Three-alarm fire

[Mr. Turnquist] When the doors opened Alex was immediately stepping inside. His hand reached out for Rileys, long fingers entwining within her own grasp and he all but pulled her with him, not that he needed too, she seemed just as eager as he was to browse the aisles. Although she had questioned him, he did not respond straight away, too busy was he tilting his head, standing up onto the tiptoes of his right foot and turning to get a better look at the lay of the land. Soon however, his eyes did return to Riley, there was excitement in them when he spoke.

"Well I mean.. I don't know Riley.. " He struggled for an adult reason.
"Wouldn't that be cool though? Like a giant firetruck toy, and she could ride on it, she could put her plant on it and just wheel around."

He grinned, he had obviously spent some time thinking about this. Perhaps there was a firetruck in Alex's past, or the wish for a firetruck. Perhaps a little alex had once upon a time lay in bed and dreamt about being a fireman, climbing ladders, putting out burning buildings and saving lives. And of course the odd cat or two..

"Where do you think we should start? This place is HUGE.."

[Miss Poole] She waits while he looks around, too, the smile lingering on her face. He's too cute now, eagerly looking around a toy store, trying to figure out where to start looking for the riding toys.

For a fire truck, so that a little girl can ride around with her plant. She can think of stranger toys for a toddler girl. Which, when she gets right down to it, a fire truck isn't that strange.

Her gaze snaps to his feet when he raises himself up to look around. The smile on her face fades to a look of consternation. His crutches were left in the car, which earned a comment or two, and apparently will now be earning him looks. The almost-frown can't withstand the grin on his face, though. It's not often that Riley Poole is the one lifted by another person's charm.

"Let's just look around and see what we find," she says, tightening her grip on his hand and starting off down the main aisle. A couple of kids looking at toys together, despite their age and their size. So really, just a couple of big old kids. "While we're here I wanna check out the sports equipment, too. I haven't played basketball in ages."

[Mr. Turnquist] Despite his exuberance, he did notice the almost frown from Riley, but it couldn't change his attitude today. He knew she wanted him to use the crutches, hell maybe he should have been, problem was that whatever Ashton did back at her place to his foot had made it feel a whole lot better. If he wasn't using crutches before then, it was going to be impossible to get him to use them now.

He had actually asked Ashton for a cane, maybe with a sword in it or some other cool hidden object. To which her reply had been You shot yourself Alex. I'm not about to give you pointy objects. His attention was taken away by Riley though as she pulled him off towards one of the nearby main aisles. This particular one was lined with small bits and pieces, mostly unpackaged things. Slinky's, bouncy balls, and random little tubs of goo - who's purpose Alex could only guess at.

Alex reached out and grabbed up an incredibly large bouncy ball, it was almost the size of his hand but softer than your average one, he let it drop to the floor and it bounced up easily over their heads. When it returned Alex caught it in his other hand and grinned at her before putting it away.

"You know, they should totally make stuff like this for grown ups... where's the grown up version of a bouncy ball.. or weird squishy stuff you know?" He laughed and squeezed her hand slightly. "Wheres my weird squishy stuff Riley?"

Still further down the lane, the old favourites started to break away and packaging began. Action figures, toy cars, toy guns. This was obviously the boys section.

[Miss Poole] Riley leads him down the aisle to the little toys, maybe as a place to start, but given the way she beelines for the slinkies, it's no coincidence she's brought him here.

Alex grabs the bouncy ball and sends it shooting up over their heads. Riley, with each end of a large slinky in both hands, shifting the metal coil back and forth, back and forth, watches it go up and come back down. Alex catches it and grins at her, and Riley grins right back. She's older than he is by a few years, yet she's completely happy to play with a slinky or watch him bounce a ball around. His comment has her quirking a dark brow at him.

"I got your weird squishy goo right here," she says, dumping the slinky into its compartment with all the other ones, and she picks up the tub of goo and holds it out to him. "What do people even use this for, anyway?" she asks, pulling it back toward her so she can read the label. "Seems like just a mess maker to me. Oh!" The tub gets set back down.

Riley reaches out to one of the little baskets full of toys and pulls out what looks like a mass of rubber tendrils. A koosh ball. She tosses it from one hand to the other, throwing it high over her head. Then she throws it at Alex.

"Think fast!"

[dex + ath]
Dice Rolled:[ 5 d10 ] 1, 1, 2, 5, 10 (Failure at target 6)

[Miss Poole] [mulligan!]
Dice Rolled:[ 5 d10 ] 6, 7, 8, 8, 9 (Success x 5 at target 6)

[Mr. Turnquist] Alex had turned away from her when she began talking and his eyes flicked back to her now and then to see what she was holding. "Hm. I bet you do." A quick reply to her comment about having his goo as he browsed his way through the shelves, pushing things out of the way and spying strange forgotten toys lingering at the back behind all the newer ones.

"I don't know.. I think its just for ma-" He turned just in time to get a face full of Koosh Ball. He blinked and he hopped backwards, driven by his instinct and all but tumbling into the shelf behind him. Luckily they were huge metal things, bolted to the ground, they weren't likely to fall over like in some non-comedy.

"Miss Poole.." Alex said as he bent down and picked up the Koosh Ball.

"I think you have some explaining to do... is this YOUR koosh ball?" He spoke as he advanced on her slowly.

"Please explain, Miss Poole, why you think it is ok to break the rules.. are you above the rules Miss Poole?" His mock-serious face was split by a grin and a short pft of laughter.

He was trying to sound like a school principal but his mirth had given him away. Instead he reverted to plan B. He threw the koosh at her boobs.

[dex+ath dif7]

"
Dice Rolled:[ 4 d10 ] 1, 4, 4, 8 (Failure at target 7)

[Mr. Turnquist] [MULLIGAN]
Dice Rolled:[ 4 d10 ] 1, 2, 5, 7 (Failure at target 7)

[Mr. Turnquist] [Mulligans Mulligan.]
Dice Rolled:[ 4 d10 ] 2, 3, 5, 7 (Success x 1 at target 7)

[Miss Littleton] There had not been a firetruck in Emily's past, or a wishing for firetrucks. Nor had there been an abundance of koosh or nerf or any other odd sounding projectiles. But there had been toys, and she understood their importance. Laughter and playfulness and happiness -- these things were precious, and not retained entirely for childhood. So it's an odd place for her to be, Toys 'R' Us, but it makes sense as well.

Because someone is having a birthday, and some things about birthdays are sacred. Not all gifts given should be practical; some things should be purely for fun and frivolity.

Little does she know about the koosh war on aisle three. Or what hooligans might be up to trouble-making in that area. She recognized the clatter of someone falling into metal shelves (don't ask me why that's familiar), though, and it sounded a bit too significant to have been a small child. Motivated by curiousity, and the utter lack of anything interesting in the action figures and small metal cars aisle, Emily heads that way.

... are you above the rules, Miss Poole? a voice was saying. Emily's mouth twitched into a smirk. She peeked around the end of their row and said, easy-as-pie, "Hey."

Just a little pause.

"Everyone okay over here?"

[Miss Poole] When Alex stumbles backwards, Riley's expression changes. She goes from playful to worried in an instant. But she only manages a small step forward before he crashes into the shelving, the metal rattling and the toys behind him clattering around. Then he rights himself, and he bends to pick up the fallen ball.

Alex does his best to overcome his mirth to play at principal. Riley snatches another koosh ball from the shelf and quickly hides her hands behind her back on the pretense of standing at attention. Feet together and her chin tilted down in an appropriate approximation of humiliated chagrin.

Except for that grin which stretches ear to ear. Riley is almost completely incapable of disguising what she's thinking, and what she's thinking right now is positively devilish. She does manage to lift her head, dark eyes wide, a look of absolutely feigned innocence on her face. She nods, her hands still behind her back when he throws the koosh at her. It flies wildly off course, barely glancing off her hip.

"There are no rules in koosh ball!" she all but bellows in the manner of This is Sparta!, throwing a neon green bundle of rubbery tendrils at him.

Then there's a voice saying Hey. Riley dares take her eyes off her enemy to look behind her to confirm that the voice does, in fact, belong to one Miss Emily Littleton.

Her face brightens considerably, which is a feat considering Riley's face was already lit with enough joy and mirth to power a large industrious city if someone could just figure out how to harness that energy.

"Em! Hey, what's up?"

[dex + ath for the throw]
Dice Rolled:[ 5 d10 ] 2, 3, 5, 9, 10 (Success x 2 at target 6)

[Mr. Turnquist] [dodge -1]
Dice Rolled:[ 6 d10 ] 1, 3, 4, 5, 8, 9 (Success x 1 at target 6)

[Mr. Turnquist] He sensed something was wrong, his spidey senses where tingling all over. This was far too easy, this was far far too easy. Miss Poole was up to something. Soon enough it was revealed when the Koosh Ball appeared from behind her back.

His eyes went wide and time seemed to slow down as he bellowed a "Nnnoooooo" and tried to avoid the incoming projectile. Too late, it was all in vain, his movements which had saved him from certain death (or at least certain de-limbing) were not enough to save him from the wrath of Riley's Koosh.

He bent down to pick up the koosh once it had fallen to the ground, his laughter slowly dying away into bubbles of the stuff until he was simply smiling again. Riley had just spotted someone familiar, who turns out, Alex knew now as well. Alex under-arm threw the koosh ball to Emily, gently, not an attack just a transfer of possession.

"Hey Emily, what you doing here?"

[Miss Littleton] Emily takes stock of the situation. Riley assualting Alex with squishy projectiles. Alex failing to defend. Falling, apparently. Still laughing (good man). Riley's grin all but splitting her face. These sort of good moods were infectious. Emily couldn't help but find herself grinning back, broadly. Whatever had happened the night before, the chaos in her apartment, the upcoming Emissary meeting, all of it faded away.

What's up?
What are you doing here?

"Apparently, I'm interrupting world war three," she says, voice full of wry amusement, eyes laughingly bright. Alex tosses her a koosh and Emily catches it, then looks down at the object in her hand with marked confusion. It's... so much... smaller than it had looked-midflight.

And there were squishy tendrils between her fingers.

Weird.

"Who's winning?" she asks, hefting the odd little ball in her hand, slightly. It's obvious who's winning, but she'd let them answer for themselves. Her gaze swung from Riley's face, to Alex's, and then that smile encompassed them both.

[Miss Poole] It's completely obvious who's winning. Emily's seen it before, or something similar. Though she's not dancing around her opponent, doing some weird half dance half shuffle, not so much crowing her victory as rubbing Alex's defeat in his face, it's still clear. Riley's face is transformed with a victorious smirking grin, her hair down in waves around her face only slightly displaced by the activity of throwing kooshes around. She's dressed partially in her work uniform, the white button-down unbuttoned and her tie loosened, but a pair of denim shorts have replaced the hated skirt.

Reaching up both hands, she pulls her hair up off her neck, twists it once, and lets it fall back over her shoulder.

"I am," she says, jerking a thumb toward her chest. She's still laughing at Alex's little trip into bullet time, which didn't save him from getting hit by the almighty koosh. Probably because he moved too slowly and acted like a goof.

"Well, sorta. World wars take more than just two countries. What's it gonna be, Emily? Are you Axis, Ally, or Switzerland?" Riley asks, grinning as she picks up another koosh. This one is multicolored, red and white and yellow and orange.

[Mr. Turnquist] "Yeah yeah, You're winning, no need to gloat." He peered at Emily. "She always wins, did she tell you that?" He nodded his head as he began to saunter towards Riley. "Yeah.. I mean.. I just don't get it.." His head tilted and he looked Riley in the eyes. "I think I'm good at something... and then Miss Poole here comes along and says.. well actually.... "

He turned towards Emily, "Does this sound at all familiar?" By now he had come to stand next to Riley, his own hand reaching out to grab a Koosh. His was Green, Purple, Blue and Gold. "Anyway... She's right you know Em.." A pause.


"You really should decide..." He smiled, bouncing the koosh in his hand threateningly.
"Everyones got to pick a Side.." Again the koosh rolled up into the air, landing in his palm. He grinned at Riley.

[Miss Littleton] [Dex + Ath: To join the fray!]
Dice Rolled:[ 5 d10 ] 1, 1, 1, 2, 8 (Failure at target 6)

[Miss Littleton] [Mulligans! (You just don't want me to attack a friendly.)]
Dice Rolled:[ 5 d10 ] 4, 4, 4, 5, 5 (Failure at target 6)

[Miss Littleton] [Mulligan mulligan mulligan. Are we through now, Kahseeno?!]
Dice Rolled:[ 5 d10 ] 1, 1, 3, 8, 8 (Failure at target 6)

[Miss Littleton] "Clearly you have yet to grasp the first law of Poole-namics, Alex," Emily says, all officious and mirthfully. She rolls the koosh in her hand as she smirks at him. "Riley is, as they say, made of win and awesome. You'll get used to it, over time. We all have to."

Suffering. Do you see that? The long-suffering look on Emily's face? Yes, she too can wield sarcasm and a sidelong smirk. The girl's eyes are dancingly bright, now. It's not something Riley's seen in a long, long while.

"Picking sides sounds so arbitrary," she says, as if considering which side to join in the great Koosh battle was worthy of far more weighty consideration. But she seems to have made up her mind.

She glances at Alex, lifts her eyebrows as if to say Shall we? and then the squish-ball-koosh-thing is launched at her cabalmate and friend. It falls far short. Plunks sadly on the ground. Disappointingly.

"... Bugger."

Now Emily is unarmed. And glaring balefully at the koosh in the middle of the aisle that apparently did not conform to any laws of natural physics.

[Miss Poole] Riley looks at Alex, koosh in hand and lifted in a helpless shrug as if to say She's right, what can you do? For now, there's an unofficial truce between the three of them, a cease fire really, while Emily decides if she's going to join in or stay on the sidelines. Or perhaps even claim a side of her own, make it a war on three fronts.

The glance to Alex has Riley grinning and sidestepping away from the young Euthanatos. Of course he needs the assistance. Riley is clearly the strongest, a force to be reckoned with. Though the other apprentices are younger, Riley has a lot more experience being a child. It's something she never let go of when she grew up. Even at twenty-seven, she still splashes in puddles and holds impromptu snowball fights with the kids in her neighborhood. She plays video games and remembers, despite all the bad that happens to them all, that it will be better.

What that really means now, though, is that the tall Italian is more adept with a koosh ball. As soon as Emily chose her side, Riley was on the alert, ready for attack from two sides. Then one of the sides begs off to go hobbling in search of a bathroom. Not that Alex really hobbles. His mentor is a monster of a doctor, a beast. Whatever she did earlier, it's made Alex's limp much less pronounced.

She laughs aloud when Emily's koosh flops to the floor between them. "I hope you know," she says, holding herself with an almost regal poise, "this means war," she intones with some muddled accent, her voice pitched slightly lower. Then, grinning, she throws the koosh at Emily.

[throwing, woo!]
Dice Rolled:[ 5 d10 ] 1, 3, 3, 9, 10 (Success x 1 at target 6)

[Miss Littleton] [Dodge: EEEEE! Hopefully I evade better than I attack!]
Dice Rolled:[ 4 d10 ] 6, 7, 8, 9 (Success x 4 at target 6)

[Miss Littleton] "But of cour---ACK!"

When Riley declares war, the other Apprentice -- late-comer to the war, stepping in to support the relative newcomer in the global community -- laughs. It breaks out of her, uncontrolled and unguarded. Emily's laugh is warm, it's mellifluent and easy. Riley lobs the koosh at her and she sidesteps, easily, with a little courtsey to it even.

Now they both have time to retrive a projectile, to take up one of the fluffy-rubbery balls again and take aim on one another. Alex is retreating to the restroom (Oh, thanks, mate!) when Emily hefts the ball a little bit in her hand and tries to catch Riley off guard with a quick riposte.

[throwing, not like a girl this time]
Dice Rolled:[ 5 d10 ] 1, 3, 5, 7, 8 (Success x 1 at target 6)

[Miss Poole] [catch?]
Dice Rolled:[ 5 d10 ] 3, 6, 7, 10, 10 (Success x 4 at target 6)

[Miss Poole] Both geek girls are being absolutely ridiculous and utterly adorable. Riley lobs a koosh at Emily, and Emily slides gracefully to the side, even does a little curtsy as if to say Why hello there, pleasure to see you. Riley can't stand it. She breaks into uncontrollable laughter, light and low, one arm wrapped over her midsection.

This gives Emily time to arm herself and perhaps take advantage of a moment of weakness on the Virtual Adept's part. But, lo, Emily throws and Riley plucks the strange ball-type-thing from the air as one might pluck an apple from a tree. She grins at her friend, tossing the ball up and letting it fall back into her palm, tendrils swaying in the breeze of its own making.

"Alex said he ran into you the other day. Said you told him..." a pause to throw the koosh again at the country of Littletonia, "...I was a student. Did you tell him any other juicy tidbits I should be prepared for?" She's grinning still, lighthearted, not really caring if Emily divulged Riley's deepest darkest secrets. She doesn't have many, and the city is already slowly learning about her greatest flaw, though few have actually seen Riley Poole unleash her temper on the unfortunate.

[throw!]
Dice Rolled:[ 5 d10 ] 3, 6, 7, 10, 10 (Success x 4 at target 6)

[Miss Littleton] [Dodge: It works better than throwing, right?]
Dice Rolled:[ 4 d10 ] 2, 4, 4, 9 (Success x 1 at target 6)

[Miss Littleton] The people of Pooletopia are better versed in Koosh warfare than the gentle diplomatically-minded Littletonians. Riley lobs the ball back at Emily, who attempts to sidestep but still takes the hit to her side. Emily clasps one hand to her side, where the koosh hit her, and gasps, as if she were suddenly wounded.

She's chuckling as she reaches down to pick up the toy again, looking at Riley with a purely impish grin. "I may have given him the over-protective friend speech," she says, with a diffident little shrug. She may have; but then again he might have outright lied to her.

Emily was so, very much better at the games of social warfare.

"He seems nice," Emily says. Nice being an understatement; it's the sort of thing one said when they weren't really entitled to have an opinion on such things. "And utterly smitten."

A smirk again. She tosses the koosh back, this time with less war and more play behind it. All in good fun.

[throw: nice and friendly like]
Dice Rolled:[ 5 d10 ] 1, 2, 5, 6, 10 (Success x 1 at target 6)

[Miss Poole] [catch!]
Dice Rolled:[ 5 d10 ] 1, 5, 9, 9, 10 (Success x 2 at target 6)

[Miss Poole] Emily takes a hit to the side, and Riley starts with fists upraised in triumph, then covers her mouth one hand in mock dismay when the soon-to-be Chorister grabs her side.

"Oh yeah?" she asks, head canted slightly, the corners of her mouth starting to curve upward. Emily may have given a boy the over-protective friend speech. Riley apparently finds this pleasantly surprising. She doesn't know about the rest of the conversation between her Alex and her Emily, maybe feels she doesn't need to know it. If secrets were given out, she'll find out about it eventually, there's no point in getting worked up and worried, creating problems where there are none.

Then a smile, fond an affectionate. "He is. He's really sweet." Which may not be something Alexander Turnquist wants the world finding out about, but Riley tells Emily anyway. She may already know, or she may not. Her smile shifts to something almost giddy, communicating without words that Alex isn't the only smitten one in the store tonight. She catches the koosh, tosses it from one hand to the other once, twice before tossing it Emily's way again.

"He's...nice." She doesn't really think about the fact that she's repeating Emily's words back to her. It's a horrible understatement, but it's the kind of thing one says when the person they're describing is too many things to be expressed adequately in a word or a phrase. Besides, by now the man in question may be headed back over.

[toss!]
Dice Rolled:[ 5 d10 ] 2, 5, 7, 8, 9 (Success x 3 at target 6)

[Mr. Turnquist] The man in question, was in fact headed back over. Our hero Alexander Turnquist, beaten and harried by his enemies had decided to take a breather and let the girls chat for awhile. He had spent his time wisely he browsing and hunting, searching and exploring until eventually he had found it.

He came running back to them, or at least as much as a man who's been shot in the foot can run. Oh ok, so he hobbled back to them. Whatevs. He had an utterly contagious smile on his face, he was simply beaming.

"Who's nice?" The first words out of his mouth as he interrupted the conversation.

"Never mind, I found it!" This almost shouted at Riley as he grabbed her hands with his own and started tugging.

"Come on, I totally found it and it is TOTALLY awesome.... Oh my god Marcy is going to love this."

[Miss Littleton] [catch: ???]
Dice Rolled:[ 5 d10 ] 3, 3, 4, 8, 8 (Success x 2 at target 6)

[Miss Littleton] The expression Riley wears pulls at the corner of Emily's eyes. It's a brilliance, a warmth and happiness that can't be feigned. It's good to see in the Vdept, who is occasionally childlike (but rarely childish). It makes some things easier. When Riley asks Oh, Really? Em shrugs a bit with a what can you do? look.

She grasps for the ball as it comes sailing her way and just grabs it with her fingertips. She bobbles it, and ultiamtely drops it again. This time, though, Emily just picks it up and holds on to it. As if she's considering bringing it home with her after all of this.

Who's nice? Alex asks, and Em turns that impish good mood on him, now. "Chuck's nice." She says helpfully. "And Riley's nice. I can be nice, but only on occasion -- why, Alex, who do you think is nice?" she asks. As if it's a very important question. As if he'd missed quite a conversation indeed.

But then Alex is tugging Riley toward something, sounding out Ashton's toddler's name. "Does it make noise?" she asks, immediately suspicious of this thing-for-Marcy. "Does it have batteries?"

[Miss Poole] Alex makes his way back to them, where the koosh war seems to have wound down in his absence. Planned? Did the young Turnquistian wander off in the hopes that Pooletopia and Littletonia had exhausted all their resources in a fruitless war just so he could more easily invade the country of his choosing?

He wants to know who's nice, and Emily gives him an answer that is both true and incorrect.
"Oh, that's a lie," she says, chiding. "Don't let her fool you, Em's almost always ack!"

Apparently his plan really was to come in and take over one of the koosh warring parties. He takes Riley by the hands and starts to tug her after him. Riley doesn't mind being swept away by the tides of this particular war, though, if the bright smile on her face is any indication. She hasn't met Marcy, has only seen Ashton herself briefly. She doesn't know that there may be some cause for concern with Alex getting the child a firetruck.

"It might?" she says to Emily. Alex tugs her hands. "Okay okay I know, let's go check it out." Coming from another woman, Riley might sound short, like she's putting up with the antics of a child. Truth is, she's right there with Alex, all excited to find a plaything for a toddler. Any signs that Riley is simply tolerating Alex's antics are quite transparently feigned.

"He's getting her a truck she can ride around in. C'mon!" she beckons, following after Alex. If he relinquishes one of her hands, Riley doesn't let him release the other.

[Mr. Turnquist] His head turned to Emily and his mouth was open in a grin. "I think Riley's Nice." and he lifted her hand, placing a kiss against the back of it. "You ARE nice too Em. Even if you won't admit it." There was so much nice-throwing going around, it was all rather sickening.

He limped along, half skipping though he slowed somewhat at the questions from Emily.

"Well.. Actually I dont know Emily, I didn't look.. So yeah.. like Riley said! it might!, why do you ask anyway?" he had a little knowing grin for her. He knew she babysit there occasionally.

Alex did in fact let go of one of Rileys hands, but he held tight to the other. Soon the three of them were dashing across the expanse of the huge warehouse. Occasionally Alex would laugh and nudge Riley, pointing out some ridiculous looking toy. Muttering things like I never had anything like that! and I wonder what that is... followed by it looks like a cross between an elephant and a pelican

Suddenly they were stopping and Alex simply pointed with his free hand.

"There."

Not far away, in the direction indicated, sat a fire truck. No, not just a fire truck. Sat THE fire truck. The boss of all fire trucks. It came almost up to Alex's knee and was over a yard long. In the front it had a small seat with a steering wheel, underneath the seat was an empty square for a kid to push it like something out of the flintstones.

It was bright red, it had flashing lights, it probably made all sorts of horrible sounds if you put batteries in it. The back was a large empty tray, decorated with pretend ladders and fire hoses.

"Whad'ya think??" He looked pathetically happy.

[Miss Littleton] They're adorable. They really are. Almost sacchrine-sweet. It's hard to be anything but pleased for the other Apprentices. Emily follows along behind them, curious as to this riding-in-truck that Alex is planning on gifting to Marcelle.

Who throws everything she can get her nearly-two-year-old hands on. Whose favorite words, just now, are mine and NOoooOoooOoOOOoo.

When they came to rest before the largest fire truck toy Emily had ever seen, the Orphan girl's wry smile turned every so gently rueful.

"Madre de.... Well, at least I'll know where she is," she says. There's mirth underlying that, but also the concern that Ashton might end her apprentice if it made too much noise. Or makes Marcy all the more mobile.

"That is quite the fire truck," she confirms. It's an understatement, like Alex is nice, but these understatements seem to be somehow fitting when Emily speaks them. It might be the accent, lightening to the lack of enthusiasm to something more delicately wry and laughing.

[Miss Poole] Alex may feel he's dragging Riley after him. As she moves with him through the store, Riley, as childlike and effervescent as she can be, nonetheless intentionally tries to impede Alex's forward momentum. He's still healing, after all, no matter how well Ashton bandaged him up earlier. There are still a couple of days left before she'll feel comfortable letting him go tearing through toy stores.

So despite Alex's exuberance, he finds he's holding onto an anchor, slowing him down. Nonetheless, they move quickly through the aisles, past the strange toys and the familiar. At one point they pass the Barbie aisle, and Riley visibly winces at the explosion of pink. Not that she's against pink, but nothing should be filled with that much of one color.

When they reach the truck at last, Riley pulls up alongside Alex. Finally, she lets go of his hand and moves forward to inspect the toy vehicle. "Wow." She leans over and tugs it forward, pushes it back, tugs it forward again before crouching down to look inside.

"This is really cool, Alex!" Emily's comments are taken at face value today. If there's worry or concern beneath her words, Riley is too distracted by the truck to notice.

[Mr. Turnquist] Alex placed his hands on his hips a moment and stretched his shoulders. Peering down at the firetruck in thought.

"I'm getting it."

That was it. He had decided. Maybe he should get two, one for himself. No that would be silly, he couldn't even fit in the little drivers seat.

Emily may have been worried about her role as babysitter with this thing rolling around, and perhaps ashton would be a little upset with her apprentice for gifting a toy with such potential to annoy. But Marcy would love it. He knew that much, she would love it as much as Alex loved it. He didn't care what the stinky grownups thought.

They spent the next few minutes pushing the thing around, making engine noises and siren sounds. Wweeowwwweeeeoww. Soon it was time to go though, and reluctantly they departed. Alex with a giant box in one arm and Riley's hand in the other, swinging slowly between them.

They would maybe go for coffee together, maybe get some dinner, eventually however the trio would part ways. Riley and Alex saying fond farewells before finally Riley could get alex home and off his feet. She could stop frowning at him and telling him to slow down. Soon though, he would be better, soon his foot would feel good as new and all the pampering would cease. The thought made him appreciate the attention from Riley all the more, made him hold his tongue and grin idiotically when she gave him it. But nothing lasts forever, he would miss it when it was gone. He would miss all of it.

The End.