Could This Be Home? (Beyril and Lani; Private)

Evelyn nodded, studying the girl more subtly for a brief moment before leading her over to the expanse of stores. "It is big here, Tien." She said, looking over thoughtfully, "But it is a weekday, so there will be less people." She held her hand out to her, as was becoming customary. "I will be right there with you. You will not get lost, and no one will hurt you."

Tien held fast to her hand, nodding, "This place is so much bigger than Meụ̄xng kholn..." she mused to herself, looking around, "The whole town could fit here...."

Evelyn nodded, pulling Tien closer to her, just in case it was, for whatever reason, crowded inside. "Malls can be very large. I have seen some that could hold American towns, as well." She shrugged, shaking her head slightly. "It never made much sense to me. Why sell more things than could be used by the locals? Still, they are nice."

ooc: I'm thinking she should take her to a movie after shopping. xD

Tien looked around, "What happens to the ones not bought?"

OOC: She'd lose her mind. She's never seen a movie.

"They stay in the store," she said, though disappointment was mounting on her face, unhidden, "Unless it is food. That is the disappointing part: unsold food often just gets thrown away." Evelyn kept walking as she spoke, passing a few of the shops, often with way-too-bright lighting, and leading her to where she knew the shoe stores were.

ooc: I assumed, and so would she. :P I thought it'd be fun, especially since massive malls almost always have theatres.

"Are there no hungry people here?" she asked, curiously, the soft optimism on her face of a world so much better than her own.

"There are a lot of hungry people." Evelyn said, and there was genuine concern in her voice, despite the fact that her expression had begun to steel. "But people are often too careless or lazy to bother trying to help them." Her eyes flitted, for a moment, to Tien, and something in her seemed to shatter; this poor girl had no other options, back home, than to do as she always had. Somehow, she got lucky, her boon of weapon transformation (something, Eve had realized, she saw more as a curse), being the single thing that got her out of there and brought her to the DWMA. It was times like this where Evelyn felt utterly disgusted by herself for her own privilege, but... if she could help even just this one person, she could still stomach it, could still believe that there was some purpose for what she had.

Tien's face faltered, a bit of sadness crossing her face, "Oh..." she looked out at the people walking through the mall, some sense of understanding sinking into her, pushing aside her anxiety about the crowd as they walked, her grip loosening, but still holding on to Eve's hand, "So... Here I am lucky?"

"In many ways, Tien, yes. You are." She grinned, looking over at her with that gentle expression. "More lucky that you got stuck with me, I suppose. I may not speak Thai, or your..." she paused, not wanting to spring 'dialect' on her, "...bit of language, I guess, but I can do Chinese, and I can teach you." She nodded towards the first shoe store they came upon, "And I can tell you this --- for right now, do not look at any price tags."

Tien seemed confused, pointing to the first sign she saw, "I cannot read them anyways, remember?" she reminded her, "We use different numbers in Thailand, too."

She shouldn't have smiled, but she did so anyway, if only for the briefest of moments. "Then this week will be easy. I will teach you as we go, but today..." Evelyn guided her to the wall and bins that held socks. "Today, you are getting what you need to be comfortable and happy. Money is not a concern."

Tien seemed more than a little baffled at the concept, but at this point knew better than to argue with Eve. She stopped, wincing a bit as she bent over and pulled her shoes off. Her bare feet were clearly several sizes larger than the sneakers she had squeezed her feet into, and though she had taken care to clean them before they left her dorm, the clear marks of hard labor calloused her soles and ankles, and scars from stepping on stones and glass broke the smoothness of her brown tanned skin. "I'm sorry," she apologized, pulling a bit of glass from the inside of her shoe before she started to try and work her feet back in, "There was something in my shoe."

"Keep that off." Evelyn said instantly, dropping the girl's hand to make her way over to the sandals. Grabbing a pair, that seemed perhaps a size too big, and a pair of socks, she made her way to the counter. Immediately buying them, she returned to Tien, pulling the tags off and dropping the sandals at her feet, socks in hand for when she could try on shoes. "Put those old ones in the bag. You're not wearing them anymore."

Eve seemed surprised, letting Eve take the old sneakers as she worked her way into the sandals, "Sorry, I had to take a pair of my brother's shoes when I ran away... I did not have my own, and he had two because he has a job..."

Evelyn shook her head, tying the bag off and depositing it in the nearest trashcan. Returning to Tien's side, she offered her hand once more. "You will have your own shoes, and they will fit you. All of them." Her tone left no room for negotiation; Tien was getting herself shoes, and several pairs of them, by the sound of it.

Tien shirked back, nodding her head along, "Yes, Mi- Eve." she corrected once more, but stretching her toes in the sandals with a sense of relaxation that was impossible for her to hide.

She let the soft smile play at her lips, nodding before gesturing towards the array of socks. "Pick at least seven pairs." Evelyn released Tien's hand to show her the number. "But twice that would be better."

Tien hesitated a bit, unsure, at first gravitating toward the more practical pairs, ones that were simple and white, cutting off at the ankles, but her eyes and hands lingered over a pair of black knee high socks, and another pair that were soft and warm, the label proudly proclaiming that they were infused with aloe to soften skin. She looked back to Eve, almost asking for permission.

"No limits," Evelyn clarified, nodding to them both. "Grab what you like. I will not stop you."

Tien nodded, smiling ever so slightly as she took the two socks from the wall, running her finger over the softer ones repeatedly. She counted out 10 pairs in Thai, looking up at the wall, "Do I need any more..?"

"That is only two. You need seven or more." She nodded towards the bin, "You can get some regular ones for day-to-day, so that you do not have to worry about them getting messed up.' Evelyn, personally, made her way over to the athletic socks, grabbing a few of the darker ones for her own use.

Tien grabbed a handful of ankle socks as well, slowly getting the hang of things. Arms full of socks, the girl holding a pair with cats on them for her own amusement as well, she made her way back to Eve, "How is this?"

The meister smiled slowly, looking over at her from where she had been looking at the runner's wear. "That is much better." She looked in the corner, grabbing a folding basket and holding it out for her. "Put them in here and we can get started on shoes."

Tien placed all the socks in the basket, folding her hands behind her back and waiting patiently for Eve to finish.

Her eyes rolled playfully as she lead the girl down towards the tennis shoes, directing her to sit on a bench while she handed her the purchased socks. "Let's see what size you need, okay? It's metal, and it's cold, but it won't hurt you."