Adventures In Shopping

-Capital Crocus, the shopping mall-

Victoria walked through the automatic glass doors and felt the cold air of air conditioning slap her squarely in the face. She had just entered a consumer's mecca. There were three floors of wall-to-wall shops and people were positively everywhere. There were electronics, sporting goods, clothing, cosmetics, music, jewelry... if someone wanted to buy it, they could find it here. At least that was what the mall barkers kept on saying.

Dressed in a blue t-shirt with black skirt and white tennis shoes, Victoria had nothing with her. No collapsible baton, no new Azure Armor, no Bandolier, no backpack, no nothing. She did not want to incite panic by walking into the mall dressed for battle because that was a good way to bring the police down on her like the wrath of an angry deity. She left her backpack at home so it would be very hard to accuse her of shoplifting.

Victoria found it strange to be standing in the middle of Capital Crocus' most upscale mall. She had never been here before today. Places like this had no use for street kids, especially poor and hungry street kids. Victoria was no longer a poor and hungry street kid. She was a mage of Sabertooth and she had Jewels to spend.

Speaking of Sabertooth... where was Gaia? Gaia Sabin, a fellow Sabertooth member, was her partner on this expedition. Victoria decided to sit on a bench and wait for the other Sabertooth mage to show up before proceeding any further.

[Word Count: 257]
[Total Word Count: 257/7,000]

Notes : 14000 words Total \\ 517/7000(ish) Words \\ Tag

Gaia takes a deep breath as she fixed up her short black hair to pin back a small braid she did on one of her bangs while she adjusts her top. Never had she been able to properly go to a mall with a girl friend... or any friend really. The most she had to go shopping with, were Olga and Leila, but they were more her helpers of fashion when she did competitions, ever since Fiore's Next Top Model at least. Today she was going to be going with a fellow guild member, Victoria Sheridan, to the mall. Part of her was hoping to make a girl friend to hang out with from time to time, but one can only wait and see how it goes.

Dressed in a dark blue waist underbust skirt, a matching short shirt that covered over the top of the skirt with a white, skin tight, long sleeve shirt underneath that. On her hands were thumbless gloves that matched the dark blue of the skirt and shirt that covered the end of the white shirt's sleeve. Her legs had white leggings and knee high dark blue boots. It was one of the few things Olga sent her from time to time. She wasn't going anywhere without her bag on her hip, adjusting the straps as it carried her jewels and tarot deck in there. No way was she going to be without it. She left her blade staff at home, but with her cards, they'd spit it back out at her if she absolutely needed it.

The tarot mage walked into the mall, looking around in awe through her blue rimmed square glasses, and gingerly pushed them up on her nose. A small smile was on her face as she walked slightly aimlessly through the front entrance, wondering what she could get here, or if she was going to get anything at all. Maybe she could get another outfit? Or would she be able to find a store with more tarot in it? She'd have to find out eventually as this was her first time coming to the mall as well. She spots the other mage sitting on a bench and skips over to her. Around her neck was the fuzzy companion she typically kept with her, and only hoped that no one would get upset about Noya being there. Gaia would have hated to leave her precious baby at home without her for hours on end. Gaia raises a hand and scratches Noya's head as she approached Victoria. "Hey! Victoria!" She says with a smile. This was a bit out of her element, going up to someone other than Kite, Ryo, or Kyran, but she felt she was doing good so far. "You have anything you need? I'll have to admit... I just wanted to come here with someone to see what it was like." She chuckles nervously, scratching her cheek with a finger. She glances to Victoria, then herself, and felt she was overdressed... but she typically was anymore without trying as she liked to doll herself up slightly.

Victoria spotted Gaia from her attire and ever-present glasses. In contrast to Victoria's overly casual look, Gaia's look was nice and color-coordinated. It showed a lot of effort put into it and made the brunette feel kind of shabby. Maybe she needed to buy some new clothes while she was here. Maybe... she was never one for buying clothing except what she immediately needed.

Victoria's rather small wardrobe of shirts, skirts, shorts, and the occasional hoodie jacket was still reasonably intact, so she just kept wearing what she had. Victoria had saved more than enough Jewels to buy new clothing, but why fix what was broken? She had enough for her immediate needs and needed to save Jewels for emergencies, so unless she spotted something she really, really had to have, she would just pass and save her money. Besides, with so many people in the mall, chances were high that all the good stuff had been picked over already. She would have to make do with the leftovers... if there were any to begin with.

Victoria stood up and greeted Gaia Sabin, the Sabertooth mage who was also an Ace of the guild. Imai was the other Sabertooth Ace she had met... there could have been one more, but she was not sure since she was still fairly new to Sabertooth. Black Rose had seven Aces. Other guilds had an average of three Aces. Anyway, she greeted Gaia.

"Hey Gaia, how's it going?" Victoria asked Gaia after hearing her reason for being at the mall. It was the same as the brunette's reason; Victoria too wanted to see what Capital Crocus' mall had to offer. Since it was in the capitol city, it was sure to have a wider selection of goods than any other mall in Fiore.

"Yeah, me too. I've never been here before and I wanted to see what was on sale. But I don't even know where to begin." Victoria admitted to the guild Ace. She was kind of hoping that Gaia had visited before, but the bespectacled mage had not visited before either. That meant that the mall adventure would be a case of the blind leading the blind. Things were going to get interesting.

[Word Count: 371]
[Total Word Count: 628/7,000]

Notes : 14k total \\ (635)1152/7000(ish) Words \\ Tag @Victoria Sheridan

As she was greeted, Gaia grins to the other mage rather widely. "It's going good, I just need a break for once after all the jobs I've been dealing with... I'm hoping that this will be a rather relaxing experience, or an exciting one at least." She scratches the back of her head with a deep breath. As the other mage mentioned wanting to see what was on sale here, she taps her chin and looks around a bit. "Maybe we can just wander a bit... It's my day off, so I have all day. What was your magic again, though? Maybe we can see about a store that specializes in something similar? I use tarot cards to at least summon right now. I could probably also see about getting Noya her own special bed to use... or like a cat tree type thing for her to..." She trails off as she glances over to the side of them. The mage had noticed a little advertisement board type thing. This one was different than the others. It seemed to have three drawings on it that were similar to one another. She then gasps, when she realizes what it was, before she grabs Victoria's wrist and dragged her over to the board, if she let her drag her that is. "There's a map of the mall! We can use this to help us quicker!" She says rather excitedly as she let her eyes quickly skim over the layout. As she ran her eyes over a little section on the first floor, she takes a deep breath. She just looked over to the food court, and as she did so, her stomach growled.

Gaia looks to Victoria nervously, and pointed to the food court. "You wouldn't happen to be hungry, would you? I realized I didn't have lunch before I came here, so now I am a tick hungry..." She admits to the other mage. She said she glanced to the food places listed in the legend to try and guess the types of food they served there. She then let her eyes glance over the map more, and taps her chin. There was a particular name of a store there that had caught her attention, making her rather curious about it. "Huh... Shoppe of the Various Arts... I wonder if there's any information on it on the iLac...?" She murmurs. The tarot mage pulls out her iLac and starts to search the web for the shop, but pouts as she wasn't able to find anything about it. "I think I'd like to check that store out... if we don't get food immediately. I'm okay with grabbing food from a stall and munching on it too." She couldn't help but mutter, more to herself than to Victoria, but she said it loud enough that Victoria should hear her at least.

Noya perks her head up as she looked to the map, then quickly flicked her head around to see what was behind them. There was a loud group hollering to one another as they were goofing off around the mall. They were young teenagers being loud and rowdy, like typical teens did when they went to the mall. Noya glared at them though, feeling something was off about maybe one of them, but slowly lowered her head back down onto Gaia's shoulder. She didn't want to worry her mage on her day off. Noya's black eyes look up at Gaia before they look over to Victoria. If they did go to get food, she hoped they went somewhere that served some raw meats... just so she could snag some. Gaia wouldn't let her if one did though, as she had a small baggy of meats for Noya to munch on instead, and Noya could smell it too.

Victoria knew what needing a break felt like. It took her awhile to get over fighting Zupazu in the recently discovered tunnel networks underneath Hargeon Town. It took five days for her to get over the various lumps and cuts she took from fighting Zupazu and his guardians. Thankfully she did not suffer permanent scarring from any of her wounds, but they hurt all the way to Hargeon Hospital, where she spent three days being treated for the cuts and burns.

"I don't mind wandering. It's not like I have anything urgent to do today. I'm just glad that for once I'm not in the danger zone. A few days ago I had a job in Hargeon Town nearly go bad, so I'm not keen on going into harm's way today." Victoria said to Gaia. As much as the brunette liked Jewels and she liked fighting, sometimes one had to know when to step away from it for awhile. The encounter with Zupazu was something of a wake-up call for her because she had been throwing herself into fight after fight with barely a pause in between ever since she had escaped from the Corlone mansion in Rose Garden. While it helped the people of Earthland and her bank account, such behavior did not do many favors for her body. The recovery from the fight with The Infernal Lord was the longest stint she had been inactive since escaping from Francesca Corlone.

When Gaia mentioned dropping by the food court, Victoria was all in favor of it... it was best to get food while there was still some available. Whenever malls got crowded on major sales days like this one, food supplies tended to run out distressingly fast. The mages had better visit now before the food court got too crowded to get into in any reasonable length of time. Bad memories of the Steel Matron tribute band concert came flashing back.

"Yeah, let's go to the food court first. It's getting kinda crowded, so we'd better hurry." Victoria said to her guildmate. Going to the various stores could wait awhile. They would still be there and would be open longer because of so-called "extended hours" which were really only a one-hour increase at most. Still, it was better than nothing. Speaking of stores, Victoria's curiosity was sparked when she heard Gaia mention something called an iLac.

"What's an iLac?" Victoria blurted out to Gaia. She had heard about them, but only in passing from overheard casual conversations that she really should not be paying too much attention to. From what she understood, they were high-tech communications devices and social media platforms that used "apps" to help facilitate communication between people across distances big or small. Victoria had never really had an opportunity to interact with technology very much because growing up in the poor part of town did not give very many chances to work with it. Being in a guild and traveling had expanded her horizons quite a bit, but there was still much about the world that the brunette did not understand.

[Word Count: 515]
[Total Word Count: 1,143/7,000]

Notes \\ (658) 1810 / 7000Words \\ Tag @Victoria Sheridan

"I'm glad you're alright despite the job nearly going bad! I wouldn't want to get into harms way myself if I were to get into situations going bad like that as well." The tarot mage smiled wider as the other had said she didn't mind wandering around the area. She runs her hand over her hair before she had went to the map. At the mention of the mall getting crowded, Gaia nods a little. Her cheeks were a bit flush as she didn't know if she would be able to handle all the people or not. She never had been to a festival, so she didn't expect the amount of people here at all. She quickly looked at the map and traced her finger over for the directions to the food court, and grins to herself as she figured out the way to go as quickly as possible, as long as there weren't too many people in the way at least.

At the question of what an iLac was, Gaia blinked a little. She held hers up for Victoria to take and look at briefly. "It's a communication device powered by a lacrima." She muses. Hers was a nice soft pink iLac that had the lock screen of her and Kyran and Noya posed for a picture. Her dressed up like a doll like usual, but was laughing happily in the moment, and Noya trying to get in the very center of the picture. "As far as I know, you can only get these in the Neutral Grounds from the factory." She shows her a little bit of how it works as they walked, glancing up every so often to make sure she wasn't bumping into people. It was slowly getting more and more crowded as they got closer to the food court. She stops showing her phone and held her bag in front of her as they got to the food court, and she lets up a soft whine. It was super crowded here. Every table was filled with people hanging off while they laughed and ate with one another there, and the lines were rather long too. She slumps her shoulders as she hears her stomach growl again, putting a hand on her stomach to try and quiet down the whale sounds emanating from there.

The smell of the food from the food court wasn't helping her hunger, and the tarot mage whines softly as she couldn't back out from food now...It was practically a must. "I'm sorry for dragging you here... If I had known it'd be this crowded I wouldn't of -eek!" She let out a squeal as a large group passing them by really close had someone reaching out and grabbing her butt without her noticing till just as it happened. Her cheeks flushed as she glares in the direction she felt the groper had gone, instantly feeling insecure standing basically 'out in the open' in this crowded area. She looks to Victoria, and takes a deep breath. "If you wish, you can find us a table and I can order us some food? I plan to get a slice of pizza at that pizza stall over there." She points to one of the food places that was close to them, and smiles softly. Of course she was trying to get the random grope out of her head and focus on having a good time. She also planned to tell Victoria there was another reasoning for her being there... something she seen on her iLac in the news. She didn't show her sooner because she didn't want to be walking and accidentally delete it or lose the page. "Anything you want for me to grab for you? I don't mind going to any of the food places if you want something different." She nods to the other while Noya seems to nod along with her, making Gaia snort softly to the creature.

"Going bad was an understatement. I'll have to tell you about it in private sometime, preferably back at the guild hall. But let's just say that it was a close call." Victoria said to her guildmate. She was lucky that some cosmic force saw fit to grant her the power to control shadows within 50 meters of her and make them do her bidding. If she had not had that power, the story would have likely had a very different ending for her. Zupazu's boasts of power and showing her the frailty of her flesh were not just empty talk. His claws really did hurt and she was surprised that the scarring on her face and stomach was not permanent.

Victoria took a glance at Gaia's soft pink iLac and was fascinated by its compact design and functions. She was told that iLacs could only be obtained directly from the iLac factory in the Neutral Grounds, whatever that place was. It sounded like something that would be good to have, but there were equally powerful drawbacks to having one of the devices.

First, Victoria was not sure how durable they were. She tended to go into harm's way frequently, so she needed something that could stand up to falls, drops, partial and/or total immersion in liquid, and other job conditions that were part of her job. She would need a special model that was made for durability... she wondered if the factory made only a "standard" iLac or if they made custom models for those with the wherewithal to pay for it.

Second, Victoria was worried about sensitive information falling into the wrong hands. Since many people lived on their iLacs, sensitive information naturally accumulated on them. Victoria did not want to become one of those statistics. The best way to prevent that from happening was to not have an iLac to even start with.

Third, Victoria was worried about others being able to listen in on conversations with other people. Since they were made and marketed for non-mages, they likely did not have any sort of encryption or other protection for signals. That was another reason the brunette was not eager to race out of the mall and go to the Neutral Grounds just to get one.

She was brought back to the present by Gaia requesting that she find a table for the two of them to sit at.

"Sure. Lemme see if I can find one." Victoria said before splitting off from her colleague. As she went to look for a table, she felt someone grab the back of her skirt and flip it up to momentarily expose her black underwear to the world. A mortified Victoria shrieked and looked in vain for the culprit, who had blended into the crowd and was long gone.

"I thought that chick was a guy in drag." A brown-haired teenage male wearing a black Untamed Mustang band t-shirt with the band's name spelled in brown letters and blue jeans commented to a male friend. The remark was obviously a jab at Victoria's boyish figure. The brunette ignored it and tried one last time to find the culprit.

"Me too, bro. She's kinda flat-chested, so I thought she was one of those guys who likes to dress as a girl. At least she has a nice ass." The black-haired friend commented. He wore a black White Holiday band t-shirt with the band's name spelled in white letters and black jeans. The two laughed and high-fived one another. Victoria blushed again as she walked away from the guys before something regrettable happened.

Victoria lucked out and found an empty square table for two on the edge of the food count. She sat down and tried to forget her embarrassment and focus on the mall trip. Maybe there was a store that she might actually want to go into.

[Word Count: 646]
[Total Word Count: 1,789/7,000]

Notes \\ (828) 2638 /7000 Words \\ Tag @Victoria Sheridan

As she was told that she would have to be told in private about what happened on the job, Gaia nods, figuring that would be a good thing, especially out in the open. If the other mage were to have any questions about her iLac, she'd try her best to answer them as well as she could, or have her iLac find the answer. In the food court, after she asked for Victoria to find a table, Gaia smiles softly and hopes the girl can find one... It seemed like it was going to be rather hard to do with all the people. She had turned to go to to the food stall she had been wanting to go to. She turns her head as she spies Victoria after hearing a shriek in that direction, and wonders who did it. Maybe she should pay more attention around her for her partners and her own safety.

She got into line and nervously played with her skirt as she was hoping no one else would touch her while she stood there, trying to stay away from people as much as possible while standing in line. That was easier said than done at the moment since there was a festival and sales going on right now. She just hoped less mishaps would happen as the day progressed... minus the thing she came here for. The line was slow moving, and Gaia had lost sight of Victoria in the food court, but as soon as she was close to the counter, she barely spotted the girl at a table. Thank the heavens! She was able to get them one. She hoped Victoria didn't have to wait too long to get that table or anything. She hadn't said if she wanted anything, so she had gotten Victoria a smaller slice of pizza and a soda to go with it in case she wanted something. If not, she could always eat it herself. Ordering was a tad hard as it was loud in the food court, but Gaia managed to get the order in and soon had her two slices of pizza and two cups of sodas on her tray. She carefully turned around and bit her bottom lip while maneuvering around the crowds of people to the table she spotted Victoria was at. It was far away from where the food stalls were, or at least the pizza one, so she had to maneuver around more people than she was wanting to.

Eventually, she made it to the table and takes a deep breath. "I really picked the best time to come here..." She grumbles to herself as she shakes her head a bit. She smiles nervously to Victoria, and grabs the second plate. "Would you want a slice?" She asks her curiously, placing the styrofoam cup in the middle of the table for the other mage to take from her. She takes her slice and begins to eat it, refusing to give a piece of it to Noya, no matter how much the ferret seemed to beg her. "This food isn't for you Noy... You'll get sick if you eat it. Raw meats for you, not cooked." She tells the fluffy white creature with a soft glare. As she ate, she reached into her bag and pulled out her iLac, nearly dropping it into her own soda as someone bumped into her from behind. "Glad this thing is decent... But I have to admit this is a slight job... But more I want to investigate it." She says as she flicks her thumb over the screen rather rapidly. As soon as she got to the thing she wanted, she quickly turned it around and placed her pizza on the plate again.

"I found this article about a 'panty snatching wizard' that's been roaming here for the past few weeks... Of course their main targets is females for their panties..." She says as she takes a deep breath. "Would you mind also helping me find out about this person? I know it seems rather cruel that it's us going to find out about them... but at least it does give us an advantage to be able to find out who it is at the same time." She points out. "I mean, if you want to help me, that is. I completely understand if you feel like this would be a waste of time to see if we come by them by chance while roaming, so it's alright if you feel like this isn't a job for you to help with!" She lightly ducked her head under her shoulders a bit. This wasn't how Gaia normally acted... She had a bit more class about her, but this was something that dealt with private clothing matters... so it was a good deal embarrassing to her. She honestly felt that she wouldn't be offended if Victoria backed out because of how personal it could be too.

"Yeah, I'd like some pizza too. Thanks." Victoria answered Gaia's question so quickly that it almost seemed like the former was being rude. What could she say? The brunette liked pizza because while it could be a bit messy, on the whole it was a good food to eat because it was so tasty that an entire meal could be made out of it without requiring side dishes. It was about as nutritious as eating toxic waste straight from Morgate Town, but Victoria did not expect to live long enough to experience the downsides of a poorly balanced diet, so she really did not care about nutritional completeness. The brunette lived in the moment and this moment was about eating pizza.

Victoria listened as Gaia apologized for the "slight" nature of a job while using her iLac and browsing at something on it. The brunette was more than a little curious. What did Gaia mean about a "slight" job?

"What do you mean?" Victoria asked moments before Gaia offered an explanation as to what she meant. There was a "Panty Snatching Wizard" who had been terrorizing the mall for the past few weeks and going after female shoppers for obvious reasons. Victoria was mildly shocked by the nature of the job but it was not exactly a world-shaking revelation... there was a lot of weird stuff going on in the world and most of the time a wizard was responsible for it. She only wondered why the wizard ran around stealing women's underwear instead of using his magic to rig the lottery and get a big enough payday to just buy them if he really wanted to. Maybe it was the thrill of the hunt or something like that.

"Oh. A panty snatching wizard, huh?" Victoria asked, casually sipping on her soft drink while listening to the Ace muse about taking the job and discovering the identity of the mage. She recalled the earlier unpleasant incident at the food court involving the person who flipped up the back of her skirt and wondered if the incident was a trial run by the wizard to see what a potential victim was wearing. Maybe. She let Gaia continue to talk about the possibility of taking the job and heard her say that refusal to participate would not be held against Victoria due to the personal nature of the job.

"A panty snatching wizard, huh?" Victoria calmly repeated. She thought about it for a moment. It WAS a small job, but it was interesting in a "train wreck" kind of way. Completing it would also result in good publicity for Sabertooth as a defender of the common man from the depredations of both supernatural threats and everyday menaces.

"Eh, why not? I'm game to look for this thief if you are. It beats window shopping all day." Victoria opined. The brunette was down for taking the job, but she wondered if Gaia was up to it. It was important for both of them to be on board with taking the job before they set out on their quest to stop a panty thief.

"Are you up for it, Gaia?" Victoria asked plainly. There was no point in sugarcoating it for an Ace. There was no "the world is doomed if we fail" kind of risk involved, but things could get... weird. She wanted to make sure Gaia was up for it before continuing.

[Word Count: 570]
[Total Word Count: 2,359/7,000]

Notes \\ (788)4326/7000 Words \\ Tag @Victoria Sheridan

The tarot mage smiles as she felt she made the right decision getting Victoria a slice of pizza. "Welcome! Surprisingly the line went fast! So I could go and get more for us later." She says and nibbles on her pizza happily. As she had gone on about showing Victoria her iLac and the article about it, she let the girl hold it if she wished. When she repeated her question, calmly, she slowly lowered her hand. "They say he's rather strong... so I would suggest to be careful with him..." She murmurs a bit. When her fellow mage said she was in, Gaia's face lit up. "Oh thank the heavens... I didn't want to go about it all alone... Yes, I am up for it as well!" She admits and holds her hands together. "I'll see about paying you back later as well for helping me with it! And I was kinda thinking we do do a little window shopping to make it more believable if he does come today..." She picks up her pizza again, and takes a deep breath.

She was quiet for a moment, before she glanced up to the other girl sitting near her. She lightly brushes her bangs behind her ear, and pushed up her glasses at the bridge. "So... you don't have anyone you like, do you?" She asks curiously. She wanted to make some small talk while they were sitting there eating, and wanted to get to know her guild member a bit more. A small smile was on her face as she found at least asking that simple question was a decent step for her talking to new people and trying to actually make friends rather than just know them. In fact... she wasn't aware of this mage's magic too? She puts her pizza down again after she swallowed another bite. "What... magic do you have? I'm just curious. I guess it's kind of sad of me, being an Ace of Sabertooth and not knowing the members too well... or what they can and can't do, besides the other Aces and our Guild Masters..." She hangs her head a bit. She was a terrible Ace she felt in that regard. Looking over her shoulder, she blinked a little at a store in the mall being advertised on a lacrima TV in the food court. It was one of the fashion stores, 'Olga's Fine Boutique', and she taps her chin a bit. "That looks like it could be nice to go to as well... Might be Olga's... she'd kill me if she found out I came here and didn't go to her store..." She chuckles to herself. Her short fashion designer was a spitfire when she could be, and Gaia felt that that would have been one of those moments. She then looks over to Victoria and bites her bottom lip. "If there's any store you want to go into while we're here, please, tell me! Don't let me take over the whole trip till we find anything on the snatcher!" She laughs softly.

Noya let up a squeak as she scurries onto the table, looking through the crowd as a few other females seemed to give off disgruntled expressions while holding at the back of their skirts or pants, or holding a purse over their rumps. They looked like they had been groped as well, and obviously weren't happy about it with the crowds. Gaia takes a deep breath. Either there were a lot of mischievous people about today... or maybe that panty snatcher was here. She'd find out soon enough. Gaia continues to eat her pizza and sipping on her soda, enjoying both rather a lot. "Mmm... Now I kinda wish I had some pasta with wine..." She couldn't help but muse aloud. Those were her favorite together, especially if they were matched well together. Noya squeaked again, and the tarot reader looked down to her. She was trying to get the last bite of Gaia's pizza, but instead of giving it to her, Gaia just popped it in her mouth and reached into her purse. "Please don't give Noya any, no matter how big her eyes get on you." She says as she was searching through her purse. Of course, as she said that, Noya had gone up to Victoria and was showing her big eyes to her, wanting to beg for a bite of her pizza. Gaia had pulled out one of the baggies of raw meats that Kyran tended to bring for Noya when they go out, and smirks as that really got the attention of the pet. Gaia breaks off a small piece, and hands it to the ferret who nibbles on it happily.

"Yeah, you don't want to go up against creeps like that all alone if you can help it. Most of them aren't strong by themselves, but they tend to bring weapons or friends with them. This will be one of the few times I've faced someone with a teammate at my side." Victoria said to Gaia. The brunette usually took solo jobs because it suited her nature as a loner. It also made sure that she was the only one who got hurt if she did something stupid, an act not without precedents over her career. Thankfully she tended to pick job partners with a level head who countered her recklessness and made her rein it in. Sassi Luminosa and Seth Augusta were two such individuals who had been helpful job partners... Gaia Sabin might be a third.

"I don't mind window shopping if it helps the cover story. I might even find something I actually want. I'm interested in finding figurines of the last generation of Wizard Saints, particularly Astrid Foss. But I don't want any cheap plastic tchotchkes... I want figurines with some substance to them." Victoria outlined to Gaia what she wanted out of today's shopping trip. She was hoping to find an Izayuki figurine, but she doubted that one could be found because the Wizard Saint tended to keep a low profile in comparison to Astrid and the others. Maybe there was a decent Samira Nassar figurine that she could get in addition to one of Astrid Foss. When the subject of romance came up, the brunette was quick to answer.

"I really don't have anyone special, Gaia. It's kinda hard to get a guy when you have a small chest and look like a boy." Victoria admitted to the Ace. The earlier skirt-flipping incident brought that unpleasant subject to the front of Victoria's mind and kept it there. She did not care about it too much, but every once in awhile that particular body issue got to her. Gaia had no such problems and probably pulled in plenty of guys with her looks, but she might have to deal with the issue of whether she pulled in the right guys. That was something that Victoria did not have to worry about right now... or possibly ever.

When the bespectacled Ace asked what magic Victoria had, the brunette seized on the chance to change the subject. However, a new challenge related to the magic popped up. She could not come out and say that she was a walking arsenal without frightening all the non-mages around them and drawing scrutiny from mall security. Victoria opted to lean in and whisper her answer.

"I use Merces Letifer magic, a magic my adopted father taught me so that I could defend myself. It lets me summon magic guns and grenades of several different types. I don't need to carry weapons with this magic." Victoria whispered into Gaia's ear. She stepped away once the explanation was finished so that people would not get too suspicious. A brief answer was fine, but a lengthy discussion could easily draw the wrong sort of attention, which could lead to conclusions being jumped to and a whole lot of headaches for everyone involved. The brunette did not want any headaches, not today. The only person who deserved them was the person going around and groping females... she noticed that more women were covering their backsides and looking flustered.

Suddenly an advertisement for a figurine shop came onto the TV lacrima. The shop's name was called Resin Monuments and advertised figurines made out of high-quality resin that were hand-painted for just the right colors to suit the subject. On the screen flashed a figurine of Astrid Foss, the one-eyed Wizard Saint she had met on a few occasions but never really got to talk to for any length of time. Victoria recognized the long white hair, elaborate armor, and one red eye anywhere. She wanted that figurine now.

"If you don't mind, I'd like to drop by Resin Monuments during our adventure. There's some figurines I want to check out. I'm hoping to get an Astrid Foss and Samira Nassar figurine, but I'm not gonna hold my breath. It's worth a shot." Victoria announced to Gaia as the Noya creature looked up at her. It obviously wanted her pizza. That was not happening.

"Sorry little guy." Victoria said as she ate the last of her pizza. The furry creature almost looked depressed, but the brunette was not budging. There would be no pizza for Noya.

[Word Count: 760]
[Total Word Count: 3,133/7,000]

"I might start running more jobs with teammates. You're on the short list of teammates. Which is good because you're the first teammate I've had in awhile." Victoria said to Gaia. Aside from partnering with Ryo and Imai on the trip to retrieve the cattle for a wealthy client, Victoria had not worked with any other Sabertooth mages yet. That was fine because she was still the new guy and the other Sabertooth mages really did not know that much about her. She did not exactly volunteer information about herself to anyone other than Ryo and Gaia because she did not know the nature of Sabertooth's dealings with Black Rose.

Victoria was also worried that Sabertooth might try to pump her for information on Black Rose's secrets, secrets that she was sworn to keep confidential since she was once an Ace of the defunct guild. Ryo had vowed not to, but she did not know if Sabertooth's Aces or rank-and-file members shared his scruples. She would deal with that problem if it came up, and even then she was not too worried about it. She had defied Francesca Corlone by not divulging secrets under torture and lived to tell about it. Victoria would keep Black Rose's secrets until the day she died, even if it meant leaving the safety of her new guild to keep them.

"I'm not too worried about romance. It gets in the way and it's only something that can be turned against you. I've also never really thought about it that much because I've been so busy trying to make a living." Victoria started explaining to Gaia, who was unexpectedly passionate about that kind of thing. She did not want to offend the Guild Ace or alienate a potential partner, so a follow-up statement was in order. Gaia seemed to think a lot of the Kyran guy and had found a relationship that worked... despite her own stance on romance, Victoria wanted to encourage the Ace to stick with it.

"It seems that you've found a good guy to be with, Gaia. If it works for you, I say go for it regardless of what other people think. You do what's best for you." Victoria opined to Gaia. The brunette was not sure if any guy really wanted a small-chested chick who was a certified tomboy. She also did not believe that a guy wanted a girl who could drink him under the table or outfight him in a back alley brawl. Victoria lived a rough and adventurous lifestyle and was far from ready to settle down and have children... any guy who dated her had best be prepared for that reality.

"I end up in dangerous situations a lot, so my magic really works for me. I don't know whether it was a happy accident or if it was fate that I met the guy who taught it to me, but it's certainly helped me make a living. People sometimes need someone willing to go into danger zones and they're willing to pay good Jewels for it, so I take the opportunities and run with them." Victoria admitted to Gaia. The brunette did not just end up in dangerous situations; she often signed up for combat jobs because she like the hefty Jewel payments that came with them. Her newly learned Combat Medic magic was another magic that could not have been better suited to its user. It would help keep Victoria on her feet while in the field and far away from friendly healers. She would no doubt have plenty of opportunities to use it in the jobs that were to come.

When Gaia said that she did not want to take up Victoria's shopping trip, the brunette was quick to comment.

"I don't mind a shopping trip, Gaia. It beats something trying to kill me every five minutes. I forgot the last time I've been on a real shopping trip to a mall and not just dipping into a corner store for a quick look around." Victoria admitted. She had never really been interested in shopping because shopping cost money, money that Victoria often did not have to spare until she became a mage. Now that she had saved a decent chunk of money she was willing to take an occasional shopping trip.

"I think Resin Monuments is on the third floor. You might wanna check before we go up there, Gaia." Victoria suggested to the Ace. Resin Monuments was the only store the brunette was really interested in visiting. She wanted Samira Nassar and Astrid Foss figurines first and foremost. Everything else was optional.

[Word Count: 772]
[Total Word Count: 3,905/7,000]

"I'll try to work with others, but I'll be frank with you. Old habits are hard to shake." Victoria told Gaia in a non-confrontational way. Victoria was not used to working with others because in her street experience partnerships were built on quicksand. They were shaky at best and tended to fall apart when put under any sort of pressure like something not quite going to plan or even achieving the objective and having to divide the spoils. The only consistent "partnership" was with Burr, but that relationship was involuntarily ended eight years ago by the actions of slavers.

Gaia seemed passionate about love having a purpose and said that all love did not have to be romantic. The Ace had a point. Victoria was not keen on being anyone's "friend with benefits" but would be fine with a platonic relationship if she pursued one. She had never pursued a relationship because survival came first. One day she needed to do something other than just survive and work for money. She was not sure when that day would come.

"Cosplay cafe? Oh yeah... I've heard about those places." Victoria said in a tone one normally reserved for "gentleman's clubs" and other places of questionable repute.

"If you actually worked in one of those without hitting anyone for getting too handsy, I think you're well on the way to becoming a Wizard Saint." Victoria tried to make a joke out of what Gaia said about cosplay cafes being frequented by rude children and perverts. She had never personally worked in one, but she had overheard stories of what went on in them. Tales of backsides and chests being accidentally (or deliberately) touched by handsy men were all too common. Victoria would not tolerate that sort of treatment and would only work in a cosplay cafe as a last resort. She wondered if Astrid or Samira had ever worked in one of those cafes.

Victoria listened as Gaia ascertained the location of Resin Monuments, which was on the third floor. It was not too far from Olga's Boutique, which was rather convenient because Gaia stated that the boutique was her destination. She followed the bespectacled Ace into the nearest elevator and waited patiently as it ascended to the third floor.

-Inside Resin Monuments-

Victoria entered Resin Monuments with Gaia in tow and was greeted by a male worker. She raised a hand in greeting and browsed the shelves, which were neatly organized and stocked with figurines that were labeled according to their rank. There were sections devoted to current Rising Stars, former Rising Stars, current Wizard Saints, and former Wizard Saints. Gaia asked if the brunette was looking for a figurine of Astrid Foss. The salesman seized on that and began pitching panda figurines in several different poses, such as a panda hugging a bundle of bamboo, a panda eating a bamboo shoot held in its front paws, and a sleeping panda curled up into a black and white ball.

Victoria could appreciate the enthusiasm with which the fellow tried to sell his wares, but the brunette did not want a panda. She wanted Astrid Foss and Samira Nassar. She began to browse the shelves of figurines and found a good variety to choose from.

She looked in the Current Wizard Saints section and spotted the distinctive red coat and red hat of Sabertooth's Guild Master Ryo Knetegawa, some dark-haired girl named Sorano Granon whose face looked more than a bit depressed, a blonde guy named Ruvel Mizune, and some white-haired chick in a white-and-purple outfit named Nessa Cordelia Lux. She also spotted a dark-haired guy named Mura Kensho and some guy named Johann von Weiss. The brunette quickly spotted a pattern: most of the current Wizard Saints were from Fairy Tail and West Fiore Trading Company.

There was no sign of Samira Nassar, which made the brunette somewhat unhappy. She wanted a Samira Nassar figurine and one of Astrid Foss. She looked through the Former Rising Stars section and saw a figurine of some blonde chick with a sword named Leona Jarnefeldt. She was from Desierto and had garnered a bit of a reputation for taking the most dangerous jobs around and completing them by herself. Victoria did not know whether she was brave or suicidal, but it was good to see that the former was far from the only mage who liked to live dangerously. Victoria also saw names like Althea Eventide and that Theo Silversong guy from the Halloween party. Her train of thought was interrupted when she saw the figurine of Gaia and her pet Noya.

"That figurine looks just like you, Gaia! It's kinda cute, actually. So's the Noya figurine." Victoria commented to the Sabertooth Ace. The figurine had the glasses, the outfit, and everything that made Gaia... well, Gaia. The Noya figurine was just as detailed as her owner, something that Victoria appreciated because all of the figurines were rather expensive. The salesman seized on her appreciation for detail and renewed his efforts to sell the panda figurines.

The brunette just wanted to buy a few special figurines and move on, but the sales pitches were starting to wear her down. She finally saw the Samira Nassar and Astrid Foss figurines that had prompted the visit to Resin Monuments in the first place, but below them was a special offer.

"25% off with purchase of a Panda!"

Victoria sighed. It looked like she was going to be buying a Panda or two after all. At least the figurines were collector-quality and not some cheap plastic versions churned out for a quick buck.

"I'll take Samira Nassar, Astrid Foss, Gaia Sabin, Noya, and a Panda eating bamboo and a sleeping Panda, please." Victoria finally admitted defeat. She did not want to stay in here all days because Gaia wanted to go to Olga's Boutique and maybe buy some clothing there. As much as she hated to admit it, Victoria was mildly interested in what the boutique had to offer. She needed to by something other than military surplus clothing to update her rather limited wardrobe.

[Word Count: 1,037]
[Total Word Count: 4,942/7,000]

By the time she had finished paying for everything Victoria had left Resin Monuments with far more than she had intended to buy. She had intended to buy figurines of Samira Nassar and Astrid Foss but ended up buying those figurines plus two pandas, Gaia Sabin, Noya, and a Ryo figurine. The last three were impulse buys The Sorano figurine looked kind of sad to be left behind, but Victoria had to leave some behind to avoid destroying her budget after finally achieving financial solvency. The Sabertooth mage left the shop before she made any more impulse purchases and put her budget under even more strain.

Victoria peeked inside the bag and looked at the figures ensconced within protective plastic cases nestled inside a white box with the figure's name across the top and their rank at the bottom. Such measures might have been a bit excessive for resin figurines, but as long as they got home intact she did not mind. She did not want to get back to Sabertooth Guild Hall to find her expensive purchases broken up by small bumps and knocks. That would be both infuriating and a major downer, which would be a bad way to end an otherwise good day.

Victoria followed Gaia out of Resin Monuments and back into the mall to go to Olga's Boutique, the bespectacled mage's objective for today. The pair had to swim upstream against the crowd of fellow shoppers clutching their bagged purchases, but they reached the shop without incident and without contact from the mage targeting female shoppers. Perhaps he was busy plying his "trade" elsewhere in the mall. If he chose to target them, the Sabertooth mages would make him regret ever setting foot here.

Victoria followed Gaia into Olga's Boutique and prepared to hang back and let the Ace do the talking in the boutique. She never knew when she would run into old enemies she had made in Capital Crocus by virtue of coming from the wrong neighborhood and not having money. Knowing her luck one of her old enemies would be a store owner.

-Inside Olga's Boutique-

The boutique was a clean and well-lit shop that was lined with wall-to-wall racks of clothing for every budget and taste. Victoria was never one to pay attention to fashion because she could not afford to. She also could not find anything halfway decent for someone of her body type. Most guys liked the "supermodel with a big chest" body possessed by someone like Gaia or Masha. Victoria was not blessed with that body type and had a few issues because of it, namely being mistaken for a guy in drag.

The incident in the food court only served to dredge up that old insecurity. Victoria thought that she had finally moved on from it when she had grown older and left the preteen and teenage years behind, but that was not the case. On the contrary, the insecurity seemed to only grow the older she got.

Victoria looked around the various racks to see if there was any article of clothing or outfit that she could add to her limited wardrobe. There was no shortage of clothing to choose from, but the brunette wanted to choose the right clothing because not just anything would do. She wanted something that actually looked decent on her, but she did not even know where to begin. Her adopted father Lawrence Sheridan had taught her a lot of useful skills, but how to go shopping for clothes was not among them.

Instead she hung back and let Gaia do the talking while looking at her purchases. She was glad that she had managed to buy Samira Nassar and Astrid Foss. She was unable to find an Izayuki figurine, but that was to be expected since the Wizard Saint tended to stay out of the public eye and one could not make an accurate resin figurine if the model hardly appeared in public. It was at that moment that her mind began to wander from the subject of Izayuki to the subject of the figurines she had already bought. By coincidence the Noya and Ryo figurines had been placed in the bag next to each other. That happy accident gave rise to an amusing mental image.

Instead of Noya being draped across Gaia's shoulders like a feather boa, Victoria imagined that Ryo was Noya's owner. The thought of Noya being draped across the shoulders of Ryo's distinctive red coat was more than a little amusing. The thought of the always serious Ryo having the carefree and energetic Noya draped across his shoulders was hilarious. Victoria almost started laughing but stopped when Gaia asked her whether the former was interested in browsing at clothing too.

Gaia even offered to help her find clothing that could help ameliorate Victoria's particular problem of looking like a guy in drag. Victoria blushed and left the odd thoughts behind to focus on the present. The bespectacled mage was offering help and Victoria would be wise to at least give her an answer.

"Hmmm..." Victoria started her answer while facing the inquisitive mage. She was not sure what style to go for. Did she want to go bright and colorful or did she want to stick with more subdued colors? The brunette's preference had always leaned towards more subdued colors since they kept her from standing out in a crowd, but maybe she needed to change things up a bit. Gaia was doing her best to help and be a friend to someone who did not have many friends to start with. Victoria owed it to her to at least try to participate in something normal teenage and young adult women did every day.

"Yeah, I think I need to add something to my wardrobe besides military surplus clothing." Victoria replied. She decided to throw caution to the wind and see what Gaia could come up with. Gaia had thought ahead and was already holding two possible outfits to choose from. One was an outfit that had an off the shoulder white button up shirt that sleeves went to the elbows, complete with a blue shoulderless off the shoulder jacket that had a clasp at the collar, black shorts that went down to mid thigh, and a couple belts. The other outfit was a black tank top, with a crop jacket that went to the elbows again, holed jean pants, a black belt with a splash of orange on it, and some lace up boots that was supposed to go to just below the knees.

"I like both of those, but like in that movie with the immortal dudes fighting one another throughout the ages until there's just one of them left, there can be only one." Victoria gave her opinion of Gaia's selections. The blue outfit had a cute look that had a certain appeal; there would be very little mistaking her for a guy in that. However, she was digging the well-worn aesthetic of the second outfit. Which one would be the best choice for her?

[Word Count: 1,200]
[Total Word Count: 6,142/7,000]

wc reached, continue as freeform or social after this post

Victoria was surprised that Gaia had offered to buy both of the outfits for her. The outfits were of good quality and looked good, but they were not cheap by any stretch of the imagination. Thanks to Gaia's sudden offer, the brunette was now placed in an awkward position. She had no idea how to respond to it without possibly upsetting the Sabertooth ace and straining their growing friendship. Victoria had to stop in place and think the matter through, something that she was not very good at.

Either decision the brunette could make risked her looking bad. Gaia had made the offer out of friendship and as compensation for "dragging" Victoria to Olga's Boutique. Victoria wanted to accept out of respect for the spirit in which the offer was made, but she could not quite bring herself to accept it just yet.

Accepting would make her look bad because Gaia was with her in Resin Monuments. Earlier she was willing to spend a considerable sum on resin figurines but was reluctant to spend money on clothing despite her wardrobe desperately needing updating. That did not make Victoria look good... at the very least she looked like she had questionable priorities. At worst the brunette looked like a cheapskate.

Declining the bespectacled mage's offer did not come without downsides of its own. Gaia might be insulted by the implication that her suggested outfits were not good enough for Victoria. Victoria really liked both outfits because the blue one had a feminine look that was not too feminine for her and the "rock groupie" outfit struck a balance between feminine and masculine without going too far into either camp. What should she do?

Victoria looked at the clothes, then at Gaia. The former wondered why the latter was willing to buy the outfits for her despite their cost. Maybe Gaia was feeling generous because Victoria had bought both the Gaia Sabin and Noya figurines at Resin Monuments. Victoria looked at her guildmate again, then voiced her decision.

"If you'd buy both outfits for me, I'd appreciate it." Victoria said to Gaia, finally putting an end to the guessing game and voicing her decision. She would not turn the offer down... for the first two outfits, that was. If she found any more outfits that she liked the brunette would buy them on her own dime instead of mooch off of Gaia. Victoria felt that that was an acceptable compromise. Gaia would buy the first two outfits without feeling insulted and Victoria would accept her guildmate's offer without looking like a cheapskate.

Victoria's good cheer was short-lived because Gaia walked out of Olga's Boutique to investigate something that had caught her attention. Victoria felt obliged to help the Guild Ace, so she left the dressing room behind and found Gaia standing outside facing a guy with a pair of panties on his head. It was a long time in coming, but Victoria had finally encountered something that left her speechless. Just what kind of weird person was she facing?

“It is I! The Panty Wizard! The strongest mage of all at H rank!” The man proudly proclaimed. Victoria was again left speechless. She was able to open her mouth, but no words came out. It took awhile before she was finally able to say something in response.

"You're certainly open about what you are." Victoria snarked at him. She noticed some female patrons of the mall run for it before the guy waved his hand and shook it a bit before he lived up to his name and stole the undergarments of all the females present. The first sign Victoria noticed that his perverted brand of magic had worked was when Gaia was suddenly missing every article of clothing except for her gloves, white leggings, her boots, and her bag with her tarot cards. The second sign was when Victoria suddenly noticed that her clothing was missing except for her black bra and underwear.

Victoria turned away from the nearly nude and deeply embarrassed Gaia with a beet red blush on her face. Seeing her guildmate in such a state was awkward, but Gaia was far from the only female who was affected by the undergarment thief's magic. The bespectacled mage had managed to get revenge of a sorts by throwing her staff in such a way that the running thief had tripped on it, which gave Victoria a good chance of catching up with him. Victoria began striding towards him with violence on her mind and her fists clenched. The man noticed her approach and began to scramble to his feet.

"You won't get away from me!" Victoria declared as she raised her right hand, formed it into the shape of a gun, and focused magic into it until the tip glowed gold. She then fired a Taser Spark at the man and watched the golden projectile hit him in the back as he stood up. The man screamed in a pitch that made him sound like a dolphin before flopping helplessly onto the tile floor and trembling from the effects of the Taser Spark. The Panty Wizard was not dead, but by the time the day was over he would wish that Victoria had killed him. Victoria walked over to the man, dragged him by his feet over to a decorative pillar near some railing, and stood him up, then gripped the collar of his shirt with both hands.

"OK jackass, here's the deal. You give all the women back their clothes and their undergarments and I don't punch your face in." Victoria made an offer to the so-called H-Rank wizard. This creep was a pretender who was weaker than even a novice mage. Victoria was the genuine article, a mage who had spent many months working to earn the power of a H-Rank mage.

Five mall security men hurried up to them as Victoria held him in place and Noya scrambled a safe distance away to escape the feet of mall security. She looked at them, then looked at the guy. They looked tense... the security guards probably expected her to either punch his face in or throw him over the railing. Victoria would do neither because as creepy as the guy was, she was not going to murder him in public.

"Don't worry, guys. I'm not going to kill him. You can have him." Victoria assured security before stepping out of the way and letting two security guards grab the panty wizard. Now the brunette knew that escape was impossible for him. If he had any sense of self-preservation, he would return the clothes to his victims before someone else decided to murder the creep.

[Word Count: 1,137]
[Total Word Count: 7,279/7,000]