Kwik Trip Even vampires need shampoo okay?

Savannah was a super coordinated, epic shifting sunlight vampire now. You know what she didn't need?

Those little metal basket things that you had to hold all weird so they dug into your arm.

Like, nope. No sir, she was gonna carry all the pharmaceuticals she needed in her arms because she was skilled like that. At first, it was simple, because like she only needed a few things. But then like any girl, sorry, but suddenly you had an entire armful of junk you didn't think you needed but actually really did, because it was on sale.

Also because she had no strength when it came to the cosmetic section.

Now was the moment of regret, as she eyed the bottle of shampoo she'd originally come here for, up on the top shelf. One, she was a smol bean that couldn't reach it normally. Two, her arms were precariously loaded with assorted junk.

Was she weak enough to give in and go find the basket of doom? Would she have to put everything down at once just to get it? Would she stand here in limbo forever?

Or would she do the Savvy thing and make friends with the person turning down her aisle?

"Hiiiiii can you please help a poor short girl please?"
Wehhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh

The wounds he'd sustained from the she wolf had not healed completely by any means; heck, his right ear was still pretty much gone. Or, well, half of it. (Okay, maybe he was overreacting). But, it was getting better, especially after his shift the night prior. Somehow, turning into a huge black jaguar in the forest helped speed up the healing process, rendering everything back to normal.

For the most part.

As it was now, Ethan was busying himself with buying aftershave and, um, just generally checking out the cosmetics section because he'd always found such things to be weirdly.. appealing? Call him weird, but yes, he was one of those dudes to get a manicure—alongside a pedicure.

SHUT UP.

But, yeah, just stop judging him you asshole-

"Hiiiiii can you please help a poor short girl please?"

In the midst of his weird fawning over, he actually hadn't noticed the shortie in the distance.

Or the fact that she was definitely not... alive.

Still.. when he did, both of his brows rose up in slight surprise, but his expression remained decidedly welcoming. He was just, y'know, caught a bit off guard. "Sure thing. What's up?" Spoken curiously, he closed the distance some.
Wehhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh

See, she couldn't exactly see too well over her pile of crap. Only as he approached, did she start to pick up on some key features her shopaholic brain had yet to pick up on. One, this dude was a were something. No big deal really, she was supposedly an awesome stronger vamp now. Also most weres were chill.

No, second, and more importantly. This dude. Looked like..

"Oh my god are you Will Smith?!" Savvy whispered at him in outmost shock, missing the fact the dude was missing a bit of ear, wasn't human, and most likely was not Will Smith because Will Smith didn't frequent Mountainside pharmacies.

No, she was preparing to fangirl instead. Look, she already lost some eyeliner and a can of hairspray in the process. They clanged to the floor, but she barely noticed in the urge to flap her hands. Pile of shit, remember, so she couldn't, and merely bounced lightly on the spot.
Wehhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh

Oh my god! He looked like Will Smith!

His reaction? A huff, followed by a genuine, toothy grin.

But then his grin faltered ever so slightly as things were dropped on the floor.

"The I-Am-Legend-Dude? Naw," he said after a moment, amused. "Just an uncanny coincidence—name's Ethan." AKA you could chill now, vamp lady. The can of hair spray would roll towards him eventually and he'd crouch to get a hold of it and uuuh.... hold it out for her to get? Place it on her pile of other stuff? ...He was still kinda figuring that out.

"Is there a chance you might want a basket?"

Y'know, just saying.
Wehhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh

Wehhhhhh nu why couldn't it be Will Smith she never met anyone cool! It probably was him. Only like, he was super extra secretive because she was a vamp and could sense his whole secret were thing. Celebrities couldn't be monsters, obviously.

The more in touch with reality part of Savvy's brain, however, admitted defeat. "Aw man, kay. I'm Savvy." Savvy, queen of too many nail polishes.

He grabbed her hairspray, and she shuffled over to allow him to replace it back on her pile. That is, until he offered up the dreaded basket.

"Nuuuu I'm having this mental struggle of like, wanting to not be dependent on the basket. As a metaphor for me being a strong independent undead thing who totally has her life together."

A package of cottonballs threatened to topple, meanwhile.
Wehhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh

Savvy.

"It sure has a ring to it," he said sincerely.

And then came the reasoning behind the basket refusal, hm..

"Alright miss-independent-undead-thing-who-totally-has-her-life-together, what is it I can help ya with?" He said quirking a brow, clearly amused. It was a good thing the place was relatively empty, so they were spared from any eavesdroppers. Placing the hair spray successfully atop the pile, Ethan pondered asking the kid(????) a question.

Well a question for now.

"How does it feel being the fangface of the two?" And by two he meant his furry counterparts. "Is it cooler than having a tail?" Cue some eyebrow wiggling just 'cause he could.

NO ONE COULD STOP HIM.
Wehhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh

Gosh what was with the whole vamps hate weres thing? Most of the weres she'd met had been so sweet! Aside from Chloe, but like, she was just reasonably wary?? People were dumb with prejudiced crap.

Well, anyway, since Will Smith-not-Smith was offering help, she'd use him to her advantage. "Can you pretty please take down a few scents so I can pick one?" she requested, nodding to the shampoo at the top shelf. "So hard finding something mild, the heightened senses thing kinda makes coconut old fast."

He was asking her if being a 'fangface' was cooler than having a tail, and Savannah almost blurted out she DID have a tail now. But like.. She had been learning about subtly lately, and not spilling every little vamp detail. "No way, I bet it's so much cooler having a wild ah.. pet." Cue a wink. "What kind do you have? Dog, cat.. Um.. Are there birds??"

How fucking terrifying would a huge ass falcon were be? Very.
Wehhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh

Oh, an easy request.

"Sure thing," he said, offering a faint nod. Reaching up, he'd get a hold of a shampoo which looked all purple and fancy and shit, but Ethan just couldn't be arsed to read the label. So, instead, he just.. opened the cap and... It smelled of lavender? Obviously, the scent was artificial—his extremely sensitive jaguar nose could tell as much—but it wasn't unpleasant by any means.

Lowering it to her height, he'd offer it to her to, uh... sniff.

...As for her question, though.

"I've got a big black boy. He kind of looks like a jaguar or a panther, y'know? He's rather bulky." He said and offered a brief flash of teeth. "I've never had any experience with birds actually, but one of my pals had a snake." Snake weres were weird, man. But, what was even weirder was finding out that one of your best friends from college was sharing a brain with a python.
Wehhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh

He picked the lavender scented one, as she could see the label clearly with her super cool vamp eyesight. Definitely not her scent, but she'd politely humor him with a faked sniff anyway. No way she was sneezing for hours after inhaling that concoction.

If vampires sneezed. Did they sneeze? Questions man.

But like, oh my god. JAGUAR. "Naah next one please, and dude. I know a couple with two jag-like cats." She beamed at him, really quite amazed there could be so many of one were in the area. "Do you know them by any chance?" He must.. Did they have their own group?

Questions, again, man.

Also snake weres were 1000X more terrifying than a bird were.
Wehhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh

Alright, next one.

Closing the bottle and placing it back on the shelf, he pulled a red one down and popped it open for her to take a whiff.

"Naw man, I've actually not met anyone else who owns that kind of pet? Where'd you meet them?" Ethan had only known two jaguars in his life tops and none of them had been in Mountainside. From hyenas, to cheetahs, to snakes... Jaguars sort of seemed rare he supposed.

But if a jag couple existed, did that mean that there were more?

More than two?

Was there a group somewhere he was completely unaware of?
Wehhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh

Let's see, red was.. Some kinda rose herbal mix thing. Kay. She inhaled, and the scent was actually pretty soft. Human Savvy would have skipped it over, but vampire Savvy mentally ticked it off. "That one please! On the pile," she chirped, adjusting her grip carefully so it could rest on top.

She'd make her way down the aisle then, slowly, still intent on talking up Mr. Pussy cat. "Ahhh Ravenswood, but I don't think they live there. If you'd like I can take your number, give it to them to contact you?" Asha wouldn't mind, surely? Didn't like, weres group up and shit?

They could probably use a friend too, after everything that had been going down.
Wehhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh

Savvy chirped and Ethan's expression brightened up; so far, she had to be one of the most pleasant undead creatures he'd come across, but maybe that was because she was young? Or looked young? Did vampires even age? He sincerely didn't know, but he'd keep quiet for now. Either way, he'd carefully place the bottle onto the pile.

"Yeah, sure thing; I can give you my number to forward to them," he said, honestly fine with it. "What are their names?" It only seemed smart to know beforehand, to... at least seem somewhat educated.

Following after her, he'd let his gaze wander on the products to the right whilst keeping an ear out for anything else she might want him to reach.
Wehhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh

Perfect! Surely Asha wouldn't mind knowing another jaguar in the area? If she didn't care to.. Welp. They could ignore the info! He seemed like a decent enough dude, though. "Can do! They're called Asha and Abraham, they're a nice couple. Didn't look down on me for being a little pale either, if you catch my drift." She winked, grinning at the little secret code they had going on. Big pet kitties and pale girls.

She was honestly tempted to ask after some more products they passed.. But student budgets man. She probably shouldn't even be buying half the junk she had here.

The hit the end of the aisle, and she nodded to the cash. "Lemme pay up, get a bag for this, and I'll take down your number kay?" If he was cool, she'd scurry to the night-time empty aisle and checkout.
Wehhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh

Asha and Abraham.

Ethan would nod once and crack a bit of a toothy one at Savvy's remark.

He liked her.

Reaching the end of the aisle, Ethan would offer another nod. "Take your time, there's no rush." Because really, he wasn't in any sort of hurry; he was a patient guy, he could wait. It was cool.

Whistling lightly to keep the time running smoothly, he'd wait for her to finish bagging her stuff.
Wehhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh

She would rush all the same, everything getting dumped into two large bags. She felt bad for forgetting the reusable ones she had at home, but tis was the life of a forgetful teenager.

When she returned, she had her phone out and ready to take down Ethan's number. "I'll give them a shout, hook you up if they're interested. It's always nice finding friends who're like - .. Who have similar tastes in pets."

A sly wink. No spilling secrets, nupe.

"Thanks, for helping!" she'd chirp happily, before taking her leave.
Wehhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh