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"Mummy, Mummy! Look at all the animals!" Elizabeth skipped ahead of Cordelia, down the rows of cages. She was so fast, it was all Cordy could do to keep up with the energetic child.

"Slow down, please, Elizabeth!" Cordelia gasped as she rounded the corner. She and Elizabeth had watched a movie involving pirates (they were a constant presence in the kybernetik's thoughts) and Little Lizzy had rather taken to the pygmy monkey the villain kept as a pet. The girl had pestered Cordelia, trying to make her take her charge to the Pet Shop to buy one. It finally took the paint in the shampoo for Cordelia to break down and take her. Even so, whole chunks of hair were still shocks of indigo.

Elizabeth, knowing she had Mummy wrapped around her little fingers, only giggled and skipped faster. "Yo ho, yo ho a pirate's monkey for--OOF!" With a not-so-gentle thump, Elizabeth's forward momentum was stopped abruptly as she hurtled into someone just around the bend.

Elizabeth, lying on the floor, was suddenly aware what she had bumped into was speaking to her. "Oh...it's...it's quite all right," she answered. Her processors told her that the lady-like thing to do was to be polite and wait for assitance in rising. Looking up, she saw the slightly raggedy looking boy lean down to pick up the big bag on food from the floor. Something gold glinted from inside his tunic. "That's very pretty," she commented, still sprawled out on the tile.

Cordelia came hurrying to Elizabeth's rescue, picking the young kybernetik up and muttering to herself between straightening the girl's clothes and asking Little Liz if she was ok. "I never should have....Elizabeth? Are you all right? Are you hurt?...No, of course she wouldn't be....That was reckless and-and stupid...and don't skip so fast next time!" She saw the boy out of the corner of her eye and turned to apologize. "I am so sorry about my daughter, are you--?" The words died on her lips as she saw that he had metal plates on his cheeks that looked a lot like Elizabeth's. "You're--"

"Elizabeth." The girl stuck her hand out to the boy. It would be rude to crash into somebody and not introduce yourself afterwards.

"Pleased to meet you," Elizabeth said gravely, despite her natural inclination to be light-hearted. She wanted to know what was in his shirt, but knew asking him straight out would be too forward for her.

"Hello, William," Cordy replied, though she knew the boy had not been speaking to her. "Where are your parents?"

Elizabeth squeaked at the something that had popped out. She grabbed her mum's pant leg for comfort.

Cordy stood and tried again. "Hi, I'm Elizabeth's mother, Cordelia." Cordy held a hand out to Akuma.

Elizabeth squealed at the sudden sensation of something furry scurrying up her leg, then up her waist, and to her shoulders. She'd never felt anything like it--and though it tickled a bit pleasantly, it also both surprised and scared her. Her body simultaneously tried to jerk away and stand up at the same time. It didn't work. Elizabeth pitched over, but not before her hand had flashed out and grabbed Will. Or, more specifically, the chain the gold thing was attached to.

Cordelia smiled at the other woman, amazed that she had finally met another "mother." She seemed rather experienced at this thing, and could possibly give pointers to a new owner, like Cordelia. Just before she could ask anything, both of their kybernetiks crashed to the floor.

Elizabeth took the offered hand, sniffling a bit. She hadn't expected the wriggley thing to feel so strange, and hitting the floor for the second time in around seven minutes was very upsetting. While her processors wouldn't allow her to sob, her lips did tremble slightly. Her fingers clenched, and as they did, she felt the light chain within them. The neclace must have broken. But before she could try to give it back, Cordelia was taking her from Will.

"Oh, Lizzy! I'm so sorry!" Cordelia exclaimed, sweeping the near crying girl into her arms and holding her to her chest. "Are you all right?"

Elizabeth relished in the feeling of being held with warm arms (as compared to being tickled by the claws of that...whatever it was) and nodded into her Mummy's shoulder.

"Do you want to go home?"

There was a pause, and then Little Lizzy shook her head no. "I want a monkey." She said in a small voice.

Cordelia crooned soothingly, "We'll get you one, my Liz." She turned to Akuma. "I'm sorry for Elizabeth. We don't have any pets and the ferret scared her." SHe looked down at the boy kybernetik. "Are you ok, Will?"

Elizabeth looked down at Will. He seemed really concerned and possibly guilty for what had happened. She nodded, wiping at her eyes for tears that may have gotten by her, and replied, "I'll be ok, Will. I'm getting a monkey!" And smiled, so he wouldn't worry anymore. She frowned, though, as he grabbed his arm, and wondered what was wrong. Then she wondered if she had something to do with it, and immediately felt infinitely worse. "Will, I want to say sorry for pulling you down. It was rude of me."

Cordelia shifted Little Lizzy over a bit and told Akuma, "Oh, don't worry about it. Lizzy's fine. Aren't you, Lizzy?"

Lizzy nodded to Akuma, looking anything but fine. She felt bad for what she did. What if she had broken him? Cordelia had told her that things--and even people could break. And you had to try with all your might not to break anyone. But what if she had?

Cordelia looked down and saw the contemplatively guilty look on her charge's face and thought that, as pleasant as the meeting was, they should be getting on with the task at hand. "Sorry to do this, but we should probably get started picking out a monkey. It was nice meeting you, Akuma, Will. Rukia." She called at the bag for good measure. She began walking away.

"Will!" Elizabeth called over her mother's shoulder. "Will! I'm naming my monkey Will!"

Cordelia half-turned. "Sure! Any time." Then, she continued on her age.