- ew, I'm late with my follow-up-ception. THAT ASIDES. just know that she may consider his offer... as practice cgcdcdsfvs- don't expect her to open up much more than that though lmao-
heck. it's a bit long.
Brown immediately narrowed her eyes at the younger man. Didn't this soldier and her meet before? Sure, it was for a glance, but... She tensed her muscles. To have him coming to her - out of all people - for advice was... A bit of a feat in itself. She actually had to admire him for his bravery (or lack of cowardice depending on the angle taken), but she sure wasn't letting him know that.
"You could..." she started dryly before realizing that maybe, being nice wasn't a terrible idea after all. She cleared her throat before replying once more, "You could show her that you have some class. Make sure that you mean well, or something like that." Her words dripped with saccharine, but as the woman let herself lean back against her seat, she allowed one brick to fall from her wall. Just one! Not two, but at least it was better than zero. With a sigh, Brown added, "Sometimes, age causes one to be jaded. I cannot say how well you would subscribe to such an idea, but you have to be careful of where you step. The older a woman is, the more likely she has something up her sleeve. It is not always a flaw, but often it is an insecurity that prevents her from reaching out."
She shrugged and laid a hand on her chest, almost as if she wanted to throw herself in as an example... Though she ended up undermining that seconds later as she reached out to pet a large prehistoric bird, one that had been snoozing by her side for some time.
As she ruffled its feathers, almost cooing baby talk to the animal in the process, she looked back at the soldier and continued, "She may 'play' with you just because she needs to know if she can trust you, young man. Age, unfortunately, often comes with trust issues..." Brown trailed off, a lump forming in her throat for a second before she roughly shook it off. "She likely does not mean malice towards you, believe it or not," the aristocrat explained with a softness that made her wince on the inside, "but she may hold suspicion towards your intentions. And no, trying to be secretive about your flirtations will not work. People like transparency, but also show that you mean what you say. Nobody likes a hypocrite." Said a hypocrite herself.
Whatever tenderness she had in her voice suddenly disappeared as she straightened herself so quickly that her bird woke up and chirped at her in surprise, shortly before fluttering off to perch itself on top of her chair.
"Though I must warn you," she hissed while crossing her arms, "in these types of interactions, you cannot just smother her with love and expect her to feel the same. She has no obligation to. Her boundaries matter just as much as yours, and if you go over them, she has every right to cast you away." Her mouth twitched into a scowl as she glared at the other party. "It may be harsh, but it is true. That is what happens when you deal with love, I guess. Though I cannot provide much advice on anything beyond a short-term fling, considering my lack of experience with it myself..."
Asking for help was a classic sign of weakness in Brown's eyes. She had, by experience, grown accustomed to doing everything herself because nobody else would do it for her; that, and the fact that the burden was always placed onto her since the day she had married Skinner. Though... He was now gone. So why did the habit of remaining stubbornly independent stay? She supposed it was trust issues, but it might've also just been a habit she never bothered to kick. Extinction was for weaklings anyway.
Though now... Now was an exception.
She allowed cigarette smoke to trail into the air as she eyed the other party with a wary frown. One foot was pointed towards the door, the other at her conversation partner. If anything went south, she could just get up, spiral dramatically, then leave. Just like an animal under distress, she'd flee first - then fight back if she saw fit; aggression, after all, wasn't something she normally indulged in, funnily enough... Though she wouldn't exactly dissuade the other party from thinking otherwise...
"Now, normally I would not come to anyone for questions," Brown admitted with a sigh, "I usually just let people come to me, interview me, yada yada..." She opened and closed her free hand as if she was imitating blabbering from another person. Hopefully that wasn't a jab at the individual she was talking to. "It is just more convenient that way, though given the circumstances, I suppose the tables have turned." She shrugged and leaned herself against her seat.
"As for what I must consult you about," she grunted, "It is something concerning gardening." Wow, way to be anticlimactic. The woman grumbled before rubbing out the wrinkles on her forehead. "Though, I do not need help with my plants. My care for them has been satisfactory so far. I would consult my local florist if something was wrong with them... No, my issue lies with accessibility. I keep this garden to myself now, though before then, I allowed my daughter to work in it. Now it is a solo endeavor. The problem is, I am getting older, and the work plans to become more tedious in time... Not that I can somehow make it easier by becoming younger. I could try hiring servants for that job, but... They tend to garden poorly." She rolled her eyes. "And the ones who can garden are rare. Though they'd probably faint if they took one look at my roses. You have any ideas for what I can do when I get too old to work on it myself, or...?"
For once, she was quiet, and it wasn't in an ominous fashion. Rather, she had no idea what to say, and interjection wasn't exactly unwelcome at the moment.
OUCH. a follow-up. rip Vinny, having to deal with someone as shit-tier as Brown....
You know, for someone who believed men to be inherently fickle and distrustful, the woman sure had a knack for inviting other men into her house. Alone. The rumors painted this habit in a way that each offer sounded like a disaster in the making, however, and that was likely the only reason Brown never bothered to reflect much upon it.
After all, nobody could flirt with you or ask you on a date if they were absolutely convinced that one wrong move would yield fatal consequences... Right?
Brown chuckled while looking at the apprehension in the man's eyes, though she certainly did wish that he'd just speak up already. Even her habit of playing around with minds and matters had its limits, and she yawned while looking up at her bird, which perched itself on top of her chaise and loomed over the other party. She reached a hand towards its chin and cooed something indiscernible under her breath, though the relaxation present on her expression suggested that she was actually being nice... Gee, wish she could extend that same kindness to other people.
She was admittedly so relaxed that when the other party finally spoke up, she seemed pissed. Yikes. Brown looked back at the other party before huffing and flicking a hand in the bird's direction; the creature, in response, chirped before fluttering out of the room. She thought she could hear the thud of something being knocked to the ground as a result of that departure, but the woman decided against addressing it now. It was painfully obvious whom she'd rather be with at this moment, huh.
"I do not need gardeners," hissed a still-stubborn-as-all-fucking-hell Brown as she jabbed a finger in the other party's direction, "They cost too much damn money and are too rare. I have money to spare, but the garden I have in question is quite intensive in labor... More workers, higher costs..." She scowled at him, even as he mentioned the idea of low-maintenance plants. To be fair, though, that suggestion didn't sound nearly as bad, and the woman found herself trying not to smile as she looked at him with a tilted head.
Putting a hand to her chin, she stroked said chin and mused aloud, "You know... I could go with that... I usually go with plants that fit an overall aesthetic or symbolic meaning, but... Considering my advancing age, I will need to lighten up the restrictions a bit once I get too old to constantly manage those kudzu vines." She mustered a chuckle while returning the smile, albeit tensely. "... Tell me more about the rose by the way, dear sir... I think you would be correct when you suggest that it would be under my field of interest..."