alexis! (celebutante) wrote in valloic, @ 2021-05-03 13:28:00 |
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Entry tags: | !: action/thread/log, ~plot: ancient vallo, ₴ inactive: alexis rose, ₴ inactive: lois lane-kent |
WHO: Lois Lane-Kent & Alexis Rose
WHAT: Stealing from Karen's ancient ancestor hocking fake healing crystals
WHERE: Civitas
WHEN: Today, the 3rd
WARNINGS: Of course not, and this totally doesn't even count as stealing <.<
STATUS: Complete
Weird travel wasn’t exactly new for Lois. She’d done her share of world hopping when the Crisis was underway back home, but going back this far in time was jarring. There was just nothing about her current life that could have helped her out for what they were experiencing. Sure, they’d managed to snag some clothes and food and found a place to stay but day to day life in the city was different than what she was used to. People watching still came in handy, even if she wasn’t using it to help with a story. There were still details to pick up on--which of the merchants was scamming as much money as they could out of others, who was moving around the markets to pick pockets, and who was more likely to help someone out. Little things to try and help them survive day to day in the new time they had been unceremoniously thrust into. It was also nice to get to know some other Outlanders. She’d mostly kept to her own work back in present time, which had allowed for her to make friends with her fellow reporters and the rest of the staff, but she realized she didn’t really know many of the others who were in a similar situation as her. At least she knew who Alexis was before arriving in the city with her and the other girl. It was hard not to know the owner of the best lotion shop in town. “How much do we have left?” Lois asked, glancing over at the woman. Hopefully enough to last them for a few more days. Ugh. Just - so much ugh. Alexis hadn’t been a twinkle in her parents eye during this time period - like, not even her great-great-greatgrandparents had been considered yet, it was just so ancient she almost had to laugh about it. If she wasn’t crying because she missed terrible Café Tropical smoothies, actual cell phones, and trips to the beach to frolic with bestie Cleo while sporting a purple shimmery merm tail. Where the waves were lacy and the sand was a pretty primrose shade. Like, okay, she wasn’t actually crying - but give it a few days and she’d see what happened. She’d arrived in this weirdo time period with two other ladies, and they’d banded together to not die straight away - luckily it hadn’t been too dangerous of a situation they’d found themselves in, and they managed to quickly snag clothes flapping in the breeze, but still. The clothes, she wasn’t crazy about those - her dress had a smock underneath, typical for this era, and while the frock itself was close-fitting it was made of coarse material and her skin was screaming for another kind of exfoliation, thanks, and maybe some moisturizer. There was a belt around her waist, with small purses attached to it - inside one, she had coins. In the other was a new thing she’d learned about (because her boyfriend was a great teacher), a curved piece of iron that was used to produce sparks - but as for weapons and stuff, no, she didn’t have any of those. Because if they actually got into any crime-related trouble, she was probably screwed. “Not much,” she frowned after assessing the contents of her dangly coin purse. “Maybe enough for another meal or two? And like. It wouldn’t hurt to find soap someplace too. And of course more money for food, but - I don’t know. The tactics my klepto friends and I used in the Hamptons probably won’t work here.” Or would they? Sometimes one had to do things they wouldn’t normally do. Lois wasn’t one to steal but considering they had very few marketable skills and no magic between the two of them, being a bit klepto seemed as good an idea as any. Because she would really like some nice soap as well. And she’s been known to take files that she wasn’t supposed to on occasion. “I think most klepto tactics work well from one situation to another. We just might want to scope out who we use those on.” No one who was struggling. They didn’t want to make anyone who’s life was already hard even more difficult. But the asshole merchant who was scamming people out of some hard earned coin looked like a decent enough target, depending on what kind of security he had around him. So far she hadn’t spotted anything too big to deal with. “See anyone you might be able to use those on around here?” Jade eyes flickered this way and that, assessing the situation here in the marketplace - Alexis had given up her life of crime (okay, it wasn’t really a life - more like petty theft, champagne on ice, and drugs were just something you did when you were rich and quasi-famous) but this was a different circumstance. They had to or else they weren’t getting out of the timey wimey mishap alive - and she fully planned to live, okay? “Definitely that guy,” she casually nodded toward the merchant hocking crystals that probably didn’t do anything - it was less involved than an MLM pyramid scheme, but those likely evolved over time too. Anyway, whatever. She figured if people wanted actual mystical stuff, they’d hook up with one of the covens, not some dude wearing a toga. “Okay, so - “ Alexis straightened her shoulders, recalling how the klepto game was played when she was looking over Gucci bags or in Goop’s of Sag Harbor. “It usually involves one person taking the left corner, one person taking right - one asks if there are any more sweaters in the back, the other compliments the store owner and a third fills their bag. There’s only two of us now, so if you want to work some charm and compliment the guy, I’ll swipe a bag of coins?” That would be enough to get them some soap. Maybe a treat too, mmm. Lois had run similar schemes with Jimmy back home when they were trying to get into an office they weren’t supposed to see documents she definitely wasn’t supposed to lay eyes on. She glanced in the direction of the guy Alexis had spotted and nodded. It probably wasn’t a bad idea to go for that one and his crystal selling definitely gave off the feeling of a scam considering two streets over there was at least one coven selling the real deal. “I’ll work my charm.” And hopefully it would actually work. Lois headed over, asking about the different uses of the crystals and letting the man go on about them for a moment before enquiring if he had anything a bit more powerful than the healing ones currently displayed. He turned to look through his wares and Lois kept her gaze on him, hoping Alexis would manage to swipe the bag before he turned back to her, shaking her head at the one he showcased. She walked away after a few more moments, intent on hooking back up with Alexis a stall or so away. Alexis went wandering too - just, you know, all casual and stuff. Like she was simply browsing the wares - and she felt kind of bad, sure, but not for the merchant she was about to rob. But because she’d helped David and Patrick deal with a group of little mini teenage hellions consistently stealing from the Apothecary running this exact plot and now she had essentially become the hellion. Out of necessity - she’d just keep telling herself that. She also kept Lois in her peripherals, observing when would be a good time to do some swiping from the ancient cash register area. When the crystal guy turned, that was when she reached out with one slender arm - quick as a bunny - and snatched the coin purse, burying it someplace in the folds of her stupid dress so she could attach it to her belt. However, she’d scarcely managed to do that before some other big, burly Chad grabbed her by the wrist and declared “thief!” indignantly. Like he was prepared to haul her off and execute her or something. Crap, crap, crap. But if there was one thing she knew, it was that you were supposed to scream FIRE and not MURDER - like, clearly no one would care if she was being murdered, in any time period. Sad state of affairs. So screaming FIRE was what she did, instinctively, and it was so loud and so sudden it caused crystal guy’s security to drop his grip on her - and already things were chaotic, so she scurried off. “Come on!” she found Lois and tugged her along so they could make a quick getaway together. It was like something out of a ridiculous comedy but Lois had to hand it to Alexis. Screaming out fire had definitely been a worthy distraction. She purposefully bumped into another stand as they headed by it, scattering merchandise everywhere and getting another layer of protection for them as the owners of it scrambled over to try and retrieve it all. She let Alexis tug her along but grabbed at some clothes that were on a line, snatching two new pieces for the two of them. Lois nodded toward an alley and thrust one of the shawls into Alexis hand, wrapping the other around her. They’d be harder to locate if they looked even a little different from what the security guy would be trying to spot. The next trick was to try to blend in with the next crowd they would need to pop into and get far enough away before counting out how much they had been able to make off with. “You good?” If there was another thing Alexis knew, it was what to do with a shawl - she could use it as a scarf! Or as an accent to a formal outfit! Or to cover bare shoulders when it was cold! So totally versatile. Except she didn’t use it for any of that now - instead, she just wrapped it around her similar to the way Lois did, covering as much of her dress as she could and using the shawl to sort of hide her face too - kind of creating a makeshift hood, in an effort to keep herself on the down low. Now that she had a second to breathe in the alleyway, she nodded, a couple blonde waves slipping free from the updo she’d just created. Boy, this life of crime in ancient times was way hard. “I’m good - are you good?” she asked, just to make sure. Mostly she was just glad to not be alone right now. There was probably a big chance she’d already have ended up with her head on a platter someplace if left to her own devices. “We can keep going,” she assured. “Get a little further away before counting the coins and planning where to get soap and skincare.” Woe, skincare, how she missed you. A waypoint would have been so useful right then but they didn’t seem to be a thing or not one that Lois had noticed in the city yet. Though maybe it was good they weren’t around because it could have made finding them a lot easier too. They kept heading through the winding streets together though, further away from the little market where they had been and up toward where Lois was pretty sure she’d seen some shops that the covens owned. If anyone was going to have skincare products in this time period she had a feeling it would be them. “I’m good,” Lois reassured as they continued to walk before she spotted the small storefronts. “I can’t say the product will be similar to what we’re used to but I think we can find a few things we want there.” And then food would be a good idea to try and get too. Some nonperishable things they could stock up a bit on or keep on them in case they needed to move to somewhere else again. The sight of the coven storefronts was so welcome Alexis nearly wept with joy. At last. “I mean, nothing compares to the Apothecary,” she grinned, flashing those pearly whites. “But it’ll do.” She missed the store, of course - and her one talent that may be marketable here was coming up with natural, handmade beauty products but she’d been so focused on survival that settling in to set up a stall of her own didn’t really occur to her. Plus, that would mean being here awhile - and no way did she want that to become a thing. Pausing to count the coins, she assessed how much money they had. “We have enough to each get soap and like, we’ll spend the rest on food?” she suggested. Thank you, shady crystal guy - they’d eat good tonight. “Definitely something that’ll last.” A nice loaf of bread, other vegetables that were maybe pickled or something - this was the era before canned ravioli and preservatives, but they’d find something. Approaching one of the shops, she caught a whiff of their products - various animal and plant oils used in soap, along with goats tallow and ashes of trees. Sorry, vegans. “Ooh - “ Alexis automatically felt soothed when she picked up a chunk, not a perfect factory-cut bar, of something resembling soap. “Already I feel better.” They might want to save a little to pay for their room for a few more nights since they had no idea how long they were going to be stuck in the past, but soap was a definite necessity. Sometimes one needed something that smelled good in order to keep going through all of the crap. Lois bet they could heat up some water for the metal tub back at the room they had and get an actual bath. The little luxuries really did help. She glanced around at a few of the soaps, picking them up and smelling them until she found one that she liked the scent of best. They’d need to go to the market--a different one from earlier--to get the food and then head back and meet up with Jaina, see what the other girl had managed to find during her own wanderings. “You ready?” “All set!” Alexis managed to even sound cheerful - and she actually handed over the coin to pay for some soap; it had been cheaper than she anticipated so that was good. Also it was witchy soap? Made by the covens, so it could potentially do stuff. Erase wrinkles. Make it so that she wouldn’t smell like a barn for the rest of her time here. That would be nice, huh? She was eager to see what Jaina had come up with while her and Lois ran other errands - if they rationed out money for more food (maybe Jaina had earned or stolen herself some bling too, who knew), hopefully they’d have enough to keep a room for a decent amount of time. Budgeting also sucked but she was used to that, unfortunately - that had been her life in Schitt’s Creek after her family’s glorious fall from grace and riches. “So like, this totally sucks? But I’m glad I’m with someone smart and capable. Sorry I’m not - super good at roughing it in ancient times,” she apologized sheepishly. But, well, she was doing her best. She’d try not to be dead, useless weight. “I’ve learned everyone is capable and smart in their own ways through years. After all, you did think quickly on your feet back there and managed to cause a distraction all on your own to get away from that guy.” And that was pretty spectacular in Lois’ opinion. Not a lot of people could think quickly on their feet when faced with something like that. She’d seen many people freeze, not knowing what to do. “But this does definitely suck.” Being in a time so completely foreign to her made Lois miss her family even more. But at least they weren’t there going through the same sort of struggles. Her boys were dealing with enough already, she wouldn’t want them trying to blend in to this sort of insanity along with the ordeal that was high school. “I am ready for a bath.” Alexis lit up a little at the praise - she’d felt so completely out of her element here, ever since first arriving, but she guessed that was true. She did happen to be pretty decent at thinking on her feet - and thanks to Vallo, by now she was definitely adaptable. They’d all just have to get through this. “Well - “ Her eyes twinkled a little, flickers of impishness there. She’d just keep this shawl on during the trek back to their rented room, lay low and not flaunt her pouches of moolah. “The Ancient Egyptians basically invented hot tubs. So there has to be something around here. Maybe once we get settled for tonight and assess what we have we can see about treating ourselves soon. Girl’s night.” Hey, that could be fun, right? Maybe there wouldn’t be any fragrant bubble bath but heated stones in water were still - mostly her idea of a good time. |