Bump on the Road

[Lucy Serrano]

Radio silence from the individual Lucy had assumed a compliment to. Perhaps that was why she was so hidden; pretty things in this place often got stolen. Or ruined before they had a chance to shine. She could only hope neither would happen to the stranger. After all, she wished nothing ill for her.

And then she was leaving. That was fast.

She made no effort to stop the girl who wanted to get past her. In theory, she'd won everything she needed from this little encounter. She had a stack full of money, and the previous owner was none the wiser. Well, for the most part. And it should have been all. The thief should have left her go.

"What do you need?" Lucy asked her then, her voice slightly raised, "I'll get it for you."

[Grayson Sawyer]

Though she breathed a sigh of relief, it wasn't what she was feeling at all as she tried to put some distance between her and the taller brunette. She thought she was far enough away to actually run for it but when the other woman offered to get the things for her, most likely using her money, Grayson paused for a moment to mull things over. On the one hand, she could get everything she needed. All the money in her purse had been for that sole purpose. On the other, she had to spend more time with this woman.

Taking a deep breath, she turned and stepped a little closer to the woman but not close enough for her to reach out if she wanted to.

"I...wouldn't want to impose but...it's...it's quite an extensive list." She said before pulling out the piece of parchment that had everything she needed. "You would really be going out of your way to help me."

[Lucy Serrano]

It was, admittedly, a last ditch effort to offer some kind of assistance. And it would be a win win situation. Lucy waited, a hand pressed to her hip as she pursed her lips and thought it would be much smarter to just leave instead. Surely she wasn't going to say yes; she wanted to get away as quickly as possible.

And then she stepped back, but she was still out of reach. Lucy dropped her gaze, her attention catching the parchment that was suddenly in view. Lucy extended a hand, but she didn't make a move to take it off her. It was her choice to give it over or not.

"Give me half an hour; I'll get you what you need."

[Grayson Sawyer]

Grayson winced when the hand was extended. Luckily because of her hood, it wasn't noticeable. Why she was so concerned with how she was presenting herself in front of a complete stranger, she would never know. But there she was.

Reluctantly, she handed the list over to the taller brunette.

"What...would you like in return?" Grayson asked cautiously.

[Lucy Serrano]

With that list in hand, Lucy turned her attention to it immediately. She knew absolutely nothing about alchemy or anything remotely magical; at least, she never had a hand in producing it. Gathering ingredients was as close as she would ever get.

Lucy raised her eyebrows with a mild stint of concern as she spoke again. "Not everyone's out to get something for their kindness." She replied then, shrugging her shoulders at the fact.

"Half an hour." She reminded her, and without warning she stepped off in the direction she had been walking. She steered directly into the correct shop down the road.

And she swung back out again after a short amount of time, fingers tightly hooked around a bag packed full of every item on that little list. With confidence - the kind she simply couldn't help - Lucy extended it all to her the second she was close enough; "Here. Check it all, if you need to."

[Grayson Sawyer]

Grayson's lips slacked slightly before she closed it again, smiling when she realised the woman was actually going to help. Although it still didn't sit right by her that the taller brunette had stolen her money.

Once the woman was out of sight, Grayson moved to the nearest wall and leaned against it. If the woman wasn't back in half an hour, Grayson would have wasted her time and money and it would also confirm the reason why she became so anxious when she left the Enclave.

But the woman came back. With a bag that she handed over to Grayson. She should, of course, check the contents, but it would have looked like she didn't trust the woman. Which she didn't. But she didn't have to know that.

"Th-thank you. I...I'm sorry if I seemed to have accused you of taking my money. But...it's just odd how I had it with me and then it was gone."

[Lucy Serrano]

Lucy watched how easy it was to hand it all over to her after the almost awkward way they shared parchment. There wasn't a single glance to the contents, and it had her tilting her head a fraction as she listened.

The corner of her mouth tugged to a genuine, almost heartfelt smile. A little part of her really did feel bad for the girl she had blatantly stolen from and then lied to. In her mind, it all worked out in the end. But she looked at her with a genuine kind of sympathy because it was, truly, genuine. Because it was cute how seemingly naive she was. Sweet in its own way. She was cute.

"You should be careful on the back streets." Lucy replied then, hands hooked behind her back, "Especially when you look like that. If you don't look like you belong, you're pretty much an instant target."

[Grayson Sawyer]

The warning the other woman gave her made Grayson smile sheepishly, tugging at her sleeves slightly. She tied the bag of her things tightly under her robe and pulled her hood down to reveal her face just slightly.

"Thank you. Very much. I...I was trying to be careful." She admitted before shrugging it off. "Thank you again. I wish I could repay you somehow."

[Lucy Serrano]

Thoughts of repayment had the thief initially grinning, but she suppressed the need to laugh. And all the things she could have said that would have easily made this girl blush. "No need." Repayment was all well and done, whether she really knew it or not. Perhaps it was just nice to offer a sense of generousity, not matter how feigned it truly was.

Now that she could get a look at her face, she found herself almost captivated by it. Pretty girls were always difficult for her, and this was no exception.

"You don't come down here often, do you?" She asked then, tilting her head to the side in her own curiosity, "Like, this isn't a fortnightly trip or anything is it?"

[Grayson Sawyer]

Grayson missed the grin, which was good since she would have been insulted that her supposed naivete was taken advantage of. As it were, she kept up the facade that she didn't know the woman had stolen her money. Just as well. She just hoped the other woman had used that money to get her ingredients instead of stealing it.

The fact that the shopkeeper hadn't come running out to accuse her of stealing did calm Grayson a little bit.

Shaking her head at the question posed, Grayson gave a little grin. "It isn't even a seasonal trip." She responded truthfully. "Even then, I'm usually with company. The urgency of this trip was rather sudden."

[Lucy Serrano]

The response given had Lucy threatening a frown almost instantly. Try as she might have, it wasn't easy to keep her face in check. She should have been better at this. It was a real same that she wasn't. She exhaled a slightly audible sigh.

"Then I guess I'll never have the fortune of seeing you again." Lucy replied, and she spoke honestly. The thought that she couldn't run into her again put a genuine weight on her current mood. At least, that much must have been obvious from the slightly irked expression she wore. "I doubt I'm lucky enough to accidentally find you twice."

[Grayson Sawyer]

Living in the Enclave for as long as she had, Grayson was never really exposed to things beyond friendship. She was a reader and she knew what romance and courtship was like but it wasn't ever on her docket. Which was why she almost missed what the other woman was saying.

Almost.

Her pale cheeks showed a lot more colour than she would have liked but she kept her gaze forward. "You consider finding me here lucky?"

[Lucy Serrano]

Now that she had a better look of the face previously hidden behind a hood, catching colour on unfamiliar cheeks was easy. Lucy looked directly at the change, if only for a moment, but a moment was enough. She forced herself to stop the idea of a grin. Here and now, that was one of the worst expressions she could give.

"Well, I know fate's a bit of a foreign concept for most, but of all the people in this street, we ran into each other." Though arguably, it had all been a pointed plan for the thief. But maintaining an innocent front meant believing her own words for once.

She took forward steps again, intent to close the space left between them; "That's gotta count for something, doesn't it?"