Not a special day. Just a day.

[ribbonbon]

Who: Pilouette and you
Where: District 3 and later, District 1
When: December 9th, Early afternoon through early evening
Summary: Pilouette runs into people during a typical day of selling sweets and post-work shopping.
Warnings: Possible bouts of silliness?



In the six months or so that Pilouette has been in Saeng Seong, she's managed to get used to being there. She's not necessarily happy about it, but she's gotten used to it. Over time, a neat little schedule eventually built itself up and today isn't much different. For most of the afternoon, Pilouette will be at her job, working in a small sweets shop in District 3. During her shift, she might be behind the counter or straightening. Just out of habit, she greets anyone who walks in with a smile and an automatic "Welcome! How can I help you today?"

After work, she heads over to the mall. She mostly window shops and, though she's not intending to actually buy anything, Pilouette spends an especially long amount of time of time looking at various small pieces of furniture. There wasn't much in her apartment that wasn't there when she arrived. After all, much of the furniture looked pretty pricey and she's not sure she really needs any of it, as nice as some of these things would be to have.

A bit later, on her way home, she makes her way to the grocery store to do her usual food shopping for the week. Along with the regular things like potatoes and milk, Pilouette looks over the various native foods, trying to decide what new thing she wants to try this week, carefully inspecting the various fruits and vegetables. Before long, she's on her way back to her apartment, groceries in hand. She's sort of come to enjoy the walk home.

...It's not home. It's just her apartment.

Comments

[ribbonbon]

"Shinju! Hi!" Pilouette's automatic smile turns genuine as she approaches him. She can't help but be a little excited to see a friend. Pilouette's sure that someone wouldn't come all the way to the store just to visit her, but she's glad to see him nonetheless.

"I've been okay! Like, how are you? What's up? Running errands or something?"

[hellfire_gouka]

"Sort of. I've been looking around for a new coat on and off," he replies, "but I haven't found much so far. I've been wanting to come check this place out, so I decided to come here first." He runs a hand through his somewhat damp hair--he'd gotten used to the weather, but his hair still fell flat even when it was only sprinkling.

"But I'm doing well, other than the cold and the wet. I can't wait until the spring, if this place has a spring."

[ribbonbon]

Pilouette giggles quietly. "Well, I guess this is probably the best season for coat hunting...and there's like, gotta a be a spring. There's a summer and winter at least," she replies. "I bet it'll be really nice, too..."

Or so she hopes. Aside from the rather...strange things that had occurred in this city, summer and autumn hadn't been all that bad. The festivals probably helped.

"Besides, winter isn't all that bad if you ask me. I think the cold weather is kinda nice. It's kinda nice to bundle up with a nice cup of cocoa sometimes, you know?"

[hellfire_gouka]

"I guess we'll just have to wait and see." He would look forward to whatever the next season was. As long as it wasn't like this all the time.

"Yeah, I'm fine with winter back home. I always liked to sit near the fireplace and watch movies when it got snowy, but all of this rain is killing me. I'm surprised everything hasn't flooded..."

He much preferred the snow. This much rain meant floods and getting sick and feeling sleepy all the time to him.

[ribbonbon]

"Yeah...Now that you mention it, it'd be a lot nicer if it wasn't wet and cold out," she says, looking toward the store front window. Cold weather and rain were fine on their own, but when the two are combined, Pilouette really wants no part of it.

She sighs, smiling a little. "Well, at least it's easy enough to get somewhere warm. ...It's probably easier to stay somewhere warm though. Business has been a little bit slow today. I mean, it's never really all that fast either, but..."

[hellfire_gouka]

"I know what you mean," he replies. "It's slow at the restaurant, too. But I guess that kind of gives you time to do other things."

Though less money, for him. Less business means less tips... but he won't let it stop him from getting everything he plans to get for people. It's not like he has anything else to spend money on.

"Speaking of business, though, I've been looking for some gifts, too. Any recommendations?"

[ribbonbon]

"I guess you have a point...if there aren't any customers I have more time to keep the shop all neat," she replies. It's probably not quite what he meant, but Pilouette is pretty focused on work. After all, even if there are no customers, she'll still be there. She brightens up just a tiny bit when he asks about recommendations. If there's anything she knows about, it's sweets!

"Well, you already know about the leaf wafer. Those are pretty good no matter what," she says. "If you want something a little fancier, the candied fruit peels are really great! They use a lot of fruits I've never heard of, so they're kind of exciting to try, you know?"

[hellfire_gouka]

Well, that's certainly a possible "other thing." He has to commend her work ethic. She really does take a lot of things seriously...

"Candied fruit peels," he repeats, looking thoughtful. He's sure he can give them to someone who'd enjoy them--most people enjoy sweets, right? And the mystery that comes with the new kinds of fruit is just a bonus. "Those do sound pretty nice. Do you have them in a variety pack or anything?"

[ribbonbon]

"Oh! Totally!" Pilouette walks over to a nearby shelf and picks up one of the boxes. "There's a couple different kinds in each box. I mean, they have some of the native fruits, but there's stuff like orange peels and that kinda thing, too. Plus, since they use the rest of the fruit for other sweets, these don't really cost all that much, if that matters."

Or as popular as something can get when the customer base is relatively small.

[hellfire_gouka]

"Great. I was thinking of getting a few different kinds of things for different people, so this and those wafers sound good." But price doesn't matter much to him; he's been saving his money just to get things for other people. He already has everything he needs, as far as he's concerned.

"Do you have any drinks or little gift baskets or anything?" he asks, glancing around as he takes the box from her.

[ribbonbon]

"No drinks...but we do have like, some bags and stuff!" She replies, making her way behind the counter and holding up a colorful paper bag.

"These are probably easier than baskets, anyway. And they're pretty cute, too! Altogether, I'm sure it'll totally go over great with whoever you're getting them for!" She's genuinely excited to have been able to help him out with this. Given the time of year and the holiday, even if the holiday isn't one native to Saeng Seong, suddenly her job feels just the teeniest bit more meaningful. Just a bit.

[hellfire_gouka]

No drinks? Oh well. He can look somewhere else for those.

"I hope so," he replies with a small smile, taking a box of the leaf wafers off a shelf and placing both boxes on the counter. "Can I get a couple of those bags, then?"

[ribbonbon]

"Sure, sure!" Pilouette says as she rings up the boxes and begins to place them in a bag, along with a few extra bags. "...Even if Christmas isn't like, a thing here...It's nice that people are still deciding to celebrate it, you know?"

She smiles as she said this. Christmas was such a big deal for her back home that she can't help but think she would have been a little sad otherwise.

[hellfire_gouka]

"Yeah. It is nice. I guess a lot of people here are familiar with it... it's kind of funny, considering how many different worlds everyone comes from."

It was a little comforting to have so many people around celebrating it. It made the city feel more like home to him. But after paying and putting his card back in his wallet, he realizes there's something he wants to know for planning purposes...

"By the way, what are you doing on Christmas?"

[ribbonbon]

She blinks, a little surprised by the question. Pilouette finishes bagging up the box as she answers.

"To be honest, um, I don't really have any plans," she replies. She knows it probably sounds kind of sad, but she's trying to sound as casual about it as she can. "I mean, I don't want to like, intrude on anyone's celebrating or anything. B-Besides, since Christmas isn't a native holiday here, I'll probably be like, working anyway...!"

[hellfire_gouka]

"Really?" Shinju seems just as surprised about her answer as she was about the question. "I'm taking the day off, myself. But I understand if you don't want to do anything. Just let me know if your plans change."

It might be a little hard to distribute presents to friends if he doesn't know where they'll be.

[ribbonbon]

It's that she doesn't want to do anything, but it doesn't feel quite right. Still, she figures it's no good saying depressing stuff while she's on the job and does her best to put on a smile.

"Oh, like, totally! I'll like, be sure to give you a heads up," she says, nodding and makes a mental note to stop by with his gift after work. Pilouette holds the bag towards him. "Anything I can give you a hand with?"

[hellfire_gouka]

"I think that's it. Thanks," Shinju replies as he takes it from her.

He pulls on his jacket collar and scarf for a moment to make sure he's ready for the cold, then smiles at her. "Well, I think I'm going to head out, but I'll see you on Christmas if I don't find you before then."

[ribbonbon]

Pilouette smiles. It was a nice change of pace seeing a friend during the workday. As Shinju heads out, she gives him a friendly little wave.

"Okay, then! Like, be seeing you!"