Demon Marcus, Sunday

[myownface]

Okay, so Sparkle hadn't actually come in to work at the clothing store in a while. Could he be blamed for that? Who wanted to work over the winter break, anyway?

Or... any other time that was even remotely inconvenient by a teenager's standards, apparently?

But he was here today, which was what was important, because with new folks on the

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[hexentotchen]

Hanna had decided to explore the town a bit, before heading out into the wildlife park outside the dorms. The longer she stayed with no one pulling her aside and demanding answers from her, the more secure she felt. And Elsa had mentioned clothes, yesterday.

She was looking at the cartoon characters with curiosity but zero recognition when she spotted Sparkle. She nodded carefully to him. "Hello."

[myownface]

Sparkle had just finished putting a Bugs Bunny on a hanger when the new girl nodded and spoke. And then he was glancing her way and giving her a little grin and a nod right back.

"Hey there," he replied. "New girl, right? Pretty sure I know all the old faces."

[hexentotchen]

"Yes," Hanna agreed, trying out a small smile. "Very new." She looked around, trailing her fingers over a huge coat, marveling at all the bright colors. "I am Hanna. Today is my second day here. Who is the rabbit on these shirts?"

[myownface]

"You don't know Bugs?" Sparkle blinked, and then looked at the shirt, and then looked at Hanna. "Yeah, you're definitely from not around here. He's all, like, slapstick comedy, one step ahead of the hunter, what's up, doc. Which makes way more sense if you've seen him in action, I promise. Where are you from, if you don't know Bugs Bunny?"

[hexentotchen]

Hanna's face turned a little pink, and she considered her usual lie about Liepzig. But. That wouldn't make sense in this context, would it? This wasn't a rhetorical question, like Sophie used to ask.

"Finland," she said, voice muted. "A very small place. No electricity." She added in a rush, "I am becoming more familiar with modern popular culture every day."

A bright purple coat had caught her eye, and she was rubbing the sleeve between her fingers. "What is this made of?"

[myownface]

"That one?" Sparkle glanced over at it, tilting his head a little. "Probably like a cotton-polyester blend, but don't quote me on that. The tag'll say, though."

That was super helpful if you, say, knew where to look for a tag.

"Looks warm, though. Lots of padding in there means lots of insulation, you know?"

[hexentotchen]

Hanna gave a very serious nod at that, not looking for a tag yet, and said, "The color would not blend in, in the forests. But for the city, it would be well, yes?" She tilted her head, poking at one next to it. "Or perhaps orange?" Her lips quirked in amusement, and she glanced at Sparkle again, a little more of her accent coming out. "I like your hair. How does it stay up like that?"

[myownface]

"Orange is good if you're, like, walking at night or going hunting with people," Sparkle replied. "So you don't get hit by a car or, like, shot by accident."

See, he knew stuff!

"And hey, thanks." He gave a little grin. "Hair gel. It's like... kind of... sticky... Huh. This is easier to just show people than to explain, you know?"

[hexentotchen]

"Do you have some here?" Hanna asked hopefully, wanting to see how he did it, then stopped when she spotted a bright pink shirt with a Tasmanian Devil on it. "This. I like this." He looked fierce! And yet, also funny. She wandered back to the orange coat, and then admitted, "I don't have very much money. Only one credit card. And I must be careful."

[myownface]

Sparkle was about to reach under the counter for his gel -- because of course he had gel here -- when she started talking about money. And he pursed his lips a little. And nodded.

"Tell you what... without even looking at the price tag on there, what is the most you think you can spare for a warm winter coat?"

Yes. Yes, he was skipping over to cover the tag on the coat up with one hand. Because that's how Sparkle rolled.

"Just throw me a number. One that you'd look at and go, 'that's almost too much for me.'"

[hexentotchen]

Hanna paused, totaling things up in her brain. Food and board, provided for. Weapons available. Leave aside enough for future supplies for school, or an emergency...

She had no idea how much a coat should cost; especially not a nice winter one. She bit her lip. "One hundred and twenty dollars? American?" she offered. The coat would last a while, wouldn't it? And it was more important than any other article of clothing. "Yes. I could afford that much. Perhaps, a little more."

[myownface]

Sparkle took a moment to look at the price tag himself. Damn this store and having such high end clothing, it was well over that, even with the sale today. He pursed his lips a little, and nodded.

"Get the coat, then. And that shirt you like. How much clothing do you have? Like, you're not going to be wearing the same pants all week or anything like that, are you? I think I can cut you a deal. Like, over the half-off, if you need it."

[hexentotchen]

"I have many pairs of underwear. And socks. And another shirt." Hanna paused, looking down at the worn blue jeans she had been loaned by Sophie. "Why would I need another pair of pants?" She tilted her head, then patted the Tasmanian Devil shirt with a pleased smile.

[myownface]

"So you can wear clean clothes on the regular," Sparkle explained. "Um... So they don't start to smell or fall apart, you know?"

He pursed his lips, and then gave her a good once-over.

"Okay. So what we're going to do is hook you up with like, four more shirts, two more pairs of pants, that coat you were looking at, some boots, gloves, a hat and scarf, and... do you need a bra? You'll probably need a bra, not that it's any of my business. And I'm gonna pick out the ones you can afford with that price you gave me, okay? Here, try this on."

Yes, he'd already ripped the tag off the coat, and now he was pulling it off the hanger and holding it out to her.

[hexentotchen]

Bewildered but willing, Hanna took the coat and tried it on, pleased at its puffiness and how many pockets it had. "I don't know. How do you tell if you need a bra? I have always worn my undershirts tight. For support." She flipped up the hood and said with an edge of worry, "Are you certain these won't be too expensive? I could make gloves out of deer hide, with a little time." Boots, too!

[myownface]

"Yeah, but it'll be cold out there getting the hide without gloves," Sparkle reasoned. "Anyway, the teal deer are a protected species, here."

So maybe no killing them all willy-nilly.

"And checking if you need a bra, like, right away is easy. Here, jump up and down a few times on the spot. Tell me if it's uncomfortable."

Because they did run disgustingly freaking expensive, and if she could get by with an undershirt, who was he to argue otherwise right now?