[OTA] Shop Till You Shoot Yourself

[cipherspeak]

Ah, winter.

Elisha would be the first to admit that he wasn't such a fan, and he was much more a fan of the other extreme temperatures. But then, he'd grown up along the Mediterranean Sea, and, served almost exclusively in the desert. He just wasn't built for chill. Which would be a problem in a week, he reflected, when he and Hadyn went to

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[maskofhearts]

"That scarf cost...about half of my rent. I..." No, no. Oh God, they were all going to think him cheap. Why? Because he had had his mother thrown off deck before he was 25. And unlike his brother, was still waiting for his trustfund.

Which probably wouldn't be happening at the rate of disapproval he was going.

"Do they have as much money as you?"

[cipherspeak]

"It's probably too much." As for the money, he shakes his head. "My mother's side is more...middle class. Aunt Debbie's a college professor, Uncle Adam's a doctor. Audrey majored in art history and is thus unemployed."

It just wasn't the most practical path, that's all he was saying. Not that he could say it to her, since he had an art degree.

"I should probably go the token route this time. I wonder if you can buy drindls on the Deck."

[maskofhearts]

"Right..." That meant, he assumed, they were well enough off in most cases. "I don't know what to give them. I feel like I should give them something though." Maybe not from Burberry though. "And it is the Deck. You can get anything here, or haven't you noticed that yet?"

Sighing a little he turned and moved to the next stand of displayed items, contemplating them curiously for a moment. "So...seven gifts, right?"

[cipherspeak]

"Just don't feel like you have to get them something for every day of it," Elisha told him. "I told Aunt Debbie you were French." And not a French Jew, either.

"You could get Audrey an art print or an art book. Aunt Debbie teaches history, so you can't go wrong with a history book." Uncle Adam, though, was difficult.

[butlebattler]

Humming a Christmas carol under her breath, Karin quietly looks over a pair of gloves--something warm and soft for Margo, perhaps. She hasn't even begun to figure out what she's getting Caleb, except that she needs...something.

Seeing the King, though, she puts the gloves down, making her approach with a whimsical smile. "Your Majesty. Season's warmest greetings to you."

[cipherspeak]

"Happy holidays, Karin," Elisha said with a slight smile as he folds the scarf up again and picks up one that didn't scream designer quite as much. "Getting started on the Christmas shopping?"

He should have started on Hanukkah earlier this year.

[butlebattler]

"Trying to, yes. Though I've a new name on my list this year. Do you have any idea what Caleb might like for Christmas?" It's worth a shot--she has no idea how to shop for guys. "I mean, besides designer tongue depressors."

[cipherspeak]

"Caleb James?" Elisha blinked as he shook out the scarf. "Well, he doesn't seem like the gadget type. But he likes science fiction, so...a book?"

[grrranimals]

It does a body good to see their normally decisive king at a loss. Tess catches sight of him fingering scarves like they might bite him and drifts through the gloves display. Gloves are always safe when you have a zillion cousins, nieces and nephews.

"A little big for Q, I think. Not sure about the color either."

[cipherspeak]

He hates shopping. He hates it so much, and he fancies that he's terrible at it - though usually the receipients like what they get.

"Oh, but it has fringe," he tells Tess. "On that basis only, he'll love it."

[grrranimals]

She's such a good vet person not to go into her animal doctor spiel about the inherent dangers of fringe.

"He's a cat. He'll love it more if it either camouflages him completely or sets off his fur beautifully. You have the look of someone shopping under protest."

[cipherspeak]

The next thing she'll say is that he has to break Q's heart and remove all feathers from his vicinity.

"He's a cat. He'll love it more if it's a box. Hanukkah," he says with a tone of dread. "It starts in a week. Eight days of presents."