Welcome to Gaia! ::

Krait nodded happily. "I will show you the binocularsth if you want." When she made comment about his clothing, Krait looked down and inspected them. "I like them too. These clothesth are the only onesth I have." As they passed the clothing store on the right that Krait had wandered into before he contemplated buying some more clothes in the near future. He liked the touch of fabrics.
Up on his left Krait caught sight of a Recreational Supplies store, and inside he could see board games of all shapes and sizes, art sets, small toys and many other things with bright colours that looked like fun to touch and play with. Krait pointed towards the store with one hand, and his tail in mimic pointed too. "Look, Olivia." Krait said to his new companion. "Let'sth try that sthtore. They might have what we want..."

Krait listened to her question and thought on it. "I don't think I would want a sthkirt. But you can sthtill get one." As Olivia began walking into the store before them he nodded and kept pace with her, passing through the doors and into the shop.
The whirring, rattling, clinking noises of wooden and metal toys hung about the room on display distracted Krait's eyes and attention. He stopped and stared, head turning this way and that as he took in each item. Krait was in more awe than desire for these whirling toys. He wanted something quiet. Something safe. He tore his eyes away from the whirligigs and wooden model planes and away from the kites and the streamers.
There, at the back of the shop, next to the Construct that ran the store was a row of shelves laden with boxes. There perhaps... Krait began to shuffle his way, pigdeon toed, to the boxes on the shelves.

Krait inspected the boxes for a long and silent moment. At length he replied to Olivia. "No, these aren't what I thought..." Krait peered at them curiously. Some form of game, these. "Sthcrabble..." Krait read the side of one box carefully. Carefully Krait lifted the box from the shelf and looked at the pictures on the box. A word game! Krait was excited, if he kept practise with his reading, then perhaps someday he'd grow good at this game. Krait kept the box close to his chest.
Krait turned to the Construct. "Exthcuse me...Do you sthell any art thingsth? Sthomething with coloursth?" Krait asked the construct. Its mechanical head swivelled on the spot, and it lifted an arm to point to the shelves on their right. "Thank you." Krait bowed a little and scurried over to the right-hand shelves, still clutching his box.
On these new shelves were all manner of art supplies, crayons, coloured pencils, markers, pastels, watercolour paints, acrylic paints, watercolour pencil crayons, charcoal...the choices seemed endless. Krait was at a loss. He'd never used any of these things before. What should he choose? "Exthcuse me..." Krait turned to the Construct. "I've never drawed before. What should I use?" The Construct rolled over and inspected the different Art supplies in silence. Finally it lifted a small wooden box from the shelf and proffered it to Krait.
Krait blinked up at it. He took the handle of the box with one free hand and was surprised at how heavy it was. "Thank you..." Krait said to the machine as it moved back to its counter and its position to keep a watchful eye on the store.
Krait knelt down and lifted the two brass clasps on the box. He peeked inside and then, excitedly turned to Olivia. "Olivia, look! There are sthome of each in thisth boxth! Sthome 'markersth', sthome 'crayonsth', a pencthil sharpener, erasther, 'pencthil crayonsth'...Woooow....."

Krait stuck his tongue out and waggled it at the box, smelling the wax, the graphite the wood...So many new and fresh smells...
He shook his head in response to Olivia's Question. "No," Krait said sadly. "I don't know how. But I will practicthe very hard, every day..." He smiles to her and closes the box carefully, lowering the brass clasp. "What about you, Olivia? What you you want to get?" Krait asked, tottering to gain his balance with the long scrabble box under one arm and the heavy art set under the other.

Krait tilted his head at the kite and blinked. "What do you do with it?" Krait asked, unfamiliar with kites and flying contraptions. "Will you show me sthometime how to play with your pink toy?" Krait smiled hopefully, his dark eyes large and shining.
He looked around the store, then down at his hands: his scrabble board, his art set. He looked at Olivia, at her pink kite. "Have we got everything we need, Olivia? Do we go home or sthomewhere elsthe?" Krait asked her. He was itching to try out his new art supplies, but he didn't want to part so soon from the new friend he'd made.

((OOC: No problem, I've been really busy with the Empyreans threads, so I kept worrying that I've been keeping you waiting))

Krait nodded happily and took a few steps towards the door. "Come, Olivia," Krait said with a smile. "I have sthome paper in my room. I'll show you how to make a picture. And you can make one too! Sthound like fun?" Krait was walking slowly to the door, half paying attention to Olivia, and half to his tail, trying to keep it away from grabbing things off the displays and shelves, but having no free hands with which to do so.

Krait paused on the threshold of the store at Olivia's offer. A little tightness began to creep from his chest up into his throat, and Krait's face grew hot and began to turn pink. He blinked his black-backed eyes and swallowed. His spine grew a little straighter as he took another step towards the door. Softly, quietly, he said, "No, I can carry it." He smiled at Olivia, and the hotness in his cheeks faded, and his puffed chest deflated a little. "Let'sth go." The puzzlement at his reaction...Pride...faded slowly as he walked towards the exit.

Krait nodded softly as he walked. He stared intently at the ground as he wandered, not in a very straight line...but softly zigzagging, gradually making soft S patterns as he walked. His toes pointed in, badly pidgeon-toed, tail the only thing keeping his awkward balance. He didn't answer in words, just with nods, soft motions with his hands. The sound of the outside world came through the glass doors: a breeze rustling tree leaves, birds singing softly. As they made it to the doors, Krait heaved his shoulder against the door and pushed it open, holding it ajar for Olivia to pass through. He smiled shyly as he offered her to go first...
This was right, wasn't it? Shouldn't a girl be offered the door first, wasn't that....courtesy? Krait's heart understood these concepts and appreciated them, but his mind was still struggling to catch up and find words for these reactions and feelings and morals the little snake was beginning to experience.

((OOC: I'll leave the RP in this thread, as we're leaving the mall. If you want to reply if you'll be around then please do in the Development house or elsewhere...if you'll be hiatusing soon, then I'd like to open up this opportunity to RP with some more Rosin. Is that okay?))