Flashback First brush with the Shinya

[Luna Sylvain]

12th of Spring, 511AV It had been a few days since Luna last went shopping and she was suffering from some pretty harsh withdrawal. "Daddy, pleeeeease", she begged. Luna and her father had a kind of routine they performed whenever she wanted money. He would look all stern and refuse the first few times, but she knew if she persevered he would cave in eventually; he always did. It's not that her family were particularly wealthy, but they were comfortable enough that a little excess wouldn't break the bank, and her father simply couldn't refuse his little princess for long. If you looked in a Lhavitian dictionary for the term "Daddy's Girl" it was entirely possible you would find a picture of Luna, gazing at you from the page with the big-eyed pouting face she always used to extract coin from the poor man. He never really stood a chance. "Okay, okay. Here, don't spend it all at once, you're not getting any more!" "Thank you Daddy", her smile lit up the room. She kissed her father on the cheek before getting dressed to leave. Luna stepped from the doorway of her family home into the harsh light of a crisp, clear spring morning. Despite the sun, the brisk wind felt cool on her skin and she was glad of her woolen long coat. She pulled her scarf tighter around her neck and strode off in the direction of town. She passed several neighbours along the way, nodding to some and exchanging a few words with others, but overall her pace was quick. Ordinarily she loved talking to people but not this morning. This morning the single kina she had was burning a hole in her pocket and she was far too concerned with spending it to care about idle chit-chat, although she did pause momentarily to admire some of the fresh new flowers of spring. A small patch of radiant blue and turquoise had sprung up by the side of the path, shimmering the way only Lhavitian flowers did. Bright colours and soft perfumes were always worth a little time to take in.

[Luna Sylvain]

Luna crossed the Surya Plaza and entered the barely noticeable narrow alleyway that led to the remarkable blue buildings of the Azure. Lhavit's sprawling, twisted network of alleys lined with shops was bustling with mostly merchants still setting up for work. She was pretty early for shopping. She stopped to gaze longingly at a beautiful pair of red dancing shoes on display in the window of one of the more expensive shops. I doubt a single kina will buy me those, she thought ruefully, and she continued on up the Zintia peak. By the time she finally reached the cosmetics and accessory shop she frequented at the top of the hill, she was a little short of breath. She entered the store and the small, round woman who owned the place greeted her brusquely from a stool in the corner. Luna wondered for a moment if the woman ever actually moved from that seat, since she always seemed to be perched there whenever she visited, and her much prettier and younger assistant apparently did all the work. Luna browsed the wares on offer. She'd seen it all before of course - she owned quite a selection of her own already - but still she took her time. She selected some concealer face powder, some kohl and various colours of lip pomade, which the assistant quickly and gracefully measured out to a kina's worth. When she was done and paid the assistant quickly marched off into the rear of the store, apparently content that Luna had no more to spend anyway and she clearly had a lot to do. It was at this moment that Luna happened to gaze back at the woman on the stool in the corner. The woman's head had lulled slightly and her eyes were closed. Had she fallen asleep? Luna's eyes immediately turned to seek out a silk and lace choker she had been admiring in the store for some weeks. It was fairly expensive (more than she could afford) but she wanted it so badly, it was absolutely gorgeous. In an instant she had made up her mind, she glanced toward the rear of the shop, no assistant. She reached out and grasped the choker, then quickly headed for the door. "WAIT, WHAT ARE YOU DOING?", she heard the woman yell behind her. Oh no! She threw down the choker and fled from the store, crashing into an elderly gentleman on her way out who in turn went flying into a merchant who had been setting up a display opposite. The resulting shouting and commotion drew the attention of a Shinya on patrol about 100 feet from Luna. They locked eyes for a moment in perfect stillness, Luna feeling very much like a small wild animal caught in the gaze of a powerful predator. She turned and ran.

[Luna Sylvain]

As she sped back down the alleyways of the Azure, the futility of what she was doing slowly dawned on her. She was trying to outrun a Shinya - she quickly confirmed that yes he was indeed chasing her - in her heeled shoes and a dress. Luna, a petite 15 year old girl with no really athletic tendencies at all. Regardless, she had fully committed to her escape attempt now, so onwards she dashed. She rounded a bend and almost collided again, this time with a shopper. She veered to the left and as the hem of her woolen coat flared up it caught suddenly on a nail protruding from the signpost of a nearby grocery stall. She heared a loud ripping sound as the fabric pulled and tore open, simultaneously pulling her back toward her pursuer. "Aaaargh!" She yelled as she flailed her arms wildly, frantically seeking a grip on something, anything. She found none. The footsteps of the approaching Shinya bounding down the alleyway grew louder, and panic now flooded Luna's body. She quickly ejected herself from the tangled mess of wool and began running again, leaving her coat behind. The cold was now biting at her exposed skin, adding to the adrenaline already coursing through her and making her even more frantic. Faster, she spurred herself on. She thought that if she could just make it out of the Azure then maybe, just maybe she could find a place to hide and this would all go away. At the moment this crossed her mind, she felt something give under her left foot. The heel of her shoe shot across the pathway as it broke loose, and she watched it disappear under a rack of clothing as she suddenly became weightless, her legs no longer supporting her as momentum took over. Her body swung backwards through the air before she landed flat on her rear and skidded across the hard, cold stone floor before coming to a stop. Her arm was grazed, her backside hurt, her coat was gone, her dress and shoes ruined and her hair a wild shaggy pile covering her head and face. She probably looked more disheveled than she ever had before in her life. She resigned herself to her fate as the tears started to flow. Then, a strong hand gripped her shoulder and a deep voice said "Now then, I think you should come with me."