welcome!

Hello! Can I help you find anything? Anything at all? Oh! The shoe aisle is right there in the back. Thank you for your patronage! {{ member of when the smoke clears }}

[restlessragdoll]

Seeking Inspiration || Sally & Reed

[restlessragdoll]

She smiled back and nodded, but then she recognized that he was knitting. Something she didn’t see many do lately. It peeked her curiosity and she browsed for a short moment before she neared where he stood.

"What… are you working on? If you don’t mind me asking that is…" She smiled at him nervously, curious but afraid to appear like she was prying.

[thneedvillereprise]

He'd turned back to knitting and reading almost immediately, but his attention is turned to her once again as she watches him. "Uhm...I'm not really sure right now, to be honest," he says. "Usually I'm working on prototypes for my new clothing item, you know? But right now I'm taking a break from that and just knitting whatever. I kind of feel like by the end of this I'm going to have a lot of knitted doilies."

[aforgottenheiress]

Um.... excuse me? || Reed and Abril

[aforgottenheiress]

Abril would have facepalmed if she weren’t trying really hard not to be rude. “Ice fishing, I suppose. Hunting, too, though I wouldn’t suggest it.” she laughed a little at her own private joke. He was staring at her injuries whenever he looked at her.

It was a little strange, usually she was stared at for completely different reasons- because she’d just made a huge mistake and was about to be punished, for instance. Or because she had makeup and nice clothes on and looked pretty.

It was odd to be stared at because of something so ugly.

She followed him through the store, trying to decide if she was bothered or amused by it all. It was certainly different. And this guy was 100% transparent about how he felt.

Should she just explain? Or would that be rude, to call attention to the fact that he was uncomfortable. Oh, she didn’t know. 

"I appreciate the little bit of sunshine that we had yesterday." she commented instead. "It was nice to get some Vitamin D."

[thneedvillereprise]

"I'm not really much of a hunter. I take it you are?" he says, catching her laughter. "I bet it's pretty interesting out there right now." Reed starts pulling out some peacoats of assorted colors and sizes and setting them down on top of a sign base.

He hoped his shock at the healing wounds wasn't super apparent. But then, he realized, all women have a sixth sense when it comes to feelings, and she probably knew what he was feeling even better than he did just by looking at him.

Reed steels himself and cuts a pact with his conscience to not look at her face, just look her in the eyes. Smile, be courteous, remember all the rules of good customer service. "Yeah, I definitely enjoyed the sun too," he comments, finishing up the job. "My boss let me have a long lunch yesterday so I went outside for a while."

[graygisbourne]

Cash to Burn || Reed and Gray

[graygisbourne]

A gray jacket for Gray. How fitting. “Good.” he said, waiting for the boy to come back. He looked rather familiar, but so many of the faces in town weren’t memorable, he wouldn’t be surprised if they had met before. It wasn’t a very large town, after all.

[thneedvillereprise]

Reed returns, coat in hand. The jacket is a dusty gray color, and he shows it to his customer. "Yeah...same kind of coat, same stitches and everything! Just a little color variation. What's the verdict?"

[lostlittlegrace]

Stranger than Strangers? || reed && paige

[lostlittlegrace]

The child studied the snow thoughtfully. “We could make it bigger than me. But you’d have to put the head on.” she craned her neck to look at him. “Is that okay?” she smiled really widely. “I’m Paige. Who’re you?”

[thneedvillereprise]

"Alright, sounds like a plan," Reed nods. "I'll put the head on." He smiles a little bit. He looks down at her, blinking every once in a while.

"I'm Reed. Do you have a parent around somewhere? Probably none of my business, but I'm just wondering."

[lostlittlegrace]

Stranger than Strangers? || reed && paige

[lostlittlegrace]

"Mkay." Paige beamed, leading over to the snow. "How big d’you want to make it?" she asked. Things like that were important to know before you started the creating process.

He was tall, she noted. And he looked sad. He definitely needed some serious snowman time.

[thneedvillereprise]

"Uh...up to you," he says, stretching his limbs before allowing himself to be led to the snowy area. "I haven't made a snowman in a really long time." He really needed a break from everything, so this would undoubtedly be a good mindless activity.

"What's your name?" Reed asks. He was towering over her, and the height difference almost made him start laughing.

[lostlittlegrace]

Stranger than Strangers? || reed && paige

Paige was playing in the park, tossing snowballs and playing at being in an enchanted land. She’d just tossed one extra far when she spotted someone sitting on a nearby bench. They looked lonely, she decided, skipping over to them. 

"Hello! Would you like to make a snowman?" she inquired politely, looking at the nearly-fresh fallen snow and then back at them expectantly.

[thneedvillereprise]

It had been a long month, with little pay and little hope, it felt. Reed had ended up going on a walk to clear his thoughts, and had taken residence on one of the public benches. The cold was almost putting him to sleep, when suddenly he found a little girl in his face.

Opening his eyes, startled, he took in his surroundings. The girl was cute, and he took a minute to absorb her question. A smile was put on his face. "Sure," he says hoarsely, throat having been chilled by the wind.

[aforgottenheiress]

Um.... excuse me? || Reed and Abril

Abril winced as she exited into the cold. The air seemed to simultaneously freeze and burn her nostrils as she inhaled, but she knew that if she breathed only through her mouth her sinuses would soon stuff up, so she ignored it and went walking anyway.

There wasn’t much point to this walk other than a chance to stretch her legs. She’d heard stories before of people who didn’t walk for long periods of time, and the bones in their feet softened like cartilage. Walking about was a little stiff at first, but it was nice to know that at least she was still able to.

She made her way around the southern end of town, peering in windows and occasionally popping into stores when she needed to warm herself. When she passed the clothing store, though, she paused. Inside was the most beautiful peacoat. It was the length of a trench and forest green in color, and she loved it.

Entering the store made a little tinkling noise; Abril barely noticed it. She made her way forward, but couldn’t seem to find where the coats were stocked. “Excuse me,” she said to a worker. “Where do you keep those peacoats?” she pointed to the one in the front and smiled at him, hoping that he wouldn’t react negatively to the still-healing wounds on her face.

{{what she looks like}}

[thneedvillereprise]

It was a chilly day today; Reed had come to work bundled up tightly in a long green coat of his own and a scarf, which he'd knitted to be super long and so that it would go up around his ears when he wrapped it around himself. Now here he is, humming and sorting hats on the far east wall of the store, really wanting to try that one top hat on-

The bell makes a tinkling noise and Reed turns around to see a woman with wow those are some nasty scrapes. Trying not to forget his manners, he chooses not to bring up the obvious wounds and focuses on her nice smile instead. "Peacoats? Sure, I can show you. If you want that one specifically, though, I might have to take it down. I don't think we have any others in that color." He returns her smile and beckons, starting to walk to a different part of the store.

"Chilly day out, isn't it?" Why is the social conversation default always the weather? He's sure that she's gotten plenty of questions about the wounds already, and he can't think of a different conversation topic--"Ice fishing season, maybe. Come to think of it, I haven't fished in a really long time."

Smooth, Reed, incredibly well done.

Reed's tempted to bonk his own voice out of his head but proceeds anyway to one of the many coat racks. He checks through the coats there. "Yep! Here they are."

[restlessragdoll]

Seeking Inspiration || Sally & Reed

[restlessragdoll]

Sally looked up at the voice, taking a moment to spot where it came from and, when she did she smiled pleasantly. “Hello.” She greeted softly, walking a bit nearer so she didn’t have to raise her voice to speak to him.

"Oh- N-no I’m just looking… I was hoping to find something to… help spark an idea… that’s all." She blushed, she felt the need to explain for some reason. Perhaps hoping he could help her.

[thneedvillereprise]

"Oh, you need inspiration. Well, feel free to take a look at anything, if you want. If you need help, just let me know," he says. He looks at her and smiles, hands still looping yarn and knitting quickly.

"Good luck!" Reed offers, pausing in his knitting to flip a page in one of the books he was reading.

[graygisbourne]

Cash to Burn || Reed and Gray

[graygisbourne]

A scowl appeared on his face at the news, but he kept his frustration in check because of the other one in the back. “What color?” he asked, agitated. Hopefully it wouldn’t be an atrocious red or yellow or color that only some irritating punk teenager would be caught dead in.

[thneedvillereprise]

"It's light gray. A pretty cool color, actually!" Reed quips. "Let me go get it, and you can take a look." He heads to the back of the store, thinking. He's SURE he's seen that guy somewhere. Maybe, though, it was just his overactive imagination.

[xquietgirlx-deactivated20140702]

II Laughing Strangers II reed && silena

[xquietgirlx-deactivated20140702]

She shook her head with a  smile. “I love shopping, but I’ve only been around in regular stores, not anywhere near you might be-” She really hadn’t seen him around, and she was a tad disappointed at that. She noted he was nice, when he let her move over to a safer place on the floor.

"Do you go to college or? How old are you?" There was a certain eagerness that built within her stomach, he hoped he was near her age at least. 

[thneedvillereprise]

"Oh. You should stop in sometime! We've recently gotten a hold of a lot of new products," Reed says. No harm in advertising, right? More customers meant more hours, which meant more pay.

"I'm 21. I don't have the funds for college; 'sides, at least I'm able to make a living," he states. "How old are you? Are you in college? You look like you're college-age."

[xquietgirlx-deactivated20140702]

II Laughing Strangers II reed && silena

[xquietgirlx-deactivated20140702]

He was grinning at her, and she didn’t know why really. She gently slid around upon the ice a little idly. “Good; I didn’t want anything bad to happen to you.” 

"You can call me whatever you please, Silena would be perfect though-" Her tone was soft as she gently moved about the slippery floor. "I haven’t met you before, have I?" She furrowed her brow, as she would have definitely remembered him.

[thneedvillereprise]

Removing his hand, he shifts over to let her stand on a dry patch. "Not unless you've been to the clothing store recently," he says. "I don't do much outside of my house besides work, I mean; of course I do grocery shopping and stuff, but...I don't think I've seen you around either."

[xquietgirlx-deactivated20140702]

II Laughing Strangers II reed && silena

[xquietgirlx-deactivated20140702]

She observed him briefly; he looked very unfamiliar. “Well, I’m glad you’re all right-” She smiled at him. She then, looked away, a slight hint of pink upon her cheeks. It always happened around new people.

Her green eyes looked at him in slight alarm. “I-I’m Silena, Desmond.. And you?” She asked curiously. He had dark hair, and pale skin, he was quite good looking in what might call in an unconventional way.

[thneedvillereprise]

"Yeah, I'm fine. No need to worry," he says assuredly, grinning at her still. This new girl was cute, in the books-and-tea kind of way. New people didn't bother him so much as tend to weird him out on first visit.

"Reed Owens," Reed introduces himself, offering a hand to shake. "Nice to meet you, Ms. Desmond...can I call you Silena?"

[restlessragdoll]

Seeking Inspiration || Sally & Reed

Sally sighed, she’d been trying to get inspiration for her latest design for a couple days and nothing was working. So she decided to sneek out and head to the local clothing story. To look at the latest styles.

[thneedvillereprise]

The bell dings on top of the door to the clothing store. Reed is sitting behind the counter, knitting (once again). He cranes his neck to stare at the entrance, and notices Sally walking in.

"Hello!" he calls out. "Anything I can help you find?"

[notprincecharming-anymore]

*Shakes his hand* David Nolan. Nice to meet you too! *patiently waits for the man to be ready to present his invention.

[thneedvillereprise]

So, uh, it's a little strange. I promise you, though, it's how it's supposed to look.

[hands him the item] My first buyer kind of helped inspire the name -- Thneed. You can do all sorts of stuff with it! You can wear it as a scarf, a really weird hat...whatever you want, I guess.

Not an umbrella, though. It's too absorbent.

[spelekai]

7.00 is fine -he says handing over the money- Its perfect, I thneed this, everyone thneeds a thneed!

[thneedvillereprise]

You are a genius. That's amazing. I'll have to make a slogan or something out of that.

So, what's your name, Mr. First-Buyer-Of-The-New-And-Improved-Thneed?

[xquietgirlx-deactivated20140702]

II Laughing Strangers II reed && silena

[xquietgirlx-deactivated20140702]

She then walked over to him, an apologetic look upon he face as well as guilt stirring in her stomach. “I’m really sorry are you okay?” She asked, feeling pretty awful and ashamed. 

She tucked some hair behind her ear. While trying not to slip on the ice also.

[thneedvillereprise]

He grins at her. "Ye-hah, I'm fine. It was pretty funny, I guess," he responds. Reed momentarily looks at the patch of ice and then looks back to her.

"What's your name? I don't think I've ever seen you before," he comments.

[spelekai]

-he looks it over- I LOVE IT, I’ll take one, though it does need a better name. - he thinks it over- Maybe the awesometacular thingy?

Or whatever, but this thing is revolutionary

[thneedvillereprise]

Really?! Oh my God, okay. Uh...that'll be...let's call it an even $7.00. [whispers] I'd normally only charge you $3.98, but since I'm selling it in-store, I've gotta charge you extra so the store can get a profit. Boss's rules.

I don't think that name would work...hm. A 'Fine-Something-That-All-People-Need'.

'That-All-People-Need'? Maybe...Thneed, then. It's kinda weird...