Grocery List (Holly/Casual)

[HOLLY UROR]

"I... I see death. Battles, murders, peaceful ones... Just death... I mean... I guess when I'm happy, sometimes the visions reflect that... It just depends on how I feel, I think... And I'm always so usually dreadful..."

Holly's eyes were wide, clearly conveying how horrified she felt at the man's plight. Since she only saw brief flashes and glimpses of the past, rather than a sequence of events, she could only wonder at what it must be like to see what this man saw.

"What do you see? Please tell me you don't see the same things...?"

Holly began to shake her head, then began to nod. She saw the past, but the sights she saw of the past were often traumatic, due to the experience she had undergone as a child that had spurred her visions on.

"I see the past," she explained. "Just brief glimpses, though the events are usually of a bad nature." She hoped this wouldn't make this man feel any worse for her than he did already; he had had to deal with visions of pain and death for far longer than she.

"Listen... I've been dealing with this for half of my life... If it gets too hard to deal with...Um... My name is Sebastian. Sebastian Martin... But you can call me Bastian, or Seb or something... What's your name?"

Holly looked puzzled at the first part of the man's speech, but her face relaxed as the conversation suddenly turned from their shared power to the triviality of names.

"My name is Holly Uror. My parents think it's rude to call people by their first name unless you are well acquainted, although in this case I think I can make an exception Mr-" She corrected herself. "Sebastian."

[SEBASTIAN TIMOTHY MARTIN]

Sebastian smiled, grateful that the grim subject was lifted from the conversation. He stood up, but bent his hand down to shake hers. "Its nice to meet you, Holly."

He looked around the store, seeing no one else in this aisle but them. "Speaking of your parents, where are they? You're not out alone here, are you?" Typical Sebastian, always playing the part of the worrier. James would call him pathetic, but this was just how he was. His whole life had been dedicated to saving people, and he supposed they would call that human compassion.

Sebastian blushed. "Oh, well, I realize of course that your parents don't want you talking to a stranger..." He shuffled his feet, looking at them in embarrassment. "Especially in New York City of course. Not... Not that I'm bad, or anything. At least I don't think I am! I mean..." Babble babble babble, that's all you do, Sebastian, he thought. He rolled his eyes mentally, planting a palm to his face. "Sorry... I'm kind of crazy, as you can see."

[HOLLY UROR]

"It's a pleasure to meet you too...Sebastian," Again Holly struggled to call him by his first name, but she thought if she and Sebastian talked further this problem would become less prevalent.

"Speaking of your parents, where are they? You're not out alone here, are you?"

Holly laughed. The very idea of her going anywhere all by herself was just laughable. She soon realized her laughter was somewhat out of place unless she explained.

"I'm sorry, Sebastian, I'm not laughing at you...it's just, I never go anywhere on my own. Being here at the grocery store is something of a miracle for me; usually Mum comes by herself and Dad stays at home with me. They'll be around here somewhere, probably frantic as to my whereabouts, actually."

"Oh, well, I realize of course that your parents don't want you talking to a stranger...Especially in New York City of course. Not... Not that I'm bad, or anything. At least I don't think I am! I mean...Sorry... I'm kind of crazy, as you can see."

"They don't like me talking to anyone except them, as a general rule," Holly explained. "And even though I don't think you're bad in the slightest, I sincerely doubt they would feel the same. And as for you being crazy, I tend to think that everyone's a bit crazy, in their own way."

[SEBASTIAN TIMOTHY MARTIN]

"They'll be around here somewhere, probably frantic as to my whereabouts, actually."

Sebastian blushed. It wasn't like him to hold up a little girl in the middle of the grocery store, though honestly, when did this ever happen to him? He'd been in stranger situations before. But he honestly didn't know how to handle this. Was he supposed to find her parents? He didn't want her to get in trouble, as it was clear the family weren't on good terms. And boy did he know how THAT could be.

"You don't seem to be too concerned about that... I take it you're more responsible than they think you are?" Of course she was. She saw visions like him. Even though he was a teenager when he had gained his claircognizance, he had had to grow up far to fast than he should have. He had no doubt she had done the same thing.

"And as for you being crazy, I tend to think that everyone's a bit crazy, in their own way."

Sebastian had to laugh at that. "You're probably right, Holly. I've never really thought there was such a thing as normal."

[HOLLY UROR]

"You don't seem to be too concerned about that... I take it you're more responsible than they think you are?"

"I certainly like to think so," Holly replied, with a small smile. "I may be young but I think the visions I see have made me grow more, at least on the inside. I'm afraid my parents don't, and probably never will, understand. It's a shame, but I can't blame them."

Sebastian's laughter and his reply to what he had said about no-one being normal led to Holly laughing as well. However, before she could come up with a response, she spotted her mother over Sebastian's shoulder, striding furiously in their direction.

"Holly Uror! What in heaven's name do you think you're doing? Get away from that man!"

[SEBASTIAN TIMOTHY MARTIN]

"I'm afraid my parents don't, and probably never will, understand. It's a shame, but I can't blame them."

He gave a small smile at that, almost pitying her, but that would mean he would have to pity himself, as they were clearly in the same boat here. "I understand. My mother died when I gained the visions, but when I told her I was gay when I was younger it took her a while to understand.... Give it time." He didn't know how she'd react to the news of him being gay, but he'd never really been ashamed of it, though he wasn't neccessarily a flaming homosexual to begin with. He doubted anyone noticed unless he told them.

When he heard her mother's voice coming from behind him, he froze for a moment, knowing this might not end well for the girl. He was a stranger in New York City, and he understood that many people were not trustworthy. He liked to think he was, but with parents like hers, he doubted they'd believe him much.

He turned around, facing the disapproving woman and moving away slightly from the girl, not to raise alarm, but to distance himself to show he didn't mean any harm. "Oh, sorry ma'am I was just helping your daughter reach some cereal. She couldn't reach it, you see."

[HOLLY UROR]

"I understand. My mother died when I gained the visions, but when I told her I was gay when I was younger it took her a while to understand.... Give it time."

Holly nodded, a little shocked at Sebastian's revelation if only due to her upbringing. She would have said something, a word of thanks for his advice, but her mother was soon upon them.

Sebastian endeavoured to explain but Mary Uror was having none of it.

"Helping her to reach the cereal indeed! What sort of fool do you take me for?"

"Mum!" Holly piped up. "He was, honestly, he was!" She held up the box of museli as proof.

[SEBASTIAN TIMOTHY MARTIN]

Sebastian felt a little uncomfortable at these particular prospects. Here he was, a total stranger in a grocery store, a grown man no less, talking to a little kid very VERY closely. That must have raised some sort of suspicion. But Sebastian wasn't a suspicious person! At least, he didn't think he was... Maybe people did notice when he lied about his visions, and they were just too polite to tell him? But people can't all be THAT polite all the time, can they?

Snap out of it Seb! he told himself. Stop being so vacant, his mind said, or they'll suspect you even more. "See? I mean, uh, um..." He rubbed the back of his head. He was really no good at this. He frowned at himself, trying to come up with the right words and say them at the right time.

[HOLLY UROR]

"See? I mean, uh, um..."

Mary Uror shot Sebastian a dirty look before snatching the box of cereal from Holly with one hand, grabbing onto the girl's hand tightly with the other."I don't care if I was trying to help you or not! How many times have your father and I told you not to talk to strangers?"

Holly wanted to argue back, endeavour to explain the truth to her furious mother and tell her her suspicions were misguided; Sebastian was a good, kind man... But she knew even before she opened her mouth her protests would fall on deaf ears.

Shooting Sebastian an apologetic look, Holly allowed herself to be tugged along by her mother, back to the mundanity of her life until another vision struck. While her mother continued to berate her, Holly found for once she wasn't listening, instead simply marvelling over the surprise encounter...a meeting that had shown her she was not the only one with powers.