It was another clear, bright day but by all that was holy it was cold out, and even though Maru was bundled up well enough under the circumstances, somehow the chill in the air still managed to feel like it was cutting through his coat to freeze his very bones. And with the days getting colder, fewer people were out and those that were, were reluctant to stop outside for long which meant that selling his ‘wares’ was an exercise in futility a lot of days.
In recent days, the Miqo’te had finally decided that it wasn’t worth it, sitting outside with his blanket of whittled figures, trying to sell something that might enable him to warm up with a coffee or fill his hungry belly.
Instead, he’d taken to trying to find any outlets that might be advertising (or not, because it didn’t hurt to ask) for volunteers.
There would still be no coffee, no sandwich, no money for a night indoors and out of the elements but at least if he could find somewhere to take him, he’d be warmer during the day. And keeping busy too, to help the time pass more quickly.
And so it was that after being declined at two other stores already that day, Maru set his sights on a third.
Hiding his pack of worldly belongings so that it wasn’t obvious that he was an... ‘unfortunate’ to the shopkeeper he was about to meet, the fair haired feline straightened his worn but not dirty clothes, tried to smooth his unruly hair into something a little more presentable than his usual ‘rolled out of bed’ look (failed, because his hair had a mind of its own) and took a deep breath. Third time was the charm right? Even though he’d thought the same the prior day... and the day before that...
One last check in the window of the flower shop to confirm that he looked like any other shopper, more-or-less and hoping he’d hidden his pack well enough that it wouldn’t get stolen in the meantime, Maru finally entered the store, smelling the flowers as he stepped inside.
“Uh, hello? I was... wondering if there were any volunteering opportunities available in here?”