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Austin looked at her, raising an eyebrow at the seeds. "Darklin," he said patiently. "Put the seeds away and go sit at the table, okay?"

"I've spent all WEEK with these two," Roch said, snorting. "I ain't about to go on all the rides with them. They'd probably spend the entire time giving me a hard time. It seems to be one of their favorite pastimes." He was a real jacker, he thought as he looked down at her. "Please save me from them? Just for a day?"

"Okay, fine," Austin said, his hand shooting out. The seeds disappeared, and Austin was picking up the cinnamon rolls as if nothing had happened. Roch blinked, then looked down at her bag curiously, almost positive he knew where the seeds were.

"Let's go eat," he said, more to distract her than anything else as he followed Austin to the table. The cinnamon rolls were AWESOME. Roch even looked at Xiu thoughtfully, plotting something a bit selfish before shaking his head. Nah, that'd definitely be crossing the line.

Maybe Taryn would come with him! Or maybe he could get a GROUP of ghouls to come so he could hide among them and eat cinnamon rolls!

Man she was cute, Roch throught as he glanced over at her. The little tail wag, the new outfit-- "I like your new clothes," he said casually. "They look... cute," he said, feeling embarrassed at saying it. It was easy to say it over groanspring, but not so much now... And was he imagining it, or was she a little irritated over the tattoo? Did that mean she wouldn't let him get more?

He almost pouted, then jerked, realizing how he was thinking. He was NOT her boilfriend. That meant she had no say over how many tattoos he got!

"So," Austin said. "You're the little baku ghoul, right? You've been taking good care of my kid. So consider this trip as thanks for watching--and patching up his back. Because this idiot was planning on letting it scar, even if it hurt like a sonofawitch."

Roch gave him a dirty look, already finished with his cinnamon roll. He glanced over at Vegas, but the big reaper was too busy flirting with the waitress. Greeeeat.

Austin looked at Roch. Roch looked at Austin, a sad little smile on his face as he shrugged his answer to the unasked question. Now even his DAD knew the problem. "Wow," Austin said quietly. "That su--I mean that's a good attitude to have. Your friends are really lucky," he told the baku. There was a hesitant expression on his face, as if he was suddenly regretting something. Roch shrugged again. It was too late now.

"You can have Roch's helmet, Roch can wear mine," Vegas said abruptly. "Kid, you're riding with me, the little lady can ride behind Austin," he told Roch. "Are we ready?"

"Yeah, I think so," Roch said, getting up and throwing his trash away. The idea of Vegas without a helmet didn't bother him at all. The old geezer could stop an entire room with a single note, he could handle a bike crash.

Austin got up, tossing a tip onto the table and heading out the door. The two bikes were huge and dangerous looking--not to mention incredulous looking in front of the small shop, but they seemed to fit the two reapers heading towards them to a T. Vegas picked up his helmet, reaching in and flipping a switch before handing it over to Roch.

Austin grabbed Roch's helmet, a gray and purple piece, and handed it to the little baku. "Don't worry, darklin, I've been riding since I was Roch's age. You're safe," he said before pulling on his own helmet and mounting. He patted the seat behind him, expecting her to climb on.

"You ah, need some help with that?" Roch asked, heading to her to help her with getting the helmet on.

"Yeah, they taught me how to ride," Roch said, grinning. "But it'll be a while, probably after I graduate, at least for somethin' like these," he admitted, glancing at the bike. He took the helmet and put it on her, strapping it under her chin. "You'll be fine. I've ridden these things and slept at the same time and been perfectly safe."

"I'd suggest you didn't try that, though," Austin's voice said over the speaker in her helmet. "Wrap your arms around my waist when you get on, I won't go too fast."

Roch got on behind Vegas, taking the helmet he was handed and putting it on. Something was absent. He flipped the plastic up and said quietly, "You turned off my mic."

"No, I turned off mine," Vegas said before starting the bike and driving off.

"Shall we go?" Austin asked Xiu.

"He can't hear us right now," Austin said as he started the bike. "So I think it's time we had a talk. I don't know why he got his ink this young, and I don't know why he got whipped, and who by. Do you?" He didn't seem to waste much time, even though he was driving at a reasonable speed. "What happened on your field trip, baku? And why did my son come back scared of telling me?"

"He said something along the same lines," Austin said, sounding frustrated. "It's healed, by the way. I can't heal, but the old man can. At least he's useful for something..." He was quiet for a moment.

"My kid," he said suddenly. "He's going to wind up just like the two of us if we're not careful. That'd be a shame. He's got this huge jackin' heart that he's so willing to give away. Hell, he's even close to forgiving me." He snorted. "But things can change. Little baku, you call him a friend, right?"