Charles dropped the mandrake root into his backpack and turned to Edwin with a grin. "Okay, what's next on the list?"
Edwin was scowling down at his notebook. "Atlantean moon crystal."
Charles started to walk backwards so he could keep a confused eye on Edwin while they headed for the mirror. "And why's that got you looking at your notebook like it alphabetized your books by title and put all of the ones that start with 'the' together?"
"I'm not," Edwin said, not even granting Charles so much as an amused eyeroll. "But you may recall the only reliable source for that particular item is Ramsey's."
Charles groaned and stopped walking backwards. Edwin almost ran into him and Charles put his hands up to steady him. "Edwin, mate," he said, slipping his hands down to Edwin's waist, "I say this with all the love in my heart - can you please try not to be a dick to Ramsey this time?"
Edwin glared at him. "No."
"Then will you let me just go get the crystal myself? Someday he's gonna stop being willing to trade with you, y'know."
"Absolutely not."
Charles groaned again and looked up at the sky like was appealing to it for witness. Edwin shook his hands off and went back to walking to the mirror, which was weird of him. Getting a little handsy normally was the best way to make sure he'd stay put long enough to talk to him about something he didn't want to talk about.
"I don't even get what you have against the guy," Charles said. "You got along with him great at first. Talking all old-fashioned to each other and everything. He only died a couple years after you, right?"
"Yes," Edwin said tightly, lengthening his stride so much even Charles and his gangly legs felt like he almost had to run to keep up.
"He was basically the first person you were willing to talk to, after me. I was all proud of you for making friends and playing nice with the other kids an' everything."
"I recall," Edwin said, and started flipping through his notebook.
"You're gonna lose the list if you try to dodge me that way. Seriously, what's your grudge against poor ol' Ramsey? You were getting on like a house on fire one visit and then the next time we went to pick something up you were hissing and spitting like he'd stepped on your tail from the second we walked in the door."
Edwin sighed and closed both the notebook and his eyes. "I have - adapted, and evolved, to this time better than he. And - learned more, since we first met him. Alright? Now can we please complete the errand promptly so we do not have to deal with him again for another year?"
And then he was off through the mirror before Charles could ask what the heck that meant.
...
Edwin felt he was far more open to learning new things, and internalizing new standards, than most ghosts his age. He did have to be corrected, fairly often - less often now, but Crystal had had to educate him about hysteria only a few months ago - but he was, at least, open to accepting that correction.
Early on, Charles had needed to explain to him fairly frequently that certain words were not to be used anymore, and that certain concepts were 'not quite on'. Some words that he repeated from his father, Edwin hadn't even known the meanings of himself, really. Some of them Charles knew better than he did. Some of them Charles knew intimately better than he did.
Some of them, Charles still heard, particularly from older ghosts, and just took with a smile, when he was in public.
But Edwin had learned what a few words meant, from Charles, between that one visit to Ramsey, and the next. And Charles would not ever be hearing them from that particular source again, if he had any say in the matter at all.
