Your OC and the above OC run into each other as--

The last time he found himself in a grocery store, Smithson remembered, he was just a little boy who got taken along by one of the servants while his father was off doing... Something. What exactly evaded his memory, but it was likely just the expected. Partying, battling... Definitely not taking care of him, regardless.

It made him clench his hands against the handle of the shopping cart as he crossed through the aisles. To be honest, he didn't have a real reason for being here, unlike his wife. He just wanted to walk around for a bit and clear his mind, and maybe find his son if he was lucky. This store, after all, did have a pretty extensive selection of sweets, and he was well-aware of how much Fitzgerald loved the taste of sugar - whether it be saccharine or natural. The man sighed to himself, walking over to that aisle of pastries for that specific purpose - while also making his steps sound like he was just passing by and didn't have an ulterior motive for accessing somewhere that he wouldn't even dream of traversing if his son was still here.

Alas, Smithson didn't find anyone who resembled his son when his eyes scanned down from the eclairs to the cream puffs. Instead, what he saw was... A small black thing that looked like he was struggling to reach something on the shelf. Immediately, the older man bit down on his lip as he allowed the cart to come to a stop; then, he approached the other party and gave him a quick nudge with his foot. Rude.

"You need help getting something?" he asked the other party with a quick nod, before scanning the shelved for whatever he might need. Gee, this fellow sure seems like he'd eat that sugary stuff every day. Kind of like my son if I didn't regulate his diet so much. The man narrowed his eyes. Wait. What does he even eat now that he's run off? His gaze focused back down on the entity, then at one of the top shelves. Eclairs, macarons, cookies... Gee, if only he really knew what he was doing when it came to using his height.

He took a deep breath, then decided to take down a bag containing individually wrapped chocolate eclairs. It was supposed to be a decision made at random, but as he scanned the bag, Smithson remembered his wife talking about them before. Goodness, was feeding them off to the servants a pain, but... The man sighed as he felt the plastic wrapping of the bag - obnoxiously bright yellow and cheery. He wondered if his son was feeling that way now that he was without him.

Smithson handed the bag over to the tatepon without too much ceremony as he stated, "Is this what you want? The eclairs? I haven't tried them myself, but I heard they're good. They might be of use to someone like... You." He took one look at the bag's relative size to the other party and immediately regretted this. Maybe the macarons would've been better.

"You know... Maybe I should get something else..." he stammered while setting the bag on the floor, for some fucking reason. And with that, the man went off to his cart, mostly because this was getting awkward fast. But also, if his intuition wasn't whispering sweet nothings into his ear, he also had the feeling that the entity's similarity to his son when it came to sweets was more visceral than he wanted it to be.

Eclairs, why them? Out of all the ones I could've picked... Eclairs!

Walker was unusually quiet after the night, and though it meant nothing on its own, the fact that she didn't feel like talking to him was... Pretty concerning! Smithson was her husband, after all, and he had the feeling that something transpired during the event that made her this way.

Given that he was already pretty prejudiced against the woman who had went to dinner with his wife, this was basically a guaranteed recipe for disaster.

Luckily, that didn't seem to be on the aristocrat's mind at the moment as he went through the store. Again. He wanted to mind his own business anyway, because he already had so much to worry about. First his status, then his son and his whereabouts, and now his wife. Even if he didn't plan to buy anything from the store, he at least needed something to distract his mind. And that was why his eyes trailed over to the shelves flanking him. He was in the soda aisle. Grape soda, orange soda, root beer, cola... The selection was so entrancing to him - even if he normally didn't give a shit about soft drinks - that he failed to pick up on a certain woman passing by him, and that was for the best.

Not that it worked out in the end given that, eventually, he drifted into another aisle. This one was for pet food, so he decided to try looking at the flavors. Liver, beef, lamb, sausage and gravy... Again, he didn't recognize the other party at first, or at least didn't notice her. That was for the best. However, a birdlike noise caused him to look up and notice a certain lock of green at the edges of his vision. Are you kidding me? After everything I've done to make sure this doesn't happen...

Smithson was about to move out of the way when he suddenly felt something ramming into him. Apparently, now he was being taken along for a ride, and he was pissed. Really fucking pissed.

He was only more pissed when he collided with a water tank and now had to deal with wet clothes, a person he didn't like, and an overall sour temperament. The aristocrat's eyes narrowed at the passing swan before he took a part of his coat and tried to wring the water out of it. Meanwhile, the man half-listened to the woman speaking to him, though he didn't look at her at all out of spite.

"I don't know what you're talking about," he grunted to her with a scowl, "I never said anything like that. Ever. Maybe my wife told you that, but not me." He laughed bitterly before picking up another part and trying to dry that as well. "And even if I did, I have every reason to think you might be hiding something. That you do have something deeper that you're just not revealing. That's what my wife told me, and the fact that I have to end up seeing you right after I told her that I'm not going to lay eyes upon you for as long as I live... You're a real work, let me tell you that."

With a scoff, he decided this was enough for now and waved his hand aside.

"Now, please. Get out of the way. This walk is pointless because of everything that happened." And with that, he was out! Thank goodness, but at the same time, he was going to be pissed enough to be petty if they ever met again. Ew.

Shamus thought for a moment "W...wait...J..James...err...Mr Sunderland" He said slowly walking back up to the man. Shamus then held out his paper and a pen, "If you can...write....write down the name...of the sugar....I...I might have seen it....I....I just....erm....can't....read...or...or write. My...my g...guardian wrote the list for me." Shamus said shuffling his feet slightly. He always felt embarrassed that he was 21 and didn't even know the basics of reading and writing. After James had wrote down the name of the sugar, Shamus studied it carefully. "I think I have seen these symbols...errr...words before." He said before leading James to where he had seen it. Sure enough, Shamus managed to locate the sugar and gave a small smile at James. 

"Thank you for your...your help James...I have to get going...n....now.....have..a...good day." Shamus stuttered as he gave a short bow of his head before walking to where James had told him the bandages and vitamins were. 

Though his encounter with James had startled him at first, it turned out to be a positive experience, maybe he was finally starting to learn how to talk to people, even if it was only a bit.

Johnson looked down at his shopping list, clearly the slightest bit unamused by what was on there. Actually, that wasn't saying much given how little he emoted in the first place, but...

"Absinthe, cigarettes, and a baguette?" he hissed while trying to read through his friend's curt handwriting. She had definitely kicked his ass the last time around, though she did say she'd forgive him if he went shopping for her. Johnson, of course, was regretting his agreement to this idea at this very moment as he continued reading the list: "Shit, there's also... Horseradish, beef sirloin, and... A book?"

Freezing for a moment, the middle-aged man looked up at the signs before grumbling, "Goodness... I think she's trying to make my legs fall off. All because I teased her about someone she's associated with." He rolled his eyes, but he then looked back down at his cart, which - surprisingly enough - wasn't empty! In fact, it was filled with everything she asked him to buy. So many of these items looked so out of place that his stomach turned just gazing at them for more than a few seconds.

I'm pretty sure she'll return them as soon as she can. Bitch.

However, he did want the woman to at least not kick his ass, so he walked up to the cash register. He didn't even try lifting the items onto the conveyor belt, as he was just... The slightest bit pissed about being here in the first place. And by goodness, the green-haired woman standing in front of him, cat stacked on her shoulder, didn't help with that - as she decided to make her presence known by talking to him. I could've done without that, he groused while listening to her speak.

Johnson growled, "Yes, of course. And you're always coming here to see me. Why's that? You spying for the friend, or what?" Chuckling bitterly, he took a step forward, his ventral side now touching the cart's handle as he eyed the other woman. "You know, she already has eyes of her own," the man stated with a huff, "If she wants to be direct with me, she will. I only asked you to talk to her because she wouldn't even look at me last time and was giving me the silent treatment. She likes you for whatever reason, so I imagine that it didn't turn out that badly-"

The announcement that the power was out pissed off Johnson, given that he turned to face the poor cashier and hissed, "Are you kidding me? I already don't want to be in this damn store, and now I have to stay here for... Longer!? The hell is wrong with this place?" Commence an arguing match, which only ended when Johnson drew himself back with a sigh, then turned to face the standing party. Well then.

"Did you at least do the thing?" he asked her curtly, as if she didn't just witness him start a fight, "You know... Speaking to my friend about the incident?" Johnson, for some reason, was tempted to say that he wasn't exactly sorry for making her feel bad, that it was technically her fault for choosing to react that way. Better keep your mouth shut on that one, asshole. He listened to the other party speak about... Birds?

Wait, I think she's taking this too literally, Johnson thought while running his fingers through his thinning hair. He did, however, pick up on the fact that Brown seemed okay with his existence now, and that surprised him greatly. He froze, then turned to her with widened eyes:

"Wait, so she sent me here for nothing!? She told me that she'd forgive me and let me back in the house if I bought all this shit for her! I mean... I should probably still buy this, because I have the money, and I don't think she'd be consistent, but... What the hell!?"

His teeth clenched as he pushed the cart aside and stormed off to the entrance empty-handed. A certain member in charge of reorganizing all this was going to be very pissed at him. Not even bothering to look back over his shoulder, Johnson groveled at the door while waiting for the power to come back on. And it did... Eventually. So Johnson found himself-

Wait, that was the inside of a manhole. Not outside. Uh oh.

Johnson luckily didn't break his nose this time, but he was still the slightest bit baffled and offended by all this deus ex-machina. Not helping was the fact that the fact that even though he had left the store prematurely, the woman and her cat was nowhere to be seen. Probably because of that portal shit, he thought with a roll of his eyes; and with that, the asshole was forced to wander the sewers. Again.

Smith's hands only shook as she eyed the shopping list in her hands, longer than the one given to her before. The back of her mind danced with the idea that Johnson really did want her gone - for longer than before - but... That couldn't be right! Maybe he just trusted her with buying more of the goods, as she did remember him complaining about some of the servants bringing back some subpar resources before... She hoped they were still extant now, as her eyes scanned the tents' canopies.

"This.... This is different," she muttered to herself before taking a step forward, list still clenched in her hand as she did so. She knew the first item was - again - eggs. And... The young woman had no idea where the eggs would be sold, because this was her first time visiting this place; hell, the only reason she was here was that her husband told her that was where the servants usually bought the goods. In spite of the logical leaps, Smith didn't question him once, just nodded and hoped that she'd be back in time to spend time with their son.

But still... Where to start? Maybe she should try buying the goods that could be found in the closest stalls, then... Go from there?

Smith bit down onto her lip just as she heard footsteps coming in her direction, and by instinct, she moved off to the side - as she assumed that the other in question was a passerby trying to get through the open-air marketplace as quickly as they could. That was a bit stressful by itself, so... Thank goodness the other party turned out to be that noble she met before?

With a shy giggle, she waved her hand at him before watching him come over, with that impressive stride of his. In all honesty, just that was enough for her interest to be piqued, but when he spoke, oh... Oh goodness, that was a different story, as the young woman took a step towards him.

"I mean, my husband sent me off to go shopping," explained Smith quietly, her voice almost squeaking at some points, "It's just what I'm supposed to do, as a wife, right?" She laughed tautly before rubbing her nape. "And... Anyway, he's been complaining about the servants' performance in this task lately, so... I guess he sent me off while he tries balancing things out?" Her voice rose in uncertainty as her hand started to fidget with the paper she held, one eye on her fingers making and destroying creases within the parchment.

She glanced over her shoulder to see the white tent before bashfully waving her hand aside and replying, "Oh, um.... Sir, it would be an honor if I did get an escort, you know?" Another giggle, as she tried not to consider the idea of him - out of all people - being the one guiding her through that market... "It's my first time visiting this market, actually, so... I'd love it if someone showed me around for a bit." With another giggle, she tilted her head at the older man, as if she was trying to read into his mind and the implication behind his words.

When the flowers were mentioned, the young woman stood up as she giggled and held a hand up to her mouth, though it was difficult to hide the bashful grin with such a delicate-looking palm...

"Oh, the flowers?" she repeated as she slowly lowered her hand, "I... I kept them, yes, though..." Was it worth telling him that her husband tried throwing them away when he saw them? And that he eventually succeeded? Smith's voice faded for a second, before she coughed into her sleeve. "... Yes,... They're wilted by now. You're right in that they don't last very long without their roots."

"Maybe you're here to help me buy some again?" Smith seemed to ask out of nowhere as she eyed the noble for... What seemed like an eternity, as she likely took in every detail regarding his appearance and behavior. Oh no. "But they're not on my shopping list this time. Maybe next time, hm? But... Yes, I'd also like someone to help me carry the items once I'm done. The list I have is pretty long, anyway..." She tried to hide the disappointment that the man wouldn't be carrying her items for her, but... Ah well.

Just being in his company was good enough, at least in her eyes.

Oh, look! It's a freak of nature.

How unfortunate for Frederick to run into him.

Again, Otto didn't visit the markets often, finding it a waste of time other than him mingling with the common people. After his time with the young lady, however, he decided to swoop back in, perhaps in hopes of finding someone else lovely enough to capture his attention. He had no such luck this time, although the man next to him was a tad more handsome, as he noticed. More handsome than their fellow shoppers, anyway. It was briefly that his eyes scanned the other man before moving closer to him, studying the fruits before them as he approached.

"Don't be sorry, dear sir." he murmured, "This place is a bit crowded, isn't it? I'm not-- oh, I'm not used to such things." He paused his words to wave his hand dismissively and let out a quiet laugh. Truth was that he was used to crowds, but he couldn't feel that this one was a bit different. The worst part about all of this was that he neglected to bring along one of his retainers. He couldn't help but to feel on edge.

But, if someone were to heckle him, surely he could hold his own. He was a soldier. He was an aristocrat. He had two sorts of powers.

He followed Frederick's gaze to the cashier, and with a smile, he sighed. "Oh, the two of you are very lucky, then. I think it would be sweet for you to surprise him, and..." He glanced at the orange Frederick was inspecting. He wished someone would be so kind to treat him in the same way, though he already received gifts from allies and admirers. "Even if you dislike them," he added, "Things such as this will go a long way for your beloved, yes? I would know, certainly. I've been married twice!"

And his first marriage was an absolute shitshow.

But, then there was word of assassinations. He lost his smile. His immediate thought was that he was being threatened, and that sure was a bad thing for all parties involved, as he took in a breath and turned his body towards the other man. He looked up at him, eyebrows furrowed, before speaking steadily. "I'm as careful as careful can be." he assured, "No one has attempted to assassinate me simply because they know better. You would do well not to fret."

Poffin was lost. Again.

Not that she was completely aware of it, for the adrenaline still coursed through her body after wriggling her way out of her guardian's arms, then proceeded to charge into the nearest store. As far as she was concerned, she was hungry, and this was the best way to tell her guardian this was the case. It worked at home, after all! Why not here?

She sniffed her surroundings before suddenly perking her ears. The seemingly infinite murmurings of the people around her did much to unease her, though such effects were only minimal as she paced through the store in search of her guardian. Or maybe something to eat. She still remembered the last time she was in a store and thought that the cookies resembled dog treats. Maybe this store also had cookies- Dog treats. Definitely dog treats.

At least dog treats were enough to distract her from the attention that a seemingly feral Pokemon attracted as most came around to gawk at her - including a young woman with a light yellow ribbon as her headband.

Poffin froze for a second before allowing the woman to approach her, the dog's tail wagging as she yipped and decided to give her shoes one long sniff. The odor was definitely a bit saline, not at all like the conifers she had gotten used to ever since her guardian moved up to the mountains; thus, from novelty alone, Poffin lingered around the woman and allowed the other party to pet her. She was at least sort of hoping that she'd eventually get treats, but also, she just liked being petted. Dolores didn't exactly let her get pet by other people, and it was sort of sad, but she could understand why to at least some capacity.

"It's better to be safe than sorry," the older woman would always tell the Herdier, before petting her on the head. At least Poffin liked being pet in general.

Even then, Poffin started to shift in her position after a few minutes, as she was starting to get restless. Where was the food? She needed... Food. The Herdier almost looked disappointed when the woman had to get up and depart, but that was seemingly glossed over in favor of the issue that remained. Food.

She gave the other party a bark when the latter glanced over at her, before deciding to go off into a different aisle in search of something to eat.