A little more than window-shopping [Ember/Tahli]

[PhazonDragon]

Not one for mornings, Hy’ka rubbed at his eyes as the car he was riding in drove up to an empty curb. He glanced at the two women in the car as well, before glancing at the historian that served as the owner of the car and their driver. The rider cleared his throat. “Tha--Thanks for driving us, Rafael,” Hy’ka said, moving his hand to rest of the German’s shoulder from where he sat in the back seat. He was unsure for a moment if the historian had forgiven him for threatening his books a number of months ago.

“Don’t mention it,” Rafael responded gruffly, his accent thick. He slowed the car to a idle standstill, and set the vehicle into park. “One of you has a cell phone, do you not? Call me when you’re ready for me to pick you up. Just don’t be out too late.” Rafael unlocked the car doors, allowing his three passengers to climb out of the vehicle. “Here’s my number.” The German held out a piece of paper, which Hy’ka grabbed before slipping out of the backseat.

“Thank you again,” the chimerarider said warmly, beaming at the historian. “We’ll call you when we’re ready.” Hy’ka moved to the sidewalk, standing in front of a hand-made jewelry store, and waited for the others, Ember and Tahli, to join him. When they had done so, he raised a hand in silent goodbye as Rafael pulled the car back onto the road, and made a left to try and turn around. “And you two, thank you for coming with me! This is going to be fun...” He tucked the phone number into the pocket of his borrowed jeans.

Why was he up this early, when the streets were clear and the sidewalks were empty of people? Shopping. Feeling the need for more modern clothes for Earth, and since he wasn’t going to be returning to Pern soon, Hy’ka had requested a certain amount of money from the Government, and obtained a sizable sum. He had no clue how much three hundred dollars was worth on Pern, but he was told it was enough for him to buy at least a few Earth clothes for himself. And why did he have a pair of females accompanying him?

Purely opinion purposes. He needed a woman’s opinion on how he looked--Hy’ka wanted to impress H’vas, after all. His eyes lit up as he looked around in the morning glow of sunrise. “Where to first? Do either of you have a suggestion...? I’ve only been here once before. And Ember, you know more about Earth than I do, right? Hy’ka’s not an Earthian name... Would I need a more Earth-sounding name before we continue?” he asked the candidate, tilting his head in curiosity.

[redwerecat]

Ember was also rather displeased by this whole 'morning' thing. Her brother was one of those people who only slept maybe four or five hours, in bed late and up earlier as if he were on caffeine pills or something, but not her. She liked to be up late at night, sure, but mornings were something she saw only rarely. She preferred viewing her days after a bright and early one pm or so.

So mornings weren't her best times. She had stayed pretty quiet in the car, head banging against one of the windows if she accidentally dozed off, but she was still a little groggy.
"Huh? Oh, yeah. Don't worry, Sir. I've got my phone, and we won't stay out to late or anythin'." She said, as the German man pulled away. Then she turned back to Hy'ka.

"Going with you? Shopping? Of course! It sounded like fun." She said, beaming. "How could I refuse when I heard a handsome guy like you was off to outfit himself with a new wardrobe? 'Sides, you're probably not as much of a jerk as other guys I've shopped with. My brother's too much of a girl, Liam...well, he's Liam, and my last boyfriend only wore black." She made a face. "Attractive, but boring."

She flushed slightly as she realized she was definitely babbling, but she shrugged it off after a moment. "As for where we go, I suppose that's up to you. What kind of clothes are you looking for?" She thought for a second about the rest of his questions. Well. Hy'ka certainly wasn't a normal Earth name, but suppose they shortened it or something?

"I certainly hope I know a little bit about Earth by now, yeah." She said finally. "If you want to change your name, go for it. But...well, we could also just call you...Hy, or something? Just assume it's a nickname? It's really up to you."

It wouldn't matter in the grand scheme of things. It was early, it was nearly empty around here, and the people in this town were probably not likely to question his name too much either way. But the pressing matter was, at the moment, where to buy him clothes. After all, it was a rather important decision, and one he needn't make lightly. A tiny smile crept across her face and she hummed some snippet of a song as she glanced at the variety of clothing outlets, from trendy to classic to modern to glam-rock-grunge.

"What first, then?"

[Samari]

Tahli had wanted to head into town for a while now. She had the feeling that most of the other girls at the weyr had been laughing about her clothes behind her back, even if they really weren't. She needed a change of wardrobe just as badly as Hy'ka. Of course, this trip was really about him.

She followed closely behind Ember, not wanting to stray too far behind from the little group. Tahli's eyes wandered to the various stores that were in front of her, trying to decide where to start. Her eye was drawn to a dark colored building with a neon sign that read "Hot Topic". She'd heard from some other girls that they had a lot of music-based apparel in there. "Hey...Hy'ka. H'vas likes music, right? Why not try this..'Hot..Topic' place? I heard they have music-themed stuff in there. Might not hurt to check it out."

[PhazonDragon]

Listening, Hy’ka nodded as Ember started to talk. He blushed at her brief comment, and moved to nervously scratch at the back of his neck. “Yeah well...” the rider started, but trailed off, since she wasn’t done talking. And she continued to talk. “Ah... Um...” He blinked when she finished. “Where would I like to go? What kind of clothes I’m looking for? I don’t even know. I don’t know. I’ve only been outside the weyr once, and that was because we snuck out.” Hy’ka grinned at the memory.

“You could call me ‘Hy’ if that would be easier. I used to go by that nickname as a child, so I wouldn’t forget it either. It would just feel weird to respond to it again. Hah...” he chuckled lightly. “I don’t know what’s first... Anything, I guess?” Hy’ka shrugged, motioning for the group to start moving. He took up the lead, somewhat, since it was for his own reasons that he was here, but he didn’t want to make the two accompanying woman follow him everywhere. That was just creepy.

Tahli called his name, and Hy’ka paused, turning on his heels. “Hm?” he grunted quizzically, not paying attention when she asked for him. “Wha--Oh. Music? Yes, he does seem to like that Earth-style music... He wears headphones,” Hy’ka confirmed, following the bluerider’s gaze to where it rested on a darkly-themed store. “Oh...” he face slightly fell at the sight. “Doesn’t look too friendly... But I guess you’re right. Can’t hurt to try it out--come on, you two!” Hy’ka crooned, darting forward. He disappeared into the store with a wave of his hand.

Once inside, the chimera rider took a fleeting look around. It was... very dark. And yes, not as friendly-feeling, but that wasn’t going to stop him. He wove through racks and shelves of clothing to a back corner, by the music apparel, and frowned again. He didn’t know what H’vas’s favorite kind of music was... To tell the truth, Hy’ka never asked, nor was he that interested in Earthian music. The clothing here did seen more informal than most, and the rider curiously poked at the frilly underwear that he walked by.

“Hmm...” The rider pulled a folded shirt off of a shelf, and held it up. He gazed at the band logo on the front, cocking his head as he read it. “Metal... ica?” The name rang a bell, but he couldn’t recall if he had ever listened to them, or if H’vas talked about them before.

[redwerecat]

"Hy, then...yeah, alright." She said, with a triumphant nod. Decisions had been made; success!

Ember followed cheerfully. Hot Topic may not have been her favorite place ever, but on occasion she could find some amusing t-shirts in there. And she had one particular skirt she adored from there...
She almost ran into Hy'ka's back when they got in, and sort of clumsily scooted around him, then followed through the racks to the back with all the music-stuff. (Although she had to bite back a giggle when he poked a pair of the silliest pair of underwear she'd ever seen.)

Hmm. Metallica.

"Well. It could work...do you remember anything about the music he likes? Like, was it loud, or angry, or bubbly, or anything?" She glanced at the wall of shirts, and made a face. Sure, it was a music-themed store, but why did it all have to be metal and rock? She shrugged, and glanced over the various logos and insignias on the display wall. "Tahli, whadda you think? "

[Samari]

Tahli had wandered over to a side of the store with some interesting looking dresses. She'd seen Shinji's sister, Miyuki, wearing a similar type dress once before. She asked an attendant to get down a purple and black one that she quite liked.

The bluerider pulled out her wallet and fished out three 20 dollar bills to pay for the dress. She also had spotted a pair of ribbons she could tie her hair up in. All in all, she had to pay about $75 for everything she wanted there. Tahli almost squealed in delight. "Shall we go check out the pet shop when we are done here?"