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 Posted: Wed Sep 28, 2011 10:58 am
As the pen danced across the page, zigzagging to form that 'Z', Cruz wrung his clawed hands with obvious anticipation. What did it mean once it was written down? Was something going to happen? The Frei did not appear apprehensive, but his green eyes were curious and probing between the two humans as he kept a small grin up. At the colorful man's reply, his posture straightened some; awesome sounded like it was a good word and it was about him. Then his question came and his gaze flicked quickly to Anita, his 'guardian' as the spider femme had put it. She was beaming, and her smile caused his own to grow.
"I love him."
If Cruz had a tail, it would have been wagging madly by now.
In all his joy, he nearly missed the instructing sound Zeke made and for a brief moment he stared at the man like a deer in headlights before his thoughts settled back and he attempted to mimic the sound. He was thrown off, however, by Zeke's joke and a chuckle forced its way out instead of a letter. So he had a sense of humor, too, it seemed. Anita was positively head over heels. Was it possible for a newly born Frei to be this charming?
Once Zeke began the proper introductions, Cruz pointed his finger as well and followed the man's. To himself, ignoring the exchange of paper and pen, he mouthed the beginning letter to the three of their names. All of their names, while short, were a bit too much to expect at this point but letters seemed to be a thing he was quickly grasping and before long he began mumbling as he continued the triangular point, "Zzz... Aah... Cee...". He repeated it a few times under his breath, appearing rather content with himself before stopping and creasing his brow. Turning, he motioned to catch Zeke's eye before pointing to the door which lead down the hall to his waiting room, to Anya. An eyebrow quirked while his mouth filled in what blanks there may have been, "Zzz, Aah, Cee, ...?" His pointing finger flicked, indicating further.
There was a fourth party whose name he still did not know for sure.
Anita, on the other hand, was quite absorbed in the paper work. It was all fairly straight forward, mostly release forms like Zeke said. Some portions detailed what to do in the event of an emergency with the Raevan, who to contact for check ups and doctors visits (she couldn't help but smile at reading Alex's name and knew he would be in good hands medically), a reiteration of how Raevan's worked, potential dangers, that sort of thing. She had nearly forgotten that Lab 305 was a scientific laboratory and that these wonderful creatures were experiments. She had to wonder if the good doctor who started this project thought of his own Raevan charge as "just an experiment" or if any of them truly did. It was a good thing she wasn't a scientist, Anita would have never been able to keep a professional air in regards to taking care of such a creature. Motherly, perhaps, but she was far too empathetic and expressive to act with cold detachment to animals, much less other fully sentient beings.
Her pen scribbled, hand shaking a little with excitement, at each place necessary for her to sign her name or initials. Anita Bishop. Anita Bishop. Anita Bishop. And then a thought drilled its way in, and she looked to the crocodile Frei. Cruz Bishop. It sounded right. She grinned and finished off a few other signatures before setting the pen down and giving a loud, attention grabbing moan of "Well!" as she turned around and held onto the edge of the desk with the backs of her palms. "I think that about wraps it up. You ready to saddle up, kiddo?"
Cruz tilted his head, not quite understanding the analogy, but seemed to get the picture when the brunette nodded toward the bike. If they were leaving, then that meant it was just the two of them, was that right? The other female and this colorful man, Zeke, would not be going with them. The Frei's lip became a thin line as he thought this over while scrutinizing the bike. This meant that they would not be seeing one another again. Without the understanding that Zeke and Anita were friends who communicated and saw each other semi-frequently, this leaving for Cruz was final. They would never be seeing them again. That was disappointing, but it meant only one thing; he had to give a proper send off, and at that moment the quarter-being had only one distinct urge.
Wings shivering beneath the fabric of Anita's coat, he floated over to Zeke and took the man's arm, wrapping his own around it and giving it a snug hug complete with a nuzzle. His throat rumbled, sounding more reptilian than before but it was still not an intimidating vocalization. There he stayed for a few seconds, eyes closed, and Anita was in awe. Her silly side couldn't help but peek out, though, and she stuck her tongue out at Zeke in mock jealousy. She wanted a hug too! -- but she would get them soon enough. Just as quickly as the affectionate parting began, the Raevan pulled back and gave Zeke and appreciative look before floating to Anita's side and clutching her nearest hand between both of his. Human skin was so warm and soft, he couldn't help but touch it, though the more he thought about it the more a feeling close to pity welled up in his chest for Anya. If physicality was this nice already for him, he would have gone insane by now to never be touched such as she.
"Anything else, y'think?" she questioned Zeke, pulling her cell out for a moment to look at the time. "You want another hug, don't you?" her grin was sly, a half joke but half serious. If Zeke had been iffy on the crocodile Frei before then, the hug would have most certainly sealed the deal if she knew Zeke the way she thought she did.
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Posted: Thu Sep 29, 2011 12:41 pm
Anita's reply about her opinion of the Frei made his heart soar.
"I'm glad." He truly was. Anita and her Cruz were starting off on the right foot indeed and, looking at the latter party, it was clear the Frei shared his Guardian's sentiments. The whole situation was as awesome as Cruz was and Zeke couldn't help but cast a renewed beam at the both of them, coming to rest on the Raevan as Anita busied herself with the paperwork and the boy made motions. Zeke watched with rapt attention as the Frei mimicked what he had just done, and nodded as he pointed to each body in the room in turn and attempted their name.
"Atta boy. You'll master it soon." Positive reinforcement always worked, but he also had no doubts that Cruz would master saying the three names he had learned. He was already off to a good start as it was and Zeke knew Anita would help him get it right in the days, weeks, months, and years to come. The crease of the Crocodile's brow was not lost on Zeke at all and it puzzled him until the Frei made it known what was causing it. At the Frei's gesturing to the door and who lay hidden beyond it, the vet moved next to him and did the pointing again. "Zeke, Anita, Cruz..." He took the Frei's motions one step further and rested his finger on the glass. "Anastacia."
Again, Anya had assaulted the Frei and freaked out quite royally in his presence, but it seemed the Crocodile was still concerned about her and to the extent that he wanted to know her name. That awed Zeke even more and he definitely wanted to set things right between the two. First introductions were made already, but perhaps a second meeting - one with both guardians present - would go smoother. He hoped so at least. Zeke wasn't about to let this one incident or his kiss-addled Raevan tell him never to see his friend or her new charge ever again. That would never fly with him, but again, one step at a time. Anita and Cruz first, then a talk with Anya and then whatever came after that talk, for better or for worse.
"You can call her Anya, or Ana if you want." Anita's name was made up of three syllables, Cruz's and Zeke's own were only one, but Anastacia's was a daunting five. It was best to keep things simple on the newborn for now, and Anya or even the never-before-used 'Ana' would be easier for the Croc to handle. At least, Zeke hoped so. He repeated the circle of pointing again, this time using the nickname he used the most with his ward. "Zeke, Anita, Cruz, Anya." Three people in the room, one down the hall hopefully calming down...Put them together and you've got four names in total for the newborn to practice on. Damn good for starters.
Zeke repeated the motion again once more, but before starting on a second after that, Anita's voice rung out and made the vet stop. He turned his attention to her once again, chuckling as he saw how she was leaning against the desk. Gently he patted Cruz on the shoulder and walked to the desk, taking up the folder and flipping through the pages to check that everything was where it should be.
"Everything's signed!" he said jovially, closing the folder and setting it near the PC. "Nothing's been missed so you're good to go! He's all yours Anita." A silly grin hit him, but faded into a look of surprise as his arm was suddenly taken a hold of. It didn't take too much of a head turn to see green hair against his shoulder, and when he saw it, a touch of warmth filled his chest. No doubt about it - Cruz was a sweet kid. Without warning, Zeke crossed his free arm over his chest and held the Frei's head to his shoulder, allowing the twenty-seven year old to rest his cheek against the Crocodile's head. It was an awkward hug, but a hug nonetheless, and the action on the Frei's part sealed his opinion of the newborn in all the way - Cruz was awesome and Anita was a lucky girl.
Zeke caught Anita's teasing and the raver repeated it, adding a smug 'ha ha I got the first hug' expression to his face. Unlike Anita, his was all in play and his standard look was quickly right back on his face. Only the barest hints of a pout graced his features when Cruz let go and floated toward his Guardian. Needless to say it wasn't often he got a hug from a newborn, especially one so charming! And some hugs just seemed to end too soon in general.
Anita was right on the ball though, and Zeke was quickly laughing again.
"You know me too well!" He crossed the space between them and looped his arms around the girl's middle, giving her a fond squeeze. He would have picked her up and swung her around - and did want to - but he didn't want to break Cruz's hold on his woman's hand. Instead, and to compensate, the raver gave Anita a bear hug and pecked her sweetly on the cheek as it came to an end.
"Nothing else, unless you have any questions or anything." Papers were signed, Cruz had been met and named, Zeke had gotten his hug by god...Everything that had to do with getting the new family members set was taken care of. Anita had long since gotten the list of names and numbers for all the Guardians and Raevans so other than that there was nothing else to do. Except... "Well, there is one thing."
Zeke straightened, released Anita from his hold, and crossed his arms over his chest. He looked at her pointedly, eye to eye, and slowly raised one of his brows again. He was attempting to look serious and succeeding, but the lines around his mouth and eyes threatened another smile or laughter if he held out for too long.
"You gotta promise to call me if you need anything, if something comes up, or anything like that." He'd be over in a flash, Anastacia in tow, to help any Guardian of course, but he was adamant to his idea that he and Anita were a bit closer than other Guardians given how Anya and Cruz had been put in their tanks at roughly the same time. She had also been his first Lab job experience and that counted for something as well. If she needed his help for anything, there was no way he could or would say no to her. "Keep me posted on him too, you hear? We've waited a long time for this day and I'm not about to let there be eons of silence between us." He meant it too. Texting, email, phone calls; hell he'd learn Morse Code if it came down to it!
He would have said more, but the stern face facade broke and cheery Zeke came right back out again. He winked at Anita before turning to Cruz, reaching out and patting the boy on his pea coat-covered shoulder again. Looking at the croc, he didn't want the first meeting to end, but he knew it had to. That note didn't bring the tiredness back to him yet, but Zeke did find it bittersweet. He'd see them again of course, but he didn't want them to leave just yet either, dammit!
"You be good to her, okay? Keep her out of trouble." His eyes ticked to Anita for a second, expecting a rebuff for that, before winking at Cruz all the same. A chuckle left him, and the vet swept a hand over the side of his head, thinking for a moment before dropping his hand and holding out both arms. "Can I have another hug before you go?" He couldn't resist asking.
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Posted: Mon Oct 03, 2011 12:13 pm
Emerald eyes scrutinized the raver's movements carefully, from his mouth to his pointing finger going round again between them and then touching the glass his own was motioned towards. Anastacia. That was... much harder than Cruz, Zeke or Anita to even remember, but then the male human gave him an alternative option: Anya or Ana. Anastacia, Anya, they were two completely different names and that struck the crocodile as a bit silly. Ana, however, seemed more logical and even easier to pronounce and so he tucked it away, pointing to the door once more and reciting, "Aah," and then making the same syllabic sound while pointing to Anita.
His woman nodded, grinning, as Zeke repeated the three of their names, both humans unaware of his decision to use the one name which the spider femme had never been addressed as before. Suddenly, the raver approached and scooped his guardian up, gaving the Frei a gentle start. His hand squeezed hers tighter until he realized Zeke was just doing the same thing he had done, albeit in a much different fashion. These two were quite strange, he decided, but it was a type of strangeness that curled the corners of his mouth upward and caused a warmness in his half-chest. The newborn's rune thrummed pleasantly, eliciting and equally pleased rumble from his throat. Its tone tapered off, as did the soft expression on his face, when the colorful man released Anita and turned serious.
Had he or his guardian done something to make the man upset? So suddenly he had become cross, but the words that left his lips did not promise nasty things like the insults and threats thrown from the frightened spider. These were... playful? Cruz's brow tightened, concern becoming outweighed by surprise and confusion, but as soon as Zeke's stern expression lifted so did his own. There was a wink and soon the man's hand found his shoulder, bringing a toothy smile back to his face and causing the croc to try and mimic the motion, resting his opposite hand on Zeke's corresponding shoulder.
Trouble? Was his guardian Anita prone to trouble? His eyes drifted questioningly to hers and he took her crossed arms and exaggerated expression as a dismissal which only made him smile more.
"Oh come on, I don't get into that much shi-- uh, stuff," she quickly censored herself, losing her mock annoyance just as quickly as she fumbled over her words. Oh boy, she had nearly forgotten he was essentially a child mentally, she would have to keep a check on her cursing -- and she could be such a sailor at times. "But jeez, Zeke, don't you know me better than that? Of course I'm gonna keep in touch," she scoffed, chiding him playfully.
Anita laughed, shaking her head, and busied herself by attempting to pull down the long sleeves of her shirt so they covered most of her hands. Without her coat, it was gonna be a chilly ride back but better Cruz have it when she could handle the temperature. He, on the other hand, had taken to examining the bike from a distance and wondering how it worked or, more over, what it was for. She said they would use it to get 'home' but how would that work?
"Can I have another hug before you go?"
The question was asked with a bit of sheepishness and Anita couldn't help but sympathize. While shows of affection like Zeke was prone for normally made her uncomfortable to varying degrees, this was a time for celebration and it deserved hugs! Sarcastically, she started off with a rude sounding "No," before walking right back over to him and wrapping her arms around the taller man's middle. Cruz's head cocked at Anita's contradictory response but he would attempt to ask her about it later. He could feel that things were coming to a close and if this was the last hug to be given, he would certainly give it freely! The crocodile Raevan floated over, gripping the raver's shoulder as well as his guardian's so they would open their arms up and let him in against them both.
It was times like these that Anita really wished she had a camera... or a personal photographer. Her mind briefly jumped to last Summer's Lab fundraiser beach party and the photographer Leo who was a semi-frequent customer at her game store. Almost instantly, her mind did a spit take and returned her to the present, forgoing the awkward things that occurred then or the fact that the Raevan beside her's essence forced them to kiss.
Perhaps it would be best, she thought as she slipped away from the hug and to her bike, if young Cruz wasn't told about his essence's antics unless it was absolutely necessary. Truly, she couldn't see a time where it would come into play except maybe him desiring a brief description of his own parts. That would come if he asked, but for now it wasn't important. What mattered at that moment was Zeke getting back to Anya and she getting Cruz nice and warm and comfortable at home.
"Good luck, man," Anita added playfully with a smirk as she propped the bike up against the door and helped Cruz position himself in the large metal basket attached to the back above the wheel. Without legs to take up most of the space, it was actually a fairly comfortable fit for the Frei also helped by the fact he didn't have large, bulky wings to get in the way. Holding the door open with a foot she lead he and the bike out the door, the crocodile giving one last smile and wave to the man while Anita mounted the bicycle and started their journey home. The sudden, though casually slow, motion caused Cruz to clutch the edge of the basket tightly and try to push himself lower, bright eyes going wide. It would definitely be an interesting trip.
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