Anise Tatlin (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
gald_digger) wrote in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png)
damned_institute2012-04-27 08:46 pm
gald_digger) wrote in damned_institute2012-04-27 08:46 pm
Day 63: Callahan's Grocer (late afternoon)
The wind was picking up, and Anise hugged the stuffed panda in her arms tightly against her chest, trying to ward off the chill in the air. They probably didn't have much time left before the nurses started leading them back to the boarding area. Anise needed to spend the rest of her money soon, so it wouldn't go to waste.
The grocer seemed like a good place for that. The food she bought there before had served her well, between the military messing with the menu and those gross hallucinations inflicted on some of the patients. Restocking seemed like a good plan.
When she reached the storefront, Anise stopped to read the bulletin. As she feared, more and more people were sharing information about the illness going around, and now the symptoms had become common knowledge. That was bad news for someone who wanted to keep her ailment hidden away. Anise's rash was still well-hidden, partly by the long sleeve of her coat, and partly from a thick layer of makeup, but come tomorrow, it was going to become a lot harder to hide it. Especially if people started looking for that kind of mark.
Another gust of wind howled through the street, flipping one of Anise's pigtails over onto the top of her head. She quickly fixed it. Hurrying on inside was looking like a good idea.
[for Gumshoe]
The grocer seemed like a good place for that. The food she bought there before had served her well, between the military messing with the menu and those gross hallucinations inflicted on some of the patients. Restocking seemed like a good plan.
When she reached the storefront, Anise stopped to read the bulletin. As she feared, more and more people were sharing information about the illness going around, and now the symptoms had become common knowledge. That was bad news for someone who wanted to keep her ailment hidden away. Anise's rash was still well-hidden, partly by the long sleeve of her coat, and partly from a thick layer of makeup, but come tomorrow, it was going to become a lot harder to hide it. Especially if people started looking for that kind of mark.
Another gust of wind howled through the street, flipping one of Anise's pigtails over onto the top of her head. She quickly fixed it. Hurrying on inside was looking like a good idea.
[for Gumshoe]
no subject
Gumshoe had had enough time to cool off after that. He'd stopped by the board earlier that morning to get an idea of what kinds of things might be on there later, and he was pleased to see that there were more notes on it than he thought there'd be. It was good to see people putting their heads together.
The notes in response to someone named Sora got most of Gumshoe's attention. It was too bad about the gale force winds out here. Luckily, he was pretty good at speed-reading. He had years of detective work to thank for that.
He whipped out his notebook and jotted down his own reply. After tearing it from the page and pinning it to the board, he began writing down the names of medicines that some guy had listed. He recognized them from the night he and that girl had looted the storage room. Come to think of it, he hadn't seen her around today. He wondered if...
...!
He did a double-take when he noticed those pigtails. "Hey, pal!" he greeted with an open smile, shutting his notebook and walking over to her. "Talk about windy, huh? I wish I'd worn something warmer." Like he had a choice these days.
no subject
It sounded like he wasn't enjoying the weather any more than she was. "Yeah, it's pretty nasty out here," she agreed, shoving a pigtail back in place for the hundredth time that afternoon. Her oversized coat kept the cold air away, but there wasn't much that could be done to protect her hair.
"I was just about to do some more shopping," she went on to tell the detective, then offered him another friendly smile. "Care to join me?" Maybe he had his own plans, but at the moment, Anise just really wanted to get out of the wind.
no subject
Talking to a cute kid like her really brightened his day. When he got home, he'd need to start saving up if he wanted to afford a gift for her. Hey, maybe he could buy her something today! He had about ten bucks left over.
Gumshoe walked into the store and began to look around. One of the first things he noticed was the ATM. How had he missed that every time he'd walked in here? He went up to it and put a hand on his chin, but didn't say anything. Everything in here seemed so normal.
He put his hand back into his coat pocket and turned back to the girl with his head tilted sideways. "So what are you looking for, pal? Anything in particular?"
no subject
The large machine he was inspecting was beginning to interest Anise, though, so before starting on the food aisles, she stopped to take a look. Apparently, it was an... 'ATM'? It had a keypad and some slots, but Anise couldn't quite figure out what it was supposed to do. "What's this machine? Do you know?" she asked the detective.
no subject
Just then, something occurred to him that made him glance at her again, only this time it was tougher to hide how worried he was. She didn't look ill to him...
He raised an eyebrow. She didn't know what this was? She was young, but she must have seen at least one of them before now. It sounded like the type of question little Pearl might have asked. Maybe she lived in an isolated village like her. "It's called an ATM, pal." He moved aside to let her get a better look, pointing at parts of the machine as he spoke. "You insert your bank card here and enter your pin using this keypad. The screen gives you instructions and asks you how much money you want to take out. The cash'll then come out through this slot."
no subject
As the man explained the machine to her, Anise followed his gestures and looked over the machine with great interest. She didn’t understand the whole explanation, but she picked up enough to follow what Gumshoe was saying. “So you can get to your money no matter where you are? That’s really cool!” It sure would’ve been handy during her journey across Auldrant, especially with all the nobles traveling with her. And it would have kept their money safe from thieves!
But it probably wasn’t something they could use now, so she left it alone once her curiosity had been satiated, and started towards the aisles. “I think the snacks I got before were down this way.” She could see the boxes of granola bars on one side, and bags on candy on the other, so it looked about right.
no subject
He trailed behind the girl with his hands in his pockets, looking curiously at the selection... and frowned when he realized he was getting nostalgic. When was the last time he'd gone into a grocery store besides this one? It felt like it had been years.
But he perked up again when he remembered something. "Oh! Before I forget, I have something for you. Now where did I..." He rummaged in his pocket and took out the card, then held it out to her. "Here it is. There's about ten bucks left on it. You can buy a week's worth of food with that!"
no subject
The detective produced the card for her, and she was far from disappointed. After all, money was the key to Anise’s heart. And the fact that he was offering her all he had left was… well, it was kind of touching, really.
“You’re giving it to me? Are you sure?” she asked to be polite, though it took some effort to keep herself from swiping the card out of his outstretched hand. Anise wasn’t so sure about ‘a week’s worth of food’ (maybe he shopped somewhere cheaper than this), but ten dollars was a lot considering how little they had to their names.
Which, of course, meant an appropriate level of gushing and flattery was needed to show her gratitude. “Wow! That’s so generous of you! I always knew you were a nice guy!”
no subject
"It's nothing, pal," he laughed. It was a nice feeling. "I've spent every cent I need to on..." But then he remembered that he didn't have it with him. He frowned again. "Oh, right. They confiscated it."