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Pixie Dust | Sunday

Alluka had wanted to attend the picnic yesterday but the store had decided that it had wanted to showcase only polka dots and while she liked those she knew they were incredibly polarizing and that most teenage boys were not likely to want to wear polka dots.

So she'd spent the day sweet-talking her store and coaxing it into being good because…

She didn't usually open on Sundays but with a new semester and new people having shown up, she thought that it was a possibility that people would want to buy some new clothes before their first classes.

Sunday dawned and, to her delight, aside from a few polka dotted items here and there, the clothes were back to their usual, wonderful, incredible assortment of options!

"Thank you!" she said, beaming around. "I love you! You're the best! Come on, Mr. Bubbles! We've got a big day ahead of us!"

New Clothes for a New You!
Start of Semester Sale!
70% off for new students / 50% off for everyone else
Flexible payment plans!

Pixie Dust is Open!

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So, the third day of wearing the same outfit wasn't making it any better and Julius had left the dorms soon after his mother's call, hoping to find somewhere that could sell him, like, a six-pack of boxers and some socks. His jeans were a bit singed, but denim hid most ills and his shirt...

Well, okay. That could use a replacement, too. In all, he figured he'd be spending at least half of all the money he had, but it would be worth it for some clean clothes. And a toothbrush.

Seeing a sign advertising 70% off though? That meant he might be able to get a few shirts and things for that much.

"Uh, hello?" he said, stepping into the store.

She'd been standing in front of the counter, tiding up some of the displays on accessories there, so she turned and beamed at her customer. Two tea cups and Mr. Bubbles, her giraffe, were by the till.

"Hi, hi!" Alluka said. "Welcome to Pixie Dust!"

And yes, yes there were totally flamingos on her dress.

"Ummm..." Julius's eyes went from the dress to the tea party to the stuffed animals and he suddenly felt very unsure. "Hi. I don't mean to interrupt but is there, ah, someone who works here that I could talk to?"

You know. Like an adult?

...He was gonna feel like such an ass.

Ah, but Alluka didn't take it personally.

"Speaking!" she chirped instead. "I graduated high school last year."

She barely looked like she was out of elementary but it was true.

"I'm Alluka, the owner of Pixie Dust."

"Oh? Oh!" Julius said, eyes wide. If anyone should have known not to judge a person by their apparent age, it was him, son of a race of mostly-immortal dragon. "I'm sorry! I just assumed - err, that is - yeah, sorry."

Nina's breakfast deserved better than to be followed up by the taste of his own foot and yet here he was, foot in mouth.

"It's okay," she said, picking up one of her tea cups. "You didn't know and now you do, so it's just fine!"

Alluka liked it when things worked out that way. Neat and simple, like colouring in the lines of a drawing.

She smiled at him over the rim of her cup. "How can I help you today?"

"I...sorta showed up here by surprise," Julius said. "Err, more than that, I sorta left home by surprise. I need a little bit of everything, and I saw the sign..."

70% off might be enough to get him a decent amount of clothing for his very limited budget.

"That happens pretty often around here," Alluka said sympathetically. "In fact, that's how I showed up too! I had to have people show me how to shop since I'd never done it before."

She set her cup down. She'd come a long way from that girl.

"How about we grab you a basket," she said, "and we'll begin with the absolute necessities... you're lucky, actually, since we're going into summer! You won't need all of the winter wear for a while yet."

"Sounds good," Julius said, a little grateful for somewhere to begin.

Because yeah. He'd mostly just put in orders over the internet when he needed new clothes, or sometimes with his mother's servants. He had also never actually gone shopping for himself, either.

Alluka swept him with a surprisingly calculating glance as she picked up a lined wicker basket from near the door.

"Socks and underthings first," she said, beckoning for him to come with her. As she wound her way through aisles of clothing, Alluka asked, "What style do you like your clothes in? Do you have a preference?"

She didn't need to ask his size. That she'd already figured out.

They came across a selection of bins. It was where she kept all the basic things people needed like socks, pantyhose, and underwear.

"Underthings your size are in these two bins," Alluka said, leaving it up to him to pick out which ones he wanted. "You can look in the others if you want, but they won't fit you. Socks are in the bins right there. You want the ones with the green tags."

Okay so he'd walked in on a little girl having a tea party and now she was in charge and already telling him what would fit with a glance alone?

It was like a whirlwind, except he was grateful for it. "Umm, I don't exactly have a style," he admitted. "I mostly wear jeans and comfortable shirts?" Which was generally another point against him, since dragons were meant to dress to impress - or intimidate. And Julius tended towards neither. "What do the green tags mean?" he asked, grabbing enough underwear for the week and then some.

Some clothing could be reworn before washing. Underwear could not.

Really, really not. Ew.

"The green tags mean they'll be in your size range," she said easily. "See, there's also blue and red and yellow tags. They're so people can tell at a glance what pairs will be their size."

Jeans and comfy shirts were... not a surprising answer, though mildly disappointing, to Alluka.

"There's nothing wrong with a basic, casual style like that," she encouraged. "Most of the students dress in similar clothing." But not all of them. "Do you prefer any colours over others?"

"Oh!" Julius said, picking up a red tagged item and comparing it with the green in his hand. "That's a really clever system! Did you come up with it?"

No need to dig through, checking sizes. Brilliant!

And, yeah, sorry about that Alluka. Julius deliberately dressed to fade into a crowd, or the wall, or anything else he thought he could fade into.

"I like green," he said, looking up at her with his electric green eyes. They were the first thing people tended to notice about him - and a dead giveaway to other dragons. The Heartstrikers were all known for their black hair and bright green eyes. And even their most virulent critics admitted it was a striking combination - though they would usually follow that comment up with another about 'Bethesda the Broodmare.'

"I implemented it here," she said, because Alluka didn't appreciate having to go through checking sizes for things like basic, boring socks. "But I got the idea from another store!"

Alluka wasn't the sort to take credit for that sort of thing.

"Something to match your eyes?" she wondered. "Or something a bit darker?"

"Oh, probably darker," Julius said. "I don't like standing out much. Oh! And, uh, blue? Cobalt blue if you have it?"

He missed his plumage already.

"We absolutely have cobalt blue," she said, beaming at the chance to pick out colours! "If you'd like more time to pick out socks, I can go pick out a few a things you might like? If you want me to?"

She'd love to, Julius. She'd love to.

Julius had just been planning to grab a couple of pairs of plain white socks. You know, the kind that went with sneakers. "Um, okay?" he said, figuring out he could try to total up how much he'd already spent while she was looking. "That would be super-helpful, thanks."

The problem with shopping with unadventurous boys was that it immediately took away all of the best choices. Coupled with the fact that he was concerned about money...

Alluka was not concerned about the money; her big sister would never forgive her if Alluka repaid her kindness for that first shopping trip by gouging other people in the same situation as she'd been in.

She picked out four pairs of jeans in the same cut as his were. One dark blue, one black, two medium blue. For shirts, she started with an assortment of basic men's tees. Two each of black, grey, and white. Then she added in a brilliant green one, a forest green one, a dark grey and dark red striped one, and an equally brilliant cobalt blue. They were cheap, after all.

Knowing that he was going to start suspecting she'd wandered off, Alluka didn't waste too much time dithering over further options, though she did add in two lovely long-sleeved shirts because they looked a little bit formal buttoned up but were super casual undone.

Deciding that she could try and talk him into more choices later, Alluka hurried back, a pile of clothes accompanying her.

"Sorry to keep you waiting!"

Honestly, if he hadn't been worried about money, he would have at least considered the second long-sleeved shirt. But right now, he was limiting himself to just the basics.

"Oh, that's okay," Julius said, because he was a patient person. "I appreciate all the help you're--umm." He was looking at the number of shirts in the basket. Eleven. And four pants. Add that to the underwear and socks... "We should maybe talk about my budget..."

"If you insist," Alluka said, all big, blue eyes staring up at him. "But I can assure you that it will come out to precisely what you're able to afford."

Because this is how it worked on the island, Julius.

Julius, perhaps unsurprisingly, misunderstood. "Is there some kind of spell on the store?" he asked, looking around like he could see hints of it if he focused.

"...Yes," Alluka said, nodding seriously. "That's exactly why it doesn't really matter! The spell will make it come out right, especially since you're a first time shopper and a new student."

Kathy, she figured, would approve of this lie.

Kathy one hundred percent would. The boy needed clean clothing, dammit.

Julius, for his part, looked impressed. "That's a really smart spell," he said, relaxing a little, shoulders smoothing out from their hunch. "Is that it, then?" he asked. "Everything I can get and still stay below budget?"

And this way she could help him without hurting his pride!

"Nope," Alluka said, leaning forward as if telling him a secret. "There's room enough left for one more item! I thought I'd let you pick the last one out in case anything caught your eye."

"Really?" Julius asked, glancing towards the pile of clothing. "That's - wow. This is a really good discount, thanks!"

He wandered over towards the green-tagged men's shirts. He lingered over a shirt that might even have gotten Alluka's approval, but eventually shook his head and went for something a little more utilitarian

"I figured I should grab something a little fancier than t-shirts," he explained, bringing it back. "Just in case there's something that I should dress up for."

She sighed a little, internally, when he passed up the first shirt. It would have been perfect! The second, though, well... at least the white contrasted pleasingly with the blue.

They all had to start somewhere, after all, and it was a step up from the basic tees.

"It's the spell's doing, not mine!" she said blithely, now firmly committed to this idea. "But you're welcome! And the fancier shirt," 'fancier shirt', "will definitely come in handy. There's a number of dances and parties throughout the year that the school holds."

That shirt was not a 'fade into the background and be overlooked' shirt, Alluka! It was very much a 'notice me!' shirt and therefore dangerous. He was not yet prepared for 'notice me' shirts, ohh no.

"There are?" And now he was looking worried. "Are they mandatory?"

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Pixie Dust | Sunday

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