Welcome to Gaia! ::

Bailey Jameson practically skipped from the area her brother was doing his homework at (with strict orders to check in every 45 minutes, Dad's rules!) to the area she was meeting Daniel in for a picnic. She'd brought all sorts of tasty things her Daddy had made; satay with peanut sauce for dipping, a cold noodle salad that smelled REALLY good, smoked salmon, canary melon slices, and she had a thermos full of sweet tea. And two plastic forks, just in case Daniel wanted to try any of the noodle salad, and stuff to draw with, and a frisbee! All of it kept nice and safe in a bright teal lunch bag, the big kind.

She had three hours to just play and eat and stuff with her first friend in the area! She wanted to enjoy it!

Horatio lifted her head into the air, sniffing with something less than the feline delicacy she probably could have accomplished if she wasn't so concerned with finding the source of the smell. She knew the smell of salmon anywhere, and when it was deliciously, perfectly smoked its aroma was even more distinctive. That subtle, straight-through-the-nostrils-to-the-throat scent made her leap down from the tree where she had been pawing at an abandoned bird's nest. (Which had proven the most disappointing toy to date, although the climb had been fun!)

Slinking through the bushes of the park, the Himalayan spied the little girl who was in posession of said salmon. Oh, the lunch box might not be opened yet, but when the kitty's favorite food was in the area, even the smallest whiff would confirm its presence. The friendly feline approached to rub up against the girl's legs. "Mrrwl?"

Oh!

Daniel grinned to Bailey, the boy getting up to approach her when the familiar fuzzy form of Horatio got his eye. TWO friends?! Yes, please! And Daniel bound over after grabbing his backpack, grinning.

"Hola, Bailey." He nodded. He knelt down to Horatio's level, cheerful.

"Hello, kitty, to you too!"

He did like Horatio. She was fun! Maybe she would join them?

"Oh! You know the kitty, Daniel?" Well, she hadn't expected that! But that was all sorts of awesome! She was happy to try petting the pretty little kitty...and then the feline talked. That spooked Bailey a little, dark blue eyes widening. She didn't stop the pets and added some light scratching, but...She'd never met a talking cat!

"Uhm...I think I have enough to share some salmon?"
She looked to Daniel, as if to ask if he knew the kitty could talk, then back to Horatio. "I didn't know talking kitties were real. I thought you only existed in books!" Well, apparently not! She knew better now! It...did sort of explain the goggles and stuff, if the kitty talked and such.

The little girl had nice, soft pets and light scratches, and a contented thrumming sound could soon be heard emanating from the cream-colored Mauvian. Her eyes closed, although her tail continued to wag invitedly. Whenever Daniel introduced her, she opened one eye and cheerfully acknowledged, "Yep, that's me! Hi Bailey, you have nice pets and I'm so glad we can share the salmon, salmon is my favorite!"

At the sound of books, however, she tilted her head and poked out her rough tongue playfully. Daniel's giggle was infectious, casuing a light laugh to come next as she pointed out, "Well, -I- didn't come from a book! I don't really like reading unless there are pretty pictures to look at because that's time we could be playing instead. But... well, not all kitties can talk. Just certain kitties, like me. You'll know by the forehead star." She pulsed a brief bit of light through her own bronze marking to show the little girl where it was.

Double pets were best pets, and she flopped over to better allow the two children access to her fur. She made a sour face at the mention of spicy things, "I dunno... I guess as long as it's not too spicy. Really spicy stuff burns my tongue and makes it hard to taste other stuff. But I'm sure if you like it that it'll be good!" Horatio curled onto her back and pawed lightly at both of her little friends, one old and one new, pretty much content to wait for food as long as affection was offered.

Then, she had a super great idea! "Hey, hey Daniel... you think we should check to see if Bailey is a winner, too?" Finding winners was the best game she knew.

"Hmmm...." Daniel thought. "We could make sure you have water and breads to help cut the burn. Like Bailey!" The 10 year old beamed, continuing his petting gently. He was completely happy to dote on both, then perked at Horatio's question.

"Oh! We should!" And he turned to Bailey, excited. "It's a fun game if you're a winner! We can do neat stuff, then!"

Daniel's eyes practically sparkled.

Bailey was so confused, but she played along. It made Daniel and the magical kitty happy, so...why not? When Horatio put her paws on her, she just stayed very still...and then blinked when she felt a little funny. Not a bad funny, just...different. And then the kitty had said she'd won.

"I...I did?! But...how...Powers? I...okay?" She wasn't entirely sure why the kitty wanted her to test powers, when she had none...but okay? Surely Horatio knew what she was doing! After all, she was a magical kitty!

“Awesome! Hold on just a sec, and I’ll get your gear!” Horatio hopped away from the cuddles only because ‘Awaken the Senshi’ was her absolute favorite game of all time! Cuddles would still be there afterwards - she would see to that. With those thoughts out of the way, the Mauvian did her tell-tale sprint across a short distance. Two objects sprang up behind her and landed on the grass with a soft ‘thud.’

Of these two objects, the feline focused first on the henshin pen and batted it towards Bailey. “Here you go! Hold it up over your head and say ‘Subra Power, Make-Up!’ We’ll cover the rest from there - and maybe we’ll get a special treat and Daniel will show you his spiffy clothes too!”