[Mari]

"*Giggle* Yup--That sounds like her~" Arle would reply, amused by Lemres' description. He had said what she mostly just thought. "Y'know--Come to think of it, I'm not sure! ...I bet the food here tastes weird to him too, though. Maybe something that's sweet, but not because of a lot of sugar..?" Arle went on to muse aloud, wracking her brains for hints. She knew he didn't like spicy cakes, so that was a start! ...A start of what, was the question. Ah well. Perhaps she wasn't the best person for baking advice. In spite of this, Arle quietly mused that she'd probably come here more often if the mall was more like this and less rude and destructive. "I guess I should start thinking about gifts..."

[Rina]

As he heard Arle muse aloud about the type of cake, the type of cake she described sprung into his mind in almost an instant. The warlock waved his wand for just a moment, and in a tiny puff of smoke, a small plate with a slice of chiffon cake appeared in his hands, complete with a fork. He has the plate towards her, as if he wants her to try it to validate her ideas.

"A chiffon cake it is then! It's a light and fluffy cake that's easy on the palette, and its delicate flavor can be complimented with the natural sweetness of fresh fruit. It lacks the richness of a traditional butter-based cake by using vegetable oil in its place, but it isn't as prone to drying out."

The cake itself is layered, with some strawberries and vanilla cream in between. The portion isn't too big, as it's meant to be just a sample. And on that tangent...

"Ah yes, presents. I'll keep that Dongurigaeru-related present in mind. That's something new I learned."

[Mari]

A mildly startled Arle would hesitantly accept the cake. Cake wasn't normally her thing, you see. Asking for a cake that wasn't sweet mostly just got you funny looks from your average life sphere citizens. They certainly existed, but it just wasn't what one thought of when they heard of a cake. Taking the fork and gingerly taking a bite, Arle considered it for a moment. It was ... more bearable than your average cake, but still a bit sweet by her standards. Perhaps what she should have suggested was a cake that substituted the sugar, rather than the butter. But did Lemres even know such a recipe? Did Arle? ...Probably not, so Arle wasn't about to nitpick the chef. Flashing him a thumbs up, she nodded in approval. Not her favorite food for sure, but a valiant effort. "Not bad..! I think this'll do fine." Arle replied, offering the plate back to Lemres. ...Considering her gift though, Arle realized something problematic. " . . . Hehe--I guess I'll have to think up something else so we don't end up getting him the same thing~ Maybe it can be something really meaningful. ...I wonder if Schezo would be interested in a 'picture'?" Arle reluctantly mused aloud, the word a little funny on her tongue. The idea of giving someone a photo of yourself seemed incredibly vain to her, but she was told it was normal to keep such things around as a reminder. "Maybe if I can get one of both of us, it'd be more meaningful..." Arle went on to suggest, but seemed to doubt the plausibility of this. She wasn't sure she could operate a camera or any such device with enough reliability to do it right. Plus, he'd have to be there for it! How would she keep it a secret?

[Rina]

Taking the plate back, he magically created a box to safely stow it away. It'd be a waste to let the cake go like that. Looks like a chiffon birthday cake is in order! Now time to discuss the presents. A picture as a kind of keepsake? Huh, how would they make that work though? Taking a picture of the moment is a nice gesture to remember by, but what would make it special? Heck, do either of them know how to use a camera??? The concept of a 'selfie' isn't exactly known in neither Arle's world or Lemres'. Unless...

"Uh...How do we get a picture of us, then? I would think someone like Ringo would know how, but I don't know where she is usually, so I can't ask."

...never mind, how would they ask someone that they can't find? And something like 'purikura' is practically alien to them too.

[Mari]

" . . . I'unno!" Arle would admit after a moment of being, frankly, stumped. She was used to people having to paint a pretty picture if they wanted it taken, but that wasn't the case here. "Apparently my picture is valuable, though, because there's this... 'Popperazi' group that likes to take mine without me noting. Peach explained it was like ... a business thing." Arle went on to explain, waving her hand a bit as she stumbled over that one word. She sounded like she didn't appreciate that sort of attention, judging by the disdain in her tone. Rolling her head off in a specific direction, however, Arle quickly moved on from the camera creepers. "...But I saw a little 'photo' shop that was offering to take your picture. Maybe we could head back there and ask them. ...I'm not sure how we're supposed to get Schezo in on the picture without him knowing though. I guess we could have them show up, but ..." Arle went on to offer somewhat hesitantly. She may not know much about technology, but she could deal with people and that worked--right?

[Rina]

Hand-painted portraits are one thing, but photos are another thing altogether. Lemres knows about portraits, but those take time and precision to be quite beautiful and flattering.

"Uhh...I'm not sure if that 'popperazi' group is in the right crowd. The fact they're taking pictures of you without asking seems really shady."

Ironic coming out of someone who gets called shady for freely passing candy. Still, Lemres has the right line of thinking to assume they're shady folk. Heck, what kind of pictures of Arle are they taking??? Whatever it is, he may not want to know. MOVING ON...

"A store that specializes in taking photos? I imagine scheduling is needed, and a scheduled photo shoot doesn't seem subtle at all. Hmm......"

......this is tougher than it appears.

[Mari]

"Yeah... I'm still a little confused as to why they're so eager." Arle replied somewhat awkwardly. It was like they were bird watching, but with a person! It was decidedly not the most pleasant sort of attention. She understood that she'd become something of a celebrity by performing magic tricks at what had become a very out-of-control party, but surely they understood that it wasn't just her--right? Suketoudara had brought the dancing, Glover had brought the props, Draco had brought the fire. Arle had just gotten a little creative with how she used her spells! That's all, and yet somehow she found herself wondering if any of the others had even dealt with any of this. Maybe she'd have to ask if she ever saw them again. Boy, there was a sad thought. Never seeing them again. It sure would be tragic if something awful happened before she could. ... "Maybe we could ask if they do home photos. We could have them show up on time for the party and take the photo there." Arle went on to offer somewhat light-heartedly. She didn't know a better word for what she was describing, but it seemed like a fair enough idea. If taking photos was their job, surely it wouldn't be a big deal right?

[Rina]

"Surely you must have done something to warrant that, but I digress."

Let's not dwell on the reason why she was drawing such attention. The photo thing is still a nice sentiment, but surely there has to be arrangements to be done to allow it to happen. So then Arle suggested...bringing the person to the party? Huh. That's not a bad compromise at all! The wording is a little odd, but Lemres understood what she meant. Plus, the idea of taking a photo of the party sounds quite fun. They do go out and about and aren't confined to a studio, but it's not like Arle or Lemres know those people exist back home. A smile crept onto his face, approving of the idea.

"I think you're onto something! Maybe the party can be photographed too, just so he has something more to look back on."

[Mari]

...Photograph the party? Huh! Arle wasn't keen on mentioning that she'd been thinking of something else entirely, namely a picture of herself. Lemres' idea was decidedly a lot better. She hadn't even considered that you could just take a photo of anything, mostly because she still had a difficult time wrapping her head around the concept. Wouldn't that be expensive, like painting a large group portrait? Dismissing the idea, she decided to go along with the suggestion. Whatever the case was, they'd just have to find out for themselves!

"I wonder if they do that. ...Let's go find them and ask!" Arle replied somewhat eagerly, moving to walk forward aimlessly in the general direction she vaguely thought she remembered seeing something photo related. A bit of a wild guess, given her idea of what a photo was.

[Rina]

"Of course! We'll need to find out how much it is too."

Also of course, they'd need to find the photography store to inquire about it. It's somewhere around this mall, right? With the mall something so huge in comparison to Primp or his home town, it'd be rather boggling to just simply wander around and pray they find it. Is there a map somewhere here?

...

Lemres looked around for something resembling a map, the vastness of the mall considering. Luckily for them, there stood a board, standing illuminated behind a glass casing. One side had the mall directory, the other being an advertisement for make-up. That's not important right now. The map is the priority.

"Hey, this looks like a map. Looks like it's colored in sections."

And for the convenience of the patrons, a "YOU ARE HERE" dot is marked exactly where they stand.

[Mari]

" . . . This map is really easy to read!" Arle remarked in mild bemusement. How did you draw a map that neatly? It seemed so unnatural... Regardless, the map wasn't her destination so she passed such thoughts from her mind and looked about her to get a sense of where she was and where she needed to be. It was a little disorientating, but before long she identified the mall's unique shape and got a good idea of where exactly they were relative to the photo booth. Without further ado, she ran off in search of it.

((Stopping point in favor of the birthday party?))

[Rina]

((Sure thing.))

"Hey now, I don't want you getting lost on me!"

Lemres followed after her to the photo booth, and just as the map said it did, they were eventually at the store. There was much discussion and arrangements about the on-party-site photoshoot, and, frankly, it was a bit of a monotonous discussion. Once it was over, the scheduling was set, all according to plans. Now it's the plan and wait game from here on out.

Which means heading home to prepare.

<---To be Continued in Schezo's Happy Birthday---