“Alright. I understand. Hold still and try to relax.”

Kassandra was acutely aware that she had not been forgiven. The ‘we can discuss this later’ made her absolutely nauseous. Her aunt used to use that line all the time, when they were in public and she wanted to save face. The ‘discussion’ that came later was usually deeply unpleasant. This was going to come back to bite her. She would be very, very surprised if Zach did not hit her back later, when they were alone. There was nothing to be done about it.

But she said she would ease the pain, and she would do it. With a subtle summon of the magic she had left, she reached out for Zach’s throat and held her fingers above it. His pain would ease off into sort of a numb feeling, a pins and needles buzzing. “That should hold you for a while, until you feel better.” With that, she rose up and went for her room slowly, keeping the illusion intact.

---

Later, she reluctantly joined the rest of the team in her casual clothing. She was wearing a short coral and white dress with soft brown gladiator sandals. She would have rather worn just the dress, but she had learned last week that humans had weird rules about shoes. Her thick curls were done up in 2 buns with little white bows, and she was running a simple illusion to turn her hair an average human black. Even her normally brilliant orange eyes were faded to brown.

This was going to be a strange sort of mission. They were basically being ordered to relax, which didn’t quite make sense to her. Evidently the ‘mall’ was some sort of giant market. She had yet to travel in a vehicle before. But she also wasn’t sure why Zach was bringing a shotgun. Was it dangerous? “I’ll take the Zeta tube, I guess.” She actually had a small weekly stipend due to being hired at the Atlantean court, so she was not without a cash supply. One of the others might have to actually count it out for her, as she wasn’t really sure what anything was going to cost.

The quicker she could get through this, the better. Hopefully this could go without incident?

Location: The Sanctuary, Base level, Teleporter room
Interactions: The Team

---

Daphne was relieved to hear Viktor volunteer to drive. The nerves died down a bit and were replaced with the initial excitement she felt knowing they were going shopping. She glanced over at Alisa and smiled at her. They could go by Zetatube together and walk the rest of the way to the mall. Daphne checked the route ahead of time, being horrible with directions. It was a cake walk, just 10 minutes from the location of the closest Zetatube. Perfect!
"I'll go with Cybergirl" She said cheerfully, starting to make her way over to the other girl. Her enthusiasm was rewarded with a slightly suggestive recommendation from Red Tornado.

"Nymph, my data shows you've had your license for two months. It would be beneficial for your driving skills to accompany an experienced driver. Viktor has had his license for two years"

Daphne stopped dead in her tracks, turning back around to Red Tornado and the Team with a surprised look on her face. She quickly smiled, trying not to show her disappointment and hiding her embarrassment by pretending to be as surprised as they were.
"Oh...right, you're totally right. How could I forget that?" She laughed nervously. With a sad pout to Alisa she turned back to walk closer to the jeep. She watched Viktor receive the keys from Red Tornado.

Great.....
She was going to get private driving lessons. Daphne stared on ahead of her, thinking about all the ways this could go wrong and every scenario included cold stares and brutal honesty. Maybe she should buy him a sugar jacket. The teen girl crossed her arms and felt the flower embroidery on her t-shirt prick her skin. She was determined to still have fun though. Her phone buzzed and she got it out to check her message. She skimmed over the contents and swiped it away and came to a sudden realization. They needed a group chat!
It would be really useful in getting in touch if they lost each other while shopping, or wanted to meet up for lunch, that kind of stuff. She opened a new contact and turned to the group.

"Guys maybe we can make a group chat, if we want to meet up somewhere in the mall. We can keep track of each other that way"

Daphne walked over to Zach first and handed him her phone, waiting patiently for the magician to enter his number. While she was busy with gathering everyone's contact info Red Tornado made another announcement.

"This almost slipped my mind, but seeing as this is a Justice League activity you all will receive a league credit card with spending money" The android hadn't actually forgotten he had to hand these out, but he was trying to be less robotic in his way of acting, so hopefully the teens would see him as a fitting care taker. He handed out a card to each team member.

Daphne got to Talon last, maybe not completely by accident. They both soon realized he didn't actually own a phone. She bit her lip for a second trying to think of a solution. There was one thing she could do and that was would work out great! Not only would she get out of driving with Viktor, but it would also let her indirectly show Talon she was incredibly sorry. She quickly typed up a message and showed it to him.

"Can you please please please not go in the jeep? I'll help you buy a phone when we get to the mall. I really don't want to drive :("

"Uhmm Red Tornado, Talon doesn't have a phone yet. I think it's better if we stick together until we get to the mall and he can buy one"
Saying it out loud she realized her excuse wasn't as solid as she'd thought. It sounded more like she was getting out from driving, which was exactly what she was doing. Though she also had this gut feeling if she left Talon on his own it wouldn't work out very well. His behavior was erratic sometimes, unpredictable and he didn't seem to care much for social rules. While waiting for Red Tornado and Talon to give their thoughts on her suggestion she noticed Casper had silently stalked up next to her, looking very fashionable. It almost made her regret the outfit she'd picked for herself.

She glanced over her shoulder at him and Coal, winking.
"You look cute" She mouthed quietly.

---

Turning his gaze sideways to meet Daphne’s bright, chocolate eyes, Casper offered the girl a soft, silent smile in response. It was an appreciative gesture, one warranting a verbal approach, ”within the halls of castle Blackwood, there is quite a large painting of Persephone,” Hex began, leaning closer as he spoke. Quiet, spectral words trickled past his lips, and the boy proceeded, ”you continuously put her to shame.”

Turning his attention towards Red Tornado, Casper remained standing where he was, ghostly orbs lingering upon the construct. Another one, alongside Alisa. Life simulated without truly being a part of it, a mimic. Yet, Hex was frozen in a position where respect was offered. The Wraith did not decide what life and death entailed for others, as it was. This did not offer comfort when confronted by metallic abominations, he would add.

Again, the teenager’s focus found a new target, this time narrowing in on the jeep. That vehicle would certainly suffice, and while Casper was used to far more regal accommodations, a seat served its purpose no matter the car.

A voucher from the Justice League was, however, highly unnecessary. Though the Wraithborn was aware of his peers, the concept of currency had been somewhat jaded throughout his existence. The Blackwoods were billionaires, and Hex had called an impressively large castle home until recently. Could he hand the voucher to his teammates? No, a second analysis of the notion made him appear arrogant and smug. He would accept the money he had been given, which in itself was likely an attempt at streamlining the situation. His superiors were well aware of Casper’s wealth, and yet, he was given ‘spending money’ offering the role of forgotten pocket change in a jacket lost inside a dusty, untouched closet.

It was irrelevant. His mother, and yes even the boy’s father had taught him better than to dismiss a gift, whether he required what had been given, or not. One did, after all, not refuse such patronage.

Another issue lingered. Would the others come to an agreement on who would drive? Hex could very well have enjoyed a walk through the city, which in turn would offer interesting sights, but the Wraith was not naive enough to put himself in that position. One could claim that Casper Blackwood was an easy sight to document, and he was not yet prepared for such a social outing.
It was different when Hex operated on his own. Now, he was part of an organization, and his presence was required for the concept of team building, something he had attempted, himself. With Daphne, this was successful. He enjoyed her company, and the girl brought something to balance Casper’s darkness. She brought life, and with it came appreciation from the ghostly entity.

---

Kilamanjaro walked with his hands behind him after he pushed the button for the elevator. He had spent quite a while in his meditation in the forest. He had also bore witness to the sparring match between the Tamaranean Princess and Gold Rush. The latter Kila seemed more impressed with. He seemed to make the most optimal use of his clones as he could. It was still a loss, given the Princess’ awe-inspiring power, but a valiant effort.

After dismissal, Kila wandered about their training ground for a bit to evaluate their first session again. It seemed a success, stepping back from the emotions, with some having more to learn from mistakes than others. It was while doing so, though, that he discovered the discarded pink suit of Nymph. That brought memory of the emotions back.

With them in mind, Kila had eventually gone back inside. To be part of a team, meant you were to be parts of a body if it were to work smoothly. A family in and of itself, even if only very recently born. Thus, he did go to the residential area of the base, but waited until all the larger buzz calmed.

The first he went to, was the boy called Talon. His life was in jeopardy today, which could have lingering results. Even if it was of his own doing, Kila opted to check on him. His mannerisms outside of the impulses shown earlier, seemed largely the same, which was good enough. Further assessing the cleaning of his wounds, Kila commended his self-sufficience. However, the young lion didn’t push it and let the boy after the brief encounter.

With that done, he wasn’t so inclined to interact with the others at that time. They could keep one another occupied. So, he waited until Daphne had awoken, which lasted up until it was announced for the mall goers to prepare for departure. Before that though, Kila went to check on her. He returned her garment straight away. As far as her recovery from the day’s early events, she seemed mostly back to herself. She seemed to express appreciate his effort. The power from before, he did not feel come from her, which must have meant that she was physically alright as well.

Although he didn’t like to be late to things, he was the last to get down there. He wasn’t going to go on this shopping trip, and Kila rarely changed his mind. However, an odd feeling inside spurred him to go anyway. He learned that there was a musical instrument store there. It wouldn’t hurt to at least go look with his own eyes. With His and Iwisa’s former dog-tags around his neck, he dressed casually. A simple white tee, black khaki pants, and white high-top sneakers were what greeted the group as he exited the elevator.

Kila made it just in time to hear about the methods of travel available, as well as qualified drivers. A briefly puzzled expression came to him as he noticed his name excluded. The reason the confusion didn’t last long though, related to the legalities of the United States’ laws. He did not have a driving license for the country and they were meant to be exemplary citizens when out of missions.

Though with the others deliberating who would go in the jeep, Kila found himself following along with Kass towards the teleporters. He found no interest in riding with them currently, and they were going to the same place anyway. However, he didn’t get to give Kassandra the commendation he wished to earlier and he’d rather cover his bases. He favored her presence anyway. Though that was when Red Tornado gave them Justice League credit cards. He pocketed it, but did not plan on using it.

”I will take the zeta-tube as well.”

---

Talon had gathered with the others, eager to get out of the Base for awhile. He wasn't comfortable standing around with everyone and wanted to quickly get a move on. Getting out from the thumb of Black Canary, Green Arrow and even their babysitter Red Tornado would do him well, get a chance to stretch his legs and get away from the cooped up nature of Mt Justice's base. The Android passed around Justice League credit cards and Talon felt the ridged typeface upon it - no name. Talon's mind was wandering as to where he'd go at the mall, what it was he would even shop for, when Daphne sidled up to him. He felt himself tense up, unsure of what she would say to him. Their last two encounters were either violent (in the case of being choked by her vines) or invasive and voyeuristic (in walking in on her sleeping in her plant form.) He wondered if the brown haired girl in front of him could see the light bruising caused by her lack of control.

Talon saw she was typing out a message to him, another way for the two of them to communicate in secret. In spite of his mistrust and worry about his standing with her, Talon again felt those negative emotions fade just a bit, touched she was willing to continue talking to him this way. He read the message twice, trying to piece it together. She was asking him to utilize the Zeta Tubes rather than hop into the jeep with the other boys who had already claimed spots. Talon was eager to spend more time with Gold Rush and Hex, but having to be carted around by Rain put a bad taste in his mouth. And now, with Daphne asking him to take the teleporter with her he had a perfectly good excuse to avoid Rain's judging intense looks. Cybergirl and Mirage were also taking the teleporter, and Talon had been meaning to get a chance to thank Mirage for her quick thinking during his rescue. If he could even put the words together. He looked back up into Daphne's face and nodded an affirmative at her request. The two of them helping each other in this way, teammates. He'd go with her whichever mode of travel she chose.

When Daphne called out to Red Tornado and pointed out Talon's lack of a phone, she also announced that they should stick together. Talon felt glad that she was expressing out-loud t the others that she was willing to spend time with him, making strides already to put their uncomfortable exchange behind them all. He pushed his dark glasses further up the bridge of his nose, unsure if he should add anything. With Daphne's help he'd be able to start to communicate better with his teammates. It was like Nightwing had said, there would be strife and hard days, but having a team to support you and grow together was worth all of the little bumps. Talon wasn't over a lot of his anger, his irritation, and his inferiority complex that came in inopportune moments - but with people like Daphne and Hex by his side, it was possible that he'd be able to let go of those parts of himself, the parts that were more Court of Owls than who Talon could be as a person.

Talon put his hand out awkwardly for Daphne, and then - worried it may be misconstrued - quickly pointed to her phone. She handed it to him delicately and Talon punched in a few keys, showing her the text display written on it.

"Thank you. I want to talk to you about these bruises. Later."

---

After that battle with Gold Rush, Aleen'a spent the next few hours bathing and relaxing. It had been so long since she got engaged in a battle and as much as she hated to admit it, she was very sloppy back there. She thought of training again at the base's gym but she remembered her cousin's teachings. She's encouraged by Kori to not exert herself out too much. They actually had talked about it multiple times where Aleen'a told Kori that while their people have attained peace, the thought of being under another race yet again made the Tamaraneans restless and anxious. While they worked hard to rebuild their civilization, they were also working harder on fortifying their defenses. Ale was filled with worrying and anxiousness for the sake of her people and so was Kori but the cousins were always a source of comfort for each other.

So relax Aleen'a did, staying in her room and resting on her bed to restore her energy. While she was worried about the sake of others during the training, she thought that like her, they would want to spend some time alone to reflect and rest. She did make a mental note to ask Felix about watching their battle together later at least.

After resting, Aleen'a learned that the entire team would be going out for a trip together. It made Aleen'a so excited. Not only would she get to explore and enjoy what Earth had to offer, she also got to hang out with her teammates as well. She and Kori would always go shopping together and she was stoked to be doing this with her friends now. She got dressed up and immediately went out to join the team in time in the teleporter room.

Upon arriving there, imaginary stars would sparkle in Aleen'a's eyes as she saw the jeep Red Tornado prepared for them. She flew all over it excitedly, saying things like 'Wow!', 'Oh my!', and 'Amazing!' while listening to the team discuss who's going to take the jeep and the Zeta Beams to go to their destination and talk about terminologies that don't make sense to her. So Daphne could sense lies for two months while Viktor had been doing it for years? Her admiration of the scary-looking human was raised.

"An outing with friends is always fun! I am so looking towards the spending of time with everyone. Taking a trip of shopping is so exciting!" She giddily said. "I wish to experience riding this human vehicle called jeep. It would be a good changing of the pace from the usual flying and I never rode a human-made vehicle before. Much cool..." She added, further marveling at the wonders of human technology.

Location: Happy Harbor Mall
Interactions: Talon
Ambience: Mall music

---

Daphne looked around the phone store, taking everything in. There were a whole lot of different kind of phones and accessories to choose from. It could admittedly be daunting for someone who had no idea what they were looking for. Which was kind of the case for Talon and her. Talon was browsing on his own and she was trying to figure out if they needed to ask for help from one of the store employees. Daphne shifted her weight from one foot to the other, leaning against a display table, her phone in one hand, the Justice League credit card in the other. She wanted to check how much they had to spend. It would either limit or broaden the choice of phone available to them. She didn't know if Talon had any spending money of his own and she hadn't asked.

It took a couple of minutes and multiple websites and passwords to uncover the amount. She raised her brows at the number, a soft gasp escaping her. She closed her mouth and surprise was replaced by happiness. They could definitely buy a great phone and still have some money left to spend on other things. It also meant she could splurge a little more with her gifts. She hadn't accounted for this extra money when she was thinking of what to get everyone. A smile warmed her face, she couldn't believe her luck. This Young Justice initiative wasn't all that bad.

Daphne turned her eyes to Talon. She watched him inspect the phones. He was still wearing his dark glasses and she found herself wondering what his eyes looked like. During the busride to the mall they had a very short heart to heart, where she offered him her apologies. It partially cleared the air between them. There was still an uncertain and wait and see atmosphere between them however. It was like newborn predator and prey seeing each other for the first time, both unsure of what to do, lacking natural instinct, but feeling like they should take action. The teen girl was lost in thought when the cheerful voice of the store employee reached her ears.

"Excuse me Miss, is there anything I can do for you today?" The woman looked at Daphne with a friendly expression.

Daphne returned her smile, pointing at Talon subtly. She spoke in a lightly hushed voice so he wouldn't overhear them talking.
"Do you see that guy over there? We're looking for a phone for him"
The store employee gave Talon a short once over, keeping any judgment out of her face. Daphne knew she would probably ask about a price range next, so she provided a rough estimate based on the amount on their credit cards. The woman led her to a different aisle in the store, showing her a couple of phones. Daphne tried out a few. She guessed Talon might like a practical phone, not too many complicated apps and useless features. That was based on a very limited bunch of assumptions and actual things she knew about him. The employee seemed to sense her doubtfulness.

"This one is a solid choice" She handed Daphne another phone. It didn't look like much, it was an in_between size, not extremely expensive or suspiciously cheap. It fit most of the phone cases available and matched with a multitude of ear buds and chargers. Daphne turned it over in her hands. It would probably be best to just ask Talon, since she had no idea what his requirements were.
"Thanks, I'll show it to him" Daphne smiled at the woman and walked down the aisle, spotting Talon in the aisle next to her.

While she walked she kept checking out how the phone worked, so she could explain it to Talon. Daphne rounded the corner without looking where she was going and bumped into another customer.
"Shit! Watch where you're going chick"

Daphne stumbled back two steps, recovering from her collision with a tall muscular frame. The guy looked at her and they recognized each other at the same time.
"Daph?"
"Josh?"

Josh smiled at her and apologized for his harsh reaction. Daphne smiled and assured him it was fine. They chatted a bit and while they talked Daphne noticed Josh was by himself. Usually he went everywhere with his girlfriend Eva. She didn't want to ask, it might be sensitive subject.
"So Eva and me broke up last month, you know things weren't working out and you know Eva, she can have an attitude problem sometimes"

Clearly this wasn't as sensitive a subject as she thought and she did know Eva. Eva had an attitude because Josh always treated her badly. She stuck up for herself and she knew Josh didn't appreciate that. He had that reputation at school.
"I'm sorry to hear that Josh..." Daphne was careful in showing too much sincerity. Josh read the signals wrong more than a couple of time before.

"Yeah so it's whatever. I called you a couple of times..."

Daphne felt heat rise to her cheeks and nervous butterflies flying in her stomach. She'd ignored his calls, but she couldn't say that now. Her mind raced to think of a convincing excuse. She laughed, trying not to look at his face.
"Ah you know I can be such an airhead sometimes, I left my phone at a Starbucks somewhere and lost all my contacts"
Josh raised his brows, unconvinced, but he let it slide. Daphne in her nervousness kept rambling on.
"So I've been borrowing my friend's phone, and now I'm getting a new one"

She was digging a deeper and deeper hole for herself. If her phone was going to ring now she was going to make a run for it, that was too much embarrassment to handle. Josh wasn't really bothered, he was used to her playing hard to get. Daphne had that reputation at school, it made things interesting though. He took a piece of paper and scribbled his number on it, handing it to her confidently.
"So when you get a new phone give me a call" His smile gave her the creeps, but she smiled back pretending to be unbothered.

Feeling like she'd survived another round of combat training she finally made it to Talon, walking a little faster than was necessary. She handed the phone to him, still a little frazzled.
"The store employee said this is a good one, maybe you can take a look?"

---

Talon looked at the rows and rows of tech throughout the phone store. He was surprised at the variety of options someone could choose, and felt a little overwhelmed over which one would do the trick. Honestly the only thing he really needed it for was text messaging or phone calls. He couldn't imagine himself using one for all the various apps and social media that phone's were capable of, the kinds of things that Zachary and Felix were talking about on their first night all together. That first night, sitting around the lounge with everyone, two boys were keen to show the others the litany of what they called "exposure" on the internet, and a massive following of friends and fans on their different media accounts. Talon watched the faces of the others - they seemed to have an easier time understanding all of the two boys references. Talon didn't have much to add to that conversation, even if he could. But he was really impressed that Zatara and Gold Rush were able to make so many friends, and seemingly so easy.

Talon fiddled with one of the phones, a touch screen device with high quality picture. As he did so, he could hear Nymph talking with the store clerk about what they were looking for. Her back was to Talon as she talked, and Talon thought about the brief moment they shared on the bus ride over to the mall. Talon had hoped to have a private moment with Nymph to bring up what happened during the training exercise, but a bus full of people wasn't what he had envisioned. Sitting there together, Talon felt that Nymph wanted to talk to him about what had transpired between the two of them, but she must have felt self conscious. Talon caught her glimpsing at the bruising around his neck, saw what looked like concern in her eyes. He adjusted his collar to hide them from her, no need to make her feel worse about it. When she asked him if they hurt, he only shook his head. She had talked about how her concern for his health caused her to lose control, and that she would do her best to make sure it didn't happen again. It was likely she would have reacted this way if it was anyone who was hanging onto that ledge. The conversation was brief, but they had tried. It was something.

Talon was disappointed, more in himself than anything. He wanted to tell her he was sorry, why he reacts often in the way that he does, but his upbringing as a Court of Owls weapon stood so tall in front of his self-expression. He could feel himself wanting to say these things, to tell Nymph that it had been an honest mistake and would happen, wanted to encourage her, but he felt a squirming in his stomach, a sour taste not just in his mouth but in his heart. He wasn't allowed to do so, to emote, to connect. There was only ever a mission. The Court of Owls training was like an impossibly great wall that Talon was attempting to climb with no tools, no grip, no surface. Typing out his thoughts on a phone was a crutch, but one he needed - at least for now. But the truth was that he wanted to be more laid back, wanted to be friendly like Hex, wanted to be confident in the ways that Ja had been. Talon was confident in his abilities, sure - but the others seemed comfortable with themselves. And that was something Talon was not. It was engrained in him to have no self. But if he didn't get help, didn't try to improve or work on himself, then the only time his friends would hear his voice would be when he was angry, when he was challenging someone like Rain, or during a mission about whatever their objective would be. But that wasn't the kind of person he wanted to be anymore. He wanted life beyond a mission. He was glad that Nightwing had rescued him, had gotten him onto this team. It was a chance.

Now however, Talon saw that Nymph was engaged in conversation with someone new - a tall boy, muscular frame. Talon absent-mindedly sized him up. He couldn't hear what the two of them were saying, but Nymph's body language had shifted, given off a sort of fight or flight response. Talon was used to this kind of behavior. He felt himself tense up, wondered if he should go over there. But Nymph was capable of handling awkward situations, he didn't exactly feel any danger emanating from this guy. But there was definitely some sort of energy. What Talon had heard Cybergirl describe as a "bad vibe." When Nymph finished her conversation with the mysterious boy, she handed Talon a phone suggested by the clerk. Talon looked her in the face as she handed it to him, but she avoided his gaze. Taking the phone from her, Talon typed into the notepad application:

"Friend of yours?"

He held the phone to her, his question blinking on the screen.

---

The concept of metahumans and even aliens was deeply rooted in the minds of modern-day people. Heroes, villains, and artists far divorced from humanity had made a name for themselves recognized and echoed across the world. Yet, it was not unexpected by Casper Blackwood to find himself in the center of attention. Eyes diverted towards the Wraithborn wherever he found himself, a shopping mall buzzing with life. Initially, the young man would have deigned to retreat in anxious dismissal. However, there was a sense of self-esteem so clearly present within him, Hex’s attention finding home on an elaborate storefront.

Thinking back on their first moments of training, placing himself in front of Black Canary once more, conjured a sense of satisfaction. Though uncertain, he had confronted his most glaring weakness and did so with a measure of success. He had done well. Equally so, Casper was not a teenager suffering from the ever-so-typical weight of social fright. He was a reserved boy by every measure, but one who spoke his mind when so inclined. Confidence; he knew it well. “We’re popular,” Coal commented, his small, beady black orbs taking in the glares of countless eyes.

With a tail calmly swaying, Casper tore his attention from the storefront, ‘Elsa’s Designs’, and allowed himself a moment to acknowledge those present. There was a sensation building from within, a truth the boy could not deny. A sensation soon accompanied by his reflection as it stared back at him from polished glass walls separating ‘Elsa’s Designs’ from the mall hallways.

Freak. Monster. Horror.

A brief pause halted the boy’s stride, his spectral gaze lingering upon the image presented by flawless translucence. A hand rose, claws gently tracing themselves down Casper’s tie, his tail moving from right to left. Careful inspection would reveal an expression upon the Wraithborn’s face, claws rising further to tenderly comb a path across Coal’s silken feathers. ”May they enjoy the view,” Casper offered, playfully scratching Coal beneath the beak, ”I certainly do.”

Freak. Monster. Horror. Yes, Casper would not deny his many titles, each one closely embraced. He was a freak, a unique being setting itself apart from others, standing tall and proud. He was a monster, teeth like a shark’s and claws akin to a dragon. He was a horror, brilliantly glowing in the deepest blackness, eyes of impossible white swirling within empty voids. He was the reflection staring back at him, and it was perfect.

“Look at you,” the avian laughed, extending a wing before nudging Hex’s cheek. “Owning that terrifying smile.”

Unable to prevent the expression from widening upon his lips, Casper lowered his attention to the floor. ”Every other smile is taken,” he stated, ”this one is mine.” Falling silent, Hex’s joyous display mellowed into tenderness, his feet bringing him closer to the jewelry store.

It had been a therapeutic scene, one laying bare a teenager’s worst fears, and certainly, the wings outstretched in their place. It had never truly bothered Casper when considered scary, nor did it offend him. However, it kept him firmly positioned within a fortress of solitude. The notion warranted a locked door, one opening only in response to recent actions, Hex’s attempts at finding himself. What was the purpose of a withdrawn approach? Where had it placed him? At the very end of this journey, there was only one constant, himself and Coal. It would always be him and Coal. Everything else was temporary, victims of time and mortality. This realization made sure to add perspective, a statement extended by his mother.

’Appreciate what you have in the moment.’

There was nothing to be afraid of. Life presented fleeting beauty, no matter what visage it may have worn, and the temporary nature of its bloom was what allowed for such splendor. ”I will procure Daphne a gift,” Casper stated, stepping into the store he had picked for this endeavor.

“Oh, yeah? Whatcha’ gonna’ get?” Coal asked, “and will you get Stone Face one, too?”

Stone Face. Talon. The thought of this particular young man froze Casper to the spot, if only for a moment. He had refused to shake Hex’s hand when extended, which was spectacularly disrespectful. Try as he may, Casper’s nature as a Wraithborn was still a new existence, and he was slowly shedding the remains of what it meant to be a human noble. Talon was different. He didn’t understand the social conventions considered a norm in Hex’s upbringing. Despite this, Casper had been adequately insulted. ”I.., may locate something for Talon, as well.”

“Good day, Sir,” came a warm welcome by a shop clerk freshly encouraged to greet her new customer, and the odd sight of a bird upon his shoulder. Her new, unique patron. “What are we looking for, today?” It was clear that her attempts at maintaining eye contact were strained, those phantasmal spheres unnerving, to say the least. However, Casper commended the young woman, her approach warranting a soft bow of his head.

”Good day,” the Wraithborn spoke, ”I’d like a gift for my acquaintance. Something..,” he paused, considering what Daphne would enjoy. She did seem to present a more typical feminine presence, ”..bright and emerald green.”

His description had left much to be desired, but the store clerk understood enough to guide Casper towards memorable bracelets. Gold, silver, and steel melded together, the boy’s clawed fingers staying clear of a particular material. However, his attention was drawn towards an accessory resting beneath the glass counter, red velvet harboring its shape. A slender trinket of gold and green, glimmering beneath constant light. ”I believe this will suffice,” came a decision before Casper’s obsidian digits were allowed to hold the bracelet.

“It’s a beautiful piece,” the clerk responded, sounding somewhat unsure. The price tag may have been a reason for this. Despite Casper’s unique appearance, he was clearly a young man no older than twenty. Though she didn’t wish to offend a customer by assuming his worth, the woman found it reasonable to elaborate on what Hex was holding. “Twenty-four-karat gold, and real emeralds.”

Raising a brow, Casper moved his attention towards the clerk. It took a moment for him to fully grasp what she was saying, initially assuming a joke. Of course, this was pure gold, and naturally, those emeralds were real. Why on earth wouldn’t they be? Because not everyone was rich, and to others, this purchase made an actual difference in their lives. ”That’ll do, thank you,” Hex mused, offering the woman a faint smile.

Staring at her customer for a brief spell, Elsa whose name tag exposed her ownership of the store cleared her throat. “Of course!” She exclaimed, “would you like it gift wrapped?”

”It would be lovely,” Casper finished, reaching into his pocket to produce a small, chrome card case.

---

Materializing near the building’s entrance, Kila looked up and around. High ceilings with skylights, advertisements on banners, television screens, store fronts, and many people cycling through. The warrior felt the need to study possible escape routes, but resisted the urge. He needed to be ‘normal’, he wasn’t on the field. The young man was here to enjoy his downtime, he supposed. Still, just to be sure, he looked behind him to look outside the transparent glass doors.

Confirming where they were in the city, Kila turned to look at the companion that remained, as the others that tubed already started wandering. “We should look at the map of stores to confirm where we want to go…” Was his suggestion, though, he didn’t wait long before his steps carried him forward towards the triangular pillar. He had been to malls before when his Amai took him shopping when they had been reunited. Some things between them remained similar, he learned.

Kassy was craning her neck to look up at the high ceilings. She was still getting used to human architecture. This place was no palace, but it was still nice to look at. “This is almost overwhelming.” She murmured, trying to get her bearings. In the end, she wound up following Kila, who seemed to have some sense of where to go.

Leaning over the map, she realized there were far more shops than she could get to in a day. Forever 23, Dillan’s, Marcy’s, what exactly did these shops carry? A quick peek through the window confirmed. Mostly clothes, it seemed like, which didn’t bother her. She liked looking at pretty clothes and expressing herself in that way.

“Well, it looks like the others have gone.” She looked apprehensively at the crowds. “M-may I stick with you? I don’t want to be alone here.” Kassy did not so much as peek at Kila’s face during her request, her eyes downcast and looking at his very white shoes.

Kila’s eyes scanned the layout provided by the map, taking mental pictures of the number and name correspondences. He was like a machine, or, perhaps more like the general that the Red Lion was trying to mold him into. He picked a strategic route to get to the store of his choosing. When met with her question, he was silent, looking over to her. The way her eyes aimed towards the ground made him flatten his lips some. Her disposition seemed to appeal to him for some reason, and he saw no need to say no.

“Yes. Just be sure to keep up.” Kila answered, a corner of his lip upturned in a smile.

Kassy nodded, but still did not look up. However, her body language relaxed considerably. “I can do that.”

To be honest, she still wasn’t sure what to make of Kila. He seemed so serious, and was obviously skilled if his battle with Black Canary was anything to go by. She felt like he could have made the Justice League proper if not for his age. But he was stuck here with people like her. Strange.

As they walked, Kassy looked around at all of the different stores. She made a mental note of those that seemed interesting, those she might visit on another day. Her fingers traced the outline of the little plastic rectangle in her purse. A ‘credit card’. She had no idea what it meant and had been too nervous to ask Red Tornado when no one else had seemed confused.

“Hey Kila? What is a ‘credit card’?” She winced slightly, looking off. “Please don’t think I’m stupid. I’ve just never heard of it. What is this little bit of plastic supposed to do?”

“It pays for objects and services. It should come with a pin number, though with some of us being less informed about it than others, these cards may not require such.” Kila kept it simple, “And, you must know, I don’t think you’re stupid at all. You’re actually quite sharp.”

Kassy nodded, thinking over his explanation. “I suppose it is easier than carrying a lot of coins around.” Then she paused, the rest of his sentence having turned over in her mind.

“Wait, you think I’m smart?” Now she was looking at him, illusion-coated brown eyes wide with confusion. “Really? Why?” The blunt question was less compliment seeking and more answer seeking, as if she couldn’t quite fathom what he could possibly mean. Kila didn’t look in her direction just yet, eyeing their path.

“I have learned a lot from you in today’s training. You’re resourceful and sharp-witted. You wasted no time in completing the tasks given, and showed no hesitation when faced with a sudden tragedy. It takes someone smart to have those qualities and use them effectively.” He turned his eye to look at her as he finished.

“That’s why.”

Kassy blinked, feeling her face heating. There was a large part of her mind fighting against the compliment. Was he lying? No, he had no reason to. If he thought she was stupid, he probably would have just said so. His explanation did make sense, even if she couldn’t quite see those qualities within herself.

“Oh.” For the briefest moment, she met his gaze. A faint, but definitely visible smile crept onto her face. “I- I did what needed to be done in the moment. It wasn’t really something I thought about. Talon needed help, so… so I helped.” She rubbed the back of her neck, mussing her thick curls. Her embarrassment was obvious.

“Thank you. I… I appreciate the compliment.” More than she could express. Sure, Green Arrow had said something earlier, but it was so different coming from one of her peers. Her smile had brought a tingling feeling in his chest, and his eyes cut away quickly. Was this another of those instincts from earlier? He couldn’t be sure. It didn’t feel as though there was any danger near. Yet, why did he want to run?

He kept steady, thankful to Iwisa for instilling will into his spirit. He wasn’t sure of what to say after that, though he nodded in her acknowledgement. The focus on the odd feelings in the moment almost made him absentmindedly wander from his set path. Kila came to an abrupt stop, looking up the escalator.

“The store I’m wishing to go to is on the second floor…We take the escalator up.”

Kila had stopped so abruptly that Kassy nearly bumped into him. She looked at the strange mechanical stairs in front of them. “Hm. That’s fine.” Double-layer markets would be so much easier if she could swim up instead of walk. Things were so much simpler moving in 3 dimensions. She eyed a few people stepping onto it, and then hesitantly stepped up after Kila.

“What will humans think of next?” It was a rather elegant solution to the fact that humans - most of them anyway - could not fly up, or swim. She chuckled softly, wondering what other inventions were waiting for her to see.

“So, what store are we going to, anyway?”

“According to the guide, it is called the Charleston Music Center…I did not think to bring any of the instruments I have at home…So, I want to see what they have.”

Kassy perked a bit at hearing that it was a music store. She adored music of all sorts, and sort of missed it. While she didn’t have any instruments of her own, she had been to many concerts underwater. It was the one thing she splurged on when saving up to leave home. Still, what a surprise that Kila played! She wanted to say that she sang, but the words stuck in her throat. He probably wouldn’t care.

“What instruments do you play, Kila?”

“I have done drums for ceremonies and such, Ambuya says that I have a talent for strings. I am not the greatest at it, or very high level yet, but it at least brings me peace of mind…At the home of my amai, I have amassed a small horde of suchlike instruments.” Kila paused. “Do you play?”

Kassy’s gaze faltered back to her shoes. “Me? N-no, I don’t play.” Her voice dropped to a low mumble, and she sped through the next words. _{“I… I um… I sort of like singing but I’m not good at it so don’t expect much of me.”} Her cheeks flushed. That had been difficult to admit. Singing practice was difficult when you spent your life trying to go unnoticed. So far only the fish and coral had heard her singing voice, and that was probably not going to change anytime soon.

Kila took particular note of the quick silence of her voice pattern. Clearly the subject must have been sensitive for her. While normally he’d look to prod the lack of confidence to bolster it, something told him not to do so. The girl had barely spoken in the week leading up to this day. The fact that she was willing to open even if only slightly surprised him…He didn’t want to scare her off.

“I see.” He left it be, content enough to keep quiet until they made it to the store.

It was actually a lot larger than it appeared outside. One side had a wall of guitars of varying types, another with shelves of tools for instrument maintenance. It seemed they had almost every instrument one could think of somewhere on display. Kila’s eyes seemed aglow with a bit more excitement than his expression usually displayed. With no need for a prompt, he started to wander about inside.

Kassy’s eyes widened as she saw all of the instruments on offer. Despite not knowing some of them, she did at least know the categories based on looks. There was even some strange electronic music pouring in from the rooftop. Slowly, she left Kila’s side and started to browse.

Kila was like a kid in a candy store, not even knowing where he’d start or what he’d like to try first. His head turned to see about asking Kassandra, but she wasn’t there. Instead, his glance caught her on another side of the store, peering at a piano that was on display. Another smile crept to his face as he tried not to let his eyes linger for too long.

This turned out being more fun than he thought…

Location: Happy Harbor Mall
Interactions: Whomever

---

Viktor winced the moment he entered the mall, his eyes darting at all the potential fighting positions above and around him. The vulnerable feeling he felt passed quickly, as he accepted the conditions of this environment. It was just the mall, which was usually a relatively low risk location. The shops and stands neither attracted or distracted him, well until laid his eyes on the sporting goods store. It was one of the larger stores he could get himself lost in, and he could probably buy something nice with the amount of funds provided on the credit card provided by the League. He didn't really need it, but he preferred using it before dipping into his own money.

He walked towards the favored store, not sure if anyone would accompany him.

As soon as he arrived, Zach made a beeline for one of his favorite stores in the mall, the toy store. It was a miracle this mall had a toy store considering they seemed to be closing left right and center these days. The first thing he did when he got there was look at the selection of stuffed animals. He had a bunch of plushies in his own personal collection that he brought with him from home. He always got teased for his collection of cute plushies back home. People called them girly, or for babies, or whatever nonsense they said. They were idiots anyway.

The store did not disappoint. There was a bunch of stuffed animals to choose from. Some were sitting on the shelves displayed cutely, while bigger ones were piled into a large metal bin. Zach looked through them all to pick out the cutest ones. Some of these would decorate his room, and some of these would be used to decorate the base. The place was drab, and really needed a touch of cuteness.

He picked up a large plush unicorn, and hugged it. Yep, this one would be coming home with him.

Location: Happy Harbor Mall
Interactions: Talon

---

Daphne stared at the message on Talon's potential new phone, blinking a few times. She reached out to take the phone, but decided against it, her hand retreating back to her side. Josh and her were not friends. Daphne wanted to keep it that way. She watched from the sidelines, meeting him from time to time during the rare times she attended a school party, or through mutual friends. He was the perfect example of why her dad never wanted her to have a boyfriend during high school. He would become a distraction and shift her focus from studying. He was past the point of second chances too, with the way she saw him treat others around him. It wasn't easy to get her angry, or for someone to make her dislike them, but Josh did pretty well on both of them.

The tricky part was making it obvious she didn't want to be around him. She didn't have the guts to voice her dislike of him to his face. Daphne looked up at Talon, seeing her own reflection in his shades instead of his eyes, which still remained a mystery.
"No we're not friends, he's someone I go to school with" She explained with little emotion, looking at the direction Josh had disappeared to.

Daphne put her mind to their current objective, finding Talon a phone. She walked up to a display table where multiple color options could be seen for the phone the clerk recommended. There were only three options, silver, black and blue. She frowned, looking disappointed. Even if the phone wasn't for her, how could they only make three options? Hopefully the cases were good, they could spice up the phone with a fun case. Again she realized she had no clue what Talon actually liked.
"There are only three colors, I'd go for the blue one but it's still kind of plain, we can get a case to with it"
Phone cases were the best part about a phone anyway, you could swap them out and coordinate with your outfit. Though she was pretty sure Talon wasn't the kind of guy who would keep fifteen phone cases. Daphne looked at the available cases, picking them up and turning them over, checking the designs with her keen shopper's eye.

She showed him a couple of typical neutral ones, something most guys would like.
"How about.....this one?, or maybe this?"
Daphne pulled out a dark blue one with white flowers and showed it to him with a smirk.
"Or this?"

Location: Mall - Sporting Goods
Interactions: Viktor/Rain @FunnyGuy
Mentions: Zach Zatara, Aleen'a/Brightheart, Casper/Hex

---

The group had gone their separate ways to recuperate after the training. Felix himself had treated himself to a shower and relaxing. He'd laid in his bed responding to comments from his post from the night before. He would have liked to check in everyone who's had a bad experience, but he really didn't know anyone to well yet. And he didn't mind hiding his face for a while after the way his sparring match with Aleen'a had ended.

By the time the group took off for the mall, he was over it. He'd jumped in the jeep immediately, expecting an exciting ride. He babbled on as usual, teasing Zach and his music choices. Viktor had had to ask him multiple times to stop drumming on the back of his seat. It was as fun as he had expected, and he always enjoyed the wind in his hair in an open-top vehicle. Still, he had avoided Brightheart's eyes the whole way.

Felix always liked the mall. A large indoor collection of stores like this just wasn't practical in his time. The closest things he got were the flea market Don Chava took the kids to, and the rare trip to the farmer's market. Though from what he understood, even now malls were a dying breed. Felix looked around, trying to decide where to go. Maybe the music store? Even if he didn't buy anything, messing around on a real physical drum kit would be fun. Casper had casually mentioned something about the jewelry store, and Felix was tempted. Some new gold to match his name?

Then he caught sight of Viktor headed toward the sporting goods store. Since the night before, Felix's attention had been drawn in by the older guy's physique. Vik was yoked. All he could think while filming his fitness video later in the evening had been how much better his videos would be after working with him. So he decided to tag along.

"Yo Viktor, wait up," Felix ran up to him as he walked into the store. "What's up? I'd ask if you were gonna check out their weights, but I doubt they don't got anything better than we got at home huh?" They walked together towards the outdoors area of the store. Huh, Felix thought, Guess he's not all business. Looks like he's into having some fun after all.

Location: Happy Harbor Mall
Interactions: Felix/Gold Rush @Prints Avoid

---

When Viktor heard Felix call out to him, he side-eyed the time traveler. The rhythmic beating on the back of his seat on the commute here had not been forgotten. However, Felix's friendly demeanor helped Viktor be as welcoming as Viktor could be. Plus, Felix started the conversation with something he actually had a bit of interest in.

"True. Our gym has much to offer us. Nothing this store can provide." He gave Felix eye contact as the two continued towards the outdoors section. Viktor wasn't exactly sure what he wanted at first, but then something caught his eye.

GRAND SLAAAAAM!

Viktor found himself staring at an eight-pack bucket of baseballs on a shelf as a distant memory surfaced. It was the last of many games his father took him to. The Gotham City Knights versus the Central City Stars.

“Batting seventh, the right fielder, #8 Will Jackson!"

"Will Jackson! He'll crush this one for us too!"

The brief snippet of a memory left Viktor nostalgic, so much so that he managed a soft smile. A rare expression for the young man as he grabbed the bucket and made his way towards the aluminum bats and catcher's mitts. Once he grabbed a suitable bat and a pair of mitts, he faced Felix.

"Felix, we should get things for recreation. Our home has a great gym, yes, but there are other methods to fitness." Viktor's face displayed a bit more liveliness than usual. Just a bit. "How do you keep active from where you are from?"

---

Charleston Music Center was Casper’s next destination, sights of various instruments coming into play upon stepping past the threshold. Guitars, drums, and violins, Hex’s focus brushed past many examples of otherwise well-made tools, his gaze finding home upon a grand piano. It reclaimed memories, the boy’s thoughts traveling to great halls within castle Blackwood where sleepless nights allowed for a moment’s respite among ivory keys. It had been a while since Casper last slept, since he needed to retire to a world of slumber.

The store was quite large, allowing for a moment’s consideration before Casper was eventually spotted by a clerk, soon followed by a short welcome. Though eyes lingered upon the Wraith, Hex paid them no mind, his focus firmly confiscated by an instrument of his childhood. Delicately, claws traced themselves across polished mahogany, a golden brown lid opened to reveal the inner workings of a masterpiece. Casper had been told that his love for this most noble of instruments sprung from the boy’s grandfather, a man whose fingers had christened the piano Hex now called his own. He longed for those moments spent alongside the apparatus filling castle Blackwood with haunting tunes.

“Give it a go,” Coal nudged his friend forward, “Kassandra and Kila’s over there, I am sure they’d appreciate some music, yeah?” The bird continued, motioning towards Casper’s acquaintances. It was rare for the young man to play for others, each keynote typically aimed at himself. He played for relaxation, he played to express himself, and yet, Casper rarely did so when others were present. The Wraith was aware that two sides often overlapped, one’s innermost grace revealing itself for others to see. Hex was not an exception. “Express yourself.”

”Express myself..,” Hex repeated, spectral spheres rising to meet Kassandra and Kila. They appeared to be enjoying each other’s company, and it was a reminder that teammates were slowly finding their friends. Had Casper reached that connection, yet? Not quite, but thoughts of Daphne sprung to mind, clawed digits gently reaching for the small package in Hex’s pocket. He cared for the girl, reasons appearing somewhat unknown. A young woman brimming with life. Perhaps the nymph would manage to break through Talon’s exterior and exhume the person hiding within. Casper had witnessed the two leaving together, and she was most certainly an interesting foil to the rehabilitated assassin.

”Yes..,” came a quiet affirmation from the Wraithborn. Lowering himself to the stool in front of a piano most would struggle to afford, Casper’s clawed fingers rose to keys of ivory white. Closing his eyes, a faint, if barely visible smile traced itself across the boy’s pale, white lips. No matter the country, the location, or the world, music remained the same. Music never changed. An eternal force piercing life and death alike. It was following these thoughts that Casper realized he had already started playing, fingers moving from one key to the next in a fluid motion answering to nothing but emotions from within.

One would be accurate in claiming that the surrounding world had vanished, Casper’s heart and mind set on the instrument before him. A tail slowly swayed in harmony, Coal’s shape lingering upon Hex’s shoulder as beady eyes gazed down at the claws conjuring forth music with every motion.

Had Casper opened his eyes, he would surely have witnessed a growing audience, silence surrounding him as ears closely listened to the boy’s song. He had created a stage albeit bereft of platform, the Wraith’s memories spiriting him to the halls of castle Blackwood where he would play this very tune, one taught to him by a mother so often mentioned. It had been the first time in months since Hex last took a moment to peer inside himself using a piano as his vessel. Between each key there was silence, nothing but music paving the way across a dreamscape within Casper’s being.

It was an escape of sorts, one expressing itself externally as opposed to meditation. Feelings manifesting. It was only upon the song’s eventual completion that Casper finally opened his eyes, the surrounding store yet again materializing, people encircling the boy where he sat. Though a sense of embarrassment initially gripped the Wraith, Hex soon found himself managing another slight smile at the sound of hands clapping together. He could hear applause.

---

Talon took Nymph at her word, that this boy she ran into a moment ago was someone she knew from school. Although he felt initially that there was more to the situation than Daphne had let on, he wrote this off as something in his imagination. Talon had a worrying thought - why did he have such a visceral reaction to someone? Did they really give off a menacing aura and put Nymph in a strange position, or did he feel some sort of way that an arrogant kid had approached his new friend? They were friends at this point, right? Was that the sort of thing Talon could ask outright? Or was this just the petty kind of jealousy that any guy would have if a pretty girl was talking to someone who wasn't him? Talon hadn't had many occasions in the past to feel these kinds of ways, and the thought that he was developing in this way was unexpected. He hadn't ever had romantic feelings for anyone - strong feelings of attachment were useless to him in his past. They led purely to heartbreak or emptiness, or ruining the mission. But Nightwing's influence taught him that true weakness was in fact being alone. That opening oneself up to their friends, to love, would strengthen someone beyond their limits. Maybe that's what Talon was feeling for people like Hex, Gold Rush, Nymph. Maybe even someone like that prick Rain.

But not likely.

Nymph was holding a phone out to Talon, a dark blue one with white flower petals strewn across the back of it as a case. She was smiling up at him, putting him off balance. He nodded to her and took the phone and case she had. They would do nicely. Truthfully he didn't mind whatever it looked like. He was just excited at the prospect of having people to communicate with. Nymph was demonstrating that he was someone people may actually enjoy being around (with time, maybe) and that sort of self esteem was just one of the litany of new things that Talon had felt since joining the team. And if someone who he exchanged blows with, who then choked him in front of everyone could want to spend time with him, maybe he wasn't too far gone after all. Dick was right, even if things are difficult with the others, they always come back around. Friendship was truly something. Talon and Nymph went and paid for the two items, he didn't ask again about Josh, and the two exited the store.

He was setting up the phone on a bench just outside, only half paying attention to the prompts on the small screen. He could feel a change in Nymph's energy, and she looked like she was ready to move on. Talon looked up and down the length of the mall to his left and right. He wasn't sure where else he would head to, and thought about grabbing onto Nymph while she went and shopped. That's what he wanted to do, honestly. He wanted to spend time with her. And the others too.

"Well...I'm glad we got you set up with a phone. I'll add our contacts. Look at that, I'm the first person in your phone." She smiled down at the phone as she filled in the rest of the team's information.

"But I need to go, I have a few more stops to make so I'll see you when we meet up okay?" She waved to him and trotted off away through the crowds, leaving Talon where he was sitting. He looked down at his phone - his contacts now starting to fill up. People he can talk to. When he could talk.

The mall was filling up, and all around him the murmurs of the crowds, young kids with their parents, other teenagers messing about with their peers. More than a few hands being held. Talon felt self conscious he was alone again, and annoyed at having to feel that way. It was probably best he spend some time away from Nymph and the others again. He didn't want to monopolize Nymph's time anyways, too much of a good thing. Plus who knows if she'd grow tired of him, or was only hanging around him because of the guilt she still held onto for hurting him. It was a confusing time, as most times tended to be. He stood up from the place he was sitting and started to explore the mall, starting the opposite direction that Nymph had gone...

Following the map hanging above an awning across from the food court, Talon made his way to a shop called "The Book Nook." He thought he'd be able to spend his time there for a bit before meeting with the others. On his way he passed by a music store - selling instruments and other musical equipment. Talon stopped, quite moved by a piece of music coming from the speakers inside of the store itself. A piano melody, one that was vaguely familiar. He wondered if it was a record that was playing. He closed his eyes for a brief moment and then moved on, heading towards the store.

Location: Mall - Sporting Goods
Interactions: Viktor/Rain @FunnyGuy
Mentions: None

---

Viktor wrote off the possibility of the store having anything the gym didn't, so that was good enough for Felix. Still, he could imagine Viktor putting a single dumbbell to way better use than he would even think to.

Viktor seemed to be searching something out, even if he didn't know what it was. And Felix was content just to follow along and peer at all the various equipment. Passing through a lawn games section, he was astounded by all the different sets of equipment people bought to set up simple games.

He almost didn't notice when Viktor stopped in the middle of the aisle to stare at a bucket of baseballs. Good thing he did, or Felix may have missed the smile. Holy shit Viktor was smiling. Felix glanced at the bucket and back to Viktor's face. Interesting. There was a certain excitement to Viktor's actions as Felix helped him collect all the baseball equipment.

"Well..." Felix trailed off, unsure how we would prefer to answer this question. He was in a habit of glamorizing and exaggerating his life, but that was for the cameras. He might have gone on about some fancy futuristic sport with heavy use of hard light obstacles and rocket boots. Or he might have said he got his exercise running missions for the resistance against the Robot Overlords. But the truth was less exciting.

He eyed a rack of soccer balls they passed by. "Well the caretakers took us through a lot of calisthenics, and me and some of the other kids found an old weight bench. I was still pretty small then and couldn't do much with it though. Mostly we played basketball or futball. We could use any old court or empty space, long as we had a ball." He could recall games out on the empty lot, barefoot kids running through the dry yellow grass, passing a ball back and forth between makeshift goals. Or was it on the beach? Had he lived near a beach? Sometimes? Details...

He continued.And then I came here and had to bulk up a bit to join in on Booster's missions. Turns out a face like mine paired with a fit bod really sells, so I really threw myself into training..." Felix trailed off, then raised his arms drawing attention back to the equipment. "So you thinking team baseball match? Really out to see how much damage we can do in our first week huh? I'm down."

Kassandra was browsing some music on – what had the clerk called these – CDs? Humans made such fascinating things. She was enjoying herself so much that she did not notice Casper’s entrance. It wasn’t until the spectral boy started to play that she found her attention pulled.

“That’s… beautiful. What is that?” She poked her head out of the aisles to find her teammate at the keys. There was a tiny, growing crowd, and she joined it to hear out the rest of the piece. Her eyes slid closed with the beautiful music surrounding her. Once it was done, she too, applauded.

“I didn’t know you could play, Casper.” There was another smile on her face, this one bright and broad. Music did soothe the soul after all. “That was excellent!” She stepped forward so they could talk.

“Kila plays too. Wouldn’t it be amazing if you played together?” She didn’t know where in the store Kila had gone to, or she would have brought him over. She was pleasantly surprised that so many of her teammates had that kind of talent.

“I’m going to buy things. Lots of things. Did you know they make waterproof speakers?” On that cheery note, she stood and went to gather up what she wanted to buy. Several CDs of varying genres, a small orange MP3 player with headphones, and a pair of waterproof speakers for her bath-bed.

“Bye Casper, bye Kila. I’m going to see what else they have.” She smiled again (three smiles in one day, what were the odds) and went off, humming.

The next shop that called her in was one full of toys. Most of them were definitely for children, but it warmed her heart to see them here anyway. Human shaped dolls, video game systems, child size balls, and other things. When she’d fled from home – her mind seemed to freeze just thinking about it, but she forced herself onward. When she had left, she had to leave behind a lot of things in her haste. Clothing that had been replaced, but some of them had been childhood things that were probably gone forever. One had been a small, stuffed toy that her mother had gotten her many years ago.

Maybe it was time to replace some of those things. Of course they would never be the same, but that didn’t mean she couldn’t have just one. Looking around the plushy, squishy things, she finally came up with a stuffed shark about the length of her forearm. If she was reading the tag correctly, it was on sale as well. Did humans not like sharks?

With her shark in hand, she spotted a flash of purple that she recognized. Her mood dipped. It would be wrong to ignore him, wouldn't it?

“Hello, Zachary.” She tried her best not to sound completely defeated. Noting that he too, had a toy, she spoke up again. “Um… what is that creature you’re holding? It’s very pretty.”

Location: Happy Harbor Mall
Interactions: @Prints Avoid Felix/Gold Rush

---

Viktor had listened to Felix's answer, keeping his eyes on his upbeat teammate as they strolled through one of the several aisles in the store. He found intrigue in Felix being from another time, especially the future.

So many questions filled his mind. Questions he could not simply ask in such a public place. Another time, then. The mention of a baseball game caused Viktor's brows to briefly raise in excitement, before lowering to their normal state.

"It could be interesting to compete with the others, but I don't believe many would be suitable for the sport. Perhaps something less organized due to having few players… I have learned today during our exercise that as a team, we have to account for the weak links." Viktor spoke frankly with a shrug

"Now, let's purchase these and go to a store of your choice, Felix."