Present Shopping [Gilbert + Monika]

Well,it was that time of the year again; Weihnachten. It came as quite a shock to Monika,actually,when she had chanced upon the date on her calender just mere hours ago and realised that Christmas was right around the corner.

And that she have not gotten the presents yet.

Inwardly,she berated herself; she was usually more organized and responsible than this,but time had slipped by her in a frenzied rush of stacks of homework,year-end tests and other mischiefs and mayhem which Monika was left in charge to handle and clean up. It had been such a foray of tasks that she was actually surprised that she was still left standing,and had not already collapsed onto her bed in a heap.

But Christmas was special; it was something that Monika held dear to her heart as she reminisced on the past holidays spent merry-making with her grandfather and her schwester. So there was no way Monika could let herself ruin this Christmas (especially since it was the sisters' first Christmas in this foreign school together) by missing out the essential presents,and with that usual determined mindset of hers,she hauled her lethargic form out of the Slytherin dorms,across the gravel field and down to Hogsmeade. Maybe if the stars of fortune were smiling down upon her today,she would be able to purchase the perfect present quickly and return back to her nice,warm bed as soon as possible. Yes,Monika mused as she entered into the first shop,that would be nice.

[[Sorry for the horrible start. >///< ]]

Christmas shopping was a rather worrisome affair that year. Gilbert normally only had to buy presents for his brother and parents, since he was, ah, well, he didn't make any friends with the snooty boys from his school in Germany - but this worked out fine as Gilbert had very little pocket money. Most of the finances he had went towards his school supplies, and the remaining change went into the little pile of money that was to pay off his school loan. So Gilbert didn't have a lot of money to go spending on presents, he was downright poor, and his brother was most likely in the same boat.

What made this Christmas different though, was that Gilbert actually had presents to buy people that went beyond his family. He had met a few people at this school that he could tentatively call 'friends', and therefore, required to have presents. Only problem was was that Gilbert, well, they didn't know that he was financially troubled, and probably expected awesome presents! Not stuff that he scrounged up from second-hand stores or made himself to save costs like his brother and parents expected. It made him fret. What if they thought his cheapness was an insult and didn't want to be friends with him any more? He only just got these friends, and he didn't want to offend them somehow by accident!

So during one Hogsmeade weekend, Gilbert decided that at the very least he could look and see how expensive the shops were. Maybe if he was lucky, things would actually be cheap. The economy was going through a bit of a slump right now, but he had heard that it was a lot worse in the Muggle world, rather than the Wizarding, so comparing prices in Muggle shops to Wizarding shops was probably a silly thing to do without scouting first. It took a lot of encouragement to actually get out of bed and go down to Hogsmeade, trying to be optimistic, even though doubts gnawed at him.

Gilbert stepped into the first shop that caught his eye, a sort of 'odds and bits' shop that sold many miscellaneous items. Cute little knick-knacks, nifty enchantments, interesting books all stacked high on the shelves and making navigation through it rather fun. It was like being trapped in a little maze that smelt of pine. Gilbert checked the prices of each interesting thing, slowly getting a little disheartened. They weren't expensive, but they were also a bit much for him to spend on one sole person. Didn't they have Christmas Sales or something? Two for one, or half price, or something? He couldn't see any signs, or adjustments on the tags. Well, maybe he could splurge on his brother, and get his new friends cheap presents - but arrrgh, no, maybe it should be the other way round? Ludwig wouldn't be expecting much from him, and Gilbert wasn't expecting a pricey present from Ludwig either.

As he mulled over this, Gilbert turned a sharp corner and suddenly walked into something quite solid and warm and definitely human. He yelped as they both pitched forwards, but managed to grasp onto the person he bumped into before he sent them flying into the nearby shelf, steadying them both. Oh. Oh that was close! If he knocked all that stuff over, he would've had to pay for it! Enchantments weren't fixed with a simple 'Reparo' after all!

"Oh, fuck- sorry."

Ow.

Well,that had certainly been unexpected; only mere moments after she had wandered into the interesting little trinket shop,Monika was almost mauled over a rather solid and unpleasant force which sent her skittering a couple centimetres back and at last,backed up against a decidedly hard and sturdy shelf,her nerves and spine protesting upon the stark,painful impact.

"Oh, f- sorry." A low,decidedly male,voice swore above her. Monika's eyes snapped open,the subtle pain presented was entirely overwhelmed by the mild fury that was beginning to build up within her. She raised her gaze,mulling over the choice of putting 'if looks could kill' to the ultimate test,when she levelled her view with a set of scarlet eyes. Monika halted.

She could,for the life of her,comprehend why she had stopped in her attempt to spear her offender,but maybe it was those eyes that caught her,stark,scarlet eyes that displayed the subtle edges of embarrassment (for being caught in such an awkward situation,she assumed.). She widened the diameter of her gaze,taking in a sight of a young man looming over her. This was surprising to Monika,of course,as she herself possessed a rather large stature that enabled her to tower over most students - male and female alike - by a couple of inches. Closer inspection revealed that he was indeed a student of Hogwarts and,judging from the crimson stripes of his scarf,a Gryffindor,no less. Brilliant,just what she needed; a student from a House which rumours said to die-hard rivals of the Slytherins and who could potentially slow down her whole 'present shopping' mission. But still,two things drew Monika's attentions to him; one,his hair was the same pale shade as her schwester's,and two,his accent was faint but undeniable:

He was definitely German.

Monika would be lying if she claimed that the discovery did not soften her and aid the student in her favour just a little. After all,she have been gone from Germany for some time now,and homesickness had inevitably settled in her heart. So chancing upon someone from the same origins thrilled Monika,but the situation she was currently caught in had much to be revised,and thrill at meeting one of your own could be displayed later once she frees herself from this...awkward position.

"Danke," She said. "For catching me." She specified,slanting a glance at his hands,one which was firmly but gently clamped over her upper arm,and the other grasping the edge of the shelf,to steady it and prevent it - and its contents which required payment if damaged - from collapsing onto the pair. This meant,however,that Monika was effectively shelled in and the close proximity between them cause a strange discomfort within her. She laid her hand gently on his chest,slanting a glance upwards at him in hopes that he would get the message and back away,as soon as possible.

Gilbert started at hearing the German, but his surprise was affectedly curtailed by realising just how close he was to the- the girl he almost shoved down. He let out a mortified noise and hurriedly backed away, holding his hands up in a gesture of surrender while his pale cheeks flushed with colour. Oh crap, a girl. He practically collapsed on top of a girl! Pinned her against the shelf, which was- uurgh, no. He looked genuinely apologetic as he lowered his hands, shoving them into his coat's pocket. He had a cloak, but for the freezing cold temperature of Scottish winter, he preferred his Muggle coat with his warm, deep pockets, even if it was pretty old and threadbare. It still kept him warmer, especially when he nagged his brother to cast a Warming Charm on them.

"Er, right. Sorry," he repeated, hunching his shoulders slightly as he felt the heat die down from his cheeks. He coughed and straightened up immediately afterwards though, brushing gloved fingers through his pale hair in a gesture of agitation. He glanced at the girl, noting that she was quite tall for her gender - and why he initially assumed he had barrelled into a boy, rather than a girl - and looked...a bit familiar actually. Heh, in fact, if he looked hard enough, she looked like she could be Ludwig's sister! Especially as she was wearing the green that was his brother's house, Slith-in. Slither? Something. Weird...but wait.

"Did you just speak German?" he asked suddenly, probably a bit rudely with his abruptness. "Are you German? Wow, I've only met, like, one other person here that speaks it, and that guy's Austrian so it doesn't count. Are you with the student exchange programme too? Well, if you are, I've never seen you at the school in Berlin, uh, unless you went to a different one. I heard there was a good one in Munich."

And Gilbert was talking too much. He shut his mouth with an audible click and grinned a bit sheepishly before he coughed again into his hand, his cheeks heating up again. He brushed aside the brief embarrassment though, and ran his hand through his hair again. "Er. Nice to meet you."

Monika cleared her throat softly, grateful that the student managed to interpret the silent message correctable and acted on it promptly. She ran a hand through her short, blonde hair, smoothing it back into place. Her lips quirked up in a small smile when she realised that she was mimicking his actions, though his seemed to stem from embarrassment and agitation rather than a feminine force of habit. A crimson blush dusting his cheeks confirmed Monika's suspicions, and she found it strangely endearing that the male student was so flustered by the accident.

"It's no problem." She replied. Monika blinked as he shot off sentences after sentences at such a rapid speed that she could barely grasp hold of his words. But from the bounce in his words, it was evident that he was rather excited as well about meeting another German; it was a feeling she could empathize with.

Finally, it appeared as if the student was aware of the velocity of his words, with no chance for her to insert a non-committal sound, much less a full-structured sentence. Thus, he snapped his mouth close with a sheepish smile painting his lips, which, once again, Monika found strangely endearing. He was rather different from most men that she have met ,Monika realised.

"Ja, I am German and I'm here on the student exchange programme as well, as is my schwester," She felt the need to supply that fact as well. Maybe it was because they were on foreign lands, but there was a odd sort of unity and bonding between those of the same race. "I did attend the Berlin Academy of Magical Arts. Perhaps we are of different years? I am a fifth year. I spend most of my time in the Headmistress' office,though. Not that I'm a troublemaker or anything, it's just that she's rather fond of me and I help her out with some stuff every now and then." She rushed to add, not wanting him to misinterpret her as some sort of mischief-maker or whatnot.

"My name is Monika, nice to meet you too." She said with a smile, raising a hand in greeting.

"Ah, I'm one year ahead of you," Gilbert noted. Hm, so this girl went to the same school as him? Odd that he never saw her, even if he was older than her. He shrugged it off. If he didn't know her, then that meant she didn't know him, and that he was the son of a squib and dirt poor. Not that that was anything to be ashamed about, in fact, Gilbert was downright proud of himself for being so awesome with such humble beginnings, but people always looked at him differently when the circumstances of his parentage and finances came to light.

"Gilbert," he returned, grasping 'Monika's hand and pumping it rather vigorously, like he was greeting another man. That was the only time he shook someone's hand after all, and his Mutti had a grip of iron, so none of this dainty delicate nonsense when shaking hands. He pulled his hand back and grinned, feeling a bit more at ease now as his hands slid into his pockets. "I'm here with my brother. His name's Ludwig, and he's in the same house as you actually. The, ah, Slith-ins?" He shrugged. "The names are weird. Dunno how to say some of them. But yeah, he's in fourth year though, so you probably won't see him much out of the common room, unless you set up your second home in the library like he did."

He really needed to stop shooting his mouth when meeting new people. It always ended up scaring them away. Gilbert cleared his throat, reining in his excitement somewhat. "But, er...yeah! So, nice to meet you! Sorry for...practically steam rolling you."

So he was a year older,hm? Strange,then she should have seen him around more. Surely she would not forget someone who resembled her schwester so. Well,no matters; maybe it meant that he was not a troublemaker either and that would explain why Monika would not have the opportunity to see him in the Headmistress' office,most likely in a scolding. (Yes,you would be surprised how many times Monika had stumbled upon such an event,and was even invited to stay,much to the troublemakers' chagrin.)

"Slytherins," Monika supplied as she extracted her hand from his firm grip with a smile. "I never really quite have the spare time to visit the library,so unfortunately,I've never met him. But I never knew we had so many Germans in the foreign exchange programme! We should all meet up one day or something," She suggested,though her tone grew just a little softer and shyer as that excited suggestion slipped out. Oh no,had she been too forward,too direct? She had been so thrilled about meeting other Germans that she have completely forgotten her manners and whatnot; after all,this 'Gilbert' was still a stranger to her. But perhaps if she composed herself and got to know him a bit better...

"It's fine,as I said," She replied. "So...er,Gilbert,are you meeting someone? You seem to be in a rush."

"Heh, aw, if I met you earlier, you could've joined me, Lutz and Roddy's awesome adventure a few weeks ago," Gilbert laughed, making a mental note to include this Monika in any future adventures. Their current adventurers formula was solid, but you always needed a girl. It was like, law. What was an adventure without a kick-ass girl being all sassy and cool? Monika looked kick-ass, like she wouldn't take shit from anyone. Germans were tough, after all! "But if we have another one, I can tell Lutz to go look for you, since you two share a House."

Oh wait, was that too forward? They did just bump into each other - well, more like Gilbert practically shoved her - and just met acquaintances didn't just invite someone to go on adventures. Well, that's what Gilbert did with Roddy and that turned out fine, and he didn't want to have a potential new friend walk off. He had been lucky so far at Hogwarts, and he didn't want that luck to end. He had so many friends now! Although it'd put extra strain on his wallet, friends were worth it! "Well, I mean, if you wanna, aha..." he murmured, rubbing the back of his neck as he feigned browsing the shelves.

Gilbert looked back at Monika at the question though. "Oh, no...Nah, I'm not meeting anyone. I thought I'd go Christmas shopping for my brother and all that, but..." He looked at the prices again, deciding that maybe knick-knacks were too ambitious for his finances. Home-made stuff was more sentimental, right? His new friends didn't seem like the snobbish type, except Roddy but he was polite too so he'd accept whatever he gave him (he better). Maybe he should go to the bookshop and see if they sold anything about how to make Enchanted Christmas gifts. Cheaper than buying the real thing. "But, er, well, I mean, home made stuff's more cooler than just buying something, right? So I think I'd do that instead."

Lutz? Roddy? Monika's brows winged together in mild confusion. They were nicknames,she realised,of which 'Lutz' seemed to be 'Ludwig',the younger brother mentioned just moments before. Yet she could not bring up a candidate in mind to fit the term of 'Roddy'. Perhaps it was someone outside her circle of friends (and responsibility).

Adventures,he said? That certainly sounded intriguing...and being all too familiar with thrill-seeking,adrenaline-craving (and more often than not,reckless and foolhardy) side of men,Monika could say with a high level of certainty that these adventures contained a fair amount of danger as well.

"I would love to. If you don't mind my presence,that is." She answered. Blame it on the motherly instincts that many had commented was embedded into Monika's very DNA or blame it on...well,that it was Gilbert that was in question,but Monika accepted his invitation just so she could keep an eye on him and his friends,and hopefully keep them out of any serious,potentially fatal trouble.

"What a coincidence; I'm out present shopping as well," Monika noticed the subtle distress etching his face as his eyes scanned the price tags of the surrounding trinkets. Did he have a tight budget or something? Maybe she could help. "Home-made presents are certainly more sincere,that's why I'm considering getting some ingredients and material instead. You know,bake some pastries and sew some clothings as gifts." Monika was a fair baker,certainly not as good as her schwester,but still good enough. Her real talents laid in clothes-making,and Monika considered knitting scarves,mittens and whatnot as presents as well.

"Would you like to come with me?" Monika offered,a small smile painting her lips. "Maybe you can find what you're looking for as well. You don't have to if you don't want to." She added in a hurry. She had heard that some men didn't like assertive women,and unfortunately,assertive was exactly what Monika was. Hopefully Gilbert would not be one of those men and be scared off so quickly.

Gilbert didn't mind assertive women. His mother was tough as nails and pretty much awesome in Gilbert's opinion, so he held a healthy amount of respect for self-assured, confident women. Granted, this also contributed to his shyness towards them, but he didn't mind. Girls were cool - unless they were crying. Then Gilbert was terrified of them. "Sure! Er, I mean, yeah, er, since you offered," he coughed, hurriedly pulling back his enthusiasm.

"So...you bake and sew?" Gilbert asked, breaking the slight awkward pause. "I can sew fine, but, er, heh, I'm not allowed near an oven or anything. Everything I try to make turns to shit, unless I can toss it into a microwave or something," he chattered, gesturing a bit animatedly in his excitement. He was making a new friend! That always made him happy! "But...most of my friends are boys, so I dunno what I can sew them, and cloth and all that is super expensive, so, eh, well, Lizzy's a girl, so maybe I could make her something. I would Enchant stuff too, if my stupid wand won't blow up whatever it was I'm trying to enchant."

"Ja, I do, though I'm not exactly a fantastic baker myself," Monika confessed, dipping her head in a subtle nod. "My schwester is the chef of the family so my skills are just fair as compared to hers. I do enjoy sewing, however. I experimented with clothes-making a few years back as a birthday gift to my grandfather, and it grew into a hobby. And I have to admit, it helped to feed my interest in clothes-making since I was the only one in the family who could do it; everyone else seems to be born with clumsy fingers." She smiled, reminiscing upon the fond memory where Maria tried her hands at clothes-making as well. It resulted in Monika having to disinfect and bandage all ten of Maria's fingers, and a full week of eating take-outs as her schwester's food-conjuring hands recuperated from the deadly experiment.

She gestured for Gilbert to follow her out of the shop (this time without any accidents that might result in them abiding to the 'once broken considered sold' rule) and began journeying westward, further into the village. Thankfully, the shops that provided materials for both baking and sewing were in the same region and saved them the trouble of travelling from one end of Hogsmeade to another to gather their resources. "How about gloves?" Monika suggested. "Your male friends might need them; it is awfully chilly in Britain most of the times." A fact that she was well-aware of, but had nevertheless slipped her mind in the rush of the moment. Monika blew into her hands, trying to supply warmth to her fingers in place of the gloves she left back in the dorms. The wintry chill and the descend of snow had already caused a light blush to rise onto her cheeks.

"Are you experiencing problems with your wand?" Her brows winged together in concern. "You should have it checked then; a wand that fails constantly is rather dangerous. You never know when a major spell might backfire on you."

Gilbert walked out of the shop with Monika, sliding his hands into the deep pockets of his Muggle coat. The wind had picked up a little, sending flakes of snow spiralling down the street in a flurry, hindering eyesight a little. In the time spent in the little shop, a fresh layer of snow had fallen, catching the weak late morning sunlight and making it sparkle. It was all very magical and picturesque in Gilbert's opinion, like a painting on a postcard. They didn't have anything like this in Berlin, where the school was within the city limits and urbanised to match the efficient Muggle city. Gilbert found himself entranced despite himself. He would always be a city boy, he loved industry and technology too much, but that didn't mean he couldn't enjoy a glorious view of a small, snow-covered village.

"I guess gloves could work," Gilbert mused, breaking out of his little daze and keeping close to Monika. He hadn't actually been down here before, and the blond Slytherin looked like she knew where she was going at least. Despite the cold, the village was bustling, people having the same idea of buying presents as well. Gilbert felt like that warranted sticking close to the blond girl. "That or scarves, I think. I've done knitting before but nothing special." Gilbert was the sewer of the family. He spent his early childhood when stuck indoors due to the summer heat sitting beside his mother and matching her sewing. He had been awful at first, but boredom and refusal to be beaten by a needle and thread had given Gilbert a talent for it. It was useful too, since Reparo didn't work on clothing if torn, and sometimes manual stitching fixed things better than magic did.

He caught Monika blowing onto her fingers, and Gilbert automatically pulled his hands out of his pockets and tugged his gloves off. His pockets were warm enough, and Monika's fingers look frozen. "Ah, here, you look like you need them more," he said, holding the gloves out. He did answer her question about his wand though.

"Well, my wand isn't malfunctioning. It's just...got a lot of power and is pretty temperamental. Its core is dragon heartstring, so..." A core that was notorious for being troublesome to work with. Filled with raw power, but very temperamental.

Monika was understandably surprised when Gilbert reached out and offered his own pair of gloves. She hesitated, weighing the pros and cons of accepting his gloves. However, the temptation of keeping her fingers warm outweighed the feminist pride and principles she would normally uphold.

"Danke." She thanked the older German gratefully, flashing him a warm smile as she slipped the gloves on. They were warmed her fingers instantly, transferring the previous warmth of Gilbert's fingers to her own.

She listened as Gilbert described his wand, utterly intrigued. Monika had always been fascinated by wand-making and whatnot. The idea that every wand was as unique and individual as humans themselves, and the fact that all the materials that made up the wand (wood,core and length) contributed to its unique personality and compatibility with its destined owner was something that Monika found simply amazing. "Yes,dragon heartstrings are known to be extremely temperamental; it's a set back from the all the raw power it wields. They're best with the wood of eastern Gingko tree for the wood is known to have a calming effect on temperamental cores. Sadly, wild Gingko trees are near extinction now, so there aren't many wands left that uses its wood." She shook her head sadly, recounting the article she had read about that particular tree. Now the only few wizards and witches in the world who wield such a rare wand were of strict Chinese descent.

"Mine is the German linden wood with the core of a dragon heartstring as well," She said. "Fortunately for me, the linden wood is rather sturdy so the incidents of a temperamental core is rare." That was not saying that she had been completely without such incidents, of course. Monika could still vaguely remember the sting of the potions that had blown up, quite literally, in her face when her wand decided that it didn't like conjuring love potions.

Monika had gotten an 'A' for that assignment, much to her chagrin.

Gilbert listened with some interest to Monika's explanation about Gingko trees. So there was a wood that could calm down his temperamental wand? When he had been given his wand by one of the descendants of Gregorovitch, the German version of Ollivander it seemed, Gilbert had been told that the dragon his core came from had been of the very mean-tempered sort. Very powerful, but very wilful and aggressive. It would take a firm handling to put the wand under his control. Gilbert was firm with his wand, but sometimes trying to cast the simplest of charms was like trying to wrestle a Minotaur under his control. At least his wand co-operated when it came to Hexes and Curses. It was absolutely flawless then.

"Ah, my wand's made of Yew," Gilbert murmured. "Apparently that's a rare kind of wood and has a bad reputation. Go me." Yes, the Yew wood was notorious for being part of Dark Wizards and Witches' wands, usually because those that held Yew wands were known to be 'great' in some way. Ambitious, greedy, strong - not exactly the most virtuous of qualities. Dragon heartstring was also easily influenced to align with the Dark Arts, so those two components combined was practically an eerie premonition of Gilbert's inner Dark Wizard. Which was stupid. Well okay, maybe he was guilty of looking up a few shady, cool-looking rituals and spells, but he never learned anything hardcore or 'evil'. Some Dark Arts spells weren't even that bad if used in a situation outside of battle. Like the Severing Hex. It was a Dark Spell, but it was just a stronger version of the Cutting Hex, which wasn't a Dark Spell.

It was weird. He wondered who classified what spells as Dark.

"But it's an awful combination, really. If I'm not casting strong spells, or curses or hexes, my wand throws a hissy fit and makes everything blow up and/or fly away like it had been shot out of a cannon."

"Ah, yew," Monika nodded in understanding. "One of the oldest, most powerful and most misunderstood wood. Its poisonous sap contributes to its notorious leanings towards the Dark Arts, but it actually makes a rather reliable wand. It chooses masters with a strong sense of loyalty, you know." She commented. Monika could tell that Gilbert did not have an easy wand to work with, but she was one who firmly believed in 'what won't kill you will only make you stronger'. She just hoped that his wand would not backfire on any major spells and provide the source of said 'kill'.

Just then, she spotted the shop that she was looking for. It appeared to be a tiny shop, tucked away in the corner and was so plain and dull on the outside that it would not catch the eye of most, but rather, slip underneath their roaming gaze like a passing shadow. However, if there was anything that the wizarding world had taught her, it was that looks were deceiving.

Monika pushed aside the door, greeted by a familiar twinkling of enchanted bells as she entered the shop. Inside, the shop was practically a labyrinth of cloth and material. The walls ran high, stacked with rolls of cloth that were of various material and colours. There were was a happy hum in the air as scissors and needles danced around in mid-air, snipping and sewing at long stretches of fabric and steadily forming completed works of art. From the way the walls ran vertically and horizontally, it was clear that the inside of the shop was magically enhanced, and was entirely unproportionate to its appearance of a small shop.

"Mr. Heiwss?" Monika called out. There was a scuffling near the back of the store (wherever that may be) and a loud reply blossomed excitedly.

"Monika! Is that you?" More scuffling, accompanied with hurried footsteps and at last, a lanky man who looked in his early twenties appeared, his arms loaded with clothes, their heavy material almost sweeping against the floor. He dumped his load into a basket that floated automatically to his side, and turned to envelope Monika in a hearty embrace. "So nice to see you again, dear!" He cast a curious, albeit somewhat sly, glance at Gilbert.

"Oh, you brought a friend~ Someone special, perhaps?"

Gilbert almost missed the tiny shop that Monika turned towards, and when they stepped inside, he was briefly struck speechless in awe. He looked up and around him as Monika called out for a 'Mr. Heiwss', watching needles and scissors swoop around cutting and stitching long pieces of cloth. So you could enchant needles and scissors to make things? That would've been useful to know...but, well, Gilbert supposed that he only trusted his own hands to stitch something with quality. He had heard stories of enchanted objects not doing as good of a job as a human would've done. He supposed it was like leaving something up to computers. They were a Godsend if you were swamped with work, but they were restricted whereas people weren't.

He looked away from a nearby roll of cloth when a young man staggered out from the back of the shop, his arms full of clothes and fabric that almost got under his foot. Gilbert fidgeted when the 'Mr Heiwss' greeted Monika warmly with a hug, feeling a bit like an intruder to the happy meeting, and blinked when he was suddenly addressed. "Oh. Er, we just met," he said, unsure if they could count as 'friends' yet. Well, Gilbert thought of Monika as his friend, but he hardly wanted to blurt that out and have it be the contrary.

[[I'm so sorry I haven't posted in such a long time!! >~< I was caught up in the hospital, unfortunately.]]

Monika rolled her eyes, the action itself was merely a playful and affectionate one without so much as a tinge of malice. She returned the older man's embrace with a brief hug of her own. "A friend," She insisted as she caught Mr. Heiwss' subtle look of disbelief. Honestly, a man with the built of a twenty-plus-year-old but with the soul of a rumbustious schoolboy. Shifting to divert the attention to Gilbert, Monika extended a hand in introduction. "This is my new friend, Gilbert. Gilbert, meet Mr. Heiwss; I often get my supply of material from."

"A pleasure to meet you," Mr. Heiwss smiled in greeting, extending a polite hand of welcome. "So! What can I help you two lovely pair today?"

"Material,as always." Monika answered, her eyes already roaming the length of the shop, critically analysing and assessing all the materials available, grading them for their appearance, attraction and suitability. No point buying materials meant for a summer vacation by the sea for someone schooling in the constantly damp and chilly Britain. Mr. Heiwss nodded, following Monika's line of vision for a brief moment.

"Christmas gifts, I assume? Anything in particular you plan on making?"

"Coats, most likely," She replied, taking a few steps forward to check out a bolt of material, pinching the smooth, velvet-like cloth between her fingers. "Anything in particular you are looking for, Gilbert?" Monika directed that question to Gilbert, noticing that he had been rather awkward since he had entered the small shop.

[[You can control Mr. Heiwss if you want as well (: ]]

(Ah no D: Not the hospital! Are you alright? ;; )

"Um, yeah, a pleasure," Gilbert returned, taking the exuberant Mr. Heiwss's hand and shaking it with a small smile. He was a bit overwhelming, and silly, but he was okay. He pulled his hand back after a moment and resumed looking around the shop with curious eyes. He supposed, if he was making gloves and scarves, that wool would have to do. Cotton could do as well, but wool was a lot warmer, and cheaper, and Gilbert was all about cheap practicality. He hadn't knitted in a long while though, so no doubt he was going to go through several misshapen attempts before starting the presents.

"Oh, uh..." Gilbert jumped when he was suddenly addressed, briefly distracted by a pair of knitting needles hovering over the wool section, rapidly knitting bright, multicoloured scarves, Very gaudy colours. "Sorry, uh, I just need wool and some knitting needles, really, I don't need much..."

Monika looked very professional as she looked over the materials. Gilbert felt like a plodding novice as he looked at the baskets of wool and thought 'eh, those would do, right?' Not professional at all. But he was good at knitting and sewing and shit! He was just used to using subpar materials. Which reminded Gilbert...he hoped this place wasn't expensive with their materials. The wool looked high-grade, now that Gilbert was looking properly now, and he couldn't see anything 'cheaper'. He couldn't see a price either. Wizards were funny with their economy, it was stupid at times.

(aaaaah I caaaaan't ;w; you write him so well and I'm like "derp" when I try to write him |D)