Fateful Encounter
“The mall is always so loud.” Nessa thought to herself. “ This little street is so much nicer.” The girl allowed her mind to wander as she explored a lane she had no prior knowledge of before today. What little could have been heard from the distant sounds of traffic, as well as the incoherent ramblings from several speakerphones about various inconsequential discounts, was all easily drowned out by her large, cozy earmuffs which sat comfortably over her big, round rat ears.
This was the sort of street where you’d never encounter the same store twice across as many weeks. They seemed to pop up one week, and are replaced by a new one the next. Yet every store managed to offer something useful to daring shoppers.
While the weather was a bit nippy, but Nessa was still happy to wear just a t-shirt and overalls. With the addition of some cozy hand warmers over top, she was able to keep her extremities from feeling what little of the cold would have bothered her.
Stopping to look in the window of each store, eventually Nessa did an inventory of the contents bag she was already carrying in her paw. Comparing the goods with her list, she repeated the names of the things she had and the things she needed a few times aloud to herself.
Once she had finished processing it all, she smiled. “ Cheaper, and quieter! It’s almost too good to be true! The walk back won’t be too fun, maybe I should get myself a treat to make up for it! Maybe some chomkit, or… yeah!”
As she looked in the window of the store she was most recently passing, Nessa saw it appeared to be some kind of thrift store, with a wide variety of goods haphazardly spread out over the shelves. Intrigued, and already in an adventurous mood, the girl took a few steps back and went to walk into the entrance of the store, reading the words printed on the glass as she passed.
“‘Serena’s Selections’? Odd name. ‘See Spectacular Sorceress Serena’s Sublime Selections! Guaranteed life-changing, or your money back!’ How quirky! Wonder if I can at least snag a cute shirt in my size.”
Soon inside the store, she quickly found herself surrounded by towering shelves even greater than what she had thought to have seen from the window. Looking up, most of the shelves gave off quite an eerie feeling, and she couldn’t help but expect to catch a glimpse of a massive spider spinning even larger, intricate webs to trap flies who would never come, only to abandon them and start anew in a far more welcoming neighbourhood.
Beelining to the small clothing section, Nessa observed that there was someone else in the shop other than her. A bunny, decked out in a pretty cute skirt, and a printed tee, some tights underneath, and a little cropped jacket over the shirt.
Outside of the cute getup the bunny appeared notably androgynous in appearance. No real visible curves, small chest, but Nessa knew she wasn’t one to judge on that front. The bunny appeared quite engrossed in one of the few immaculately cleaned shelves, and had something plush in their paws. Nessa continued on past them, not wanting to linger too long in case she made things awkward, and starting to browse through the various clothing.
Finding a couple of really nice quality, brand new printed shirts she quite liked, she braced herself before checking the price, before letting out an involuntary squeak of delight. They had a “two for the price of three” deal on, and were already marked down a significant amount to begin with. “ Even if there’s something wrong with them I am VERY happy to gamble at this price!” Searching out for a third one, she nabbed another with a cute print, then started to look over some nearby accessories.
Hats, bracelets, various styles of jewellery, all of which only had the common thread of looking rather cheap, had ludicrous price tags listed on them. Some pricey scarves and bandanas were there as well, but were more reasonably priced.
Nessa lifted down what appeared to her as a neck-fastening bandana or neckerchief, in a lovely shade of lavender, and with a little yellow rubbery bit covering the tip - designed to look like a little wedge of swiss cheese. “ProtectaWear© Enchanting Dribble Bib - Designed to protect your clothes every last dribble and spill that you’re sure to have, like magic!” With a shrug, she almost put it back, before noticing the price wasn’t even a pound. “ I’ve been wanting more cute bandanas, I guess it doesn’t really matter what it’s meant to be.”
Her thoughts were interrupted by noise from the back of the store, and some muffled muttering. Taking a few steps towards the end of the aisle, she peered round the edge of the shelving unit to see a tall, slender, blonde-haired woman behind the counter, and the bunny from before.
The bunny appeared to be checking out, buying a few small things, and something larger that was already in a shopping bag. However, from her current position, something far more interesting caught Nessa’s eye. One of the shelves near her was in the same pristine condition as the a few, seemingly randomly distributed shelves which she had noted were in throughout the store as she peered down aisles.
There were various knickknacks and other such things on the shelves. Old and forgotten alarm clocks, wind-up toys, various cheaply made figures from long-forgotten TV shows. Even a few old “Pez” dispensers. Generally speaking: Mass-produced garbage. These are not the things that caught Nessa’s eyes, however, as instead it was a rather large plushy - one large enough just as big as her - waiting on it’s lonesome on an otherwise empty shelf in the middle of the unit.
It was a Red Panda wearing a lovely apron dress, and the price was… barely £5? For something so big and soft? Upon touching the soft fur that covered it Nessa was compelled to hug it tight, and never let go. She just had to have it! The long walk home would be tough, but she knew she could make it.
Holding the shirts and her bag from before with her large, scaled tail, the girl freed up her arms and lifted the large plush down. It was quite heavy, even for its size, such that it became obvious it was weighted - quite heavily, at that.
Nessa struggled her way towards the counter, eventually arriving just before her arms gave out, noting to ask for a bag, and carry it home with her muscular tail. The bunny had already been long gone by this point, and the shopkeeper was nowhere in sight. There was, however, a bell, which Nessa promptly dinged, putting the shirts and bandana bib on the counter as well.
“Gosh, you’re hefty. Not that I mind, but I really do wish you were lighter, or could walk. Would make bringing you home a lot easier.” Nessa muttered off without a thought, reaching a paw out to feel the plushy's fur again, only to be interrupted by a voice.
“Be careful what you wish for in strange places, and even more from things stranger yet.” said the tall blonde woman, who had once again emerged. “Hey there, I’m Serena, and welcome to my store.” Surveying the items Nessa had placed on the counter, she lifted a few. “So, you’ve found everything you’d like?” Grabbing a notepad she began writing down some numbers, scribbling them out, then writing them down again.
“I think so, but, I am wondering, umm. Why is this stuff so cheap? Is there something wrong with it? Or are you going outta business?”
“Nah, they all do what they say on the tin. This, uh,” Serena started, “‘A CuddleSoft branded ‘Loving Nanny & Furever Friend’? Ugh, what a degrading name… well, it does what it says. It’ll be your friend, ‘furever’, I suppose. Not like a plushy can get up and leave you, right?” Getting to the t-shirts she glanced at their tags then shrugged. “Oh, but these I can’t offer a refund on. They’re on clearance, they don’t quite fit with the rest of my stock.” Serena continued writing down and scribbling out numbers.”
“Do you, like, get this stuff in as donations or something?” Nessa said, standing on the tips of her footpaws to see the numbers, realized she may have been trying to work out the price.
“I suppose you could say that. Yeah, donations. Worried they might be stolen or something?” With a laugh, Serena rested her head in her hands, with her elbows on the counter, lowering herself closer to the girl’s height. “Well aren’t you an innocent little goody-goody? Don’t worry, none of it’s stolen. Everything here was willingly given to us by charitable, satisfied patrons.”
Blushing a little at the look the woman was giving her, Nessa decided to change the subject. “Umm, do you need some help with that?” Pointing at the notepad, she continued. “Since the bear was five, and this-”
“Let’s call it five dollars for the lot. A dollar each, sound good?” Serena said, standing up and quickly putting the total into the cash register.
“Oh, uh, sure, but I don’t have any dollars, only pounds… d’you accept pounds?”
“Silly me, silly me! I meant pounds, that’s what I mean! Five pounds!” Serena accepted the money as Nessa handed it to her, made a show of ringing her up, and wrote out a quick receipt, putting it, the bear, the shirts, and the bib all in a large bag together, and holding it out for her.
“Thanks!” Nessa said, unnerved by the odd encounter, but also excited. Taking the bag from Serena by slipping the end of her tail through the handles, Nessa scurried her way out the store, calling a final “Thanks again!” back towards the shop keep. She couldn’t help but remark how shockingly light it all felt to carry, and was off towards home - glad for the good deal, but seriously weirded out by the strangeness of it all.