Welcome to Gaia! ::

For as slow as the weekdays were, the weekends were always fairly busy, which was just about common for any retail business in the world, and there was nothing Richard liked more than a busy store. Sure, it meant less conversations with himself and his beloved taffy (whom of which he named Tasha), but at least now he could talk to at customers and watch the business bloom and money come pouring in (a reminder of why he was here in the first place). Unfortunately for Richard, his main clientele on the weekends were the vile creatures, known to cause famine and strife and spread the common cold like a plague... the harbinger of chaos themselves...

Children.

Richard had little love for children, of any kind and origin. Slumdog kids, middle-class, even the prim and proper snooty type, the ones that could feed the rest of their lesser fortunate brethren's unquenchable hunger for sweets but would refrain (which was humorous to watch from where Richard stood, but ultimately disappointing when they either gave in or left the whining brats in his store and made him feel bad). Even now, when he was filling a bag of jelly babies for one of the rare, quiet ones, he was looking around his store, a sickly sweet smile plastered on his face but a sense of growing dread and disgust forming within his gut.

No, he didn't hate children, just the germs they brought with them, their unsatisfying gluttony, and then their parents' accusations of making them sick of giving them cavities. Still, they were his biggest clientele during the weekend, and as Richard always strive to do, he treated them with the utmost respect (and keep his terrible thoughts to himself, for the sake of his sanity).

And the one that just walked into his store unattended was no exception, as he flashed the young boy a rather wide grin and even a wave, cautious to not get his hair caught in the scoop he held. "Welcome to the Sugar Shanty! Feel free to peruse my wares, young sir!"

Children were a very lively bunch, always curious, always eager to do something or get something they like (and just as eager to throw a fit if they didn't get what they wanted). They were often talkative, inquisitive, and if Richard could get over his minor phobia of germs, he would have had a lot in common with the little tykes. He enjoyed candy, both making it and then eating it (though unlike some of his customers he knew to take things in moderation), he was ever anxious to explore the word and indulge in all the good it had to offer. In a way, Richard was like a big kid himself...

Yet, he still fought down the slightest impulse within him to slam a hand over the child's mouth to silence him. This one, Winston, apparently had a motor mouth, and if there was one thing that put Richard off more than a gluttonous pig hogging his jelly beans, it was motor mouths. But, to give the little guy credit, he was polite, and thus far, that made him the most tolerable child in this establishment.

He also found his big, blue eyes to be quite adorable, therefor, Winston would become his new favorite child. So, he wore a smile that could outshine the sun, expressing nothing but genuine interest and mirth as he answered the child's questions, in order of which they came. "Yes, you may since you used the proper grammatical term. My name is Richard, I love working in a candy store and it's just as fun as you'd think! And no, I don't, otherwise I couldn't fit through the door and then who would tend to my store and all of its happy little customers?"

Richard made a point to ignore an overly anxious girl that was beginning to scuffle on the other end of his counter, instead focusing his attention on Winston. The fact that he spoke in a polite manner and had eyes that could rival the vast beauty of the ocean meant that he was worthy of his full and undivided attention. He was curious to see how long the child could hold his attention, as he asked a question of his own. "What's your favorite type of candy, Winston?"

But Richard didn't want to service the little girl. She was in here all the time, always looking for free samples and abusing Richard's generosity without paying a single dime! She thought she was being clever about it too, what with her big, 'innocent' eyes, her mock-shy 'can I see what this tastes like', but Richard saw through her. What he wanted to do was just grab the girl and kick her out of the store, as he was growing tired of her shenanigans.

Unfortunately, that would have likely angered the girl's parents, which would have been very bad for business, and if there was one thing that Richard hated more than a whiny brat, it was losing money. Since Winston asked him oh so politely, he wore the biggest smile as he obliged by the little boy's request. "You're such a gentleman, even as your age. Your parents must be the luckiest in Destiny City!"

He then turned to the little girl, and his smile had turned darker, more strained, and without even waiting for her to speak or ask, he grabbed a bag and handed it to her. He kept his voice low, and anyone with a lick of sense could hear the edge in its tone as he motioned her to leave. "Grab whatever you can fit into this bag and be on your way. This one's on the house."

The girl was going to say something, but the glint in his eye and the way his smile faltered told her to not look a gift horse in the mouth. The moment she opened her mouth, she slammed it shut and went on her way, and Richard would care about the damage this would do to his sales later. For now, he wanted to make himself presentable to his young guest, and when he turned around to face him once more, he wore nothing but smiles. "Now, where we were?"

Richard wasn't quite sure what he had done to gain the boy's admiration, but he wouldn't look a gift horse in the mouth on the matter. If he had his way, he would be a national hero and role model to every child out there, and it was always good to know that should he ever have made the endeavor, that at least he started off right with Winston. Of course, he suspect it had a lot to do with giving the girl a bag and telling her to scram by giving her free candy, but still, it was a courtesy that he was more than willing to offer for Winston.

Minus the whole 'get lost, bub' attitude that came with it, of course. No, he decided early on that he liked Winston, so long as he didn't start to take advantage of his generosity as well. But no, Winston would never use him like that, would he? Richard didn't give the notion a single thought more, as he soaked in his praise and tried not to let the young boy see how it went straight to his head. After all, he had a reputation to uphold.

"Why, I would be honored to teach you, Winston! The gentlemen of the world is a dying race and it's up to men like you and I to preserve it!" Richard may have been a little overdramatic there, but it was meant to keep Winston entertained. That was part of his job- keeping customers happy, and since the bulk of his customers were little children, he had to keep them entertained by any means necessary. One way of doing this was getting some candy inside that little belly of his, and he motioned to the rest of his store with a sweeping motion, much like Mufasa showing Simba his kingdom. "But first, may I offer you some free samples? I don't think you ever did tell me what your favorite candy was..."

Though deep, somewhere in the bottom of his heart, there was a forever burning hatred of small children, there was always some exception to this burning passion within him. And Winston was one of them. Good for Winston!

He handed the young boy a bag, one slightly larger than the usual free sample bags, and he wore a polite yet devilish grin. "Well, too -much- candy can be bad for your health. Then again, too much of anything can be bad for your health. Why, drinking too much water can lead to..."

He stopped himself before he could get too far, as not only did he not know the proper medical term, but he didn't want to outright FRIGHTEN the poor boy. Not Winston. He rather liked this little one! "Nevertheless, it's all about moderation. A true gentleman knows not to consume more than he should in a given time, and the same can be said for candy as well."

On that note, he gave Winston the sample bag and motioned to the store. "Have at it, my good fellow."

It was like Willy Wonka unleashing the children in his garden of sugary delights... minus the murderous impulse and the glorious singing of Gene Wilderer.

It certainly wasn't the first gift that he had received from another person, but it was certainly the most interesting and most innocent of all. He accepted the tiny figure, and he couldn't help but admire the youth's willingness to part with such a toy. Parting with candy was one thing- parting with a toy? What was this kid's angle?

Nevertheless, he accepted the toy and gave it a good look over, and while Superman may not have been his favorite super hero (he was a Tony Stark/Iron Man lover himself), he appreciated the sentiment behind the gift. Especially if it was suppose to bring him good luck. What kind of fool would he have to be to turn down such a gift? "Thank you! I'll keep Superman close. You never know when you'd need a savior like him in this city!"

He tucked the figure into his pocket, making a mental note not to sit down, or else he'd have either a broken Superman or a broken hip bone, if the figurine was as strong and hearty as the man it was based off of. Upon Winston's request, he was more than happy to assist him, especially since the girl seemed to be coming back with probably another problem to pester him with. He motioned for her to wait, before following Winston onto the sales floor. "That's why I'm here! Now, point to what you'd like to know about and I will give you the run down."

There were times he may have hated children and he certainly never desired any of his own. In fact, he'd rather have his ability to reproduce taken from him if only to make absolutely certain that no sudden red-haired, red-eyed, sexy children came knocking on his door, but he had promised his mother that he'd at least donate. Someday. While he didn't like children, he was willing to make an exception every so often, and while he'd never consider Winston one of his own, he was certainly worth having back in the store.

He tried not to laugh at the sight of Winston's little run, following after him with his hands behind his back and taking some kind of pleasure in another child's joy. Of course, if anyone saw him like this and out of context, it was likely that they'd think some dastardly was going on, but he'd deal with that problem should it ever arise. For now, he simply found amusement in Winston's antics.

"Skittles? No, I don't sell those here. These are jelly beans, though," Richard pointed out, joining him in the aisle of jelly beans. He was rather fond of them himself, resisting the urge to throw on a glove and pluck a few for himself. "I have a ridiculous assortment of flavors, colors, though if you don't like skittles, maybe this just isn't your thing. What is it about Skittles you don't like? Taste? Texture? The way it gets stuck in your teeth or wears down your jaws?"

He pointed to his own pearly whites when he said that last part, making the gnashing motion and though he looked very silly, he was very serious. He took his candy very seriously.