Dec, not Nec

Though Dec knew better than to mess with the bandages that now covered their injury, they very much wished they could scratch at it because the medicine that had been used itched and stung. Hopefully if they continued to ignore it the feeling would go away eventually. In response to Nec's question, they nodded slightly. "The pain's gone. It just itches," they answered softly. "Will I have to wear these forever?" They motioned to the bandages. "Because I really don't want to..." Surely there had to be something more comfortable to wear while keeping the socket clear of debris. When asked whether they had a place to stay, they shrugged and shook their head. "I'll find something. Like those big metal boxes that food is thrown away in."

"I'd rather not have a glass eye," Dec mumbled, frowning. "It wouldn't serve any real purpose anyway, and if it breaks while still in my socket then I'll just have to get treated all over again." That and they really didn't want to put anything in there again - having the scalpel forced in and carving out their eye was still too fresh in their memory. Maybe a patch wouldn't be so bad, though?

At the offering of being able to stay with Nec, Dec froze for a moment. "Stay? With you? Why? Is there something you want from me?" Old habits were hard to break and Dec probably wouldn't believe him if he said there was no catch even though Nec had stayed with them while they were in the hospital.

Dec hesitated, wondering why the other would want them to stay with them for seemingly no reason. But then again it wasn't like they had anywhere else to go and if they had the chance they would prefer safety and shelter over having to live on the streets again, scrounging for scraps and hoping against hope that they lived to see another day. "I guess... If you really don't mind," they finally agreed. The delicious smell of food quickly attracted their attention though, and they noticeably perked up. "I don't really know. What would you suggest?" It wasn't like they could read the menu, not when they'd been more focused on survival than anything else. They would just have to trust Nec's insight on the food here, that he wouldn't pick something that would be too much for their fragile stomach.

Dec nodded and moved closer, only to be grabbed on the shoulder rather roughly by a hand possessing manicured nails. "Excuse me, what are you doing here? Don't you know that this place is solely for respectable people?" the woman huffed, her grip on Dec's shoulder tightening as they tried to wriggle out of her hold. "S-Stop, you're hurting me," the child whimpered out. In response to their plea, the woman simply scoffed. "Go back to the gutter you crawled out of. No one wants your kind sullying this fine establishment." She moved to steer them towards the door, clearly with the intent of taking matters into her own hands and shoving them out of the restaurant.

This only lasted as long as Dec suddenly turned their head and sank their teeth into her hand, making her cry out in pain. But it was enough of a distraction that they were able to escape her grip and hide behind Nec, trembling as their shoulder ached - there would be a bruise there, no doubt. "Ugh! You little rat, I'll have you arrested for this!" the woman snarled out, already stalking back towards them.

The woman's eyes widened and she sputtered. "That's not- How- Why would someone like you allow vermin into this place? You know the rules! Don't think I won't speak to the weyrleader about this! To think that a Rider would permit a homeless vagabond biting a poor woman..." She let out a huff. "See if I ever come to this place again while street rats are allowed to frequent it, hmph!" With that she flounced out of the establishment and it was only when she was out of sight that Dec seemed to be able to stop trembling. "A-Are you going to get rid of me?" Their voice was soft, unsure. After all, they had bitten her, but to be fair she had grabbed them first...rather harshly at that.

Though they weren't sure what all of the talk had been about Nec being a 'Rider,' they could only guess that meant he was someone much more important than they had first thought. But if Nec really was so important, why would he have agreed to take them in in the first place. It didn't make sense. Weren't important people supposed to be cruel? But Nec seemed so much different than the rest of the monsters they'd encountered. Their thought process was interrupted by their stomach growling.

"Food and sleep sounds good," came the quiet response from Nec's companion; they'd been through a lot, so it was understandable that they were probably exhausted. One person could only take so much before they became overwhelmed, whether from exhaustion or stress. Sleeping it all off was probably the best thing Dec could do right now, even though technically they shouldn't be sleeping after they ate. They moved towards the selection of greens first, oddly enough - perhaps it was the many colors that made the vegetables and fruits seem attractive to them? Though if they were like any other kid their age, they might not like the vegetables that they were currently putting on their plate. Well, they would learn what they liked and disliked at least.

Dec had already taken a few bites of the various bread, vegetables, fruits, and so forth that littered their plate, slowly but surely figuring out that they preferred white bread over wheat bread, peas over broccoli, and peaches over bananas. But when Nec asked what kind of world they came from, they slowly lowered the peach that they had been munching on and glanced down. "It's hell," they answered softly. "The sky is always covered by dark clouds and wherever you turn a corner there will probably be something to kill you. There are no animals except for the occasional crow or rat. Kids are killed on sight by the adults around them. The transmission..." Their voice broke for a moment. "The transmission ruined everything." They couldn't meet his gaze, their hands beginning to tremble slightly.