Nicolas fidgeted with his fingers as he stood to the side of Vinny's Vintage, his father's wine shop. It was just a bit past eight, and they had closed shop earlier than usual. Nick's father had left him to lock up, heading home earlier.
A dull throb ran through his chest as he thought of his father. A man who had never loved him, for reasons that were out of Nick's power.
Nick jumped a foot into the air as a loud crash echoed down the alley by the shop. He took a peek into the alley and spotted a couple raccoons running through the darkness. Letting out a deep sigh, he leaned back against the wall, making sure he was sticking to the shadows. He hated standing out in any way, and tried everything possible to make himself blend in with walls. It worked to a certain extent.
The sound of footsteps coming down the lonely street drew Nick out of his thoughts. The boy peeked at the feet that stopped a couple feet away from him before hesitantly raising his head up.
"Nick? Is that you?" The voice of the man he had met earlier in the day, Abel, sounded through his ears. Nodding, he stepped out of the shadows, keeping his head down.
"Ah, I almost missed you, haha! Seems you closed shop early. Hope I didn't keep you waiting too long." Abel grinned as he rubbed the back of his neck.
"N-no, it hasn't been too long since I closed shop." Nick replied hesitantly.
"Oh, that's good. Well then, let's get going. There's this nice barbeque place my gramps took me to when I was little. I still go there occasionally, and their meat is still as great as ever." Abel waved the boy forward. Although he wanted to be a bit more physical in the hopes of making Nick more comfortable, he guessed that it was too soon to force the boy out of his shell, and might have the opposite effect.
The two of them walked down the empty street until they got to a busier one that was bustling with more people. Lamps and street lights lit up the walkways and decorative signs pointed out various establishment. Abel ignored them all as he led Nick down the path to a street that held stores that mainly served food.
Diners with odd names littered the street, with a few stalls that sold finger foods and snacks on sticks. Nick's mouth began to water, and it took all he had to prevent himself from drooling.
"Smells nice, huh?" Abel smirked. He took a hold of Nick's hand as he led him down the street. It was much busier than those that they had previously passed, as a lot of people wanted to get an evening snack or meal with their families.
Abel led them to a small establishment that looked much more plain compared to the others around it. It went by the name Dodo's Barbeque. Abel made sure to stop by for a hearty meal whenever he made a good haul in the Tower. While those times were far and few in between, Dodo, the owner of the diner still appreciated it.
A small bell that hung over the door rang as Abel pushed it open. There was no one at the door, but Abel didn't really mind. Dodo was short on hands most of the time, so she was usually manning both the back kitchens, and the counter on the good days. Whenever her workers called in sick, then she usually did double of that.
"Hey Dodo." Abel called out with a smile when he saw the messy bun of brown hair that was sticking up from over the counter. He stifled a laugh when Dodo's head shot up like lightning.
"Take it easy, you aren't as young as you used to be." He teased as he leaned against the counter.
Dodo, a well aged woman with a head full of brown hair that had a few strands of grey sticking out in places, glared at Abel. "You can zip it. I'm not old, just stressed." She pointed a short finger at Abel, but couldn't help but chuckle.
"Yeah, yeah, I know. How is it around here these days?" He asked, taking a look around the diner. It was relatively empty, just a few groups of people lounging about while eating the hot barbeque that was grilling right in front of them.
"As you can see, it's quite uneventful. Business has slowed down these days, what with the recent spike in prices. I can't afford as much high quality meat from the tower, and because of that, I'm loosing customers." She sighed and shook her head, her hand going to cover up her face.
"That sounds pretty bad. I thought there should have been a spike in the amount of ground rat meat on the market these days?" Abel quirked a brow. He knew he should be ending the conversation soon, as he had a guest with him, but he was quite concerned about Dodo's circumstances.
"Yeah, it's exactly why I'm loosing customers! They feel like they can get quality ground rat barbeque anywhere, so they stop coming by. It's horrible, but I'll manage." She slapped her cheeks and sat up straight, revealing her full height. She wasn't tall by any means. Dodo was a 5'4 tall woman, short for an average human, but she didn't mind. Her sharp mouth did enough to cover up for her lacking height.
"Forget me for a moment, who's this little cutie hiding behind you?" She stretched over the counter to get a look at Nick from over Abel's shoulder. Abel just chuckled as he brought the timid boy around him and into Dodo's sight.
"This is Nick, a friend of mine. I brought him here to spoil him a little." Abel grinned as he placed his hands on Nick's shoulders. The brown haired boy shook with nerves as he adjusted his glasses.