Excuse Me, Where Can I Find the Dragonfruit?

It had been a super long three-day shift thanks to all the bonfires that were lit over the weekend, and Ivana was, for once, happy to get away from the firehouse. It had been days since she had been able to relax in her own bed and enjoy a meal that hadn't been thrown together by herself or one of the other firefighters that had worked that weekend shift.

Feeling the sun warm on her face as she was exiting the fire station, Ivana sighed, very glad that she would be able to enjoy the great weather they were having, and not be cooped up inside waiting for a call out.

"Alright then, I'm gone, guys. Behave yourselves, Liun is in charge, and please do not burn down the station while I'm away," she called out jokingly as she untied her emerald green hair from its regulatory ponytail and made a beeline to the nearest supermarket.

It had been weeks since Ivana had done a proper shop, and she knew her kitchen cupboards were bare. Not to mention that fact that she was sure she pretty darn sure that she was out of a ton of other things too. Grabbing a cart, the dragoness then made her way leisurely down the grocery aisles as she tried to remember what she needed and what she didn't.


@Kada

Ivana had not been paying attention, not at all, when her grocery cart collided with the stranger's and was, therefore, jolted her back to reality. She had been lost in thought, thinking about what she could potentially make that evening for dinner.

"Oh, gosh, no... Please, don't apologize," she rushed to say, slightly embarrassed now. "I wasn't paying attention to where I was going," she explained as she instinctively glanced down at everything in her cart. Nothing was amiss, even the carton of eggs she had placed somewhat precariously atop a box of wild rice and package of pasta shells, was exactly where she had originally placed it.

"I just got off of a long shift at work, and was trying to decide if I wanted to make dinner, or just buy a ready-made dinner," Ivana confessed as she couldn't help but glance at what the stranger had in his cart.

"Ivana Valdur," she said as she reached out to shake the man's hand. "And please to meet you, Mr. Vidimus," she stated, her voice warm and friendly.

"You are a dramatic arts teacher?" she said with a grin as she looked him over in a polite, inquiring fashion. Yes, she could definitely see how he might be able to command kids around on a stage and make them recite lines or sonnets.

"Unfortunately, Drama was one of the few subjects I never really had time to enjoy," she admitted, almost regretfully. Ivana had spent a good chunk of her old life masquerading as a young boy and pretending to be who she wasn't. She probably would have done well in the class, she realised quite ironically.

"Ohh, I'd absolutely love to see a live performance," Ivana remarked happily, very clearly surprised by the unexpected offer as she moved her shopping cart to the side, unconsciously taking her cue from Zanfrico.

"And please, I don't think you are old," she told him truthfully as she took a good look at him. He was very handsome actually, but in a classic, gentlemanly way. In fact, Zanfrico exuded a European charm...sort of Italian, Spanish, maybe?

"In fact, I'd easily bet that you are probably younger than I am," she admitted with a grin.

"No, I'm afraid, it won't. And I still need to get a few things for the house, or this weekend I will be eating plain pasta, canned salmon and peanut butter," she told him with a laugh. "My cupboards are embarrassingly bare at the moment," she told him.

Upon shaking Zanfrico's hand, Ivana was left slightly taken aback and speechless by his sudden chivalry. It was growing somewhat rare on the island to meet such gestures of gentlemanly conduct. She almost felt like she was back in France two hundred years ago.

"Well, uh, I will be seeing you around," Ivana replied, now somewhat flustered. "Oh, goodness, I almost forgot," she said as she hastily took a business card out and handed it to Zan.