[Flame]

"A good idea," Nyx said, following him over to the lanes of shopping carts stacked one in front of the next. "And I wouldn't be surprised...it seems like everything in this store is huge."
She had to laugh at his comment about the kids' seats though.
"Well, I'm sure if I squeezed..." she broke off laughing again, trying to imagine herself sitting in one of the child seats.
Setting herself to the task of finding a functioning shopping cart, she found that a lot of them either wobbled, had missing wheels, or had wheels that were stuck. Must have come from towing all of that heavy stuff around 24/7.
Finally, she came to a cart that wasn't in perfect condition, as it squeaked rather loudly with every revolution of the wheels, but besides that, it was functional.
"This is the best I came up with."

[Freezair]

Fenrick gave it a push. "Eeeek eek," the wheel went.

"Oh my God," Fenrick laughed. "That is going to drive me insane."

He took the handlebar of the cart and trundled forward, walking at a steady pace. Eekeekeekeekeekeek...

Fenrick laughed even louder. "That is so fantastically annoying it's hilarious," he said.

He suddenly ducked his head low, looking around furitively. "Hey, Nyx. Nobody's coming, right?" The area around them was open.

He hunched low to the cart, and set off at a sprint. Eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeek! it squealed.

Fenrick nearly fell down giggling. He would have fallen down in truth if he didn't stop right before crashing into a wall piled up with sacks of rice.

[39]

[Flame]

Nyx laughed apologetically.
"Sorry, but it was the best that I could find."
She shrugged hopelessly, eyeing the offending cart with something along the lines of resentment. Of all the things I keep in my purse, it had never occured to me to put in some motor grease to fix squeaky shopping-cart wheels."
She chucked again, walking along after Fenrick. The persistent wheel continued to squeal its little steel heart out, and it seemed to almost have the same effect as a person dragging their fingernails down a chalkboard.
"Nobody's coming, right?"
"What?" Her head swiveled from side to side, taking in their surroundings, which seemed much less busy, now that they had entered the main body of the store.
"No, as far as I can tell." She eyed Fenrick curiously, wondering what was going through his head, when suddenly, he took off, the shopping cart flying in front of him as they went rocketing off. The eek, eek of the wheel suddenly became a long, drawn out, high-pitched squeal as it protested the movement.
Laughing, Nyx ran after him, coming to a stop a few seconds after he had.

"You know, that actually looks like fun. Imagine sitting in the cart..."
She grinned, her gaze flicking from the metal-gridded basket to Fenrick.

[Freezair]

Fenrick looked around furitively.

"...What the heck. Nobody's coming." He grinned.

He stepped back, gesturing to the cart. "Your chariot awaits, madam." He tried to hold a proper, polite smile, but giggles kept cracking into his cheeks.

He put one hand on the bar to keep it steady.

[40]

[Flame]

Nyx laughed at Fenrick's suggestion, eyeing the cart a little apprehensively. Oh...she might eventually regret this. But what the heck, the emptiness of the wire basket beckoned to her, and still grinning, she placed her hands on one rim of the shopping cart, steadying it before stepping up onto the bar attached to the wheels. From there, she hoisted herself, more gracefully than she had thought possible, into the goods area, wiggling as she tried to find a relatively comfortable position. Well, that was certainly easier said than done, considering she was sitting on what was essentially very widely-spaced metal mesh. Sitting forwards so that her hands rested on the front of the cart, she turned to grin at Fenrick.
"Ready whenever you are!"

[Freezair]

Fenrick giggled. "Alright then!" He set his hands heavily on the bars and lowered his back. He sucked in his voice, trying to sound nasal.

"Prepare for liftoff! Three... two... one... BRRRROOOOOOOSSSSHHHH!"

He dived forward, slaming down on the cart. The wheels screeched and wobbled like a swarm of bats, fighting in the air with Fenrick's laughter. "WHEEEEEEEEE!" he called out as they streaked down the aisle, unoccupied except for a story and half's worth of boxes and bags of rice.

He jumped up and slammed his feet on the ground, bringing the cart to a stop. "Awesome! Hey--wanna give me a ride now? Please?" He put his best pair of puppy-dog eyes up in her face.

[41]

[Flame]

Nyx almost squealed with the wheels as Fenrick suddenly threw all of his weight into the cart, sending her and the contraption skidding forwards at an alarming rate. She tried to laugh, but the jolt of the "liftoff" had stolen the breath from her lungs, and it wasn't until they had come to an abrupt stop that she managed to catch it again, giggling with exhilaration and giddiness as well as being just a little light-headed.
"That was so much fun!"
Her voice sounded almost squeeky, her cheeks slightly flushed and her dark hair tousled by the wind. Clambering out of the cart in as dignified a manner as she could muster, she almost collapsed again from the wobblyness of her legs, which felt like the consistency of jello, a result of her clenched muscles. Still giggling, she finally got herself straight on her feet again, her fingers combing at her hair in attempt to get it to lie flat again.
"I haven't done that in years."

She had to laugh again at Fenrick's ridiculous (although adorable, in a manner) look as he pleaded for a turn in the cart.
"Get in,"
she laughed, holding the cart steady for him to clamber in. She just hoped that she would be able to push him. It was a feat that would have been impossible in heels, but she was pretty sure she could pull it off.

[Freezair]

Fenrick practicaly vaulted himself into the basket of the shopping cart, settling his bulk down inside in the most comfortable way. The metal bits still pushed into his leg. "Be glad I'm not my dad," he laughed. "He couldn't even fit in here, I'll bet."

He gripped the sides of the cart. "Alright. Let's turn this bad boy around and get going! All strapped in, Captain! We leave the gate on your signal!"

[42]

[Flame]

Nyx laughed with him.
"What? I never said anything about a weight limit."
She grinned, holding the cart steady for Fenrick as he clambered him, settling down into a comfortable position in the basket. Once she was certain that he was settled in, she proceeded to turn the cart around, with more than a little protest from the squealing wheels. Next time, perhaps she ought to bring some motor oil in her purse, if even such a situation came up again.
Once the cart was fully turned and facing back in the direction from which they had come, she let it roll to a stop, planting her feet firmly for more traction as she adjusted her grip on the bar.
"Please keep your hands and feet inside the ride at all times,"
she intoned in a passable sort of mechanical voice, fighting to keep from giggling. Then, she threw all of her weight against the cart. Strangely, it didn't move. It turned out that the wheels had stuck in place, as if in protest.
"Gimme just...a moment."
Trying again, she threw herself against the metal bar, then with a squeal, almost lost her balance as the cart shot off at an alarming rate, laughing as she sprinted to keep up with it. Once it had picked up enough speed, and was rolling along quite merrily by itself, she hopped up onto the bar under the cart that supported the basket and wheels, hitching a ride as stacks of produce whipped past them. It was a good thing that this aisle was so long, and that no one had decided to wander this way.

[Freezair]

"Whaaaaahooo! EXCELSIOR!" Fenrick gripped the edge of the cart tightly, watching the stacks of grain rush by. He felt the cart jerk beneath him while Nyx leapt in beneath him, and the two of them shot down the aisle in a luge-like fashion.

The cart began to swivel to the left. The stuck wheel was pulling them over. "Uh-o--"

CLANG!

The cart jolted into the wall, kicking Fenrick back. His back slammed into the back of the cart; he could feel the grate-shaped bruises already beginning to well up on his shoulderblades.

A thought hit him; he gasped. Scraping his knees across the wire, he peered down beneath him. "Nyx!" he said worriedly. "Are you OK?"

An upset bag of flour chose exactly that moment to give into gravity. Teetering over the edge, it tumbled over directly next to their crashed cart. Fenrick could almost see it fall in slow motion. There was a brief second when he could see the seems splitting as it collided with the concrete floor--then everything was a vast cloud of white, and he was hacking gluten out of his lungs.

[43]

[Flame]

Nyx laughed in glee as they shot down the aisle, her only occupation at the moment, besides having a blast scooting through a warehouse on a shopping cart, keeping her dress, which was threatening to billow in the wind that blew past them, pinned down. Fenrick's uncontained euphoria was contagious, and Nyx couldn't remember the last time she had laughed this carefreely.
She noticed something being a little off though, when the cart suddenly started to lean to one side slightly, but in the tiny space under the shopping cart, there was no room for her to turn to see what was happening. She thought that she heard one wheel cease in its squeaking though, and she was puzzled for a moment. To her dismay though, she felt the velocity of the turn sliding her diagonally out from under the wire basket, and without a handhold to keep herself from falling out, being as slim as she was, she plopped out from under the runaway cart, landing undignifiedly on her rear with just enough time to keep herself from hitting her head on the hard concrete floor. Due to their speed, she skidded on the smooth floor for a few feet, squeaking indignantly as she tumbled head over heels to be deposited on her behind again, her bottom of her dress splayed about her like a cascade of navy paint splashed across the ground. The feeling of giddiness hadn't worn off yet, but her new-found bruises were beginning to make their presence known. She didn't quite trust her feet quite yet, so she decided not to try to get up for a few more seconds, the sound of a huge CRASH just nearby caused her to start, and turn, looking extremely alarmed when she saw the cart bounce off the wall, Fenrick still inside. She tried to scramble to her feet, unsuccessfully, failing to see the huge bag of flour fall from the top of the teetering pile, and with a whump, it hit the ground, causing an explosion of white that hid the whole cart from sight. Unfortunately, Nyx wasn't out of the line of fire either: The rolling cloud of flour hit her face-on, and she coughed profusely, fanning futiley at her face to try and rid the air of the powder, but there was simply too much of the darned stuff. Just as she felt like she was about to suffocate though, she noticed the cloud beginning to thin as the flour settled to the ground, painting a circle of white, like snow, around her, Fenrick and the misbegotten shopping cart.
Mustering her strength, she finally managed to scramble to her feet, flinching at her body's protests. As she looked down, she saw that her dress had left an irregular patch of stark gray against the white, where it had shielded the floor from the flurry of flour. Wincing with each step, she hobbled over to Fenrick, concern etched on her face.
"Are you alright? I'm so sorry about that!"
She sounded extremely flustered and genuinely worried about Fenrick's well being. If he wasn't alright, she wouldn't be able to stop blaming herself for his mishap.
Perhaps that wasn't such a great idea...

[Freezair]

Fenrick turned around. "Nyx!" He extracted himself from the banged-up cart, his feet kicking up little puffs of flour as he ran along the floor. He looked worriedly into her face, his nose wrinkling in dismay.

"Thank the gods... You're not hurt too badly, are you?" He brushed a small pile of flour off her shoulder. "I'll be OK. A little bruised, but I'm fine." He turned around to survey the cart. "Oh man. I mean, oh man. We screwed up big-time." He walked up and nudged the cart. "Well, it isn't broken, I guess. But oh man. We should probably try and clean this up, or something..."

He swallowed heavily. "I mean, I can conjur water, but... that'll just make it stickier. How are we supposed to fix this? Oh, man..." He sighed. "And I'm gonna have to pay for it too..."

[44]

[Flame]

"Oh, thank goodness your alright!"
she said, breathing out a sigh that released the majority of her worry when she saw Fenrick running over. She reached over to give him a quick hug of relief, but as soon as she did, she regretted it.
"Ow, ow, ow..."
Wincing, she pulled back, her arms and shoulders protesting from the use. Wow, those bruises were going to last for a while. She hoped that she hadn't hurt Fenrick (or his bruises) too badly either, her eyes anxious as they searched him.
"I've certainly been better, but I'll live."
She allowed a small, weary laugh to escape her before sighing and surveying the mess around them.

"Ummm..."
Her eyes glanced around the room again, searching.
"If we can find brooms somewhere nearby, I'm sure I could get this relatively cleaned-up in a jiff."

[Freezair]

"Right. Brooms. Uh. Cleanup in Aisle 5?" he said weakly.

"OK. Gotta look around for brooms. Hmm..." He stuck his nose out of the end of the aisle, sweeping back and forth. "I think there are little janitorial stations scattered about here, actually. With brooms and stuff. And... I think some kinda special cleaning stuff, but that might just be for when little kids toss their cookies. See any of 'em?"

He suddenly made a displeased noise. "Errm... One of us better stand guard here, if we have to go out and get the brooms and stuff. I'll take the heat for this one, but man... I do NOT wanna have to answer the kind of questions we're gonna get if we get spotted!"

[45]

[Flame]

"Alrighty, brooms, brooms, brooms..."
She peered down the next aisle furtively, making sure that there was no one nearby just yet.
"Actually, you know what would get the job done faster?"
Her voice drifted over the huge stacks of flour, still sitting ominously where they had been stored for potential customers. There was the sound of considerable effort on Nyx's part as she pushed and shoved something slowly back towards their aisle, and when she finally turned the corner, it turned out that she had happened to chance upon a very old, somewhat dusty-looking commercial vacuum cleaner, one of the huge ones with the spinning brush bottoms used in large buildings. This one, per se. It was old and rather misused, so pushing it looked to be quite a chore for Nyx, but she finally got it over to the edge of the circle of flour on the floor, which looked somewhat similar to a strangely-shaped crop circle, except in flour.
She came to a stop, and leaning against the hulking machine, waiting to catch her breath.
"So what do you think about this baby, huh?"
she asked Fenrick, grinning while she gave the machine a pat.
"Sure, it's a bit old and rusty looking, but what equipment, besides the stuff being sold, isn't, here?"
She laughed as she eyeballed the innocent-looking shopping cart that had gotten them in this predicament.
"So, shall we charge her up?"
She held up the plug for the machine, glancing around as she searched for an outlet.