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For a kid -- newly-dubbed preteen at that -- who seemed to always be on the move, the past week felt just about as long as an entire month. He had been stretching his patience as far as it could go, but that was never one of Iridian's strong points. The sun had been out, so Cheyenne couldn't go outside. This normally wouldn't have bothered him, but his mom caught the flu and needed the house taken care of while she was out-of-commission; he would rather not have his brother toss an accusing look -- among other things -- at him.

He winced at the trailing thought, a hand reaching up to his neck before he remembered it was occupied. Derailing his prior musings, he immediately hopped back to his current situation. Rolling one of the bottles of paint around in his hand, he wondered if he got the right type. He went straight for the acrylics, as it was a type he was familiar with, but afterward wondered if it would even stay on metal. Shrugging, he figured that would just give him another chance to paint the bicycle if it proved to flake.

Stumbling, Riddy caught a bottle before it slipped from his grasp. Glancing back upward, he thought he saw a familiar shock of color out of the corner of his eye. Without bothering to double-check to make sure his eyes weren't playing tricks on him, his face cracked an impish grin and he bounded across the street. Luckily traffic wasn't biting at the bit, so he had little notion to take the crosswalk over the empty street.

Too perfect! he thought, catching himself from making too much noise. Jostling the paint bottles over to one arm, he snuck up behind the familiar form of Llujah. Sure, there seemed to be something off, but he figured it was the growth spurt that was apparent. That was it, wasn't it?

He grabbed to tousle the teen's hair before bouncing to the side of him, grinning with a chipper, "Llu?"

Iridian giggled at the immediate, startled response, but he quickly found himself swallowing the noise when scolded. Honestly, he never once thought Llujah was truly angry with him over the action, but that didn't stop him from tossing out a (barely managed) pout. He couldn't see anything wrong with the way Llu acted either, however, so was back to smiling again in no time. Perceptive enough to notice the pink-haired teen's less-perky attitude from previous encounters, he chalked it up to a possibly off day. Well, if that was the case, he was determined enough to be able to set that record straight!

But that was enough of the guilt-tripping: he quickly apologized with an amused chuckle, "Ahright, sorry, sorry. I couldn't help it! Not every day I get the opportunity to do that." His grin grew even wider when Llu returned the tousle, sticking his tongue out as though it were used as return-fire. Attention was attention, though, and Riddy could never get enough of that!

"Oh!" Iridian glanced down briefly, as though he were making sure of the facts, "Yeah, I did! Only recently, though." He rubbed his nose absently, almost like a tick, "Took forever. I can finally reach things at the back of counter tops without having to stand on my tip-toes!" Hey, it was a big enough accomplishment to him, and therefore worth mentioning. He rocked on his feet as he thought about any grand schemes of his, but came up empty; all of his ideas had yet to be enacted. He was falling behind! "Not much, really. Trying to learn guitar in my free time, but I still really suck at it. Oh, and... when the lab disappeared... I haven't seen 'nyone since that. I was getting kinda..." he trailed off, not wanting to admit he had been scared.

He didn't need to be anymore, anyway. He couldn't think of running in to anyone better! Bouncing, he offered, "What 'bout 'chu?"

Iridian felt a little foolish for not returning the compliment, especially since Llujah pointed his own growth process out to the younger spawn. Bad Riddy, you're always suppose to return compliments first and foremost! This meant he had to make it up, which was perfectly fine for him -- it may have been a mite more awkward to do had Iridian not felt so close to Llujah, but just a mite. "Oh wow, you're right! I must not have realized right away because I was catching up to you in height!" he exclaimed, measuring a shorter distance in difference between the two of them but still pointing out the calculation error. Had Llu not grown as well, Riddy would have been closer in height, not just barely shrinking the gap. It was time for some investigation into the matter! Frowning, Iridian took a closer look at Llujah. He noticed the more obvious, potentially-painful changes, but decided not to point them out despite being fairly concerned about them. Instead, he managed a fairly all-eclipsing statement, "You look so pretty, Llu!"

Wait, was 'pretty' the right word to use? Where did that even come from? He wasn't sure if he should even feel embarrassed about it, so left the silly grin on his face while he spoke on another subject, "Yeah, China went and said that it probably imploded or something, because of everything they do in there, or one of the demons got mad..." Or, at least, it was on there momentarily, until he finished with the first sentence, "I don' think it'd be that easy to get rid of, though. There're a lot of people in there! Or... were..." Iridian may not have known much at all about any of their biological donors, but he knew enough about the scientists that cared for them while they were there. Sure, they weren't the most pleasant individuals, but they were still what Iridian would have considered 'family,' and he didn't want to think of anything horrible had happened. So he batted at the air with a hand and concluded, "They prolly went into hiding or something. Hee, maybe running from the cops or something?" He giggled at the thought, somehow finding that more exciting than a cause for worry.

"Babysitting?" It was then that Iridian realized that he knew next to nothing about Llujah's home life. "How many brothers you have?" he gaped, fascinated with the fact he hadn't caught on to an inkling like this. Had he really been that careless to never have asked before? Well, he supposed he could always chalk it up to being a kid and all... and being selfish... and... I'm really not a good friend, am I? He shook the thought free; he was more determined than ever to right that wrong today, now with these notions brought to light. "I'll make myself better, and then I'll show you!" he stated, it sounding a lot more serious than he had meant it to. He blushed when he noticed, and then replaced the grin when he realized that that, too, had been missing.

While Iridian may have been rather cheerfully going on about this and that, and his inability to really say goodbye to a place most people found to be rather cold, Llujah's reaction to the compliment he tried to offer didn't find their mark on a completely oblivious kid. "It just... doesn't seem like it's possible, y'know? They always seemed invincible to me, and... Llu? You okay?" he cut himself off, suddenly finding the previous subject matter to be less important. Did he end up offending the older boy? Was changing the subject the way he did a little less than smart? He didn't doubt it, not in the experience he'd gathered in his short life thus far. He scratched absently at the side of his jaw in thought, attempting to reiterate, or at least to transition better into something of similar subject matter. Something less jarring. "Sorry, I don't think that was the word I was looking for," he explained with a sheepish laugh. He was very rarely embarrassed over anything he did, and this must have been a prime example of one of those rare moments despite it being cloaked in concern. Llujah's reaction wasn't one he would have expected at all.

He was relieved to see his friend's smile return to his face, and in a moment of relief, mirrored it as well. "Really, now? D'you get along with them alright?" he queried. They seemed almost polar opposites, all living under the same roof, that Iridian couldn't help but find if there was anyone that Llujah couldn't get along with. With this train of thought, Riddy was apt to project his own feelings onto how others must react as well.

It was easy for his grin to brighten when Llujah seemed to perk up at the declaration, and he couldn't stave a giggle when his hair was tousled. In the moment, the preteen had all but forgotten the reason why he had been out here in the first place -- that is, until he dropped a paint can on the ground through a loosening grip. Glancing down at the offender of the metallic sound, the memory came back and his eyes brightened at a thought. "Hey Llu, wanna go spray paint a bike?" he chirped, nigh out of the blue.

Iridian eyed Llujah skeptically at the off-handed response given, a look that ended up slightly comical due to the preteen's inability to remain serious; it just seemed so out of place. However, the hybrid boy knew when he shouldn't press matters any further, and it didn't take him long to drop it. It didn't seem like Llu wanted to talk about it right now, and he didn't want to make the situation any worse. If his friend wanted to give him the low-down, he was a willing volunteer to lend an ear, a shoulder, anything that was needed, but forcing things were never the way to go. So he focused on the only other thing he could think of to lighten the stress load that seemed to be lingering, and led his mind on a one-track towards making the teen have fun, maybe even get him to laugh!

The boy grinned when his apology was accepted, but the heaviness in the air was still felt. He knew when to step back; he had a few too many close calls with his brother's temper when he didn't during times like these, which inadvertently made him more susceptible to more empathic measures, even if they tended to be rather minor. He wanted a more reassuring smile, though! "Trouble, huh? Sounds like something I'd be called," he stated, rubbing at his nose knowingly before continuing with a less-than-well-placed snicker, "Good that you get along with them, though! Can't tell you how many times I was pretty sure I wasn't related to China, but you know... it can be nice to have someone there. Even if they can be, hmm... brats?" Truth was that Iridian actually thought he might be able to get along with Llujah's siblings, if they were labeled accurately.

"Ah-hah!" Iridian verbally applauded when faced with Llujah's reluctance-turned-resolve, raising the spray can aloft as though he were using it to cheer. It was good to see the dusty rose-haired boy willing to try something that appeared to be new, especially when Iridian was there to facilitate it! Shifting the contents in his arms awkwardly, he freed up an arm enough to grab ahold of Llujah's arm lightly and tug along. "I left it near the park, so I'd have more room to do it. Hee, let's see how long it takes before people try to kick us out!" he giggled, eager. He took too much pleasure in tempting fate, it seemed, but at least it made things more interesting!