+1 small, superpowered boy

[bilocate]

Today is a day Alex is especially glad he brought his pocket notebook with him, as it means he can take notes on the weird PSA. He doesn't seem scared, or even particularly surprised, as he jots down some quick things to remember to ask his dad about later - interdimensional stuff sounds like something out of his dad's sci-fi movie collection - and makes a note to himself to look for the door home after no more than an hour. That's probably enough time to look around around without also being so long his parents will notice and get worried.

Once he's got his notebook stashed away again, he starts off towards the direction he's fairly sure he came from, just to make sure the door is there. After a few moments, he winces and clutches his head. Apparently, headaches could travel across dimensions, too. Biting his lip, he carefully looks around, trying to gauge which adult looks the least likely to be annoyed by a kid. Eventually, when the headache throbs especially badly, he gives up that endeavor to approach the nearest person who doesn't look clueless and asks, as politely as he can manage, "Do you know where I can get some aspirin? My head is killing me and it's been long enough since I took some I can have some more. I think."

If time worked the same across dimensions it would have been easier to tell, but alas.

Comments

[bilocate]

"I'm Alex. Well, Alexander Taavet Seidelmann, but that's way too long and sounds like an old man's name. Nice to meet you, too." He briefly wonders where someone would get seafood around here and if there's an ocean, but those are questions to seek the answers to once he's gotten some relief from the all-too-familiar pain.

He squints in the direction Kinner points to. His first impulse to project himself so the other him can grab it, but the attempt only results in a ghostly flicker of a humanoid shape. There's a point where he can't keep pushing his luck, and it seems like he's reached it, even though in the crowds of the Nexus he'd probably be able to get away with that kind of thing normally. He sighs, glancing over at Kinner to try to subtly check if he'd seen that. When I get back, I'm not telling my Dad about this part.

At least the store isn't far. "I can do it. I don't want to bother you. And it's not the worst headache I've ever had, but it's better to nip these things in the bud." Or at least, that's what his mom said, and at eleven, he's still young enough to trust in her authority on these matters. "We should hurry."

[outpostcook]

"That's a nice name. Even the onger version isn't that bad." Kinner didn't see the projection, since he was looking in the opposite direction. "My names's kind of plain, but it's mine and I like it. I run Kinner's Kippers in the Plaza, if you ever wanna stop by..."

He switches over to helping Alex. Advertising his business can wait until this young man is feeling better. "It ain't far. You're right, we'd better get you medicine quick." Kinner gestures for Alex to folow him as he wanders down a path until he finds a Nexus pharmacy, checking the door handle. It's unlocked, which is good by him. The small cook opens the door, inviting Alex in first. He smiles warmly, hoping this young man feels better soon.

"They should have asprin here. I've been here before, and this is a good place." Kinner wishes he had asprins to give Alex himself, but he doesn't have the medicine to give him. "How much do you need, you think? Could the headaches come back? Do you know what's causing them?"

[bilocate]

"Thanks. It was a pain to learn to sign in cursive, though." Third grade cursive classes were their own headache, but fortunately his mom isn't here to make that pun and make a bad day worse. "I'll stop by, if you've got anything kosher, I mean. And if I get hungry, but that only kicks in after the headaches go away."

He follows, keeping pace fairly well despite the pounding of his heartbeat in his head. The pharmacy isn't big, but so long as it has what he needs, he's not about to complain. With a small smile at Kinner, he makes a mental note to try to find some way to repay him for the help later. Kinner seems cool. Or at least, cool for a certain definition thereof.

"Oh, don't worry. It happens a lot, and I know how much to take. I've always been kind of a sick kid. My dad's a scientist, and a doctor, so he's been treating me. I don't think I really know as much about what's causing them as he does, but I can manage." He's trying for nonchalant, as best he can. The thing is, what he doesn't realize is that to people who haven't been subject to the legendary Dr. Seidelmann charm, 'my dad is treating me' doesn't sound like sufficient medical care. Nor does he realize his knowledge of aspirin might sound weird. "I usually take 400 to 600 mg every four to six hours, unless it's really bad. But an excess of 1000 will always make me tired and I have enough chronic sleep problems as it is, so that's the limit, unless my dad specifically says otherwise."

This is normal, right? Right.