maskormenacelogs | another swoop-into hello

WHO: Bodhi, Lucina
WHERE: a big ol' mall
WHEN: Dec
WHAT: another chance encounter, this time with 90pct less hooligans and guns
WARNINGS: naw

[this really is something, isn't it? this is the second weekend in a row Lucina's made herself keep her feet on the ground and take to shopping around for gifts -- 'tis the season! so they say -- and try to glean more of the feelings one should have for the upcoming holidays.

so far she's gotten lots of aimless energy, impatience, delight, and more impatience. goodness, but people can barely contain it when standing in even the smallest of lines to pay! no wonder so many people look overtired; she fears gleaning the feeling from them simply by being around them.

taking a break on the second floor of this massive shopping mall, Lucina folds her arms on the railing and watches the large, mulling crows below, broken up by the indoor displays of artfully decorated trees and fake, wire reindeer perched in cotton snow. such a strange mix of images to her mind, but she finds them all charming in their ways, and more sensible the more she learns, and...

wait...

she leans a little more, squinting, watching a particular body practically drowning in the mass of people crowded around a particular kiosk.

that one seems familiar, maybe? or is she imagining it?]

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[ Bodhi doesn't remember shopping being... this... much of an ordeal the year before. But he'd also spent most of last December gravely injured and unable to do much shopping, so that's not really saying much.

For the most part, the trip is uneventful and exciting even. Shopping for his friends is enjoyable in the sense that he sometimes is amazed he has so many people to shop for.

Unfortunately, he wasn't expecting this. Admiring a fine looking winter coat on display in a shop's front window (for Cassian), he's on uneven footing when the crowd appears out of seemingly - nowhere. A large swarm of writhing bodies all clamoring to get that sale.

They either don't notice Bodhi, don't recognize him or don't care. Either way, he's getting shoved and pushed aside and yeah - he's gonna die here.

How embarrassing. ]

Shit, shit... hey, knock it off!

[ He pushes the guy who'd just knocked into him off, only to have two more people take his place. ]

[no, that's definitely Bodhi! now that she can see the whites of his eyes in that face of his, she's sure. she'd be happy to see him if he didn't look like he was in such distress, about to be swallowed up in that rushing tide of sale sharks.

this won't do.

now, Lucina's been much more mindful of the cautious voices in her life since her injury, but they can never really shout over her want to help, and that, down there, is a man who needs a bit of help!

...maybe not extremely dramatic help. she has to take it easy on account of her ribs.

is flying down from the second floor and descending overhead too dramatic? she thinks not; she's not even yelling to disperse the crowd!]

Bodhi, up here! [she extends her hands to him.] Grab a hold -- I'll get you out of here!

[ The headlines are going to be terrible. Hux would probably die, out of sheer amusement given the absurdity of it all. Trampled to death at a mall.

Why were there so many of them? What was even on sale?

Did it matter? No.

He'd just swung his bag at another one, wide eyed and fearful when he hears a familiar voice, not far above -- wait. Bodhi looks up, mildly surprised. But he doesn't hesitate to take Lucina's hand.

... shockingly (or not shockingly at all) the people didn't even notice the flying woman above them. ]

Thank the force.

Force? [she smiles, then holds a breath, hefting him up. the pair of them float up until she can get them onto the second floor safely -- once a few awestruck locals stop gaping and taking pictures to make room.

once her feet are on the ground, she exhales.] No, that would be Lachesis to thank, for once. She's the reason I fly around here. [she dusts a bit of tinsel off Bodhi's arm.] Are you alright? You looked liable to be swallowed up!

Force, it's ah... [ His smile falters a little. Not important which deity he's thanking at this point. None of them had come to his rescue. He breathes a sigh of relief as their feet touch the ground and wills his heart rate to return to a normal pace. ] Not important.

Thank you, for that. They just -- they just kind of came -- out of nowhere. [ He wasn't gonna say that he was afraid but he had definitely been afraid.

And there's a hole in the shopping bag he'd been carrying and his coat.

Woe. ]

I didn't realize this holiday meant 'tramping your fellow neighbors for that perfect gift', but I guess you learn something new every day.

[she chuckles.]

People sure are energetic about it, aren't they? The desire to give their friends and loved ones a worthy token of affection...I suppose I can't say I wouldn't get caught up like that, myself. Hopefully not to the point of mowing you or anyone over in the process!

[she looks him up and down, assessing.]

No harm done, yes? No missing pieces?

Very energetic. [ a breath and a beat as he shrugs, finally feeling calmed down. slightly. ]

No, no. Nothing missing, lost or broken. I think my own shopping came out of it unscathed, too...

So. Thank you, again.

Anytime. [she tilts her head, considering his bag, all rattled up like that.]

Do you need a second pair of hands to help out? Or have you already secured all you needed from here?

No, I still had a bit more to go. If you want to stay, I wouldn't mind the company. [ He's been alone a lot, lately. Since his... falling out with Poe. Not to mention that he likes said company. ] I'll even treat you for lunch.

[she smiles.]

I think that's a fine offer. We'll forego the escalators; you can just tell me if and when we need to change levels, yes? [beat. blink.] Though that...may be more attention-grabbing than moving as usual, huh...

[she rubs the back of her neck, catching glimpse of a nearby phone clicking a photo.]

It's alright. A little bit of attention is preferable and easier to come back from than being trampled. [ Yes, he sees you and your camera. ] Not like they've never seen anyone flying before...

[ Okay. It might be unusual, given it's probably not a common scene in an indoor mall, but... ] I might try to get that jacket again, later - once the crowd has died down.

[Lucina's head tilts, getting a determined kind of look about her. this is a challenge, isn't it? she's not one to balk from a challenge.]

...Which store, by chance?

[ Not really a challenge, per say but it's true he would appreciate the help in this regard. Bodhi really doesn't want to go back down there without someone to go with him (and it would be flashy and nobody would run over him that way). ]

Stacey's, it's called. It's the department store, downstairs.

[she moves over to the rail to scout it out -- thank goodness for capitalism demanding such garish, huge signage for this very predicament! -- and scans the pathway there. hmm...]

Let's take that escalator over there. [she points.] It's not a terribly long walk, just those little kiosks. [oh, those kiosks... never had she ever encountered such aggressive salesmanship than from those! truly battle-hardened warriors of the season.

but she's a warrior, too. she's ready.

she looks over her shoulder, nodding, and then starts on her way.]

I'll get you through that gauntlet unscathed. It's a promise! [she kind of talks like she's going to be escorting him through a haunted bog or something?

but considering the character of the mall on this day, is it really that far off?]

[ His eyes follow her suggested route and widen slightly when it hits back to the dreaded kiosks. Bodhi shakes his head, but Lucina is optimist and it's hard not to feel optimistic.

He meets her steely determination. ]

Are you sure? I mean, I wouldn't blame you if you'd rather not... be anywhere near that place.

Nonsense. [she gives him a confident smile over her shoulder, gesturing he follow.] You don't want to leave this place in defeat, do you? Let's make a victory of the day, Bodhi! Come on!

[ ... well. He doesn't want to leave, defeated - she's right about that.

C'mon, you've faced worse than a crowd, Bodhi tells himself before hurrying to catch up to her. ]

Alright, then. Let's do this.

another swoop-into hello

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