[DRP] A Brief History of Ultimate Hangouts (Shiloh/Kaleb)

[Melancholies]

Hotdog Saturday

"Oh, it's okay. I already ate one on the way over." He laughed kind of obnoxiously, but it just went to show that he was having a lot of fun in the moment. The train tracks were visible as they came upon the bit still embedded in the road, though the warning signs were long gone. Shiloh gave a glance around and then turned to follow them down.

"Aren't internet-groceries kind of expensive though?" He thought about it for a second, "Anyway, I won't complain if you wanna take more, but I can handle it. Oh, don't worry about walking on the tracks either. I've walked the whole thing and it's totally disconnected from the original circuit for whatever reason. Totally safe."

Grey Dragon

 

[Melancholies]

Clear Skies

"Alright, I'll give you that one. Cereal ain't bad." Shiloh grinned, "But like, fresh jelly is great. Hear me out though alright? Like, I'm totally not the kind of guy who buys into that organic-only no GMO s**t—I don't have the money to care about that stuff—but you haven't lived 'till you've tried fresh homemade jelly." He considered it for a moment, "Syrups too, but you might as well stay away from it unless you got a hell of a sweet tooth."

Shiloh Beaumont had a hell of a sweet tooth.

"So I guess the question is... are you more of a grape guy or a strawberry jam guy." Shiloh tapped his chin, "Or raspberry? Blackberry? Kaleb there's so many options."

Grey Dragon

 

[Grey Dragon]

Hotdog Saturday

Kaleb's glance around was much more conspicuous, if anyone were to see it they would suspect mischief far more serious than simply walking along the tracks. But it couldn't be helped, Kaleb was a good kid, and a terrible actor.

"They are... I'd have to get that job all those internet ads were talking about. Two thousand dollars a week working part time from home. I mean, that's a pretty good plan, right?" Kaleb glanced over with a grin. This might have been his first time on an abandoned stretch of railroad, but he was clever enough to know that nothing could ever come that easily.

Then he paused, and had to jog half a step to catch up. "How did you already eat one while carrying all the others?"

Melancholies

 

[Grey Dragon]

Clear Skies

Kaleb was not willing to admit he also had a bit of a sweet tooth. It was tied to a very specific bit of magic that had been with him as long as he could remember, not once had he ever encountered such a thing as too much chocolate. Fresh jelly certainly sounded like the sort of thing to warrant an indulgent nibble on crackers or toast though.

"I... don't know," he replied, truly unable to come up with a proper answer regarding his fruit preserve preferences. "I can't even remember the last time I had jam on anything... The stuff with the oranges though, marmalade, I don't think I like that one very much."

Melancholies

 

[Melancholies]

Hotdog Saturday

"Oh my god Kaleb." He laughed, "You wanna know my secret? It's magic."

He was silent.

"Nah, I'm just really good with my hands. Listen to me, there isn't anything stronger than the hungry willpower of a starving man. You find ways around it. You work through it." But he snorted, "Anyway, you better hook me up if you ever find a job like that. I'd do anything." Here was the part when he would crack a crude joke or two, but this was Kaleb. He was pretty sure Kaleb might die, and he didn't want that.

"Here. We can sit over here." He motioned wildly with his foot, which was a mess to watch since he was still trying to walk at the same time. Out of the prying eyes of the public, his plants poofed up from under his sleeves. Suddenly there was a basket of vines helping to carry his over encumbered load.

 

[Melancholies]

Clear Skies

"Alright, so orange is out of the question. We'll avoid the citrus-y stuff." He nodded, "You don't usually put marmalades on toast though, I don't think. All the fancy people dip their steaks and their shrimp and stuff in marmalade." Food Network seemed to think so anyway. Especially the coconut shrimp.

"What we need to find you is some good apple butter. As far as jelly goes, I'm more of a raspberry kind of guy." He was scanning the stalls, "Oh Kaleb dude look! That person's selling tiny succulents."

Grey Dragon

 

[Grey Dragon]

Hotdog Saturday

"I don't know if those jobs exist, you'd just end up selling your soul or losing everything you own to a crazy pyramid scheme or something," Kaleb replied with a smile. "I'd rather be doing something I find meaningful, even if it pays less. Even if I don't know what that meaningful thing might be yet."

The haphazard gesturing and walking went unnoticed as the plants came out, it always amazed Kaleb to see such fluent and capable magic.

"That's cheating," he joked, knowing it was a meaningless complaint with Shiloh carrying the greater hotdog burden to begin with. "I kinda wish I knew what I could do over here, if I can do anything at all. I heard there should be something, but I haven't figured it out yet."  

[Grey Dragon]

Clear Skies

"... You dip steak into marmalade? That sounds awful," Kaleb murmured, slightly aghast. He might have grown up in a relatively affluent household, but it was clear just by looking at him that fanciness was not important. He might never have worried about money, but his clothes still looked a bit like hand-me-downs on his scrawny frame, and his messenger bag could be described most kindly as well loved.

He followed Shiloh's glance, leaning over to see the cute little plants in all their cute little pots. "Can you grow those too?" He asked, referring to Shiloh's magic. "Let's go look."

Melancholies

 

[Grey Dragon]

Unhealthy Appetite

"I'm sorry, this shouldn't take long," Kaleb apologized for what had to be the fifth time since meeting up with Shiloh. He had explained the situation right at the start, that he had gotten a text from his roommate because they had no bread, and apparently it couldn't wait until the next day. So the apologies had just kept on piling up.

It was rare Kaleb took the lead, but he was eager to avoid delaying whatever it was Shiloh had in mind for the evening. Pushing open the door to the bakery, he held it until his friend entered behind him, and then began searching for what he had come for.

Melancholies

 

[Melancholies]

Hotdog Saturday

"There's definitely something, it's just a matter of finding it." He laughed when Kaleb joked, "It's only cheating if someone finds out you're bending the rules. Anyway—"

He stopped in his tracks, "Oh ******** Kaleb look!" His voice was a rushed, hushed whisper, "See? See? What did I tell you?"

Off in the distance was an unassuming rabbit, just sort of sitting there wearily. It had spotted the duo, but was apparently at a comfortable enough distance that it wasn't bolting yet.

 

[Melancholies]

Clear Skies

"Hey, I don't, just the fancy people. I guess it's kinda like a sweet versus savory thing? I dunno. I'll eat anything so it doesn't really matter." He meandered his way over to the succulents, "I prolly could, but I've never tried."

His hands found one growing out of a tiny toy-set teapot, all cute and shiny and porcelain.

"Those you should keep by a window with lots of light," The person selling the little things noticed their curiosity, "Since they're planted in containers that don't have drains, you have to rely on the sunlight to suck a lot of the moisture up, otherwise they might get waterlogged."

Shiloh was nodded. "You should get some for your room Kaleb." He turned to the other teen, "I mean, it might help brighten the place up. Not that I've seen your room..."

 

[Melancholies]

Unhealthy Appetite

"Dude, it's fine, I promise." Shiloh was thankfully used to this sort of thing. Jamie wasn't so bad about the millions of apologies thing anymore, but there had been a point where he was, and Shiloh had grown to have quite a patience threshold... with people he cared about, anyway. Kaleb thankfully met that list. "I've actually... never been to a bakery bakery."

He walked in with a quiet oh thanks before his eyes completely glossed over the bread assortments and went straight to the good stuff; the cookies, the fresh muffins, the kolaches and croissants and bear claws and eclairs and doughnuts and—his eyes were huge, oops.

Thankfully the clerk seemed busy with someone else. Shiloh was all but drooling.

Grey Dragon

 

[Grey Dragon]

Hotdog Saturday

Kaleb froze so abruptly he almost dropped some of their hotdogs. He followed Shiloh's gaze and when he spotted the rabbit, his expression lit up with amazement.

"You're right!" he whispered back, "it's just sitting there! It doesn't even look worried!" It was like Kaleb had never seen a wild animal before. Part of that was truly the novelty of nature outside the concrete bounds of the big city, but it was also partly his tendency to be in awe of just about anything.  

[Grey Dragon]

Clear Skies

"They are really cute," Kaleb said, touching the waxy leaves with a super gentle finger. He seemed content to look at them and learn about them, perking up for any information that was passed his way. The stall owner had probably not seen anyone as attentive to succulent care all morning.

But the suggestion triggered a rather embarrassed reaction. "I don't... think I have that much light in my room, or many places for it to sit... I'd hate for it to suffer under poor conditions." His cheeks were turning slightly pink under all the freckles, he only really used a room for sleeping and storing his books. Ever since the world shift he hadn't even done much reading there.

"Maybe you should get some, you would definitely be able to take care of them better," he suggested, quickly turning the suggestion around.  

[Grey Dragon]

Unhealthy Appetite

While Shiloh was occupied, Kaleb selected a loaf from one of the many shelves of fresh baked bread, safely enclosed in a brown paper bag, and labelled with the horribly plain title of "White Sliced" next to the bakery motif. In this regard, his roommate was just as unadventurous as he was.

Then at the counter, he joined Shiloh next to the huge glass covered bakery racks that held the sweets.

"Which one do you want?" He asked in a small voice. "I'm getting one of those," he quickly added, almost guiltily pointing to one of the giant brownies the clerk was pulling out and putting in a smaller paper bag for him.

Melancholies