Window shopping (Incen/open)

[Anonymous]

Days off were nice, because anything was better then all the work that went into training. And she always looked forward to them. Until she was faced with the realization that there was almost nothing to do. They were stuck on the complex and even then they didn't have full run of the place.

It was driving Devi a little stir crazy. But today at least she had plans. With a highly amusing and rather cute red haired candidate. She refused to meet him in either of their rooms as she didn't trust Alik farther then she could throw him. Not that she was overly opposed to the idea, but Devi wasn't really into just sleeping around with people. And with such a closed circle of people, it was smart to be extra careful about who one screwed around with.

But he was fun and a little flirting never hurt the ego. So Devi made sure to wear something that made her look leggy and helped her smallish chest look cute and sexy rather then just pathetic and sad. Or at least she hoped it did. Didn't help living with Chica either. That snake had tits bigger then Devi's head. It wasn't fair.

While she waited, she sipped on a cup of coffee, heavy with sugar and cream as she flipped through a magazine. Wow. The celebrities were up to some crazy things. Including some of the Pilots. There was a couple page spread about Sabela and Cross at some party. It was so weird to think that one day, assuming she didn't fuck up, she was going to be like them. Be famous. Crazy.

[Anonymous]

The highly amusing and rather cute red-haired Candidate in question was, of course, in his room, fixing his hair. It was like a law of nature: before Alik went anywhere, his hair had to look absolutely impeccable and worthy of flung panties. Or, you know, boxers.

However, his hairclip-placing mojo seemed to be failing him. No matter where he put the flashy gold things, they looked off. Maybe the added combination of gold and sky blue extensions (to match sky blue eyeshadow) was throwing him off, or something. Maybe it was the knowledge that he probably wasn't going to get lucky with Devi. Maybe it was how much he'd had to drink the previous night to keep his brain from leaking out his ears after another of Fala's rigorous training sessions. Probably all of the above.

At length, he sighed and threw his hands up, and went for the asymmetrical look. Three clips on one side, the fourth one in his pocket in case he changed his mind. A little sparkly lip gloss, and an outfit that wasn't his Candidate uniform, for once, and he was good to go.

He trotted down the hallway humming one of those catchy songs to which you don't notice the filthy lyrics until it's too late, to meet Devi in one of the common areas. Spotting her immediately flipped his "smooth operator" switch, and he slid near-silently into the seat next to hers. "Why, hello there, lovely." His eyes drifted to her coffee. "Sugar, and about as much cream as coffee, I see... house blend?" He'd become an expert under Fala's tutelage. Not exactly a conventional ice-breaker, but coffee could melt it well enough.

[Anonymous]

The girl startled slightly when Alik slid in next to her, blinking her odd eyes at the other boy, taking him all in. Damn it all. Devi really needed to stop hanging out with people that were prettier then she was. He was even better at makeup then she was. So much for that ego boost.

But he was some amazing eye candy and Devi gave him a smile, cupping the cup with both of her hands and leaning forward on the table, "I hate bitter coffee. And despite Pilots being of the highest rank, us lowly candidates are stuck with some of the worst coffee I have ever had."

It wasn't actually that bad, Devi had had a lot worse. But this pot was a bit old and what was the fun if you couldn't complain, "How do you take yours? You really don't seem like the type that takes it black."

[Anonymous]

Alik gave a grin at Devi's jealous vibe (he was getting way better at picking up on that sort of thing), followed by a sympathetic look. "Aww, I didn't know you hated the coffee so much... you know, I have a coffee-maker in my room. Fala's a bit of a coffee-whore, so she's made me her personal barista." He smiled brightly, glad of any chance to brag on himself... and make his boudoir seem more appealing to her.

He scooted a bit closer yet. "Black coffee? Me? Hell no," he said with a bit of a laugh. "I can't take anything completely straight, haha. I like mine with caramel and cinnamon, and a ton of whipped cream on top... but I've been experimenting a lot." He gave her an intense look with those violet eyes of his. "Maybe if you drop by, I'll let you taste some of my concoctions."

All the obvious hitting-on was getting a bit... obvious, so he decided to settle down a bit. "So, I heard you were bored, poor Devi." He crossed his legs and leaned back in the chair. "I also heard you liked shopping."

[Anonymous]

It was hard not to grin at just how over the top Alik was. Devi gave a small laugh, pushing her cup of coffee away from her, "I don't hate coffee. I just hate bad coffee. And if you can make some good coffee, maybe I will have to come over."

It was nice to do some casual flirting and Alik seemed like a nice, safe bet. Fun, sexy and he really didn't seem like the type to get all emotionally clingy. Devi like that as she watched him through her bubblegum pink hair.

When he sat, Devi shifted in her chair, leaning a little closer, "I am quite bored. It's lovely to have time off, but there isn't anything to do around here." Her smile got a little wider, "And I do love shopping. My, you hear quite a bit, don't you?" Not that it really mattered. Devi was dirt poor and it wasn't like they could get out of this place anyway.

[Anonymous]

Alik flashed those regularly-bleached teeth at Devi again. "Well, I am amazing at coffee, thanks to Fala." He leaned a bit closer. "Almost as good as I am at sex... a feat I previously thought impossible." He laughed again, and sat back again. I am so debonair, I shit cigars.

"Darling, I have ears all over the ATC," Alik replied smoothly, then did a mock-pouty sigh. "Now, I kinda hate that we can't leave and get some boutique air in us... but... a bunch of upper-level stores I love have digital catalogs now, and I'm on the mailing list for all of them. We can order whatever we like, and have it shipped here." His mood suddenly seemed a lot brighter.

He examined Devi's face; her interest seemed piqued, but there was a bit of dejection there too. "You don't have to worry about money. I can definitely afford to buy you a few things. You know what they say," he said with a flip of his hair, "love your neighbor, and all that."

[Anonymous]

It was impossible to be around Alik for long and keep any sort of straight face. It was rather hard to stay straight anything. Devi raised one bright blue eyebrow, tilting her head slightly to the side, "That good, hmmm?  I will have to try it sometime." Devi carefully left it up in the air what she was referring to trying.

The magazine's were exciting. Devi's odd eyes got even wider as she leaned in, pulling one over to her, "Wow! These are some high end stuff." His comment about the air got a snort from Devi, shaking her head. She would never have been able to go to any of these stores, she was too low caste. They didn't have shops like that on her level.

Glancing over, Devi frowned a little, "I donno about charity...." but her multi colored eyes kept drifting back to the clothes, all shiny and sleek on the pages. She wanted them. Badly. And it was so tempting to just accept them. And she desperately needed new clothes at the ATC. Most of hers were left over from her gang days and were, well, trashy.

Tilting her head again, Devi chewed on her lower lip, "Really? You would get me some?" Really, pride was pride. But designer clothes were designer clothes!