Random ships and drabble

1: A Storm-like Encounter

"...So later I was talking to my paedophile friend who still, for some odd reason, won't assault me..."

WHAT'S ODD ABOUT NOT ASSAULTING SOMEONE?! Naf snapped out of his stupor. Like a well-practised Manzai-style comedian, he delivered a flawless jab, assuming the role of the 'Straight Man' to the very obvious 'Funny Man'. Their chemistry was great enough that the lattice energy of their bonding is undoubtedly greater than anything measured yet.

"So that friend told me that that bag in Eddsworld is real! Unbelievable! It was sold in some Comicon of 2008! But bitch, how am I supposed to know?! Should I, a one-year-old then, just walk to Comicon and buy the bag with my soiled diapers and empty baby bottles, huh?!"

Huh. She is younger than me? Naf absently took a mental note. He didn't understand why such a detail caught his eye. Normally, his mind simply filters out all the irrelevant information. However, he didn't linger on pondering why. She was a customer and that's all she will ever be. Once her request is fulfilled, she will turn her heels, and walk out of that door, never to be seen again.

"So anyway, I wanted to ask if you sold that bag." The woman finished.

No way we sell such strange bags! That was Naf's initial, unvocalised response. He was exasperated by the pointlessly long preface to a simple request. But then, he remembered that he did have a few wares from Comicon and a few wares from 2008. As for whether those wares were from the 2008 Comicon, he didn't know. What he did know was that those were inside the boxes, sealed with tape, somewhere in this room of boxes that all looked the same. He could get up from his seat, perfectly cooled by the fan nearby, and go into the poorly cooled parts of this store, do a lot of hard work and sweat just to find a bag that may or may not be there, for some weirdo with malfunctioning wardrobe. The alternative was he could simply say that he sold no such things.

But I haven't fulfilled this month's sale quota... He didn't have a sales superior to report to—he owned the store. He did however operate this building on lease. His meagre personal funds were used to collect the wares itself, leaving nothing to buy a property. As such, he signed a contract to generate a minimum profit each month, lest he be forced to shut down. So far, he has been somehow managing it. When things turned rough, he used his own money to meet the minimum profit. But this month, sales were especially bad. On top of that...

I wasted too much money on Genshin!

Begrudgingly, Naf rose from his chair and staggered forward. He crouched beside the pile of boxes on the floor.

"We might... let me check." He said with a voice akin to a whisper. The strange woman nodded in response. Naf unsealed the boxes one by one, browsing their contents, then moving to the next. With each box that didn't contain the Eddworld bag, Naf grew surer that none of the boxes did.

While he searched box after box, the woman looked around the store, fascinated by the bags, each different from the other in more ways than one. Some were handbags, some were tote bags, backpacks and even fanny packs. None were thematically consistent. While one tote bag featured urban typography, the other featured ethnic embroidery. With attention taken by the wares, the woman didn't notice her step falling on one of the boxes instead of the floor. Her feet broke through the box, destroying her balance. She staggered forward, grabbing the shelves to steady herself. The force of her sudden grasp shook the shelf, causing it to tilt forward.

When Naf had turned back to see the cause of the sudden ruckus, the shelf was already dangerously tilted towards the woman, moments before burying her. With no moment to spare for stray thought, Naf bolted into action. He pulled the woman towards him just before the falling shelf could connect with her.