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Krait wandered towards the smell of grills and woks. His tail snaked out behind him, touching the tiles of the mall floor and sweeping from side to side as if it were propelling him through water instead of air. He found the restaurants in a cluster at the end of the mall and stuck out his little blue tongue to get a taste of what each held in store for his empty belly. His tongue darted, tasting, gulping the flavourful air
...burgers...fries...fish...noodles...tomato....curry....
Krait paused and pondered. His tongue flicked again. Noodles, it is! He stepped up to the restaurant that offered an international menu. He looked up at the backlit images of the meals, appetizing and model-perfect. He lifted a small pinkish-whtie digit and pointed to a bowl of udon noodles displayed along with the other oriental cuisine. The costruct behind the counter swiveled its head with a whirl while its body remained motionless. It turned back to him.
The construct nodded its head in one clunky movement and then it was still again. Krait blinked at it.
"Uhm, and a Green Tea please..." Krait nodded. The machine nodded again. Krait stood motionless before it. He was a little unsure if he had to do something else to receive his food, or if it was being prepared at just that. He was at the same time fascinated by these constructs, at how efficient they were, and how yet they had no reactions to the work they performed.
Krait's focus was broken by motion, and the smell of his food reached him before the sight of it registered. A construct appeared from a kitchen door and brought a tray to a table. Krait scurried toward the table and peered at the tray. A simple clay bowl and a matching clay cup sat on the tray. Steam rose from each, and the salty mixure of the soup blended with the bitter aroma of the tea. Krait's mouth watered. He sat down on the chair and pulled the tray closer. His face grew damp as he hung it over the bowl and breathed in the steam. His tongue darted out again and again.
Finally, he lifted the chopsticks awkwardly and with a relished 'mmmm' dipped them into the soup and spun the fat white noodles around in the golden broth.
After several failed attempts to use the chopsticks, he laid then down upon the tray again and took the bowl between his small hands and dipped his mouth to the edge of it, slurping at the broth. He fished in the soup with his tongue and when he pinned down a noodle bit into it with his tiny fangs and then slurped the long noodle into his mouth, chewing as he slurped. In this messy fashion Krait made his way slowly but surely through the bowl of udon. Periodically he'd pause to wipe the splashed broth from his face or sip the green tea.
By the time he drained the bowl and the teacup his belly felt warm and full, and Krait felt sleepy and slow. He stood slowly and thanked the constructs in sight for the delicious meal, and then he wandered from the restaurant and subsequently the mall in search of home and bed to rest.

Olivia thought she saw someone come in here. . . . This one wasn't stuck in that cool, shiney place, either. And, it definitely didn't wear pink. . . .

She walks through the doors she thought she saw the other walk through, and looks back with amazed, red eyes as those . . . constructs? clean the clear stuff again.

She smiles sheepishly, and puts her hands in the pockets of her pale pink jeans, and hurries further in.

Her eyes widen when she sees all of the stuff. She definitely doesn't have any of this in that place she slept in!

Easily distracted, she shakes her head, absently pushing the long bit of bangs out of her eye, only to have it fall over it again. She is here to look for that other person, after all. . . .

She looks right, and sees no sign of the person. She turns left, and sees someone wandering down the hall. Without saying a word, she walks in that direction, her red boots thumping against the floor. She looks at all the stuff with the same awed expression, even if she is glancing after the pale person further off. She lifts a pink hand out of her jeans, and tugs on a little curl of her pale hair.

Olivia's eyes widen when she sees the other . . . child? look at her. She turns her head, the long hair on the sides of her head bounce along with the red ribbon holding it in the style that she seems to prefer.

She tugs on the bit of sleeve looped over her middle finger on her left hand, and glances to look at the other one.

"Hello?" she says, in a meek voice, not really sure that she even spoke. "I-I Olivia," she says, looking over again, and catching the flick of his tongue. She mimics him, not meaning to be mean about it, just doing so expirimentally.

It spoke! And, it has a word, too! Olivia grins, all but bouncing from foot to foot.

She takes tentative steps toward this Krait, until she is standing about a foot in front of him. "I. . . enjoying meet you," she says, nodding in a proud way over her words. Hey, she is getting better at this. Her own long tail seems to swish behind her in the same, proud way. She tilts her head to the side, and looks at Krait's . . . eyes? "I like thossssse," she says, pointing at the only visible eye on her own face.

So excited over another child capable of speech is Olivia, that her own paranoia over doing something that will get her another hurt in her head evaporates. "You come here before, Krait?"

"I not been out of room. Only ssssshower, then back," Olivia replies. "Thissssss firssssst time here," she adds.

She tilts her head to the side, and mimics his movements. "What Krait looking for?" she asks, frowning a little. Then, she smiles so wide, her eyes almost shut. "Oh!" she says. She lifts her bangs enough to show Krait her other eye. "I have sssssame assssss you," she says, obviously proud again, because she is getting really good at talking with Krait.

She lets her bangs fall back over her eye, and grabs her tail, hugging it to her chest. "Have you been to more placccessss when not hungry? Maybe Krait can ssssssshow me?"

Olivia listens to Krait, intently, and watches his lips just as closely. More to learn, than anything. Krait speaks more words than Olivia, and she thinks she might be saying some things wrong.

When his tail runs over hers, she almost jumps, and lets go of her tail. Then, she giggles, smiling again. "That . . . ticklessss?" she looks up, as though trying to peek in her brain, before coming to the decision that she used the right word for that new sensation.

She takes a step closer, and mimics his tail movement, reaching out with hers, and hoping her tail is long enough to brush his.

Then, she nods, her curls bouncing with the movement of her head, along with her strange pony tail and the ribbon again. "We can . . . exthplore together, then. I follow you?" Then, her eyes widen again, as though she remembers something. "Niccccce little man gave me pretty book and pen to . . . write? . . . in the book with. Maybe you like? Might be fun for . . . play?"

Olivia bends closer when he puts his hands to his eyes, and peers into them. This is new! "Bino. . . binocularsssssth sssssound fun. Sssssssometime ssssoon, I ssssshow you the book and pen, and you ssssshow me binocularsssssth?" she asks.

She listens, fascinated over his description of what he is looking for. When he stops talking, and starts walking, Olivia follows him, quietly for a moment, her tail swishing from side to side behind her in a lazy arch. "We look for the colorsssss for you, firssssst. You new friend, sssssso I help you firssssst," she says, somehow thinking that is the right thing to do. "I like Krait's cloth," she says, tugging on her own shirt, in case she says the wrong thing and confuses who she considers her new friend. "They . . . different?"

She looks away from Krait, then, and at the shops on her side. She is fascinated by everything that she sees, and it shows on her face; her eyes are wide and her mouth is ajar as she stares.