unusual encounters, kallie!

June 22nd? Maybe? Noon?

It was a bright, sunny, hot day, and the dogs wanted to run. And, not surprisingly, she didn't go with them. Not so much that she didn't want to as much as the whole 'bright and sunny,' portion of the day was a bother. So instead of that, she was inside the shopping center, hunting for a birthday present for Mai. If she started now, maybe she'd actually have a clue what she was after when it came time to actually buy something. They had a little over a month, so it was plenty of time, in her mind. She'd also finally informed her father about all of this, so while he was still slightly shocked and demanding a vidchat with Jace, he was also in the process of sending a birthday present of his own. Hopefully something that wouldn't be flimsy or incredibly breakable. But her father had always been good at that, so she didn't mind.

She stepped outside, intending to go to one of the other shops in this particular strip, but was left blinking and half blind in the wake of the sun. Why was that infernal thing so bright? She shook away the building headache, catching sight of a door near to her. Eager to be out of the light, she went into the building, looking around somewhat eagerly as she realized that it was a book store. Even if she didn't find anything for Mai, there was a strong possibility that she could find something for herself in here. After all, there had never been an incarnation of hers that didn't like books.

She took to browsing the shelves with ease, the low lighting making her far more comfortable. It was made for people to sit and read in this place - she'd have to keep it in mind. She hadn't been thrown out upon stepping inside, which had unpleasantly happened before, so this place was going to have to be revisited. She glanced over at the counter at which she'd be checking out, finding the name of the store. Mitliggans. Sounded Jovian. Wouldn't that be something interesting, she thought with a smile. It would explain the lack of racism, for sure.

Fridays were by far Kallie's favorite day of the week. Not only was it one of her two days off each week, but also because it was one of those days when she could walk around town feeling like a "normal" individual (even if, technically, there was no real definition of normal).

She liked to pretend that she didn't have a job that liked to use up the better part of her stress and patience quota, and Friday was just the week for that. She could go to the mall and shop to her heart's content, her full, bubbly self without having to tone it down for patients' sakes. Kalypso did enjoy her job, of course; it was just nice to forget that she had one from time to time. A welcome vacation that came for two days every week, if you will.

And on this Friday, wouldn't you guess it, Kallie found herself partaking the streets of the shopping district. Her hands were heavy with the feel of bags full of new clothes and shoes, but she was feeling terribly accomplished. It was nice to walk around knowing that she had enough new clothes not to wear the same outfit twice for a month. Maybe she'd gone a bit overboard, but, hey, she was human, and humans were allowed their quirks, naturally.

It was only after she'd eaten lunch that a particular bookstore caught Kallie's eye. She was sure that it was new as she wasn't unobservant and there hadn't been one there last time, so there was no time like the present to experience it. Besides, there might be a new book on first impressions and the Martian mind, a hilarious series in which a person who fancied himself a psychologist had taken to recording his observances of Martians. Kallie had it under good authority that while the books were found in the nonfiction section, a good deal of them came straight from the author's rear end, so it was enjoyable, witnessing his innate stupidity.

It was only when she sighed at the lack of a new book that Kallie noticed she was not alone in this section of the shop. It seemed a very tiny girl was in there as well. And who was she not to be friendly?

At once, Kalypso went up to the girl, beaming. "Good day to you," she greeted. "Might I suggest some of Montreau's poetry? It's deeply heartfelt."

Someone spoke to her out of her line of sight – immediately, she turned, expecting to find perhaps an Venusian or even a Neptunian that was desperate for company. Instead, though, she found a young woman that she couldn’t rightly identify. ”Um…” She couldn’t find the words to say immediately, instead being more confused than it was really worth. Did she know this woman from somewhere? It was entirely possible, now that she’d actually met people outside of her group of compatriots, but she usually had at least a faint idea who a person was when they spoke to her. This woman she couldn’t identify from Persephone.

”I’m sorry, I don’t mean to be… rude.” She said quickly, wincing at herself. She was slowly getting over that whole phobia of speaking to strangers, that stutter. ”I’ve never heard of Montreau… I appreciate the recommendation.” She nodded her thanks, smiling softly. She’d gotten better at that, too. On Saturn, the only expression she’d ever really used was dislike, unless she was with her father, so adapting to a new range of visible emotion was a unique experience. Thankfully, she had Hotaru’s experiences to fall back on if a ‘proper’ reaction failed her. She honestly didn’t know what she would do without the Japanese woman – for all she was annoying, she was also very helpful. Mirrikha just liked to give commentary where it wasn’t wanted and be generally very snarky about most people. Ama, Maka, Ruro and the boys, Michaela and Haiden… Those were generally safe from her mental commentary. Raen, Ushriya, Esuna? Not so much.

The woman was still looking at her. Thankfully, her goggles prevented the other from seeing that her eyes were flitting just about everywhere – she was fidgeting with the book in her hands, though. This conversation was going to be an interesting one that required a large amount of thought on her part, should It go any farther. Potentially very good practice. She swallowed, glancing down at the title of the book in her hands. Poetry from Multiple Planets, Terrestrial Edition, it read in impressed silver lettering on the front. There were other editions on the shelf – one for each planet, of course. It was on sale… Probably not because it was bad, she mused, but because not many people were into poetry these days.

She should have known she'd find interesting characters in this bookshop. But why else would she enter if not to be fascinated by the other patrons?

Kallie grinned at the shy girl. Saturnian and shy, an interesting combination. Most of the Saturnians she'd come across weren't very shy, per se, they more just liked to keep to themselves, as if she were a bother that needed to be reckoned with. No, it was clear this girl was nice enough, just fearful of strangers. Understandable, given the inherent racism toward those who had to wear goggles. What could more typical of the human race than fearing that which was not understood?

Definitely quite frightened of her. Kallie wondered what it could be in her warm smile that the girl found quite so threatening, but she pushed the thought away, knowing full well that social anxiety wasn't understandable in the least. She grinned wider at the girl's apology. Well, it was a start at least.

She waved away the apology as if it weighed very little in the grand scheme of things. "Now, now, don't go worrying about my feelings," Kallie said lightly, chuckling slightly. "Montreau isn't a popular poet either way. He's a Venusian, but his poetry is not of the erotic nature..." She led the tiny Saturnian girl down the shelves until she came across one of the man's books. It was obviously used and dusty, but in very good condition nevertheless. She pushed it in the girl's hands, grinning all the while. "It is definitely an insightful take on all things human, quite interesting and well written."

With that, the Mercurian shrugged and changed the subject. "Do you go to TelU? I heard that was a really good school." In the corner of her eye, she noticed one of the clerks hovering just at the end of the way, obviously keeping a keen eye on her new companion. Kallie had half a mind to tell the man off, but then she decided to feign ignorance. She wanted to test and see just how observant her new friend was before she tore the clerk to shreds for being so obviously prejudiced.

Okay. So she’d spoken to the woman and there had been no explosions. No youma popping through walls, no accusations of being some sort of anti-government terrorist. She figured that would be what they were called, should the word ever get out about the Senshi. Really, what else could the Regime call them?

This woman had a nice smile. It was a comfort – usually, when someone smiled at her, it was good, right? And this wasn’t one of those condensing smiles that made her teeth ache, it was a good smile. Okay, so she wasn’t a normal Saturnian. She was very much… not. The stereotype for her people was that they didn’t speak to other races, and when they did, it was usually short tempered and very rude. Or selling drugs, which was even worse. She was actually amazed that the few people who dealt with her on a non-regular basis could even smile at her, all things considered. That would be, in Hotaru’s eloquent description, like smiling appreciatively at the drug dealer that hung around about a half a block from her high school.

She followed the woman to the section of books, keeping the one in her hand. She’d buy it. Worst come to worst, she could give it to someone. Zoi might have a use for it. Maybe a paper weight, if it was bad, or something for his classes if it was good. When it came to books, there was usually a very defined line between good and bad, so she’d figure something out. She looked back at the woman again, accepting the new book with no small amount of interest and a smile. ”I appreciate it. My name is Ota, by the way. Ota Xi.”

She nodded. ”I do. I’ll be a sophomore this fall. I haven’t decided my, um, field of study, though.” Drat, she’d done it again. Mainly because the man hovering just out of her line of sight was making her nervous – how many times had she been thrown out of a place for looking at something too closely or not closely enough? She really didn’t want to cause a scene, so maybe he’d just leave her alone and let her do her shopping. She couldn’t prevent herself from glancing that direction, shaking her head when she looked back at the woman before her. ”I’m sorry… I get this a lot.”

In her years of experience, Kallie had come across many a shy person. Some had been forced to be that way - Venusian slaves or Martians who were completely uncomfortable in this alien world - and others had simply become that way naturally. It seemed that this girl fit into the latter category, a relief for Kallie. It was harder to work with people who had been forced into that demeanor - it was all they knew that would warrant them good attention versus the punishments that would come otherwise. Sometimes, it took years trying to condition them into different thinking. With others who had just been born with that sort of fear ingrained in them, it was more working with/against their own weaknesses and shortcomings, a fight that was mostly between the person and himself.

So, Kallie continued to smile encouragingly at the girl at the girl as she spoke, her grin gradually growing wider with each new word.

"It's wonderful to meet you, Ota. I'm Kallie," the woman said simply, her eyes brightening with the shortness of her own nickname. Mercurians tended to make people uncomfortable, so she liked to allow them to make their own conclusions on her heritage, which was usually that she was some sort of Terrestrial or mixture of races. Easy enough to work with, especially in her own field of work.

Kallie studied the girl closely. "Well, you are quite young. Most people change their major a few times before studying anyway. It's all a matter of finding what interests you the most, something that you could see yourself doing everyday for years and years on end." She shrugged. "I was lucky, I suppose. I chose a job that both fascinated me and was very much needed at the time."

Ota called her attention back to the clerk who was hovering at the end of the hall. Kallie raised an eyebrow, deciding to further her feigned ignorance a bit. "Really? I don't think it has much to do with you, really. He's probably wondering who's going to pay for the book that I handed you." It was a lie, but a necessary one. She was testing the waters to see how much Ota would admit to her in terms of much she was discriminated against. You could always tell a lot about a person by how much they practiced self-disclosure.

This was by far the most interesting conversation with a stranger in a while. As a matter of fact, the only one that she could recall that had quite this feeling of knowing absolutely nothing about the other was back when she’d been so absolutely petrified of Khonsu, that first time – now, thinking back, she realized how incredibly ridiculous that had been, but at the time, she’d just arrived on a planet that was entirely foreign to her and was totally in the dark about what had been going on. It wasn’t so a severe a reaction, in that mindset. The woman – Kallie, she said – had a great smile. The name, unfortunately, didn’t give away anything about her heritage. She could be Terrestrial, or she seemed to be about that build and coloration for a Mercurian. But Kallie wasn’t a very Mercurian name – maybe she was like Ama, shortened it. Or maybe she was just Terrestrial.

She nodded, glad for the ease of this topic. Her area of study was something that she thought about often – Hotaru kept trying to prod her into criminal justice and law, while Mirrikha was very quietly trying to lean her towards literature. She’d learned to ignore the both of them, because giving consideration to either of them tended to cause them to argue. Since Mirrikha had grown a voice box, it seemed that they were almost always at it about something or the other. Thankfully, they seemed to agree about Jace and Mai. Otherwise, they agreed on very little. She was pretty sure that at some point in the near future, she was going to have to knock their heads together to get them to be quiet.

”That’s a point that I haven’t heard before… Everyone always just says to do what you love doing… And I usually have problems with that…” The only thing she loved doing was learning languages. Hm, maybe that was an idea. She’d have to check into it.

"Really? I don't think it has much to do with you, really. He's probably wondering who's going to pay for the book that I handed you."

Something fluttered in her mind. It was an unusual feeling, like there was a moth that kept brushing against her thoughts. She hesitated for a moment, not really sure what it was – was there danger? It didn’t seem like it. She glanced back at the clerk, waiting for half a moment for him to shift into some grotesque youma and attack them. Nothing happened, though. She cleared her throat lightly, trying to make a joke of it. ”Um, Miss Kallie, I guess you’ve never really spent much time with Saturnians. We’re generally considered bad business.” She offered a short smile, still trying to figure out what that moth-ly feeling had been.

Kallie raised an eyebrow. How could you have problems with what you loved doing? Maybe it was because of the blatant racism? Food for thought.

"Well, you have your ultimate dream job, the one you would absolutely love doing. And then you have the back-up plan, the job that you prepare for in addition to your dream job that you would enjoy and not get burnt out on. Not everyone gets to work their ultimate dream job, so you always have to have a back-up plan, like a teaching certificate or something." Kallie shrugged. She was a Mercurian and had always lived with the knowledge that whatever she chose to do she was going to do, but she also knew that not everyone was that lucky. Some lacked drive, others money. It was different for every person.

As the subject changed, Kallie noticed the girl looking over her shoulder as if something were frightening her. "My dear, are you all right? You seem terribly upset about something." She looked at the girl somewhat worriedly, wondering if she should give the girl her card. Even if she was a bit expensive to those who weren't Alliance members. Not required, but necessary. She had to find some way to fund her illicit doings, now didn't she?

"Oh, Ota, it's just Kallie. No one calls me 'miss' unless they're collecting taxes," she said brightly, giggling slightly. As the girl went on, mentioning the racism but glossing over it at the same time, Kallie feigned a measure of surprise. "Really, now? That is terrible! I had thought it was only the Martians that got the brunt of that sort of behavior." She frowned slightly, and then turned to the clerk.

"Excuse me, sir, but as you can see, I am clearly not Saturnian, and I am willing to vouch for this girl here if you want to accuse her of anything. In the meantime, I suggest you get back behind the counter and let the Mercurians in the Eye manage the people-watching, if you know what's good for you." She raised an eyebrow challengingly as the man shrugged and turned away, muttering something under his breath. Smirking, she turned back to the girl next to her. "To have to deal with that all the time! It must be terrible!"

A teaching certificate? That was a thought. There weren’t many of her people on this planet, or any others save Saturn itself, really. She would technically be able to teach her language with ease, after she got a degree. And if someone was taking the class, they’d probably be expecting to learn from a Saturnian, and maybe then people wouldn’t look at her the way that they did. She’d have to keep that in mind when it came time to make decisions. Of course, there were still a large number of things that she had to deal with before that time came, so… She’d worry about that later.

Oh, dear. The older woman had noticed her suspicions. Usually people just chalked it up to her being on drugs or something equally unflattering, but then again, she usually wasn’t this obvious about it, and this woman seemed to be quite intelligent. ”Yes, I’m alright. Sorry.” She’d offer an explanation, but there really was no logical explanation for it. She couldn’t help but be surprised as the woman turned and looked at the clerk, who was just far enough away that with this lighting, she couldn’t determine much about him. And then the woman ripped him a new one.

She squirmed more than a little, rather unused to a complete stranger standing up for her. Jace, yes. Ruro, the rest of the boys, most of the other senshi, Avi, yes. But a complete stranger? It was practically unheard of for a person to even strike up a conversation with most Saturnians (and yet it was more common that people striking up conversations with Martians, though for different (and yet the same) reasons). She just stared at the woman looking at her for a moment, swallowing. Who on Saturn was this woman, and why was she so peculiar? She cleared her throat lightly. ”I, um, well, uh… Thank you, Kallie. That was, um, very kind of you.” She stammered, falling out of her sense of security because she no longer had anything of her surroundings figured out. This entire encounter was going from unusual to downright peculiar.

So shy. Maybe Kallie was enjoying this exchange a little too much.

She was such a nervous little bug, this Ota Xi. Kallie wanted to bring her in and open her up, let her see how fun the world could be when you ignored the blatant bigots that frequented its paths. But she refrained from doing so. After all, you couldn't be helped until you tried to help yourself, and getting to that point alone was a hard enough path. And it wasn't as if shyness were a weakness of sorts; Kallie just felt that it was holding Ota back from reaching her true potential.

"Oh, don't mention it, Ota," she said, grinning. "Getting onto racist bigots is one of the things I happen to enjoy." She shrugged after a moment, and then pulled the book from Ota's hands. "However, I don't think we should go endorsing them. What about you? Come on, I know of a good bookstore that I'm sure you'll adore."

With that, Kallie led the girl out of the store, down a few side streets, and into a dark alleyway where there happened to be one of her favorite places in the area. Of course, at first glance, it appeared to be a place gangs might hide out, but it was so much more than that. Kallie opened the door to the store and led her new friend inside.

It was a cafe of sorts. The walls were lined with bookshelves and in the middle were tables and a coffee kiosk. It wasn't quite the biggest bookstore in the area, and they didn't have everything, but people from all different backgrounds and nationalities frequented it. Kallie had learned of the place from many of her patients who had often viewed it as a sort of escape from the rest of the world.