Dylan was standing straight as a pole near the entrance of the shop. He would occasionally smile or chuckle to himself as if he thought of something funny and a blast of charm would erupt along with his smiles. The shoppers, upon seeing his smile, could not help but to find themselves being drawn to him yet they were too shy to approach him. A small group of brave yet bashful girls broke this status quo.
"You wish to take a photo with me?" Dylan asked, somewhat in disbelief.
The girl nod her head in response.
"Why?"
Why? This question was simple yet difficult to answer. Putting it nicely, the girls wanted to preserve their encounter with this otherworldly man in a photo and crudely worded, they thought he was hot and wanted to brag about it online.
The girl's eyes darted around, searching for an excuse when they landed on Fir. She originally questioned the presence of Fir but her train of thought eventually drifted off to a viral video a while back of a man that could seemingly seduce the wildest of animals.
"animal whisperer, you're the animal whisperer! T-that's why, you, you're famous, so, um, I've never met anyone famous before, so I wanted to take a photo with you and my friends." The girl answered in a fluster.
On normal occasions, Dylan would've realised that the girl was just making an excuse and in reality, she was just attracted to his appearance. However, upon hearing the accursed words from his accursed past of not too long ago, Dylan could hear naught but 'animal whisper' echoing in his head like some kind of spell. His composed appearance fell apart and a faint blush appeared on his face.
The girls witnessed the man dressed in a military uniform, strong and wild yet disciplined looking suddenly go pink with embarrassment and sirens went through their heads. M-MOE!!! Dylan tried to hide his embarrassment behind a smile but his red ears peaked from behind his messy hair and exposed his shame. The girls busily took photos of the scene in their hearts while the other shoppers took their phones out and audaciously started to take photos without permission.
"Can we take the photo?" The girl asked again, wishing to take advantage of Dylan's brief lapse in composure.
"M-Mn, yes, go ahead." Dylan replied, gesturing for the girl to stand beside him. The girls smiled with delight, one of the rushing to get someone to take the photo for them. Once everything was ready, they surrounded Dylan, standing on both sides and in front of him as well. Dylan was tall so it wasn't a problem for them to stand there, in fact, the girl standing in front only reached his chest in height.
"1, 2, 3 say cheese." The helpful bystander said as she took the photo. Dylan flashed a smile and made a v with his hand. The girls also made their own poses, each unique to the individual.
The photographer took a few photos to ensure that the girls would have one that they would be satisfied with and very shyly...asked Dylan for a photo. Having already agreed to take photos with the girls, Dylan couldn't bring himself to refuse her and so agreed. The photographer took out her phone and took a few selfies with Dylan before scurrying off with a red face.
The other bystanders saw this and wanted to take the opportunity to also take a photo with the handsome man, however, Fir started to make a fuss, detering any potential photo takers. He flew around Dylan and chirped melodiously whenever people approached so they weren't able to speak to Dylan.
"Thank you for the help, Fir." Dylan telepathically thanked Fir.
"No problem, Lyn! If anyone tried to bother you, I'll be here to help you." Fir declared reliably. Dylan laughed and cast his storage magic while pretending to reach into his pocket. From within his pocket, he retrieved a small bag of seeds. The seeds were a frosty blue and white and were cold to the touch. They came from a fruit that only grew in snowy mountains like the mountain Dylan found Fir in. Fir loved eating them because they reminded him of home and also because they were a icy treat.
"Here you go. Don't eat too much though, we won't be able to get more if you do." Dylan cautioned before tipping the seeds onto his palm and offering the seeds to Fir, whom, very delightly began to peck at the seeds and eat with relish.
"Yay~Lyn's the best!" He whistled happily.
Even whilst he was conversing with Fir, Dylan was still vaguely aware of his surroundings. He could feel the robotic lenses lock onto him and frevous gazes being directed at him and Fir. A lot of people were taking candid shots of Dylan but he tried his best to ignore them. Dylan smiled wryly, quitely lamenting the difference between the other world and Earth. In Diva, even when he was met with passionate gazes, the most people could do was stare at him. Yet, here on Earth, they could take photos of him and the thought of that made him feel utterly helpless.
Dylan sighed, blood rushing to his cheeks yet again.
Dylan: These people are only taking photos of me because of my identity as this so called 'animal whisperer'. How shameful.
"Hey, Dylan. You got targetted I see." Janine commented with a knowing and teasing smile.
"That's great! That's means a lot of people are seeing this masterpiece!" Charlotte cheered.
Dylan let out a dry laugh before glancing at the small bags held in the two ladies hands. He stretched his hand out, offering to carry it for them.
Without much reservations, Janine directly gave her bag to Dylan. "Here you go, sir knight." She chuckled.
"Thanks for carrying it." Charlotte thanked before giving her bags to Dylan.
"No problem." Dylan smiled and followed after them again. He ignored the gazes around him and focussed on chaperoning the girls, walking with both discipline and leisure.
"By the way, Lotte. Why are you so keen to have people see the jacket. They're going to see it when you sell it anyways." Janine asked the question that had been on her mind all day.
Charlotte hummed in response. "Mmm, I'm not planning on selling it. This is Dylan's, and Dylan's only. I'm not going to make another one."
"Hmm, okay." Janine nodded and didn't pursue the issue. The jacket would obviously sell out but she respected Charlotte's decision and there had also been precedent cases before so she was used to it.
"That's why lot's of people have to see it so they know how much of a masterpiece it is." Charlotte bragged cheekily.
Janine chuckled in response and just continued to window shop. Other than the first shop she visited, nothing really caught her eye. She felt that the clothes Charlotte made were better so obviously she wasn't too inclined to buy other clothes.
Thus, the trio plus a bird cut their trip short after a coffee break (only Janine actually ordered coffee) and went back home.