A week passed. Rowan and Snow hadn't come to a full argument, but they hadn't made up, either. She hardly provided him the opportunity to speak with her. In the classes they shared, she made a point to sit on the opposite end of the group, and she had even missed the weekly Knights of the Round Table meeting. When the weekend rolled around again, Caspian was surprised she accepted his invitation to Cyrreine Mall, a shopping center a few minutes North of campus. Rowan would be there, after all.
"Hey, isn't that your brother?" A man's voice asked. Caspian looked up to its source.
Walking back from the path that led to the Student Fitness Center was his sister, with a boy Caspian had seen on posters and advertisements all over campus; Midas Baine.
"Caspian!" he greeted, walking up with his perfect smile to offer a handshake. Caspian looked down to it with a jolt of surprise, but met it. "Headed out to do some training? Lazula and I are just coming back."
"Oh, actually, we're going to Cyrreine Mall. The Winter Holiday is coming up, so I figured today would be a good day to look for gifts."
"Oh nice, have fun!" Midas responded. With a nod of acknowledgement to Rowan, Ichigo, and Snow, he continued along.
Yet as the two of them passed, Caspian felt a nudge from behind. It was his sister.
"Have fun, but remember to train," she advised. Before Caspian could reply, she continued on with Midas. Caspian sighed, and a cloud of mist rose into the chilly air.
"Dude! That was Midas Baine!" Rowan exclaimed in an eager whisper. "We just met a celebrity!"
"I know," Caspian replied, his voice devoid of Rowan's enthusiasm. "But also, you've known my sister for how long now?"
"Doesn't count, we grew up with her," Rowan argued. "It'd be weird if I got starstruck after knowing her for seventeen years. But I'm surprised by how nice Midas seems in real life, he was just like in his interviews!"
"I'm surprised he even bothered to learn my name," Caspian grumbled. He looked back to Midas and Lazula, who were halfway up the stairs to the dormitories. "Doesn't something about him seem kinda... I don't know, disingenuous?"
"I bet you're just jealous!" Rowan teased. "I don't blame you. If I could trade places with anyone, it'd be him."
"I'm not jealous!" Caspian protested. "He just has a new girl on his arm every week. I don't want my sister to be next."
"Or Lilly," he added internally.
"I'm not sure Lazula needs you looking out for her," Ichigo commented.
The walk to Cyrreine Mall was only a handful of minutes, once the four made it to the paved trail from the North that looped through campus. The center's walkways, covered by an arched glass ceiling a couple of stories above, held just about any store Caspian could have imagined. He passed upscale boutiques and various specialty shops; and every kind of restaurant from oddly-expensive chains to fine dining.
"All this has just been a few minutes away this whole time?" Caspian thought. Apart from the droves of people, the mall was quite nice. "I really need to get out more."
Caspian slowed as he passed a toy store, something in the window catching his attention. It was a doll. Plush, not like the ones surrounding it whose plastic faces had that uncanny realism that sent a shiver down his spine. She wore overalls that matched her blue yarn hair. He looked to Snow, then back. Seeing his friends begin to disappear into the crowd, he jogged to catch up.
The four explored several shops, picking up gifts for parents and friends as they went. Caspian got a kick out of one store that sold a variety of experimental high-tech items no one really needed. The holographic dishwasher display, and two-hundred lien mug that linked to the user's Holoband, seemed more like things the rich would buy just to have, rather than necessity.
Ichigo and Rowan ducked into one of the center's cheaper restaurants to grab a snack to go. Caspian stayed outside with Snow, opting to grab a bite from the vending machines instead.
"What did you get?" Snow inquired.
"Oh, this? Chocolate covered pretzels, and apple juice," Caspian answered, raising each in turn. He opened the bag of pretzels and tilted it toward Snow. "Want one?"
Snow tilted her head out of curiosity, and gingerly extended a hand into the bag. She pulled out a single pretzel, and raised it up to her nose to smell it.
Caspian chuckled. "You're supposed to eat them," he teased. He popped one into his mouth.
Snow bit down, taking about half with her first bite. She paused for a second or two, before eating the rest.
"So, what do you think?"
"I like it," Snow decided. "I've never had one before. Thank you."
Caspian smiled, holding the bag out again. "Want another?"
After their snack, they set out to wrap up their shopping trip. As Caspian folded away the half-empty bag in a coat pocket and recycled his bottle, he winced. A child's piercing wail rang out through the shopping center. He tried his best to ignore it, but he hadn't made it to the door of the next building before the child cried out again.
"Can't people control their kids?" he murmured. "Nobody wants to hear that."
"The child sounds like it's in distress," Snow assessed. Her eyes narrowed and she paused, turning her head to the source of the noise.
"Oh I can tell," Caspian responded. "Come on, let's-"
"Let's see if we can help." Snow hadn't waited for Caspian's response before cutting through the crowd of the main promenade and down a side alley. Better for her, really. Caspian wouldn't have agreed otherwise.
By the time Caspian and the rest had caught up, Snow found the girl on a bench next to an ice cream parlor. Her face was red and painted with tears, and she was alone. Snow knelt down beside her as Caspian looked up to the store's sign, figuring out whether he wanted to go in. The place looked good, but ice cream on a day this cold didn't sound all that pleasant.
"I can't find my mommy!" the girl screamed, words hardly intelligible through her sobs.
Snow tilted her head slightly. Her usually vacant face softened. "How old are you?" she asked.
"Uh, Snow?" Caspian cut in. The question seemed off-topic, and off-putting.
"I'm... three," the girl replied. Though it still seemed hard for her to speak, her tears and screams had both stopped.
"I see. And what's your name?"
"I'm Lily."
A smile traced across Snow's lips. "That's a lovely name. I have a friend named Lilly, too." She sat on the bench next to her, placing a hand gently on the sleeve of the child's hot pink coat. "This is a nice coat, Lily."
"Th-Thanks..." the cries began to return "M-My mommy got it for me but I lost her!"
"We'll help you find her. I'm sure she's looking for you," Snow assured. "Where did you lose her, and how?"
"I don't know," Lily whimpered. "There was a... dog."
Caspian caught Snow's eyes widen for a split second, but she regained her composure. "What color was this dog?" she asked.
"It was big, and... and... yellow."
Snow let out a breath of relief. "Yellow," she repeated. She looked up to Caspian. "Let's take her to security. I believe I saw their base next to the technology store." She then turned to Rowan and Ichigo. "Wait to see if her parents arrive, and keep an eye out for yellow dogs."
"You got it!" Rowan confirmed.
With their approval, Snow took Lily's hand and escorted the girl back toward the main walkway with Caspian. They went straight for a bit, then down another covered alley, toward the wall of stores at the edge of Cyrreine Mall. Caspian peeked through the glass door of the security base. He could see someone in blue at the desk and a woman, red hair pulled through the back of a baseball cap, standing across from them. Caspian opened the door, letting Snow and Lily inside.
"Lily!" the woman nearly shouted in relief. She abandoned the desk and knelt down to wrap her daughter in a tight embrace. "I was so worried!" she looked up to Snow and Caspian, who felt a smile coming to his face. "Thank you two so much! Where was she?"
"She was next to Blue Rock," Snow replied.
"...The ice cream place," Caspian explained. "And it was mostly Snow, really," he added with a chuckle. "I just kind of followed along."
"Well, thank you. I can't thank you enough!" Lily's mother fervently expressed. "We were walking along, when suddenly she screamed and ripped free of my hand. There were so many people I had no idea where she went! Lily is mortified of dogs. Someone was walking one, and before I noticed, it stuck its nose right in her face."
"...Explains the dog comment. No Beowolves here," Caspian realized.
"I'm guessing you two are from Sentinel, then?"
Caspian and Snow both nodded.
"Be careful, then. And thanks for all you do."
Caspian and Snow opened the door, once again bracing themselves against the December breeze. "Hey, go ahead and get back to Ichigo and Rowan," Caspian said. "I found something I think Ichigo would like earlier, I'm gonna go grab it."
"Okay."
As Snow crossed the street, Caspian tried to work out a mental map of the area. That toy store he passed by earlier was on the other side of the main promenade somewhere. Hopefully, he could get there and back before anyone came to look for him.
He had found the perfect gift for Snow, and there was no way he'd let anyone ruin the surprise.
"Awww, aren't you a friendly one?" Ichigo cooed, rubbing the sides of a smiling yellow labrador's face.
"Cooper's a little too friendly," said the dog's owner. "Scared a poor little girl half to death earlier."
"I'm sure he didn't mean it!" Ichigo defended. He looked to his side. "Oh, Snow's back."
Snow walked up as the dog's owner continued on his way. "We found the girl's mother at security," she announced. "She seemed happy to have found her daughter."
"I'm glad," Rowan replied. He sighed. "And... I want to apologize. For last week."
Snow nodded. "It's okay," she assured.
"No, it's not," Rowan insisted. "It was wrong for me to make fun of you like that. I'm sorry I called you... what I did. And I'm sorry I laughed when you told us your dream." His usual grin returned. "Now I see you're amazing with kids! I'm sure you'll make a great mom someday."
Snow bowed her head. When she raised it, she wore a smile that didn't reach her eyes.
"Thank you, Rowan."