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Helen decided that, if anything, regular outings would be nothing but good for Orenda, as long as there weren't any, say, disturbances or disruptions, on her part or otherwise, and it would merely be a bonus if they were educational in any way; that was her reasoning behind choosing the pet store. She could educate the child on what she knew about certain types of animals, which, admittedly, wasn't very much, but, hey, that's why there were people working there.

"So, this is a puppy, Orenda," she said, kneeling down in front of the glass habitat and shifting the baby so she could get a better look at the puppies, who were pawing at them, or trying to. "When they get older, they're gonna be full-fledged dogs; if you run across one, you should be nice to it, 'cause they can bite. That happened to Nicholas once, you remember him, right? It was kind of funny," but she went on to say that, no, it wasn't funny, you shouldn't laugh at other people's pain, no matter how hilarious it may be.

The baby just sputtered in response.

Within that instant, Helen had managed to effectively smother Orenda, and wanted nothing more than to just click her heels together and teleport home or some other nonsense. She tried not to be so, well, uptight, but sometimes it seemed like she couldn't go anywhere without either her or her child's safety being put it risk; of course, she was just over exaggerating.

Assuming it was safe, she abruptly stood up and took a few steps out of the stranger's way, muttering an apology of sorts, something like, "it was stupid of me to be in the way, sorry," not even looking at him, first caring to make sure that Orenda was alright, not that the ordeal really mattered to the baby, but still.

When that was done, she smiled nervously, saying, "Sorry, sometimes I get a little, uh, well, whatever, that doesn't matter, I hope we weren't in your way or anything," and continued to ramble on about anything and everything.

Just what was she supposed to say to something like that? Gee, thanks, she sure is interesting alright, or perhaps, yeah, okay, she looks like a freak, but you're not exactly normal either, kid, though it was possible she was just intimidated by muscular people with piercings, and no one could blame her for that.

"It's okay if you think she's a little weird," Helen blurted out suddenly, "I mean, I thought she was too, at first, and a lot of other people think the same thing, but she grows on you after a while," and afterwards started to rock the child slightly, thinking that she might have offended her, but all the baby did was stare at this new person.

"Oh, I forgot our introductions. My name's Helen, and this is Orenda," and, as if on cue, the baby made some unusual sound. "What's your name, if you don't mind me asking?" After all, she deserved to know the name of the person who almost crushed her and her child, in case he caused some irreparable emotional damage in the near future.

Yeah, right, grow out of it; that's what her parents had said when she dyed her hair blue, if she remembered correctly, but there were far too many other things to remember. "I don't think she's capable of going through phases right now, so, she'll probably just, like, grow into it," the woman mused out loud, not at all phased by what he had said, "though there's nothing wrong with that."

Helen was snapped out of her thoughts when she heard the question this Maelon person asked. "Oh, I'm not sure," she frowned a bit. "I don't know what would be good for her, I just came here in the hopes of teaching her about animals and stuff, but I don't think she even understands what I'm saying, most of the time."

"M-millipedes?"

Helen wasn't really a bug person, herself, and avidly made an effort to get rid of them whenever she saw them; not necessarily kill them, since it was more like a call a friend over as soon as she spotted one so they could get it off the premises and out of her sight kind of ordeal, but if she had to, and had the courage, she would. On the other hand, she had no idea about how Orenda felt about insects; the child seemed to be pretty indifferent towards everything, even for a baby.

"Well, uh, she might like them," she ventured. "She doesn't have any problems with insects as far as I know, 'cause when they get in the apartment she just kind of stares at them wherever they go."

"I'm not even sure about the apartment's rules about having pets, so, no," she answered, not bothering to comment on the fact that giant millipedes actually existed since, hell, she was already creeped out enough just thinking about them. She couldn't even imagine herself going on the computer looking up information, or coming into this very pet store asking, "Hey, do you guys have any giant millipedes in stock? My daughter's interested in one," but, if she ever had to touch one, she'd die on the spot.

"Muhmuhmuh," the baby murmured, in a way attempting to say the name of the creature her caretaker most hated, mimicking them, though late as it was. It seemed to amuse her, for the time being, though Helen was not happy with it, thinking that the child was taking an interest in them already; she would rue the day she ever stepped foot into this building, much less out of her apartment.

"Well, look, you seem to have gotten her curiosity going," Helen joked, trying to hide the look of disdain and disgust she knew was trying to show itself, but if she had to live everyday for the next few years, or however long it was, knowing that there was a giant millipede just outside her door, she knew who she was going to kill.

"I guess they have their good points, then, 'cause I'd rather not get in trouble with the neighbors," who were already jackasses about her babysitting other people's children, but she decided to leave that out.

Not for everybody and not for her child, Helen thought hopefully, though decided to leave that out of the conversation as well. "I actually lived in an area with a lot of bugs, but, since I ran into them outside of my own terms, you could say I didn't grow too fond of them," she explained, figuring that this guy got the hint that she hated bugs, not that she made it too obvious or anything, "and the only insects I'm not afraid of are ladybugs and gnats, really. I guess it would be nice if Orenda wasn't as terrified of them as I am," so she could get rid of them instead. And it wasn't like Orenda would be taking care of any bugs if they got any, who knows what she would have done? It's not like she knew any better.

"So," Helen started, hoping to shift the conversation in a different direction, "what is it that you're here for?"

Helen shrugged, simply stating, "To each their own," no matter how odd their interests were.

She nearly snorted at the fact that a millipede was titled Duchess; it was quite funny to her, really, imagining an insect decked out in a crown and various types of jewelry, though she managed to keep what little composure she had left. "Sounds like she's getting the royal treatment back at home, then," once again attempting to joke, but more than likely failing at it.

"Orenda likes to stare at everything, if you haven't noticed," glancing down at the baby in her arms, who was, predictably, staring at some containers of food, still trying to say millipede; her caretaker really hoped that wouldn't be her first word, since she kept practicing it. "Fish are pretty low maintenance, I guess, since all you do is feed them and clean out the tank, right?" She couldn't really say she knew what to do since she never had one, except for a dopey goldfish, but that was years ago.