excaliburden | ic inbox.

[ Her clueless look is kind of funny, actually, so he smirks. ]

What? Surely you didn't think the dress was all there was to it? If you want to look the part, you need more than that.

[help]

W-wait--um, I think the dress is plenty! It's really, really nice...! I don't really need anything else--!

[ Nuh-uh, you aren't getting out of this. He has a mission, and he doesn't half-ass things. ]

Don't you want to know what it feels like to belong in a gala? You want to look like them, don't you?

[ It's manipulation, but for her benefit (and maybe so she stops complaining so his mission is easier), but he's careful not to deride her in any way. He knows she's sensitive about this. ]

[He is... exactly right, and knows exactly what buttons to press. It's not hard, of course, since she's such an open book--

But even so, she stiffens, and then straightens, dragging in a deep breath.]

Right... okay, Altria, you can't give up now, just because the fight's going to be longer than anticipated...!

I'm ready!

[ There's a quiet huff of laughter from him. She really is too easy. And he knows exactly how to reward her too, for her bravery. ]

We can eat something after. I'll cook.

[ He turns to head off to another store he'd scoped out earlier, but there is a smile lingering on his face. One that he tries not to let Altria see. ]

[Oh shit really--

She perks up immediately, beaming.]

In that case, let's not waste too much time! Where to next?

[Trying more of his cooking is absolutely a perfect reward for all of this, and she is so ready for it.]

[ Really, too easy.

Their next stop is a jewelry store. He figures this will be the hardest part for Altria, so they should tackle it while she's still feeling brave.

Without any hesitation, he walks right into the store and approaches the necklaces on display. ]

You need a necklace. Earrings too.

[ The latter he tacks on just to see if she would push back. ]

[He's so right. She blinks at him, and then at the store. She's frozen in place for just a moment, the sparkle in the windows throwing her.

Then she hastily comes closer to press her face against the window of the display.

?!?!?!?

It takes a minute for his words to sink in, and then--oh.]

But my ears aren't pierced.

[ It's always so amusing to see Altria's reactions to things she's not familiar with. Her eyes are as wide as dish plates as she looks at all the sparkling jewelry. They're not even that nice, in his opinion, but he's not about to ruin Altria's experience, so he doesn't say anything. He just stands and watches her. ]

Clip-ons exist, but if you don't like them, then we can forget about it.

Ah...! I want to try them!

[Pretty things! Sparkly pretty things! She wants to try on a little bit of everything, even if maybe they won't suit her at all.

... Ah. Right. She's staring at the display again.]

Let's go in!

[ So her desire for pretty accessories won over her shyness. Good to know.

He motions her towards the necklaces first. ]

Any of these catch your eye?

[She's in awe the moment they step into the store, flitting from display case to display case.

Really, it'd probably be more accurate to say that all of them catch her eye; for a girl who's grown up with nothing, suddenly seeing so many beautiful pieces of jewelry is a little breathtaking.]

I... I like them all...! [HELP]

[ ...of course that would be the answer. He just sighs and looks over the necklaces himself. Something that would suit her... not too dainty, but not too loud. He goes around to the other side of the displays to pull out quite a few necklaces and sets them on top of the display counter. ]

What about these ones?

[Bless him. He isn't bothered by her fussing and useless meandering, instead pulling out a few necklaces himself. She immediately comes closer, eyes wide as she admires the necklaces he's pulled out.

She loves all of these too, of course. The green is so stunning. She loves the bombasticness of the pearls. The last necklace looks like branches, stunning and bright.]

I really... really like all of them...

[But ultimately, she reaches for this one, and carefully lifts it up to her neck, looking at him with wide eyes.]

... Do you really think... it suits me okay?

[ He leans back on his heels, observing her and imagining both the necklace and the dress on her. It's a good look, he thinks. With the right updo and makeup, she would be quite beautiful. But hairstyles aren't his specialty, so he can't help her with her hair. He could only make suggestions. ]

If you're not sure, no one's going to stop you from taking everything in this store back home so you can try it one by one with the dress.

[ Everything here was free, after all. But she needs reassurance. ]

It looks good on you.

[He's right, and she knows he is. There's no price on anything. Nobody is restricting what they take.

And yet, immediately, she shakes her head, and her tone is matter-of-fact.]

I couldn't do that.

[Only the one. Even that, she thinks, is probably too much, but she's not strong enough to refuse.

... He thinks this one looks nice on her, and she carefully lowers it from her neck and looks down at it adoringly.]

... So this one's plenty! It has to be this one.

[ Her hesitance must stem from something in her past. She limits herself too much. She's afraid of something. There's a part of him that wishes she wasn't. But he doesn't push it. These things cannot be forced. He would know. ]

Alright. Let's look for earrings now.

[ She'd been excited about that, at least. He goes over to the store counter to look for clip-on backings. ]

[Earrings!! She perks right up again, carefully resting the necklace down on the display counter so that she can go snoop on the earrings too.]

Wowwww... they're all so delicate! These are what you mean by the clip-on ones, right?

[She holds a pair of dangly ones up, clearly fascinated by the thought.]

That's so clever!

[ He finds the extra backings and pulls them out. Hm, it shouldn't be too hard to swap them if needed.

But Altria's already found something, and he looks at what she has. Simple, and they match the necklace she's picked out. He nods approvingly. ]

That's a good choice. It'll work with what we have.

You think so?

[YAYYY she picked out something that matches! She's not totally hopeless at this!

Carefully, she clips them onto her ears, and then whips her head around to look for a mirror to peer into.]

... !! I really like them! [You've liked everything, Altria.]

[ He has a feeling she won't want to search for more, so he doesn't bother looking. Instead, he watches her peer into the mirror with excitement, tilting her head this way and that to get a better look at the earrings clipped onto her ears. ]

Do the clips bother you?

[ He knows the clips have to apply a good amount of force to stay on, so they can be irritating to some. ]

They feel a little strange...

[She's never had anything clipped onto her ears, after all. But really, compared to what she's been through--]

But I feel fine! Honestly, I barely feel anything at all, so I think these should be great!

[ He knows she won't want to look more, but— ]

Anything else catch your eye?

[He's right, of course. She looks around the store, a brief glimpse, and then shakes her head quickly. Hasn't she already gotten to have enough of a wonderful day, with wonderful things?]

I think I'm okay. I'm really excited...! Now I have a whole outfit for the gala... [Heheheh.] Maybe I won't stick out after all!

[ He raises an amused eyebrow at her. ]

You plan on going in with no makeup?

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