[Social - Masha & Zen] Shopping Adventures

Not too much time had passed since Zen's first venture into the world to scour for ingredients and recipes. Unfortunately, he didn't find any distinctive ingredients on his travels, but found a rather interesting recipe for a soup that he wished to try out as soon as he could. Before he even thought about doing so, however, he would need something to cook out of. He probably could ask in the Guild, but that would leave bad taste in his mouth. He would feel better knowing that he paid for the ingredients himself. The question then was.. Where could he go and shop for ingredients? There were some interesting vendors back in Cedar when he was passing through the town. But did he really feel like going back there? /"Not really."/ The young man thought as he put on his blue jeans. He was already familiar with the kind of ingredients and produce he could come across in Ace of Spades, so that was out of the picture. Zen was putting on his blue shirt as he got an idea. /"The capital should have something great for sale, shouldn't it?"/ The theory behind that thought didn't sound bad, Zen just hoped that it would work out. He would be going to the capital, though. That meant that he should probably stock up on some more Jewels. He expected things to be more expensive than what he was used to. Hopefully not as expensive as things in the Rose Garden.

Zen packed light. He didn't even bother taking his coat and he pulled up his sleeves. Only a wallet and a throwing knife adorned his pockets. He was getting too awfully used to the convenience his Guild mark provided him. He still liked it, though. The road to Capital Crocus went by rather fast. Soon enough, he was walking among the people on crowded streets. He wasn't too worried about his wallet, he would know if anybody tried to steal it. What he needed though, was to see where some vendors were. A regular shop would do too, but a street vendor was better. At least most of the time. His eyes scanned for anything that could resemble his quarry, until he finally found the street where he already spotted a number of shops. Almost on the very beginning, there was an elderly lady sitting behind several boxes out on the street, selling some fresh produce. And right next to her, there was a vendor who was selling some decent-looking shirts and t-shirts. A lot of variety of shops, all mixed together. This would be a great shopping session. Zen was not here for the nice-looking shirt that he spotted at the neighboring stand, but the produce that was in front of him. The lady saw that Zen was reaching out for a yam and nodded. "All fresh, as they should be." She would say with a smile. The young man would return that smile. He certainly hoped that the yam was as fresh as she promised.

Zen was checking out the variety of the veggies that the vendor had for sale. He had a sweetcorn in his hand, when he was suddenly approached by a woman. Approached a bit too closely, to the point she was basically right on him. He half-dropped the corn back into its box in surprise. What surprised Zen even more, was the woman's request. She wanted him to unzip her...? Zen must've had the dumbest look on his face right then and there. The lady said that she had a reason for that and Zen prayed that it was a really good one. She also gave him an option to stun the flow of people that he had only noticed then, following her. That idea was absolutely out of the question. At least before he could make heads and tails of his magic. Until then, he decided not to use it, unless there was no other way. After that she managed to introduce herself as Masha and Zen was surprised to hear that she was also with Sabertooth. /"Is that why she approached me in the first place?"/ Zen did not recognize Masha himself, however. That meant that she should probably interact with his own Guild a bit more.

The young man would sigh. "I suppose you are not giving me much of a choice here." Zen would take hold of the zipper and tug, but it didn't budge. He understood why she asked him to do it for real, this time. Zen tried to get a better hold of the bodysuit that she had on and tried to straighten up the zipper. He tugged on it again and the zipper gave away. The young man would keep holding the upper end of the zipper together, as he pulled his other hand down to where Masha asked him to. "Just.. Do whatever you need to do." He would say and set his gaze over on the amount of people who were about to reach them, out of politeness, as he let go of the upper part of the zipper. Zen wasn't sure what exactly had Masha done, but he would still help her out, regardless. Even if she was invading his private personal space a little bit.

Zen looked back at the invader of his personal space as she winked at him, thanking him in her own way. She made sure to emphasize her rather large front, offering to show even more skin. /"Please don't."/ The young man thought, helplessly. When his gaze fell over the crowd that he noticed before, he saw it dispersing. He truly had no idea what him unzipping a body suit had to do with that, but he could only assume magic. But when his apparent guildmate noted that their two Guildmasters wouldn't be pleased with that idea, Zen couldn't help but only to agree with that. He really didn't want to give his new home a bad reputation so switfly after joining. His guildmate did pull the zipper down even lower, however and introduced herself. "I'm Zen, pleased to meet you." The young man would push out of himself, before he forgot about it again.

Masha then took interest in what Zen was doing out in the Capital, before taking interest in a nearby vendor, confirming that shopping was the case for the trip. His guildmate asked him what he was after and looped her arm around his. "I was looking for some ingredients for cooking. It's a little hobby of mine, so I was hoping to find something interesting in the Capital." The young man would reply as he eyed the vegetable selection. There was still one issue he needed to address, though. Zen would turn his head to face his guildmate. "Also, just to give you a heads up, I am not straight. So you don't have to.. you know. Try to get naked in public for me and such." He would say, slightly embarrassed. Never did he dream that a woman would just come up to him and ask him to unzip her. Maybe he dreamt about the opposite sex doing so, but still. Zen wanted to ask Masha as to what she was doing there, but he was interrupted by the vendor lady, who came up to him, with a paper bag in her hand and a smirk on her face. "There's the veggies you bought earlier, before you run off with a lady." She would hand him the bag with a snicker and sit back down on her chair. "Oh, thank you. Much appreciated." He completely forgot about that. He bought some yams, green onions and yellow peppers that he intended to use later. Zen would turn back to Masha and shake his head a little bit, to keep the mark on his forehead hidden. "Sorry about that. I forgot." He would admit and apologize sheepishly. "So, what would you be shopping for, Masha?" The young man would ask, out of interest, since she was intent on joining him, as he slowly started to walk. He could take a guess, judging by the stand next to them that was selling clothing and probably plenty more if they continued down the road.

As soon as Zen noted that he was not into women, Masha relaxed, saying that she always wanted a gay best friend. /"Oh how far I've come, I suppose."/ He thought amusedly as she hugged him. Masha mde sure that her clothing and body underneath it were very much visible and giving Zen his answer for his shopping question. The young man would nod and Masha reiterated on few things, also making Zen take note that she was a succubus. He was pretty sure that he then understood why she wanted him to do what he had done. Zen was still kind of bewildered, though. The lady then took his hand gently, admitting that she didn't know how regular interactions work. Zen didn't flinch at the touch, but he could say the same about lacking experience.

The young man would smile. "I thought I had friends once, but I got stabbed in the back. Quite literally." He would say, hinting that Masha wasn't alone in the somewhat unknown territory of normal social interactions. "I wouldn't mind forging some real friendships, though." He would say with a little chuckle. That did sound like a nice idea, especially when it had to do with a guildmate. Zen's feet moved slowly, almost on their own accord. With the corner of his eye, the young man spied a vendor selling a variety of clothes, ranging from men's shirts to women's skirts. It seemed to have a common theme to it, just general craziness. The young man would toward the stall. "Fancy checking out that vendor? It seems that you could find almost anything in there." He would ask Masha, casually. Zen already spotted a few articles of clothing that appealed to his eyes. Not that he was shopping for clothes in particular, but seeing what they had in store in the Capital could never hurt, for future purposes.