World Tree MUSH

Juniper has had no real problems with being hired by Neviah. The job's interesting, it pays well (she thinks; Juniper isn't real clear on what an adventurer should be charging), it lets her see things nobody else has ever seen before. And she likes Neviah.

She doesn't like Cambridge very much, though. She's noticed some things about it... and some things about Neviah. It might get her killed one day - and worse, it's direly uncool. Who invented Victorian outfits anyway? She has to show her that there's more outfits that don't involve strapping yourself into something that stops you from moving properly.

So she made an offer: she asked Neviah if she wanted to meet in a completely different world. 

The place in question is Canada. It's either the one Juniper was born in, or one close enough that it makes no difference, but it's in a completely different part of the nation. Specifically, it is in the biggest mall in the country.

The location Neviah got was the food court of West Edmonton Mall. Juniper is actually surprisingly hard to find because there are a lot of people about her age who are dressed a lot like her; lots of bright colours and eye-catching patterns. But she's there, in a one-shoulder crop top and baggy jeans with too many pockets. 

She also has a milkshake, which she is currently draining the dregs of with an obnoxious slurping noise.

Fun fact: Neviah has never been to Canada. In her time it's just a sparsely-populated dominion of furriers and tree-hewers with a few Francophones mixed in.

"This is what Canada becomes? Remarkable," the professor asks as she approaches, curling her fingers into the collar of her blouse. She figured the place would have looser dress standards and dressed herself down. Sadly her idea of dressing down was just taking off her cravate. The rest is still there - blouse, vest, topcoat, glasses.

She is getting /looks/ from people. Blushing slightly, Neviah tries to ignore it and focuses instead on sipping her own drink. She's got a large Coke. The bright red cup with the company logo on it seems somehow out of place against her outfit.

"What is it you were hoping to find here? There are a lot of shops - I can't even tell what some of them offer!"

Neviah knows consumer electronics in a general way. She's used Morrigan's smartphone before, at least.

"This is western Canada, but yeah," Juniper says, around her straw. "The east part has bigger cities, but this one's pretty big. I think it's three quarters of a million people, or something?"

Juniper hasn't been to Edmonton THAT often. 

"Anyway, I'll tell you what I hoped to find. I hoped that I'd find you some stuff. I don't mind Cambridge," Juniper lies, "but when I went there they started to give me crap about my outfit, so I looked into what gets worn there. And I don't know how you stand it! Frankly that's going to get you in trouble if you have to jump or dodge, and if you're paying me to keep you safe, I'm going to make MY job a little easier."

"Which means, clothes," Juniper clarifies. "That isn't like six layers deep, or if it is, they're loose layers. It's too hot for everything anyway, you're lucky they have air conditioning. Though if you wanted to look at something else..."

Sadly, this world is too early for smartphones.

"I don't think many people live here in my version of Earth," admits Neviah. "Certainly not enough to support such a large mall."

Juniper lies; Neviah spots it and smiles faintly but doesn't make an issue of it. "Their standards are very specific," she murmurs, shifting with a touch of discomfort before looking down at herself. "It took a lot of getting used to, if I'm to be honest. The corsetry in particular. I try not to lean too heavily into it, but I would not be taken seriously as a woman without striking some form of balance. Even this outfit is seen by some as unseemly!"

Neviah is wearing *trousers.* And a *coat.*

The purpose of the visit becomes clear. Neviah raises her eyebrows. "It is a little warm," she murmurs before flicking a curl back with one hand. "I would have to wear it in other, um, existences. But I will gladly look for new outfits. It would be nice to wear something that doesn't slowly destroy my midsection."

"I'm pretty sure that you don't have too many people in the Americas at all," Juniper says. "I don't go to the States much but they've got even more people, even though the country's smaller. I guess they can't handle the winters," she adds, with an amused smile.

She points her little finger at Neviah. There's nothing else left in her milkshake so she sets the empty cup down. "See, it's that! They told me to try wearing it when I showed up dressed like this, but I didn't find any that I could wear, and anything that came close was so uncomfortable I didn't want to. I told them they could take me seriously anyway, but they weren't interested."

Juniper rolls her eyes, then stands up. "C'mon. You should definitely wear something that doesn't kill your midsection. Like, I don't know, a T-shirt. Or a crop top - that's what I'm wearing. Or a flannel, but that's more for winter, or overtop as decoration."

"The United States, yes. Canada is smaller. The Dominions are like that." Neviah shrugs and smiles pensively. "And I think it is less the winter and more the, um. Very bad relationships with the people who live there already."

She moves along after Juniper, the click of her heels on tile lost in the din of the mall. Her eyebrows come up at the mention of a flannel. "I /wish/ I could get away with crop tops back home. They're very finicky about anything that looks like exposed skin. I can't even let my ankles be seen without causing a scandal." A hint of frustration creeps into her normally controlled tone. Victorian England is by no means Neviah's native plane; adapting to the dress code has been a challenge.

The moment gives way to interest as she scans the mall, lower lip briefly bitten. She takes a quick sip of her soft drink before fussing with one of her sleeves. "...Tank tops sound interesting."

"They have that too," Juni says. Not that she paid attention in history class.

Juniper, who is an experienced mall rat, can maneuver around crowds with aplomb. It might be a little harder for Neviah if she isn't used to the crowds, but Juniper is patient - in this at least.

"Yeah, I thought one of them was going to pass out when he saw my belly button," Juniper says, amused. "I thought about showing up in shorts the next time but I chickened out, it was too cold and rainy. But tank tops, okay, I know where to go for that!"

Indeed she does, having been here before. It takes a couple detours and in one case she cuts across a plaza-style intersection, but she leads the way to a smaller store that seems to specialize in casual and workout clothes. There are plenty of tank tops here, and though some of them are very plain, others range the gamut from brightly coloured to literally tie-dye. There are T-shirts, too, and the kinds of bolero jackets and baggy shirts that Juniper typically wears overtop of something else. 

"See? This kind of thing. You'll need some other stuff too," Juniper adds, "if you want to wear these properly out and about. But you can at least figure out what kind you like."

It's just present-day headlines to Neviah. She breezes past it. Politics is one of those things civilized people avoid.

She smiles as Juniper describes her little encounter. "I did hear a certain amount of gossip about someone's midriff, it's true... but England's not always the warmest place anyway. Not at this time of year."

Cutting through the mall, Neviah - getting more odd looks from people assuming she got lost at a ren faire or something - eventually makes it to the store. Her eyebrows come up sharply as the sheer difference in coverage and style becomes clear. "It must be interesting for this sort of thing to be acceptable. Those tank tops might be part one of your undergarments where I'm from," she concedes with a faint laugh as she moves to a pile of garments. Her first selection is, predictably, a tank top.

"I see some things for women that look interesting," she points out as she moves to a rack of light dresses. "Some of these look very summery."

Neviah would be more femme than Juniper even without the Victorianwear. It's the curls and the makeup.

"Probably mine. Sorry. I didn't realize what kind of world it was the first time I showed up." Juniper does not sound very sorry. "Honestly, I don't think I could put up with it, which is why I asked *you* to come *here* instead."

Neviah says something and Juniper can't help but laugh. "No, I'm pretty sure my undergarments look pretty different than that!" She snickers. "Actually, that's ANOTHER thing you're going to have to learn... somehow I don't think you have any that go under this. But you're right, those are summer dresses. I'm not much for skirts, they get in my way when I kick."

Neviah has curls; Juniper has midback-length wavy hair. But there's definitely a difference in attitude - Juniper holds herself more aggressively, almost confrontationally. And, of course, makeup. If Juniper is using it, it isn't obvious.

"You had no way to know." Neviah sends an apologetic smile Juniper's way, cheeks colouring a shade. "I'm sorry it was unpleasant. I don't really enjoy it either. I know a lot of visitors don't."

A pause, and she looks down at the tank top with a bite to her lower lip. "...I may need to look at underlayers, yes," she murmurs.

The reflection passes with a toss of curls before Neviah sorts through the dresses. She comes out with a white-yellow sun dress of an airy cut. "This seems nice," she muses with a smile, checking the tags and making an assessment of how big it actually looks compared to her frame. It takes her a second to mentally do the measurements, but it clicks soon enough. "I suppose I would need slacks or something to fit that top, as well...."

Neviah scratches her chin a moment. "...I see a lot of people wearing jeans. They seem very versatile!"

"Yeah, we do those differently than you do," Juniper confirms, about the underlayers. "I looked it up, and yours is the most backwards - well, never mind. I'll show you that after. That'll take a bit longer."

Juniper is perfectly happy to show Neviah how to figure measurements on these - she is not much for spending money herself, but she never minded seeing OTHER people spend money, and spending time shopping is fun. 

"Jeans? Yeah they are. They come in baggy or tight... baggy's kind of in style these days," Juniper says, swishing her own (loose, flared) jean legs. "Some girls like tight better, though. I don't know."

Neviah takes the advice. She's not so arrogant as to think she has *everything* figured out.

When the other woman shows off her jeans, the professor blinks, then smiles easily. "I'm fond of tighter, I think? But I am not used to wearing clothes that fit well without, you know. Crushing things. It might be interesting." Browsing a rack of slacks, Neviah picks out a set of jeans, then continues along to consider a rack of shorts.

"Do you think there's a pair that suits me?" she invites before gesturing to the rack. "You know these styles better than I do."

"Well, people tell me tight's coming back in style," Juniper says (which is true). "It's just not everywhere yet. There's a bit of, you know... it'll still get in your way a little if it's too tight? But there's definitely some regular tight ones that don't. Same with shirts. You just have to get one that's tight because it's the style and not because you picked one that's too small. Those just look like they're vacuum sealed on." 

Juniper pauses. "You don't have vacuum sealing, do you."

But when asked for her opinion: "Oh, yeah! There's denim shorts, like the jeans, but there's also coloured ones - bright colours are pretty popular, though it's not really a professional look if you go to the office or anything. And there's miniskirts. Don't worry, they're not that mini these days." Only compared to Neviah's current skirts.

"Is it? I suppose I shouldn't run from the trends, then." Neviah pats the set of jeans folded over her arm. "I will have to try them on. I'll count on your assessment. I might just be too used to how we dress at home."

A beat - "We do not have it. But I do know what it is."

As Juniper helps her through the shorts, Neviah leans in to browse the hues. "Let's hold off on miniskirts for now," she muses as she sifts a few sets of bottoms. After a pensive pause, she comes out with a pair of simple workout shorts, red with a double white stripe down either side. "I would be shot if I wore these at work," she laughs, blushing before looking back to her companion. "I envy the people from my world who grew up in more permissive places. I feel like they've had more fun experiences than I have.

"I suppose I should try these."

"Oh, good. Yeah, if you just buy the wrong size it looks like that. I tried some mail order things a couple years ago and they all ended up like that... the tube tops in particular just looked *real* bad." Juniper does not go into details.

"Those look pretty good. You should definitely try those," Juni agrees. "And maybe we've done some different things, but hey, you're the one planning a trip to all sorts of weird places. Some experiences are good, but others aren't... then again, we've invented cheap chocolate, so that's a plus. Where are we going next, by the way? Did you figure out somewhere to walk to from there?"

"I will never complain about chocolate," Neviah emphasizes as she steps into one of the dressing rooms.

She keeps talking through the door. "I'm not sure. There are a lot of places in here. Maybe someplace to eat. Bringing up chocolate is getting me thinking about that, I suppose." There's the sound of rustling and a muttered curse word.

A beat - "I sometimes wondered what the style was like in the world I'm from originally. Seeing some of the art in those ruins we discovered was interesting. They were quite stylish. It makes me want to borrow an idea or two. Maybe I will."

A pause. "Okay, I'm coming out."

She does just that. Neviah started with the tank top and jeans. They fit her quite well, though she fusses with the top's waistband a little. "You have no idea how nice it is to not be in a corset."

"After this, I'll introduce you to Dairy Queen," Juniper promises. "I guess I have to have a Julius since I already had a shake, though. I'm good at keeping the weight off, but maybe not THAT good."

Juniper leans against a wall to wait for Neviah to do her changing. "Heh. Local stuff, huh? Maybe I will too if it's not too hard to wear. It's only fair, if I'm the one helping dig it out. Maybe we'll get REALLY lucky and find some ancient outfit or something, though with my luck it'll be sized for someone six foot six."

Neviah comes out. "Hey, not bad," she says, approvingly. "You look almost local! And pretty good. Just a bit of work - maybe a splash of colour. Hmmm... maybe a coloured scrunchie? Like mine." She tosses her hair. "And I have at least *an* idea. I tried to get one on once. Once!"

"That is an interesting name for an eatery." Neviah knows of a few queens. The most relevant one is obvious.

She smiles at the praise, pushing her hair back with one hand. "That might work. I like wearing my hair down. I wonder if this is is quite my style, but it's pleasantly casual. Let me try the dress."

Neviah pulls the dressing room door closed behind her. "Yes, I think I can reconstruct some of the style," she converses through the door. "The murals and such are one thing, but some of the surviving scrolls we found have depictions. And there are things like armour and weapons still around in some of the storage areas. Not in very good shape, but good enough to guess...." She pauses a moment.

"...In some ways I wish I could put more of that world back together."

She opens the door again. The sun dress fits her style better. In spite of herself, she takes a slow twirl. "...This feels very freeing."

"Yeah... hopefully you're okay with burgers." They might be a little low-class for Neviah, now that Juni thinks about it... she's never had to deal with a fancy-dress person before.

"Well I don't really care about the weapons, and the armour's probably too heavy, but I kinda want to see the style once you've got it figured out. It's interesting, what we can find. And have found. Though I dunno about putting the WHOLE thing together. Sounds complicated. I'm just the muscle." She flexes, both arms up and bent, as a joke... even though Neviah cannot see her from in there, unless she opens the door at just the right time.

Neviah comes out. Juniper considers her intently for about ten seconds. "Yeah," she says. "That works great for you. There might be another stop on our list first, but... perfect!"

Neviah rests a hand at her cheek. "I think I'm alright with burgers." They're not what she's used to - Neviah's gotten used to upper-class things, but getting to know Juniper has rounded off some of her tendency to make class-based judgments. It helps when the person she's dealing with is pleasant and does fun things with her.

A wry smile tugs at her face. "Muscle, maybe, but I have been happy to travel with you. Not just because you are good at hitting things."

The professor fusses with the hem of her dress, her smile growing warmer. "Another stop? I'm open to that. I'd like to buy this one, I think."

She'll wear it out of the store. It feels better than cramming herself into the midriff destroyer.

"Well, who knows? Maybe I'll hang around a bit longer. It's not like I have much else to do," Juniper says, with a slightly toothy grin. "I get to do what *I* want, these days. Independent work is nice that way."

"Great! Then you buy it, and we'll make our stop and get something actual to eat. And chocolate." She holds out her fist for a fistbump, realizes Neviah might never have seen that before, and just looks a little embarrassed. For about two seconds.