Author:  The Wanlorn

Title:  A World in a Grain of Sand 22/?

Summary:  This is a sequel to "Every New Beginning…"

Rating:  PG13

Spoilers:  I honestly don't know, so beware.

Distribution:  Ask, and ye shall receive.  Take without permission, then screw the Law of Three, I will cures you with the nefarious curse of…da da dum…WRITER'S BLOCK!!!!  BWAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!!

Disclaimer:  Same as all of the last times, so far.  I'm just having fun with them.  Yes, Dufferin Mall is a real place.  Unfortunately, I have never been there.  So I don't know if the Wal-Mart is actually *in* the mall, or in a plaza.

Thank Yous:  Thanks to Carla, my beta.  Thank you to the internet.  Yes, a retarded thing to thank, but still… I'm actually doing research for this, a major miracle.  So, yes, I am thanking the internet and Google and Toronto.com for their wonderful help in learning me stuff.  :-D

Author's Note:  I finally have my Learner's Permit!  I've been 16 since 12/15, and I finally got mum to take me to get it!  And, I got the oboe reeds I needed.  And we're finally going to go and rent me a piccolo, to see if I actually want one.  And I almost have enough money to buy the professional flute I've been looking at!  And, even better, I've almost learned to play Solfeggietta (I think that's how it's spelled) perfectly.  ::reads over everything I just wrote:: Shit, I need a hobby beyond writing and playing a plethora of instruments…

WARNING!  IMPORTANT!  PLEASE READ!  There is no a single mention of Nick or Natalie in this chapter.  In fact, this entire chapter does little to further the plot, it's just me being bored and trying to entertain myself.  If you absolutely HATE Nire and Jander and Abel, do not read this section.  Wait for the next one.

Chapter Twenty-Two

            "Dude."  Nire poked Jander.  "We're in Toronto."

            Abel's head snapped to focus on her.  The tone of voice she spoke in made him nervous, even more nervous than he was from being left along with the two of them.  Natalie must have asked the three of them a hundred times if they were going to be okay on their own.  Now, he wished that he had work tonight so he wasn't here.

            "Little one, that means nothing to me."

            "Dude.  Canada.  Not the US, Canada.  A *whole* 'nother country."

            "As opposed to a half country?  So what?"

            "Argh!" Abel flinched back from her growl of frustration.  "When did you get so *boring*?  Tourist traps, souvenirs, *fun*.  Dude, let's *go*."

            "I'm hurt, remember?" Jander reminded her patiently.  But he rolled his eyes at Abel, who smiled tentatively in return.

            "Bull shit.  You're faking now, you're just doin' it 'cause Nick feels bad for you which means I can stay 'till Mother Moon hands low in the sky."

            "Fine, M'ija.  Where do you want to go?  And how are we going to get there?"

            "Who cares?  And last time I checked, we had feet.  I think."  With a grin, she stuck her legs out straight and wiggled her feet.  "Yep.  I got 'em.  And you do, too."

            Abel paled.  They were going to leave him *alone*?  Oh, why was he even surprised?  Since they were going for souvenirs, he obviously was not allowed to come.  If Kane decided to show up, it didn't matter.  As far as they were concerned, he was just a toy, unimportant.  They were no different from the rest.  His hands were shaking, so he drew his knees up to his chest and clasped his hands around them to hide the trembling.

            "I'm not going *anywhere* with you unless you put on real shoes," Jander commented mildly.

            Abel watched with huge, frightened eyes as Nire kicked off her Adidas sandals.  "Duh, my friend.  'S the middle of winter, and I'm not that insane."  She pulled on a pair of old-school skateboarder sneakers that somehow appeared on the floor.  "I got my bro's shoes, and I'll even wear his big-ass, toasty warm black pea cot so the salespeople follow me everywhere like I'm some sort of insane shoplifter punk."  As she said it, a black pea coat dropped onto the couch.  Abel jumped as it did.  They were seriously going to leave him all alone.

            "Kitty kat?" His head snapped up, teary eyes stopping right below hers, as was appropriate.  "You got a winter coat?"

            "I- I have a jacket," he stuttered quietly.  Was she going to give it to the vampire?  To make him look more normal on the street?

            "Are you coming with us?" she asked gently.  "Or are you going to stay here."

            He made eye contact for a split second, shocked.  "I can come?" It escaped before he could stop it, such was his amazement.

            "Uh huh."  Nire nodded reassuringly.  "An' if you wanna stay here, but don't want to stay alone, I can wait to go get all my souvenirs until Nick 'n' Natalie are home.  But if you're comin', go get your shoes and coat."

            Abel scampered upstairs before she changed her mind.  He was back down as quick as he could, carrying the ratty thin piece of cloth that passed for his coat.  Although the only reasons why she would want him along were bad ones, she was still letting him come.

            Nire had to look twice to see what he was carrying.  "That's your coat?  Your winter coat?  The only one you have?"

            He looked at the old thing, suddenly shamed by it, and ducked his head, nodding.  It wasn't like he was out of the house enough to actually need one.  He never had enough for one, anyway.

            "You're going to *freeze*, kitty kat," Nire said.  "Jesus Christ.  Okay, first order of business is to find you a really cool, really warm winter coat."

            "I… I don't… I mean…" He was trying to say that he didn't have enough money to buy anything.  He needed to save all that he had so he could either start paying rent or move to an apartment.  He knew that Nick and Natalie would eventually get sick of having him taking up their space.

            "Doesn't matter, kitty kat."  She spread a couple of bills out over the end of the couch.  "I've got enough money for all three of us to have one kick-ass night on the town tonight, including buying whatever we want."

            Jander immediately snapped to attention as the money appeared.  "Where did you get that?"

            She made it disappear into her wallet, which was obviously stuffed with more.  She put that into her back pocket as she answered, the chain attached to her belt jingling.  "It's all legit and not stolen.  I promise.  Let's go!"

            Abel followed them down the lift.  Okay, so they were really allowing him to come.  And Nire *said* she was going to buy stuff for him.  What did she want from him in return?  Or was he really going to be that lucky?  Was he going to actually be allowed to do all the things 'normal' people did?  Nope.  That would never happen.  They merely needed someone to carry the bags, or something like that.  While Nire and Jander shopped, he would be stuck waiting outside with everything, praying that the wrong people didn't come by.

            As they stepped outside, a freezing cold gust of wind knifed through them.  It smelled like snow.  This was not going to be fun.  Perhaps he should just stay here.  But if they were allowing him to come… even if he could only look in the windows…

            "So, is there anywhere within walking distance?" Nire asked, glancing back at him.

            "I'm not sure," he said, cringing away as he walked with his head down.  "I've never tried."

            "Sweet.  This is going to be fun!" Nire began to whistle a jaunty tune, Jander quickly chiming in with the harmony.  They were a musical couple.

            Within two minutes, Abel was shivering violently.  He clenched his teeth to keep them from chattering.  It was really freezing out.  He was actually going to get out and go to a *real* place.  There was no way he was going to chance getting sent home.  Of course, odds were they wouldn't care.  But just in case… His entire body was going numb from the intense cold.  How could the two of them be talking and laughing and *not* be cold?  Even in warm winter attire.

            Nire glanced back, attempting to pull him into the conversation.  But his miserable state changed the words that were coming out of her mouth.  "Jesus, kitty kat, why didn't you say something?  C'mere."

            She ignored the way he drew back from her hand and grabbed his arm, dragging him forward to walk beside her.  With a whimper, he shrank away fearfully.  His chattering teeth made the noise sound ridiculous, but Nire didn't laugh.  She shrugged out of her long coat and handed it to him.

            "Here.  Put that on, kitty kat.  You should have said something."

            "N-no I'm f-f-f-f-fine."  The protest sounded faked, even to his ears.

            "Male cow feces.  Take it."

            He hesitantly did as he was told, immediately warm all over.  This wasn't warm like a good coat; this was warm like he had his own personal space heater attached to his body.  As his hands and feet thawed, parts not covered by her coat still somehow warmed, they shot tingling pain through his body.

            "You warm now, kitty kat?" He nodded nervously to her question, wondering if she was going to take her coat back now.

            "You really are thoughtless sometimes, Nire," Jander said wryly, raising her hand and kissing her knuckles to take the sting out of his words.

            "Shut up," Nire crossly growled, loosely clasping Abel's hand so he couldn't drift behind them again.  "Certain people *like* freezing cold temperatures, and certain people also forget that others don't share the same opinion and they get cold."

            "I don't think you're allowed to refer to yourself as 'certain people'."

            "Sure I can.  I just did." Nire laughed and began whistling another song, her breath puffing out in white clouds.

            Abel finally allowed his finger's to curl around hers, waiting to see her reaction.  He was testing, against his better judgment, why she really wanted him along.  Not quite sure what her reaction would tell him, he still did it, never considering that what he really wanted was mere comfort.  Her hand was warm and dry.  How could that be?  It was freezing cold outside, and she didn't even have a sweatshirt on, but she looked all toasty warm.

            Nire squeezed his fingers slightly, then relaxed her hand.  He could pull away now if he wanted to, but… he didn't want to.

            "A'ight.  So, how 'bout if we go… somewhere and get you a coat, kitty kat, and then we can go get some breakfast.  And *then* we do some serious shopping and touristing.  How does that sound?"

            "Sounds good to me," Jander said in his silver voice.  "Even if 'touristing' isn't a real word."

            Abel kept quiet, not thinking she was asking him, too.  So he jumped a mile when she squeezed his hand gently to get his attention.  "How's that sound to you, kitty kat?"

            "To me?" he squeaked, immediately cringing away from her for asking a question.  A soft whimper escaped his mouth, but he didn't let go of her hand.

            "Yeah, kitty kat.  How's it sound to you?  I'm dragging you on this insane venture, so you get a say in this, too."

            "It s-sounds good."  His entire body begged for her to acknowledge that as the right answer.

            "All righty then!" A grin lit up her face, growing wider at his happy, relieved look.

            They walked.  And walked.  Abel was shorter and smaller than Nire, so not only was he swimming in the coat but the hem almost brushed the ground as he walked.  The pockets were weighed down and heavy with stuff.  Curiosity that he never acted upon made him wonder what was in there but he was too terrified to explore.  It smelled like Nire, which strangely relaxed him.  He decided that she must own a cat because, not only was here an extra feline scent to the coat, but there was short white hairs scattered randomly over it.  Not enough to make it look bad and grubby but enough to say that the wearer had a pet.

            "Well guys," Nire finally said, looking first at Jander, then at Abel.  "This was a stupid idea of mine, probably the stupidest yet.  How come no one ever tells me when I'm going to do something asinine?"

            Abel didn't dare answer, but Jander chimed in dryly.  "We do.  Then you ridicule us for your own stupidity in not seeing the brilliance of your plan."

            Nire laughed.  "True.  Too true.  Well, my friends, where do we wish to go?  A mall?  A street?  A plaza?  A- Okay.  I'm out of places.  What say you two?"

            "Doesn't matter, little one."

            Abel waited until she turned to look at him, making sure that she really was asking him.  "It doesn't matter to me, either."

            "Right.  Mall it is, then."

            She stopped, so fast that Abel took another step before being able to stop himself.  Then he hurriedly took a step and a half backwards so that he was slightly behind her, glancing up nervously to her face a couple times.  Why had she stopped?  Were they going to go back to the loft and get his car?  He didn't know where any of the malls in Toronto were, never being allowed out to places like that.  He kept his head down, studying the ground intently.

            "Give me half a tic to find us a mall," she said, her eyes closed in concentration.  Abel watched curiously as her brow crinkled slightly in concentration. What in the world was she doing?  And how could she find a mal like that?  A map, maybe… But he couldn't really question it.  She did what she did, she would protect him and hopefully, she wasn't going to hurt him.

            Her eyes snapped open.  "Right.  A mall.  Dufferin Mall.  Hm… I wonder how long it would take to walk there?"  She ginned slightly, her eyes sparkling at some inside joke.  "All right, we're taking as shortcut.  Ready, kitty kat?"

            He dared to look up at her.  Ready for what?  But still he nodded, cringing away from her, fearing what he was agreeing to.  Nire squeezed his hand gently, reassuringly.

            "Okay.  Do you believe in magic, chico?" She didn't wait for an answer before continuing.  "Well, regardless, I'm just going to make us a portal to this mall.  It will save us some walking.  Good plan?"

            He nodded again, only slightly less nervous.  It made no sense to him.  How would that save them walking?  More importantly, what was she talking about in general?  With another reassuring squeeze, she motioned with her left hand.  It looked like she had just wrapped an invisible rope around her arm and given it a healthy yank.  As she did that, he felt something right in front of them, sensed something that made him cringe away.  Nire waited patiently for him to regain what bit of courage and fortitude he had, then stepped forward, pulling him with her.  He felt the vampire following close behind him, but was too shocked by the sudden change in scenery to pay attention to the presence in close proximity to his back.

            They were standing in the shadows of a wall in some store.  There was no one within sight, but he could hear them.  Yelling parents, crying kids, a buzz of chattered conversations rising above the general babble.  He shrank back from it, glancing back quickly and stepping aside when he bumped into Jander.  Nire turned to face him, concern written across her face.

            "Is the mall a no, kitty kat?" she asked gently.

            He shook his head fiercely.  "Don't send me back to the loft," he begged, cringing away from her.

            Her quiet laugh made him flinch even more.  "I hadn't planned on it," she said soothingly.  "I was thinking that we could go wander around the streets for a while, if this is too much for you."

            Too much for him?  What did she mean by that?  Regardless of what it meant, he shook his head and whimpered, "No, I'm fine."  If she wanted to be in the mall, he didn't want her angry with him because of that.

            "You sure?" she asked once more.

            At his nod, she nodded once in approval, and turned away.  Jander's hand settled around her waist and she rested her head on his shoulder as they began to walk away.  Abel followed behind closely, not daring to assume he could walk beside them, but not wanting to get separated from the relative safety of Nire.

            "Right," Nire said, glancing over her shoulder at Abel.  "First we gotta figure out where- holy crap."  She stopped dead in her tracks, making Abel almost run into her.  He stopped just in time.  "We're in Wal-Mart.  We're in a fucking Wal-mart.  What kind of mall has a *Wal-mart* in it?"

            "Obviously a Canadian mall," Jander commented mildly.  "At least we're in the perfect place to find a good coat.  Right?" A brief look of confusion passed across his face before Nire confirmed what he said.

            "Hell yeah, my friend."  She looked back at Abel, grinning slightly.  "Ya know, in the States, the only people who shop at Wal-Marts are white trash.  Which really sucks," she mused, " 'cause the clothes last a whole hell of a lot longer than stuff from other places.  Is it the same in Canada?"

            He stared at her for a split-second before whimpering, "I don't know."

            "Cool," she said, her grin widening.  "Well, let's find out.  We're off to find the jackets," she sang, "the wonderful jackets of warmth.  Because, because, because, because, because, because of how cold it is outside.  Because it's so very cold."

            Abel smiled bemusedly as Jander chuckled and lovingly told Nire that she was a nut.  Nobody acted like they were supposed to anymore.  No yelling, no hitting, no fighting, no insulting.  There was no violence at all.  It was actually putting him on edge, making him more frightened and jumpy than usual.  They had to stop acting at some point.  The only question was, why were they acting?

            "Ha *ha*!" Nire crowed suddenly, startling him.  "Typical layout for Wally's.  Well, kitty kat, knock yourself out.  Go find a sweet-deal coat that you want."

            Abel stared at her, his crystal clear blue eyes for once meeting her gray ones, amazement clearly written across his face.  There was no way she was serious.  The look on his face quickly faded as he figured out their game.  They would allow him to browse and pick out something, then laugh in his face and cuff him a few times for good measure.  That was how the game would be played out, and the only thing he would get out of it were fresh bruises.  Those would seen be gone, depending on how bad they were.  And yet… He could pretend.  That might make it worthwhile.

            "I'm serious, kitty kat," Nire said when he didn't move.  "Go ahead, go find something.  And don't you *dare* look at the price tag to see how much it is - that takes all the fun out of it."  And easy grin lit up her face.

            Realizing that he was staring, Abel quickly ducked his head, fixing his eyes on his own feet.  That sounded like it might have been an order.  So this was going to end in pain for him either way.  In a way, it would be a relief.  The longer the lack of violence, the worse it was when it finally erupted.  With a muffled sigh, he quickly began going through the racks.  Although he was trying not to get his hopes up, he couldn't help but look for something that he actually did like.  Just in case.  He went quickly, so the two who brought him would not get bored waiting.  When they decided the game was up, at least he would have something in his hands.

            Within a few seconds, he had found one that he actually really did like.  Maybe he would figure out where they were, and come back later to buy it.  Still, just in case, he pulled a medium of the black jacket off the rack.  When he turned to look at Nire, rolling his eyes up at her as his white-knuckled hands clutched the hanger, a look of fearful hope had filled his face.

            A gently smile spread across Nire's face.  "That is an awesome coat, my friend.  So, now that we got what we came for, do you want to look 'round here for a while, or go wander out there and see what other kickass stores we can find?"

            "Other stores?" he whimpered, not quite sure if she was serious.

            "Dude, hell yeah.  And don't say you don't care.  *You* have to make a choice.  Got it?"

            He drew away slightly.  Although the tone of her voice was kind, her words weren't.  How did she expect him to choose when neither gave him a sign as to which was the right answer?  Ah, of course, the guessing game, where both answers are wrong.

            "Other stores," he tried, attempting to sound definitive.

            With a grin, Nire nodded.  "All right, then, kitty kat, let's go pay for that.  Can I have my coat back?"

            Hurriedly, Abel fumbled out of the heavy, dark garment and handed it back to her.  When she turned with Jander at her side and strode away, coattails flapping, he followed close behind.  There was no way he was going to let them get too far ahead of him, wanting it clear that he belonged to them.  That way, no one could just show up and claim him as theirs.

            At the checkout, there were long lines at every register.  Trepidation marking every footstep, Abel followed them to the shortest of the ridiculously long lines.  Waiting, to make them irritable.  Wonderful.

            "Ah," Nire sighed sarcastically.  "The joys of shopping at Christmastime.  Jander-love?  What say you about going and finding some candy?  For later."

            "The usual, mon ange?"

            "Pick a language and stick with it, hon." Her voice held the sound of a long-standing, friendly argument.  "Yeah, the usual.  What do you want, chico?"

            Even though she was looking at him, Abel wasn't sure if she was *talking* to him.  So he whispered, "Me?"

            With an indulgent smile, Nire assured him, "Yeah, you.  Do you want any candy?"

            "Uh, no thank you," he stammered.

            As they got closer to the register, Abel began to fidget nervously.  This was much too good to be true.  When Jander came back with an armload of candy, Abel barely noticed him.  As their turn finally arrived, he rolled his eyes up at Nire, cringing when she reached out and ruffled his hair.

            "Put it up there, kitty kat, so I can pay for it."  The candy was already in a big pile.

            He watched in utter amazement as everything was run through and hastily bagged.  After bidding the cashier to have a merry Christmas, Nire grabbed all of the bags herself.  With a sinking heart, Abel followed them out into the main mall area.  Almost trodding on their heels, he stuck extremely close as they walked over to some empty benches.  There were too many people here, too large of a crowd.  He didn't like big crowds at all.  With everyone milling around and the loud Christmas music blaring over the loudspeakers, his nerves were on edge.  He should have *known* he wasn't really getting anything.

            Nire grinned as she dumped the bags onto the bench and pulled out the jacket.  "Here ya go.  Try it on, chico, make sure it fits."

            With trembling fingers, he took it from her and shrugged it on.  Was she seriously going to let him have *new clothes*?  New *comfortable* clothes?  He kept his eyes on her the whole time, even as his mind was marveling over how nice something *new* felt over his ragged T-shirt.

            "Does it fit?" Nire asked him.  After he nodded, she held out her hand.  "Lemme see it back for a sec, kitty kat."

            His face fell visibly as he handed it back to her.  Why had she bought it, then?  He felt a lump in his throat and his chin trembling.  Once more, he was expecting too much, forgetting that hey were just pretending, toying with him.  There were *no exceptions* to the rule of how people behaved, of how they acted and how they treated him.  Nire passed her hand over the fabric, muttering to herself, and snapped off the tag.

            "There ya go, kitty kat."  She handed it back to him.  "No matter how cold it is, you'll be warm.  Now, let's go get breakfast or something before this place closes.  What time is it?"

            "You have a watch," Jander commented in amusement as Abel pulled on his, *his*, coat with a look of wonderment on his face.

            " 'S broken again.  Unless it really is noon 'r midnight."

            With a grin, Jander answered.  "Half-past eight."

            "Then let's go find food 'fore this place closes on us and we're locked in."

            She linked arms with Jander and grabbed the bag of candy.  As Abel hurriedly followed behind, he tried to figure out why they wanted him along.  So far, he didn't have to carry anything; Nire was buying stuff, why?  There *had* to be a reason.  Wishing that Nire was holding his hand, actually *wishing* that, he followed as close as he could to them.  Too many people, too close, too many ways to be taken back.  Trying to tell himself there was no way he would see *anyone* in this mass of people, he lost his concentration on keeping close to Nire and Jander.  That split second was all it took for a family with four yelling kids, a group of giggling teenage girls, and a young couple to shove their way between him and his newest owners.  Wait.  When had *they* become his owners and not Nick and Natalie?

            He tried to rejoin the two by saying 'excuse me; and waiting for people to let him through.  The Christmas crowds were an impenetrable mass of bodies.  He was not the modern Moses - this sea wouldn't part.  Already pale and shaking, he almost shrieked when someone grabbed his elbow.  When he turned, he paled even more and whimpered.

            This wasn't as bad as Kane.  Not quite.