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 Posted: Tue Jan 24, 2012 11:10 pm
Finally the zomboil was starting to calm down, and Yin let out a relieved sight when he finally spoke again. "Yes, it is extinguished." The zomboil needed a minute, and that was fine. He had lots of minutes. All the minutes in the world. But Alexander? He did not look so well.
When he asked for another minute Yin nodded. "Wait here." He stood up, knowing fully well that if he had been in the boil's shoes...sock...he probably would not wish to come out out from under the table. Not if the problem had been...say a ghoul for example.
Restaurant patrons were staring at him but he ignored them, gathering what he needed before he crouched down again. "Here," he said simply, setting Alexander's brains next to him before he situated himself, legs crossed, on the floor and balanced his plate in his lap. Acting as if there was nothing at all unusual about them eating underneath the table he picked up the large hunk of meat in front of him and ripped off a bite. "It is actually pretty good," he noted with surprise, turning to give Alexander a smile.
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Posted: Tue Jan 24, 2012 11:34 pm
Wait here? Fine, he could do that. He really didn't think any amount of minutes were going to be enough at this point. That had been humiliating. He couldn't even believe Yin was still here! Surely he must have been fairly disgusted, or at least disappointed, with Alex's cowardly behavior.
But then Yin was back. He was back, and he had brought all of the food with him. Alex had to bite down on his lower lip as a lump formed in his throat. He couldn't cry, but he could still make the sound of crying, but he would not do that right now. He'd already embarrassed himself enough without that as well. But Yin..Yin was bringing the food under the table just for them. Could a zomboil ever have a better friend in the whole world?
He seriously doubted it.
"Thank you." He said, as sincerely as anybody had ever thanked someone as he reached to the side and picked up the bowl of brains, and a fork. He poked at the food a few times with the prongs, not sure if he was even all that hungry anymore, but eventually the smells wafting up from the food overcame his troubles and he began to eat, slowly at first, but then with a little more fervor. He gave Yin a return smile. This was all so silly, sitting beneath a table, eating dinner, with probably everyone in the entire restaurant wondering what the Jack they were doing. He had to laugh, and so he did, leaning his head back against a table leg. "Yin? I know I already said it once, but seriously, thank you. You're pretty much the best friend I could have ever asked for." He lifted his head back up to smile, and continued eating his dinner.
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Posted: Tue Jan 24, 2012 11:52 pm
The first "thank you" Yin acknowledged with a nod of his head before he resumed eating. It really was not that big of a deal to eat under the table, and quite honestly he felt more at ease than where they had been sitting. There were too many people all crowded about, and under the shelter of the table it was fairly peaceful.
But the second "thank you" embarrassed him. "It was not a big deal," he mumbled, for some reason finding it difficult to look up at the zomboil. He continued eating, though he snuck glances out of the corner of his eye every so often to make sure that he was still smiling.
Things just felt...off. It was probably because there was no steady stream of conversation as they devoured their respective meals. "How are the brains?" he asked after a moment, for some reason desperate to break the silence. Alexander needed to be talking, that should fix things. And he should laugh again, things seemed normal when the zomboil was laughing.
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Posted: Wed Jan 25, 2012 12:40 am
Yes, Alex was still smiling, much more happy now then he had been moments before. It was odd that he was actually more comfortable here, under the table. But then again, what was so weird about it? There were no prying eyes under the table, no waiters interrupting them with rude abruptness and snide comments, no waitress lighting things on fire. Just..peacefulness. The chance to feel like it was just the two of them, with no misguided judgments from anybody on the outside.
"They.Are.Delicious." He answered, happily shoveling another forkful into his mouth. "Not as good as I can get back home, but still, pretty damned good."
He shook his head while he smiled, his mop of white hair flopping around his face and falling into his eyes so that he had to reach up and brush it away.
"I still can't quite believe I'm eating dinner under the table. Can we do this again sometime?" He laughed, only half-serious, and finishing up the last few bits of brains in the bowl. "Just..uh, maybe without the fire. I could do without that ever again." he cringed a little inwardly as his mind wandered back to the flame. Had he always been so scared of fire, or had it gotten worse after burning to death, the first time he'd ever dissipated, in the weeping forest? He didn't remember ever reacting so strongly about it before coming to the school.
Finished with his meal, he set the bowl down beside him and waited patiently for Yin to be finished as well.
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Posted: Wed Jan 25, 2012 12:58 am
Yin nodded, "the act of eating under a table is actually not such a bad thing. Perhaps we can start a new trend?" Okay, so he was not precisely good with jokes just yet, but it was an attempt at least. He worried at the bone, rather enjoying finding the tiny little bits of flesh clinging to the ivory surface and ripping them off. He was feeling something that he rarely felt these days, full.
When he finished he carefully stacked the plate under the bowl, pushing the bone to one side. If he had not been in public he might have cracked it open to clean out the marrow, but he was satisfied and could leave that treat for whomever cleaned the dishes. "I suppose it is time that we sit in our chairs properly however, or they may not know to take the dishes away," he said just a touch ruefully. Picking all of the dishes up he stood carefully, setting them on the table before seating himself, waiting, though he was unsure of what precisely he was waiting on. But at least things were somewhat back to normal now. He could work with somewhat normal.
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Posted: Wed Jan 25, 2012 3:29 pm
A new trend? Sure, why not! The thought of that only made him chuckle more, eyes twinkling merrily in whatever dim light penetrated to where they were currently sitting. But now Yin was finished eating as well, and was suggesting they get back into their seats. Could Alex do it? Could he brave the stares, the muffled whispers, the snorts of laughter? Well, he'd already been doing it most of his life, so why should now be any different.
With a sigh, he muttered, "I guess you're right." Before crawling out from under the table and pushing himself to his feet. Upon standing up he brushed his hands down his shirt, attempting a practice in futility to try and get the wrinkles out. He then straightened his tie, then, refusing to look at anybody, plopped himself back into his chair, hands in lap as he waited for somebody to collect their plates and ask if they would be ready for the bill.
Eventually somebody did come and clear the plates, but it was the hostess who had seated them when they had first arrived. She at least had the decency to look apologetic when taking the dishes away, and putting down the bill with a small smile. When Alex turned it over, he found that there was no charge for the meal at all. Somebody had deemed Alex worthy of a one hundred percent discount. He wondered if it had been the hostess that had fought for it or if another waitress/waiter had seen what happened. Either way, he was somewhat thankful for that at least.
Wordlessly he stood from his chair, and glanced at Yin, nodding towards the exit to indicate that they should leave now, and starting to shuffle in that direction himself.
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Posted: Wed Jan 25, 2012 7:25 pm
The original sharp-toothed ghoul was back, and she left a slip of paper that Alexander picked up and eyed before standing. Yin could tell it was time to leave, and though there were no pumpkin seeds left he figured that everything was taken care of.
While the zomboil began to slowly make his way toward the door Yin became a flurry of activity, first putting Alexander's backpack on, the weight of it pulling oddly at his shoulders, and then grabbing both of the shopping bags before pushing in both chairs and following him. With the speed that they both moved he caught up to Alexander before the double doors and they pushed their way out to the main part of the maul.
There was a different crowd now, the evening crowd, but there were still plenty of people so Yin shifted the bags to he could hold onto Alexander's before tugging him toward the way that they had come. "If we go out through the same doors as we entered I believe we should go this way?" His voice was uncertain, "unless there is somewhere else to go to of course."
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Posted: Wed Jan 25, 2012 9:44 pm
Alex glanced over at Yin, surprised when he saw the other boil with his backpack and both of his shopping bags in tow. Jack Damnit he'd forgotten them all at the table! Of course, he couldn't just tell Yin to hand them over..could he?
He was just about to open his mouth and say something about it, but Yin was already grabbing ahold of his hand so he snapped his mouth shut. Ok, just this one time will be fine... He decided, then nodded at the weremantis. "Ya, I think we should just go back out the way we came. I'm all finished, but if you see anything you want to stop and look at, just let me know." He finished with his typical easy smile, then let himself be pulled along by the much faster mantodae.
Despite all of the things that had gone wrong, Alex was at least still managing to have a good time. He ducked and weaved around the evening crowd of people that buffeted past them, keeping his grip on Yin firm so as not to lose him again. He felt a little bad that he knew other people were getting completely the wrong impression by the hand holding, and that Yin probably didn't even know or notice, but he decided to just keep that to himself as well.
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Posted: Wed Jan 25, 2012 10:18 pm
Yin looked up at the zomboil and shook his head slightly, trying to walk at a slower pace though it made him antsy. "I have had a very enjoyable time, but there is nothing that I need to go to." He smiled, simply glad that things seemed calm and like things were going to work out. Just two boils holding hands and smiling at each other as they walked through the maul.
At least, that was he was doing until looked past Alexander on his side of the hallway he spotted that delicious smelling store again. Out of the Closet. It looked interesting enough, with all sorts of things on display, and a little pen of joxes tumbling about. He could not help but stare as they walked, eyes tracking the store.
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Posted: Wed Jan 25, 2012 10:31 pm
Yins words said one thing, but his eyes wandering to the store on the opposite side of the Maul said another entirely. Alex stopped in his tracks, feeling the pull of Yin's much warmer hand but ignoring it as he glanced curiously to the store that the weremantis had been looking at.
Hmmm, a pet store? Did Yin want a pet...or did he already possibly have one? Alex though maybe he aught to pay more attention to these things, really. Well, while Alex didn't really need anything from the store, he was sure he could certainly find something to get for his little group of zombie pets back in his room. Maybe some little mini brain treats or something?
"Hold up, Yin...one short detour, ok?" He pointed with his free hand to the pet store. This would give Yin an excuse to look around if he wanted to.
He then began to cut across the maul towards the pet shop, smiling to himself and feeling awfully clever for whatever reason.
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Posted: Wed Jan 25, 2012 10:59 pm
With the tug on his hand Yin looked back, feeling slightly ashamed. I must have picked up my pace again. But no, the zomboil had stopped. And now he wanted to go to the store that Yin had wanted to go to? Without thinking about how ironic that was he excitedly turned to go to the store, quickly passing Alexander and all but dragging him into the shop.
It smelled like feast day. There were all sorts of noises and colors and so many things to look at. It might have been overwhelming but there were simply too many things to look at to bother being overwhelmed. There were tanks and cages of creatures he had never seen before, things he had never dreamed of seeing before. But past the rows of pets that had his stomach beginning to stir in interest were rows of goods for pets.
Yin had read about things like toys and treats for pets. But here they were. Feathers on strings, tiny fake animals that squeaked, snacks, food dishes, beds, collars, leashes, brushes. He could not help but reach out and touch the items on display. And that was when he met an unexpected problem.
In his excitement, he had completely forgotten to let go of the zomboil's hand.
Slightly mortified that he had just drug Alexander over half of the store he let go immediately. "Er..." he said intelligently, not really sure how to even go about apologizing for dragging him along. ((11,699))
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Posted: Wed Jan 25, 2012 11:15 pm
Ok, Alex had suspected that Yin had wanted to go to the store. What he hadn't anticipated was just how badly the other boil wanted to go. It was probably a good thing Alex was wearing socks, because it definitely made the dragging around all the much easier (and hey, it was kindof fun as well!) and probably put less strain on the weremantis as Alex slid along the floor behind him.
Once they reached the shop, Alex was fully expecting Yin to let go of his hand, but well, he didn't, and he found himself being tugged all around the shop.
Though he had only just eaten, his stomach clenched in hunger the moment the smells of all of the different animals hit him. He gazed at the animals in their different pens and cages longingly, mouth watering, though he didn't have much time to stare before he was being pulled around to something new. "Uh...Yin?" he said, rather quiet and tentatively. "My..my hand?" But nope, apparently the weremantis couldn't even hear him, and just continued to drag him half way around the store before stopping, and looking somewhat unhappy at realising he'd never let go of Alex's hand. So Alex just reached up with his free hand and pat the weremantis on the shoulder, grinning broadly. "Tis ok, buddy! Just uh..can I have my hand back now? Gotta grab some treats for my pets." And maybe gaze at all the delicious things...
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Posted: Wed Jan 25, 2012 11:36 pm
Well uh...that was embarrassing. Thankfully there were plenty of things to distract him. Normally he would have been drawn to things that were shades of green, brown...even gold, but today his eyes kept focusing on pink. Princess Eva loved her pink bed, she loved her pink ribbon her box had come with, and playing with it had provided hours of entertainment.
Like this pink dish, with two sides so that you could put in both water and food at the same time? Made for Princess Eva. This pink collar with the tiny rhinestones studding it? Princess Eva would find it becoming. This tiny pink kushi-kushi toy made of a hard plastic to sharpen her teeth on? Adorable, though not nearly as cute as Princess Eva.
He somewhat lost track of time standing there, staring and occasionally fingering the merchandise. Who knew that they made so many things for pets? He had even forgotten about the wonderful smells wafting from the various animals in the shop. Someday he would get Princess Eva everything she could ever want from this shop.
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Posted: Thu Jan 26, 2012 12:53 am
Well, at least Alex had managed to finally slip his hand out from Yin's! He smiled while shaking his head, somewhat bemused at the weremantis's odd reaction to entering the store. As he walked away towards the undead pet treats section he glanced behind himself once to see that Yin was gazing at rather a lot of different pink merchandise.
Ya ok, that was a bit weird.
Blinking in confusion he went back about his own business, ducking down an aisle and scanning the shelves for something his pets might like, and hastily grabbing several bags of 'mini'z brain treatz". Then, he walked back out of the aisle and had another glance towards Yin, who was still looking at pink merchandise.
Hrm..well, since Yin had Alex's backpack (and effectively, all of the money Alex had brought with him) he thought perhaps he should just sit and wait for the weremantis to be finished, not wanting to interrupt him when he looked so happy to look around at things.
Upon having a glance around though, Alex didn't really see anywhere suitable for sitting down. Really, why would there be in the middle of a pet shop? So instead he wandered over to the cages of pets, deciding he might as well have a look while he waited.
This was probably not the best idea Alex had, since as soon as he was close enough to smell the little warm and fuzzy critters, his mouth began to water once again. One of the shop staff must have seen something in his face, too, because they very hurriedly strolled over towards Alex.
"Hey, Hey! No eyeing up the pets for a meal, sir! If you can't control yourself, you'll just have to leave."
Control himself? Did they really think he was just going to walk over and break open the cages so that he could eat the pets contained within? He leveled a steady glare on the worker, but didn't say anything, which possibly only made matters worse.
"Sir, I really think you should just buy that stuff and leave." The worker fretted, gesturing towards the packets of treats Alex still held in hand. Alex still just glared and said nothing...but then finally began moving towards the till area, making a disgusted sound in the back of his throat.
When he arrived he dropped his purchase on the counter and smiled, though his eyes still remained cold. "My friend has my money. Please be so kind as to hold these things here while I go and get him? Unless of course me walking to the other side of the store is going to be too much trouble for you. I can always just take my business elsewhere."
The cashier just gave him an exasperated look, then nodded towards the worker that had followed him, then gave another nod towards the exit "Ok sir, you really need to leave. We always have trouble from your kind here, so it'd just be best if you go." The worker grabbed at his arm, his grip actually quite a bit stronger then Alex had imagined.
"Seriously? For looking at pet's in a petshop?" Alex exclaimed, even as he was being hauled back out of the store.
He received no answer to that, just a push out the door way. "Please just wait for your friend out here, sir."
Alex gritted his teeth at the way they said 'friend'. Jack damnit but this was all getting really old really fast.
He hoped that Yin was still having a good time in there.
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Posted: Thu Jan 26, 2012 1:11 am
After an extended amount of time Yin realized that perhaps he should drag himself away from the displays. He had no way of purchasing the merchandise, and right now these were all just grand dreams, full of maybes and what ifs. So he straightened up and began to look for his friend.
Alexander was a tall sort of boil, but no matter which direction he looked he could not see a hint of that familiar white hair. He walked around the store, receiving several glares, but to no avail. His second pass through the store again had no success.
The third pass through proved something was wrong. There was really no other way around it, Alexander was gone. He had left. The two workers he had seen now seemed to be having a rather spirited conversation as he approached them. "Excuse me sir, but have you seen a zomboil about so high?" He marked off a point in the air above him.
"Yeah I did. As a matter of fact sir, did you notice that our store is connected to another one? He got tired of looking and I think he might have went to go check that one out. Here, let me show you."
Well, that was rather nice of the boil, so Yin followed the worker until the shop was split by a half wall, opening up into a...glasses store? Yin looked around confused. He had not realized that the zomboil required glasses. After two passes around the store it dawned on him that obviously the zomboil did not need the glasses. He had truly left him. Feeling rather dejected, and assisted along by the glares of this store's workers, he exited back into the maul, standing outside of the doors forlornly. He had not thought that the zomboil was upset...
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