[Mini-Mingle] A Shopping Trip

[henchgal]

Given that those who're staying at the ADI housing are getting a clothing allowance, Meredith has taken it upon herself to organize a shopping trip to the Marshalls at Gloucester Crossing. The store is full of surprising deals, and a wide enough variety of clothing that people of all genders might find something interesting. There's even some of the new fall selections in stock already.

While Meredith's been sure to grab those who obviously need a little help, and those who'll obviously enjoy the chance to get out of ADI territory, everyone's welcome to come along for the trip.

(ooc: feel free to tag around with one another as well as me, this is just a fun way to introduce our characters to one another)

Comments

Thackery Binx | Hocus Pocus | ota

[twistedbones]

Coming along to the shop was a stupid mistake. He doesn't have need of any clothing--he's told that the human illusion, on top of the boon of actually looking like his true face, comes fully dressed (no one's been able to quite describe the clothing to him--anyone who looks at him just sees him wearing something nondescript enough not to catch particular notice or stick in their memory). And what more is there? He's lived three hundred years without buying anything, and he honestly doesn't know what he'll do with the money he has now. For all his observation of the people around him as the decades dragged by, this is one area he hasn't kept up on.

Which is why he'd been curious enough to tag along. He's become something of a people-watcher in his long life, and most stores would chase out a stray cat, or worse, call animal control. This is a new opportunity to see how normal people live their lives.

Right now he's definitely not looking normal himself. It's disconcerting being constantly acknowledged--or rather, a point about five feet above his head being acknowledged and addressed. Looking for a brief reprieve from the onslaught of unaccustomed social demand, he's slipped under the merchandise into the center of a round clothes rack. Normally that would be a perfectly serviceable hiding spot; he's a little addled right now and hasn't taken into account that it definitely looks like a teenage boy is sitting in wait under a bunch of dresses in the women's petites section--not a good look. At least one or two normal shoppers have noticed; unless someone more understanding intervenes, he's liable to get hauled out by security.

[henchgal]

Meredith is (fortunately or not, it's hard to say) glancing at that rack, when she notices there's a person in there. Yelping, she stumbles backwards, clutching her cane defensively.

"What are you doing down there?"

[twistedbones]

Thackery startles and scuttles back, though no more than a few inches. His arched back translates through the illusion to shoulders hunched in defense, flattened ears to a furrowed brow. "Keep it down!" he snaps back. "I'm--"

What is he doing? He has the sense to look embarrassed, cheeks appearing to color. "I'm tired," he says a little curtly.

[henchgal]

"The dressing room might be a better place for a nap. Better than looking like you're peeking up skirts."

The glower she gives him is ice-cold, as she re-gathers her dignity to herself.

[twistedbones]

His mouth actually drops open at the not-quite-an-accusation. "I am not!" he exclaims. "What do you take me for? Some sort of--of pervert?"

[henchgal]

"It doesn't matter what I think you are. What matters is what it looks like--what someone else could mistake you for doing."

Appearances are everything; no one knows this better than Meredith.

[twistedbones]

"Right."

His pinched, aggrieved expression looks out of place on his youthful features, but at least he's accepting the criticism. Thackery lets out a heavy, put-upon sigh and slinks out from under the clothes rack. "I suppose I should get used to this."

Slinks is the word for the way he slips out from under the dresses, barely disturbing any of them. The mind tends to fill in blanks, so he must have either slid out on his belly or pushed them aside to get out, but there's just something...off. The space was too small for a human of his size to move that easily. He appears to stand before her, looking her up and down curiously. "Are you with ADI?" he asks, realizing he probably ought to settle that question quickly lest he say something he shouldn't to one of the locals.

[henchgal]

"Yes. Pretty recently-arrived, though. Still getting a handle on everything. I'm Meredith." She offers a hand to shake.

[twistedbones]

"You could say the same of me. I'm Binx--or Thackery, if you prefer."

He doesn't move to offer his hand in return for a long moment, then gives an awkward little wave instead of actually shaking her hand. "That's not going to work," he says, torn between amusement and chagrin.

[henchgal]

"Which do you prefer?" That is what's important where names are concerned. She seems a little less cool about the handshake being refused, her head tilting to one side and eyes narrowing slightly.

"Why won't it work?"

[twistedbones]

"It's just refreshing to be called by my name at all," confesses Binx. "And it won't work because I'm not there. Not in the way you're seeing right now."

[henchgal]

"Huh?" And then her eyebrows raise and she nods. "Oh, I see. So you don't even really need to shop at all, then. What, you came for the social opportunity?"

[twistedbones]

"I...haven't been inside a shop in a few hundred years," he admits, looking sheepish. "I don't know what I expected."

[henchgal]

"Oh, geez, you're old." That comes out before she catches herself. "I mean...sorry. It's probably a little overwhelming for you here, huh? The music, the fluorescent lights..."

[twistedbones]

"I'm not some sort of hermit," he objects, despite the fact that he is, indeed, some sort of hermit. "I've seen...things. Modern stuff. But...yes, if I'm being honest. I'd have been chased out of a place like this by now without the illusion. And people keep...addressing me."

He sighs; whatever gesture he makes with his actual paws translates to restlessly running fingers through his hair. "You don't realize how little you're used to something ordinary until it comes back."

[henchgal]

"Clearly you need to hang out with the rest of us more often, so you can get used to being treated like you're here. Right?"

Meredith hasn't get wondered much about what he actually is. She's not completely incurious, but that prying wouldn't be polite. She'll learn when she needs to know.

[twistedbones]

"I'd...I'd like that, I think."

He'd liked spending Halloween night with Max, Dani, and Allison. It had been good to actually speak to people again, even if they were a bunch of hapless children. It seems the one blessing this place has given him is the chance to go on being around people, overwhelming as it is.