Falys normally never shopped in the evenings. If she went too early, then the shops were still packed with people just released from their days jobs. If she went too late, then she was forced to rush through her needs in order to finish before the shop closed. Early morning was ideal; the stores were just opening with their wares stocked and straightened from the night before, and best yet, no crowds. But as it was, Falys’s morning had been overrun. An overnighted package – a box of errant receipts from her latest client – had shown up on her doorstep and demanded several hours of straightening and tallying. Falys snorted softly. If not for the clients, she’d love accounting. Doing small business taxes and long-distance accounting definitely had its perks. Working for herself meant no intrusive coworkers, and working from home meant money saved on renting an office space. Her front living room had nicely converted into an office/meeting space, and meeting at her home seemed to put many business owners, often on the verge of panic, at ease. If only the side window hadn't leaked during that last rainstorm and ruined her spare ledgers, she wouldn't even need to be out and about. Oh well, nothing to be done about it now. Falys might not be terribly handy with tools, but she'd proved decent enough with a caulk gun. There might be trouble opening that window come summertime, but it certainly wouldn't be leaking again.
Sucking in a breath, she squeezed between a slow-walking couple and a fence corner. Too many people out, far too many people. At this rate, she’d be lucky if she had time to compare prices on everything. She silently cursed the gaggle of adolescents careening down the street. It was on their heads if she got a bad deal on her new ledgers.
Finally, the shop’s sign came into view and Falys heaved a sigh of relief. It was normally a school-supply shop, but sold high-quality office supplies in the back. She was so anxious to finally have her shopping done with, she dashed out in front of a side street and nearly ran into someone. Catching herself before she went sprawling, she immediately looked up into a startlingly blue pair of eyes. ”Oh, I’m terribly sorry, how clumsy of me.”
The evening air was crisp as Theofratus stepped out of his home, heading towards the busier heart of Moonfall, where still shops were open. Even though it was just about closing time, Theo needed to pick up some stationery. He had finally run out of pens, thus leaving him with no real way to record his progress. People that had just finished work flooded the streets, hence making bumping into people rather inevitable. A lively chatter filled the air as people made their way home, stopping here and there to pick up somthing for dinner or some groceries or whatnot. It was intriguing to see how all these people lived their lives, how different it was from his own. It was a reminder that everyone was different from him, how they each had something else in their lives that made them different from their next door neighbour.