2013-04-05: Share And Share Alike

Players:

JillV_icon.jpg SophieD_icon.jpg

Summary: It's finally time for Sophie to renew her wardrobe and stop borrowing Jill's bras.

Date: April 5, 2013

Log Title: Share and Share Alike

Rating: G


Westchester - Salem Center Food Court

Entering the mall brings its visitors right to the Food Court. A wide open area with tables and chairs sprinkled around it, its edges lined with a wide variety of fast food choices. Pizza, burgers, ice cream, chicken, Chinese, smoothies, you name it, you got it.


The beautiful Friday afternoon, sun shining and a temperature long sought through the winter, what better place to spend such a gorgeous day as inside an air-conditioned shopping mall. Jill lifts her sunglasses onto the top of her head as she and Sophie approach Salem Center. "C'mon, let's get inside. I'm starting to smell like a wood fire," says Jill, pausing to give her bare forearm a sniff. Subtly burning, but not yet on fire. Good enough. Clasping her blind roommate's hand, she ushers them forth into the mall for the greater good of consumerism.

Sophie keeps her cane out in front of her with her free hand, as she clings tightly to the slightly smoldering Jill, moving at the best possible pace that she can manage. "Si, and you must get inside quickly I think," she replies. "I would not want you to erupt into flames. It would be hard for me to explain such a thing to Nick, I am thinking." She allows herself a brief sigh of relief as she feels the air change, signaling the passage from outside into the mall proper. "It has been a while since I was last here," she admits. "Not since… before… everything."

"Wouldn't be the first time somebody's brought him a body part of mine," muses Jill, fingercombing her hair once the pair reach the interior of the mall. She cranes her neck to look up to the high ceiling of the mall's central courtyard. The vampire girl blows a bright pink bubblegum bubble which bursts almost soundlessly. "It'll be fine, y'know? You've got, like, one of the world's deadliest predators to carry your bags."

The blind girl makes a strange, choked sound, "Well, I certainly hope that never happens again," she replies, sounding all concerned. "I am not really worried about anything happening, I do not think. Things have been quiet… and si, you are most fearsome, hmm?" She smiles pleasantly, though she does edge a mite closer to Jill as she walks. "…It is more, I cannot remember which shops are here. But, it will be wonderful to finally be able to have my own clothes again… and not have to worry about accidentally buying something that is…" she pauses, and coughs softly. "Let us say, 'not my style'."

Jill's hand squeezes Sophie's as the blind girl scoots closer. "Well, it's been a while, but I don't think too much's changed anyway." The vampire girl's pace falters, only briefly, before she asks, "Is there, like, somethin' wrong with my clothes? I mean, I know you want to replace your own and stuff… But I promise not to let you buy anything weird, okay?" Still, a few less granny dresses *might* be an acceptable compromise…

Sophie gasps, "Oh! No, I did not mean to say it like that. I have been quite happy borrowing yours, it is only, I would like to have my own again." Her face burns red, and she clears her throat. "I am sorry, Jill, I said that poorly. I only meant that I am glad you are here, so I am not at risk of buying something that will display a rude word across my chest, or some such. …And I will happily allow you to prevent me from buying anything a granny might wear, also, even… if it *is* what I am used to."

The vampire makes a noise somewhere between a cough and a choke. The thought of Sophie running around in a t-shirt with a big swear word on the front… "I promise," Jill says quickly. "Nothin' even remotely offensive. And, umm, y'know… they're your clothes so you should get what you want. I'll just help you pick out colors and stuff." A pause. "And underwear."

"Oh, I know," she murmurs. "But, Nick is not the only person ever to have said that I dress in a fashion that is… well, old fashioned. I would not mind being a bit more acceptable to the twenty-first century." She pauses, and quirks the corners of her lips upwards. "I may even consent to wearing jeans more often, instead of skirts all the time." She tilts her head to one side, and gazes sightlessly in Jill's direction. "Where do you usually shop?"

"Nothing wrong with skirts. Just, y'know, jeans have pockets and stuff. Personally I think you look good in 'em." Jill leads Sophie by the hand. Thankfully the crowd is moderately alert and give the pair some breathing space. "Uhh, Hot Topic, the Gap, those kinda places. Little clothes shops pop up all the time, so I usually go there." She pauses to chew at her bottom lip with a fang. "I guess I don't like wearing the same stuff as everyone else. That's a little shallow, maybe. How do you feel about it? Wanna wear something unique or something plain?"

Sophie shrugs lightly. "I do not think that is shallow," she murmurs. "I think you should wear what makes you feel comfortable and happy, si?" She pauses to apologize after her cane thwacks something, which happened to be a chair, not the person who was right next to it. "Uhm. Hmm. How do you mean unique? That certainly sounds like more fun than plain, I admit."

Jill winces a little at the thwack, about to apologize to the same chair. She flashes a brief embarrassed smile at the shopper instead. He gives the red-eyed blonde girl a little double-take. "I mean, like, more than just a nice white shirt. Somethin' with some life to it. Maybe not quite as unique as hand made, but- Ooh!" Sophie's hand gets a tug as Jill accelerates the pace. "Urban Outfitters! Perfect!" Stopping in front of the large windows, she makes all sorts of nearly silent 'ooh' and 'ahh' noises. "Get you some shorts, and sandals, and that top is *awesome*." Apparently her brain is so full of ideas that they're leaking out her mouth.

Sophie suddenly finds herself travelling in a different direction; thankfully, she is used to this sort of thing, even if it does result in some brief but rather frantic flailing with the cane. "I… had no idea there was any such store," she confesses. She listens, lips forming a smile, while Jill comments on the clothes. "If I might suggest," she murmurs, once she can get a word in, "You might need to tell me what they look like." She giggles softly, taking a moment to straighten a few locks of hair that got out of place during the flurry of motion. "Perhaps we should go in?"

"Eh?" Jill's head pops up like an alert meerkat. "Oh. Uh. Right." And hopefully no-one noticed that she had no reflection in the glass. Jill certainly didn't. "It's like, a whole store for people who aren't quite hipsters but also still like retro stuff. Like this," she says, apparently holding something up for Sophie to see… or at least feel. "Is really, really 80s. And here's some flannel. Pretty nice, but also pretty 90s." True to her word, Jill passes right over a t-shirt with a giant marijuana leaf on the front. Probably not what Sophie would wear.

Sophie doesn't merely finger the fabric of items she is shown; she holds them up, and lets them assume their proper shape, so she can get an idea of what they actually look like. "Flannel is… different," she confesses. "What does it look like? Is it plain, or are there patterns?" She pauses, and rubs her chin lightly, letting her cane dangle from her wrist. "I wonder if I can get Braille labels made that I can put on the tags, to tell me what color things are."

"Flannel's *always* got a pattern. An' usually they mean something, but I wouldn't count on a shirt in a mall having much meaning. This one's a soft green, blue, and black. It looks nice with your hair." Jill takes the garments and even refolds them to the best of her ability when Sophie is done. "Don't see why you couldn't. Or really, why you haven't already." She smiles and it tells in her voice. "Here, try this one."

Sophie hmms softly, "Well… maybe I should have it, then. You think it would look good on me?" She pauses, and blushes slightly, "Well, I have not done it before because I did not think of it before," she confesses. "I never really needed to, I was always wearing the same things with the same colors before." She scratches the back of her head lightly. "Does it sound silly, if I say part of the reason why I always dressed as I did, was because I was afraid to try anything else?"

"I think it would look nice and casual. Somethin' warm to lounge around in, too." Squatting next to a display, Jill is elbow-deep in the clearance racks. "I guess… no, not really silly." She pauses, rocking back on her heels. "It's a lot easier if everything you wear's the same. Trust me, I know. I had school uniforms. You don't have to worry too much about matching, or any of that."

Sophie nods her head slowly. "Si. When I was in the orphanage we did not so much have uniforms, as the sisters bought us all more or less the same things." She clasps her hands around the top of her cane, waiting while Jill searches things up. "I will have to get over my worry of wearing things that simply and completely do not match. …I have not really thought too much about colors for a long time, but I think this will be good for me, si?"

"It's kinda weird. I mean, not you, just- y'know, you make me think about stuff I normally wouldn't. Like how you have to fold different dollar bills different and stuff. Ooh, speaking of colors…" Jill draws something out from the rack. A dip-dyed knee-length dress that fades gently from navy blue around the skirt to a light sky blue at the collar. It's extremely soft and light cotton. "Give this a feel. An' while I can't promise you'll never go out of the house wearing mismatched socks or anythin', I'll do my best."

"I do do that," Sophie admits. "I really prefer coins, they have different edges… I would use my bank card, but I have to rely on the store clerk's honesty, since I cannot read the display on the machine, and I do not like that." She runs her fingers over the dress, and mms softly. "That feels wonderful," she murmurs. "I should try it on, si? …And, are you finding anything for yourself, too?"

"Yeah, y'know what I mean. Like crosswalks making a noise when it's okay to cross. I never noticed stuff like that before, I guess 'cause I didn't need to." Jill straightens from next to the clearance rack. "I'll find a few things. I don't think I'm gonna make a huge purchase today or anything, but you should try it on, oui." She holds up something else, apparently a fitted t-shirt with an intricate henna-like design in gold, maroon, and jade. Clearance, ten bucks. "Yoink."

"Exactly." Sophie grins broadly, "You would not believe how helpful those little noises are. Still, I prefer crossing the street when there are other people around, I am always a bit worried that someone might not be paying attention while they are driving their two thousand pound car at fifty miles an hour." She tries rooting through things for a couple of minutes herself, and comes out with a pair of shirts; one of which is dark pink with a white heart-shape on the front, and the other is a perfectly innocuous white that says 'boobs are awesome' across the front. "What do these look like?"

Jill eyes the one shirt warily, worrying at her bottom lip. "Uhh, you're batting about 500. Right hand good, left hand bad. The good one's a little girly, pink with a heart on it. Looks nice, though." As amusing as Sophie wearing a 'boobs are awesome' shirt might be, Jill promised to be helpful. *Helpful*. "Hmm. How do you feel about shorts?" Distressed denim with a few decorative rips here and there.

Sophie pauses. "I am not familiar with baseball terms," she admits. "That is baseball, si? But I assume that means fifty percent success." She puts the offending shirt back, and hangs on to the one with the heart. "It sounds… cute," she adds. "And… shorts? I used to wear them all the time when I was younger. Santa Margarita was often very warm."

"Just checkin." Jill grabs another pair of shorts, dusty rose red worn to white fringe around the cuffs. "Warm weather's coming, I hope, so these'll be good. You can get a swimsuit later." Handing over the shorts, it seems Sophie's becoming her own clothes horse. The vampire blows out a breath, hands on hips. "Maybe we should get a basket. A half dozen things does not a wardrobe make. What else are you short on, besides everything?"

Sophie uhms softly. She shifts what she's carrying to her left arm, keeping her right free for her cane. "Uhm… shirts, shorts, pants, skirts, blouses, dresses… blindfolds, I usually have four or five of those…" She pauses, and blushes slightly. "Bras," she adds, more quietly. "Like you said, really, everything."

Jill purses her lips. "You're in luck 'cause they have all of that here. 'Cept blindfolds." In a way, she hopes they don't have blindfolds. She shouldn't be quite as relieved to have full ownership of her clothes again, but sharing bras is a very fine line, even for roommates. "An' luckily I know you're the same size as me, so I can pick for you. Or, you pick by feel and I'll get the right size, 'kay?" It's actually a little surprising that the clothes-sharing has gone on this long.

Sophie shakes her head, "I usually just get bits of white cloth from fabric stores or something, for blindfolds," she murmurs. "They don't have to be anything fancy, just… enough to cover my eyes." She pauses, and nods her head quickly, "Si, but bras don't need to be anything fancy either," she points out. "I'm very grateful to you for sharing, by the way." As if sensing the unspoken feeling, the blind girl adds, "I would have done something about this much sooner, but… I was just… worried, about going out in public, after everything that happened late last year. I'm sorry for putting it off so long."

"No, no," Jill soothes with a wave of her hand. "It's fine. I was happy to do it, y'know?" Considering Nick expressed similar sentiments just yesterday, Jill finds it hard to fault Sophie for them. Instead she glosses over it. "Don't worry about it. I'm just sorry there's not a Braille bookstore in walkin' distance. Now c'mon." The vampire digs into a pocket and fans out a winning five-card hand of $100 gift certificates for any store in the mall. Thanks, Miss Frost. "Get anything you want."

Sophie is, of course, not without a few gift certificates of her own, though she doesn't produce them just at the moment. "Thank you," she murmurs. "A true friend is someone who sticks by you through thick and thin, helps you when you are lost or down, and lets you wear their clothes when all of yours are destroyed by rampaging killer cyborgs, si?" She pauses, and glances sideways. "Are there any good skirts in here?"

"And doesn't kick you out just 'cause you're a vampire," Jill chimes in. Aware of showing too much bling, she stashes the gift cards back in her pocket. Red eyes squint and search around the store. "There's a couple, but more pants than skirts." Moving around the store, her fingers brush against a deep gray paisley wrap skirt, nearly floor length. "I don't ever really wear long skirts," she observes, letting the fabric slip through her fingers with a soft whisper of sound. "Dunno why. Don't even really like shorter ones without some kind of tights or leggings underneath. Nobody needs to see my pale, skinny legs."

Sophie clucks her tongue. "Never," she replies. "I never think of you as a vampire anyway, Jill, just as one of my best friends, and for that it does not matter if you're a mutant or a vampire or… or anything, really." She smiles pleasantly, and bobs her head. "Mostly pants it is then, for now," she adds. "I really appreciate you spending the time here to help me out, too. "Shall we go try things on? That is one thing that definitely does not stop being fun."

Jill scoops up the few items she's picked out, the other taking Sophie's hand gently. "Ehh, the mirrors probably aren't gonna do me any good, but you're right. I *do* like tryin' stuff on!" Hmm. No mirrors and a blind shopping buddy. This might be tricky, after all.

Sophie shrugs her shoulders, "It is not as though mirrors do me very much good either," she points out. "I once had one of those moments, what do they call them in America… a 'brain fart', si? I forgot what color my hair is." She blushes softly, and shakes her head, before feeling for a door and disappearing into a change room. Of course, she tries the dress first, and emerges a couple of minutes later wearing it.

"That's okay. I forgot what color my eyes used to be. I mean, before blue-slime me. I know they were blue, and they're red now, but…" Jill drifts off into a little fugue, trying to jog her memory. Waiting patiently outside the changing room like a dejected boyfriend, Jill claps her hands together at the gently transitioning colors of the blue dress. "Wow. That looks *killer*." A pause. "That means it's good."

"I know the expression," Sophie replies, with an upwards quirk of her lips. "I have heard it before, si? A few of the other students use it." She sweeps her cane in a circle around her feet, and then pirouettes, spinning all the way around and causing the bottom hem of the dress to pick up and swirl around her legs, before falling back down. "I've really always worn skirts and blouses," she admits. "Not many dresses. I think this is a good pick, Jill."

The vampire girl is visibly impressed. "I think so too. It's a keeper." A smartphone gets fished out of Jill's other pocket and she begins to idly play with it while Sophie changes. She talks at the same time. "Maybe it's just that I don't like carryin' a purse, but I can't stand to leave all my stuff at home either. I've got too many toys." Suddenly remembering, she plucks the sunglasses from the top of her head where she'd forgotten she had them.

Sophie hmms. "I have never carried a purse," she murmurs. "Until recently I do not think I have ever really had any reason to bother with such a thing, I almost never carry money or anything. At least, not enough to get worried about." She shrugs, and steps back into the changeroom. "This one, I shall keep then, as you advise," she murmurs with a smile. A few moments later, and she re-emerges, wearing the pink shirt with the heart and a pair of shorts. "How is this?"

"Very sporty," Jill says approvingly. "Cute, like you should be at the beach or somethin'!" She rises from the bench seating near the dressing rooms, fussing over Sophie and making sure the clothes fit properly. "Maybe we should look for some new sandals to go with this, too." She beams, touching Sophie gently on the shoulder. "Oh, by the way, my eyes *were* blue, but like a different blue. Like the ocean, instead of the sky. I had to go and look at my old MySpace page to find a picture. MySpace, for God's sake." She chuckles at how lame it must seem. "Okay, so, one dress, one shirt, and one pair of shorts down. Let's keep goin', we've got all day!"

Sophie smiles pleasantly, "My eyes are blue, too," she murmurs. "But I do not know quite how they look anymore. I…" She trails off, and scratches the back of her head. "Well, I should keep trying things on, si?" Over the next few minutes, the collection of clothing grows a bit. "I think everyone who thought I looked like a teenage grandmother is going to be surprised," Sophie murmurs. "Perhaps all my clothes being burnt was a good thing, si?"

Jill makes a soft 'eh' sound and shrugs her shoulders, not quite agreeing but not really disagreeing either. "Let's just say mixing it up a little is prolly for the best. I mean, like, this isn't Extreme Makeover or anything, but I can think of worse things that buying a bunch of new clothes." She leans back, hands behind her head. "Maybe this time, I'll be the one borrowing *your* stuff."

Sophie chuckles softly. "I could hardly say no," she replies, bemusedly. "I would be quite pleased to return the favor, si?" A few minutes later, with everything paid for, it turns out that there is, as Jill said, plenty of time. "Where shall we visit next?"

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