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 Posted: Tue Jan 17, 2012 1:34 am
The had finally made it. As they made their way through the entrance, seemingly pushed along by the steady flow of people on their way in, Alex let out a sigh of relief. They were there!
Alex eyed the stores along the sides of each walls once they had stopped moving. Feeling the stir of air as Yin moved closer to him, he glanced over to the other boil curiously. Did he seem...a little bit nervous? Alex's brows knit together in an expression of concern. Maybe it hadn't been the best idea to invite Yin along on this trip after all. When Yin spoke, however, he seemed fairly composed.
"Ummm," Alex craned his head around, having another look at the stores to either side of them, and then pointing. "That one there with the white collared shirts and...and ties on display." Alex's eyes lit up, the faintest tracings of the grin from earlier spreading across his face. He looked over to Yin again, clearly excited, wanting to make sure the weremantis could see where he had pointed. Yin still looked somewhat less then comfortable though, and Alex gave him a small nudge with his elbow. "Are you ok?" still smiling, but a little more uncertain now. "Do...do you have anything like this, where you came from?"
And then, finally, Alex held his hand out to the other boil. "I know it's not ideal, but I'm kindof worried about getting seperated..." Alex's voice was more quiet, plainly nervous. He'd seen Yin take offense to offers of help before, and Alex wasn't so sure this was going to be any different then that.
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Posted: Tue Jan 17, 2012 8:29 am
The way that Alexander said ties had Yin wondering about him just a little bit. he followed to where he was pointing and saw the store, giving a slight nod that he understood, though he still loathed the press of the crowd and the overwhelming hugeness of the place. "I am fine," not perfect, but he would survive. He spoke somewhat quietly, hoping not to be overhear by completely random strangers.
"We have marketplaces that are busy, but other than the ones for food it is rare for a boil to go to them. They are..." he searched for a way to describe the open squares that markets consisted off, with probably just as many individuals but all mantodae, and quieter. So much quieter. "It is different. He could not help but feel that he was somehow worrying the other boil, and so he lapsed into silence.
Eyes cast downward he soon noticed a hand enter his field of vision before the zomboil began to speak. The quiet voice sounded slightly strained, perhaps he was worried about the crowd as well. Still, Yin thought as he stared at the offered hand, the store is in sight. If we got separated we could always meet there. Alexander is easy to spot. Then he realized that he probably was not, with his neutral clothing and shorter stature. But holding the zomboil's hand?
Hesitantly he reached out, seemingly taking forever to do so, and lightly placed his hand in the much colder one of the taller boil. It was interesting, he mused. Despite the height difference their hands were much the same size, and more than ever he was conscious of his sharp claws, trying to ensure that he would not accidentally injure the zomboil. It was somewhat hard to do as he was steadfastly looking in the other direction, cheeks burning at how ridiculous he felt.
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Posted: Tue Jan 17, 2012 10:56 am
Yin hadn't yet responded to Alex's hand, and the seconds it took before the weremantis finally began to move his hand toward that of Alex's seemed to drag by more like minutes. Long slow minutes of standing, very awkwardly holing his hand out towards another boil. It didn't mean anything to Alex, the gesture of holding hands. He had only thought it might be more comforting to the other boil, so that he could be ensured that they didn't lose each other in the crowd. Once they actually got to the store he would let go because at that point there would be no need.
But now he was having extreme doubts to how Yin might be interpreting it, and he was more then a little tempted to just pull his hand away and put it into his pants pocket, safely tucked away. But then, finally, he saw Yins hand make a movement, and slowly he felt the weremantis settle his warm and eerily clawed hand in Alex's own. He wanted to give the weremantis a reassuring smile, but the other boil was very determinedly looking away from Alex, so the zomboil just shrugged and began moving his way through the crowd, gently pulling on Yin to follow.
The crowds were exceptionally big today. Perhaps since the events that had happened here not so long ago many had come to see the tracings of the chaos left behind. But, from what Alex could see, the Maul was actually in fairly good condition, considering everything that had happened. He contined to tow Yin along, making their slow meandering pace towards the store Alex had pointed out. Every once in a while, he would steal a glance back to Yin to make sure he was ok and wasn't like, freaking out or something. The mantodaes face seemed to be very red.
No matter, just a little further! There doesn't look to be many browsing the shop anyways.
So, with one last plunge through the crowds, they had made it. Alex released Yins hand, and shuffled his way through the open doors of the shop, then waited on the inside to make sure Yin followed.
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Posted: Tue Jan 17, 2012 11:11 am
Nothing felt quite as embarrassing as being carted around like a little kid, like the zomboil did not trust him not to get lost. He tried to most follow in the wake that Alexander made as he pushed through the crowds, and as they neared the store and got farther away from the main door people began slowly fading away. Still, they were moving at an agonizingly slow pace. When they finally made it to the store and Alexander released his hand (were the tips of his fingers beginning to turn blue?) Yin began to take a renewed interest in his surroundings.
There appeared to be a glass storefront, with several fake beings modeling the store's wares in them. It looked to be primarily boil clothing, at least, none of the mannequins had any skirts, dresses, or ceremonial robes. A tiny flutter of hope beat in Yin's chest as he followed Alexander through the doorway. He had never been anywhere quite like this, but everywhere he looked seemed to be a varied array of clothing. It was more like a ghoul clothing store, which he should have expected but he had never considered. Boils. Shopping for their own clothing? Preposterous.
Eyes wide he simply stood there and took it in, though he failed to notice a worker that had started to approach, gagged (though they tried to keep a straight face) and backpedaled back to the check-out counter.
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Posted: Tue Jan 17, 2012 7:18 pm
Alex was relieved when Yin entered the store behind him, half expecting the weremantis boil to have bolted. The store itself was fairly empty, save for the checkout clerk and a couple of people perusing around, sliding shirts and suit jackets across racks.
When the worker made his way forward, Alex smiled, but then the jack b*****d made a face, and hurried back to his station by the till. Alex frowned, his gaze turning a little steely as he contemplated walking over there and demanding he get some help. This had to be speciest, or something!
But never mind, because Alex really, by now, was used to the reaction he got out in public places such as this. It barely bothered him at all, anymore, but once in a while he felt a strong urge to do something silly like he had just thought about doing now. What was the point, though?
Shaking his head, he moved his way into the store, heading for the white short sleeve button ups in the back. He wondered if there was any chance some of them might come in that pre-torn n worn style. He'd also prefer if they had a red skull on the arm, but he doubted it. Could always find a badge to put on it himself, really, or doodle one on with some fresh blood~
Finding a size that fit long but not too big across the shoulders or the stomach was always a problem for the boil, as his build was so tall and lanky, and there were always so many different types of creatures out there with different shapes and styles to accomadate.
Would have really been helpful if that stupid clerk would have helped him out.
He left Yin to his own devices for now, trusting (or at least hoping) he didn't decide to run off.
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Posted: Tue Jan 17, 2012 8:24 pm
The weremantis began examining the shop, skirting around other browsers though most appeared to be masculine. Everything looked so...stiff he decided. He paid close attention to the racks of shoes, noting how uncomfortable they looked. If mantodae wore shoes they were typically slippers or sandals, nothing like the hard leather with unpliable soles that he was finding. There were jackets and stiff shirts, lined up on hangers as proudly as if they belonged to a priestess. Crisp racks of pants of a variety of colors. Out of curiosity he looked at a pricetag. And immediately dropped the sleeve of the garment as if it burned. He could not risk damaging the goods in this store. Hands tucked firmly behind him now he wandered past Alexander, and back toward the front of the store, but along a different wall. He paused when he reached a section of little strips of cloth. These he well recognized. Alexander seemed to enjoy these, as almost every time that he saw the zomboil he was wearing a different version. Hesitantly he reached out to brush his fingers over one, slightly surprised to feel actual silk. He plucked it off of the display, holding it up so he could examine it, noting the extremely clever way that someone had made it appear to be a leaf.
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Posted: Tue Jan 17, 2012 10:04 pm
Alex was about to reach out to start flipping through the clothes in front of him and look for a size or style that he could live with, when a voice from the cashier snapped his attention back up.
"Hey kid! You touch it, you buy it!" Alex turned to see who..ah yes, he was indeed speaking, or rather, yelling, at Alex.
"Really." Alex snapped back, eyes glowering "And how exactly do you propose I find what I'm looking for without touching anyhing?!"
The man at the till just shrugged, giving Alex a smug look.
Seriously?
Alex just sighed. Maybe this wasn't the right shop to be looking in, after all. Unless maybe...He looked around for his friend, and spotted Yin over at a display absolutely full of...wait for it..tiiiies~ The weremantis appeared to be holding one up for inspection.
Oh ya, he doesn't get yelled at about touching the merchandise. Of course not. Alex shambled on over towards Yin, hoping the weremantis hadn't been paying much attention to the little exchange. Though, really, how could one not notice shouting across the room?
"Find anything you like?" He asked, stopping in beside the other boil and giving the tie he was holding a curious look. Oooo, a leaf. Neat? Not really Alex's style though. His gaze wandered to the blacks and dark reds.
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Posted: Tue Jan 17, 2012 10:12 pm
The weremantis in question had a rather sick feeling in his stomach, and at Alexander's question the gears began whirring again. Hastily he put the tie down, hoping that no one else had seen him. "Nothing that I wish to purchase," he said, eyes staring at the silken strip of cloth.
Turning away from the worker so that his face could not be seen he allowed a confused or concerned expression to cross his face. Softly he spoke, hoping not to catch anyone else's attention. "Where I come from," he swallowed, slightly nervous, "touching the merchandise to evaluate its worth is allowed. I...I did not know I could not pick it up."
Therein lay the heart of the problem. He had been holding something when the man had shouted, and he had frozen, not looking up to see that the yell had not been directed at him. He did not have the money to pay for what he had touched, he had touched several things actually, and he did not have the money for a single one.
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Posted: Tue Jan 17, 2012 10:36 pm
Wait what? Why was Yin practically throwing the tie back on the rack? Alex frowned at the other boil. Was he embarrassed that he had been looking at it? Oh wait, Yin was speaking again.
Oh.
Ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhh.
Well great, not only had Yin heard the clerk yelling, but now Alex got to explain why the elderly boil had been yelling, who he had specifically been yelling at, and why it was still ok for Yin to touch whatever he wanted, but for Alex not to.
Yippee.
Outwardly, though his insides had gone sour, Alex gave Yin a reassuring smile. "No no no, it's ok! You are allowed to pick things up and look at them. It's just me, Yin! They just think that because I'm a zombie, I'll wreck their merchandise if I touch it. It's not a problem though, I'm really not bothered...I can just..uhm..try another store?" He was sure that his smile wasn't fooling anybody, as it felt so incredibly strained and fake. "Look at all these other people. They're touching things, and they're not buying any of it."
He motioned towards the tie that Yin had put back, now that his explaining was done. "You can even try it on, if you want? Seriously Yin, nobody is going to say anything to you." He reassured.
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Posted: Tue Jan 17, 2012 11:05 pm
As he spoke the look on the weremantis's face went progressive through the stages of confusion to almost murderous. Once he knew that he could not conceal his rage however he looked away, knowing that the plastered on smile would just anger him more and that it was probably be for the best if no one saw him until he got his emotions under control.
But it was hard. Hard because he knew exactly what that was like. He could remember one of his earliest trips to he marketplace, going along with an instructor to help him carry things back and how he had somehow meandered his way over to a booth that catered strictly to females (which was not all that rare). He had received a swat on the hand and a scolding for reaching for a pretty fan, and a lecture all the way home. And here they planned on doing the same thing because Alexander was a zombie?
"I do not wish to stay here," he said almost icily, though his face was no longer the mask of rage that it had been. Grabbing Alexander's hand he headed for the door, not quite as embarrassed as this time he was dragging the taller boil along. He did not stop or slow until they had exited the store and were almost to the entrance of the next one, at which point he had no idea where to go. "Did you have a second stop to make?" he questioned, feeling much better now that they were out of the shop.
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Posted: Tue Jan 17, 2012 11:42 pm
The reaction that Yin gave to Alex's information was not at all what the zomboil was expecting, and his eyes widened in surprise when Yin grabbed him by the hand and drug him out.
He was fairly certain that the clerk had not been sad to see them leave.
When Yin stopped, Alex just nodded dumbly. "Well, uh, ya, you see, I still need a shirt...or several" He glanced back at the previous shop longingly. All those tiiiiies! He then shook his head, and looked back at Yin. "It was really not that big of a deal, you know. But!" He said quickly, so as not to start an argument. "There are other shops much like that one in that they will sell the same kind of clothes, but possibly with much less..uh...impolite.. hired help?" He craned his neck to look around Yin and down the hallway. "Let's just keep walking, I'm sure we'll come across something. Oh, and if you see an electronic store, let me know, I need a cover for my eyephone."
It wasn't until after he said it, that he realized that Yin probably had no idea what he was talking about.
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Posted: Tue Jan 17, 2012 11:59 pm
As he began walking again he surreptitiously kept glancing up at the taller boil, trying to get a good look at his eyes. He did not look as if he required an eyepatch, but he probably just wanted to be prepared. It would be easy enough to look for a medical supplies store as they went along. Perhaps electronics was another term for healing or medicine?
By now the crowd had thinned out even more, and he was able to easily see the stores on both sides of the hallway. There was an entire store devoted to toys, which made him smile, but across the hall the next store had him blushing a violent red as he attempted to avert his eyes. What ghoul would allow her portrait to be drawn in such a state? And it was so realistic. Even the mannequins were appalling. No, he would not be going to Cryptoria's Secret. Not even if Alexander insisted.
Hurriedly he looked for something else. A couple of stores up seemed to have the same style of clothing that Alexander preferred, and he tugged lightly at the cold hand that he was still grasping and pointed with his free hand. "Is that store suitable?"
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Posted: Wed Jan 18, 2012 12:14 am
Alex had also been glancing at the stores to either side, his eyes taking in everything, as Yin continued to pretty much pull him along and force him to keep up a slightly faster pace then he was used to. He could feel Yin glancing up at him, from time to time, and wondered vaguely why the other boil was doing it, but was suddenly distracted by the Cryptoria's Secret store they were starting to pass. He was stilll looking at it, appreciating the fine artwork of the posters in the windows, when Yin started saying something. "Hm? Oh!" He turned back to the task at hand, eyes following the direction that Yin was pointing.
"Yes, I think that will do." He smiled, then allowed himself to be pulled along some more.
It was weird, having such a warm hand in his own. He'd never actually held hands with anybody other then his mother, father or his sisters, when he was quite a bit younger. There hands were all as stiff and cold as his own, and so while not unpleasent to be holding Yin's hand, it was quite a bit different.
"This time, if the clerk says anything, I think I'll just try and reason with him. That other guy was a humongous jerk though, even for today's standards. Maybe we'll get luckier this time."
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Posted: Wed Jan 18, 2012 12:25 am
"That sounds like a reasonable idea," Yin remarked, though he hoped it would not happen. Just because Alexander sometimes appeared to have experienced a disaster wherever he went, Yin could attest that he did not.
Once again as they reached the entryway Yin released the boil's hand, though if they were truly holding hands to not get lost then it really did not make sense to do so now. They could easily get lost within the store as it was quite a bit larger than the previous one.
He was through the doors before he turned, a hint of concern on his face. "If we stay together will you not be bothered for being a zomboil?" Such had been the case with the clan, in some areas boils were not allowed unless they were accompanied by a female.
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Posted: Wed Jan 18, 2012 12:35 am
Aw, no more handholding? Alex kept the disappointment off of his face by gracing the weremantis with a large smile. "Anything is possible, I suppose. Come on, this way." He nodded towards the area where he could see, yet again, a large array of short sleeved collared shirts, larger then the collection the last shop had boasted.
Oh, and they even had them sorted into different groups according to size and body type! Perfect!
Alex couldn't help but steal a glance towards the person by the till of this shop, but they hadn't even seemed to look up from whatever they were doing. Counting silver pumpkin seeds for a money drop perhaps? Whatever, it was really the best time to start looking, before anybody noticed.
He made his way over to a rack that looked to be about his size and began searching through them, only bothering to glance at the white or off-whiteish colored ones. There was a certain style he liked, and he liked to stick with it.
He found the material on several that he looked through to be too stiff and not to his liking. He knew that over the course of time they wouldn't be too bad, but he really preferred to have something more soft and comfortable right off of the bat. None of this freshly pressed crap. He did manage, however, to find three that he didn't mind too much. They didn't even have any holes or tears in them yet! This was good.
"I think I have what I need here, Yin, unless you see any others." He looked over his shoulder for the other boil, always assuming he was still there.
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