xp_logs | Sarah and Hope: Christmas shopping (backdated)

Sarah give Hope a ride so they can go Christmas shopping.

"Brrr." Hope quickly tucked herself inside the car, shivering a little. Winter had set in and with a vengeance. "Thank you for the ride, Sarah. I really appreciate it."

"Of course, you're more than welcome!" She loved to drive and really, any excuse to get away from the studying for a little bit was a welcome one to her. Sarah turned down her music with her powers in order to allow them to talk easier. "It's getting colder for sure, which sucks, but what are you going to do, am I right?"

"Dress warmly? I think that is all we can do." Hope had removed her gloves, rubbing her hands vigorously to get them warm again. "I hope I did not pull you away from anything important? Nothing is so urgent I have to go right at once. There is still quite a bit of time to shop for presents."

"Nah, only a bit of studying, but trust me, you're doing me a favour there, heh." Even if there was a fair bit of time to shop, Sarah would've sat and watched paint dry with Hope if she'd asked. Plus it didn't hurt to try and pick up some ideas for potential gifts herself, either. "Anywhere you wanna go in particular, by the way?"

"I was mostly planning on browsing around to be honest. I am still trying to gather some idea's on what to get everyone. There is one jewelry store I would like to stop at though. They have a great collection of different silver charms and pendants." Hope smiled. "I have always found a small pendant or charm makes a great gift, especially if it fits the person."

"That's true, they do make nice gifts for people, and it's great when you can find one that suits the person too." Maybe that was a potential gift idea for Layla, hmm. It couldn't hurt to look through a selection of charms to see if anything jumped out at her at any rate. "That sounds like a great idea, now that you mention it, hmm."

"I like this store. It also has some more quirky things, so even if the charms do not work out, there might be something else that fits Layla." Hope never had gotten the chance to get to know Layla very well, but from what she remembered she couldn't see the blond girl with very conventional jewelry.

"Ooh, maybe they have some steampunk stuff!" That was Sarah's jam and maybe she could find something in that vein that was also appropriate for her girlfriend. A steampunk skateboard or something, that would be just perfect, if such a thing existed. "Quirky is definitely good when it comes to here, mmmhmm."

"There is also the web, if you are not able to find anything in a brick and mortar store. They are so many artisan jewelry sites out there that I am quite sure some has made a... steampunk you said?" Hope looked at her quizzically.

"There are a lot, yeah, maybe I could custom order something if I can't find what I like here. Great idea, Hope, thanks!" That might be exactly what she did if she couldn't find anything to her liking. "Who are you looking at jewelery as a potential gift for, if you don't mind my asking?"

"Just in general. When I was younger I would often select charms for a bracelet that fit with the person as a gift for birthdays or Christmas. I did something similar last Christmas." Hope explained. "Can I ask you something? I have seen some of your clothes and things, but what is steampunk?"

"Steampunk is, like..." Sarah paused and thought about it before explaining it. "It's a genre where technology is sort of powered by, you know, steam and gears and older components, but capable of more modern uses, I guess? Like a steam powered car for example, or a clockwork robot, things like that." She held out her watch that her sister gave her years ago, which was made in a steampunk style. "Like this, kinda. And the characters in those settings may in the Victorian era but have all these cool steampunk contraptions, it's pretty cool actually. To me, anyway, I am kinda biased, heh." Blushing a little at how much she'd gushed over it, Sarah stopped talking and put her hands behind her back

"How about the way they look at the world? Is also more modern or does it fit more with how the real Victorians saw things?" Hope asked curiously.

"Yeah, that too! There's a ton of different shades of it, I suppose, which is awesome." Sarah said with a grin. "It's pretty varied and that's one of the reasons why I love it." She snapped her fingers as an idea came to her. "Ooh, I should lend you some of my favourite steampunk books to check out, if you want, that is."

"I never say no to a new interesting book to read. Especially with the winter holiday's coming up."

"I just came across one you might like, actually. Someone else recommended it to me, it's called Etiquette & Espionage, it's kinda cool." Sarah explained. "I have a digital copy of it, when I get home I can loan it to you if you'd like."

"Etiquette & Espionage? That sounds interesting. Can you tell me a little bit more?"

"It's about this finishing academy where young ladies are trained in the ways of, you know. Etiquette and espionage, I guess, heh. It's pretty neat, I think you'd like it. I stumbled across it online one day and gave it a shot, and I'm glad that I did."

She had to giggle at the explanation. "I should have guessed that. But that does sound like something I might enjoy. After all, don't we live at a school where some say something similar is going on?'

"We do, which also makes it more interesting I think." Sarah replied with a nod. "That settles it, totally gonna hook you up with it when we get back home." With that, she turned on her signal light and began to pull into the parking lot as they reached their destination. "But for now here we are, ta da!"