Moana stared blankly out of the bus window, watching the scenery whip by. Some of these buildings she knew, others she didn't. As the bus drove down a street, she gazed longingly at a large pool in one of the yards. One of the things land people had that made sense. Some of the things that didn't make sense were things like hair dye, those horrible things called guns, oh! And money, what was the point of having to pay for stuff with little round metal disks and bits of paper? There was never any of that in the pod.
Moana sighed and dropped her gaze down to her lap. Would she ever be part of a pod again? After what happened, she couldn't go back to her pod. They moved anyway, and she didn't know where.
The bus came to a stop and Moana looked up. Realizing it was her stop, she stood and picked up her bag then walked up towards the front. She smiled a bit to the driver in thanks before turning and stepping down the couple of stairs. The door closed behind her and the large metal box pulled away. A smile flitted on the young woman's face, remembering what she used to call the cars and buses. Monsters and/or boxes.
Moana began the short walk to the bookstore where she worked. After being here for about a month, she realized she needed some land people money to be able to feed herself. But she'd had no idea where to start, thankfully there was a nice family who had helped her and let her stay with them for a bit.
She pulled the door open and stepped inside. It was a small store called Wonderbooks, not too large, so there was a smaller chance of her getting splashed.
"Morning Moana." Daniel, who also worked there, greeted. Moana nodded to him and smiled a bit as she dropped her bag behind the counter. Dan was nice, he had moved there a couple months back and came here for a job. He didn't say where from though, just that he had come to America from Australia. He was tall, well, taller than Moana's 5'2, had short, wavy, blond hair, and had blue-gray eyes, like a stormy sea.
"Hey Dan." She greeted back. "Anyone come in yet?"
He shook his head. "Naw, not yet. We only opened a half an hour ago."
"Of course, do you want me to take a turn behind the desk?"
Dan shrugged. "If you want, would you rather wait till the customers start coming in?"
Moana nodded with a slight shrug. "Sure, I'll go read then." He nodded before turning back to the computer. Moana would need to learn to use one of those.
Moana looked over the books on the shelf, pausing at a book that read Mermaids and other mythical ocean wonders. Mythical, she scoffed to herself. Land people were so arrogant. Yet she still pulled it down, her curiosity winning out.
She set it down on the front desk and Dan looked up.
"Found something to read then?" Moana nodded and began to join him behind the desk. "Hey, before you come back could you grab me a drink from the water jug?" Moana gulped and nodded again.
"Sure." She said, turning to the big, plastic jug of water. Forcing her hands to be still, she picked up a small, paper cup, held it under the spigot, and pushed the pump down. The water flowed out in a little stream, and she let go when it was filled.
Moana let out a breath she hadn't realised she was holding and turned around. She slowly walked forward, being very careful not to spill it. She set it down on the desk next to Daniel's hand and started to pull away when his hand reached out for the cup, knocking into it and splashing it a bit. On her hand! Moana gasped and stepped backwards. She glanced up at Dan's confused face.
"Oh sorry, are... you okay?" He asked.
"Yeah uh," Moana needed to get out of there now! "I just need to... I'll be right back." She said hurriedly before turning and rushing to the small back room and shutting the door behind her.
And 3..2..1.. Moana thought as she fell forwards. She pushed herself up, shaking her hair out of her face and propping herself up on her elbows. Well this was great. Just great. Hopefully Dan wouldn't come in on her. That would bad. Moana pushed up with one arm to look back at her golden and red/brown tail and reached her arm out over her tail, moving her hand up and down it a bit as she steamed her tail, stopping every several seconds so that Dan wouldn't see the steam and assume it was a fire. The fire department was the last thing she needed. She finally dried herself and stood, already thinking about how to explain her sudden exit.
She stepped out and walked over to the desk. Dan looked up, looking slightly... suspicious? Why would he be suspicious? She must be wrong. She shrugged it off and stepped up to the desk.
"What was that about?" He asked. And Moana could have sworn he glanced down at her hand. Instinctively she put her left hand over the other to cover her Moon Ring.
"I had to go to the restroom." She lied. He raised an eyebrow but nodded.
"Alright, um thanks for the water I guess." Moana started to answer when the door opened and a woman came in with a few kids. Moana smiled at them.
"Hello, may I help you?" She asked them.
"Uh-huh." One of the children said. "I'd like a book about sea creatures."
"And I'd like one about mythical creatures." The other said. Moana smiled again.
"I think I know one book that has both of those things." She said, turning to the desk.