(Collab with
@medalliah)
Saranja ate in silence, for the most part, contentedly munching on her assorted salad pieces and biting through an apple with enough fervor that could've given a proper goat a run for its money. She was 'seeing', though, and her eating was, almost as always, just something she'd set in motion as if she was barely even there, viewing the different futures that made themselves available to her. Some of them were of people they'd passed by in the day, a fiery red-head who she recognized as a Son of Ares, another as a Daughter of Athena - they were lovers in one of them. They had their differences but his passion for battle translated well into their relationship, while her cool-head and penchant for crafts made for a few treasured gifts that he would wear for time immemoriam.
An empty fork was placed into her mouth and she bit into it. She'd finished her food. She winced some at the metallic epiphany and realized she was still in someone's company. She saw futures of sad, tearfilled nights, alone or in a pair. She saw small smiles that existed for miniscule moments of time, she felt that aura of dread, still as pronounced as ever in her visions as it was in her presence. But more importantly, she saw a dance. She spoke before her head caught up enough to think to explain.
"Something with frills."Hayley honestly had enjoyed the silence over food. Her sandwiches had been nothing all too exciting - growing up she'd eaten the same kind of brown bread cheese sandwiches so often it felt wrong to even consider anything else. But there was something else - someone else in fact. The kindest soul the girl had ever known, and despite all Saranja knew both of her and the future she still seemed to want to spend time with her. Daydreaming away, the Satyr seemed adorable in the world of her own.
Until she bit her fork. Hayley winced, hoping the girls teeth were quite strong. She moved Saranja’s drink closer to her, which made her statement about frills even more strange.
"Um...well I can ask if they make the drink with frills but that sounds more like a decoration" She commented with a slightly confused frown
"Or very alcoholic, which they don't serve. Are you ok? The fork can't have been all that tasty."She stared blankly at Hayley for a few moments, as if she'd said something odd, or if she'd said nothing at all. She was still busy 'seeing' until she returned to earth and recognized her again, (at least her voice) and nodded.
"I'm fine." She waved off the fork-biting like a bad memory before continuing, her not-so-tasty accident wasn't the focus of the conversation.
"I meant a dress. For you." She organized her thoughts a bit better, holding her head with a hand a moment in exasperation and frustration.
"I meant- There's a ball. A welcoming ball. You don't have a dress for it. We should get something. Something with frills." She finally finished that started sentence. She herself, only had one dress, a red thing that had a frilly and exceptionally pretty skirt, sleeveless and perfect to show off, and not chafe against her legs, and as willing as she was to lend it, she was sure Hayley would refuse if she knew it left the satyress with nothing else to wear.
Hayley started to go very red when she mentioned a dress - Saranja couldn't see the past, could she? It would be embarrassing! But then the Satyr continued. A ball? That meant dancing...and dresses? She gulped down her drink of coke a little too fast, and coughed.
"A-ah...um...what? I don't understand, there's a ball? A ball of what? Wait, do you mean a dance?" She gulped again, nervously
"Um, you don't have to get me a dress or anything...I could not go, or I could like...just hide in a corner or something." She was very excited about the idea of going shopping - clothes were her guilty pleasure - but she couldn't take from this new friend...could she?
While she wasn't rich by any sense of the word, her hobbies had earned her enough money to treat herself every once in a while. Some people paid plenty when you read enough about them - and while that did seem like a bit of an abuse of power, her curiosity was too much sometimes, she needed to know, and if she got paid while indulging her own habit it wasn't too bad, was it?
"It’s a welcoming dance. You'll need a dress for it." Not seeming to take no for an answer, she left the rest of her food on its plate and stood up, offering a hand over.
"Fair warning that I can't really help you with what looks good or fits." Not without touching it (and them) excessively and that was a milestone she was yet to cross with anyone.
Hayley, realizing she had little choice in the matter, took her hand and rose as well.
“I don’t know how to dance either, so this will be really embarrassing” she said as she bit her lip, imagining herself tripping someone over trying to dance or stepping on peoples’ feet
“And I can’t pay you back for the dress. Like…ever. I don’t have any money. None at all, I have some clothes and a bag, that’s it. I can’t afford a dress.” She sighed, shaking her head
“I…don’t want to steal one either. It doesn’t feel right, even though I could easily do it. Is this really ok?”"I can't teach you rhythm, but I am able to gift you a dress. If nothing else, Hayley of-" She stopped herself. She had a habit of naming names and she
was told to keep quiet.
"If nothing else, Hayley, you'll look pretty when you fall over." She smiled coyly, it was one of those comments that was half-true and half-jest. She seemed to entirely gloss over whether or not she cared for it being paid back, making it seem like she very much didn't.
"I'm often told that first impressions matter, and while I get many 'first' impressions from people, I think they'd often make better ones on all counts if they were in a dress." She began walking, guiding Hayley this time. Before she'd entirely lost her guide, the nice (if slow) man did make passing mention to their being a few stores close enough to the university; a walk of nondescript length.
“Well, I can certainly do falling in style” Hayley laughed, giving Saranja’s hand a squeeze – both in amusement, and in thanks for her not saying Hades. She allowed the blind woman to lead her, not sure where the Satyr was leading them. After all, she couldn’t see where she was going. The slow pace was nice though.
“So, um, I’m guessing you saw a dress with frills in one of your visions, right? Why frills? Or what frills?” She gave Saranja a small tug as she got closer to a wall, moving to walk next to her instead of behind her
“Do you want to tell me where you’re going, and let me lead? Walls and door hurt after all” She pushed a door open to allow Saranja to get through.
"I didn't see you in frills but I would see you in them with my 'meddling'. Frills are pretty. You'll look prettier in them." She edged closer to the wall but was saved for the grace of Hayley intervening in time to prevent a concussive accident.
"A store near here. There's apparently a few shops close to the university. My guide said something about it though I wasn't really listening too much. He had a few wonderful futures about him. A son of Leto who carries this wonderful maternal nature about him-" She caught herself. She did this too much. "He said there was a store near here." She explained, realizing the sentence again.
"Could I get you to guide me there?" "Maternal nature?" Hayley laughed at that, pulling Saranja closer so she could link arms with her, the unnatural warmth almost radiating from her body
"You see so many interesting things! So, a store close to the university, that sells frilly dresses that suit someone like me. As long as I'm not expected to dye my hair that is, as...well, I can't. I don't know where this store is, but I'll get us there somehow" She pushed another door open, although she misjudged the door and caught her arm on it as she slipped through next to Saranja with a small wince.
"Ok, we walking towards the main entrance of the university, do you remember which way from there?"The warmth was still something that she didn't enjoy, especially if they were going to have to walk, but it was a nice gesture, and she had to humour it for that reason alone.
"Motherly and doting. He's sweet." She walked with her, arms linked together as she smiled.
"It's a way away, but as long as we just follow the path..."***
It wasn't too far of a walk. Around twenty or so minutes down a cut of path toward the city center with help from the signs and other such clues helpfully realized, they were near where they wanted to be. Saranja mostly walked in silence, she wasn't wrong about being poor at conversation though whenever she realized she was being too quiet she gave a soft squeeze of Hayley's arm in a quiet reassurance that she still cared she was there.
It was strange how two people walking in silence could be comfortable instead of awkward, but it was. Hayley, never the most conversational person with her upbringing, enjoyed simply having company with her - it was an unusual and quite amazing situation that she hoped wasn't a dream. The occasional squeeze from the girl reminded her that it was indeed real, and she smiled more with each one when it happened. Even the ever-present aura of dread had reduced to mere background feelings - going shopping with a friend brought no dread, only joy. Hayley spied an interesting looking shop down the road they just turned into - an older shop, the front having an older look about it with oaken framework and a very elegant looking sign that she struggled to be able to read. The dresses on display ranged from smaller dresses to full length gowns, almost like out of a movie. It looked expensive!
"Hey um...there's a store here that has dresses. I can't quite read the name, the writing's worn away a little and is quite fancy. Does that sound right?"Another soft squeeze of the hand as she faced toward the dresses. She wasn't really sure about whether or not it was the 'right' place since she was much more looking through her guide than talking to him. This was something she was yet to see in her visions, having rested herself on the walk rather than looking into the aether and seeing what might just look back.
"There's much more excitement in finding out than wondering." Taking the lead some, she felt for the door (and after almost tripping over a step), opened and walked in, tugging Hayley along with a hand. The inside was much more pretty. It wasn't a large place, but cozy, a specialty place with expensive, hand-made dresses in mind. She turned back to face Hayley, obviously at some loss for what to do since she couldn't rightly judge a dress without having them painstakingly described to her.
"Something with frills." She ordered again, though it was something teasing and done without being
entirely serious.
Hayley, while knowing the step was there, hadn't expected the extra tug and stumbled into the store after Saranja. That was a little awkward...and unlike the blind girl she had very little excuse. She chuckled nervously as she looked over the dresses, idly imagining herself in a full ball gown with her hair done up, walking out to dance...she shook the thought away. It was really rather silly. However it meant she heard Saranja say and noticing she was being stared at.
"In black?" She added, before saying
"Oh, do you mean for me to find it or the serving lady? Also...do I need to do anything? I've not been in a store like this, all hand-made. They....do they need my measurements?" She bit her lip, nervous now. She had expected some kind of chain store, not a beautiful dress wonderland like this!
"Just pick something you enjoy. Then you get it fitted and try it on. Don't worry too much about the cost - it's a dress you'll get use out of, right?" She’d bought a dress or two over the years, it was a very rare indulgence, especially when getting something hand-made rather than from a store. Rather than direct or push Hayley about to do anything she sort of just let that hand slip from hers and wandered about the store slowly, her hands kept in front of her as if they were warding her from danger. She found a chair to seat herself in, beside the single dressing room and sat there for a bit, waiting patiently for Hayley to pick something out. She wore a steady smile, resting her head back in a patient lull.
Hayley stood like a deer in headlights, looking around slowly. Pick something you enjoy? She couldn't help but chuckle quietly - maybe Saranja hadn't seen the future where Hayley loved trying everything - but she had to restrain herself. At least a little. Maybe. But that long ball gown looked so pretty, and the pink dress was cute...Frills. Saranja had insisted on frills. So with that in mind Hayley walked round slowly, until she found something that caught her eye; it was a small dress, likely only going to the knees on her, and only over one shoulder. However it was frilly all along the bottom of the dress, and she could imagine herself spinning in it with the dress coming up slightly, twirling with her, and it made her smile. Her figure was quite thin, and she didn't have the biggest chest, so even though it was designed to be close-fitting on her body it wouldn't show off too much on her, but she liked it. Decided, she held it close to her and walked to where Saranja was.
"I managed to pick one. It wasn't easy, as I could have picked and worn every single one in here, but um..." She held it out for Saranja to see, then with an
"Oh...yeah, you can’t." she held it back, before getting the attention of someone to help with the fitting.
In truth, she
had seen the future where she tried on most of the dresses. She figured the daughter of Hades needed a win here, and was more than willing to just wait for her - but her coming up that early, holding out the dress-
"Hold on." She ran her hands across it, feeling it to see. She brushed her hands over the fabric daintily, her fingers playing with the frills for a while with a smile and a nod as if to tell Hayley she was done.
"What colour is it?" She missed seeing colours, at least seeing them properly. Looking through her visions was like trying to paint a picture with nothing but different scenes of stained glass to put together. She wondered about cost for a moment, but just that, a moment. She saw twirling and dancing, even some flirting in that dress. It was more than worth it.
Hayley held it still, letting Saranja play with the frills and the fabric with a smile. In truth, she was hoping for approval on the dress, because it means Saranja had seen a good vision with the dress. She had no idea how much it cost, having not even checked, and when Saranja nodded she held back a sigh of relief.
"It's in black. They have a lot of other colours that are similiar design, but this matches my hair colour well I think. what do you think? Do you like it?""Does it matter much if I do?" She smiled, ever the seer. She wasn't about to spoil the future for her, she'd said way too much as it was.
"You sound like you like it." She laid back, her hands finding that small chair again as she got comfortable again, waiting.
"Well, you are paying for it" Hayley said with a nod
"So I care about your opinion. Plus well...you can see if it'll make me look ugly, or won't suit me...or if it'll fall apart or something. These dresses all look so delicate. I do like it though, it's really cute, and I can imagine myself dancing in it...or falling over in it" She laughed, holding the dress to her again and looking at it for a few more moments. Then she nodded.
"Ok, I want to try it on. I guess I ask them to sort that for me?""It's your dress. I don't see as well as you might think I do - do whatever you would do, Hayley. There's nothing better than what's genuine." She nodded some, 'looking' at the dress and over toward the entrance.
"Ask for it to be fitted. Then you can wear it and give it a proper twirl.""Ok!" Hayley nodded, a bigger smile as she got someones attention. Soon, she was moving into the dressing room as the dress was fitted, and undressing to slip into the dress. She remained in the dressing room a little while longer, admiring the dress from different angles and even giving it a twirl. She loved it! It was beautiful! It wasn't too tight, but it fit her body shape well, her slight curves standing out and the twirl made the dress look even better
"I love it" she said quietly to herself, although Saranja likely could have heard it. She slipped out of the dressing room, dress still on, and said
"Um...I'm not sure if you can see it now, but if you can, what do you think?" She twirled on the spot after saying that.
She smiled as she heard that quiet confirmation of love for the dress, hearing the smile in her voice and the fabric rustling and twirling as she spun. She nodded in affirmation and slowly stood up.
"My sight really isn't a good substitute for eyes - but I can hear you smiling well enough." She reached a hand forward to touch those frills, fiddling with them again with a grin, she obviously enjoyed them. She let go soon enough.
"Do you want to wear it back to the campus?" A little overdressed, but she thought the time in the pretty dress might improve her mood.
Hayley froze on the spot as Saranja started playing with her dress while she was still wearing it. If she wasn't blind, Hayley might think she was trying to lift the dress up or something! This was all new territory for her, having a friend. She didn't want to mess it up, so she said nothing until Saranja spoke again.
"Um...no, not back to the school. I'd like to save it for the ball." She paused, before adding
"How much is it?"She didn't rightly know. She was sure she could afford it with what she had on her, but she didn't make mention of a number. She just gave a shrug.
"Lets head home. We'll ask how much it is at the counter." She brushed the fabric again with an obvious longing to it. Soft things were definitely a favourite. When Hayley walked back into the dressing room, Saranja walked to the counter, enquiring and paying for the dress. She suppressed something of a blush when asked if it was a gift for her "sweetheart". She nodded all the same, waiting by the door.
Hayley nodded, not questioning prices anymore. She'd have to ask what she owed when she finished changing. Maybe she could get a part time job to pay her back she thought to herself as she admired the dress in the mirror one more time before she slipped out of the dress and into her now boring skirt and shirt. She sighed to herself before she left, already missing how the dress felt against her skin, which then reminded her of how Saranja had touched it while she was wearing it. That brought out a blush as she left the room and moved over to the counter, presenting the dress.
"I'm ready. How much is it?""That's 'how much was it'." She looked over toward the counter again with a smile.
"Thank you. Look out for the rain later." She stepped out into the sunny day and clear sky, much to some of the curiosity of the staff there. She already started on the path back toward the university, hoping that Hayley would soon be in tow.
"This ball is going to be exciting!" She grinned and had a lilt to her step that made every
clip clop of her hooves a little happier.
