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This was a bad idea this was a bad idea this was a bad idea.
Holly runs as fast as she can but the demon's faster. She has no idea where Lightning's gotten to; maybe he found a tree to climb. She on the other hand has been diverted into a treeless hill and she's careening down a slope, trying very hard not to trip.
And the demon's gaining on her.
She's never seen anything like it and neither has Crystal; maybe Book knows what it is but Book's asleep. It's mostly mouth - it looks like a cross between a floorlength mirror of a mouth and a snake to propel the mouth along.
And Holly's not fast enough.
The mouth catches her.
But it doesn't hurt.
Where are we?
inourhead
joyful_soul
After some searching, it's Jenny who finally locates the store with some caged gerbils in the back. "Aren't they cuuuuute," she purrs, scooping one up to cuddle it.
honestly_determined
Ali peers at it. "Cute," she says grudgingly, "but I like the mice better. These are too... fluffy."
when_spoken_to
While Jenny and Alli bicker happily about the ideal fluffiness level of pets, Emma tunes them out and looks at a much more alert-seeming Holly. "You saw the gerbil, touched the gerbil, are you good now?" she asks. "Or do you want to buy one? More?"
inourhead
"Mouse not - like gerbil," says Crystal. "Mouse, gerbil -" She mimes claws and bares her teeth.
when_spoken_to
While Emma has no doubt that this is perfectly true, she doesn't have any idea how that works with Holly's- whatever it is she does. "Um," she says blankly. "Claws," she supplies the hand gesture, and "fangs. Sharp," she uses her canines to attempt to demonstrate. "So- gerbil not like mouse- gerbil good? Gerbil bad?"
inourhead
"Mouse good. Mouse?" asks Crystal. "No mouse - gerbil, gerbil, gerbil, gerbil. Child gerbils."
when_spoken_to
Emma shrugs. "If mice are better, we'll try to find mice first."
She leads them back out into the Plaza of Women. She doesn't ask the owner of the gerbils where to go- it seems vaguely insulting, somehow. But she buys them all a bag of chocolate drops and gossips with the candy seller, and extracts the name of a smaller, more boutique store known for "more exotic pets." It's on the far edge of the Plaza, practically to the men's side, but when all is said and done it's not that large a square.
The owner of the boutique store eyes Emma's company warily- they're not dressed nearly as nicely as she is- but is polite and deferential to Emma, so as long as he restrains him to staring, Emma deems it not worth lecturing him. He assures her that he does, in fact, have what she is looking for, right there in the back, the latest trend, would she and her friends care to see?...
Emma sighs, and prepares to haggle. She waves Alli, Jenny and Holly towards the side wall where the mice are said to be. Go on, take a look, I'll be here bartering.
She leads them back out into the Plaza of Women. She doesn't ask the owner of the gerbils where to go- it seems vaguely insulting, somehow. But she buys them all a bag of chocolate drops and gossips with the candy seller, and extracts the name of a smaller, more boutique store known for "more exotic pets." It's on the far edge of the Plaza, practically to the men's side, but when all is said and done it's not that large a square.
The owner of the boutique store eyes Emma's company warily- they're not dressed nearly as nicely as she is- but is polite and deferential to Emma, so as long as he restrains him to staring, Emma deems it not worth lecturing him. He assures her that he does, in fact, have what she is looking for, right there in the back, the latest trend, would she and her friends care to see?...
Emma sighs, and prepares to haggle. She waves Alli, Jenny and Holly towards the side wall where the mice are said to be. Go on, take a look, I'll be here bartering.
joyful_soul
Jenny joins her, cooing delightedly over the small fuzzy creatures, her initial fear of 'mice!' apparently totally forgotten.
inourhead
Holly picks over the mice, makes sure they aren't prone to bite, and eventually has six lively ones that she likes swarming around in her hands.
when_spoken_to
Emma has rather an adventure of a time haggling the man down without making it clear that they need mice, in particular, and somewhat urgently. But she's watched her father for years, gone with him on his business trips, helped him translate some of his deals. She's not good at standing up for herself, but with her friends backing her up she can just... imitate him, closely enough to cover the gaps.
The mice aren't cheap, but she gets a reasonable discount.
Handing over a quint-gold, she accepts her change and smiles at Holly. "Good? You have your mice?"
The mice aren't cheap, but she gets a reasonable discount.
Handing over a quint-gold, she accepts her change and smiles at Holly. "Good? You have your mice?"
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