#ourpaladin

              “ Oh, really? ”  He looks at the younger teen with a mocking expression, not to mention tone.  “ That’s the stupidest thing you’ve ever heard? ”  He’s leaning over the counter of the video store while Mike is standing there with his friends  ( they bothered him at Scoops and now they bother him here ... it’s becoming a theme, apparently )  . And maybe,  ‘ Dude, seriously? You gotta stop watching this every weekend. You’re gonna, like, fry your brain or something, ’  was kind of a pejorative thing to say when Mike set the movie on the counter, but he’s not taking it back or anything.

              Steve slides the VHS box toward himself. This is probably the millionth time he’s seen them rent this Star Wars movie — ( which one even is this? Is this is the second one? Wait, which one has the teddy bears? ) — but he’s ringing them up anyway.  “ Sorry, man, but I’m just saying you really gotta broaden your horizons. Like, uh ... ”  He dips below the counter for a moment, looking through the returns  ( that he needs to re-shelve )  and then he grabs one, dropping it down in front of Mike :  “ Animal House. It’s freakin’ hilarious and super good. ”  He puts his elbows on the counter and nods, very sure of himself and his recommendation. Then —  “ Just, uh — you know — don’t watch it when your parents are around, probably. ”

@ourpaladin​ said: ❝ No, I’m comin’ with. I can’t let you face the unknown alone, right? ❞

[ x - accepting ]

He stopped and turned on his heel, so that he was face to face with the other, “You can, and frankly you should, because unlike you, I do in fact have experience with the unknown.” There was a brief pause, as his he tried to tone down how... rude he came off. It was a work in progress to not try and totally bite the heads of people, but he had always been like this. He put a hand in his pocket in order to refrain from sticking a finger in the other’s face like he had a habit of doing particularly with his siblings, “IF, and that is a big if... If you come just how will you be helpful?”

“ uhhhhh- ”   this noise continues for a good fifteen seconds longer than one might expect it could.  “ this seems a little out of my remit.  i usually deal with dead people. are there dead people involved?  if so, fu-dge yeah,  i’m your guy. ”