Surviving the Holiday Season (open)

[prince_wayne]

For the most part, sales would be down for the winter months. Ski and snowboard sales or rentals would be virtually nonexistent due to the fact that there were no mountains to use them on, just a few subtle hills or snowdrift mounds. Even so, the outdoor sporting goods store had new ice skates, hockey gear and sleds in stock in preparation for

Comments

Tag Bruce

[yippiekiyaymf]

John had come into the village from summer, he had no winter coat, he could use one, and some winter boots -- John was particular about his foot gear, nearly obsessive one might say.

He came into the store and was looking at coats, boots, and heavy winter socks.

[prince_wayne]

Bruce had been helping a (npc) young man get fitted for a pair of speed skates when the other man came into the store and began to browse the winter wear. He did not greet him straight away, but continued to help the (npc) young man until he was matched with a good pair of skates. Once the sale was finalized, Bruce approached the other man. "Finding everything alright?" He asked the well-built man who looked just under six feet and was either a cop or in some bizarro world, a high-end mortician; in either case, someone who had seen a fair amount of dead bodies in their lifetime.

[yippiekiyaymf]

"Hi," John said, he thought the guy running the store looked too rich to have a day job -- the kind of person who 'had people' to do such things, but what did he know?

"I'm looking for warm and sturdy," John said, and since most of the boots seemed designed for one particular thing, "and sort of all-purpose." John could never tell what he was going to get into.

[prince_wayne]

Bruce gave a slight nod, getting a sense of what the man was looking for, "Most of the hiking boots here can double as winter boots- however these" he said, indicating to a line of sample footwear, grabbing one off the shelf, "are designed for more ... adventurous trekkers in mind. These have thermal insulation, a waterproof membrane, which is also anti-microbial" a concern alleviated for those who spent more time in the same pair of boots then out of them, in a verity of wet, dry, cold or humid environments. "And the outsole is made of duel climate rubber, which hardens in cold weather, to better bit into snow or ice for better traction."

[yippiekiyaymf]

John's eyes lit up, as if Bruce had said 'sex' instead of 'traction'.

"Oh, I like traction. Traction is good. How are they about resisting cuts, from say...broken glass?"

[prince_wayne]

That seemed like a very specific question, not that Bruce minded, it meant the guy was serious about his activities. "Let me put it this way." Bruce said, walking over to the front counter and set the boot down as he grabbed a hammer and a two inch nail from the tool box which sat under the register. Lining up the nail to the boot, Bruce struck it several times with the hammer, not going easy on his own merchandise at all; but at the end of this demonstration, only the very tip of the nail managed to embed itself in the shoe, far from penetrating anywhere a sock, let alone a foot would be.

"Take a look for yourself."

[yippiekiyaymf]

John took a look, and breathed out a chuckle. Damn he wished he'd had these at Nakatomi Plaza.

"Oh, that's sexy. How much...no wait, I don't care. I want 'em. If they run pretty standard, I take a size 10."

[prince_wayne]

Sexy? Bruce smirked, not quite thinking of shoes in that regard, but did have a fond appreciation for this particular pair. "You're welcome to try them on- some of the styles do run a little small."

[yippiekiyaymf]

"Yeah, that'd be smart, and I'd like to buy a pair of these," John handed Bruce a pair of thick, warm socks, "to try them on with, since that's what I'll be wearing with them."

He sat down and pulled off the shoes and socks he was wearing to put on the thicker socks. His feet were rather spectacularly scarred, though the scars were old, no longer red.

[prince_wayne]

"That's fine." Bruce said, not rushed to make any sort of sales quota. As he waited, he continued to observe the other man. Even if it was intrusive, he struck up conversation at the sight of the scarring, "Trenches?" He prompted, not entirely sure he was speaking with a military man, but at least it would get him corrected.

[yippiekiyaymf]

John huffed out a little chuckle. He looked up at the other man as if thinking how much to say.

"Nah, Los Angeles. Bunch of mercenaries took my wife and a bunch of other hostages. Didn't have time to get my shoes on and it was one of those glass tower type buildings."

[prince_wayne]

"I see" Stranger things had happened. Bruce pressed the side of his knuckle against his chin in thought. The scarring was old, as far as he could tell; ancient history to the other man, but interesting history to Bruce. The average shoeless-Joe didn't go around running through glass while being held hostage by mercenaries.

"How are they fitting?" Bruce shifted the conversation back to the shoes, "Can I help you find anything else?"

[yippiekiyaymf]

"They're good," John said, wiggling his toes.

"Yeah, I wanted to pick up a good water resistant winter coat too. Have you been here through a winter? Do you know how they get? Feels a little warmer than New York to me..."

[prince_wayne]

"It was a very manageable winter, except for one large snow storm which kept most of us snowed-in the hotel over a weekend."

"The winters here are damp, rather then dry." Bruce began to explain, though not proud to admit he had already experienced a winter here, having been in the village over a year. "This place might appear warmer to you, because it does not have the same wind-chill that New York or Chicago has."

That was enough about weather. "If you are active" as Bruce presumed he was "then you'll want something breathable, to draw the sweat away from your body and keep the chill off your skin."

[yippiekiyaymf]

"Yeah, sounds good." he snorted,

"Course then shit will hit the fan when I'm in the shower," John muttered.

[prince_wayne]

Bruce frowned slightly, clearly missing the reference. "Is that a concern?"