Things Reborn, 1/21

[swipedthatfoot.livejournal.com]

It was freezing and dark and Claire had decided the snow could just go back where it came from, thanks, as she opened the store. She'd seen it now, and she wasn't much of a fan.

Inside the shop, she busied herself putting the entire stock of blankets and winter coats in the window. It might help her actually sell something, and moving helped her keep warm.

[OOC: Open and OCD-free!]

Comments

[intraspective]

It had taken her a good half the morning to realize that she now, actually, had a real pretext to go and scope out Claire. And so, on her lunch break Ino scurried over to the shop.

"Why is it so cold?" she asked plaintively as she stepped inside, all bundled up.

[swipedthatfoot.livejournal.com]

Ooh, hey a client. She got a quick smile. "I don't know," Claire said. "It's just mean. I thought I wanted to see snow but I'm so over it."

[intraspective]

"Snow's a lot more awesome if you've got, you know, power inside," Ino decided, taking a moment to look around the shop because heeey she hadn't been here before. "'Cause then, if you get cold, you can go get warm. Snow's pretty fun then, though probably less so if you're used to it. We don't get it often back home."

A beat.

"Hiya!"

[swipedthatfoot.livejournal.com]

"I'm from L.A.," Claire said. "We really don't get snow. Like, at all."

"And hi. Can I help you find something?"

[intraspective]

"I think we've gotten it... twice in my lifetime?" Maybe. "I'm from the Fire Country, so uh, yeah. Not a whole lot of it being cold enough to snow. We get a lot of rain in the winter instead. And I'm looking for two sweaters," Ino said lightly. "Did you have any suggestions? I'm pretty open to anything 'long as its warm."

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"It rains instead back home too," Claire nodded. "And we probably have a couple things in your size? C'mon back and I'll show you the rack."

"So do you shop vintage a lot?" she asked, as she emerged from behind the counter to lead the way. "It seems like most people n town just go to Turtle & Canary for everything."

[intraspective]

"Thanks!" she chirped, drifting after her. "Honestly? I don't really, but I'm saving up a lot of money 'cause one of the things I study in my free time is super expensive, so I figured, why not, you know, come and check out a different store? And Pixie Dust is awesome, but way too pricey for everyday wear."

The best part, Ino thought serenely, was that it was both completely a lie, and totally true.

[swipedthatfoot.livejournal.com]

"I haven't been in there at all," Claire said. "It just looks pricey, yeah. Thanks for coming in. Usually the store's way too quiet."

She arrived at the rack of sweaters and pointed Ino to the smalls. "They're organized by color."

Which ... was probably kind of obvious.

[intraspective]

"Oh, it is," she said, bouncing over to inspect the sweaters. "Pricey, I mean. But it's worth it for some things, you know? And the current owner is both a friend and in the room next to mine up at the dorms so I'd fear for my life if I didn't go there every now and then."

No she wouldn't.

"I know what you mean though 'bout the quiet, I spend a lot of time without people 'round while at work too. Which, well, isn't so bad some days but other days you just want to talk and... there's no one to talk to."

[swipedthatfoot.livejournal.com]

"I tend to be okay with not having anybody to talk to," Claire noted. "I just get bored with nothing to do. I haven't even seen Ben, he's the owner, in a while."

She idly fingered a sweater. "Where do you work?"

[intraspective]

Ino thrived on being social most of the time. "I don't see my bosses that much either, especially not since Cable-san became Mayor. He's too busy for me to bother him with idle chatter." Matter-of-factly.

She glanced up from the purple sweater she was contemplating. "I work a lot," she admitted, "I'm at the flower shop, the clinic, and Wellspring Arms."

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"And it took me half a semester to decide two classes were kind of not enough and I needed a job," Claire said, shaking her head. "So are you just crazy busy all the time?"

[intraspective]

"We're kept on a fuller schedule back home," she explained. "A day off was pretty rare, and even then there were things you couldn't skip out on. So I was going a bit crazy without a schedule like that... so I made one for myself. I've got three jobs, three classes, and... uh..." she stopped and thought about it, "...five independent projects."

Huh. That was more than she'd thought.

She held up two sweaters that were exactly the same except for the colour. "What do you think? Pale green, or royal purple?"

[swipedthatfoot.livejournal.com]

"Purple," Claire said, considering her. "I don't think pastels are really your thing."

She leaned against another rack. The girl was either insane or incredibly ambitious. "What kind of projects do you do?"

[intraspective]

"Yellow isn't too bad," she shared, putting the green one back and pleased with the answer. "I'm studying healing, shielding my mind from telepaths, gun practicing, learning how to use a spear, and a good bit of scroll work for a friend." And all her usual training.

She was... probably closer to the insane side of things, than the ambitious, really.

[swipedthatfoot.livejournal.com]

Okay, the weapons stuff Claire was used to from a semester at Fandom, even if she'd never be comfortable with it herself. Healing, she interpreted as "medicine."

The one that interested her? "You can shield your mind from telepaths?" she asked, impressed. "Like, make it so nobody can read your mind? Wait, people here really do that?"

[intraspective]

"It's bad form to do it, mind reading, I mean," she admitted. "But off the top of my head I can think of... two adults who've got the talent to do so, and there's probably more in the student body."

Ino knew that, odds were, she'd be able to do it eventually. Her dad could. [Oh, on-going canon.]

"And I don't like people in my mind, so..." she shrugged a bit.

[swipedthatfoot.livejournal.com]

"Oh my god that would suck," Claire decided. "I mean, what if you're trying to talk your way out of something and the teacher is just all" -- her eyes went intent -- "knowing everything you're thinking. Or with guys. I don't need guys in my head."

[intraspective]

"Avoid Master Skywalker then," she noted, "if you don't want to have him find out you're trying to sweet talk something. And Cable-san, 'cause half the time he'll answer what I'm thinking instead of what I'm saying."

...

"...and guy I like who tries that, I'm never talking to them again, seriously." She... hadn't thought of that before.

[swipedthatfoot.livejournal.com]

"Seriously," Claire agreed. "It would just be playing dirty."

"I'm a senior anyhow," she added. "So, I don't have to worry too much."

[intraspective]

"I swear, half the island is seniors, if feels like," Ino said, sighing. "I'm just a sophomore and it is so not fun the way people leave you behind. I'm losing... a lot of friends this time 'round. Ugh."

[swipedthatfoot.livejournal.com]

"I know, I just started settling in and now I'm leaving in a couple months," Claire said. "And there's kind of this guy, and he's in your grade and ... it's going to be hard. I mean, if something is still going on in May."

[intraspective]

"Which guy?" Ino asked, pretending her attention was mostly on the sweaters. "I mean, if you don't mind me asking."

She was awful, she knew it.

[swipedthatfoot.livejournal.com]

Yes. She was. Luckily Claire was oblivious.

"Cal Stephanides?" Claire said, like she had to think about it. "You know, skinny, dark hair ... we've only been hanging out since like Thanksgiving."

[intraspective]

She was being a lot nicer than she could be! She'd promised Cal she'd be on good behaviour!

That didn't change the fact that she wasn't being, uh, entirely truthful. But hey... she was trying.

"Oh," she said, nodding as she tugged out another sweater, this one very nearly the same blue as her eyes. "I know him. Neat. What do you think of this one? Too much blue?"