Wandering Wastrel [Callie/Cecil]

Really, there wasn't too much to East Eden. Apart from a few landmarks, you basically just had a lot of space to wander. Get some fresh air, go for a walk, clear your head...take some time to be alone with your thoughts among the outdoors.
Or, as the case might be, try to escape them.
If having a Persona wasn't a literal lifesaver that granted him powers beyond the ken of what most could wield, it would be far more trouble than it was actually worth, what with the fact it basically put a target on Cecil's back for the government-

-and perhaps more importantly right now that HIS WOULDN'T GIVE HIM A BREAK GODDAMMIT ANKOU JUST LEAVE ME IN PEACE!
This is a fruitless endeavour. Wandering aimlessly to avoid work does you no good.
All I wanted was for you to shut up!
And I would need not say anything had you done more.
Don't give me that. The literal moment I'm not working on something, you're already back to pressuring me.
I do what you would have me do. I encourage what you need and what you desire.
...you're wasting your time. It'll go nowhere.

The mental conversation continued in circles this way as he walked through East Eden, headphones playing music he couldn't truly appreciate right now.
They were supposed to shut out anything in his mind...
Guess they weren't made to deal with stubborn Personas.

East Eden was filled with so many different sights and sounds to explore, every time she came here the sweet fresh air would lead her down another unexplored path of mystery to lands unknown! "Oh, oh! This one! I don't think I've ever been down this way before~!" The girl would sing happily to herself as she merrily bounded her way down the grassy path. The mental conversation between Cals and her shadow enjoying the pleasant breeze.

"I don't think I'll ever love a place as much as East Eden, it always feels like such a lovely escape from the city, ya know?"
"It definitely makes me feel the most at home, it's so easy to relax and just let go of all worries out here."
"If I didn't have to feel hungry or sleepy, I'd probably stay out here forever!"
"I highly doubt that, you'd miss those fools way too much. Nehehe.
"Hehe, I guess you're right~!"

Their mental conversation would continue in this manner, the pair taking appreciation of some passing flowers and the heavenly scent they gave off. It almost made her wan... want t-tooo-"ACHOO!" Callie would stumble slightly at the sudden eruption that escaped her nose, grasping her hood with one hand to make sure the force of her sneeze didn't knock it off her head. Though doing so stopped her from being able to completely catch her balance as she stumbled straight into someone walking the other way. "O-oh, oh! My bad, sorry! Uh, allergies? And stuff! Yeah, yeah! The flowers make my nose all sniffley and then I lost my balance when I sneezed! I'm a bit clumsy when it comes to stuff like that, hehe." The girl would apologies with a genuine bright and warming smile on her face.

This was turning into a bad habit.

As he caught himself, Cecil whipped off his headphones, turning his attention to whoever he had just managed to collide with. He was about to apologise, but the moment the girl before him spoke up, the words in his throat died out, leaving him stuck unable to say anything until she finished.
The girl's cheer was honestly infectious. It would have been harder to resist it than to allow the soft smile to start creeping across his face the way it was. "Nah, don't worry about it...it's fine. You can't help it. I, ah...wouldn't have that excuse." Cecil's smile drops slightly as he runs his fingers over the spot where he'd managed to crack his head open on the floor, before shaking it off and ticking his smile back into place. No need to bother a kid like that.

A thought occurs to him, and his eyes flick about. Not seeing for he was looking for, a concerned expression develops across his features. "Hey, are you...out here alone?"

Awesome! The guy didn't seem too angry with the fact she just fell straight into him. That was always a relief. A relief that she had experienced way too often recently. Though who knows, most of the other times lead to cool and interesting conversation! Maybe this time will too? "Awesome! Thanks for understanding, even if I was kinda just making up excuses on the spot to try and stop you from being mad with me. Though I am still sorry about it~!" The girl would cheerfully hum as the shadow in her head performed an action that would he had physical form look like a facepalm.

The young vixen would tilt her head lightly at the question before taking a good look around the place before looking back at the guy confused, as if he'd asked her something really complicated. "No, of course not!" The blondette would reply before flinching lightly as Terra tried to stop her from saying anything else. "Ehehe, what kind of silly question is that?" Callie would continue anyway before pointing a finger up at the guy. "You're here aren't ya?" In her head, Terra audibly groaned.

Cecil starts to wave it off...and then breaks out into a sudden cough as Callie continues, eventually halting and giving her a look of sheer and utter disbelief, mouth agape. "I-Wha-You-Bu-Why-Ahjk-GAAAAHK!" He took a long, deep breath, calming air filling his lungs, and then breathed out, feeling himself return to his-
Yeah no, let's be real - Cecil utterly failed to regain his composure.
"You- why did you admit to that?!" What had he just gotten into? Why was this girl...?
"Who- who does that?!"

Cecil would give a...somewhat shaky sigh of relief at Callie's first words, only for it to once more turn into choking noises. "That isn't-! You can't possibly oh my god please tell me you're not actually serious." He facepalms starting to breathe noticeably more heavily. He could deal with this, he really needed to deal with this for this kid's sake..."Let me...let me rephrase that. Are your parents nearby? A sibling maybe? Just...somebody like that."
Please say yes, please for the love of god say yes...

The girl's eyes would widen as the guy break down into a coughing fit, she'd watch the display with mild confusion before thinking it appropriate to offer help. "Are you okay? Do you need me to pat your back? I know Kay does that sometimes when I'm coughing a lot and it tends to help!" Though it didn't seem like he needed it after her offer, the guy seemed to pick himself back up... At least kinda, he was still acting a little strange. "Hm? Oh, well. I just kinda said those things in the moment I needed them, you know? But then you seemed like a nice guy so I felt bad for lying, so I figured I'd tell you the truth. I'd prefer you to believe me to be an honest person~!" Callie would reply with a nod, her tone still cheery despite the odd situation she'd found herself in already. How did this always manage to happen?

"Uhhhmmm..." The young vixen would put a finger up to her cheek and rub it lightly as she thought of a response. "I mean, you are here too aren't you?" Was he saying that he wasn't here? How could she be alone if she was having a conversation with the guy right now? "Ohhh! That's what you meant~!" That made way more sense! Callie would rock back and forth from her heel to toe as she grinned towards the guy and gave him a reassuring nod. "Nope! I don't even know who my parents are, hehe."

T-This kid...this - this can't be real. There's no way.
...then again, he said that about Kats too, and look what happened there. Still though - twice? Twice, something like this happened? Of all the things he might have expected, he had to say, this definitely wasn't one of them.
"...I see..." How was he supposed to respond to that?

Cecil falls silent at the response. Not only was she alone right now, but...just...how was she able to say that so cheerfully? It was like the fact didn't hold the slightest bit of meaning to her. He knew what it was to be able to just say things like these like they were just facts of life, but this was...
He...he was getting distracted. "So, uh...who do you live with, then? Why aren't any of them here?"

"Oh, that's an easy one!" The girl would begin, throwing up a finger at a time and catching it with her other hand as she listed off who she lived with. "Firstly there's Professor J. He's really nice and can be quite funny, though he always seems to be real busy with his work all the time. Then there's Kay, she's sorta strict. Though, in the, you know she cares kinda strict. Ya know? At least for me anyway, she gets a little trigger happy if the others are silly. Then finally there's 8D! He's like my big brother, he's super duper funny and is my favouritist person in the world! I'd spend all my time with him if I could, though sometimes he has to do his own thing too." With that, the girl would take a slight pause before continuing. "Oh! I also have a pet fish called Yukan and we're currently looking after an injured fox that I named Muffins!"

The young girl would sniffle lightly despite her smile not leaving her face. "Because I like to wander around a lot, they don't have time to keep up with me everywhere I go! Besides, I run way faster than them, hehe. I just have to get out and stretch my legs. I can't stay cooped up inside all day." Once again she'd pause before leaning closer to the guy and whispering. "Even when they tried to keep me inside, I just snuck out the window~!" She'd hop back, almost tripping over a mound of mud at the side of the path. "They've given up trying now though, they know I'm not the sort to get myself into trouble!"

"...8D?" What...what kind of name was 8D? That's not any sort of normal name. That's not even a proper name at all! It's a number and a letter!
Jesus Christ, he'd finally found something more questionable than Frog to call a kid.

Cecil's look of concern held as Callie continued on. "You...shouldn't do that, you know? Even if you're careful, they're still going to worry. All sorts can happen to a kid when they're out alone..." A memory surfaces, and a cold chill runs through him. "Especially...especially at night. There's...there's all sorts in the dark. Stuff kids should never, ever have to deal with."
God, how many children had been eaten by demons? What kind of world was this that he even had to ponder about kids being literally eaten by monsters?
It made a lot of those silly fears seem a lot less silly.

A solemn look settled onto Cecil's face. "Doing things like that makes people worry...it makes me worry that you've being doing things like this. Even if you're careful, I can't help but think that something could have happened. What if I was someone mean? Or worse?"

"I'm aware." The girl would simply state, listening to the rest of what the guy had to say whilst bending over and picking a small orange flower before smelling it. "Thoouugghhh..." She'd begin, picking herself back up and leaning up on her tip toes to place the flower in the guys hair. "I've been doing this basically every day for as long as I can remember. You should never underestimate a kid, for all you know. I'm like, a secret ninja! Or super hero! Or something cool like that. Going around at night and saving those in need like a true hero would~! Hehe." The girl would stick her tongue out playfully before giggling to herself. This guy was silly, why was he so worried about her? He didn't even know who she was... Yet, by the way that he was talking... It was almost as if he knew about those monsters that started appearing around the place recently. Was he like her? Did he fight off those monsters too? It was hard to be sure without asking directly... Which Terra demanded was an absolutely awful idea.

"You worry too much. It's cute." The girl would suddenly throw her head to the side, one of the ears under her hood twitching slightly as she stared wide eyed at a far off rabbit that was hopping its way across a nearby field. The Vixen would continue to watch it bound along until it was completely out of view before continuing, still staring off across the field. "Honestly... I tend to worry about them a lot more than they probably worry about me." There was a stillness to her voice in that moment, she wondered where 8D was... What he was doing, why he was always so busy with this important work he wouldn't tell her about. She wished she could help him, somehow.

After a rather awkward silence, the girl would suddenly refocus and look back towards the guy she was talking to. A look as if she'd forgotten he was even there at all was quickly over taken by her familiar smile. "Oh! I'm Callie by the way, it's nice to meet 'cha~!"

Cecil's fingers slowly come up to touch the flower that had been placed into his blonde locks. His fingertips run over it gently as he processes what had been happening, before he lets his arm fall and shakes his head, looking at the girl with one eyebrow raised. "Just because you've done it for ages doesn't mean it's fine. Sure, yes, for all I know, that could be the case. But you know what? I don't know that. Even if you were, that's not something you should have to do. There's lots to hero-ing that isn't too nice. Stuff they ignore when make movies and stuff." Or more likely, cut out. God forbid they show something actually resembling a real danger to anyone.
All fun and games til you actually see a demon eating someone.

He worried too - he was being told this by - "What do you mean I-"
"..." Cecil followed Callie's gaze, tracing the rabbit's path until it disappeared and the girl spoke up once more. "...I'm sure they worry over you a lot more than you'd think. Just..." He gave Callie a clumsy smile. "Well...they wouldn't want you worrying either as well, would they?"

He missed the nuances of her expression, but...something seemed off about that moment. He was missing something going on here. Not that he really had any place to drag it out of her...they were strangers, it was her business, and she was a kid for crying out loud. Doing that'd be despicable.
He couldn't help but sigh wearily. All this worry over one kid...and he was hardly the person to be handling this in the first place. Yet...well, it was left to him. With a push, he forced a more relaxed look onto his face. "I'm Cecil. Nice to meet you too, Callie."

Hmm... Callie wasn't still entirely sure why this random guy was so concerned with her being outside on her own at this point. No one else had mentioned this kinda thing to her in like, at least a month or so. Even when they did, they usually weren't this persistent about it... Wonder why this guy was? "I dunno, maybe. Suppose its impossible to tell unless you ask them directly~! I know 8D worries about me, though that's just him being a big softy, hehe. He knows better than most that I can look after myself~!" The girl would pause to think about the guys next question, would they mind her worrying about them? Puzzling over it, the young vixen would give the guy a confused look... Before asking about something completely different.



"Liiiikkkeee, I don't think you look that much older than me. And if that was the case, then..." The girl would put on a over exaggerated look of seriousness and authority, pointing out a finger towards the guy and rubbing the underside of her nose with the other hand. "Then why are you, another not yet at the, uh... Uhm... Oh! Another not yet at the stage of adultingness! Out alone without a someone else!" ... Nailed it.

Cecil would smile at the response as he took a breath out. "I suppose so. You'd know better what he's like than I would anyway."

Cecil watches the girl's puzzling...before giving her a confused look of his own at her words. "Why do you-" His mouth clamps shut again as Callie continues talking...
Only to have to struggle not to break out laughing at what follows.
Oh my god...she's...she's absolutely serious!
The urge to laugh is written all over his face, and he finds himself having to breathe deeply in order to keep it down. "Callie, I'm pretty sure I'm at least 5 years older than you. That's not a small difference." A small snicker escapes as a grin continues to spread across his face. "I'm only a year off actually being an adult. And while I'm not at the..." He can't help but snicker again. "Stage of adultingness, I'm a lot closer to it than you are. How close you are to being an adult can matter just as much as whether you're an adult."

The girls face would scrunch up a little as Cecil began to snicker at her. She could tell he didn't believe her, though that wasn't fair! Five years older than her? And he wasn't even an adult! How young did he think she was? The meanie. With a light pout, the girl would turn her head away from the guy as she looked down at her fingers and began counting up on them. "So, silly Mr old boy says he's only a year off of being an adult... I remember once Kay said that she'd tell me something I kept asking and asking her about when I was older, which when I asked how old she said when I was an adult which she continued to say was eighteen. So, if Cecil is one year younger than eighteen, then he'd have to be... Uhh... Mmmm... Ffffiffteen, sixteeeeen, seventeeen, eightee- OH! So before eighteen is seventeen. So that means." The girl would pause and draw the number seventeen into the dirt haphazardly with an arrow pointing towards Cecil so she wouldn't forget later.

"So then, if he is seventeen then I have to just work out the difference between his age and my age. Last time I celebrated my birthday, everyone was wishing me a happy fourteenth birthday!" Determined to get to the bottom of this, again the girl would awkwardly draw the number fourteen and then an arrow towards herself and nod. "Okay! So if I'm fourteen, and he's seventeen... Then there would have to be... Fingers don't fail me now! Fourteen, fifteen, siixteen, seventeen!" With a deep concentrated look, the girl would stare at the four fingers she was holding up after her counting, something clearly annoying her about the result. "Hmm... This doesn't seem right... OH!" Callie would grab one of her fingers with the other hand and pull it down. "Fourteen! I don't count that one as its my age, it's not one of the ages between our ages! So that leaves three! I'm only three years younger than you, not five!" The vixen would shout excitedly, shoving her hand towards Cecil with a proud smile on her face. "Now! U-uh... W-what were we talking about again?"

The confusion is only brief before Cecil finds himself stuck in a bout of barely suppressed laughter as Callie tries to calculate the difference between their ages.
Barely suppressed becomes uproarious as she starts drawing in the dirt.
This was adorable. Hilarious, and absolutely adorable.
By the time she's done and points to Cecil, the blond-haired boy has been in the middle of a laughing fit for a while, gasping for breath as he tries to pull himself together. "Oh - *snrk* - oh my god. Youhahaha - you're like this at fourteen?" He bursts out laughing again, clutching at his stomach as it starts to cramp and spasm, until eventually it goes out into its last gasps and he's able to catch his breath.

A wide smile stretches out across his face and in his eyes as he finally straightens up. "Pretty sure we were on about getting you home, Callie."