He was pulled from his curious head-swiveling by Summer’s voice. “I shall do so.” He replied, though he already had enough questions to try the patience of the being the mortals referred to as ‘the Buddha’. They continued walking for a time before Fenrir was brought before some form of very small, metal-and-glass house. No, it was on wheels. But there were seats in it. Some form of strange cart? His brows knotted together, and he scratched his chin at the odd thing. He gave her a surprised look. “In that? What is this thing?” The marvel was not absent from his tone. “Uh… I know nothing of Midgardian fashion, so I suppose I do not. Mayhaps you would be so kind as to help me with that as well?” He asked with a tinge of sheepishness.
“This is a car. Humans have spread out so far we need mechanical assistance to travel from place to place quickly, and magic … isn’t really acceptable here.” Reaching in, she popped the door open and scrambled awkwardly across the gearstick to the driver’s seat. “It won’t hurt you; she just makes a big noise.” Summer petted the steering wheel. “She’s a good girl, my Lypiphera. We’ll just go really simple on the fashion, then: jeans and tee shirts. Target.” She smiled at Fenrir. “It’s overwhelming, I know. Even for me, the big city is scary.” Gently, she pushed a feeling of welcome and safety at Fenrir.
He nodded, accepting her responses. He hesitantly climbed into the passenger seat of her car, feeling odd somehow as he sat on the leather seats. The interior was cluttered with a variety of things Fenrir did not understand. Midgardians had complex means of transportation. What ever happened to chariots and goats? “She? This car is a female?” Named Lypiphera, apparently. He nodded again, not really knowing what ‘jeans’ and ‘t-shirts’ were, but willing to act like he did. “Alright, that sounds nice.” He suddenly felt much more at ease, though, and even settled back into his seat. Perhaps he was getting used to the big city after all.
Carefully pulling out into the ever-present New York traffic, Summer laughed a little. “It’s a human tradition to, hmm, personalise many of the inanimate things around them. Especially vehicles. Interestingly, the gender is usually female.” She threw a swift glance at Fenrir, admiring his profile as he gazed around in wonder, and let silence fall for the rest of the short drive.
Inanimate. The car was not alive, but it was moving and making noise. And it had been given a gender… Midgardian culture today had surely changed. He nodded, staring out the window at what they passed by. “I see.” He muttered to himself, already distracted with what he was seeing. There were people everywhere—not to mention cars flooded every road. The city was alive with movement and noise, effectively culture shocking Fenrir with everything he had missed by spending his life in a cave.
“Here, keep hold of my hand,” Summer directed when they arrived at Target. It, too, was packed with people. Summer threaded her way swiftly through the throngs, picking up three pairs of jeans and five shirts of various colours. She shoved them into Fenrir’s free arm and pointed. “Go in there and try these on. We need to see if they fit. Clothing isn’t made to your measure any more, it’s made in preset sizes.”