Gumdrops and Lollipops

[Oz Watkins]

Narri thought for a moment before speaking. it must be nice to not have a profession. She sure grew weary of hers sometimes. "That must be fun. What will you do today?" She swung her arm with the girl, and began to enjoy herself. She almost wanted to skip. Her spirit felt lighter, childlike. Not that she really knew what childlike was. She had grown up in a time where you were not a child for long.

[Gina Rose]

"I'm not sure. Maybe go to the park. Or, actually, I like to walk by the stores and look at all the stuff in the windows, especially the dresses. I like dresses. They're pretty. They're my favourite, actually," she explained, skipping a little as she walked. She liked Narri. She didn't feel like the other vampires Gina had met - she felt nicer, somehow.

"Wanna window shop with me? We can try things on and then not buy them." Gina seemed to really like this idea, actually, and Narri might get dragged along whether she said no or not.

[Oz Watkins]

Narri thought for a moment. She didn't really have anything to do today, and it might be fun. She hadn't done much that was spontaneous and exciting lately. "Sure, I'll window shop with you and, maybe, if we find something that looks really nicde, and you can't live without. I'll buy it for you."

[Gina Rose]

"Wow, thanks!" Gina exclaimed. She was suddenly wrapped up in the idea of Narri buying something for her that she forgot she was a vampire, at least for a while. So they skipped and swung hands until Gina arrived at the first store that looked interesting enough to examine. She pushed the door open and went on in - unluckily for Narri, it was one of those posh stores where the salespeople were all over you the minute you walked in. It was unlucky because, well. Gina.

"Hello, ladies," one of the women said, her tone very bored. "How may I help you today?" She was an older woman, with bleached blonde hair and wore a stuffy business suit with shoulderpads.

Gina just stared at her for a second of silence before saying, "I just want to look around." She stared at the woman for a long time, and even narrowed her eyes a little, but eventually the woman backed down. Gina had won her intimidation contest - mainly because one can't really intimidate her. She didn't feel fear in a conventional manner like the rest of the humans did, and it gave her the upper hand. She continued inward, dragging Narri along. Every few moments, she'd pause and look at a swatch of fabric before letting it go in disgust. Gina was a very picky shopper.

[Oz Watkins]

Narri shot the poor woman an apologetic glance. This girl certainly was forward. And she seemed disgusted by half of the fabric the store had to offer. Narri began looking for something herself. She could use new clothing and perhaps Gina was not the best person to pick out the best clothing for herself.

Narri picked up a cream colored dress with a black lace overlay. "How about this?"

[Gina Rose]

Gina floated over to the dress Narri was holding, and examined it closely. She twined the lace between her fingers, and looked up at her, face breaking into a broad smile. "See? I knew you were a good shopper. Can I try it on?" she asked, utterly elated at the find Narri had produced.

She twisted around in place, waiting for the dressing room, ignoring the glances the women were giving her. She could, with her size and stature, pass for perhaps a cousin of Narri's, although she wasn't quite as pale. Especially with nosy saleswomen who were suddenly so wrapped up in Narri's charity of her poor, unfortunate and mentally challenged relative. Gina snickered to herself openly - if they only knew.

[Oz Watkins]

Narri found a longer reversed version of the dress she had given to Gina, and draped it over her own arm. "Of course you can try it on, and if it looks good we'll buy it." She had decided that she quite liked this girl, she was nice to the people she wanted to be nice to, and truthful with the others. In a world such as the one where they lived it was a fatal flaw, but it was also one to be admired.

She held the dress she had draped over her arm up to herself and asked, "What about this for me? Or do you see anything better?" No one had shopped with Narri in what felt like centuries. And it seemed even longer since someone had taken an interest in the clothing she bought.

[Gina Rose]

"No, I like it. It's the same, but different," she said, examining the fabric of it closely. She headed into the dressing room to try on her own garment, finding the feel of the arrangement quite nice. She was surprised to see how much less like a child she appeared and more... grown up. She actually could pass for normal if she made a conscious effort, and frowned deeply at her reflection.

When she came out of the room, she waited for Narri, and then stood next to her in the mirrors outside the rooms, straightening herself out. She pulled her hair back questioningly, and then released it, letting the dark waves fall against her cheeks, tugging her lips into a pout. She laughed, and tossed her hair over her shoulder.

"I think it's perfect," she said, nodding firmly.

[Oz Watkins]

Narri frowned at herself in the mirror. She looked good in the dress, there had never been any doubt on her part that she would look good. Nothing looked terrible on her small frame except over-large shirts and pants. Something nagged at her still. She looked the same in this dress as she did in every other dress she owned.

She looked at Gina and was surprised by the transformation that a simple dress had made in the girl. She looked adult, maybe even womanly. There was still an air of disrupt, of off-kilterness about her. But to anyone who couldn't feel her aura she looked positively radiant and grown up.

"I agree, It's beautiful, would you like me to buy it, and then we can go to the shoe store down the street and find some shoes and maybe a necklace or bracelet as well?" There was a twinge of jealousy in Narri's voice. She would buy her dress as well, but in her mind it would never be as magical or as beautiful as Gina's because Gina's dress changed her, and that was something Narri had lost with her mortality.

[Gina Rose]

Gina could sense the vampire's jealousy, but she couldn't understand why. She merely arched an eyebrow at the emotion, putting it to the side. When one was dressed in elegance, one did not say rude things. She nodded a little. "Shoes would be nice. I don't think my sneakers match," she acknowledged, looking down at her worn out canvas shoes.

"Will you get shoes, too?" she asked. "I'm lucky to have found you. Nobody takes me shopping. Thanks a lot!" she added. Gina didn't want to be ungrateful, anyways. She didn't want Narri to never take her shopping again. Plus, Gina didn't know many girls, and she didn't think Aunt Vin would enjoy shopping much.

[Oz Watkins]

"Of course." Narri said with a smile. She purchased the dresses and led the way into the street. She was excited to go shoe shopping. Trying on shoes always made her feel good about herself. Clerks would often marvel at her minuscule feet. When she had died her feet had been small for her age, but in this world of giants where she now lived her feet were considered abnormally small.

In the years since her death she had noticed the population growing in more ways than one. Besides there being a sheer numbers increase in living, breathing (and not breathing) beings, there had also been a gradual growth in the size of their bodies. Her father had been a tall man at five feet four inches when she was alive. Now he would be small for a woman and positively tiny in the world of men.

When they arrived at the shoe store Narri noticed an accessory shop next to it. "What would you like to buy first?" She gestured for Gina to lead the way.

[Gina Rose]

"Shoes," Gina said firmly, gliding passed Narri and inside. She perused the aisles for a few moments before finding Narri again, and pointing own at her own feet. "I don't know how to find my size," she complained. The shoes she wore didn't really say on them - the tags had been ripped out and the soles were fairly warn, so any trace of a number had vanished.

She held up two black heels that she'd snatched on her way through the jungle of aisles, and dangled them at Narri. "These are both way too big," she informed her. An eight and a ten hung from her extended fingertips, an annoyed expression on her face.

"Black is all I can find to match, though," she said with a sigh and a shrug. "They have some ugly shoes here," she whispered over her shoulder as she turned back to the aisles, Narri now no doubt in tow.

[Oz Watkins]

Narri was amused by Gina's comment about ugly shoes. It was true. There were quite a few ugly shoes in this store, of course most shoes in this century were ugly.  She followed along behind the girl examining the floor for either a sizing device or instructions on how to find one.  She was in luck when she spied a small metal shoe with a sliding bar.

"We'll measure your food with this." She held up the shoe. "Here, sit down and let me find your shoe size."

[Gina Rose]

Gina sighed and flopped down, watching Narri with the strange contraption in her hand. "What is that?" she asked, eyes wide. It looked like some sort of torture device. When she was instructed to put her foot in it, she did so, but she flinched. "It's cold!" she snapped, and almost kicked it right out of the vampire's hands. Luckily, Narri wasn't just a human, so the measuring tool did little more than get jostled around until Gina could sit still enough to get anything accomplished.

"Seven and a half," she said slowly, looking down at it. "Is that a good size?" she asked, tilting her head.