action; closed to sousuke-senpai

[unhappy]

[ Emerald had been busy doing this and that lately. The depression she'd felt hadn't quite gotten better, but it had more or less subsided. She wasn't the type of person to let things like that keep her down- what she felt, after all, was typically secondary to what she needed to do. Maybe not by requirement now that she hadn't been around Cinder for such a long time, but at least for now, it had been a mentality that allowed her to just move on with life.

That said, it had also lead her to doing things that made her feel more like herself- even if that meant leaning a little more heavily into some of her older crime patterns. Today, it was a watch shop in Genessia City. The kind of place that she kind of felt deserved it since everyone had phones nowadays and the time was on everything, so watches were just fancy jewelry too bombastic to just call themselves jewelry, and so ridiculously overpriced that someone would have to either be a collector nerd or rich enough that it was a status symbol more than anything. Needless to say, watches deserved to be stolen and fenced.

She suspected she wasn't the only one who thought they were useless since the store was deserted when she came in, both hands folded behind her back as she talked up the store owner, the sweetest little smile on her face. ]

Hello! My name is Mayra, it's nice to meet you. I'm looking for a present.. but I don't really know much about watches. I want something really nice, it's for our anniversary.

[ It's perfectly believable, especially with the sheepish way she tilts her head, the little laugh that leaves her lips when she says she doesn't know much. The guy thinks he's found a sucker, which.. well, it's exactly what she wants. He'll try to sell her on whatever his priciest model is if she sounds completely oblivious. That's what she wants out of the case. It works, and he's getting out a couple of watches to show her. ]

And the wrist size is adjustable? I can guess it, but just in case I wouldn't want to get something he can't wear...

[ Oh yes, yes, the guy goes on about some fancy sounding specs too. Emerald has no idea what it means, but it doesn't really matter. All three of the watches he grabbed for her are hers as far as she's concerned. And that's when she hears little entrance chime go off and immediately and reflexively pulls whoever walks in into the illusion she's got going for the sales clerk. She's not going to regret the headache so long as she walks away with all three watches today. ]

Comments

[egotisticals]

[he figured he could take a look at some more modern technology here, and watches could never hurt. honestly, today was less of an "evil" day for him, and more so just getting more accustomed to everything here. he needed to analyze every single aspect of this place, after all.

so he walked in, and that was when he saw emerald at the counter. there was a moment where he stared at her, acknowledging her, before stepping away and moving to glance at the other watches. she was overly secretive, but he really did want to find out more about her.

he was definitely listening in on her conversation with the clerk.]

[unhappy]

[ The conversation doesn't last much longer. She tries one on and holds two fingers under the band, laughing lightly and saying that's how big they usually are on her when she borrows them. Her acting is like a perfectly normal early-20's girl in love. As far as either of them are concerned, she picks one out and pays for it, and then leaves, tapping Aizen on the arm as she passes by him to say hello, to make sure that he knew she saw him. ]

Hey! It was Sousuke or something, right? I'm in a rush or I'd chat, I have to get to work soon.

[ It'd be weirder if she didn't acknowledge someone she knew though, so she makes sure to say hi before heading out of the door. She gets at least a full building away before the store clerk starts looking dumbfounded because all three of the very expensive watches seem to be gone, not just the one she bought. (And she did actually buy the cheaper of the three- it's less suspicious if she actually bought something, people expect a thief just to take the whole thing. She can still sell all three and make a profit.) ]

[egotisticals]

[he was just listening to the exchange, glancing at the watches. he, too, knew what it took to be evil and not suspicious at all. he needed to be in the public's eye, and he needed to remain a good civilian. so, when emerald tapped on his arm, he turned to smile down at her.]

Ah, yes of course.

[was all he had managed to say before emerald took off. he just shrugged, turning back to what he was looking at. he was about to turn to the clerk to ask about the watches... when the man started mumbling about the other two stolen watches. aizen knew that she had come in, talked with him, and now all three watches were gone. how was...

perhaps there was a spike in her spiritual pressure, but she was so good at what she did he didn't even notice it. aizen smiled to himself before looking at the clerk.]

Sorry, sir, I remembered I have an appointment.

[and he exited. it didn't take long for aizen to see emerald walking down the street, now walking behind her a ways away. he wanted to see if she would notice him at all.]

[unhappy]

[ Emerald knew better than to panic now. She didn't run or look like she'd done anything, and the watches were carefully hidden. A while ago, she might've looked like a scared alley cat trying to flee, but with so much more practice under her belt and actual training from Cinder, it was easier for her.

Despite what she said, she didn't head toward Nova for work, but started heading toward home. She couldn't sense him or anything, but if you're used to living on the streets and being cautious about being followed, instincts tend to kick in. It could just be paranoia, though, so she takes a wrong turn intentionally, with the intent to loop back around the park to get back on track. If it seems like he's still following her when she goes back for the loop around, then she'll see about taking any further action. ]

[egotisticals]

[he could tell that she was becoming scared, that him following her was setting off something within her. he wanted to see what her tricks were, he wanted to know if she was simply good at stealing or something else happened. emerald... intrigued him, fully and completely.

so he continued to follow her, and when she took a turn- well, that didn't slow him down at all. he took the same turn and now he figured would be the best time to get a little closer to her. he started to pick up his pace, moving much more swifter. surely, she would hear him now.]

Wait a moment! Can we talk? [especially since he was calling out to her.]

[unhappy]

[ Okay, well, at least he didn't think he was being sneaky about it. She turns around and quirks an eyebrow at him. ]

It's way less creepy if you just call out to me in the first place than following me. Phone calls do wonders too.

[egotisticals]

Hmm... I doubt you would have picked up.

[honestly, though, she was pretty secretive around him and he wanted to corner her about this either way. he walked closer to her, his hands still in his pockets.]

Back there, in the store. Did you do something so you could steal those watches? [he was fully expecting her to not answer him, either.]

Made him believe something else...? I wonder. My apologies, I was secretly watching.

[unhappy]

I bought a watch. Did something happen after that?

[ Uhg, she had a headache. She didn't want to deal with this. But her face shows concern, rather than anything else. ]

[egotisticals]

[...hm. he understands, she would rather not tell him anything. but of course, that was smart. he simply shrugged and shook his head.]

A couple watches went missing, I just thought I would ask about them.

[he tilted his head a little, a knowing smile on his features.] Are you quite alright?