Under The Sacred Briars[Solomon, Cala]

Solomon cast a cursory glance toward the flip phone Cala offered. A flip phone? Weren't those lost to time? He gently set the phone down, offering Cala a warm smile as he chuckled softly. Solomon would accept the offer, of course, but the thought of allowing Cala to walk around with a phone that might lose the numbers they collected didn't quite sit right with them. Rising from the table, he would call for the waitress to hand him a container large enough to hold his remaining leftovers and any food that went uneaten. Container and bag procured, Solomon would turn towards Cala, proposing a counteroffer.

"I'd love to keep in touch, Cala, but this phone is outdated. If you don't mind, I'd like to buy you a new one. That way, you can keep in touch with me and your other friends without worrying about losing their numbers. Deal?"

Cala blinked, wide eyed and curious, as Solomon seemed to look at the phone with no small amount of amusement. His chuckle especially earned a head tilt from them and, as Solomon set the phone down and did not input his number, Cala simply retrieved it and studied it for a moment. They had never given anyone their phone, so they thought Solomon had already put his info in just by touch. How convenient! But, woe to smol Arrancar, this was not the case! In the next moment Solomon began to gather up a large amount of food to take with him and proposed getting a new phone to Cala. He stated that their phone was old, outdated, and Cala blushed softly in embarrassment.

Raising up their rather trustworthy phone Cala half-hid their face behind it as they fiddled with the flippy-bit, fidgeting with it shyly as Cala brushed a thumb over the white, italicized lettering of the 'Nokia' brand on it's surface. Only once Solomon asked for the deal did Cala stop their shy fidgeting and almost completely hide their face behind the now open flip phone, save for one eye, and shrug sheepishly.

"I-I... I umm.... I mean I really like this phone. I didn't see any fancy ones by them...."

Cala suddenly startled, as if remembering something, and closed the flip phone softly before nodding.

"P-Plus this one is really durable too!"

Feeling a potent mixture of anxious, defensive and pressured Cala gripped the phone in their hand like a hammer fist and simply.... smashed it through the tabletop. Only to remove the entirely unharmed phone, flip it open, and show Solomon the completely unfazed screen.

"S-See? It's even stronger than my hi-..... h-..... ahh.... umm... hide? S-Skin I mean...."

Looking down sheepishly at their near blunder Cala would shrug, their head bowed but eyes up-turned at Solomon through their bangs as they asked softly.

"B-Besides don't... don't Quincy still use moves and abilities from a long time ago? Not all old things a-are bad....."

It's a fucking Nokia... how can you compare ancient techniques that have consistently proved effective, to a phone most would consider outdated...?

Solomon furrowed his eyebrows, observing Cala with a minor glint of annoyance in his eyes. His pride as a quincy clashed with the degree of fondness that had developed from their first meeting. From his perspective, Cala was an odd sort to begin with - stuttering, flinching, hiding their face as if the mere concept of human interaction was overwhelmingly alien to them. Even so, he found it endearing. Perhaps, they truly didn't know the difference between durability in a mobile device and ideal function. Keeping that in mind made his next decision relatively easy.

If they were hellbent on keeping their phone, he had no intention of forcing him to shift his decision, let alone compare techniques used in battlefield to phone functionality. The sheer idea sounded so childishly foolish that he scoffed inwardly, maintaining a warm smile on the external front as he walked toward Cala, petting them on their shoulder as he sighed, feigning defeat in his tone, applying a minor use of reishi to reconstruct the hole he created in the table. Turning toward them completely, Solomon would offer his hand, his sign language illustrating a desire to set his number in the phone.

"I won't force you to get rid of your phone, but at the very least, will you humor the idea of allowing me to buy one to go with the other? Just to be safe? Your words are undoubtedly correct. I concede defeat in that aspect, but to ensure my number is not lost, will you at least allow me to do that much? Consider it a token of our friendship. You do not have to part with the Nokia, and I can rest easy knowing I'll see you again."

Cala simply watched Solomon with no small amount of worry in their features, the furrowing of the Quincy's brow and that sharpness in his eyes not going unnoticed, and Cala was concerned they had done something to upset him. Was it the damage to the table? Admittedly they hadn't been thinking too much when displaying the benefits of their phone. Maybe Solomon simply had too much money and wanted to buy them something to cement their friendship? That would make sense and explain why he would be offended Cala hadn't wanted him to spend money on them. With Solomon's clothing and his knightly demeanor Cala could easily see him being the rick heir to some Quincy fortune and, to use a phrase they had heard mortals use, the money was likely 'burning a hole in his pocket'.

Cala found themselves nodding along with this train of thought despite saying nothing as Solomon pat them on the shoulder, only to blink and startle softly, the action shaking them from their own thoughts as they sheepishly offered Solomon their phone. Solomon's offer only cemented that their conclusion about Solomon was correct! Cala had, obviously, stumbled into meeting Solomon the Wealthy and not wanting to hurt their new friend's feelings more they nodded their agreement.

"O-Okay!"

This was now a bit overwhelming. Cala had never met someone so obviously wealthy before, at least that they knew of, though it was possible Ari was also pretty wealthy but Cala had the sneaking suspicion that Ari's house and things were more things of her own creation and mischief than anything she bought. Indeed the entire mortal money system made Cala's head spin so they simply broke it down into simple, Hollow, terms. People like Solomon, and possibly Ari, had a lot of food. So much they could give it away without thought! Meanwhile others did not and had to keep what they had. Standing up beside Solomon Cala supposed they were 'poor' in both respects then, as they were not powerful nor did they possess a lot of mortal money, but at least Solomon had one of these things.

"After umm... After you. I don't know my way around that well...."

Perfect. An ideal middle ground. Cala seemed receptive towards the idea, and in spite of his minor annoyance moments ago, he genuinely desired to see them again. Ensuring that their contacts wouldn't be lost meant enough to him to buy it as a token of their budding friendship. Placing his number within the Nokia, Solomon would hand the phone back to Cala. Stepping forward, Solomon would pat Cala's shoulder as he stood beside them, pointing east. It wasn't a long walk, and they'd certainly be able to make it there in no time. Once he pointed out their direction, Solomon would instruct them to follow, though he offered his hand just in case. He didn't know Cala's sense of direction and the city was a little crowded. Some wanting to exit, others trying to make sense of the aftermath.

"Come. It's a straight walk. Just a few blocks. If you feel I'm going too fast, simply grasp onto my hand. With that, let's head towards a shop so I can buy you a second phone. The more the merrier, you know?"

Chuckling softly, Solomon would take a steady stride towards their next destination, casting the occasional glance back and forth to make sure Cala wasn't being lost amidst a crowd.