for alex, walking through the world, out in the WILD so far from his retreat home was meant for keeping his head down with a path planned for his feet to follow. eyes are stuck down upon his phone as he moves forward ; earphone cords SWINGING in the light breeze and toss of his footsteps, only to jolt and stop — something has blocked his path and he spring to attention before he knocks into whatever it is … an arm, as it would be, when he finally does look up.
❛❛ i, um … ❞ what did he say ?
❛❛ i - i’m sorry, could you REPEAT that ? ❞
he’s honest in his statement at the very least. he pulls one earbud out as he speaks ; tucking it into the collar of his shirt as he GRASPS the outheld paper, scanning it for keywords before revising it for a second time fully and turning his gaze back upwards. ❛❛ uh, i apologize but i’m … ❞ not interested. or so he wants to say. he just wanted to get to the supermarket, buy some things he needed, and get STRAIGHT back home — but one look into the male’s desperate expression and he can’t help but feel it’d be a bit … fucked up to not let him elaborate further. ❛❛ a bit confused is all ! c – can you, uh, tell me more about this ? ❞ might as well act dumb for this dude’s sake, why not ?
Pale features are overcome with a rising undertone of crimson, the flyers grasped between his fingers gripped at with such desperation that the paper crinkles; and eyes of oceans flit their stare down to multi-colored sneakers. There’s SOME feigned relief that at least a sheet was taken, but even he could see his mistake in approaching the other--not having noticed that their attention was preoccupied with earbuds and not to those around. Daniel breathes, slow and shallow, and it takes a moment for him to find his voice.
“It’s--for the lo-local animal shelter. We need volunteers, donations, a-and fosters, an-any bit helps--!”
It wasn’t too difficult to understand the lack of interest--it was near every day he stood on the sidewalks attempting to gather the interest of the public, to which most walked by without little look, or politely declined, or as for some, less than politely. Perhaps he wasn’t the best SUITED for such a job, but somebody had to do it.
An unsteady hand reaches out, index jutted to motion to the slip of paper that the stranger had taken.
“There are s-some profiles for our--our currently adopted pets in there as well.”