though… wow.
Wendy must have melted that plastic with all these clothes. Angel knew it'd be fun to try on silky item after silky item, then put more on top of those. Swishy dresses, flowing skirts, lightweight pants, colorful tops. They were all so beautiful, like a tropical coral reef on a sunny day. That Humans could create such beautiful products said a lot about them—and gave her hope for the future.
And the shoes! Oh, the shoes. The flats came in so many colors, and Wendy had insisted she try on a pair for each outfit. Really, Angel hadn't needed much convincing. She loved the flamingo-colored sandals the saleswoman had said were the latest style. They were comfortable and looked so very pretty on her new feet.
And then, the high heels! All different heights, some thick-heeled, some as thin as an anemone ten tacle. Made from cork and wood and even that loath some plastic, decorated with sequins and braiding and bows… she was going to have to practice walking in them when she was alone. They were absolutely ador able. The saleswoman had suggested a pale oyster colored pair for casual and a shiny pair of black ones for evening. Angel had never realized Humans change d shoes according to the time. All these neat things that came with legs. And firsthand experience.
With Wendy's help, she selected a white halter dress with a peek-a-boo cutout at the top of the bodice, criss crossed with all the colors in Atlantis' coral gardens. It reminded her of home. Not that she was homesick per se, but Atlantis was so beautiful, she wanted that beauty with her on her first day in the Human world.
Angel followed Wendy to the checkout counter, anx ious to see how the electronic equipment worked. She had one of these machines at home but hadn't yet been able to hook it up to an eel.
Harnessing the natural abilities of electric eels was one of the ideas she wanted to explore as director of the Coalition. Those suckers could generate a huge jolt if so inclined, but any time she'd approached one to test her theory, they'd turned their squared noses up at her and told her to take it up with their union rep.
They didn't even have an industry, yet they had a union. Slimy the eels might be, but they were ahead of the economic curve.
Wendy began scanning the items. The process, while fascinating, didn't give Angel the insight she'd wanted. Aside from taking the machine apart—and wouldn't that raise some eyebrows—Angel found she couldn't learn much by watching.
She learned better by doing. And now was the perfect opportunity to do something she'd wanted to do since Logan had woken her—experiment with balance.
She leaned her elbows on the counter and shifted her weight from one leg to the other, paying attention as she did so to the play of muscles, the pressure points on her feet, and how her toes reacted. She took one of the sandals off and did it again, mentally comparing the differences.
Then she lifted one leg, put it down, and lifted the other, thanking the gods no one else was around and that the countertop hid her actions from Wendy.
Until she accidentally knocked something off it. Great. Way to not call attention to herself.
Angel bent over to pick the object up, then realized that there was a plus to being clumsy. She could exam ine how her leg muscles and joints worked together as she reached down to pick up the leather-covered…
Book.
Full of paper.
Pages and pages of blank paper.
She loved paper, but it always disintegrated shortly after she got hold of it. Dollar bills, on the other hand, lasted longer and she could write all over them. If Humans would only make them bigger and less clut tered with minutiae, she'd use them for taking notes on her expeditions.
Like this expedition…
"I'd like to buy this, as well." Angel handed the notebook to Wendy. "And do you have a…" What did Humans call
Learning to Kill: Stories