The outstretched fingers were suddenly yanked back before any contact could be made. Both arms were then raised above his head as he spun around with wide and confused eyes, looking up at the person who had just yelled. The voice was deep and strong, carrying a sense of power and intimidation. Ethan was a boy still and didn't have much experience in the world beyond the orphanage so he immediately pictured someone large and in charge hovering above him.

"I'm sorry! I was just looki…." No, in fact he hadn't just been looking. He had been about to touch the shield hadn't he? Why had he been reaching out despite knowing it was rude to touch?

"I mean yes I was about to touch it… But I wasn't trying to do so. I mean that I know it looked like it was I trying to touch it… and I was…" He finally stopped babbling for three reasons.

The first was that he was embarrassed by his behavior and inability to form a coherent sentence. The second was that he exasperated with himself for not being able to do so. The third, and most critical, was that he there was no one where he was looking.

"Down here boy…" The voice was curt and held some annoyance.

Ethan slowly lowered his gaze, his face now an expression of absolute confusion, as after a second or so he was nearly eye to eye with a creature he had never seen before. Ethan was a little over five feet himself, and still growing. The one before him was shorter by about a foot, give or take an inch. They looked similar in height to a Puledas but the pair of hands resting on the other's hips looked like they had five fingers. Furthermore, while the forehead was elongated similar to a Puledas on his face was a chest length beard and his cheek bones much more defined. His body was also much thicker than a Puledas, muuuuch thicker, and though he had a feeling he was close to a realization he couldn't put his finger on it just yet.

"Hey, you know it's not polite to stare," the curt voice had returned, though with a more annoyance then before. He even reached out and flicked Ethan in the center of his forehead with one of his fingers. It made a painful "thwack" sound upon impact.

Ethan recoiled and grabbed his forehead, inhaling sharply between gritted teeth as his vision blurred from the sudden rise of tears.

"Ouch! What did you do that for?!" He sounded so pitiful, basically whining about why he was flicked for staring with a stupefied expression plastered on his face.

In silent response the male lifted his hand again and cocked his finger against his thumb.

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"No, no! I'm sorry, please I'm sorry!" Ethan backed away, almost knocking into the display behind him, though he had seemingly noticed he was getting closer and stopped in time. The male noticed this feat, despite the boy rubbing his forehead feverishly. Lowering his hand he grunted and continued.

"Hmph! You act like you've never seen a Pul'kin before."

"A wha? A Pul'kin?" The boy looked out from between his hands upon hearing the word and tilted his head like a confused puppy.

"Wait… you really haven't?!" The male…. Pul'kin was the one who had a stupefied look on his face, and his arms which had been bent to place his hands on his hips were now outstretched on either side.

"…..No, what's a Pul'kin?" Was Ethan's meek and tentative response.

Pointing at himself with an offended look the Pul'kin's eyes managed to grow even wider.

"I'm a Pul'kin!"

…… That was a logical response, though it didn't help the situation much. Ethan was thoroughly confused and after giving his forehead a couple of more rubs for good measure he lowered his hands and nodded.

"It's nice to meet you Mr. Pul'kin, my name is Ethan Kipley from the Forgotten Oaks Sanctuary Orphanage." He was such a polite boy.

"I said I was a Pul'kin, not that my name was Pul'kin! Gah!" Throwing up his arms in a small tantrum unbefitting for a male his age he soon rubbed the back of his head with a single hand.

"My name's Bimsley, Bimsley the Pul'kin." After grumbling something under his breath he nodded in the boy's direction.

"Nice to meet you Ethan. Even if you may be a customer calling you Mr. Ethan or Mr. Kipley is out of the question!" He suddenly paused and gave the boy a side eye glare.

"You aren't a thief right?"

Ethan shrunk away from the glare a bit and waved his hands in front of his body.

"No! I just came across your shop and saw the shields and the next thing I know I saw that amazing one over there and got…… lost."

He had pointed to the strangely shaped shield from earlier and while trying to explain what happened could only thing of a single word to describe what happened… lost. He had gotten lost while looking at it he felt.

"Lost huh? Hmmm." Despite the strangeness of Ethan's words Bimsely seemed more interested than confused. Looking from the shield back to the boy he shook his head.

"Well what is a boy from an orphanage doing here in my shop? Are you buying?"

"No…. Sorry. I don't have enough money. I came to register as an adventurer at the guild but… well…" He embarrassingly recounted the story that had brought him to his current situation.

As soon as Ethan described the way he saw the guild woman approaching him Bimsley started letting out such a hearty laugh he ended up having to grip his stomach from the pain. He was almost on the floor as the image kept replaying in his mind and soon tears were dripping from his squinted eyes. It took several minutes after Ethan finished the whole story before Bimsley could bring himself under control.

"Oh my, I haven't laughed like that in a long time….. I owe you one kid."

"Um….. I'm glad you found it so….. Funny." Ethan for his part didn't see the humor due to the fear he had felt when it happened, but seeing the Pul'kin laughing so hard he couldn't help but cheer up a bit himself.

"Also…. Not to be rude… but…. Mr. Bimsley……"

"Hmmm?"

"What makes you a Pul'kin?"