francis Bonnefoy]

Francis took care to maintain his blasé demeanor, only letting a flicker of curiosity shine through. He tossed his hair back and shrugged limply. It wouldn't do to raise the young inventor's hopes prematurely. His work could be piles of failed rubbish for all Francis knew.

"Oh then, I might as well," Francis sighed, adding a touch of peevishness in his tone. "I have nothing else to occupy me too urgently this afternoon anyway. I'm dying for a bit of novelty, wherever I can find it."

Gesturing grandly down the road, he tapped the boy's leg with his gilded cane. He was slightly surprised to feel the boy had slimmer legs than he had thought.

"Lead on."

[seychelles]

Michelle idly wondered if anyone ever felt like they had this man at a disadvantage. He seemed only vaguely interested in their conversation. Even if it hadn't started with her machine failing, she couldn't help but feel he would have still managed to spin whatever circumstance had occurred in his favor.

She quickly went over her workshop in her mind when he mentioned novelty. She could only think of a few things that were presentable at the moment, usually she only did projects after she had a buyer lined up and she had few extra coin to spend on pet projects. But hopefully enough to keep him interested. "I'll do my best to accomodate, I'm sure you'll find something to your tastes, sir."

The touch of the cane made her leg jolt a little and she briefly shot him a questioning look before nodding and heading off. "Of course," she said lightly.