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 Posted: Wed Jul 15, 2009 6:05 pm
During the long and twisty drive back into mainstream Gaia, tabby and orca underwent a strange role reversal. Quinton grew unhappy, while Brianna grew jollier every mile. She was coming home!
They parked the car close to the entrance. Quinton looked quite wild with anxiety - he seemed to expect a labtech to leap out of the shadows and force another child upon him. He leaned against the car's hood while Brianna skipped off towards the building, taking a moment to smooth his fur and get in a few deep breaths while he could.
It didn't work well. The tabby was almost hyperventilating by the time he pushed his way inside. He absently patted Brianna on the head - who had established herself in one of the waiting room chairs - and approached the receptionist's desk, clutching a sheet of paper to his chest with trembling hands.
"T-they sent...papers...gotta pick up kindergarten...stuff. F-for Brianna."
Brianna watched the exchange with interest, bouncing gently up and down in her chair. For once, she was content.
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Posted: Wed Jul 15, 2009 6:26 pm
Luna sat, or rather bumped along in the drivers seat of her White Jeep Wrangler as she sped down the highway to D-Corp. Mariel sat in the passenger seat eagerly watching the landscape passing the car. Even though she could only catch fleeting glimpses she always tried her best to see if anything new was out there. Luna was heading over to D-corp to see if there would be anything they could do about Mariels obsession with swimming. Mariel had suddenly found that she was built for the water and wanted a pool or something in the back yard. Luna was a bit worried about this, because it was plainly obvious that Mariel was truly longing for a place to swim in and maybe she was some aquatic animal but Luna just didn’t have the funds to build a pool in the back yard. Now they had a pretty spacious back yard and she was sure that a pool really wouldn’t take away too much space from the dogs but the MONEY!! So she resolved to go and ask D-corp about it. Afterall they did MAKE a KID!! She was sure they could manage a pool…but now just how should she approach the subject…that was what she was still milling over while she led Mariel into the waiting room. There was a nervous looking man in front of Luna and she was almost happy for the wait, she might be able to see what kind of receptionist they had and how she could ask for funds or at least a cheap contractor to get a pool of a decent size.
Mariel had been bouncing around happily in the car, Luna never payed much attention to car seats and Mariel had enough sense to cling to the seat belt. But now that Luna was in like and mariel was sitting in a chair her shyness and nervousness began to reappear. There was another girl next to her, someone new…and from the looks of it another interesting kid. Mariels curiosity and shyness were battling in her mind as she debated saying hi or studying this new person from afar. Her wide Blue eyes finally traveled over to the new girl and mariel managed to take a breath and say something.
“Hi”
It was really all she could manage at the moment but she knew that now that she had said Hi she could look at the new girl and not be weird. She had an odd shape and a thick black and white tail. Mariel had never seen a tail like that before, well she hadn’t really met too many other kids but the ones she had met always had tails like hers just of varying bushiness. But this girl didn’t have any fur on her what so ever! She aimed both ears towards this new girl half wondering how her voice would sound as she watched the way the girl held herself.
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Posted: Wed Jul 15, 2009 7:24 pm
His ears flickered as the doors swung open again; Quinton looked over a shoulder and smiled at the woman and the little otter girl.
"Mr. Clearwater? I have those files you wanted."
"Oh, uh, sorry..." He grabbed at the folder the receptionist handed over, flipping it open to peruse the contents. A few files inside would have looked familiar to Luna: they were Brianna's alphabet worksheets. "But these only go up to "J"." he said, puzzled. And where were the ones with numbers on them?
"Yes." said the receptionist patiently. "You'll have to come back for the rest."
The tabby looked at her. He looked at the files. Come back? One time was bad enough! He resisted the urge to beg for the other worksheets. "Thank you." he said to the receptionist with a nod, his faint smile wobbly around the edges, and backed away from the desk. "Are you next in line?" Quinton asked Luna. "Go ahead, I'm done now."
Brianna paused her bouncing in order to take a good look at the newcomer. The girl was fuzzy, like Quinton, but she didn't look much like a cat. And she was much quieter. Her own twin sister Lacy was on the quiet side, so she had a little bit of experience with shy kids. She tried not to look too intimidating, but couldn't help studying Mariel, open and frank curiosity in her eyes.
"Hi." she replied finally. "Are you a cat?" She HAD to know. Bree didn't much believe in beating around the bush.
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Posted: Wed Jul 15, 2009 9:03 pm
Luna smiled at the man warmly. The poor thing he looked scared to death, and that receptionist not giving him all the paperwork! Couldnt she see he was scared! Luna looked to the receptionist then the folder, then the father figure and gave him a wink.
"Ju only recieved up to "J" well ju should ask again I got all the abc's when I came in for those stuff." Luna told the man in her usual mexican accent. "Ju no worry make up someting about maybe not being able to come back, des people wil give it to ju dey arent as strict as dey look" Luna managed to say it loud enough for the receptionist to hear and also managed to make it not insulting. She had a telent with speaking even if english wasnt her strong suit. But before the man could get to the receptionist she stepped forward and looked straight at him in a no nonsense way. "I need a pool for mariel and I dont have de monies for it. How can ju and dis company help me?" Yes Luna was always a very straight and to the point kind of person. But she always managed to not sound mean...well when she wasnt trying to be mean anyway. Right now she just sounded like she wanted answeres.
Mariel paused in her examination of the new girls tail when she heard her greeting and question. Mariel looked at the girl and thought about the word "cat". She had never seen a cat, and wasnt quite sure what it was. Well if this girl was asking if she was a cat maybe it was another kind of kid. MAYBE it meant kids with different tails, after all Mariels Tail was different from this girls, so maybe different tails were called cats! Mariel cocked her head to one side as she thought it over a second longer...no that didnt sound quite right she'd better ask and make sure what that word meant.
"What's a cat?" Mariel asked her eyes sparkling with curiosity. Of course mariels Curiosity was winning the battle over her timidity when knowledge was at stake.
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Posted: Thu Jul 16, 2009 1:27 pm
"Um, well..." Quinton backed away even more. It wasn't her intention, but Luna was making him even more nervous than the receptionist. She seemed very...fierce. "Thank you, but I don't think that's a very good idea."
"You don't know what a CAT is?" Brianna's voice was rich with astonishment. Everyone knew what cats were! Did she live under a rock? Quinton said that about people sometimes. The orca propped her elbows on the arm of the chair and stared at Mariel. If she really lived under a rock, wouldn't she be flatter?
Well, she just couldn't live life not knowing what a cat was. It was that simple. Brianna hopped down from her chair and slipped behind Quinton, then turned to face Mariel like a teacher at a blackboard. "This," she announced, "is a cat." She waved her arm up at Quinton's back.
He almost backed right up over Bree, but paused just in time, one foot in the air, and frowned down at her. "What're you doing?"
"TEACHING."
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Posted: Thu Jul 16, 2009 2:22 pm
Luna shrugged at the man, she wasnt the type to force her help onto others and from the look of his little dolphin girl...were all dolphins black?..anyway from the look of his child talking to Mariel he would prabably be staying and watching them for a bit anyway. So she turned and continued to talk to the receptionist and show him various bills, earning statements, pool estimates she had gotten...oh yes Luna was ALWAYS fully prepared when she really wanted something, and right now if Mariel wanted it then she would find a way to get it.
Mariel remembered her shyness the second the new girl spoke to her in that surprised tone. Her mind flashed back through everything she had learned in her short life. Should she know what a cat was? Where would she have seen one? Maybe she called them by another name, afterall Luna was teaching her spanish as well and she understood that it was a different language. But no matter what went through her mind the cat question was never answered. So when the little girl got up and started Walking away Mariel was crushed, to lose a friend so soon! AND to be left with a question! But the girl stopped by her parent and pointed. Mariel looked at the man up and down, she had definately never seen anything like him before. He had a tail like she did only not as fluffy and his ears were alot pointyer.
"So parents are cats?" Mariel asked a little confused, but wait she thought about that for a second and it seemed to not add up. Parents were parents, they were moms and dads...was the new girl speaking another language...maybe she should rephrase the question. "Well what makes him a cat?" That might be a better tihng to ask, then she would know for sure.
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Posted: Thu Jul 16, 2009 4:49 pm
Now it was Brianna's turn to be confused. Were parents cats? It wasn't like she'd had any other kind. The orca girl cast a discreet look at the other girl's parent. No tail. Good. "Nope." she said quickly, like she'd known that all along. She affected a thoughtful pose, one fingertip tapping her lips as she considered Mariel's second question. What makes a cat a cat?
Quinton blinked. He'd caught on to the gist of the conversation. "Wait, what? I'm not really a..."
"I know! A cat is a cat, because-" Before Quinton could dodge, Brianna had launched herself straight at him. "-they have long tails-" She grabbed said tail and waved it about as a demonstration, "-and pointy ears-" Like a little monkey she swarmed up his shoulders and grabbed at an ear, "-and they go MEOW!"
For a little girl, Brianna weighed a lot (it was all in the tail). The sound Quinton made as he toppled was not 'meow' - more of a screech - but it certaintly was satisfying.
Brianna lay dazed on the floor next to him, dizzy but highly pleased with herself. Talk about interactive learning!
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Posted: Thu Jul 16, 2009 5:01 pm
Mariel watched and listened intently as her new friend explained what made a cat a cat. She had expected the first answer, that perents were not cats because of the difference between Luna and this parent but what Brianna said next was happily enlightening. Mariel swished her own tail as she listened and leaned forward in her seat, eyes following brianna as she climbed all over her guardian and mariel couldnt help but giggle as they toppled onto the floor. So Tails and pointy ears made cats. Mariel thought about her own tail and ears, well her tail was bushyer...and her ears more rounded....was she a cat? She could never remember making a meow kind of sound nor could she make the sound that he made as they fell on the ground. So mariel decided that she was going to investigate. She hopped down from her seat and walked over to the pile of new girl and the cat.
"So then a tail, and pointy ears, and that sound make a cat?" Mariel half asked half just said to herself. "Then I dunno if I'm a cat....I have a tail," She brushed Briannas face with it in the hopes of waking her up from her half daze, "but my ears arent pointy...are they?" Mariel spun around in a circle trying to see her ears but it didnt work so mariel got closer to the man on the floor and looked at his ears. But her eyes began to focus on his markings and mariel stood up and looked at her new friend. "What do you think? Am I a cat? But I dont have grey and black marks like he has. I'm Brown!"
Mariel had really never given thought to what animal she was mixed with. But now with such a smart friend, (for by now mariel was convinced this girl seemed like she knew everything) maybe she could figure it out! What a great oppertunity!
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Posted: Thu Jul 16, 2009 5:19 pm
A tail whooshed gently into Brianna's field of vision, then settled over her eyes. She felt fuzz tickle her nose and hiccuped, her nose starting to itch. The orca girl couldn't hold it in; she sneezed furiously. The force of it rocketed her up into a sitting position.
"Yer-" Sniff. "-not very much like a cat." Bree admitted, watching Mariel spin around. The sight made her forget her dizziness. She grinned instead. She patted Quinton on the head, who groaned, and whispered in his ear: "That's for the chicken!"
Then she tucked her legs underneath her and got down to some serious thinking. They could argue all day whether Mariel had pointy enough ears or not. What other things did cats have? "Not all of 'em have got stripes." she pointed out. "But...they've got claws that go in and out. And whiskers. And pillows on their feet." She pointed out each feature on Quinton, like he was a skeleton hanging up in a Biology classroom.
"D'you got those?" she asked Mariel curiously. This was interesting!
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Posted: Thu Jul 16, 2009 5:35 pm
Mariel Looked at her palms and then sat down to look at the bottoms of her feet. She inspected them thoroughly and was a little sad to find that she did not have fluffy pillows under them. She then let her hands go up to her face and she felt for whiskers, she knew what those were cause her doggies had those. But no she didnt have whiskers she was just fuzzy. Mariel then began to examine her hands and feet, she did have pointy-ish nails but Luna always kept Mariels nails short because she said mariel would get them dirty on her explorings. mariel didnt know exactly how she could test if she wanted them to come in and out though. Maybe her friend would know! She stood up and tottered over to the orca girl.
"How do I test if I have claws that go in and out? and I dont have pillows or whiskers." Mariel held out her hands to the orca girl with complete faith that she would know what to do. Or at least be able to tell mariel what to do. But in the mean time she looked at the cat man and tried to figure out anything else that she should check for.
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Posted: Thu Jul 16, 2009 7:02 pm
Brianna hmmm'd and haaa'd, momentarily stumped. "Get angry?" she suggested. But she rallied quickly. "Oh! Wait!" She took the other girl's hands in her own and gently pressed her fingertips. Disappointingly, it didn't seem to work. Before Mariel started wondering what she was up to, she snatched up one of Quinton's hands and did the same to it - a sliver of claw slid out. Bree squeaked in alarm as the other claws followed suit - then Quinton yanked his hand back and sat up, rubbing the back of his head. It seemed he'd finally come to his senses.
"That's enough." he growled at the orca, trying and failing to sound fierce. He wobbled alarmingly once he'd gotten to his feet. "I've got to go check this out. Don't you dare get into any more trouble." Bree gazed innocently back. She watched him lurch towards the bathrooms, muttering "probably a concussion", then turned back to Mariel. Now what were they doing again...?
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Posted: Thu Jul 16, 2009 7:28 pm
Mariel was completely enthralled by Briannas attention to her hands, what was she trying to figure out? Then Briana asked mariel to get angry, mariel was a little dissapointed she had never really been angry...but if she had to she could try...but then Brianna had pushed on her fingertips. What was she doing, Mariel was momentarily confused because nothing happened but when Brianna showed her that it made claws slip in and out of the cat mans fingers mariel Ahhhed in response. Mariel was just about to ask how that was done when the cat man snatched back his hand and gave the girls a semi fierce look before walking to the bathroom. Mariel looked after him and then to her new friend. She was about to say something when she realised that she didnt even know her friends name! Mariel decided that she should say her name so that she could call her by name and THEN they could figure out if she was a cat, although as of now it looked as though she was only partly cat...afterall she only had the tail.
"I almost forgot, I'm Mariel." Mariel said as she pointed at herself and then she looked at the girl with a smile and a question in her eyes. "Well I'm sure we will figure out what I am but what are you, cause you have a tail too but its different so I'm pretty sure your not a cat." Mariel looked at the girl in that way that all kids see things, with a million questions running through her head. She was so happy to have met a friend who knew so much! Maybe this new friend could tell her all kinds of things and they could go on adventures and be like Indiana Jones in the movies and find treasure! Her imagination was racing with the posibilities that would open up for adventurers, especially when one of them (Brianna) knew so much!
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Posted: Fri Jul 17, 2009 7:33 pm
The shy little not-cat was probably braver than Brianna when it came to adventuring. Had she known Mariel's thoughts, however, she just might pull on some adventuring boots and give it a try. This much faith was intoxicating - heady stuff for a toddler!
Brianna loved getting to talk about herself almost as much as she loved Mariel's belief in her. "Brianna Rose. You can call me Bree, though! Mariel is a pretty name." she added graciously. "I'm an orca. It's a kind of dolphin." Oh, but did Mariel know what that was? She didn't know what a cat was, after all. "Kinda like a fish, but lots better?" Brianna volunteered. Please let her know what a fish was!
Her tail wasn't as flexible as Mariel's, but she did manage to wave it to and fro, just a bit. "I dunno what a cat's tail is for, but orca tails are for swimmin'. What's your tail do?"
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Posted: Fri Jul 17, 2009 7:54 pm
Mariel smiled and decided to test the girls name on her tounge to see what it felt like to say. Afterall she loved learning new words. "Brianna...bree." Mariel giggled at how the word pulled her cheeks back, no dbout making her smile. Mariel listened intently, she knew what a fish was, they had just gone to a pet store the other day and she had spent the whole time in the fish section reading all the signs and looking at all the pretty colors fish came in. Luna had said that one day she would get her a pet fish! For a moment she imagined a tiny version of Bree sitting in a tank at the pet store but she giggled and shook the thought away, she was sure that wasnt how the DNA thingy worked because they all looked different. So they werent just bigger than their animals....right?
At Briannas question about her tail mariel swished it around and brought it to the fromt. She petted it for a sec and thought out loud about what her tail did for her. "Well my tail helps me turn fast when I swim, and when I walk it balances me a little..." Mariel had noticed that when she was walking on a curb or doing somthing else that Luna deemed dangerous her tail seemed to become a thing all its own and shift as it needed, she could never recall telling it to do that. But suddenly a thought hit her and she looked at Bree eyes wide and sparkling. "You like to swim?" Mariel LOVED to swim and adventure in the water. She had recently started watching Indiana Jones movies and decided that she wanted to adventure like him just in the water, because OBVIOUSLY Indiana jones had already found all the wonders on land.
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Posted: Fri Jul 17, 2009 8:12 pm
Brianna watched Mariel test out the name and couldn't help smiling as well. "Mariel." she tried, but it felt strange - it just wasn't her thing. She brought a strand of white hair around to her mouth and nibbled on it, unsure of what Mariel was giggling about. She hated using the word 'fish' to describe herself, but for some reason dolphins were even less known than cats!
Then the word 'swim' popped into the conversation, and all else was lost. Brianna sat up straighter. At last, a kindred spirit! "YES! You swim too?!" Her tail thumped the floor, echoing her excitement. "I love swimming! I got a pretty pink bathing suit and there's a lake right by our house and it's GREAT. Have you ever been to the sea? It sounds amazing."
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