Arkay glanced around as Vick led him to the mall. He felt small right now, because he was small. He’d made himself childlike, and Arkay wasn’t sure if he’d done that on purpose or not. That uneasiness made him grab on to Vick’s hand. Vick gently held Arkay’s hand as well, and that seemed to make Arkay feel better.
“What are we doing here?” Arkay almost whispered.
“We are getting supplies!” Vick smiled. “We are going to go to the shop and get some bits and pieces, mostly some camping gear and a lot of snacks. Then we are going to go and get ice cream, before heading off to a nice little spot where we will camp for a bit, go fishing then watch the skies for a bit.”
“That… that sounds nice!” Arkay perked up. However, Arkay’s mood dropped a lot as they made their way to the entrance.
As they approached, a guard, a skinny, lanky Beh’evok, stepped forward, pointing at Arkay.
“Excuse me, we do not allow Life Goddesses here.”
Vick blinked in confusion, then looked down at Arkay. “My kid is a Life Goddess?”
The guard also paused and blinked in confusion. “The little guy is your kid?”
“Yeah. This is my son. He’s just a baby though.”
The guard properly turned to Vick. “You seem a little young to have a kid.”
Vick was now even more confused. “What do you mean by that? I am in my late 70s, as far as I can tell!”
“Uh… you are a child as well.”
Vick continued to blink a bit more, before suddenly working out what the guard was talking about. “Oh, I’m sorry, I think you’re confused. I’m not a Beh’evok. I’m a Retha. And this is my son, who is also a Retha. Our races and ages work differently.”
“Huh…” The guard was slightly less confused. “Alright, sure, but we still have the issue that your kid is a Life Goddess.”
“I don’t know how he’s a Life Goddess. He’s my son. I laid him as an egg and I’m not a Life Goddess. He can’t be a Life Goddess. Maybe your scanning machine is wrong or something?”
The guard hesitated, then relented. “Maybe he isn’t a Life Goddess, but I recommend taking him to someone to get him checked out. Find out what he is.”
Vick smiled and nodded. “I’ll do that, yes, but I promised my kid some ice cream first.”
“Very well. Have a nice day, sir.”
“Thank you. Hope you have a nice day too!”
Vick tugged Arkay’s hand and pulled him past the guard. Once they were inside, Arkay turned to Vick.
“Those were some convincing lies.”
“What do you mean? The only lie I told was that I laid you. Everything else was true.”
“I guess…” Arkay frowned. “I don’t know why, every time I come here, it’s a 50-50 chance that they let me in.”
“I think they just have faulty scanners and stuff. And those scanners don’t know how to detect… whatever you are. But it’s fine. We got passed them now. We’re free to do whatever.”
“Ah, good…” Arkay frowned a little more. Vick picked up on that.
“Don’t let those bastards get you down. You’re a good kid. You’re the best kid. They’re all beneath you. Alright?”
Arkay sighed, then nodded. “You’re right. So, uh, what do you want to do first?”
Vick glanced around, then picked up the pace. He’d spotted somewhere he wanted to go. “Well, I was going to take us to the camping store, so I can get a new tent and some instant grill kits, but you’re a little unhappy right now, so I think we need to go somewhere and make you happier.”
“Like… like where?”
“Well, we have some options. I was thinking, maybe we could get some ice cream, or go to the arcade, or I think there is a small bowling alley here, we could do that maybe?”
“I… I like the sound of ice cream. I don’t think I’ve ever been bowling though.”
“Do you like rolling things?” Vick asked.
“Uuh… Not really?”
“Fair…”
Vick started walking, taking Arkay with him. Arkay struggled to keep up a little bit, up until Vick suddenly stopped, picked Arkay up and carried him on his shoulders.
“Oh this is weird.”
“Is it?”
“Yeah. This is the sort of thing I kinda… never got to do… Also you are just… strong enough to pick me up and carry me like this.”
“Heh, well, you are pretty small and light, Arkay! But doing these things was the entire point of this trip. Which is why I think we should get ice cream, eat that then go to the arcade. Maybe they have a claw machine and I can win you a plushie. Now come along. This ice cream place is nice.”
Arkay shrugged and let Vick do what he wanted. They made it to a place called Icy Ice Inchantments (Arkay assumed the typo was intentional). There was no one else here, so they could go straight to the vast selection and order straight away.
“So, Arkay, kid, what ice cream do you want?”
Arkay inspected all the flavours. There were a lot of them. Creams, sorbets and more, plus a large array of sauces and toppings. But one of them stuck out, a quadruple chocolate caramel ice cream.
“Can I have… any ice cream?”
“Of course.”
“And I can have it in a cone?”
“Of course!”
Arkay started smiling properly. “Can I have all the chocolate ice creams, with chocolate sauce please?”
“And chocolate smarties and sprinkles on top?”
“Yes, please.”
Vick grinned, then put Arkay down. He ordered Arkay’s ice cream and got a simple vanilla and caramel ice cream for himself. As Vick paid, he noticed that Arkay was bouncing excitedly, and was even more excited as Vick handed him his ice cream.
“Thank you!”
“No worries, kid!” Vick smiled as he thanked the cashier, then led Arkay off, towards the arcades. “You’re a good kid. You deserve treats.”
“I appreciate that!” Arkay beamed as he tucked into his ice cream. “I didn’t realise how much I needed this.”
“Trust me, kid, I needed this too. We’re gonna have an awesome time…”