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 Posted: Sat May 23, 2015 10:05 am
Who: Amity, Ronan, and Zeke
When: May 23rd, 2015; early afternoon
Where: Lab 305
Weather: Sunny and warm, with a cool breeze
Zeke's phonecall to Ronan was three parts excited shouting to two parts whooping and hollering. A dollop of scrambling - coming after a pinch of clattering when the phone fell to the floor - was laced with just the barest notes of coherency on the vet's end of the line.
"SHE'S HERE! RONAN SHE'S HERE! GET DOWN HERE AS FAST AS YOU CAN; LEAVE WORK IF YOU HAVE TO!"
Laughter bubbled over the line, almost mad in its length and volume, and Zeke hung up the phone. Unlike most times where he could wait patiently, the vet couldn't sit still. He was up and moving - fidgeting one minute, flipping through the Bark Frei's file the next, and even going so far as to jog the length of the lobby and back just because his legs demanded he get them in motion.
Ronan would be in for a few surprises when he got here, that was for damn sure.
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Posted: Sun May 24, 2015 3:31 pm
Ronan literally ran out of the house.
The only mercy was that he'd been off of work, but that still left a bit of a distance between home and the lab to travel. He was about five seconds out the door when Kris called from the house.
"RONAN, hold up! Let me drive, you dolt!"
A few minutes later Kris' car pulled into the lab lot, Ronan in the passenger seat and Maili craning her neck in the back - once she'd heard what was going on she hadn't taken no for an answer. He turned to the girls as he unbuckled his seatbelt.
"Would you be okay waiting outside at first? I'm not sure how many people they'll be able to handle at once." Not to mention he had a feeling Maili might end up smothering the raevan at this rate.
"That'll be fine," Kris said, cutting in before Maili could start to complain. The younger girl shot Kris a look, crossing her arms and slumping back in the seat.
"Fiiiiine."
"You guys can walk around the area if you want, and I'll call you if it's okay to come over, alright?" And at the very least, they'd be able to meet the new raevan on the ride home.
Kris gave him a thumbs up. "Okay! Keep us updated, and don't take too long."
"Will do."
Getting out of the car Ronan jogged up to the steps, took a breath, and pushed the lobby doors open.
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Posted: Tue May 26, 2015 5:44 pm
The door chime resounded and Zeke's head immediately whipped around.
The vet had been across the room, amid another jog from one end to the other. Had, being the keyword here, because when Zeke saw Ronan enter the lobby, he made a beeline right for him. Although their interactions had been fairly limited, they had had enough meetings for Zeke to consider the selkie a friend. Because of this, the vet held absolutely no reservations in bodily throwing himself at the man when he was within launching range, wrapping him up in a bear of a hug.
"RONAAAAAAAN!" The laughter coming from Zeke was loud and long and their height difference would allow him to swing freely from the other man's shoulders if he was not immediately wrapped up. After holding on for what felt like a lifetime, Zeke finally released the selkie from his embrace, but not without first giving him a hard, proud thump on the back. He also didn't fully stop contact with the other man, bracing the larger man's biceps and giving him a slight shake.
"You're here! I was starting to wonder if you got my message or if something had happened!" The vet's words came out in a rapidfire jumble. It was a wonder Zeke's words didn't slur, tripping over his own tongue piercing as he was. "But hey! Hey! SHE'S HERE, Ronan! Are you ready? If you're ready, I can take you to her right now, no waiting, no paperwork bs beforehand, no...ANYTHING!"
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Posted: Tue May 26, 2015 6:44 pm
Ronan wasn't sure if he would have considered the bear hug unexpected or not (this was Zeke after all), but either way he returned it with enthusiasm, laughing.
"Just had to figure out the best way to get out of the house is all!" He'd certainly done his best to get going once he'd gotten the message at least. The selkie listened to Zeke's next question, pausing.
"Actually, I'm wondering, would it be okay for Kris and Maili to come along? They're outside and really want to meet her too, but I don't want her to be overwhelmed either. What do you think?" Might as well get this out of the way to begin with - at the rate things were going, both of them were soon going to be too excited to think clearly.
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Posted: Tue May 26, 2015 7:30 pm
At the mention of Ronan's family being present, Zeke leaned around the selkie to see if he could spot them from where they stood by the door. No such luck, but he was an eager beaver and in his mind, why not?
"Sure! The more the merrier!" His mind was moving a mile a minute and it showed in the brightness of his eyes and the bouncing he was doing upon the balls of his feet. The Frei wouldn't get overwhelmed, not with tradition acting as bottleneck for how many folks in a room at a time. No sweat, no problem! He also had yet to meet Maili and Kris and what better time than now?
"You go get them and I'll nab your file! Then we can get this show on the road!"
Of course, he was already moving toward the back of the room and his desk as he said that.
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Posted: Tue May 26, 2015 7:40 pm
"Sounds good to me!" Ronan pulled out his phone and texted Kris as Zeke went to the counter - and only a few moments after he'd sent the message the two girls barged through the door.
"... you didn't go very far, did you?"
"You kidding?" Kris grinned at Ronan as Maili did a little shimmying side step to try and see into the back. It seemed like she remembered the basics from the tank viewing tour a couple months ago.
"Can we go yet?"
"Almost," Ronan said, planting a hand on Maili's shoulder and looking over to Zeke.
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Posted: Tue May 26, 2015 7:58 pm
A fresh wave of laughter left Zeke when the two girls burst in.
"Welcome!" He gave the two a wave with a closed fist thanks to the pen he had snatched up, pocketing it quickly as he made his way back around the desk. "It's nice to see you again, Maili. And you must be Kris! I'm Zeke."
It seemed the moment's pause had allowed the blue and pink-haired man to collect himself somewhat. Instead of jumping the girls, he stuck out his right hand for each of them in turn. After greetings were done, he was back to his bouncy self once more.
"If you're all ready, we can get going!"
He waved for them to follow him, leading them to the glass door at the back of the room that led to the hallway beyond. The hall stretched down to the back of the Lab and was lined on both sides with an equal number of closed doors, some of which were marked with numbers.
"She's in room three," he said as he waited for Ronan and his family to walk through after him. "I know you're all excited to see her, but before we get down to her room I should tell you about a little tradition we have here. Pretty much...Ronan will get to go in first. He's her Guardian, it's only fair that he's the first one to see her."
He talked as he walked, looking back over his shoulder as he did so.
"We'll give them a bit to get to know each other and then I'll let you ladies in one at a time after that. Sound good?" Probably not ideal for the girls, but it was for the Bat Frei's best interest and well being, as well as theirs, on the chance things went awry. Zeke himself would linger by the door to monitor, at least until the second girl was in the room and things were sailing smooth.
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Posted: Tue May 26, 2015 8:20 pm
Kris grinned as she returned Zeke's handshake. "Nice to meet you," she said, Maili doing with a simple "Hey!"
And soon enough, they were moving.
The two girls bounced down the hallway after Ronan like ducklings, frequently giving each other excited looks. When Zeke gave the news about them going one at a time the selkie practically felt them deflate.
"Sounds good to me," Ronan said quickly. He turned back to the girls. "It won't be too much longer, okay?"
Kris let out a long breath, regaining her composure. "Okay." Maili didn't say anything as the older girl squeezed her shoulder. Instead, her eyes burned. She would get what she wanted soon enough.
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Posted: Tue May 26, 2015 8:35 pm
Zeke didn't miss the aura of deflation that came from the two, chuckling at their eagerness. This little lady would be going home to quite the household.
A few more moments passed and Zeke bounded forward before stopping in front of a door with a metal 3 tacked to its face. He held up his free hand for the party to stop as well before gesturing to the wooden face that separated them from the Raevan inside. Zeke passed a smile over each person in turn before resting his gaze on Ronan alone.
"I'm going to knock on the door to let her know we're here," his voice had lowered a touch, but not without a lot of effort on his part, "don't wanna scare her after all. Once I do, I'll open the door and step back and you can go right on in, Ronan." He turned back to Maili and Kris, giving them an added wink. "While he's doing that, we'll figure out which one of you gets to be the next one in after, okay?"
This situation was a first for the Lab and he only wanted it to go the best way possible. A couple of minutes top between each person should be okay, but he'd play it by eye and ear from his spot out of view of the doorway.
"Ready? One...Two...Three..."
The vet knocked twice on the door's face and let his hand fall down onto the latch. A 'click' from the lock was heard and Zeke gently pushed the door inward, stepping back as soon as he did so.
"All yours, buddy."
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Posted: Tue May 26, 2015 9:00 pm
The young frei was fascinated by everything around her.
Part of it was the fact that they were, well, new. Heck, everything was new! Vague ideas for potential names swam through her head but at the moment they evaded her, the flying fox still gaining her bearings.
Even so, just because she couldn't find the name for something didn't mean she wasn't going to find out everything else she could.
Several minutes were spent blowing a pencil across the desk, the frei watching closely as it paused and rolled back towards her before she puffed air at it again. Papers were rifled through. A pen was clicked numerous times, a different surface used to press the button each time as the clicking noise filled the room.
The light fixture caught her attention next.
Out of all the things in the room, this one seemed... different. More interesting perhaps? Floating up she placed her hands around the casing, watching how the light filtered through her fingers and changed as she moved her hands. Her lips parted. Oh, she had to know how this worked! She barely even registered the knock on the door.
The frei changed her grip, and pulled.
CRUNCH.
The room plunged into darkness right as Ronan came through the door. Both of them stared, mouths open, the now broken casing and lightbulb in the frei's hands.
"... oh."
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Posted: Tue May 26, 2015 9:16 pm
Ronan went through and Zeke started to say something to the two girls left outside with him. But then there was a loud crunch, an electric pop, and the room he had opened the way to went shadowy with only the sun filtering in through the window shades to light it. Zeke held up his pointer finger and leaned over to see.
Ronan's back filled a lot of the immediate view, but a few short feet ahead of him was her. Even with the backlighting only helping to shadow her, the Bat Frei was a hard sight to miss. He could easily see her grey hair and red eyes through the gloom, as well as the small, pointed ears atop her head. The wings that had been made famous between himself, Ronan, and Maili were also quite apparent; thick and strong even from a glance. Zeke couldn't help quirk a smile even in spite of the surge of alarm that had shot through him at the death of the light and its bulb.
"She broke the light." His words were breathed so as only to carry to Maili and Kris. Keeping as low as he could, Zeke reached into the room and grabbed the tail of Ronan's shirt, giving it a couple tugs. Again, he kept his voice low. "Is she okay? Do I need to get the first aid kit?"
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Posted: Wed May 27, 2015 1:26 pm
Kris brought her hand up to her mouth, worried by Zeke's words... but also having to cover some giggles a moment later. Maili didn't even try to hide her amusement, giving a snort.
"She not hurt, just dismayed I think," Ronan murmured as the frei tried in vain to put the bulb back into the ceiling. Eventually she just sighed and placed the pieces onto the desk, turning her attention back to Ronan as her wings twitched.
Even with the light out and the room plunged into partial shadow, she could still see the new individual clearly. Interesting. But she didn't know them. Should she be scared? Or hopeful?
The selkie stepped forward, moving carefully and keeping his hands in clear view. "My name is Ronan. Are you okay?"
She decided to go with hopeful.
Winging forward the frei placed her arms on Ronan's biceps, looking over his face and body as the selkie remained still as possible. He gave her a small smile. She returned it tenfold, and, before he knew what was happening, bundled him into a hug.
"Yes okay."
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Posted: Wed May 27, 2015 1:43 pm
He loosed a breath he didn't realize he had been holding. The exhale spoke his relief to know that the Frei hadn't accidentally cut herself on the glass. Stepping back so he could stop being hunched over, Zeke looked at the two girls and gave them a thumbs up.
"No harm done." His gaze ticked back into the room, grin turning a little mischievous. They would get to see their new sibling momentarily to be sure, but what harm came from a little teasing? "She's got red eyes and grey hair, it seems. Little bat ears too and..."
Then the Frei wrapped Ronan up in an embrace and that train of thought died. Surprise crossed Zeke's face, then amusement, then fondness. There was something for the Lab's record books!
"And she just wrapped him up in a hug."
Grinning anew, the vet looked between the two girls and pointed at each of them in turn. Might as well determine who would be first in, perhaps even as soon as when Miss Bat let her Guardian go.
"Which one wants to be in next? Or should I do 'Eenie Meenie' to make it fair?"
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Posted: Sat May 30, 2015 5:12 pm
Maili gave Zeke a flat look. "Eenie Meenie isn't random, it just depends on who you start with. I'll go. It'll save you the time."
Kris' earlier muffled giggles turned into full on choked laughter as Maili walked into the room, the college student having to take a few moments to bend over and breathe. "Oh my gosh, I am so sorry, Maili's just-" she paused, fighting through another bout of laughter. "She can end up a bit blunt at times. Sorry about that."
The frei's ears perked as she heard a new individual come in through the door, peering over Ronan's should to get a look at the young girl who came over. Keeping one arm wrapped around Ronan she reached down, flexed her fingers, and touched the girl's head.
The hair. It was soft.
And then, just after it'd been placed, the hand was pushed away.
Maili brushed some hair behind her ear, turning red. "Please don't touch without asking."
With that statement new information seemed to click into place, and the frei floated away Ronan. This... was something to remember. A few moments were spent fumbling with her hands before she settled on lacing her fingers.
"Sorry." She paused, thinking. "Won't forget."
Ronan waited off to the side, silent.
"... thank you." Maili's redness started to fade. "I'm Maili. Glad to finally meet you."
The frei regained some of her smile, giving a cross between a nod and a bow. "Feel the same." She didn't quite get the 'finally' part, but the rest, at least, she could understand.
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Posted: Thu Jun 04, 2015 8:05 pm
Zeke waved off the younger girl's brashness with a flip of his hand and a laugh.
"No harm done! It's more amusing than offensive to me!" And he had been treated by far worse than a teenager's snap. Hell, chihuahuas bit harder than that! "We'll wait just a couple of minutes and then you can head on in. I hope you don't mind the wait, but if you like, you're welcome to peek around the door."
He had been doing so this entire time, watching as Maili was approached by the Bark Frei and the undertaking of a new family member monitored by Ronan. The teen seemed a little terse but by the end of the short exchange it seemed as if the touch to the head was water under the bridge.
"Actually," Zeke said after seeing that, "why don't you head in now, Kris? I think everything'll be okay with another addition."
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