#eclipse whipple

so uh...

"WHY DIDNT YOU TELL ME?" he demands of Shadow

not enough apparently

*rubs my hands together evilly* >:)

Oh yeah, you're absolutely right. The arm is super cool, but Blake makes some . . . questionable choices. Blake would probably try to rope the boys into setting something on fire with him, but he'd scatter the moment Tom and Wade show up. XD He has experience with the police and since Evelyn isn't here, he doesn't have anyone to bail him out of jail, so he's gotta be more careful.

Once he finds out the boys have Police dads, Blake would stay away from them more. But in all honesty, I think he'd keep coming back because he sees them as potential allies! Young impressionable minds, fellow mobians! He could get them on his side and they could burn down the world together! (Honestly, Blake doesn't care anymore WHICH world he burns down, just so long as he burns down A world.)

Eclipse followed along after Wade and his brothers. The Dark pushed the cart, a paper list in his hand, while Silver and Shadow followed behind, arguing about something or other. It was school related, and Eclipse didn't go to school, so the darkling tuned it out.

He was bored. So bored. So terribly, incredibly, increasingly BORED. He hated coming out to do these little shopping trips, but Wade insisted. "You'll never get used to being around people if you stay hidden in the house all the time," he said. Eclipse had tried to argue--he didn't WANT to get used to being around humans, they were weird and always looked at him funny--but his dad was having none of it. So here he was, following behind the rest of the family, trying to be as invisible as possible so these other humans would stop looking at him.

Being noticed was bad. Back on the Black Comet, he got very good at sneaking around, keeping out of sight and away from his father's angry gaze. Because Black Doom was ALWAYS angry at him. He could never do right. He was never fast enough, never strong enough. So he kept himself hidden whenever he could. Granted, the hive mind link made it so he couldn't be COMPLETELY hidden from his father if Black Doom really wanted to find him, but most of the time he could stay out of the way.

His dad and brothers turned down another aisle, and Eclipse slunk along behind him, casting his eyes this way and that to watch for any humans who may want to bother him. Something gurgled to his right and he turned, his brow furrowing at something he'd never seen before.

At the back of the store was the deli, meat, and bakery sections. A new section had been added since the last time they'd been here, marked "Seafood". Some white type of meat lay out in a display case, and to the left was a glass box with water and . . . things in it. They were moving. Curious, Eclipse moved closer.

The glass box was on top of the display case, and the darkling climbed over the lip of the case to get a closer look. His breath fogged the glass, and he backed off a bit to peer at the creatures inside. They were odd looking, with a flat tail, and large claws in front. Some sort of bands wrapped around the claws, seeming to keep them closed. They moved slowly, walking on thin, spindly legs.

Eclipse stood and stared at the things for a long moment, before one of them raised a claw, and bumped it against the glass before him. He blinked. Was it . . . was it being aggressive?

Brow furrowed, Eclipse brought a hand up and tapped the glass with his own claw. The creature that had raised its claw didn't respond, but a different one moved from its position behind the first, and raised its claws. That definitely looked like an act of aggression.

Baring his teeth, the darkling hissed at the aquatic creature, his tail rising in a posture of warning. If these things wanted to fight, he would be happy to oblige.

His posture seemed to have no effect on the creatures, because the first one raised its claw again, tapping the glass a second time. Eclipse hissed again. Challenge accepted.

The darkling scrambled up, and had one arm in the water when a pair of hands wrapped around his middle and pulled him down. Startled, Eclipse turned, teeth bared and claws ready when he recognized the town librarian, Callie MacPherson. He calmed, slightly, but his face remained pinched.

"Lemme go! I need to--"

"Pick a fight with the lobsters?" she asked, an eyebrow raised and a little smile on her lips. "I think you may have a bit of an advantage over them, you know."

"They challenged me!"

"Somehow I doubt that," she said, tucking him under her arm as she maneuvered her cart down the next aisle. "I don't suppose your dad knows you're missing."

Eclipse resigned himself to his fate and hung in her arm, his own arms crossed, and tail swinging glumly as he pouted. "They were too busy to notice me. I don't even wanna be here."

"Really? I couldn't tell."

They rounded the corner and found a Dark and two hedgehogs contemplating the cereal aisle. Eclipse gave a little huff, dropping his head a bit. His dad was gonna be mad--he was supposed to stay close then they went out.

"Hey, Wade!" Callie called as she neared. Wade turned, his brow furrowed, before he saw Eclipse. Then it smoothed and his shoulders dropped a bit. The darkling frowned. It just screamed 'What did Eclipse do now?'

"Please tell me he didn't make a mess," the Dark said as the librarian moved closer. "We're already on the watch list when we come in. We don't need more trouble."

Eclipse was about to protest--it wasn't HIS fault that soda display was so poorly stacked the last time they came in!--when Callie gave a little laugh.

"Nah, I found him checking out the lobster tank in the back. No harm done!"

Wade's face cleared, and he actually looked a bit surprised. It kinda ticked Eclipse off a bit. He wasn't THAT much of a troublemaker. Not on purpose, anyway.

"Oh," the Dark said, and he offered the librarian a little smile. "Thanks for bringing him back. Sometimes it's hard to keep track of these guys."

"I bet." She put Eclipse back on his feet, and he hurried back to the cart. "I'm glad I ran into you. Can I talk to you for a sec? Got a job around the house I need done and I think you're the guy to do it."

Wade stepped closer to Callie to chat, while Silver poked Eclipse in the shoulder.

"You know you're not supposed to wander off," the gray hedgehog said, eyes wide. "You could get into trouble."

Eclipse scowled. "Well, I DIDN'T."

"You saw some lobsters? Did you get to hold one?"

The darkling crossed his arms and turned away. "I'm not telling you."

Silver gave him a little scowl before turning and stomping away. Shadow looked between the two boys before seemingly deciding it wasn't worth getting involved in, and moved to stand with the cart, his hand gripping his little toy motorcycle.

Eclipse sighed, fiddling with the end of his tail. Wade would probably want to talk to him about wandering off. But he hadn't done anything, not really. He was just soooo bored.

And he totally could have beat those lobster things.

~~~