Rampion (Kandi, Mason)

[Tsukiko Aoki]

The mall was, in Kiko's mind, upscale. She ordinarily bought from places like TJMaxx and Target or Kohl's and so mall prices always seemed to her to be exorbitantly expensive. When she wanted to purchase something especially nice she would venture out to the mall, braving the sullen teens and the youth with asymmetrical hair cuts and their uniforms that displayed their subcultural allegiances and the young mother's with absurdly wide strollers.

She was capable of paying more than she did, but she didn't see the point, and it never occurred to her that Pilot Ridge was lacking anything truly upscale until she had asked Kandi to go shopping with her.

It had seemed like a good idea right up until they pulled into the mall parking lot and she remembered that her sister had come home from living in Hollywood and probably she wouldn't be too impressed with a simple backwoods mall.

Oh, well, too late now.

"So I was thinking we could stop by -- " She began before she saw a familiar handsome face. A familiar handsome face whom she had noticed spending a lot of time with her friend Janice lately.

"Hey, Mason! C'mere and meet my sister, Hi--Kandi."

She made an apologetic grimace at the younger woman; it was difficult to remember she didn't go by her given name anymore.

[Kandi Aoki]

The mall was, in Kandi's mind, a far cry from the exclusive boutiques and designer gifts that Hollywood had spoiled her with. However, that didn't stop her from being enthusiastic about accompanying her sister to said shopping phenomena. Kandi was looking forward to the high school memories that it would bring back. Back then she had only dreamed about being the chosen stylist for a Tommy Hilfiger fashion show - now she had actually lived it! Of course she prattled on about all the designers and celebrities that she had styled for, but she wasn't sure how much Tsukiko believed her.

Of course she had no clue that her rambling might make her sister doubt her desire to go to the mall. Those sort of insightful thoughts didn't come easily to the self centered party girl. As they pulled into the parking lot, Kandi grinned from ear to ear. Just the smell of the food court drifting out the doors brought back memories of strolling through with her crew commenting on all the latest fashion disasters and hair failures that walked by.

She could almost taste the memories until Kiko brought her back to the present. "Hmm...where? I'm up for going anywhere..." Kandi trailed off, realizing that Kiko had already dropped the subject and chased another rabbit. Oh...but the rabbit was very handsome. Kandi smoothly exited the car and tossed her glossy, long hair over her shoulder. A look of approval was on her lips as she stepped over to stand by her sister's side. "Mason. Well, what a delight. I'm always pleased to meet my dear sister's friends."

Kandi's voice was delicately coy as she placed a hand on Kiko's elbow. It was meant to be a sisterly touch. A little acceptance of the apology in Tsukiko's voice. Though the slip up caused an unusual inkling of guilt. A guilt that pushed Kandi very close to offering up her given name. How odd...

[Mason McQueen]

Unlike the Aokis, Mason really has nothing to say about the mall. He doesn’t like it all that much (he’s seen better malls, with more shops, more amenities and more modern designs), but he really doesn’t dislike it all that much either. Like most men (or at least how the media portrays them to be), he’s not really all that much of a shopping fan. He usually just goes to the mall, heads straight to the shop he needs to be, then goes back out. The man finds window shopping rather useless. He’d rather curl up on the couch and watch some TV, or go out for a jog if he needs to work his legs.

And as much as he wants to do just that, he can’t. Not with Sam teasing him how outdated his wardrobe is already. Sure he’s not a teen anymore, his best friend says, but that doesn’t mean he has to fill his closet with plain shirts, jeans and no stripes whatsoever. (He only has two shirts with such stripes, both of them deemed uninteresting by his beloved best friend).

Oh how he wishes Paul was here to help him.

Taking a deep breath, he got out of his car and tried to remind himself of the stores that he could check out. He was almost to the door when he heard someone call his name, turning around slowly to see who it was. “Oh hi Dr. Aoki!” he waved as he walked over, grinning widely. He extended his arm out for a handshake since Tsukiko already introduced him anyway, adding, “Paul hadn’t mentioned anything about Hoshimi and you have another sister. I’m Mason, nice to meet you.”

“Girls’ day off, if I may so ask?” Hopefully that wasn’t too intrusive. He didn’t want Janice’s friends to think of him as a little brash.

ooc:
Sorry if it's late and crappy guys. T_T.
- Jam

[Tsukiko Aoki]

"That was awfully remiss of him!" Kiko grinned, shaking her head in faux disapproval at Paul's lapse. In all honesty, she hadn't expected Paul to mention Hinata; after all, the middle sister had gone off to Hollywood long before Hoshi had introduced her to Mason's journalist brother.

"Kandi's a hairstylist." She explained brightly, gesturing toward her sister warmly. "She's tired of doing up the stars in Hollywood and decided to grace Pilot Ridge with her presence and talent." A nudge to her sister's side punctuated that remark, "Which is great since Mrs. Kinski retired. I'll bet half Pilot Ridge is looking for someone new."

She nodded once at the question, giving a slight smile. "Definitely girl's day off. We gotta have some time to ourselves." She waved toward the mall, then, "So you're heading the same direction as us, right? To the mall?"

She didn't wait for a response before making her way toward the building, expecting the other two to follow. "So what brings you out to the mall, Mr. McQueen?"

[Kandi Aoki]

The cute companion's greeting gave Kandi a little surge of sisterly pride. Dr. Aoki. At the rest of his remark, Kandi tutted playfully and shook her head. "I see nothing has changed. I'm still the troublemaker that they keep hidden in the attic." The chuckle that followed her comment showed that she was just joking along with them. It really came as no surprise that people were uninformed about her existence. Though, Kandi was slightly disappointed. She had thought that having a sister who hung out with movie stars, models and music moguls would be something worth mentioning. Oh well, perhaps she was right. Perhaps her sisters did doubt some of her celebrity stories. Or maybe...maybe they were embarrassed by her flamboyance instead of proud of her.

That thought put a slight damper on her mood, though she didn't show it outwardly. Outwardly she was still smiling her stunning smile. Because of that sobering train of thought, Kiko's next batch of comments came as quite a surprise. She almost seemed to be bragging about her sister. Kandi's spirits were once again lifted as she nodded to confirm her sister's announcement. An appropriate amount of pink blush colored her cheeks. "Let's hope that my talent is as suited to Pilot Ridge as it was to Hollywood." She smirked at her sister as she got nudged in the side. The news of a retirement definitely peaked the savvy business woman's interest. One of those perfectly groomed brows arched delicately. "Ooo...really? We will have to chat that up later, sister."

At the gentleman's inuiry, Kandi nodded with a beaming smile. "Yes, I'm hoping to teach my dear sister how to spoil herself a bit." As said sister took off walking without waiting for input from the other two, Kandi rolled her eyes and snickered. Her own steps were a bit less brisk as she waited to see if Mr. McQueen would be joining them.

[Mason McQueen]

“Well, that’s Paul for you,” Mason chuckled, not knowing that his supposedly harmless comment caused quite the downer for Kanda’s mood, “So many things that run through the man’s head that he sometimes forgets the most basic of things. Just like that one time he dragged me over to join his friends at a bar and everyone was asking me who I was.” They actually thought he was Paul’s boyfriend. Thank god that they looked a lot alike that convincing Paul’s friends that while he’s slept on the same bed as Paul a number of times before, it’s not what they’re thinking about. It did open him up to a number of flirty remarks from them, something that made him rather uncomfortable for the first couple of hours. “Tell Hoshi she’s free to smack him whenever she wants,” he added.

He perked up slightly with the mention of Kandi’s profession. How can Paul forget such an interesting sister really? (Not that Hoshi and Dr. Aoki aren’t interesting; it’s just that Kandi’s much more suited for his needs than the two on a daily basis). “Pretty sure you’d fit right in. Small as Pilot Ridge might be, we have tons and tons of teens around.” Recruitment doesn’t take a break in Hammel after all. “Pretty sure those kids would love to have a taste of the Hollywood lifestyle, even if it’s just with their hair.” He could already enumerate a number in his head that would love to feel like a movie star. Oddly enough, a male teen tops the list. “I could also name a few adults who’d love to have a change in their ‘dos. You’ll have your hands full in no time.”

One of the things he finds amazing in Pilot Ridge really. In the absence of those big store chains (only a few can be seen in town), small businesses are booming. He’s fairly sure Josef almost always says he can barely get enough sleep with the number of people going into his gym daily.

“Friend told me I need to find myself a few new clothes to keep myself interesting,” he shrugged, smiling slightly, “Apparently plain shirts and a number of stripes just aren’t doing it. Sadly though, I have no idea what to pick.”

Or at least what to buy that won’t put Janice off.

ooc:
I'm sooooorry this is soooo late you guys. T___T. And that it's a bit on the crappy side, to put it lightly. Sorry guys. </3.
- Jam

[Tsukiko Aoki]

"I'll let Hoshi know to hit Paul for me," Kiko agreed as she fell in beside Kandi. She was sure that the third sister had been mentioned before, but it was entirely likely that when the two writers got together they only talked shop. She was sure even a fly on the wall would find that boring.

"You think I don't spoil myself enough?" She sniffed, feigning offense. "I'll have you know that I bought lingerie recently."

There was a pause as she counted back to see how long ago that excursion had been before confessing, "Well, before Christmas. But it still counts!"

Hoshi hadn't enjoyed that trip, but she had, and she thought Janice and Kateri had, as well.

"So," She turned to Mason with quirked eyebrow, "You're saying you need help picking out some new clothes. I think we'll help in exchange for names of some of your students who need new hair. I think flyers in mailboxes may be in order here soon, what do you think, sis?"