#pushspacetocontinue

"Hot damn! That rack's thicker than a bowl of oatmeal! Nice job, sweetheart!"

Five being back in action meant subjecting the locals to Ratchet's foul presence. The gizmo guy was especially impatient to harass random women on the street after these past few months. He had to step in as errand boy after the matching muscles had left him butt naked in the middle of nothing, waiting for his boss to bounce back from a coma. That really hadn't been a good use of his time, but they were finally past that.

Her eyes would scan around in sheer curiosity and admiration, she could already picture the customers coming in , looking around while talking excitedly about shared interests. It was a cozy place, vibrant, full of life, she loved it already.

Delighted to see Russel in his element she would almost bounce over with the usual pep in her step. "If I wasnt already part timing in the maid cafe, I would seriously consider applying for a job right here!" alas she was not that fortunate, but one can dream.

"Heh, I'd like that maybe chat while you do your magic yes? " she really missed chatting with a like minded person, its been a while and she felt guilty for not contacting him as often as she would like too. However, part time work, plus working on her studies....balance can be hard to achieve sometimes.

It was one odd occurrence after another, apparently, as it wasn't a human that found Russell but something else entirely. Some sort of long, serpentine, solid black creature had spotted him, and the ear-like protrusions on its head perked up in response.

It half slithered, half dragged itself over and arched forward, practically bending itself in half to put its head at ground level and stare at the small man—big, white, pupilless eyes looking at him with astonishment.

@pushspacetocontinue continued from here

Their stuttering surprises Alaire, bringing him to blink a few times, however, he doesn't make any point of commenting on it. He just assumes they're likely nervous. He understands that. Alaire is pretty socially anxious though he still likes to be helpful - hence his offering. He just doesn't like seeing people struggle and will offer his help if he can. Like right now, for instance.

"Oh, this place is fun!" says Cataleya as she enters the shop, followed closely by Malcolm. And when she reaches the counter, she sees a man fitting the description she was given. "And you must be Russell!"

Malcolm gives a lazy wave. "Hey. Came by with Cat like I promised."

❝ i know, I know we, I know we um, we don't know each, each other that well but, but, but if, but if you wanna talk about it..."

"I ah, appreciate the offer," Ed replied awkwardly. "It's very kind of you."

And it was very kind, though Ed generally didn't like talking about his problems with people he wasn't very familiar with.

Or those that he was.

"Just stressing over trouble at work," he admits. "There's been recent changes in leadership and it leaves a bit of uncertainty in my job stability and the same for everyone I work with."

Russell was, as always, heartwarmingly considerate.

"Little critters always come first. But my only lil' critters are bugs an' they don't care. There was a big show bein' set off down by th' water, so I sat up on th' top of my building an' watched with a 12 pack of beer. Not too shabby."

But then he thought, "Hey what nerd game do ya play that lets ya set off fireworks? Grand Theft Auto 'er somethin'?"

So that car had driven a little too close to the sidewalk they were walking on. That was true. But Doom had taught the driver a lesson by punching off their sideview mirror as they drove by, so that ought to have settled the score, right?

Apparently not, because the driver had made an attempt to turn back around to cause further trouble, at which point, Doom kicked more dents into his bumper. He then had gotten out of his car and come at them. At that point, Doom knocked the dude flat onto the pavement with a knee to the stomach, and then made to walk away calmly with Russell before realizing he appeared to be a bit panicked.