Empty Pantries (Private: Lani, Oblivion, Beyril)

It had been a bit of a dilemma. Claire often didn't tell Sarah when she was out of food, so it had come about when the younger Farron had wandered up to her sisters kitchen while making her own grocery list. The elder had been in her painting room, staring at the unfinished portrait on the easel. Sarah had promptly burst in and, despite her sister's complaints and desperate attempts to dissuade her, brazenly declared they were going shopping, or else she would buy Claire nothing but hot pockets. And that was how the two girls ending up walking into the grocery store, Sarah leading and Claire lagging behind, tightening the drawstrings on her hood.

Savannah was already at the self check-out, scanning her card and typing in her pin, her long, delicate fingers flying so fast that no one had any hopes of reading the code. Finished, she slid the few bags onto her arm and started to make her way out. As always, she did not seem to actively acknowledge much of anyone, but when a familiar, friendly face appeared --- or rather tried to hide --- in front of her, she pulled a slight, friendly grin and stepped over. Bowing more from habit than necessity, she smiled at both girls, "I see Sarah forced you out of the house. How are you, Claire?"

Claire saw a familiar face, and loosened her hood a bit, though obviously seeming more guarded than she had the other day. "I'm fine..." The elder sister clung to the shopping cart, and kept her eyes downward, though when she spoke it was louder than her usual, quiet tone. Sarah sniffled a bit, letting Claire say her hellos before stepping up to Savannah. "Hello, I'm Sarah! You must be one of the... the..." She then proceeded to sneeze loudly, directing it into the crook of her elbow.

Savannah smiled widely, setting her stuff in their cart before pulling a tissue from her clutch and handing it to the younger girl. "I am Savannah Fukui, a meister from the Academy. It is a pleasure to finally meet you, Sarah. I see you are still ill. My sincerest apologies."

Sarah waved it off, though she took the tissue and blew her nose with it. "Thank you. Yes, but I'm getting over it. I understand you went into the store for Claire a few days ago? Thank you for that." Claire's cheeks flushed softly with embarrassment, though she kept to herself.

Savannah laughed softly, offering a pleasant shrug. "I know that it is difficult for her. It was no trouble, really. Would you care for me to join you both?"

Sarah looked over to Claire, who gave a small shrug and a light smile. Sarah turned back to her, sniffling a bit. "Claire doesn't seem to mind, so sure~! The younger Farrom smiled as well, a big grin that seemed not at all affected by her poor health.

The meister smiled and nodded, the expression turning out more like a bow than she had intended. "Then it would be my pleasure. What are you both looking for?" Her hands fiddled with her bags, tying off the ends as she moved them underneath the seat of the cart, eyes scanning the area around them.

Sarah laughed a bit at her question, starting to head through the store to the produce section. "Well, I just found out that Claire's pantry is just about empty. So, on the threat of buying her nothing but hot pockets, I dragged her along on my weekly shopping trip." Claire nodded at that, staying relatively quiet.

She shook her head in response, thinking to herself. "I usually eat in the cafeteria so I'm not the most talented cook or I would offer suggestions... What do you usually eat or make?" Her eyes were on the girls as she spoke, but the second she finished her sentence, her eyes were wandering again, drifting to their faces to gauge reactions but otherwise merely observing.

Sarah shrugged some. "Normally I just make myself small dishes for breakfast and dinner, but I always pack the two of us a meal for lunch. Well, almost always." She took a look back at Claire, then leaned a little closer to Savannah. "Claire's actually a better cook than I am. After the... accident, she learned a lot of things. How to play the piano, how to paint, how to cook. I think she just kept herself busy so she wouldn't think about it..." Claire had by this point more or less detached herself from the conversation, picking up some green peppers and weighing them out before putting them in one of the small bags offered and then into the cart.

Savannah smiled and nodded, eyes following the older sister. "Some quick things, then? I could run and grab bread. What kind do you normally buy?" Her fingers tapped absently against the cart, mind working to form another song as she observed them both, as well as the people around them.

Sarah turned around and looked at Claire, who was busy perusing some packaged mushrooms, then looked back at Sarah. "Uh, two kinds of bread. Split top wheat and regular wheat, if you could. Thanks, by the way." She sniffled after that, simply watching Claire for a moment and smiling.

Savannah didn't say another word, merely nodded and walked away, heading to the bread aisle and searching for the cheapest of both kinds. She returned a few minutes later, a loaf in each hand. As she set them in the cart, she recited their prices for the pair's reference and nodded. She didn't speak, now, rather waited for one of them to say something as she didn't see a reason to start conversation if the pair did not wish for it.

There were a few moments of silence as the made their way through the store before, surprisingly, it was Claire who spoke. "So, Savannah... What do you like to do? In your free time?"

The girl blinked, pausing a moment before looking back at the girl and studying her. She remained silent for several moments before speaking. "As you know, I compose and play both piano and keyboard." She shrugged, turning her head away, though her eyes darted back to the girl to observe her as she spoke. "That's mostly it. I study, I train, I write, and I play. I have video calls with my family on occasion, but I don't do much else."

Claire nodded, looking down at the items in the cart, glancing up only to make sure she wasn't going to bump into anything. Sarah kept an ear to the conversation, but busied herself with the shopping. Claire cleared her throat after a minute before continuing. "I have a piano a-at my apartment. M-Maybe you could come and play sometime?"

Savannah's head did not fully turn back to her, though she continued to scrutinize the girl from the corner of her eye, "That would be... quite pleasant. Thank you." She clearly seemed to have been caught off-guard, but she nonetheless remained calm and lightly smiling.

Claire nodded, and due to embarrassment pulled the strings on her hood taut. Sarah smiled a bit at Claire's request, but remained silent out of respect. Still, she took a moment to study both girls out of the corner of her eye.

Savannah offered another quick, though slightly confused smile and shrugged, continuing to walk along beside them in silence.

It wasn't much longer before they made their way to the front to checkout, opting to use the self checkouts instead of one of the ones with a cashier. Sarah took to checking things out while Claire put them into bags, busying herself with the task. Once all was said and checked out, Sarah slid a credit card through the machine, before looking over to Savannah. "So, I guess this is where we part ways?"

The girl shrugged, removing her own bags from the cart. "If such is what you wish. I live in one of the dormitories on campus. You are welcome to stop by at any time."

The loud roar of a motorbike came up the street, and a tall, slender man on a bike wearing a helmet with long hair flowing out the back pulled alongside them on it, an extra helmet strapped to the back, "You left." He stated coolly, taking off the helmet and lacking his usual briskness, almost seeming concerned, "If you would allow me, I can give you and your friend a ride back."

Sarah had been about to speak before the motorbike rode up. Claire recognized the man, and seemed to shrink back from him, her grip on the cart tightening. Sarah put on a smile, and stepped forward. "Hi, I'm Sarah! You must be Hiyashi Akira? Claire told me about you. Or, about your entrance the other day."

Her eyes drifted from him to the back, a hardness to them that took away their previous vibrancy. "They do not live on campus, Hiyashi-san, and you only have space for two." She approached him, glaring before smacking the back of his head, taking her helmet anyway. "I told you not to go where I do not ask you to."