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Entry tags:
How To Be An Alpha
Ignis doesn't understand, initially, why his uncle suddenly comes to a stop. Why some of the people around them seem to get suddenly worried, or look awkward. He just sees the stop and looks up to his uncle immediately.
His Uncle Tan doesn't look worried or awkward, exactly. Rather, it's an expression Ignis has seen a couple of times when he's tagged along with his uncle to his job, and something mildly unexpected has happened. Those times where he goes "Ah, what a spot of bother" while not seeming really bothered at all. It's that same slight raise of his eyebrows. "Well, that's tricky, I suppose."
There's no chance for Ignis to ask what's exactly so tricky. His uncle simply moves ahead, in the little outdoor shopping mall they're at, and he follows after him. The target appears to be a young man sat on a bench, hunched over, face flushed immensely, while a few friends of his seem to hover around like birds with their heads cut off. They're all older than Ignis.... but not really adults. An important distinction, for a child.
"So, presented a bit out of the blue, did you?" Tan asks, just when they're close enough that Ignis catches the whiff of some sort of heavy scent in the air. Like... heather, he thinks, maybe. "Do you have any family in the immediate area?"
With a girl patting his back sympathetically, the boy struggles to get the answer out. "Y... Yeah. Came with my parents..."
"Ah, and then you saw some friends, so ran off, did you? Well, that's all well and fine. These things happen." Pulling out his wallet, Uncle Tan doesn't hesitate in the slightest plucking out a bill and handing it to Ignis. "Alright, Ignis. You remember that little convenience store some ways back?" Ignis nods. "I need you to go in there, and get... Hm. A cooling pad for the forehead, three of those sports drinks, a pair of underwear, hand lotion for chaffing, and some pads. A large zippable bag as well. Can you do all of that?"
"Yes, Uncle Tan."
"That's a lad. I'll be right here."
It honestly doesn't take too long for him to run down maybe a block. What takes longer is trying to find everything that he needs, even if he does the sensible process of elimination of "well obviously these can't be in the snack aisles". Still, the teachers at the Citadel say he's a quick reader. Ignis does his very best to push forward on that to find exactly what his uncle requested.
All of it adds up to a bit of a full bag. Ignis makes sure not to drop a single thing on the way back, even if his uncle glances back with a touch of amusement. "You didn't have to run, Ignis. But that's a lad, well done."
As he hands over the bag, Ignis glances around. People still seem to be keeping their difference, although now some seem a bit more reassured with an adult there... while others seem to be watching only all the more closely. He still doesn't entirely understand, yet.
What he knows is that his uncle is keeping perfectly cool as he hands over the bag, explaining how everything ought to help with the beginning of one's first and thankfully minor heat. And he knows that when the parents come on over, they get rather close before both jolting with the realization that his uncle is an alpha - one keeping very calm and nonplussed in the face of any sort of heat.
"Uncle?" he asks, when all the fuss is done with, and his uncle guides him to a nice little family restaurant for lunch.
"Yes?"
"Is it actually that hard to be calm against a heat?"
"Mm, I don't think so. Not when you're a proper human. That much was really just expected of me." And Ignis never forgets those words.
His Uncle Tan doesn't look worried or awkward, exactly. Rather, it's an expression Ignis has seen a couple of times when he's tagged along with his uncle to his job, and something mildly unexpected has happened. Those times where he goes "Ah, what a spot of bother" while not seeming really bothered at all. It's that same slight raise of his eyebrows. "Well, that's tricky, I suppose."
There's no chance for Ignis to ask what's exactly so tricky. His uncle simply moves ahead, in the little outdoor shopping mall they're at, and he follows after him. The target appears to be a young man sat on a bench, hunched over, face flushed immensely, while a few friends of his seem to hover around like birds with their heads cut off. They're all older than Ignis.... but not really adults. An important distinction, for a child.
"So, presented a bit out of the blue, did you?" Tan asks, just when they're close enough that Ignis catches the whiff of some sort of heavy scent in the air. Like... heather, he thinks, maybe. "Do you have any family in the immediate area?"
With a girl patting his back sympathetically, the boy struggles to get the answer out. "Y... Yeah. Came with my parents..."
"Ah, and then you saw some friends, so ran off, did you? Well, that's all well and fine. These things happen." Pulling out his wallet, Uncle Tan doesn't hesitate in the slightest plucking out a bill and handing it to Ignis. "Alright, Ignis. You remember that little convenience store some ways back?" Ignis nods. "I need you to go in there, and get... Hm. A cooling pad for the forehead, three of those sports drinks, a pair of underwear, hand lotion for chaffing, and some pads. A large zippable bag as well. Can you do all of that?"
"Yes, Uncle Tan."
"That's a lad. I'll be right here."
It honestly doesn't take too long for him to run down maybe a block. What takes longer is trying to find everything that he needs, even if he does the sensible process of elimination of "well obviously these can't be in the snack aisles". Still, the teachers at the Citadel say he's a quick reader. Ignis does his very best to push forward on that to find exactly what his uncle requested.
All of it adds up to a bit of a full bag. Ignis makes sure not to drop a single thing on the way back, even if his uncle glances back with a touch of amusement. "You didn't have to run, Ignis. But that's a lad, well done."
As he hands over the bag, Ignis glances around. People still seem to be keeping their difference, although now some seem a bit more reassured with an adult there... while others seem to be watching only all the more closely. He still doesn't entirely understand, yet.
What he knows is that his uncle is keeping perfectly cool as he hands over the bag, explaining how everything ought to help with the beginning of one's first and thankfully minor heat. And he knows that when the parents come on over, they get rather close before both jolting with the realization that his uncle is an alpha - one keeping very calm and nonplussed in the face of any sort of heat.
"Uncle?" he asks, when all the fuss is done with, and his uncle guides him to a nice little family restaurant for lunch.
"Yes?"
"Is it actually that hard to be calm against a heat?"
"Mm, I don't think so. Not when you're a proper human. That much was really just expected of me." And Ignis never forgets those words.