Mallside 10

[Morty]

[Shopping for Trouble]

Fayyaad looks Electra up and down with care. That's a... loud color scheme, for sure. But Electra manages to make anything work just by being the one to wear it, somehow.

"It certainly stands out in more than one way. But I think that's alright. Sometimes we want to be loud. Catch the eye with the colors and keep it with everything else."

[Nova_Eclipse]

[Shopping for Trouble]

Electra smiles gently. She still looks a bit unsure, though.

"Do you think it might catch the wrong kind of attention?"

[Morty]

[Shopping for Trouble]

Fayyaad leans back as he studies Electra closely.

"What do you mean by that? It shows off your body and the colors are very eye-catching in their own right. What's the wrong kind of attention here?"

[Purple Eagle]

[Shopping Shifters]

"Suit yourself." Annaliese follows, to pay for Carlie's skirt. "Ja, it does. People don't take you as seriously as zey ought. Fortunately, my authoritative being quickly remedies zat, especially once zey realize I am serious. Ze fangs und elf ears help too, of course."

"Perhaps it is good zat ve don't buy something for him. Perhaps, your getting to shop vith your cousin is a good opportunity to bond. I should go and call him now, Miss Hopps." She nods towards the door, suggesting that they leave soon.

[5a Violista]

[Shopping Shifters]

Carlie leaves the store and then tries to hand the skirt-bag to Annaliese.

"Yeah. Maybe it would be," she agrees. She looks for a nearby bench. "I'll be waiting just over here, okay?" she says, walking to the bench. She sits and then turns Manja around to face each other, and holds her up on her legs. "So you can just tell him that."

[Purple Eagle]

[Shopping Shifters]

Annaliese exchanges bags with Carlie so they each have skirts in their own size, and is silent as they exist the store. Once her friend takes a sit on the bench, she looks around to ensure no one's listening, and steps forward.

She peers at Carlie to see if she really does expect a long-lost relative or not, and whether or not to spill the beans. While he cares enough about Harley to not shatter her expectations, it'd also be kinda fun to mess with her a little bit.

Friendship wins out. "You know who zis 'Marco' really is , right Harl? ...Alright, I'll 'go and get him'." She makes air-quotes, then departs without another word.

After finding a secluded location, Shuyoru places the bag in a waiting car and requests it to be added to his wardrobe. Changing form, he retraces his steps until he finds his 'auntie' waiting for him.

"Eyyy, Auntie!" He announces his presence with a huge grin. He looks like he could be Carlie's younger brother, and iis wearing a blue pinstriped shirt, black trousers, a red waistcoat and black shoes. "I finally found you, guey." He says with a latin accent, sitting beside her and hugging her, while his eyes briefly change colour.

"And this... a baby! What's her name? No rabbit ears?" He asks, sticking his finger in Manja's hand to elicit that reflex that causes babies to squeeze whatever's in their palm.

[5a Violista]

[Shopping Shifters]

"Okay, go ahead; make sure to tell him I'll be waiting right here," she replies, largely focusing on bouncing the baby.

Harley and Manja don't actually look that similar: completely opposite hair color, skin doesn't even come close to being similar tones, not to mention Manja's very unique ears and almost-catlike tail.

"Oh! Hi," she says. She looks up. "You must be Marco."

Manja squeezes on his finger, intent on taking it and holding it hostage.
"Yeah. She's my friend's. I'm watching her for him. Her name's Manja."

[Purple Eagle]

[Shopping Shifters]

((Hence why I insist on describing charries at the beginning of a scene: I had absolutely no idea how Manja looked.))

Hmm, it seems Carlie hasn't caught on to the fact that it's still Shuyoru. Oh well, he can say that he tried. Not like he didn't try to warn her.

It seems 'fun' wins out, after all!

"For real? Hola, chava... good grip!" He addresses Manja, tickling her with his other hand. "She's cute, she might have a future in modeling, wey, right? So, what do I call you, Auntie?" He refocuses on Carlie, looking very pleased to see her. "You seem cooler than mother. She didn't even want me, when I found her." The ears he'd grown upon seeing Carlie, droop.

[Murkus]

[Cafe]

"I think that's how they say it." Batu forgets sometimes that Div has trouble expressing himself. "How do you say this in your language?" And now he got sidetracked again.

[Cafe]

Div enunciates something like, "Tou... ēlleam... fout!" He erupts in a slightly pitchy burst of laughter. "Though it sounds more like I want to punch someone when I say it! I think something is lost in translation."

[Morty]

[Cafe]

Batu giggles.

"I don't know, it sounds pretty good to me. Manly. Maybe I should try to learn some of it at some point. And now, I guess we'll... be on lookout for girls we think would like to meet Jim."

[Nova_Eclipse]

[Shopping for Trouble]

"Mostly the colors making the wrong kind of impression," Electra explains, turning her head over her shoulder to look at her back in the mirror on the dressing room door behind her. After a minute of craning her neck, she shrugs and looks back to Fayyaad. "You're right, I think it's ok, just loud. Loud can be fun sometimes, though."

[Morty]

[Shopping for Trouble]

"I think the only message it sends is that you want to stand out," Fayyaad says. "Which the rest of the outfit says clearly enough as well. And being loud can indeed be fun."

[5a Violista]

[Shopping Shifters]

Luckily, both Manja and Carlie were described in the scene just before Shuyoru joined it, back in HALO.

Manja involuntarily laughs and and is unable to do anything to fight back at this time.

Carlie, who thinks it's weird to compliment a baby that way, says, "Yeah, maybe."
"You can just call me Carlie."

She bounces Manja on her knees. "She is pretty nasty, isn't she? So high-and-mighty. You wouldn't know she was a princess just by looking at her."

[Murkus]

[Cafe]

Batu giggles.

"I don't know, it sounds pretty good to me. Manly. Maybe I should try to learn some of it at some point. And now, I guess we'll... be on lookout for girls we think would like to meet Jim."

[Cafe]

"So where do we look for those?" Div asks, curious. "Maybe we should take him somewhere with girls."

[Nova_Eclipse]

[Shopping for Trouble]

Electra nods slightly, more to herself than anything else, then goes back into the changing room. When she emerges, she's wearing the outfit she had on when they met up, and carrying the armful of clothes she's been trying on.

"Shall we check out? Maybe we can go get some food or something? Are you hungry?"

[Morty]

[Shopping for Trouble]

"We could, though I do believe I promised you a dance in this new outfit," Fayyaad says, his tail swishing behind him. "It might be better to go to my apartment and order something."

[Cafe]

Batu tilts his head as he considers this very unfamiliar territory.

"I think that would work. This way if we find a girl he might like, he'll be right there to be introduced."

[Purple Eagle]

[Shopping Shifters]

Luckily, both Manja and Carlie were described in the scene just before Shuyoru joined it, back in HALO.

Manja involuntarily laughs and and is unable to do anything to fight back at this time.

Carlie, who thinks it's weird to compliment a baby that way, says, "Yeah, maybe."
"You can just call me Carlie."

She bounces Manja on her knees. "She is pretty nasty, isn't she? So high-and-mighty. You wouldn't know she was a princess just by looking at her."

[Shopping Shifters]

((Unluckily, I'm not going all the way back to hunt for their descriptions, or I'd take even longer to reply to this post.))

"Such a cute widdle girl." Marco says in response to the kid's laugh. "Alright then, Aunt Carlie!"

His ears continue to droop as they talk about his 'mother'. "Yeah... I don't like to talk about her much. Nasty chica... so I came looking, and eventually found you, Aunt Carlie! Man, I'm so glad this is happening, guey, you're so much better than mum. Tell me all about you!"

He grins proudly as he shares something of himself. "I'm good in chemistry at school, but I only recently finished high school." He leans in to kiss Manja's forehead.

[5a Violista]

[Shopping Shifters]

Manja starts bouncing again.

High school. Which one is that? she wonders. It's probably higher education, Carlie figures. But he doesn't look old enough to do that, unless he's supposed to be some kind of genius or something. For that matter, with the 'chica' thing, is he trying to make some sort of obscure bloodsucking pun? "Ha, I've never heard that 'chica' one before, but it's pretty fitting."

Carlie releases one of her hands from the baby and stretches it out on the bench, and leans against her hand.
The baby swings her own hand at Marco's face as soon as his face gets within striking range.

"I'm working as a vet...'s assistant," Carlie says. She adds, "Well, I was doing that, over in Riverside, but after a bus crash on a work trip I had to stop. Luckily, my boyfriend's doing well enough that I don't really have to worry about that. Really liked working with all the different animals that were brought in. Some of them were pretty exciting.

[Purple Eagle]

[Shopping Shifters]

Well, Marco does look like he either is about to finish his secondary education, or like he just did.

When Carlie mistakes 'chica' for some sort of slang, the boy corrects her. "Haha, no Tía Carlie. It's slang for 'girl'... my father wasn't Nordestinian, more like err... Mexico? And like I said, he raised me. I actually know little of Nordestinia, wey... can you tell me all about it, Tía? ... that means Auntie, wey."

As he leans in for a kiss of Manja's forehead, he's struck with the strength of a baby. He simply giggles and follows through, his lips mashing against the little girl's forehead. He quickly re-occupies her free hand with his finger once he draws back, in case Manja gets any more ideas.

As he listens to his 'Tía' explain what she used to do, he looks attentive, nodding at points. "Working with animals? That sounds fun. The exciting ones can be loco, I guess." He looks sympathetic when the bus crash is brought up. "I'm sorry about that, Titi. I see you're better now." A boyfriend, she says? Hopefully he's cool. "Maybe I can meet him later? I hope he's as cool as you, Titi Carlie."

"Let's have fun together for the rest of the day, Tía Carlie!" He says, looking really happy.

[Nova_Eclipse]

[Shopping for Trouble]

Electra smiles seductively.

"It might be at that. Well, then, let's get checked out."

She heads for the register, a bit of extra sway to her hips in her step. Clearly, Fayyaad's suggestion has given her....ideas. Oh no.

[Morty]

[Shopping for Trouble]

Giving Electra ideas was very much Fayyaad's intention. He'll pay for his clothes as well and lead the way back to his apartment.

[Murkus]

[Cafe]

Batu tilts his head as he considers this very unfamiliar territory.

"I think that would work. This way if we find a girl he might like, he'll be right there to be introduced."

"I do know this... kinda... club. It's pretty raunchy though..." Div blushes considering it. "But the Ways between the Green and here pass by it in a couple places, so I've seen it around."
"Batu... it wouldn't... would it change how you feel about me, if you knew I'd been with a girl before too? Is that... different... for you?" Div's ears flick this way and that. This has him thinking about his relationships before.

[5a Violista]

[Shopping Shifters]

Nordestinia? Nordestinian?
It takes (almost) all of Carlie's might to not laugh at those unholy abominations of words. Well...she supposes one of those might technically be correct...ish in English but that doesn't make them sound any less ridiculous.
"Yeah, I know what tia means," she says, pronouncing 'tía' so differently that it might as well be a different word, since it sounds more like 'chia' like a chia pet.

"It was warm," she explains answering about 'Nordestinia'. "Great weather for a third of the year. Fast sunsets, though. Made it pretty awful, because...y'know.' Obvious reasons. She sighs. "Oh, but the flowers...definitely the best flowers ever."

Manja is, unfortunately, kissed, and she has no recourse. Fortunately, while she wasn't looking, she managed to capture his finger, and so with all the power and strength she can muster she pulls at the finger, trying to move it back and forth that the finger has no choice but to submit to her.


Carlie stands. "Boyfriend's pretty busy a lot of the time. He's in charge of lots of things like a lot of the tech, security, organization, and so on. Probably won't have time," she says. She adjusts how she's carrying Manja, to turn her back around, and says, "So! What did you want to do, then?"

[Morty]

[Cafe]

Batu blinks and falls silent for a while, his skin going deeper green as he blushes intensely. He tries to sound reassuring when he replies, but it comes out in a nervous stammer.

"N-no, it wouldn't. I mean, that was then and this is now. You're with me now. And I know people can be attracted to both."

[Purple Eagle]

[Shopping Shifters]

Actually, they pronounce 'tía' the same way, i.e. he pronounces it like she does. What he does fail to pronounce the same way is her country of origin.

When she starts to talk about 'Nordestin[i]a', his eyes widen in interest and he leans forward, hanging onto her every word. "Wooooow." He sighs in wonder. "... apart from the cold... woooow!" He quickly corrects, looking like he's started to daydream about the flowers she speaks of. "Mmm... Titi, I wish you'd show me some of those flowers, wey... I don't want to go there, lest I find mother again... she's..." He doesn't want to finish that sentence, so he shifts to her next one!

Of course, he allows Manja to do with his finger as he pleases, letting her think she's in control right now!

"Hmm... that just means more time for us to hang out, Tía." He says, hugging her as he looks around. "Hmm... let's go shopping! Or, we could buy some ice cream, unless Manja would be problem in that instance..."

[Murkus]

[Cafe]

Batu blinks and falls silent for a while, his skin going deeper green as he blushes intensely. He tries to sound reassuring when he replies, but it comes out in a nervous stammer.

"N-no, it wouldn't. I mean, that was then and this is now. You're with me now. And I know people can be attracted to both."

[Cafe]

"Right! I'm with you now!" Div agrees insistently, leaning over and grabbing Batu's hand. "Yeah. I've been attracted to both... it just occurred to me as we're thinking about this and I wanted it not to come as a surprise."

[Morty]

[Cafe]

Batu grabs Div's hand back and squeezes it reassuringly.

"I won't be surprised, then. I'll be fine. But me and raunchy places... they don't mix. You know me. Then again, I did somehow get up on that stage, sang and didn't die of embarrassment halfway through. So..."

[Murkus]

[Cafe]

"Well, if you feel comfortable with it..." Div suggests, rubbing the back of his neck. "Or you think you could. A raunchy place is probably a great place to help Jim meet somebody!"

[Morty]

[Cafe]

"We're doing it to help a friend." Batu tries to sound noble and resolute, which doesn't come off quite right. "I can do this. In the name of friendship. And if I decide I need some space, I'll start talking about intricacies of sorcery and watch people scatter."

[Murkus]

[Cafe]

"There you go! Or maybe you'll meet somebody hot you don't mind talking to," Div flutters his eyelashes and reaches out to tickle Batu's side teasingly. He giggles.