Magic Box, Sunday, 11/20

[not_every_mage]

It was a normal day in the shop for Anders, though he'd paid enough attention the last few days to know it wasn't so normal for half his friends. (He wasn't sure why he'd gotten out of turning into his smaller self this time around, but he was grateful for it.)

He made some half-hearted efforts to child-proof the shop, then put a display of Barry Plodder books in the window so he'd be able to sell something if any non-magical kids wandered in. He rather hoped they would; seeing his friends as small children would make the day less boring, and seemed likely to be a good source for laughs and/or blackmail material.

[OOC: Open shop, open post!]

Comments

[rebelseekspizza]

This one... was probably not going to be laughs. Or blackmail material.

But then the boy had taken one look at the adult on the other side of the room on Saturday morning and bolted.

He was still looking for somewhere to sleep, though. So when he spotted the lights on in one of the buildings, he gravitated towards it, pushing open the door carefully, eyes darting around the store.

[not_every_mage]

"C'mon in," Anders urged easily. "Anything I can help you find?"

There was something familiar about the kid, though he couldn't place it this quickly.

[rebelseekspizza]

"You're that man with the hair," the boy said slowly, as his gaze settled on Anders. He looked wary. "Why are you here?"

Was it a trap?

[not_every_mage]

"I work here," Anders frowned slowly. "What's wrong with my hair?"

[rebelseekspizza]

"I saw you before," the boy said. He was already beginning to believe that opening this door had been a bad idea. "In the room."

[not_every_mage]

Anders blinked as the pieces -- the voice, the face, what he was saying -- fell into place.

"I'm your roommate," he said carefully. "Or will be, when you're older.

[rebelseekspizza]

"Why were you there?" the boy asked, his expression hardening.

The whole 'when he was older' part kind of flew right over his head.

[not_every_mage]

Anders shrugged one shoulder. "I live there," he said. "it'd be funny if I woke up anywhere else."

[rebelseekspizza]

The boy shook his head very slowly. "Doesn't make sense," he said dully. "You're old."

He should really be leaving.

... but curiosity won out over fear. Mostly out of defiance.

[not_every_mage]

"I'm eighteen,"Anders said, mildly affronted. "Why, what age are you?"

He remembered the cookies he'd stashed under the counter and rescued them. "And are you hungry?I've got cookies and tea."

[rebelseekspizza]

"I'm eight," the boy said.

That came out confrontational.

"What's in the cookies?"

... Yes, he was really hungry.

[not_every_mage]

"Chocolate," Anders informed him, holding out the package of Chips Ahoy. "At least, they say it's chocolate. I'm not convinced. It tastes pretty good, though."

A beat. "I'm Anders, by the way."

[rebelseekspizza]

The boy's gaze went from Anders' face to the cookies and back and to the cookies and-- then his hands reached out, darting to try and wrest the package from Anders' hands.

"Okay," he said.

[not_every_mage]

Anders waited a moment longer, expecting a name or a pleaseor anything -- but soon realized one wasn't coming. He gave up the cookies.

"Just don't eat them all," he said easily. "--or do,I can buy more."

[rebelseekspizza]

Teaching politeness was not high on the priority list at St. Lamia's, unfortunately.

The boy's eyes darted from Anders to the bag and back. He took a few steps back... and began shoving cookies into his mouth.

He was really hungry.

[not_every_mage]

Anders watched him silently, a light frown on his face.

"Is this the first you've had since you got here?" he asked.

[rebelseekspizza]

The boy's hands crinkled around the bag as he came to a brief pause, squinting at Anders. He wasn't entirely sure what the man was implying with the question. "I wasn't going to steal food," he muttered, defensively.

[not_every_mage]

"I didn't say you were going to," Anders said quickly. "I just -- it's Sunday now. It's not easy to go a day without eating, especially for a kid."

[rebelseekspizza]

The boy shrugged.

Since it didn't seem like Anders was going to attack him over the food thing, he went back to shoving cookies into his mouth.

[not_every_mage]

Anders didn't have much more to say either, so he settled back and watched the near-feral boy decimate his cookies. He wished he had something more filling in the shop, but there wasn't much.

He set to work preparing a cup of tea, dumping in absurd amounts of milk and sugar to make it child-friendly, and set it down near Dante.

"Here," he said. "If you're thirsty, too."

[rebelseekspizza]

The boy looked at Anders like he wasn't sure he trusted any of this... but since he hadn't fallen over and died of the cookies yet, he reached eagerly for the tea.

"Hot," he said.

[not_every_mage]

"Tea usually is," Anders said, unable to keep the note of amusement out of his tone. "Shouldn't be too bad, though. Just give it a minute."

[rebelseekspizza]

"I know it is," the boy said, "It just surprised me, stupid."

He glowered at Anders a little over his tea.

[not_every_mage]

Anders snorted. "I'm not the one who couldn't figure out how to get free food in a town full of it, but call me stupid if you like."

[rebelseekspizza]

That scowl just got worse.

But the boy sipped his tea. "I didn't see any."

[not_every_mage]

"The room where you woke up is down the hall from a kitchen," Anders informed him. "Lots of food there, for anyone. Or you could have asked."

He knew he was being a bit of a jerk, but a part of him just childish enough not to care was winning out.

[rebelseekspizza]

"Fuck you," the boy snarled. "I didn't know whose it was."

He hadn't wanted to get in trouble.

[not_every_mage]

"I know," Anders said, more softly. (The part of him that wasn't a jerk finally made a resurgence.) "I just got upset you called me stupid. But take whatever you want, anyhow."

[rebelseekspizza]

The boy brought the tea back up to his mouth and took a big sip of it, almost burning his mouth. "...D'you have more cookies?" he asked eventually.

[not_every_mage]

"Not here," Anders admitted. "But I was going to go get lunch soon, anyhow. Would you like to come with me?"

[rebelseekspizza]

Long pause.

"Where?"

[not_every_mage]

"Pizza place," said Anders -- which hadn't been his plan at all, but he'd picked up a thing or two about Dante over the last year. "Unless you want something else."

[rebelseekspizza]

"I like pizza."

That... would've been the first time his face had brightened today. He'd only had pizza once or twice, but it was better than what they usually got.

[not_every_mage]

"I had a feeling," Anders said dryly. He reached behind the counter for his jacket, then eyed the boy. "Are you warm enough in that? I might have another sweater somewhere."

[rebelseekspizza]

The boy shrugged. "I'm fine," he said, and he wasn't actually lying about that. "I don't get cold a lot."

[not_every_mage]

"You probably wouldn't, would you," Anders said, half to himself.

He made it sound almost casual when he added, "Tonight, if you want to sleep in my room, go ahead. It's half yours anyhow."

[rebelseekspizza]

"Maybe."

Sure, Anders had been nice to him. But that could be a trap.

He was just too hungry right now to worry about it too much.

[not_every_mage]

"If you want," Anders said, and then he was heading off for the door, hesitating just enough to let the boy catch up.

He was sad, seeing this wounded Dante, and didn't know how to react. Try too hard to be a friend, and he'd get scratched at again.

[rebelseekspizza]

The boy shrugged. (Truthfully, he would. He hadn't exactly slept anywhere nice last night.)

He walked along silently for a while, but it was a spark of curiosity that got the better of him. "...Anders? What kind of pizza do they have?"

[not_every_mage]

"Whatever kind you want," Anders said, and then took a chance and added a, "... Dante. I like pepperoni and onion."