Damien nodded, semi satisfied with the answer. If a cabbage could fit inside a blender cut in fourths, then it was decently sized, sorta.
"And you dont own one yet? Is it like expensive or something?"
He was intrigued by the new packaging, mostly because of the very bright coloring, which he did not remember seeing while outside - in fact, most of the stuff Mari had brought back held so much more color in them than he recalled ever being in objects, stuff was just a lot duller the way he remembered it.
"Thats a neat little package. And much nicer too. I like it. But what is it made of tho? I dont think i ever met something so… rustley sounding"
Still very excited about the new taste, he checked the package, finding the name she'd mentioned on it, on a very peculiar font as well.
"Tootsie roll…. It tastes awesome! The name is a little funny, but i like it!" he smiled, checking the insides of the bag for more interesting content. "I see theres a few more in here, but a bunch of others as well. Are they all like that?"
Mari shook her head a little. ”I don't own my own house yet, so I don't need one personally. My parents have one and I’m allowed to use it.” she explained. ”I don't think they're very expensive. Pretty sure that most everyone has one.”
”It’s made of plastic.” she told him. ”A lot of things are. It's a pretty common material actually. Almost as common as wood and metal, nowadays.” Maybe more so? I wouldn't be surprised…
She chuckled, nodding. ”Yeah, it is a funny name. I think it was to make people smile even before they ate the candy.” she shrugged, unable to think of a better explanation.
"Oooh, so you have one, just arent allowed to use it, i get it… " he corrected himself. "Do they not allow you to use it cuz you might get hurt? From the blades or something?"
After being told the name, Damien continued to rustle the bag, in search of another candy he could try next.
"Plastic? Never heard of it. Its a thing that got invented relatively recently, no?"
He took one more glance at the chocolate wrapping with a small smile on his lips before opening another one and tasting the candy.
"Well, i think its done its job. It does make me a bit happy to see it."
“Oh, I can use it.” she corrected gently. ”My parents just have to supervise so I don't mess up somehow… Or, yeah, get hurt.” she nodded at the last part.
Mari hummed a little. ”I’m not sure when it first started getting used… but I'm sure it's been around for a while. Maybe a couple decades… could be a century but I don't really know.” she admitted with a brief shrug.
”Yeah? Well, I'm glad you like it.” she chuckled. ”You know, you ask a lot of questions that make me think about the world differently. There's nothing wrong with that but it's an interesting perspective.” she told him with a gentle smile.
"Is it complicated to use?" he continued to ask, still very curious about the odd machine that they were talking about.
"Hmm, i thought so… What other stuff is new out there? Aside from plastic, and blenders and phones, and books with colorful real pictures?"
The boy was munching on a different candy as he listed all the things he knew about, moving his legs a little bit so they would not fall asleep under him. All the talk about what lay outside his little nest made him want to just go out there and see it for himself, even for just one day. But could he do it though? He wasnt sure he had the courage to.
He smiled at her statement, lightly swinging back and forth, with the vandy still in hand.
"Oh… Well, you do live surrounded by all these things every day, so perhaps you're not used to paying them much attention." he dared speak, carefully putting a stretched out candy wrapper aside, like it was an important object. Honestly, everything felt pretty new to him, even stuff that would have been considered normal back in his day and age - of course, most of his inexperience could be explained away by his very sheltered life style, which he'd most likely kept since he was a very small kid.
”I don't think so. I have had a little trouble with it before but nothing serious.” she shrugged a little. ”My parents just worry.”
Mari leaned back as she thought about how to answer that question. ”I’m not sure… I guess… Medicine has probably changed a lot but it really depends on what you remember from before.” she explained before chuckling briefly. ”I didn't think about the pictures.” she admitted, glancing at his book. ”What’s something you knew about or enjoyed? Maybe I know something about it.”
She nodded thoughtfully at his surprisingly insightful response. ”That… That makes sense. I guess there is something to be said about being desensitized to stuff.”
Damien switched his attention back to his sleeves, slowly twisting the fabric in his hands.
"Well, they probably worry because they care about you, and want to know you safe…" he said softly, remembering what he had been told back when he was small - he liked to remember those small quotes, even to just relieve his loneliness at times.
"Hmm, the only thing that would come to mind right now would probably be books." he admitted after a brief pause in which he reviewed his interests. "I rarely left the house when i was still with my mom, but she always brought me something when she went out. I kinda used to just play around the house as a kid, but after i got here, books were pretty much the only thing i held an interest in, because i could visit so many worlds without actually leaving"
He nodded slowly with a smile, putting the third candy wrapper next to him and moving the bag aside. Its contents were really good, but Mari had warned him not to eat the whole thing in one sitting, so thats what he decided to do. Besides, they would last him longer that way
Marissa nodded with a smile. ”I know they do. All parents do.” At least, the good ones… she added mentally. She knew there were a fair amount of neglectful parents out there but there was no reason to mention that fact to Damien yet.
”I can understand that. Books are always a great escape.” she sighed softly. ”I lost track of the times I pretended to be the hero in a book I just read. Umm, let's see… Obviously, there is a lot more books that have been written over the years. And probably a few new genres would have been introduced, like young adult and historical fiction. Not to mention magazines.” she told him.
She chuckled a little as she watched him unwrap one of those suckers with the bubble gum center. That would be an interesting surprise for him. ”I know your mother kept you pretty sheltered but, umm, I have a couple questions about you. Well, one about you and one for you.” she clarified. ”Have you ever heard of or tried sports?”
"Mhm.." he approved, lost in thought. This discussion had unwillingly driven him to attempt remembering what it was like to have someone to care for him. Despite it being so long ago, he could vaguely remember a warm sensation, that put him at ease when he felt alone. He didnt miss it as much as he did back when its absence was still a fresh wound in his soul, but he did start wondering if a lot of the things he remembered were still accurate or his mind had deformed them over time. Either way, he felt Mari was a very lucky girl, to have a caring family.
"Genres? Like, types of books?" he suddenly perked up again, interested in the subject. Most of the books in the mansion's library were either classics or various book of multiple different genres which he read one by one in the other they were placed on the shelves. That way he'd discovered what he liked and did not like - exploration and biology books were his best friends when he wanted to know more about the outer world, political and historical books were pretty heavy and took longer to read, but at least he had caught glimpses of the human world and thought process, while fantastic books offered a whole world just for him to explore and sink in. He'd managed to dig up several tales about vampire slayers, and while they left a small bitter taste in his mouth, he rarely associated with the creatures described in it - for one, the vampires in books were usually feral and really ugly - but at the same time he kinda learned what exactly was it that humans found scary about him and did his best to not replicate them.
"Do you have any favorites?" he asked, eager to know more about new literature.
"Sports?" he asked, his mouth full. "I think i heard about them, probably from one of the books here but i dont think i ever tried any. I wouldnt know how."
He made a little face as he was munching on the candy, seemingly confused as to why the thing in his mouth had turned rubbery instead of melting like all the others did
"Uh, Mari? i think this one's gone bad or something. Its rubbery…"
”Yeah, there's a lot of different types too.” she nodded again. ”My favorite genre would have to be a tie between detective novels and fantasy or sci-fi… Umm, science fiction.” she clarified since he probably wasn't familiar with the nickname for that genre.
”That’s ok. I was just wondering.” Mari assured him. ”If you're ever interested, I don't really play a lot of sports but I know a lot about them.” she offered even though she was unsure if he was actually into sports… But it didn't hurt to ask. ”Well, maybe ”a lot” is overstating it a little… I’m not an expert but I enjoy playing.”
She chuckled as she watched his face, shaking her head at the question. ”No, there's nothing wrong with that one, Damien. That's just the bubble gum center of the sucker. You can chew on it for a while.” she explained, pointing at the wrapper.
"Detective and fantastic works…. so like, with mysteries and cool adventures? I love those too! Its just so intriguing to read all those stories…" he smiled, glad his friend was into something he was as well.
Damien waved his hand in a "dont worry, its ok" gesture, to let her know her question was alright.
"What kind of… sports do you find interesting? Which ones do you play?" he asked, curious to know what she thought. He wasn't personally acquainted with any sports as he never took part in any, and didnt even know what exactly qualified as a sport.
"Bubble gum…?" the boy repeated, intrigued about the foreign name. "Why do they call it that?"
”Yeah, they really are interesting. You like them too?” she brightened at the fact that they had similar interests in stories. It helped give her a better idea of what to bring him when she came over next time.
”Well, my top five to actually participate in is; Track or running, swimming, basketball, baseball, and soccer.” she told him, hoping she wasn't overwhelming him with information that he wasn't familiar with. ”I also like to watch professionals play those last three and football.”
Mari’s smile grew. ”Because you can blow bubbles with it. That's part of why it feels a little rubbery… Though really all gum feels like that but this kind is made specifically for blowing bubbles.” she explained. ”I could show you if you want.”
"Mhm! Mhm! Those are always really cool to read, cuz you never know who to suspect whenever something bad happens, so you're always on edge" he chirped happily, remembering the mystery books he'd read. They werent many, but he very much enjoyed them. "Also the ones with cool creatures. Those stories are intriguing as well, mostly because the creatures are cool and the main characters are sometimes very interesting."
Damien counted the sports on his fingers as the girl listed them, stopping at the last and lifting his gaze back towards Mari.
"Uh, what's soccer?" most of the other sounded familiar or at the very least he could vaguely tell what they were about, like basketball and baseball both involving a ball of some kind, but soccer didnt ring any bells in him.
"And how do you play them all?"
Blowing bubbles with rubbery candy was beyond Damien's understanding, but he was nevertheless intrigued. Just how could one do that?
"Yeah, sure, please do." he said, offering the candy bag to her so she could rummage inside for another bubble gum core sucker.
”Exactly!” she agreed enthusiastically. ”The twists are surprising and brilliantly written. My favorite has to be Sherlock Holmes… though Nancy Drew is still pretty good. Do you have a favorite mystery book?” she asked. If he liked fantasy creature stories then he might like Lord of the Rings or Harry Potter…
”Soccer is similar to football and lacrosse except your not allowed to use your hands. You and your team have to try to get the ball into the other team's goal, past the goalie.” she explained. ”Oh, I don't play all of them all at once. Most of them are part of P.E. in school. The physical education.” she clarified. ”But, I enjoy it… Most of it. Oh, dodgeball is also pretty fun too.”
Mari smiled and reached into the bag, pulling out an actual piece of bubble gum instead of a sucker filled with the chewy treat. She had to chew on the piece for a moment to get it pliable enough before blowing a decent sized bubble to show Damien what she meant.
Damien had to pause for a little bit, scrolling through the list of books in his mind, trying to remember what exactly which ones he fancied the most - there were several which he enjoyed reading, but Mari had asked for one book specifically.
"Hmmm, if i remember correctly, i really liked 'Lady in White', cuz the author just has this way with words i really like. But 'A study in red' was also a big favorite" he answered, nodding his head at the night stand where a roughed up copy of said book lay silently, placed there by the boy in a rush as he was trying to get to the door to greet his friend.
"Oh i see, so its a ball game too. I think i remember seeing something similar once - some kids passing a ball between them, but there were no goalies, at least none that i could see. And you play all of those in school? That must be so nice" he smiled a little, thinking what it must be like to play such a game with other people. He himself has played with a ball when he was younger, but most times he'd been alone or with his mother. "How do you play them all?"
Damien watched her with interest as she munched on the funny candy, just waiting to see the little demonstration play out. When she did eventually blow the awaited bubble, his visible eye widened, clearly surprised the thing actually worked.
"How did you do that?" he asked, very much intrigued. "Can you do it again?"
Mari inhaled the bubble to let it pop inside her mouth to avoid any awkward conversation. ”I think I've heard of those books, unfortunately I haven't read them before.” she commented. She wasn't sure but she wouldn't be surprised if those books had been turned into a movie at some point and that's why they sounded familiar.
”Yeah, having goalies actually depends on if you have enough players unless you're on a real team and not just playing for fun.” she clarified, a little embarrassed that she just realized he was asking how to play the different sports. ”Let’s see… Well, for starters all the sports I mentioned have two teams, otherwise, it wouldn't be much of a competition. With basketball, you have to try to score more points, or baskets, than the other team by shooting the ball into a net that’s way over your head and the ball has to stay in motion most of the time.” she started explaining, even showing him the motion of shooting the ball into the air.
She chuckled a little at his reaction to the bubble before she nodded. ”Of course I can. It's actually pretty easy once you get the hang of it.” she encouraged him. ”You kinda have to smooth out gum a little first. I use the roof of my mouth and my tongue to do that. Then you move the gum to the front of your mouth and poke your tongue through the gum… Just a little. You don't actually want to make a hole in it or it won't work.” she explained with a small smile. ”Then you just blow gently until a bubble forms.”
As she spoke, Damien put the cookbook aside and grabbed the book on the night stand, handing it to Mari.
"its okay, im the one who's critically out of date on literature, so dont worry about it. They're all pretty old books, especially Lady in white, that one was written way before i was born - im guessing you can already tell just how old that makes it - tho this one was published closer to when i was still with my mother." He handed her the roughed up copy of the book, 'A study in red' by Arthur Conan Doyle.
For a book that was published nearly two centuries ago, it was in pretty good shape, considering it was presumably an original copy, with the leather covers still mostly intact even after so long - only the boy's constant rereads had left small marks here and there, from being held the same way so many times.
He watched her movements as she explained how basketball works, imagining the whole thing in his head - it sounded pretty interesting, in his opinion, just a little bit too active for his shy self.
"So, the game ends when one of the teams scores the most points? It sounds really neat, kinda reminds me of "The donkey" game, but with two whole teams and the hoop things"
"And just how much do you blow in it? Until it pops?" The bubble thing had gotten him pretty excited, really wanting to try it for himself.
At first he didnt exactly understand how exactly to smooth out the gum or how to keep it in his mouth as he blew in it. With repeated attempts of trial and error, he eventually managed to blow a small bubble, while struggling to keep the gum from exiting his mouth. Needless to say, he was very much excited when he succeeded in blowing his first ever bubble
"I did it! I did it! Not as big as yours but i did it!"
She accepted the book delicately, so she wouldn't damage it and carefully leaved through the pages. Seeing the familiar name of the author made her smile. It was sure to be a very good read. ”You’ll catch up. I can bring you all different kinds of books from the public library and you can keep them for two weeks before they have to go back or be renewed.” she explained.
”Well, professionally it’s timed but yes, you're right.” Mari nodded a little. ”How do you play ”Donkey”? I don't think I've ever heard of it before.” she told him.
She chuckled a little and shrugged. ”As long as you want. Just be careful. If it gets too big, it’ll blow up in your face and gum is very hard to get out of hair.” she warned, though her smile grew as she watched him. ”Yes, you did! It was a great first attempt.” she congratulated him.
"You'd… You'd do that? Really?" The boy's visible eye lit up with excitement at the prospect of new books he could read. The library of the mansion may have been huge, but it could not supply him with new books to read forever - he was in fact rereading most of it for years out of boredom.
"Two weeks? why is that?" he asked.
A timed game sure made things go a lot faster, Damien thought, thinking of the new sports he'd learned about today.
"Ah, well, in Donkey u usually have 3 players out of which one is the Donkey. The other two have to pass the ball from one another without letting the Donkey get to it. If he does touch it however, the guy who last touched the ball takes the donkey's place" he explained, while also mimicking the movements in hope she would understand better.
Damien retreated slightly when she mentioned how the gum could stick to his hair if big enough. In his case, the bob cut made it easy for the gum to stick if it wasnt properly pulled back - the part covering his left eye was the most vulnerable to this.
"Just how big can a bubble get…?" he softly asked, looking at the wrapper he had in hand. His bubble had been pretty small compared to Mari's but he was curious to know what the extreme was.
He smiled coyly and blushed a bit as he was being congratulated, enjoying the warm feeling he got from her words
”Of course I would. I don't go to the library very much myself but I don't have a problem getting some books for my new friend to read.” she smiled brightly at him. ”The two-week thing is just so people don't keep the books and not give them back. It's supposed to give everyone a chance to read the books.” she explained, still happy to help him.
Mari nodded thoughtfully at his description of the old game. ”Sounds kinda like ”Monkey in the Middle”, just without throwing the ball.” she noted, comparing the two games. ”My brothers and me play that sometimes.”
”Well, it really depends on how skilled you are. Some people can get it as big as their head. Honestly, I can't get it that big but I suspect they had more then one piece when they did that.” she chuckled. ”Don’t worry too much. You can get gum out with peanut butter. Something about the oils in it working against the stickiness of the gum.” she assured him.
"Ooh, so its more like borrowing? makes sense now. I think i can read a book in less than two weeks so no need to worry about them being overdue" he assured her, happy to know he'd get a chance to read something new after years of rereads.
Perhaps the game he remembered and the one she played could have been related somehow, just altered by time, who knew.
"You guys play that? Is it fun?"
The question was a little silly, but for someone who'd never played the game due to the lack of participants, Damien was genuinely curious.
"As big as their heads…. Wow. Why though? Do they do it just for fun?"
Imagining a bubble as big as his own head was a weird thought, but also fasinating at the same time. Just how many pieces would it take to make one like that?
"uh, what's peanut butter? sorry for asking a lot of questions but so much stuff you're telling me about is complete news to me"
”That’s it. That’s exactly what it is.” she smiled, honestly having forgotten that was the word until he said it. ”I’m not too worried about a book being overdue… But, how many books do you think you can read in that time?” she asked. The library had a limit of how many books someone could check out at a time and considering how much Damien enjoyed books, she would be willing to meet that limit if he was interested.
Mari nodded at his question. ”It’s both fun and a little frustrating. At least for the monkey.” she chuckled. ”Though depending on who you play with, some people can get a little… aggressive when keeping the ball away from the monkey. Some people like to tease more than necessary.” she told him, though she would never do something like that to him… or her brothers.
”Honestly I'm not sure. It could just be for fun, part of a dare or competition.” she shrugged. ”Or maybe they think they can set a record of some kind by doing stuff like that.” Her eyes widened at the question. She thought sure that he would have known about… ”You don't know what peanut… Uhh, peanut butter is a… I guess you could call it a cream or thick sauce. It's made of ground peanuts mostly. It's really delicious.” she assured him, already planning to bring him a small jar the next time she came over.
She smiled and waved away his worries. ”I don't mind answering your questions. It kinda helps me realize how much I really know about stuff. Especially things I never thought much about.” she admitted. ”Besides, if I'm being honest, I have a few questions about you too.”
"Well, i think i can fit about 3 to 5 medium sized books in that time, depends entirely on how i enjoy the book." he replied, looking at the copy of the "study in red" she'd showed to her. With its relatively small size, he could down it in less than a day and still have time to spare. The rough estimate he'd given was so that she wouldnt get in trouble for not returning the books on time, in case she brought more than he could read in 2 weeks.
His expression seemed to shift a little bit, as he bit his lip at the prospect of the game getting potentially aggressive depending on who played. Sure, he would have wanted to try it, but now he was not so sure, with his small frame and general lack of experience with such things. He probably wouldnt have made for an entertaining playmate.
"I see… But there's no actual physical aggression, right?"
"Oh, well, competitions or fun makes sense, i can see that now" Damien perked up, picturing what it must be like for several kids trying to beat each other at a competition of who could make the biggest bubble. Of course, he'd never seen how those usually go, therefore his imagination ran a little wild.
"I dont think i ever ate peanuts before…" he confessed to her, looking slightly ashamed. "I heard of them, but never really got any; theres none here in this forest, i can tell you that, and i dont recall much from back home, the first one…"
The boy shyly nodded, glad she was not bothered by his frequent questions - he already felt a little on edge for asking them in the first place, but her positive feedback gave him courage to step out of his shy zone.
"So its kinda like a test for you? To see how much you actually know about stuff" he spoke, gently touching one cheek with a finger, like he was thinking of something. "Sure! You can ask anything, i'd be very glad to answer any question you have!"
Mari nodded a little, those numbers were definitely a good start so he could catch up on reading material and discover any new favorites.
Upon noticing his uncertainty, she reached up a hand to place on his shoulder but pulled back as she remembered he might not be ready for that. ”Hey, it's ok. I wouldn't let anyone do that to you.” she promised gently. ”Some people can be jerks but for the most part but… No, no one really gets hurt.”
She smiled a little seeing him cheer back up at the idea of a bubble gum competition. ”Well, I think peanut butter is the best and peanuts are pretty good too… Though some people are allergic.” she remembered, a slight worry coming over her at the thought of accidentally putting Damien in a state of medical shock. Though if any of those myths about vampires had a grain of truth in them, then he should be safe from anything except garlic. Her smile turned soft as he mentioned his old home. She hoped one day he would tell her more about it.
Mari chuckled softly and shrugged. ”I guess you could call it that.” she agreed, glad he seemed more comfortable with the idea of asking questions. ”Umm… they’re questions about being a vampire.” she warned him, looking sheepish at the confession.
He sighed a bit in relief, slightly comforted by her words, and the low chance of getting hurt while playing. Being reassured she wouldn't let something bad happen to him brought a little warmth to his heart, in a way he hadn't felt like in years. It felt very nice.
"Thanks… i really appreciate it" he offered a small smile, only now noticing the hand she had raised towards him slowly pulling back.
He watched her relative enthusiasm at the subject of peanuts and peanut butter, now curious to see what it actually tasted like.
"Allergic, as in they dont feel well after eating them?" he asked, trying to comprehend how someone could be allergic to something like that - he did know what an allergy was, yes, his mother did have a mild case of insect bite allergy as far as he could remember but peanut allergy just sounded a little weird to him, most likely because the term did not exist back in his time, and wouldn't for at least a century.
His enthusiasm stalled for a second, the expression on his face turning curious rather than disappointed or sad, as one would have expected. It was true the boy did feel a great deal of insecurity about his condition, but that was mostly because of the backlash he kept getting for it. Now, to have someone ask him about it out of curiosity and be nice to him, that took away some of the discomfort he felt.
"Sure, ask away" he smiled, trying to show Mari he wasn't too bothered by the subject, making himself a bit more comfortable in his large clothes.
