Mallside 10

[Purple Eagle]

"Shouldn't, I said, not don't. If it vas safe, zere vouldn't be so many orphanages. Skyside is lawless, Miss Carlie." Annaliese retorts. Upon hearing that Carlie was recently at Skyside, the vampire makes a show of scanning the bunnygirl's body for any signs of foul play. "Vhat!? How long ago? You vere not showing yet, I hope?" She asks, looking quite worried. "You should be more careful, Miss Carlie! A lawless place like Skyside is unsafe for ze baby. Vat vere you doing in Skyside, in ze first place?"

"Holly, eh?" A lightbulb seems to go off, and Annaliese lets it show. "Vait... elvish? No no, I'm not elvish, I'm a human vampire!" She corrects, her train of thought interrupted by the mistake. She looks around at more clothes as she follows.

Holly, Harley, Carlie. Sureness percentage rises. "Zis Holly, vill she be around, I vonder..."

[5a Violista]

Carlie is, of course, pretty healthy and scans fine.

She puts the thing she was holding into her basket and moves on to a slightly-larger section.
"I had work to do there," she says, dispassionate because it was literally 'just another job'. Even though as Carlie she's supposed to be a veterinarian. Being an investigator is Holly's job. "Following up on a missing persons report. Some people just have risky jobs, that's all."

As she continues looking through the available things, she says a hot take: "Elves and vampires aren't that different, anyway. Long-lived, drink blood, not to mention the physiological similarities..." she says.

Anyway.
Back on topic: "You could ask around for her if you want," she says, "but I heard she took a sabbatical or is on some long mission or whatever. Probably won't find her." Definitely won't find her, actually.

[Purple Eagle]

She is about to complain about the hot-take, though, but thinks about it a little, realizing that there's some truth to the statement. "Hmm, I've never thought of it zat vay before, so I'll let zat slide. Though, not all vampires drink blood, and elves don't have fangs."

"I see." More dots connect in Annaliese's mind. Carlie doesn't look like the type to do such, but Shuyoru remembers helping Harley find a vigilante in Skyside. But then, Annaliese looks like a vampire schoolgirl with a Sheriff's badge, and she does investigation work. Still, with all the other signs so far...

"Probably? How very convenient. How about definitely, eh Miss Carlie?" Annaliese says, taking the risk and winking at the bunnygirl.

[5a Violista]

Of course there's some truth to it. Carlie, who is the resident expert on elves, knows everything there is to know about elves. Like how prolonged exposure to them can cause unfortunate side-effects.
...
Actually, now that she thinks about it, that's another difference between them.

Carlie is not completely sure what the wink is supposed to signify. Definitely? Definitely? Definitely *wink*? Is that supposed to be some kind of flirting? She's a vampire so maybe that's why. "Maybe if you had her phone number, you could call her," she says, "and you'll be able to talk with her, but...yeah, if she's not there you definitely won't find her."

Goes into the changing room, taking some of the clothes and shuts the door behind her so she can try them on. and see if they look good enough. "What do you need to tell her, anyway?" she says through the door. "I'm sure my boyfriend" - she slightly emphasizes the word boyfriend just in case that wink was supposed to be flirting, to show that she's already taken - "could pass along the message. He's kinda up there in the organization so he's sure to know Holly and can contact her for you. Don't worry, you can trust me to pass it along to him." Or, alternatively, she'll just skip the middleman and pay attention to it herself.

She opens the door, wearing one of the dresses she picked out. At the moment, it's a little big for her and the colors are a little mismatched. "Hey, what do you think of this?" she asks.

[Purple Eagle]

"I don't have it, no. I vish I had gotten it from her." Annaliese says, following up to the door of the changing room and standing guard.

A boyfriend? Of course, that would explain the baby, and a number of other things. Shapeshifting would be bad for the baby. That emphasis on the word, though... she did seem confused at the wink. "Congratulations, I hope you two are happy together. I'm taken myself, but she is not of zis vorld." Annaliese does understand the underlying message Carlie's trying to pass across, and plays along. "Hmm... vell, tell Harl I vish to hang out sometime, get some Smooth Stew, roll eyes at each other, do friend stuff."

She stands aside so the door can be opened, and looks at the clothing, wincing a bit. "Too big, ze colours are rioting a bit. Try some zing else."

[5a Violista]

"It's supposed to be big," Carlie comments. "I'll grow into it." She doesn't need new clothes right now but has noticed that her wardrobe for the near future is pretty limited.
It's a good point about the colors, though. Out of the ones she had brought here, this was the only one she wasn't really certain about because she can only really see it through one eye.

The bunnygirl closes the door to change back, so that she can put half this outfit away and find something better.

Through the door, she keeps on talking: "Give me your number and I could make sure it's passed along to her," she says.

'not of this world'...could refer to dead or could just refer to someone who isn't in the Nexus. She's not sure if it would be appropriate to ask about it.

[Purple Eagle]

"Ah. In zat case, it vould be good if not for ze colours." Wait a minute, if that's who he now knows it is... it occurs to him that he never did ask if that scar affected her eyesight. How to ask... "Oo, also, ask her how her eyesight is." That should do, she should know what Annaliese is trying to say.

Finally, a number exchange, yippee! Annaliese muses that there's something quite fun about this, saying more than one thing at once. Doublespeak. She fetches some paper and biro, and scribbles down one of her secure numbers. "One moment... done. Here it is." She opens the door a teeny tiny bit and passes the scrap of paper to Carlie.

"How's she doing, lately? Do you know?" Annaliese asks, after a short pause.

[5a Violista]

Carlie takes the paper, slips it into her purse, and shortly afterwards leaves to pick out more.

"From what I could tell," the bunnygirl says, "she's always had perfect vision. She's half-an-elf, after all." Makes sense. She shrugs and starts looking through more clothes. "She's lucky, because only being able to see out one eye is pretty frustrating sometimes." Well, it's not that she can't see out of one eye, but rather that eye only sees infrared light - and thus can basically only see heat instead of colored light, which makes reading or telling other similar things to be really hard.

Maybe these ones will match better? She holds it up to check.

Answering the last question, she then adds, "Like I said, she hasn't been around for a while. Must've had something happen to get her to leave for this long. I heard there was a bus crash or fairies or something along those lines." Well, it was more of a series of unfortunate events.

[Earl of Purple]

Foodcourt

Abi's here! She's a half-elf girl, about fifteen or sixteen, with short green hair and pale skin. Her eyes are bright blue, almost glowing they're so vibrant, with pink and green specks here and there. She's wearing a pair of jeans with holes in the knees, a tight green t-shirt with a vine pattern and a new black rucksack over her back. She's looking around for Zara, and when she sees her, she'll wave frantically, creating a rainbow trail behind her hand to make it really obvious where she is.

[Purple Eagle]

[Clothes Shopping]

((Location tag because I have another scene here now))

Annaliese is about to clarify when she remembers the mask. "Ah, yes, ze mask makes it hard to tell." Carlie finally gives the answer the vampire girl is waiting for, but she reacts accordingly, that is considering what they're currently supposed to be. "Ah, zat explains it. Ze mismatched colour picking, for one. You vant my help picking out colours? I can help." She'll start with the one Carlie holds up, saying whether or not it matches. "Aren't you glad I came along, now?"

"I get ze feeling she'll be back in a number of months, if she so chooses to return. Or, one's she's dealt vith her current situation. And if not, vell..." She shrugs. "I suppose ve can be friends, as vell. Not that I usually do zis, must be ze shopping."

[Cake Date]

Spotting the rainbow trail, the girl stretches her legs so she can cover more ground and runs, getting back to normal once she's standing in front of the half-elf. "Shalom, Abi!" Zara says once she's close enough. "I could have been earlier but sometimes this hair of mine is hard to care for." She'll hug Abi and peck her cheek, then take her hand in hers. "Let's go get some cake."

She believes Abi should be a little freer with her now and/or trust her more, since they'd have spent the last couple of days talking about anything and everything on the phone.

[Earl of Purple]

Cake Date

Abi will peck Zara's cheek as well, deciding to reciprocate the gesture. "It's fine. I got delayed, too. The twins thought it would be funny to pour water in my shoes. I was able to dry my shoes, but not my socks." So she isn't wearing any socks.

She grabs Zara's hand, too, and squeezes it quite tight. "But never mind them, they aren't here, and won't be here. I told them the date was in Carousel Court." She couldn't hide it from them, not for long. If they're planning anything, they can't embarrass her here.

[5a Violista]

[Clothes Shopping]

Carlie accepts the help looking at the colors. She can tell them apart, but to do so she has to close one eye and looking at everything through a closed eye is pretty weird. "I could have managed without you," she says. "But...thanks."

Going through more clothes. Moves on to next aisle. Holding things up, imagines wearing them, holds them against other clothes that have already been picked out.

"Maybe September?" she says. "Or possibly early October is when she'll be back from her sabbatical. I heard that's when that one elven holiday takes place; she should be there."

To continue the conversation, she says one more thing about herself: "I usually don't go shopping often, either. Too busy with work; I work at a veterinarian clinic."

[Purple Eagle]

[Clothes Shopping]

"You're velcome, citizen." Annaliese will help point out any colours that don't go well, while Carlie sorts through what to wear next.

"September-October, eh? I'll keep an eye out, I look forward to seeing her again. A mutual friend of ours especially vishes to see her again, a little man." Obviously, they both know who she's talking about. "Ah, a vet? I like animals, as vell. Me, I'm an investigator."

"Vat animals do you vork with? Bunnies?" She asks, pointing out a clothing item with a colour she thinks would fit. "Perhaps you need an assistant to help vith the vorkload?"

Cake Date

Zara beams when she's pecked back, and will grin if she sees any pink in Abi's eyes, for she has a hunch what it means. She shakes her head when told of the antics of the naughty twins, and squeezes Abi's hand back. "Oh, good! Now we have some peace and quiet! If your parents don't un-spoil those kids, some day they'd grow up to find no one likes them."

But enough about that! "Let's go eat some cake, Abi. I'll let you pick the place, I've never been outside of Seaside until recently."

[Earl of Purple]

Cake Date

There's been a bit of pink in Abi's eyes since she saw Zara, though the pecks have increased the amount quite a bit.

"I don't think it's Mum's fault. She didn't let me get away with the stuff they do. But their Dad spoils 'em rotten." He tries to spoil Abi rotten, too, but always takes his children's side over hers. "So, cakes. That's Hansel's Bakery. Their cakes are amazing. Almost magically good." No 'almost' about it.

Abi pulls Zara over, her feet trailing rainbows as she moves over and grabs a seat, pulling it out for Zara. The server, a ginger haired halfling lad wearing a blue uniform, comes over and offers a menu to the girls. "Here y'go, lassies. Oi'll leave ee to look, wave me over when ee've desoided." And off he goes, leaving the two to look through a menu of cakes, breads, puddings, tarts, fruit pies and other sweet things.

[Purple Eagle]

Cake Date

Zara happily follows, smiling at Abi's gesture and sitting down. Immediately she gets the menu, the first thing she looks for is lemon sponge cake. "So, lemon sponge cake for me, and lemon cheesecake for you, right? We can get tarts and stuff as well!"

[Earl of Purple]

Cake Date

"Get a tart? Not on a first date, Zara!" Abi acts scandalised before grinning cheekily and bursting into giggles. She's kinda hoping she doesn't have to explain that joke, because that would be embarrassing.

"Lemon cheesecake sounds great, though. Generally, the gentleman pays, but... That's not either of us, really. I'll buy yours, you buy mine?" Abi grins, and it's either that or one pays this time, the other pays the next time... If there is a next time.

[5a Violista]

[Clothes Shopping]

A 'mutual friend'? Carlie wonders, not entirely sure who is being talked about.
Zefir?
That's probably the only 'little man' that they both know.
...
Oh well.
It doesn't really matter who exactly it is. Same idea, regardless. She makes a mental note to get someone to cover her tracks better, the next time she logs into AMEN's email server. Definitely don't want him finding her, especially now. Seems like a good enough tip.

Now that she has probably enough for now, Carlie takes the basket of clothes to the register's line. "Oh. I-I'm not the vet. I already am an assistant. Would be kind-of weird for an assistant to have an assistant."

But she explains her current line of work. "Sure, we'll do rabbits sometimes. Any pets, really. Usually this sticks to the more normal ones - dogs, cats, birds, snakes, tigers, wolves, and so on," she says, "but occasionally we'll get ponies, pokemon, dragons, and more exotic animals come in. And when work's particularly slow at our place, sometimes I'm asked to help out at a different clinic."

She moves forward in line.

[Purple Eagle]

Cake Date

Unfortunately for Abi, that's a slang Zara doesn't understand, and she gives a puzzled look. She pulls out her phone to search for it, if Abi's not too embarrassed to share the meaning, and gasps when she finds out, looking scandalized herself. "I am NOT that type of girl!" Then she breaks into a grin of her own. "If all goes well, we won't need one."

"I was hoping we'd share the bill, so that way looks good!" Is her reply at cake, and she waves to the halfling server. "I'll try not to bankrupt you." She jokes, grinning cheekily.

[Earl of Purple]

Cake Date

"I'm sorry, I thought you'd know that meaning." Abi would have told Zara, but if her first response is to pull her phone out and look it up, then she's pretty mortified and giggling. "It's fine, I get wages." Poor wages, but wages nevertheless- and, living with her mother and step-dad, she doesn't have many expenses bar a nominal rent she pays in lieu of chores.
"Ah, ye've chosen have ee? What'n I get ee, miss an' miss?" He'll take their respective orders before bumbling off to collect them. Natalie also orders a hot chocolate, to go with her cake. Coffees and teas are also available, if Zara wants one. They won't take long; arrive probably next post. Drinks take the longest.

[Purple Eagle]

[Clothes Shopping]

Seeing the confusion, Annaliese points at herself. "I zink, Holly's son." Since Holly has no son, obvious next choice is who could have passed for her son in the past. If that's not still clear enough - and perhaps even if it is - Annaliese would motion for Carlie to bend down, and will whisper in her ear in Shuyoru's voice. "I mean me, Harl. Now, roll your eyes or something." To keep up appearances, she'd roll her eyes as well and make an 'hmpf' sound in her voice. "How scandalous. To serve a little boy alcoholic smooth stew!"

There. If anyone's looking, they'd come to a different conclusion.

"Ah, zat makes sense, because of your situation." She looks straight at Carlie for a few moments, then gestures to her stomach. "Easier to slip in and out if necessary... to care for ze baby, of course." She joins Carlie in the line, and speaks of her job. "I vas a Sheriff, once, before I came here. Now, I investigate, like Holly."

Cake Date

"It's okay, Abi." Zara giggles as well at it all, especially at Abi's mortification, smiling at her date. "I get wages too, I am a bit of a handygirl back in Himmelia. That's my town, although it's more like a big town, or tiny town-like city."

She orders hot chocolate as well, then gazes at Abi sitting across from her. "You look cute as always, Abi. I like your shirt." She starts with a compliment.

[Earl of Purple]

Cake Date

"Thanks! I got it from Mallside, actually." And Abi would compliment Zara's clothing, but alas- it seems a description was neglected in Zara's arrival to the date. So I'll have to do that blind. "I can show you where from after, if you like. I like your shirt; it goes well with your eyes." Abi grins, and thanks the halfling as he returns with a tray. There's two hot chocolates and two plates with a slice of cake on each, quite a generous portion too. He'll set them down in front of Abi and Zara before turning to leave.

If Zara looks, there's a heart-shaped marshmallow floating in the drink, and one in Abi's as well. The halfling seems to have guessed why they're here. Even if she doesn't notice, the cake is very nice, and so is the drink.

[5a Violista]

[Clothes Shopping]

Holly does in fact have a son, it's just that he died several years ago.

Carlie bends over to hear whatever it is she wants to say.
You don't even have to tell her to roll her eyes. "I'm sure it was virgin," she says. Virgin stew. No alcohol included.
She stands back up straight.

"Well, yeah sure, to care for the baby," she says, "but also because I don't have a license to do that. Never went to schooling for it." Being an assistant is easier, and it gives her the opportunity to learn more about different animals.

She goes through the line.
Paying,
waiting,
and
Things are bought!

She goes out of the store so that she can sit on a bench. Standing around and walking for too long probably isn't so good for the baby.

[Purple Eagle]

[Cake Date]

Zara wasn't described because I see no need to repeat it when nothing's changed, but fine. Let's say for this date she's wearing a variation on her regular clothes (see avvie). She's wearing a black long-sleeved top this time, and plum-coloured long skirt up to her ankles, with her simple black shoes. "Thank you, Abi, though black tends to go with everything." She grins back.

Then the food arrives! She thanks the halfling and looks at her food, ready to dig in, when she spots the marshmallow. She quickly looks at Abi, and then at her cup to see if she has one. "Abi, look! Heart-shaped marshmallow for good luck. Thank you!" She addresses the last part to the halfling, waving enthusiastically. Sighing, she gazes a bit at Abi. "Let's toast, to the future." She raises her mug, then starts eating.

"Wow, this is perfect. We should come here more often." After a few bites, she has an idea. "Let's feed each other a scoop of our cakes."

[Clothes Shopping]

"The server had to be told, he vas making an alcoholic one at first!" Annaliese responds, still sounding scandalous and back in character.

She nods and falls silent for a while, playing the role of the concerned investigator helping out a pregnant civilian lady while things are bought! She exits the store as well, sitting down beside Carlie while the latter rests.

She looks around to ensure they're alone, and moves closer once the coast is clear. "Ve need a sign, so we'll know ven ve meet." Still refusing to break character, for he still looks like Annaliese. However, to Carlie it should be clearly not be Anna talking to Carlie, but Shuyoru talking to Harley. "Like, zis." She shows her phone to the bunny girl, and the screen reads 'virgin smooth stew', along with two eye-roll emojis.

[Earl of Purple]

Cake Date

Does Zara not change her clothes every day, or at least pick clothing she thinks looks nice and smart when she's going on a date?

"It might go with everything but it still looks good." Abi smiles and looks at her own hot chocolate and smiling. "Oh, wow. That is cool. Thank you, sir!" She'll call to the halfling as well, but he just smiles and waves back. "To the future." Abi has a chug of her hot chocolate after the toast, and bites into her cake. "If yours is anywhere near as nice as mine, it's a thing worth doing." She picks up her slice and offers it to Zara, though she'll pull it away if Zara tries taking it- she wants to feed it to her date, not have it taken away and bitten into without her influence.

[5a Violista]

[Clothes Shopping]

Carlie looks at the screen.

Upon seeing it, she tries to hold back a laugh: "Okay, okay. That'd work," she says. It's pretty funny. "Really easy to remember." And probably just as easy to fit into conversation.

She leans back in the bench. "So anyway, what have you been up to?" she asks.

[Purple Eagle]

[Cake Date]

Zara flutters her eyelids at the added compliment, and silently whispers "Thank you." She does chug her own cup, and it's just as perfectly-made as the cake. She's glad Abi's up for the idea, and feeds an equally-sized slice to her. Of course, she doesn't think of taking the slice to eat herself and lets Abi feed her. "Yummy!"

"You know Karasu, Natalie's girlfriend? They're back together. I brought her up because she's into medicine, too, maybe she could help with your studies." She says, once they're returned to eating their own food.

And a first date question! "So, if you were stranded on an island and could take three things with you, what would they be?"

[Clothes Shopping]

Annaliese smiles and pockets the phone.

When next she speaks, she drops the thickness of the accent a bit, still speaking in a high-pitched voice and German-American accent. "Touring the Nexus, thinking up new forms to tour the Nexus as. Working on a Latino janitor called Marco next, so look out for him." She turns to Carlie and licks a fang. "Looking for you, though I suppose with the bun in the oven you're locked to your current form. When I asked 'how is she, do you know', I was really asking 'how are you', by the way, so... how're you? I'm sure you can't wait to shift again."

Of course, it being Shuyoru, this question would come up. It's a good question, too. "And do you mean for your forms to have names that rhyme? Harley, Holly, Carlie... most people would chalk it up to coincidence, but I find it quite humorous. At this rate I won't be surprised if you baby's called Marley. You could call your next form Shirley DaPazzo, too."

[Earl of Purple]

Cake Date

"No, I can't say I do." Abi's never met Karasu, nor talked much with Natalie except about ice cream and occasionally magic. "I'm not studying medicine yet, Zara. I'm still in school; college and medicine is next year. Well, college is. Medical school's further away than that." She needs to do some science or magic in college so she can go to university and actually learn how to be a nurse.

"Three things. Hmm. My Nintendo 3DS, an exercise bike and... A tent. That's what I'd take with me on a deserted island. How about you? What three things would you take with you to a deserted island?" Something to play on, should boredom loom, a method to keep it charged- as well as any other electrical goods she may find- and a shelter to keep the weather and bugs at bay.

[5a Violista]

[Clothes Shopping]

She stretches. "I'm so bored," the bunnygirl says. Then, with a correction, she says: "I mean, I still have things to do, and my boyfriend's really great, but routine and repetitiveness isn't really what I like. Gotten to the point where I just feel like swimming around all day."

Anyway.
Important question.
"It is coincidence," she asserts. After a shrug, she adds, "But it's a very convenient coincidence."

[Purple Eagle]

[Cake Date]

"Really, Natalie's never come in with her to eat ice-cream? Dark-skinned girl with black sclera and amber eyes?" Zara asks to make sure, or try and jog her memory. "I know, Abi, but I was thinking she could help when the time came. The girlfriend of our mutual friend being medically-inclined, what's not to like?" That's for the future, and depends on if Abi desires it, though.

Zara smiles at Abi's answer. "So you'd charge the 3DS with the bike? Okay, my turn! Hmm... my sketchpad and pencil, a big knife and... you!" She giggles. "If that's cheating, then a hammock. Something to keep me busy when I'm not exploring, a versatile tool and company, or rest."

[Clothes Shopping]

"Unsurprising." The 'vampire' replies, reclining on the chair. "I can relate, I like my freedom. Wanna do something fun? We can go swimming, for starters, or I could give you a massae. A lot of more fun things I could think of wouldn't be healthy for the baby, like partying."

Coincidence, eh? "Are you sure it's not just that you're no good at coming up with names? I can help, on that front. Help each other out. For instance, Marco's still in the works for me."

[Earl of Purple]

Cake Date

"Once, I think. And... I'm not sure we're friends. She comes in and buys ice cream, and we chat, but... We don't socialise otherwise. Don't even chat often- you know what my manager's like." He was quite grumpy and didn't want Abi wasting her time on the job with chatting to the customers.

"Yep, that's the plan. Charge the Nintendo with the bike. It's not cheating if I get my three things, Zara. And I hope you didn't ask me because you're thinking ahead to our honeymoon, Zara. My answers might have changed by then... And I'd rather go somewhere with shops and people. I'm a city girl, I'd not know what to do in the countryside or the wilderness." Unless she finds wild strawberries, she doesn't know how long she'd be able to survive on a desert island. Never been fishing, or hunting, or done much craft.