The first search for the indoor garden hadn't been a success in the traditional way but it had been valuable to Theodora. She may not have found her Garden of Eden but she had found a wonderful substitution in the form of an archery range. It was challenging but she had managed to get them to rent to her and allow her to use their range even though she had trouble communicating with them.
She was a bit disappointed about her shot, not having practiced in so long, it wasn't as good as her last record. It felt nice though, almost normal. She could truly forget about the strange magic that surrounded Destiny City and remember what life was like before leaving Greece. It was nice, comforting in the face of reality. She didn't think it could really get any better but that was before she decided to drop into a retail outlet.
It was there that Theodora found it: the love of her life! A large, incredibly soft unicorn stuffed animal was staring her in the face. Without even meaning to, the teenager let out a squeal that was completely foreign to what most people expected to come out of her. It would have baffled them, and upon realizing Theodora immediately looked around to see if there was anyone she recognized or anyone who could recognize her. So far, so safe—Theodora hugged the stuffed animal, squishing her face against the soft fur coat.
"It's so soft and big!" She found herself announcing so proudly in Greek. "Look at its glorious sparkling mane and its cloven feet!"
It couldn't possibly get any better. How could it possibly get any better? What a foolish thought! Of course, immediately after thinking it Theodora seen it: 50% Off Clearance. She didn't need to understand the word to understand that 50% was probably a mark down and upon seeing a new price tag over an old one verified it. Sure, she would have brought it regardless of the clearance price but now she could buy two: a white and a baby blue one. No need to be racist here, she loved both and now she didn't have to decide between them.
She may have definitely pushed a small child out of the way to get them off the shelf but she refused to be outdone by a snot-nosed brat who didn't appreciate them nearly as much as she did. She knew that getting them to the check out that would be challenging but that wouldn't be half the battle as getting them home without anyone seeing them would be much worse. It seemed unbelievable but Theodora was up for the challenge if these two glorious beasts were the prize for succeeding. Worse come to worse, she could just knock anyone she recognized out and run away. What would they say? They thought they were attacked by a stampede of galloping unicorns? Ha!
It sounded like a foolproof plan to Theodora, happily falling into defeat and lugging the two toys with her to the check out. She did so carefully, not wanting to damage even a speck of the stuffed toys. It would have been horrifying to even think of mud or dirt getting on the two fair skinned unicorn fur coats. Buying them was probably the easiest thing she'd have to do all day but it did leave her broke flat broke after spending money prior to at the archery range. She didn't regret it though, not even when she finally got them home and realized they took up over 50 percent of the space on her bed. Who needed space when you had unicorns? Besides, there was no room left in the closet.
