Heartthrob

Jacobson's. Good ol' Jacobson's. Semi-clean, occasionally-staffed, mediocre Jacobson's. Was there ever such an idyllic reflection of modern convenience and hardship packed under one roof?

Hopefully not.

The interior was every bit what you'd expect: a moderately clean big box store, with a mostly-white motif and pleasing, deep blue accents. Perfect to calm down consumers, lull them into a false sense of economic security, and then ease them into the food court on the second floor. There were, of course, three floors; the first was for furniture and home goods, the second was for personal affects (and the food court), and the third was for technology. There were five floors, technically, but anything past the third was employee-only.

As soon as they stepped in, that damn food court trickled its scented finger down to grab Esper James by the collar of her shirt, tugging on her tummy to try and entice her. Jacobson's food was mostly slop, she knew - nearly-expired meats fried and refurbished to be palatable enough for mortal consumption. Non-meat foods were present, here, too; limp vegetables sat unattended in salad bars, and in the name of 'first-living accessibility', every Jacobson's stocked a single vegetarian outlet on the court. These, of course, featured a nigh-upon entirely faux meat menu. Such was the price of living in Vitus.

EJ's stomach grumbled loud enough for the rest of her party to each turn their head to her, nearly in unison, a tri-color rainbow of eyes locking upon EJ's own emerald greens. Try as she might to stifle it, the blush proceeded to show upon her cheeks without delay. She couldn't help being hungry! Even if it was just trash meats! Sometimes, we all love what's bad for us!

Est was the first to pipe up. "Oh-ho-ho? Little ghoul wants some meat, huh? Pfft, aha~ We'll stop there before we leave, yeah? Might look a little... Well, weird, the three of us just watching while you eat, but..." Esthrielle trailed off, then, looking to the other two Waywards for backup. Lulu raised her hands, disassociating herself from Est's efforts; Zofia, however, took up a guilty expression.

"I-I'd, uhhh... Ahaha, I'd... like to try some of this stuff, you know? Being in the convent for so long, well... you get tired of eating 'traditional Eastern food' every God damn day, heheh..." Though she stifled her blush with artificial means, EJ had been learning to focus on the scent of Wayward nutri-fluid, and Zofi was doing her damnedest to block a rush of deep blue that sought somewhere to present itself. Her expression said enough, anyways.

Lulu shot a look her way, both of bewilderment and playful, familiar teasing. Esthrielle was a bit more overt in her surprise: eyes wide and mouth left open, though after a moment she burst into laughter, tossing a hand up onto Zofi's shoulder. "Bwahaha! Pfft, Zofi, you little carnivore! Shit, girl, I never thought I'd hear someone complain about seven straight days of steak and boef bourguignon, but... haha, when in Vitus, eh?"

Perhaps Esthrielle had said that last sentiment a bit too loudly. A stranger, big and bulky and dressed in clothes as ragged and worn as the rest of him, shuffled into their little huddle without delay. Tall, build like a bear preparing to hibernate, and with one eye that seemed to pierce a bit more deeply than the other, he was an imposing figure by all accounts - despite the bedraggled white hair and visible, deep-set wrinkles. He huffed loudly, clearing his throat - and, as the assembled women turned to regard him, he spoke.

"Ehy... You ladies, bragh... You not from 'round 'ere, 're ya? Pfeh, haha... Turrists, 'n Vitus... Ain't 'at a joke..." He chuckled to himself, haphazard - but, admittedly, intact - teeth put on display. Esper James could feel Zofia's stance change out of the corner of her eye, doubtlessly thinking back to the last time a stranger had burst in on her. But, even as she put out a hand of her own to stay Zofia's, the man continued.

"Git yers'lfs atta here. S'not a threat, p'awmise... I en't yer en'my. But, can't help notic'n y'got a short li'l lady wit' a face like... Well, eheh, close 'nuff to be her, innit?" The old timer(?) winked his more prescient eye, then, at EJ. Esthrielle cast a rapid look over to Esper James, then back at this stranger, brow furrowing into a grim expression.

"Oh? Not our enemy, huh? Then, 'not our enemy', wanna tell us why we should leave? We're trying to do our Christmas shopping." Est's words were edged just below the surface, a pitfall full of blades for an unwary conversant to tumble into and flay themselves alive. Thankfully for him, the burly figure had more sense about him than he may have been letting on.

"Cause. S'fuck'n danger'us. Plus, ahah..." And then, as he trailed off, he reached up to the collar of his shirt. Here, it was Esthrielle's turn to tense and prepare to take action, should he try something - though as it turned out, none such action was demanded of her.

The man pulled low the collar, revealing a large patch of his right pec. Along with it, he revealed a tattoo: a simple skull over a pair of skeletal arms, all in black. As EJ regarded it, she came to realize it wasn't just a tattoo - it was a burn. Silver to second-living flesh, perhaps, or more frighteningly? Fire. He had cauterized the symbol into himself... and it was a symbol Esper James recognized almost immediately.

The ex-blonde looked to Esthrielle, then, hoping to catch her eyes; her hopes were realized in an instant, Est's shoulders relaxing and her gaze meeting EJ's own. The resident meat-eater turned her gaze back to the man as he re-concealed his brand, her eyes wide and confidence unearthed for the first time in this entire conversation. "You know..." EJ fell into a whisper, here, leaning a few inches closer to the man. "You know Kell?"

Kell. How long had it been since they'd last seen, or heard from, Kell? There had been some muffled reports of Revenant activity around the Kehler Complex, back before it had burnt down, but to say definitively if it was Kell or not was pure guesswork. EJ had assumed the woman had gone into hiding, or perhaps left the city outright, or... well, there was always the chance she had been killed, or worse. The ghoulette tried not to consider that possibility, however.

The man nodded, straightening himself back up and crossing his arms. "I know 'r. She's the one 'o got me out' tha' slammer. Been 'n stasis near 'pon fiddy years now, 'ntil sum tramp wiff a dyke 'airstyle 'n a fully automatic silv'r spitter blows th'door off the place 'n rallies us up. Any 'f us not willin' t'help out? Silv'r, 'tween the eyes. Good riddance. Rest of us? Eheh, been fully committed t' the cause ev'r since. 'N before y' ask, I ain't here t'do anythin' crazy. Just... recon. 'N my Chrimmis shoppin, eheh." He winked with his good eye, once again - this time, Esthrielle was his target.

A few months ago, the very idea of being on the same side as an ex-IRE convict would've turned her stomach - much less the extrajudicial executions he spoke of Kell handing out. But, nowadays, she had grown much more numb to Vitus's cruelties and strangeness. Perhaps, she thought, she really wasn't that tender little secretary anymore.

EJ nodded, offering the man a handshake - which, as the Waywards looked on with mouths agape, he took heartily. So strong was he that Esper James herself was shaken a bit in the proceedings, but found herself feeling better for his enthusiasm, if naught else.

"Agh, ahah, if yer lookin' for 'er, by the by... don't. No offens' t' ya, 'f course, but... Well, she's told us, y'know? Yer a good gal, but... not made fer' fightin', and bringin' you about'll only spell trouble for th'both of us. 'Sides, you stayin' hidd'n? S'got Tsang jumpin' at ghosts. Who d'hell knows why Judas wants ya so badly, ahah, but... Well, she's been on th' news about every night, remindin' us."

Every night. Judas was on the news nightly, reminding people that Tsang was hunting for her. Esper James's first thought was, of course, 'that's pretty fucked up', but then it really sunk in. Why did Judas want her so badly? What did she have that Judas needed so badly?

Why did it have to be her?

The once-blonde sighed, letting her black-shrouded eyes fall shut. A nod, then; an acceptance. Kell would do her own thing, and with her, the Revenants would continue theirs. Honestly, it was probably for the best - Khetnep had offered EJ and the others a way to tangibly strike back at Tsang, and to work on helping the city, one body at a time. The Revenants would be, if nothing else, a smoke screen to distract Tsang forces from Khetnep's ambitions.

"Fuck. Alright, yeah, sure... Sure. I... gah. Tell her I'm glad to hear she's still active, please? Just that?" EJ's eyes opened anew, looking up to the towering figure before her. He nodded solemnly, taking his own turn to shut his eyes and drink in the moment.

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"Can do, li'l lady. Now... y'got shoppin' to do. So do I. Let's nev'r meet again."

And, without waiting for an answer, he lumbered off. Esper James released another sigh, this one more akin to a huff - the tension of the conversation, tension that she hadn't even noticed in the moment, flowed out of her like a reservoir with its dam burst. Est stepped closer to her, putting an arm around her smaller lover, then giving her a squeeze.

"Being famous isn't all it's cracked up to be, eh? Haha... Phew. Good to hear she's okay, but..." Esthrielle's gaze was lifted, scanning their surroundings. The quartet-once-quintet had stood as a tall stone in a raging river, with a flurry of passers-by coming and going all around them. In other words, they were damn conspicuous.

"...we should keep moving. C'mon, I've got a great idea for some stuff to get Purity. Let's hit the second floor, yeah? Buy some Purity gifts, then split up to get stuff for each other - I'll go with Lulu, you and Zofi can stick together. None of us'll know what the others are getting for each other." Esthrielle chanced a steel-toothed smile, her fangs catching the glow of the bright fluorescent lights in their reflective surface. EJ couldn't help but smile back at her.

"Yeah. Yeah, let's... Let's go. Plus, then we can get some food."

The four women made their way to the second floor, up the long escalators, and hung close as Est led them to where she deigned most fit to purchase a Purity gift. She had plugged into the Jacobson's mainframe through a backdoor in their security and scanned a map of the floors, she explained, and when they arrived at her chosen gift-buying spot? EJ was glad she had.

Creature Create. The name stared down at them with all its fluffy lettering and cartoonish fangs (the C's resembled open, beastly mouths), and Esper James couldn't help but feel a pang of sorrow and longing in her heart as she regarded the store. She had always wanted to go on a Creature Create date, like she used to see influencers on the internet do with their partners - both parties making a Creature for the other, and symbolically infusing them with love in the form of a smaller stuffed heart and a custom recording that played whenever you hugged it. She used to weep openly at those videos, thinking they were so sweet... So heartfelt, so loving... And here she was, now, with Est, going to Create a Creature with her. Any inkling of a different Purity gift was swept from ghoulish grey matter as Esper James was led across the threshold, where a retail associate in mock mad scientist's garb welcomed them in a playfully zany tone.

Zofia's eyes flashed, subtly as always, though the quartet kept their pace. Est led them up to the aforementioned employee, who manned a long checkout counter modeled after the sort of slab you'd see used in movies to reanimate a corpse. "Ah, four Creatures, please. Any limited-time models?" The Italian spoke confidently, thankfully, blessedly, removing the need for EJ to pipe up through her choked windpipe.

"Blah! Vhat good timing you have, little laydee! Bahah, vhe are running a Christ-mass special! Limited time, from zhe vaults beneath our la-bor-a-tories, vhe have recovered some previously discontinued Creatures! Stuff zhem full of guts now, immediately! Zhis sort of offer may never come around again!" The employee winked, reaching up to adjust his forehead-bound costume goggles - though it took him a few tries, with the bulky black gloves in his way. Then, with a grandiose gesture, he indicated a tall sign beside him that showed off the limited time Creatures.

Esper James did break into tears, then.

Rainbow Shrimp. Rainbow Shrimp, from so long ago... Before the Cultural Influence Termination and Extrication act was put into effect. Rainbow Shrimp, the beautiful and spunky little lass from her favorite anime, nowadays so very dated but so very retro. EJ had heard about the promo that had gone into effect almost twenty-five years ago; businesses from all over the UNAC had leapt on the announced deadline as a profit point, churning out merch of then-popular foreign media to capitalize on the upcoming ban. She had still been so new to her Vitus life then, and so mother fucking busy all the god damn time, she'd never had a chance to get her hands on a Rainbow Shrimp plushie of any kind. And now, here she was. Waiting for her.

The employee's performative facade was nearly broken, then, but he laughed loudly and provocatively; with a gesture to Esper James, he spoke again. "Bwahaha! It seems your friend is overvhelmed by zhe selection before her! Zhere is no rush in zhe la-bor-a-tory, I promise! Here, aha, please pay for your reanimations, and she can just... point to her creature of choice, aha!" He tried not to look at the line that was forming behind the four women in front of him.

Esthrielle took EJ in a one-armed hug, using her other hand to shuffle out her respective wad of money. EJ, too, managed to get her own out - just setting it on the counter instead of counting, letting the employee do it for her as she struggled to stifle her bawling. Esthrielle picked a cute and plump pink piggy, and, to EJ's shock, Rainbow Shrimp. The ghoul looked up to her as soon as the Italian chose; Est simply waved her back to the selection with a sly, loving smirk.

Getting another pink pig would be a bit overmuch, Esper James figured; surely, that was for Purity, since it was... pink. Hmm. Est had chosen the simplest route possible, hadn't she? But... well, fuck, now EJ had to- bingo. The still-weeping carnivore indicated with a trembling hand, selecting a limited-time bear with black-and-pink coloration instead of black (and cutesy blush marks and eyes), and a Creature Create classic: a charcoal coloured wolf with bright red eyes, that lit up when it made sound. The Creatures were selected, then, and their mostly-unfilled carcasses laid out by the mad scientist behind the counter. Esthrielle and EJ took them and headed on in, towards the various 'machines' that composed the laboratory; Lulu and Zofi lingered a bit, before deciding to join in and get their own Creatures.

Clothing first, if desired - though, as the sign at the clothing station said, some creatures were better when bare. Little trinkets were selected, but nothing major. Then, off to the so-called "Personality Matrix", which would give the Creature a little pre-selected set of voice lines in its hug-activated mechanism. For the bear, Esper James chose "Sweet and Syrupy", a husky and loving voice fit for a lounge singer; it felt very appropriate, for its recipient. But, for Est...

Well, Esper James couldn't help but smirk a little through her lingering tears as she pressed the button for "Grumpy but Grateful". As the tiny device was dispensed, EJ gave it a press just to test it - and her smirk bloomed into an ear-to-ear beam, and an unexpected gale of laughter, as it growled out its line. "It's not like I wanted a hug or anything! ...Thank you, though... I love you..." said the disembodied voicebox, in an appropriately growly-yet-feminine voice. Esthrielle had covered her ears so as to try and maintain the surprise, but seeing EJ burst out with amusement as she did? The Easterner couldn't help but smile along with every bit of mock indignance as always.

After that? It was time for the stuffing. There were three different types, based on firmness and cohesion; Esper James went for the firm bundles of unprocessed fibre for the wolf, and for the bear, she chose a memory foam. The foam drew the chagrin of some fellow customers behind her in line, as it required actual machine usage to print on-site to the desired dimensions... but, fuck 'em, EJ figured. They could wait.

Finally? It was time for the heart. Multicolored hearts were presented on the station's display, awaiting selection; whichever heart had been chosen was to be presented, ready for the voicebox to be placed inside and then sewn over, either by hand (for 'extra love!'), or by automated precision. But, before you sewed the voicebox in, the station gave instructions on how to record a single voice line from the gift-giver: press it twice, quickly, then hold it down for five seconds.

Oh, God. What was she gonna record?

Myriad thoughts and ideas whirled about EJ's brainpan as she stood at the station, eyes glazing over as she focused on what her brain could sift from the muck. She wracked her brain for something she could say that wasn't overtly cheesy and cliche... but, as time ticked on and she found herself at a loss for such options, she shrugged her shoulders both metaphorically and literally. They were Christmas gifts for her partners. They could afford to be a little fucking cheesy and goofy and sappy. Even better if they were, honestly.

First off, Purity. Holding her bear's voicebox close to her lips (as instructed), she whispered into its receiver. "My big beautiful bear babe... I love you. I hope we can hibernate together, forever, and keep warm with love through this world's winter. I love you, Purity." Playing it back, it just barely fit the audio device's recording capabilities - but it fit, in its entirety. Perfect. Then, the one for Esthrielle.

This one she furtively hunkered down over, making sure that her artificially-augmented gal pal couldn't listen in on accident. A deep breath, and then... "Esthrielle, you are nothing if not a girl's best friend. I hope I can always have you by my side, to hold you and keep you close, and treat you how you deserve. I love you." This one was even nearer to the cut-off, but she didn't make such pauses for dramatic effect as she had with Purity's, and so it managed to squeak on in. The hearts were sewn, then - pink heart for Purity's bear, crimson heart for Esthrielle's wolf - and placed into their forever homes. Esper James opted to sew the hearts up manually.

The machine did the actual job of sewing up the stuffie, thus 'reanimating' it, and sealing the deal with no take-backs. The Faustian trade of bringing new life into this world, if only for the moderate fee of grumble grumble dollars... How totally convenient, eh?

After a bit of waiting, all four women reconvened outside the store, waving to the now-somewhat-exhausted-looking mad scientist as they went. Each had a big plastic bag, with at least one cardboard 'Creature Carrier' box to keep their gifts in. Esper James was once again struck by a wave of emotion as she actually had time to contemplate what they'd just done - how she'd finally had that date of her dreams, and how she had finally found some kind of way - small though it may be - to show her appreciation to the women who had done so much for her. Tears, round two; this time, Est could hug her fully.

"Hey, hey, EJ, woah babygirl... I love you, you know. I'm excited to give you your gift... hey, c'mon, stick close to me. Let's hit the food court, okay? We'll get you and Zofi a snack, then see if we need to do any more shopping... well, haha, we probably should do a little, but, y'know. C'mon... I smell a burger place. You like burgers, right?"

Burgers. Fuck yes. A burger sounded so fucking good right now. Maybe she could convince Est to share a milkshake with her.