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Nooo, moving was bad! Moving brought the oh-so-fluffy yet potentially deadly alien thing away, and he had to kill it! He didn't have a big shiny gun like the guys in the movies, but maybe he could...pet it to death? Or pull it off her, and then go get crazy-lady and she could...probably stare at it for a moment before rolling her eyes and going back to whatever she was doing.

Calumet pointed at Shauna's tail, finger wiggling in the air. Didn't Shauna know her soul or life or butt or something was in danger?

"Yeah, well, that makes them a match made in heaven," she grumbled, scanning the area again. Her eyes lit up as she saw something shiny, and she dove for it, hoping it was her missing piece. Unfortunately, it was only a dime. With a noise of pleased dismay, she stuffed it in her pocket. Finders keepers!

Why was she not freaking out about that THING on her butt? Yes, it was fluffy, and yes, it was cute, and yes, it was potentially dangerous! Did she not know the difference between cute and carnivorous? He reached over to poke it too. Oh, but it was so soft! He forgot for a moment that it was going to kill his new friend and twined his fingers into it.

Luckily, Inle's gaze followed Eight's, and she watched her eccentric ward play with the other girl's tail. Oh, she recognized that look on his face. It meant he was going to do something well-meaning and/or stupid, and break something--in this case, probably Shauna. "CAL!" she yelled from across the room. "Don't you DARE pull her tail! You know better!"

Calumet paused, multi-colored eyes looking over at his guardian. Didn't she know what was going on? This thing was--oh, tail. That explained a lot. He probably would have felt dumb if he knew enough to. Instead, he smiled in relief. He was ill-equipped to handle aliens anyway.

Hey nooo, he wasn't done with that! It was so fluffy and soft and apparently not an alien! Calumet, too young to know the meaning of "personal space," followed the tail right into Shauna's arms, determined to pet it even though she seemed determined not to let him. As he sat practically on top of her and stroked her tail, he didn't seem to notice the attention she was paying to his tattoos. Even if he had he wouldn't have minded--he had long grown used to the stares he recieved from others, and was often too oblivious to notice them anyway.

The tattoos flared to life as Shauna touched them, glowing a clear blue against his mocha skin. Cal looked startled for a moment before the glow faded and his markings returned to their normal, dormant state. He sat back, smiling, a hand still stretched towards Shauna's tail; she was a friend, there was no need for him to be alarmed!

Unfortunately, it was doubtful Calumet would ever find his voice--he'd never uttered a sound other than a sneeze or a sigh or a cough since his creation, and he didn't look like he was going to start anytime soon. He got by easily enough, however. It wasn't like he wanted anything more than cartoons and sugar-laden food, anymore. Cal had a surprisingly fast metabolism, which was a good thing, otherwise he'd have been a good deal heavier. And he hadn't meant to squish his new friend! Why was she hitting him? That wasn't nice, he just wanted to get a closer look at her tail! Cal was too young to know the meaning of "personal space," and whether he would have cared if he had known was up for debate.

This time, his tattoos remained dark as Shauna touched them. He flailed in surprise as he was pounced upon, losing his balance and falling back against the couch. Cal smiled happily at his new friend's affectionating, squeezing her in a hug and patting her back.

Calumet, on the other hand, was baffled by all the attention. Most of the members of the Iridien household ranged from ambivalent to against affection and while Cal wasn't quite starved of it, he didn't know exactly what to do with all of the affection Shauna was bestowing upon him, either. Hugs were one thing, but this--this was unknown, but not unwelcome! He blinked and squirmed as Shauna's hands roamed over his head, his own hands moving to stop hers before thinking better of it and settling them in his lap. Was there something on his head? If there was, she'd be able to get it better than he would.

What? Why was she looking at him like that? Was there really something on his head? Ew, he hoped it wasn't gross. What was that word she kept saying? Was it a name? An object? Was this "cowors" thing what was on him? (He didn't know it, but yes.) Was it--before he could think on it further, he was glomped again, this time losing his balance and falling onto the couch's seat. She did manage to draw a sound from him, however: a sharp exhalation of air, as it was driven from him.

Cal seemed to giggle silently, squirming further under Shauna's prodding finger. That tickled! He batted it away as he tried to sit up, pushing dark- and rainbow-colored hair out of his face with an uncoordinated hand. Well, that was somewhere between fun and painful! His new friend was weird, with her furry tail and funny ears and not-tasty grape-colored tattoo! Of course, he had been told he wasn't quite normal either. What an odd pair they made! Were all kids this strange?

With a flailing hand, Calumet returned the favor and poked at Shauna, although she was still upright. Two could play at this game, if a game was what it was! Even if it wasn't, he probably would have done it anyway. She was soft!

The poking wasn't so bad, but ew, she spit at him! He paused in his poking to wipe the spit off his face, wrinkling his nose in obvious distaste. That was gross! He dried his wet hand on his shirt before seeming to forget all about the incident in favor of the poking-game, smiling in return. This wasn't so bad, except for the spitting part! Hey, was this sleepiness thing part of the game too? He wasn't tired. Oh, was he supposed to be? Cal hugged his new friend as she cuddled against him, taking the opportunity to poke and pet at her strange ears some more. She was so nice, none of the animals in his house who had silly-ears let him play with them! Of course, that could be because he tended to squeeze them too hard. There was no need to squeeze Shauna, however--she didn't look like she was going to run away anytime soon.

Even Inle had to admit that the scene on the couch was cute. A little nauseating, but cute. Calumet looked so happy to have someone to play with, someone to hug him and whatnot...Inle just wasn't a huggy person. Perhaps, for Calumet, she should learn to be..."Do you think she's sick? I hope it's not contagious, if she is." Calumet wouldn't be that hard to deal with if he got sick, she knew, but illness tended to infect everyone in the house, and she had no desire to play nursemaid to all of them while sick herself.

Inle hardly looked amused. "Sucks to be her, if she does. I hope she doesn't wind up falling asleep while crossing the street, or anything." Oh, that Inle, always saying all the wrong things without really meaning to, or caring that she did. It was just the way she was. A faint smile came to her face--faint was huge, for her--as she eagerly took said round thingie from Eight. "That's exactly it! Thanks!" she said, sticking it in the pocket of her jeans before rising. "We should get going. Don't wanna be here when that psycho gets back, after all." With that, she strode to the couch.

Cal saw his caretaker coming and only clung tighter to his new friend not to keep her there, but to keep himself there. He knew what those leaving-words meant, and he didn't want any part of it! He was happy here with his new friend, he didn't want to leave, although the girl practically in his lap looked to be almost asleep. Cal flailed as Inle gently detached him from Shauna, kicking at her in order to try to get her to put him down. Inle was having none of that, however. "I know, I know, you don't wanna leave your friend. That's just too bad, kiddo, we've got things to do."

He tried to push himself away as Inle walked them to the door, seeming to sigh in defeat as they reached the door. His little hand waved at Eight and Shauna as they disappeared through it. It was only when they were halfway home that Inle realized that she hadn't gotten the names of either Calumet's friend or her guardian.