Marcus MacBride (the owner of the shop) was a middle-aged looking man with graying sandy colored hair and blue eyes (like Darren, but older). He was looking at a list and checking things off and muttering to himself about half the shipment of new stock they received being incorrect.
He looked up from his list when he heard a woman call 'Hello'. "Hello.", he said back in Terran Standard, "Cassandra! We have customers!", he yelled towards an open doorway.
Marcus spoke with a gruffer, more no-nonsense, voice than his son (who helped Kay before), "I'm the owner, Mestra. I'm afraid I'm a bit preoccupied with my shipment." He muttered through gritted teeth, "Half of it is wrong." Then he said, "So my daughter, Cassandra, will be out in a moment to help you. Until then, is there something you are looking for? I can at least point you in a direction."
Anwyn looked around the shop with shy yet curious eyes. This was just so Wicked Cool! There was just about -everything- here! Feeling like she'd found her way into Shopper's Heaven, Anwyn looked around the store appreciatively before speaking. "Some sturdy boots, Mestru, and some warm socks as well. Um? the rest can wait for your daughter, Sir."
Turning away from her admiration of certain pieces of clothing, Kay made a small bow to the older man. "Good afternoon, mestru", she said simply. Trying to resist the temptation to buy anything for herself, she decided to simply remain in the background and _not_ offer advice unless Anwyn asked for it.
But she couldn't help noticing Anwyn's wide-eyed acquisitive stares around the shop. Kay muffled a giggle that was trying to sneak out, as she imagined Anwyn easily spending her entire first paycheck BEFORE she'd earned it. But on the OTHER hand, the Base's rumour mill claimed that MOST interns tended to spend their money as quickly as they earned it. And far better than Anwyn spend it on practical items rather than a bar (or whorehouse) bill.
And afterall, this was indeed a very tempting shop. Kay recalled her own first shopping spree --- and how that had led to her meeting Gwenn by almost knocking him over with her huge pile of packages.
Meanwhile, Anwyn's mind was calculating things a mile a minute. `Budgeting on the fly' Daddy called it. Lessee, she made this much, her expenses were THIS much, and she would have THIS much left over for other things. Hmmm.
Shyly admiring a dress obviously made for a MUCH taller woman, Anwyn softly cursed the combination of genes that caused her growth bones to close early - leaving her at a whopping five feet nothing.
Marcus said, "Ah.... The boots are over here. The sizes and price are marked on the bottom." He showed Anwyn some shelves with different styles of boots. "And the socks are over here. These are very soft wool. They were made locally so they are very good for this weather. My daughter should be out in a moment."
"My thanks Mestru," Anwyn said shyly before wandering over to look at the boots and the socks, checking the prices and mentally-checking how much she had left and wondering if she could get away with a few more cautious purchases. She looked over and Kay and smiled shyly at the older woman, mouthing a silent `thank you' at her.
Then Marcus left the two ladies to look at the boots and socks and went back to his stock list.
Cassandra MacBride came bustling into the shop a few moments later, giving her father an affectionate squeeze as she passed by him.
Marcus gave his daughter a small smile when she squeezed him. He said, "Those two ladies over there need help, Cassandra.", and he nodded their direction. Then he went back to checking things off his list and muttering about his incorrect stock.
Following his nod in the direction of the two young ladies, she went over towards the shoppers with a smile. "May I be of any further assistance?" She asked brightly.
Kay made a small bow before answering, "Yes, mestra. My young apprentice here, is in need of a few things ... including some that would be improper to request from a strange man". She then grinned at Anwyn, prompting the younger girl to fill in the rest.
Awyn looked up at the owner of the voice and smiled shyly. "Please, Mestra. I am looking for warm socks and a sturdy pair of these boots [pointing at the Terran boots with her chin] until such time as I can get a PROPER pair made. I admit to no experience whatsoever with these boots as to how weather serviceable. I was thinking of a half size larger than what I would normally wear and wearing extra socks. What do you think?" She hesitated a moment and then continued in a soft and shy voice. "Um... and some proper underthings as well, please."
assandra smiled at the girl. "These boots are Terran-made, and imported here. They're used back there for most outdoor situations, with good results in terms of warmth. I would recommend your regular size and if you have a good pair of woolen socks, one should dbe just fine. Unless," Cassandra eyed Anwyn with a grin, "you're planning a hiking trip to the Hellers? Most people don't, if they know what's good for them." She searched the shelves, and pulled down a couple of different boxes.
"Here you go, try a different size or two, to make sure. And these socks - are the softest we have in the warm wool. I wear them myself." She slyly lifted the hem of her skirt to show the girls the top of her socks peeking up over the top of her low indoor boots, with a wink.
"As for the other items, after you've done with the boots, I can show you what we carry. Are you looking for Terran-made as well? OR local?".
Anwyn smiled shyly at Cassandra, giggling softly as the other showed her socks. "Yeah, something soft and WARM!" Anwyn tried on a pair of socks, then checked out the fit of the boots Cassandra handed her. "I like these, Mestra. And I think I'd like about 4 pairs of these socks as well." Anwyn thought for a moment. "Local, Mestra. After all, who better to know what is comfortable than those who were born her and live here, ne?"
Cassandra couldn't help but grin broadly. "Good for you! You'll go far on Darkover, if you have an open attitude like that!" Frankly, she didn't know if she would be as bold, if their situation was reversed.
She led Anwyn and Kay to the rear corner of the shop, behind most of the racks of the women's clothing. Against the wall was a set of drawers, each one with a small picture on the front of the contents.
The items weren't really _that_ different from Terran-made ones, apart from the fabrics, and the lack of bright rainbow colors that the imported synthetics made possible.
Cassandra eyed Anwyn speculatively, and then pulled a couple of things from the drawers. "I think these should just about fit you. You can try them if you like." She indicated a small changing room nearby. "After we get your size right, it's easy to pick what style or color you would like. I'll just be putting your boots and socks together for you - I'll be right back."
Cassandra slipped discreetly away, to leave Anwyn in private to negotiate her way around the basics of Darkovan underwear.
Anwyn quickly dressed and headed over to Cassandra to show the helpful older girl her approximate size and her... um...predicament regarding the whateveritiscalledhere.
Cassandra was just finding her way back to the changing rooms, when Anwyn met her halfway.
She saw the laughter hidden on the girl's face, and grinned. Well, if she had erred that much in estimating Anwyn's size, in either direction - she knew not which yet - at least the girl had the presence of mind to laugh about it!
"Oh dear." she said with a half grin. "Did I not get it quite right? I'm sorry, I really am. I hope...I did not cause offense...?" She leaned in closer, and checked to make sure her father wasn't within earshot. "To tell you the truth, I've never been very good at guessing these things. But my younger brother Darren... He can guess the correct size within a millimeter I don't know how he does it. It's just too bad it's not appropriate for him to be selling such items..." She giggled, and held out her hands for the ill-fitting garments.
"Come then, tell me where I went wrong. And if it's too much trouble, we do carry a full line of traditional Terran items as well."
"Tis all right, Cassandra," Anwyn said as she handed over the undergarments. "Da says I have one of those 'optical illusion' bodies or something. Even Mum makes mistakes." She leaned in close and whispered softly to Cassandra. "The... um... panties? They are about one size too large. The..." Anwyn just blushed and lifted the bra-type garment. "Um... there's just not enough of me to do it justice. Maybe just a bodice or two instead? I really don't have enough up top to... um... well..."
Cassandra looked at the blushing girl's shy grin, and smiled. "Well, that's all easily taken care of." She bustled around for a moment and produced items much more suitable for Anwyn.
"if that's better with you, then I'll get started writing everything up. Did you need anything else?" She eyed Anwyn's clothing. Anwyn gave Cassandra another shy smile. "That will be enough I think, thank you. I appreciated your help."
"What about a cloak?", Cassandra asked, "I know you're given standard issue clothes, but our local-made winter cloaks are unbeatable when the wind really starts to blow. And it will. Plus, when you go home, it makes a great souvenir...?"
"Kay and I stopped at one of the used clothes seller stalls and found some really nice stuff. Um... 'classic styles' I think Kay called it." Anwyn gave another soft giggle and rolled her eyes. "Something my children would be able to wear provided I don't find a way to destroy them first! Um... the clothes I mean." Anwyn blushed shyly. Boys?!? Her?!? No way!!!
Cassandra smiled and nodded. "That's good. I'll just get everything packed up for you." She bustled off to the front counter, where she had all of Anwyn's purchases wrapped and bundled into two sturdy bags.
She handed Anwyn a form to sign. "If you sign here, and fill in that bit there, we can bill your finance account directly from here, so you don't have to worry about spending your local currency. That way you'll have more to spend in the market." She winked at Anwyn.<<
Anwyn grinned up at Cassandra, read through the form carefully, then signed. "Thank you. This will make things much easier." With another smile, Anwyn gathered up her purchases, balanced her portion of Kay's pictures on her braids, and followed Kay back to the Zone and HQ...
fter the girls had left, Cassandra busied herself with stocking the shelves with the latest shipments of T-shirts and books.
Anwyn and Kay shared giggles and conversation as they went back to the Zone and their respective quarters. Anwyn's eyes glittered impishly as she garnered several astonished looks as she balanced Kay's paintings on her braids. Thanks to her yoga, she walked as gracefully as a much taller woman. With one hand gently placed on the edge of the paintings, there was no chance of them falling (outside of someone barreling right into her or something).
When they got back, Anwyn stopped at Kay's quarters to drop off the paintings. But she didn't stay long. Kay needed to get ready for her dinner date. With a promise to show up bright and early tomorrow morning, Anwyn headed off to her tiny apartment. Once there, she put away her `new' clothing, headed off to the library to do her lessons, and then returned and went to bed. Tomorrow promised to be a rather full day.