Cafeteria

He giggled as Ludwig ruffled his hair. "....um" he looked as if he wanted to say something but quickly discarded that idea " ...okay" he said quietly "...Yeah...i guess" he trailed off.

"Well, Roderich and I were considering going to possibly visit my old neighbor." He glanced at his brother. "Unless you'd rather wait here for the headmistress."

He didn't honestly know what to do with the kid. He wasn't really good with kids, though he was concerned why one would suddenly pop up at a high school. Surely the kid wasn't one of those prodigies that was in high school very early, at least it didn't seem that way, and the kid hadn't said so.

"....Could i come with you?" he quickly asked. He wanted to stall that visit to town as long as possible. He didnt like the thought of going back to his "parents".... he had run a way for a reason and he planned to stay away.

Ludwig looked visibly surprised. "I... well, Gilbert said she runs a pub. So... I don't know if children are allowed inside or not." He looked at Roderich and his brother, clearly at a loss for what to say.

"...oh...okay" He said quietly. He should have expected this...and it was also very rude to ask someone if they could take you somewhere if you were not invited he thought. He looked at Ludwig as he looked at the other two "Sorry for asking..." he said quietly.

'I doubt it would be a problem, Ludwig, plenty of places allow children during the day,' Roderich said, resting a hand briefly on Ludwig's shoulder. He leant down to smile faintly at the child. 'I'm more concerned that your parents may be looking for you. How did you come to be here? Did someone bring you to the school?'

He thought that perhaps the child had been brought there, by her...or his...parents, and had maybe wandered off and gotten lost. He didn't really want to get accused of kidnapping, should the child's parents come looking. He glanced at Gilbert. 'Any answer?'

" No one brought me here, I came here on my own..." he said quietly, looking away from Roderich. " I dont think they'd look for me...." he then attempted to smile back at Roderich.

Ludwig glanced down at the child. "What do you mean they won't look for you?"

He had a bad feeling about what the kid's parents. Why would he or she talk about them that way.

"What is your name?"

'You don't think...' Roderich trailed off, confused and slightly worried. 'Why on earth wouldn't they look for you? And how did you get here alone?'

No one could say he was good with children, but he at least knew that a child this young shouldn't be left to wander around alone.

"My name?...oh its Chibitalia" he said a with a bit of confusion. " my parents left me... so they wouldn't look for me now..."He said quietly with a sort of sad look on his face. "But I've learned to take care of myself so its okay..." he stated. "oh! i walked here." he said as he looked at Roderich again.

"They left you?" He didn't know if that was an exaggeration or if it was the truth. If it was the truth, or even the perceived truth, that was just terrible. If it was an exaggeration, he needed to do something with a professor or the headmistress. But for now... he didn't know what to do.

"Should we... take the kid with us?"

'Well...' Roderich hesitated, still wondering about the child's parents. Surely they hadn't actually left her...or him? He was uneasy about taking the child along, but someone had to make sure he...she was safe. An idea came to him.

'If we take...her along with us, we ought to stop by the main desk and ask for help. Maybe...her...parents can be contacted, or the authorities or something...'

"yes they left me...they left the house and never came back..... but thats okay.... cuz they never really seemed to like me much anyways and like i said i could take care of myself!" he said. He then realized something."Sorry for making pasta without asking!" he said quickly "I just ran out of food at home and wandered here! I didnt mean to steal any! I'll repay it back some how! I promise!!" He said frantically.

Kids weren't really Gilbert's thing--even though he had nothing against them personally--so he decided to simply stand there and devour his food before any choices were made.

Chewing on his last bit of roll, the albino tossed the trash and put his tray on top of the waste can before returning to his brother and Roderich.

"Your parents [/i]left[i] you?" The white-haired teen was shocked.

Ludwig awkwardly put his hands on either of the boy's shoulders. He gently squeezed. "It's okay. I don't think anyone here noticed anyway."We should be able to... oh hell, we'll be able to find someone who can help you out in town."

There was a part of Ludwig, a very large part, that knew this was a bad idea, but he felt so bad for Chibitalia he couldn't help it. He glanced at Roderich as both an apology and to check that he was okay with it.

Roderich was shocked at the child's words. Left the house and never came back? If it was true, it was appalling. 'Goodness me. Chibitalia, how long ago was this?'

He nodded at Ludwig. 'I suppose we'll have to do something about this. Who can we ask for help, though?'

"I don't know. There would have to be an adult, maybe even police in town who could help us out," he said with a shrug. He picked the child up and held ... it. He really needed to find out somehow if Chibitalia was a boy or girl, because he couldn't begin to guess.

"Will you be okay with that if we maybe took you to town." He considered seeing if he could get help at the pub. While Gilbert had had his issues with their former neighbor, he had gotten along well with her.

Gilbert nodded and wiped his hands on his pants. The child was very small. How could her family leave her behind like that? On her own?

"I'll go along. I like happy endings."

Chibitalia squeaked quietly as he was picked up by Ludwig " I guess i would be fine with that..." he said as he looked at Ludwig. He really didnt mind going to town... He just didnt want to find his parents..

Ludwig smiled at Chibitalia. "Well, we'll see if we can't find anyone to help." "So... should we head out?" he asked the other teens and the child.

He figured leaving now was probably for the best. Surely someone would be able to help them in town.

"Then we can get some other school supplies and whatnot," Ludwig said, seriously hoping Roderich caught his drift.

'School suppl- oh! Oh.' Roderich adjusted his cuffs as nonchalantly as possible; he'd forgotten about that. 'Yes, indeed. And I suppose there'll be someone who can help us.'

He gestured to the doors. 'Shall we, then?'

(Want to wait for Gil before we move it?)

Gilbert nodded and waited to follow the others.

(Just let me know where you go)

Ludwig carried the child out of the cafeteria. "I can put you down if you prefer once we're out of the school grounds," he said. He felt it would be easier to hide Chibitalia if he carried him. It would also mean they could get through the hallway, quad and finally gate quicker than trying to keep up with a child's footsteps.

((we could move this onto the quad next if we want. or take it straight to the city))

Roderich followed, wondering just how he'd managed to get into this on his second day of school. As if his first hadn't been eventful enough. Still, watching tall, imposing Ludwig fret over a child was rather endearing.

(Take it straight to the town if you like, I don't mind either way.)

(I'm moving to the town now)