Welcome to Gaia! ::

Oh, it was perfect.

Zephyr was leaning in so closely to the display case, her nose was practically pushing against the glass, and her breath threatened to fog up her view of the prize she spied. Her lavender gaze was transfixed by a periwinkle cupcake decorated with ruffly ribbons of frosting and topped with an edible bow that looked almost exactly like the one she had recently seen atop the head of a certain newly-promoted Corporal.

Even though she did not care for them herself, she frequently brought Caelyna sweets to bring a smile to her face. This time, though, Zephyr figured her beautiful comrade deserved something special to honor her accomplishments in the Vanguard.

She clapped her hands with excitement, already anticipating the reaction this would get. Shooting back up to a standing position, she located the service bell and tapped on it, politely, once, and bounced on the balls of her feet as she waited for one of the human bakers to respond.

Zephyr beamed happily when the worker came out to greet her, and gave a quick wave in response before nodding enthusiastically, a motion that made her single plume of blue hair wave around this way and that in front of her face. Now she had been given an opportunity to once again use one of her favorite human tools: the Pen. She clicked it once, twice, then a total of five times before allowing it to meet the pastel-toned paper of her notepad:

Hello. Please give me the egregiously over-decorated light blue cup cake with the pointless bow. It is a gift for my friend. Thank You! :)

The note was slid across the counter with another nod, in Fae-Fae's familiar wide-lettered and loopy handwriting. She then dug into her overall pockets for her human wallet so she would be prepared for the upcoming transaction ritual.

A quizzical look dawned on Zephyr's face, and her movements slowed to stillness, as she tilted her head in confusion at the human's response. She thought she had described the item she wanted accurately, so what was the offense? Furthermore, wasn't the expression of gratitude and offer of money enough to communicate that she was honest in her desire for it?

She'd even drawn a 'smiley face' to show that she was being friendly! Why was this human reacting so poorly?

She turned to her notepad to formulate her response.

I agree that it is perfect. That is why I chose it. It very skillfully matches my friend's aesthetic preferences. If this is your work, I am impressed! May I please buy it?

Humans and their strange artistic sensibilities. Fae-Fae clearly had a lot more to learn about them. It was a good thing that this gift was for Caelyna; maybe her studies on human culture would be of use in helping her understand why her compliments had been interpreted as insults.

For now, her attention turned to the recommendation the worker had made. Her first instinct was to turn her nose up at the little thing, as she found humanity's strange and inaccurate pseudo-animal illustrations and constructions somewhat nauseating, but she didn't want to upset the human even more by showing her disgust. And it did match the cupcake so nicely... something Caelyna might appreciate, knowing her growing interest in humanity's charmingly pointless fashion arts.

So, she nodded approvingly, and opened her wallet to commence the transaction in earnest.

Something about the way the baker was talking was oddly familiar, but Zephyr couldn't quite place what it was. The story she shared, however, was familiar in a much more direct way -- reminding the disguised Corporal of the Vanguardians who hadn't returned to them, and remained missing somewhere in Destiny City. She gave the human a look of sympathy and nodded softly, turning to a fresh page in her notepad one more time before accepting the bag.

I am missing friends as well. I hope you find yours soon. I will remember your lessons when I return here. Thank You.

In spite of the awkwardness that took place, she decided this particular bakery was worth visiting again. It would be worthwhile to have a source of diplomatic gifts to serve her mission... and the promise of an eventual free item was something she couldn't help but find enticing.