20. Kaya

Kaya

It took about half an hour, but we finally reached a huge store. When we got out, I read that it said Target. We walked in, and I was immediately overwhelmed. Helen mind linked me. "Okay, so we are going to get all the essentials here: toothbrush, loofas, that kind of thing, plus some shoes so you won't be stuck in flip flops."

I looked and saw lots of clothes as we walked. It didn't make sense. How could we find it all here? "Will we get everything here?" "No, just the basics; they have a big selection, but the quality is better at other stores. "I didn't understand, but I figured Helen knew best about this. We started down an aisle. It had tons of things I had never seen. "Let's start with a razor." "Razor, what for?"

"Yeah, to cut your leg hair, shave down south, you know." "Why do you need a razor? I don't grow hair in those places." "What." "We in the north only grow hair on our heads and eyebrows." "That is convenient. You won't need that, then. Do the men not grow hair either?" "Nope."

"Mph, I would never have guessed with how long both men's and women's hair are." She went on. "This is deodorant. For your sweat under your arms. I use this brand." She said as she held it up. "But if you want one that smells different."

In truth, I wanted something that was scentless. I didn't like the idea of using anything that made me smell different. "I don't know any of these ingredients. Can't we find something more natural?" "Is that important to you?" "Yeah, it is, I guess."

"Okay, well, now that I know, I know where to go. A market happens every weekend that sells natural products for the body and sometimes sells clothing. Lucky for us it is Saturday so the market should be open. They won't have a lot of clothes, but we can get those from another store. We should still pick up some dental hygiene products here. And a pair of shoes so you don't have to continue to wear flip-flops."

I mind-linked, "I am not bothered by these flip-flops." "Oh well, let's just get the toothbrush and toothpaste." We left the big store. After a short while, we parked down the street and had to walk to a big building. It was huge and was much older than the previous place. We entered under a sign that said the Busy Bee Bizarre. Once we entered, I saw a bunch of little areas. Each had different things.

She handed me a basket and took one herself. We began to walk. One of the booths had soaps. It was something I was familiar with. My pack would make soaps from the whale oil. I began to smell them. All of them smelled pleasant enough. I looked and saw one that said shampoo bar. I mind-linked Helen. "Shampoo, what is that?" "It is to wash your hair."

I grabbed one and sniffed. There was no smell; it was perfect. I also found no scented soap, which made me happy. By the time we had finished, we had full baskets. After we checked out, Helen looked at me so I could read her lips.

"This stuff is great, but you will need more clothing and good shoes, not to mention undergarments." I nodded. We left that place and went to another store and, after that, another one. We got many pants, a few more shirts, sweaters, jackets, dresses, and other accessories. Then, we headed out to lunch. I looked at the menu. There was so much to choose from. I saw that they had a steak. I was familiar with that as we often had steak from various big game. Typically, we would eat it raw, and that was delicious. Yes, steak would be what I ordered.

A man arrived, and I had no idea what he was saying; he wasn't looking at me, so I couldn't read his lips. I looked at Helen, who was talking to the man. The two looked at me, and after a moment of staring, I heard Helen's mind link me. "What do you want to drink." "Water would be fine." "I saw her turn to the man." Then she looked back at me. "I am sorry I sometimes forget you can't hear." "It is alright." "Do you know what you want to eat?"

"Yes, the steak." "That comes with a potato. Is that okay?" I was used to wild potatoes in the summer, so I was familiar with that. "Yeah, I am okay with it." "So, how are you liking shopping?" "It is okay. I had no idea things were so readily available."

"Yeah, I bet it is a big change for you." In truth, it was. The guy returned, and Helen told him what we wanted to eat. When the food finally arrived, I looked at her plate. It was filled with green. I mind-linked her. "How can you eat that stuff?"

"Yeah, I guess you are used to only meat." It was true. We had very few vegetables in the north. I did not have the stomach for anything but meat. I looked down at my plate. There was a lot of stuff on the potato. I decided to try it. I first ripped into my steak. It was delicious, but one thing was for sure: it was not caribou.

The potato, on the other hand, was fascinating. It wasn't bad, but it wasn't that good either. Helen had to tell me everything that went into it to make it taste the way it did. Overall, I was delighted by the end of the meal. We had two more places to still go to. We went to the lingerie store first. There were tons of clothing there. I didn't know why someone would wear any of this. I mind-linked Helen.

"Why do we need to buy any of this stuff?" "Well, the panties and bras are for you. The rest is for Cade." "Cade, what do you mean." "He would like to see you in stuff like this. Trust me, all men like this." "Really?" "Oh yeah, let's start with the essentials. Underwear and bras." "I told you I will not wear bras." "That is because you haven't found one that you like or one that fits."

She went and grabbed a woman. She measured me and then led me to a section of the store. I was handed several to try on. I refused them all. Then we moved on to what they called sports bras. Those were entirely uncomfortable. But I was told they were supposed to be. "They are for running. Stop your boobs from bouncing if you won't get a regular bra; at least get some of the sports bra's for exercising." "Fine."

When it came to underwear, I was given a lot of different types. Then Helen helped me pick out several pieces for Cade to look at. The last place was a shoe store. We went in and began to look around. There were so many to pick from. Before we picked anything out, they took my foot measurements. They told me I was a size 6. While Helen picked out several pairs, I saw two young girls. They looked like they were about 16 years old.

They were pointing at me and snickering. I mind-linked Helen. "What are they saying." "Best to just ignore them." "No, I want to know." "Kaya, I don't think that is a good idea." "I am your Luna, right?" "Yes" "Then I am asking as your Luna."

I knew it was wrong to pull that card in this situation. But I wanted to know what the girls were laughing at." "Fine. But it is stupid. They are saying that they thought your face tattoos were ugly and weird. They think you didn't belong here."

It hurt my feelings that these girls felt that way. I mean, they were human. What would the rest of the pack think if they didn't like that I was there? I felt defeated and self-conscious that they thought my crown-like tattoo was ugly.

It always brought me such pride. It was a part of me that I cherished and that was surrounded by good thoughts. So, to have someone put down something so meaningful made me feel self-conscious and feel like an outsider. This was coming from humans. What would a wolf think? Would they be much more critical than the girls were?