video/action;

[moonlitrequiem]

The Welcome Center. Does it run off of volunteers?

[Yep. That's it. Not one for long conversations, or facial expressions, even.]

[Action;]

[Option A] [Now that the ghouls are no longer a threat: The dress and thin jacket Yin's wearing? That's all she came with (aside from the long socks and shoes), so now she's doing the practical thing and looking for a proper coat to deal with the weather. She can be found in multiple shops, though she will not make contact with anyone. In fact, if someone looks at her, it might feel like she returns their gaze by looking beyond them, then turning away.]

[Her movements are pretty slow, and while she's not visibly shaking, much, the cold has taken a toll. Time to get this done. Find a decent, well priced coat she can afford on the stipend (that isn't going to last but a few months).]

[Option B] [Coat bundled up around her, a scarf, and even gloves, Yin takes some time to properly lift her face to the moon and just stays there for a while, gaze completely fixated as she's bathed in silvery light. Yeah, now is not the best time approach her, though she will simply go with the flow if someone does.]

[Option C] [Free-form option! Anything in the apartment she shares with Mao before, or after, the coat buying, or miscellaneous ideas.]

Comments

C; action

[maoser]

[Mao lies on the back of the couch and watches Yin for a long time, waving his tail thoughtfully in the air. Finally he says:]

You need new clothes.

[moonlitrequiem]

[The weather might be a concern, but....]

These are still in good condition.

[maoser]

Those clothes aren't suited for this weather. You'll get sick if you keep going out like that.

[He only cares because you're a better roommate than Hei is.]

[moonlitrequiem]

[She can't really argue that. Though, do dolls get sick? Still, it's not very comfortable. It might hinder her in some way, and that wouldn't do.]

The stipend is large enough. [More like she barely eats and wants for no material possessions, so other than utilities, a little food for herself, and Mao's food? It hasn't been touched.]

[maoser]

[And Hei would be insufferable if anything happened to her. His attachment to the Doll is both remarkable and inane.]

Have you ever gone shopping before?

video;

[anunluckypenny]

Hey there! About the Welcome Center... it used to be all-volunteer, but City businesses have been super generous and now workers get salaries. You know, not that I've ever said no to anyone who didn't want a wage.

...Are you okay? [Because you look cold, creepy little girl.]

video;

[moonlitrequiem]

I do need a job. [And getting a wage at the right location would make things easier, instead of looking for a job on the side.]

Yes. I'm fine. [She doesn't really feel it. Just keeps staring, creepily.]

video;

[anunluckypenny]

There's always something to do, if you want to work here.

[Penny is skeptical, but she tends to take people at their word unless given a good reason to question them.]

I'm Penny, by the way. It's great to meet you.

video;

[moonlitrequiem]

I'd like to work at the Welcome Center.

Is an interview necessary?

[Right...manners. Completely flat.] It's nice to meet you.

video;

[anunluckypenny]

Great! No interview's needed, just show up when you can, do what you can do, and I'll pay you by the hour.

Mind if I ask what your name is?

action; option a

[anatural]

[Yin isn't the only one who needs a new coat; Korra's got pretty trashed by the ghouls. Traveling where she does, when she does, she can't exactly keep going out in just long sleeve shirts. So with the money she has left over from her last paycheck, she's out and about, looking for something warm and in her budget.]

action; option a

[moonlitrequiem]

[It's the girl she met before. Yin isn't one for greetings to begin with, but because of Hei's request to keep aloof, Yin goes as far as to switch to another aisle just so Korra doesn't notice her. Though, a flash of pale hair moving at all might do just that.]

action; option a

[anatural]

[Sorry, Yin, it's too late. Korra catches sight of the girl he met last week -- it seems like a lifetime ago. Normally Korra wouldn't bother trying to talk to her; their conversation last time hadn't gone well at all. But right now she's riding high on a strange mixture of happiness, grief, physical satisfaction and denial.]

Hey there! Finally getting yourself a jacket?

action; option a

[moonlitrequiem]

[In some cases, further avoidance might just cause more suspicion. Having been spotted, it's now Yin's responsibility to respond.]

[She turns to Korra and slowly, once, nods her head.]

And gloves.

action; option a

[anatural]

That's smart. [The girl is still kind of creepy, but Korra is still kind of high, so she smiles.] I don't think I got your name last time. I'm Korra.

action; Option A

[mortemscintilla]

[ Birds of a feather, etc. Just as Yin been checking on Hei, he's keeping meticulous tabs on her acticities. It's part professional interest, part genuine concern; the latter of which always trumps the former in her case. That evening, he's watched her flit through the brightly-lit stores, looking for a coat that's obviously equal parts practical and non-pricey. ]

[ Maybe it's due to his improved circumstances as compared to back home, but Hei is in an easygoing mood. Bundled in a thick coat and gloves, the hood concealing half his face, he drifts near Yin, as if he's just another shopper. As he examines the array of woolen hats beside her, he reaches with a magician's (or shoplifter's) sleight-of-hand and tucks a colorful scarf into her arm. Just-purchased, price-tag cut off. ]

[ Consider it a -- gift? (Certainly, it feels different from when he's bought her clothes to blend-in, while they were running from the Syndicate.) But you could use some color in your life, Yin. ]

action; Option A

[moonlitrequiem]

[Her eyes do widen, though most people probably couldn't tell. And she looks up, every so slightly confused. She had been planning to buy one anyway and this saves her a little money, but it's from Hei.]

[It doesn't feel like pure necessity when it is, or when it's so vibrant. That won't help with her blending into crowds, but if Hei gave it to her, then it must be okay.]

[Rather than give any verbal response, right then and there, she puts the scarf on, wrapping it around her neck, then proceeds to look through the racks once more, like nothing happened.]

action; Option A

[mortemscintilla]

[ He'd selected the scarf because it was so vibrant. A pretty girl her age, without even one superfluity in her wardrobe? Almost unheard of. Sometimes invisibility is better achieved with a little spice in an otherwise bland brew. He continues to browse the aisles. But as he watches her put the scarf on, his mouth curls at the corner. It's brief, something only Yin would spot, before he turns away and pretends to examine a pair of thick gloves. His voice is pitched low and calm, lips barely moving, ]

Did Mao put you up to this? [ The shopping trip, he means. ]

action; Option A

[moonlitrequiem]

[Unfortunately, such subtleties were not programmed into her. But with Hei's help, she'd be just fine.]

[She does, in fact, notice the barely crooked smile, and one hand lifts to touch the scarf. She would only nodded for an answer, but with them both turned away, the response might go unnoticed.]

He suggested, I agreed. [Hard to argue, yes, it's rather cold outside. And it's not prudent to keep tempting her immune system as a doll by consistently going out as she had been.]

[She's distracted from the coats by a pair of - of course, black - knit socks, far warmer than the thin ones she's wearing. Those are taken for purchase.]

action; Option A

[mortemscintilla]

[ Black stockings. As per usual. Their entire team seemed composed of undertakers on a funerary march. Huang with his dark mood and dark coats. A damn talking black cat. Hei's own codename. If it was the cosmos' idea of a joke, he'd missed the memo. ]

Good. [ Settling on a pair of suede gloves, he steps further down the aisle. There's a faintly quirked eyebrow, and a fainter glance at Yin, as he peruses a pair of gloves with bows. (His thoughts are equal parts, Who comes up with this stuff? and Microphones would be easy to conceal in the bows and Would she wear something like that?) Aloud, he murmurs, ] If there's anything else you need, you can always tell me.

[ It's like that joke, I have all this money and no one to spend it on. The City gives her a stipend; but Hei's intent is to spoil. It's guilt, it's sadness, it's the reminder that her life is infinitely safer here than it is back home, which isn't saying much at all. ]

[ And knowing that's entirely his fault. ]

action; A

[indecent_butterfly]

[There's no real reason for nem to be out shopping other than boredom; however, ne recognizes the girl from the video feed when they spoke about someone's extracurricular activities. After a few minutes of watching the girl looking through the racks it becomes rather obvious just what she is in search of. And since ne does still have someone else's money to burn, why not spend it on someone who could use it?

Picking up two coats ne holds them out toward Yin judging the sizes.]

This one is quite pretty, but this one is more practical.

action; A

[moonlitrequiem]

[The idea of someone she doesn't know - barely knows - helping her pick something out surprises her, though the expression barely shows. She's incapable to go beyond that and expect this person to pay for it, after all.]

[She reaches for the one called more practical.]

All black is suitable. [Meaning, it would match the majority (entirety) of her - limited and small - wardrobe.]

[indecent_butterfly]

[Black goes with everything, and it's not like Hatter would say anything about anyone wearing the color since so much of nir own wardrobe matches as well. But ne might have to do something about that, pretty girls should have more clothes.]

You should try it on first to make sure it fits properly.

[Otherwise ne'll have to find a larger one just to be certain.]

[moonlitrequiem]

[She nods to this sensible suggestion, and does just that, finding the coat goes over her slender frame with ease. She can move her arms comfortably, not that she will need to, for certain, but it's good to know.]

[The length works well, as long as she gets warm socks to go along with it. It is considered a good buy.]

[indecent_butterfly]

[And now that ne has the size down, ne walks off to look at a few other things.

Ne returns a few minutes later with a dress.]

This as well.