Charity starts at home (Morry)

[Morrison Whelan]

Of course he was right about her not wanting him to pay for her things. A short chuckle left him as he glanced over at her and saw her arms crossed and a pout on her lips. "I can pay for my own things," The way she muttered this made him think that she didn’t want him to hear, but he heard her perfectly. He knew how she prided herself in being so self-sufficient and that it would be hard for her to accept that he would do such a thing as give her gifts, though he had to feel that he was taking care of her, and part of that was spoiling her.

Morrison kept his mouth shut after that and the only time he wanted to bring it back up was when they were standing a cash register. Now that they were getting closer to the center of the city, the buildings on the sides of the road looked so much newer and impressive and there were more people out walking about. He had considered many times moving into an area like this, but every time he went to look at apartments, it reminded him why he would always chose to stay in the neighborhood he’d been living in for 100 years; the people around here were almost all stuck up assholes. He was sure that it hadn’t always been that way, and it would probably change, yet it would stay that way long enough for him to stay away when he could. Today, at least he wouldn’t have to interact with many people because he had Lexi to entertain him.

"Where are we going anyway?"

“Broadgate,” Morrison said a bit distracted, looking around for somewhere to park, “it has some really great shops.” Though they weren’t yet fully into the city, he didn’t want to have to struggle to find somewhere to leave the car and so he quickly pulled up behind another car on the side of the road. This would be perfectly fine as long as they came back before it got dark. He switched off the car then looked over at Lexi. He didn’t think that the both of them would fit in very well with most of the people that were walking about the town today, since his jacket and her jeans were all a bit worse for wear. Hopefully they just wouldn’t kicked out of anywhere because they didn’t fit the ‘dress code’. He might just decide to go somewhere completely different for lunch so they didn’t look so out of place. Besides, he would prefer something a bit more… rustic.

After tucking his keys away in his pocket, Morrison reached over to the human and grabbed up one of her hands that was resting on her lap. He brought it up to his lips, grinning at her, then kissed her fingers before placing her hand back where it had been. Without a word, he got out of the car and walked around to the sidewalk to open the door for Lexi, as he always did. Once she was out and beside him, he wrapped his hand into hers, pulling her close. “Wherever you want to go,” he smiled at her, “and I’ll follow.”

[Lexine Sullivan]

At hearing his reply of Broadgate she pulled a small face but otherwise said nothing of his choice of shopping places since she guessed it wouldn't do much good as he had already decided he was going to spend money on her whether she liked it or not and she definitely did not like the idea but there was nothing she could do about it now. But she still thought Broadgate as slightly excessive and despite never having gone there before herself she had heard enough about it to know that she was most certainly not the kind of person they tended to accept in an area like that.

She was soon brought back to her surroundings however as the car slowed and he pulled onto the side of the road where he stopped completely and she peered out of the window in slight interest as he gout out of his side to walk around to her own and she smiled slightly at the thought that they would have to walk into the shopping area itself- she had to wonder if the parking was really that bad in the center of this place? Whatever the case she was glad her boots were ones well worn and broken in otherwise she would have wished she had worn her flat shoes instead!

As he opened the door for her she climbed out and her nose wrinkled slightly at the impure air (not that it was much better where she lived) and her eyes looked about in some interest although she didn't deign to show it other than a slight turn of her head as she took it all in. There were several cars parked about and for a moment or two her attentions were captured by the beautiful machines before her and she had to fight down the itch to go and have a closer look since she really didn't think their owners would appreciate her putting her dirty mitts all over their nice and expensive cars so she settled for just looking at them for a moment or two until Morrison slipped his hands into her own.

“Wherever you want to go, and I’ll follow.”

Like she had the least idea where to go! She had never been here before and he could hardly say something like that to her! For a second she gave him a light glare before she decided to use her head and began to watch where everyone else seemed to be heading before following them since the main flow of people about her were heading down the road she figured that was where the shops were- although she could be wrong of course.

However her fears of getting lost were unfounded and she soon found herself on a busy street packed with people she had no doubt were mostly wolves since not many humans had jobs that paid enough to allow them to shop in such an area and for a moment she felt somewhat inadequate and slightly silly for thinking she could get away with looking normal just because she had dyed her hair blonde. She didn't belong here and add the fact she didn't like crowds she felt very out of place. The hand that wasn't held by Morrison moved up and rubbed the arm opposite as if worried that they could see the scars on her arms and she moved slightly into her boyfriend hoping he would keep the worst of the crowd away from her.

She eventually managed to stop rubbing her arm by sheer force of will convincing herself that if she kept at it they would notice all the more and instead clutched at her handbag in a white knuckled grip that betrayed her more than her stony face did. She was well schooled in keeping her face emotionless but there was always something that gave her away one way or another. It didn't help of course that every now and then one of the people that came past them ran disapproving eyes over the couple and she knew without much doubt that it was mostly her that was being disapproved.

Overwhelmed she turned to look at Morrison, completely lost and looking more than a little freaked but she did her best to quench it down. "I don't know where to start."

[Morrison Whelan]

Morrison never liked imposing things on Lexi, so he thought that it was a kind thing for him to let her lead the way through the city in case she came upon something interesting and wanted to check it out without worrying about imposing on him. However, she was clearly apprehensive about moving from where she stood, not sure which way to move and he smiled at her softly in response to her glare. She had been shooting him that sort of look ever since she’d woken up. But then she looked away from him and started to walk, following the trickle of people moving from the surrounding neighborhood and into the city.

Soon, they were passing by familiar shops and moving through the crowded street. Morrison shifted his eyes from his human to look around at the people passing by and didn’t quite notice how uncomfortable she was acting. He really did enjoy the smell around here during the day, of car exhaust, leather, and most of all, other wolves. There were a few humans wandering about and he did love the smell of them, but he the scent of his own kind was comforting in a way. Even though he didn’t dress like most of these people, he still felt that he fit in. Apparently, Lexi didn’t feel the same sentiment.

The man’s attention was averted from the crowds to his human as she pressed herself into his body. Glancing down at her, he squeezed her hand tightly in reassurance, though he wasn’t sure as to why she was so anxious. Maybe she just couldn’t handle being around all these people, which was very possible. It had taken her long enough to get comfortable around him, and she wasn’t yet entirely comfortable about him seeing her scars. He should have thought that through before suggesting going on a shopping spree. He doubted that she would be alright with trying on a sleeveless top, or dress, where so many strangers could see those marks on her arms so clearly.

A soft frown fell onto his expression when she looked up to him. "I don't know where to start."

Morrison squeezed the woman’s hand again then pulled it up to kiss her fingers. “Well,” he said, slowing his walking and ignoring the annoyed grunts of people behind him when they had to go around him, “I think you deserve another dress.” He let go of her hand to pull her closer, draping an arm around her hips. “And if you see a shop you’d like to visit, just stop me.” Oh, the poor girl, always the poor girl. She got so nervous around people and even when Morrison tried to get her to calm down just by keeping her close, she couldn’t let her anxiety go or be less self-conscious about how she appeared to others. He tried to work with her on that, at the moment that was telling her how beautiful she was, but he wasn’t sure if it really was working.

Perhaps getting her into something that even she thought was beautiful would do that trick. Looking away from Lexi, he scanned the few shops that they were coming up to. He’d never come down here to buy anything but a watch, a suit, or maybe a well crafted weapon of sorts, so he wasn’t too sure where he’d start looking for a dress. Maybe they’d stumbled upon something soon enough that was clearly labeled ‘Dress Boutique’.

[Lexine Sullivan]

Maybe it would have been easier for Lexi to get used to the crowds had she been the type of girl to enjoy dress shopping but as it was she had always shopped in her own local area and when she couldn't get what she needed or wanted had picked up sewing just so she could get by- not to mention it came in awfully handy after a hard days work at the garage or even after a hard night out in the cages! She had long lost count of how many time she had had to quickly repair things on the go so being in a place like this was completely out of her depth...and if she was going to be honest her purse as well.

“And if you see a shop you’d like to visit, just stop me.”

Well, clothes and dresses were a little out of her knowledge and to be honest the dress she had worn for the charity event had been more than a good few days worth of wages and whilst she knew it had been worth the money she still couldn't quite believe she had spent so much on one item. She had never spent such money on something for herself! Except perhaps when she had been rebuilding the motorbike that was still hidden under a sheet in the garage (and was probably going to stay there now).

Finally she pulled herself from her thoughts about stupidly expensive clothes and began to look about her with a little more interest as they started to come across non clothing shops and as she looked into the window of jewelers and shoe shops she couldn't help noticing that many had no price tags on show which usually meant the things cost more than you wanted to know about and it certainly meant these places didn't cater for people like herself.

It was between one of these shops and a bookshop that she finally saw something she wanted to see and she steered off to the right pulling Morrison with her as she did so, barely stopping to even look at the window at the various knives and other weaponry and leather work that was on show.

Opening the door she stepped inside just as the bell rang to let the shop keeper know that he had a customer and it wasn't long before a man came out from the back and Lex made her way straight to him.

"Afternoon," She leant on the counter slightly so she could look at the leather pouches and holsters that were displayed there before looking at the man. "I want a new holster."

"For?" The man was eying her up as if he didn't quite believe she could hold anything more than a kitchen knife and certainly not something more dangerous than that. He soon changed his mind however when the blonde haired woman placed her handbag onto the counter and removed a rather shabby looking holder where the handles of her Sai were on show for all to see.

"These." She pulled them out and flipped the one in her hand so she was no longer holding the handle but the blade and offered it to the man.

He took the offered weapon and tested its balance before checking it over, running his finger down the edge and flinching as it sliced through his skin and he had to wonder how she had managed to flip and hold it without hurting herself at all. "I can make something for you, but I don't have anything in stock for such a weapon as this."

[Morrison Whelan]

Being so concentrated on looking for a dress shop, Morrison didn’t notice exactly where they were heading. Though when he realized they were getting farther from anywhere that might have sold clothes, he turned slightly to look behind him so they could head back the other way. Yet that was when Lexi yanked on his arm and pulled him through a door. “Made up your mind?” he asked her with a smile, turning his head to see where they had ended up. Well, he surely recognized this place, but why was she interested in coming here?

His eyes shifted down to look at her, wondering what she was up to, yet he only shook his head softly and let go of her hand so she could move away from him, turning to look at the man who’d come up behind the counter. “Hey Collin,” he said, waving to the shop owner. The other man smiled over at his loyal customer, waving back, before turning his attention to Lexi as she approached him. Morrison and Iivan came down here often enough, for guns and knives, holsters, sometimes ammunition, and they’d been doing so for the past 20 years. Of course, Collin had figured out soon enough that the two men were wolves, especially now that the human had a full head of grey hair and it didn’t look like either of the other two had even aged a day. Thankfully, he wasn’t the racist type and held the two in high regard, especially since they gave him such good business.

Standing a bit off to the side, Morrison watched Collin with an amused smile. Lexi didn’t look like the type of woman to be carrying around deadly weapons, much less to be able to handle them well, but when she pulled out her Sai, it was clear that she meant business. The wolf caught the shop keeper’s eyes and shot him a grin. He didn’t necessarily approve of his human bringing her knives along with her, but he knew that if she needed a holster for the weapons, then this was the best place to go. Besides, he was worse than her for carrying his pistol around without her knowing, though he’d probably have to change that.

Taking his eyes off of his girlfriend, he moved to the side of the shop, where there hung a selection of holsters for all sorts of knives and guns. He looked them over for a short while before grabbing one up the smaller gun holsters and reaching into the inner pocket of his jacket to pull out his gun. He slipped the pistol into the leather holder to make sure that it fit just perfectly, which it did, since the gun he’d bought was one of the more popular models. He then tucked the weapon away as he went up to the counter where Lexi and Collin were still talking.

Placing the holster up on the counter, Morrison stood close at the woman’s hip, scanning the back wall and considering whether or not he should buy anymore ammo. He had a box or two of bullets at home and the only time he had any use of them was when he went to target practice, though he supposed that he could always use more, just in case. Even so, he knew that there was a shop in Clerkenwell where he could get bullets that were cheaper and of better quality, and Lexi wouldn’t have to be around when he bought them.

Now that the two humans were done discussing Lex’s Sai, Collin turned to Morrison and glanced down at the item he’d picked up. “That’s all you need today?” he asked.

“That’s it,” the wolf replied, reaching into his pocket for his wallet.

“You don’t need your knives fixed or anything?” Collin said with a smile. He always liked to try to push Morry to spend more than he was planning to.

“No,” the wolf chuckled, sliding his debit card onto the counter. “I don’t even have them on me today.”

The human nodded to him and took up the holster and the card. “I’ll pay for her’s too,” Morrison added, glancing down at Lex and nudging her hip. Collin looked up at this with a slight frown. “Well, I’m not sure how much it’ll end up being…” Morrison shrugged in response. “Charge me whatever you think it’ll be and I can pay for any difference next time I come by.” The two looked at one and another for second or two before the human smiled and consented. “That’ll be fine.” He went back to the register to swipe the card, not bothering to tell Morrison how much he was paying; he never asked anyway.

[Lexine Sullivan]

Lexi had known as soon as she had decoded to get something made that she would probably end up having to leave her Sai behind and had accepted it but as soon as it came to the actual moment she found herself struggling slightly to hand them over knowing she wasn't going to get them back for a few days since it was easier if he kept them to make the holster so he could know for sure that everything was perfect....

Of course she knew exactly why she was not happy about leaving them behind. She had never left the house before (excepting a few notable times since she had gotten with Morrison) without them and she was a little worried about having them out of her sight for so long. They had been her mother's before her and they held too much sentiment and memories to not have slight separation issues. She had yet to tell Morrison the story behind her weapons, along with the story of most of her life and she supposed that she really needed to tell him at some point in the near future since she was getting tired of trying to keep things secret- not to mention the fact that she was hardly going to be able to explain away her nightmares all the time.

Her thoughts were once again broken by Morrison coming over to the counter where she stood staring slightly off into space and his voice caused her to start slightly and she turned to face him slightly watching as he placed a holster onto the counter top. For a moment or two she stared at the obvious gun holster before deciding that she shouldn't really be surprised that he must carry a weapon about with him....she does afterall! Although that was a little different.

“I’ll pay for her’s too,”

The flash of plastic and his words made her turn her head completely to the side so she could shoot him a look of annoyance. She had brought more than enough to cover any costs like this and although he didn't know that particular fact he was more than aware that she wasn't very happy that he was offering to pay for anything she might get. She liked her independence! She hoped he would let her buy something herself, even if it were just some food for lunch otherwise she might get highly offended and very cranky.

Instead of focusing on the card and the two men she wandered off to the side slightly so she could have a look at the other displays and for now her attention was captured by the nice shiny and rather sharp looking knives the man had on sale. Bit stupid keeping so many weapons in easy reach of any shoplifters but she figured in a part of London like this you'd be pretty stupid to even try it...and he had to have some experience with his wares otherwise why sell them? With the kind of customers that walked past his store she wondered just how many of them had the first clue how to do anything with a weapon. Most women her age were terrified of breaking her nails but she relished the fight. Made her feel alive.

Her eyes were drawn to a small dagger that was sitting in the middle of one of the shelves and she peered through the glass in interest. Hm. Pretty. It was smaller than her own weapon of choice which would allow for easier concealment but it was a little too small for her to cause much damage...although she knew plenty of tricks to cause the damage needed against an attacker but still, she would choose her Sai over anything any day of the week.

[Morrison Whelan]

Instead of focusing on the card and the two men she wandered off to the side slightly so she could have a look at the other displays and for now her attention was captured by the nice shiny and rather sharp looking knives the man had on sale. Bit stupid keeping so many weapons in easy reach of any shoplifters but she figured in a part of London like this you'd be pretty stupid to even try it...and he had to have some experience with his wares otherwise why sell them? With the kind of customers that walked past his store she wondered just how many of them had the first clue how to do anything with a weapon. Most women her age were terrified of breaking her nails but she relished the fight. Made her feel alive.

Her eyes were drawn to a small dagger that was sitting in the middle of one of the shelves and she peered through the glass in interest. Hm. Pretty. It was smaller than her own weapon of choice which would allow for easier concealment but it was a little too small for her to cause much damage...although she knew plenty of tricks to cause the damage needed against an attacker but still, she would choose her Sai over anything any day of the week.

Morrison glanced down at Lexi, shooting her an apologetic look to meet her glare. He had told her that he was going to treat her and if she didn’t want to buy any clothes with his money, then he was going to buy this for her, even if he didn’t completely agree with it. He would have to let her buy something herself a bit later so that she didn’t get too mad at him, yet for now, he was buying and that was that. They could have compromised, but that wouldn’t have been fun.

While Lexi now moved to look at all the weapons that were for sale, the wolf moved across the counter to where Collin was. The human looked up from the register and handed the card back. “I like her,” he said, nodding toward the woman.

“I do too,” Morrison smiled.

“But what happened to your other friend?” he asked, looking a bit confused, “Meadhbh, right?”

The were let out a sigh and shut his eyes for a moment. “She’s... gone,” he said, shrugging and picking his holster up off of the counter.

“Oh,” Collin frowned, “I’m sorry.”

“Yah,” Morrison agreed before taking a deep breath and forcing a smile back on his lips, “We should get going though. Be careful with those Sai and I’ll be back Collin.”

The human nodded. “Will do. I’ll see you then Morrison.”

Turning away for the counter and from the man, Morrison walked over to Lexi and put a soft hand on her shoulder. “I promise I’ll let you buy something at the next place we stop,” he told her, squeezing her shoulder. He now walked out of the shop, leading her beside him by the shoulders, and they were soon walking back down the road, hoping she’d find another store that she’d want to visit. It would make her happier if she could use her own money without him saying a thing about it, though that would be very difficult if she wanted to buy something that he thought was too expensive. “If you’re not feeling up to any shopping,” he said after they’d been walking for a short while, “we can always just go out to eat.”

[Lexine Sullivan]

As Morrison led her out of the weapon store she gave a small wave to the shop keeper before she was out of the store completely. “I promise I’ll let you buy something at the next place we stop,” She wondered just how true that was going to be especially if she happened to see anything very expensive and he thought she couldn't afford it...because lets face it she worked in a garage that looked like it didn't pay well and her addictions had certainly wormed its way through most of her money so she couldn't blame him for thinking such a thing but she also hoped that she would be able to pay for something soon because she would just feel guilty if she let him pay for everything today...she really did not believe in letting him spoil her in such a way.

“If you’re not feeling up to any shopping, we can always just go out to eat.”

To be honest she really wasn't all that hungry so food wasn't on the top of her things to do list although neither was shopping but never mind, they were here now and she had gotten what she wanted sorted she would just have to man up and get on with the rest of the day since it was kinda obvious that he wanted to spend the day out in the public with her and although the very thought was horrible to her she would do pretty much anything to keep him happy (and quitting drugs was a major one....and giving up fighting).

Eventually she shrugged as she looked about her, taking note of the shops that were available to her before finally just deciding to head into any random one and hope for the best so she turned slightly and made her way into the first clothing store she could see and entered before grimacing slightly at the very frilly outfits that offended her eyes but a promise was a promise even if it were to herself and she forced herself into the store praying that there was going to be something worth looking at before she lost her mind. She hates frills!

It too a good few minutes of searching before she finally found something that wasn't pink and covered in lace and she found herself pulling out a white silk evening gown adorned with black lace and she let out a 'huh' in surprise having not quite believed she would find anything worth looking at in this place- although in all fairness it was an item of clothing that had been hidden away from the rest of the merchandise and was so painfully obviously in the sale that she felt like she ought to hide the price tag in case she offended someone with it or some other stupid thing. Either way she still pulled it towards her, feeling the fabric with her fingers and biting her lip she turned slightly so she could find the sales assistant and quickly asked if she could try it on and although said woman looked over her as if she were a piece of dirt she was soon directed to the changing room.

Once inside she looked between the dress and the mirror nibbling at her lip before sighing and began to remove the clothes she wore to replace it with the dress. Looking at herself she ran her hands down her body relishing at the feel of the silk but feeling very silly for wearing such a pretty piece of clothing that she should never think about wearing let alone try on! It was a little late now of course and Morrison would expect her to show him how it looked but the sight of the scars on her arms were enough to scare her into not moving for a good minute or two, not wanting to show them to the assistant that was still waiting just outside the small room obviously waiting to see how she looked and to get anything she might want.

It really was a pretty dress and it looked rather nice but she still felt silly. What was she doing trying something like this on? She moved so she could inspect herself at different angles before heaving a great sigh and stealing any nerves she had left came out of the cubicle so she could show her boyfriend. Completely ignoring the woman who stared at her she twirled slightly so he could see it properly.

"What do you think?" It was so not her....she was very uncomfortable having her arms on show but it was pretty and in the sale which was always good....pity the woman was too busy staring at her arms in disgust to actually offer her any encouragement and it was enough to want her to go running back in the room and change into her body hiding clothes.

Clicky for dress

[Morrison Whelan]

Morrison was starting to feel bad about making Lexi come out in public like this. She was acting so uncomfortable and she was still upset over the whole money situation. It would have been so much easier if they’d stayed at one of their homes and spent the day doing whatever it was they wanted, probably ending up in bed more than a few times. While that would have all been very fun, he didn’t want to feel like they were trying to keep the relationship secret because they were never out in public together. So far, he felt like this idea to go shopping hadn’t been the best, but he hoped that Lexi would be feeling better, hopefully more comfortable with everything, by the end of the day. And if not, he was sure that them having a little alone time would put her back in a better mood.

Eventually, it seemed that the human gave up avoiding shopping for clothes like he’d wanted her to and turned to walk into a very girly dress store. Morrison wanted to say something, since this was not the type of place he’d ever imagine Lexi wanting to go, though he supposed that if she figured that there was nothing for her here, she’d turn right around and leave. But no, she went ahead and started looking through the racks of dresses, trying to find anything that might suit her.

While she searched for the right dress, the wolf stood off to the side, not exactly sure what to do now. He’d never gone shopping with a woman before, so he wasn’t positive what his role in this whole thing was supposed to be. Often times, he’d seen other men standing in stores with bags on their arms, watching as their girlfriends or wives walked around oohing and ahhing at the clothes that were on sale. He’d always been amused by those poor men, having nothing do and looking ridiculous, but now he supposed that he was one of them. Well, as long as Lexi found something she liked, he didn’t mind.

Having been fingering the sleeve of a silky red dress, Morrison couldn’t help but look up when his human made a soft grunt of surprise. He let go of the dress, catching a slight glare from the sale’s assistant, then looked to Lexi to see her pulling down a black and white dress. He smiled softly and moved toward her, hoping that she was going to try it on. And she was. Morrison stood back slightly as she moved off to the changing rooms with the woman helping her. Staying silent, he waited off to the side, keeping out of everyone’s way, and wondered if Lexi would actually let him see the dress. It was sleeveless and she was not alright with letting strangers see her scars. He wished that she could over that, even if it were just for him, but if that wasn’t going to be today, then that was okay. She’d left her comfort zone enough by just attempting to shop.

After a few minutes, Morrison was convinced that Lexine would not let him see the dress and come out still fully clothes, asking to leave. If that was what she needed to do, then he wasn’t going to stop her and he wouldn’t let her know that he’d be disappointed in her. So when she did come out of the dress room clothed in the dress she’d picked up, he couldn’t help but grin.

"What do you think?"

Unable to stop grinning, the wolf stepped up to her and gently took her wrists up in his hands. “It’s beautiful,” he told her, ignoring that the sale’s assistant was frowning at his human’s arms, “and it fits you perfectly.” He leaned in to kiss her forehead lightly and slowly let of her to look at her a bit better. “If you want to buy it, I wouldn’t have any objection,” he told her with a soft chuckle, making it clear that he wasn’t going to jump in pay for her. At least that was the plan.

[Lexine Sullivan]

“If you want to buy it, I wouldn’t have any objection,”

Well, she didn't need to worry about it looking good then. Although she still wasn't a hundred percent convinced any sort of dress like this would really suit her thanks to many years of wearing things she had never been bothered about ruining or thanks to the people who had stuck her in a stereotype she had always been happy to keep up...afterall, she had been a druggie and a fighter and fancy clothes like this just hadn't been a part of her grand plan. Not that she was even sure what the plan was anymore thanks to her life being somewhat turned upside down since meeting Morrison.

However, she was glad that he hadn't mentioned anything about paying for the dress despite approving of her choice and she couldn't stop the small, happy smile from passing over her lips as she turned around to look at herself in the full length mirror just outside of the fitting room. Even if she decided against the dress in the next few minutes she was content with the fact that he would have let her pay for it and that was all that mattered...

...Although...It really was very pretty and once again her hands moved to sooth any slight wrinkled that popped up when she moved and finally decided to buy it. She had nowhere to wear the damn thing of course but it would be nice to have something in just in case such an occasion popped up- maybe the priest would arrange another charity event? She hoped not! It had been more than enough to keep her nerves straight and she didn't fancy doing it again anytime soon although then again, at least the next time she wouldn't have to keep it a secret from her boyfriend.

She moved back into the changing room and stripped the dress from her body before getting back into her own clothes and once she was dressed popped the outfit back onto the hanger it had come from and made her way out of the room and handed it to the sales assistant. "I'll have this." The woman took it without a word although Lex was well aware that she was probably wondering what type of woman would have cut marks on her arms and it took everything she had to one not rub at her arms self consciously and two, not to hit the woman in annoyance. She hated being thought of as a cutter but then again, how many people would know any better? If she had been looking at herself she would have agreed with the rest of the world...

It didn't do thinking about it of course, not right now and she moved towards the counter so she could pay for the item although she did look about her as she did so wondering if there was anything else that might catch her eye although there was nothing which was no surprise seeing how most of the stuff in the shop was very much not her....she hated frills! Or at least, she hated frills that happened to be on every bit of material. Honestly it ruined every outfit in the store. Except the one she had settled for of course since it was devoid of frills and she was quite happy with lace since there wasn't a huge amount of it.

Even with it being on sale the dress was nearly as much as the one she had worn the day before and she inwardly winced at the thought of her hard earned cash being dwindled away by two items of clothing (albeit very pretty items of clothing but still). Never mind, it was a good thing she had brought more than enough with her and she handed over the cash without batting an eyelid although the woman made a point to check each and every bill as if Lex was paying with fakes. She tried not to take offense but it was awfully rude. She guessed most people paid by card in these shops but since she didn't actually have a bank account it was going to be cash or nothing and she did not believe in stealing things.

As they left the store she gripped the bag tightly with a frown on her face although it soon cleared away and was replaced with the cool indifference that she tended to wear whenever she was out of her comfort zone. "I think she thought I was a thief." She commented lightly, pretending that it didn't get to her at all. "Mind you I can't promise the money is all that...legit." Meaning she had won it in one of her fights but that she hadn't 'made' it. "Posh bitch."

[Morrison Whelan]

Really, Lexi did look rather happy in that dress, even if it was sleeveless, and she was so beautiful, well, more beautiful than usual. Yet, Morrison wasn’t so sure that she would want to buy the dress, just because it must be incredibly expensive and she didn’t have much use of it. Even so, he hoped that she would buy it, to treat herself and so she felt like she was worth something that was so gorgeous. But he wasn’t going to let his input influence her decision, so he stood back from her, silently watching as she looked herself over in the mirror. He loved it when women did that, fussed with themselves in a mirror, checking their outfit and body from every angle, smoothing out any little imperfection. It was adorable, but of course, he wasn’t going to say that. Every thought about Lexine being cute was going to stay in his head, no matter how much he’d like to say those things to her out loud.

When she was done looking at herself in the mirror, she made no indication of whether or not she wanted to buy the dress, only going back into the changing room to get her regular clothes on. This made Morrison think that she wasn’t getting the gown, that she just didn’t want to make a big deal out of it, and that disappointed him. She’d looked wonderful in it, even if she didn’t have any use for it, she deserved to feel like a princess every once and while and be able to dress up sometimes. Yes, she did have the dress she’d worn the night before, but he thought the one she’d picked out today was much better. Not that this at all meant he was going to convince her to buy the gown, that would just be him forcing her to spend way too much money.

Therefore, it was a pleasant surprise when Lexi left the changing room and handed the other woman the dress, saying: "I'll have this." Morrison smiled softly at this, but kept his enthusiasm down for the most part; it was just a piece of clothing. He waited for Lexi to start moving before following behind her and the sale’s assistant as they made their way to the register. He hadn’t missed the look his human had given the woman and he knew she was holding herself back doing something rash. It had taken him a while, but he rarely cared what other people thought of his anymore. Lexi put on that she didn’t either, yet it was obvious that she did by the way she always reacted around strangers and her own boyfriend at times.

Once the gown was paid for, and not without a few quick glares between the two women, they were back on the street, Lexi with her purchase in hand. "I think she thought I was a thief." Morrison glanced down at her and made a bit of a confused face that quickly cleared up; he’d never known a thief that was willing to pay for anything that expense, but he didn’t say anything.

"Mind you I can't promise the money is all that...legit." Was that what she meant? That she’d stolen all of her money? Then why waste it on such frills as a nice gown, a thief couldn’t have that much money.

"Posh bitch." Okay, that one at least Morrison agreed with.

“Well, fuck her,” the wolf said with a slight grin, “I bet she was just jealous of you, since she wasn’t nearly as pretty.” He walked a bit closer to her and reached down to gently clasp her hand in his. “Where to now?” he asked her, “if you’re not hungry at the moment, we could go find somewhere for a walk or just go home.” With a smile, he looked down at her and shrugged. “I’m not picky,” he said, very truthfully in fact.

[Lexine Sullivan]

“I bet she was just jealous of you, since she wasn’t nearly as pretty.”

Lex gave a small snort in disbelief although her cheeks tinged ever so lightly pink- something she had managed to keep down recently- at the compliment. Although she didn't think she was particularly pretty or anything like that she did agree that the other woman was most likely jealous of her although she thought it was more to do with Morrison than her own looks. Morrison caught attention wherever they were and even the girls from the night before had declared themselves jealous of her catching such a handsome man. If only they knew how long it had taken for her to get him! And how long it had taken to get over most of her prejudices.

As he took her hand she decided to forget about the posh woman in the store and instead concentrated on her boyfriend and how much she was actually starting to enjoy being outside with him instead of hiding away from the world- not that she minded the hiding part of course since she really wasn't a crowd kind of person but it was much more manageable with him around her.

“if you’re not hungry at the moment, we could go find somewhere for a walk or just go home.”

She wasn't really all the hungry and despite feeling a little more comfortable with him with her she was also looking forward to going home sooner rather than later. Briefly she weighed her options before shrugging uselessly. She really didn't know what she wanted to do since she had gotten what she had wanted from the weapons shop....and she had gotten a new pretty dress for whenever she would need it (although hopefully not any time soon!), there was nothing left to get that she wanted. Not that she ever wanted much of anything these days since she was quite happy to wear things out until she absolutely no choice but to replace them and she had never been happy with wasting her money on herself when she could be giving it away to those who needed it more than herself...and her drugs and fags did not count!

"We could get some food," She decided eventually. Although she wasn't hungry she figured that by the time they had found somewhere decent to eat and ordered it all she would be feeling the pangs of hunger sooner than she expected so now was as good a time as any and a quick look at a clock in one of the windows they walked past revealed that it had been some time since they had eaten breakfast. "But where?" She had no idea where to start looking for restaurants around here and even more so since this place looked more like a shopping district that a food one.

Some way behind them two figures stood in a doorway watching the couple walk down the street and the one gave an impish grin at the other. "Found her." The figure turned and vibrant red hair caught the sunlight before a smile stretched over her face.

"Vonderful." Katerina flipped open her mobile phone open and dialed a number quickly before speaking into it. "Ve have found the girl," She paused, "Yes, but she is with a man...a wolf." Another pause. "Of course I shall find his name immediately." She hung up and nodded to her partner. "Ve must follow and learn the man's name."

[Morrison Whelan]

Morrison smiled widely down at the human when she said that they could go get some food, because he was getting really hungry, though he wouldn’t have complained to her since she wasn’t too happy at the moment. "But where?" Well, that was actually a good question. This area of town was mostly retail and the only section of town that really sold food was full of expensive, stuffy restaurants. “I think I know where we can go,” he told her, turning his head slightly to make sure they were going the right way.

His eye caught the strange movement of someone moving back into the shadows of a building as he looked around. He wasn’t sure why, but this caused a shiver to run up his spine and he shook his head slightly to make the feeling go away. It was just some bum in the wrong part of the city, he told himself, there wasn’t any reason to get paranoid about that. Perhaps he was just getting more protective of Lexi and every creep, everyone who looked at her wrong seemed like a threat. Well, at least she was in very good hands, but that had been true from the moment she’d met him.

After a few minutes of walking, they were entering a less prosperous part of town, but that didn’t mean it was run down, it just meant the buildings were closer together, smaller, more vegetation; it was quite cozy. And in another block or two, a familiar café came into view. “Here we go,” the man smiled, leading his human up the few steps to the front of door. “This is nice, isn’t it?” he asked her as they entered the café. It was a small building but they had crammed as many tables into the space as they could and most of those tables were occupied by groups of people. He’d been coming here for years and he loved it. The people that were usual patrons there and the staff were amazing, most of them even knew his name. Though he had never really brought Meadhbh here, so they wouldn’t ask about her and that was a relief.

A few people had looked up when he and Lexi had entered and a number of them waved while the rest just smiled before going back to whatever it was they had been doing. “Hey Grieg,” Morrison greeted the man behind the counter. He was looking as old and grizzled as ever, but his kind white Santa beard made up for that. “Hello Morry,” he said with a grin, reaching over to shake the wolf’s hand in greeting. He then turned his eyes to Lexi and smiled. “And Miss.” He looked back to the man and asked if he’d have the usual. “No , actually...” he started, looking up at the hand written menu plastered to the wall above the counter. He ordered what he thought would be a hardy enough sandwich and a hot chocolate; he loved that stuff. Morrison now looked down at his human and took a slight step back, indicating that she could move forward to order for herself.

[Lexine Sullivan]

As Morrison led her to another part of town Lexi made sure to keep a firm grip on her bags since even in a nice part of town as this there was always some moron who would think it funny to attempt a snatch and since she really didn't want to run after and beat some poor idiot to sense she made sure not to allow anyone the opportunity of thinking they could get away with it.

It wasn't long of course before she began to notice the changes of the scenery around her and she began to pay closer attention to where it was they were going. Again, she didn't know this part of London and had it not been for Morrison would probably have gone the rest of her life not doing so but as it was she liked it here...It didn't seem to have the same atmosphere that the other part had had- it seemed much more relaxed and people were taking them time moving about and that in turn made her relax a little more than she had been. She could handle being around people here as it wasn't so very crowded.

“This is nice, isn’t it?”

She looked at the cafe before her as he led her up the steps to the doorway before giving him a small smile of approval. This did seem like a nice place and although it was rather busy inside she felt more at home here than she would have done at one of the other more posher restaurants he could have dragged her to. She did notice that many people waved as they entered the place and since she had no idea who any of them were it was obvious Morrison must come here quite often and she couldn't help but be happy that he had brought her somewhere he must love. Not to mention it made a nice change meeting his own friends instead of being about the people she knew (Bert being the main culprit of course).

As the man behind the counter greeted Morrison and then herself she allowed him a tiny smile before averting her eyes slightly so she could see if there was an open table for the two of them, turning back only to order a sandwich and a mug of tea as she had not really been listening to the conversation before then and had only caught the question of what she wanted to eat.

A few minutes later and the door opened to the cafe and Katerina, now with her fiery red hair pulled back into a loose bun and looking rather friendly compared to how she usually looked, came into the cafe followed by the male and as she hooked her arm into his and moved to a table in one of the corners (and away from the couple they had followed in) and as a waitress came over to them they both ordered a coffee since they didn't plan on staying too long- they only needed to get a good view of the male so they could ID him at a later date and then they could leave without really causing a scene.

Lex only just noticed the couple come in but she ignored them as she had no cause to think anything of them- although had she been anything but human the scent of wolf would have been noticeable to her but as it was she thought nothing of it and instead chose to concentrate on her boyfriend.

[Morrison Whelan]

It was quite a relief to see that Lexi was finally able to relax in the café. Morrison would have hated it if the only time they could comfortably be together was in either of their homes, and even that could be hazardous. And now she could even get to know a few of his acquaintances, then he wouldn’t seem like so much of loner. Perhaps she’d have the opportunity someday to meet his coworkers, the ones he was on good terms with at least, and after he told her exactly what he did for a living. For some reason, that had just never come up.

Grieg told them that their food would be ready shortly and so Morrison took a soft hold of Lexi’s hand to lead her to one of the few tables that was still open. He let her take the seat that was on the side of the table closest to the wall, while he took the one that was backing up against other people’s chairs, giving him a bit less room to move, but he didn’t mind. He looked over at Lexi and smiled, resting his elbows on the tabletop so he could lean over and be heard over the crowd around them. Only, he was distracted from saying anything when a smell hit him.

Very few werewolves ever went to this particular café, strange as it was with the surrounding town practically swarming with wolves, and the ones that did come there were such regulars that Morrison barely noticed it anymore. Yet, when the scent of two weres hit him, he couldn’t help but look around in curiosity. The male was a complete stranger, but the woman looked strangely familiar. Then again, all woman with red hair looked that same to him. Even so, he couldn’t help but stare at them for a short time as they moved to the back of the room to sit down.

His concentration on them was broken only when a young woman came over, holding a tray with their meals on it. Morrison blinked and smiled up at her, moving off of the table so that she’d have enough room to place their plates and cups down. He thanked her before she walked away and looked back at Lexi.

“Sorry,” he said with a smile, referring to the weird sort of trance he’d just broken out of, “those two that just entered,” He waved his hand in their vague direction before continuing, “never seen them before.” The man shrugged softly. It was no big deal, really, perhaps they’d heard of the café because a friend had told them, or something along those lines. As long as they didn’t bother him, he really didn’t care. Taking his thoughts off of strange wolves, he sat back into his seat, accidentally bumping into the person sitting behind him, then picked up his sandwich, eager to fill his stomach, though his eyes kept drifting to the corner of the room and toward that couple. Something was off.