Mallstuck OR New Kids in the City

[shiftyPotentate]

Seeing that Gamzee was already talking to her moirail, Nepeta leapt forward into the salon, picking one of the empty chairs and spinning around excitedly until one of the stylists came to her.

"Oh my, you're an excited little dear, aren't you?" she asked. "How can I help you today?"

"Can you make my hair a little longer and maybe kinda darkish olive green in some spawts too?" Nepeta asked eagerly. She then thought of another thing and whispered to the stylist. "And maybe some blue in a kind of hidden tucked away spot? I want to surpurrise someone."

She took out her boondollars to show she had the cash to pay for it. "Will this be enough? Hee hee!" she giggled.

[nintendonut1]

John listened quietly as Tavros spoke, recalling a somewhat similar discussion he had with Vriska about troll laws and blood and culling and the like. It seemed rather harsh, and sometimes he didn't know how trolls as sweet as Nepeta and chill as Gamzee and shy as Tavros could survive in a place like that. Again, he came back to an assumed inner strength they all must have had.

Either way, the gesture of getting their hair dyed seemed rather important to them when put into perspective, with the bonus of just being a fun activity. A good friendleader would understand and go through with it right along with them.

And Gamzee had a point. It was just hair color. Not like he was getting something outrageous.

"Ahhh... well, okay, sure," he eventually nodded, following after Gamzee and Tavros. He found Nepeta already being serviced, and took the empty chair beside her.

"And what will you be getting yourself?"

"Oh, um, just a bit of blue," John answered the stylist that had approached him, a bit nervous. "Not too much, but..."

"Noticable, but modest?" she smiled, and he couldn't help but return it. She seemed to understand where he was coming from.

"Yeah, exactly! Um... don't feel like you can't get a little creative, though."

"I'll keep that in mind."

[sleepZombie]

Tavros wheeled forward, fidgeting a little bit as he looked at all of the people surrounding them. It was a little claustrophobic but a nice looking man came over and smiled prettily at him. "Uh, I think, I would like some dye please." He reached up to lightly finger the fringe of his sloppy mohawk. He had initially thought red but... that was such a bold color, and it would mean more to him if... "I think. Maybe purple. Somewhere..."

But he was only paying half attention. "Wow, quite a rack you got there." He whistled low, eyebrows raising up and down. The stranger reached out and clamped a hand over one of Tav's horns, making the troll immediately freeze up, eyes going wide. He gave a strangled sound.

"UH. I would. Uhhh. Pleaseletgo." The touch was kind of sharp and not at all nice and he felt kind of threatened.

[kisashika]

As the group entered the salon, Gamzee took a moment to look around at everything. Women with curlers in their hair, old men getting clean cuts, children being rambunctious. And all the smells- hair spray, singed hair, and gel; it was all so interesting Gamzee almost forgot they were going to get their hair done.

While Nepeta and John we're seated immediately, Gamzee waited at the counter for a dresser to come and call him to a chair. But before there was even the chance, he noticed some human touching all over his matesprit, that WASN'T a hair dresser. Gamzee's face went a few shades of indigo out of anger and jealousy, but he forced those emotions back when an idea popped into his head.

Taking in a deep breath, he walked calmly towards the human that was groping the Taurus. Gamzee loomed quietly behind the man, standing a few inches taller than him, and without warning....

HONK!

He pulled out two horns and simultaneously squeezed them in the man's ears, and the human stumbled back a bit, bumping right into Gamzee.

"Yo, man, 'sup?" Gamzee chuckled as the man looked twelve different kinds of horrified and stepped away from the trolls. "Hahah, what? You not up for someone sneakin' up on ya' and messing with you, motherfucker?"

[shiftyPotentate]

Nepeta was already getting her hair applied with extensions, and she swiveled her head at the sound of the honk. She locked up and shivered, her adrenaline swinging into maximum overdrive. That honking noise triggered a defensive feeling in her, and unfortunately the stylist was not ready for it.

"Hey now! Calm down, it's just that man's horns!" she said, pointing to Gamzee.

"Right... right... sorry," Nepeta said, relaxing a little. Gamzee had just meant it as a joke, and to get that creepy human away from his matesprit.

Still, her heart pounded. It would be a long time before Gamzee's honks ellicited the happy, fun atmosphere they used to for her.

[nintendonut1]

The stylist John had gotten was rather calm and gentle with her hands, so he was quickly at ease and took to glancing at the others (without moving his head too much, at the stylist's instructions). His gaze honed in on Tavros, and he made a slight face of disgust at the man, um, manhandling his, uh. Handles. Well, really, was that necessary?

At first, he hoped Gamzee would notice and step in, and then he remembered what happened last time he flipped out, and he began to reconsider. He then watched the Capricorn creep up behind the guy, and his mind began to race with thoughts of blood and panic and oh shit oh shi--

But John then did an internal double-take, and the guy's response to horns honked close behind him was... really fucking hilarious. He tried not to rock his head so much with laughter, which was no easy feat.

But he did stop when he heard panicking beside him, and when his stylist turned to look, he had the chance to turn and see the terror spreading across his moirail's face. "Nepeta?? Nepeta, are you okay?"

[sleepZombie]

The man boggled at Gamzee nervously, giving an uneasy shrug before sliding away and skittering out of the store.

Tavros breathed a little sigh, relieved that he was gone and that Gamzee seemed alright. He looked up at the other troll with a nervous lilt of a smile. "Th-Thanks." He sighed in relief and rolled closer to his matesprit, looking up at him. "I, uh. Will wait by you, I think. Until it is our turn."

[kisashika]

"No problem, Tav. That's what I'm here for." He couldn't help but laugh when the guy ran off and out of the store. Feeling proud of himself for not jumping off the deep end, Gamzee stayed at Tavros' side until the both of them were called to the back- Gamzee taking the seat directly next to the other troll.

"Hahah, nice horns there, sir." The stylist giggled and walked up behind the chair. "What will you be getting?"

"Y'all got purple hair color? Not like, forever purple, but for some that'll stay in for a little while?" The stylist smiled and nodded.

"We sure do, sir. Would you like me to style your hair, too?" Gamzee looked at her through the mirror.

"Aw yeah, think you can straighten it? 'Cus I want it longer." The woman laughed and nodded, starting on his requests.

[shiftyPotentate]

Nepeta had been pretty scared but she'd calmed down. "Oh... yes, thanks, John, I'm fine!" She showed him she meant it by nuzzling her face against his real quick. "Gamzee's horns just startled me a little, that's all," she lied. The stylist came around to continue working on Nepeta's hair, and she closed her eyes at it happened.

Sure enough, her hair became a little longer (reaching down past her shoulders) and gained some dark green dye in some places, as well as a little hidden blue tuft.

The stylist had made a remark about it being almost completely unwashed but Nepeta paid it no mind. She'd never had need to wash her hair before so she didn't particularly care. Her tail twitched excitedly.

[nintendonut1]

John cocked his head at her response; half because the stylist told him to so she could keep working, and half in concern. She seemed to have freaked out a little much to just be startled by it... but she seemed okay now. No sense in prodding.

He sat back and relaxed again, shutting his eyes as the stylist worked. On occasion she started one-sided small talk, which he acknowledged with hums of "mmhmm" and "yeah" and the like. He felt her swipe through his hair, mainly at the flip that tended to hang over his forehead, and gradually imagined what the result would look like in the end.

She soon designated that she was finished, and though he opened his eyes, he purposely avoided a mirror at the unshakable nervousness of seeing it, and first faced Nepeta. He gaped very slightly. She looked...

"W-wow, Nep," he managed to get out, forgetting for a moment about his own hair. "You look awesome."

[sleepZombie]

When a polite woman approached him she lightly took the handles at the back of Tav's four wheeled device, leaning in to lightly ask him permission before wheeling him into a free spot. It was still close to Gamzee, slightly to the side but within his sight.

"Uh, I think." Tav chewed his lip nervous, considering what he wanted done with his hair. Everyone was getting dye. It made him kind of nervous but he decided that a change, a rebel, was something he wanted to do. So, he decided on the most rebellious he could be would be to get red. In a way, it'd kind of be remembering Aradia, one of his best friends and the other member of Team Charge... those were fond days.

"I think. Uh. Red, please. And." He leaned up, blushing shyly orangy brown. "Some... indigo."

It made his heart beat a bit fast to consider putting purple color in his hair, if he'd been on Alternia he'd have been culled on the spot for having such a rich color when he was just a lowly brown-blood. But they were somewhere else now, and he wanted to wear Gamzee's color proudly.

The hair stylist got to work.

[kisashika]

As the woman did his hair, Gamzee made small talk- explaining that he was new to town, where he and his friends were from, and just little things that passed time. After a while, the stylist stepped back to admire her handiwork. "So, what do you think?" She asked.

Gamzee looked at his reflection in awe- his hair was almost completely indigo, save for a few streaks of his natural black. They stylist had been able to dye around his horns, so they weren't stained, and his hair had been straightened- it almost hit his shoulders now.

"Aw man, this is so kick ass." He admired the stylists work by turning his head a few times then stood up, shaking her hand. "Great motherfucking job." Gamzee walked back over to the register to pay, but waited for his friends to finish.

While he waited, Gamzee stared off at Tavros, watching the other with a goofy smile. Eventually his eyes wandered over to John and Nepeta, seeing that they were almost finished with. This had turned out to be a great idea and he idly wondered what they should do next.

[shiftyPotentate]

"Do I?" she asked, looking in the mirror. Her hair sure enough was a little longer and greener! "It's purrfect!" She hopped out of the chair and gladly paid for everyone's styles upon styles. "You look pawsome too, John!"

She helped him up as well, and turned to the group. "Well, I think if there's nothing else, then I think we should all come to my communal hive!" she said, smiling. "I'll pick up some recuperacoons on the way!" She took John's hand again, smiling a little wider from the contact. "What do you all say?"

[nintendonut1]

Oh, right. He got his done too, almost forgot.

Finally, he glanced at a mirror, and he blinked curiously at the long, thick streak of blue that followed the flip and faded into the rest of his black hair, ending in light whisps that curled down ever so slightly.

It took a moment to get used to the look, tilting his his head back and forth as the stylist approached him. "How's that work for you?"

"I... like it!" he eventually replied, a wide grin having grown on his face. "Wow! I, you know, I wasn't so sure about going through with this, but, I mean, wow! You did a great job, thank you so much."

After much graditute and payment was given (tip included), John followed Nepeta to where Gamzee and Tavros were finishing up. He gave Gamzee a good look-over and nodded approvingly. "Nice, Gam!" Tavros' red and indigo was coming along great too.

"Hm?" He turned back to Nepeta. "Oh, right, you got us an apartment earlier? Yeah, that sounds great."

[sleepZombie]

Tav was the last to be finished but when the stylist stepped away he was sporting two stripes of vibrant red along each side of his hawk, and a tuft of purplish color at the front that faded back into his actual hair color. Meekly Tav wheeled forward, pulling out his pork hollow to pay only to find out that someone had already forked over the boon dollars for it.

Seeing all of his friends with their changed hair was pretty interesting. "Oh. Wow, uh. Everyone looks, really good." His eyes lingered a little bit extra on Gamzee, however, taking in how he looked with straighter, sleeker hair instead of the poofy, adorable, curly mess it usually was.

Nepeta mentioned something about a hive, which sounded really good about now. Tavros lifted a hand to stifle a yawn, that excited, almost electrical buzz of energy starting to quickly ebb and leaving him feeling kind of worn out and exhausted. "It, would be kind of nice, to have a place where we are all, uh, close together. I think."