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

Tien carefully took off the sandals, rolling the socks onto her feet and setting it onto the sizing contraption. She flinched a bit at the cold, but let Eve measure her feet.

Evelyn didn't say a word, merely nodding and walking over to grab a selection of tennis shoes, not much paying attention to the colors but looking more into the quality. The main qualifier seemed to be for biking, as she felt that this bit of familiarity would be something that Tien would cling to, but general walking seemed like a good idea, as well. By the end of it, Tien had ten pairs of shoes around her, varying between sizes seven and a half and eight.

Tien sat and swung her feet back and forth, unsure of what to do with most styles. Especially the heels. She blinked a bit, looking to Eve, "What are these for?"

"You will see," she said simply, sitting down beside her and smiling. "Feel free to try them on as you want." Evelyn looked around the styles nearby, thinking of whether or not she could fit into any, as her size ranged from eight to nine. "The main thing is to get you tennis shoes that you are comfortable in."

Tien messed with the straps for a while, staring at it like a puzzle box until she figured it out, trying to stand in them and almost falling over, "Who wears these?!" She asked, totally taken aback.

Evelyn raised a brow, grabbing a pair of higher heels. Changing out of her own shoes, she donned the dress shoes. Smirking, she stood, long, skinny jeans clad legs accentuated by the length. "I do, for starters."

"How?" Tien marveled, "You can show me?" She asked, looking over her with a sense of wonder and curiosity, part of her so excited by the prospect of it that her cheeks flushed pink, though she had no idea why.

Evelyn grinned, holding both hands out as she stood in the tall shoes. "Stand up. I'll help you."

Tien straightened herself and took Eve's hands, her posture good, but clearly that of someone used to carrying things much larger than she should. In fact, the way her legs flexed within her heels, one almost had to wonder if she pulled ploughs herself instead of having the horses do it.

She raised her brows, impressed. "There we go. Follow" She took a step back, hips naturally swaying a bit with the motion.

Tien stepped forward, an awkward wide gate that showed she was trying to keep her balance. Tien's hips had never swayed or moved a day in her life, and the unfeminine way she walked showed it.

"Easy," Evelyn said, taking a smaller step backwards, watching the girl's feet all the while, careful with her own movements.

Tien watched Eve's feet, the way she walked a one foot in front of the other step that lined her feet up and aided in the natural sway of her hips and attempted to imitate it. She nearly fell, but the movement made it at least look more graceful until then.

A smile broke across her face and she smiled, nodding. "Let us practice in normal shoes first. Come on..." Carefully, the meister lead her back to the seat, helping her to sit down and undo the straps. "Do you like these? We can get a different style or color, if you like."

Tien fiddled with the buckles, "Do you wear these much?"

"I mostly wear heeled boots," she said, shrugging, "if I'm not running, that is." she set the heels aside, seeing as they appeared to fit her well. "We can try boots for you, too. They will be good for some of the classes."

Tien nodded, unsure of that word, but going along anyways.

"I will show you," she rummaged through the boxes she'd amassed, holding up a pair of mid-calf, brown boots. They looked a bit distressed, but still well-designed and comfortable. "These are boots."

Tien looked at them and smiled, "One of my brothers has some like that."

"They can be really comfortable," she said, smiling. "You can have your own. Just choose whatever it is that you like."

Tien nodded thankfully, returning to the pile of shoes to try things on.

This continued for a while, Eve getting the girl to walk around in each pair that she tried on, working to eliminate styles that did not seem well enough suited to the weapon. After a while, they managed to narrow it down quite a bit, switching from styles to colors.

Tien looked at the pile and the socks, "How do you carry it all?"

Evelyn hesitated, having not remembered to grab one of the mall's carts before entering the store. Sighing, she laughed at herself and offered a shrug. "bags, for now. We have to buy it first. "

Tien nodded along, slipping her feet into a pair of heeled boots with a smile, sticking one foot out to show Eve, "How is this?"