Nathaniel nodded a bit and gathered the clothes he'd picked out in his arms before heading out of the stall. He stuck close to Zedd, clearly overwhelmed by the people as well, although he was handling it rather well. "Um… I don't remember exactly where we found these, but I think I can find it…" He said softly, holding the clothes a bit closer to his chest.
Zeddicus followed slowly, seeming to try and keep his wings firm against his back again. He hated the thought of little sticky fingers running their way over them and not-so-accidentally pulling them out. The man didn't say anything in reply to Nathaniel either, focusing on the boy's back, hoping to leave the store soon. The worst thought was that they would have to come back in a few months for winter clothes.
Nathaniel stayed as close to Zedd as he could without running into him. Eventually, he managed to find where the pants were and grabbed a couple more jeans in his size. "Um… where do we go now, sir?" He asked softly, turning his gaze up to Zedd.
There was a section across the way that held a few shelves with shoes lining them. Luckily, most of the customers were concerned over the new fall attire for their kids. Zedd took Nathaniel's hand quite gently and lead him over in that direction. There were little stools laid out, a mat nearby representing the sizes of shoes. "Come stand over here and find one that matches your foot," the man said, finally seeming able to breathe a moment.
"Okay, sir…" Nathaniel set down his clothes and stepped on the mat. "Um… I think I'm a size 1." He informed Zedd. He then headed over to the wall of shoes and looked for things that were in his size. He soon found a pair of simple black and white tennis shoes that were size 1 and tried them on. "Yeah… I think these fit."
(It's time)
Zedd watched as Nathaniel tried on the small pair of shoes. It really made him remember just how small the boy was in comparison to himself. "Find at least one more pair you like and we'll go pay. And please no sandals?" he asked, moving to grab a small bundle of socks to go with the shoes as well. He wondered for a moment if he should grab some simple white ones, but changed his mind when he saw a colorful pack. Yeah, Nathaniel seemed like the type to get excited over different colored socks.
"Yes, sir." Nathaniel looked through the shoes until he found a pair of sneakers with a thick, translucent sole. He examined them curiously, tried them on to make sure they fit, and brought the two shoe boxes to Zedd. He was struggling to see over the boxes in his arms, but he was trying his best. "I'm ready, sir!"
Zeddicus easily took the boxes from Nathaniel, setting the socks on top. It felt nice to have something in his hands rather than fiddling around with his wings nervously. He started walking forward towards the check-out counter, occasionally looking over his shoulder to be sure Nathaniel wasn't falling behind. He seemed to be walking a bit faster than earlier, eager to pay and leave the store.
A woman a bit older than him smiled as Zedd set the shoes down in front of her. He held out a hand for Nathaniel to give him the clothing in his arms before setting them down as well.
"Out for a bit of fall shopping, hm? Find everything okay?" the woman asked politely, already moving to scan the items. Zeddicus simply nodded, leaving his hand available for Nathaniel to take if he wanted to. It would make them look like an actual father-son duo that way.
Nathaniel smiled at the lady and took Zedd's hand when it was offered to him. He was definitely glad for the opportunity. He looked around the store curiously while Zedd paid, trilling softly to himself in content. When the lady said the price, which Nathaniel didn't quite hear, he focused his attention again and folded his wings close to his back. Soon, they finished paying and turned away from the counter. "Where are we going now, sir?" Nathaniel asked curiously, his voice soft.
One hundred twenty dollars was cheaper than he had expected considering he was carrying two sets of shoes and a few outfits in the bag at his side. Zeddicus seemed exponentially more relaxed now that they were out of the store as well. "I did say we could go buy you some metals and such if we didn't take too long. And we didn't, so if you'd still like to go, we can," he replied. While Zedd wanted to keep true to his word, he was dreading all the weight everything would cause. He didn't have a car or anything to drive it all back to the shop, so he was dreading having to lift it all. He wondered if the store would do some sort of delivery seeing as everything they would be buying today weighed more than two of himself combined.
After a bit of walking, the two entered a store that seemed about double the size of Zedd's potion shop. "Welcome. Looking for things to put in your potions again, yeah?" the owner of the blacksmith questioned, leaning his elbows on the counter. He was considerably wider than both of his patrons, but they were both very lean. "Actually, I'm gonna need a lot more than that," Zeddicus said, looking down at Nathaniel now. Hopefully the angel knew what was good quality as the adult had no idea. The store owner chuckled loudly. "If you're askin' for a babysitter, you're outta your mind," he said.
"No, I'm not. He's gonna need an anvil and tools and all that," Zedd stated, letting Nathaniel go to wander the store. The other man laughed even louder this time, believing Zeddicus was joking, before noting Zedd's straight expression.
"Oh. You're serious? Listen, I'm thankful for the interest in business, but he's so young to be messin' with that sorta thing-"
"Nathaniel, come here and show him your knife. I know I told you not to, but he can be trusted." At this statement, Zeddicus stared down the blacksmith threateningly as if to warn him what would happen should anyone find out a little kid was making knives for his shop.
Nathaniel was wandering the shop, examining everything curiously. These metals would work nicely… I'd need to figure out how to heat up the metals properly… I don't have a forge and I don't know if Mr. Zedd would let me use a blowtorch… He hummed softly to himself, picking up a couple different metals to examine. He looked up when Zedd summoned him and immediately put everything back where it belonged. "Yes, sir." He returned to Zedd's side and pulled the dagger out of his pocket. He held it out to the blacksmith so that the man could look at it. "I made it last year!" He said, clearly pleased with himself. "It was really helpful for protecting myself when I was living on the streets."
Zeddicus sighed. He should have been specific in what Nathaniel was allowed to say. Oh well. If the man talked, he wouldn't like the consequences.
Based on the looks he was being given, the blacksmith didn't ask about the whole 'on the streets' thing. He examined it thoroughly, examining both the blade and the handle. Based on his several years of experience, he noticed a few things that could be perfected, but overall, it was good for a beginner. "It's better than I thought it would have been for your age," the man stated, trying not to be too hard on the poor boy. It was also shocking at how well mannered the kid was too.
"With more frequent practice, they'll be at top quality within a few years," the blacksmith noted. He also had to take consideration that the blade was a year old and still looked pretty good. Handing the knife back to Nathaniel, he hummed in thought. "So, you thinkin' of makin' him a forge or what?"
"How else is he supposed to make knives?" Zedd asked in return, voice dripping with sarcasm.
Nathaniel grinned brightly and carefully stuck the dagger back in his pocket when the blacksmith returned it to him. "Thank you, sir!" He stood quietly beside Zedd after that, looking between the two men as they talked. He fidgeted with the tips of his wings a bit as he began wandering again to go look at all the nice metals. He figured they wouldn't be getting anything particularly fancy, but it was nice to be able to give them a look, anyway. He purred quietly to himself as he gently ran his fingers along the different metals, looking for which ones he might be allowed to get.
(Forgot to post this here)
nathaniel get what u want m8 i have lots of moneyz zedd said, yeeting out bills on the ground.
(>:00)
(AHAHAHA IM WORKING ON THE REAL ONE I SWEAR)
(hh)
The blacksmith walked around the counter, now standing in front of Zeddicus. "So, are you just gonna let him pick out whatever?" the man asked. Zedd narrowed his eyes before replying. "If you so much as trick him into buying the most expensive items in the store, you're a deadman." The shopkeeper got the hint, nodding quickly. In honesty, Zeddicus scared him a bit as he wasn't sure what all of his potions did. What if he had a secret stash that weren't for sale meant to be used on those who made enemies of him?
Both adults went to follow Nathaniel, Zeddicus making sure Nathaniel didn't hurt himself before even buying anything, and the blacksmith to keep track of the total and to help when needed.
"So kid, are you looking for something in particular?"
"Um… I know steel is pretty standard…" Nathaniel examined the steel curiously. "And maybe silver… I dunno. Silver's more expensive." He sighed softly as he looked around. He stood on his toes to look at some metals on a higher shelf, almost knocking the bars onto himself in the process. It seemed like he was just bound to find ways to hurt himself somehow. He stretched out his wings to try and keep himself balanced while he looked, but he still couldn't see the shelf.
Before the blacksmith could take a bar down from the shelf to show Nathaniel, Zedd had already lifted him up gently from his sides. "Please be careful. You've gotten hurt too much for your own good," Zedd commented, feeling a bit worried now. Nathaniel was bound to hurt himself a lot more now that he would be making knives. He could burn himself, cut himself, accidentally drop a blade on his foot, and a lot more. At this point, Nathaniel needed a constant supply of bandages and healing potions. He might have to start buying standard medicine instead so he didn't run out of potions to sell.
"I sell a few types of steel. Stainless, carbon, and well damascus, but I don't think it's a good idea to start with that as it's so expensive. We have some gold up here for embellishments too," the blacksmith explained.
Nathaniel was a bit taken by surprise when Zedd lifted him up, but he wasn't upset at all. He examined the bars of metal, his eyes wide with curiosity. He picked up one bar, having to use two hands so he wouldn't drop it. It wasn't immensely heavy by itself to an ordinary person, but he only weighed fifteen pounds and could only lift so much. "Hmm… I'll probably just start off with carbon steel, to be honest… and I already know how to embellish the knives." He hummed thoughtfully, resting his head against Zedd's shoulder while he considered.
Zeddicus glanced at the prices of the metals, wondering just how much everything would cost at the end of the day. Stars, his wallet would certainly feel the pain today.
He had only meant to pick up Nathaniel so the boy could see, but now considered holding him longer to avoid more injuries.
Nathaniel grabbed a few bars of carbon steel, clearly struggling under their weight. "W-We can probably just get these for now…" He adjusted his grip on the bars, which weighed more than he did. He was mostly just supporting the bars on Zedd's arm for help. "I don't know if we want to spend money on embellishing until I've really got the hang of it… unless you think people are more likely to buy them if I do, sir."