Va'ynna raises a brow at the amount of rolls. The holiday might be alien, but covering up a surprise is not. "Three rolls? I... think one would be enough, but... we can get two to be safe," she says.
#FreedomFalls – April 24, 2020
The stall is quite big, so it doesn't take long for the pair to reach it. There's a few tethered datapads on the stall counter which surrounds the product with a half-square, and it allows them to select how many of each item they would like (cards, wrapping paper, ribbons), but nothing about patterns or other preferences. There is a solid markup, but it's still affordable.
Victoria gives a shrug. "I ain't a good wrapper. Never had to wrap a gift in my life until now, so who knows how bad my wrapping gonna be." Her tone was half joking and half serious. She looks at the datapad on the stall counter. "Well lets have a look and see what they have in stock for us."
Va'ynna gives a small smile. "I'll... find some instructions on the extranet and we can... learn together," she says. She looks down at the datapad and taps the button to add a roll to their order twice. "It doesn't look like we can choose which color to get."
Victoria gives a slight frown at the lack of choice. "That's kind of disappointing." Vicky is quick to shrug it off. "Well, we better get all the cards we need now. I don't think it is much of a matter if we get eachother's cards now."
Va'ynna nods and completes the order with a roll of ribbons and 20 cards as they come in stacks of 10. "It's... what you put on the blank side that matters, though, isn't it?" she asks before paying for their order.
It takes a little minute before they receive they receive their order. One of the rolls have a repeating santa pattern, while the other is a simpler pattern of red and green stripes. The ribbon they receive is a brighter shade of red than the roll. The two stacks of cards are held together by a rubber band, and the two topmost ones are a simple christmas tree and the other is from a modern christmas cartoon. "Merry
Victoria does not answer Va'ynna straight away. "Well, yeah I guess it's the message inside of the card that matters most." Vicky nods and smiles at the seller before they leave "Merry Christmas." She goes to grabs the two rolls of gift paper with her free hand. "As much as I want to carry everything, I have run out of hands. So I'll leave the cards and ribbon to you."
Va'ynna picks up the cards and the roll of ribbons, carrying them in her hands. The pockets on her jacket aren't too small, but it would likely bend the cards. She stops to look around for a moment to think once they've stepped away from the stall to let others get to the datapad. "I... don't know what to get for Jason," she thinks aloud. "Oh, and... if we're also getting a tree, we would need something to
Victoria thinks for a moment. "Well, I can think of some joke presents for Jason. But I will keep my mouth shut about those joke presents." Vicky actually forgot all about the tree and decorating the tree. "Do we want a big tree or a smaller tree? I think that decision will help with what tree ornaments we need."
Va'ynna gives a small smirk about the joke presents. She was tempted to ask to hear them, but the tree was more important right now. "I'd... like something big, as long as we can bring it into our apartment without... breaking it." She hums thoughtfully before adding, "I... could get it in through the window if we're careful, though. My biotics aren't... very good when I can't reach the thing I'm lifting with my
hands." Her work at the Respite meant her biotics weren't going unused, but despite not doing it at a distance she could probably lift a Christmas tree straight up until it was closer than an arm's length.
Victoria thinks for a moment. "Well, we could get a big fake tree. That way we don't need to worry about getting rid of it once the holiday is over, and we can just find some place to store it away for a year." For Vicky having a real or fake tree did not matter, but she wanted to throw out an idea which could be a better alternative. "A fake tree might be plastic but it should last much
Va'ynna gives an unsure nod as she begins walking towards a stall not far from where they are. "And it wouldn't... shed needles," she says, having overheard patrons having that discussion at the Respite, "but.... I dont know. It would take up space in our storage closet." Va'ynna is enamored with the food and decoration aspects of the holiday, so a fake tree does not feel right to her. "Wouldn't it be more...
They come across a simple stall selling christmas decorations, if a semi-circle of boxes surrounding the seller can be called that. The neigboring stalls selling different products — winter sport equipment to the left, wooden hand crafted items to the right — is the only indication on where the products end. The seller, a gray-red salarian, is currently laying out out some colorful christmas tree lights to demonstrate
The products are all in boxes here, whose designs are simple and straight to the point with the details and specs like length, brightness and features. Almost all boxes have a picture of the lights in action on the front side. The back and sides of the boxes are completely blank. The products range for wires of bulbs, slightly opaque tubes containing bulbs to single lights. A number of them also have instructions for how
While far from crowded, they're not alone at the decoration stall. An older human male is inspecting the stock with a critical eye, before walking away. A pre-maiden blue asari in a red winter jacket looks up from the box of lights she's studying, and offers the approaching pairs a careful smile before returning her attention to the packaging.
Victoria gives a shrug to Va'ynna about the tree. "I mean, I could go either way. Also we could just store it under the bed instead of the closet. If memory serves me right, they are pretty easy to pack away." Vicky look at the current 'stall' they have now approach, she gives a quick look at some of the boxes in front of her, which is the best she can do with her hands full. "So do you
Va'ynna nods to Victoria as going either way means real tree wins out. She returns the smile to the young girl and offers a "Hey", but there's no further interaction between the two before she starts looking over the products before them. "I don't know how many we'll need to cover a tree," she says, "two or three of these should be enough, right?"
The salarian merchant is still at work setting up the demonstration while they talk, but he stops after overhearing the discussion and looks their way. "Could never have too many lights!" he says. "Tree isn't only thing you can decorate with lights. Walls, windows, ceilings, even outside! Out-decorating your neighbors is an old human tradition, and these will stay lit throughout even the worst winter Aite throws at you."
Victoria gives a quick little chuckle. "Sadly we can't go crazy with the lights this year." She points to Va'ynna. "It's her first Christmas, can't overload her with lights just yet. I would've agreed with more lights if we had a house, but we live in an apartment." Vicky turns her attention back to Va'ynna. "Lets go with three, having an extra set of lights just in case would not hurt."
Va'ynna smiles at the merchant's enthusiasm, but defers to Victoria to do the talking. "Three sounds good," she says. "We... need to have room for other decorations too."
The salarian sniffs. "The first christmas is one to remember," he says. "Could always take down lights proving excessive; put them to use elsewhere." He puts the datapad down on a stack of boxes next to three packs of christmas tree lights. They're quite long, and two of them should be plenty to go along with other decorations. "What about one of these?" he asks as she pulls out an octagonal box from another stack and
presents it for them. It contains a tube of lights, which are too rigid for a tree but could be used elsewhere. "Surround doors, ceilings, your creativity is the limit! Comes with tools to hang up, of course." He also finds another box where the lights are arranged in a net rather than a line. "These look great on round trees," he says. "Will also look nice on empty wall!"
Victoria looks at the wares the salarian is showing off. "I actually like the net design. I think two boxes of standard tree lights and the net lights." She turns to face Va'ynna. "I mean, we are a team here. What do you think Vay?" Vicky wants to know what Va'ynna would like, just in case Va'ynna wanted to go a different way for decorating with lights.
Va'ynna hums thoughtfully as she looks at the net lights. "I think it looks good, too," she says and looks around the stock. Just about everything is on the top of some stack, making it possible to browse with full hands. "And a pack of those... battery powered lights over there, if they're meant for snow sculptures."
The salarian nods and taps it all into the datapad before handing it over to Victoria for payment; Va'ynna's addition is included. The four items add up to 60 credits. "Perfect for that," he said as he goes off to pick up the box. "Cold temperature diminish battery life, of course, but all my products are manufactord to survive Aitian winter." He takes out a plastic bag and begins putting in their items. "Not too late to
Victoria shakes her head. "I think we have enough lights for this year. We will have to keep an eye out for you next year." Victoria pays for the lights, she puts the gift wrapping in the bag with the lights so she can carry more, cautious to place the gift wrapping in a way so the lights do not damage the wrapping. "Ornaments are next on the list, yeah?"
The salarian nods as he takes back the datapad. "Will hold you to that," he jokes. "Merry christmas!" He moves on to helping the young asari, repeating a few of the suggestions that he gave the pair.
Va'ynna also takes advantage of the plastic bag space to take the cards and ribbon off her hands. "Mhm," she hums and looks around for a stall that sells these decorations. "So, um, what... were your joke gift ideas for Jason?" she asks while looking, hoping for some inspiration at least.
Victoria has a smile on her face, she has been enjoying this little shopping trip. Spending time with the person she loves, however once asked about the joke gifts the smile evolves into a dumb grin. "Well, the first one is a can of oil for his arms. Don't have to have Vasquez wake up in the middle of the night because of his squeaky arms." She knew it was a very bad taste joke, but she
was willing to accept any punishment from Va'ynna. "The other was a guide book on how to be a good dad. I think that is more of a joke, because I reckon he will already be a good dad." She pauses for a second. "But the passing bar for a dad ain't high." That last part was said in her joking but serious tone.
Va'ynna raises her brows at the first suggestion. "Victoria...," she begins, but there's not much behind it. She got exactly what she asked for, even if Victoria was the one to hint at them first. "Ilyna thinks he's great at babysitting Li, just maybe a bit too... lenient," she says, "but... why is the bar lower for being a good father? Wait, is... this about...?" She doesn't finish the sentence, but the rest
Victoria goes silent for a moment. "Yeah, guess I just stuffed up saying that. Should've said my passing bar." She shrugs, and puts on a goofy smile again. "But hey, you did not say no to the oil. Plus I think Jason would get a laugh out of it, and if not say it was my idea." She tries her best to take the topic off of her family issues and instead back to her wonderful idea of a joke