Kiara winked at Dendra and gave her a mischievous smile when she commented on her clothes.<span class="fixed-color" style="color:rgb(251, 160, 38)">“Eat me up, huh?”</span>she said in a soft, feathery tone.<span class="fixed-color" style="color:rgb(251, 160, 38)">“Is it a threat or a promise? Careful though, 'cause I don’t forget about either one.”</span>She resumed her shopping. When Dendra commented about reading, Kiara said in a more normal tone,<span class="fixed-color" style="color:rgb(251, 160, 38)">“I could say the same to you, but yeah I did kind of have to keep it a secret.”</span>She noticed the book that Dendra held, and she realized the other’s selection was far more practical than her own. She had expected Dendra to be the first to make fun of her, and she was pleasantly surprised to see that her judgment was wrong.<br/><br/>While Kiara stood near the store entrance looking through the books, she glanced up just in time to see a Sylveon walking in her direction. In her mind, at least, the Sylveon seemed to be approaching her, but paranoia may have been feeding that perception. In all of her life, she had only ever known one other Sylveon, and that was Officer Driskar, whom Kiara considered to be the third scariest cop on the force. Even Nightfire’s big boss, a large, buff Honchkrow, respected him. Kiara hadn’t been paying attention to what had been said, but she caught the words ‘Houndour’ and ‘Croagunk’ and assumed the Sylveon was referring to her and Dendra, and without thinking, she reacted to the person she mistakenly believed to be Officer Driskar.<span class="fixed-color" style="color:rgb(251, 160, 38)">“I ain’t stealin' nothin’, Friskar,”</span>she called out, her tone somewhere between mocking and annoyed. It was a knee-jerk reaction, and she realized her mistakes immediately after she blurted out her comment. While Driskar usually tolerated the mispronunciation of his name, he always got angry whenever someone mistook him for  a girl, and mistaking this girl for the cop was essentially the same thing, not to mention that she needlessly called herself out as a petty criminal. Even worse, she had just spoken rudely to a complete stranger who had done nothing to offend her. Her face turned red, and she looked down at the book in her hands.<span class="fixed-color" style="color:rgb(251, 160, 38)">“I… I’m sorry, Ma’am,”</span>she said softly,<span class="fixed-color" style="color:rgb(251, 160, 38)">“I mistook you for someone else.”</span>Her gaze settled on the cover of the book, and she focused on what appeared to be an Eevee gijinka child sitting on the back of a feral Lugia.