(ElataDiscordia and Squid)

[Squid]

There was a notebook propped against a shopping cart, folded back so that only one page was open. There was a list printed on it, the handwriting was small and very neat. A couple of the items on the list had been crossed off. The list wasn't very long.

Sebastien hated shopping.

For clothes or for food, it all seemed to be a waste to him. There were better things to do with his time. And with his money. As a college student, both were extremely valuable and seemed to be in short quantity.

Sebastien wandered down the snack aisle, pushing his cart mindlessly. He stopped off to the side, looking at the chocolate covered pretzels. A weakness. He reached up, scratching behind his ear idly before retrieving the pencil that he had stored there and twirled it between his fingers.

With a frustrated groan, Sebastien shoved the pencil back behind his ear and snatched up the pretzels and tossing them in the cart.

Defeat.

[ElataDiscordia]

A thirteen-or-so child dashed by. Boyish clothes and a feminine figure. Intense green eyes looked around before stopping on pretzels in white chocolate. Reaching up, the girl grabbed them. Her breasts looked... unusual... under the hoodie. They seemed larger at the top and bottom, while smaller in the middle. "Alright!" a rather neutral-sounding voice exclaimed, rough from puberty.

(( Wargh, I'm sorry it's short! D8 ))

[Squid]

Sebastien took a step back, the child coming between him and his cart. ''Excuse you.'' he muttered, looking around to see if the child's parents were around.

Sebastien was dressed mostly in black, from his jeans to his tee shirt, though the shirt had a screen of a rib cage in green on it. The sneakers on his feet were crayon green, although slightly dirty and scuffed.

Sebastien's hair was tied up and away from his face in a pony tail, the black and green strands long enough to brush the tops of his shoulders, even pulled up.

[ElataDiscordia]

Looking up, the kid blinked. "Oh! Sorry! I didn't see you!" came the child's voice. "I can't reach the other bag..." came a complaint from the feminine child. "Could ya get it down for me please?"

An irritated expression from the child was aimed at the second bag of pretzels that had been asked for.

[Squid]

Normally Sebastien would given a cold look at anyone who had asked for his assistance and walked away, leaving them to help themselves. Such was not the case for the child... mostly. She still got a dark look, but Sebastien reached up and got the pretzels which had been asked for.

As he handed them over, Sebastien paused, looking around again, before asking ''Where are your parents?'' he fought back the urge to add on And why did they let you off your leash?

[ElataDiscordia]

"Eh, they're at home. I'm in walking distance." the apparent-girl said with a nod. "Thanks for the pretzels!" Looking up at him, 'she' tilted her hair. "Hey, you wanna dye my hair like that for me? It looks really awesome!" The child grinned widely. "I can still afford some kinda crazy hair dye, and if I don't ask mom and dad, I can just get grounded a little while but can keep it!"

[Squid]

Sebastien was shocked in to laughter by the last comment from her mouth. ''Just get grounded for a little while...'' he repeated with a grin. Yet again he brought the pencil from behind his ear and began twirling it.

''My brother does my hair, actually.'' Sebastien admitted, though he shrugged and added, ''I could probably do yours, but it wouldn't come out as good.''

As soon as the words left his mouth, Sebastien regretted them. He really shouldn't be wasting time on anything other than his school work. He considered for a moment, and then changed his mind. It wouldn't kill him to blow an afternoon off.

Sebastien eyed the kid for a moment, then. She had to have been at least five years younger than him. If not more. He pushed the thought of being some weird guy hanging out with little kids to the back of his head. Sebastien stopped twirling the pencil, returning it to rest behind his ear and held out his hand. ''Sebastien.''

[ElataDiscordia]

(( I'm switching to what his mental self is-- male-- when describing him, ok? XD ))

"Ron." the child introduced back, a grin on his feminine, slightly pimpled face. "And it'd still look cooler than my current plain color, ya know?" The boy grinned widely. "So, ya wanna?" he asked, leaning close. "And do I need bleach or anything like that?"

[Squid]

(Sorry. I got hella distracted.)

Sebastien shook his head. ''Nah. Your hair is light. You won't need any bleach. Did you want to go dark with the colored streaks, or just the colored part?'' he asked, starting to push his cart again, heading for the beauty supply section.

[ElataDiscordia]

The child looked thoughtful. "I want... something manly. Dark blue or something... Maybe black?" He seemed uncertain, and now his bindings were itching. Reaching under his shirt, she scratched under his boob-bindings.

[Squid]

Sebastien watched as the boy reached under his shirt to scratch an itch, his eyes resting for just a moment on the boy's navel, only registering in the back of his mind that the swell of Ron's hips seemed just too much for a boy.

''Those are colors that would be easier to find in a beauty supply. Common markets carry a wide variety of blonds, reds and browns, but the blacks and the blues, they're not as popular with the crowd that shops here.''

Sebastien veered off his course, turning to get in line at one of those self-checkout lines and started ringing his things. ''Is that okay? We'll stop off at a beauty supply and then I can take you back...'' Back where? To his dorm? How unusual it was for Sebastien to have any guests, let alone one who was a child. To his home? He didn't know if Romi and Eyo would be there. While they'd probably be more questioning, it'd be easier to blow his siblings off than his peers at school. ''I can take you back to my house.'' Maybe no one would be home, anyway.

[ElataDiscordia]

"Alright." the boy agreed readily. He definitely looked more girl than boy, and his voice was rather... neutral in gender. Could be either. "That sounds good." He scratched more. He was sweating, no wonder it itched!

(( I feel so bad doing all these short posts. D8 I wish my brain worked! ))

[Squid]

(If I may offer a little suggestion? I remember you saying that you're trying to get in the habit of posting slightly longer, three or four paragraphs. Do something else! Like, Sebby is paying for his things, Ron has at least two items that you mentioned him grabbing. Maybe he could be paying for his own stuff. That would help to make it a little longer, if length is your goal.

But worry not! I'm not concerned with your length at all. Just promise to forgive me when MY brain dies and I only get in a line or two xD)

Sebastien finished paying for his items, mostly the necesities and mostly the cheap, no-name brand or what was on sale. He had the pretzels, a half gallon of milk, two bags of fruit (Apples and pears) plus a pineapple he'd have to slice when he got home. There was also a single jar of pasta sauce, mushrooms and noodles. That would be dinner one night when he felt like treating himself to something good and not cheap, greasy ordered in pizza.

As he was paying for his items, Sebastien saw out of the corner of his eye that Ron once again had his hand under his shirt, scratching. He wondered idly if the kid had a rash, and if he should be worried about catching it.

[ElataDiscordia]

(( I completely forgot about his pretzels D8> thanks! ))

The boy was paying for his pretzels now, with money from an envelope in his pocket. The envelope was wrinkled and dirty, as well as slightly wet. Grubby fingers slid the money over to the shop clerk, who rang it up and handed the boy his change.

"Here you go, kid. Don't eat too much at once." the clerk warned with a wink after bagging the pretzels in a plastic bag and handing them over.

The boy ran the short distance to wait for Sebastien. "Hey, I'm ready." the boy said as he stuffed his money into his pocket.

(( Mostly at the moment I'm trying to lengthen my normal post size to a chunky paragraph, since that's what my other partners are giving me. If I can do that, I can up it more. 8D ))

[Squid]

(How long have you been RPing? I've been RPing for almost a freaking decade, and I still feel I'm terrible at it. I can get good length, sometimes, but usually when I do, it feels more like I'm playing with myself than anything else. Long and long paragraphs when I'm really interacting with someone seem ... odd. Like, if you think about real life, you don't ask five different questions at one time, just to take up space. You ask one and wait for a response. Only in an RP, that doesn't look as pretty lol)

Sebastien grabbed his few bags and nodded, heading out the door. He walked to his car and unlocked it with a key he pulled from his pocket. His own bags got stuffed in the backseat, then he got in the drivers side and leaned across, lifting the lock for Ron to get in.

As Sebastien put the key in the ignition, he asked the question which had been floating around his mind since Ron had first asked for the pretzels. ''So, how old are you?'' He tried to sound casual and not judging. Sebastien knew that when he was younger, he often got offended when people asked him that. As if age really mattered.