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Gwendolyn Caspian thought she was playing things smart. She knew the holiday season was slowly creeping up on her, much quicker than she would have liked, and the thought of standing in a crowd, fighting with older ladies and desperate husbands and boyfriends looking for gifts was more troubling to her than many other things. Things that should have bothered her, like failing her sophomore year, or even more importantly then that the ongoing war happening around Destiny City, was pushed to the side for the sake of how much she hated holiday shopping.

So this year, she thought she'd play it smart and start her shopping early. She thought she was smart and clever, that she had beaten the crowd at their own game.

Then, of course, the truth of the matter came crumbling down around her as she was more or less shouldering her way through the crowd, with not so much as a 'excuse me' or 'move out of my way'. She pushed around other Senshi, friend and foe alike; what did she care if she hurt a few strangers feelings this day? It wasn't like they'd remember her anyway- they'll get angry, maybe mad enough to whine over their twitters or Facebook, but within a few hours they'll forget anyone had ever bumped into her.

She came to an antique shop, trying to find where Jett's family business was and wishing she could remember what it looked like. Maybe this was the place? It looked so different now that there was a sea of people in her way... especially this ONE kid standing right there and blocking the name of the business on the window. She huffed, loudly, and tried not to sound TOO angry as she looked to push her way through. "Excuse me!"

Gwen wasn't sure what to expect when she had finally snapped and tried pushing past someone, but it certainly wasn't someone being so genuinely apologetic. She was taken back by his politeness, even when he tried moving out of her way when there were others crowding around them. It made her feel like a real, class A a*****e now for pushing him...

'Why are the people I'm mean to usually really nice or kind?' Gwen thought to herself as he moved, fighting her guilt and trying to think of a way to apologize for snapping at him without having to admit that she was in the wrong. If that was his intention, then mission accomplished. 'This would be so much easier if he were an a*****e... at least give me something to let out my anger on!'

She huffed, but it was a good natured one, and she didn't even look at the sign on the glass as he had her complete attention now. "That's more than enough, thank you! Sorry if I sounded angry or something... I'm just not used to there being such a huge crowd, you know?"

Not only was this guy incredibly kind when he had every reason to not be (considering she was rude first), but he seemed to be incredibly wise as well, and Gwen felt even worse when such prophetic words came out of his mouth. How was it that everyone else seemed present in class when the brains were handed out, and yet, she missed it? Knowing Gwen, it was just as likely that she skipped school that day...

Still, it did brighten her mood considerably that they were having a pretty decent conversation despite how rough it had started, and perhaps his smiling was infectious, because now she was too.

"A few, but... they're not worth wrecking my day over," Gwen said when he hoped no one else was rude to her. She wasn't lying, but in comparison to the rather easy going encounter now, she couldn't really remember exactly what they did to piss her off. In fact, why was she in a bad mood to begin with?

Oh, that's right, Christmas shopping. "I was hoping to get a lot of it done early, but it seems everyone else had the same idea as well. Guess I don't blame them... it is rather ingenious to do all of it early to avoid the crowds."

'A lot of good it did ME.' Gwen thought bitterly, though it did nothing to tarnish her smile. "What about you? The same, I guess?"

"Normally I'm not against big crowds, really," Gwen stated, and there was some truth to the matter. Big crowds were a great place for someone like her to sneak around through unnoticed when she was trying to escape from the sisters of St. Mag or other truancy officers, and her small size had usually worked to her advantage, even when her monochromatic hair would have easily given her away. Of course, Gwen kept all of this to herself; she didn't want the poor guy to think she was a hooligan or something. "Just when they get so pushy-"

And as if on queue, Gwen watched the man, maybe late twenties, early thirties, come by, grumbling something nasty and practically slam the one she was talking to into the window. She wasn't the screamish type but it happened so quickly that it took her completely off guard, and the sight of blood had once again brought her into that fowl mood she was in before, though this time justified. "Holy crap, are you okay?"

And the worst part was that he simply walked away! No apologies, not even a glance over his shoulder! Gwen moved to check on him, digging through her purse for something she could use as a handkerchief or towel, but that didn't stop her from yelling back at the retreating assailant. "HEY, you could have broken his nose, a*****e! The least you can do is apologize!"

Eventually, she found some old and thankfully unused napkins, and she handed them to Grant, all the while shouting insults at the still retreating man (though it seemed that he had picked up the pace, perhaps terrified of having a yappy teen on his heels if he dared to slow down). "Where's your Christmas spirit, Grinch? Not a single excuse me or pardon me?! JERK!"

Gwen wasn't sure exactly which one angered her more: the guy injuring the poor kid without so much as an apology or pause in his actions, or Grant simply allowing him to walk away unavenged! Both were equally infuriating to Gwen, and despite his pleas, her anger was still red hot, but at least she didn't immediately run after the guy and enact justice of her own. It was one thing for a Senshi to bring someone else to justice, but right now, she was nothing more than a citizen, and one that was putting on quite a show for others around them. Not that Gwen cared what they think or how several of them began to back away- what did she care when poor Grant looked to be bleeding out?

But he insisted that he was fine, and it did look like the blood was slowly coming to a stop. Gwen wasn't sure exactly why it got to her so much- she had a bloody nose before, not to mention suffered wounds that required a blood transfusion immediately afterwards, but the sight of someone else bleeding always got to her more than herself. After all, she admitted that she deserved a lot of the injuries she received, but Grant wasn't doing ANYTHING wrong to invoke that man's attack.

Still, as angry as she was, she tried to keep some of it under control, at least to where she wasn't going to lash out or stalk after the guy. No, where her anger showed the most was in her voice, and she spat in the retreating man's direction before addressing Grant again, looking around for more napkins in case he needed them. "You have the patience of a saint, my friend... allowing someone to do that and get away with it! And of course I'm upset! Where's the justice? He could have EASILY have said 'Excuse me'. Is THAT so hard to do nowadays?"

This coming from the same girl who had admittedly stepped on someone else's toes prior to bumping into Grant, and while she knew it to be the pot calling the kettle black, she had at least mouthed a half-hearted 'sorry' as she stormed by. "It's the least you could do!"

She handed him more napkins, asking, her tone a little less sharp than it was moments ago. "How you're doing? Do we need to go to a doctor?"

Still, to see someone so damn kind, even after someone had wronged him and practically waltzed away, it was enough for Gwen to let go of most of her pent up anger. Realizing that getting so worked up wouldn't help, she gave a deep breath and tried to expel all of that negative energy out before she made matters worse, and she oddly felt much better when she had exhaled. She really needed to keep her temper in check... for her sake, as well as others.

At least Grant looked like he had a lot of the bleeding under control, and now that she wasn't quite as livid as before, her mind was racing on how best to salvage this situation. She offered a hand to Grant and motioned with the other to the store they were both eyeing, "Come on, we should get you cleaned up. I'm sure they have a restroom we can use, and if they don't, then we'll just take our business elsewhere, right?"

Still, she had wanted to see justice done for poor Grant, but she figured that karma would eventually catch up with the rude man. Then, as weird as it was to give introductions so late, Gwen said, "By the way, my name's Gwen. What's yours?"

She wasn't startled by the sight of blood but she also wasn't offended when he didn't take her hand. He was only being super polite and meant no offense by it. In response to his question, she answered, giving out her full name as she guided him into the store, holding the door open for the two of them to pass through and nodding her thanks to another person that had tried to help. "Yep. It's short for Gwendolyn Caspian. My dad had a thing for old names and the word 'Lynn'..."

She could have gone on and on about how stranger her father was, at least according to her mom's retellings, but now was neither the time nor place, and she hoped that Grant wouldn't ask any further details. She didn't know much about her dad, beyond the one memory of him chasing off a flock of seagulls that tried to grab at her food, and she didn't want to make the atmosphere anymore awkward than it already was. Here she was, walking into a store, with a bloodied kid following behind her, and the looks she received from one of the employees almost made her laugh. "Do you have a restroom in here? One of your patrons slammed the door in his face and he'd like to get cleaned up, if that's okay."

She didn't really need to add the 'if that's okay', as it was more of a demand than it was asking for permission. After all, they must have seen the event unfold from where they were and thus far had done nothing to assist them, so the least they could do was offer a restroom for him to clean himself up with. The sales associate pointed to a room towards the back, her surprise genuine, at least from Gwen's judgment. "Over there in the back, next to the dressing room! Are you alright?"

The question was directed towards Grant, and Gwen held her tongue, allowing him to answer.