Clothes, she needed clothes. Something clean, anything clean. Fingers appeared from thin air, grasping out blindly, tearing at the racks, ripping dresses from hangers with too much force.
Breathe. Her own voice echoed in her mind, and she took inhaled deeply, closing her eyes as she did.
Just breathe. In and out, her chest rose and fell with each one. Though the oxygen was unnecessary for her, the action itself still had a calming effect.
One...two...three... Her eyes opened again. Reaching out again this time slowly, carefully, she took hold of a simple blue cotton dress. Not bothering to even check the size she immediately slid it over her head and pulled it down her nude form. It fit, however awkwardly, the shape wasn't right for her figure. Though nothing ever really was, she'd had been too emaciated in her human life, and the change had added a few pounds yes but not enough to give her a truly healthy frame. She didn't allow it to bother her, she'd come to terms with
that years ago, and instead set to fixing the dress's three quarter sleeves so they rested on her forearms properly. That adjustment was the only preening she allowed herself before she finally started to take notice of where she was.
It wasn't often that Willa was truly startled nowadays. Scared yes. Surprised yes. But startled to the point that her gift took hold without her willing it to? That rarely happened anymore, her control over it was better than it had ever been. Today it seemed was the exception. Then again, happening upon a pack of what were quite possibly the largest wolves she'd ever seen would be enough to startle most even the most level headed of people. Just thinking of the massive creatures served as enough of a fright to send another shiver racing up her spine, and her arms automatically wrapped around her chest as if she were trying to physically keep herself from falling apart.
A few more deep breaths were needed before she finally felt she could move without her gift taking hold once more. No she had to hold it together, it was safe here. The wolves were miles away in the forest, and she was in the middle of... a store? Her eyes looked around the darkened room, seeing everything as clearly as if the lights were on. Sunflower? That must have been the name of this place. A small clothing store, privately own and run by the looks of it. Another quick sweep of the room assured her that there was no one around (possibly closed for lunch if the clock on the wall was anything to go by), and that there were no lurking security cameras watching her.
Though she more or less ignored technological advances, Willa wasn't foolish. She knew the things that would get her caught, get her noticed. And a woman suddenly appearing as naked as the day she was born in the middle of a locked store would attract a lot of attention.
Feeling more at ease now Willa milled about the racks in the store, letting the feel of the soft fabrics soothe her nerves. Clothes, rather clean clothes, never failed to put her at ease. They didn't need to be fancy or even well made, just clean. New dresses unworn and untainted were her favorite, they made her feel nice. They took away the dirty feeling that she'd never seemed to be able to get rid of.
Everything in Sunflower seemed to be well made, each piece stitched carefully and tenderly. It made her feel nice, wearing the dress someone had so painstakingly crafted. After looking around she'd decided that the dress she wore was in fact her favorite in the store. While there were others made of richer fabrics with more elegant designs, the blonde vampire still preferred the simplistic quality of the dress she wore. There were other things in the store too, blouses and pants and skirts. But Willa didn't pay those any heed, perhaps one of the few traits still carried over from her human life. Women wore dresses, pants were men's wear, and therefore not suited for ladies.
Satisfied that she'd looked over everything in the store she carefully made her way around the racks to the back. Undoing the deadbolt on the back door it was easy to slip out into the cool air. Making sure the door fully closed behind her (she didn't want anyone else to take advantage of the door being unlocked), she made her way along the side alley back out onto the main street. A few people still milled about, though there was only one that caught her attention. Another vampire.
If Willa's heart were still capable of beating, she swore in that moment it would have beat right out of her chest. How much panic could one person handle in a single day? Surely she was already at her limit, and her body ached to release again to give into that weightlessness. But a single vain thought kept her from doing so, she
really didn't want to lose this dress. Not yet at least.
