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It was a clear winter day, and Jahzara was driving Brad nuts. Ever since she had grown, she'd learned how to whine, pout, and do the unthinkable - flat out tell him no.

It was during a mix of these three horrible things that the cat-child had finally convinced her father to go to the park, mostly to spare his sanity and couches from being mauled. To say she was ecstatic was an understatement; even the cold weather could not deter the fun loving and exuberant girl. Dressed in a warm white sweater and blue girl-jeans (much to her displeasure and Brad's growling insistance), Jahzara had already kicked off her shoes and socks, careless of the cold ground as she cartwheeled and ran with a gleeful girlish giggle.

Brad, on the other hand, was not even half as pleased as his daughter. Wearing a black rain jacket over a blue turtle neck and charcol jeans, he could only grumble at the enthusiasm that the cat-girl radiated. "Zara! Where are your shoes?" he half growled, half yelled so the bouncing ball of spots could hear him over her laughter and squeals.

"By you, dad! Duh!"

Sure enough, her shoes and socks were haphazardly kicked in his general direction. The man groaned inwardly, shaking his head as he gathered the discarded clothes, finding a seat on a bench not far from the playground, watching the girl like a hawk. While Jahzara didn't necessarily get into trouble, it always had a way of finding her.

During the inspection of a handful of colorful pens, Carlisle had run off. He left his mother, who was not half as warmly bundled as the child himself, sitting on a bench with a backpack full of overdue Historia Arcanum homework. She made a cursory attempt to follow her son, eventually finding a seat on a bench not far from Brad's. Lixxie would keep an eye on her son, but she had a newfound respect for single mothers going through college. What did she care about who Rebecca Morrison was? She wasn't going to be a time theorist, after all. With a frustrated sigh, she pulled out the textbook and started highlighting passages quietly.

As for her son, he was trying to catch the other girl who was pulling crazy stunts. He'd almost had her at that last cartwheel, he knew it! One more try and he'd catch her for sure. A second before he would have leapt at- and maybe caught- the girl's arm, conversation caught his attention. While he did not by any means have the attention span of a gadfly, talking was a lot more interesting than acting like a kitty-cat. He meandered over to what would be the sandbox on a less snowy day and started to build a snow castle. This spot wasn't too good, as reconaissance went, but it certainly put him in a position to watch the two running people and the crazy girl. People were really lots more interesting than TV.

"That would be a cabbage kid," Shade commented casually. "At least, I'm betting on it."

"But she's not in my class at school," Antony said, looking thoughtful.

"Who knows, maybe she just grew. Go talk to her. You needed a break after all, didn't you?"

Antony hesitated, then nodded, trying to ignore the fact that his nose was red from the cold as he walked over to the sandbox. "Hello," he said as he got closer to the two. "Might I join you?"

"With snow?" Jahzara blinked. Didn't the kid know how sensitive cat paws were? Not that she was the picture of sensitivity, being bare-foot and all. Her tail swished a bit, her hands extending with hesitance towards the frosty powder, when she was saved by a blue-haired boy. At least she knew this one was a boy!

Turning her eyes onto her savior, she grinned toothily, but gratefully, "If you want! I'm not so sure about touching this stuff." Jahzara stood, balancing on her toes like a pro, extending her snow-less hand to the boy like her daddy had taught her. "I'm Jahzara," she announced with pride, tail arching in a hook-like motion. She hoped her father was watching!

Brad was watching, and he couldn't help but smile a little. At least she was civil to others, even if she did fight with him - excuse the pun - like cat and dog.

"Yeah," he said. What else was she gonna build with, rocks? He didn't see any rocks. Since people where introducing themselves, he decided to follow their example. "Carlisle! You is blue." He nodded firmly and patted in the sides of his castle with several very strong slaps of his mittened hands. It was starting to shape up. Whatever this guy was talking about with cabbages, he didn't know, so he just shrugged. "Ask Mama."

"It's Antony," Antony said as he looked over the scene. This was exactly what he WASN'T comfortable with, he thought with an inward sigh. "Can I play with you?" he asked as he looked around. "We could make a snow man?"

(( I seriously hope there is a parking lot close and this entire post makes sense Dx sorry if it doesn't Ill change it!))

The park was an obvious choice of outing. After all, Harper insisted that cabbage-hood was a formative age, not just in body, but in spirit (of course he hardly phrased it that way) and worried her child wasn't getting exposure to proper things, Mave sent her trusty-butler out with the boy and cabbage to get some 'sunlight.'

Except, not, because... well, you know, the snow and all. The limousine was a small one but definitely not lacking in posh elegance, and when it pulled up to the nearest parking lot Harper was reluctant to get out. He had a television, an endless supply of fudge and soda and a really LOUD stereo system he'd been given free control on in the back, but Lee was already unloading the cabbage on to the new red-wagon for him, so out he came.

Sporting a finely crafted tuxedo and black shades and everything! Apparently, Maverick quite adored the boy, and she spent money on people she only sorta liked, so it was no great surprise.

Lee decided to watch from afar, keeping a close eye on the cabbage like an earnest and slightly worried watchmen. Spotting what looked like somewhat familiar children off playing (was that blue hair?) Harper grabbed the handle to the wagon and started strutting toward them.

Jahzara wasn't too keen on sticking her hands into the snow, but she couldn't be shown up by a boy. She crinkled her little nose, settling onto her haunches once again, regarding the snow castle with a thoughtful frown. "Castles...need those water things, right?" The girl tentively stuck her hand out to the snow, hovering in hesitation before digging it. Her face remained expressionless, but the chill went straight down her back and up her frazzled tail. Snow was COLD!

She had glanced up at the sound of a strange car - cat ears have remarkable hearing - and blinked at the limo. The girl had never seen such a vehicle before, except in movies, and rarely at that. Jahzara was more than a little surprised when a sharp dressed youth starting towards them, toting a...wagon?...with a cabbage. Her ears perked, hands half buried in the would-be moat, watching with keen interest.