#firecreated

alas, the clouds were not impressed by her, and ur felt the sigh of the heavens before a single rain drop touched her.  this was why she preferred kinder places, places that felt less restrictive, she thought.  still, carnation might not like it, but it was not difficult at all for her to craft a dainty looking umbrella made of ice as she continued her aimless wandering, dark blue eyes now searching for a place where she could seek shelter. 

her steps faltered as she found herself in front of a building that . . . felt warmer than the picture perfect ones she had seen in town, and she angled her head as she inspected it closely, studying it for a few moments before she approached the door and knocked.  her sister would be so proud of her good manners, she mused as she carefully nudged the door open.  ‘ ‘ hello? ’ ’ she called softly, though her voice was louder than the rain. ‘ ‘ may i come in? ’ ’ 

bryn beamed as she nodded,  rolling the sleeves of her blouse up and barely managing not to make grabby hand mentions at the mcl.  technology tended to excite her,  sometimes to a point where she forgot that she had been raised to have manners,  but she was making an effort,  here!  no need to spook anyone just because she could ramble about tech for hours without ever having to catch her breath.

‘ ‘ i can definitely help you! ’ ’  she responded as she pulled her hair back into a ponytail.  ‘ ‘ i’m going to travel all the way to daffodil village so i have lots of time to explain  ---  and feel free to ask as many questions as you want,  i love to explain these things,  but i get lost on tangents. ’ ’

working in retail was  . . .  its own kind of hell,  thalassa often thought,  but it made her money that she could spend on her more  ---  extravagant hobbies and wishes as well as on presents for her closest and dearest loved ones,  and so she did not complain about it often.  however,  as she tried to listen to the middle-aged man,  the realisation that she would go home and complain to erida grew.  she was not unused to customers who believed that they knew better than her and that they had to explain to her what truly mattered,  but this one?  absolutely obnoxious. 

and also,  she thought as her gaze trailed away from him and over the display cases,  absolutely wrong.  there was some vindication in this.  maybe that was an unprofessional sentiment,  but thalassa thought it was also very weird to go to a store to explain to the employees how they should do their job so ultimately,  the score was still in her favour.

as interesting as the cases’ content was on most day  ( and she had her eyes on a underwater camera for future travels ),  it did not hold up after the eight i just think,  and thalassa’s eyes wandered beyond the borders of her department,  finding a somewhat familiar face.  the tall redhead was a frequent customer and she always caught thalassa’s attention because of her bubbly,  excitable personality.  on someone else,  it might have seemed over the top,  but on her,  it just felt authentic.

maybe she was looking over to her for a moment too long because the redhead  ---  frankie,  or at least,  thalassa was fairly certain that this was her name  ---  stopped what she was doing and looked back at her,  a smile growing on her face.  it was not quite the smile that thalassa traded with her colleagues when one of them was stuck with an awful customer,  but it was not entirely different.  it was compassionate.  it was kind.  and warm.

and although she still wished a tiny little bit that she could just turn on her heel and walk out of the store to take her break,  thalassa found herself smiling back at the redhead.

nonverbal meme  /  selectively accepting  /  @firecreated.

nevertheless,  after three visits to carnation,  ur knew why adina had said that the good folk of iris had spoiled her  ---  the kindest way to describe the people of carnation  ( which meant not what frans would say if given half a chance )  would be classy.  which really meant classist and elitist in this context.  and sure,  ur could do the dance and sing the song,  but she felt more comfortable in places that were more relaxed and that did not make her feel as if she had to wear her sunday best each time she stepped off the train.

mother mountain,  solomon would choke on his ridiculously expensive tea if she reported the most recent incident back to him.  and she would because ultimately,  the story was too funny not to,  but goodness,  carnation was really in a league of its own. 

she told frankie as much as she stacked up books on the table,  rolling her eyes in amusement.  ‘ ‘ i really don’t mind coming here,  but one day when you have the time for it,  you should come up north  . . .  less curious townspeople and a lot of forest, ’ ’ she said with a shrug before twirling around on her heel and accepting the hug the other maker mage offered.