The boys sit in silence in the car and Narhi's wondering what to say. It feels like every time Max finally starts to feel comfortable something else happens to freak him out. Narhi's trying really hard to be empathetic, but he's thinking about the mud on Max's shoes and that his dream took place in the woods. He wants to ask if Max saw the beast, but every time Narhi looks back at his face, pensive and anxious, he feels like maybe he should get his mind off of it instead.

"Hey." He finds himself saying. 

Max doesn't hear him. He's thinking about the Photinia in the backyard, reaching for the sun with its red leaves. Maybe he'll go for a run when he gets back.

"Max." Narhi touches his shoulder and Max turns quickly, still jumpy. "Why don't we go do something fun?" He asks.

Max is chewing at his thumb nail. "Like what?"

"How about the mall?" Narhi smiles but Max looks skeptical. "I'll buy you whatever you want." He says it like he's bribing him, but Max looks even less convinced than before.

"I… don't know…" It always feels weird for Max to let people buy him things when he has no money.

"I swear there's no way to say this without sounding hella douchey, but I have disposable money. Let me spend it on you."

Max sits there for a while, contemplating until finally, he says, "You can buy me one thing."

"Snacks don't count?"

"Snacks don't count."

They say it like they're striking a deal and Narhi finally starts the car. If we're being honest, Max has been wanting to go to the mall for a while. The "real" mall, as the kids at school call it, is one of the safe zones. When they went shopping for Max's clothes they went to stores in town, but this is supposed to be a safe place, one not tied down by school rules. Just a public place for supernatural people to be themselves. Max is still not used to the idea that no one around him is human. Maybe going here will make him feel more comfortable with that, he thinks.

The building itself feels kind of shady. Like a business building in a downtown area. The three bottom floors, including a basement, are a parking garage with elevators leading up to the actual stores. Each floor has about six stores and a sitting area or something of the sort. Two of the seven floors are dedicated to food and has stands instead of storefronts which makes room for a lot more choices. Everything from Cuban to Korean and anything you might expect from a food court. Like when food trucks gather for a swap meet.

Narhi immediately takes Max to get smoothies because there's no way he can come here and not get one so Max obviously has to have one too. Plus, it seems like a totally abnormal thing for someone to have never had a smoothie, but realistically Max has never had the opportunity and Narhi can't help but do that privileged people thing where he gasps and says, "I can't believe you haven't tried one. You're having one right now." And then he orders for him, which Max doesn't mind because it takes the anxiety off of him for having to make a decision.

Needless to say, it's delicious.

They sit down at one of the many tables for a bit, just to enjoy it and Max can't help but notice how many teenagers are here in the middle of the school day. But even more interesting than that is how inhuman some of them look. From scales and claws to strange tattoos and empty black eyes, these were definitely not normal teenagers. Narhi notices him space out watching a group of witches doing parlor tricks a couple of tables away. Max nearly drops his drink when the Jack of Hearts and the Jack of Clubs climb out of the cards to duel on the table.

"This must be weird for you." Narhi gently closes Max's grip around his drink. "People don't really do this at school."

"This is... normal... right?"

"Yeah, it's normal." Narhi takes a sip, leaning back. 

"There's... so many people here... and... not at school."

"Some families find highschool unnecessary since most of us will never leave Rowanwood. Witches usually don't even go to Link Therapy because they're taught all of that by their covens. That's why you don't really see them at school."

Max thinks for a moment about the name Rowanwood. It might be the first time he's heard someone say the name of the town to him. He watches the Jack of Hearts take a calculated victory, the Jack of Clubs falling lifelessly back into his card.

"I wonder why Keelie didn't take you here for clothes. I feel like the prices are better."

"I think... she's walking on eggshells… you know… about the whole… raised with humans... thing."

"Oh, I guess so. I mean, it seems like you've adjusted pretty well." Narhi looks at him with a raised eyebrow. "Plus, you don't seem very human yourself."

Max makes a face at that. Doesn't he seem human? In what way does he not seem human? Did humans think that too?

Narhi seems to pick up on this. "I don't see many humans with your… color palette." He says it like he thinks he's being tactful but he's definitely not. "And even in a place like this, people don't normally have spiritual visions if that's not, like, their thing."

"That’s not normal? For someone like me?" Max’s heart sinks a little bit.

"Well, Keelie's the only other leech I know so, maybe I'm not the best judge." Then Narhi drops the subject faster than Max has time to respond and grabs his hand. "Oh! You have to see something, come on!"

Max holds tight to his smoothie as he's dragged off of the bench. The bright pink drink slushes around in his cup as they practically run toward the elevator and Max finds himself wondering how Narhi knew what flavor he'd like. Max thinks he seems like someone who would like subtle flavors but Narhi got him something tangy and sweet. The flavor is kind of intense, which is weirdly Max's favorite thing. He smiles to himself in the elevator while Narhi sways impatiently, mumbling something about how they should've taken the stairs.

The elevator stops on the fifth floor and Narhi smiles at Max, a few sharp teeth on either side of his toothy grin. Max thinks they look like fangs, but he doesn’t say anything.

“You’re going to love this.” Narhi leads the way passed some trinket shops, windows filled with rocks and strange artifacts like the ones at the gas station oddity shop. Then they stop in front of the coolest storefront possible. A door replaced with curtains and a hanging sign reading: Apothecary. Max turns to him with what might be one of the brightest smiles Narhi has ever seen on his face.

“I thought you’d like it.” Narhi doesn’t make much effort to hide how flushed his face is, but Max is probably too dense to notice anyway.