Timing: Current Location: A convenience store Feat: @declinlalune & @ironheartedfae Warnings: none! Summary: The clerk at a local convenience store thinks Ren is stealing, Andy steps in to help.
Andy threw the peach rings into her basket before swinging around to the other side of the aisle. She scanned the rows of cardboard and plastic before finally finding what it was she was looking for. She dropped the item next to the rest of her haul and only looked up as somebody raised their voice from the front of the store.
I know you took it. Empty out your pockets. Now.
The shopkeeper’s tone did not sound pleased. As Andy rounded the corner towards the front, she saw a young girl standing there with a pinched expression. Andy didn’t give a damn if this girl had actually committed petty theft. Who was she to judge? Stealing was how she and Alex had made a living anyway.
In an attempt to get closer in case she needed to diffuse the situation, Andy began to loiter at a neighboring end cap, looking over the variety of multivitamins. The shopkeeper continued asking for the girl to empty her pockets, and Andy felt a surge of frustration. She thought about the woman who had intervened when Andy had gotten caught, and how she had lied through her teeth– something about being her’s and Alex’s older sister, and that they would never steal.
She bit the inside of her cheek before turning around, staring down the man. “Why are you harassing my sister? She didn’t steal anything.” They could pass as siblings– both wearing a smattering of freckles and red hair, even if the stranger’s was cropped short.
—
All Ren wanted to do was try. Try using that money thing that Emilio kept going on about, try buying something for a change instead of only ever fishing for not so moldy things in between banana peels and god knows what else found its way into a Wicked’s Rest dumpster. The nymph had been excited even. A chance to test out her newly acquired skills in friendliness.
Apparently the shopkeeper didn’t care for the tactic. The man took one look at Ren’s raggedy outfit, listened to her sad excuse for a compliment, and mistook the ‘smile’ for a strange grimace. Put it all together and there you have it. A kid who was up to no good. The little redhead had spent a decent amount of time trying to decipher which of the snacks in the aisle was the exact kind Van had supplied her with the other night, which one had the strangely sweet and sour flavor. The one they said was fruit flavored but certainly was not. The shopkeep took this deliberation time as another act of delinquency.
So he started yelling.
All at once Ren was so small again. Was being chided for something she hadn’t even done. At first she tried to protest. Be open to conversation as it were. But that only raised his voice and added more fire to his tone until–
Sister?? Her mouth must have dropped open. Ren felt like words were coming up, protest, but something caught her. The other girl’s look. It was similar enough to her own, but– there was no fae tug. Did she know something Ren did not? Had she been watching the nymph? How long had she– Was any of this even possible–
Oh. It was… probably a lie. But… why?
—
The man glared at the two, cheeks rouge from the obvious discontent.
I don’t give a shit if she’s your sister. She stole.
Andy looked at the girl again, brow raised. She didn’t look like a thief, but most people didn’t. Andy stopped herself from telling the man that she didn’t care if something was stolen, because that would potentially only make things worse, and she doubted that was what they needed anyway.
“You’re mistaken. She didn’t steal a damn thing.” Andy stepped closer to the girl, putting herself between the two. The man smelled like overly saturated cologne and it hurt her nose. “What do you think she stole? What did she take?”
The man stammered, the red deepening across the bridge of his nose and across his cheekbones.
Well I– I don’t know, but I saw her put something in her pocket!
If it were Alex, Andy would have dug into her pockets for her, but this was a stranger. A stranger that Andy was pretending to be the sister of. She looked over at the girl. “You didn’t steal anything, so you don’t need to show him the inside of your pockets if you don’t want to, but if it’ll get you,” she looked back to the man, frown deepening, “back the hell off, then is that what she needs to do to get you to lay off?”
—
It made no sense. Absolutely none of it did. The stranger who kind of looked like Ren insisting she was related, or the shop owner’s need to see the inside of her pockets. There was a stagnant hesitation as Ren processed through all that was being said. As the shock of being screamed at like she was back at the compound wore back into a dull ache rather than a paralyzing poison. Shaking hands (the only part of her that wasn’t stone still) moved from her sides to reverse the nearly empty pockets in both Emilio’s second jacket that he’d given her, and the shorts she’d pulled from a dumpster outside of some big box store.
Crumpled papers with unsatisfactory drawings, a wadded up ten dollar bill, some coins that were not even American currency, a tiny vial of holy water that Emilio had left in the jacket by accident, and lint. Nothing special. Nothing to be accused over. Nothing they even sold in the store. Luckily, Ren didn’t keep her knives in her pockets. No, those were in the sleeves. Safely tucked away where they didn’t even leave a bulge or anything.
Ren had been trying so hard to be a statue she’d forgotten to breathe entirely. Now, she could go without inhaling for a bit longer than the average kid her size, but the hungry gasp she tried to hide still wouldn’t go unnoticed. Still, she couldn’t speak, so she just had to let the stranger do it for her.
—
Andy watched the man’s expression devolve into something akin to embarrassment. Satisfaction colored her tone as she spoke. “See, there isn’t anything. I see the money she would have paid you with, but that’s it.” There were some other things, but those didn’t matter. Whatever the man thought he had seen wasn’t there. If the girl had pulled out something that she’d stolen, Andy would have had to dig for some excuse.
It was clear that the situation had startled the girl and Andy felt a surge of guilt that she hadn’t intervened sooner. She had been in the other’s shoes more times than she could count. At least, until she’d gotten better at stealing. The man continued to stammer, throwing his hands in the air before turning around. The back of his neck was red, too, and Andy genuinely hoped he’d carry the embarrassment with him for the rest of the day.
“Asshole,” Andy muttered under her breath as he went back to the register. She looked back at the girl who stood there as if some kind of statue. “You okay?” Andy tried her best to smile, but it didn’t quite reach her eyes. “What did you need? I can get it for you.” The girl had money, but by the state of her, something told Andy that maybe it was all she had. “Some of this is buy one get one, anyway.”
—
“I uh–” One thing about Wicked’s Rest, for all its strangeness, for all the monsters it housed, there were so many people ready and willing to lend a hand. Ren had no idea the outside world would be like this. In fact, she had been brought up to believe almost the opposite. Darya had made her a perfect soldier, one who wouldn’t question orders or think too deeply about the fact that she was set out to kill her own kind. Each day out in the open was a test of her loyalty, because everything out here seemed to contradict the older woman’s teachings.
“Was gummied worms.” It was probably a good thing that Ren had not spoken more than a few words to the shopkeeper, he might have noticed the thick accent that clung to every statement, and how she so often misused words, ordered them wrong, or applied suffixes that didn’t quite belong. “Soured ones.”
The night with the others had been a whole different flavor of strange. If Ren hadn’t excused herself at ten to go walk Perro, she might have stayed the entire night. But instead, she returned to the sorry excuse for a shelter out in the woods. Dreams of citric acid covered sweets dancing like sugar plums around her head. A feeling of belonging she never dreamed of having. And the guilt that it inspired too.
—
“Gummied worms?” The girl had an accent that Andy didn’t recognize. It wasn’t her job to pick her apart, she decided. “Sour gummy worms… got it.” Andy offered the girl a smile, this time with it reaching her eyes, before she turned towards the aisle with the candy. “You should try peach rings, too. They’re good.” She plucked one of each from the shelf, dropping them into the basket next to her other items. “You have good taste, though. Candy is a good choice.”
The girl was a little on the thinner side, and she reminded Andy of herself. It was like she was looking in a mirror from when she and Alex had gotten out of Lyon. Her stomach twisted slightly, but she kept smiling. “Do you need anything else?” Not everything was buy one get one, but it didn’t matter. Now that she was in a better position, she could help, and she wanted to. Especially after the bullshit with the shopkeeper.
“No pressure, by the way.” Andy knew what it felt like to be offered help, even when you weren’t asking for it. It could be awkward, and the last thing that she wanted to do was make the girl feel guilty. “If you just want the candy, that’s okay, too.” She heard something from up front and the shopkeeper stared at them, a begrudging expression flickering across his features. Andy had to do everything in her power to not give him the bird.
—
At the repetition, Ren’s cheeks reddened just slightly. Almost hard to tell under all those freckles. She’d never seen anyone else with as many as she had. For a moment, it had the fae wondering if the ruse would have worked otherwise. Did normal humans look a lot like their siblings? Ren didn’t get enough of a chance around the other Adelskold kids to really tell. Everything was always kept at a distance. Everything here was so close and warm.
Andy (not that Ren knew her name yet) was taller than her. By quite a bit. (To be fair, this wasn’t saying much. Most dogs would be taller than Ren if they stood on their hind legs.) She had her hair grown long in a way that would surely have annoyed the nymph. It was already too long for her liking. Something she’d have to figure out how to deal with sooner rather than later. Having a bit on top was fine during the winter, but now? It was too warm to have to contend with.
“I do not think I need anything else. Was… craving? This is more than enough. Your kindness is remarkable.” Too many people offering her too many things. It was too much to process most of the time, right now, right after being verbally suckerpunched by the man who owned the store? It was worse. Awful. Ren was surprised she managed to say anything at all.
—-
Andy noticed the way that the girl looked at her, but she didn’t comment on it. There was something familiar in her expression, but Andy wasn’t sure what its name was. Not admiration, that was for sure. Andy wasn’t the kind of person to be admired.
“Remarkable?” Andy bobbed her head before letting out another laugh. “I’m not sure about that.” Her gaze cut to the shopkeeper who was watching them from the corner of his eye– it was obvious by his body language. She made a show of dropping another item into her basket before turning fully towards the kid. Andy silently wondered how old she was. She looked to be about Alex’s age which made Andy’s chest tighten. The question of whether or not this kid was a con artist came to mind, as Andy had taken that approach more than once, but there was a genuinity that was absent. Even if she were a con-artist, Andy wasn’t sure she cared.
“So that’s it, then? Sour gummies? Nothing to drink?” Andy had half a mind to ask if she needed toiletries, by the state of her, but she didn’t want to assume. Too much too quick, and the kid might tuck tail and run. If it hadn’t been for Alex standing behind her, Andy probably would have, too.
—
Even if the girl didn’t think so, Ren saw it as admirable. The young nymph wished things like this came easy. A smile, confidence to fight on someone’s behalf, rather than just fighting them. A certain familiarity to this whole schtick that she could never really master. Not with a hundred years, or however long it took for something to finally get the better of her. Nymphs were supposed to live a long time. That was the whole point of Darya’s experiment. A longer lasting warden. Someone who could fight things from the inside out, and keep doing it as long as she didn’t die.
What Emilio, Nora, Van, Thea, Gael, and even Cass taught her, is that you need people around you to keep you alive. Even if doing so goes directly against what you were programmed for. The unknown redhead was in there too. Giving just a little bit of sunshine to make the flowers bloom.
“I am fine with water I have, but you are kind for asking this.” Maybe she should have been suspicious. Maybe she should have stopped to think, but Ren had a habit of taking most things at face value. And right now, there was a kind woman who was doing more than her share of being helpful. The kind of thing you do to try and make friends. “Let us just leave as soon as we can, yes?”
—
“Water, sure.” Andy wanted the girl to ask for more, but she knew the feeling– of asking too much, of taking too much and how the guilt would cause you to erode. Andy didn’t want to drive off the girl before she could truly help her. “You just stay put, I’ll go and pay, okay?” She gave the girl a small smile before heading towards the register, grabbing two bottles of water from the nearby drink fridge.
After she’d paid for the items as well as gotten fifty dollars cash back, Andy stuffed the bill into the bag, beneath the items she’d purchased so that the girl wouldn’t see it till she was long gone, and returned to her side. “Here you go.” She handed off the bag with a small smile before motioning for the redhead to follow her outside.
“My name is Andy, by the way.” The girl hadn’t asked, but she still felt the need to supply it. She looked towards her jeep before glancing back down at the kid. “Sorry you had to deal with that shithead to begin with.” Andy frowned slightly as she looked back inside to the store where the man was watching them through the window. After being noticed, he immediately looked away. Rolling her eyes, Andy let out a sigh. “I don’t think he’ll give you any more issues.” She twisted her own bag of goodies around her fingers, letting the bag spin one direction and then the opposite.
It hurt how much of herself she saw in the girl. Was this how small she had looked? How much more pity would this girl be given? Although, Andy wasn’t sure that her assistance had been out of pity, but instead out of reflection. “Figure it might be overkill, asking if you need a ride anywhere.” For how careful she usually was, one might point out this was out of character, but she just hoped that if this kid did have a sibling somewhere out there, they might appreciate someone looking out for her. Andy knew that she’d be grateful for anyone that decided to help Alex. “I hope you like the peach rings, though. They’re good.”
—
If Ren had blinked in the time between when Andy stepped in for her, it’d have been a miracle. The wide eyed stare had barely left the other red head the entire time, and yet somehow she missed the secret transaction stowed away in the plastic bag that’d been handed over. Just like that. Ren hadn’t done anything to deserve this. Just… got yelled at. Which as far as she was concerned, was a pretty rote thing to happen in her life. Adults yelled, she stood still until it was over, and hopefully it’d be okay.
The nymph mechanically followed Andy (That was her name, she had offered it, something Ren hadn’t even considered doing. All those tips on how to be friendly seemed so far away when things like this happened.) out into the parking lot. Quite like a lost puppy might, upon being offered a scrap of a meal. Only, the puppy didn’t believe it deserved the things it was getting. Driven on by a bodily instinct that superseded the mental blocks placed ahead of it. “Ren.” Squeaked out. Barely audible. Tiny in the way that the entomid always felt.
“I do not need… ride.” For the first time Ren’s gaze flickered away. Drifting to the jeep that wasn’t unlike some of the few cars that made their way deep enough into the compound for Ren to see. A big practical thing that could just as easily drive off the paved streets as it could on them. “I do not know how… to fully express how kind this is.” The bag in her hand rustled, and her lips attempted something that was almost a smile. “This was not something you needed to do.”
—
“Ren? I like that name. It’s nice.” Andy understood the shock after being accused of something. It had happened with her parents, and the multiple run-ins with store owners like the asshole back inside. She wanted to give her time to process.
Andy shrugged, her smile still present. “No problem, no ride, then.” If she were in Ren’s shoes, she probably wouldn’t take it either. Especially not in a town like Wicked’s Rest. “You don’t need to worry about it.” She neglected to explain how somebody had done the same thing for her. Even if it hadn’t happened that way, Andy would have stepped in anyway. She knew that she didn’t need to identify with whoever was in trouble, not always. “Ehh, the guy needed to be taken down a peg, it wasn’t an issue at all.”
She looked towards her jeep, then down at the bag that Ren held. She hoped that she wouldn’t dig in and find the fifty dollar bill until long after she was gone. The last thing she needed was for the girl to try and give it back. Andy let out a soft sigh. “Stay safe, yeah?” Andy wasn’t sure if she would ever run into Ren again. The town was small, but not that small. “And just… if anyone starts anything like that with you again, hold onto what’s true, you know?” Even if it’s not, Andy wanted to say.
—
Something closer to an actual smile graced Ren’s lips for just a moment. That warm sort of feeling filled her chest again and she found herself glancing down at the ground rather than look Andy in the eye as she fiddled with the bag in her hands. Still too frazzled to realize it was probably a lot heavier than it should have been. The tiny girl wanted to speak up. Wanted to properly express what all this meant to her, but that would require words she just wasn’t capable of arranging adequately.
Instead she reached out a hand. Offered a nod with the shake, and turned to walk away. Caught between wanting to look back, and wanting to keep distance, Ren partially moved her head. And called out to the other. “You are a good person Andy. I am glad to have met you.”
