Welcome to Gaia! ::

↬ where | shopping centre.
↬ with | karina.
↬ wondering | why women spend so much money on frivolous jewels and pieces of cloth.

The corners of Alaric’s lips were tugged upwards at Karina’s outburst of laughter. Brilliant, the man’s eyes seemed to say as he surveyed her. Confidence, mischief, open to suggestion. She would do, more than perfectly, for what Alaric had in mind. “Clothing,” the man murmured with a confused tone. Of course, a girl like her would never get enough. “I suppose that I could help you procure some attire to fit your fancy,” he added absentmindedly. Fashion was not his area of expertise. In his bedroom, a large armoire was filled with brown suits and blue ties of different shades. Alaric has donned this same combination since… Well, the year didn’t matter. What mattered right now was that the young lady had agreed to accompany him back home. As he stood up and positioned his hat back atop his cumulus of blonde locks, Alaric’s gaze did not break from Karina. Everything about her emulated that boy’s energy, and Alaric couldn't get enough.

“Thank you for all your help, good sir,” Alaric told the guard without actually looking at him. “I can take it from here.” A gloved hand extended outwards and after a moment Alaric heard shuffling before a leash was placed in his hand. “There you go…” the guard replied. Slowly, one lanky leg in front of the other, Alaric approached Karina. Tucking his cane under his arm, he used one hand to delicately brush back a few strands of hair and the other to clip the leash to her collar. Once again, his face came within close proximity to hers. The man really had no concept of personal space. After the clip was in place, he took a step back from her and let out a deep, rumbling laugh. Throwing his hands in the air, Alaric exclaimed, “Let the adventure begin!”

His coattail made a swoosh noise as the man turned around and sauntered out of the room. He already knew where he was going, having memorized the corridors from when he arrived this morning. The leash felt unfamiliar in his free hand, and he paid no attention to whether or not he was accidentally choking Karina. Reaching the front door, he paused and held the door open for the blue-eyed girl. This action felt melodramatically heroic in a humorous way; opening the door and letting this caged being free. How infinitesimal her life has been so far—unknown and unimportant, passed around from master to master with no real objective. Alaric almost felt bad for her. If he was capable of feeling bad, that is.

When they reached the diaphanous barrier, only detectable by someone who has delved into magic, Alaric paused for a moment to explain to Karina how teleportation works. “As you can see, I have no automobile. For transportation, I walk or teleport, as you will now also do with me.” The man talked as if he were speaking to a child. But to Alaric, Karina was basically a child if they were counting years. “Now, teleportation takes less than a second, but those few milliseconds will be the worst moments of your life. Your head will feel like it is going to explode, your heart is going to pound a million times, and your stomach will drop to the floor. If you do not steady yourself, you will fall flat on your face when we land at our destination. Understand?” The image of Karina face planting in her dress and heels brought Alaric a temporary sensation of sadistic joy.

With a sudden serious face, Alaric stepped across outside the barrier. He looped the leash onto his cane, tucked it under his arm, and reached into his trouser pocket to pull out a matchbox. After a match was struck, Alaric tugged Karina towards him and the wind swirled around the two in a small tornado. A row of white teeth smiled down at the girl as her body was pressed up against his. “Here we go.” Before he even uttered the last word, the pair disappeared into thin air and reappeared in the middle of a shopping center. The match had gone out and flecks of ash dotted Alaric’s white gloves. “Tsk,” the man sighed, stuffing the match back into his pockets. Why did magic have to be so messy?

Dusting off his gloves, Alaric’s eyes travelled around the mall with disinterest. He pulled out a pocket watch from his coat pocked and scrunched his eyebrows. There was no water or earth anywhere in sight, so a cloaking spell was out of the question. How long did it usually take for them to find him? Too long, Alaric mused with a smirk. He and Karina had enough time. Even though his heart raced with the possibility of being discovered, his face was stoic, his posture perfect, and not a bead of sweat was at his brow. How troublesome it would be if the girl were to know that something actually bothered Alaric.

Putting his watch away, Alaric turned his attention to Karina. “Well, Karina, I must admit that I am out of my domain. Lead the way.”

↬ where | shopping centre.
↬ with | karina.
↬ wondering | only a few know where the last little piggy really went.

Even if Alaric was a top grade a**hole, one could not deny the fact that he could sometimes be a gentleman. In his mind appeared a map, like floor plans, of the entire shopping center. He had been here once before. Before the man realized how he hated wading amongst the menagerie of shoppers looking for overpriced items that would not enhance his life all that much, but were rather the children of pure capitalism. But the sudden boost of confidence Karina got was…cute, so he let her be the leader. This wasn’t a word Alaric used often, but it was the only way to describe how she was holding her head up high despite the stares from passers-by. Oh yes, just imagine what this slave is for, Alaric said to himself as if he were talking to the crowd. Of course, the blonde had nothing indecent in store for the young lady, but he enjoyed the disgusted or feigned disinterested looks shot their way from people who were obviously not fans of the slave world. At each person, Alaric merely waved a gloved hand and smiled sweetly.

The shop Karina picked out was nothing short of interesting. Perhaps on the expensive side, but there was nothing Alaric couldn't easily pay for. After years of not spending on himself, he had accumulated quite the mass of funds. The thought donating to charity did not ever cross his mind, nor did doing something frivolous such as taking a vacation to a tropical island. It took all Alaric had in him not to burst out laughing at the pathetic salesperson when she approached. Like damn harpies. Yet another reason he hated shopping. In the public eye, the green-eyed man liked to give an appearance of being polite and respectable, so when Karina batted the woman away like the gnat she was, Alaric simply said, “I apologize sincerely for the girl’s behaviour.” He took the salesgirl's hand and gently placed a kiss on the back of it. The salesperson blushed a light pink and nodded meekly. Leash still in hand, Alaric wandered over to where Karina was now browsing clothing he had no interest in. Different colours of different fabric sewn together in different ways—it amazed him how modern consumerism was so blind to practicality.

A grin made its way onto Alaric’s face when the slack on the girl’s leash ran out. Her defeated sigh sounded like music to his ears. He didn’t look down at the leash in his hands when she pulled it. Instead, Alaric kept his eyes trained on her. A few moments passed, then a few more, the man let the silence hang in the air. Then, as if he were a machine just brought back to life after having been in sleep mode, Alaric started plucking the fingers of his glove one by one. “This little piggy went to market, this little piggy stayed home,” he began to softly sing. “This little piggy had jam and bread, this little piggy had none.” Pausing at the final finger of his glove, he smiled at Karina and said a little louder, “And we’ll never know what happened to the last piggy.” With that, his glove was off.

In the next second, Alaric was beside Karina, once again very close to her neck. As he went to unclip the collar, he tugged a single strand of pink hair out of her head. Taking a handkerchief from his pocket, the laid the single hair in the middle and gentle folded he napkin back up. “This is just in case you decide to try anything,” Alaric told Karina with a wink. “Although I am sure that you are more wise than to try anything with me.” The way Alaric said the phrase made it sound almost like a question, but not. Oh, the spells he could cast on her if she ever crossed his mood. Making all of her teeth and hair fall out, throw up everything she ate, becoming blind? He could do that, and so much more. These spells would all be temporary, but he could convince her that they were permanent. And there were far worse things he could do, but he didn’t purchase a slave merely to have a torture puppet. If he wanted human test subjects, he would just abduct them off the street with much more ease. No, despite the airs Alaric puts on, at the end of the day he needed her safe. Well, maybe not safe. Just alive and functioning, he mentally added with a sneer.

Finally, Karina was free of her leash and Alaric found a seat facing the changing room. Reclining back in the chair, he stretched his arms and draped them on the other seats. “I shall be dutifully waiting for the young lady to make her selections,” he informed with a slight bit of mockery. To show that he would be entertained, he began to inspect each of his fingernails with a little too much interest.

↬ where | post office/convenience store
↬ with | enzo, karina
↬ wondering | if the contents of this journal are as promised.

The flirtatious energy coming off the girl was both thrilling and amusing. It was good that she was in the mindset to fool around with him, but he could tell by her posture that she was still tense. What a beautiful scene, Alaric wanted to shout to the heavens. Keeping her guessing made sure that she would remain curious and cautious. The green-eyed man was almost proud with himself for getting Karina into the position he wanted so early on into this little game. After one or two days, she would be ready to hear what Alaric had been dying to tell her from the minute he laid eyes on hers. And if she didn’t listen, she was technically trapped with him and he would persist until she did. The man wasn’t hopeful or optimistic; those were traits he threw out the window long ago. He was simply intrigued by the possibility that he was right about her, and what she could do if he was right. So, the warlock would keep playing nice until the moment came when he didn’t need to. Alaric would also have to unwillingly admit that Karina hadn’t given him a reason to not enjoy her presence. She was simple in a relaxing sense, but still had enough issues to be fascinating.

“No, shopping is not my preferred pastime but whatever the young lady requires shall be given to her.” Alaric cringed at his own remark, how sincere and goody-goody it sounded. There was mainly truth in his statement; he knew how it felt to be treated like trash, to be down in the lowest parts… Well, he wouldn’t go there. What’s done is done, as he always told himself. But the pressing concern of technology began creeping up on him. Alaric had never required a phone or a computer before. Why would he need to? Who did he have to call or catch up with? The answer is nobody. All his messages were delivered in the most discrete ways and those he sought services from always had their memories altered. The man didn’t even have a bank account, Alaric only made transactions through cash and all his money was stored away in miscellaneous places. A life hiding was not easy, but Alaric had managed to make it work. Whether or not this would disappoint Karina, he didn’t really care. Staying off the radar and protecting himself was more important than whatever silly entertainment a computer or phone would offer.

“You would have trouble ordering items online from a computer that doesn’t exist,” Alaric snickered as he made his way to the checkout counter. As he did, he shot a look over to the salesperson that first greeted him and Karina. She started a moment then scurried over to the cash register and began scanning tags, not making eye contact with him. Lifting the leash in his hands, Alaric clipped it back to Karina’s collar with a satisfying click. The girl behind the counter looked up for a moment before her eyes darted away and began folding clothes. “I-is that all?” she stammered. The man’s blonde hair swayed as he gave a curt nod. He pulled out his wallet and slapped several bills on the counter with a yawn. After she rang the purchased through, Alaric looked to Karina and assessed what their next course of action should be. “I did pick up some miscellaneous soaps and other liquids with girly packaging before I collected you. I suppose that you will have to inspect them for yourself once we are back at my lodgings. So, if that is all, we should be going. We can come back any time you feel it is necessary. Maybe if I am not in the mood, I can fetch you another shopping companion. Nonetheless, it is a problem for another day.” Addressing the salesperson, he cooed, “Thank you for your services. It was a pleasure doing business with you.”

A cane stretched across the counter and inserted itself into the loops of the bags. With a c**k of the wrist, the bags slid downwards and settled neatly on Alaric’s forearm. He winked at the girl before gripping the leash in his hands and giving Karina a slight tug to signal their departure. “Thank you,” the salesgirl called after the two with a slight bit of confusion. After they were outside the store, Alaric looked at an invisible watch on his hand and exclaimed, “Would you look at the time! I almost forgot I had another previous arrangement booked for today. Come along, before we are late.” Without waiting for a response from the pink-haired girl, Alaric began making his way out of the mall, weaving through families and dodging teenagers. They arrived at a corner of the shopping center that was mildly deserted compared to the rest of the establishment. “Ah, the post office,” Alaric whispered to no one in particular. It was a small joint, so miniscule that the owner had to turn half of it into a convenience store. But Alaric enjoyed these sorts of places hidden on the down low.

He unclipped the leash from Karina’s collar and placed a hand on the small of her back to guide her inside. “This may take a few moments, so you can feel free to wander around the convenience store.” Alaric began taking off but then swivelled around and added with a wink, “Do not come looking for me.” The woman behind the counter of the postal section was about to serve Alaric before another man appeared from behind shelves of papers. “Ah, Mr. Robertson, I was starting to think that you'd gotten lost. I will take it from here Linda,” the bearded man said with an Italian accent. Taking a glance behind Alaric, he added, “I see you have brought a lady friend with you!” Smiling, Alaric followed the Italian into the back room. “What did I say to you, Al? Are you glad I built you that room now?” Despite the annoyance Alaric felt at his teasing, the blonde couldn’t be angry with his oldest friend. “Really, Enzo? The ‘I told you so’ speech? Are you not a bit too old for this? About, two hundred years too old?” Clutching his heart in a dramatic fashion, Enzo replied, “You strike me where it hurts, amico mio.” The shorter man rummaged through some cabinets before pulling out a hefty leather-bound book. He brushed some dust off and brought it over to Alaric. “Here it is. The source says it belonged to her.” Alaric studied the detailing on the cover and scrunched up his face. That b*****d. He never even wrote me all these years. The blonde’s white gloves became gray as he held the journal in his hands. “Thank you, Enzo.” The Italian nodded and the two came back out into the store.

Alaric tucked the journal inside his magic coat pocket, making sure that Karina didn’t see it. The man also made a mental note to make sure Karina did not find out about this magical pocket, or any of its hidden contents. He dusted his gloves off before locating her. “Find anything that strikes your fancy? Or should we be heading off to home sweet home?”