Welcome to Gaia! ::

Mothers, especially single ones, are obligated to take their children everywhere they go. It had been a very long time since Green had been able to spend any time alone and, while she loved each and every one of her children, she was begining to feel the effects of always having them around. Belle, in particular, needed constant supervision. It showed in the ways the petite blonde woman, who was usually incredibly composed, strolled around the little grocery store. Her hair was swept up into a messy bun, to keep it away from her eyes and Belle's prying hands, and the purple sweatpants she wore sported numerous multi-colored spots- clearly, stains from some kind of supper disaster.

Belle, who'd been forced into the metal seat of a shopping cart some time ago, was slowly begining to get over her initial temper tantrum and glancing around at all of the lovely items that sat on the isles surrounding them. She watched carefully as her mother picked something up, examined it and then set it neatly inside the bigger part of the cart.

So, this was what shopping was. It looked like fun. Easy fun.

Her little fingers itched to reach out and snatch everything off of it's shelf and, that was exactly what she did. The toddler let out a maniacal giggle and grabbed at whatever she could get her greedy hands on.

"Belle," Green groaned, pried a container of peanut butter out of her daughter's hands and plopped it back on the shelf unceremoniously, "we already have a lot of that at home."

Belle gave her mother a look that pointedly said; 'Does it look like I care?' and attempted to collect another, bigger jar of peanut butter.

Wait a minute. Was that other kid riding in the big part of the cart? As Belle lunged towards the shelf and the peanut butter for the second time, she was delighted to discover an entirely different, although just as interesting, something in her peripheral vision. The green eyed toddler was momentarily distracted from her self-appointed shopping task, and suddenly a hell of a lot more intrigued by the other little girl. Or, rather, exactly where she was sitting.

"Look!" Belle exclaimed excitedly, smacked her mother once on the arm and then gestured at the other cart wildly.

Green, who had never perfected the art of toddler language, was experiencing some technical difficulties as she attempted to figure out exactly what her little girl meant. She glanced in the direction Belle was pointing, and furrowed her forehead in confusion.

"Yes, Belle, people." It was a sincere attempt at, well, anything. For the life of her, Green couldn't figure out what Belle was trying to get at.

"No!" Belle exclaimed in annoyance and slammed one hand onto a tiny hip, all the while pointing at the other toddler and her much cooler seat. There was more room to move around in the back. She glanced around at the their collection of groceries and frowned. Apparently, her mother was worried they'd run out.

Understanding hit her like a boomerang right in the spot between her eyeballs. Green made an obvious kind of sound, rolled her eyes at her own stupidity and shook her head once.

"There's no room back there for you."