A Mall on the Mainland [Monday afternoon]

[dirtiest_skank]

Sure, Christmas had been in the air since...well, let's face it, mid-October. But Olive had somehow, aside from her excursion on Black Friday, managed to avoid a lot of it, and was still in dire need of a few gifts. And more upsettingly -- there were people, with whom she associated, who had never seen Santa. (What. Sia, are you real life? What

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Arrive/Gawk

[dirtiest_skank]

Mod yourself some decorations and passers-by being insane. I saw a lady literally dragging a toddler along the ground at the mall the other day. Poor kid was just like, "I give up, life is too hard."

Re: Arrive/Gawk

[suitablyheroic]

"Oh, no, we're going to find some baseball bats," Atton said.

That wasn't worrying at all.

Re: Arrive/Gawk

[dirtiest_skank]

"So many questions," Olive said, staring at him. "Let's start with 'why?'"

Re: Arrive/Gawk

[suitablyheroic]

"To play baseball?" Atton said. "Cade's getting restless."

Actually they wanted to go set off car alarms.

Re: Arrive/Gawk

[dirtiest_skank]

"Fun question," Olive said, holding a finger up. "How do you play baseball?"

She suspected neither of them actually knew, but she was willing to be surprised.

Re: Arrive/Gawk

[suitablyheroic]

"You stand on a giant piece of land, the other guy throws a ball, you hit it, then you run," Atton said easily.

Look, he used to be an assassin, and he was hoping to stick around this planet for a while. He did his research.

Re: Arrive/Gawk

[dirtiest_skank]

"Mmm. I'm excited to see you guys play," Olive replied. "Just you two? Cade'll pitch and you'll hit the ball and...just run around?"

Re: Arrive/Gawk

[suitablyheroic]

"Pretty much," Atton agreed. "No reason to start dragging anyone else into it when we haven't mastered the basics yet, right?"

Re: Arrive/Gawk

[dirtiest_skank]

"You should really start out with T-ball," Olive replied. "That's where most of us start."

At the age of, you know, six.

"I'll be sure to come out and cheer you guys on whenever you play."

Re: Arrive/Gawk

[suitablyheroic]

"Never heard of it," Atton said easily. "But I'll let you know when we do."

Never gonna happen.

Re: Arrive/Gawk

[craftyladyparts]

"Either that guy really needs a shave and a haircut," Jessica said vaguely with a 'two bits' finger snap afterwards because comedy, "Or he was wearing a bad reindeer mask. Or he's a mutant who looks like a reindeer man."

Re: Arrive/Gawk

[dirtiest_skank]

"Don't be mean to the noble reindeer," Olive chided. "They're less unkempt than that."

Pause.

"More kempt? Is that the right way to say that?"

Re: Arrive/Gawk

[craftyladyparts]

"Kemptier," Jessica said. "The word you're looking for is 'kemptier.'"

Re: Arrive/Gawk

[dirtiest_skank]

"Even Rudolph is kemptier than that guy," Olive said, trying it out, "and he has a facial disfigurement."

Re: Arrive/Gawk

[craftyladyparts]

"Olive. Bolognese. Pendergast," Jessica said, feigning deep offense. "He's a reindeer ginger. I thought of all people, you would have some respect for that."

Re: Arrive/Gawk

[dirtiest_skank]

"I have sympathy," Olive corrected. "His nose isn't that different from my, you know, ephiledes." She would never forget. Sigh. "Also...Bolognese? How cruel do you imagine my par -- actually, that's pretty fair for them. Wrong, but fair."