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Post by The Rising Dragon on Nov 17, 2011 17:11:29 GMT -5
"A charge card? What kind?" Mesia asked, curious as to the amount. It was rare enough for commoners to have such; only nobles could really afford the well-paid cards.
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Post by Steinerman on Nov 17, 2011 17:54:14 GMT -5
Laramie paused for a moment, her face confused. Then it hit her, of course, the card must have a limit of some sort. And she had no clue as to how high the limit was. She held the card up and inspected it, searching for anything that mentioned a cash limit.
The card itself was mostly blank, having only a small coiled dragon emblazoned upon it, it didn't even seem to have a name. "Umm . . . " she mumbled, embarrassed. "I'm not quite sure. I didn't even bother to ask him, he just handed it to me and told me to get lost for a while so he could finish some business."
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Post by The Rising Dragon on Nov 18, 2011 3:13:58 GMT -5
Both commoner teenagers, however, recognized the brand on it simply from the dragon design emblazoned on the front. Both of them stared at it with the mouths hanging open.
"Wow, talk about lucky," Rayne remarked as Mesia gingerly accepted the card to find the amount it held. "Minor house or no, you're rich..."
"There's almost nothing you can't buy with this," Mesia exclaimed as she found the amount. Just what kind of money did her brother have? Was he the head of his House?
The redhead blinked, and glanced at the unsure expression on Laramie's face. She brought the card up to her face, held between two fingers, hiding the devious grin she suddenly had.
"So, Lady Laramie," she spoke, her eyes saucy and borderline predatory. "Any look in particular you want to try?"
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Post by Steinerman on Nov 18, 2011 15:42:32 GMT -5
Laramie rolled her eyes, completely oblivious to Mesia's look. "I'm not a lady. My brother's just a rich businessman." She corrected, obviously embarrassed. Then her expression grew thoughtful, her eyes seemed to dim as she tried to decide what look she'd like to try.
Again, she discovered she'd never really thought about it before. Surviving had always been paramount in her mind. Clothing? Not as much.
A faint collection of memories sprang uninvited to the front of her mind, fuzzy images of her mother holding some sort of package with a small bow and ribbon tied atop it. A dress of some sort. It had been a present from her mother.
Laramie smiled sadly as the happy emotions of the memory washed over her, she'd forgotten about that moment. It hadn't been important, at least, until now.
"Do you girls know where to get a good skirt? Or dress? I haven't had one in ages." She said softly, not caring how odd it sounded that a rich girl like her didn't wear dresses.
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Post by The Rising Dragon on Nov 19, 2011 5:26:29 GMT -5
Rayne and Mesia shared a look, and then the blond made an exaggerated gesture with her arms, beckoning the wealthier girl to proceed. "Right this way, Lady Laramie," she said, smiling--it looked like her new nickname was to stay.
Mesia slipped her arm around Laramie's, sliding the charge-card back into the girl's hand in the process as she ushered the girl forward. "It's gonna be a busy day for you, so let's get a move on!"
===
Maybe it was coincidence, or just a spot of bad luck. But in Bob Rasven's amusement, the genetically-engineered creature had let his guard down just the tiniest of bits--and in one moment, he could see Laramie and her new friends, and in the next, all three teenage girls were quite gone.
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Post by Steinerman on Nov 19, 2011 12:42:40 GMT -5
Bob blinked, and then growled dramatically as he realized that the two girls had whisked Laramie away. "You did that on purpose." He muttered, seemingly to the world. He cocked his head to the side for a moment, as though listening to someone. "Play innocent all you want." He said in a remarkably sing-song voice, "But now I have to go find her and make sure she doesn't buy the entire city." With that, he pulled his cap down tighter onto his triangular head and sprang forward, intent on finding his partner again.
Laramie, meanwhile, was grinning in amusement. She'd kept tabs on Bob, and had realized something had distracted him. But she wasn't too worried, Mesia and Rayne obviously had a plan in mind, and their intentions didn't seem harmful. So she tried to put on a big smile and continued on with them, letting the two girls take her where they would.
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Post by The Rising Dragon on Nov 28, 2011 5:40:08 GMT -5
Mesia and Rayne worked fast. Both girls guided Laramie down and around a couple blocks before suddenly veering off into a nice-looking clothing shop--Filia's Fashions--and guided her inside. The woman at the cash register looked up at them as the three of them entered and frowned. "You two again," she said, propping her head up on one arm. "Are you two at least going to buy anything this time?"
Well, the woman knew that her store catered to clients just a bit more well-off than these two commoners, but nonetheless, the redhead flashed the older woman another winning smile. "We're shopping for our friend here this time," she said. "Don't worry about us."
The woman didn't look terribly convinced.
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Post by Steinerman on Nov 28, 2011 18:59:20 GMT -5
Laramie smiled politely at the woman, and threw in an awkward wave as well. The place seemed exactly the sort where Francis might have taken her, if he'd been around. Still, the cashier didn't seem very impressed with what she saw.
Again, Laramie's mind brought forth a memory, though this one was far more recent. Francis had mentioned something to her . . . what had it been?
Her mind helpfully supplied the details, he'd told her that while the Enign Syndicate was mostly known in Allondell, they did in fact have many business dealings through the rest of the world as well, generally known as the perfectly legitimate, super-rich and ancient Enign Family.
While the woman most likely didn't know much of anything about the actual family. It was quite possible that such as woman as she, who worked in a higher-class establishment, had at least heard the Enign name before. And she'd most likely react positively to the fact that a presumed daughter of said rich family was in her shop.
So Laramie stepped forward and tilted her head slightly to the side in greeting, a small awkward smile on her lips. "These girls are helping me shop for a dress, I'm Laramie Enign." She said politely, pleasantly realizing that her tone carried with it a strength and confidence she'd rarely heard before in her own voice. Apparently Francis' character was rubbing off on her.
"I confess," she continued, "I'm more than a little confused by Zailleon fashions, these two lovely ladies offered to take me shopping, get me into something a little less tourist-y and more fitting of the continent I'm on. I do hope you don't mind, I'm rather excited to get to shop in such a city as Kallagulia." She ended brightly.
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Post by The Rising Dragon on Nov 29, 2011 2:02:54 GMT -5
The woman, Filia presumably, only nodded and gave the third teenager a once-over. "Yes, ma'am, you could use some more fitting outfits. Those are boys pants."
Laramie couldn't see Mesia and Rayne giggling at the woman's remark behind Laramie's back. "Well, let's get started, Lady Laramie," Mesia said brightly, clapping her hands together.
Filia only sighed and shook her head as the two teenagers hauled Laramie off to the other end of the store.
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Post by Steinerman on Nov 29, 2011 2:45:14 GMT -5
As Mesia and Rayne continued pulling Laramie through the shop, Bob Rasven speedily hopped from rooftop to rooftop a few blocks away. Stopping every few roofs to sniff the air with his small nose. Technically it was as keen as his sister's, but he'd never had Button's talent for smell. All he could hope for was to find a trace of her scent and pick a random direction in the hopes that it would grow stronger.
With a quick movement, he dropped the two stories from his current building and landed with a light "thud" in a deep shadow created by a convenient combination of doorways. A quick sniff proved that she'd been that way, but otherwise didn't tell him much.
Again he cocked his head to the side as though listening to someone, though no voice could be heard. "Oh shush." He growled in his gravely tone. "I didn't lose her, I just misplaced her. And you're not helping with your incessant buzzing. You could bother with trying to help, you know."
There was a pause as though he were waiting for someone to speak. Moments afterward he shrugged, "Yes, it's funny until she lets her guard down and gets overwhelmed by emotions. Less funny then, so point the way or shush up."
Sighing with annoyance, he quickly clambered back up the building and continued on his way, unable to locate his partner.
_____
Laramie breathed a sigh of relief as they exited Filia's presence, "I actually sounded a bit like a lady for a moment." She remarked bemusedly, her tone once again the wavery, uncertain thing it normally was.
She didn't have much time to marvel at that particular fact, however. As Mesia and Rayne quickly decided nothing quite fit her needs in this shop and briskly dragged her out the door and down the street.
The speed was so surprising that it took a few moments extra for Laramie to realize that everyone seemed to be astonished (or downright horrified) by her current clothing. "Do girls not wear pants in this part of the world, really?" She questioned with exasperation.
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Post by The Rising Dragon on Dec 12, 2011 14:06:22 GMT -5
"Plenty of girls wear pants!" Mesia informed the richer girl. "Even Rayne does! Well, used to. She stopped after Amatlan burned a pair of hers."
Rayne sniffed, looking indignant. "I liked those jeans, too. Stupid wyvern."
Mesia giggled, and continued where she left off. "But, Lady Laramie, you're wearing boys' pants. There's a difference."
"To be totally serious, though, most highborn ladies in Kallagulia where skirts," Rayne explained, letting go of Laramie and clasping her hands behind her back. "Which I think would be dreadful in the summer."
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Post by Steinerman on Dec 12, 2011 20:52:29 GMT -5
Laramie glanced awkwardly down at her pants, trying to puzzle out what it was exactly that made them "boy's pants" as opposed to "girl's pants". For the life of her, she couldn't figure it out. They didn't appear to be masculine in any way, just high-end silk pants. Francis had repeatedly referred to them as "darling", and she was almost positive that "darling" was usually only used in reference to women.
She let out an exasperated sigh, "I guess I have a lot to learn about fashion." She mumbled with embarrassment. "But," she continued on, "seeing as I'm in Kallagulia, I might as well try and find a decent skirt. 'Least it'll stop the annoying remarks."
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Post by The Rising Dragon on Dec 30, 2011 2:08:59 GMT -5
"Skirts, huh? Hmm," Rayne said, looking about. "Plenty of options for those around here..."
"... and that's always the problem, isn't it?" Mesia remarked. The two friends huddled together, whispering to one another.
"... there's Madam Malkin's over in Fifth--" "--too crowded. We'd never get any service. What about Isis?" "You really think they'd let girls like us in Isis?" "Right, scratch that." "--There's Kireii." "--you're joking, right? She wanted Kallagulia fashion, not Tsuminarian."
The two girls seemed at a loss, then looked up, staring at each other.
"Ling's?" Mesia asked. "Ling's," Rayne agreed, nodding.
Mesia spun about, causing her skirt to flutter dangerously. "Got the perfect place!" she exclaimed, grabbing Laramie by the hand. "Ling's Finer Things is where we're going."
Rayne grabbed a hold of her other hand, grinning. "Let's go!"
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Post by Steinerman on Dec 30, 2011 3:08:45 GMT -5
Laramie uttered a small, warm laugh as the girls pulled her to yet another store. "This is rather fun, I admit." She remarked casually, her normally tense attitude relaxing.
"Thank you for helping, by the way. I really don't mean to inconvenience you." She added on, truly grateful that she'd met Mesia and Rayne. "It's been a while since I had any actual fun." She ended softly, still smiling.
_____
Bob growled in annoyance and threw his small arms into the air, "I give up." He growled, "You're not helping, and your laughter is making it hard to sniff her out. I'm calling Francis." He pulled a small comlink out of his vest and raised it to his mouth before pausing, "And no, I'm not telling him you think he's handsome. Shush." He added, his tone annoyed.
_____
Francis blinked several times as he stepped into the bright day's sun once more, emerging from a nondescript building that didn't appear very different from any of the others in the neighborhood. Behind him trailed a handsome dark-haired man, dressed in loose-fitting black slacks and shirt. The man looked to be in his early thirties.
"Upper-class strip-joints, eh?" Francis remarked to the man, "Glad to see you're using the Korin's pay so well."
"The Korin don't pay me much," the man replied softly so as not to be overheard, glancing through his tousled bangs with dangerous, fiery eyes that most women most likely found extremely seductive. "Your mother, on the other hand . . ."
Francis chuckled, and then swiftly tapped the comlink at his ear after hearing the telltale chime of an incoming message. He listened silently for a few moments before nodding, "I'm sure she's fine, Bob. They mentioned shopping? Message me with the shops you already searched and I'll try and find her." He paused as his partner presumably asked something over the comlink. "Yes, Martin's here, found him in a strip-club. The plan's good to go."
A moment later he clicked off the small link and glanced back at the man, "Come on." He said, "I need to go find my partner, apparently she's on a shopping spree."
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Post by The Rising Dragon on Jan 5, 2012 11:06:58 GMT -5
"I like it," Mesia announced, looking approvingly at the long, soft violet skirt and lavender sash that now adorned their new friend. Silver scrollwork lined its hem, and a light split up one side allowed her a bit of leg room.
Rayne was nodding. "Much more fitting than your brother's pants," she remarked, which were draped over a rail in the changing stall. "A few new accessories and a nice shirt to go with it should complete the look."
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