Frankie nodded a little to show she was still listening, still watching the crowd. It was somewhere between fascinating and overwhelming to her, as sleepy as her hometown was. The only place back there with any real activity was the 7/11 parking lot, and even that seemed intimate compared to this.
"Freedom huh? Must be nice.." He spoke, clutching onto his bag as he once again looked away to surface the crowd with his eyes.
Only this time he saw two kids one looked around his age, the other one looked younger. Maybe they were siblings? He watched as they moved to sit down on the stairs.
Lars smirked a little at the boy’s comment. “Nice… But hardly ever boring.” he agreed. “You know, we're a rough group overall but we're also pretty welcoming if you can find a mentor or someone to watch out for you.” he admitted slyly. It had been a while since he trained anyone and these two seemed like they had potential. Especially if they didn't have anywhere else to go…
Alister eyes flickered to the boy sitting in the booth, sensing he was looking at them. He quickly avoided his gaze, however. It was uncomfortable, and he had enjoyed the feeling of being invisible to the people of the Underground. He looked to his sister, then patted his lap. She laid across it, then closed her eyes. Noel needed to sleep more than he did.
Frankie glanced back at Lars, fidgeting with the sleeves of her flannel. "Good to know." She said, looking back out at the crowd. She had always enjoyed people-watching.
"Mentor? What do you mean mentor?" He raised a brow as he spoke to them. He wasn't opposed to the idea, he just didn't want to get caught up in a pyramid scheme or something bad like that.
He continued to look at alistsr before looking back at the two he was sitting with.
“What do you think I mean, kid?” Lars sighed, rolling his eyes as he answered. “No one makes it in a place like this without learning certain skills. Like how to avoid getting your wallet picked off, or who not to annoy. Plus, you get the benefit of someone else's reputation to work with or keep you out of trouble.” he explained. “And, sometimes, certain people will let the kids they're teaching stay with them.”
Frankie glanced back at them again, tilting her head. If I should be so lucky… She thought, fidgeting a bit.
"Oh- right. Yeah that does sound really useful and helpful…I don't have a place to stay for the night, or at all.." He muttered, looking down at his dufflebag before looking up at Lars.
"Did you…have any spots open?"
Lars smirked again. “It's more helpful than you think. And, as a matter of fact, I do have some free space at my place.” he confirmed. “Are either of you interested in having me as your mentor? Actually, I have enough room for both of you and probably a couple other kids too.” he added, noticing how the boy kept looking off somewhere.
“This is uncomfortable.”
Noel squirmed, then got up from his lap. Alister chuckled softly. “Sorry.”
“Nah, it’s fine.” She sighed, and blew a raspberry. “They aren’t leaving yet.”
“No, they are not,” her brother agreed. “But did you hear? Sounds like those kids are like us.”
“Yeah? But you’re not gonna go over there, are you?”
“Uh….”
Frankie perked up a little, almost hopeful. "Really?" It sounds too good to be true-
“Really.” Lars nodded with a surprisingly kind smile. “Of course, the choice is completely up to you. If you're not interested, then I suggest that you get out of the Underground as soon as you can. Otherwise, we can get going and get you set up at my place.”
Frankie blinked a few times. "…Can I please come?"
He looked at Lars before looking at alister and Noel in the corner, before looking back at Lars.
"..how much room do you have?" He asked him, hoping that maybe he could help those two out.
Lars smiled and gave a nod at Frankie's question. “You can if you want to, kiddo.” he assured before turning to the red-headed boy. “Not including my room, I have three guest rooms and a pull-out couch, if we need it. Think that'll be enough?” he asked raising a brow but smirking.
Once the boy in the booth wasn’t looking at them, Alister looked back and decided to eavesdrop on the conversation again.
“I’m not going to go over there,” he whispered to his sister, “but maybe we could follow them?”
Noel answered with a shrug. “I don’t have any better ideas.”
He chuckled softly, "yeah I think so Lars Sir." He accidentally let the sir slip out as he was a bit used to addressing older people in that way with his family.
Frankie looked between the two, messing with her sleeves again as she chewed her lip.
“Alright, kid. Just don't call me “sir”. It makes me feel older than I am.” he chuckled before looking over at Frankie. “There's no pressure if you don't want to come. Just know that the offer’s open.” he assured her.
(boop)
"Oh- uh sorry s- I mean sorry Lars!" He spoke before chuckling awkwardly, he moved to hold tight to his stuff and stand up.
"I'm gonna go do something, over there." He then headed towards the siblings.
Frankie looked up at him. "No, I want to come. I just tend to fidget."
“It's alright, kid.” Lars nodded, smiling at the two. It was a little funny how nervous the both of them were. “Alright. We’ll wait for you to get back but don't take too long,” he told the boy, suspecting what he was going to do. “So, what's your name, missy?” he said, just making conversation with the girl.
"Frances, but I mainly go by Frankie." She said, leg bouncing under the table.
“Alright, Frankie. While we got a minute alone, mind if I ask you if there's anything… special I need to know about you?” he asked gently, caringly. “I mean, if I'm going to take you under my wing, I don't want to say or do anything that would be triggering for you. And don't worry. I plan to ask him this too.” he assured.
The siblings were now watching the group with interest, both actively eavesdropping on them. Once they saw the boy walking towards them, however, they quickly looked away. Alister tried to look as unnoticeable as possible. “Oh, no,” he muttered.
He continued his way over to them while looming around the area and then basically getting to be infront of them.
"Hey, so I know this is crazy, but are you guys in need of somewhere to stay?"
She shrugged a little bit, almost shrinking into herself. "Nothing that's come up." She admitted, picking at her nails.
Lars nodded. “Just making sure. If I’m going to be your mentor, I want you to know that you can tell me anything and that I will take care of you.” he assured her. “Make no mistake, I'm a strict teacher but I am not cruel.”