WHY IS THIS SO HARD?! (Open)

[Rozalin Kendal]

Rozalin was grateful not to have snow falling from the sky, though part of her wished it still would.  It was part of the magic of the season, wasn't it?  With a small huff of a sigh, she shook her head and looked into the store's window display, tapping a finger against her cheek as she gave a small hum.  Her foot tapped in time, matching the rhythm as she grimaced and shook her head.

"This is ridiculous."  Ridiculously hard and painful.  Why was shopping for someone else so difficult?  She should have some idea of what to get, shouldn't she?  Anything besides the blank wall in her brain.  But what do you get someone who is smarter than you, richer than you, and pretty much has everything?

[Xiao Mao Hu]

Another snowless evening. By now, Christmas was right around the corner. As was the usual, Mao had a decent chunk of savings, thanks to her generally minimal spending habits, leaving much to be bought. "Goodness...sometimes it's hard to understand what I meant, writing some of this stuff." Her eyes traced an aging notepad, filled with various vague and open ended presents, addressed to a number of people. For now, she decided it'd be best just to grab what she was certain on; there was still time before the big day.  Gradually, she approached the shop window, standing just a few feet from Rozalin in a fluffy brown jacket, her hood down, revealing the usual lavender do'. Staring at the items pensively, she raised her bare hands just in front of her mouth, breathing on them a bit for warmth. 
As the mist from her breath disappeared into the air, she glanced over to Rozalin, a soft smile present.

"Having trouble deciding on a present?" she'd ask with a soft and friendly voice. She could hardly tell what kind of person the girl was shopping for, so she couldn't provide much in the ways of advice, but it was a common first world problem for more people than not. At the very least, it was one thing they seemed to have in common, looking into the same window.


Rozalin Kendal

[Rozalin Kendal]

Rozalin glanced down at the girl when she approached, soft words on the wind as she smiled. She would have almost missed her speaking up entirely, thinking the words were meant for something else. Didn't her parents teach her not to speak to strangers? It was tempting to scoff or ignore the girl, but the priate foundher lips lifting in a smirk, instead. She was supposed to be nice now, or something to that effect.

"Something like that." She chuckled and nodded at the books on display in the window, the stuffed chairs that looked a little worn by time and use but weren't dirty or patched up. A small local bookshop, though there were shelves int eh back that suggested there was more to consider if they went inside.

"He's a bit of the bookish type." Just..not these. Maybe? It was hard to say. Most of the books weren't exactly tomes of leisure back home for him. His job required more than that, and frankly, he'd probably either read what was available here or at least knew of it.

[Xiao Mao Hu]

"I see...so the bookworm type." She'd reconfirm, closing her eyes softly in a leisurely nod. "Rather than buying something he could find in a store, maybe he'd appreciate something written by you instead?" As Mao spoke, her eyes drifted to the frosty sidewalk beneath her feet; her right foot scooting back and forth over the snow subconsciously. "Buying stuff is easy sometimes. It's sort of an embarrassing line to repeat, but some people prefer a gift more from the heart.-Something they could only get from you."

On that note, her face took on a rather perplexed expression, as if reminded of something bothersome.
"B-But, I guess writing can be kind of hard for a lot of people, same as anything else. It really is hard, isn't it...?-Finding the right gift."
In the end, she didn't want to harshly impose her ideas on this passerby. As it was, she was somewhat worried about coming off as a little too overbearing. But she'd been going to Atlas for a while now, and not having an acquaintance to call a friend was becoming a little disheartening...

Even so, she wasn't one to force most stuff in life.

[Rozalin Kendal]

"If you want the simple version, yes. But books are too easy." She frowned and shook her head. There was more to him than books, of course, but she didn't know quite how to explain it without getting into nuances. "Rarities and artifacts, puzzles..." She trailed off with a small hum as her lips pressed together. The more she thought about it, the more complicated it got.

...Did the girl just insult her? Rozalin tensed, already well aware of her lackluster education that compared to those she lived around now, but that didn't seem to be the case here. The pirate raised a brow at the young girl, a mix of amusement and resilience in her one-eyed gaze as the explanation continued and fumbled before it fell flat. Not stupid, then, but difficult to put intent to paper. She could see that; she hadn't exactly poured her heart out before.

This kid, though, needed some back bone. There was enough hemming and hawing to drive Rozalin nuts. The intent to help was obvious, but now it was just more of a confusion than before. She shrugged it off as though it were nothing but the two of them talking about the weather and disagreeing if they liked sunny days better than rain.

"Perhaps. I take it you've had the same problem?"