Darkness comes to light(Private- Allison & Rei)

Light, bright light, an intensity that the little girl hadn't seen in a long time. The sounds of footsteps echoed across the steel floor and bounced around the equally sturdy steel walls, the footsteps were coming closer and closer. This too had been a sound that Rei hadn't heard in a long time: she was only 8 years old and the world had all but abandoned her. Her food was always transported to her through an indirect route, she never shared any kinds of bonds with passing guards. Normal guard duty was not permitted in this section of the prison, only the worst known and captured magical criminals were imprisoned in this section. The little girl had been branded as a criminal, mass murder and demonic magic: it was somewhat true, but who was to say what really happened to her village? She was just a little girl.

Well... it seems your time in our prison has come to an end, little girl. said a guard in a Rune Knight uniform as he appeared from the opening of the 6inch thick steel door. The man twirled a set of keys on his finger as he looked at the 8 year old girl. She was strapped against the wall in a straight-jacket with iron cuffs on her wrists and steel bands tying her in place. A muzzle was strapped about her head which prevented her from speaking and a blindfold had been removed and now rested on her little chest. The investigation department finally finished identifying all of those corpses in your village. Further investigation lead of to conclusive information that you are innocent of those murders: well, directly anyways. said the man as he walked forward and placed his hand on Rei's shoulder. Her body flinched at the contact but it wasn't noticed underneath the straight-jacket. It had been two years since she had been secured in this insane prison cell: she was denied freedom, human contact and emotions.

The man reached behind her head and unlocked the muzzle and removed it from her face, Rei moved her jaws around, getting used to the feeling of some freedom of movement again. Then there were survivors?.. she asked hopefully, her eyes looking earnestly at the man unshackling her iron cuffs and steel bands that kept her body from moving the slightest. The man looked at her surprised, but then he hid his face from her by turning away. It was a terrible thing, having such a pretty little girl locked away like a wild animal on the accusations of another nearby village.

No, I'm afraid there were no survivors of your village except for you. The village that turned you in as a criminal was thoroughly investigated. You will receive a full pardon and apology from the Knights: at the time of your imprisonment, there was too much devastation and body count to properly investigate the cause. But now that we know the truth, you get to go free. With one final turn of the key, Rei was removed from her suspended state on the wall. Her little feet touched the ground, very unsteady and still unable to use her arms in the straight-jacket. Her unsteady feet and weak body fell forward, the Rune Knight caught her as her little body fell against him. He unlocked and then unzipped the straight-jacket. The jacket fell off and her arms automatically fell limp to her sides: she looked down at her arms and struggled hard to get them to move. It had been so long since she used her body that it was weak and unwilling to listen to her mind.

Your release papers have already gone through, as of today- you are a free and innocent citizen of Fiore. I heard you have some unique magic, I recommend finding a guild and becoming a mage so you can earn some quick cash to get a place for yourself to live and food to eat. It's a shame such a little girl such as you has to fend for herself, but I'm not permitted any personal feelings in the matter. I'll leave some clothes just inside the cell for you to change into. The Rune Knight left the cell momentarily and then placed a simple paid of grey pants and a long sleeve cotton shirt on a bench.

Rei looked down, her current clothing was that of her nightgown on the night of the incident. Torn and bloody, she quickly stripped out of it and changed as quickly as she could into the grey cotton clothing. Her movements were less sluggish and she could stand on her own two feet. She stepped out of the prison cell and the Rune Knight shut the large steel door. He guided her down the narrow square hallway, the lights becoming brighter and brighter as they went. They passed three checkpoints and finally they were outside. Two men stood by the gate, dressed extravagantly and obviously waiting for her. Two other Rune Knights of important positions. They bowed politely to her and offered their most sincere apology for the misfortune befallen her. The little girl kept a neutral face, not wishing to admit the past that had actually happened: right now, she wanted to focus on ignoring the intense light of the sun, it was unbearable.

Between the three Knights, they gathered a small handful of cash and gave it to her. Technically, it is against the regulations to offer released convicts any assistance... but you're not really a criminal. one of them offered with a somewhat friendly smile. Rei thanked them and bowed as the three men returned to the prison's interior after giving her some advice on how to survive in the world.

Rei walked a ways until she found a peaceful spot along the main street of Era, shops and food places dotted the street. Rei looked like a convicted criminal, wearing the grey cotton outfit from prison. Her tummy grumbled as she smelled so many wonderful aromas. The first thing she needed to do was get something to eat and then a change of clothing... she looked around until she found a place nearby, a small restaurant that served sweets and other foods. She gulped with rising bravery as she entered the place and requested somewhere to sit. The waitress blinked twice, confused and worried that this little girl was lost. Best thing to do was find her a seat and maybe look for her parents. The waitress led her to a booth by herself and ordered some food for the child. Rei sat silently, looking around and studying the body language of all those present- she peered at them through her unkept long black hair, her blue eyes barely visible.

Rei sat there for some time, she didn't wait long until the waitress had returned with a bowl of warm soul, some corn bread, a glass of cold milk and a strawberry ice cream parfette. The little girl's mouth watered instantly, but she knew that with the amount of cash she had, it would be almost all of it. The waitress seemed to notice her distress and brought up her hands, This treat's on me, sugar. You look like you went through something rough recently. Are your parents nearby? It seemed that everyone was asking Rei that lately, she had only ran across a few people brave enough to speak to a child who seemed lost.

Rei nodded her head silently as she took a slow bite of the warm soup. Rei has no parents. was all that the little girl said. The waitress didn't really know how to respond, so she turned her attention to another customer- a red-haired girl a bit older than Rei. She sat her in a booth directly opposite Rei and took her order. Curiously, Rei watched the girl as she disappeared momentarily over the booth: the girl herself seemed to be curious and slowly peered over the booth at Rei. A small grin crept over Rei's lips as she looked at the girl who introduced herself as Allison. Rei is Rei... Hi Allison. she said in a cute and shy child-like manner. She took a bite of the ice cream and nearly melted with the tasty treat. Her grin turned into a child-like smile as she sighed with happiness. She drunk from the cold glass of milk and relaxed somewhat. Realizing that her black hair was messy, she tried vainly to brush it out with her fingers. It had been so long since she had seen people, that she had forgotten about being embarrassed.

Allison thought back to whether she had heard anything from this booth before being seated. The waitress had come from this direction after all, and upon focusing her memories more, Allison realized exactly what had been said and beamed brightly at the girl-- whose name she still didn't know! "I don't have any parents either. What's your name, though? And who is Rei? You said that Rei's name is Rei! But I don't know who you're talking about." She gave the younger girl a friendly smile, as the ebony-haired female seemed to be very sweet. Simply observing her and noticing the delight she took in the frozen dessert, Allison beamed once again. It seemed that she loved ice cream, which Allison also happened to adore. She hadn't had some in a while though... perhaps that should have been what the red haired mage ordered?

Shrugging lightly, Allison was just about to lower herself back onto the bench when she noticed that the girl was attempting to groom her hair. She had to have been through some serious mess-- that, or she simply didn't groom herself properly today, which could have been a more likely option. The red haired girl felt on top of her own hair and laughed brightly, directing her next statement at the stranger, "My hair is all messed up today! I got home from a job, and I went straight to bed! Also, this morning... uh, I guess I didn't dry it properly after cleaning up!" Perhaps that was a little bit too much information for a stranger to say to another, but Allison was trying her best to be friendly. "And your hair looks nice! You're really pretty-- there isn't a need to have perfect hair, since this just adds to you charm!" The redhead continued to smile at the raven haired girl, wondering whether she was acting too close and personal for a stranger. Then again, Allison had crossed every boundary before, at some point with someone else-- and not many people seemed to mind.

Rei blinked slowly... why didn't the girl understand her? She seemed to understand everything but her name introduction. Rei would try again, Rei is... Rei. she said more slowly while pointing her cute little fingers to herself and speaking in a lower hesitant tone. Rei didn't comment on the stuff about Allison not having parents either, Rei didn't have the strength right now to face reality, so she ignored anything that would remind her of her lost identity. The girl had been ravenously hungry and quickly eaten her soup and cornbread, no all she had left was the quickly melting ice cream. It was a rather large glass of ice cream and she still had a half-full glass of milk. She may have not eaten properly over the last two years and the food may have been terrible, but there was only so much a little girl could eat by herself.

She looked up at Allison and smiled innocently, maybe this big sister would help her finish the food that the kind waitress had treated Rei with. Rei grabbed her milk and ice cream as Allison tried to console Rei by commenting about her own hair. She set the two glasses on the table Allison sat at and sat across from the red-haired mage. Rei has been locked up for two years, Rei couldn't keep her hair pretty. Will Allison help Rei finish her treat? She said in a matter-of-fact manner and then turned the mordib statement around by asking the cute question. It was the first real interaction Rei had had with anyone since the imprisonment and she wasn't too sure how she was supposed to react or say, but talking to Allison seemed easy enough. Rei drank a little bit of her warming milk and then took another bite of the ice cream. Rei needs a job, Rune Knight says that mages can use my magic to earn jewels? She didn't know anything about the world, so she needed to ask someone who maybe knew.

Allison blinked at the girl faintly. Rei... was Rei? Well, that made sense! Of course Rei was Rei-- but the red haired girl had absolutely no clue who Rei was. Shrugging mentally, she beamed at the strange girl, whose name she still didn't know and watched as she furiously began to eat the food which the waitress had left behind. Once again simply watching and smiling happily, the redhead observed as the little girl stood up and carried her own food over to Allison's table. Upon seeing this happen, the mage simply blinked and then turned around to face the girl, who was now sitting across from her and saying something else about Rei. The person, whoever she was, had been locked up for two years? And... this little girl also randomly said that she couldn't keep her hair pretty either-- Oh! Allison finally realized why she had started talking about Rei-- she must have been a friend, and since her situation was similar to both of theirs, with the messy hair, she was brought up.

"Oh, okay! Well, it's not nice that Rei has been locked up for two years... but she's free now, so that's wonderful!" Allison blinked upon realizing that the little girl had also said something about helping Rei finish her treat? What treat? She wasn't even quite sure who Rei was or where she was, but why not? "Of course, I'll help with really anything you need! And your friend, as well!" The girl simply assumed that Rei was a friend, given that this stranger had continuously mentioned her for a while now. And then, there came a question about mages... mages, using this girl's magic? But how would that end up with this Rei figure having a job? Blinking, she said simply, "Unless your magic is the kind where other people borrow it, other mages don't use your magic-- you do! And what's your name, by the way? I know Rei's name is Rei!"

Yes, Rei was free now and that was indeed a good thing. The little girl studied Allison's body movements, tale-tale signs showed the young girl that Allison was confused aout everything but was trying to understand and help the little girl. A sincere person, though Rei couldn't figure out as to why this red-haired girl couldn't understand that Rei was introducing herself. She icked up Allison's spoon and put it in Allison's hand and then pushed her ice cream in the center of the table, she took a bite herself and hummed with delight at the yummy taste. She ate in silence for a few moments and then, she thought of a way to help Allison understand that she was Rei!

The little girl grabbed her clutter of paperwork and shifted through it and then set the rest back down on the corner of the table. She presented a single piece of paperwork to Allison, it was the release papers from the magic confinement facility- it had her picture, name, age and magic on it. Rei specifically pointed to her picture, name and magic. Rei has magic, Satan Soul:Abaddon... she explained, not entirely understanding it herself. She took another bite of ice cream and then chugged down the rest of her already warm milk. Rei needs job to live, no home so Rei joins mage guild...

Allison tilted her head slightly to the left, watching as the little girl observed her. She had encountered many other humans before, and a few had acted in a similar way-- Allison was hoping that she could be friends with this girl. Regardless of whether she was willing to do the same, the red haired girl was determined to try her best when it came to anyone, even if that person wasn't making much sense at the moment. Allison glanced down and blinked as her hand suddenly held a spoon, which had been placed into it by the stranger. Shrugging to herself, Allison moved the hand to the bowl of ice cream-- apparently the little girl had also moved that, since it was closer than before. Upon taking a small bite, Allison savored it and then reached out to grab another just as she realized that the girl had stopped eating.

Copying her, Allison sat back and observed, her eyes blinking with unrestrained curiosity. Allison didn't mind having her motions read, since she was trying to make a friend-- and additionally, even if she was facing an enemy, Allison tried to be more of an open book than most people. The red haired mage was handed a piece of paper, which apparently held information concerning the girl sitting in front of her. Shrugging, Allison read it swiftly and then beamed upon realizing that the girl was named Rei. Well, that had been a little bit confusing, but at least now she got it. Holding out her hand, Allison said, "Nice to meet you, Rei!" and then replied to everything the girl had said while Allison was reading the form.

"A takeover magic? That sounds really interesting, Rei!" the redhead stated, smiling brightly. The guild master of her guild used takeover magic too, she knew... and also a few other people. "Yeah, I work as a mage too. Like you said, we all need money to live-- well here in a town like this at least! Which guild did you join? Or do you mean that you're planning to join one?" The girl had said, "Rei joins mage guild," so Allison assumed that it had already happened-- but she had been speaking in third person, so perhaps she was dictating what was going to occur in the future?

Rei was glad that Allison finally understood her, though the little girl was unsure of what to do with the hand that Allison extended to her. She had never seen a handshake before: she peered at Allison's hand for a moment, and then figured maybe Allison wanted her spoon? The girl's belly was full, so she didn't mind- she handed her spoon to Allison, although she wasn't too sure why her new friend needed two spoons. Rei has paperwork to direct Rei to Black Rose guild. Rei will be Black Roe mage tomorrow. she said, somewhat smiling and somewhat worried, she didn't really know what she was talking about.

The directions to Black Rose' guild house was simple enough- it wasn't complicated words or diagrams. One of the Rune Knights had drawn a very child-like diagram with a red pen, one easy enough for an eight year old to understand, but embarrassing enough if anyone else saw it. Rei pulled out the "map" and showed it to Allison. Nice Rune Knight drew me a map! she said happily. She didn't know too many Rune Knights, but the one who had released her and helped her was a very nice man. Not all Rune Knights were like that though, which reminded her of the group of Knights who had first apprehended her two years ago. She shrugged the thought off. Allison was a mage? What guild is Allison? Rei asked, inwardly hoping Allison was a member of Black Rose. After hearing differently, Rei would frown, worried she would lose her new friend because of being different.

Allison blinked when she was handed a spoon shortly after extending her hand. Promptly, the girl beamed brightly and said, "Thank you!" before extending her own spoon, held loosely in her left hand. The red haired mage drew back her right hand and held the spoon just like before, but was mostly listening to what Rei was saying, rather than continuing to eat. Apparently the girl was a member of Black Rose, or about to be anyways... or was she already, and everything just had to become official? Then again, the mage couldn't possibly already have her stamp if she hadn't been to Black Rose's guild hall yet, so Allison smiled cheerfully and reassured her, "I've met a mage from Black Rose before-- his name was Elyx-san, I'm sure you'll meet him during your stay, since he is an ace after all. Anyways, Rei-chan, the guild seems very nice, and I think you'll enjoy being a part of it!"

Allison blinked as Rei pulled out what seemed to be a map. A very, very simple map-- in fact, it was similar to something that Allison would have drawn. She tilted her head slowly to the side and then said, "Oh, okay! I'm glad that you know the way already, I hope you arrive there safely!" And then, Rei seemed to be debating upon something before asking Allison what guild she was a part of. Well, that was an easy question. "Oh, I'm an Eclipse Soul mage!" she replied, beaming brightly. Allison loved her guild and the people in it, but due to her personality she was friends with all kinds of mages and citizens of Fiore-- even those of other countries. "Eclipse Soul is a wonderful guild! But even though I'm not in Black Rose and so I don't really know, I think that they're really nice in general." The red haired mage smiled at Rei in a friendly manner.

Eclipse Soul... another guild she knew nothing about. Allison seemed to be a good representation of a guild member though, even as a mage in general- Rei wondered if she could manage to be such a friendly and helpful mage. Given the nature of her magic though, she wasn't too sure she could control her magic and become someone reliable. Allison's words of reassurance about Black Rose comforted the little girl- all of this was new to Rei and she had been fearful that Black Rose would be something that she didn't like. Allison said it was a good guild though with likable people, so Rei would trust her. Another question popped into Rei's head: she had told Allison her magic, but now she was curious about Allison's magic. What is Alli-chan's magic? she asked abruptly.

The waitress came by then and picked up the empty dishes and utensils and smiled at Rei, happy to see a mage had found the little girl and things seemed to be working out. Rei glanced at the clock, she still had a couple of hours before she needed to get to the train station: she didn't want to be in this grey cotton outfit when she arrived at the guild house though. She needed to find some clothing. Rei needs to get new clothes. Will Alli-chan go with me to pick an outfit? Rei asked with bubbly eyes, having an older female around felt like having one of her deceased sisters around to help her pick something to wear.

(( Sorry, I did end up making dinner, so I'm just starting on my post now, at a little before 20:15 ))

Rei seemed to be thinking over what Allison had said, and the girl wondered exactly what she was thinking.  The red haired mage made no attempt to hide her curiosity, but inwardly she wouldn't mind at all if Rei didn't say anything-- after all, if Allison didn't really go and ask, so there wasn't a reason to tell.  But just then, as Allison was about to express this to her, the girl sitting across from the redhead suddenly asked about Allison's magic.  Blinking slightly at the swift interrogative and its feeling of urgency and forcefulness, Allison gave her normal response, but also added a bit more description than she typically did.  "Oh!  Well, you see, my magic is called Pain, Stop.  I also have some elemental magic, mostly summoning.  Uh... well, my magic is kind of complicated.  It's mainly healing and also supportive, though."

Allison had changed her style of magic recently to reflect the fact that she was now aware that fixing creatures did not always lessen the amount of pain and suffering in the world.  In fact, sometimes it could even increase the amount, as shown to her by an angel.  Rei then said that she needed more clothes, which was a statement that Allison didn't necessarily agree with, but she was happy to accompany Rei on a shopping spree.  "Of course, Rei-chan!" the girl said, beaming cheerfully.  She had been planning to buy a few new outfits anyways, since her old ones were getting a little bit beat up after taking so much abuse during the last couple missions.  The one with the other Black Rose mage had been especially eventful.  "Do you have any particular place in mind?" the girl asked, slipping out of the booth and opening up her purse to pay for her own meal.  Additionally, she left more than necessary on the table, to cover the price of Rei's meal.  The waitress's generosity had been sweet, but Allison knew that it was difficult to afford.

"So Rei-chan... I'll follow you wherever you choose to go!"  Allison bounced around a little bit, waiting for the other girl to name a place.  If it turned out that she didn't have one in mind, well... the red haired mage knew of plenty.

Rei's brows furled a bit as she listened to Allison's explanation of her magic, the little girl didn't quite understand it- but magic was a fickle thing, most of the time, the best way to understand was to see it. it sounds complicated... but I'm glad you seem to understand it. Rei said as she hopped up from the bench and dusted cornbread crumbs off of her shirt. Truthfully, Rei had no idea where to go for clothing or how much it would cost, nor the fashion people tend to wear these days. She was hoping to rely on Allison's experience for this. Uuum.. I believe I saw a nice little clothes shop on the other side of the street.. she said in an uneven tone as she waved goodbye to the waitress who had been kind to her.

Rei stepped outside, sure that Allison would be behind her soon enough. She waited and then looked across the street, looking both ways and then hopping from white line to white line until she reached the opposite sidewalk. She pointed to the store not too far away, it was a life-sized doll store rather than an actual clothing store: but the clothes they had on the dolls was Rei's size and to her liking. This place has some cute clothing! she said in a cute innocent and excited way as she entered the shop and started looking around. The doll shop had all sorts of clothing on dolls, ranging from steam-punk to goth. Her eyes were drawn towards darker clothing and she found herself looking at a couple different black dresses.

Allison beamed back brightly at Rei. She was happy that the other girl was able to understand her at least some what-- or that even if she wasn't, that Rei was pleased enough with her description. "You're right, it makes a lot more sense when you see it," she said cheerfully. And then, the girl answered her question about where she wanted to go. Apparently, on the way to the restaurant the young mage had spotted a shop which was viable-- Allison was happy to at least take a look, even if it turned out that the clothes weren't quite right for Rei. Nodding, Allison also waved to the kind waitress as the two girls exited the restaurant. The red haired girl simply followed Rei along after the raven haired girl pointed to a small store across the street. Allison also jumped from each block of paint to the next, laughing aloud and delighting in just the relaxed feeling.

Upon reaching the store, Allison realized that it was actually a clothing store specifically for expensive dolls, which were very large and often bigger than some children. In Rei's case, the clothes were probably a perfect size, and so the redhead simply beamed and nodded, rushing off to pick out some clothes for Rei. Typically Allison would have grabbed fluffy dresses, in pink and cream, but just by going what the little girl had been looking at, she would want something more... ah! The mage pulled a hanger with gothic lolita style dress off of a nearby rack. Additionally, she rummaged through for a little bit more before selecting a plainer black dress, this one with half-sleeves to the elbows and a few black lace accents. "Rei-chan! I found some dresses-- how are you doing?"

Rei looked at the tall racks of clothing, they were much to high for her to effectively reach by herself. There were also life-sized dolls on pedestals with different forms of clothing and fashion: Rei looked at all of these, taking them in and trying to decide on something that fit her tastes. Up until now, she had never really though about anything except the void that filled the last two years and the inward torment her own thoughts had caused herself over her deceased family and village. having the ability to walk around freely and look deeper within herself to find out who she was, was a new experience for her. Even though she was "free" from the tragedy, she was still shackled in the past- going about the day acting like a normal little girl looking for clothes bothered Rei. Truth be told, she felt like crying, she wasn't going to admit the terrible past, but going about pretending nothing happened was an insult to her memories.

She stopped looking, almost losing all taste for finding something she would like. She walked past a row of clothing and wiped a couple tears out of her eyes and started looking around again: she had to admit to herself that she needed substantial clothing and living arrangements if she wanted to keep on living. Suddenly Allison's voice interrupted her deep thinking, the cheerful girl's voice brought a smile to the little girl. She leaned in the direction of the voice and saw Allison headed her way with a pretty black dress, Uumm.. I'm not sure Alli-chan. I don't know what to choose. she said in a plain tone.

(( Oh, you're fine! Sorry for my delayed response! I had volleyball practice all morning and my friends & family took me everywhere today to celebrate my birthday ~ and yada yada, enough excuses Alli, aye! Posting time~ ))

The girl blinked at Rei for a few minutes, noting the remnants of a few wiped away tears, still wet on the mage's cheeks. Letting out a gasp and draping the dresses over a nearby rack, the girl glomped the raven haired girl, letting out a bright smile before chirping cheerfully, "Don't cry, Rei-chan! Well, unless it makes you happy! But there wouldn't be a reason for it to... unless you're getting emotion out! Which is good, don't hold it all in-- it's no good for you, you know, Rei-chan. Let's pick out some more dresses, okay?" Recalling that the petite mage had seemed to be unsure of which outfits to choose, the red haired girl lifted the two she had selected off of the rack. Holding them out in front of her so that the entirety of the dresses could be displayed, Allison added on, "It's perfectly all right if you don't know what to choose! I know the feeling, there's just sooo many! Here are a few, in case you like them at all."

The mage promptly half dropped, half threw them in the direction of Rei with a bright beam before bounding away to select a few more dresses. Hopefully the younger girl would find something that she liked-- Allison was more than willing to purchase any number of outfits for her new friend, if they were truly something she wanted. After all, anything to make people happy was what the redhead desired to do. She rifled through the racks some more before discovering that pairing a long or half sleeved white blouse with a black and white checkered skirt was-- well, absolutely adorable! After coming up with a few more combinations, the female mage skipped back to where she had last left Rei, a bright smile on her face.

Rei wanted to be a big girl, but she was still very much an eight year old- Allison was there though and that helped her fight the overwhelming dark feelings she had been struggling with since she was released. Rei is sorry Alli-chan, she thought of something unhappy. she explained with little detail. It was good that Rei had cried actually, she felt somewhat better after having a bit of her darkness vented. She smiled at Allison and took a dress that the girl offered, she held it up to her own body and imagined wearing it. It was pretty. Allison was already gone again and looking for more pretty clothes to dress little Rei in. I don't have enough jewels for all of these though, I don't know which one to buy. she thought to herself.

She had to pick one and it needed to be well worth buying, a thought occurred to her. She called out to Allison, Alli-chan, could you look for a dress that is black and frilly? She tried on the other dresses, but wasn't impressed in the meantime.

Allison blinked at the girl before patting her. Well, there were plenty of things that were unhappy and sometimes they were impossible to ignore-- but it was best to focus on those which were cheerful, after all! The red haired mage supposed that there wouldn't have to be any actions taken with Rei, since she seemed to be mostly over the pain right now. But nonetheless... well, if it proved that she was unable to be healed due to mental scars or wounds, then Allison wouldn't have an issue with fixing or hesitate to fix the raven haired mage, despite the fact that Alyia had cautioned her about doing so recently. The female glanced over at the rest of the racks once again before going over and picking out the checkered skirt and white blouse combination outfits. Just as she had finished returning, Rei requested for a specific kind of outfit, and the redheaded girl blinked. Well, black and frilly... that should be easy enough!

Allison skipped back over to a display, which seemed to hold a few dresses that fit Rei's new specifications. Gathering up a few options, the girl considered whether to search on the opposite side of the store as well, but decided that these should be enough for now. On her way back, the girl reflected upon what she had chosen, which consisted of four outfits: a flowery dress of black silk, with plenty of frills; a satin black halter-style dress, with white sections and frills on the waist and hem; a more plain and inexpensive dress, sewn of black linen but still possessing plenty of fluffy frills; and finally, a long, poofy velvet party dress, with flatter frills along the bodice and boat shaped neckline. Allison once again bounded back to where she had left Rei and held out the dresses, cheerfully inquiring, "Do any of these work, Rei-chan?"

The little girl had been in the store for maybe thirty minutes, but she was beginning to become self aware of her own likes and dislikes. The color black matched her well, in both hair and personality- Allison had returned just as Rei had come to this realization and smiled in excitement at the four dresses the big sister had chosen. She took her time, methodically looking at each one of them and holding them against her body as she thought it over. She had finally decided, she would choose the more simple black dress with sewn frills on it- it was beautiful and simple, not overly lavish or too plain. Rei likes this one best. she said as she smiled up at Allison and hung the other dresses back up.

She would walk over to the register bravely and wait for the cashier to notice her. Awww, have you found a good dress for your favorite doll, little girl? At first, Rei was confused, but she hid it behind her cheerful smile. This was a doll store?... It made sense, there was only one realistic size in this store. She nodded to the older man and handed him the dress. Oohh hmm.. A nice dress. This dress comes with a black frilly umbrella as a pair, I'll go fetch it for you. He said as he went behind the rows of dresses and would return shortly with a matching umbrella.

Allison’s eyes lit up with excitement as the younger raven haired girl chose a dress. Shifting her weight from both feet to only her left, the girl pivoted on that one using the momentum and tapped a nearby store worker. “Hello! Excuse me, could you show me where these dresses go? Oh-- no, I can put them away! Don’t worry! I just-- I have no idea where I got them from...” The girl smiled at Rei and waved to the mage before following the female employee to a few different racks. Once she had carefully hung the outfits back up, Allison skipped back in the direction she thought she had come from. And for once in her life, it was actually the correct way-- the redhead made it back without becoming terribly lost and losing a ton of time.

Appearing beside the other young mage, Allison caught sight of the cashier coming back from some place-- probably the back room-- with a lovely umbrella, more like a parasol actually, swinging loosely from one hand. He placed it on the counter next to the dress, and the red haired girl immediately snapped to attention, beaming cheerfully at the man, who seemed to be a bit puzzled at why another girl was standing there, rather than being in line. Allison didn’t resemble Rei in the slightest, so older sibling wasn’t a clear option-- “That’s lovely! Alright, so... this should be enough?” And with that, the mage happily handed the now utterly confused man a neat stack of jewels before folding the dress carefully and slipping it into a paper bag she had snatched by leaning over the counter. Holding the parasol in the same hand as the handles of the bag, Allison grabbed Rei’s left hand, smiling happily at the younger girl before darting towards the entrance of the store. Once they had reached the street, the redhead on a second thought, asked Rei,

“Do you want to carry the outfit, or can I come with you to wherever you’re going next? Where are we going, anyways? Do you want something to eat, Rei-chan?”

Rei was pleasantly surprised to know the dress came with a parasol. Even more so when the cashier returned from the back store room with a beautiful black one to match the dress. He plced it on the counter and Rei began to cunt out her jewels, she knew basic arithmetic but wanted to be certain she didnt give too much or too little. As she was counting it out, Allison had swooped in, paid for it and bagged it up. Rei began to protest a little and then was dragged out of the store before she could finish her protest.

Once outside the store, the two of them began to walk down the street a little, more or less Rei was following Allison at this point- still uncertin how she felt about the older girl buying the dress. Rei looked down at her standard grey cotton jail clothing and looked at the bag with the dress. Rei would like to change first. Thank you for the dress! she said and smiled, while she wasn't certain how she felt about letting someone else buy something for her, she was grateful to not spend her little amount of jewels.

They would go to a public bathroom and Rei would enter the ladies room and take the baggy to change. After several minutes of looking at the dress, the stockings and the little shoes, Rei would call out to Allison to come in. Rei doesn't know how to put this thing on... she admitted bluntly and in an embarrassed manner. The last time she had worn something so fancy was when she was six years old. Two years of solitary confinement and wearing cotton grey pants and shirt had caused her to loose some of her common sense in fashion and clothing in general.