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If Eve was a free bird, than Carter was a kiwi bird placed into the albatross exhibit at the zoo. He looked rather out of place, his fingerless gloved hands slowly leafing through a clothes rack moved outside to brave the cold weather and tempt shoppers inside. To Eve's experienced eye, the clothes on the rack were last year's craze. This year, well, shoppers were encouraged to quietly hide them in the back of the closet in order to pull them out again a year later, when they would be back in style.

For now, though, Carter's back was turned to Eve. While he wore an amused expression directed at the garment he beheld, to Eve it seemed as if he was holding a ticking bomb. What use could anyone have for a hideous pink shirt designed for males in mind, with frolicking mushroom-hatted badger on the front?!

Tickticktickti- BOOM.

Carter didn't pay much heed when Eve approached, but he visibly jumped, nearly dropping the offending shirt onto the ground, where it belonged. "Wha! Oh! No way!" He protested, brandishing the shirt. "I thought this was on the wrong rack, but, er..."

His face darkening with an embarrassed flush, he returned the shirt to the rack, wiping his hands on his jeans as if to cleanse them. "Um, hey you wouldn't happen to know of any good clothing stores around here, would you?" He asked, shifting from one foot to the other.

Carter grinned, chuckling softly. "Something for someone clueless to pick up? Ah! I mean," he interrupted himself, raising his hands and waving them, "Not to say that I can't dress myself and that I don't know any better. Er."

He ended it with a grin and a shrug, blinking at her in surprise as she patted him then grabbed him. Surprised, he nearly stumbled before regaining his feet and following her. "Oh really? I didn't know there were seasons for shops..." He trailed off, looking around before adding, "In particular? Not really -- comfortable clothes mostly. I usually go for baggy things, since too tight pants constrict your movement, and shorts usually leave you open to getting gashes when you take a nasty tumble, y'know?"

"For skateboarding, that is," he added quickly. "And general goofing off."

Out of... fashion? Carter blinked and tried to comprehend this. Fashion was what you put on, right? So if it's out of fashion, it's stuff you... take off? He tried to view it from Eve's point of view, decided that somewhere out there someone would rip that shirt off of somebody, if only to burn it. That is, if it was really that bad -- right now, he was more than content to go along with her, at least until he could figure out what was currently "in" and "out." Whatever those meant.

"Hollystar?" He echoed, shaking his head, "I just hopped off the bus after picking up my uniform for school, really -- 's when I noticed my closet was missing some of my clothes, and... well," he shrugged. "I'm not used to snow that much, but otherwise I layer up the colder it gets -- right now 'neath this jacket," he paused to unzip his coat, and brandish his chest like the world's most fashion-oblivious superhero to prove his point, "I've got two shirts, one's a long-sleeved shirt and the other is this shirt that I think I've had for a long time. It's hard to tell."

The shirt in question looked as if it once upon a time displayed a logo of a band, but time and trips through the washing machine rendered the iron-on logo faded and missing in places. If anything, it was more a piece of monotone abstract art.

"Yep!" He beamed, "Just arrived yesterday, in fact! It's not that bad of a place, despite the odd blocked-off street here and there. I'm Carter, by the way -- Carter Martin. It's a pleasure to meet you, Eve!" Eve, Eve, Eve, he repeated to himself, trying to commit her name and face to memory.

He didn't pick up on her flat tone, nor did he shown any sign of picking up on it. Instead the boy did the entire city a favor and zipped his coat back up, hiding the horrendous shirt from view. Hopefully when this trip was over the shirt would return to the depths it came from -- that is, the very bottom of Carter's closet.

As they entered the store, Carter reached up and pulled on the collar of his jacket before - oh no what was he doing he couldn't possibly be thinking of - oh. Oooh, okay. The boy unzipped his jacket enough to expose his neck, sighing in relief. "Wheeew! This place is nice," he commented, turning to her. "Er, before I go willy-nilly... Do you have any suggestions? Or rather what's currently 'in' or 'out,' since I'd probably grab the nearest thing and throw it in." Probably? He already has!

Carter had to wonder at that. No shady places? What if it was the middle of summer? What was so bad abo-oooh. Dangerous shady places as in the places gangsters, mobsters, and villains hung out. He nodded, unaware of the more dangerous things that lurked about Destiny City.

Besides, all those weird monsters and superheroes were just publicity stunts to raise tourism, right? Right! Psh, as if demons and soul-stealers were real.

"Um... Clashing colors?" He echoed, staring at her curiously. "Like... that pink shirt back there?" Oooh boy.

At the mention of his hair, Carter grinned and nodded in understanding. "I see! Things that... make it pop, right? So it's not a distraction and gets attention!" He nodded to himself, making note of those colors. While part of him was disappointed that his favorite color wasn't mentioned, it just meant that he could orange up something else. Like his shoes, or even some of those loud, clanky bracelets some people wore.

"Great! Thank you, Eve," he replied, then hesitantly added, "Is there anything I can do for you in return for your help...?"