2019-09-05 - Shopping for Taco Thursday

Astrid's Honda rumbles its way into a parking spot outside the grocery store just a couple miles away from Oak Street. She waited around for Marius to shower and get dressed, disengaging from Ash at some point to let her go get donuts. Still in cutoff terry shorts and an oversized t-shirt that has been cut and knotted up to at least give it a hint of femininity, Astrid is unprepared for the intense air conditioning that keeps the store at a brisk 65 degrees. She manages not to look totally penguin-in-the-arctic as they grab a cart from the long line-up just inside the store.

"Who brought the list?" She turns her head toward Marius.

Marius points at himself, looking surprised and confused, then shakes his head, "Me?" The pointing finger shifts up his head temple, "It's all up here." Which means they're getting food for Taco Thursday and then a bunch of junk food. At least they have the reusable bags that he snagged from the backseat -- this is Washington, after all. Slinging them over one shoulder, he heads for the front door of the grocery store alongside Astrid. He's not much better prepared for the chill than she is, in his sleeveless shirt and athletic shorts, and he shivers, "Yeesh." Tucking the bags under the cart, he straightens up again and looks over to her, a bit of a furrow gathering in his brow, "You okay, Ast?" There's something very quiet to the question, careful. "I know this shit can get freaky."

"Uh huh," Astrid replies dubiously. The brunette trails after him now that he's got the cart, and she lets him play ox -- pushing the cart, instead of pulling. She slings her hands into the pockets of her shorts -- pockets that are just about as deep as the shorts are long. She strides all long-legged beside Marius. "We've gotten too used to Summer around here," she helpfully pipes in at the shivering. She takes in a breath as he asks the question, letting it settle between them before she offers a shrug. "Your brother painted me bleeding out on some pavement. I'm sure that's real normal, day-to-day life here in Gray Harbor." She's not exactly savvy at just shrugging off the weird, but she's trying.

He gets goosebumps from the chill as well, and gives the cart a little push so that he can rub his forearms. "Jesus it's cold in here," Marius agrees. "I'd, you know, offer you my jacket, but..." he's not wearing one. Gathering up the cart again, he reaches out for her arm, squeezing her elbow lightly before he gestures the pair into the produce section. "Yeah. I don't think that's normal even for him. I mean, not even for the family." Because their family is definitely weird. "It's... I don't know... I'm freaking out pretty quietly over here, because it's new and scary and effects people I care about, but... I don't know what else to do. I mean, I guess I avoid dogs. But I don't know what to do for bleeding out." Worry and concern are plain in his voice and face.

"Do you ever wear a jacket?" It's half-mused before she is trailing along behind him into the sprawl of fruits and vegetables -- and since they are in, Washington, almost half of it is organic. She heads straight for that section because she's a good Waldorf kid and believes in organic produce. She starts in on the apples since they are in season with the late summer settling in. She drops about five apples into a bag and twists it closed. "Alright, so -- avoid dogs, and I'll avoid sharp objects, and it will all work out. Wasn't Ash like on the edge of a building or something? So, avoid buildings." She's flippant, and it is unsettling. So, she sighs and lets her shoulders fall. "I don't even know what the hell to do with this, Ree, so if you have some brilliant ideas, I'm happy to hear them."

"Not in the middle of summer." Okay, so it's getting late in summer, but that's still guns-out weather for Marius. He collects some peppers and lettuce, adding them to cart. "I don't know, Ast," he admits. "I mean, about the only thing I've got is hoping that whatever it is, we don't have to face it alone." He pauses, glancing to her and then away again, "I haven't had another Dream since... you know... but I'm pretty sure we're likely to have them again. That's... um, that's how things have gone before. With his paintings." As they curl away from the produce, he reaches his hand out, resting it on the far side of the handle, where it's easy to reach.

"We won't face it alone. We face everything together. That's how we roll." Even if most of the things they've faced together is raves, embarrassing morning-afters, and the occasional skeeze. Then she is shuffling along a bit less enthusiastically around the produce section, poking a bit at the peppers absentmindedly. "Yeah... that was a nice Dream." She tilts her head a bit toward Marius before they move on from produce. He offers his hand, and she steps up toward Marius to gently rest her hand on his; then it curls up his arm and she's looping her arm around his to rest her cheek heavily against his bicep. "I'm worried," she confesses to him.

Marius nods his agreement with her statement of solidarity, grinning a little as she curls in close against him. Because that's how you seek comfort from a friend -- totally fine in his mind. The confession causes him to frown slightly, "Worried about if we're noticing because things are getting worse, or things feel like they're getting worse because we're just starting to notice?" He draws in a slow breath, letting it inflate his chest and stomach, "Like what was it, almost a month when I kept hammering my thumbs and dropping shit at work? And I almost dropped the axe on my foot at home?" He grunts, "Felt like everything was going wrong any time it could." There's a moment and then he asks, "Or... um... were you worried about something else?"

"Well, now I'm worried about that, too!" Astrid's voice has taken on some exasperation. She just clings tighter to his arm as they meander their way down the next aisle full of condiments. She disengages long enough to grab some more ketchup and mustard and she gravitates toward the sweet pickles. Everything gets put down into the cart as they shuffle along. She worries about all the bad luck she's felt lately -- things she shrugged off. Like breaking those containment vessels in the biology lab, or cutting her finger on some shears. Now she's clinging back to Marius's arm with her head pressed against his. "I was more worried about what's coming next."

"Sorry!" Marius chuckles with it though, his hand extending out to brush along her back, guiding her out to collect the condiments. If anyone were watching them, they would not suspect the two of being Friends with Benefits, they would totally assume that they're dating. Especially when she comes right back to his side so readily. "Okay. So that's something we might actually be able to worry about and do something about, right? I mean, unless we start asking around to see if it's getting worse or... no. What's coming next. Right." He pauses, then points to the food that she piled in the cart, "Are we doing burgers and brats or Taco Thursday, Ast?" It's a momentary distraction and then he's shaking his head, giving the cart a little shove so that he has time to brush his free hand back over his hair, "I don't know. I really don't know how we can prepare for something like that? I know not to, you know..." his fingers wiggle on the handle of the cart, "too much, and I sorta know how Dreams work, but only suuuuper sorta."

"It's okay." It isn't. Astrid is feeling the anxiety build, and she's not sure if she can bury it for very long. She strides alongside Marius, trying to give off a certain level of chill. It helps that they've entered the organic refrigerator section. Plenty of chill there, and organic yogurt. She drops a container into the cart. This store keeps their organics clearly segregated from the non-organics. It's a statement. "I don't know," she says to his question. "Whatever." She doesn't like making decisions right now and that is abundant. She trails along with Marius, listening a bit absentmindedly to his musings. Then she looks his way, "You're telling me that we've got this coming our way and there's nothing we can do to prepared for it?"

Marius gathers up sour cream, glances over to Astrid, narrows his eyes for a moment, then moves over to the organic, light sour cream. "You and Ash'd throw a fit if I got the full-fat stuff, wouldn't you?" Because teasing makes everything better, right? He adds milk as well, then frowns thoughtfully, shrugging his broad shoulders, "I don't know, Ast. There's nothing I know about to get prepared for shit. Who knows, maybe there is. I just don't know who to ask because my mom. And I don't think she's gotten all that into the Dream stuff, just..." his fingers wiggle again, but he shifts uncomfortably, "you know." Glancing over to Astrid again, his brows furrow up, and he lets out a little sigh, "You have any ideas on who we might ask?"

"I'd take full-fat sour cream," Astrid says honestly. "Ash might kill you though." But there's also a good chance that Ash would say the exact same thing -- full-fat is fine, but Astrid might kill you. She skates along beside Marius, looking a bit uncertain as they ease back into the disquieting conversation. "I guess... I could ask Mama." Though she doesn't sound all that excited about that. "I don't think she would have much to say about it though. Ballard doesn't exactly have this issue." Then she sighs, shoulders falling a bit. "No. I don't know who to ask. Um, I could ask Easton again, but he really wasn't all that helpful."

"Yeah, it always feels way harder away from Gray Harbor," at least the places Marius has been, "if I can do anything at all." They turn into the next aisle, his hand going over to hers once more, squeezing reassurance, and then lingering, "He seems like an okay guy, from what I've seen. But he's a vet, right? Maybe he's one of those dumbass guys who would say more if a guy was asking? I don't know. A lot of people who know, I don't know... anything... don't much like to talk about it because it sounds crazy."

Astrid doesn't mention how hard things can get -- she could do things out in the rainforest. There were places where the Veil was thin. But before she can linger in those thoughts too long he gently grasps her arm and it brings her back. "Yeah. He's a vet. But I don't think that's why." She sounds a bit reproachful at Marius's assumptions, but then she lets that all pass as they escape the cold section and now wander through the pantry aisles.

Marius frowns at Astrid's reaction to the suggestion, then shrugs a little helplessly, "I dunno. I just know some guys are idiots like that. It's probably just the sounding-like-a-freak thing." He glances over his shoulder, "Which I get. I mean... I don't like talking about it to someone who doesn't know. And I don't even know that much." He gathers in some taco shells, then pauses, "You think the 7 Oak folks are gonna come to Taco Thursday?" They won't. Something will come up and Taco Thursday will fade into obscurity like it should, because Taco Tuesday is plenty for most people. "Should I get some more?"

"Might," Astrid says without much conviction. She's looking a bit deflated as she continues to trek along through the aisles. Then she takes a breath, and tries to get herself out of her funk. "Yeah, get extras. We can invite everyone over. It might be good for everyone if we have more company in the house." Then she stops Marius, tugging at his arm a bit. "Look, Ree... I'm not processing this all that well. Maybe we could, like, talk about something else? I'm not really ready to talk about dying in a painting and maybe in a Dream, because what happens in Dreams are real, right?"

Marius piles another couple of packages of taco shells into the cart, and then heads toward the meat section, "Chicken, beef, pork, or yes?" He stops as she tugs on his arm, lifting his brows slightly in question. The words cause him to nod, grimacing, "Yeah. Sorry. I don't know if I'm processing either. Yeah. Um. Hey, that's it... what's the dumbest thing someone's done at Tibs in the last couple of days? Any more people ordering boilermakers and looking totally confused when the drinks show up? Or, I don't know, ordering fries with oysters on them? Wasn't that a thing?"