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The plan to spend a day shopping at one of the Caribbean islands had been sudden. Claude really wanted a pirate inspired hat, so she was going to go get one. An authentic one, of course. No knock offs. Plus it'd be ******** nice to visit an island that wasn't this one.

She was just going to make it a day trip, and she started early in the morning. Claude stepped out of her room in simple wear. A loose tunic shirt with a tank top and breezy capri pants. She also traded in her boots for a pair of sandals, and sitting on the top of her head was a pair of blue-green aviator sun glasses. Her hair was pulled back into a messy bun as she slung a small bag around her torso, and then started to head down the back way out of the dorms to the closest door.

A some point, right before the exit, Claude stopped as a thought struck her. She passed by room number 196, and she stood there for a long while, contemplating. Chance hadn't been many places yet. That was the thought that stopped her, and she had originally just planned on going by herself but...

She cast her eyes to the door of his room, and stood there for a moment longer before she turned and went to his door. She wondered to herself if she was becoming too accustomed to his presence, and if this was a questionable thing. Claude raised a hand, and rapped her knuckles on the wood. The worst he could say was no, and it was also quite possible he might not even be there.

The door opened, and Claude kept her hand on the knob as she partly leaned in, also taking to leaning against the door frame momentarily. It indicated she wasn't going to stick around long. "Hey." She greeted, not surprised to find him reading, and briefly wondered if he did anything else to pass the time.

"Got anything pressing you need to do today?"

She stared at him for a moment, wondering if he'd slept decently at all, from that look on his face. She then answered him. "Good. Get dressed. Tropical." If he wasn't already. "We're going off island for the day." This was all said with confidence, like he possibly couldn't disagree. They weren't questions, they were statements that would become facts.

"Meet me at the lighthouse in five." She pushed off the door frame then and closed the door. Claude wasted no time then in leaving, as her original intention. She'd get to the lighthouse before Chance, so that the input for the portal would be ready by the time he got there. There was a sense of self-satisfaction, once again, in commandeering someone's day.

Claude was standing in front of the portal with her arms crossed, and peered over her shoulder at the other trainee as he entered. "I could tell you..." She started, unwinding her arms and hooking her thumbs into the pockets of her pants. Usually she'd follow that up with 'but then I'd have to kill you', but that didn't make much sense in this context.

"But you'll see it soon enough." With everything ready to go, Claude stepped through the portal, and on the other side they stepped out into one of the back alleys of Philipsburg, St. Maarten. Claude stepped out of the alley way and into the nearest street that was bigger, to get her bearings. She then looked back at Chance.

"Philipsburg, St. Maarten. An island in the Caribbean."

That brought a small smirk to her face. "So easy to please." She commented. "We're not even in the main street yet." Much less be able to see the waters and the real views. That being said, Claude took note of where the portal would be waiting for them later, and started to head out towards the main street.

"Always." She answered, glancing at him out of the corner of her eye, and then answered the real question. "I want a hat." She informed him. "Also, since we're here, real food, too." The hat came first and foremost though. As they drew closer to the main street, and the shops started to pick up, Claude, admittedly, couldn't help but keep glancing at Chance every so often to get a read on his expression. It was the feeling of showing someone something new and waiting for their reaction.

Claude gave a thoughtful hum. "True." She conceded, and then turned to look at him, her eyes lidded and thoughtful. "Maybe the challenge is to find something that doesn't please you..." She mused, and then quickly moved on.

"A hat." She affirmed, and then gave Chance a look like he had to even ask what kind of hat. Instead, she answered, "A good one." That was the start to the off island on another island excursion.

Hunting

After getting out of the back alleys, Claude didn't waste any time in starting to duck into stores that seemed to hold promise. Philipsburg was a shopping town, known for its high end clothing, local and European crafts, and jewelry. As someone who was interested in clothing and jewelry, it was the perfect spot, but so far, she didn't have any luck in finding a hat.

In one store, Claude had been detained by a nice selection of jewelry, and was peering down at some bracelets in the case. After a moment she glanced to Chance. "If there's anything that catches your eye, feel free to go." She told him, not at all expecting him to want to follow her every step of the way in this passionate pursuit for a hat...which got side tracked by jewelry.

hunting


Fortunately, Chance did not mind being dragged into different shops, since he was just as interested as Claude was.

"No, no, I don't mind," he reassured her, peering at the jewelry that she was currently eying. "As you can probably already tell, my taste in clothes and accessories is pretty far spaced."

Chance was still wearing both rings that she had gotten him, as well as a constellation earring in one ear and a few star studs in the other. He reached out a hand and plucked a woven bracelet from a stand and turned it over between his fingers, letting out a little hum.

"I like what I like, after all," he mused absently.