Hey, you again!? [Alastair, Inanna]

"Of course. You know Mister, you seemed a bit like a doofus when I met you but you seem pretty nice now. Did you get a friend since I saw you last?"

She teased innocently. Girlfriend? No, just a friend. He didn't seem like the guy that had a lot of friends when she met him. So boring and rigid, work this and work that. Maybe she rubbed off on him and he let his hair down a bit since then. Yeah, she was definitely the cause of that.

"I wanna make uh... I don't know, I'll figure it out when I get there."

That comment took him by surprise, though it was certainly true that he had been something of an idiot when they had first met. In his defence, it had been a peculiar set of circumstances and coincidences but he could have handled it a little better. He did not even register that she might have been teasing him, that was the innocent nature of his older and far more experienced mind.

"I suppose I have, actually. A whole lot has happened since we last met, but I also did not expect to see you here."

The candy store loomed ever closer now, but Alastair was also looking up at the girl on top of his shoulders. It was unlikely that she had rubbed off on him, but it was certainly true that so much had changed. Reida being in his life was certainly something positive, but there had also been Anaconda and all that mess.

"I thought you were in Vastime? Or have you moved to be with your mother now?"

"Yeah well you did, huh. You're probably elated at seeing me, right?"

Inanna continued her sightseeing from her vantage point, occasionally shuffling over his shoulders to try and get comfortable. His shoulders weren't that comfortable, and so she had to keep readjusting, it wasn't like she had that much cushioning herself with how shrimpy she was.

"I'm just stayin' with her for now, she made me really upset but I guess I made her sad too but we made up and she's telling me all these stories about her life. Uh, I don't know about moving back in with her though. I kind of miss Alex."

She meant both of them and she reached down to gently touch his hair, it was red like their's after all. It was silky smooth. A lot softer than Vegas. She was doing okay without her though, right?

"It is nice to see you again, actually. If only just to know you are well."

He was an honest man, of that there was likely little doubt, and so he answered her questions as genuinely as one might. There was not a second thought wasted on whether she was teasing him or toying with him. His brow did furrow, though she might well not see it from above, at the mention of strain in her relationship with her mother. He had a great deal of respect for the Director, of her abilities and character both, yet he had not quite wrapped his head around their family dynamic.

"Is Alex your brother or one of your friends?"

He could feel her tugging at his hair, those small fingers working through his locks, and wondered if he ought to tell her to stop. But by that point, they had reached the candy shop, and so Alastair began to lower himself down so that the girl could dismount whilst they poked around.

"Alex is my best friend and I guess he's also her dad. They're both called Alex you know."

Then she was off, going back to standing on the ground and staring up at it in awe. It was like heaven on earth for her, where else could someone be at total elated joy if not here? At the candy shop. She quickly tried to tug him inside, evidently only really succeeding if he came along of his own volition.

"Alright, I want..."

Hmm, a bit of thought there. Was she making her shopping list to empty his pockets and line her own with treats? After a couple of moments she finished her dialogue.

"Could I please have some chocolate to make the cookies?"

It was quite the modest request for what it turned out to be last time.

There was little resistance from Alastair as he let Inanna guide him inside, having already accepted his fate in this noble endeavour. Still, he could not hide the shock when she asked only for what had been previously agreed upon. Perhaps she too had changed just a little since leaving Vastime, or maybe he had rubbed off on her too.

"Very well, the lady gets what she wants."

He reached over, above her head, and picked up a couple of bars. It was honestly more than he expected to use, but it was better to be prepared for extra than make do with less. And he did have some potential visions of what might come to pass when Inanna got going in the kitchen. Passing them down for inspection, Alastair could not help but let his lips curl as he took note of the wonder in her eyes. This was like paradise to her, and even he was a little envious.

"Hurry along to the counter now, these cookies are not going to bake themselves."

"Thank you.."

Inanna did pout through it, something about thanking Alastair even though he was such a big dummy at times. It made her a little reluctant but he hadn't been nothing but nice so far too her so could she really be mean?

No...

"Okay. This will do. I'll be right back."

Then off she ran to the counter, make the store owner think she was a cute little girl and then run back to Alastair with the chocolate.

"Alright, I'm ready to go make the cookies."

It was actually a little endearing to hear her say thank you, after how things had gone down last time. But that was how life worked when you were a child, was it not? Problems came and went with such a speed that they never got bogged down in the minutia. As they walked out of the store, he did turn his back towards her a little and offer.

"Want back up for the rest of the journey?"

It only felt fair to offer at this point, if she wanted to play ball then so would he.

"Do you cook with your mother often? I want to know what I am working with here."

"Yes please."

She said and climbed her way onto his shoulder again. It was her ideal spot to have such a view, there was people over there and things happening over there. Stuff that could not easily be seen from the ground.

"I cook with Nel. I'm really good, don't worry Mister."

In reality, she was more of a kitchen hand than any kind of cook. She got to do some food prep, clean dishes and also lick the chocolate and stuff off the spoons and whisks and all that. Her total amount of actual experience in cooking solo... none.

Hoisting her up on top once more, Alastair took a moment to make sure that Inanna was settled before standing again and setting off towards their next destination. He was not entirely sure what she would make of his apartment when they got there, not that he was exactly used to caring for the whims of small children, but that was fine. They could get in, start baking, and then he could message Ninsianna to let her know where her little girl was.

"Alright, together we will be a crack team then."

There was hardly a heave to his step as they walked, but he could not help wondering how exactly Inanna had been caught between two worlds. It felt so peculiar to him, the thought of being separated from one's parents at such a tender age, but perhaps that was also his comfortable upbringing making him naive. All things considered, his home life had not been as terrible as he often made out.

"Just follow my lead and we will have a big batch of cookies ready in no time."