Étaoin stumbled into the starlight area, glancing back towards the less child friendly area of the city. God were they glad to be out of that area, and once again, their previous outfit had magically vanished, and now they donned a more feminine outfit. God help Étaoin, before someone gets hurt. Glancing down at the outfit though, purple eyes blinked as they took in the black and pink gothic like outfit, in reality it wasn’t that bad, very cute indeed, but it was also screaming at the men around here to approach Étaoin and that was one thing they were not trying to do, as a matter of fact it was the thing they were one hundred percent trying to friggin' avoid, but not matter how it happens, they always end up with the same results. Peer pressured into the cute outfits. Sighing quietly to themselves as they continued to walk, hands in their black hooded cardigan, at least that was one thing they got to keep from their original outfit, thank god it wasn’t their favourite knitted jumper they wore out today, and instead just a plain white tee with some faded jeans and beaten slip on.

It was quite late, and honestly Étaoin usually would just head straight home after their little wonder of Hosenka that they decided would be a fun thing to do every night, but today Éta just decided to spend a little more extra time out and about, after all the colours looked super bright and colourful against the night sky, the stars also looked pretty tonight as well. Stopping on the edge of the grassy area that Starlight Parade displayed, Éta lifted their gaze to what they could see of the stars above them, it really was a pretty sight to see, but it was so so much better when the bright lights of Hosenka finally switched off, when most of the city went to sleep, minus the area specifically for adults only.

A shiver ran down their spine at the sudden gentle breeze that passed over them, causing Étaoin to pull their hands from their pocket, but tugged the cuffs of the cardigan over their hands, only to wrap the opening of the cardigan around the cutely fixed outfit the mage currently wore. ‘It’s quite chilly tonight, I wish that they’d give me tights like last time this happened.’ frowning at the thought, Étaoin just shook their head and glanced around the area, taking in the people around them, there weren't many but there were a couple of couples and groups as well as just people going to and from either work to home or vice versa. Lowering their head, Étaoin sighed as they felt their stomach quietly rumble, whilst they tried to remember the last time they had food that day, and decided that maybe they should and try find somewhere to eat, but then Étaoin also wanted to stare at the stars just a little more. That wouldn’t hurt right?

"There is no LOVE...
When there is no JEALOUSY."

Étaoin closed their eyes as they took a calming breath, it was just for a little longer, just until it hit a certain time at night that they had promised themselves not to stay out past on their own. Good things never came to them in the past when they stayed out past that time, and Éta was a billion percent positive that it wasn’t going to start happening now, ten years later. Rubbing the side of their neck, Étaoin tore their gaze from the stars, a saddened expression now joining the frown that would not budge, they couldn’t just live in a state of hoping to be free as the stars in the sky, but then again, not even they were free were they? The stars were only able to shine at night, because the sun ruined their reign of the sky during the day and hid them until the moon would grant them the freedom to shine once more when night arrived again.

Being so invested in their own thoughts, Étaoin didn’t even register the approaching footsteps or the shift in the wind’s breeze against them until an unknown scent and even more unfamiliar voice was heard behind them. “W-what the!" Quickly spinning around, Éta stared at the stranger, gripping their cardigan tighter against themselves, and shifting a few steps from the red headed lady. "Hey you know that’s rude r-right?” Taking in the stranger more, “An invasion of personal space… kind of rude.” Étaoin mumbled in one of their home tongues, glancing between the area around them and the stranger, they were still nervous Éta didn't change their tense appearance, even when the lady asked her question. Shaking their head, the frown not leaving as Éta cleared their throat before reply to the question, not that it had anything to do with her. “No reason… I usually frown most nights.” Shivering again when another breeze made itself known, Éta huffed irritably and wrapped their cardigan around themselves more, or attempted too.

Étaoin was slightly annoyed at themselves that they had let their guard down that much to not even see this person approach them. Putting aside the whole sneak approach that the women had done, Étaoin could not deny that she was quite pretty, the long red hair under the bright lights of the city plus the moonlight just made it seem like it was softly burning, but in the prettiest way possible. Étaoin went to kick the floor like they usually did when they were in a situation like this, but paused only to scowl when they realised the shoes they were wearing and decided on not doing that as it was not the best idea.

Looking back up at the women, Éta tilted their head in curiosity. “Who are you anyway?” Étaoin was positive they did not know this lady, in fact Étaoin didn’t know anyone really except a few people, but it was weird that this stranger just appeared because they were alone? It was definitely weird, but maybe that’s just how Fiorian people were, it’s not like Éta knew what Fiorian’s were like?

"There is no LOVE...
When there is no JEALOUSY."

A lot came from the lady and honestly Éta now stood there more confused than nervous. It seemed this stranger was worried about them, even though they had never met before. Étaoin was extremely confused now. “Uhm… Why did you… Do it then?” Glancing around them, their hands dropped as they scratched the back of their head trying to figure out how to reply to this lady who was now offering them all these options. It was something that Étaoin had never really experienced before, usually they just stole things and went on with their daily activities like they had been doing since they were five years old and stuck in Joya, up until that guy found them during the failed mission and well not that it mattered much since everything was mostly forced onto them anyway.

Lowering their gaze towards their outfit, a small expression laced their facial features, one of disgust as Éta wrinkled their nose and let out a huff. “I’m fine. I was just dragged by the ladies into clothing stores…” A frown made its way across their face once again as they remembered the loss of their jeans and boots. Turning back to the women, Éta looked over the redhead once or twice before humming softly. “You are very pretty…” It was said softly in Joyan, as Éta glanced away once more. Not being able to actually feel like themself sometimes was annoying and it made them envious of others who could go around somewhat flaunting what they were born as, not that Éta was saying this woman was doing just that, but at least the lady wasn’t forced into girls clothes everytime they stepped foot near the more dangerous parts of town for work. “T-there is uh no need to offer me food or anything, I uh I'm fine…” It only took a couple of seconds of silence, for Éta’s stomach to rumble announcing their hunger. Instantly the teen felt their ears burn red in embarrassment, and their hands covering their stomach as if to try and silence it.

Nervous once again, Étaoin instantly pulled the hood of their hoodie over their head, and covered their face, because they had just lied - not that it was anything new - to this really kind lady, kind and pretty lady, and now they probably looked like an absolute idiot in front of the redheaded stranger. “I-I uh… um…” Sinking into a more crouched form, Éta bit their lip wondering how they were going to escape this sudden embarrassment that was bestowed upon them, thanks to their stupid stomach demanding food, which if it had waited a little longer, would’ve been given once they had returned to the hotel they were currently renting a room at within the city, but nope it just had to set itself of right at the moment where Étaoin refused the nice request from the possible kind lady.

"There is no LOVE...
When there is no JEALOUSY."

They slowly lifted themselves up from the crouched position as they continued to let the lady speak, though zoning out every so often, Éta lowered their head at what she was saying. In a way, Étaoin had wrongly accused the lady of trying to get them to eat and acquire new clothing, automatically assuming in their mind that this lady wanted something from them probably in return, and in a way to get out of the situation, lied. Staying quiet for a bit longer as they pondered over their options, the lady wasn’t forcing them into anything, but she was being quite pushy with her helping hand, and though it was nice to hear that they wouldn’t be forced to eat or wear things they didn’t want to, Étaoin still wasn’t too sure about trusting the lady. Trust goes a long way after all, and trusting the wrong people could lead to considerably bad consequences. It did not help that Éta was already on the law’s bad list considering the guild they were currently residing in and half the jobs that they had already done in just this city alone. It wasn’t really a good reputation to have, and Étaoin wouldn’t want to get the lovely lady involved in their bad rep.

“I-If i go with you… Can we get noodles?” Éta hasn't had noodles since before they were taken to Caelum, and honestly they would love to try it once more, being in Hosenka had those perks thankfully. “A-and maybe… some trousers?” Glancing up at the lady from beneath the hood, Étaoin’s face was probably red from slight embarrassment still, but also the fact that they were going to actually take the lady up on her offer to help them out. “There is a ramen shop over there… I heard it’s meant to be good?” Wrapping their hoodie around them more, Étaoin was going to say something else, but froze when the name of their own guild left the lips of this stranger now known as Priscilla. Éta didn’t know many of the guild’s members, they had only really met Kon and Azure, so meeting Priscilla was going to be a new experience and nothing like meeting the other two members they had met.

“S-sentinel Syndicate…” A low growl left them at the pet name the women used towards them. It was something that usually triggered the anger inside of them, but Éta had been learning how to control that whilst doing some quests that they had seen on the bulletin boards lately. “Please. Don’t call me that aight." They glanced towards Priscilla, irritation in their purple eyes before sighing. "I’m Étaoin, and coincidentally I’m also from the same guild.” The single emotion disappearing with the released breath. “Sorry. I just… I don't like those names.” Nodding towards the direction of the ramen stand, Éta shoved their hands into their hoodie pockets. “It’s nice to uh meet you, I guess. Shall we go talk more over some food?”

"There is no LOVE...
When there is no JEALOUSY."

Humming quietly, as they nodded whilst Priscillia explained the reason behind calling them the endearing pet names, but thankful that the lady had put a pause on doing so. They really did make Étaoin uncomfortable. Étaoin wasn’t about to dive into their own backstory on why they disliked those endearing names, after all they had only just met this lady and despite being of the same guild, Étaoin hadn’t even poured their life story out to Azure, and he was one of the first of the guild that they had met, minus Kon, since he was only like a projection or something of the man. Pursing their lips, Étaoin sighed. “Maybe when I get a little more used ta ya, you can go ahead an’ use them ‘gain…” Shrugging, they soon went to tapping their chin, after the next question that Priscilla had kindly thrown towards them.

The question was deciding on where to go first. Did they want to eat for or change outfits first? Changing their clothes would make them feel more comfortable in general, and usually when Étaoin was comfortable, they slowly opened up quicker than usual around strangers, so maybe that would be the better choice than going to eat something. Plus there was also the fact that the water mage didn’t want to walk through Hosenka’s streets in this outfit anymore than what they had to. If they heard one more catcall, they were going to lose it, or maybe not if Priscilla was around, but then again, Étaoin didn’t want to take any chances tonight unlike previous nights they strolled about Hosenka alone.

Pausing their direction towards the ramen shop, Étaoin tugged at the skirt they were wearing in disgust and slight embarrassment. “Mhm… Actually, clothing.” A firm nodded as they turned their purple gaze towards the woman next to them. “I want out.” Blinking down at the dress with a snarl. “After that we can get food an’ talk more. Sounds good?”

Glancing back up to the woman with a questioning look when she told Étaoin not to worry about the cost of whatever was to be brought. It was slightly nerve wracking when someone said that, since Étaoin knew how precious money could be at times, and they did not want to spend all this kind yet strange redheaded woman's money just because they didn’t like the current outfit that was forced upon them. Tight lipped, not giving a response to the money situation, Étaoin waited for the lady to confirm yes or no, before making their way towards the clothing stores instead of the ramen shop.

"There is no LOVE...
When there is no JEALOUSY."

Nodding quietly at the confirmation, they soon began to head in the direction of the clothing stores, their thoughts surrounding what they wanted to wear instead of this outfit and what they wanted to avoid. They specifically wanted to avoid the clothes that were super girly, like skirts and dresses, thanks to the ladies at the brothel houses, Étaoin had enough of those things to last them a lifetime, which was something unexpected and unintentional. Trousers were a nice option, or maybe some boy-like shorts, those were good too. Oh definitely combat pants! They were amazingly comfortable, maybe if anywhere in Hosenka sold any of those, Étaoin would pick them just because pockets and more places to hide things! A new hoodie would be nice, because even though Étaoin loved this hoodie, sometimes a change would be wonderful, and they didn’t actually mind the top half of this outfit they were wearing, so a tshirt wasn't very necessary on this shopping trip. Then it came down to the final product. The shoes. Heels were nice, but they hurt plus they did not go with combat trousers at all unless they were booties, which these pumps definitely were not, so a change of shoes were necessary for a completed outfit tonight.

Stopping at the first store, Étaoin glanced up at Priscilia before opening their mouth and quietly speaking up on what they figured they needed. “Uh… I think I will keep the shirt, but… maybe if they are sold here, some combat pants, and boots…” Étaoin wouldn’t mention wanting a new hoodie quiet yet, because money, even if Priscilla had said that money wasn’t an issue, to Étaoin money meant a lot of things, and they were always careful with how they spent money. “If we concentrate on those for now… I would be very appreciative.” Setting a hand on the handle of the shop, Étaoin soon stepped inside, avoiding the skirts and dresses, but glanced towards the area where the jumpers, hoodies and jackets would sit, before glancing towards the trousers and shoes sections would be. “There.” Turning back towards Priscilla with a small smile on their face, Étaoin chuckled. “Then we can get food and talk a lot more.”

"There is no LOVE...
When there is no JEALOUSY."

After collecting all the items of clothing they needed, Étaoin turned towards Priscilla and gestured to the till, where they would go to pay for said items, only looking around the store, the young water mage glanced towards the cashier and hummed quietly to themselves. “Uh, so is there a place where I could… Maybe change?” Gesturing to the clothes, Étaoin shrugged. “It’s kinda chilly out there.” The girl nodded, before pointing to the rooms a little away, away from the checkouts, just for Éta to nod their head in thanks, gathering the bag that held their new clothes, they turned to face the red-haired lady. “I will be back in a few, then we can find a place to eat.”

To say removing the current outfit was easy, would be a lie. Étaoin remembered why they hated skirts and stuff like that, a few muttered curses and an almost broken heel later, they made their way out of the changing rooms, with the over their shoulder and being held with two forefingers. Tilting their head with a more relaxed smile on their lips, Étaoin pointed a thumb at the door. “Shall we go now?” Though they were not really paying complete attention to the lady, when picking clothing, Étaoin was cursed enough to have fairly good hearing, and did pick up a few words, and yet continued to keep their lips sealed until finding a place to eat which was easy enough considering all the restaurants and take away places that Hosenka had.

Coming to a pause at the ramen shop they had found earlier, only to go and find clothes first, Éta nodded towards the building. “Still think ramen is the best food to have a conversation over, restaurants are way too formal in my opinion, wouldn’t yer say so?” Grinning, they stepped into the shop and took a seat at the bar, setting the bag near the feet, before glancing up at the menu to see what was optional at the place. When the chef made his way over, Étaoin nodded to his question on their choice of ramen. “Hmm I think, I’ll just go with the Miso ramen, please?” Turning to Priscilla, Étaoin tilted their head, “What about you, Cilla? It’s okay if I call you that righ’?” A nervous chuckle left Étaoin at the fact that they had just randomly started calling their guildmate the nickname without permission, it was a little problem that they had to reign in on, but when the thought of having more people to possibly trust comes into thought, well sadly Étaoin can’t really restraint themselves on handing out nicknames.

"There is no LOVE...
When there is no JEALOUSY."

Hearing what Priscilla had mentioned, the young water mage nodded and blinked. They could do that much for the lady who was nice enough to buy them some new clothes. Sitting at the bar, Étaoin turned towards the man taking their orders and smiled widely, and lifted up their fingers, gesturing the number. “Make that two miso ramens, big guy~” The man nodded with a chuckle and headed to give the orders over to the chef, leaving Étaoin to talk with Priscilla in peace. “I can show you how to eat ramen. It’s actually easier than people say. Sometimes the stores will give you chopsticks and a spoon, others not so much, depending on where you go.” Étaoin stretched a little and glanced around the small ramen shop. They were much more relaxed than before, and it was more to do with the fact that they were in clothes that felt much more comfortable, and there were less stares aimed towards them, so Éta had no reason to be uncomfortable. “So, you use the spoon when you are eating the noodles, because of the broth droplets, but you can also use it to drink the broth itself, at least that was how I was taught… Or you can drink that, like I do… Though it’s uhm not charming to do so.”

A wide grin made it’s way onto Étaoin’s lips at the permission granted with the nickname they wanted to call Priscilla by. “In that case you can call me Éta. Mostly people call me that, well people who I like and have decided to trust anyway.” Glancing at the chopsticks laid out in front of them on the mantle that came with them, Étaoin gestured towards the utensils and then back at their new redheaded friend. “Do you know how to use these? If not, I can show you how to use them as well, I don't mind. I kinda grew up in the country that invented this stuff for a little bit of my childhood.” Falling silent at the information they had just given out, Étaoin cursed themselves inwardly at the slip up. They never told people that, and really only Masami knew about them being from Joya.

"There is no LOVE...
When there is no JEALOUSY."

It was time for the crash course of how to use chopsticks and eat ramen, a course that Étaoin didn’t mind giving most of the time, especially if the people who they were teaching didn’t quite understand how it worked and from the sounds of Priscilla’s curiosity. “It’s fine, I'll show you first and then you can try and copy.” Grinning, Étaoin rested their chin against the back of their hands and glanced towards the women, as she spoke up once more about what uncharming way of eating ramen there was. “Yer got me in one. No charm attempts, just purely tryna make a friend.” A nervous laugh chuckle left the young water mage as they averted their gaze towards the back wall, on the other side of the counter.

When the bowls arrived, Étaoin nodded to the man, saying thanks before picking up the chopsticks next to them. Turning to Cilla, Éta began to explain how to use the chopsticks. “So, the first thing you wanna do is make sure you are using yer more dominant hand, ‘less yer ambidextrous, then this step doesn't matter.” Étaoin soon set the chopsticks to how they held them. Glancing at the women, to see if she was following along, and not having any difficulty understanding their instructions. “Others may do this differently, but how I find it easy to use is setting them like this, so one is resting in the crook between your forefinger and thumb, and resting against your middle finger.” Gesturing to the women, before thanking the shop owner for the glasses of water. “Then you wanna set the second one so the ends are kissing, and it's being held between your thumb and forefinger.” Étaoin then smiled, as they made the tips of the chopsticks click together in a random tapping tune. “Then when they tap together like this, you got it. It’ll take a few attempts so don't worry if ya don't get it on the first try. It took me a good lotta attempts when I was little.” Grinning, Étaoin then sat their chopsticks down, and took a sip of their water, since their throat was a little dry and they were a bit thirsty from the previous events of the day, way before they ran into Cilla.

“Mhm having spare aliases has helped me quite well if I have to admit… Especially with the people we work for ya know?” Slipping their hands between their thighs on the stool, gripping the edge of the stool, Étaoin leaned back slightly and stared at the ceiling, humming. “Not that I care much, everyone I know has a nickname, so even if it aint your actual name, no damage here. Cilla is your nickname, and that is probably what I’ll end up referring you to from now on.”

"There is no LOVE...
When there is no JEALOUSY."