Thrift Store JUNGLES.

[pj]

A wild, rambunctious youngster sped down the aisles of a one Thrifty's Thrift Shop, darting in and out of racks, and yelping in joy. Clearly she'd been given too much sugar that morning. A weary blonde dressed in a stained blue regulation Wal-Mart shirt and khaki pants stood over a rack of jeans, sifting through the thick racks and looking for a size 6. Regretfully, her pants had shrunk in the past few days (she suspected it had something to do with the multitudes of cookies she had consumed), and she no longer fit into a size four. Thus, she had to go out and buy a few pairs of what she called "fat pants". Every girl had to have at least one pair. Hers used to be the size fours...

Sighing heavily, Lucie-May hung her head slightly as she passed size twos and fours, making her way into size six territory, when she felt a slight tug on her shirt. Looking down she saw the familiar cocoa face of her daughter, Maddie.

"Mama?" Maddie asked politely, standing still for the first time since they'd left the car.
"What is it, Mads?" Lucie replied, not looking from the racks of jeans, being too choosy for one so impoverished.
"Well...I sorta found somethin' I want," Maddie began slowly. Drawing Lucie's attention from the pants, Maddie beamed up at her, brandishing a purple kazoo from behind her back. Grinning up at her mother expectantly, she jumped up and down in her spot with all her Lucky-Charms induced energy.
"Aw Mads..." Lucie looked down at her daughter fondly, her face apologetic. She hated disappointing her daughter. Another pleading stare from Maddie extracted a sigh as Lucie caved and asked, "How much?"
"It's only fifty cents mama, I promise! Pleasepleaseplease!" Puppy dog eyes stared up at Lucie until she took the kazoo in her hands and nodded.
"I can afford fifty cents," she replied with a smile. I'll just have to go kick a paycheck from the Police Department, she thought with a slightly annoyed edge. They had yet to pay her for the past few weeks and she had the sneaking
suspicion that they'd been avoiding her...

Pulling two pairs of acidwash jeans from the rack, Lucie draped them over her arm, and headed towards the khaki section. At least one pair was necessary for Wal-Mart, and the pair she was currently wearing were beginning to feel a bit tight.. Lucie watched her daughter go off to resume playing around the thrift store jungle.

[Camille Desmoulins]

The book store owner carefully looked at the text in the mostly good book that had been published some time in the 1950s. He tapped flipped through he pages a few times to make sure none of them came out and flicked the cover a few times. He read the summery and turned it over in his hands much the way that an expert jeweler would inspect a beautiful diamond, lovingly and with the utmost care.

Then put it in the basket that he had his employee carrying.

He looked up as he watched a child run past the used books aisle in a blur of sugar induced energy and purple kazoo. He raised an eyebrow and shook his head, "Parents should not feed their kids sugar," he informed Zarah, picking up another book and looking at it, then putting it back immediately after looking at the over and running his finger over the book spines, looking for something good, "It leads to nothing but catastrophic situations."

His opinion was most likely based of his basic disdain for children. They had no respect for good tea and very few of them knew good literature. In his eyes these were the two things that distinguished a person.

He pulled down another book and adjusted his glasses as he opened it, published in 1943. He frowned thoughtfully, "Tales of Monte Cristo," he said, looking at the text printed on the somewhat brown pages. He examined the spine and looked at the binding carefully. The cover was a little worn at the edges but it was still in relatively good condition, and so he put it into the basket as well, which had accumulated a good number of books at this point, "You may need to get another shopping basket," he observed, looking from the mostly basket to his employee and then going back to looking at the books, moving down the aisle to look at the next section of books.

[Louis de Saint-Just]

"You know I hate you, right?" she asked, looking very bored as she held the basket in front of him. "You're a terrible person. Making me do your grunt work, and complaining all the while! I'm the one who should be allowed to complain, you know," she exclaimed, even though she had been complaining for the past hour or so. "You're a boring shopping partner, and you don't get anything exciting. Hmmph."

She vaguely noticed the child, and paid attention only after Jeun had spewed off some useless information about children. She sniffed, but shrugged. "I might agree with you on that. You know, if you weren't a stuck-up lion. It's a species of cat, okay? You don't have to be so snooty about it. I mean, if a lion wasn't just a big cat, then I gues you would have the right to feel like you're better than all the 'lowly' cats. But no, you're a cat too, and you should not be so uptight.

"Also," she said, eyes focusing on something off in the distance. "There's something really shiny over there, Jeun! Why won't you let me chase it already? It's not fair."

She was just grumpy, of course, since Jeun had pulled her out of her afternoon nap-in-the-sun time. Very gumpy.

[pj]

Lucie caught the presence of strangers near her child using her peripheral vision and happened to just barely hear low tones that went with the shapes. A typical mother paranoid about the safety of her child, Lucie's eyes narrowed somewhat and she called out Maddie's name. "Maddie-Louise Hawkins!" A small head whipped around at the sound of her mother's voice and shouted back, "What mama?"

Frowning, Lucie indicated for Maddie to come over to her. Maddie happily obliged and skipped over to her mother weighted down by pairs of pants in her arm. "What-what-what?" Maddie chirped, bouncing up and down on the balls of her little feet. Lucie replied in a slightly hushed tone, "Be careful, okay? I'm gonna go try these pants on- can you stay close? And don't talk to strangers."

Maddie rolled her eyes- she had some sass for such a little girl. "Yeah yeah. I won't talk to strangers." Lucie smiled, pinched Maddie's cheek and headed to the tiny hole in the wall covered with a single shower curtain that served as a dressing room. Seeing as most people just bought the clothes, they never thought they actually needed one, however Lucie knew better. She had learned her lesson from the last time she bought a pair of pants without trying them on and wasn't looking to repeat the experience. Maddie watched as her mother close the shower curtain, smiling and waving until she was certain it was closed. The moment it shut completely, Maddie turned on her little heel and went up to the strangers with all of the intent to do exactly as her mother told her not to.

"Hiya!" Maddie greeted, waving spastically. "Who're you?"

[Camille Desmoulins]

"I am not a lion," Jeun told Zarah, rolling his eyes and picking out another book to inspect, "I'm a sphinx. I happen to have a lion shape, but I am neither a human or a large cat. As such, I do indeed have the right to look down upon you. And no you may not chase the shiny thing. You may go get another basket though."

He flipped through the pages of the book, starting his rigorous inspection when the shrill and tiny voice interrupted him. He frowned and looked somewhat unnerved as he looked down at the little girl at his feet. He watched her wave spastically and looked both affronted and confused and a little bit alarmed, "Zarah... is it talking to me?" he asked slowly, glancing back at his disgruntled employee.

It was possible, but not proven, that Jeun had an innate fear of children. It most likely had to do with his lack of childhood and more likely had to do with the fact that children embodied everything he deplored. They were messy, they were loud, they were far too energetic, they pulled on his tail (when he was a lion, obviously) and they were disobedient. However, again, this has not been proven and it may have just been regular disdain and not fear at all.

[Louis de Saint-Just]

Zahra's nose had wrinkled instinctively the moment the child had run up to them. "It's all sticky," she said, demonstrating her dislike of humans (in general). "I think...I think it is," she muttered, her eyes narrowing as she flicked her hair. "I hope its adult companion comes and takes it away soon."

Her instinctively self-righteous nature couldn't handle the thought of an innocent child. All humans were irrevocably bad. It was something about their genetic makeup that caused them to simply function wrong. And the children, especially, she pitied (with a tone of disgust, of course), that they were going to be corrupted in a small matter of time.

She sighed, and shook her head. "Poor little human. It will be a disgusting adult in several years, and where will the future of this earth be then? I tell you, Jeun, kids these days just aren't as smart as the kids back when I was growing up. Maybe that's because we literally had to fight for our lives back then. Did I tell you about that one time, when - I'm putting these down, by the way - my brother tried to chase this rat, but then this gang of cats caught up to him? It was intense," she said, ignoring the child as she had apparently gone off on a tangent.

It was so tiny anyhow, what was it going to do to her? Attack?
She doubted it.

[pj]

Cocking her head slightly to the side, Maddie watched the woman speak, fascinated by her mouth and her pretty eyemakeup. Her long hair...

"You're pretty," Maddie stated bluntly, little caramel eyes fixated with the woman's sparkling black hair. Maddie didn't know this woman of course, and honestly just wasn't paying attention to what she was saying at all (though, had she been, she might've had something to say to them fightin' words). Just then, Maddie heard the familiar ssshunk of a shower curtain sliding across a metal pole and the cautious footsteps she recognised as her mother's.

"Oops," was all she said, a hand over her mouth. Lucie-May caught sight of her mischievous child and for a moment she looked shock. But soon that shock was replaced by a heavy sigh and a shake of her head. She'd seen it coming. Approaching the strangers, Lucie put her free hand on her daughter's shoulder and looked at the two apologetically.

"I'm real sorry," she started, then looked down at her daughter sternly. Maddie, as if she had read her mother's thoughts made a frightened and guilty face, then after a moment decided to play the coy card.

"But momma! These are my new friends! This is cat-lady, because she looks like a cat. And this...," Maddie searched her mind for an appropriate nickname for the asian man in front of her. "This is the librarian man! That's who he is." Nodding and proud of her observation as she'd watched him pick up books from the different shelves, Maddie looked back up at her mother, giving her one of her signature 'I'm-just-too-cute' grins.

[Camille Desmoulins]

Jeun gave something that was halfway between a cough and a snort of laughter as the little creature informed his employee that she was 'pretty'. Oh wouldn't that just stroke the woman's ego. He shook his head and looked at the book he had in his hand, then hit Zahra on the arm with it, "No you may not put that down. Unless you're going to go get another basket- which I've already told you to do," he said, and put the book back as he had decided that it was not good enough for his collection.

As the little monster's mother came and grabbed her Jeun took one look at the woman and decided that it was no wonder the child was such a terror- if this woman was her mother. "It's quite alright," he said, though there was nothing in his face or voice that showed he meant it at all, "Although, I am not a librarian and I resent that," he said, looking down at the little girl with contempt, "I don't like libraries."

[Louis de Saint-Just]

Zahra looked taken aback, and did, in fact, put the basket down. "I was, in fact, going to get a new basket, I'll have you know," she muttered, in a slightly offended tone, before turning her gaze upon the humans in front of them.

It was time to take a peek into their minds, just to see if they had anything interesting to offer her. Which she highly suspected they didn't. The child, of course, was horribly dull, at least upon a first inspection. She didn't bother to go in for a second.
The adult, on the other hand, felt like it was trying to reach a hand out to slap her brain, which just wasn't happening.

So instead of talking to the two people (hadn't Jeun done that already? he was surely polite enough for the both of them), she went off to get a basket.

When she came back, ever the obedient employee, she held out the basket for Jeun, before wrinkling her nose at the girl. "And it isn't pretty, the word you were looking for, human worm, but beautiful, rather. Gorgeous would have been accepted as well, along with ethereal. Just for future reference."

She most certainly looked down upon the two, even though she was technically shorter than the blonde human. She made it work.

[pj]

Lucie made a slight face as she felt a sudden headache come over her. Putting a hand to her forehead, Lucie moaned slightly, "Ow.." she muttered. Shaking her head as the pain disappeared, her attention returned to the short woman in front of her. The woman's last comment surprised Lucie and, blinking a few times to make sure she had really said such a condescending thing, Lucie tilted her head to the side slightly.

"Excuse me- I don't think I heard you right." She started, anger welling up inside her. Lucie was completely used to being put down, but she did not stand for others putting her down. Oh no she didn't. "And if I did," Lucie put a hand protectively on Maddie's shoulder. Maddie looked up at her mother curiously. She too, had felt the weird headache, but just shook it off as it didn't last very long. Lucie leaned in towards to woman, whispering, "If I did hear you right, then you had better be careful. You can be as condescending as you like to me- but you say a single word to my daughter that has a single patronising tone to it and I," Lucie paused for dramatic effect, poking a finger in the air, "Will kick your ass." Lucie led her daughter protectively towards the cashier, keeping a wary eye on the pretentious woman and her boss.

[Camille Desmoulins]

Jeun chuckled lightly at the threat that was presented to his employee and putting a book that he'd been examining while she was gone into the basket she was attempting to hand to him. He payed her, didn't he? She should handle holding his shopping basket. He was doing the real work anyways- so many of these books were just crap.
He wasn't particularly worried about Zahra or this woman's threat's against her. He was quite certain that the woman couldn't really do anything to Zahra that his employee wouldn't be able to easily defend against, he would never state this out loud though. Putting down his employee was much easier and much more fun then reassuring her.

"You see why I do not consider myself part of the feline family?" Jeun asked, glancing back at her as he pulled another book off the shelf, "You tend to start cat fights."
Yes. Jeun was making a joke- a pun, no less.
Somewhere in the world a fish fell from the sky.

[Louis de Saint-Just]

Zahra laughed.

First of all, Jeun's joke was pretty funny, even though it was petty. And second of all, the human's threat. Oh, how mortals made her laugh, even though there was the occasisonal subconscious that knew more than it should.

"I would like to see you try," she said, smiling at the woman. "Because, if the comment that you are referring to is the one about that child being a human worm, then I did, in fact, insult your daughter. Although, I don't really see how it's an insult. If you look at it in terms of insects, she isn't yet a butterfly."

Butterflies were crazy fun to chase.

Zahra decided then to roll her eyes, and turn towards Jeun so that she could better hold the basket for him. "She started it, anyways. With her sticky fingers, and...eugh, mortality." She shook her head, and heaved a sigh. "And I'm sure I have the right to patronize them. I'd like to see her live through the crusades. Such fun times. There was lots of blood though, and it was rather a shame." She shrugged it off, and then tapped a finger on her chin. "Jeun, after we're done this, we should go and get bubble tea. It has the word tea in it, so I'm sure you'll enjoy it."

[pj]

"Mama?" Maddie looked up at her mother as Lucie pulled a worn black leather wallet from her pocket. "What is it, hon?" she asked, not looking down, but rifling through the near-empty wallet. Lucie sighed.

"Mama, what was that lady talking about?"

Lucie's blood ran cold. She honestly didn't know what to tell her daughter. She didn't really even understand it herself. She couldn't tell if the woman was some sort of racist, and was addressing a race thing- which, in itself was enough of an atrocity. But that didn't seem to be the case at all. It seemed like she just thought she was better than both of them- and was unaware of the race thing. Although Lucie never discounted that as a subject of patronization. Her daughter had encountered these types of things before- and Lucie had no doubt that Maddie had an idea of what was going on... Lucie inhaled deeply and pulled a ten from her wallet, and threw it on the register, where the clerk summarily took it and began bagging her clothes. Turning to her daughter, she bent down to her level, looking her in the eye.

"Some people," she started, looking at her daughter seriously, "There are some people in this world that don't look at us the same way we might look at ourselves." Maddie looked at her mother curiously, unsure of what she was trying to say.

"She thinks she's better than us?"

Lucie stared straight into her daughter's eyes, and put a hand on her shoulder, "You are a strong, smart, amazing little girl. And I don't ever," Lucie emphasized the 'ever', "I don't ever want you to believe what people like that lady say. People like her look down on us because of how we dress or where we shop, or who we're friends with or where we live, but that's not what makes a good person. What makes you a good person is what's inside." Lucie put her hand on her daughter's heart. "Okay? Don't listen to people like her." Maddie furrowed her eyebrows, taking in what her mother had said. Lucie gave her daughter an affirming look and patted her daughter's shoulder once more, "Understand?"

Maddie nodded solemnly as her mother stood back up to retrieve her bags of clothing. Taking her daughter's hand, she walked out of the store with her head held high- her integrity and her dignity intact. She may not have been of high-breeding like that woman, but in her mind, she was just as good as anyone else.

[Camille Desmoulins]

"Which crusade are you talking about?" he asked, flipping through the book that he'd taken from the shelf and putting it into the basket, "Never mind. I don't care. They were all equally pointless." He ran his finger over the spines of the books and pulling out one more and opening it up, raising his eyebrows in approval and putting it in the basket.

"I'm distrustful of this bubble tea of which you speak. But I'm going to go pay for these now and I suppose it wouldn't hurt to try. As long as it isn't like one of those carbonated bottled teas. Those are a sham and not tea at all, but some drink which tries to pass itself off as tea," he said, taking both baskets of books from her and going to the register, "Also. This is a direct order- apologize to that woman and her child," he said, "If you don't, I'm taking the cost of half of these books out of your pay check."

[Louis de Saint-Just]

Zahra smirked at Jeun. "What, you're going to withhold money from me, Jeun? Oh, how cruel of you." She shook her head, and hoisted the other basket up. "I don't need money. But you have to pay me, because you don't consider me a real friend, because I'm annoying as hell."

She shrugged. "If you take the cost of half of these books from my paycheck, then I'll just take half of these books, and add them to my collection."

It was true. After so many years alive, she had managed to collect quite a lot of money, whether in purses from kings, purses from innocent rich men who left their pockets a bit too wide, the spaniards who thought that having a cat onboard their ship was good luck...
Well.
She had shown them.

"And it isn't really tea. It's got this delicious chewey stuff though, and it's sugary, and delicious. But don't expect it to taste like tea...because it doesn't. I don't even know why they put tea in the name, but that's just because they're trying to be pretentious.
"You have to work to be pretentious, let me tell you."