Unnatural blue II A. KNIGHT

000

░▒▓█▓▒░ "If coffee is bad," Ryan starts off, looking up curiously to his mother as they wait for their drinks, "why do you drink it?" "It's bad for kids," Skylar corrects with a small smile, "and I'm not a kid, honey, so I can drink it. And coffee helps tired old people like me stay awake. You've already got enough energy!" "You're not old, mommy," Ryan exclaims with a giggle before turning his attention to the employees working. "D'you think they're making ours? How do you make coffee? And smoothies! I wanna learn and I'll make you coffee in the mornings and smoothies for me and then we won't ever come here again and can just stay home all the time! 'Cept for when you gotta work. Adults gotta do so much work, I never wanna grow up." Skylar listens as Ryan rambles on. Ryan learned to talk pretty quickly when he was younger and seems to always have things to say; Skylar enjoys hearing the sometimes odd things he has to say. Ryan is usually only completely quiet when Skylar tells him stories. The young boy loves listening to the stories his mother comes up with. "Mommy! Mommy, look," Ryan interrupts his ramble when something catches his eye, "he's got blue hair! Like the person from your story with the magic people! What if he's one of them? We gotta see!" "Oh, Ry, honey, I don't think he's magic," Skylar tries to calm Ryan down, knowing that he's entirely unafraid to go ask the blue-haired stranger if he's a magical creature despite the many times he's been told not to talk to strangers. "But he has blue hair," Ryan insists, eyes shining with excitement, "he has to be magic!" "Not all magic is good magic," Skylar reminds him. "Remember the villain from the story? He was magic too but he was evil and tricked the heroes into giving up their magic! And he had colorful hair too, remember?" "Yeah but his hair was red," Ryan reasons, "not blue. One of the heroes had blue hair, 'member? He had blue hair and his best friend had green hair! That man might be magic, mommy!" "But if he is magic, we can't expose his secret," Skylar reasons, "remember, some people are scared of magic! We gotta keep it secret so no one is mean to him." "Right," Ryan agrees with nod, a serious look on his face, "we should warn him to be careful so no one else guesses that he's magic. And we can ask why he came to our world! Maybe he'll let us visit his world and show us magic!" Skylar is glad to not have to think up a good reason to avoid interaction with the blue-haired man. Her name is called by the barista, meaning their drinks are ready. "Guess we don't have time to talk to him," Skylar remarks, "probably for the best. He's probably trying to keep his secret. Lets get our drinks and then go to the park." The pair head up to the counter and, the second Skylar lets go of Ryan's hand to grab the drinks, the young boy is running over to the stranger with the blue hair. "Ryan," Skylar exclaims in shock, hurrying after her son. Ryan gets to the stranger before Skylar gets to him. "I know your secret," Ryan says quietly, earning a confused look from the man. "You're magic!" "What?" the man asks with a frown as Skylar approaches. "Ryan," Skylar reprimands softly, not wanting to be too harsh but knowing she has to tell him no here. "I told you no; you can't talk to strangers, you know that." "But, mommy, he's magic! He's got blue hair just like the hero in the story! He has to be magic," Ryan insists before turning to the man again. "You're magic, right? That's why you have blue hair!" "Yeah, I'm magic but you've gotta keep it secret," the man replies with a small smile, amused by Ryan's excitement. "You can't tell anyone, okay?" "We'll keep your secret," Ryan assures him, showing complete seriousness. "Alright, lets leave him alone, Ry," Skylar speaks up, giving the blue-haired man a smile as a silent thank you for playing along. "I'm sure he's got an important reason to be here; we don't want stop him from being a hero, do we?" "No, he's gotta be a hero," Ryan agrees with a nod. "Good luck on your mission, mister!" "Thanks, kid," the man replies with his kid. "Listen to your mom next time, though. Not all magic people are good!" "Okay, I'll listen to mommy next time, I promise," Ryan responds, "bye!" "Bye," the man gives a little wave that Skylar returns before she and Ryan leave. "Mommy, d'you think he's gonna use his magic to save a lotta people?" "I think so." ░▒▓█▓▒░