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"Alright, if you says so." Velvet didn't know so much about pie-rats as the little girl did, so he had to take her word on it. Velvet began looking for an X, although he did so very carefully. He didn't touch anything, and when he peered into the boxes and trashcans he did so from a great distance. Of course, he was looking for a plain as day "X" and didn't even notice two planks of wood that formed an x, or the crack in the ground that looked like an x, or the 2 noodles in the trashcan that made a sort of squiggly x. "Was what me?" Velvet asked as stopped hovering over a trashcan and landed on the ground.

This time, Velvet heard the growl too. "That wasn't me... and I don't think that's a pie-rat..." Pie-rats didn't growl, they scurried. He had been slightly brave for a moment, distracted by the quest to find the 'x' but it was gone now. In fact, he was even done pretending to be brave, and would fully admit that he was terrified of this thing that was almost as big as them! "Let's get out of here!" He yelled, making a quick grab at her arm to drag her along as he fled the scene.

If she didn't follow him, that was going to be her problem. Velvet was at the end of the alleyway, hunched over, huffing and puffing. He had never ran so fast in his life!

Velvet's eyes shifted from side to side, feeling slightly embarrassed now that his charade of bravery was over. "Uhm..." Velvet wasn't sure what to do now that he wasn't being brave. They couldn't really go adventuring down any dark alleys anymore, looking for treasure. "Maybe we'll find treasure in that flower shop you mentioned." He said wishfully. The suggestion was pathetic, but it was the best the little boy had. And flowers sounded amazing after battling with the pie-rats.

Velvet wouldn't have noticed that the other child had gotten closer to him because he had been slowly drifting closer as well. What gave him the idea that a little girl could protect him from scary things, such as the Rat King, he couldn't be sure. She certainly seemed braver than he felt though.

He was pleased that the girl had liked her idea, and a flower shop sounded pleasant and much less scary. Also it wasn't very often one got to see flowers in the big city. "Lead the way!" He told her, this time because he didn't know where he was going. Things seemed much less scary now that they were out of that alleyway. The air smelled nicer out here too.

"Yeah, that'd be alright." Velvet agreed to her proposal of friendship with a large gulp. He could sure use a friend. However, if they were going to have more encounters with pie-rats or rat kings he was going to have to rethink his decision. He still needed a name for his friend even!

He followed her lead, quiet as he tried out different names on girl in his mind. None of them really worked, he had never had to name something before, and some of the stuff he was coming up with weren't even names. "What's your name again?" Velvet asked, frustrated at the trouble he was having naming her.

Velvet's eyes were wide as she attempted to sound out her name over... and over... again. He wasn't about to stop her though, no he was just shocked. What kind of daddy gave a kid a name they couldn't say? He wasn't even going to try and pronounce her name, no way. However, she did give him plenty of inspiration for nicknames. "I think I'll just call you R" Yes, that was his great name of inspiration.

Velvet walked inside the flower shop, peering around curiously, having never been in one.




Kenley had seen the children stop in front of the door through the open doorway and was pleasantly surprised when they came in. "Hello kids." He said with a welcoming smile. "Welcome to my flower shop. These flowers are from alllllllllllll over the island, a lot of pretty colors. Let me know if you have any questions." No, they weren't customers, but perhaps future customers, and kids were adorable anyways.

Kenley smiled, recognizing the familiar face of Arcenciel, "Hello darling." He raised his eyebrows wondering why she would want to keep a visit to his shop a secret from her mother. Kenley glanced at the boy she was with, "Your secret is safe with me." He said putting a finger to his lips. Kenley would likely tell her mother, but he was confident it wasn't going to be something that would get her in trouble.

Velvet bit his lip as he looked over the flowers in the shop, scooting along the aisles. "I don't think I've seen a lots of flowers." He stated as he looked at them curiously.

"Oh, you should try smelling them then!" Kenley encouraged, the smell of flowers was the most beautiful smell in the world. Kenley headed over to his counter, picking out a pretty yellow flower and kneeling down in front of Velvet with it. "You give pae flowers to show how much they mean to you, try giving this yellow one to the miss. Yellow flowers mean that you are really good friends." He whispered.

Smiling and nodding that he understood, Velvet accepted the flower from Kenley. He smelled it first, to make sure he was giving R a good smelling flower before he walked over to her. "This is for you." He said with a big grin on his face.

His smile grew even wider, if possible, when she seemed pleased about the flower. Velvet glanced over at Kenley and gave his best attempt at a wink, which was really more of a face squinch. When he turned back and saw R with the yellow flower behind her hair, he nodded his head approvingly. "That looks very pretty." Velvet felt really good about himself now, potentially redeemed from his cowardly actions in the alley. Flowers were much better than pie rat kings.

Kenley felt proud, watching the two and knowing that his flowers had brought some joy into their young lives.