Life Onboard Serenity: #41 - Changeable Weather
POSTED BY: Isahiah
UPDATED: Monday, February 9, 2009 04:48
VIEWED: 34529
PAGE 4 of 15
Quote:
Originally posted by EnglishIvy:
“Then let’s go.”
Pain and Ivy got dressed, Ivy more so than Pain. She made sure that the nightie she had worn during their little bout of fun wasn't ruined by their actions. It wasn't and Ivy proceed to put it in the cart after they left the dressing room, Pain having gone out first to make sure the coast was clear. Both her and Pain proceeded to the nearest checkout aisle to purchase their items. They watched as the cashier scanned each item, the price showing on the display next to the scanner. Both Pain and Ivy were slightly nervous as the nightie got closer and closer to being purchased. But as fate would have it, the clerk nonchalantly scanned it and put it in the bag along with the other items purchased.
Both Pain and Ivy breathed a silent breath of relief and watched as the price stopped at a nominal figure.
"Are you sure you have enough?" Ivy asked in a hushed tone. "I've got some money that I could lend you if you don't have enough."
"That's right shiny of you, darlin'." replied Pain with a smile. "But I've got the cash, so no worries." Pain handed the cashier some Creds and told the cashier as she handed Pain back his change, "Can I get that delivered to my ship please?"
"Sure thing, but I'll have to charge you a small delivery fee of 5 Credits." she replied. She pointed to the small touchscreen on a pedestal near Pain and continued, "I'll just need you to give me the name of your ship and where it's docked."
Pain handed over the extra 5 Credits and tapped Serenity's name and docking location onto the touchscreen. A confirmation order popped up and Pain pressed 'Yes' before the procedure was completed.
The cashier gave the two a store policy mandated smile while she handed the bags off to someone in Delivery and said, "Have a nice day."
"You too." Pain replied as the two of them left. Pulling Ivy close to him, Pain asked, "If'n it's alright with you I plan on hittin' the local sportin' goods store for some ammo. Some of my guns are runnin' a little low. Want to come with?"
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WWJD: What Would Jayne Do?
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Quote:
Originally posted by DRPAIN:
"If'n it's alright with you I plan on hittin' the local sportin' goods store for some ammo. Some of my guns are runnin' a little low. Want to come with?"
"I would follow you anywhere right now," Ivy answered as they walked out into the rain.
It was a chilly rain, she was glad that Pain had picked out a fairly durable poncho for her. As they walked towards the ammo store, she became more and more agitated, but she tried to hide it. She wrapped her arms around Pain instead. By the time they reached the covered porch at the door of the ammo store, she was nearly trembling and had gripped Pain so hard that he could barely breathe.
She was embarassed a bit to know that she had already negated the statement she just gave Pain a few minutes ago. She would follow him anywhere but the ammo store.
"You OK, darling?" Pain asked her. "Cause I'd like to breathe sometime soon."
She quickly let go, but her eyes never left the door. He turned to face her.
"You OK, Ivy?"
She nodded slowly.
"I don't want to go in," she whispered.
Pain thought back to the reaction to the gun earlier that day in their bunk.
"We can go some other time," Pain offered as he tipped her face up to his. "I have plenty of guns I could use."
Ivy's eyes faded back over to the door.
"No," she said. "We are already here. I'll just wait out here. There's a bench over there."
"You sure?" Pain asked. Her eyes were still looking at the door with a haunted expression to them. He stroked a finger down her cheek. "Ivy? Look at me."
Her eyes came back to focus on his face.
"I'll be OK. I promise," she reassured him.
He leaned down and placed a kiss on her lips, which she returned wholeheartedly while standing on her tiptoes and wrapping her arms around his neck. They suddenly forgot their surroundings and were pulled back into their own world, sharing long slow kisses with tongues entwined.
"Get a room," someone said as they passed them, which brought them back to their senses.
Pain groaned a little and gave her another quick kiss.
"I'll be right back," he said as he motioned a bit to the door of the ammo shop.
"I'll be waiting," she answered.
They separated and went about their way. As Ivy stood there waiting for him to return, she spotted a store down the way. Sumner's Chocolatier. She smiled and giggled a bit. She HAD to go to that store, but she wanted it to be a surprise. She had to think of a way to distract Pain while she did.
Her hand touched her bag that was tucked up under the poncho and landed on the light source she needed. A smile spread across her face. She got out a piece of paper from the bag and scrawled out the model and part number of the light source she needed.
She would have Pain go to the grain store to get the part.
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Inside Dyuk's Ammo Surplus and Sporting Goods
The grayish, rectangular building looked small on the outside, but the inside was almost cavernous. There were aisles upon aisles of clothing and numerous shelves of, supplies, and other gear associated with everything from surviving a natural disaster to skiing down the slopes of a snow capped mountain. Pain wasn't interested in skiing or buying enough dried food packs to last him through the next half millennium however. What he was after was ammo and that's what he was there to find.
Pain walked over to the section of the store that housed the shelves of ammo. Everything from varmint and plinking rounds to buckshot and home defense was stocked on the shelves. They came in boxes ranging from 5 to 50 rounds for those who didn't need to buy much, as well as in metal cases of 250 to 1,000 rounds for those like Pain who liked to buy in bulk. Pain picked up a 250 round case of shotgun ammo as well as a 1,000 round case of pistol ammo. He thought about picking up a case of rifle ammo, but figured he had more than enough for now.
Pain walked over to the counter and set the two cases on top of it. The short, old Asian man behind the counter scanned the items into the computer and said, to Pain, "That'll be 50 Credits."
"Can I have those delivered to my ship?" Pain asked, as he reached into his pocket to retrieve his money.
"Sure, but it'll cost an extra 10 Credits plus an additional 2 for handling fees." came the old man's reply.
Pain handed the old store clerk a 100 and said, "Here you go."
As the man rang up Pain's purchases and handed him his change, the old man pointed to the small touchscreen on the counter and said, "If you'll just type in the name of your ship and where it's docked, I'll have your purchase shipped over immediately."
Pain nodded and typed Serenity's name and location into the touchscreen's database. With a confirmation of Pain's information accepted, the large man bid the older man adieu and walked out of the building.
Outside
"Well that's done." he said with a smile to Ivy as he walked up to her. He noticed she had a piece of paper in her hand and asked, "What's that, baobei?"
"The part number and model of the light source I need." she replied, looking into his eyes and smiling. She batted her eyes at him, pouted, and added, "Could you go get it for me? I've got something else to buy, but it's a surprise."
"I like surprises." Pain said, leaning down to kiss her.
Ivy let out a little moan into Pain's mouth and murmured, "I know you do." She gave him a lingering kiss then pulled away, handing him the piece of paper and asking, "Will you go get it for me please? You'll find it at the grain store."
"With pleasure." Pain replied, with a sheepish grin on his face. He pocketed Ivy's piece of paper in a pocket and headed off to the grain store, leaving Ivy by herself.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
WWJD: What Would Jayne Do?
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Ivy watched Pain walk down the way toward the Grain Store. Her hand fell on her bag and the light source she had brought with her. She had forgotten to give it to him. It could be useful. She made sure her poncho's hood was secure and started off running after him.
"Pain!" she yelled. "Wait!"
She finally caught up to him only about 50 feet from the store.
"Need somethinh else?" Pain asked. He frowned. "Don't tell me that my surprise has been nixed."
"No. Nothing like that," she said. She pulled the light source from her bag and placed it in his hand. "I meant to give this to you. Might be useful. Grain store owners are usually really knowledgeable, but sometimes their help isn't."
"OK, that sounds smart."
"Oh!" she exclaimed as she gave him some coin. "It shouldn't be more than that."
"Ivy, I would have bought it for you."
"I know, but save your money. I'd much rather you spend it on something we both might enjoy."
She gave him a quick kiss and pushed him off towards the Grain Store.
"Now you go," she ordered him sternly. "Can't have you watching where I am going. That'd ruin the surprise."
"Can't have that, can we?"
"Nope. I'll meet you down by the cowboy shop afterwards," she said. Pain raised his eyebrows at her. She blushed a little. "Not in the shop, silly. It has a covered porch. I'll wait for you there."
"Shiny," Pain said as he kissed her again before going on to the grain store. As he got there, he looked back up the street and saw her no where in sight. "Wonder what kind of surprise might be waiting for me?"
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Grayson was getting frustrated, but he kept up the questioning of the grain store's customers. He hadn't had any luck since the information that Dex provided, but he was hopeful that with the additional information about the type of ship she could have been on, he might get another lead.
The rain had slowed the traffic coming into the grain store to a trickle, but people still came in. Grayson stood in the doorway, looking out into the street. There was a couple of folk walking down the street and another few going in and out of the shops. Movement off to his one side caught his attention. Someone in a poncho running after a large man.
Quote:
Originally posted by EnglishIvy:
"Pain! Wait!"
The sound of the rain, deadened what was actually said, but the large man stopped to talk. They exchanged some kisses and parted.
"Must be his girlfriend... or maybe his wife," Grayson mused. "Poncho's a good idea. I should think about getting one."
A couple came into the store and Grayson stopped them. He showed them Ivy's picture.
"Have you seen my neice?" he asked them. "She might have left this world on a firefly class transport?"
As he talked to them, the large man came in and headed back towards the back. He'd have to catch him before he left the store.
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In the Grain Store
There were aisles and aisles of stuff inside. Everything from feed to tools could be had here. Pain looked up at the numbered holographic signs hovering above the aisles and found the one he wanted. He casually perused them, occasionally stopping to look at the piece of paper Ivy handed to him before moving on to find the exact model light source.
He came to a stop near the end of the aisle he was in and looked at the selection of light sources. They ranged in sizes from long and rectangular to short and round. Ivy needed one that was long and rectangular, yet non-bulky and small. Pain checked the piece of paper and the numbers on the light sources very diligently, before finding what he was looking for. The one that Ivy needed and had written down for Pain was on the lowest shelf possible, which meant he had to get down on his knees to get at it.
Once on his knees and almost kissing the floor, Pain picked through the boxed up light sources of the same model Ivy needed. Some of the boxes looked as if they had been kicked from one side of the place to the other. Others looked like squirrel had chewed on one of the sides. After careful rummaging, Pain found one that was in relatively pristine condition. He grunted a little as he got up and held onto the box as he searched for a checkout counter of some sort. After what seemed like hours of aimless wandering, Pain finally found one in the back near the store's warehouse and waited in line.
It wasn't a long wait, just five minutes or so and Pain was next up to bat.
"Hello, sir. Did you find everything OK?" replied the dark haired man behind the counter in a squeaky voice.
He looked to be in his late 20's and about 5' tall. His raven colored hair was a tangle of curls that looked as if they went out only to go back into themselves. The clerk's pale white face clearly lost a battle with acne as there were numerous pockmarks here and there where he had popped them.
The towering merc gave the man a smile and said, "Had to stop a few times, but yeah I found what I needed."
The clerk scanned the barcode on the light source's box and said, his voice cracking, "That'll be 20 Credits, sir. Will you be paying cash or electronic debit?"
"Cash." Pain replied, handing the smaller man a 20.
After tending to the cash, the clerk slipped both the light source and the receipt into a heavy duty plastic bag and handed it over to Pain.
"Have a nice day, sir." He called to Pain.
Pain nodded to the man and set off back to the entrance from where he came from. He was a mere two feet out the door when the nicely dressed old man he had passed before spoke up.
Outside the Grain Store
"Excuse me, sir." Grayson asked, stepping into Pain's path causing large man to stop. "My name is Grayson and I'm looking for my niece."
"Sorry really can't help you there." replied Pain sidestepping the man and continuing on his way.
Not contempt to be blown off that easily, Grayson intercepted Pain's path once more and said, "Please, sir. Just one quick look at her photo." He took out his badge and flashed it to Pain. With a smile, he added, "That's all I ask and then you can be on your merry."
Pain looked at the badge, his gaze turning cold and his breath running hot. It didn't take a rocket scientist to mistake it as a Fed badge even if it had 'WPS Division' attached to it.
"Fine." Pain replied in a polite manner, albeit a little bit forced. "Show me the pick."
Grayson put his badge away and removed the pic from inside his coat. As he handed it to Pain, he said as he watched the man's facial expressions and body language, "I've been been combing the edges of the 'Verse looking for her. I fear she might be in trouble. The last time I talked to her she said she was on a ship. A Firefly if I'm not mistaken. Have you seen her?"
Pain's stomach almost jumped into his throat and pummeled his uvula when he saw that it was Ivy in the picture. He bit his lower lip to control the surge of emotions and feelings that were flowing all
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Ivy breathed in deep as she entered Sumner’s Chocolatier. The rich aroma that permeated every molecule inside the store was nearly intoxicating. She started to search for something special for Pain.
One of the first things she saw were chocolate covered cherries. She thought back to the chocolate tasting they had attended and the fact that Pain tied the cherry stem using only his tongue. The things he could probably do with… Her body temperature rose a little. Ivy snapped herself out of fantasyland and put a couple in her basket.
She kept looking and came across some small chocolate shaped bottles that were filled with chocolate liquor. She smiled and grabbed a couple of those too.
Looking at all the possibilities laid out in front of her was really taking longer than she wanted to spend, but she had yet to find the “perfect” gift for Pain.
She wandered over to the truffles and picked out a dark and a milk chocolate one.
Finally finished buying what she could find, she went up to the cashier. Right when she got there, a store employee appeared carrying little cups of samples.
“Would you like to try our new ‘Teeny Chips’?” she asked as she handed Ivy a cup of the smallest chocolate chips she had ever seen. “They come as a mix of dark, milk and semi-sweet chocolate. They are great in cookies.”
“And they are really tasty,” Ivy said as she tasted them. “They melt in your mouth. Absolutely fabulous.”
“You should watch how you handle them though. At room temperature, they could melt easily. I once spilled some while baking and before I could clean up the counter, I had melty drops of chocolate all over my hands.”
“Really?” Ivy asked as a wide grin spread over her face.
“Yes, so they take some care, but they really are just devine in cookies and in other applications as well.”
Other applications.
“How much for a whole bag?” Ivy asked.
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Grayson watched the large man take his card and leave the grain store. Even with his years of law enforcement training, the man had been near impossible to read. The only thing he gleaned was the slight impression that he was in a hurry.
He probably wanted to get back to his girlfriend, Grayson thought.
Maybe to find his girlfriend or to get out of the grain store. If it was to get out of the grain store, that could open a bevy of questions. Was he late getting somewhere? Did he have past dealing with law enforcement? Was he wanted for something? Or was it possible he knew something about Ivy?
Don’t go drawing conclusions like that just because you want to find her, Grayson thought to himself.
He watched the man walk down the street towards the docks. If it wasn’t raining, Grayson would say that the long coat he wore would have been an indication that he was armed. It still could be, but that wouldn’t make him any different from most the men out there.
The more he thought about this man though, the more he started feeling uncomfortable. So he stepped out further onto the porch and watched him.
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Outside waiting for Ivy
"Where is she and what's takin' her so long?" Pain muttered to himself as he waited for Ivy.
The incident with Grayson was still fresh in his mind and it was bugging him something fierce. He could swear he could feel the old man's eyes drilling their way through him like intense laser beams. Pain glanced back in the direction he came and noted that Grayson was still there, but he wasn't standing in the same spot he was before. It appeared as if he was looking at Pain as if he could tell Pain was lying about the fact that he did know Ivy and that she was here somewhere shopping. Pain shifted his gaze away from Grayson and chewed on his bottom lip. Should he stay and wait for Ivy or should he walk off and go find her? If he went to go find her, would Grayson follow?
Thinking about Grayson was both frustrating and annoying at the same time. It was starting to gnaw at the back of Pain's brain and was making him a tad paranoid, which wasn't such a good thing for him to be. A paranoid Pain was a very deadly Pain, not that he wasn't deadly in the first place. Being paranoid just made him more so as well as being overly cautious about the littlest things. The decision to stay or go was playing merry hob with Pain's mind, adding to the frustration and paranoia that was Grayson.
"Rut it." Pain spat as he popped his neck and headed off to find Ivy.
If Grayson decided to follow him then so be it. It wasn't like Pain hadn't dodged Feds before. Hell Grayson surely wasn't the first nor would he be the last. If he tried to get in Pain's way, pry for more information about Ivy, or muck up his intentions, Pain would be more than happy to show the man why they called him Pain. That was of course if he couldn't give the man the slip first.
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WWJD: What Would Jayne Do?
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Grayson watched Pain down by the western ranch store. Grayson noted Pain’s hurried demeanor, now accompanied by a bit of frustration.
“Interesting,” Grayson whispered. “Girlfriend late?”
Grayson noticed that Pain looked up at him seemingly checking out his current position.
“So he’s watching me, just like I’m watching him,” Grayson remarked to himself.
His earlier assessment ran back through his mind. Just late? Past negative dealings with the law? A wanted man? Or could it be?
Ivy.
Grayson tried to think back to when he saw Pain with his lady. Could that have been Ivy?
“Stop getting all worked up,” Grayson continued his conversation with himself.
But she said she had met someone…
Grayson narrowed his eyes at Pain and Pain quickly turned and trudged up the street, quickly glancing into store windows. The hair on the back of Grayson’s neck stood up a little.
“Something's not right here…”
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