Welcome to Gaia! ::

Taking a moment to really take in Elaine's choice of wardrobe, Myth shivered even as she grinned back. How Elaine could wear shorts when it was cold out was beyond her. But if she was comfortable, who was Myth to complain? Hell, she probably thought Myth was the weirdo for her leggings, boots and sweater.

"Good mornin', Sunshine," she said, instead of vocalizing her thoughts. "Looking gorgeous as ever." Smiling, Myth fetched her keys from her pocket, fidgeting with them as she eyed the ads. Arching an eyebrow, she couldn't help but shake her head in admiration. "Thorough as ever too. I don't think I've put that much thought into my scrounging in a while. Tell me what you found while we walk to the truck?" The request was an easy enough way to give Elaine that twenty minutes for her caffeine to kick in. And it would give her time to figure out which sales would be the most likely to have the good s**t.

"Nothing in particular," she finally said after considering. "Fancy furniture seems to move well, but none of my regulars has mentioned wanting anything lately. I wouldn't mind more old saris though. People are crazy for old silks. Hell, for that matter, I love old silk. Maybe some vintage clothing if we can find anything that doesn't look too moth-eaten. I mean, Halloween is coming up. And some people do love whipping up costumes using hand me downs." She give laugh a little at the offer of getting dibs because of the shop. It was a kind thought, but they were both entirely likely to get things just because said things would look good ensconced within their wonders. After a moment, she pointed to an only slightly beat up pickup truck that had been painted pearl pink with little flowers down the sides. "Here she is! Hop on in and let's get this show on the road!"

Looking pleased, but mildly embarrassed at the same time, Myth grinned and got into the truck. Yeah, it was pretty cute, but parade worthy? That she wasn’t so sure of. “I’ll take that suggestion under advisement,” she said, chuckling. “I’m not sure I have the right temperament for a parade.” More like she didn't have the patience to deal with authority figures who would be likely to throw all manner of rules at her.

“You are absolutely the official Navigator for this little expedition,” she instead said as she got herself settled and buckled in. Holding out her hands for Elaine’s coffee and printouts, she held onto them until her friend was comfortably settled and then handed them back. “And on this ship, Navigator gets radio privileges, so pick out something good for us.” Elaine got an approving smile for the term ‘vacation home project’ and a nod. They could indeed talk in code if there was a chance of someone overhearing something they shouldn’t. Not that Myth was all that worried about undercover agents being at estate sales, but you never knew. Starting up the truck, she carefully pulled into the street and tapped her fingers against the steering wheel.

“So, like one of those old timey screens like in an old Katherine Hepburn movie? Or more Japanese in flavor? Any of your ads mention any names for who the estates belonged to? If they do, pick me out something feminine sounding and we’ll try our luck. And if we can’t find you a screen at one of those places, I know a decent consignment shop that’s likely to have something.” Granted the something might only be a frame, but Myth had time, creativity and a shitpile of fancy fabrics. She’d make a screen if it came down to it.

Less urgent than it was? Well, that sounded weird. However, Myth simply clocked it as most likely being Elaine had wanted the screen for privacy. Nail had probably unwittingly walked in on her in the buff. It made sense when taken into account with how quickly she’d worked to bring up any other subject, plus the choice in music. Since it wasn’t harming anyone, Myth was happy enough to let herself be distracted. Nodding in time to the music, she risked a sideways glance at the page in Elaine’s hand. “Hey, I like promising. Promising usually means I can find at least one neat thing.” She simply laughed at the dust comment. Considering the double lives they led, dust was simply an occupational hazard.

Nodding in thanks as the phone with its directions was held where she could see, Myth took a moment to consider the question. “Don’t get me wrong, I like watching parades,” she began. “I’m just not sure I would enjoy being in one. I’m sure there are rules that would annoy me, like would they make me do the Queen wave or could I wave like a normal person? Would they make me do something to the truck that I would hate? But mostly? I don’t think I’d enjoy being on display. Ugh, even thinking about it gives me the creeps,” she added with a dramatic little shudder that was, perhaps, only half for show. Maybe it was an age thing? Teenage her probably would have enjoyed being in a parade. Hell, even twenty something her might’ve liked it. “I dunno, Elaine. It just doesn’t sound appealing at all to me. Guess I’m just getting old.”

]Laughing, Myth conceded the point. “I mean, I get passing glances, but people aren’t actively, like, watching me. Y’know? It’s funny. I was such a show-offy little s**t when I was younger. Maybe that’s part of it. I did so much intentional showing off that now it feels wrong to me. Not that I necessarily want to hide away now,” her voice trailed off as she sighed and casually flipped off another driver for not signaling. She drove in silence for a moment, putting on just enough speed to get away from the idiot. “Hazards of early morning driving. Betcha five bucks that ******** is coming off of an overnight shift. Or he’s just an a*****e.”

Glancing once more at the directions, Myth smiled. They were almost there. Her wallet was already beginning to cry. “I got a good feeling about this one. Anyway, I’m not trying to hide away. I guess I just want to be more intentional about how I put myself out into the world. Especially when I’m not actively sparkling.”

And that was the thing, wasn’t it. She wanted people to see and appreciate Myth before Myth was subsumed by Nis. But she didn’t want to do it by peacocking around. She thought that she was more effective when she was quiet. Now Elaine, on the other hand, was made to be out there and golden and charming. Myth had zero problems in admitting to herself that Elaine had enough charm and charisma for a score of people.And it was just as intentional as Myth quiet. Both ways worked fine and made life a little more interesting.

“Also,” she grinned, “since I hadn’t stated so directly, I’ll happily drive you around so you can wave at people and wear a tiara. Who knows, maybe by the time I reach that point, I’ll feel the same way. Still not gonna do the Queen wave, though.”

The moment they entered, Myth’s eyes ran over the room. Dusty, yes, but still some good stuff. They’d have to be careful to not wipe themselves out on the first stop. She’d snorted in agreement with Elaine’s assessment on the lack of stink before smiling and making a beeline for the clothes. “And root, I shall,” she murmured, chuckling. “It’s absolutely ******** hideous and probably someone’s dream garment.” She grabbed it, knowing that if she didn't someone else would and she didn’t feel like engaging in a knock down this early. Draping it over her arm, she followed Elaine and arched an eyebrow at the pile of velvet. “Velvet would for sure suit the place. And this stuff looks pretty good, other than being a bit faded.”

Honestly though the faded color made it even more perfect for the Garde in her opinion. Reaching out to inspect a panel, she stroked the velvet and nodded. Nice stuff, she couldn’t see any moth-eaten spots. “It looks good to me. Let’s grab it and you can think about it while we poke around,” she suggested before pausing and shaking her head in amusement. “You did not tell me about the pavilions. If this stuff resembles them, even more reason to grab it! If you wanted, I’m pretty sure we could add gold paint to these and have it look amazing.” Trust Elaine to find more cute and interesting things at the Vacation Home.

Sifting through the velvet panels, Myth saw a flash of deep wine red and seized on it, gently pulling it out from under the pile. Velvet again, though this looked more like a bolt of the material than a finished piece. “Well, look at that,” she murmured, carefully removing the bolt from the pile. “It would appear our estate owner had a creative side. I wonder what plans they’d had for this lovely stuff…” She lost herself for a second in the velvet before coming to a decision and scooping the whole thing into her arms. “I’ll find a use for it. I’d be a damned fool to leave this behind. And as for him,” she added, smiling wryly. “I’m pretty sure you could put a party hat in front of him and he’d just be confused. Not exactly the partying sort, our Nail.” This was said with matter-of-fact amusement. She decided that it was safe enough to use his nickname and act as if he was simply an older relation. The people who flocked to sales like this all understood about Older Relations.

“My dear Elaine,” she said after a moment, “if you want to have a party out there, do it. The logistics might make it a bit difficult, but not impossible. He can sit and sulk if he likes, but there’s no reason why you can’t throw a grand ol’ shindig at the vacation house. Hell, I’ll help if you like. It would be fun and you could use your pavilions.” To Myth’s mind, the only real setback to such a gathering would be transporting them all there. And she was certain that the Code or a Mauvian could make the job easier. They just had to figure out how.

Glancing around, she spotted a few more things that would be fun to grab. Looking down at the wine red velvet in her arms, an idea sparked and she glanced over at Elaine and grinned. “I think my wishlist just grew. If you spot any old furs, point me to ‘em? And I think I want your opinion on that old, metal sun slash moon face over there. Would it look too off at my place?”

The old metal gleamed, but it clearly needed a good cleaning. Myth was imagining it on one of the alcove walls where the candlelight would dance and ripple across the beaten metallic surface.

Throwing Elaine a grateful smile, Myth nodded. Overall, she thought, it was a pretty good way of explaining Nail. Though if he was getting better about visitors, it was entirely because of Elaine forcing some sunshine into his afterlife. "I'll get it too, then. Pity these things don't come equipped with shopping carts."

She considered for a moment. She knew that Elaine, Joy, had a slightly prickly relationship with the Code and she didn't want to ruin a pleasant day. All the same, it was something that wouldn't hurt to consider. Clearing her throat a little, she glanced around to make sure no one was paying too much attention to them. Then, "Ah, have you considered talking to your... groundskeeper?" she asked, grateful for a term that would seemed innocuous to anyone but them. "They might have some know-how squirreled away. And I like the sound of your friend. Boils are amazing."

Did her wonder crave people, she wondered. It was so clearly a place that had never seen much in the way of habitation that she couldn't imagine it being thrilled with lots of people around. But then, she was a Cosmos knight. From what she'd managed to figure out over time, her brethren weren't really meant to run big outposts. We're diplomats and guides. Not a lot of call for parties there.

Elaine's question came as something of a welcome distraction from her own thoughts. Smiling, she hugged the fabric for a moment before looking cagey. "Well, if I told you that would ruin the surprise," she teased. There was more than enough velvet in her arms to make a few full winter cloaks. And that being the case, why not make one for herself and use the rest for friends? That was where any furs they might find would come in. She could use that for trim and as a way of differentiating things. "But seriously, I thought it might make a pretty cloak for when it starts to get cold. I've always wanted to own a fancy as ******** cloak."

"Thank you, but no. You're going to be the one on top of my truck and wearing the tiara," Myth replied, laughing. "You can wear the fancy cloak then." She wasn't that concerned about the lack of a reply regarding the Code. She'd half expected it. But she was reasonably certain that Elaine had listened and would think about it in her own time.

"Not too worried about feeling majestic, either," she added, smiling. "I'd just prefer to not freeze my a** off like I did last winter. But y'know, if I can be warm and look kick-a**, I'm all for it."

Considering the armful of stuff, she gnawed on her lip in thought. "Hrmm... What do you think? Pay for this stuff and ask them to hold it til we're ready to leave? There's still rooms we haven't see yet."