why'd you think i do the things i do?

The mall never was her favourite hangout, for a number of reasons. For one, the utter humiliation she had faced from the crowds when she had first arrived here; Mar didn't look exactly 'fresh', as they put it, and they made sure she'd never forget it either.

Secondly, crowds in general were never fun for her. She only ever valued them when they were used to blend in; but since people at the mall were usually on the move, Mar wouldn't look particularly natural standing around looking nervous.

Alas, it was all a part of her self-appointed assignment for the day; learning more on the Inkling dress-code, while simultaneously purchasing more outfits to wear. After all, it'd be odd walking around in just one or two sets of clothes, wouldn't it...?

The mimic had her gaze fixed to the ground as she approached the entrance to the mall, intending to do everything in her power to avoid eye contact with anyone. However, she had instead bumped shoulders with a couple of passing Inklings, who had promptly told her to 'watch where you're going'. Muttered apologies aside, the brief unpleasantness at least allowed her to see a familiar face just on one of the outdoor benches.

Immediately the day at the skate park came back. It wasn't exactly pleasant, but that was precisely why Mar promised herself to make things right in the end. Surely this person had cooled off by now, and would be willing to speak with her normally... Right? It seemed to her that something had been bothering xim that day, and a nasty experience like that probably didn't help. All xe needed was a little kindness, and it would be okay.

Shopping would have to wait. With a slight huff, Mar took gentle steps towards Vin, and tried to claim the seat next to him as casually as possible. She had let the moment linger a little too long before finally speaking up. "Oh, um... hello, again!"

Well, that was recognizable behaviour. Mar figured she'd either really startled xim, or xe was simply worried that she'd be ready to lay xim out for what happened last time. Whatever the reason, Mar decided to let xim finish before wearing a warm smile; maybe showing xim that she was not angry would ease xis nerves a bit. She debated putting a consoling hand on xis shoulder seeing how distressed xe was, but decided against it for now.

"Oh, no, no, it's okay! No hard feelings." She shook her head slightly. "Nobody holds it against you. These things happen all the time with... Us Inklings." That wasn't too strange a point to bring up, right? Inklings were aware of how aggressive they could get, right? Now she was getting nervous, desperately racking her brain for another sentence to say.

Luckily, Mar was provided the opportunity once Vin had given her xis name. She stumbled over a few words trying to get the sentence started, coming out with a few quiet 'oh's and 'uh's before any coherent word. "My name- m-my name is Mar! It's-it's good to meet you formally, Vin..." She spoke with a shy smile and a nod. That was better.

Hands folded gently in her lap. Mar couldn't help but let her eyes wander over xim at this point, and it didn't take long for her to notice that xe seemed to have been injured. Was that from the threatening voice she'd heard...? Or maybe xe had just taken a terrible few falls from xis skateboard.

No.... No, it had to have been the former. Inklings could sustain a decent amount of physical harm when it came to heights. It would take a greater force than just falling to make bruises like that. Plus, these all looked like they were put there by someone else; she would know this. The sight made her sad and angry at the same time, but she avoided bringing it up directly.

Instead, Mar chose to glance back up at xim with a slight look of concern on her face. "Um," How could she put this? "I was... I was really worried for you. You didn't seem to be in a good mood at all." Her voice was soft, almost soothing in a way. "I have to know... Are you okay...?"

"Oh... oh my..."

It sounded to her like xe had a cruel parent? Mar herself never had any definitive parent figures, but she did have very strict trainers. If this 'father' was anything like them, she could definitely understand how difficult this must have been for Vin. 

Still, what could she really say to this? No matter how much she wanted to, she couldn't exactly fix the problem for xim. And she wasn't about to relate her own past problems, let alone mention an Octarian upbringing.

Mar could only look at xim with pure sympathy. "I'm... sorry to hear, Vin." She raised her hand momentarily, and hovered it slightly over xis shoulder. Her fingers twitched before she quickly withdrew her hand and shoved it into her lap. "Um... if there's ever anything I can do to help, I'll do what I can, okay? Even if it's just to listen..." Evidently, Vin lacked a proper outlet, and she would gladly offer this to xim.

Though perhaps those offers would go unheard; she could tell from xis sudden topic change that Vin probably didn't want to linger on the subject anymore. She was okay with this, as long as he was comfortable.

Mar let off a quiet sigh; one more of dread than anything. "Well, I was just here to shop... I don't have much gear, so I was going to buy more gear with all of my turf war money." she shrugged a little, turning to face Vin a little more. "But I don't really like doing these sorts of things on my own... Maybe you'd like to join me?" She figured it couldn't hurt to offer; heck, maybe it'd help get xis mind off of things.

Mar returned with a friendly smile and nod, brushing her lap for a moment before rising up to follow xim. She had slowed a light jog once she was walking right beside xim, folding her hands behind her back. Honestly, this was nice... She had never really gone shopping with others before.

At his inquiry, she had almost jumped. She almost hadn't expected xim to start speaking to her, let alone so suddenly. But nonetheless, she responded.

"Oh, I use mostly shooter types. Though specifically, I really prefer to just use my Octoshot..." she trailed off, taking a second to realize she'd forgotten something. "...R-Replica. The Replica..." Mar had forgotten that Inklings had somehow managed to replicate the main Octoling weapons for use in their turf wars. She wasn't sure whether to feel insulted or surprised, but she was certainly glad that she didn't have to explain herself whenever she was seen carrying it.

"Elite Turf Wars...? Oh, I don't know about that," she glanced away for a moment. "I only moved here a month ago. Right now I'm trying to hone my skills and settle in..." That was only a half-lie. Mar really had been here for one month, but she had specifically avoided staying under the radar of 'fame' so she could complete her work without hassle. "How about you...? I don't think I've ever seen you in battle."

Mar always did have a klutzier way of walking-- in that she had a tendency to trip over her own feet now and then if she had been nervous. This was proven by the fact that she had done it once already; once she'd finished speaking, she realized she'd fallen behind just a little, and stumbled slightly from trying to catch up to Vin.

Ah... she really needed to get out more.

Regardless of her minor mistakes, Mar listened closely to Vin's words with a slight raise of her eyebrows. "Oh, I see... I-I hear that's a difficult class to master. You must be a great battler." Honestly, she really was impressed; she remembered trying her hand at sniping a long time ago, and needless to say, it didn't turn out too well at all. After that, Mar held charger-users in high regard, considering them some of the bravest people of all. "You'll fit in well in the Elite turf wars."

Mar knew that some teams liked to play competitively, but she had never really gotten the chance to get into the mind of a top player like this. She realized, this could be a good opportunity to learn some valuable information. "...That sounds thorough. You play very competitively, hm?" She nodded. "I respect that. I-it takes a lot of dedication, doesn't it?" From the way xe talked, it sure sounded as though xe took this seriously; more serious than she would have thought at first.