Second Chance

Kaz grinned a little when Amie mentioned making him not feel lonely anymore. Honestly Kaz wasn’t sure if he deserved all this, Amie was treating him with far too much kindness. Just saving his life had been enough, but now they were sharing a meal together. With the companionship and warm food, Kaz was reminded of how good it was to be alive.

He had nearly forgotten that Amie had seen past Kaz’s gloves. Yes that had happened, hadn’t it? Kaz blinked a little, surprised at the connection Amie had made, not that it was far off. Unconsciously he looked to his hands, which still had the gloves on. He was so used to them being there he hadn’t really thought of it, he supposed they were still on to protect his privacy, though Amie had probably seen that and more.

“Yeah, I guess it does,” he admitted, shrugging and smiling a bit apologetically. “I’m not the best at words, but you can ask me anything, Amie.” This was someone he trusted, and Kaz wanted to get better at letting his guard down, especially when it came to his past. Even if it was instinct now, he had no real reason to push people away.

“I was taught and started fighting at a young age. It was all I knew at the time so… I just thought it was normal. Not just my hands, but… the rest of me isn’t so pretty either. It’s probably a miracle I’m not horribly transfigured in some way. As soon as I saw the rest of the world, though, I knew I couldn’t keep fighting like that forever.” This was honestly the first time he had ever talked so much about his past. He wanted to, but it was still hard, his eyes not quite able to meet Amie’s. “My mentor, Gunther, was the one who set up the attack last night. I maybe deserved some of it though, we didn’t exactly part on peaceful terms last time.”

Amie knew for sure. Kaz deserved all of this. No question, no argument, not open for debate. Not that Kaz was actually trying to debate it out loud, but Amie still had it all figured out. Kaz could do whatever he wanted when they weren’t together, but when they were together, he was Amie’s friend. He was nice. And Amie liked him. So he deserved this because he’d never done anything to make Amie feel otherwise. Besides, people didn’t have to earn kindness.

Amie felt guilty for asking about Kaz’ hands, and apparently they were connected. Apparently Amie could ask whatever he wanted, well Amie wasn’t great at asking things. He worried he might overstep some boundary, even being told he was allowed free reign. So if he had freedom to ask, what did he want to ask? Well… something that seemed fairly off topic, to be honest. He decided to hold off on that for a minute.

Kaz had been taught to fight as a child. It sounded alright on the surface. Being taught to fight… except that meant he was fighting. That meant someone was combating him, most likely. That meant he was getting hurt. Like with his hands. Amie frowned, listening with a serious expression as Kaz explained the rest. “You didn’t deserve it… if someone was treating you like that as a child, you deserved to get out however you could, and you certainly don’t deserve for someone to try to kill you. I’m positive of that,” Ambrose said, his tone conveying that he meant what he said. He sighed after a moment, hoping to lighten his mood, it wasn’t like him to be so forlorn even for a second.

“I’m glad you aren’t horribly disfigured… but I don’t mind the scars… not that I’ve seen them… but…” it was impossible to get all that awkward right now, given the topic, “My parents taught me to be a distraction… which… isn’t as bad as… whatever happened to you. I just… well… some stuff happened and I ended up as a fighting dummy… of sorts, for some people. I’m sure you don’t want the details on that,” he said. He sort of wished he was wrong, but he wasn’t going to get into it just for kicks. “I’m saying that just to say, I have a lot of scars too, and I think the rest of you is probably… prettier than you give credit for. Wow that came out weird. Anyway,” he said the last part in a small rush, “I’m really good at this, clearly… um… on the topic of asking you anything… why do you have a habit of rushing off?”

Kaz still thought he could have handled his situation better in the past. Maybe that was a dumb idea, one that he'd only gotten with the experience of life. When he was younger, he had been much brasher and determined to force his way through. Now, such senseless violence seemed appalling. There must've been a better way to handle it in the past outside of nearly killing Gunthar. "Well... thanks." He knew Amie was trying to cheer him up, and he couldn't argue that. "I don't mean to make it sound like my childhood was completely bad. Just the more time that passes, the longer I seem to remember the bad things better than the good things..." He sighed, not really knowing what to think. His opinion on his past and especially Gunthar had changed many times... but he did feel less attachment towards him with each passing month. Still, he was... probably more happy to find out that Gunthar was still alive, than any amount of anger.

Scars... of course Amie wouldn't mind, he had them himself. And even if he hadn't, Kaz was pretty sure he would have said the same thing anyway. Shortly after Kaz had seen them, that was also the time Amie mentioned something about his parents using him as a distraction. Or bait. "I mean, I don't know, what's 'worse,'" it was too subjective. "It doesn't sound like you exactly had a normal life either. If you ever do want to talk about it I can listen, I just... I don't always know what words to use," he admitted. Kaz was still processing Amie's flattery and wondering if he should respond back when the question hit him.

When Kaz had said Amie could ask anything, this wasn't what Kaz expected. He laughed. A lot too loudly. This was almost becoming a trademark; it was quite ridiculous. He clamped a hand over his mouth and looked down a little. Okay, so Amie had noticed the rushing off thing. Like that laugh, Kaz was painfully aware of how awkward it was. But that still didn't mean he could wave his hand and fix it. "Er, sorry. I guess I just over-think things too much. I know if I think too hard on how to make things better it gets worse, so sometimes I think it's just better for me to not be there at all." That maybe wasn't the complete answer. But Kaz didn't know the complete answer himself.

Everyone could handle almost everything better if they could go back and do it over. They knew the answers. They had had time to calm their emotions. They were different people. But it didn’t change the fact that no one could go back and fix things. Amie could never save Percy and Kaz could never go back and change what he’d done. Things were set in stone the moment they had been done. It was how the past worked. Etched out for the rest of time, and he couldn’t help that. “I don’t know… if it was good or bad, really,” Amie said. Truth be told, if in his childhood he had to fight and got all those scars, it sounded like it was all bad. But then Amie looked at his own childhood, and even looking back on it without the tinted glasses of his youth… it wasn’t all bad. Not even most bad, up until they got separated.

Amie shrugged when Kaz said he didn’t know what was worse. He couldn’t really look back on things and blame his parents. It was confusing. “Well… I…” he had to smile. It was too hard to be so serious and negative, “I was just the distraction. I wasn’t doing any of the fighting. That was my brother. That was far more dangerous…” His smile faded as his eyes moved down to the floor, moving still as if avoiding finding something. Nope. Couldn’t do it. Couldn’t just keep his usual bravado and talk about this. Kaz said that he could talk about it, if he wanted, and Kaz would listen. However that was directed at the training dummy thing. Well no, surely it was directed at everything. He would address that another time.

Right now was a moment to address Kaz’s disappearing act. He laughed. Awkwardly. It was cute. Amie smiled a little, feeling better, despite the fact that it probably made Kaz just more awkward overall. Not the smiling, the laughing, but anyway. Over thinking, huh? “Well, if there is anything I can help with… as far as wanting to make things better and not knowing how… I’d rather you not just disappear… it is up to you, I guess, but that’s my preference. Especially while you are hurt. Don’t go disappearing on me now,” he told Kaz sincerely. He didn’t sound harsh though. He was just being honest with the man.

Maybe no one could know if the past was good or bad. Kaz thought on Amie's words. Sometimes things just happened without a reason, there was nothing to do but keep going forward. Good or bad, they were too mixed to distinguish one from the other. Amie did tell a little more of his story. And about a brother... for the first time Kaz's gaze flickered back up, but now Amie was the one who seemed hesitant. This was the first time Kaz had heard about Amie having a brother. A sister, sure... but it made him wonder about the rest of Amie's family. Kaz had a strange habit of forgetting most people had families... particularly siblings that they grew up around.

"I'm..." Apologizing couldn't really do it justice. What if Amie's brother had died as a result? He was too scared to ask, because he didn't know what to say if that was the case. "I-if there's anything I can do to help you too, let me know..." Kaz said. Amie's nervousness was making Kaz even more nervous too. "There is... one thing you could help me with," Kaz hesitated, trying to stop himself from blushing. Amie was making him self-conscious. "You're right. I should really become more dedicated... no more running away." He took a deep breath. When he was out in the arena... he had been thinking of his life for the past two years. He didn't want to regret the same thing when he finally was at his real deathbed. Most of his life, he'd avoided the guilds... trying to shake off any unnecessary attention. Now... it was a place where he'd met friends.

Maybe that had come out wrong; he hoped it didn't sound like the start of a love confession... although he'd already tried a few of those in others in the past."I want to join Lamia Scale," he said, completely sure of his answer. "I-I just... I don't know how, exactly. Is there a test or something?" Suddenly, less sure of himself. What would happen after coming to this conclusion... and they wouldn't take him?

Ambrose wasn’t philosophical, but it was nice when his words could help someone else. Usually he was just smiles and happy comments. His relationship with Kaz was completely different than with most people. Kaz actually had the chance to make him uncomfortable. No one made Amie nervous like Kaz. He knew better though. He knew better than to expect anything from Kaz, despite liking him. They could be friends, and run into each other a lot, and Amie would make sure that Kaz was safe now, but he wasn’t confused as to what Kaz meant by saying he wouldn’t run away.

It was good to hear that Kaz wouldn’t run away though. Whether he could believe that or not. It was a nice thought. Apparently there was something the blushing Kaz needed help with. It was probably best that he didn’t dwell on the reference to Amie’s brother. There was a reason Ambrose never mentioned his brother. Was there anything Kaz could help him with? Well… he could think of things, but he pushed that back. He was listening to Kaz say he wouldn’t run away.

His eyes widened a bit, surprised to hear that Kaz wanted to join Lamia Scale. Then he grinned. That was great! “No, no there isn’t a test.” He couldn’t help but keep grinning, “Its just… well, I guess you need Daedalus’ permission, but he’ll give it to you, I promise. I mean, I know I’ll vouch for you, and you might know other people in the guild. That’s awesome. Wow…. I should probably be less enthusiastic, or I’ll end up just carryng you there. I mean, I could do that, but you probably want to rest or something. You can meet my bunnies!” Okay, so Amie was excited. His crush was joining his guild. His friend was joining his guild. “I’d say you can room with me, but you probably want your own room… well, either way. No test, you will be perfectly fine to join. And that’s awesome.”

The reassurance was very much a relief. It would be awful to have this new resolve and then somehow fail a criminal background check or something. And while Kaz knew that Amie would be excited... to hear his friend react in such a way, it was honestly quite flattering. He laughed a little, glad that he now had a plan. Well... as soon as he could move properly at least. And... bunnies? Kaz never faltered, but the thought of Amie with bunnies seemed... well, the guy was so buff, imagining him with fluffy animals seemed like an oxymoron. Then again, knowing his personality.... Kaz was certain he was serious.

"Th-thanks, I appreciate it!" He really did. And other people at Lamia Scale... Astra might be another reason why he was joining. Balancing between the two of them in the same location... he was going to have to be careful, or he might get himself into serious trouble. "Yeah I should probably take it easy, at least for today... but I'll go as soon as I can," he promised. He didn't want to wait either... The longer he waited, the more likely he was to back out. And that was why he was joining; he needed it to be an official commitment. "And check out your bunny collection. I didn't know you could keep pets at a guild..." But somehow, he wasn't surprised about it, either.

Then there was the matter of the room. Amie had offered, but was pretty much implying that he'd be shot down. "I um, I snore really loudly, you probably wouldn't want me as a roommate anyway," he rubbed the back of his head. It was half a lie. He really didn't know if he did or not. "Besides, I've been alone these past few years, I don't know what I'd do if we were roommates. If possible, I'd rather just have a single room - sorry." That and it would be infinitely harder to sneak others in if Amie was also sharing the room. Probably just a pipe dream, but he could hope.

Amie couldn’t have even pretended to turn Kaz down. The idea of his friend actually joining his guild. It was too good to be true. It was like a birthday present. Except his birthday was actually coming up. Kaz could be there for his birthday! Great. So all the people that were important to Amie would be at Lamia Scale for his birthday. He knew he wouldn’t have any pull to get Kaz there, but if he was actually there… well that was pretty great. Not that it really helped… Kaz had a thing about running away. He could tell Amie that he owed him his life… then the next second be gone and not feel a second of guilt. He knew that. Still, it was nice. He would be crushed if he thought Kaz joined the guild to meet girls. He could accept Kaz not being interested, but that would just make the whole friendship feel cheap. Lucky he didn’t know.

Amie was actually really happy now. He felt light and just… better. Finding his friend nearly dead had been awful. Hearing that he wouldn’t just see Kaz once on a whim, that was lucky. That was great. His naturally open personality was a bit into hyper drive. “I will wait with you,” he told Kaz confidently. He was not leaving his injured friend to fend for himself. “You’ve never been to Lamia Scale, have you? I’m a pretty good guide. I have come and gone… all the time.” Kaz wanted to join Lamia Scale for commitment. That was good. He chuckled, “Yes, my bunnies. I… had to raise them when I was younger… as… for… food,” he said, forcing himself past that, with only a limited look of distance in his eye, “but… right, so I have a bunch of them back at Lamia Scale. As pets. They’re great,” he said, able to push himself right past the bad memories.

Amie shook his head, but smiled. Yeah, Kaz could make excuses, it was fine. “That’s fine, Kaz. You don’t have to have excuses either. Going from running away when I turn my back, to having a roommate would be a lot for anyone. I’m usually not there much anyway. No worries. I’m just… happy. I can talk to Daedalus about you having your own room if you like. I don’t care.” He genuinely was happy. Like a puppy. He remembered he should eat, so he did some more of that too.

Amie’s own excitement was starting to rub off on Kaz. Joining a guild was a big step… it was a life time of commitment. It would definitely take some time to adjust, but he knew it was important. Both for the other guildmates, and himself. He’d have to try his best to live up to Amie’s and the other’s expectations… this really was a huge step for Kaz, but one he wanted to take, even if it was a bit daunting. He was honestly a bit relieved to hear Amie would wait for him. Kaz had no idea how to tell a guild that he was joining, and it would be much better to have someone there he knew would help him out, just in case anything went wrong.

“I’ve been to Cerulean, but never inside the actual Lamia Scale guild hall,” Kaz nodded. He had been all over Fiore, but he had never stepped foot inside one of the official guilds. Who would have thought, he’d be joining the guild that he originally thought was for balding old guys. Obviously his first impression had been completely off. “Well, I promise not to eat your pets,” Kaz laughed a little, trying to keep it light. Obviously that was a part of Amie’s past that he resented… at least now Amie was free to keep his own rabbits. Kaz wasn’t extremely fond of animals, but it wasn’t like he hated them, either.

He hung his head a little sheepishly. Amie was so close to the mark about what he was saying, it was a little hard to hear. The only reason Kaz made excuses was because he didn’t want to hurt Amie’ feelings. At least the other seemed okay with them having different rooms... honestly, Amie had probably expected as much. Then there was the mention of Daedalus… “Is there anything I should know about your Guild Master before we meet?” He wondered. He had heard very little about Lamia Scale’s master, and obviously first impressions mattered a lot. “And your Ace, too… I guess even though I’m joining, I don’t know all that much about Lamia Scale,” he admitted.

A big step, but an awesome one. It was important to grow as a person, and if this was going to help Kaz grow as a person, Amie was happy to have any part of that. It had been good for him to join a guild, and it was still a good resource and home for him. Well, he also had a house. Had he told Kaz that? He didn’t want Kaz to live there or anything. It was easier to actually sometimes run into Kaz if he lived in the guild hall. Besides, Kaz needed a commitment, and to get to know the guild. It would be more helpful to live in the guild hall. However… “I actually own a house in Cerulean. I just don’t live there, I rent it out to people. Not that it makes much difference, but it came to mind…” he said with a small shrug.

“Well its pretty cool. Do you like flowers or vegetables?” he asked. It was the first thing he thought of. Kade’s gardens. Amie had personally tended to them when Kade was gone on trips. It usually fell to either Ava, Ambrose, or a combination of the two. Amie knew how Ava didn’t like getting dirty, and he was happy to help her with things. He was reasonably fond of the young girl. It had resulted in him forming a bond with her roommate Astra as well. Amie could only go to their room so many times to fix shelving and the like before a relationship formed. He chuckled when Kaz said he wouldn’t eat Amie’s pets, “I appreciate that.” Honestly, if anyone ever tried to hurt Ambrose’ bunnies, he would lay into them in a way guaranteed to leave scars. He didn’t expect it from Kaz though, clearly.

Kaz seemed embarrassed when Amie told him he didn’t have to make excused. Really though, Amie didn’t mind. He would rather Kaz be honest than try to spare his feelings, but he couldn’t control was Kaz actually did in any given situation. Now, what should Kaz know about Daedalus and Kade? “Well, Daedalus is pretty mellow. I’d just say he is old. He likes to act like it, but he’s already really strong. So if he gets to have his naps and his teasing, he’s golden. As far as our Ace, that’s Kade. He was in the tournament. He’s… a pretty cool fellow. We are friends. If you don’t try to hurt any of his friends, and you mind your manners, he’s very friendly.”

Kaz blinked blankly as Amie mentioned owning an entire house in Cerulean… which he rented out to people. But that… took a lot of money, right? Wait, he already knew Amie had rich parents. He recalled some of their other conversations. Somehow that seemed like something far in the past though, not relevant to the present. Or maybe it was just finally hitting home when Amie said he owned an entire house.

“I haven’t done much of it, but I do enjoy gardening,” Kaz nodded. Never owning a plot of land himself, he had yet to grow anything that was completely ‘his’. But he had done some temporary work in the fields, both tilling the soil and especially harvesting… there was always plenty of work to be had around harvest time. He found that kind of work relaxing. “You mean there’s a place in Lamia Scale for gardens?” He realized. It wouldn’t be the first thing he thought of when he thought about joining a guild… but it made sense. A lot of people enjoyed flowers and herbs.

Kaz was a little reassured to hear Amie’s description of Lamia Scale’s leaders. Both Daedalus and Kade, he was going to remember their names. They seemed fairly calm from how Amie described them… “That’s good. Not like I was planning on trouble.” Whether he knew them personally or not, Kaz was just more concerned with not stirring up trouble in Lamia Scale. First impressions were pretty critical.

One way to look at Amie owning a house was that he was rich. Another way was to look at it as something he adventured, earned, fixed, and used for income. He liked money. He didn’t talk about how much he had, because he hoarded it. He’d given a lot of it to Lamia Scale for repairs, but he still had enough. He would have to hoard more. A quirk of being raised around piles of loot for loot’s sake. Amie didn’t think his owning a house was particularly strange, but Kaz was blinking at him like something was up. They didn’t mention it again though.

Kaz apparently enjoyed gardening. Amie paused, trying to imagine Kaz tending the garden like Kade. Well, he didn’t necessarily think Kaz had that kind of patience. It would be interesting if he did… but unlikely. “Well, Kade has a garden that I sometimes tend for him if he is gone. Its out back. I imagine anyone would be allowed to garden there if they were so inclined,” he admitted. It was a big plot of land after all.

Amie smirked when Kaz said he hadn’t planned on trouble, “Knowing you, you’ll find trouble, whether you’re planning on it or not. But I am sure it will be good. And if they have any doubts, I could use that card where you sometimes think you owe me, so I’m just keeping watch on my investments.” Sounded weird. He didn’t care. He just felt like teasing a little to lighten his mood.

Gardening did sound nice, actually the more Kaz thought about it, the more he wanted to try. He'd never been in one place long enough to actually own a section of land. If he could borrow Lamia Scale's plot, or rather Kade's plot from the way Amie spoke about it... Well, Kaz was interested in at least trying. That could be a future project. Plus, it was something that Amie enjoyed working on as well. "Hm, maybe I'll try that later then, once all the initial Guild stuff is taken care of," he said.

He hung his head a little sheepishly when Amie mentioned that trouble would probably find Kaz. It was true. He had an uncanny way of attracting trouble like none other he'd met. Maybe Amie had it to some degree too, but Kaz almost felt like he was cursed. "Hey, that's no fair," he protested but grinned, knowing that Amie was joking. "What is this, blackmail now? That's not how favors are supposed to work," he laughed. "Well, I guess I can leave it at I'm not planning on trouble. So anything that happens past that can't be my fault.” For a moment he paused, looking at Amie. This man... had certainly done much for him. He had jumped in for Kaz when they were practically strangers, and it was probably the first person Kaz could consider a friend. “Seriously though, thanks Amie. If nothing else, it'll be nice to meet the people you consider friends at Lamia Scale.”

Amie was interested in anything that he could do with Kaz. While the land technically didn’t belong to Kade, he was the only one who made use of it. There was a lot of land near Lamia Scale, and no use in leaving it untouched. That was how Ambrose looked at it. He suspected more than a few people shared that thought. Why leave it alone when they could potentially make use of it. “That sounds good. Although you might want to reconsider the wardrobe choice for gardening,” Amie said casually, nodding at Kaz. The man looked good in a trenchcoat, sure, but given his clothes were mostly shredded, and inappropriate for being in the sun all day, he might want something else. Not that Amie wanted to see Kaz without a shirt on or anything. Nope.

Kaz lightly argued that this was not how favors worked. Technically it wasn’t blackmail. “Hey now. This was just to make sure you got into the guild, not to keep you around. Nothing I can say will keep you around when you want to run off and you know it,” he reminded Kaz. It was a simple fact, and not one he sounded resentful about. He smiled gentler when Kaz thanked him sincerely. “Ah that’s no problem. I have several friends… well, more than several. Point being, I will be happy to introduce them to you.” And some of his friends might actually figure out something about his interest in Kaz. He didn’t know how to feel about that. “How are you feeling? Tired? Awake? I don’t want to strain you.”

The mention of Kaz's wardrobe had Kaz looking over himself again. Yeah, there was no way he could show up in Lamia Scale in all tatters. It was embarrassing enough just having Amie see him like this. His current attire wouldn't leave the best first impression. "Yeah, uh... I'd like to get some new clothes before we start traveling." He didn't want to look homeless. Well, he was homeless, but he was homeless with money, so there was a big difference. Wait, maybe a better word would be wanderer... adventurer... was there a difference between the three outside of context?

It was a little hard to hear Amie say he couldn't force Kaz into staying at the guild. He understood what Amie meant; there was really no way of keeping anyone at a guild. But it still implied that it was an option that Kaz might choose. Kaz didn't want to run away, not when he'd finally accepted that he wanted to join Amie's guild. And he didn't want Amie to think that was an option, either. "I guess with time I'll just have to prove that I'll stick around. Though if for whatever reason I do run off, you have my full permission to drag me back." He didn't want his resolve to falter later down the line. If he couldn't handle this himself, he needed someone to keep him on his goal.

Kaz could see Amie being a popular guy, and wasn't too surprised to hear he had more than several friends. "I'm doing alright now," he assured Amie. Well, Kaz wouldn't be able to move very quickly, and he definitely couldn't handle any fights, but... his life wasn't in danger. So that was enough. "Thanks again, Amie. I'm sure I'll be back in full force in no time." And the first thing he planned to do was get to Lamia Scale. Well, get to Lamia Scale after he got some new clothes.

Amie didn’t mind how Kaz looked any day. He didn’t mind the torn clothes. Sure, a bit of it was attraction, and even a bit of it was the memory of his years wearing far less, but it was something else overall. Overall it was that Amie didn’t care what Kaz ended up wearing. He didn’t care what someone looked like when they’d been through a rough time. Sure he dressed well, and he really liked how he looked, but he wasn’t a jerk. How cruel to judge someone’s appearance when they woke up in bedrest? It was beyond cruel, beyond superficial, it was the most stupid thing Amie could imagine. No, he didn’t care.

“Would you mind if I bought you some clothes?” Amie asked. He wanted to do something nice for Kaz. Saving his life? What was that? Any human would have helped a dying man. He wanted to keep helping. If Kaz needed something, Amie wanted to do that. Clothing was a priority, and Amie really did want to tend to that.

Amie really did figure Kaz would run. Maybe not leave the guild, but run. It was in him. Amie hadn’t seen Kaz really need roots, and roots kept you stable. Otherwise it was up in the air. Kaz was like a bird who needed a new perch each time. Kaz said he would stay, and if not, Amie could drag him back. Amie knew he couldn’t… but maybe in time. “We shall see… I can be quite persuasive, or so they tell me.” He allowed himself a small chuckle. Everyone except Kaz seemed to find Amie persuasive. It was sadly funny. “I don’t mind you being below full force, or whatever it is. I just… well, I don’t know when you want to handle travel preparation, or maybe I should do that on my own.”

Kaz was actually quite relieved when Amie offered to buy him clothes. Even walking in to a tailor in his current garb was somewhat embarrassing. Even if Amie understood Kaz's predicament, strangers would stare. And Kaz didn't exactly feel like explaining what had happened. "That would be great, I was a little worried what they might think if I walked in like this. I'll pay you back whatever the cost ends up being." Normally Kaz would be picky about what he wore. It came with a mentality that first impressions were almost everything. However, he trusted Amie's own fashion sense. Plus... Kaz was going to need a wider wardrobe when he got to Lamia Scale, so some early shopping could only help.

Amie hadn't exactly guaranteed that he'd drag Kaz back, but Kaz took the answer as Amie promising to try. Kaz thought Amie looked a little sad... but it was hard to tell. Maybe it was the laugh that did it. Kaz shook it off as himself being paranoid, it tended to happen after periods of extreme stress. "I think we should go as soon as we can," Kaz said. So I don't change my mind. He thought, but didn't add. "As soon as I've got some better clothes, we could go together. I might just... be walking a little more slowly." He honestly did want to get to Lamia Scale as soon as he could. It was like a new chapter of his life waiting to be opened... and Kaz was ready for his current one to end.