How to Co-Ed your friends

[Guest]

It seemed like so long ago since Tanya had visited this country that was such the opposite of her land of sun and heat. Drachma. Her sister had dropped off the grid and was lost to the netherworld of the Drachman military. Who knew what she could be doing at this point in time? Was she killing folk in the war that was rumored to be going on? Was she on some kind of secret op that Tanya could only imagine would be happening? None of these idea's were really pleasant to the pacifist as she strode down the snowy street. She was wearing the clothes she had bought specifically for the occasion, a tall hat keeping her head warm. One could wonder how in the world she afforded this second trip back, but she was planning on doing some more digging into what had happened to her father. There had to be some kind of trace of them somewhere! People don't just disappear without leaving SOMETHING behind.

She had a large duffle-type bag slung over her shoulder, somehow matching her clothes despite its bulky nature. She had at least found a cheap place to stay, but then again, Drachma would be making it cheap. They were still recovering from their last fight, and the city seemed oddly emptier of soldiers than it usually was. They must be leaving somewhere soon then. It was the only logical solution. The last time she was here? There were soldiers everywhere. You couldn't look past a street corner without finding at least one or two of them about. Like the amount of liquor stores full of vodka. She never did have a taste for the stuff, at least not as far as she knew. She didn't drink that often after all. But now, Tanya found herself walking down a rather quaint street with little shops full of do-dads and whatnot that were most likely authentically made and not imported from anywhere.

She began to slow by a bookshop since she did wonder if they had any good florist books. Sure the land consisted mostly of ice and snow, but you never knew these things! Hell, maybe there was a book on alchemy she could find that would help further what she had already taught herself. This wasn't a country that frowned down upon it after all. Or.... maybe it did.... she hadn't researched the new regime that much, but dark rumors had been heard nonetheless. Either way, Tanya decided to stroll inside, a little bell ringing to signal her arrival. "Welcome, welcome! By all means look around, we have a lot of things for you to see. Give a holler if you have any questions." She heard in the background, leaning this way and that to see if she could spot the owner. Her crimson eyes settled upon a dark haired man with a kind face, his eyebrows raising when he saw an albino woman standing in his store. "Hello! Thank you, I will." She responded, wandering slowly down one of the aisles.

[Emmelin]

The day had come that a woman known as Valeria Diablos would do something not even SHE pictured herself doing. Her eyes pursued and chased each sign she could barely read. What was the each and every shop selling? Val couldn't really figure out. Still learning the language, her knowledge was sub par and so, she was at the level of Drachman as most infants. Her eyes searching and craning to figure out the words. What was that last sign? She couldn't really guess. An hour of searching not only stores she had no idea of what they were, she found herself trying to figure out WHAT she could buy the man that MIGHT get a positive reaction out of him. Her eyes were half closed, dull annoyance formed under her heavy lids. Ready to give up, she simply resigned to what she ASSUMED was a bookstore. He liked books, right? Often times, she saw him sitting and reading some book. Unfortunately his tastes were beyond her. The best she could do, was take a wild guess and hope for the best.

As she stepped in, a kind person yapped on some sort of welcome that Valeria couldn't honestly care less about. Brow furrowed and leaking determination, she was half storming to the shelves. So many titles, so many she didn't understand. Why was the language so confusing. From what she saw, the first book was either about sex or the number six. She wondered if it was the latter, if so, was it a murder mystery? Would he like it? She didn't take the chances and sought another book upon the shelf. Upon opening, she found pretty pictures, then seeing how EXCITING it looked, he put it back. The man was probably more into something far more depressing, small print and no pictures.

Unsure what it was about, she craned at her short height, to peak at the top shelf. A particularly thick book sat their like juicy meat and lured Val to try and reach. After a moment, Val jumped and swiped at it. Somehow grabbing it with a swift strike, she proceeded to look through it. What the book was about, she had no idea. It looked like something Zabulon might like, though, so she retreated to the counter where the owner peered at her with a crooked look. Placing the book on the counter, Val thought carefully before managing a poorly created sentence. "This is how much money?" It seemed for a brief moment that she imagined Zabulon thwapping her at the back of the head. Just as it slipped, she knew it was stated wrong and she bit her lip. The owner simply stared at her before laughing and stating an amount. Then it occurred to her, she would need DRACHMAN money. Right. For a moment, she would swish around her pockets, pulling out the various coins and bills she had. They spilled upon the counter and the man blinked a couple times. Was he impressed, repulsed or just confused? Any way, he began to separate the various money into piles according to where they were from. Val waited a bit impatiently, tapping her foot and looking over her shoulder in a paranoid way.

[Csilla Angelis]

{BUMP}

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