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The 'store' is extremely crowded. Basim grunts as he is practically impaled on a clothes rack by a hurrying drove of people. This 'Black Friday', whatever it is supposed to mean, is madness. He has never seen so many people congregated like this before, and he's seen the Grand Bazaar on its busiest days, so that's saying something.
The t-shirt right in front of him loudly exclaims 'I FEEL SO VACATION TODAY SO I UBER EATS TOO MUCH… WHATEVER MEN!!!' He snorts; he's not certain what exactly this 'uber eats' is but he's certain this is meant to be funny. He moves the shirt aside — with some difficulty, because even the racks are packed tight with clothes — and finds another in light pink that says 'LIVE AND LEARM'.
Oh that is funny. He reaches over to grab it, when someone collides into him so hard he nearly falls over.
This is it, he thinks for a wild moment. Centuries of existence, and the end is finally going to be by being trampled to death on Black Friday.
He stays pinned against the shirts for several long, harrowing moments as a person is pressed to his back while yet another horde pushes past them. Basim tries to stay as firm and unmoving as possible, determined to stay on his feet.
For a brief moment the man presses closer, and Basim grits his teeth. Just a few more seconds before he can finally turn around and leave this hellish place—
"I like that one," the man says in his ear. And Basim freezes. He would know that voice anywhere, even in the cacophony of a crowded store, even after twelve hundred years—
A bright pink shirt is yanked out of the rack and hooked onto his wrist. Then the crush eases, and the body behind him disappears. Basim whips around, eyes wide—
Sees a familiar flash of icy blue and a familiar small smile get swallowed up by the crowd.
And then he is left standing alone, surrounded by a blur of unknown faces. Heart pounding, he looks down at the shirt on his arm.
'HOW TO COMPLETELY DISAPP日AR BE FOUND AND NEVER'
Basim doesn't know if he wants to laugh or cry.