18.03.2019 Who needs fashion?

The price of fashion?
Teagan takes Saskia clothes shopping.
Players	Teagan, Saskia
Location	Fifth Third Strip Mall
Spheres	Mage

Transcript

Hopefully this isn't a trap, as Saskia is standing off to the left of the parking lot entrance. She's standing there, her hands tucked into the pockets of her coat, it's mostly buttoned up with a few left undone at the top. It looks like she's wearing the same Tshirt as before, still coffee stained. Woopsie. Azure eyes dart and twitch towards people as they come and go, hordes of people, it's pretty packed in here but she seems quite observant. Her eyes like a cat, with someone jiggling something infront of them. She looks like a fish out of water, a little uncomfortable in a crowd.

Though, she does manage to spot Teagan over the massive press of bodies filtering in an out to consume capitalism in its purist form, a strip mall, full of Overindulged decadence of the first world. One palm flutters from her coat, and she raises it up to wave at her, beckoning her over.

Teagan is busy looking at her phone as she makes her way over to the parking lot. In addition to a change of clothes, it also looks like she's done her hair up differently, now streaked with white. Bumping into a passerby, Teagan's attention is shifted back to the real world with a quiet "Sorry!" to whoever she walked into. It doesn't take long for her to spot Saskia waving at her, and she returns the gesture with a wide smile and a wave of her own. Being just far enough away as to where she'd have to shout to be heard, Teagan starts heading over towards Saskia.

"See? Not a trap. You can pat me down if you'd like, but you wouldn't find anything." she says, still smiling. "Oh, and sorry I kept you waiting, I couldn't find my wallet. My cat decided it would be a funny prank to hide it. Long story. You doing alright?"

Saskia narrows her eyes a little at Teagan, as she offers herself up for a patdown. "You're clear." She states, her voice hard and sharp, but she punctuates it with a smile. She's clearly joking, and she does give the person Teagan bumped into a little stink eye as the passerby bumbles through. "All good, don't sweat on the small stuff. As they say." As she butchers the colloquialism in her unique way, "I've only been here a few minutes, if that." She brushes off the comment, and glances around, planning their trajectory. "Your hair is different," She points out the obvious, and tilts her head a little to get a better look at it. "I like it, makes you seem..." She fumbles for the word, rolling her wrist. "Dramatic?" She shrugs, rolling her shoulders. That probably wasn't it.

Teagan chuckles at Saskia's comment. "Yeah, long story that too. I'd offer to tell you about it over a cup of coffee, but we both know what happened last time. Apparently you can be allergic to iron." She bites her lip as she appraises Saskia's outfit. Looking back up at her, she has a look of exaggerated disappointment on her face. "Cargo pants? Really?" Shielding her eyes from the sun, she looks over to the mall. "I think you could totally rock some grunge threads, mitkommen." she clearly mispronounces the German, but doesn't seem to care. Making a gesture for Saskia to follow she starts walking off towards an alternative clothes store.

The small store has an 80s-looking sign with the words "URBAN EXILES" written on it in bold letters, with the A encircled. Teagan opens the door for Saskia, and the air immediately fills with the sounds of blaring guitars and loud drums. "Mademoiselle", she beckons for the woman to enter with a royal curtsy.

"I don't want to be caught in a bad situation wearing tight skinny jeans, Teagan." Saskia answers, clicking her tongue and snapping her hands to her hips. "Anyone here could be a stabber, or mugger... or whatever, right?" She intones, flicking out a finger to indicate someone with their hood up. "See, look at that man. Could be anything under that hood, right?" She wiggles her fingers in a mystical fashion, "Or nothing at all, Wohooho~" She jests, smirking as she does. Those blazing azure eyes roll sarcastically, and follows along behind Teagan, and off to her left as her hands stuff back into the pockets of her long, double-breasted coat. "...Everybody loves pockets." She mumbles under her tongue, likely in line with the thing about cargo pants from earlier.

She inclines her head towards Teagan in a big nod, as the white knight opens the door for her. "Thank you." She says, and swiftly brushes inside, and holds it open from her side to return the favour. Very chivalrous.

Teagan swings herself around to the other side of the door by holding onto the handle. She nods appreciatively to Saskia and starts looking at all the various shelves from her vantage point by the entrance. The small shop is stacked full of clothes and accessories, most of them black. Punky grunge pop is played at a volume just loud enough to muffle quiet conversation. Behind the counter stands a young man with short black hair, who seems to be preoccupied with his phone. There's a handful of people in here, who are quietly sifting through clothes racks.

Gently tugging at Saskia's arm Teagan drags her further into the store, and stops right next to a rack of patterned flannel shirts. Smiling, she looks to Saskia and asks: "Flannels?" Before she has time to answer Teagan has already started pulling a shirt off the rack to compare it next to Saskia.

"Did someone spill a tin of blank paint in here, or is this intentional? Someone should look into this." Saskia queries dryly, to nobody in particular. A few customers give her an odd look, and she returns clipped smiles, like someone who's just learned their face can move. She looks pretty out of place here, her stout, powerful figure and utilitarian clothes rarely fits in with the pasty skinned hipsters that flock around the shop. She's pulled along by Teagan, her feet only dragging a little, tiny bit.

"Flannel, sticks out a little bit don't you think?" She queries, narrowing her eyes, and reaches out to pinch the fabric between her fingers. "Good material, slightly fire resistant." She states, "Looks goo- Wait, are you trying to dress me?" She asks, looking down at Teagan and tilting her head. A smile manages to wiggle onto her face.

Teagan smiles wryly and makes an effort to dramatically avert Saskia's gaze. "I would never. Now, hold on to that." she says and turns to a nearby shelf full of graphic tees. Picking out a cropped Joy Division top with long sleeves, she hands it to Saskia. "I think this is your size..." she says casually as she continues wandering down the aisles. Picking out a few other shirts and tank tops plastered with band logos and album art. Eventually she arrives at her intended destination, the pants section. Handing Saskia the small pile of tops, she unfolds her arms to present the wide selection of garments on display. Clearly taking a lot of pleasure in this act, she stifles a laugh before speaking up. "I present to you: civilized fashion." she curls her hands and quickly extends her fingers while making a "Fwoosh" sound. Dryly, she continues: "We're not leaving until you pick out a pair."

Saskia does hold on to that, for she must, else Teagan will probably smack her in the chops. She's holding it at arms length though, all stiff and rigid as the thing might come alive and flay her soul to ribbons. Could happen. She eyes it warily, narrowing her vision, it's not going to catch her unawares that's for sure. She gives Teagan the tide eye, as the girl drifts off to find more and more torture devices. Tentatively she folds the flannel over her arm as the other clothes get laid onto it like a human coat hanger. Soon enough, even with her strength, she's in avalanche conditions now and her end will come at any point. Clearly, out of her depth here. What is even happening?

"You're very..." She tries to roll her wrist, but under the absolute mess of clothes strewn over her arms, she can't "Energetic. Is that the word?" She asks, as her fingers flip through the clothes, and can't help but try to hide her smile. "civilized fashion is overrated, Teagan." She claims, "But one must make efforts to fit in, yes?" She breathes out a amused puff as Teagan makes the Fwoosh noise, "An ultimatum, then? Dangerous." She breathes in, the cogs turning in her head as she's forced into making a decision. "The crop top," She decides first, picking her way through the clothes like one might defuse a bomb.

Teagan raises an eyebrow at Saskia's choice. "Bold. I like it. However, we still have to get you out of those pants." She stops for a moment to reflect on what she just said, and turns a couple of shades more red, clearing her throat she adds: "And, of course, into another pair. Of pants. Not of the cargo variety." Clearing her throat she grabs a few different cuts of pants and hangs them over her arm. She turns to Saskia to speak up, but has an epiphany looking at her. Quickly turning back around she grabs something off of a shelf. With another twirl, she faces Saskia holding not only the pants, but also a pair of round sunglasses with pearlescent lenses. She places the sunglasses over Saskia's eyes and hands her the pants. "Try these on!" she says with a proud smile.

"Bold, that's who I am. Saskia the Bold." Saskia declares, and if she didn't have arms full of clothes she would probably punch her chest, because hwy not. Though, the comment about getting her out of her pants takes her a little off guard. The strawberry hue of Teagans cheeks ignites another smile to skitter across her pale lips. "And there we go again," She jabs, "The strawberry ancestry. A proud heritage, to be sure." She even breathes out a quiet chuckle, and one of the clothes almost slips from her arms, but she catches it on her elbow and stuffs it back into the midden.

"Nice save." She adds, "Takes a bit more than throwing clothes at me to get me out of my pants." She advises, and almost flinches backwards as Teagan settles those big sunglasses over her eyes. A little twitch, at least. She blinks. "Fetching?" She asks, tilting her head.

"Shut up!" she exclaims playfully, obviously not trying to be threatening. Mumbling something barely audible about it being her fault, Teagan takes a moment to settle down.

A deep exhale is followed by stunted laughter as she watches Saskia accommodate to her new shades. "Positively! Just hold it there for ooone second, ..." She says as she fishes out a phone from her back pocket. "Say cheese!" A camera shutter sound effect plays and Teagan looks very satisfied as she stuffs her phone back into her pocket. "Now try those on! If I'm exposed to that getup for any longer I think I might go fully blind." She shoos Saskia off to the changing booths, taking a seat on a nearby stool as she waits.

"Cheese?" Saskia answers a little unsure as a question, eyebrows turning to a frown. She's obviously misunderstood, but she said the word so by the law of the Cosmos, Teagan must take the picture. She does catch on eventually, and flares her eyes in understanding. "Oh-" She breathes out, and goes so far as to adopt an awkward posture. She tilts her head thusly, and places her hands on her hips. "It- It does the job!" She complains, as Teagan verbally burns her current attire, and the stout woman is thusly ushered off into the changing rooms. "Scheisse!" Comes a complaint from inside, and no doubt she has some sort of argument with the attendant.

It takes her a minute or two, and she emerges wearing her new attire. She looks like these are the first clothes she's ever worn, she is not graceful in the slightest. She's wearing a joy- patrol crop top, exposing a line of abs at her midriff, and a pair of stylish trousers. Those shades too, quite a getup. "Do I look sufficiently -normal- now?" She asks Teagan, with a hint of amusment through her dry voice.

Teagan looks up from her phone as Saskia re-emerges from the changing room, and is quickly overtaken by a wave of joy. Putting her phone down to give Saskia a couple quick claps, she smiles broadly. "You look, uh..." Teagan glances at her phone, and looks back to Saskia. "wunderschonen..?" She laughs at her attempt at pronouncing the word. "You ready to pay? Or, err, for me to pay, for you. Still owe you for that T-shirt." Getting up from her seated position she calls out to the store clerk who begrudgingly makes his way over to them. "Can you scan these?" It's more of a statement than a question, but he obliges as Teagan helps Saskia reveal the various price tags on her new clothes. After everything's been registered Teagan follows the man back to the counter and hands him a number of dollar bills. With pride in her steps, she walks back over to Saskia. "Done! Up top?" she extends a hand into the air in anticipation for a high-five.

Saskia looks really, really awkward in her new clothes. Gone are her utilitarian, mostly boring but practical attire. She looks ready to party, or at least taken for a normal member of the human race, at any rate. Her gait is even off, she's either walking too quickly or too slowly- almost bumps into Teagan too, as the girl pesters the cashier. "Hmmm." She mumbles, and she's got her old clothes bundled up under her arm. She smiles at her companion, "Wunderschonen." She echoes, no doubt correcting the pronunciation. "You know what- I should get pretty girls to throw coffee in my face more often." She muses, touching a finger to her chin.

Once everything is scanned and sorted, she shoots the cashier a respectful nod. The pasty looking emo behind gives her an odd look. And she turns aside, "Up top?" She queries, "Oh-" And she raises that cannonball of hers, ready to smack Teagan into the next world- but her phone rings in her pocket, totally harshing her center. If she was any less focused, she might've smacked Teagan right in the nose. Thankfully, she's more accurate than that, and slaps her hand with a hard 'Thwack!' Not to hurt, but it'll probably leave a mark for a second.

"Sorry, must answer this." She fumbles in her pocket, and draws out an utterly ancient mobile phone, a flip phone, probably older than she is. She holds it up to her ear, "YES?" She calls out loudly, and lets off a series of german sentences. It sounds quite heated, "Sorry, Teagan." As she flips it closed with a 'click'. "I must go. Important." She steps forward, "Thank you for the clothes, really. I'll pay you back somehow," She looks uncertain of how to end the exchange, frowns to herself, raises her hand in a tentative motion... and ruffles Teagan's hair. "You've a good soul." She compliments, and starts to make a hasty exit.

"Don't make me make it a habit." she threatens playfully. Teagan recoils a bit after the high five, and shakes her hand to make it sting less. Managing to smile through the pain she responds: "This was me paying you back, don't get it mixed up. But-" She's interrupted by Saskia deciding to ruffle her hair up. "Hey!" is the last word she gets in before Saskia runs off.