The parts shop gets Sparky incredibly excited. She nearly steals everything in it, but he manages to convince her to leave some of the bits that would help a vehicle keep running, as Thrasher failed in convincing her. To be fair to Sparky, there aren't any cars in the city, outside a few that clearly weren't daily use. To be fair to Thrasher, he knows what cars need to run more than anyone, and what he says might be almost life-saving would be almost life-saving.
Then they stop at a few restaurants, to see if there are any ingredients that Thrasher can steal and use. Most just have the basic seasonings, some dried goods, and some decent cookware. One, though, is so good in the stock it has that Thrasher promptly declares a master chef has a broken heart over it, and decides that he'd like to be in the kitchen for the rest of their travels, or at least whenever possible.
Of course, not wanting to leave their little princess out, Tussle has to ask where Snow wants to visit. The answer is, apparently, "pets".
"Pets?"
"Doggos."
"Alright, princess. We'll go to the pet stores."
It's honestly a good thing they do, because Tussle knows the moment they find any critter, the kids will want to adopt it. Adopting a dog or cat? Fine, they just need to find a place to get fish or other meat types.
So stocking up on pet foods, toys, cages, and various medicines and other useful products for animal care, will greatly reduce future headaches for Tussle.
"Boss man, your turn!" He turns, levelling Thrash with a look.
All he gets is laughter.
"C'mon, we all went to places we like, where do you want to go?"
He huffs. And sighs. Generally makes his posture annoyed, aggrieved, tired. Tilts his head away.
"Library."
They go to a library.
It's a grand one, tall and wide, decorated with spires and warm colors and next to a little cafe and a large park. There are trees all around, the natural lighting is great, and it generally feels open and calming.
Besides the utter lack of people, of course, which lends a very strong eeriness.
They enter, walking past the abstract paintings and the large windows. The ceilings are high, the shelves barely shorter, and walkways and stairs and stepladders make the path up to tallest points. From thick leather-like volumes to thin children's books, there is most everything.
A part of him desperately wants to take it all.
"So... do you have a favorite genre, or should we see if we can get that spirit to help speed up the process?"
"Hm?" He blinks, sending Sparky a confused look.
"Well, are you here because you have a specific sort of book you enjoy reading, or do you like reading most things and want to bring everything with? We got nothing else to do."
Oh. They really do pay too much attention.
"Just start with the nonfiction. We can get books for you three, and I'll grab a few subjects that look interesting. We get bored, we move on, right?"
He didn't wait for an answer, speeding up his steps straight towards the section he's mentioned, starting on one side. The side happens to put him directly out of the view of his interns, but that's just a coincidence.
~
"Oh! Hello?"
Tussle pauses in his most recent loading.
Predictably, despite his efforts, they've decided to take every single book. After several hours, with the night falling soon and them wanting to camp at sundown, they only have a few rows of shelves left in the historical fiction section. Naturally, every one of the four has been rushing to get the last ones in.
It definitely got easier when he found out, to his dismay and delight, that his beloved subordinates took shopping carts with them. On accident, but still a nice surprise.
Hearing Sparky talking like that, it means someone or something has come.
He waits, continuing to load. He'll eavesdrop until he finishes, then have a natural reason to move about. Whatever or whoever is here can be handled as it goes.
"Hello, miss. I would've thought you'd move on sooner. Most do, in cities like this."
He... he recognizes that voice!
His hands move much faster, and the moment he's cleared his current shelf, he wheels the cart around.
There, standing amongst his interns and their three carts, is the captain and his soldiers, still clad in light blue accents.
"Heyo! You lot mind waiting a moment? We only got so much daylight left and this place seems to be one of the few disconnected from the power grid."
The soldiers launch outwards.