"Oh yea right, of course" Damien nodded, reminiscing the night of their first encounter. He turned the hoodie on all sides for a while, looking it up and down until he eventually put his hands in his lap, giving Mari a shy and guilty look.
"I, um… admit i dont really know how. I know it goes up and down like your bag one, but how do you put it back together if you slide it all the way out?" he asked, lightly gesturing at the girl's own zipper. Indeed, if one took a look at his made up wardrobe, most of it was either a one piece or using buttons, like the old styles. So zippers were something entirely new to him, or at least in practice, since he hadnt dared touch Mari's bag to see how it worked.
Mari smiled and set the blue hoodie on the couch. “You just have to slide the loose piece back into the zipper if it's all the way open.” she explained, gently taking the bottom part of the hoodie and pulling the zipper open to show him. “Now, if you want, you can leave the zipper completely open and just wear it as a jacket. Or you can close the zipper back up… just don't zip it all the way up. It's kind of uncomfortable and looks… well, weird. No one wears a zipper that high.” she explained with a brief shrug.
The boy watched with intent as she showed him how to operate the zipper, before trying it himself a few times to try and understand it better.
"Oh, got it" he nodded at about his third or fourth try. "Is that like a fashion thing then, i suppose?"
It sure sounded like a fashion rule to him, so thats what he was going to treat it as - not that he knew much about fashion in the first place, given his wardrobe was all but according to fashion.
After a period of fiddling around with the hoodie, he took off his own large pullover and reluctantly put on the new one, looking down at it to see how it fit him - it was indeed rather big for him, but he was comfortable in it with his skinny build.
She watched patiently as he took the hoodie and tested the zipper on his own. The concept was fairly simple, at least to her, so she didn't think that he would have any real trouble with it. “I… I don't know. I never really thought about it. I don't really keep up with the fashion industry or stuff like that so I don't know all the “rules” if that is what that is.” she admitted somewhat thoughtfully. She had just thought wearing the zipper all the way up was uncomfortable… and she did mention that it looked silly, but that had just been an opinion… But how many other people thought the same thing?
Mari smiled encouragingly as Damien put on the gray hoodie. “It looks good on you. Do you like it?”
Damien looked himself up and down, even scooting a little away to better observe the fabric and the way it draped on him.
"I- i love it! It's so warm!" he replied, with a smile, snuggling into the hoodie. The new fabric intrigued him as much as he loved its texture, continuing to fawn over it once he pulled his hands out all the way through the slightly bigger than him sleeves - it wasnt a big difference in the end, just that when his hands were down, the sleeves covered most of his hands in an almost cute way.
"Uh.. Am i ready to go now?" the boy asked, pausing for a bit. "What about my eye? Wont it get noticed?"
Mari couldn't help but chuckle softly at Damien’s adorable reaction to the hoodie. He did look very cute and… modern in it, though he would probably look cute in just about anything. “I’m glad you like it.” she smiled back before reaching in a side pocket on her bag. “I thought about that and I hope that this will help.” she told him as she pulled out a dark pair of sunglasses. “These are usually just meant to help keep the sun out of your eyes but they also make it harder for others to see your eyes.” she explained, holding them out for him.
The boy raised his gaze at the new object Mari pulled out of her bag, inspecting it with even more curiosity. Unlike the hoodie, glasses were something he hadnt encountered before except a few mentions in books, but other than that he had no prior experience with it. He reluctantly took them from her hand, turning them on all sides and trying to figure out what to do with them.
"So these.. Also protect your eyes from the sun?" Damien asked, trying to loom through them at a window without unfolding them. Eventually after some prodding, he slowly pulled on the little arm things, looking at them as if trying to figure out how to put them on.
Mari chuckled again as he struggled with the glasses, even holding them up and just looking through them. “Here.” she smiled as she gently took the glasses back and opened them, sliding them over her face to show him how they worked. “Yeah. They… minimize the amount of sunlight that makes it hard to see.” she explained, taking the glasses off and handing them back to him.
"Its so interesting… To make something to shield your eyes from the sun" he said to himself, taking the glasses back and slowly sliding them on his own face without brushing the hair from his face first, thus ending with his long fringe trapped between his face and the glasses.
"Whoa, everything dimmed!" he exclaimed, looking around with the glasses on. "It's like it suddenly turned evening! Even you are darker."
“Yeah. Well, looking at the sun can actually cause some degree of damage to your eyes so the sunglasses filter some of that intense light so it's more manageable.” she explained, perhaps simplifying a little. She chuckled a little when his hair was pinned between his face and the shades. “You might want to fix your hair.” she suggested, nodding at his observation. “It just looks darker because the lenses are tinted. Nothing really changed. But they do work better when you're wearing those outside.”
"i think i know that, mom always told me to not look at it directly. If only there was something for skin as well, haha…" he chuckled, looking around with the glasses on to further admire the new light everything was in.
He turned back to look at her when she pointed out his hair, the boy making a confused noise before noticing the problem and pulling the hair out from between the glasses and his face, letting it drape on the outside now, still a bit weird but better nonetheless.
"Mmm, then i should probably put them on outside no? Is there anything else you have to show or are we good to go?"
“Actually, there is. Sunscreen. It's just a lotion, or spray, that helps prevent your skin from getting sunburned. And I think I told you about aloe vera.” she smiled back, getting the joke he was making but she still wanted to let him know about it… Maybe she should bring him some.
“Much better.” she nodded when he fixed his hair. It definitely looked better over his new glasses than under. “No. I don't think you need anything else. You should blend in pretty well.” she assured, as she stood up and adjusted her bag. “Are… Are you ready?”
"Oh, that. Yeah, you did tell me, when i showed you my leg." he nodded in reminiscence. "Why is it that people need it again? They dont burn in the sun do they? So why do they need it?"
Standing still and with the new additions, Damien looked a lot less like a victorian era vampire and more like a 21st century kid whose parents seemingly gave him too much freedom and was left to pick his own clothes. It wasnt bad enough to make him stand out like a sore thumb, but would definitely get some side eyes from passers by, the main culprit being his unrealistic yet naturally green hued hair.
The boy looked down at himself then at the girl, comparing their looks before nodding very slowly.
"I, um… I think i am. Lead the way?"
“Right. Well, people don't burn as easily or as… badly as you did but if we stay out in the sun too long or if it's a particularly hot day then yes. We can still burn.” she explained. “One time we went down to the beach and I waited too long before putting on sunscreen. I was so red the next day, I looked like a cooked lobster. And I was peeling for a week.” she laughed. Mari smiled as she looked at him. Sure, he would still stick out a little but maybe not as much as he thought. His hair was definitely unique but people dyed their hair all kinds of different colors. It should be fine. “Alrght.” she smiled encouragingly and gently reached out her hand for him. “Let’s go.”
"Oooh, i see. So it affects you slower than it does me?" he tried making sense of it, even though he wasnt exactly sure. He hadnt witnessed his own leg start burning in the sun to know exactly what the entire process looked like, he had only felt the pain and seen the melted flesh, looking like he'd been burned with a flame. Mari had mentioned turning red and peeling off so perhaps thats how far normal humans went when it came to sunburns? He didnt know.
He chuckled a little with her, shifting around in his clothes a little nervously. With hesitant moves, he took her hand and allowed her to lead him out of the room and eventually house.
“Probably… I've never heard of anyone getting a scar like yours but we can still get sun damage if we're not careful.” she admitted. She smiled gently when he took her hand and followed her out of his home, though she found herself stopping for a moment and taking a calming breath before they reached the gate. “You ready?” she asked since this was probably the closest Damien had probably been to the city since his adoptive mom… well, became his mom.
"i find it rather interesting im not the only one affected by the sun" the boy murmured, genuinely intrigued by the whole ordeal. At the beginning he'd thought the same since his mother had told him the exact thing, but ever since he learned he was a vampire and read a few books about them, he'd wondered if all had been a small white lie to make him feel normal. Now he was back full circle and satisfied with the answer that dipped in both sides.
Reaching the gate, Damien couldnt help but feel a little intimidated. While he'd been outside of the clearing's perimeter for things like wood n stuff, he'd never set foot outside the gate itself. The thought he was about to leave his home for real this time began to set in, making his heart race.
"Mn. I am" he replied after a short pause in which he breathed in, trying to not give away his anxiety.
“Really? As far as I know, everyone is affected by the sun, in one way or another.” she said in a hopefully reassuring tone. She didn't fully understand why he was glad to know that but maybe that wasn't important. At the very least, it would give them something to talk about on their walk into town.
Mari smiled patiently when Damien seemed to hesitate. It was completely understandable and she wasn't going to rush him. She nodded at his confirmation and gave him hand a soft squeeze before pushing the gate open just enough for them to fit through.
"Well, most my mother ever got from the sun was slightly darker skin so i cant be too sure…' Damien replied as he trailed her slowly.
Walking through the gate gave the boy the most unnerving chill he'd ever gotten, nervously looking back a few times as he walked further and further away from it and into the faded trail ahead. He kept on holding Mari'd hand, albeit a little tighter as to not slip out of it somehow, in his mind.
“That’s a very normal reaction for most people.” she nodded. “Well, depending how long they are out in the sun. And some people are just naturally more sensitive than others, so they tan or even burn faster than others.” she explained, not mentioning that, from what she understood, he was possibly a more extreme case. Not that it was his fault or that he was going to burst into flames anytime soon.
Mari didn't mind his tighter grip and gently ran her thumb across the back of his hand to hopefully calm and reassure him. “It’s going to be ok. If you want to go back at any time, just let me know. I’ll understand.” she promised, totally willing to take him home if things got to be too much for Damien.
"So it's normal…. hmm…" he hummed, walking alongside her. "You know, for some reason this reminds me a lot of how chicken turns goldish brown when exposed to heat. That's what it made me think of when you said tan."
The analogy seemed ridiculous and comical, but to him it was the closest reference he could use for the situation. Of course it all stopped at the skin level, not comparing people to food anymore for quite the obvious reason.
"Okay… how much do we have to walk until there?" Damien asked, curious about the length of the road the girl took almost every day to see him. He didnt mind walking at all - since thats what he'd been used to back in his day - just that he might be worried her visits might be inconvenient due to the time it took to get to him.
“Very normal.” she nodded, laughing a little at his comparison. “Actually that’s fairly accurate and a pretty similar situation. Only thing is, the sun doesn't “bake” anything deeper than skin level. We're not close enough for it to do anything more.” she explained, smiling at him as they walked.
“Oh, not too long. It's about a fifteen-minute run for me to get to your house from mine. Walking might take a little longer but I don't mind.” Mari shrugged casually.
"Mmm, maybe we should be thankful its not that close" Damien softly mumbled to himself, thinking of himself and how his leg nearly started melting in direct powerful sunlight. Thank god it hadnt been worse, the thought of his exposed leg turning into what was essentially roasted meat was kinda creepy.
"Oh so you run all the way? For your daily exercise i pressume?" He asked, walking beside her.
Mari nodded. “If the Earth was any closer to the sun, life as we know it would be very different. Though the same could be said if the earth was any further away too.” she informed, though she agreed with his comment. “In fact, only Venus and Mars are the only other planets in the right range to be suspected of supporting an Earth-like atmosphere.” she added.
“Yep.” she smiled, popping the “p”. “All the way, every time I come over. I enjoy running and I’m bound to get better and faster the more I do it. But I think the town is actually a little closer than my house.” she said thoughtfully.
"To be fair i never gave that any thought" the boy admitted, looking up at the brush above them and the small spots of sunlight he could make out amongst the trees. "where did you learn all that?"
He continued to trot next to her, holding on to her hand like she was his big sister or something similar, keeping calm as he was aware of the house he was leaving behind. The walking did take a while longer than running would have, but at the same time it was therapeutic in a way to be passing by all the trees and forest land.
"Oh, so you live outside of town?"
“Science class. There's a section on astronomy they teach us… which is the study of the stars and planets.” she answered, giving more explanation when she realized he might not understand the word. “If you want, I can show you some books on that when we go to the library.” she offered.
Mari didn't mind the grip on her hand or the length of time it would take to leave these woods. It would give him time to adjust and prepare for his “reintroduction” to the world and how everything had changed. And in a way it was reassuring for her too, to know that he was with her and she would be able to protect him if it became necessary… Though that was admittedly unlikely. “Well, not like you do. It's still part of a neighborhood but I always considered the actual town to be in the center of things and surrounded by neighborhoods and farms further out.” she explained.
"Yes please" he nodded almost enthusiastically. "It must be amazing to learn such interesting things at school"
It really must have been. Especially having access to all that new information that kept renewing itself, it was almost magical.
"Ohh, so you're like… Closer to the town's borders, you're saying?" he prodded, tilting his head.
The path was growing more wild to this point, signaling the approach of its end and the appearance of the main road soon enough.
She smiled at his enthusiasm to learn but nodded in agreement. “It can be pretty cool, especially when it’s an interesting subject or a fun lesson.” There were plenty of times when the class was dry, boring, or even stressful but there were still some good ones. As to having easy access to something like the library was nice but it was often overlooked and Mari had to admit that she didn't go there very much… Until recently.
“Uhh, I mean, I'm closer to the actual town than you are but the border is… How do I explain this without a map?” she mumbled, rubbing her forehead with her free hand. “Technically, on a map of this area, you do still live in the town. Just closer to the edge than most but not quite the country area. That part’s still miles out.” she finally managed.
"But is learning all you do? You just sit there and study?" Damien asked, interest clear in his voice as he trotted beside her.
"Wait so, as in… You live within the city bounds, just not close to its busier center?"
He didnt see the map either but conjured the image of a simple village in his mind, envisioning the city as so and putting Mari's house closer to the outskirts like hoe he'd seen certain homes be placed.
“In school? More or less. There is more to it, of course, but not always much more.” Mari shrugged slightly, not really sure how else to explain it. There was obviously a lot more to school, she just wasn't sure how to put it into words. At least, without him asking more questions. “Yeah. That's a good way to put it.” she nodded with a soft smile. Though she was planning to show him a “tourist” map when they got to the library, just to give him a better idea of how things were laid out.
