Abe sat on a bench at a bus stop. The street around him was swarming with people, but nobody else waiting for the bus sat on the bench with him. They instead opted to stand a few feet away. A woman approached the bus stop, pulling her young son to stand at her other side, further from Abe. The boy peeked around his mother's arm, watching Abe with a mix of curiosity and apprehension.

Abe noticed the boy, lifting his hand slightly in greeting. The boy turned away quickly, stepping closer to his mother. Abe just leaned against the bench, resting his arm across the back of it and putting his head in his hand.

"Hello, mister."

Abe turned, dropping his hand to look at Anatase, who was behind the bench. She was standing on her toes, holding the back of the bench for balance. In one hand, she held a stuffed purple crab with spikes on the edges of its shell and a skull patch.

She smiled at him, a wide grin that would have been more tooth, had she not been missing two of her baby teeth. "Can I sit with you?"

"...Sure." Abe shifted, pulling one foot up onto his knee.

"Thank you! Hold Rangoon for a second." She dropped her crab in his lap and stood up on the back of the bench. She held the back of the back of the bench as she stepped over. Abe held one hand out as she wobbled, but dropped it again as she plopped down next to him.

She grabbed the crab again and stuck out her hand. "My name is Anatase, but everybody calls me Ana. What's your name?"

Abe arched an eyebrow, shaking her hand. "Abaddon. But you can call me Abe."

"Abaddon's the name of an angel in the bible. My grandma told me so. He's the one who killed all the babies in Egypt."

"Really?"

Anatase nodded, "Don't worry, I know you're not him. Daddy said angels look really freaky, and you don't look freaky."

Abe chuckled, nodding. "Thank you."

"Can I see your rings? They're very pretty."

"Sure, kid." He held one of his hands out and Anatase grabbed it with both hands.

"Wow." Anatase lifted his hand. "Your hand is bigger than my entire head." She lowered it. "You're really big. Do you have trouble fitting through doors sometimes?"

"...Sometimes, yeah."

"My Táta has the same problem sometimes. He's tall enough that sometimes doors are too short. It's kinda funny." She looked up at Abe. "Your rings are really big. They'd probably hurt if you hit someone with them on."

"...Probably. But doing that would warp them over time."

"Warp?" Anatase frowned. "What's that mean?"

"It's, like," Abe tilted his head, scratching his head with his free hand. "bending them? If I hit someone with my rings on it would start to squish them into an oval instead of a circle."

"How? Metal is stronger than people?"

"Some metals are. But my rings have a lot of gold, and gold is a softer metal. You can bend it easier than other metals."

"Oh." Anatase looked back down at his rings. "Did it hurt to get your ears pierced? I wanna pierce my ears but I haven't asked Daddy or Táta yet because I'm scared it'll hurt."

"It only hurts for a moment. Feels sorta like a pinch."

Anatase's eyebrows furrowed together. "Like shots at the doctor?"

"...Sure. Probably."

Anatase nodded to herself. "I wanna wear fun earrings like my cousin. She has a pair of earrings that look like sharks biting her ears. I want ones like that. But with crabs."

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"You like crabs?"

Anatase nodded enthusiastically. "They're my favorite arachnids. I want a pet crab one day. But Daddy says I have to be old enough to take care of it by myself since he doesn't like arachnids." She tilted her head. "Does your nose piercing go through the bone?"

"...No."

"Okay. Can I see your other rings?"

Abe pulled his first hand back, turning slightly to offer his other hand.

"Even though you can't hit people with them, they still look cool."

"Thank you."

Ana looked at him. "Are you a mafia boss?"

"Am I..." Abe spoke slowly, "a what?"

"A mafia boss."

"What is that?"

"Like a boss bad guy. You look like one."

Abe glanced towards the other people at the bus stop, some of which were watching him. "...How do I look like one?"

"Because you're scary looking. And you wear nice clothes and jewelry."

"Ah, alright." Abe nodded slowly. "I'm not a mafia boss."

"I kinda figured. A mafia boss wouldn't need to take the bus."

Abe looked around the bus stop again. "Where are your parents, Ana?"

"They're by the big tree." Anatase pointed without looking. "I told them that my feet hurt and so I was gonna sit on the bench."

"They aren't worried about you getting lost?"

"Not really." Anatase pulled a necklace out from under her dress. "Táta made me this so that they can always find me. Also Daddy said that if someone tries to take me, that I should scream fire because people will look if they think there's a fire."

"...But they're aware that you're over here?"

"Yup! Táta is calling my aunt because we're supposed to pick up my cousin from the airport. I'm coming because it's my job to ask him to come to dinner with us." Anatase frowned. "I don't know why they don't ask him, maybe they're too scared to ask themselves. Grownups are scared of a lotta weird stuff. Like taxes."

Abe nodded. "Your parents sound like good people."

"They are. But they're not my real parents. I was adopted because my parents gave me up. Daddy tells me that my real parents loved me, but that they couldn't give me the care I needed, but I don't know if I believe him. But I like Daddy and Táta. They're nice and they're both witches. Táta says he'll teach me magic when I get older." Anatase looked up at Abe. "Are you a witch, too?"

"...Kinda."

"What can you do? Táta is a runecaster and Daddy can make moving tattoos."

Abe hummed, tilting his head as he tried to look through the crowds on the sidewalk. "I can move the earth, and burn things."

"Jackie can burn things."

"...Jackie?"

"My cousins' friend. He's nice. He watches my for my dads sometimes and does my hair." Anatase tapped one of Abe's rings. "I like this one. It reminds me of the eye trees."

"Do you want it?"

Anatase looked at him with wide eyes. "I can have it? Like keep it?"

"Yeah." Abe pulled his hand back, pulling off his ring. "I can just make another when I go back home."

"You make your rings? Do you make all your jewelry?" Anatase pulled her legs up and turned to face Abe completely. "How did you make them? How long does it take? Do you make them for other people, too?"

Abe laughed, "I make them with magic. I can melt the metal and make it take the shape I want. I made everything I wear. I do make them for other people, sometimes." He held the ring out to her.

Anatase took it, almost reverently, her voice hushed. "Wow."

"It's a little big though."

"I don't care! I like looking at it. 'sides, Rangoon can wear it."

"...your crab?"

"My crab." Anatase squished one of the crab's claws through the ring, using both of her thumbs to shove it through. She spoke through gritted teeth. "See?" She held the crab up with the ring now hanging off its arm. "Tada! Now he's bedazzled."

"Sure is."

From further down the street(by the tree), someone called for Anatase. She perked up, looking around Abe.

"Ana! It's time to go!"

Anatase jumped off the bench, "That's Táta, I gotta go." She waved at Abe as she ran off. "G'bye, Abe!"

Abe waved back silently.

Characters:

Anatase:

4'1", 60lbs. A young African American girl with dark hair and missing a few of her baby teeth. Always has a stuffed crab with dull metal spikes and a skull patch to cover a hole. Has no sense of stranger danger. Fashion tends to consist of glitter and bright colors, with a small faux-leather jacket with various patches on it and light up sneakers.