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 Posted: Tue Jun 13, 2023 1:53 pm
So far, everything was going okay...Genevieve hadn’t found any sweets, but that was fine! She hadn’t found any danger either so…that was very good! It was quite difficult to really walk straight without her tail to help her balance, and when the rain began, the first thing that Genevieve did was stare up at the sky in an accusing manner and frown.
Her first time going out on her own…and now it was raining. How was that fair?
Thankfully, the raindrops washed away the sudden rush of hot tears that yet again decided to visit, and finally, crossing her arms over her chest Genevieve ran towards the soft, fake like of a small store and went inside.
It was dry at least…but cold. Very cold. This whole concept of ‘air conditioning’ was…something to get used to, and when you were wet from a rainstorm…it was uncomfortable.
Making her way to the front counter, she saw a human sitting behind it and cleared her throat before speaking. “...Excuse me. Do you have sweets? I would really like some.”
There had to be some in this store, it was pretty big after all!
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Posted: Tue Jun 13, 2023 2:28 pm
In one corner of the store there was a small coven of teenage witches, debating the new Sage & Stone displayer and if it was appropriation or an acceptable gateway for the less privileged. The volume of the classicism vs culture war started to rise just as Genevieve entered the door. At the counter, Todd felt a certain relief as this ew buffer between him and teenage girls who might ask his opinion on anything deeper than snacks and if the current specialty slurpee was safe to consume. (This week's was not.) Smiling broadly, Todd held his arms out, "We have so many sweets." Behind him, on the small screen of an ancient TV, something horrible and strange was taking place. "What kind of sweet are you looking for? Fruity sweet? Sour sweet? Chocolatey sweet? Baked and bready sweets? Crunchy sweet? Weird novelty stuff?"
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Posted: Tue Jun 13, 2023 2:43 pm
Genevieve nodded eagerly as the human pronounced that there were so many sweets, but her attention was quickly taken up by…by whatever was going on on the television behind him. A…strange mouth eating strange things with…tiny eyes and…
“Is…this normal?” She asked in a faint voice, pointing at the screen and looking just a little horrified. “...Is that how sweets and snacks are meant to be consumed? Is…is that person upside down? What…what is this?”
Honestly, she was horrified but couldn't seem to pull her eyes away.
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Posted: Tue Jun 13, 2023 2:51 pm
Glancing behind him, Todd took a moment to stare as well, and then gave a small laugh and turned back to the girl. "It's not normal, it's public access late night TV." He idly scratched at his chin scruff, adding, "It's kind of like the weird side of YouTube. It's the anti-normal. The stuff of fever dreams, 3am judgement calls, and the bravery of misplaced confidence." Todd sighed, "Think of it as a glimpse at the weirder places the human mind might go. This one isn't so bad actually, reminds me of an ex-girlfriend..."
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Posted: Tue Jun 13, 2023 3:15 pm
“I…see.” Genevieve absolutely did not see, but she had learned enough about the Earth to understand that lies like this…were commonplace.
“...You…know someone who looks and eats like this? It is no wonder you no longer associate with them…um…ah…what kind of sweets do you have? I just…I just want something to fill me with warmth, if that makes any sense to you. I am feeling very lonely and want that to go away.”
It would be so much easier if she knew the names of the things she had tried but…
She had no clue.
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Posted: Tue Jun 13, 2023 4:12 pm
"Well it's more of a shared vibe and she's the one who dumped me." Todd coughed and then pretended that he hadn't brought it up at all. "Oh...sweets to the fill the void, huh?" Nodding with profound sympathy, he considered what would be his priority in a similar situation. "So what's your budget for this? The thing about filling the void is that it is a void. Bottomless, never to be filled by snacks alone, so you may as well not blow more cash than you can afford to spend."
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Posted: Tue Jun 13, 2023 6:23 pm
Genevieve nodded slowly, trying to pretend that she understood and frowned slightly, trying to figure out what a budget was. Cash though, she knew what that was and reached into her small purse and drew out a crisp twenty dollar bill. “I have money! Does this work? What will this get me?”
Clearly he was smart, and he knew what things were, so if he could just help her so she could get her sweets and get home and...endure the rain again…she would be most grateful.
“Perhaps something that the rain won’t ruin?”
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Posted: Tue Jun 13, 2023 7:43 pm
Waving a dismissive hand, Todd gave her a confident, "Don't worry, only amateurs don't know how to bag for rain." Picking up a shopping basket as he walked out from behind the counter, talked and shopped for her. "Since convenience store stuff is so overpriced, you always want to look for the deals to make up for it and not waste a ton of money." He was starting at the clearance section and after checking the expiration date on some of the Halloween and Easter editions of several candy bars, tossed them in the basket. A deeply marked down plastic unicorn that poops rainbow candy corn soon followed. Then were a bunch of bagged fruity gummy candies: store brand buy1get1. He had a Bugles coupon that had been wasting away, so he tossed in a bag of the caramel ones for some crunchy sweets. Day old donuts...a box of Hot Tamales...Skittles...knock off Pixie Stix...Pop Rocks... The pile that ended up on the counter was bound to either make her night a little better, or a lot worse from the resulting stomach ache. The final total: $19.77.In a flurry of boops and crinkly plastic, the giant pile of candy was transformed into three bags, triple wrapped against the rain. "This should feed the void for a little while. And hey, if you get tired of all the sugar, maybe go to the park when it's sunny and share it with someone. Helping people, or at least making them smile, can be another kind of sweet and warm, you know?." Todd, in general, didn't really feel lonely too often, or the need to be around people or make friends. But working at the place has always been a lesson in people needing different kinds of fuels to get them going, or keep them going for just a little bit longer.
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Posted: Thu Jun 15, 2023 10:37 am
Nodding and following the human with a rather awed expression on her face, Genevieve handed over the bill and hoped it would be enough. Honestly the concept of this human money was still new but…clearly this guy knew what he was doing and would see that there wasn’t more than she could pay for.
“I…see! You are extremely knowledgeable, and I love the unicorn! I…I will do that, the sharing with someone that…that does sound very nice indeed! Maybe it would make them feel a bit better about everything!”
Genevieve wasn’t sure how else she could help in this world…on this planet but…what this worker said was true…she could do little things and eventually…
“I will do that tomorrow! I think…I think that will help me a lot. I have felt so useless and now…” Her eyes were sparkling as she looked at Todd, as though he had just fixed all of her problems. “Thank you!”
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Posted: Thu Jun 15, 2023 1:56 pm
"You're a good kid," Todd grinned. "If you ever need 10pm-to-5am snacking advice, you know where to find me." He gave her a thumb's up, "Feel better soon, yeah?"
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