Snippet #2378246

Opal looked over the various nick-knacks in the shop with wonder. Ella was stuffed into the spacious lime green-and-pink flowered book bag on the small girls back. It might be odd for a red panda to be around a human city where red pandas were in very short supply. That, however, didn't stop the creature from looking out through the unzipped portion and whispering to Opal. "Ohhh! I smell candy, over there! Caramel and Lollipops!" Ella whispered, practically sticking her face all the way through the hole. "Calm down, I'm looking at this" Opal said, her tongue sticking out as she twisted and turned the multicolored blocks of the Rubix cube in her hands. After a few seconds, she sighed and placed the cube back in it's place on the white-painted wooden shelf she got it from. "That's hard" she commented to herself and looked down at her dress. It was her favorite- light green sleeves that ended in ruffles a few inches above her elbow, small pleats on the bottom of the dress at her thighs, and a square neckline. That, the muti-shaded pink squares that circled around the middle and arms, and the fact that it was all a beautiful shade of green made it her favorite. It offset her hair and made her look like spring, in her option. Plus it matched her book bag.

Opal kept wandering down the isles of the shop they had stopped in. Some small-but-well organized store she didn't want to bother with the name of. They had had none of these stores where she grew up- small town with even smaller options for shopping, so people weren't horribly concerned with organization and marketing, and miles and miles of normal. Her family had been slightly different- what with the powers and such- but still pretty normal. It really didn't matter though, because Opal was here, now, and she liked it in a city you didn't have to go miles and miles to get to a good coffee shop. Her eyes darted over the line of toys she was in and grabbed a boxed up Rubix cube- she really wanted to figure it out, and she could, if it was the last thing she did! Then she went in search of Lila or Aberdeen. Or the one guy in their group- she didn't know him, but she wanted to, because he could possibility be a friend.

After a while of wandering, she decided she couldn't leave she shop but she couldn't find anyone, so she went back to the toy/candy section- it was practically a kid wonderland, and that was fine with Opal- and began perusing. Her mother had gone to the Academy and remembered the field trips and packed money for her accordingly- something Opal was very happy for because 'Look at all the cool things!' In any case, it wasn't long before Opal was pulled back into the candy section- with no complaint from the book bag- on the notion of free samples.

A few seconds- and a few caramel candy samples passed into the book bag discreetly- later, a very strict looking lady in a suit came sprinting by her, away from the door. "Where's the fire?" the asked quickly, though she wasn't really interested. There was candy to be eaten, after all! "So... something... air.... Ah!" was all she got out before running headlong in to the back of the store. "Hey! It says right there- workers only!" Opal yelled out, but she didn't stay on it for long, because suddenly there were more and more people piling at the windows and screaming. Opal knitted her eyebrows together in confusion and walked forward, suddenly wondering if there was a fire. "What's the matter?" she asked as soon as she got to the window, which she couldn't see out of for the taller people in front of her. When no one decided she was worth an answer, she huffed and elbowed her way through the crowd. She did not like the sight she saw in the window.

There was this.... thing. This really big, really scaring looking thing in the air, and the ground was littered with people. Hehe.. there just sleeping the part of her brain designed to keep her from going into a full scale freakout told her. The saner part was decidedly right, with Yea.... they're dead. Let's keep that from being us, okay? Opal couldn't help but scream and elbow her way back out, suddenly glad she was smaller than normal. What the crap is that?! her mind yelled out at her, and she shook her head. She didn't know, she needed a smarter-than-her person. Lila was her best friend, but she was a 'freakout buddy' which is always good to have, but not what she needed right now. She didn't know the guy, so that was out. She didn't want to go to the teacher, because that would seem childish. "Aberdeen!" she yelled out when she decided and sprinted to where she figured she might be- the book section. She had befriended her over the few days at the academy and it just seemed like a good place to start. "I don't think people will care if they see you now, Ell. Help me find Lucy and Abby" Opal whispered, and Ella nudged the zipper open and jumped onto the ground. "Abby!" Opal shrieked as she ran, with Ella right on her heels. As she ran, she thought over the choice to not go find the teacher. "Ella, go find Ms.Brumfield. Or Lila. Or the guy. Just another person in our group, preferably the teacher. We need to all get back into a group" Ella nodded and went off to find another member.

While Opal was having no luck at all finding anyone, Ella was better. She ran right into Ms.Brumfield. "Hey! Teacher lady!" Ella yelled as she pawed at her legs. "Have you seen what's going on out there?!" the red panda said as she sat down at her feet, her eyes searching the area for prying eyes every second. Didn't want to risk anyone seeing her.