Leading the Blind(Robbie)

[Stella Pinyin]

As the weather got colder and the sun started to set sooner, Stella was not having a good time with it. Her eyes were struggling, and even with the light she was getting better at emitting in non blinding doses, it was not safe to do so in public.

But there was a bubble tea chain! Real pearl milk tea!

It was run by koreans.

Stella had nothing against Koreans, of course. But she had hoped that she would be able to order in chinese. Instead, she had an increasingly angry sounding woman asking in an ever increasing volume to tell her the order number. Stella was trying, she was really trying, but the brightly lit menu behind the counter, complete with the very lurid colors, was making it impossible for her to make out the names of the drinks, let alone the numbers next to them.

”Many apologies,” Stella said quietly, aware of the line starting to grow behind her. It was too hard to back out now, and Stella’s usually snow white face was starting to glow pink. ”If you can please tell me if there is any toro in number, ah,” she squinted, but it was no good. ”Which one has no toro?”

The woman clearly had a lessor grasp on the english language then Stella herself, and shook her head, demanding a number again. Stella tugged down at the sides of the red woolen beanie sitting snuggly over her colorless hair, her cheeks well and truly red.

[Robbie Wilkes]

Standing in line at possibly the only shop within miles of Pilot Ridge that sold the novelty bubble teas that Robbie had started liking when he first moved here, the blond weather manipulator was having a hard time just standing as the person at the counter tried to order. Even the cashier was getting a little impatient and the other customers were also getting a little fidgety.

Gnawing on the inside of his lips, Robbie let out a huff of irritation of not being able to stand still in one spot for too long, and marched to the front of the line and patted the girl with shockingly pale skin on the shoulder. "Is there a problem? Sorry, I get fidgety if I stand too long. Erm...can I help at all?" He asked, not realising the girl was not able to see clearly.

[Stella Pinyin]

Stella spun around quickly when someone touched her, wide violet eyes starting just past Robbie's ear. The boy's words just made her blush harder as she wrung her hands. It was made a little harder, due to the gray mittens she was wearing. "I'm very embarrassed," she whispered. She had no idea who the blonde and sort of tan-ish blur was, but he sure sounded a lot friendlier then the woman at the counter. "My eyes are acting up, and I can't make out the menu, and I can't understand the woman properly, and I'm allergic to passionfruit and toro," Stella's chinese accent was getting slowly stronger as she started speaking quickly.

"I just want pearl milk tea but she doesn't speak chinese!" Stella went on, pulling off her mittens and starting to twist them. "It's chinese tea, I just thought..." She shrugged, looking extremely sheepish. "I am causing a big problem, it's not good. I'm so sorry." She stammered again, "Could you maybe, please tell the lady what number pearl milk tea is? Warm? Or should I maybe just leave or something? I feel very bad about this."

This was perhaps more then Stella had spoken in a while, but the situation was getting her very flustered and her thoughts were getting hard to translate properly. Her hands were starting to glow, and Stella quickly put her gloves back on and stuffed her hands in her pockets. Not good, not good at all.

[Robbie Wilkes]

Pursing his lips at the light haired girl's whisper, Robbie listened as she explained her situation. Against his better judgment, he gave the girl an awkwardly reassuring squeeze on the shoulder and turned to the menu. Scrolling down fast, he finally found what the girl wanted and ordered for her and squeezed in his own order. He turned to the line behind him and held his hand up in apology.

"Sorry folks. My friend..." he paused and asked for her name in the corner of his lips. Getting it, he nodded and continued. "Stella is spoilt for choice. Heh. Sorry." He gave them a sheepish grin and turned to the Oriental girl with a smile, not knowing she couldn't even see. "Okay, that's settled." He rubbed her forearm up and down when he saw her stuff her hands in her pocket, thinking that she was cold.

"I'm Robbie by the way. You look familiar. Do you go to Hammel?" Wouldn't he have bumped into her? She was really hard to miss with the hair.

[Stella Pinyin]

Was he trying to shake her, or something? Stella's expression turned quizzical and she quickly pulled her arms back when Robbie started doing... something. It went against most of the rules Stella had learnt as part of her parent's culture as well as common edict to start manhandling someone you'd just met. The only thing that stopped her from actually backing away was that the boy had just gotten her out of a very tricky situation. "Thank you so much," Stella said, a little nervously. Her eyes were still a little sore from squinting; focusing was not going to happen for a bit. So she was still looking just past Robbie's shoulder.

Ah, he was a student too? The tightness around Stella's jaw relaxed and she smiled in relief. No wonder she couldn't hear the stare in her voice. "Yes, yes. I've been there a few months now," she said. It was slightly eerie, having someone talk to you without looking at you. The slight, tiny moments of Stella's eyes, made worse by the strain, were enough to be off putting as well.

Still, Stella couldn't really help it. "You're a student too? Have you been there long, ah, Robbie?"

[Robbie Wilkes]

Robbie let go of the girl only to bring out his wallet from his pocket to pay for the drinks that came just two minutes after. The grumbling had stopped and Robbie grabbed the cups and ushered his new friend out of the shop, saving both of them from the glares emitting from the other patrons. Still not noticing anything different about the girl.

He handed the pale girl her drink but she didn't take it so he held on to it longer. Maybe she wasn't ready to drink it, Robbie reasoned so he held it for her, trying hard to stick the fat straw through the plastic cover as he handled the two cups in his hand. "Hey, you wanna drink your drink now?" Robbie asked, taking a sip of his ice blended something or other.

"A few months? Oh so you're new that's cool." Robbie grinned, his arm still around her shoulders. He wasn't about to let go because his arms was already comfortable slung around the small girl. "I've been in Hammel since forever." Yes, apparently two years constituted as forever in the teenage boy's mind.

"So why are you here alone? I mean, I'm here now with you but before I joined you why were you alone? I came alone coz no one wanted bubble tea. I don't think anyone even likes bubble tea in Hammel which is annoying because bubble tea is awesomesauce." Robbie illustrated that fact by taking a big sip of his drink.

[Stella Pinyin]

It seemed the boy, 'Robbie', was.... waving at her? Maybe? Stella looked in his direction with confusion as she tried to figure out what was going on. It became horribly, humiliatingly clear when he asked her if she wanted her drink. The blood that had just drained from her cheeks rushed back. He hadn't... hadn't she said her eyes were giving her some trouble? Maybe she had been too quiet. Carefully, Stella reached out and grasped the warm plastic cup.

She had just taken a sip when Robbie put his arm around her and she almost choked on her straw. Her skin was beginning to glow again as her discomfort grew. "Yes, it's cold." she said tentatively, her free hand tugging down her beanie again.

That was a good question. The explanation might help Robbie understand exactly why Stella hadn't been able to order, why she was still not to make eye contact, and why she had not seen the drink he was holding out. Maybe.

"Ah, you see, I wanted to see if I could find my way in to town by myself," Stella said quietly as she tugged at her bone white hair. "And I missed tea. This is quite good. Ah, there is sauce in it? Why?" The cane she had left leaning outside the store was still there, and carefully she detangled herself from the other, rather touchy student and grasped it. Hopefully a white cane would be the final clue Robbie needed. "I didn't know many Westerners liked it, I am glad they have a store here."

[Robbie Wilkes]

Had he been more aware of how awkwardly she was walking or how careful she was reaching out for her cup, Robbie would have realised that his new found friend was blind. Or at least partially so. But even with the information give to him earlier when the girl explained that she was having trouble with her eyes, Robbie only assumed that she was probably myopic or she didn't bring her glasses. No, blindness was apparently not that high up on his list of things a person could potentially be when she says she was having trouble with her eyes.

Robbie wasn't even aware of her discomfort with him slinging his arm around her shoulder, dolt that he was. Subtlety had always been lost on the blond weather manipulator, despite him knowing full well the meaning behind the word. Of course, he was made aware of it the moment she rather skillfully got out of his grasp only to grab a cane from the side of the store. He frowned at it for awhile before he looked up at the girl who was still talking to him.

In his experience, the only reason why people need canes were to apply pressure on something else when your leg couldn't handle it but the fair haired girl was not limping so another thought came into his mind. "Hello, can't you see?" He inquired, his voice filled with curiosity. Everything else that she had said, including the thing about sauce when he clearly meant it as an exclamation of his drink being pretty cool, went out the window as his eyes traveled to hers. It was then that Robbie finally realised that the girl was actually glowing.

[Stella Pinyin]

Stella was very mild-mannered. She was polite to the point where it was painful. Sarcasm and most humour were lost on her, and the idea of being sarcastic, or cynical would never occur to her. If it had though, this would be the moment to express it though. The inability of Robbie to connect the dots was nothing short of jaw dropping. But Stella, thought even she was a little surprised he still didn't understand, didn't sound in the least frustrated or mocking when she said "I'm partially blind. I can't see very well at all when it's winter and there isn't much light."

As it grew darker still, Stella tried to pull her beanie down further, aware that she'd start attracting attention soon. Her tea was sweet and warm and tasted just like home but even that little comfort was not enough to drown out the worry that always started to grow when she was out at night in a populated area. "Ah, are you heading back to the school?" Stella asked somewhat hopefully.

[Robbie Wilkes]

When she verbally ascertained the fact that why yes, she was blind, Robbie took a second to contemplate it's meaning before shrugging and continuing to walk with her. Had he been the type to actually be bothered, he would have been uncomfortable and walked away but as much as he was slightly braindead, Robbie was pretty unassuming and just a shade naive and couldn't care less about people's inabilities or weaknesses.

"Yah. I only went out to get this. Is pretty cool I bumped into you! I've never seen you before and all so I kinda think it's um, fortuitous." Robbie laughed at how hard he had to come up with that word. He must be really tired. Checking his watch, he raised an eyebrow and made a sound at the back of his throat. It was still too early to be tired.

"You wanna head on back to school? We could finish our drinks in the cafeteria if you want."

[Stella Pinyin]

After all that buildup, the lack of any real reaction was almost a relief to Stella. She'd been half sure he would stop and grab her and start yelling YOU'RE WHAT? into her face. It was not implausible, after his reactions so far. Stella was still emitting enough white light to illuminate the ground roughly a foot in front of her, and so while her cane made sure she avoided any bumps, if Robbie cared to look he would be able to as well. Still, as she had began doing with a little less hesitation, Stella grasped the boy's elbow lightly so he could help guide her.

"It was, ah, how do you say..." Stella frowned slightly as she tried to get her mouth around the new word, "for-fruit-ious for me as well. It was very, ah, uncomfortable." Poor Robbie; it's hard to use an impressive vocabulary with a girl who's still learning english. Still, the paper-white girl was very grateful; that made two people who'd come to her aid and while this was not as, well, dramatic as falling into a pond, it was something.

Stella may have a bit of a knight in shining armour complex.

"Whatever you prefer," she said happily, smiling as she gazed out ahead. Away from the crowds, her luminescence would not be such an eyesore. Catching a pearl from her tea, Stella squished the gelatinous sphere with her teeth, then gasped quickly. "I didn't pay you for this! One moment, please," she started to detangle her arm, then realised with the tea in one hand and the cane in hte other, she was not able to get her purse out. "Ah, a moment," she muttered, starting to flush again.

[Robbie Wilkes]

The mispronounciation didn't go unheard as Robbie had a keen ear when it came to words and without a hint of condescension, he corrected her and worked around her thick accent until she managed to say it properly. "There you go." Robbie grinned widely as he let Stella hold on to his arm. He had never been around someone who was blind or even partially blind. Myopic sure. Inconsiderate yeah a lot of times (that jerkface who shoved Robbie into a wall was probably blind, stupid AND deaf) but not legitimately cane-using blind.

He felt like he was doing a little good in the world.

"I'm sorry it was uncomfortable for you. I mean I don't know how it feels on account of the fact that I rarely get uncomfortable but still, I'm sorry you feel that way. Those people probably didn't know you were blind." He said in a blunt fashion. He did not have tact and he didn't even realise it.

"Oh okay cool let's go walk back. And no. You don't have to pay. Stop that." Robbie pulled the hand with the cane and looped it around his arm as he grabbed the cane. "You don't need to pay. I had money to spend." Robbie patted Stella's hand and walked in the direction of the school.

"Dude," Robbie turned to Stella and grinned. "You're glowing."

[Stella Pinyin]

It was considered a sort of social taboo to take a blindman's cane away. It was just... just a no. Like kicking a puppy. But before Stella could either trip or ask for it back, Robbie caught her arm up. People were a lot more physical here then she'd ever expected. "Ah," she started, but pressed her lips together and shook her head. He was just being nice, no need to bring it up. Still, she would pay him back when she had a hand free to get her wallet.

Then, he pointed out what she had been trying hard to pretend was not happening. Stella blushed pink, her fingers shining slightly through the gaps in her knitted gloves. It wasn't really a question, so she wasn't sure if she was supposed to answer, but, well... "Yes, I do that," she said hesitantly. He didn't sound like he was surprised in a bad way, or disapproving...

"It's, um, part of my ability? It's not so apparent in the day, I mean," with a tiny shrug, Stella blinked and tugged on a lock of bone white hair. "It's very obvious at night. I don't go out much after the sun goes down. People, well, people look a bit."

[Robbie Wilkes]

It was astounding how dumb a sixteen year old boy could be. It's really no wonder why he got more misses and disses than kisses. There really was nobody besides Estelle who would take him seriously anyway and even she had trouble keeping a straight face around him. Or getting in a punch or two for saying or doing something completely dumb.

Robbie's lips twitched at Stella's response. And if it was her power, she must have gotten at least a few other variations of Robbie's question. Granted, they were probably malicious in nature while Robbie's was just out of surprise. And curiosity. And without meaning to, he had to poke a little bit more. "Dude, you're totally like a human firefly right?" He asked excitedly.

When Stella told him about not going out at night, he nodded sombrely. As sombre as the blond weather manipulator could ever get anyway. "Yeah, I think they would."

They were nearing the school which Robbie thought was fortunate. At least she wouldn't feel so completely uncomfortable since there were others whose powers were a little more embarrassing and apparent than being a walking glow stick. "Do you like your power, Stella?" A thought then occurred to him which he found completely odd not to have realised earlier. He found it completely odd. It probably wouldn't surprise anyone else.

"Hey, Stella? Your name is like really similar to my friend's name. Do you know Estelle Flores? So like your name means you're a star right? So it's kinda like pretty cool that your power is to make you shine...right?"