With a nervous hop, Damalis Skywalker exited the shifter booth then turned and surveyed it sheepishly. She was always thinking those pieces of equipment would drop her off incomplete somehow, or malfunction just for her. Electronics tended to do that sorta thing when she used them. That was why she had a lot of her business work done on old fashion paper. A datapad had eaten her work one too many times for her to be completely trusting. With a quick survey of her person, the tall blond woman made sure everything was in it's place and nothing was missing. Long blonde hair, check. Stylish heels on her feet in a lovely pearlish green, check. All the necessary bits in between, check.
Nodding in satisfaction, she moved away from the shifter, her heels tapping a steady tempo. Damalis had just visited the 151st floor to do some banking business, a tedious job to say the least, and was now making her way back to her storefront here in the Astoria Bazaar. While visiting the bank was a necessary evil of owning your own company, Damalis couldn't help but feel apathetic about it. Oh sure, she worried when the money was low, but it just wasn't the fun part of the work. Besides, no matter how many times she'd proved otherwise, the people at every bank she'd ever been in still treated her as a dumb blonde. She'd be the first to admit she could be somewhat feather brained at times, but she was certainly not dumb. The fact that she ran a successful textile business before making this foray into owning her shop should have proved that.
Unfortunately, people made snap judgments all the time. On the surface, Damalis was a dumb blonde more intuned with shopping than anything else. But beneath that she was a caring, sweet, loving person who just happened to have a quite strong Force power. Not that she could control it, or even know when it would emerge, but Damalis had hopes for it being useful. No one could have looked at her and guessed she was quietly involved with people who called themselves the New Rebellion and worked to control the power of the Imperials. Well, work was too strong a word in Damalis' case. She hadn't really done a thing for the group yet, except donate some funds and equipment that no one could trace back to her. Her so called power hadn't come into play.
Smiling to a few familiar faces, Damalis waved back to some of the other shop owners as she passed their stalls along the floor. The Astral Astoria had caused quite a stir when it joined the galaxy, but if one thing was for sure, merchants were not above moving in as quick as they could. To that extent, Damalis was a late comer. She'd just opened her shop last week. The rent for it was much higher than for one of the stalls, but her inventory really called for something more upscale. Damalis carried a lot of designer named gowns and dresses, mostly from those designers that used the cloth that Damalis' own company produced, and there was a small section of the store devoted to things she'd created herself. It did a small and pride boosting business that helped her ego, but her real cash flow came from the more noted designers. The fact that a lot of her clientele were gamblers still bothered Damalis some, but she wasn't about to get too picky. She'd put herself in debt for the very first time to open her storefront and was still nervous about things. Doing good the first week was a great thrill, but not necessarily something she could count on.
Stopping to quickly press the code keys into the security pad beside the door, Damalis went through the needed measures to get the door open. Retinal scan, hand print, voice recognition, key code. You needed them all to get inside. Another reason her rent was so high, but since she had a small fortune in gowns inside, Damalis found it worth it. If nothing else, if the business did go sour, she could resell her inventory and get back most of her losses. With her patents on several fabrics, one of which had just been put into use in the military sector, she didn't have to worry about her money stopping, it was just a matter of pride that this shop work out. Even people she considered really good friends never seemed to think she could accomplish anything and was always surprised when she did good. Again, even from those that cared about her, Damalis was judged by her surface exterior.
Which was, in truth, hard to ignore. She was plainly gorgeous - perfect face, figure and hair. And she was blessed with a bubbly personality that made people flock to her like moths to a flame. A lot of women with those characteristics tended to become jaded spoiled creatures that suck the life out of everyone around them, their beauty and attractions become weapons of pain and destruction. Not Damalis. Her laugh made people feel alive and when she smiled at a person, they felt loved and knew they deserved it too. While her force powers might occasionally give her the future, this paled in comparison to how she made those around her see themselves. And she did it all without ever stopping to consider if she should or shouldn't. It was a natural power she'd been blessed with at birth. While the high fashion clothes in her shop window made customers stop in for the first time, Damalis was one of the reasons they came back again.
Entering her store, Damalis keyed up the lights and smiled as all the bright colors came to life. Several displays along the walls began moving, life sized mannequins coming to life to either parade or dance along their run ways, showing off the cut and designs of the dresses they wore. As a joke, they were all tall and sported long blonde hair, much like the shop owner. The music was soothing and relaxed, the lighting just perfect, neither harsh nor glaring. This had taken Damalis awhile to get perfected, as she hadn't wanted to spend all day under such lights but she also didn't want to make it seem she was hiding anything. Above all else, Damalis was an honest business woman, each customer became personal to her and she really did try to find them the best dress and cut possible for their figure. This could become quite a journey when an alien species came in, especially a non-humanoid, but Damalis loved a fashion challenge. Already twice this week she'd made up gowns on the spot from bolts of fabric in the back room for persons who didn't fit the normal patterns. So, in contrast to the rest of the area, the dressing rooms were well lit, along with the wall of mirrors in front of them.
Humming to herself, Damalis headed over to them to check her own image. Hair still in good shape, little bit of scuff on one heel defying the sparkly that she so loved. A quick wipe and the shoes were perfect again. A tug to smooth out any wrinkles in her professional looking, albeit short, skirt and, after checking to make sure no one was peeking in the windows, a quick shimmy of the blouse to put two of her attributes firmly in place and looking perky, then she was pleased with her appearance. Really, it never took Damalis long to feel happy with herself, she looked good in practically anything but as a woman she always saw problems where there were none.
That done, she headed over to the counter, turned on the OPEN sign and sat down to wait for business to walk in. It didn't take long. One of the stall owners in her area walked in to look through some colorful scarves to find a present for his wife. It could be assumed he only made the visit to stare at the shop owner, but as she engaged him in conversation, it became obvious he was there for the talk more than the look. As he spoke of his wife, Damalis listened intently, then helped him choose a pinkish gossamer shawl that was indeed lovely, while still being one of the less expensive items. While she was a business woman, Damalis couldn't have lived with herself if she thought she'd talked someone into buying something beyond their pockets. But, listening to the man speak of his wife, she felt good, knowing the wife would be pleased and when the man left with a smile on his face after the compliments she paid the woman, Damalis felt proud of herself. This was what she felt business was about.
With a saucy little skip, she headed back to the counter to sit and wait for the next customer. She was glad she'd chosen the Astoria to set up shop. Coruscant had been the most likely place before then, which was partly why she held back for so long. But the Astoria and her seemed to be getting along just fine. Despite some of the rumors she was hearing, Damalis had yet to see anything that made her regret her decision. Now it was just a matter of waiting to see if she was forced to eat her words...
Nodding in satisfaction, she moved away from the shifter, her heels tapping a steady tempo. Damalis had just visited the 151st floor to do some banking business, a tedious job to say the least, and was now making her way back to her storefront here in the Astoria Bazaar. While visiting the bank was a necessary evil of owning your own company, Damalis couldn't help but feel apathetic about it. Oh sure, she worried when the money was low, but it just wasn't the fun part of the work. Besides, no matter how many times she'd proved otherwise, the people at every bank she'd ever been in still treated her as a dumb blonde. She'd be the first to admit she could be somewhat feather brained at times, but she was certainly not dumb. The fact that she ran a successful textile business before making this foray into owning her shop should have proved that.
Unfortunately, people made snap judgments all the time. On the surface, Damalis was a dumb blonde more intuned with shopping than anything else. But beneath that she was a caring, sweet, loving person who just happened to have a quite strong Force power. Not that she could control it, or even know when it would emerge, but Damalis had hopes for it being useful. No one could have looked at her and guessed she was quietly involved with people who called themselves the New Rebellion and worked to control the power of the Imperials. Well, work was too strong a word in Damalis' case. She hadn't really done a thing for the group yet, except donate some funds and equipment that no one could trace back to her. Her so called power hadn't come into play.
Smiling to a few familiar faces, Damalis waved back to some of the other shop owners as she passed their stalls along the floor. The Astral Astoria had caused quite a stir when it joined the galaxy, but if one thing was for sure, merchants were not above moving in as quick as they could. To that extent, Damalis was a late comer. She'd just opened her shop last week. The rent for it was much higher than for one of the stalls, but her inventory really called for something more upscale. Damalis carried a lot of designer named gowns and dresses, mostly from those designers that used the cloth that Damalis' own company produced, and there was a small section of the store devoted to things she'd created herself. It did a small and pride boosting business that helped her ego, but her real cash flow came from the more noted designers. The fact that a lot of her clientele were gamblers still bothered Damalis some, but she wasn't about to get too picky. She'd put herself in debt for the very first time to open her storefront and was still nervous about things. Doing good the first week was a great thrill, but not necessarily something she could count on.
Stopping to quickly press the code keys into the security pad beside the door, Damalis went through the needed measures to get the door open. Retinal scan, hand print, voice recognition, key code. You needed them all to get inside. Another reason her rent was so high, but since she had a small fortune in gowns inside, Damalis found it worth it. If nothing else, if the business did go sour, she could resell her inventory and get back most of her losses. With her patents on several fabrics, one of which had just been put into use in the military sector, she didn't have to worry about her money stopping, it was just a matter of pride that this shop work out. Even people she considered really good friends never seemed to think she could accomplish anything and was always surprised when she did good. Again, even from those that cared about her, Damalis was judged by her surface exterior.
Which was, in truth, hard to ignore. She was plainly gorgeous - perfect face, figure and hair. And she was blessed with a bubbly personality that made people flock to her like moths to a flame. A lot of women with those characteristics tended to become jaded spoiled creatures that suck the life out of everyone around them, their beauty and attractions become weapons of pain and destruction. Not Damalis. Her laugh made people feel alive and when she smiled at a person, they felt loved and knew they deserved it too. While her force powers might occasionally give her the future, this paled in comparison to how she made those around her see themselves. And she did it all without ever stopping to consider if she should or shouldn't. It was a natural power she'd been blessed with at birth. While the high fashion clothes in her shop window made customers stop in for the first time, Damalis was one of the reasons they came back again.
Entering her store, Damalis keyed up the lights and smiled as all the bright colors came to life. Several displays along the walls began moving, life sized mannequins coming to life to either parade or dance along their run ways, showing off the cut and designs of the dresses they wore. As a joke, they were all tall and sported long blonde hair, much like the shop owner. The music was soothing and relaxed, the lighting just perfect, neither harsh nor glaring. This had taken Damalis awhile to get perfected, as she hadn't wanted to spend all day under such lights but she also didn't want to make it seem she was hiding anything. Above all else, Damalis was an honest business woman, each customer became personal to her and she really did try to find them the best dress and cut possible for their figure. This could become quite a journey when an alien species came in, especially a non-humanoid, but Damalis loved a fashion challenge. Already twice this week she'd made up gowns on the spot from bolts of fabric in the back room for persons who didn't fit the normal patterns. So, in contrast to the rest of the area, the dressing rooms were well lit, along with the wall of mirrors in front of them.
Humming to herself, Damalis headed over to them to check her own image. Hair still in good shape, little bit of scuff on one heel defying the sparkly that she so loved. A quick wipe and the shoes were perfect again. A tug to smooth out any wrinkles in her professional looking, albeit short, skirt and, after checking to make sure no one was peeking in the windows, a quick shimmy of the blouse to put two of her attributes firmly in place and looking perky, then she was pleased with her appearance. Really, it never took Damalis long to feel happy with herself, she looked good in practically anything but as a woman she always saw problems where there were none.
That done, she headed over to the counter, turned on the OPEN sign and sat down to wait for business to walk in. It didn't take long. One of the stall owners in her area walked in to look through some colorful scarves to find a present for his wife. It could be assumed he only made the visit to stare at the shop owner, but as she engaged him in conversation, it became obvious he was there for the talk more than the look. As he spoke of his wife, Damalis listened intently, then helped him choose a pinkish gossamer shawl that was indeed lovely, while still being one of the less expensive items. While she was a business woman, Damalis couldn't have lived with herself if she thought she'd talked someone into buying something beyond their pockets. But, listening to the man speak of his wife, she felt good, knowing the wife would be pleased and when the man left with a smile on his face after the compliments she paid the woman, Damalis felt proud of herself. This was what she felt business was about.
With a saucy little skip, she headed back to the counter to sit and wait for the next customer. She was glad she'd chosen the Astoria to set up shop. Coruscant had been the most likely place before then, which was partly why she held back for so long. But the Astoria and her seemed to be getting along just fine. Despite some of the rumors she was hearing, Damalis had yet to see anything that made her regret her decision. Now it was just a matter of waiting to see if she was forced to eat her words...