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Oh drat, oh drat! She was going to be late!

Mary bustled down the street like a startled hen, stopping momentarily at the corner to spin around when she remembered that she had company along on this trip. Amahté was lingering halfway down the block, casually strolling along as though he had no idea that his guardian were the little white rabbit in Alice’s tale; it was a shame she wasn’t any closer – the sneer that curled the corners of the boy’s lips was definitely a must see.

Then again, anything that involved him was a must see.

The young woman waved an arm. She was torn in two – she knew leaving him behind would be wrong, but she was going to be dreadfully late if he walked any slower! She squinted hard against the sun: was he going backwards? Mary whined and bit her knuckles hard, shooting a glance over her shoulder. The shop was so close! and she just hated to disappoint!

She looked back towards Amahté and nearly screamed; this was no time to stop and smell the roses! When had he acquired a taste in anything floral, anyway? Readjusting her satchel, Mary sprinted back down the sidewalk, snapped up her young charge around the waist, and flung him bodily over her shoulder, all accompanied by a bewildered ‘huph!’ and a petulant shriek.

“What are you DOING!”

“Getting to work! I am so, so late!”

“Put me down!” The little boy squirmed, but Mary was determined, flustered, and quasi-hysterical. She ran all the way down the street, all but skipping across the road and collapsing at the foot of the Gilded Lily’s door. She crumpled just enough for Amahté to slide from her shoulder, where he proceeded to berate and belittle her there before shop. And all she did was giggle tiredly, holding onto the knob for support – at least…at least there would be no proclamations of ‘off with your head’ here.

She looked down at the Scent.

Then again….

“…And if you would have just made my breakfast right, I might have been a little faster! I can’t very well run around on an empty stomach. And speaking of stomachs, you are not to fling me about like a rag doll – what in MY name were you thinking!” – and belly rub for emphasis – “On another note –“

Green eyes flicked towards the door, “You’re not even late!”

Mary gave a doe-eyed blink. This distraction was a nice reprieve from Amahté’s harsh words; not that she had been listening, to be quite honest, but she made herself look as though she had been! She tried, really, but she was too focused on getting her lungs back to a normal, human size. She was not meant for physical labor. Lord.

Her grip on the handle loosened, but despite her pseudo-relaxed state, she jerked the door open and…slammed her forehead into it.

“Yowch!”

The spiced Scent simply sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. Of all the people to be tied down to, honestly….

Mary touched the tender sore and laughed aloud, “Hullo-hullo! Sorry I’m late, Ama—I mean, well…I guess my legs are really short, you know, couldn’t make it down the street fast enough!”

She tried to laugh it off, but for all of her attempts she sounded like the air was being loosed from a particularly fat balloon. She never expected caring for one child could be so demanding, but the wear was beginning to show and her stitches were beginning to fade. Perhaps if the little boy had been less forceful, less domineering, more considerate…but these were quiet wishes, silent hopes; she adored Amahté for all of his sighs and his groans, but sometimes --

Mary gave herself a shake; no time for that, now!

She swung the door open and sidled inside, her child immediately behind her.

“I hope everything is going well with you. I’m really sorry I was late –“

“You weren’t.”

“And I ho—Oh! And who’s this!”

The boy’s brow furrowed; he leaned to the side to gain a better view of whatever it was that had caught Mary’s short attention span. It couldn’t be THAT amazing.

Mary's half-moon eyes widened comically, and she threw a hand across her chest, heaving a dramatic sigh of relief.

"Coffee would be heaven-sent!" she said, a smile tugging the edges of her lips. With all but some toast and half a glass of orange juice - Amahté never, EVER seemed to finish his - she was aching for something warm, and something with caffeine. It was truly a gift from God, that was for sure.

Kaoru's shyness tugged at her heartstrings, and she clasped her hands in response to the little girl, moved by her gentle demeanor. Amahté, however, was not so impressed. A sharp line slashed across his brow, his scrutiny of the other child clinical and harsh. Why were these women so cowed by her? He sniffed - it was probably because she was a girl too. Females were so...emotional.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Kaoru!" Mary returned the curtsy with a giggle, "You're a very pretty little girl! Isn't she Amahté?"

The Scent eyed her, incredulous. When her hand was offered, his glance flickered downward a moment before it shot to Kaoru's face. What exactly was she playing at? His lips formed a thin, pale line, cheeks dimpling.

"Of course I do," he said. The skin around his eyes crinkled, and he stepped forward, invading the little girl's personal space, leaning in and peering hard. And he breathed in with a great show, nose crinkling.

"Amahté!"

"Huh." Silence. And then, quiet and confused, "You smell good too...."

But it wasn't a compliment, not at all. It was stated, plain and flat, like a sudden revelation, a light bulb popping above ones head. And with a final glance at the little girl, Amahté stepped back and turned away, like a cat who's lost interest with a new toy. The rose bush Kaoru had been toying with arrested his immediate attention, and he wandered over to the plant; he hadn't forgotten the flower's first reaction to his touch, and he regarded it with caution, fingering the petals with a sort of reverence.

Mary pinched her lower lip; had something happened in her absence? At Kaoru's words, she wondered if she should have asked about Rose's whereabouts, but the solemnity embellished upon the girl's face was enough to make her swallow her words. Instead, she searched Crystal's face for a sign, a trace, worry coloring her dark eyes. It was not her place to ask, as she had just met the young woman, so she kept her questions tucked behind her lips and produced another smile in the meantime.

"Well, she'll have a lot of help with the two of us, isn't that right?" She beamed. Amahté had been left out for a reason; like he'd ever help.

"I'm hungry."

"Crystal, you are an angel!"

The young woman's mother could take as long as she'd like in returning; go on that leisurely stroll, enjoy the scenery - so long as Mary didn't have to bolt her coffee.

Kaoru's quiet determination was infectious, and buoyed by her belief in the both of them, Mary felt her own apprehension at returning to work drift away. She gave the girl's head of curls an affectionate pat, eyes crinkling at the corners, perfect little half-moons.

She drifted towards the doors of the café in Crystal's shadow, though hesitated at the door, one hand lingering on the knob as she looked behind her. She wanted so much for Amahté to at least give his attention to the little girl, even if no words were exchanged. Basic etiquette would be something they would have to talk about later on. She bit her lip which tugged at her smile and entered the café.

"Oh, this place looks amazing!"

Amahté had watched Mary until she disappeared into the other half of the shop, though he looked otherwise busy in his attempts to de-thorn the rose stalk. When he could see nothing but her shadow, his pale eyes landed upon Kaoru with the swift turn of his head and a soft tinkle of jewelry. She had not been here last time, he told himself as he pulled away from the roses.

"Where did you come fr-- ah." His mouth gaped slightly as Crystal's voice caught him off guard; however, he managed to right himself quick. A sneer shadowed his lips.

"Food," he called back. "Anything has a likeness to food when compared next to what Mary gave me."

He gave an exaggerated and ill-humored sigh, spreading his hands out though there was no one but Kaoru to watch.

The boy's brows slid up with a slowness that conveyed surprise. He had never expected a turnabout such as this from the girl who now approached and scrutinized him. Amahté's spine stiffened, and he drew his shoulders back, eyes crinkling with obvious displeasure. His feathers had been ruffled by her demeanor, suspicion lighting his eyes up like jewels.

He allowed her observation, accepted it, if not a bit warily. He was oft to allow people to peruse him - after all, he was a god - but the way the Scent's eyes fastened to him, both analytical and nonchalant unnerved him. Anger burned in the pit of his belly, and perhaps apprehension too. She was rankling him so!

"I do neither," he said, high voice surprisingly monotonous. "I guide."

For a moment it did not sound like him; too aware of his position, maybe. But that moment soon passed, and he relaxed, a feigned smile quirking his lips. His hand, for perhaps the first time, lifted and touched the golden apple lying against his chest as though in reverence.

It wasn't obvious, not like his earlier suspicion, but Kaoru unsettled him.

It was true, what she said about guiding, but Amahté didn't feel the need to elaborate - he would lead Mary by the hand only for so long before he made her look in the dark by herself. She was not blind, nor was she incompetent. He smiled back at the girl, though his was less warm and three times as tight lipped.

A confession? Normally his eyes would lid, he would puff out his chest, cross his arms in that oh-so-arrogant manner he was such an expert at, and declare haughtily 'Of course you do!' - but...he didn't. Instead he felt something - refusing to label it as dread - crawl down his back and settle against the very bottom of his tail bone. This girl, this other Scent...she was more than different. She was beyond bizarre.

And finally, after suppressing it from his countenance for so long, a piece, a subtle inkling of how he really felt, crossed his face; it disappeared as quickly as it came.

Amahté jerked his chin away a bit too harshly, one hand coming up to dismiss her words. A movement with ulterior motives since the hand drew across his face.

"Exciting," he drawled. His painted eyes crinkled; he had stood his ground long enough. He drifted towards a bundle of flowers, making sure to keep Kaoru within his eyesight though she may have been only an outline on the edge of his vision. He had read about pomegranates before, and apples; a sudden laugh, short lived, burst from him.

"And what are you here for? To tempt? To trick?" Amahté turned suddenly, his eyes more guarded and opaque than before. "You know, some people believe that it was the pomegranate, not the apple, that caused mankind's downfall."

Somehow, if she knew - and why wouldn't she? - it would bother him more than she did already. He wrapped his fingers around the head of the flower and snapped it off, allowing it to roll back and forth in his tiny palm.

"Regardless - you still are." He said, though it was an unintelligible phrase that would go unheard to the little girl; something that was very unlike him, for sure. He spread the waxy petals apart and watched them curl up against his assault as he drew away; several colored leaves dislodged themselves and fluttered into his palm.

"A pomegranate is a pomegranate is a pomegranate," he said finally - louder, this time - an errant shrug pinching his narrow shoulders. "Whether you're a taste, a touch, or a smell."

Amahté did not dare delve into the topic of mankind, nor did he want to. The entirety of his conversation with Kaoru was leaving him feeling a sort of weary one shouldn't feel until they are much, much older. When she spoke his name next, he looked up with a bit of surprise; her tone wasn't as irking as it had been before, and he found the knots loosening across his narrow back.

"Many," he answered. His eyes fastened onto the little girl from beneath his lashes, their corners crinkled. "A girl who smelt of oranges, and another of kiwi. There was a boy who smelt like lilies and another like mints."

He paused, surprised that he was indulging her; the feeling soon passed, "The last one was the boy who belonged to the woman who owned you before that...woman."

He waved towards the general direction of where Mary and Crystal had disappeared off to, eye ever unblinking.

"Of course I'm popular," he interjected. His small hands spread as if to say 'I'm a god, why wouldn't I be'?

Perhaps in that rotten heart of his he did feel a touch of pity - child to child - but whatever may have flowered was soon riddled with a weed of mocking. Next to this girl, he really was worldly! Not that he had ever doubted that considering his bloodline. A smile curled lips that were shadowed in wicked triumph, for though Kaoru was vexing and profound, she was still as compliant as most of the other girls he had met.

Though this hardly meant he would go out of his way to seek her company.

As if on cue, Mary poked her head in with a laugh, "Come get your food, little king! I need to get to work, and you need your strength in case your assistance is needed!"

She sounded a touch too amused for Amahté's sake; his gaze found Kaoru's for a moment, his expression unreadable, before he trailed into the café after his caretaker.

This was going to be a long, long day.