The shop is open, but for the moment it's pretty much empty except for the owner. His hair was once pulled back into some attempt at a ponytail or manbun or something, but it mostly came loose so only a little part is still pulled out and his long hair is in his face more than not. His shoulders are slumped down a bit, as if he's afraid to pull himself up to his full six feet of height and his posture just screams protective stance, his arms wrapped around himself over his chest, head tilted downward and to the side like he's trying not to make eye contact with someone who is berating him or something. "That's-- that's not it," he mumbles to the empty air in front of him, unless he's talking to the wall a few feet away, his backside leaned against the staff-side of the counter. "I /told/ you. I-- I didn't mean for... Just stop, okay?"
The bell over the front door rings as Ben comes inside carrying and his Mantle. This time, though, there is a real crow perched on the ogre's shoulder. It's a bird that is made of the purest darkness with bloody red eyes. Once the pair reach the counter, Ben stops."Kip?" He asks with that intimidating voice.
"WHAT?" Kip snaps as he turns his head, his mismatched eyes flaring up to a bright flashy glow for a moment. It's just brief, though, as if he realizes where he is or something. The glow quickly fades and his head swivels back where he was staring earlier before his arms unlatch from the little self-hug position and he turns. He's still got the posture of defeat, though. "I-- sorry. I mean hi."
The Witchtooth arches a brow in light curiosity."Who you were talking to?" He asks as he glances at the wall behind the bookstore owner while his Hedgebeast crow stares at Kip intensily.
Kip's quick to respond with "Nobody." Pause. "Nothing." More pausing as his hand rakes through his hair, unleashing more of it from the tie that was holding it back. "I was just thinking. Out loud." Thinking in an argumentive tone? Yeah, that sounds plausible. Mmm hmm. There's a quick motion of his hand, trying to be subtle about it, as it grabs a yellowy orange prescription pill bottle from behind the register and slips it into the pocket of his pants.
Ben looks back at Kip and nods. The pill bottle is ignored, or not spotted as the Autumnal takes his notepad from his trench coat's pocket."I talked to C.B. Alexander. His cat friend gave me a description about that creature in the other day. There." He says, trying to be subtle. His yellow wicked eyes glance around, looking for humans and other Lost alike. When he thinks its safe, he looks back at Kip."He said: 'green-brown skin and leaked orange-colored tears from his eyes'. Is that accurate?" He asks after reading his own notes.
"Uh, I /think/ so," Kip mentions, like he's maybe not really sure. "It was a blur. I just remember... big. I was trying to not make myself uh... conspicuous. But orange-- yeah that sounds about right. Whatever it sneezed all over me was kind of orange-tinted too I think. Or brown? I dunno. It was gross." He pauses. "Wait. C.B. was /helpful/? You did tell him you were asking on my behalf, right? And he still answered? Didn't throw you out?"
"C.B. is an Alexander. He'd never throw me away from anywhere, Kip." He says as if that was self explanatory to the fact that CB was, in a very rare moment, helpful to someone."I told him I'm trying to help you and he and Yossarian gave me that description." Then he pauses and narrows his eyes."What's the problem with C.B. helping me? Don't you trust him?" He then asks as he puts his notepad back into a pocket.
Kip can't help but give off a slight laugh at that question. "Do I trust C.B. Alexander?" he asks, sort of echoing the question in his own way. "I-- honestly, I don't know. He's always putting me down, always acting like he knows what's best for me, always quick to remind me when I fuck up." His eyes cast momentarily toward that spot near the wall again where he'd been glaring earlier. "But... yeah. I do. Trust him. In a way. It's complicated."
Upon seeing that Kip looks at the exact spot he was looking to before the ogre comes into the room, Ben focus his own attention on the wall and hold his breath to concentrate. The leaves on the floor are move a inch or two by an invisible force for a second but then, they stop as the Autumnal blinks and turns his attention back to Kip."Interesting." He murmurs."C.B. didn't look he doesn't like you at all, Kip. If you hadn't mentioned this to me a minute ago, I'd even say you are friends." He says as he tucks his hands into his pockets.
"He's my best friend," Kip says quietly, like drawing the admission out from him is almost painful. "Just don't tell /him/ that." He manages to, after a moment, muster up a bit of a smile. "What, you find that /interesting/? Most people find it kind of pathetic." The invisible Andrew is given a brief glare of a glance at that. As if by 'most people' he means him specifically without saying it.
Ben's eyes blink blankly for a moment before he understands what the other Lost is talking about."Interesting that you trust him even when he's mean to you." He says."And why can't he knows he's your best friend? What are you afraid of, Kip?"
"Because he'd-- he'd just make fun of me for it," Kip admits quietly. "We have... like I said, it's complicated. I wanna punch him half the time-- and I did once. And more often than not he makes me want to scream. But... I know he'd have my back. I know if he said he'd be there for me, he would be. And so yeah, I trust him. He just... he reminds me of someone sometimes." He shakes his head a bit. "Anyway, you think you're gonna be able to find what you're looking for with the info he gave you?"
Ben nods sagely to Kip's explanation about his relationship with C.B. and then grins menacingly to the question."I'm an excelent tracker, boy. I'll find him if he's still around the neighborhood. Don't worry." He says calmly."But I'm trying to talk to the others you mentioned. The more details I have in my mind, the easier will be to track the troll down."
Kip reaches over for his phone that's on the counter. "Here, you maybe might wanna call--" He pauses and looks over. "You might already have her number. November? About this tall, about five billion colors? She might know something, too. But I'm thinking it might be a lost cause. We didn't catch this soon enough. That thing could be long gone, dead or who knows what else. I appreciate it, really I do. I just... maybe it's a waste of your time. You probably have better things to do."
"Yes. I know November." He says and, for a very brief moment, there is fear in his own eyes before it's gone when the Witchtooth blinks."It doesn't cost me a thing to take a look arount the Hedge. Even if it's too late. I'm a Magus. It's what I do. I wander in the Hedge looking for things." He says trying his best to be supportive instead of intimidating and scary."But if it makes you feel better, I can stop asking around about it at all."
"I'm not going to say no," Kip mentions. "I mean... I appreciate it. I do. It's not that I don't. I just..." He frowns a little again, but tries to school his features to a more neutral expression. "I don't deserve help like that. There must be someone else who needs it more and I'd hate to take your attention away from them."
That statement makes Ben arches one of his brows in a deep arch and steps further closer to Kip. His witch eyes stare at the man's for a little while in an awkward way."Why do you believe you're not worth my help, boy?" He asks. His voice is low and heavy if not a little bit spooky.
"I didn't mean--" Kip says quietly, pausing a moment as his shoulders shrug up a bit. "I just... I'm just not used to anyone going out of their way for me, I guess. Especially when I-- I'm not exactly at my best lately."
"That's exactly why you should accept help. Even from strangers. Because you're not at your best and you need to get back to it." Ben explains still using that voice."And I'm not getting out of my way to help you. As I told you, it's part of my job as a Magus to track down strange things happening in the local Hedge and catalog them to study."
Kip's head dips a little and he tries to fight back a bit of a grin for a moment. "I... I don't know uhm, what to uh, to say. I mean thank you. Maybe... uh, maybe what you find will help someone else, too. I guess I'm just not used to having anyone who /wants/ to help me is all. It takes some getting used to. But hey, maybe you might find something else in there that helps people, too."
The Witchtooth takes a deep breath and steps backwards."I'll be satisfied if I can help you, boy. Other people's problems can wait their turn. They're not important right now." He says with his normal, half intimidating serious voice."
Something makes Kip cringe. The timing is close, but not quite exact, to his words. Like maybe someone was saying something at the same time and finished just a few heartbeats later. Kip's glance goes back to the corner for a second and he takes a brief moment to compose himself before he looks back up again. "Maybe if there's... something I can do to help once I'm... you know, better. I can repay you for helping me."
At the offering of paying back comes, Ben smiles that same menacing smile as before while his wicked eyes shine brighter for a second or two."I'll remember that offer, Kip." The Autumnal says as he checks on the crow on his shoulder that looks back at him."This is Helga, by the way." He says back to Kip.
Should Kip fear that smile and the fact that he'll remember? He probably should. But it's only a mild trepidation for now. His brain isn't quite up to par when it comes to good and bad decisions. So he just nods and gives a bit of a smile to Helga. "Nice to meet you," he offers, like he's talking to a person. Because... well, Hedgebeasts amiright? He does push his hair back from his face again and stands there almost awkwardly for a second. "I should probably go finish this before Cerise gets here to start her shift. She'll be upset I'm down here but I didn't wanna close up for a couple hours before she got here after Betsy left for class."
"Fair enough." Ben says and nods just once."Be safe, boy. If something happens to you, call me." He then turns around and calmly walks away. Before the, and Helga, dissappear from sight, the Hedgebeast crow gives Kip one last look, as if to record the Lost's face on his tiny brain.
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