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Rafferty was not entirely pleased to be pulled away from his private home and even more so private study. He was the type of man to avoid such an action at all costs. His groceries were ordered off the internet, his exercise was the absence of a remote control for his television, and his socialization came in the form of a child he was not raising in anything like the right manner.

For instance, this was the very first time Riley was ever getting a taste of icecream.

The elk child starred in awe as the man behind the large glass counter handed him a waffle cone. Strawberry flavored icecream was piled into the treat, the sort that seemed to actually be made of strawberries rather than very strawberry like syrup. Patiently, the toddler glanced up, as though hoping he would be given some form of verbal permission from his guardian.

In the end, a small jerk of Mister Rafferty's head as he paid for the cone would have to do. The man could be quite antisocial.

"Work," Riley said idly, somehow completing the statement by taking a long swipe of the delicious creamy icecream. Like most children, he was horribly addicted to sweet things. To have gotten to go out with Rafferty for a dessert was... well. Either the toddler had done something very good, or something horrible, and his guardian just was not experianced enough to know which should be rewarded.

The brown haired man raised an eyebrow at the word. To be perfectly honest, the elk boy was a little odd. Rafferty mentally said 'slow', but that was really not the case. Riley simply did not seem to want to talk a lot. He was a very actie kid, just not one that seemed to have anything to say. Even a monosyllabic sentence was a little unusual. In which case, Rafferty actually bothered to look up and see what the toddler actually meant.

It became quite clear as soon as he caught sight of a certain lady and a koala child.

The man instantly ducked his head, trying not to look obvious about his 'almost-shock'. He figured Riley must have seen the little girl's picture on his laptop when he was looking through his future students. Well, this was certainly embarassing. Without his notice, the elk had apparently developed some sort of photographic memory.

'Work', indeed. The last thing Rafferty needed was for someone to realize he was - GASP - a teacher of... of midgets. Children, but... yes.

Riley, oblivious to his guardian's concern, waved over to the nice ladies at the other table.

"RILEY!" Rafferty hissed, trying to both yell and whisper at the same time. It came out as a rather strangled 'code red' sort of tone. The whole waving his arms in an 'X' motion might have helped a little too.

Riley appeared not to be listening. Instead, he was inspecting the nice woman, and even the little girl she had with her. His eyes widened a bit, either in surprise or some sort of comprehension. He still was holding onto his waffle cone with both of his almost hoof-like hands. They had fingers, yes, but they were still made out of a rather hard material.

He took another lick of strawberry goodness, and just watched with large, innocent eyes.

The reluctant teacher, on the other hand, had more or less given up disappearing into obscurity. He rose from his table, crossing the short distance it would take for him to be able to glower down at his young charge. "I thought boys at your age believed in cooties."

Riley giggled, as though he actually really understood.

Rafferty pursed his lips. He could not say the words were uncalled for, but the man was generally unused to other's being snippy. He was the king of snippiness. With a little, long-suffering sigh, he crossed his arms over his chest, and attempted to be. Well. Social. "Well, I'm M- Rafferty, and that is Riley."

The elk child bobbed his head slightly, looking up at the little girl with a little confusion. It took a moment for him to realize she wanted to touch his horns. Riley apparently did not think it was too big a request, as he went onto the balls of his feet, raising himself higher so the koala might get a better grip. It wasn't like she could yank hard enough for it to hurt.

Rafferty's expression was one of distaste, or perhaps just mild contempt for no one in paticular. It was not personal, at any rate. He really had nothing against the woman and her child. Well, for now, at least. "Quite."

Shaking his head slowly, Rafferty went back to standing normally rather than at the slightly higher position. He more or less understood what the girl meant, and he was quite sure the horns had never hurt. They were just a part of him. It seemed a little silly to ask.

"Do you... go here often?" the man requested in an almost commanding tone. He was not good at the whole conversation thing.

Riley smiled slightly, content to go back to working on his own cone. Fortunately, the ice cream parlour had a very steady A/C system. The summer time heat could not melt the desserts quite as fast as it hoped to. That gave at least a little time for horn introducing and conversation.

The teacher nodded, giving up and taking an empty seat at the little table without invitation. They were talking. It seemed acceptable. Rafferty suddenly felt a bit more out of the loop. He was not much of an icecream person. "I see. This is Riley's first time too."

He was turning into a single dad. It was a nightmare.

"Mine three, come to think of it..."

Rafferty raised an eyebrow as the koala child addressed him, feeling suddenly out of place. Riley did not talk. Or at least very rarely talked, and then he did so with a surprising amount of clarity. That meant that usually, his guardian could ignore that he was a child. Or even there.

That was not the case with little Ala.

"'Do they hurt him', would be the proper way to say it," the brown haired man replied finally. He glanced cooly down towards Riley, who was still intently finishing his icecream. "And if you mean the horns, no. They don't."

Riley was quiet more or less during the exchange, licking at his ice cream in a very adsorbed manner. To be fair, it was his first time with the stuff, and he was only half way done. His full attention could not be given to anything else until it was entirely in his stomach.

"Yes?" the human, as far as anyone was concerned, male asked. He had an inkling Nikiana was angry with him, though he really had no idea why. Rafferty chalked it up to the statement 'woman', added with a mental eyeroll. Best not to infuriate the lady while her hormones were making her crazy. "How long have you been with the D-Corp program?"

In the meantime, Riley was letting his attention drift back to Ala. He touched his own nose, as though making sure it was still different from the girl's.