"THE REALLY GROSS HORSE GUY" (purebredkrist) wrote in light_of_may, @ 2009-11-07 00:25:00 |
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Entry tags: | 2009-06-21 |
Big 'N' Tall
Who: Krist and Justin
Where: Justin's house, then shopping
When: Afternoon
Justin busily cleaned up his art station, the last bit of mess in his house, putting the inks and pens away and taking down all of his drying pages, hiding them away in the lockable filing cabinets before going to the mirror in his bathroom and making sure his hair was ok. "The dogs are outside, the h-house is clean, the salad's m-made and the ph-phone's charged," he told his reflection, then looked at Shima. "C-can you....?"
~Hide in the back and not spook the horse,~ she nodded and sighed. ~You did not have me leave for the deer.~
"Oscar already knew a-about you, kind of, and already kn-knew me," he shook his head. "Thanks, Shima, its just till he knows I'm n-not the kinda g-guy to let him become lunch, y-yeah?"
~Yes,~ the she-wolf said, sounding skeptical but compliant. Justin nodded and checked his hair and watch before his hair again, wondering if he should fluff it up a bit or lay it flat.
Krist had been fairly uncertain about being dropped off at Justin's house, uneasy in the truck on the way over. Despite what he told Tayne, that he was fine and there was nothing wrong, Krist was still a little on edge. Getting out and wandering to meet people on his own time was one thing, but being introduced to somebody and left with them was something else entirely. It meant somehow that he had to stay there, even if he didn't like this person, and for Krist it was an unpleasant and unwelcome feeling. He would try this though, do as Tayne wished and try to enjoy himself. He toyed with his cell phone idly on the way there, punching in random buttons and accidentally hitting ones he hadn't meant to touch when they went over bumps. Eventually, after he'd been dropped off, Krist made his way to the door and knocked. His (now worn) backpack was slung over one shoulder, his looming figure almost comical with such a small decoration on his otherwise plainly clothed frame.
Justin jumped slightly as he heard the knock. Shima went around the back to the potion and spellcasting room, and he shut the door to it, messing with his hair a little more before opening the door. He started slightly at the form filling his doorway, looking up at him, then blushing. It seemed Tayne running late meant it was a drop and go. And what a drop.
He blinked, then blushed, hardly able to look people in the eyes on a good day and now even more nervous. "Um, h-hey," he said, glancing at Krist's face and then at his own sneaker-clad feet. He wished he'd put on one of his nice shirts instead of his best Batman T and good jeans. "Um, y-y-you must b-be K-Krist, y-yeah?" he stammered, accent once again slipping behind the stutter. "I'm J-Justin, J-Justin Grant. C'mon in, p-please." He backed up to let the man in, glad he'd put the dogs out back. They'd be beside themselves with such a big stranger in the house.
Anxiously, Krist glanced back over his shoulder as though Tayne might join him at any moment. He turned back to the new person though and smiled, trying to relax. Tayne wouldn't have left him with somebody he didn't trust. "Yeah, that's me..." He moved into the house slowly, ducking to avoid hitting his head on the way inside. Unsure of himself or what they were supposed to be doing, Krist took a moment to orientate himself. He smelled other animals on the air. It was faint, but it was there. Obviously Justin had tried to keep it this way, clean, but Krist couldn't help himself. His instincts kicked in a tiny bit, his attempts to figure it out clouding over his eyes briefly. Eventually he dropped it and turned back to Justin, also catching his scent, remembering they were supposed to be spending time together. "I haven't met anyone named Justin yet," he told him, smiling before dropping his backpack onto the floor unceremoniously. His cell phone was discarded in much the same manner, the poor abused possession hitting the backpack and then the floor right after.
Justin blinked a few times, then smiled and slowly shut the door. "I've n-never m-met anybody n-n-named K-Krist," he said, shrugging a should awkwardly before he flinched. He had to calm down, he hadn't had anybody this much bigger than him around since he was a tiny boy and needed to be taken out of school. "I l-l-like it, th-though, y-you're n-name," he took a deep breath and then turned, going to the kitchen. "Please h-have a s-seat if you l-like. I h-h-have t-tea on, would y-you like some?"
Krist couldn't help but stare at Justin as the other man turned to head to the kitchen, his blue eyes widened curiously. What was with all the awkward sounds coming out of his mouth? He'd heard Tayne do it from time to time, but this was much different, much more often. Quickly coming back to life, Krist followed Justin, nodding as he walked, though the other man hadn't been looking. "That sounds good," he answered, wanting so badly to ask about the noises. "Is it good? I mean... the tea... I don't know if I've had it. Is it like pop?" Krist came right up to Justin when the other man stopped walking and cocked his head to the side curiously. "Why do you talk like that?"
"Pop?" he said, then blushed profusely as he asked about his speech, automatically jumping to what he meant. He closed his eyes and shakily poured two cups of tea, knowing he should probably tell the werehorse about the added herbs... but then, they were mostly mentally effective. He took a long, deep sip, then a few deep breaths, letting the herbs calm him. "S-sorry. I mean. It... h-happens, wh-when I m-meet new p-people, s-sometimes," he said, swallowing. "Uh... y-you know. Nerves." Especially when the new people just... loomed over everything. He took a few more sips, every bit helping. "T-tea's brilliant, but most p-people prefer p-pop, I suppose, especially h-here in the States. I have s-some soda, if you p-prefer it."
Venturing closer toward Justin, Krist reached for the cup that had been poured and left on the counter for him, taking care when he realized it was hot. He held onto it a little warily, having experienced what hot meant a few days ago. It wasn't something he cared to repeat right away. "I don't do that when I meet new people," he said, speaking over the top of the mug before blowing across the surface. Unfortunately for Krist, he used a little too much force and some of the liquid spilled over the back edge and dribbled down onto the floor. He barely noticed though, his eyes on Justin. "This is very good, thank you." Krist hadn't even tasted the tea yet, but he was confident it would be better than the day he taste-tested everything in Felicity's fridge, before the incident with the mustard bottle. This smelled... well, relaxing. Whether or not it would taste that way was left to be determined, and very carefully, Krist sipped at the rim.
He smiled, embarrassed, and then got a washcloth from a drawer and put it on the floor, using his foot to push it and clean up the spill, just so nobody slipped. The guy had been a horse, after all, it wasn't surprising he wasn't concerned with cleanliness. "I... I g-guess it's just something I d-do," he said, regulating his breathing a pouring himself a fresh cup. "B-been stuttering since I l-learned to talk. It just get worse when I'm n-nervous. And I... I d-don't meet new people very often, so I g-get really nervous," He bent, picking up the washcloth and then putting it in the sink. "I'm glad you l-like it. It my favorite."
Krist watched as the other dropped a washcloth onto the floor, brow furrowed as he followed the movements. What was he cleaning up? Had he done that? Krist looked to his mug and then the floor again, a little baffled by it. He barely heard what Justin had to say, looking back up in time to hear him say he didn't meet new people very often. "You... why not? I meet new people every day. Yesterday I met three new people." He raised his eyebrows as though this were terribly important information, sipping his tea afterward very carefully. "Are you like the merman I met? Are you trapped here?"
He started, then turned, eyes huge. "M-m-mer...." he stopped and then shook his head, turning and walking back toward the living room, taking another long sip and shaking his head. "N-not trapped. J-just..." he stopped, wincing. He didn't know how to deal with these questions, not when he was bringing up mermen and looking perplexed by Justin's cleaning. It was just too much at once, so he changed the subject. "S-so how are you s-settling in? With T-Tayne? Is h-he your first human roommate?"
Krist was not satisfied - to say the least - by Justin's lack of a real answer. When he left to head into the living room, Krist hesitated, unsure of what to do with himself. Eventually he followed, brow slightly furrowed, his mug gripped tight between both large hands. "I..." He blinked, trying to catch up with the sudden topic change. He didn't know what to say at first, glancing around briefly. "I... yeah, he is... I think. He's the first human I've lived with... um, inside the house, I mean." Before Tayne, it had simply been the barn, or the fields, and that had been good enough for him until now. Knowing what he'd missed out on didn't make the transition easy, but it made him grateful for what he'd fallen into with Tayne. If he hadn't run into him out in the woods, where would he be...? "Do you have a roommate?" He was trying to carry on the conversation, trying so hard.
"N-no... I... I did for a f-few days b-but she..." he stopped and shrugged, sitting as well and then looking at him, wondering what he was supposed to do. He didn't seem to be the social sort, and Tayne knew Justin was no good at social interactions. "She left. B-but I have an extra r-room, yeah, s-so I could have one, I g-guess." He blinked a few times, then wished Shima was in here so he could hug her. But no, he had to be a man and stammer his way through this first meeting on his own. "Um, T-Tayne m-m-mentioned you d-didn't have m-many clothes... or, y'know, th-things of your own..." his eyes slid over to the backpack that seemed to be on its last legs. "He's not g-great at that sort of thing, b-but I know a th-thing or two. If y-you're interested we could head out to a sh-shop?" And, he prayed, perhaps the shop would make this all easier on the both of them. Soften the mood.
Krist listened as Justin explained himself, trying to follow him in his explanation about where his roommate had gone to. "At least you can have one if you want one then," he said, his tone friendly and relatively more cheerful than it had been. He felt bad for him for living on his own like this. Krist could remember feeling so lonely for so many years, nobody to talk to, nobody to care about him. He hoped it wasn't like that for Justin. "Yeah, I... Tayne gave me a few things, but... am I supposed to have more?" He sounded slightly self conscious about it. He hadn't lived with Tayne quite long enough to notice how many different pairs of pants or shirts he might own, and he hadn't dared venture into his bedroom without permission. "What is a shop?" he asked, head cocked to the side slightly. "Is that like the place where I got my phone?"
"Oh yeah, I've g-got lots of room," Justin nodded and shrugged. The question about the shop took him a little off guard, but he smiled. "Uh, yeah, wh-where you buy clothes you l-like and anything y-you need or want. If you l-like, I know a sh-shop that would have y-your size clothing. M-maybe get a new bag so your stuff doesn't f-fall out?" he finished his tea and watched him for reaction, wondering if it would just bore the werehorse as much as this sort of thing seemed to bore Tayne.
Krist nodded eagerly and finished his tea as quickly as he could manage, setting the cup down and letting out a quick breath to try and catch up. "Yes," he said, nodding and turning to go pick up his backpack off of the floor. "I want to go. That sounds like a lot of fun... if that... if that's what you want to do, I don't... I don't want you to have to do something if you don't want to..." Though it was painfully obvious on Krist's face that it was all he wanted right now. It was an adventure every time he and Tayne went out, and he thought it might be even more exciting with somebody new.
Justin's face lit up eagerly, and he shook his head. "I'd love to," he said earnestly, taking the cups and putting them in the sink before coming out. "Ah... let me just check with somebody quick," he said apologetically, opening the door near the front door and stairs, the room beyond smelling strongly of herbs and greenery. He spoke lowly with Shima for a moment, then came out. "Alright. Sorry. My familiar promised she'll stay here and look after the dogs, so it's just us men," he chuckled, then blushed and got his coat.
"Alright," Krist said, nodding agreeably as the other man left him alone for a moment. He prepared himself, his backpack hanging over his shoulder as he waited near the door. He paused however, when Justin returned and mentioned something about a familiar. "What is that?" he asked, cocking his head to the side. His hair fell down over his eyes and he blinked, trying to place the word with anything that made any sort of sense to him. Hesitantly, he tacked on, "You have dogs?" The thought seemed impossible, as though he should have known this before now. He took a step closer to Justin, as though the information would somehow pass between them. "Can I see them? And this... familiar... thing?"
He hesitated. "Uh, yeah, three dogs. Two little ones and a b-big one. I put them out because they're h-hyper and I didn't want them to sc-scare you," he nodded for him to follow to the back door, opening it and putting up an arm to make the dogs slow as the Black lab, corgie, and beagle rushed in. "That's S-Samwise, Otto, and Donald," he said, pointing out each as they went over and sniffed the stranger eagerly. "M-my familiar.... She's like a g-guardian, I guess. But sh-she might scare you. She's a w-wolf. She has human intelligence and c-can t-talk inside our h-heads, but still, I d-didn't want her to sc-scare you b-by how she looks and smells. She's quite l-lovely, in person."
Krist would have said that he was interested and impressed by the idea of a wolf being so tame and intelligent, and would have also questioned if she were a were simply trapped in her form, but he hadn't the presence of mind for either. Instead, he backed away from the dogs as they rushed him, the color draining out of his face as his heartbeat sped up tenfold. He couldn't help his instincts, and his instincts told him that these were predatory animals, regardless of his size -- horseform or human. It didn't matter, and as Krist struggled not to back into the wall, knock things over and scramble out of the way his hands rose up, mouth open slightly as his breath caught and stopped altogether. Perhaps asking about the dogs hadn't been the smartest thing for Krist to do, though hindsight was always twenty-twenty.
Justin's face got pale as well and he whistled. The dogs skid to a halt, Otto slipping slightly because of his size, then turned and rushed back to their master. He grabbed their collars, giving each a pat, and sent them back out, shutting the door. "I'm s-so sorry," he stammered, standing. "I p-promise, they're the n-nicest, j-j-just h-hyper," he said, not going forward because he didn't know if that would panic Krist more. "I'm s-sorry, are y-you ok?"
He waited for the dogs to be gone entirely before daring to move or say anything, his heart thundering in his chest, harder than it had in what felt like forever. Krist eventually began to loosen up, his movements choppy and uncoordinated as his terror began to subside. It hadn't been Justin's fault; he hadn't imagined Krist would respond that way to a group of dogs. "I... I'm fine," he finally answered, wide eyes finally meeting the other man's when he was sure the dogs were safely contained. Embarrassment began to sink in immediately afterward and Krist hid his face in his hands, breathing slowly through his fingers. How humiliating.
Justin slowly came forward and put a hand on his arm, then took a new cup out and poured a fresh cup of tea, whispering a small spell for extra warmth and comfort. "D-d-drink th-this," he said softly. "I'm s-so s-s-sorry, I c-can't... I'm sorry, th-this'll help." He definitely was not bringing in Shima, if this was his reaction. Shima was calm, yes, but even scarier than the others in appearance. "I'm so s-sorry."
It took Krist a short while to be entirely convinced that he was in fact alright, though he dropped his hands away from his face when he was poured another cup of tea. He took it without question, because aside from the scary dogs, he trusted Justin already. "It's okay," he said, trying to assure the other man that he'd moved past it. "I... I'm sorry I reacted, I just..." He sipped at the tea instead of bothering to say more, knowing that nothing would erase the fear he'd displayed. Cats were one thing, but dogs... Krist had never had a pleasant experience with them so far in his lifetime, and it was difficult to imagine things changing... even if the rational part of his mind told him that there hadn't been any real danger when they'd come in. "Sorry," he muttered uselessly, taking yet another drink.
Justin nodded and then smiled at him, nervous himself. "I th-thought they'd be too h-hyper," he said, then bowed his head. "M-maybe you could meet S-Samwise sometime. He's r-real old and c-calm when he's alone. Small, too," he said, and shrugged helplessly. "Th-they'll never be in when y-you're around, though, I p-promise. Shima e-either."
"Okay," Krist agreed, not sure what else to say. If he'd ever felt like a totally useless person, it was right now. Being afraid of a few dogs that had obviously only wanted to greet him seemed ridiculous now, and he couldn't shake the guilt in his chest. Instead he simply finished the tea, glad for the calm it seemed to extend over his mind. "We can... we can still go shopping," he mumbled, "if you want to. Or I can... I can go home, too. I'm sorry. I didn't mean to... be like that." Krist was extremely happy for once that Tayne hadn't been around to witness his behavior.
Justin shook his head. "We will go sh-shopping and buy you a l-load of awesome clothes," he said, smiling slightly and looking at him before blushing. "I know m-my dogs are too l-loud, that's m-my fault. But I'll n-not let them scare you again, p-promise. And they d-don't allow m-most dogs in shops anyway, so its all g-good," he perked up hopefully, trying his best to be positive and get it back to the energy they'd had when they'd started to head out the first time.
Krist nodded and headed toward the door again, hiking up his backpack and trying to seem casual and collected. He set the coffee mug down on a table as he passed it, offering Justin a light-mooded smile. "We should go and do that then," he said, eager to see what clothes they might get the chance to look at. Krist was always excited to collect more human effects, figuring he would need to try and play catch up with everyone else he'd met so far. Something told him it would be a long and involved process.
Justin beamed and nodded, getting his keys and opening the door for him, leading him out to the cobalt blue Jeep Wrangler. "Here," he paused and opened the door, pushing the passenger seat back as far as it would go for him and then getting in the driver's seat, remembering to turn down the volume before the synthetic beat blasted out. He didn't want to scare Krist again so soon, after all. "I think I know a g-good shop, j-just for guys your size."
Krist looked over the Jeep excitedly as they drew closer to it, by now getting increasingly comfortable in all sorts of vehicles. He's started with Connie's motorcycle and ended up in a few trucks and now a Jeep in a short span of time; he was old hat at this riding in cars thing. Krist climbed in and stretched his legs out, pulling the door closed behind him a little awkwardly. He struggled with the seatbelt, remembering being told to wear it a few times, and sat back finally to relax. The Jeep was a little cramped, but Krist felt cramped nearly everywhere he sat down. It couldn't really be helped, given his size. "Do you shop there?" he asked, watching Justin as he settled in on the driver's side.
"Ah, no, I'm n-not tall enough," he said, blushing slightly. "B-but I've known people who d-do, and they r-really like it there. Lots of st-styles there." He put his own seatbelt on before pulling out, looking at him and smiling. "So... h-have you gotten yourself looked after? L-like.. shots, and ch-checkups and whatnot?" He stopped and then blushed again. "I ask b-because I'm a v-vet and n-nurse. You know. Th-that's my niche, s-sort of," he chuckled.
"Oh, okay." Krist felt a little more confident when Justin said that he was at least a little familiar with the shop they were headed out to visit. "Looked over?" He trailed off as Justin explained himself, blinking, trying to catch up and understand what he meant. "What... what do you mean? I..." Finally Krist simply shook his head side to side a few times, wondering if this was something he should have done by now.
"Um, like, a checkout," he said. "Somebody to l-look you over and m-make sure you're all healthy. And, y-you know, shots to m-make sure you're immunized from h-human diseases and stuff. I c-can do it, if you like, you know, s-so you don't have to see a stranger or a-anything." He didn't know if Krist was nervous around strangers, like a lot of people were, but figured he should offer anyway.
"Oh." Krist's eyes widened and he wondered immediately if Tayne had meant to have him do this eventually. He wasn't sure what to say, but nodded at the offer. It would, admittedly, be a lot easier on him to deal with somebody he was already used to, rather than seeing someone else... not that Krist really seemed to have much trouble trusting strangers. "I'd like that, I think. I want to be... uh... im, uh... immuned." That was the right word, wasn't it? "Does it cost rent?"
Justin blinked, then smiled and shook his head, recalling the story about him trying to pay Tayne. He liked the guy a little more for that. "N-nope. I can d-do the whole checkup, and th-then send you t-to a clinic for y-your shots. Or t-take you, if you'd like," he said, smiling at him re-assuredly, then decided he should come clean. "If T-Tayne didn't tell you, I'm a wh-white witch. I d-do healing spells, and calming, and other th-things to k-keep people s-safe and h-healthy and happy, so, if you ever have a problem I might b-be able to help."
"I'd like you to take me," Krist admitted quietly, his tone soft as though he might be turned down... as though anybody had really turned him down for anything lately. "Tayne didn't... tell me that." He wasn't sure if he was supposed to react a certain way to that information, and settled on simply giving a nod and a smile. He wasn't all that sure what that was supposed to mean to him, but safe, healthy and happy were all positive words. He knew that much. "That's very interesting, Justin. Does that mean that's your job?"
Justin smiled at him. "Then of c-course I will," he said warmly. "And d-don't worry about Tayne. He was probably just caught up with everything else. I o-only think about that sort of thing b-because it's what I do." He didn't want to send the guy home thinking Tayne wasn't thinking about him after all, he doubted his friend would be happy about it. Then he nodded. "I work as a n-nurse, helping doctors take care of p-people. And I volunteer as a vet helping a-animals. The m-magic I do when I n-need to and f-for fun."
"Okay... you're probably right about Tayne. I think he feels... busy." Krist had meant to say burdened, but the word wasn't something he could pull up on command, or was even really familiar with, and so he settled on the next best thing. He felt bad sometimes, the amount of things Tayne did for him sinking in very slowly. His attempt at paying him rent was proof of this concern. "It's good that you help people. I wish... I wish I could do that." Krist wondered if he would ever have a job -- a real job that paid money, that in turn he could offer to Tayne.
Justin looked surprised as Krist voiced some concern, and then leaned back. "You'll get there, if that's what you w-want," he said, sounding sure. "Y-You only just started to live as a human, after all. Th-there's lots of jobs I'm s-sure you'd be great at and h-have a lot of fun with." He nodded and then guided the car into the parking lot of the Big and Tall. From the looks of the men going in and out, he already felt pretty short.
"Yeah... a few days ago," he told Justin honestly. Krist had lost track of how long he'd been living with Tayne, but it must have been at least five days, he figured. And then briefly Felicity before that, so he'd been learning for approximately a week now, figuring out human life as he stumbled through it, nearly blind with others to guide him onward. At least he had that. "I want to help... I really do." Krist sighed as he climbed out of the Jeep, looking over the hood at Justin as he came around to the front of it. His gaze blinked between the store and his newfound friend, taking in the area quickly. "I want to help Tayne out. He does a lot for me. Can you... can you teach me to make people calm and happy?"
Justin got out and locked the doors before looking up at Krist, processing the question and then smiling. "You kn-know what... I think I can," he said, mulling it over. Herbs were easy to work with after all. He could teach him to make the tea, maybe how to activate a charm that Justin could make himself. Small things to help Krist feel useful and Tayne relax. "We'll work on th-that when we get home, alright? And g-get some clothes and th-things you need so that's not a worry anymore."
Krist hadn't smiled this hard in a long time, but at Justin's promise there was nothing he could do but smile. It transformed his entire demeanor and as he headed toward the door there was bounce to his step, excitement teeming all throughout his body. He couldn't wait to be able to help out; anything that would make Tayne's life a little easier would make Krist happy. "As soon as we get home, then," he said over his shoulder, pausing to hold the door for Justin. It was something he'd seen people do for each other.
Justin's smile got just as wide when he watched the bounce enter the other man's step. He walked in and looked around. This store had a lot, everything you could think of to wear, but he still made a mental note to ask about bedding, toiletries, and books or other things that would keep that smile about. "Thanks, mate," he said, looking up at him and then looked around. "Right. W-well, let's start, then. What've you g-got in the closet at home, right n-now?"
"What?" Krist asked, stopping inside to look at Justin. "What's in the closet at home...? Wait, what? Mate?" He blinked, bright blue eyes staring hard at the smaller man, scanning him up and down quickly. Mate? They hadn't mated. He was confused suddenly, and wondered if that had been some sort of indication. Were they supposed to...? Krist took in a sudden breath, the obvious confusion all over his body. Mating was having sex, and he was positive that hadn't happened just yet, which meant Justin must have been waiting for it. How had he missed that?
Justin started as Krist stopped suddenly, and under the other's critical gaze wilted, pulling back and becoming incredibly self conscious, especially as he suddenly realized what Krist had thought. His face went maroon and he backed away again, this time running straight into a display mannequin and nearly knocking it over. He grabbed it, flustered, and pulled the white man upright before turning. "I'm E-E-English," he said, almost bursting into tears. "It's h-h-how w-we s-say 'f-f-friend', it's n-not...." he squeezed his eyes closed. Why did everybody here think he wanted to have sex with them? He was the one with an accent, it was supposed to be the other way around.
Krist's eyes widened incredibly and he panicked, following after Justin as though a terrible event were shaking the entire universe. His hands were outstretched wildly and he hesitated, hovering over him as the smaller man straightened up what he'd knocked over, trying his hardest to explain himself. Krist felt his entire body flush dark red, and he was fairly certain there had never, ever before, been a time in his life when he'd felt so incredibly embarrassed. "I... I'm not, I didn't..." He didn't know what to say, and so he just gave up, mouth hanging open, people around them stopping to stare. "I'm so sorry," he finally whispered.
Justin looked up at him, then down. He was painfully aware of everybody staring at them, and mostly he just wanted to crawl into the middle of the rack of extra-long shirts and rock a bit with his arms around his knees, but Krist needed him at the moment. He took a deep breath and looked up at him again. "I.... it's n-n-not y-your fault. I'll... I'll t-try to w-w-watch how I t-talk," he managed at last, then bit the inside of his cheek, hard. "You... y-you kn-kn-know I'm n-n-not... d-d-doing this for... for th-that. Anything l-l-like that, r-right? I d-don't... I'm j-just here t-to make a f-f-friend, n-n-not to e-earn...." he stopped, almost moaning at the thought before he shook his head. "J-just a f-friend," he whispered.
"Okay..." Krist sighed and glanced around as well, thrown off by the eyes staring at him from what felt like everywhere. "Just friends," he repeated, nodding, though he hadn't looked back to Justin just yet. He was too busy being worried by the people surrounding them. "We're fine," he told them, his voice booming out of no where, louder than he'd meant for it to be and shattering his otherwise friendly demeanor. It was the first real sign of aggression Krist had shown anybody since his lunge into human life, and in a flash - as quickly as it had appeared - it was gone again. It was as though he hadn't been able to control it, reign it in and keep it hidden. The stresses that came along with everything else had finally caught up to Krist, and when his attention did return to Justin (the men around them wandering away), the expression on his face was one of horror. He hadn't meant to sound like that, to lose himself so easily to the embarrassment and unease that had taken over so fast.
Justin started at the sound, but looked up shakily and then reached out, giving Krist's arm a friendly squeeze. "It's o-ok," he murmured softly. Really, what else could he say? That he was feeling stupid for using British terms and getting Krist confused and upset over nothing? Justin didn't seem to be able to keep the day going smoothly, if it wasn't cleaning unexpectedly it was scaring the life out of him with the dogs or the way he talked. His shoulders slumped in defeat and he looked at him. "L-let's just... ahm... get clothes, r-right? Y-you ok?"
Krist nodded and scooted closer to Justin as though he were some sort of comfort zone for him, his eyes staying glued to him rather than all the people around them. "Yeah, I'm okay... I'm sorry... I didn't mean to..." He felt like he'd messed up the entire day, and hoped that Justin didn't want to send him home immediately. He really liked Justin's company so far, and couldn't even begin to imagine how he might tell Tayne he'd messed up his day out of the house with a friend of his.
Justin smiled up at him weakly. "L-look... you didn't d-do anything wr-wrong, so, if you can f-forgive m-me for saying st-stupid things, w-we'll have a great day, y-yeah?" he said, grinning weakly. "What's in th-the closet at h-home? What c-clothes do you h-have already?" He thought that if he could get them past saying stupid things than the pair of them would have a much better time bringing Krist's big smile back.
"I have some pants," Krist told him, thinking. "And shirts... two of those. And some socks...? And... these things..." He gestured toward his lower half, not sure what to call the boxers he had on. "Um, but I don't think I have enough of them. I'm not sure. What do you think I should have?" He glanced to the side a few times, doing a double-take before he realized what his eyes were seeing, and stared, confused, at a mannequin standing nearby. "Justin?" he whispered, gesturing to the unmoving human figure. "What is that...?"
"So we're going to g-get you everything. Completely n-new wardrobe," Justin said, a bit excited about that, smiling and then pausing when he looked over. "Oh, that's a sh-shop dummy. They w-were the clothes so you can s-see them on a human f-figure, see? The sh-shirt he's w-wearing is right..." he paused, looking around and then pulling out the sweater. "Here. And there are the p-pants, over there. They're j-just examples."
Krist thought that this concept of a new wardrobe sounded fantastic. He couldn't wait to bring lots of things home and begin wearing them. He could maybe even change his outfit several times every day if he wanted to! Krist hesitated before approaching the mannequin, fascinated by it. "Are you sure it's... that's not a real person?" Of course it wasn't, his brain told him, but it was such a foreign concept to him. Very reluctantly, Krist glanced at the sweater Justin was holding, and back up to see what was on the dummy. They were definitely the same thing. He reached out and picked up another sweater, identical to the two others and asked, "Can I have this?"
Justin grinned. "I p-promise they're not real," he said, then beamed. "Y-yeah! It'll look brilliant on y-you. Here, we'll try this s-size on," he said, checking the tags and then grinning, glad that Krist was already picking out things he liked. "We can get all s-sorts of things. Anything you like. Just m-make sure you get a l-long size, we'll w-work on finding your specific s-size in the dressing room."
Krist smiled at the reassurance, taking one last look up at the mannequin. It still had yet to move, which was perfectly fine by him. Otherwise, the werehorse may have been suffering nightmares on the matter. "Okay," he answered, beaming as well, his grin full and confident. He didn't smile like this very often, but he was feeling slightly more confident at the compliment. The idea of trying on all sorts of different styles of clothes was appealing to Krist. His experience with stores in general was severely limited, and clothing was amazingly foreign, although his interest in it was growing in leaps and bounds. He turned and headed into the forests of clothing racks, towering above most of it even as other men walked around in the area as well. Every so often he would stop and pull something out, holding it up to 'check' it. He wasn't sure what he was checking for, but Justin had told him to make sure to look, and he'd seen the other man glancing at the tags. The clothes he collected were all different sizes, not that Krist understood that. He couldn't read, and couldn't grasp what he was doing wrong.
Justin followed, also looking at the clothes and working out a list in his mind. He had to make sure he got everything, all of the clothes in the world couldn't make up for the lack of a good belt, or enough socks or underwear to stay happy and clean looking. He noticed the range of different sizes, but smiled and said nothing, letting Krist pick out what he liked. They could find out together what size he wore in the dressing room, and then Justin could take the clothes in the wrong size back and get what Krist needed while he tried on. As their arms filled up he paused. "Why don't we t-try on these, decide what you l-like in this stuff?" he offered, then remembered he probably had to explain. "There's a d-dressing room over there to try them on. Then whatever you l-like out of these we can give to the c-clerk while we keep looking."
"Oh, okay." Krist took all the clothes he'd gathered and headed toward the area Justin had pointed out, eager to do as he was told and try the clothes on. He understood that much at least, as Tayne had told him something similar when they'd picked out his first couple of pieces of clothing. Finding him pants that had fit had been a challenge, and he assumed that today would be much the same. "Any... anywhere?" he asked, looking back over his shoulder. There was a man standing near the dressing rooms, giving Krist an odd look. "How many?" he asked, his expression expectant. "How many what?" Krist returned, not even sure what was going on at this point.
Justin hurried after him, holding onto some other clothes. He hadn't even thought to check what the man was currently wearing. "Ah, s-sorry," he stammered to the attendant, then counted. "N-nine for him and seven for m-me, thanks." He just had clothes for Krist, but he was aware there were often limits. So he'd pretend to be really lost and confused, shopping in the Big and Tall shop for himself with a friend.
The man helping at the dressing room directed them in and gave them small plastic tags to hang on their doors, and Krist took what he had with him into one of the middle rooms. It took him a little while, but he tried everything on piece by piece, being sure they fit him alright before coming back out again. There were irritated grunts and vague ripping sounds every so often, but all in all Krist was enjoying himself and would hopefully come out of this event with success. He wondered what Tayne was doing when he finally emerged, clothes over each arm as he looked for Justin. Now to look for underwear...