"Who… are you...?" Gravius questioned while picking his stuff. The girl was familiar yet unfamiliar to him, so he told himself to calm down before jumping to any conclusions.
The orange shade of her hair was all too similar to his carbonated drink. It could be a coincidence too, considering how the people of this city love getting their hair dyed in various colors.
The girl stood silently without uttering a single word. Her gaze was fixed on Gravius for a moment before she turned away, noting to herself that she must not let this opportunity slip away no matter what it takes.
But… How should she introduce herself to Gravius without exposing any of her secrets? Lying would be a risk, and she's not capable of creating half-truth stories either.
Gravius noticed her uneasiness and decided to let the girl take a seat on one of his stools first. He thought she would be able to relax a little and talk to him.
The girl shut her eyes lightly, thinking where she should start her story from.
…
In the outskirts of the city, a girl was seen roaming around without having a destination in mind. She has no idea where she was headed to, let alone know where the 'right' way was.
The girl avoided crowded places and tried her best not to stand out, to which she knew her attempt failed when she noticed the disgusted expressions the people around her wore.
"Mama, she looks weird..."
"Shush! Don't point your finger."
After walking a fair distance, the girl found herself in front of a bakery store, drooling at the delicious-looking bread freshly baked and taken out of the oven by the baker.
"Are these… edible?"
It did not take long for the shopkeeper to notice the lass's presence outside the store. He opened the door to greet the lass, a hand stuck out for a handshake and a fresh bread in his free hand.
"Missy, you must be hungry, aren't ya?"
Without waiting for a response, the shopkeeper handed the bread to the girl, "Here, take this and eat it. It's our signature bread," he said, a smile tugging at his lips.
The girl was taken aback by the kindness the man has offered to her. On instinct, she bowed her head to show her appreciation for what he provided.
"Do take care of yourself!" The shopkeeper said in response to her thanks. He waved to her as she walked farther away from the shop, turning into an alleyway where there were no people around.
The monster in her stomach started to grumble the moment the girl's nose caught a whiff of the bread's scent. It was no doubt demanding for food, as her human instincts seemed to be functioning well.
Without a delay, the lass grabbed the packaging and tore it open, pushing the bread out of the opening before taking a bite. Perhaps it was because she was on the brink of starvation, it tasted unbelievably tasty. The more she ate, the more her stomach demanded its presence.
Licking her lips in satisfaction, the lass threw the now empty packaging into the dumpster just beside her and moved her feet again.
This time, her eyes landed on a rather interesting outfit displaying on the mannequin just behind the glass of a clothes store. The orange color caught her attention, leading her to take a closer look at the said outfit.
It was an orange-colored sweater, with a white buttoned-up shirt underneath accompanied by a brown-colored bow on the collar and knee-length skirt of the same color to match the color scheme.
The temperature outdoors was rather cool, so she thought an outfit like that would at least help her stop shivering in her current get-up.
Reminding herself that she had no money nor understanding of currency, the girl snapped herself back to reality. Just when she was about to turn her back and leave, the voice of a kind lady sounded in her ears.
"Aren't you cold, sweetie?" The lady had a look of concern on her face as she wondered how poor the lass was to only be able to afford a single piece of cloth. "Come, let's get you some clothes."
Taking the young girl's hand in hers, the lady brought her into the clothes store and directed her to the women's section.
She was a contrast to the rows of clean clothes and caught the attention of the customers. The discomfort was visible on their faces, but the lady paid it no mind as she started picking out some suitable clothes.
"You have beautiful hair, dear. This set would look good on you."
The girl shifted her gaze from the clothes rack towards the lady. The set in the lady's hands was similar to what caught her eyes outside the store… No, it is the one.
The lady hovered the clothes over her body, looking for the right size for the poor lass. She was a regular customer at the store and she knew the owner wouldn't be happy to see someone as filthy as the lass trying out those clean clothes.
"The medium-sized one should fit you," the lady said as she searched for other available sizes on the rack. "There, you like it?"
Looking at herself in the mirror, the girl was rather intrigued by her hair color than how the clothes seemed to match her. She wasn't aware she had orange-colored hair, or rather, she didn't even know that fact.
The girl slightly nodded her head in response to the lady's question earlier, to which she took it as a 'yes' and headed for the register. Once the payment process was completed, she handed a bag with the bought clothes in it to the girl.
"Here, treat this as a gift from me," she said with her mouth curved into a smile. The orange-head thanked her for her generosity and accepted the gift. "Please change into these once you've cleaned yourself up. We don't want you to catch a cold now, do you?" The lady chuckled.
The two said their goodbyes as the girl headed for the lavatory nearby. She occupied a toilet stall and unwrapped her new clothes swiftly. She was about to change when she remembered she hasn't cleaned her body yet.
"Do I use this?" The girl asked herself, taking the spray hose hanging by the wall. Without the slightest clue about the functions, she twisted the tap where the hose connected to, hoping to see some result of her guessing, yet nothing happened. She then pressed the thumb lever, which startled her when water sprayed to her face.
Saying she didn't make a sound would be a lie.
The orange-head shrieked immediately, earning the attention of the women on the other side of the door. She heard footsteps walking towards her stall, followed by two knocks on the door.
"Um, are you okay?" The girl flinched at the voice of concern from a stranger.
"Y-Yes! I'm fine!"
"Is that so?" The stranger sounded hesitant but decided not to meddle too much. "Alright, then."
Phew.
The lass let out a sigh of relief and shifted her focus back to the problem at hand. Now, how in the world is she supposed to 'clean' herself with this spray that gave her a bad first impression?
It took a fair amount of time before the girl finally managed to clean herself up. Albeit barely, it was good enough. She shook her hand to drip off as much water as she can and extended her arm into the clothes bag.
Expecting a piece of clothing from before, her hand was greeted by another type of cotton unknown to her instead. She pulled it out of the bag anyway without much thought.
It was a clean towel. That lady must've slipped it into the bag while she wasn't looking.
Although the girl didn't understand the use of the towel, she was smart enough to know that it wasn't supposed to be worn over her body. Instinctively, she wiped her body dry before putting on those clean clothes.
The girl imitated the mannequin that was wearing the very same set of clothes and got herself dressed. However, she was stuck at the part where the bow was supposed to be placed at.
"How do you tie this…?"