Chaos is known as the being that never became a star. It is everywhere and yet nowhere at the same time.
Neither good nor evil, the ultimate expression of nothingness. The antithesis of the cosmos, creation itself.
Although Chaos claims to be the very state of existence from which the first entities appeared, it cannot form into the entity it wants most.
So it has been cursed to stay in the form of a dark and shapeless void. Floating between existence and nonexistence.
Longingly watching as stars are constantly born and lives are lived. The seeds of malice had been planted, flourished and transformed Chaos into the purest form of evil.
Halloween, the first holiday to set-up for the greatest holiday ever, Christmas. This was the holiday that slowly turns shoppers into well omega shoppers, by offering alluring ideals to be somebody they were not, offering treasures of candy by the bucket load. Many stores put out decorations to celebrate this holiday, and as well allure the guests in by the huge creeping sides at their door. Her own jewelry shop has done the same, with lovely Halloween trees, webs, and small ghosts hanging around... All perfectly placed to prevent camera distortion or light distortion, after all Light.. Is the Gem's perfection, shows just how marvelous it could be!
It was time to leave her heart's home, time to wander the mall.. Eventually hit off the exit. Maybe she'll check out the competition, just to see what they had hanging on their doors this year go around. She took a small happy breath, making a small excited noise, truly she was just super excited to see something different in the mall. But one must stay poise, and shine like a gem.
Walking forward, she slowly made her way store to store checking out their directions. Some were absolutely creative, why one toy's store even had the decoration move encouraging children to steal from its bowl. Another was simple scary looking deer...with motion detector capabilities, it creeped her how its eyes followed her, till someone walked up behind her taking the motion detector's full attention. Next year, she should get one in a much much similar fashion. A small smile crossed her face, soon her attention was so focused on all the little decorations.. She didn't notice any passing pedestrians, how careless of her!
It was the Halloween season. Well, technically there were still a few days before Halloween itself, but the festive mood had taken over the arrondissement by storm. While taking a stroll through the mall, there wasn't a single shop in sight that wasn't in on the Hallows' Eve spirit. To Erica, this was a huge reminder of home where Halloween was a big event celebrated by everyone. It was a pleasant surprise to see that New Paris was enthusiastic about the holiday too.
Erica wasn't particularly out to buy anything today. But like any veteran of window shopping and casual browsing, she was wholly prepared for some unexpected purchases. The many shops and boutiques certainly made their appearances more enticing as the decorations and Halloween gimmicks drew more attention to them than usual. She even found herself stopping to look at the display of a store that sold cookware even though she didn't know a thing about cooking besides heating food in a microwave. They had the cutest diorama of a pumpkin patch on their storefront that caught the girl's eye.
As she took the time to appreciate the decorations around the shops, she spotted from the corner of her eye an accident waiting to happen. Up ahead, a certain girl was even more engrossed than Erica was at admiring the Halloween ornaments. A few steps ahead of her around a corner, a shopkeeper was pushing a trolley with a stack of boxes full his wares while talking to his assistant about setting up decorations in their shop too. If they kept going at their current pace, a collision was inevitable. As nobody else seemed to have noticed, Erica figured she ought to do something about it.
No she wasn't being a goody two-shoes. She was simply sharing in the festive mood that was going on around the mall. But an unfortunate accident like that would spoil the mood. That wasn't the kind of "panic" that she would consider fun and appropriate for Halloween. She quickened her pace, walking straight ahead, past the corner and reaching the absentminded girl first. She then put her hand on the girl's shoulder to stop her, no doubt drawing a confused reaction from her. Meanwhile, the trolley loaded with boxes almost immediately passed by behind Erica, missing her and the girl by inches. The shopkeeper pushing it was still animatedly talking to his assistant and didn't notice at all that he almost bumped into the girl had she taken another step.
"Ah that was close. My apologies if I startled you. The decorations are all so nice, but it would be bad to be too careless while walking."
Erica gave a friendly smile. The girl appeared to be around the same age as she was, though she wasn't too sure who was older. As the danger had passed, Erica took her hand off her shoulder and nodded slightly.
"That's a beautiful dress by the way."
Erica by comparison was dressed as, well, a student. It was the most comfortable attire to her, despite the university allowing more casual outfits. She felt most at home in a blazer and skirt.
The trolley suddenly zipped by carrying with it several decorations for the mall as a whole, oh.. She must have been too busy staring at different business to notice such a thing, she could heave easily sued the mall... Well threatened, get free rent for a year... How sad... A missed opportunity. "Yes, it would have." She said simply not really wishing to be mixed with such a... Middle classed Teenager individual, though the girl did help her.. not be crushed, maybe place her pride elsewhere?
The girl continued complimenting her dress, well.. Of course.. this was a rather 900 dollar dress, it'd better be beautiful. She of course didn't voice these opinions, especially the opinion about the designer how this was a limited edition original, how she got it discounted due to her gems being the female designer inspiration. . "Thank you." the words came out cold, sharp, and almost distant from the girl of pure joy and happiness. The outfit a certain uniform only poor would wear if they couldn't afford actual cloths. It was required by law of society to compliment the opposite party, was it not? "Yes, your outfit is. Nice." She struggled with the words, really... Maybe she should.. "Mind if I buy you a new outfit, as a thank you?" she offered not caring how offended this girl would be, or maybe she just didn't understand why offering to buy people things may offend them in first place.
That really happened didn't it? A person offering to by someone an entire outfit as thanks. Maybe being a goody two-shoes wasn't so bad after all. Erica found the situation hilarious despite the distinct coldness of the other girl's tone. The girl was probably trying to be polite but it didn't quite come out right. It was around then that it finally dawned on Erica that she was being looked down on somehow. And that was... amusing to say the least. She stifled a chuckle before giving her response. This girl seemed like a lot of "fun", and if she was offering to hangout, then Erica wouldn't pass on a potential source of enjoyment.
"Well, I wasn't planning on picking up anything today, but certainly if you have any recommendations, I'd love to have a look."
It was probably an almost equally weird response. The girl offered to buy something for her, but her reply suggested she could afford whatever the girl was thinking of getting for her. Erica maintained her cheerful expression, not showing any signs of being offended. How could she be when someone practically offered to entertain her.
"I'm Erica by the way. Erica Cypher. It's a pleasure to meet you."
"Well, I wasn't planning on picking up anything today, but certainly if you have any recommendations, I'd love to have a look." She gave a nod, grabbing the girl's wrist leading the way.. Now ignoring all the decorations, or the workers putting such decorations up. Soon the female spoke her name, and explaining it was a pleasure to meet her. She spoke with a smile and cheerful tone, even though all she could think was to perfecting this poor poor child that had cross paths with her. Why.. Would such a gem be so clueless how well it could shine under the light? "Noel de Masséur, pleasure is all mine. "
Her quick pace dodging everybody had eventually slowed down as they reached a very nice outfitter place holding the newest highest most pricey outfits. "Ahh.." She said softly slowly letting go of the girl's wrist, before walking into the shop. A fitter seemed busy working on what looked to be a customizable shirt, but Noel had ignore this going toward other side of the shop. Before stopping and turning toward Erica, both of her hands in her 'lap' crossed together sweetly, a gentle caring smile on her face. "You may pick out any outfit in this place, I'll pay for it, as a thank you!" Truly she was clueless on normal poor rituals, such as saying thank you then hug then walk off. Then.. She wasn't really thankful, there was so much potential if she had gotten hurt, the money earned. The Reputations earned, if only.
Erica found herself whisked away as the girl grabbed her wrist and dragged her around the mall until they reached a certain outfitter that Erica immediately identified as not the kind of store most people can afford. Typically she would only walk into such a place if she wanted or needed custom-made clothing. But it seemed they had quite the impressive collection inside as well. For now she couldn't tell if Noel was just enthusiastic about this or she just wanted to get it over quickly.
Noel de Masseur. The name didn't ring any bells but she had a feeling a local to New Paris might have heard of it. Considering how she had been acting so far, Erica assumed that she was somewhat of a big deal. Dragging her into that store, Noel then asked her to choose anything there and she would pay for it as thanks. It had been a while since Erica last met someone who flaunted their wealth rather openly and resisted the urge to laugh. Though in previous occasions, they were people who were trying to impress her. This situation was a little different.
"That's really quite generous of you. I'm a little envious of your friends."
That last statement was a little tongue-in-cheek, as Erica went with the assumption that Noel behaved this way to everyone. A more humble person would have refused the offer. Just briefly glancing at the price tags on the few outfits on display would give the average middle class person a heart attack. Erica would actually pull the same joke herself if she had the chance to. For now she was content with playing along and waiting for the punchline, if there was one.
She walked over to the nearest display rack and began to casually browse the selection. Not only the designs but the material felt high quality. If nothing else, this was definitely the kind of store had every right to sell at exorbitant prices. Though at the same time it felt kind of stuffy. As she looked good in pretty much anything, Erica had long outgrown her excessive fondness for beautiful dresses like these. Perhaps if she was going to a party she'd be more motivated. The mood. The mood was very important for things like this. But out of politeness she had to at least pretend to look interested.
Erica had a bias for lacy attire. She pulled a black lacy dress from the rack along with a similar white one, comparing them side by side.
"That's really quite generous of you. I'm a little envious of your friends." She heard the girl, but she didn't reply or act like she had heard the girl. In reality she didn't care to have friends, she was busy running a business after all, who wishes to be friends with rich little... Two-faced females? She pretended, she after all was same vote they were. Act nice, appear clean, get the hell out of there before hell breaks loose. She studied the articles of clothing, maybe the girl think she is so focused.. Won't think to ask again or push the 'friend' subject. As all interactions were just acquaintances.
She waited a bit on the side leaving the girl room to explore, as well time to do so. She didn't really care for this Erica, just repaying a favor. Sooner you end the favor.. Sooner you no longer have to worry about one using you in methods you prefer not to be used. After a very long time, with her comparing this shop's Halloween decorations she finally called out, "Are you almost done?" This of course giving the female a bit of encouragement, to end their transaction... She needed to go do paperwork at home, goodness know timeline for this annual even coming up, and those famous people needed those rented earrings... Earring she needed the world to see, and suddenly buy.
As much as Erica wanted to get more reactions, it seemed her benefactor was intent on playing it cool and distant. She didn't want to appear rude by taking too long and so when Noel called out if she was done, Erica decided that would be her time limit. In the end, she was back to the first two dresses she had picked out from the start. None of the other outfits really interested her much. She stepped out to where Noel was waiting and walked on over to the counter to pay, both dresses in hand.
"Sorry about that. I can be a bit indecisive at times. And in most cases, I let greed get the best of me and just take everything."
She handed both of the outfits to the shopkeeper to wrap them up and then reached for her purse and took out her card.
"I'll be paying for the other one. The offer was only for one outfit after all."
She smiled again. Although it was an unexpected purchase, she appreciated being introduced to this outfitter and was glad to actually find something she liked. She might just come back next season to check out their collection then.
"I wonder if I should have picked out some shoes and accessories too."
The girl appeared with two different dresses, both rather interesting in design. Noel gave no comment at all just a small nod, accepting the information fed to her about the girl being rather indecisive. Yes, lots of her buyers were such cases, it was always good to smooth the sale to go faster by feeding more details or persuasive information. With that she made her way to the check out counter following this Erica, as Erica explained about not buying one of the dresses. This didn't surprise her too much, nor she was upset, easily completing the transaction.
As the two were walking out, the girl spoke outloud in debate, this... Should have been when Noel exited and left the girl in the dust. But no, the potential of a customer made her ears twitch and possibly move like a small south pole elf. "Accessories?" She asked aloud turning to look at both the dresses, before snapping her fingers. The woman already proved she had money, so why not take the money from the savior? Yes, that will make up for lose of incapability suing. "I have a couple of suggestions if you're interested to hear, such as..." She listed a couple matching the dress or the girl's hair shoes/gems/jewelry type, as well commenting other things.
notes: I would have listed what, But I don't even know the dress style or color... and I wanna finish this post, soo there you go.
Erica had to admit it. From the way she spoke to the extent and thoroughness of her suggestions, Noel was a fashion expert far beyond her own knowledge. Suddenly it began to make more sense why the girl had offered to buy Erica a new outfit on their very first meeting as she certainly wasn't wearing anything that would impress a fashionista. Noel even took into account the color and style of the dresses she just picked up. Both were party dresses with lace trimmings as the key parts of their design. The black one was off-the-shoulder while the white one was a spaghetti strap style.
Noel's words were both very educational and impressive, while also sounding business-like. It seemed Erica had misjudged her as just some rich girl and there was more to it. The least she could do was humor her.
"I do like the sound of that. Let's go have a look then."
The day went from window shopping to actual shopping. But with a pro by her side, Erica likely wouldn't regret any purchases she would make today. She would certainly make the most of it.
"Say, are you perhaps a fashion student? I thought for sure I had a decent knack for it, but I suppose casual self-studied knowledge just can't win against actual expertise."
To be fair, she didn't really try today with her outfit. She just put on something comfortable but presentable. But saying that out loud would just make it seem like she was making excuses. She'd allow Noel to have the spotlight for now.
After she expressed herself, she soon took the lead of the various acessories showing place to place. Finding an odd joy? Showing the girl, discussing things, and Erica spent money with such ease. That Noel got an odd feeling the girl was just as rich as she was, and slowly began to watch the girl closely, curious. Was she sent here to gather information? Was the save timed? Was it all a trick by the board themselves? No.. it wasn't she refused to ruin such fun with this.
Sometime during the shopping, standing in a store of question ethics, a competitor.. Who tried too hard, desperately pushing internet sales petty cheap object. "Fashion Student?" She asked more herself then the other girl, before giving a small laugh, "I'm a Business Major. My family owns hundreds of Jewelry shops all over France, and other countries. I just merely go to such pitiful school, because a degree is what is required make me full on owner, rather some heir." Okay... Such oddity the girl knew about her going to school. She shifted her hand thinking the girl's words over, is she growing paranoid?
She shoftly began to hum christmas songs, as the grew near the food court, "Do you wish to eat something together?"
A business major whose family owned a chain of jewelry shops. That explained the air of wealth around the girl. From the way she spoke, it was like she was the one practically running the business already and that she was only going to school to get a degree as a formality. It was certainly impressive for someone her age. Erica realized that the entire shopping trip so far had been her being coaxed into buying things by a shrewd businesswoman. Except she didn't really feel like she was being tricked or cheated at all. Noel had a very good grasp of her field of expertise, and despite her recommendations being on the pricey side, they were in fact quality goods and merchandise.
"Oh, I didn't realize you were some sort of celebrity. I've only been staying in France just for a few weeks you see. I'm an exchange student from America participating the exchange program in St. Elbandia. But seeing what they have to offer here so far, I'm inclined to consider transferring long term."
The program was for first years, so there was a high chance Noel was her senior. It was also likely that they would run into each other on campus some time and Erica would remember to greet her properly then.
As they continued to walk, Noel suggested grabbing something to eat as they passed by the food court, causing Erica to raise an eyebrow ever so slightly. After all the rich girl shopping they had been doing, Noel was suggesting to eat in the food court? It was a little unexpected. But maybe she knew something Erica didn't.
"Oh definitely, I'd love to grab a bite. What would you recommend? I'm craving something a little sweet honestly."
St.Elbandia? The girl was from there? Yes, she went there as well, her thoughts flickered back to that one male who had also came from America. How odd, this girl didn't have the American accent, or even felt American at all. Then perhaps she was too busy attempting to get the girl away from her, to really notice. While that one male... Ugh. Was well, a Male attempting to do who knows what. Some sort of Test? Females, are twenty times better at who they were. She made a small hand movement clearing the thought from her mind before speaking up, "Ahh yes! I go there as well, a first year. Perhaps we can work together some time on school events. It'd certainly be entertaining for ones such as ourselves."
Upon the food suggestion, and the agreement that the girl did in fact grow hungry. Noel gave a nod soon leading them toward her favorite restaurant... Well her Father's favorite restaurant... That somehow was rubbed off on her to be a meeting place of.. Secretive business matters. It was part of the mall, but was down a long dark corridor near by the food area, it had the name of the restaurant on top, but it looks soo... Professional in comparison to its other restaurant brethern that were shiny and easier for eyecatching... most of the lesser folk had a tendency to believe it was a rich man's outfitter or overly priced watches type location. The smells alone barely escape, Chinese just about cover anything up. "Here we are." She singsang upon reaching the main entrance, one with a small waterfall and a posting for a waitress to well.. wait.
She gave a small wink to the waitress, soon holding up two fingers followed with, "The dark corner pretty please." some sort of false charm oozing out of her, the lady seemed to understand grabbing two menus leading them past the tables to a small corner that looked more like an dark fancy decorated cubicle. There was a large round table surrounded by cushion. The lady placed down the menus and silverware before calmly waiting for the drinks. Noel slid in quickly answering hers, "Cucumber water, lightly shaved ice please." Soon turning to her menu no longer giving the waitress attention, she had but served her purpose.
notes - you can control waitress, also sorry for fast-forwarding their little traveling sequence...
It was interesting to hear that Noel was a first year too. Perhaps her estimate of their ages being similar wasn't too far off. But having already heard of Noel's background, it wasn't too unusual after all that a girl of her talents was just a freshman. Erica being who she was, she would be the last one to be skeptical of someone's ability with respect to their age. Some way somehow, Noel felt a lot less cold compared to their initial meeting and even suggested working together sometime. Erica wouldn't say no to that.
Upon hearing Erica's affirmation of wanting to grab something to eat as well, the jewelry heiress led them to a rather out of the way but formal looking restaurant in a not so traversed corridor in the mall. From the way she interacted with the waitress, it seemed she was a regular here and Erica could sort of understand it was a good place for having business meetings away from prying eyes. She even asked for a private cubicle for the both of them.
"I can't say I've eaten in a place like this before. I like the ambience."
It wasn't you typical fancy restaurant at least, though judging from the pricey menu, it was definitely the sort of place that only those well-off would visit. This being her first time there, she was curious about what their bestsellers and most recommended items were and so she called over the waitress to assist her a bit with choosing.
"I'd like something a little light. Are there any specialties that you can recommend? Oh and I'd like to sample your dessert menu as well."
The waitress nodded and turned the menu to the page featuring their salads and pasta selection. While Erica listened to her suggestions, she looked up at Noel from time to time, curious about what she typically ordered here.
She liked the place, of course she did, this was after all the place to be. The highest of regard come here, some even committed murders, at least what she recalled from her father's past. She'd never pull such tainted disgusting taunts, placing blood on a diamond... Such a waste of a lovely diamond's purity. "Thank you, I know all the best places to be." She commented with a slight hand wave.
She listened as the girl ordered, waiting for the waitress to be done before speaking with the girl, her finger playing with pointy fork on the table. "What part of America did you come from?" She ask coyly.
The skin LIGHTS OFF was made by JAWN of WICKED WONDERLAND.
HALATION was created by KOJIHIME. Images belong to their respective artists. All codes and scripts belong to their respective coders. Please DO NOT take anything without the owners' permission.
