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Shye and Smerdle had been shopping too, but for nothing as fun as crayons. Well, there had been one purchase that even Shye had to admit was pretty cool. With the weather getting colder, Smerdle had insisted on buying the toddler shoes, much to his initial dismay. Shye preferred to go barefoot, but even he couldn't resist his new, little, bright red, light-up sneakers. He had demanded he be allowed to wear them as soon as they were paid for, which was why he was stomping through the park in them right now.

The spirit child turned around to check on his mother, satisfied to see her just a few feet away, arms filled with packages. He turned back the way he had been heading, but instead of looking down at his shiny feet, Shye looked ahead. His eyes lit up. There was a very familiar boy on a bench!

"Hay!" he said, trying to catch Ziya's attention. He half-skipped, half-hobbled over to the bench, feet blinking all the way. "I kno yooo!" he sing-songed, a bright smile on his face. "'m Shye!" They might have known each other, but they had certainly never been properly introduced.

Shye nodded. Sand-Castle-Boy! Or Ziya, as it turned out. He looked at the offered hand for a moment before grabbing it, executing an action that probably constituted a fair approximation of a handshake, even though Shye had no idea what he was doing.

"Watch!" he said, making sure there were no lingering pokey fingers before lifting his foot and stomping. The lights flashed frantically, and Shye chortled, loud enough to alert Smerdle to the fact that the toddler was probably getting into trouble of some sort.

"Shye, what... oh," she said, lowering the bag that had obstructed her view of the children. She recognized the second boy as the sandy kid from the other day, in a new larger size just like her own midget charge.

"Ma, go 'way," Shye said. His tone wasn't whiny or mean, but it seemed as though the child already knew he would get his way. Sure enough, Smerdle hoisted her bags and packages again and carried them to the base of a tree near the other side of the bench.

"I'll be over here," she said.

Shye nodded again, his eyes lingering on Smerdle to make sure she was staying put. From there, they fell to Ziya's mother, the Blue Lady, and continued on until they were stopped by Ziya's scribbly masterpiece. "What'choo drawrin'?"

"'Kay," Shye said, taking a bright purple crayon and a seat on the ground. "I draw tee too!" He had better shoes, and he would certainly have a better tree, purple or not. "Diff'rent tee tho," he added. He wouldn't want Ziya to think he was copying or anything.

Shye looked up from his hideous masterpiece. A dog? He had never been close to one before, but, yeah, that thing with the bushy tail looked about right.

"What we gon' do?" he asked. Catch it, dress it up, ride on it - Shye wasn't very good with the concept of perspective yet - he didn't really care, so long as they did something. It would be a shame to let a good dog get away.

Shye clasped his hands together silently and stood as well. Catching a dog! He grinned widely. His mother probably wouldn't approve, but she - he looked over, just to make sure - was reading some boring, thick book.

He nodded and tiptoed after Ziya, feet flashing intermittently.

Shye's mouth quirked as they reached the tiny dog. He supposed they couldn't ride on it after all. Nodding at Ziya without moving the rest of his body, his eyes remained fixed on the squirrel. He couldn't count higher than five on a good day, but he knew all about the famous "one, two, THREE" that was coming any second now. Shye tensed his little legs in anticipation.

Shye threw himself forward, saw grass and dirt and squirrel rushing up to meet him, and squeezed his eyes shut. He hit the ground with a muffled 'oof' and clasped his hand around something furry. He wasn't sure if it was the dog or some rogue handful of coat.

"Whassit?" he asked Ziya, his eyes still clamped shut.