Shopping (Abe and Pi)

[Jin Reno]

Jin stood in the middle of the busy market, a hastly scribbled list of items in one hand and an egg just 8 inches from bottom to top in the other. As people walked around him, bumping into him and looking at him strangely, he just looked around, a little confused. Granted with his shield on his back and the two bucklers on his forearms, Jin did look like someone ready for battle.

However, his appearance was made even stranger by the fact that resting on the top of the egg was a small planter in which a tiny albino deku baba grew. It continued to snap at people walking too close to him, which had helped keep people walking toward him from bumping into him. Pretty much, as he stood there, Jin really looked strange, though the people would probably of treated him a bit better if they knew who he was.

A Human Gentry. A high-up person among the human race, though he didn't really flaunt that fact. However, the shopping list in his hand had a few things a nice woman had told him to get for the egg. Looking at it again, he spoke softly as he read it aloud, "A scarf, a thing of corn, an apple, a head of lettuce, a carrot, a fish, and soft face cloth..."

[Piper]

Her ear pricked. If one were to know how often Piper went shopping, one would be surprised to find that she does very little of her own. While scurrying along what she figured to be a market, she happened upon a very beautiful piece of jewelry of which she wanted more than anything (just for the few moments). Tempted to steal, Miss Piper second guessed herself and pulled out all the rupies she had in her pouch. There was never enough to pay for something so valuable. Sighing, she stared longingly and even propped herself on the counter. The owner did not seem pleased.

She then heard someone who she assumed was speaking to himself. Piper lifted her head, turning to see a rather strange looking man. He had something that looked like an egg, but she didn’t question it. Running through and around people, she stood behind him. “An apple?” she asked with enthusiasm. Piper sped up to stand in front. Not close enough to be bitten, but it was obvious she wanted his attention. “Do you need help? I can help!”

She didn’t wait for two seconds. “I’m Piper. Piper Thimble. What’s that list you have there?” she asked. “I really like apples. I’ll help you find some and I’ll get some, too!” Piper smiled. She knew she could afford an apple.

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[abe]

Abe had always been fond of people, but not so fond of the rude ones. When he traveled to Hyrule Castle Town, he was a quiet shopper that only spoke when it was absolutely necessary. He was naturally a very shy young man with few words, though when he spoke them, they were generally of much importance. It wasn't, of course, that Abe disliked people; in fact, he'd love to talk to and interact with them, but it was never part of his character to reach out and do so. He did, from time to time, introduce himself or open up to a select few, but the occasions were beyond rare.

That isn't to say, though, that Abe was a pansy. He knew his place, he could fight with agile and stealthy prowess as well as using a large buster sword if necessary. He was independent and assertive in tone, with an air of unusual confidence that most people wouldn't expect from him, though it was frequent for him to speak with such air. He was a strange individual by any means, and he was also a closed-book: about as closed as a book can get, that only opens itself to a select few, only to those he deemed worthy. Not that he was arrogant, because he wasn't; moreover, he was rather humble for someone as intelligent as he, though it was also trait he didn't often let the world see.

Today was different. Today, he wanted to try his hand at being outwardly social. However, still wrapped in his large and concealing black cloak, Abe stood atop a shop rooftop in the castle town. The wind billowed it in and out from time to time, revealing his soft facial features or bright purple eyes. He had been watching the Castle Town for some time today, simply because he enjoyed studying people.

There was something that caught his eye, however; something that seemed slightly out of place, and if it couldn't be called out of place, rather strange for the typical day in Hyrule Castle Town. Actually, and Abe chuckled to himself at the sight, there were two unusual things. The first seemed like a man holding an... egg, perhaps? And if it wasn't strange enough to be carrying a large egg around the town, he had a follower. A shorter-stature girl with a bushy tail who seemed to be hounding him about something. The man she was pestering, or talking to-- Abe didn't know which-- seemed in a hurry. Abe stared at them from his rooftop.

Should he go down was a thought that crossed his mind almost immediately. Of course, it would be rather awkward for him to approach in the same manner that she did; after all, it didn't seem as though he wanted attention, or people following him around, for that matter. Maybe he should just see what was going on. Therefore, turning, the wind catching his cloak again, Abe walked to the side of the building and-- with great agile prowess becoming apparent-- scaled down the building and landed gracefully on his two feet in the alley beside the building. Fortunately, no one had been watching.

Timing his revealing with great care, Abe stepped out into the street right as the two were approaching. He was closer to them now, and watched them from a much closer distance. He still chose not to speak, but instead lowered his hood, his bright purple eyes shining with their usual but particular intrigue. He caught that the girl was introducing herself as Piper, and he knew he would remember that. The male was still unknown, and to them, so was Abe.

Smiling to himself, he stepped further out into the street and stood on the side of the street simply watching them go about their business. His eyes drifted between both of the characters, but the egg as well. There was something strange about that.

[Jin Reno]

Jin was about to fold up the paper once again, however a voice came from behind him, causing him to jump a bit before turning around and finding the source of the voice. It was a woman, one who happened to hear him talking about the list. Before he had a time to respond, Jin noticed Sasha snapping quite loudly and when he looked at her he noticed that she was starting to fall from his egg. Reaching out with his other hand, Jin caught the potted plant in his hand with the list before letting out a sigh and shaking his head.

Putting Sasha into his side bag, he looked at the woman once more and then gave her a smile. He had a feeling that she was just some nice woman wanting to help him out. In fact, it seemed exactly what she wanted to do at the moment. She was excited and she was quite happy just in order to get an apple, so Jin smiled at her. "I could use some help! I have a list of things to buy for this little egg here!" Jin said with a smile, holding the list up.

Putting this list in his mouth and shifting the egg into his other arm, Jin looked at the woman again before he offered his free-hand to her. "Min, Min Meno!" He said before pulling the list out of his mouth. "I mean Jin, Jin Reno. Nice to meet you Piper!" Jin said, the egg in his hand actually shaking a tiny bit. "I need help finding all of these things... but this market is so busy..." He said to her, a little over-whelmed.

[Piper]

The very first introduction was harmless. With a muffled mouth, he introduced himself, but she didn’t quite catch it. Holding that awkward laugh a girl always did when she was confused was the next step. Followed by that, his real name; Jin Reno. As a playful move, she curtsied as well as she knew how. “Pleased to meet you, Jin!” she exclaimed. Piper listened as he spoke of the troubles in the market while walking backwards and stringing along her hair. This was habit drawn out when her energy could not be spent on something overexerting. “I don’t mind it being busy. People are nice every now and again, if you ask me.”

Turning her eyes up, she took a peek around Jin for a gander at the strangers. “In fact, it makes for the perfect game of hide… and…” she trailed, squinting ahead. She accidentally made eye contact with a tall fellow, who—as far as Piper was concerned—seemed unusually lonely. She scratched the side of her arm awkwardly, feeling guilt on the behalf of every friendly mannerism sleeping within her. Looking to Jin, she said, “I think I found us a lookout. I’ll be back in two shakes!” As she thought he was tall before, her approach made it difficult to feel she could overwhelm him.

By the time she reached him, she imagined if he allowed her to sit on his shoulders, she could be a lookout for the apples (and other items on Jin’s list, of course). He gave her the same affect a tall building would when looking up to the top of it. The twisted, heart pounding emotion of insignificance passed through her. She extended her hand out to him. “Piper, Piper Thimble. See the man with the big egg? That’s my friend. Well, we just met, but we’re planning to be friends, you see.” Her tail wagged slowly, running out of her explanation. Those in the crowd who heard her voice were likely wondering how a small thing got to be so obnoxious!

“Anyway, I was wondering if you’d join us on our scavenger’s hunt, if you’re not up to something particularly important. There are apples involved,” she commented, thinking it would coax him. Piper thought the world had her preferences until told otherwise. Surprisingly common and as long as it was someone like Piper, surprisingly harmless.

[/justify]

[abe]

Abe smiled at her, his purple eyes shimmering through the darkness of his hood until he removed it, and once he had, the fullness of his face and its softer and refined features stared into her face, which was much more outgoing and playful, as well as seemingly more amiable. For a moment, Abe studied her, and took her hand in his in a formally weak, once-down handshake, and he smiled at her again. She did seem to be the type that would break down his shyness shell, and he wondered if he could learn to protect himself from such people.

Then again, Abe never knew whether or not he wanted to be protected from the only types of people that knew how to wedge themselves inside of his only weak spot. It might be beneficial, he thought, as revealing his past to anyone was a big no-no, especially considering the fact that it would likely turn them away. However, Abe knew he was digging too deep into this situation; after all, this girl, apparently named Piper, wanted little more than a traveling companion, or so it seemed at first interaction.

So, deciding to oblige her and apparently her friend as well, he bowed to her, and met her eyes again with a happy smile that wasn't often seen. "Of course I'd join you," he said softly, his voice not being very loud at the moment, yet retaining its peculiar air of willfulness and confidence in himself. It seemed to rarely be reflexive of Abe's personality until he was in battle where he could really prove himself. Essentially, Abe was a mystery case as well as a very deceptive one.

Offering Piper a chuckle, and then turning his eyes to the man behind her, Abe continued. "A scavenger hunt does sound like fun, and lucky for me, I've finished my day's errands." Which was naturally a lie, as Abe had no errands to begin with, but he at the very least wanted to sound like he had something better to do with his time than quietly stalk about the castle town. Who knows, maybe Abe would have fun with these two?

Her friend, though, seemed to be a bit off. It was the man Abe had seen earlier, the one with the egg, and Abe's immediate question that he asked himself was what that egg could hold. He didn't know of many creatures that harbored their young in such a peculiar form of egg, which is the most interesting factor in the whole ordeal. He didn't stare at the egg long, though, as Abe didn't want to seem suspicious. Instead, he walked over to the other man, and extended his hand in a warm greeting. "My name is Abe," he said to him, then looked over to Piper mid-sentence, so that she too would know his name. "I'll go with you guys."

[Jin Reno]

As she curtsied to him, Jin bowed a little bit back toward her, simply giving back the action in a timely manner. Though after he was done with the upper body gesture, he had to wonder why he did it, but it didn't matter, he had found a friendly person to help him out in his time of need. He watched as she moved away from him in a unique way, wondering if she really did want to help him now that he had explained his situation. "Some people are nice... others want to attack you for no reason and others want to do who knows what." Jin said, more to himself, thinking to some of the strange experiences he had to deal with in the past.

Jin blinked at Piper once more as she began to look around, trying to figure out what she was looking for by looking behind him a bit. However, while she saw the next target for her to interact with, Jin could only see more and more people. It was a little much really, to be surrounded by the flood of flesh and cloth like he was. It was almost a sad sort of situation if one really took a moment to think about it. However, the moment passed Jin by just as the girl moved past him, aiming for a target within the crowd. "A lookout...?" He said, obviously confused as to why they would need a look out. He turned and followed after her, though not as fast as she was.

Watching as Piper approached and then spoke with the stranger, he wondered to himself how anyone could simply go up to someone they didn't know and act as if the only thing they didn't know about each other were their names. He stood by himself for a few moments, awkwardly holding the egg in both hands with the list fluttering in a small gust of wind. Jin was not used to simply standing and waiting around for something to happen, so in doing so now, he felt strangely out of place. It didn't help that he barely knew how to talk to other people, often saying strange things.

When the stranger, Abe as he called himself, walked over to Jin and offered his hand, Jin took a few seconds to move the egg and list around in his hands before presenting Abe with his hand. He shook the others hand briefly before returning it to the bottom of the egg and looking at the man. "Umm thanks for the help too then. There are a few things on the list I am not sure about where to look to find them. Plus, I think I got a little lost here." Jin said, looking down a bit, feeling a tad bit embarrassed at the problems he was facing.

"Since Piper seems to want one, the first thing we need to find is a place that sells apples..." Jin said, holding the list up for the two to see.

[Piper]

Piper didn't realize her friendliness was overbearing. She either broke the ice or she chased them away. She spent half her life suffering against the loneliness that she brought upon herself because of it. Luckily, she was an easy creature to leave the day feeling romantic of nostalgia. She was the very sort who pulled out all the childhood memories and relive them as they needed to be. Once Abe agreed to it, her eyes filled with an unruly happiness. She bounced awkwardly, foot-to-foot, and applauded.

"Good! Good!" she exclaimed. The hand which she had before to shake was taken into both of hers and she twirled herself as if they were going to dance. She released him and turned to wave at Jin. Was she always this.. happy? Yes, as a matter of fact, she was. She followed behind her tall friend back to her egg friend. It was an awkward thought; three strangers being brought together for the sake of apples. Piper fancied apples.

When they all came together, Abe introduced himself. Like she fancied apples, Piper fancied the name "Abe". She nodded in satisfaction. A strong name for a strong boy! "Your name is a good one, if I do say so," she pointed out in between the pause of Jin's turn to speech. Her ear twitched when Jin mentioned the apples. Looking up, those starry knock eyes seemed anxious. "Thank you so much, Mr. Jin! I've got a keen sense of smell, so I'll help sniff them out!" She then turned her attention to Abe, who had no idea what was to become of him.

"Would you mind if I, uh--," she gestured to his shoulders, with a face shy of her own question. "We'd make two heads that way and I could see over the crowd." Piper was excited to see just how frightening the world was from such a distance.

[/justify]

[abe]

Abe nodded amiably to Jin as he placed his hand back under the egg, and soon realized he was easily noted as a busy man. He had places to go and things to get, and Abe was willing to lend a hand, as he knew the shops of Hyrule Castle Down decently well; well enough to show a stranger around, especially to find some apples. He enjoyed helping people; the smiles on their faces made even the smallest of things worth doing.

Abe smiled warmly at Piper and laughed a bit as she took his hands and did a happy little jig up and down. She was energetic, something he was not, and so it was a nice relief. And his name... He hadn't thought his name to be anything other than a name, though he was certainly happy that someone liked it. He smiled at her again, and then at Jin. "Well thank you," Abe said, proud of the compliment. "I like it too."

Apples seemed to be next on the list. And it was good to have someone with a keen sense of smell, simply because apples were about the only thing Abe DIDN'T know how to find among the many stores that the Castle Town had. The young man with purple eyes was thankful to have a guide. But a guide that... Abe thought for a moment, and his face took a very curious expression. Did she want on his shoulders?

"I, um.." Abe smiled a bit, this time out of sheepishness, though he could not deny her, even if he wanted to, a ride upon his shoulders. Recognizing that he was too weak to lift anything heavy without Chaos, Abe took a knee and helped Piper onto his shoulders. With gentle but firm hands, Abe held Piper's shin's to his collarbone as he stood, helping the young Minish to see higher. If Abe was anything, Abe was damn tall, and so he was sure that she'd be able to see rather well.

Abe turned to Jin with Piper upon his shoulders. "Well, I suppose she'll lead the way." He smiled again, and looked up at Piper.

[Jin Reno]

Jin blinked as Piper spoke. First apparently the man named Abe had a good name. He had never heard of anyone getting a compliment because their name was good. Of course, most of what Piper seemed to do confused Jin in some way or another, even the fact that she could apparently sniff out fresh apples in a market of who knows how many different smells. Yet the most interesting thing of the entire situation was that the girl now wanted to climb up upon the shoulders of the other man.

While the idea seemed a bit ridiculous, Jin couldn't help but feel a little jealous. Of both of them. He wanted to be more helpful too since this was his problem, but he also wanted to ride on someone's shoulders. Oh the unfairness of being a normal sized human with child-like wonder. However, he couldn't do anything about his situation, so at the very least things would have to start now.

Jin walked over to the two and looked up at Piper. "Can you see any apples from there?" He asked, speaking a bit louder so should could hear him, taking into consideration the noise of the crowds and the new height her "royal steed". Standing there, Jin felt the egg in his arms shake once more, and the sense of urgency that he has rose a bit more now.

"Hey, do you think you can find those apples quickly? I think that this thing is going to hatch soon so we need to be prepared!" Jin said, excited but not wanting to have the small creature hatch without being ready for it when it did hatch.