Dark Tales: Shadow [BxB]

Chapter 8

A mall. Oh my gosh, I am actually at a mall. Large groups of people streamed in and out constantly. I previously wouldn't have even considered coming here out of fear of my shadow acting out but I have come to realized that as long as Alectos is around, it seems to stay calm. I can actually sense hundreds of people in this large building. Books and shows never really do it much justice but seeing it in person is really so exciting. Alectos gave a slight chuckled but gave no second thoughts and intertwined his hands with mine.

"Well then, lets us go get something to eat?"

As we walked into the mall, various people stared at us and our interlinked hands. It feels embarrassing to be stared at but I didn't want to let go so I just pulled myself closer to Alectos. He laughed at my reaction and all I could do was whine softly, trying to avoid looking at all the stares in our direction. We stopped for lunch at a rather simple looking diner and ordered some pasta which is pretty good but personally I prefer the food that Rain cooks.

"I notice that you always wear that black jacket." Alectos said suddenly while we explored the mall at my request.

"This? Oh, yea. It belonged to Blaze. It makes me feels a bit safer I guess." I told him, remembering that time that Blaze gave it to me when I couldn't sleep.

"Hmm...come on let's go in here." He said, dragging me into a rather high-class looking store. "Do you see anything you fancy?"

I just stared at all the various suits, blazers and coats that decorated the walls. I am not at the average height so most of the items here are pretty much not able to fit me. All the designs look rather classy which makes me hesitate. As I turned behind one shelf, I saw a rather nice-looking trench coat.

"Do you like that?" Alectos asked, resting his head on my shoulder. I couldn't really focus when he was in such close distance, I could even feel his breath on my neck. "Hmm."

"I...I was thinking that it would look nice without the sleeves." I mumbled, desperately trying not to show how much he was affecting me. Although, it was pretty obvious that he knows with that smirk etched on his face. He stood up to his full height and snapped his finger. An attendant immediately rushed over and bowed to him.

"That coat, remove the sleeves and tailor it to his size, make sure that it fits nicely." Alectos commanded and the attendant immediately went into action. He took measurements and recorded down, all in a blur and fired away questions so fast that I could only answer instinctively.

"Number of buttons?"

"Th..three."

"With hood?"

"Y..Yes."

"Belt?"

"Yes."

"Noted." And proceeded to scribble all that down onto his clipboard. Then he pulled out a pamphlet with colours, "Please choose what colour you would like."

"Urm... This and this?" I said, pointing to the two colours that stood out to me.

"That would be two coats, am I right?"

"Yes." Alectos interrupted before I can take back my choice. I looked up at him and he gave me a look that says it is fine.

"Alright, please come back in 2 hours and all the adjustment will be done and ready for your collection." He said, giving a slight bow before running off into what I assume is the back of the store.

"Well then, shall we go walk around?" Alectos ruffled my hair before grabbing my hand and escorting me out of the store. We walked around aimlessly, looking at various things and me getting intrigued by various things that I thought could only be seen in movies. I never thought that my first trip to the mall again would be this exciting. While walking past all the well-furnished, well kept stalls, it was hard not to notice the rather run-down looking antique shop, 'Axia's Crytal Ball' that was hidden in a corner with a few customers walking in and out.

I walked into the store excitedly with Alectos who didn't seem too amused. I suppose antique goods isn't his favourite thing to look at. I was walking down the aisle when something caught my eye, a card. The back of the card looks kind of old with an inscription that I can't read. Maybe Rain would know something about it. I flipped it over and the image instantly caught my eye. It was a depiction of a knight, clad in black armour, poised as if it would come out at any moment. For a moment, it looked familiar but I couldn't put my hands on it.

"What is that?" Alectos asked, keeping a poker face but I could tell he was starting to feel uncomfortable in here.

"A card. I think I might be getting it." I told him.

"Alright, I'll wait outside for you." He told me and headed out of the shop. I walked up to the counter and a middle-aged woman was sitting at the counter, shuffling a deck of cards.

"Hi, I would like to get this?" I hesitantly spoke to her. She looked up with a surprised look on her face.

"Oh, that's a rare guest. With a rare spirit guide as well." She commented. Spirit guide? She was continuing to shuffle but for some reason doesn't tell me the price of the card.

"Hang on for a moment, let me draw a card for you." She says, confusing me even more.

"What is that?" I asked, pointing at the cards in her hand.

"Oh these, tarot cards." She said and pulled out a single card. "The Wheel of Fortune in reverse, you should be careful. Everything bad that happens will result in something good in the future, don't give up on hope."

"Okay... urm, sorry I don't think I have any cash on me," I said, patting down my clothes, trying to find the few dollars I usually keep in my pocket. "Let me go out to ask..."

"Nah," She interrupted, "There's no need to pay for it, the card is yours to begin with."

She then headed back to doing whatever she was doing. Confused, I just headed out of the store.

"Do you need money? I forgot to give you some." Alectos asked after looking at the expression on my face.

"Urm...No, not really. She kind of just gave it to me." I explained.

"Oh... Really? I am surprised. The art on the card looks pretty real." Alectos commented, peering over to take a closer look. "Well, the store should be almost done with your coat. Shall we go back?"

"Sure."

We collected the coats and I realized how much I underestimated Alectos' wealth. We loaded them at the backseat of the car and Alectos gave a drive back home.

"Did you enjoy yourself today?" Alectos asked before dropping me off at my doorstep.

"I did, thank you for today."

"By the way, why did you pick the forest green colour for the coat? I understand the black one but why the green one?" He asked as I collected themy coats.

"...eyes." I mumbled.

"Hmm?"

"The colour is similar to your eyes." I said out loud before closing the car door and scurrying into the house. I didn't look back cause my face was flushed red from admitting but I could hear a loud cheer outside the door.