Open - Last Minute Christmas Shopping

December meant Christmas meant Christmas presents meant emergency panic shopping time! Because somehow Dongxue forgot that Christmas was an actual holiday, with actual traditions and actual gift-giving going on. So sue her if she momentarily thought that Christmas was just a state of being due to being frazzled about her exams. It certainly seemed to feel that way; the whole world's been in a perpetual state of Happy Holidays since mid-November.

But, finals over and done with, Dongxue just had to rush through the hellscape that was big department stores in the week before Christmas. She knew what she had to get, she had a list, and she knew exactly which stores had what.

Now, the problem was actually getting to them.

Dongxue grimaced as she tried to push past the sea of bodies just milling around the store entrance. Her dad needed his books, okay! She remembered him talking about how he used to have the first two books of his favorite science fiction trilogy back in China, but somehow lost them during the move to New York. As she passed by the store on her way back from school one day, she saw a re-released anniversary box set edition of the entire trilogy, and instantly made a note of it on her phone so she wouldn't forget to get that for him.

In hindsight, reserving a set would have been a good idea. But, as it turned out, it was just her luck that apparently this wasn't that big of a seller, so she'd easily been able to pick one up off the shelves and cart it over to the counter. No need for a bag since she had plenty already--a welcome side effect of knocking out all her Christmas shopping in one day. Probably the only welcome one, if she was being honest.

Whew. And wasn't she exhausted trying to get everything done. Maybe she'd just stop by the attached coffeeshop and take a break with some delicious caffeine. It did look pretty crowded, though. And no way was she going to wait in that long a line carrying all her things.

Ooh. She hated to be that person, but she quickly stepped over to a small table that looked like it had an empty seat. "Uh, hi, excuse me," she said, hoping she wasn't intruding or overstepping. "Um, sorry, but I kind of want to order something, and I can't carry all of this for the whole time. So if it's okay, could I keep my things here while I order?"

 

Perhaps it hadn't been the best idea to bother with the Hyperloop up to New York rather than hopping to Boston and calling it a day, but Sabine had looked at the walking distance between the station and the respective malls she'd checked the stocks of. Two choices. One was a five minute walk and the other twenty-five. It was a bit late for regrets, or realizing she could have just paid for a taxi or similar, considering she was finally walking through the sliding doors. The warm air inside was a welcome relief compared to the biting cold outside. Climbing had led her to colder altitudes, but the Northeast had a certain kind of maliciousness in the air.

Dreadful, she concluded. She buried her hands in the pockets of her coat and moved at as quick a pace as she could manage between the demanding crowd and her hobbled leg.

Sabine made her route through the mall quickly enough, the bookstore had a sign outside of it and an outdoor entrance. She hadn't wanted to bother with the cold long enough to take the sidewalk all the way there, but it made finding it from inside the mall much easier. Her preorder was ready for pickup and the effort made to take it home herself saved her a good bit on the shipping charges she'd have faced otherwise. It was more than a little large, but she'd never hear the end of her father's excited nerd talk after giving it to him. Even when things were tense between them, it was hard not to get caught up in the passions of others. At the end of the day, she'd never understood his work or his excitement over a bunch of old blueprints. It still mattered to her though.

And it gave her an excuse to stop and grab a few of the dumb knickknacks the chain bookstores always had laying around to get peoples' attention. She wondered how much money they made off impulsive buys that way. They'd certainly made some off her. She played with the small toy crown she'd snatched up and pointedly ignored the novel and moleskin sketchbook she'd also bought for her sisters. She'd send a card to her mother later.

Instead of heading home with her leg throbbing like it was, the woman settled at the coffee shop awaiting her drink and pastry. A table had been full of teens idling about, but one had caught a look at her gait and offered her seat. They'd left quick and Sabine wasn't going to look a gift horse in the mouth. Even if she hated with every fiber of her being the thought of being coddled. The blonde reached down to rifle through the bags for a small dark chocolate she'd bought when a woman's voice directed at her caught her attention.

She most certainly, under no circumstance, hit her head on the edge of the table as she jumped. That'd be stupid.

Sabine straightened sharply, "Of course? I'm not in any rush so don't worry about the line. Still waiting on mine, too." She pointedly ignored the fact that she was cute. Chinese maybe? Vietnamese? Something like that. Either way, sharing her table really wasn't a big deal. She could handle a person or two so long as the crowd of the line kept its distance.

[ Time for Sabine to not recognize people while everyone can tell who she is! ]​

 

Shopping in the city wasn't her original plan, by any means. New York City was a place commonly visited by those from her area, but Jaluna wasn't exactly known for going out when it was crowded- and what time of year would be busier than Christmas?

With a couple bags of gifts and art supplies in one hand, she awkwardly stumbled with a cup of hot cocoa in the same palm. She was anxious and dizzy, causing her to struggle to focus her weight on her right side- which was held up by a floral metal cane, the only way she felt safe finding her way around such a complicated mess. She saw a table with many seats and a couple of people already there, and panted as she let her bags drop not far from one of the seats.

"M-Mind if I take a breather here? I think I should've made a few trips instead of one..."

Her bags on the ground, she took a sip from her coffee cup, the styrofoam masking just how hot the liquid inside would be. Tongue burnt, she winced lightly and gave a timid smile to the two strangers. Two strangers, but one looking awfully familiar in her own way.

To the blond, she gave a faint smile. "I feel like you look familiar to someone I've met... Do you get told that a lot? Is it just that you have one of those faces, or am I misplacing my memory entirely?" Well, it didn't really matter, she supposed. Looking to the other woman- hair short and trim- Jaluna couldn't help smiling just a bit brighter- until she remembered this was just a break in her massive shopping trip.

"Crap, I forgot to get an updated floriography dictionary... I was looking forward to trying to grow new flowers to thank @Ashiore Evretto and @Gwyn ap Herne for that time in the cave... I never did a good job of showing my gratitude, after all..."

[OOC: Jaluna kinda recognizes her but is also spacing out about it. Aren't I a derp at times? x3]

 

She'd not really been paying attention to just whose table she was crashing, in a rush to find any seat at all. But when she'd gotten confirmation that leaving her purchases here for a bit was all right, she sighed in relief and actually looked up to thank the person that she was-

Oh. For a brief moment, Dongxue forgot that she wasn't in Terrasphere. Which was ridiculous, since there wouldn't be tacky blinking lights stretching from wall to wall across the roof of any shop in Terrasphere, nor would there be awful Christmas music playing nonstop. And it could just be a coincidence, but... The lady at the table look so very much like @Gwyn ap Herne. And hm. Wasn't there an option during character creation to import your current appearance?

"Thanks," she said, and wondered how she should ask about whether or not this stranger was someone she knew in a technically banned VR game. Just as she was about to throw caution to the wind and blurt it out, someone else arrived at the table, looking just as harried as Dongxue herself was.

...Oh, come on now. That was just ridiculous. What kind of crazy coincidence was this, that she'd run into two other players of Terrasphere that she apparently knew? Coffee momentarily forgotten, she just decided to go for it and ask.

"So, uh. Okay, I might be really wrong here but... um, do the both of you play, uh, Terrasphere?"

@Harveste

 

Vivian's eyes lowered when her bags were rattled on the floor. Some brunette just dropped all of her bags onto the floor, causing Vivian to sigh and sweep her own underneath her own table not to get mixed with the others. She had been sitting there before these other girls got there and was intending to enjoy a small rest moment from her day of shopping.

Her coat was hung over her chair, golden long locks neatly brushed off her shoulder and curled down towards her back as she gave the brunette an eye full before going back to her book. She was not ashamed about what she was reading so openly as the spine read "How to please your Lover." Vivian leaned on the table with her chin sitting on her palm as she flipped through the pages. Once in awhile she would stop to examine a page, then turn the book ever so slightly and then give a small world "ahh," like figuring out the motions of what the picture was describing to do.

Vivian's day was more or less enjoyable to some extent. She enjoyed shopping for herself, others? Not so much. It would have been a rather boring season had it not been her meeting with Lucia in this weird game she had got into. The busty woman was not someone who would irrationally be smitten with someone, but someone like Lucia? She could see herself getting folded into that typical relationship mess, even if it meant a downward spiral at some point. But thinking about her made her smile and she enjoyed that feeling, so why not perhaps buy her a gift in this world? Even if expectations were not met from either of them.

She set the book down, and looked over her shoulder, that line had barely gone down and she was getting anxious for a small cup of decaf coffee. She could just head home now and save herself the trouble of having to wait. But the conversation from these girls at the other table; Vivian would only listen and smile and shake her head.

One of them talked openly about a game known as TerraSphere, the very game to which Vivian was a part of as well, however, she was very much different than her in game counterpart with the small exception to her chest perhaps. Vivian curled her fingers into a fist and listened in on their conversation, small red lip smile showing as she pretended to read pages from her book, a white stick moved from left to right in her mouth, a strawberry lollipop. Something sweet to help tide the woman over. Vivian was curious to know who these women were though, it was an odd coincidence indeed, but she had no desire to let anyone know who she was in that game. Where would the fun in that be?

So, she sat there and listened while paying half attention to her book. Her leg rested one over the other in tight jeans as it bounced underneath the table. Her pink tank top was snug around her figure and every moment it looked like it would burst from the revealing woman's busty homegrown chest. However if any one of them had known it was Vivian from the game, it would be recognizable from her voice alone. There was a small New York accent in her voice, however in game she covered it up quite easily with subtle vocal changes to how she spoke to people. Speaking a little slower, more sultry to aim a misdirection. She had attempted to evade having both her worlds collide into one another.

Sucking on her lollipop, Vivian curled her fingers around the shaft and slid it out of her mouth. Her eyes motioned to look at the talkative females only to smile briefly from their exchange before pushing it back in her mouth and continuing her 'reading.' Every so often, the thin woman would look behind her shoulder to see the line of the coffee shop whittle down. Prime time to get her coffee before the others would sneak attack. The noise of her chair screeched along the tile floor as she moved up. Her high heels hitting the floor with a loud clack as she stepped around and turned towards the line and waited behind the three in front of her.

With that lollipop stick swinging from left to right in her mouth, Vivian curled her arms under her busty chest, and leaned on one side of her leg and waited and looked up at the menu. Was simple decaf so difficult these days? With Starbucks and whatnot growing, she couldn't keep up with all these weird ass coffee name drinks.

 

Sabine nervously chewed at the inside of her lip as the other woman gave her an odd look. No amount of socialization in-game had managed to teach her the ability to discern microexpressions even if she felt her eyes were a little sharper even in the real world. She mentally went back over the short interaction to see if she had, in fact, done something weird to earn it. She didn't think so? "It's no problem, it's busy out and in the spirit of the season and all, it's only polite." She laughed around the words as one hand rubbed at the back of her neck to soothe the prickle of 'you did something stupid' that was still hanging around.

It didn't last long as another woman joined her at the table and babbled a stream of quick words. Why the fuck did everyone up north talk so fast? "Ah! The seat's're still free, you're more than welcome to sit. And no, not really? The scars and tattoo and height are kinda- not very average." She waved it off and perked up some when the woman mentioned a cave. Another hiker like her perhaps? She didn't seem the type, meek like a mouse, but that didn't stop anyone from enjoying the great outdoors. Nor did being pleasantly plump like the other woman most certainly was-

"I'm sorry, but who?" She blinked owlishly at the- at @Harveste? Sabine certainly hadn't gone spelunking with @Ashiore Evretto outside of the quest to complete Brisshal's myriad of monsters, loot drops, and the Beginner's Cave dungeon. Which meant she had to be the third to their little band of naturalists. Suddenly the blonde let out a sharp, disbelieving laugh and leaned forward over the table some to look her straighter in the face. "Harveste?"

She twisted back around in her seat to look up at the first lady to approach her as she joined the mind-blowing coincidence currently shaking Sabine's day down to the foundations. "You play? And know one of us, right? Well, it'd be Harveste then, I look the same after all." She nodded to herself. Perhaps she should have bothered to change her appearance in game, but she had honestly never thought that she'd run into other players out in, well, the real world! With that, bright blue eyes switched back to whoever played the little Faerin she'd found herself fond of over time.

 

The woman straight out fell before she could take a proper seat, having jolted right next to the chair she was about to plop herself in. With a notable yelp, her rump landing straight on the ground, she found herself sprawled out with only the relief of having already put her bags down to comfort her. A grimace caught her lips as her most common reaction to anxiety came bubbling to the surface.

She laughed, awkwardly, rubbing at the hairs standing on her neck.

It wasn't hard to guess who the blonde she'd first noticed was. The fact she'd figured out Jaluna's game name kind of made a point to give her two options based on what would lead to it. She just wasn't sure, at this stage, what startled her the most. Was it that she'd met a player she admired the strength of by fluke? Or was it the suddenness that was the other woman mentioning the game by name, without any real signal as to who she might be by appearance alone.

"Erm," Clearing her throat, she rolled onto all fours from her struggling back, slowly but surely getting back to her feet. It was lucky, in a way, that this wasn't the first time she'd fallen flat on the floor in front of people before. Being clumsy and weak was just in her nature. Weak and meek like a mouse. "I-I am. Er, Harveste I mean. W-Well, rather, in game I am."

It took a moment to tell herself to clam down, wording she realized she'd regret ever peeping out loud. She began to dust herself off, hiding her hands behind her back instead of offering a hand shake, not wanting to do so until she'd washed them properly from the grime of the floor.

"M-My name is Jaluna Rolik. It's nice to meet you... After giving Sabine one, she glanced a smile in the direction of the woman who'd mentioned the game by name. "You're a player too, right? Since you mentioned it, it'd be strange otherwise..."

No, this was all very strange. And, considering how loud she'd been when she'd squealed when she fell in the first place, this situation was all the more embarrassing than it'd been just being a coincidence of no comprehension. She turned to those around and offered apologies just barely audible enough for others to hear. "S-Sorry for the noise!" Particularly, she was making sure to glance for forgiveness from the stranger with a book in her hands, since that person seemed most likely, to Jaluna, to need the most quiet of the room.

Internally, as she waited to see how the apparent @Gwyn ap Herne in person would react and perhaps learn the identity of the other mysterious stranger, she took mental note to try to catch the one with the interesting book before she fled after reading. A book on pleasing a lover wasn't a bad idea for someone so meek when she had someone in mind, after all.

@Ashiore Evretto | @Vivian Cruz

 

There was coincidence, and then there was this. Dongxue joined the woman that definitely had to be Gwyn in laughing, because stuff like this didn't happen outside of crazy sitcoms or the premises to really corny YA literature. But apparently, that was her life now.

Well, mathematically, it had to happen to someone. Terrasphere was only restricted to certain states anyway. It was a lot of ground to cover, but there were just so many players in game. Someone eventually had to stumble across someone they knew in game through pure chance, especially since that commercial that had taken over basically every channel however long ago. But she never thought that it'd happen to her, much less people that she knew pretty well!

When the brown-haired woman fell out of her chair, Dongxue jolted. She went over around the table, frowning in concern. "Are you all right?" she asked. "Here, let me-" She tried to help her up as best as she could, taking note of the cane that the other woman had. When everything was settled and after making sure that nothing was seriously hurt, she relaxed.

"Yeah, I play too. Actually, I'm Ashiore." Still in mild disbelief at how this had all turned out, she took one of the seats, looking between the two not-really-strangers. Continuing this conversation was suddenly way more important than whatever else she was going to do. "I can't believe that you're both players too? And we all know each other. That's just- that's crazy!"

Gwyn was pretty much the same person, so she didn't have much of a mental adjustment. But seeing Harveste in real life--or, Jaluna, as she had introduced herself--was quite the shock. Trying to mentally equate the two in her mind was an interesting exercise. Though she supposed that she didn't have much room to talk. Gwyn was probably having the hardest time, considering that she didn't resemble Ashiore at all either.

She tugged self-consciously on her gloves, though they were already a snug fit over her hands. All this talk about the game put her back in Terrasphere mode, where trying to keep other people from noticing the smell of rot was always on her mind. "Oh, and I'm Dongxue. But Winter is okay. That's what most of my friends call me. So do you both stay in New York?"

 

"Decaf coffee, please. And make it fresh. I don't want any of that shit that has been sitting there all day." Then there it was...the long list of names that just seemed to roll off the tongue of the employee of the coffee house. Vivian rolled her eyes, removing the lollipop from her mouth, "Just decaf, black! Nothing else. Ugh!" It was not so hard to make black decaf coffee. Why did everyone make things so much more difficult than they needed to be. Once that little exchange was over, the woman once more put her lollipop back in her mouth only biting on the hard candy waiting for her coffee. The stick was flung into the trash at a small distance, a small victory smile played on her lips as she made it in.

Her cold eyes shot the employee a look when he gave the total almost breaking her out of her current pleased state. She sighed and began to dig into the back portion of her pants. Her fingers clearly visible through the tight jeans as she fished for cash and then realized she didn't have her money in that spot. "Oh, I forgot. Excuse me for a moment." The female turned around briefly sticking her hand down her tank top and fished out a five dollar bill. She smiled at the man who was behind her and gave him a small wink before she turned around and held the money in her hand, "Ya know what? You can keep the change. I am pretty sure you need it more than I do." The harsh, flirty woman took the hot cup of coffee from the service table, took a side step from the other customers and walked back to her seat.

It was in that time she sat down once more, crossing one leg over the other before sipping her hot drink. They might have the weirdest names for coffee now, but this was actually a nice cup of decaffeinated coffee. Vivian could only melt in her seat as the first taste hit her lips. Nice and bitter tasting, just to give her the jolt she needed to warm up her feelings. Casually gazing at the other girls at the table, Vivian returned to her book and prompted to read it once more.

The conversation highlighted some names Vivian had heard in passing but not actually met in the game world. It was interesting to see how they all seemed to find each other in this little coffee house. Fate was sometimes a weird thing, but she had yet to reveal anything about herself. Vivian closed her book and then set it down gently on the table as her focus was put on the window across from her. She would sit there and drink her coffee, her pierced tongue would roll gently over her lips before someone stood at her table. A male, tall, nice eyes and features with a light stubble on his chin.

"I couldn't help but look at the interesting book you got there. That's something interesting to read at a coffee shop, don't you think?" he laughed nervously. Vivian was gonna play along. She leaned over her table, clearly her busty chest revealing the ample curves through her tank top as she looked at the man with those alluring eyes of hers.

A smile formed on her lips, "Are you hitting on me? Is that what is happening here? You are cute, but you might wanna try your luck elsewhere, kid." Shot down. A failure. The poor guy nervously laughed again mumbling how he had horrible luck with women before facing his defeat at the cashier. Women of New York could be so cruel, at least she didn't antagonize him. Besides, it was the season of giving.

After the brief exchange, Vivian could only laugh and looked to the group of women next to her table. "It's the Holiday Season. No one likes to be alone during these times. Happens a little too often around me though... I couldn't help but overhear you all talking about a game! I suppose in this day and age, girls can do that kind of stuff without being ridiculed for it, huh?" The female let her accent roll gently off her tongue, it had distorted her normal sultry tone she used in game and helped with disguising who she was better. It was not time to let these girls know who exactly she was, besides with the rumors of who she is, it might spell some kind of disaster for their little happy meeting.

The sexy female smiled briefly at them as she looked at the blonde (@Gwyn ap Herne ) more closely with a sort of look in her eye as she teased the nail of her pinky with her mouth, gently biting at it as she looked at her curiously. "Dhalia." Vivian would say, announcing her middle name to those in the small crowd.

"It's nice to meet you girls. Are you all shopping for gifts and stuff for the holidays? I just got a few cute things myself. I am so terrible at buying gifts for others, but I only have one person to buy for this year. So I ended up picking up some cute lingerie. Looks like someone here did a LOT more shopping than me though." She looked at the sprawled out bags on the floor from the nervous brunette.

 

Sabine instinctively jerked to stand and help not-Harveste when she fell from her own seat, but the other apparent player beating her to it wasn't the only bump in that particular road. A nasty, bone-deep ache pulsed through the joint of her hip and rattled its way down her thigh. She grit her teeth and forced herself to sit back. Idiot. One would think she would know better after months and months of dumb, quick movements biting her in the ass as punishment. At least she was used to hiding the pained winces. She hadn't seen that momentary panic in her father's face for at least a month and a half. It wouldn't do to have to see it on the faces of strangers with hidden faces she knew well.

Instead, she simply smiled ruefully at them as they spoke once more. When the Asian woman who had first approached her gave her own in-game name, Sabine could only bark out another laugh. "No kidding? @Harveste, @Ashiore Evretto, and @Gwyn ap Herne all in one place." She could only helplessly shake her head and throw her hands up as if in defeat. "What are the odds?" The blonde grinned at them as they gave their names and nodded along. "Sabine Bertrand, at your service," she said playfully with a mock bow as far as sitting at the table allowed.

It was curious to see how different they were in person compared to the bodies and names they wore in-game. It made her curious to see if their personalities were different too. Sabine had never cared for more creative hobbies, be they writing, art, or video games, so she'd not gotten the chance at any point to be- well- anything but herself. Which wasn't a bad thing, but it made things like Terrasphere a little odd. She understood on a fundamental level that people played people that weren't just like them, if it was as simple as a different appearance or as grand as a change in personality. She had a feeling her two friends and these two strangers weren't too far apart. They certainly didn't seem like it off the bat.

Ashi- Dongxu- Winter asked after their location and she leaned forward once more to get more comfortable. "No, I rode the Hyperloop in from New Brunswick. I don't get out often, but this store was the only one they'd ship a particular order to so," she shrugged, "here I am. I'm guessing you two are here for the same reason, considering all the bags." She pointed toward Ha- Jaluna's sizeable collection of what she assumed to be Christmas gifts.

The sudden cut-in from the woman at the table next to them cut her off before she could ask more. Her commentary was a little odd, but it was clear she was a fellow player. Not someone Gwyn knew, though Sabine hadn't known Jaluna or Winter for their characters either. "Ridiculed for what?" She didn't necessarily expect an answer as she figured it might have been something about the VR game. Hard to keep up with societal trends when one lived in cabins and camping grounds, or in town without social media and such, for years.

Sabine didn't comment on her nail-biting, but it did seem strange to be doing. Wasn't it expensive to get your nails done? What if she scratched them? That was a thing that concerned people who did that, right? Maybe she'd ask Alix next time she saw her. Also, she was fairly sure it was a social faux pas to bring up lingerie in a public space since people were weird about... things like that. That she was sure of. Mostly.

 

The woman with the cute bob (or that's what Jaluna decided it could be claimed as a hairstyle) tried to help her. Hearing who she was, it was hard to be surprised at her kindness. Though lightly red, she accepted the help and got to her feet and lifted her cane with an awkward grin. "I can see the resemblance, mentally at least. You're just as kind offline as you are on. I'd say that goes for both of you, though."

It was amazing, the three of them meeting. The other part that amazed her was their names, in some strange way. "Dongxue...?" She had to admit, it was hard to say that one. She wasn't very good with them, but she seemed to be able to at least awkwardly pronounce it- though not as well as she'd like.

"Yeah... Winter sounds good. I feel more confident in saying it, and... It's rather fitting for this time of year, don't you think?"

Before she could respond to Winter's question about where she was from, a fourth woman joined the group and began to tease her for her rather... Overindulgence in buying goods this time of year. "Some of it's for family, some for my girlfriend I hope to surprise while I'm in the area... I'm also just a sucker for a good sale, though, to be honest."

It confused her when she'd joined, leaving the girl to wonder a bit why she'd suddenly mentioned the way the world had changed when it came to games and girls. "Do you play them too, miss? It's really rather amazing, true... But I've been playing games since I was really little. I'm pretty sure since the start of the century, it's been getting to be more normal and acceptable for girls to game like the guys do. I mean... I spent a good half of my life playing games with my guy friends constantly. Old school games too."

She was getting off topic, she realized- and she still hadn't answered Winter's question. "I'm actually from New Jersey as well. I come up by cab though, because things like trains and the hyperloop are a bit much for me. Sometimes a bus is okay, too... But..." Getting into a chair properly, she began to reorganize her bags and glanced in Sabine's direction.

"What's the hyperloop like from there? I haven't been to New Brunswick since the big bowling alley closed down a decade or so ago. I used to go there all the time with my family."

She found some of her more awkward gifts that were clearly meant for adults and turned scarlet, hiding them quickly under cloth. A lot of awkwardly colorful cloth that probably wasn't what she wanted seen either. "I-I was hoping to surprise my girlfriend since she lives in the city, but... I may have gotten too much to go see her... And some if it is just way too embarrassing, as I look at it again... What about you guys? Plans for the holiday?"

@Ashiore Evretto | @Gwyn ap Herne | @Vivian Cruz

 

After helping Jaluna up, she blushed at the compliment. Not knowing what exactly to do with it, she just ignored it. "Um, yeah, it can be hard for people to get their mouth around sometimes," she said, choosing to pick up the conversation from the mention of her name. "Dongxue actually does mean 'winter snow', so I guess it's appropriate either way. But Winter is usually easier for people."

Settled back at the table, she listened to, ah, Sabine talk about where she was from. So, New Jersey. That was still rather close. She glanced back at her purchases. She didn't have quite as many bags as Jaluna did, but yeah, it was pretty obvious what everyone was out for.

"Yeah, I kind of forgot that Christmas was so soon-"

Her next words were interrupted by another addition to the conversation. The woman from the next table started talking about games and girls being able to play them? Which, Dongxue guessed was true? She never had much experience with games growing up, Terrasphere being the only one she really got into. Though if most people felt like this about games, it was no wonder that people loved playing video games so much.

"I guess?" she said in response to the other woman's comment. Dhalia, she said. "Um. I wouldn't really know. Nice to meet you, Dhalia."

But then- oh. Um. Dhalia was starting to talk about lingerie? Um. Right here, out in the open? Uh. Dongxue had literally no idea how to respond to that, so she just averted her gaze, unsure of what to do. So- Oh, thank goodness. Jaluna had jumped in with another line of conversation to pick up.

"That sounds great!" she said. "I don't really have much plans for Christmas. My family doesn't really celebrate, but getting people gifts just seems polite."

@Gwyn ap Herne
@Harveste
@Vivian Cruz

 

Her eyes had given the young women a careful look as she sipped her hot coffee. Holding it in her hand, the busty female only shrugged her shoulder. Perhaps she was a little more out spoken and honest about things. Perhaps not honest at all and was just more open with the way she talked to people, even strangers.

She took a step back from their conversation though, allowing them to talk amongst each other. It was somewhat rude to barge in on them, but at the same time she knew faces to players now. Whether this was good information or not to have. Even if Vivian was not playing the game, she was still playing it. A piece of her felt like it revolved around her at times. And how could she not? In the game she met a fantastic woman, she had hoped to replicate that same feeling in this world as well. Why else would we have gone out of her way to buy some sexy clothing?

It was nice to relax though, have a cup of hot coffee, learn some faces and just have a normal life away from it. But there was a need, desire, a craving that made Vivian want to gut them all with a knife to find out their juicy beating secrets... If they even had any.

Vivian returned her gaze away from the women, sitting back in her seat and drank her coffee. The look on her face was rather expressionless as she tapped her nails against the table and started rummage through her purse for something. Pushing away lose cash, makup pallets and sticks of lipstick, the female picked up a small stack of corporate cards. Leaning from her table and placing the stack of business cards down, Vivian smiled at the girls lifting her hands off of them.

"If you girls are ever in The Bronx, check out a spa called The Body Zen. We do full body massages, manicures, pedicures, the works. You let them know Dhalia sent you, and you get your first massage for free. If I'm working that day, feel free to ask for me personally. I'll take real good care of ya!" Vivian being so nice, it was a chance to spread the word of her place of business of course the chances of any of them ever showing up was slim, though it couldn't hurt to try.

The female sat back up in her chair, one leg over the other as it bounced on her knee and cradled that hot cup of coffee. For the time, unless something comes up to catch her attention, Dhalia wouldn't intrude any further.

 

"Ah," Dongxue said, picking up the card. "Um, thanks. I'll be sure to do that," she said, giving Dhalia a small smile.

She looked back at the others and turned around to look back at the other two at her table. As she turned, she caught a glimpse of the clock hanging on the cafe wall, and her eyes widened as she looked at the time. "Oh- damn it! I have to go home soon, I promised my Dad I'd be back early to help him out." And she'd need to get a head start if she was going to sneak these presents into her room so she could wrap them away from prying eyes.

Dongxue smiled at Gw-Sabine and Jaluna. "Maybe I could give you my phone number? Just so we can in touch. I mean, if you like. And maybe we should all meet up in-game soon!" If they agreed, Dongxue quickly rattled off her phone number before picking up all her bags and standing up. "It was really great to meet you! See you, and I hope you all have a great Christmas!"

With one last longing glance at the long line--she never did get a chance to get her coffee after all--Dongxue left the shop with one last wave back.

Well, guess we should wrap up this thread! Feel free to make an exit post if you like.

 

Jaluna took the information down that Dhalia gave, though she was still just a bit confused as to what brought it up. "I'll definitely stop by sometime. I've heard massages are great for nerve pain." She giggled slightly, smiling to the stranger, before looking to Winter when she began to note she was on her way off.

"Ah, sure! I'll give you guys mine too. It really has been fun, but I'm sure we all had things we meant to do. I need to figure out how I'm carrying all these to a cab and home." Laughing, she pulled out a notebook from one of her bags and wrote down the number given to her, and Sabine's as well if she could get it. She tore a piece off of the page to write her own twice, handing them to both the women.

When she handed them over, she returned to her notebook to make sure she'd properly labeled who each person was- both by out of game and in game names. The same (mostly) went for the shop the mysterious other woman had noted. Just so she wouldn't forget to add them to her address book later.

Finished with her notes, she gathered her bags and awkwardly adjusted to carry them all, smiling to smiled and called out a farewell to Sabine and Dhalia, having seen Winter already leave. "It was nice meeting you! Be safe getting home!" She couldn't wave with her hands full, but could at least call out her goodbyes, right?

Though the trip to the city had, as usual, been filled with some fair anxiety and clumsiness, she was more than glad she'd gone to where she did for her shopping that day.

--Exit--

[OOC: Yeah, sounds good. This was fun though! We should have more threads and fun after this~ So many new options have opened up from it!]