The Heights of Londo [IC 3: For The Love of the Lady]

[Comissar]

Leah grins, shaking her head at the woman's offer, "No, umm, I think, uh, I think that's it, thanks. Umm, I guess, uh, I guess we'll see you tomorrow!"

She glances at Alyssa, looking to confirm that there were no other questions to ask. On receiving a confirmation, she starts to make her way back outside, swinging Alyssa's hand slightly as she did. "So, uh... Where to next..?"

[tgva8889]

Alyssa nods to Leah, and gives the woman a bow. "Thank you!"

Walking out with Leah after giving the woman a chance to reply, Alyssa takes a moment to think. "Hmm, I don't know of anything I'd really like to do now. Maybe let's just walk around town a bit before we head back?"

[Comissar]

Leah nods, "That sounds good. Umm, if you're up for it, it might be worth looking around the market..?" Her voice carried a note of uncertainty, remembering how crowded it had been on their way down, "Although, umm, did you want to go to Vaster first..?"

Spoiler: OoC

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Is Vaster on the way to the market? I forget where exactly she was based in town.

[tgva8889]

Alyssa seems a bit apprehensive at first, but when Leah brings up Vaster she nods. "Oh, yeah, I do have to stop by and get more paints. Maybe it won't be too crowded on the way?"

[Comissar]

Leah squeezes Alyssa's hand, giving her what she hoped was a reassuring smile, "We, uh, we don't have to stop in the market if, uh, if it's too crowded."

[tgva8889]

Alyssa shakes her head, but smiles back to Leah. "I need to go get the paints anyways."

[Hazuki]

The girls soon find their way back to Vaster and, though the market is initially crowded, those around Vaster disperse after the end of a story and a series of sales, leaving her basically free.

[Comissar]

Leah hangs back while Vaster deals with her customers, not wanting to interrupt a sale if she could help it. Once the crowd had dispersed enough, she raises a hand in greeting and approaches, "Umm, hi Vaster! Having a good morning..?"

[Hazuki]

"Hello, girls." Vaster smiles, placing a hand on her stall and leaning forward. "I've made good sales, so it's a good morning.And how are the two of you?"

[tgva8889]

Alyssa smiles. "Good! It's been a nice day!" Putting a hand behind her head, Alyssa turns a bit red and laughs. "Knotte, um, used up a bunch of paint, so I came by to pick up some more to finish the painting I'm working on."

[Hazuki]

"Oh, I know the one. I believe it's called A Tribute To Vanity?" Vaster laughs, as she picks up the collection of paints Alyssa had previously taken and holds it out to her.

[tgva8889]

Alyssa shrugs before taking the paints. "I just hope she likes it."

[Hazuki]

"Well...you'll know she's being honest about it when she does." Vaster says.

[tgva8889]

Alyssa nods. "Yeah, that's true. Which is why I can at least hope she says something nice. Though she did see my work before she asked me so she probably won't hate it?" Shrugging, she smiles at Vaster. "I hope you'll come see it when I show it to her!"

[Comissar]

Leah is content to listen quietly as the other two talk about painting. When Alyssa expresses her hopes about Parkin liking the painting, she gives her a smile, "She's, uh, she's going to love it, your paintings are, uh, are really good."

[Hazuki]

"As long as I'm not at the market, you can count on me." Vaster says.

[tgva8889]

Alyssa smiles. "Thanks." She smiles at Leah, too. "I guess we should head back. Don't want to be gone too long."

[Comissar]

Leah hesitates at Alyssa's comment, a faint look of disappointment on her face. "So, uh... No stall browsing..?"

[tgva8889]

Alyssa smiles at Leah. "We can look on our way back."

[Comissar]

Leah grins and nods, "Sounds good." She turns to give Vaster a smile too, tucking her hair away from her face as she did, "See you later Vaster, I hope the, uh, the rest of your day goes well."

[Hazuki]

Leah finds a few stalls that are relevant to her interests. The first seems to contain mostly traditional wear from Londo and Thundercrag in particular, with bold blue colors mixed among yukata, tunics, and hakama. It's run by a pair of young women, one dressed formally, the other casually, with both outfits incorporating the symbol of Thundercrag.

The second seems to be run by somebody not native to Londo, and likely not Kanto or Johto either. He's tall and long-limbed, with elegantly tied-back hair and a trim beard. His stall has mostly modern clothes, placed in neat, clearly marked piles and quite obviously mass-produced, but more similar to what she'd be used to wearing.

The third stall has a thirty-something Londoan woman who's dressed in a flowing green gown that rather resembles a Gardevoir, and most all of her stall matches that theme. From a feather coat resembling a Decideuye's wings, to a headband with Pikachu ears, to facepaints, there's all kind of Pokemon cosplay gear available.

[Comissar]

As they make their way back through the market, Leah finds a bright splash of blue catching her eye on one of the stalls. Slowing to a stop, she takes in the mix of traditional clothing on display, then finds her eye drawn to a stall just opposite with a wide variety of clothing available.

Leah finds herself torn between two of the stalls. On the one hand, the man's stall clearly held a lot of clothing that she was familiar with. And given that was what she tended to wear anyway, she could probably get a decent amount of use out of it. She hesitated, glancing back to the first stall to catch her eye. On the other hand, the more traditional looking clothes, especially the yukata, were stunning. Or at least, she felt they were. But she'd never worn anything like that before, and found herself worrying about how she'd look trying them on. She gave Alyssa a questioning look, glancing back toward the two stalls as she asked "Which, uh, which do you think looks nicest..?"

[tgva8889]

Alyssa slows as Leah does, letting her spend some time looking over the stalls. She stands back at first, watching Leah look between the two with a smile for a moment. As Leah tries to decide, Alyssa's eye catches a few of the yukata and she moves up to the stall to get a closer look.

When Leah poses her the question, Alyssa takes a moment to think before she responds. "I, um, I think you'd look good in either. But, um, I'd like to see you in a yukata!" She turns a bit red as she smiles, and awkwardly turns toward the stall. "U-um, h-how about this one?" She points towards one of the ones she was looking at which seems to be inspired by the lightning of Thundercrag.

[Comissar]

Leah finds herself reddening as Alyssa comments on wanting to see her in a yukata. She moves up beside Alyssa, taking the few short steps to be in front of the stall with her. She follows her gesture, reaching out to pick up the garment Alyssa pointed out. She ran her thumbs over the surface of it, absently enjoying the feel of the soft cotton as she took in the pattern. She glanced at Alyssa for confirmation, breaking into a grin as she did. She let go of the yukata with one hand, tucking some hair away from her eyes, giving Alyssa a brief nod, "I like it."

She then glanced at the two vendors, hesitating as she looked between them before settling her gaze on the more casual looking of the pair.

"Umm, how, uh, how much does, uh, does this cost..?"

[Hazuki]

"Hello, customer." The softly-voiced woman says, with a gaze like a solar beam. "That yukata is worth ten thousand of your Pokédollars. Or ten gold pieces, or one hundred silver, or one thousand copper."

[Comissar]

Leah found her grin faltering a little as she was given the price. Realising it'd have to come from their travel fund if she did buy it, she gave Alyssa a hesitant look. "... Umm... Do, uh, do you think that's too much..?" She found herself glancing at the yukata in her hand, giving the fabric another stroke with her thumb, then reluctantly set it down, "... Maybe... Maybe another time... I, uh..." She looked back up at Alyssa, a resigned smile on her face, "I don't want, uh, I don't want, umm, Lord Bastille to, uh, to think we're taking advantage of him..."

[tgva8889]

Alyssa shrugs. "Seems about normal. It's a nice one, so maybe a really good deal."" She notices Leah's apprehension and puts a hand on her back with a smile. "Do you have anything like this? I have something but, um, if you don't have anything maybe you should get one. It'd be nice, right? And, um, I think we have enough, if we put that together with what I'm likely to make from Parkin's painting, to get that and still have plenty to travel on." Looking at the yukata for a second, she turns back to Leah. "We can always repay him along the way. And he did say he wanted us to experience things, so it might be good for you to have something nice to wear in case it comes up!" Looking over, she lowers her voice a bit and says, "If you feel more comfortable we can look at the other stall and see if there's anything there that you think is more reasonable."

[Comissar]

Leah shook her head as Alyssa asked if she had anything similar, turning her attention back to the clothing as she talked. She finds herself slowly nodding her head, finding herself being talked into the purchase. She glances at Alyssa as she lowers her voice, giving her a shake of her head and a smile, "No, umm, I think, uh, I think you're right. It'll be something new..."

Leah picked the yukata up with both hands again, feeling the soft fabric in her fingers. Giving a final nod to herself, she looked back up at the vendor. "Ok, umm, I'll, uh, I'll take it."

[tgva8889]

Alyssa digs around on her person for the requisite gold pieces. She hands them over to Leah so she can pay, counting them out to make sure they had all 10. "That should do it, right?"

[Hazuki]

"That will suffice." The woman says, her eyes drifting between the pair.