Day 56: Lil' Tyke Toys (Early Afternoon)

[hairraising]

After lunch with the downright gentlemanly Facilier, Rapunzel made her way back down the street ("Wicker", apparently) to a place that had caught her eye on the way earlier. She might have stopped there before, but between her need to get directions from passers-by and the rumbling in her stomach, she figured it could wait for later.

Well it's

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[savagesolitude]

The self-satisfied smirk on Claire's face as she cleared it of the last remnants of ketchup said it all. The Tasty Burger had been worth it. Having only one coupon for the place and not wanting to waste the five dollars she was allotted, Claire reluctantly left the restaurant behind. If she'd had a second coupon she would be using it right now. Even if her belly was full to the brim. Hamburgers were amazing and she was sorry that she had ever had to do without

[hairraising]

Rapunzel knew she had five "dollars" to work with, and looking at the prices for the various confections, she could already tell that that sum would get her pretty far. She was at a point of indecision, however. Part of her wanted to get as much candy as her card could get her, more than Gothel had ever gotten her before. The other part, however, knew that there were other things she could be buying as well, and she would only be setting herself up for disappointment if she didn't have any money left for them. For instance: the toys this very same store sold. Hmmmm...

She was shaken from her deliberation by a voice, which startled her slightly. Rapunzel turned to find a woman with scraggly blonde hair, about her height, maybe about Eugene's age. She looked nice enough, though, hair aside. And was it just her, but did the woman speak with a bit of an unfamiliar accent? Huh."Oh, uh, no! I actually just ate. I've just never seen this much candy in one place before!" Rapunzel answered, unable to keep the excitement out of her voice. "My

[savagesolitude]

"Wha- The person who took care of you? Your mum?" Claire quirked her head at the woman. She was, by far, old enough to be out and about on her own. And that slip about her mother was indicative something more serious than simple teenage rebellion. She'd never denied being related to her own Mum, and Claire had been awful in her day.

Perhaps it was a step-mother. A flash of a scowl overtook her suddenly, because the word only reminded her of Kate. Oh yeah, she could understand the sentiment if that was the case. Completely.

She worked the frown off her face in favour of the befuddlement of before. "Did you know what you wanted?" Claire peered over her shoulder and perused the selection. There was more variety than there had been at the pet store, but she still didn't know all the brands. "I used to really like Tim Tams, but I don't think they sell them in America."

[hairraising]

"No," Rapunzel said instinctively when the woman asked if she was talking about her "mum". She sighed shortly after a moment. "No. Well, sort of. It's a long story."

She stared past the glass at the candies, not really focusing on them anymore as images of Gothel overtook her mind again. Especially the ones of her twisted, angry expression as she chained up her "daughter", tried to take her away, stabbed the man she loved through the stomach...

Rapunzel scrunched her eyes shut. Breathe... Breathe.

After the moment passed, she shook her head. "Sorry. Uh, no, not really. I've had these honey-type things before, but I don't think they sell them here either. It's all new to me."

[swornandbroken]

Mello wasn't putting up with any delays this time: he needed chocolate, and he needed it now, especially after being deprived last night. He would have stomped through the snow if he could have done, but the damn second-hand boots were too worn to chance it.

He assumed Matt would follow, and didn't look back, knowing he was still there by the smell of his cigarette. Nothing was different. Mello had said so, and he'd meant it. The ways Landel's could mindfuck people were rooted in who they were, but couldn't change it. Ah, but you need to believe that, don't you? came the whisper he was all too familiar with by now. How many times have you said to yourself, are you Mello or aren't you? The mask you put on to hide from everyone. The person who gets shit done. Only there hasn't been a lot of that lately, has there?

Shut up, Mello thought, and huffed a breath forceful enough that he saw it cloud the air

[gamingsostfu]

They each had their quirks, Matt knew, but he couldn't help scowling as Mello practically dragged him down the street to the toy store; it wasn't near enough time to finish off the first cigarette of the pack he'd bought back at the grocery store

[swornandbroken]

"Come on, then," Mello answered the look in Matt's eyes as easily as if he'd spoken his thoughts. He could eat the spoils of his bullshit allowance as easily outside as anywhere else.

He didn't want to admit, even to himself, that he was worried about his friend, but. He was. Matt was one person Mello needed to count on, to know he had his back if fucking leeches dropped from the ceiling, or the Institute threw whatever else at them. He figured it went without saying that he had Matt's back in those situations, too.

Matt was his, in a way that went beyond anything as petty as romantic possessiveness. His person, his responsibility to protect, and he'd failed him twice by Mello's reckoning. Once in his own future, once at Landel's. Mello still believed, because he couldn't do otherwise, that he could avert the future where Matt had died. It was just a matter of. Of finding the mechanism Landel's used to drag people in, and controlling it, and reversing it, each of which came with its own subset of tasks that had proved impossible so

[affictitious]

It was a really sad thought to think that wasting an hour with his brother had been more interesting than the crap he'd been doing for... the past hour. When Castiel was the epitome of fun, something was sorely wrong. Not to mention he hadn't found out a damn thing since coming here other than this was another crappy small town that probably would've been prime hunting grounds back in the day. Back in the day when he had wings and still had the muscles to use them (proverbially). Seriously, this place was practically made for him. If he didn't know better, he'd say the institute and the town next to it were the own private little world (literally). No dates, no locations, no definable geography - sounded familiar

[tasteoftruth]

After his...interesting discussion with Niikura, a man who really needed to stop crossing into his path (and ideally everyone else's), Badd had taken himself for another walk

[affictitious]

"I pretty much had a joygasm when I walked into the store, if that tells you anything," Gabriel responded to the question with his usual very open, very amused smile which was aimed... very upwards. By Dad, he was going to have to get used to be surrounded by a never ending flood of Hulks eventually. Usually there was a little variety in humans. Landel had good taste, he'd give him that. Land of the perfectly hot women and giant Amazonian men. And a kid or two that hadn't successfully gotten eaten. Also good. Probably.

Ah, humans. They were so ridiculous sometimes. Seeing a six foot whatever grizzled Humphrey Bogart asking him about candy while sucking on a lollipop was definitely enough reason to keep that smug smile of his pasted on.

"I see you've gotten some of your own. Makes a guy wish he could've been trapped in Willy Wonka instead of the Cuckoo Nest." Actually, he might have something new to try once he got the hell out of this -forsaken place. Actually, maybe God would be a good noun to put there. If He'd been the one to

[tasteoftruth]

"The burger joint. It's crap, but it's warm and it's coffee." Actually, it was about the level of the usual coffee served back at the station. Their paychecks were small enough as it was, nobody wanted to spare their food and rent money on slightly more classy drinks when all they needed was a shot of caffeine to get them through the morning.

The cup swapped hands and Badd held up his lollipop. "On the other hand, the candy's actually got a little quality to it," he said, slipping it back into his mouth. Damn, he had missed that taste, that sensation, that little sugary ache to his teeth, the opportunity to let his fingers tease the stick while his mind pondered lofty and murderous matters. A decade and a half with the things made him feel very off-kilter when his candy supply was cut off.

So what was this guy, then? Medium sized, maybe a little on the short side, not really all that out of the ordinary. Obviously a man worth watching. "You got a name on you?" he asked, twisting the lollipop stick against his lips.