“BOTH.” comes easy; he’d done inventory that morning, after all. and had to force a few down, thanks to the lack of actual food. it seemed smart, when he’d found them, to take them all with him. good in a pinch. and it’s not like you can have too many vitamins in you, right? “they’re all mixed up, but you can tell which is which. th’ones for adults are all circles; ones for kids tried to be a little more creative. some dinosaurs n’ flintstones characters.”
he won’t miss them. much. never really helped that pang in his belly that spoke of too little food in too long a time. is secretly relieved he's asking more about those than the other thing.
walks idly next to the man, following his lead so easy even though he’s not so sure where they’re headed. the pessimist in chris keeps trying to take him back to thinking it’s all a trap, but the thought is easy enough to push away. because so what if it is? he’s either gonna get his shit taken, die or finally get something in his belly. he’s willing to take that gamble. and besides, if the guy wanted his shit, why would he take him anywhere else? they were already in a pretty damn secluded area ( and isn’t that what the world is now? one giant secluded area? )
“i don’t, uh – i don’t have people.” because that’s a smart thing to tell a stranger. but he doesn’t see a point in lying. truth would come out either way, right? it’s accompanied with a shrug, glancing at the man before blue eyes fall to the ground and lock there. “you’re actually th’first livin’ person i’ve seen in, fuck, i dunno. couple weeks, maybe months. don’t really keep track anymore, but it’s been a while…”
who didn’t love a flintstone vitamin ?! ten million strong , && growing , or however the fuck that song went . eric couldn’t imagine anyone would have taken time out of their day to mess with something like that , they were probably fine . && if they weren’t … well , a few kids would leave this world with slightly stronger bones . not a bad deal , really . he would present them as a gift to a few parents , whether the risk was worth it or not would be up to them .
a CARTOONISH hiding place , but easy to spot if eric were in a rush . reaching into the greenest bush in a row of BROWN && YELLOW , a backpack was reclaimed . ❝ on behalf of mankind ❞ he said , hands rummaging around until they reappeared holding a water bottle && a vacuum sealed packet of salty dried fish , both of which he promptly handed over . ❝ i’d like to apologize , because if i’d gone a while without seeing people , i’d want my first to be someone a lot better than … me . wow there were a lot of I’s in there . probably says a lot about me , huh ? ❞
awkward on just about anyone else , the smile eric offered was almost uncomfortably warm , filled with fondness that had no business being aimed at a stranger ; but that’s who eric was . within the first few moments of meeting someone he knew how he’d feel about them for the rest of his life , && this guy was just LIKABLE . ❝ wanna tell me why you don’t have any people ? that’s … it’s a little weird . you must know that already . ❞
