Day of Regretfulness

[probablynoteren]

Who: Lenka & Caesar
Where: Somewhere in Palai Mall Purgatory
When: Day of Togetherness, probably
Open/Closed: Closed


[Lenka, for one, has no idea what this holiday is about.

He'd woken up later than was customary for him, which was still pretty early -- mostly due to the amount of noise outside, louder than the usual nightly ocean terrors and louder even than the usual Palai cheers when a coven member happened to pass by on their way to buy milk or something.

Looking out the window hadn't netted him any information whatsoever, besides that everyone seemed to be swarming in direction of the mall, so reconnaissance had been necessary. And he didn't have much else to do yet, but that's neither here nor there.

So now he's here, in the marketplace, doing his best to dodge any amphibians aiming for his magical autograph and... trying to figure out if those coven member autographs are real. Are they actually supposed to be signing things? Why??]

Comments

[probablynoteren]

Huh? What do fans have to do with--

[Oh, it's Glowing Guy.

Who's not exactly the number one person Lenka would want to meet on any given day, but not the last on the list either -- the point is, at least he's someone recognizable who might know what's going on and whether it's -- oh. Okay, so they're going that way.

Lenka almost pulls away reflexively out of surprise, but he reacts to the tone more readily than whatever the hell Caesar is talking about, quickening his steps and looking around automatically for escape routes. He has no idea what's chasing them (why is it a they now, honestly), so he can't use Usual Fridge Decoy #3.

It kind of feels like he's been doing a lot of distract and dash lately, for some reason.]

[girasole]

...they're single or are otherwise looking for a third in their triads.

[Does he have to explain more?]

[probablynoteren]

But -- we're not amphibians.

[Why is it a we, honestly.

Look, regardless of whether or not they talk or have cute houses or more culture than most of his planet put together, they're still frog people. Lizard people. Whatever. And yes, maybe they're a bit too interested in every aspect of the coven. Still?!

While puzzling this over (reluctantly), he spots an area where the crowd seems relatively thick and noisy, so... maybe they can get lost in the throng. Nothing can go wrong with this relatively simple plan.]

Over there, by the stuffed animals--

[girasole]

I see it. [...] If you summon a refrigerator to crush it and manage to not hit a Palai in the process I'll act as your alibi. [Don't actually do this.]

[probablynoteren]

[He gives Caesar a Look; mostly it's a look of confusion because is he expecting him to hit the stuffed animal stand? Are they creating some kind of distraction so they can slip into the crowd, or--

And then he looks around the immediate area and suddenly things are a little clearer. Maybe.

There's a merch stand beside the stuffed animals, some of its contents hidden because both stores are well-stocked! But it's somewhat impossible to hide the life-sized body pillow of Caesar spilling out of a box in the front. The Palai artist has thoughtfully added an Eltos-colored tail, even. It's. It's an image to remember.

Lenka kind of wants to pretend he never saw it. And comply with Caesar's request immediately.]

There's... There are too many Palai. [that's a really popular stand] I don't think we want their attention.

[He is pretty sure these count as fans, also. He's started moving a little more quickly to skirt around the place.]

[girasole]

[Meanwhile, he's reflexively reaching one hand around to try to cover his ass because that tail.]

You're right.

[They're skirting together.] If we're lucky someone else will show up and they'll go after them.

[They're heading into one of the more boring parts that probably has stuff like Palai-knockoff shamwows and knives and cupboard organizers for sale.]

[probablynoteren]

I don't think I've ever seen merchandise like that...

[Like, Fenrir likes to slap its logo on everything and technically God Eaters have some publicity, but he's never actually looked into all that stuff -- way too busy stabbing things out in the middle of nowhere. There's apparently also still fandom merch in post-apocalyptic 2071, but usually it's not real people.

RPF is a mysterious new world to him. He's going to just... close the door on that. But.]

Maybe we should let the rest of the coven know.

[He'd feel kind of bad letting anyone else walk into that?? He is pretty sure he spotted something even worse and dragon-themed and you know what, he's going to look at shamwows and stuff now.

Most of this is utility stuff, but Lenka slows down when they pass the places that sell things like knives (kitchen and normal) or hammers and other long-handled tools (a lot of the tools aren't something he can use, but a lot of this can still be used for defense). They can't afford to stop too much, but it's something to think about.]

[girasole]

What would we say? Most of them would be happier not knowing of this. [...]

No, some would be happier of this. Others would buy up everything they could find. Imagine: body pillows of yourself, night after night until you manage to wrestle it away from whoever thought it was a good idea and toss it into the nearest fire. No, it's easier avoiding this in the first place.

[probablynoteren]

I-- I guess it would be better to ignore it. But I don't think we have that much money to waste?

[He flushes both at the idea of trying to describe any of the merch they saw and at the idea of someone buying merch of him, even imaginary goods. He's trying really, really hard not to imagine anything concrete -- seeing it with other people was more than enough. ITP: bizarrely sheltered child soldier discovers the dark side of magic fandom.

To distract himself, Lenka throws himself at the nearest set of wares, which happen to be... I don't know, a set of dishes with tiny Palai figurines on the edges or something. Mildly fancy, totally harmless, somewhat impractical. Very good for staring at.

They're well-polished, too, you can see yourself in them--

Far off in the distance behind them, there's a little bit of commotion. It's not noticeable yet, though it's showing up in the dish Lenka's held up.]