Experimenting

Standing in a corner of the Upgrade Shop, Echo furrows her brows as she runs her padded fingers across a roll of rainbow faux fur; the material is remarkably similar to that which adorns her face and tail, but a little softer, and obviously far brighter in colour than her own grey fur. Since it’s softer, could that mean it was manufactured more recently? Or was it salvaged just like Echo was, and simply kept in better condition? She supposes she’ll never know… well, technically, she could probably just ask Suzie, but she also feels like she’s had to ask a few too many stupid questions lately to justify burning another one on ‘where does faux fur come from in the apocalypse?’

Tentatively, she tugs a bit of the fluffy fabric free from the rest of the roll, being careful not to drop the entire thing as she drapes a corner over one arm. Echo examines how it looks against the rest of her, and frowns. It may be a prime time for trying new things at the moment, but… the grey Amicabot has to admit, rainbow really doesn’t seem to be her colour. She hastily rolls the faux fur back up, uncovering her grey arm with pale blue joints; far plainer than the gaudy material she’d just been experimenting with, not that she really minds.

Echo sighs, turning her electric blue gaze to the rest of the fur rolls. They come in far more colours than just rainbow, thank goodness… especially since she imagines that rainbow fur would have to be harder to make than fur in any solid colour even outside of a literal apocalypse. As her eyes settle on a few rolls of grey material that look quite a lot like her own fur, Echo finds herself wondering if colours closer to what she’s already got might suit her better… but something about that train of thought fills her with a strange feeling of anxiety, and her long-furred tail twitches behind her

…Perhaps it’d be better if she properly explored the idea of changing her appearance another time. It’s nothing particularly flashy, but… it’s all Echo has left, and something about the idea of changing it so soon after returning to the world feels viscerally wrong. The grey Amicabot glances around for any sign of Suzie, and soon finds she’s busy at her counter with another customer. Flattening her fluffy ears with embarrassment, Echo thanks her lucky stars, and takes the opportunity to sneak out of the shop unnoticed.

She can be braver another time, she thinks…