[SpringsSong]

Alexa Lanwë.  Human-ish form (tails and ears retained).

Alexa drew in a breath as she left her hotel room, her grey hair pulled back into a simple ponytail, and dressed in a simple grey dress.  This was one of her more extended visits to Lamenolai from Idalani--but, then again, Idalani was relatively close to Lamenolai, compared to other areas.  Honestly, she was coming here often enough that she told herself that she needed to look for an apartment, instead of continuing to stay in hotels when she came into town.

The war had taken a hard toll on Alexa.  Her mother and the Disease Kuhna (Ryen, she believed his name was) she'd gone to war with had both been in fairly intense fights, but her mother had died.  When she received that letter, she had packed up her things and returned to Idalani to care for her siblings and half-siblings... but she hadn't returned.

When her mother and Ryen (who was now a Disease Lakundra) had left to attend the anniversary celebration of the War for the Tear, Alexa had taken her leave of Idalani for a while and gone to Lamenolai, finding herself feeling... empty in the life of a pack Lucain.

That's when she saw the Equinoxx posters.

At first, she thought her eyes were deceiving her.  But the closer she got to the first of the posters she saw, the more certain she became--she knew the man in the poster, modeling some of Equinoxx's clothing line.  She had passed by the store on more than one occasion, and had even gone in--she contemplated buying something more than once, but decided against it at the last moment--wondering if she would, perhaps, see him again.

Today, she walked with purpose towards the Equinoxx store, entering it and looking around.  If nothing else, she fully intended on buying a new outfit or two for herself.  If she happened to catch a glimpse of him... well, then, she still wasn't sure how she would react.  It had been so long since she'd seen him--that, nobody could deny.  Shaking her head, she began to make her way towards the women's section, browsing through the clothing.

[ToxicShadow]

[Validus Vox]
[Humanoid form. Retaining ears and tails.]

As if Validus' plate hadn't already been full enough with all of the goings on in family's business, even more tasks had been pushed onto his shoulders with his father, the company chairman and additional model, having once again returned to war. This time, his brother, Viaticus, was around to help him hold things together and their siblings had all grown up. However, the company often needed even more attention than small children and pups.

His day started out with an outside business meeting, another company was vying to have some of their products available in their stores, which was well enough. In fact, it only proved how popular they had become. The issue it posed was that the meeting, alone, had gone way passed its scheduled time slot, and they hadn't even made a final decision. Now, he was returning to their main store, knowing it was his turn for a routine check of their facilities, despite not feeling quite up to it.

The young man pushed through the entrance of the store, still wearing the fine suit from one their collections that he had worn to the meeting, another man and a woman in toe. Immediately, he began his evaluation. He pursued the store products and displays meticulously, making remarks on what could be altered or fixed, and what he was impressed with. The two that followed behind him, taking notes of such things. When he reached the cashiers circle in the very center of the store, he watched from afar as customers were greeted and their purchases rang up.

During his observation, he found one woman getting increasingly louder as the cashier was unable to comply with their request, and his poor staff was increasingly frazzled. It was when the woman started shouting about wanting to speak to a manager and threatening to get his staff fired that he stepped in. There were too many onlookers now, in the form of other guests and potential customers, and he wasn't having it.

"Excuse me," he addressed the woman in firm voice, having slipped off the dark sunglasses that had been concealing his eyes, so he could make eye contact with her. "I could not help but over hear. Without the tags on the dress you wish to return, even if you have the receipt, I am afraid there is nothing we can do. That's company policy."

The woman had turned on her heels when he addressed her and tried to protest, but he lifted up his hand, palm up and open, in a silencing gesture as he continued speaking. He didn't miss a beat.

"I would have considered making an exception, until you decided to make a scene. We couldn't even give that dress away, let alone resell it, with the state it's in." With these words, he motioned toward the dress which had been laid out across the counter top, pointing out an offending stain near the neckline. "That said, I would appreciate it if you take your leave. If you choose otherwise, I may have to get authorities involved for disturbing the peace."

[SpringsSong]

Alexa was about to take two outfits--a dress, and a blouse-and-skirt ensemble--to find if there was a changing room where she could try on the outfits when she heard the commotion.  She turned and began to make her way to the source of the sound--an argument, from what she could gather--and stopped short when she heard a masculine voice.  It had been... goodness, at least five years since she'd last heard that voice, but she was sure she knew who it was.

All right, Alexa; calm down, she told herself, drawing in a breath.  Just... if you get the chance, try to get his attention.  He's probably really busy... she thought, but she found her feet moving her towards him, her head held high.

"Excuse me... sir," she cleared her throat, stopping a few feet back from where Validus stood.  She'd almost said his name, but reminded herself that it had been a long time since they'd seen each other, and since then, things had changed--after all, from what she'd heard, he was in charge here (something that was also confirmed by the outburst with the woman about her dress).  "I, ah... was wondering if there's a changing room where I could try these on?" she asked, waiting patiently for his response.

[ToxicShadow]

The upset woman had opened her mouth once or twice in order to protest, but Validus never permitted her moment to get a word in edgewise. His words left no room for argument, either. She had been defeated. With a dramatic huff and one last glare shot toward the poor cashier, the woman scooped up her ruined dress and hurried toward the exit. She had made quite an unbecoming spectacle of herself, even in her exit.

"Find another staff to take over for you here and take a fifteen minute break to get yourself back together," Validus instructed his staff, as the woman left. He certainly didn't blame his staff for the incident, she had done everything she was suppose to, and she was the victim. "Even if you already had your break earlier, take another now," he added, when he noticed that she wasn't moving. The young woman nodded her head then and went on her way.

It seemed like one thing after another. As soon as he finished speaking, another voice spoke up, one that seemed to be addressing him. Only, the feminine voice had a very familiar ring to it. Was it her? Could he be mistaken?

As he turned to face whomever had spoken up, the female staff that had been trailing along beside him interjected, as if to be helpful to him, "Yes, yes,  I'll show you the way, Ma'am."

"Wait," Validus held out his hand again, this time blocking his staff from moving any further, all while not taking his eyes away from the woman before him. It had been a long time, but there was no mistaking it. "You two go on ahead," he told his impromptu assistants, dismissing them with a wave.

"Yes, we have dressing rooms," he replied to Alexa, his face lighting up in a brilliant smile, though he moved to return the sunglasses back over his eyes, to conceal some of his delight. "Please, follow me." He was quick to lead the way away from his staff and what had remained of the crowd that had been gawking at the previous spectacle.

[SpringsSong]

When the man rose his hand to stop his assistant from leading her away, and told them to go on ahead, Alexa shifted slightly as she tried her best to hide the slight red tint that had come into her cheeks.  She subconsciously pushed some hair back behind her ear, offering a small smile in response to his own.  There was no mistake; he had recognized her.

"Thank you," she said, following after him as he lead the way away from the crowd and staff.  After a few moments, which she spent attempting to collect her thoughts, she turned and cleared her throat slightly.

"It's, ah..." she began.  "It's been a long time, hasn't it, Validus?" she asked, speaking softly.

[ToxicShadow]

As the two left, Validus could overhear the two assistants speaking among themselves, curious with his behavior and wondering who, exactly, Alexa was to make him going out of his way. He found it rather annoying, certainly not having the patience with them that he faked on the outside, at least not after a day such as today.

While he lead her away, Validus didn't make any further visual contact with Alexa. Same as she, he was attempting to gather his thoughts, although he had no idea where to start. It had been some years since they had last seen one another, and while things hadn't ended exactly on bad terms, they had drifted apart for various reasons. She was the last person he expected to show up in the city, at his place of business, no less.

When she finally addressed him, he glanced toward her. "Yeah, it has," he replied, finding his own words quite lame and untactful. Couldn't he have come up with a better response than that?

"What brings you to the city? I didn't expect to see you again, after you left for Idalani."

[SpringsSong]

"And I hadn't expected to see you again, when I left," Alexa said softly.  "When I left for Idalani to care for my brothers and my other half-siblings, I... guess I expected that I could adjust to that lifestyle.  You know, a member of the pack, working to live in the wild... but it didn't feel right," she said.  "When Mother and her new mate and one of their companions left for the Anniversary of the War for the Tear, I... took my leave of the pack in Idalani."

How many times had she come back to the city since then?  It was at least three or four times now, going back to Idalani simply to gather some valuables to sell in order to have some money to remain in the city.

"I guess... in short, I'm in the city on something of an extended visit, but I've been considering looking for jobs and an apartment, so that I can remain in the city," she said.  "How have you been?  I-I mean, beyond this place doing well," she added.  "I was very surprised to see the Equinoxx posters around the city--more surprised to see you in them," she said.

[ToxicShadow]

Validus quietly "Hm,"ed as he listened to the woman's explanation. Although his steps didn't slow down, even as they began to converse. They had both put family first, which was what had lead them to part ways. Their situation was similar, since Validus was the oldest, he had to pitch in to raise his siblings, same as she had, when his father had gone off to war the first time.

"I see." They were the first words he spoke after listening to her, and only after she said that she was visiting the city but, perhaps, thinking of moving. "It's good for business; having some of the owners model their own products. Customers, partners, investors, they eat it up. "  And he'd always enjoyed dressing nicely. Similar to his father, he had a bit of an eye and a passion for fashion. But that didn't answer her question.

"When my father returned from the first war, he suddenly wanted to start up this family business. Since then, I've been dedicated to it. It can be stressful, but I can't say that I don't enjoy it, so I'm happy." He never settled down, though. Validus hadn't given up on the prospect of it, but hadn't made an effort to pursue love in quite some time. He'd gone on dates, here and there in the past, but nothing ever stuck.

He suddenly came to a stop, and gestured out in front of them, toward a wall of dressing rooms. "And here we are." Being an upscale location, the rooms were actual rooms, fitted with comfortable seating, proper lighting, and even something rather new to the industry, smart mirrors, which were able to suggest clothing items based on gender, body type, and other clothing worn, giving the customer a digital preview of what the items may look while worn. Essentially, it turned it into a virtual dressing room, as much as it was a real one.

There were several attendants, most assisting other guests.  Though one that was available had looked over and even began to approach Alexa, they stopped, when they noticed their boss already accompanying her.

[SpringsSong]

Alexa nodded as she did her best to keep up with Validus as they walked and talked.  She offered a smile and a slight chuckle as he explained his choice to model for the company's posters.  "Ah, I see," she said.  "I can understand why people would like that--it shows that someone in charge actually cares about what they're selling, and that they stand behind it completely."

When they got to the dressing rooms, it was all Alexa could do to keep her jaw from dropping when she saw them.  Any places she'd been to before just had stalls for their dressing rooms, and--frankly--the lighting and mirrors in those dressing rooms had been perfectly abyssal.

Looking back to Validus, she waited for an indication for which dressing room was free.  Some part of her in the back of her mind wished that she had grabbed a few more things to try on, but she reminded herself that she didn't necessarily have the Keystones for more--not if she was looking to stay for a longer period of time.

"...I don't know if you can answer this question," she said, her head lowered for a moment.  "You wouldn't happen to know if there are any places nearby that are hiring?  I won't be able to stay here much longer without a job to at least extend my hotel stay until I can find an apartment," she said.  She had checked the tags of the two outfits she had grabbed, and she could afford them and another week in the city before she would have to go back and see what other things she could sell for a little more money.

[ToxicShadow]

Validus quietly watched for Alexa's reaction when they had arrived at the dressing rooms, and he could tell that she had been surprised. He was prepared to escort her to an open room, when she posed her question.

He considered what she asked for just a moment, before reaching out toward her. Though he hesitated for a moment, on the inside, he grabbed a hold of her hand. "With my recommendation, I'm sure that I'd be able to arrange for an interview or two for you." Being in his position, he had a number of connections all over the city and then some. As he spoke, though, he began to move, gently pulling her along toward one of the open dressing rooms. He stopped, only after they'd stepped inside one of them, and he released her hand.

"For now, why don't you try on what you have there? I'd love you hear your opinion." Before things could get strange, or any of the staff could get too alarmed that he'd gone into a dressing room with a woman, he turned quickly, leaving the room and shutting the door behind him. Validus stood outside with his back toward the door. They could speak through it but, really, he'd left her unable to argue. "If you need help with anything, just give a shout," he told her from the other side of the door."I can send one of the attendants to help you."

It was then, that he waved over one of the free attendants, and made a quiet request of her. She nodded and hurriedly left the area, heading back out toward the displays. When she returned, just a few minutes later, she handed over several other pieces from the store. They weren't men's clothes, either.

[SpringsSong]

"That--" Alexa began to say, before Validus grabbed her hand.  After a moment or two of collecting her thoughts, her cheeks bright red, she said, "I... that would be very nice, if you could--if it wouldn't be that much trouble, that is," she added quickly.  When he left her in the dressing room, she turned for a moment and set the dress and suit down on the seating provided in the dressing room, and she sighed as she pulled her hair back for a moment, her ears upright and alert.

She turned back to look at the two items she'd picked up, and after some debate, she reached for the three-piece suit (it was, after all, a shirt, skirt, and jacket) first.  After taking off what she'd been wearing, she slipped into the skirt first.  It came to just above her knees, and--thankfully--she'd remembered to grab the variant with a space for her tails to come through.  After the skirt, she put on the shirt and jacket.  The skirt and jacket were a dark gray--a few shades darker than her fur--while the shirt was just a hair away from being pure white.

After a few moments of turning to see herself in the mirrors in the room, she turned to look at the dress.  She took off the suit and folded it nicely, making sure to brush any stray fur from her tails off of the skirt.  As soon as she slipped the dress over her head, however, she realized that she had made an error in the size of the dress she grabbed.  Slipping it off, she examined it again--and she muttered something under her breath when she saw that it was also not a variant that would allow her tails to slip through.

"Validus?" she called through the door, knocking slightly.  "I, ah... grabbed the wrong size on one of the items."

[ToxicShadow]

Validus' own ears perked up when he heard Alexa calling through the door. To be perfectly honest, he would not have been against helping her, himself, since he didn't exactly get embarrassed seeing women in undergarments and such. Not with his business, where he even helped the other models, females included, with their outfits. However, to save her potential embarrassment and to avoid her possibly getting upset with him, he simply replied. "Just a moment! I'll call over an attendant."

It was but a moment before he'd gotten the attention of the same woman that had just handed off clothes to him. He stepped aside, turning the clothes back over to her, as he explained that the woman in the dressing room needed her assistance. The woman knocked twice, announcing herself, "Madam," she chose her words carefully, considering she seemed to be of some importance to her boss, "I'm told you need help? I'll be coming in." The clothes were obviously chosen by Validus for Alexa to try on, so she conveyed such upon entering.

((Feel free to control the attendant as you see fit! <3))

[SpringsSong]

When the attendant said that she would be coming in, Alexa finished getting the dress off and laid it out as neatly as she could, brushing the fur off again.  When she said that the other clothes were chosen for her by Validus, she did a double-take at first.

"He picked those out... for me?" she asked at first, but she took the clothes after a moment and set them down to examine.  She then turned and picked up the other garment.  "This is the one that I grabbed the wrong size of," she said.  "I think... maybe a size up would do?  And, ah, if there's a version of it that can accommodate these," she said, pointing at her tails.  Passing the garment to the attendant, she offered a smile as she turned to look at the other outfits.  Before the attendant left, she said, "...tell him thank you for me."

The attendant smiled as she nodded, and walked out of the dressing room with the dress in hand.  Turning to Validus, she said, "She said to say thank you for the other outfits.  Now, if you'll excuse me, I'll go and grab the next size up in this dress."

[ToxicShadow]

The outfit that Validus had chosen consisted of a cute, black, slim fitting dress that came to a few inches above the knees, women's black nylons that had a slight vertical striped pattern, and short, heeled boots (one which were designed not just to look good, but to also be more comfortable than similar shoes from other brands), even a matching handbag. For a bit of something extra, there was a long silver chain necklace with a large, circular pendent, too. Wearing such, she could have been ready for a classy night on the town. However, there was one small addition, a fashionable women's blazer adorned with a buckle rather than buttons, a very light gray, nearly white. When worn with the rest, she was business ready.

He'd chosen each item to intentionally create an outfit that could serve two purposes. And, additionally, while the colors were simple, they offset her silvery colored fur. Of course, he had only guessed Alexa's clothing size simply from looking at her, but he had a knack for these sorts of things. He was certain each piece would fit her well.

A few moments after the attendant hurried off, Validus turned to look back at the dressing room door.  By now, she might have gotten dressed, or at least looked at the outfit. "What do you think? I thought they might suit you, but you would be the one to wear them, not me, so it's really your opinion that matters."

[SpringsSong]

"Well, it certainly looks very classy," Alexa said, picking up the dress and examining it closely.  "Give me a couple of minutes to get into everything, and I'll let you know what I think of it," she said.

Naturally, she put on the nylons first.  This was the more laborious part of the process; she'd unintentionally ended up with runs in more than one pair of nylons before, and since she didn't own these nylons, she wanted to be sure that they were in perfect condition still.  Once they were on, she put on the dress.  She hadn't looked at the tag before putting it on, but as it slid over her head, it was evident that it wasn't an issue.  It hugged her shape, but not uncomfortably so.

The shoes were next.  The boots were definitely cute, and once Alexa had them on her feet, she couldn't believe how they felt.  The necklace followed that, and Alexa took a moment after that to examine the outfit.  It was definitely classy, and Alexa had to admit that she was definitely liking the outfit.  After another minute more, she slipped the blazer on, fastening the buckle and looking at the ensemble again.

"Well, I must say, I rather like how this looks," Alexa said through the door.  "Would you... like to see how it looks for yourself?" she asked.