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It always was miserable getting out of Hillworth on a Saturday. In general, it was always miserable getting out of Hillworth at any time of day, but Saturdays always seemed to be the worst. Fortunately for Howl, Franz seemed to be a master of getting through the security without any unnecessary hitches. It was doubly fortunate for Howl that Franz had plans for this day. As fond as he was of his friend, the effeminate lad did enjoy his alone time in the city as well.

Deciding to start the day right (after getting dressed in some real clothing in the public restroom), he promptly proceeded to the mall. That Tatiana Konstantin had mentioned there was a Teavana on the second floor, located between Zara and Hollystar. He most certainly had been awaiting this moment for a long time. In fact, ever since he came to Destiny City, the desire for a real tea store continually harassed him day in and day out. His nerves had only been calmed recently thanks to Miss Konstantin, and for that, he was truly grateful.

It had been a decent walk, but fortunately he was wearing a relatively casual outfit today of a pale blue sweater with a pristine white scarf tucked about his neck elegantly. As his usual, he wore a dressy pair of coal-colored slacks with equally as dressy shoes to match. For some lads of his age, the selected outfit would have been quite dressy, but for Howl it was absolutely dreadfully plain. As he entered the mall, he could quite clearly hear the cheerful holiday music since there were not nearly as many civilians shopping about at this time.

"Given enough time, I am certain this place will be as congested as it was before," he casually noted with a pleasant smile. He opted to take the escalator over walking up the stairs, solely because his side was still a bit sore from where Mr. Alvarez had decided to kick the other day. Despite it being a constant annoyance, Howl did not let it damper his features. Frowns and scowls caused early wrinkles on the face, and it was not something the elegant young man planned to deal with for a long time if he could help it. If there was one thing that he knew, tea would cleanse his body of the aches that Mr. Alvarez had caused.

At a casual pace, he walked along the second floor, looking for either Zara or Hollystar signs. When he saw the tacky giant star shaped sign, he knew the next shop would be Teavana. If it weren't for his calm demeanor, he would have walked in with the largest grin on his face. Alas, instead Howl only offered his usual polite smile as he set foot upon the sacred grounds for tea enthusiasts around the world. As expected, he was immediately greeted by the employees of this fine facility. Or rather, by the employee.

In fact, her voice sounded familiar. Being the polite young man he was, he looked the young girl in the eye, and soon enough found a familiar face greeting him as well.

"It is a pleasure to see you again, Miss Konstantin!" he politely greeted, his smile growing from the merely polite one to a sincerely pleased one. It was no wonder that she knew plenty about Teavana. Stepping up to the counter, his teal eyes glanced right, then left, as if looking for other employees. He couldn't spot any very readily, so he asked calmly "I take it you are working this shift alone today, my dear?" It was rare for there to be only 1 Teavana employee at the counter at a time, but perhaps it was due to the time of day.

"That is a pity. I am certain I would get lonely if I did not have any company as I worked." He gave the brunette a sympathetic look before concurring with her observation. "Indeed! 9 am is far too early when compared to how early we must wake up in order to get to our classes on time during the week." He chuckled at his own observation, thinking it somewhat clever.

As Tatiana tended to her duties as an employee at Teavana, Howl listened carefully to her offers of tea samples. "Oh, if they are fresh, then I suppose I should wait for them to cool down, Miss Konstantin. I have never been fond of burning my tongue. It is not like they will run away from me if I do not drink it this very second." To compensate for refusing her offer (because he saw this as rude), he added "All of those sound quite delightful though. I am especially looking forward to trying the Silver Yin Zhen Pearls and Eastern Beauty Oolong."

It was curious as to why the girl was cleaning so much, but perhaps it was because she valued doing her job the right way. He didn't point this out aloud though. Casually, he walked up to a display case with an elegant iron-cast teapot with rabbits decorating its surface. Having learned the lesson early in life that you looked with your eyes, not with your hands, he kept his hands to himself as he looked over the design.

"It always amazes me how beautiful a teapot can be!" he seemed to sigh before returning his attention to the girl. Was she still cleaning the counter?

Pulling back from previous conversations, he ventured to ask "So how has your week been? Has your 'anime' club been doing well?"

He respectfully listened to Tatiana's input on the peppermint tea, nodding as she explained. If there was one thing Howl knew, it was his teas. As a child, he had started with peppermint teas and Earl Grays, but eventually he graduated to other varieties. Though peppermint did have a fond place in his heart, he had found it in recent years to be too strong for his tastes.

"I suppose it is an appropriate holiday-themed tea," he mused in that seemingly steady tone of his. He gave no commitment to the tea, but mentally he noted that he could try it later with the others.

Being the personable person he was, he had no problem approaching the girl as she seemed to retreat slightly. There wasn't anybody else in the shop at the moment, so he walked right up to her and gently placed his hand along her shoulders. "I would be quite interested in looking over the yixing clay teapots. I am hopeless when it comes to locating particular types of teapots when there are so many lovely ones to look at. Can you please show me where it is located?" His words were gentle, calm, and importantly, platonic.

Whether or whether not she decided to assist him, he then proceeded to answer her questions without any sort of hesitation. "I have become the subject of bullying lately. Otherwise, nothing very exciting." There was no hint of anger, guilting, or any sort of negative emotion to his voice. For Howl, he was just merely stating a fact, tone as pleasant as if he was greeting an elderly woman on the street corner.

Not wanting to linger too long upon his own misfortunes, he shifted the focus of the conversation back on the girl. "What sorts of plans do you have for your club booth, might I ask?"

Much like Miss Konstantin, Howl was no fool. Silently, he had noted the slight slip up on the girl's part in regards to the upcoming holiday and birthdays. It was easy enough to figure out that she was referring to herself, and being the kind soul that he was, he could not help but want to get her a present of some sort. Specifically for her birthday. Though this also meant that he'd have to get her a Christmas present as well, just so she did not accuse him of trying to shortchange her. Though, as he took a glance towards the girl as they walked to the teapots, he mused that she was still not that sort of girl. Not wanting to keep his gaze on the girl too long, he looked towards the teapots she had guided him to.

"Ah, I see, so these teapots are more humble in appearance. Do you know which culture these particular pots originated from? I am quite curious..."

It was about this time that she started to focus in more on the bullying subject. It was no sore subject for him (despite the sore spot on the side of his ribs), so he offered a harmless chuckle and replied "Well, the leader of the group was very certain to let me know he would be washing my hair in the toilet until I decided to cut my hair." Another chuckle as he pointed out "It just means I will need to wash my hair perhaps one more time per day." It was rather strange that he seemed so open on the subject without sounding like he was venting. To him, it was just another conversational piece which was to remain pleasant.

As she offered such a kind sentiment as sympathy, he smiled and placed a hand upon her shoulder, lightly squeezing to signal he appreciated her words sincerely. "No need to feel sorry for me. I am quite adjusted to such teasing. It comes with being mistaken as a girl ever since I was in elementary school. Even back then, when I had kept my hair short, I still was assumed to be a girl much of the time. I suspect it is just a losing situation for me no matter how I deal with it." Once his explanation was over, his hand loosened and returned to his side.

The mention of the game for the booth activity was noted with a simple nod to the head as he politely looked in her direction. It was about this point that he mentioned "I think I would like to order a cup of tea, if you would be so kind? I can pay for it now, but I have a small errand to run. It should not take too long, but I figured that you could make the tea and let it cool slightly before I return." Casually, he walked up to the counter, looking over to Tatiana. The gaze seemed a little strange and a little analytical, but only to those who were truly paying attention.

"I promise, Miss Konstantin, I will return and we can talk some more."

At the counter, he offered his gentle reassurance of "I promise you, Miss Konstantin. It will take more than some toilet water for me to cut my hair." Her mention of how "pretty" his hair was definitely was a bit of an ego stroke, but he did not let it show on his features.

As Tatiana got down to business, Howl seemed to do the same, reaching around to his back pocket and pulling out his wallet. "Large Silver Needle, warm, not iced, and no cream or sugar, thank you!" Opening up his wallet with his left hand, he fished out a bill with his right hand and set it on the counter. For conversation, he gently pointed out "You will come to learn I drink all my teas straight, my dear. I prefer warm teas, but I have to wait a while for them to cool down enough for my tastes. For some reason, I do not seem to get along with iced teas very well."

Not wanting to seem overly eager to go, he asked "Would it be fine to take my leave for now?" Strangely enough, he once again gave the girl that same nearly analytical look, though he cut it short so it wouldn't be too offensive.

As he tucked away his change, he chuckled at her joke. It wasn't any sort of deep gut-busting laugh, but a gentle and amused laughter. Before he left to tend to other matters, he offered a gem of his own.

"No worries, Miss Konstantin! I will have it so that each and every employee of this facility knows my preferences, so that none will get in trouble over something so minor."

Casually brushing some of his long hair out of his face, he then exited the store at his casual pace. He was not very familiar with this mall yet, but he could make do with what he had seen so far.

~

It took him about 10 minutes to find the appropriate gifts, and another 5 minutes to get them wrapped. Of course, the effeminate lad had also wasted another 5 minutes dealing with the issue of basic gender confusion, making it 20 minutes before he returned.

In his hand, he had two small gift boxes. One was wrapped in blue gift wrap and contained a lovely hematite necklace and pendant in the shape of a tooth. Howl had decided this would be Miss Konstantin's birthday present. A dark piece of jewelry that seemed to match the color of her eyes. He also had been very careful to choose a pendant that was relatively neutral. The last thing he wanted to do was lead this girl on about his feelings towards her. No hearts or rings, for those could easily be misconstrued into assumed confessions of love. The other box was wrapped in very blatant Christmas wrapping paper, green in color and decorated with elegant Poinsettia flowers. The second gift was a simple set of darkly colored barrettes. With the barrettes, he had included a note wishing Miss Tatiana Konstantin a Merry Christmas, since he was under the impression she'd be opening it on the day of the actual holiday.

Not wanting to shout across the shop to gain the proper audience, he walked up to the counter again and patiently awaited for the brunette to note his return.

As Miss Konstantin placed his tea before him, he could not help but smile. "Thank you, my dear!" he kindly replied before setting the two boxes in front of the girl, one next to the other. Neither box was labeled, but Howl would soon enough reveal the recipient of these gifts.

Only to be polite, he tended to the tea first, tilting the cup towards his lips and taking a sip. He smiled against the lid of the cup before pulling away the container from his mouth. He placed the cup on the counter, far enough in so there was no risk of accidentally tipping it over and spilling the contents. "It is the perfect temperature, and it tastes lovely!" He would have to keep this particular flavor in mind, and compare it with another employee. Mentally, he liked to keep tabs as to who was the most and least skilled tea makers in any given store.

With two elegant fingers, he then pushed the blue gift box forward. He looked to the girl's dark eyes in a nearly purposeful manner. "You know, a little birdy told me you have a birthday coming up." He did not further explain before requesting "Please, open it up, Miss Konstantin!" He drew his arms up and folded them so one was tucked up and resting on the other. As always, he maintained the most perfect posture imaginably possible. Regardless of Tatiana's expression, the beautiful young man's expression remained kind, giving, and gentle.