3694/A Shopping Trip

A Shopping Trip
Date of Scene:	18 January 2016
Location:	Urbania
Synopsis:	Raine and Lumeria's shopping trip doesn't go exactly as planned.
Cast of Characters:	604, Lumeria

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Raine Arland (604) has posed:
     AN HOUR AGO

     Fragarach floated along through the bridge of the Shade Enforcer, Raine's totally not just recently named ship. No, he wasn't jealous that all those other ships out there had names! No way!

     Anyway, the girl in white idly flipped through a magazine, and while she did so, she randomly piped up. "You know...how long has it been since you went shopping? That girl needs various things, doesn't she?" Floating by the captain's seat, she gave Raine a sidelong glance.

     Raine narrowed his eyes. "....Don't...remind me." He grumbled, hands clenching on the pilot's controls. They were sailing through the blue sky, with no destination in mind. "...I don't even want to know the mountain of shit she's gonna demand if we tell her we're going shopping."

     That sounded like someone's cue.

Lumeria (898) has posed:
"Did someone say shopping?" Lumeria's head pokes into the bridge. "I doubt you could even afford everything I need. I suppose I'll have to make do." She sighs a bit at that. It's not like she can have money wired from back home, it would be a dead giveaway to where they're at. "Someone of my talent and stature shouldn't have to go around living like a homeless person forever." She can't believe anyone actually manages to make do.

Raine Arland (604) has posed:
     Raine immediately facepalmed.

     "Fucking hell. You say one word and she magically appears." His hand slid down his hand and into his lap. "Like a god damn bloodhound." Fragarach of course, looked back to her magazine, laughing to herself faintly.

     Raine glared. "Hey! This ain't funny!" And then he glared off at Lumeria. "...You call this living like a homeless person? Damn you're sheltered. This is pretty moderate for most people!" Raine resented that! He could have a house, but why bother when you're flyng all over anyway?

     "Anyway..." Sigh. "I guess we have to now." He rolled his eyes and pulled up the holo-map, punching in a destination; Urbania, and then got up. "Fine. Get ready. We're going to Urbania to pick some things up. And don't take ten years doing it too!" He gives Lumeria a pointed look at that. You know who you are.

     And then he sighed yet again and walked out of the bridge, off to his room.

     "......"

     Fragarach glanced over her magazine then, waving an overlong sleeve. "Have fun~"

Lumeria (898) has posed:
"It's not my fault you humans have such short lives. Hopefully, someday I might be able to change that." Lumeria's actually serious for a moment. As stuck-up as she can be, she doesn't want to have watch Raine die. "It'll be nice to be back in the city, not coming with us Fragarach? It would be nice to have someone with actual taste along for the trip." So much for her being serious. She makes her way to her room, she has to look her best if she's going to go out after all.

Raine Arland (604) has posed:
     "....?" Raine paused for a moment, looking back at Lumeria. "...Heh." And then he shrugged his shoulders and moved on. "I wonder about that."

     And then he was gone.

     Fragarach shook her head, looking back down her piece of idle literature as she floated lazily about. "Mmmn, tempting. But no. Unlike you and him, I...have everything I need already." Suspicious.

     But nonetheless, she wouldn't be coming. Besides, she had a manga backlog to work on!

     NOW

     The Shade Enforcer landed in port, and Raine and Lumeria disembarked, as they usually did when they stopped somewhere. But it has been a while since they stopped in to a big city. His jobs usually took him all over to the weirdest places.

     Anyway, they were here now. Leaving the port and walking along a sidewalk, Raine flicked through a list on a handheld tablet. "Right, so...let's get the most annoying thing over with first. What do you want? And make it reasonable."

Lumeria (898) has posed:
Lumeria does find a bit odd that Fragarach doesn't want to go with them. Then again she's not quite sure what the girl is to begin with. Oh well, that means more things for her. She stays close to him. She's not familiar with the city and getting seperate could be troublesome. "New clothing, magical tomes and some candy." She grins at the last item. She thinks that's pretty reasonable.

Raine Arland (604) has posed:
     "...Really? That's it?" Raine asked incredulously. That sounded reasonable. So reasonable in fact that now he was just plain suspicious! "Okay then." Mumbling with a sense of paranoia, he glanced down and pulled up a map on his tablet. "To the mall then. Nearest one should be...a couple blocks from here. Alright. Let's hit it."

     He turned a corner onto another block, weaving through the hustle and bustle of the crowds. There certainly were no shortage of people around these parts. Multiversal too, judging from the abundance of tails, ears, wings, weird eye and hair colors, uterrly abnormal heights, and so on. Thankfully, he's been around long enough to not bat an eye at this weirdness. Miltiades was plenty weird already.

     The trip to the nearest mall eventually came to an end as they arrived in front of a large building, rising high above for several floors. "What kind of clothes are you looking for anyway? I don't know your tastes." Raine asked as they headed inside, and after studying the floor plan, up a few escalators. It was true though. He avoided the girl's room as much as possible, and just let Fragarach handle it.

     ...Which should say plenty about that.

Lumeria (898) has posed:
Of course Raine didn't know how expensive Lumeria's tastes can get. She's not too phased by the crowds as well and wouldn't stand out much here. "Blouses, skirts, short dresses, boots, maybe a bit of jewelery..." She trails off as they head up the escalators. She wouldn't let Raine her room anyway, a girl has to have some privacy after all.

Raine Arland (604) has posed:
     "Okay, Nevermind..."

     Raine grumbled and thought back to how much he had in his bank account. ...This is a mission. Just think about it like that. A mission. And ongoing mission. Yeah...damn it. A sigh escaped from him and they arrived at the third floor, where it seemed a bunch of different brand clothing stores were located.

     Which one looked the least extravagant? He'd go with that. After a moment of surveying the stores from where he stood, he pointed off towards one modest looking one. "Let's try there." And he immediately strode off, heading there before Lumeria went and decided to pick some place decidedly more expensive.

     "Okay, chop chop. Get picking. We're don't got all day!" Raine clapped his hands together, rushing the girl like a jerk.

Lumeria (898) has posed:
Lumeria glares at him as they make their way into the store, she would have to make sure he woke up with a face covered in blisters tomorrow. "Excuse me, but I can't slap on a dirty t-shirt and jeans with holes on in the morning and call it good." She's trying to find something in here that lives up to her standards. She's almost tempted to grab the most item in the store just to spite him.

Still, she's not quite sure how much money he has and needs more than one item of clothing. She manages to find a reasonable priced light blue matching blouse and skirt. "I'm going to try these on, don't drool all over me when I get out." The elfir heads for an empty dressing room.

Raine Arland (604) has posed:
     "Wow, who does that?" Raine wondered aloud, crossing his arms. "'Cause that's not me." He smirked in return and followed along as she browsed the place. The prices looked reasonable for the most part. Thank the gods. He was going to have to bother /that/ man for some additional funds if this kept up. This girl was damn financial nightmare.

     Once Lumeria finally picked something, he rolled his eyes. "No one's going to be drooling here." He shrugged flippantly. "But if that helps you sleep better at night, then sure. Think it." He walked over to a waiting area nearby, plopping down into a chair and picking up an outdated magazine from a stack on the table.

     Damn it, he hated shopping.

Lumeria (898) has posed:
Lumeria steps out of the dressing room after changing outfits and makes her way over to the waiting area, "How do I look?" She stands in front of Raine make sure he has a clear view of her. She's expecting a smart-assed remark but she doesn't know anyone else here to ask.

Raine Arland (604) has posed:
     Flipping through a magazine he cared nothing for, reading an article about some celebrity controversy on some world that didn't matter to him, Raine looked up once he heard Lumeria's voice.

     "Hah?"

     Silence set in as he looked over the girl and the outfit she'd changed into. It was simple, but it was a nice look. ...Of course, he had a choice here; A. Be a jerk as usual. B. Say something nice for once? "......" He was so sorely tempted to go with A. SO TEMPTED, but...

     Sigh. What the hell, why not?

     "You look pretty good, I'd say." An approving nod and a thumbs up followed. "So is that enough for you? Do I gotta wait around here some more?"

Lumeria (898) has posed:
Lumeria's actually a bit surprised and turns a bit red with that. "Thank you...I guess you're not a complete jerk. I'll try not to be too long. I could use a few more outfits." She was going to keep him waiting for a while but his complement makes her pick up the pace a bit. After finding a few more outfits, some boots, and a few pieces of jewelery she returns, "I think this should be enough."

Raine Arland (604) has posed:
     "Huh? Of course I'm not! You know how much effort to takes to be a jerk? A ton!" Raine grinned, shrugging his shoulders after that statement. He'd poke fun at her blush, but that might get him hexed later on. Better not. In any case, it looked like he was going to be stuck here a little while longer. "Yeah, sure. Go handle that. I'll be just sitting here, flipping through this." Sigh.

     A while later, and Lumeria eventually returned with all the things she wanted. Raine set down the magazine and looked towards her, and the pile she was holding. "Should be?" He arched a brow. "Well, if you say so." He wasn't going to goad her into buying MORE stuff. He stood and headed on over to the cashier, Lumeria in tow.

     Everything was rung up, and then Raine, despite the comical pain in his chest, slid his card and paid the price. Ugh! Even though this was supposed to be a more modest brand store, the total price was still a blow! Oh well. This should keep the girl satisfied for a little while.

     "Okay, you said you wanted tomes, now? What exactly are you looking for?" The young man asked as they stepped out of the store, him likely having to carry a bunch of bags. Damn it.

Lumeria (898) has posed:
Lumeria watches as he carries the bags and grabs a few of the lighter ones, "Are you sure you can handle all of those?" She actually sounds kind of concerned, "I can always get the books some other time. I mean dropping magical tomes usually isn't a good idea." Sure, she was tempted to hex him a bit at times but she didn't want to seriously hurt himself.

Raine Arland (604) has posed:
     "Pffft, oh NOW you care?" Raine rolled his eyes, lifting the bags. "We're good, we're fine. If I can carry Fragarach's stupidly huge sword, then a few bags aren't going to take me down. Let's get going." He insisted, not at all wanting to take multiple trips. "I'm pretty sure I saw a book store on the second floor. The arcane kind anyway."

     God knows Barnes and Noble wasn't going to be stocking magical tomes. And so he stepped forward, riding the escalator down to the second floor. "But no, really, what are you looking for?" He asked again as they stepped off onto the second floor. He veered around and headed off to the store he only saw in passing. It was a kind of hole in the wall looking place. No real recognizable brand or image. Just a lot of dusty old books on shelves and on display tables.

     "...These places never can't look gloomy, can they?"

Lumeria (898) has posed:
"Well, excuse me for trying to be nice!" Lumeria figured that wouldn't last. "Dark magic tomes, maybe I would have more luck with those from other worlds." She still hasn't been able to make much progress with it. She enters the rustic bookstore and looks to see what kind of selection they have. "Careful, there's no telling what might be in some of these." Even some of the books are illegible to her.

Raine Arland (604) has posed:
     Of course it wouldn't last. That would have been too convenient.

     Stepping into the store, Raine left the bags he was carrying down by his feet as he stopped in front of a random shelf. "Huh? What are you talking about?" He asked incredulously, hand paused over the cover of one of the random book he'd picked out. It had a thick strap and a lock on it. ...But the lock wasn't locked.

     "Why would they stock onsafe tomes in a store? Get real." And then he flipped the book open. A flash of light followed and immediately, the tome grew innumerable amounts of teeth and leap out of Raine's hands, latching onto his head.

     "GrhfhmrhfyBHSJ" He flailed around wildly as a savage living tome chewed on his head entirely.

     ...Well Lumeria did warn him.

Lumeria (898) has posed:
Lumeria points to the sign that has written in various languages, "Touch at your own risk." She then facepalms with her other hand even while holding the bag. After a few seconds of that a small sphere of light magic is flung from her hand as she tries to get the tome to stop chewing on Raine's face. "How have you managed to stay alive this long on your own?"

Raine Arland (604) has posed:
     "HBddhfjsa!"

     Raine grabbed the book and pulled, and pulled, but it refused to come off! Lumeria fired small sphere of light next, and it struck the book, making it bristle briefly, but it still refused to let go.

     Finally, the book was surrounded in a sickly purple aura, and 'levitated' off of Raine's head. A diminuitive young lady in tattered, dark, witch robes gave the two a tired, fed up glare as she approached. One arm was raised, which was controlling the dark levitation spell.

     "Read the signs. Don't touch the books unless you know what you're doing." She directed her arm aside, forcing the book shut and locked, and then sliding back onto the shelf. After that, she turned around and walked back off towards wherever she came from.

     "...God damn it, this place is dangerous!" Raine grumbled, rubbing his face. There were teeth marks all over, funnily enough.

Lumeria (898) has posed:
Once Raine's face stops being chewed on, Lumeria's attention has turned back to the many tomes present. She grabs a copy of "Multiversal Black Magic for Beginners Vol. 1 and flips it over so Raine doesn't see the cover, "I think this will be enough for today, I don't want to bankrupt you." She did spend quite a bit on clothes after all.

Raine Arland (604) has posed:
     "Wow. So thoughtful." Raine mumbled, picking up the clothes bags and stepping over to the back counter where that same dour looking girl was seated, flipping through a tome of her own. He didn't bother check and see what kind of book Lumeria was buying. Magic wasn't something he cared about a ton. He just countered it is all.

     The girl in the witch getup raised her head, tired gaze swiveling between Lumeria and Raine. She eyed the book in the healer's hands and blinked slowly. "Will that be all?"

Lumeria (898) has posed:
That and dark magicians don't usually take looking through their books without being able to pay well. Lumeria's heard a few stores about that. Plus, Raine already accidently touched the living tome earlier. It was best not to provoke the witch too much. Plus, she kind of reminds her of her sister Rue. "Yes, that's all for today." She looks a bit uneasy.

Raine Arland (604) has posed:
     She nodded faintly, and took the book, looking through a magically conjured catalogue in one hand. "Ah, this one. The price is..." She drew a number in the air with magic, purple glow remaining to outline the price. Once it spun around, Raine's eyes widened. "WHOA-"

     The witch narrowed her eyes. "Is there a problem, sir?" Raine felt a chill run down his spine and shuddered. "Uh...no. No of course not." He pulled out his card and swiped it, paying for the book. Once he had, the girl managed a tiny smile.

     "Thank you for your patronage." And then she looked back down to her own tome, leaving the two to...well, depart. On the way out, Raine asided to Lumeria. "She is creeeeeeepy."

Lumeria (898) has posed:
Lumeria simply nods at that, she can't help but to wonder something and turns around to ask the witch, "In case I come back here, who should I ask for?" She figures it's unlikely but given the nature of the Multiverse you never can tell. Plus it would explain the reaction she got from here.

Raine Arland (604) has posed:
     Raine moves on ahead as Lumeria turns around to talk to the girl at the counter. He wasn't going to stay behind. He'd wait at the door.

     The girl, whose head was covered by a tattered hood, looked up from her book at Lumeria. "...Ask for Rue." And she looked back down to her book at that, turning a page and ignoring the girl in blue before her. A lock of white hair slipped out past her hood at that movement, seemingly proving the point of familiarity.

     "Good day." She muttered, signifying that the conversation was now over. Not very customer friendly, was she? She also didn't recognize Lumeria at all. Maybe this one was an only child where she came from.

Lumeria (898) has posed:
Lumeria's just standing there stunned. Why was an alternate version of her sister working here? And why didn't she recognize her? Still, even if she could speak right now, she wouldn't want to ask with Raine around. Besides this might be even creepy then running into the Rue she does know.

Raine Arland (604) has posed:
     'Rue' didn't have anything further to say, and read her tome at her leasure.

     RAINE HOWEVER, had plenty to say. "Yoooo! You forget something? Let's get outta here, this place if effing creepy! Just like the cashie-BWA!" He jumped aside, right as a bolt of dark magic impacted with the wall he was standing by. The dour witch said nothing, but her raised hand suggested that she fired the bolt.

     "If you try your luck any further, then I'll add you to my frog collection. The both of you."

Lumeria (898) has posed:
Lumeria shakes her head a bit and begins running with that. Maybe this Rue is more like her sister than she thinks. She makes a mental note not to go back ever. "Maybe we should just go back to the airship...and get far away from here." At this point she doesn't care about the candy any more.

Raine Arland (604) has posed:
     "Yes, ma'am! Good day! Let us meet agai-GAH!" Another bolt of dark energy is fired at Raine, who scrambles out of the store after Lumeria. "Ahahahaha! Oh man, that girl was great! Did you see the way she reacts? It's hilarious!"

     Laughing raucously, he went on. "Man, I need to go back there sometime. If only to screw with her." ...Someone was going to get turned into a frog. Lumeria's scared demeanor earns her an arched brow. "Huh? Go back? We can't do that yet. We've still got to pick up groceries for the ship." He'd rub his chin, but his hands were full.

     "...But I guess if you want to go back, we can return, and I'll go grocery shopping myself."

Lumeria (898) has posed:
"If you go back don't expect me to turn you back to normal. If she's like my sister, I can't counter her magic." This is the only warning Lumeria would give him. If he's stupid enough to go back after telling him that, then she wouldn't feel guilty at all. "Well, we should drop this stuff off anyway at least...I'm not certain if I should even open that book now. Maybe we should have Fragarach check it out?" Still after spending all that money on it she would hate just to get rid of it.

Raine Arland (604) has posed:
     "Ehhhn. Well if you say so." He had no idea who that girl was anyway. Just that she was entertaining. But he'd leave it alone. "Alright. Let's drop this stuff off. I'll handle the rest of the shopping myself." He shrugged and they rode the escalator down to the first floor. "If you want to have her take a look at it, go ahead."

     He scoffed as they stepped outside into the streets. "Might actually get her to do something useful for once." He muttered after that. Damn girl just ate all his snacks and bought tons of manga, videogames, and whatever. Sigh.

     BACK TO THE SHIP

     The Shade Enforcer was in the middle of tune up and resupply when they returned to port. It was a simpel matter of heading in through the hangar. Once they got to Lumeria's room door, Raine just dropped the bags he was carrying. "Right. Fragarach is...somewhere. I'm out." He turned and walked back off, likely taking one of the vehicles out to make bringing the groceries back easier.

     ...What kind of candy did she want anyway?

Lumeria (898) has posed:
"Make sure the candy is sweet!" Lumeria gets out before he leaves. It would be be a good idea for Fragarach to check out the book before they take off. For all she knows, this book could unleash a plague of frogs or something. "Hey Fragarach? Are you in your room? I have something I need you to take a look at." She's carefully carries the book making sure not to drop it.

Raine Arland (604) has posed:
     Raine rolled his eyes, and was gone.

     That left Lumeria on the ship with Fragarach...who was somewhere. But it wouldn't take long to find her. A knock on her room door, and a moment later, the door clicked unlocked, and swung open on it's own. Fragarach was laying back on her bed, comic book in hand. She didn't bother looking at the doorway.

     "You said you need me to look at something? What is it?"

Lumeria (898) has posed:
Lumeria makes her way into Fragarach's room, "Yes, I bought a book of dark magic while we were out." She holds up the copy of Multiversal Black Magic for Beginners Vol. 1 so the other girl can see it clearly. "I'm not sure if it's safe to open though, the shop was being ran by an alternate verison of my sister. She didn't recognize me but still..." She's clearly weary about the whole thing.

Raine Arland (604) has posed:
     "Is that so?" Fragarach managed an amused smirk at the girl's recounting of her shopping trip. "Well then. Allow me-" She set the comic book onto her chest, too lazy to mark her place and put it aside, and directed a sleeve towards the book.

     It become engulfed in a blue light and levitated away from Lumeria's grasp. The power circulated around the book for several moments before the tailed woman said anything. "I sense plenty of dark magic at work, but nothing that would suggest that it's trap."

     Another wave of her arm, and she caused the book to open up. A sickly purple aura began to mix into the blue, but otherwise, nothing else happened. "This book seems to be a catalyst, as well as a point of reference for beginners to study from." She settled her black and blue gaze onto the girl with a quirked brow.

     "You want to study dark magic? I thought you were a light mage. Those elements are typically opposed."

Lumeria (898) has posed:
"Well, my sister's a powerful dark mage! Why can't I be one too? I study and study, but I can't seem to make much progress." Lumeria's quite frustrated. "Plus I can't beat her with my light magic. Well, it's good to know the book's safe at least." She's sure Raine would be upset if they had spent his money on a trap.

Raine Arland (604) has posed:
     Blink.

     "Pffft--"

     "Ahahahahahaha!"

     And Fragarach burst out laughing, holding her stomach and kicking her legs out. "Oh wow! Oh my! Your reasoning! Ahahahaha! You people really are amusing!" Well, there was that. Lumeria's reward for venting was getting laughed at. Once the lady in white had her fill, she sobered up a little, taking deep breaths.

     "Phew! Okay...let me try this again." She sat up and looked at Lumeria, smirking in amusement. "You want to be a dark mage because your sister is a dark mage? Why? Because she can and you can't? No other reason?"

Lumeria (898) has posed:
Lumeria has a rather cross look on her face as Fragarach, "Well, she keeps upstaging me! How would you like having a sister who constantly humilates you! Plus my mother wants her to follow in her footsteps and not me!" Yes, she's rather envious of Rue if it wasn't clearly already.

Raine Arland (604) has posed:
     "Aw, how cute. Sibling envy~" Fragarach cooed, lowering her arm, and letting the book close and set itself down upon her bed. "It sounds to me as if you have some deep seated jealousy issues with your sister. Perhaps your mother as well? Let me guess. Does she not may you enough attention, and now you act out in order to get her to acknowledge you? Hmm?"

     She was making assumptions based on the many stories and fiction she's read. ...Really. The tailed woman picked her comic book back up, resuming reading while speaking. "Are you even compatible with dark magic?"

Lumeria (898) has posed:
"Yes, I can use dark magic. Stop mocking me." Lumeria's not amused by being mocked by Fragarach as she concentrates on the girl. A small amount of sickly purple aura appears from one of her fingertips. She hopes to catch her off-guard and aims at her nose creating a wart on it with the tiny speck of magic.

Raine Arland (604) has posed:
     "Mocking you? Now why would I ever do something like tha-" Pause. Fragarach felt a growth on her nose. ".....?" She raised a hand through her sleeve to touch her nose with a finger. "Hmn. How quaint. A basic curse." She lowered the comic, giving Lumeria a narrowed stare.

     "Well, why don't I give you a proper demonstration?" Grinning, the white lady pointed an arm towards the girl, a much stronger aura of darkness converging on her...

     ...and attempting to turn her into a frog.

Lumeria (898) has posed:
Of course Lumeria knows it's coming this time and forms a barrier of light around herself to try and shield herself from the dark magic. She does manage to put up an effort for a few seconds before she's overwhelmed and the dark magic manages to pierce through. She's surrounded by darkness and her body begins to shrink a great deal. She tries to resist but soon finds herself buried in a pile of clothing.

A moment later a silver-white frog hops out from underneath the pile. She tries to chant but all that comes out is a series of ribbits.

Raine Arland (604) has posed:
     Fragarach watched as Lumeria put up a barrier and tried to defend herself. She managed for a respectable while, but then...welp, the white frog hopping out of the clothing pile soon after was clue enough of the results. "Well. It looks like we meet again, Miss Frog~"

     Her fingertip lights up, through her sleeve, and she draws out several black runes in the air. It actually turns out to be a timer that begins ticking down from 60:00. "When this reaches zero, you will be restored. Have fun~" And then she floated up and casually flew out of her room, leaving Lumeria in her clothes pile.

     ...Well, so much for that.