December 22. 9:20pm. It may not be long since the pair set foot in the market, but things have changed considerably with Christmas being right around the corner. The area just outside the entrance, which was empty last time, is now taken up by a handful of merchants selling trees and other outdoor christmas ornaments made from them; the weather today has been mild, and their products need space that simply isn't available
#FreedomFalls – March 31, 2020
Va'ynna sets Aylena's sky car down just outside the market and looks out. Like last time, she would have turned down any offer from the pilot to take over. "So,... here is the plan," she begins. "You are going to tell me what we should get for everyone, and I... I'll follow you around. Okay?" There is a brief tight-lipped smile on her lips. While Enila has limited her hours, the asari is still not recovered from
the weeks of sleep deprivation. She is wearing the jacket she bought there last time, and has made sure that the active heating is topped up and ready for an extended stay outside.
Victoria watches out the sky car's window, enjoying the birdeye's view of Freedom Falls, even if it is a short lived view. Vicky turns her attention to Va'ynna. "That seems a little unfair. This is my first Christmas in a long time." Give a clearly fake frown. "Guess you are trying to punish me for some reason, but I guess I shall try." She gives an exaggerated sigh. Vicky is wearing
There are other customers outside inspecting the wares on offer, so them arriving doesn't draw much attention. It's clear that the selection used to be much greater, but there are still trees that would look adequate from most angles without too much modification.
Va'ynna shakes her head. "I... I'm just joking," she says. "It's that I don't... I don't know what to get for people." She opens the sky-car doors, and steps out of the vehicle. "So, who are you getting presents for?"
Victoria gets out of the sky car. "Well, my list is quite small. Got my sister, you and the crew, those are the people getting something just from myself." She thinks for a moment trying to think if she missed out on anyone. "But we probably have a few more than that we can get a couple gift for."
Va'ynna closes the sky-car with a tap of her omni-tool, and briefly looks around at the trees present. "For me, it's... you, Li, Uvena,... Ilyna too, and Jason," she says, looking briefly unsure about whether there are more people to think about. "Maybe we... should get something for my new colleague too. I don't know her, or... if she celebrates this at all, but... maybe I should anyway?" She looks away from
Victoria and back at the 'forest' by one of the merchants. "What about a tree? I... don't know how we should bring one back, though."
The sky-car takes off again, and makes a beeline towards the Miner's Respite once it has gained enough altitude to hover over all buildings.
Victoria gives a shrugs. "I mean, it is up to you if you want to get her a gift. It could be a nice way to become friends with her." She moves net to Va'ynna. "Well, we could save the tree for last. I could carry the tree back, but you will need to carry the gifts."
Va'ynna frowns thoughtfully as she weighs the delegation in her mind. "That's... fine," she says tentatively. "I've got work in the morning, so we'll need to see how many gifts we can find." She continues towards the entrance, and the door opens as they get close.
The density of stalls and customers inside has also risen considerably, with humans making up a disproportional amount of that crowd. However, there is a greater representation of non-humans behind the stalls as earning credits on the holiday is something everyone can get behind. Despite it being late, there are also a lot of families around with kids running from booth to booth while the parents try their hardest to not
The stores by the entrance that were there last time has persisted. The money lender is seeing more business from people that want to celebrate above their means, the butcher has quite the line even if his inventory isn't very traditional, and many scavenge stalls selling electronics for hard presents. Some sellers squeezing in doesn't even have a stall, instead replaced with a terminal on top of boxes, or in some cases,
a datapad in hand to faciliate credit transactions. Close to the pair is a stall selling knit sweaters and beanies with bright colorful patterns, and another selling fabricated toys and small drones with primitve VIs.
Victoria follows Va'ynna into the entrance. "So you wanna team up first and get everyone else sorted before we look for gifts for each other?" She looks around at crowd. "Thankfully I already got the food needed for Christmas."
Va'ynna fidgets a bit at the idea of splitting up, but she keeps these concerns to herself for now. "Yeah, let's... look for the others' gifts first," she says. "If we run out of time... I'll ask Uvena to go with me tomorrow to get something for you." She starts walking towards the store selling the knit clothes, hoping Victoria will follow.
The stall has the clothes stacked on the stall and on boxes behind the stall. There's a lot of patterns and colors, but only a few of them depict anything directly cristmas-y in addition to an appropriate color theme. They are not organized by size, but they do have a label telling the size so that they can be scanned for purchase. The owner is a middle-aged asari, and she stands back and casually observes nearby patrons.
Victoria starts following Va'ynna. "Sounds like a plan." Vicky looks at the items this stall have to offer. "So, see anything that would suit anyone on your list. Don't think Jason would enjoy clothing as a gift. Maybe your mother might like something here."
Va'ynna hums as she considers the options, lifting up a few on the nearby stack to get a veiw of the ones further down. Despite the fact that Va'ynna refers to her by first name, Victoria not doing so does not seem to faze her. "I suppose, I almost only see her in sweaters, even when it's not cold inside," she says as she stops browsing. "And maybe... for Li, too? Not as the only gift, though, I need to find her
something fun too." She lifts up a small sweater. It's deep blue with a decorated christmas tree motif on the front. The sweater feels durable to her, but aside from her scarf, she doesn't really have much familiarity with winterwear. "It's cute, but... wouldn't it be better if it was practical all winter, not just around this... holiday? Or is it celebrated all winter?"
Victoria looks at the sweater Va'ynna picks up for Li. "Not really, you show your Christmas spirit leading up to the day and the day itself. But for a little kid, I think that festive sweater would be the best pick." Vicky felt a little weird explaning Christmas, it was not her favourite holiday but she at least wanted to celebrate it with someone she cared about. "Do you know what Li's
Va'ynna frowns thoughtfully at the question. "No, I don't," she says. "I think I'll pick that, then. It's... not the... uh, main gift, so it should be good, I guess." She sounds far from certain, especially as any idea for the 'main gift' is still not decided. "Now, you've... seen Uvena too, what... color do you think she'll look good in?"
Victoria thinks for a moment and looks through the selection in front of her to find a colour suitable for Uvena. "Maybe we could find a toy for Li, use the sweater to cover the toy in the same wrapping to give her a surprise." She is still trying to find and think of a suitable colour for Uvena. "Hmm, maybe a dark grey for Uvena."