Down To Business

"We need supplies right?" Samson confirms, his tail hanging low.

 "Right."

 "Well, when I was little, my family would go camping in the Saltus. And we had to get the supplies somewhere, so we bought a membership card with a camping equipment store. We could go there, so we don't have to spend any money."

 "That's actually a great idea, Sam."

 "You really think so?" He smiles and his ears perk up. 

 "Yeah, we don't have any money, so that'd be perfect!"

 "I'm glad my family is finally of use to us!" He tucks his hair back with a nervous smile.

We walk around looking for this camping equipment store for a while, and Samson quickly turns his head.

 "Do you see it?" I ask excitedly looking at him.

 "Yeah, it's over there by the jewelry store. You don't see it?" Samson says quickly, jogging towards it.

 "I do now. You can't expect me to see everything you do. I don't have good eyesight like you, Sam. Well, at least in the bright Dagur." I say with a sigh, walking quickly over to the store.

 "Yeah, yeah."

He opens the door, and the bell above us rings. I grab a basket, and begin to look around.

 "Hi, welcome in!" the store clerk says with a warm smile before helping the next customer in line.

I spot the tents and proceed towards them, gesturing Samson to follow. As we approach, I also glance around the room to make sure that nobody would see me. When I confirm my invisibility, I stash a flashlight and a box of nails into my pockets.

 "Do we want a large tent that'll fit all five of us or do we want multiple?" Samson questions, searching the shelves with an easy-going tone.

 "Well, that depends on if we have a shrinker or not." I say sarcastically, knowing what we'll need.

"Oh, the little attachment things? No, we don't have those. So, the large one then?"

I chuckle, turning around and grabbing a hammer and putting it into the basket.

 "Yes, because then we can have someone carry that while the rest of us carry smaller items and supplies." I respond, putting a roll of duct tape into the basket.

 "That makes sense." Samson says shakily, trying to reach the box on the top shelf.

I pull it down with ease and hand it to him with a smirk.

 "I'll carry the basket while you hold that. I know what else we need."

He nods and shifts his body weight to be able to carry the wide, large box underneath his arm. I walk over to the coolers, and after a quick glance I find the perfect size. 

The small grey cooler clinks around in the basket as we walk over to the backpacks. 

 "Are we getting one for each of us, or just a few?"

 "This isn't twenty questions; would you stop asking so many?" I groan, grabbing five backpacks that I think would suit each of us.

 "Wow, I guess I'll shut up now." He rolls his eyes and follows me with his tail between his legs. I gaze around the large store in the search for thermal blankets.

 "Y'know you don't have to be so rude to me. I'm just curious about how we're going to be living!"

 I sigh, and my ears and tail twitch as my eyes divert towards Samson. I look into his sorrow-filled eyes, with guilt building in my chest.

 "You're right, I'm sorry. I'm just not used to having to work with a team, especially one with not much survival skills."

 His ears and tail perk up, and a soft grin appears on his face. His eyes seem to stare into my soul, and I turn away, a small grin peering at the corners of my lips. When I finally lay my gaze on a rack of blankets and sleeping bags, I take off towards it.

 I reach out and grab three blankets and a sleeping bag. As I take down a second one, my horns miss snagging on the fabric by mere inches; pulling away causes my tail to almost knock over several lanterns on the shelf behind me.

 "Be careful Roxy." He warns, catching a lantern and readjusting it. "Can I call you that?" Samson pops up behind me, smiling widely.

I jump a little, and chuckle before putting the items into the basket.

 "I suppose, though I'd prefer if you'd call me by my actual name, Sammy." His tail wags rapidly back and forth, as if he'd never had a nickname in his life.

 "Alright, alright, fine. Whatever you wish Madam Roxley." Samson giggles and does a small curtsey.

 After grabbing a couple more necessities, we head to the register nervously.

 "Hello sir! Do you have a membership card with us?" The clerk starts to ring up our items with a warm smile.

 "Yes actually. The name on the card is Kody Barkley, the confirmation questions answer would be Woofwood Boulevard." He says hurriedly, trying to end this interaction.

 "Thank you, Kody! You're all good to go, would you like a receipt?"

 "No, thank you." Samson weakly smiles. "Have a nice day!"

 We take off the tag of all of our items and shove the smaller things into the backpacks while the larger items are carried by me. 

 "We need clothes still, and we're much closer now. I believe it's on the street to our left." I recall from the layout of the street earlier.

"How are we going to get clothes without money?" Samson asks, looking through his wallet for a clothing store gift card or something that would be of use.

"I don't really know. Maybe we could steal some, with our thievery skills." I express, plucking his ring off his claw, tossing it into the air and catching it with my jacket pocket.

"That's illegal, c'mon Roxley. We have to think logically."

Samson responds, somehow forgetting that we ran away from the government just yesterday.

"We are quite literally wanted across the globe. What are

you rambling about illegal actions for, morals?" I chuckle, handing him his ring back. "We should meet the others here, and then steal some clothes for our disguises."

"You're right, unfortunately. That sounds better than using

money that we may need to get into places." Samson concurs with a nod.

"Luckily, we shared our contacts with one another before taking

off." I recall, summoning my able-scroll once again.

The scroll flutters out of seemingly nowhere, the parchment still

intact and in great condition.

"Where's its clutches? No bindings either?" Samson pipes up,

gazing at my able-scroll.

"No, I'm poor, and I could barely afford this much." I shrug,

tapping the page with the intent of messaging the others.

My intendment make imprints fade onto the scroll, the name of

whom I'm contacting appearing at the top, and a small bar for me to print my message. I run my finger along the box, thinking of the exact sentence I'd like to send, as the ink stamps onto the page. Once I'm finished, the word 'sent' appears beneath it.

"Great, so now we wait?" Samson queried, his muzzle twitching

in the chilly morning wind.

"Yeah, unfortunately it might take a while depending on how

they've been doing." I sigh, not knowing what to do while we wait.

We awkwardly stand in the middle of the cobbled street, surrounded by markets and kiosks.

"So, we could maybe find somewhere to just chat, and get to

know each other more?" Samson proposed, peeking over my shoulder. 

"We could. Do you want to?"

"Kind of, yes." He chuckles, a hint of embarrassment in his tone.

"Alright, well since we're waiting for them to respond or meet us

here, we should idle nearby. This bench will do." I walk over to a bench, just outside of the shop, and sit with my pointed tail wrapped around me. Samson follows, and sits next to me, tucking his own tail around the other side of him.

"Obviously, we've stated our financial situation, as well as our

ages. However, I don't believe we talked about family dynamics or pass-times." He says, his claw tugging on his sleeve to try to warm his paws.

"Right. Uhm.." I pause, a bit uncomfortable on the subject of

family. "I like to pickpocket people if you couldn't tell, and I've also found that wood-carving is quite fun." I take out a wooden box from my pocket and open it. There's little coins inside, along with some rings and earrings.

"First off, impressive wood-work. The box works well

considering its miniature size. Next, did you happen to steal those?"

"Thanks, yeah. I did, however did you guess?" I ask sarcastically,

a giggle following shortly after. 

"Goodness gracious, Roxley. Either way, that's really cool. What

about your family, though?"

I look at him in silence, not really wanting to answer that. I trust

him, but I don't feel very comfortable sharing that yet.

"Anyways, what about you? What are some of your hobbies?" I

ask, hoping he'll take the hint.

He nods his head in understanding.

"I like to play violin. It's quite soothing, and the instrument is

lightweight. I wish I could play for you, but mine is at my home." He huffs in disappointment and grief of his past luxurious life.

"Makes sense," I chuckle, "That's interesting, a violin is a beautiful instrument."

I smile at him, and I feel the rustling of the scroll, meaning that

there's been a response. I summon the able-scroll, and it floats in front of me gracefully opening to the message. The ink of the reply floods onto the page, and it reads: "Yes, we can meet there. We are not far, but it will take a while to arrive. I am sending this as we await the trolly to pick us up. Hopefully, the word of us escaping has not got out yet." It's from Zenith, hence the proper response. If it had been from Kurtis, it might have read more like: "Fine, we can meet at the clothes store, as long as I can steal something, I'll be there. We're on our way."

I giggle thinking about that, but snap back into reality as Samson

taps my shoulder.

"So, what'd they say?" He asks, his thick golden-brown fur

glistening in the sunlight, like caramel dripping off an apple.

"Zenith said that they're on their way, but it will take a while

since the next trolly isn't due for a bit." I explain, zipping up my leather jacket and tossing my long hair back with my slim fingers.

"Alright. Have you played any instruments before?"

"No, only because of money though. I'm quite interested in

the…" I try to remember the name of it. "The gitâr delyn I believe it is called."

"Oooh, the gitâr delyn. That is a wonderful string. My sister

played that before she got her lyre." He remarks, in awe of my fascination with the instrument.

"Yes, it sounds so beautiful when paired with most others. Do you have any other hobbies?" I questioned with a toothy smile.

"I like to sew, read, dance, collect art, and do some

gardening! I really like growing my own strawberries and rosemary. They're really pretty plants." Samson appealed, smiling at the thought.

"That's lovely, did you sew your own clothes?"

"Yes I did! They're quite nicely done, don't you think?" He

boasted, showing his tailcoats seams. 

"Very nicely done" I chuckle.

"Random question, but, are you a pure-blood?"

My eyebrows furrow in confusion. "Am I a pure-blood? Yes, I

am.. are you?" I ask, still a bit shocked by the odd question.

"Yes, I was just wondering. I haven't met many Vlorgow, so I

wouldn't know." He admits embarrassed.

"You haven't? Huh."

"Yeah…anyways, is lemonade actually your favorite drink? I

noticed that you ordered that instead of a coffee, tea, or even a caffeinated refresher." He asked, clearly attempting to figure out more questions to ask me.

"I love lemonade, yes. It's my favorite drink that doesn't involve

alcohol." I snickered at the fact of my favorite drink being alcoholic. 

"Oh? What's your preferred kind?"

"I like whiskey, brandy, and gin, but my favorite would have to

be vodka. It's quite strong, and it pairs well with cranberry; a great flavor." I confess, now wanting a vodka cranberry on the rocks with a sugared rim.

"Quite an interesting choice. I prefer red wine, especially if it's

aged more than a decade. Merlot has to be my favorite." He divulged, pretending to swirl a glass of wine in his paw.

I chuckle, fidgeting with my hands.

We talk a little longer before a large, dark, muted green trolley

pulls up a bit further down the street.

"They're finally here, blessed skies." 

We wave at the three stepping off of the trolley, gesturing them to

come over.

"Over here, guys!" Samson stood, and swung his paws in the air.

The others snicker at his exaggeration of motion, and walk to us

fairly quickly. I pat Samson on the shoulder with a sigh of relief, happy to see them all safe.