Chapter Text
Slim reeled back, clutching his nose.
“What’s wrong Slim?” Hunter hovered close by.
“Did you lose your sense of smell, or what?” the Night Walker whisper snarled.
“What do you mean?” Luz patted his shoulder, “The only things nearby are crackers and chocolate and…beef sticks…and cookies…oh…”
The others were conflicted between supporting Slim and looking around in awe. Hundreds of items were stacked on top of each other, almost reaching above them. Breads, treats, and vegetables lined their sides, having different labels but appearing the same. Slim couldn’t be bothered, his mind and nose still reeling from the overload of information.
“Anybody got a filter or something?” Shade peeked out.
Firefly followed suit. “I can hardly think straight! Plug your nose or something, Slim!”
Camila watched with pity, then curiosity as Slim’s eyes briefly lit up, turning to his parts as they held a private argument. The whispers were brief but intense before they ended with Shade grumbling.
“Fine, but I get first dibs on movies when we get back.”
The group formed an impromptu protective circle around Slim as Camila pretended to look at nearby groceries, thankful that other passersby ignored the teens. Slim took a deep breath as he felt solid darkness and light each cover one of his nostrils. The first few deep breaths felt limiting, but they eventually petered out.
“You okay?” Gus asked.
“Y-yeah.” Slim turned to Camila. “We can keep going. Sorry for the wait.”
“No worry at all, niño. Now, can one of you reach up to that high shelf for me?”
Hunter immediately granted the request, holding resolution in his eyes as the group walked around Camila. Slim was thankful for the new focus he had; this place was truly fascinating. The cool air was nice, and the roof meant there wouldn’t be any predators, which was always a plus.
“Let’s see, carrots, crackers, tortillas…”
“Don’t forget the apples, mamá.”
“Oh, right!”
The witches’ ears perked up as Slim spoke first. “I can get them for you.”
“Oh, me too!” Gus smiled as he and Slim walked just ahead.
It didn’t take long to find the needed fruit, which gave Slim a chance to look at the others. Another round fruit sat right next to them, smaller than the apple but the same size as blood fruits back home, albeit brighter. The comparison brought a slight sadness to the Night Walker’s eye, and his friend picked up on it. Gus quickly looked around, finding an oddity and poking it.
“Ouch! Hey Slim, check this out.”
The boy in question looked at the object of Gus’ inquiry: A large round fruit, dark green and covered in spikes. Slim wanted to take a closer look but stopped as his eyes widened.
“Slim, what’s wrong?” Gus slowly approached as his friend’s cheeks puffed out.
“N…napkin.”
“What’s going on?” Camila and the others reached the duo as Slim’s face started turning purple.
“N-napki-“ Slim gagged, immediately making the others step back.
Camila quickly scrambled through her purse before finding something. But when she pulled it out, the ‘napkin’ was little more than a thin piece no bigger than a coin.
“This is all I-“
Slim immediately took the item, merging with Firefly and shrinking. Willow scrambled to look for something helpful, squatting near the shrunken witch to ‘look’ at items on the lowest shelf. Hunter and Amity followed suit, watching with pity as their small light hurled hot, smoking orange goop from his mouth. Thankfully the napkin piece was enough, and the boy’s gasps and hags slowly calmed down.
“I just…need a minute…Oh, Titan…” Slim gasped as he recovered. With a slow rise, the Night Walker fully stood up, grimacing at his mess but thankful it didn’t spread before encasing the whole thing in solid ice.
Willow put down a hand, Slim slowly climbing into her palm before she lifted him up to the others. “Are you okay?”
“Y…yeah. We’ll make it.” The boy sharply coughed, “What the Titan was that?”
“It’s called a durian.” Camila slightly frowned. “Also known as the king of fruits for its…distinct smell.”
“Yeah, that’s one way to put it…”
Slim slowly looked around, getting an embarrassed flush on his face.
“What is it?”
“I don’t wanna burden anyone by having them carry me. Put me down and I’ll be back to normal.”
“It’s not a big deal, Slim.” Hunter extended a hand, just barely touching Willow’s. “You can stay next to Flapjack.”
Slim wanted to show a more annoyed face, but his current situation didn’t allow it. With a sigh, the Night Walker walked to Hunter’s hand, just barely managing to fly into his shirt pocket next to a sleeping Flapjack. The bird woke up and gave a small, happy tweet, slightly lifting Slim’s spirits as the group kept moving.
Luz teaching the others about different items proved to be an unexpectedly good distraction. When it wasn’t Amity’s increasingly red face over Luz’s flirting and promises to make her different things or Hunter’s eyes glowing with happiness at the free sample, it was Slim catching an enticing scent at the deli as he peeked out of Hunter’s pocket.
“Whoa, I didn’t know you guys had griffins here!”
“No, those are chickens.” Camila laughed, “Would you like to try some for dinner tonight?”
“Count us in, Ms. Noceda!”
“I told you, niños, call me Camila.”
The group chuckled as they got to the checkout lane. Slim felt sorry for the cashier’s subtly hidden boredom, but they worked with Camila too fast for him to think on it any further. The outside air brought the Night Walker into true relief, letting him and his parts take deep, embracing breaths as they emerged.
“Oh, thank Titan.”
“Nature’s nice,” Firefly gasped as he peeked his eyes out of Slim’s shoulder, “but I never thought I’d miss fresh air this much.”
“Note to self,” Shade groaned, “Avoid future supermarket death traps.” The ghost looked to Luz, “Did I get the name right?”
“Nailed it.” The girl gave a smirk and thumbs up before breaking into laughter with the others.
Slim quickly emerged from Hunter’s pocket, flying around Camila’s car and separating from Firefly back to normal size. The machine itself still gave him and his parts some anxiety, all three vastly preferring walking or flying, but the rush of cool air from the open window more than made up for it. And the food he had on his lap beside Gus and Amity gave the Night Walker anticipation for what was to come.