Chapter 25 - Cloth Mountain

As Jonathan diligently takes inventory of every single style of clothing on the first floor, Lucas is slowly being buried under a mountain of fabric. Not that he has been putting up any resistance, if anything he keeps verbally directing Jonathan to grab more things in his size as well. While he is unaffected by the weight of what he is carrying, he feels tired from watching Jonathan zipping back and forth.

[...Are you two planning on buying the entire store?]

'Pfft, look how excited he is. Besides, we both should probably have several changes of clothes left at each of the apartments we get tomorrow anyway, so no harm in getting a bit extra. A lot extra. This really is a lot, isn't it?'

[Just how do you plan on getting it all home?]

'...Oops.'

Humming to himself while he is lost in thought, Lucas scans the area for more than just merchandise. Spotting a service bot, he lumbers over.

"Hey, 'scuse me. Do you guys do delivery? And if not normally, could I pay extra for an exception?" Lucas questions the bot with a somewhat pleading tone as he plops down the soft mountain, which has continued to grow a bit during its trek whenever Jonathan darts by, onto the nearby checkout counter.

"Good afternoon valued customer. Delivery is not a normally available service..." The service bot makes a clear display of looking over the pile in front of it. "However, arrangements can be made. Do you require additional time to make your selections? I can hold your pending items until you are ready to finalize your purchase." As the bot gives this response, Lucas sighs with obvious relief.

"Oh good, yeah, we might be awhile. Ah, would it be better to do everything in one transaction or split it up a bit? I can pay for this so you can start packing it up to ship out or whatever and then continue shopping..?" Continuing his conversation with the bot, his attention is briefly diverted when Jonathan dumps an armload of packs of socks and underwear on the ground nearby, as it would just slide off the pile and land on the floor by now anyway. "Oh, get extra socks for me too." Three more multi-packs have now joined the pile.

"...Perhaps it would be best to do multiple separate orders. If you wish, you may continue shopping and I will alert you when I have completed scanning everything in." Beginning its Sisyphean task, the bot gives Lucas an out so he doesn't have to stand nearby and stare at it. There are now undershirts, tanks, and a few pairs of novelty boxers in the growing pile on the ground.

"Mmm, thanks. Hey, where'd you find these, Jon?" Lucas doesn't waste any time before wandering off.

As he goes about his business in further adding to the immensity of transaction mountain, Lucas doesn't pay any attention to the steady click of stiletto heels on the tile flooring some distance away.

By now, Jonathan has managed to start tiring himself out a bit with all the back and forth. He has temporarily settled down in the shoe section, trying on a few different brand-name sneakers. It seems that there is now a remotely located mountain starting to accumulate.

Lucas plops down onto a padded bench near Jonathan, his back to the diligently scanning and folding service bot. He drops a few boxed pairs of leather formal shoes down to start on his own sizing.

"Ey, don't forget we're gonna grab some suits too, don't only look at sneakers, brat." As Lucas gives this friendly reminder he turns all of his attention downwards.

Back at the service desk, a low voice seems to be speaking with the service bot in a questioning tone, followed by an answer from the bot. They're just far enough and speaking quietly enough that Lucas can't make any of it out, not that he cares enough to eavesdrop anyway.

The steady rhythm of clicking heels approaches, stopping just at the edge of Lucas's bubble of comfortable personal space for strangers.

"Greetings gentlemen. Seems you are having a rather busy afternoon?" A low, lilting voice rings out behind Lucas, with a very distinct touch of amusement.

[...Seems you've caught Mind Flare's attention. I'm not even surprised at this point.]

'Oh shit, it's my first time talking to a celebrity.'

[That's your focus? You know what, that's probably the right attitude when talking to him, anyway. Just don't ham it up and seem insincere, it would probably seem insulting, doubly so with how bad you are at lying and acting.]

'Hey, I resemble that remark.'

Lucas gets a brief laugh from 427 as he stands up to face Mind Flare.

Mentally preparing himself in an effort to school his face for when he sees the well-known diva, he's already started smiling before turning around towards him. Jonathan is still hunched forward tying his laces but glances up, however, Lucas is currently blocking his vision of Mind Flare.

'Good lord, he's tall. Wait, those heels are massive, no wonder he's like... Seven feet tall.'

[I imagine you don't actually want the exact measurements?]

'No, thank you very much.'

After being distracted briefly by Mind Flare's shoes, Lucas looks up to directly make eye contact, his smile not faltering in the least.

Mind Flare is dressed in a pale pink and leaf green suit. The vest, cuffs, and lapels are embroidered with roses and their leafy thorny vines. The solid green tie is probably the only thing about him that could be described as 'plain'. He's also wearing a light to moderate amount of makeup, it seems that this is his version of 'daily casual'.

"Oh, good afternoon, Mind Flare. What a pleasant surprise, I haven't met face-to-face with someone so famous before. I hope we haven't caused any problems..?" With a slightly cautious tone, Lucas subconsciously tilts his head a bit.

"Oh, of course not. I just couldn't resist finding out who is..." Maintaining an amicable flow of conversation, his eyes widen as he finally notices the rainbow disaster of a modern art piece that Lucas's current outfit is, as it wasn't anywhere near as noticeable from behind. He gasps and holds one hand up over his mouth in an exaggerated gesture.

"Oh, how did you get the colors like that without any distinct layers? What technique!? Magnificent!" As Mind Flare begins his interrogation, Jonathan can't hold back from laughing, even though he was originally intimidated by the super-villain before them. Lucas's smile slips slightly at this point.

It seems Lucas isn't the only one with questionable priorities.

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Lucas kills this chapter: 0

Lucas total kills: 6

Lucas deaths this chapter: 0

Lucas total deaths: 6

Lucas current GDV: 4.45 (+.01 +.01 +.01 +.01 +.01 = +.05 net change)

Jonathan current GDV: .73 (+.01 +.01 +.01 +.01 = +.04 net change)

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Little character theater:

Jonathan, enthusiasm about spending Lucas's money climbing further: Oh, and this. One of these... Ah! I really like that one! Hey, I bet this would suit you...

Lucas isn't even visible, a pile of clothing occupying his space.

427, trying his best to ignore them: [The two of you keep getting small amounts of GDV in weird ways, I don't even want to report it anymore.]

Author, solemnly: I'm busy feeling sympathetic for the poor service bot that has to scan and pack everything.