Secondhand Shopping
| Secondhand Shopping | |
|---|---|
You're not tricking me, young lady. | |
| Players |
In which Arnaud and Five shops for secondhand kitchenware. |
It's another crisp and chilly fall day, the sun bright on a mostly blue sky, a breeze whirling leaves over rooftops and making them gather in heaps in corners. Arnaud has asked Five to join him on 'an important mission', which proves to be visiting the largest second hand/thrift store in Auburn Gresham, a two story brick building that once was a factory of some kind. It sells everything from worthless old knick-knacks bought at tourist locations to decent furniture. Arnaud opens the door and walks in, ignoring some women coming in behind - he's not the kind to hold the door open for anyone, including Five, but she can make it on her own. The inside is orderly chaos, with shelves filled with items, and furniture everywhere. There's that musty smell of old books and fabric, of plastic and metal and leather. There's a fair few customers browsing and looking for a good deal, and Arnaud cranes his neck and makes some tension go away, as if preparing himself mentally to deal with People other than Five. "I need kitchen stuff." When a friend requests her assistance, Five is eagerly shows up! With the weather getting colder, the mortal continues to get more and more bundled up in clothing each time Arnaud sees her. Following her trusted friend inside, her eyes immediately go WIDE with excitement and curiosity. If Five was bothered by Arnaud's lack of manners, she doesn't show it! Though, one might easily assume she's unaware of such social rules. Still, once they're inside, she sticks close to Arnaud.... for all of one second. Some shiny knick-knacks have caught her attention for a few moments, picking them up and examining them. "Huh?" She finally hears her friend. "Oh, like uh, dishes and stuff right? I bet they have some cool stuff," she says with a light smile as she steps back over to him. Arnaud raises his arms up and tucks his belly in as a squad of flee-market experts marches by, almost nervously avoiding them. He glares at their backs and makes a rude gesture, then runs a hand through his hair and takes a deep breath. "I just need one of everything," he tells Five, jaw tense. "I need you here so I don't murder someone," he adds, lowering his voice; apparently she's become his designated conscience or someone who he listens to. "Look at them. The /people/." He makes it sound like he's surrounded by monsters. Spotting the section with kitchen wares, he starts over that way. "I need just about everything. I don't even have a mug. I'll get two mugs, for when you visit." He straightens up and gives her a look, as if expecting praise for being so considerate. Although she doesn't verbally express her appreciation, the look on her face says it all. She brightens a little, smiles, and is already on the lookout for that special mug to grab. "I don't have a kitchen so I'm unsure everything that's needed." Then she peers around, looking for some sort of cart to grab. While she's searching for that, she can't help but look around the rest of the area, and the people sharing the space. A brow raises, unable to see what Arnaud sees, then looks back to him. "What's wrong with the people?" she wonders, confused. Arnaud steals a cart someone else had taken and not put anything in yet, when they are browsing down in an aisle. He's disappeared out of sight before they notice. "I like cooking, so I need pots and pans and... what's that word. Tools?" His English is excellent but some words escape him, those rarely used in day to day speach. "Plates, glasses, knives, forks, spoons, that too." He gives Five an impatient look, as if he can't understand why she is asking what is WRONG with people. "Hopefully, we won't find out today," he says with gritted teeth as if determined that there will be NO trouble. His hands tighten around the handle of the cart, and then he stops abruptly to put a decent looking sauce pan in the cart, adding a spatula that is nearby. Everything here is cheap, so he doesn't even look at the prices - he can buy most of what he needs for little money. The sauce-pan has a dent in it, but that won't matter. "Just grab stuff and put it in, anything useful. The sooner we get this done, the better." Arnaud's eyes widen in delight, spotting a very nice looking cast iron pot, and he reaches for it. At the same time, a middle-aged woman with an impressively high hair-do in platinum blonde grabs it; they both hold it and stare at each other, and simultaneously say; "I saw it first!!" <spend> Five spends 1 point of her Willpower pool. +----------------------------+ Five rolls 6 Dice +-----------------------------+ Roll: Manipulation +Subterfuge +3 Result: Success (2) -- (6 8 6 10 2 2 7) +-------------------------------------------------------- success (public) ----+ At the avoidance of answering her question, Five can't help but smirk playfully at him. "That wasn't the question," she replied. She doesn't press it further than that for the time being, though. Then she's getting her grubby little hands on everything and either tossing or placing things into the cart. Even if they aren't running around on some random adventure, the mortal seems content and happy enough to just be around a friend. She's distracted by some random toy that she found in an aisle, then she hears the commotion. Looking over, she glances between the pair before making her way over. "Oh wow..." Bright green doe eyes as she steps over toward the lady. "That's just like the one me and grandma had... Can I have it?" she asks softly, lip quivering a little. +---------------------------+ Arnaud rolls 4 Dice +----------------------------+ Roll: 2 +2 Result: Success (4) -- (9 6 10 8 9) +-------------------------------------------------------- success (public) ----+ +---------------------------+ Arnaud rolls 9 Dice +----------------------------+ Roll: Strength +Intimidation +2 Result: Failure -- (3 7 2 6 6 4 4 7 5) +-------------------------------------------------------- failure (public) ----+ +---------------------------+ Arnaud rolls 7 Dice +----------------------------+ Roll: 4 +3 Result: Success (4) -- (5 10 8 9 4 8 6 2) +-------------------------------------------------------- success (public) ----+
Chances are this lady is also lying, but Arnaud wouldn't understand; he lets go of the pot and raises his hands in the air. "But, I /am/ homeless?" Five furrows her brows, letting those puppy dog eyes of hers remain as she doesn't pull her attention away from the woman. "I don't know how to cook though. So. If you let /him/ have it," she gives a small nod of her head toward Arnaud, "He could cook for me." Nothing that she says is a lie. Even if she isn't completely covered in grime and dirt today, it's not hard to tell that Five is out on the streets. The hardened street-savvy lady takes one long look at Five, then at Arnaud. She harumphs softly, but sets the pot down, rubbing her jaw thoughtfully. Five certainly could be homeless, and Arnaud does look like he might live on the streets, with his casual disregard of dressing warmly. "Well! In that case, you both should go to a homeless shelter and do some work - that's the price for this pot! You, young man, can do voluntary work as a cook and get free meals, and you young lady can help serve. You both look very able-bodied." She gives them both a long and stern look, and then turns about to go find other items. Arnaud just stands there like an idiot, having no idea what just happened. He points at himself, and glances at Five. "Were we just volunteered to work at a shelter? Also - was it just me, or is that woman special? Damn, she scared me." It's a good thing the prize at hand was such low stakes, Arnaud has gotten a glimpse of Five's temper when shit /really/ hits the fan. Still, there's a little frown on her lips and a light furrow of her brows. Displeased, but she lets it go. "I am not doing anything that woman tells me," she says as she starts to look for another skillet or pan for the Changeling. "Some people just..." She pauses in thought just a moment to figure out how to best describe it. "A mixture of strong will but also selfish. But." Another beat, reflecting now as she lets her mood simmer. "I've seen people act like that because they were hiding their own issues. You know?" Picking up a skillet tucked away on a shelf, she offers it out to Arnaud. Arnaud shudders and shakes off the weird feeling. It seems his fear of people is somewhat merited, after that meeting. At least he didn't murder anyone! He nods thoughtfully at Five, mulling over her assessment of this tough scary lady they just met. A part of him understood her - he can act similar. "I know," he murmurs, and accepts the skillet. Inspecting it, he nods and gives her a thumbs up; it goes in the cart, and he wheels it onwards to find dinnerware. "I'll cook for you, that'll have to be enough. Speaking of, found a job yet? Place to stay?" Five continues to follow along and toss random things into the cart. He /did/ say just grab everything! "You can teach me, too, so I can return the favor," she suggests with a warm grin. Then she lightly shakes her head, her lips pursing pensively. "Definitely no job yet," she replies, her tone giving away that such isn't a /huge/ priority for her. Whatever it is she does for food or money seems to be working out decently enough. For a fiery hobo mortal. Brows furrow as she continues on. "I... When I first got here, Heloise offered a place. But. I don't want to accidentally drag her into anything. She's so nice." Five very clearly does not know that Heloise is one of the Accorded as well. The random things are fine, even if he might not necessarily need ALL of that. Seems when he says something he means it, so he's not arguing. Besides, his place is literally almost empty. Arnaud glances at her and squints, but shuts his mouth about Heloise; he won't reveal someone else. "You could rent a place in Peach Tree. They didn't even ask for my ID, I pay cash every week. Nobody cares. You can crash on my couch now and then, if you need some place." He has no intention of asking her to stay for 'real', it seems. About the offer from Heloise, he frowns thoughtfully, but doesn't seem either for or against, not that it's any of his business - or it might be he doesn't get what would be so bad about it. His lack of empathy is almost glaringly obvious sometimes. "As for teaching you how to cook, what am I, your dad?" he jokingly mocks, giving her shoulder a light shove. "It's all on YouTube!" Five might be one of the youths in the world that would ask, "What's YouTube?" There's still a light smile on her lips at the shove, even if a hint of confusion is mixed in. "I'll figure it out. I mean, I got the one thing that's needed to cook things, right?" She lifts a hand to wiggle her fingers, indicating her currently unseen powers. "I'm not too... concerned about that stuff right now," she tells him with a light shrug. "Doing okay enough without it." Then she gives him a curious look, raising her brows slightly. "If you don't like people... why not go live in the woods or something more isolated?" she wonders with a small tilt of her head. Arnaud looks her up and down as if she's an alien (that's coming from the guy who almost literally is an alien and lost fourty years of technology). "We got to sit down and have a serious conversation about you soon. You make me curious." Maybe the reason he hasn't asked earlier is because - well, he hasn't actually cared. So, this is progress. He groans and moves onwards, grimacing and looking petulant as she asks about people. "I wish I could. But nooo, apparently being around people is important or something. My mentor was very adamant about it." As Arnaud mentions his curiosity, Five gives him a look that makes it clear that such is mutual. She smiles a little. "Well. Feel free to ask me anything when you're cooking for me." More stuff is being tossed in the cart. Ooo, this mug? She takes a blue and grey mug with a small white whale and white ocean waves on it. "I don't know how much I can answer but... I can promise I'd never lie to you." Of course, silly mortal doesn't quite realize that making any sort of promise with a fae-thing might not be the best idea. But, she seems to trust Arnaud more than most. Then she looks over her shoulder back to him. "People aren't so bad. I mean, sure there's people like that rude lady. But. At least most of the people I've run into are nice enough." Arnaud picks out a mug too - it calls to him. It's got a cute dragon on it, and it makes him snort fiercely in amusement. It's put in the cart. He listens to her, and then swats her head lightly, and points at her. "Hey. What did I tell you about making promises?! If you need to lie to me, just do it. I'll assume it's for a reason if I ever figure it out." He glowers at her, and then he's back to his normal self, starting to roll the cart to the check out area. "Nice or bad, I don't care. I only care about what you think. Now, let's get out of here before someone else starts bothering me." Looking over at him, Five can't help but smile a bit at his words. "Even if I can't tell you the truth of... whatever, I still wouldn't lie to you. I just wouldn't tell you," she points out. There's a pause before she adds, "I care what you think, too." There's a firm nod from her, then they're off to continue their shopping adventure! | |