2nd Throw - [ action ]

[shenevermisses]

[A party on Friday constituted a shopping trip on Wednesday. Normally, Clove was not keen on social functions. She avoided the main core during things like that at the Academy. Here, though, she took it to be part of the show. As a "New Feather," she had to try and forge alliances. She had a few prospects, she felt.

The Roman-- Roan, but that was close enough for Clove-- theme called for an effort to find her Tribute Parade costume.

For three hours that morning, Clove browsed the clothing store. When she found something she liked and that looked like it would fit, she put it in the canvas bag she carried. She needed a bit more of a wardrobe, after all. It was sort of fun, looking through everything.

Finally, she found it. The black pants and the layered gold shirt. Sleeveless and close-fitted, tailored to show her off, accent the delicate feminine frame next to the tall and broad figure Cato presented.

Clove took it quietly. Unlike everything else, this outfit did not go into her bag. She carried it to a changing stall and shut herself in. She stripped, put on the pants, shirt, and her boots. She even tied her hair up in a poor imitation of her parade style and stepped out to inspect herself in the mirror, smiling faintly with anticipation.

Her smile faded almost instantly. There was a small gap between her waistband and her skin, and the pants were almost too long. Her shirt hung loose, rather than hugging her chest. She reached up, under the shirt, and felt her side. They weren't horribly prominent, but she could feel her ribs. Not surprising-- she'd had little to eat that last run in the Arena. Of course she'd lost weight.

Clove looked at her reflection. She was a shadow of the girl who had ridden in a chariot with Cato. She felt near her temple, trying to find the dent in her skull. It wasn't there. Maybe she'd feel better if it was. Maybe a physical reminder of that injury would make her feel like everything was real again.

She touched the loose ends of the shirt, felt the layers of fabric. Her eyes stung. Something wet fell down her cheeks. ...She was crying. For the first time in a long, long time, she was crying. Clove drew herself up, willing the tears to stop. Then she bent over... sank down into a crouch as her chest shuddered with a painful sob.]

Comments

[action]

[want_take_have]

[grabbing a change of clothes with Amelia, last night, was one thing...but she couldn't spend all week in the same outfit. Or, she could, but she didn't really feel married to the idea. She'd mostly been ignoring everyone else, picking out anything that looked like it might appeal. She could try it on later, at "home," and ditch any that didn't fit afterwards.

She didn't really look over when she heard the sniffle. True, it wasn't unfamiliar. Plenty of chicks cried their first night or two in the joint. But most toughened up real quick. Still, you got to know the sound.

But it's harder to ignore the more solid sob, and when she looks over in time to see Clove curling in on herself, her stomach does an awkward flop when she realizes it's just a kid.

For a minute she just stands where she's at, arms full of clothes, and watches her. Meltdowns were iffy things, and they'd probably both feel more comfortable if she just backed off and pretended she hadn't noticed.

But something about this whole thing made her think of Angel. It was enough to get a silent, internal curse, and to push her to take a few tentative steps forward]

Hey...Kid...

You okay?

[cop_an_attitude]

[On her usual bored browsing of the clothing shop (god, it was taking awhile for her things to show up) Sally had noticed Clove's intent shopping and even given her a little wave across the store, though she was pretty sure the girl hadn't noticed, obviously busy in her task.

Upon taking her new find to a changing stall, to determine whether it was, in fact, the top she had purchased not too long before her arrival at Luceti or someone else's, Sally hears a wretched sob from the stall next to hers. At first, she has no idea how to react, but when she thinks: wasn't that the stall Clove took not long before?

Sally has never been a particularly maternal woman, but she does have something of a soft spot for kids, and now there's one crying in a changing stall right beside her. She can't do nothing.

So she exits her own stall and knocks softly on the neighboring door.]

Clove? Is that you in there? It's me, Sally.

[They only really met once, but she hopes Clove remembers her well enough to trust that she wants to help if something's wrong.]

[lunas]

[ Usagi doesn't come to the clothing store that much - and when she does it's mostly to browse for overly cutesy clothes with weird Engrish phrases on them or cute patterns or even pictures of cute animals or something of the sort.

Still, the crying sounds were audible even outside the changing stall. And Usagi just happens to be outside it, waiting until she gets a turn, but.. even without knowing it's someone she knows, she can't stop herself from wanting to help when she hears the sound. She has little sense of privacy or when to back off and leave people alone, so she knocks a little on the side of the stall. ]

... Um.. Is everything okay inside there?

[Action]

[geniustheveil]

Are you alright?

[The voice is quiet, belonging to a girl just a bit older than clove herself; perhaps barely twenty, dressed as professionally as possible in Luceti - which is admittedly not too difficult to do, with the resources such as this very shop.]

I'm sorry; I didn't mean to intrude, it's just... [It's just she knows how difficult Luceti can be; and she's never been good at ignoring someone alone.]