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 Posted: Tue Aug 07, 2007 11:04 pm
Calder strode down the street, Taki's hand in one of his, the other holding a manuscript for something or other. They were on their way to some office building, somewhere (as far as Taki knew) and Calder was going to drop off the manuscript and they were going to leave. At least, that's how it was supposed to go. But Taki knew how Calder always needed to stop and talk, and then they'd stand there for a half hour, chatting. And Taki would have nothing to do.
As Calder leaned up against the desk, though, he released Taki's hand, and the cat boy took the opportunity to meander around the office, and then slip out the door, with a hasty glance backwards and a shout of, "I'm goin' outside!"
The wave Calder offered could have meant any number of things. Taki decided it meant it was okay, and scampered off down the street, pausing as he came up on an odd little building, and there seemed to be quite a bustle around it, so he trotted into the complex, and looked around with bright eyes. Instinct, more than necessity, made him crouch down behind a bush as he heard footsteps approaching.
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Posted: Tue Aug 07, 2007 11:15 pm
Manuela had taken the opportunity of the sunny day to spend some time outside, and Estelle had followed suit, taking the parish outside for the sermon. It was about keeping up spirits when things looked grim, so it was actually fairly well suited. The church was in a rough neighborhood, comprised of old standing offices and beaten apartment buildings that could easily be classified as slums. Kids stood on the corners talking and sat along the steps, most of them children of the parish or the local methodist church. It was a crude reality, but anyone with skin lighter than a dark tan stood out. Manuela herself wasn't with any of the other children, but instead was sweeping the sidewalk in front of the church, knocking litter and old leaves down into the rain gutter.
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Posted: Tue Aug 07, 2007 11:26 pm
If anyone with lighter than tan skin stood out, Taki was a sore thumb, with his multicolored hair and almost pasty skintone (and he did spend a goodly amount of time in the sun).
The cat boy spotted Manuela through the branches of the bush he was hiding behind, and forgot about his need to pounce the broom, standing up and glancing around. "Manny! Do you live here?" he asked, something in his voice close to awe. "It's so big and... There are so many people!"
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Posted: Tue Aug 07, 2007 11:32 pm
At sight of the friend from class, Manuela turned beet red. She set the broom down against their battered chain link fence, glancing over at the place where her mother was still preaching. "Taki," she said, sounding more than a little surprised, "What are you doing all the way out here?" Since she had never mentioned her family life to him, she was a little embarassed to be found in her white wool, dressed similarly to her mother. She hadn't figured out a whole lot about his father during the class, but she had guessed enough to know that they hadn't come to this part of town for the food.
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Posted: Wed Aug 08, 2007 8:22 am
Taki's ears flattened towards his head, eyes widening at the embarrassed reaction. "I'm sorry... My papa is dropping off a manuscript. He's an editor! Part of the time, anyway," he added, and then glanced around the area once more, a new light on it with the realization that Manny lived here. "It's nice here. I like your dress," he added, with a wide smile.
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Posted: Wed Aug 08, 2007 9:51 am
"Thanks," Manny told him, eyes lighting up at the compliment. Mama Estelle was almost through her sermon, which meant that people would start to go back inside or leave. "Do you, um, want to come in?" she asked, glancing back toward the gate.
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Posted: Wed Aug 08, 2007 10:31 am
"Sure!" he chimed immediately, then glanced at the broom. "D'you need to finish? I can leave if you need to finish sweeping..." Taki stuffed his hands in his pants pockets, shrugging slightly, then an idea came upon him. "Or if you want me to help, I can help, too."
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Posted: Wed Aug 08, 2007 10:43 am
Manny shook her head, "Don't worry about it, I was just cleaning up for Mama Estelle. Come on, I'll show you the church." She headed for the building, weaving in between parishioners and their families. The building itself was only two stories, and not that big, with cracks going along the stucco and thin bars over the windows and the front door. Fetching a little key from her pocket Manuela bypassed the front door and went around into the backyard, pausing only to unlock the gate that was meant to keep the hens in. "Watch the wire," she warned Taki, while she worked at unlocking the iron gate over the back door. This one led into the church kitchen, a room that was only used during winter.
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Posted: Wed Aug 08, 2007 11:36 am
Taki nodded, and trotted after Manuela, still impressed by the place, despite its worn-down sort of look. He had to make a sharp turn to keep up with Manny, having started towards the front door, following her closely into the chicken's pen, eyes wide and taking everything in. "Wow, do you live here?"
Some of that awe was probably because he'd never been to a church, of any kind, before now, and the idea of so many grown-up people in such a small place (because school was normal and for little kids anyway), was mind-boggling to the little cat boy.
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Posted: Wed Aug 08, 2007 11:43 am
"Mmhm," Manny told him as she pulled the thick iron gate over the door open, gesturing for him to go inside, "Well Mama and I actually live upstairs." One of the roosters was making a fuss, but Manny didn't seem bothered by it. "He's just annoyed because I'm back here and not feeding him," she explained.
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Posted: Wed Aug 08, 2007 3:06 pm
Taki's ears had pressed against his head and he was preparing to hiss at it when Manny explained that it just wanted fed, and then he couldn't help but chuckle, and then went through the door that Manny was holding open.
"That's so cool, Manny... Our apartment's not nearly as exciting. You have chickens and stuff!" Taki said, voice quiet (he'd been getting some scolding about using his 'inside voice' from Calder lately) as he looked around this new room with just as much curiousity as he'd shown in the main yard.
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Posted: Wed Aug 08, 2007 3:10 pm
"Almost everyone around here has hens," she told him with a shrug, "But Mama Estelle did say I can get a dog soon." That had her a little excited. The church kitchen was fairly bare, with a few plastic bowls stacked along the counters. When something bad happened in the community, like if a bunch of people were laid off, they would open the church as a soup kitchen with the help of other families.
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Posted: Wed Aug 08, 2007 3:47 pm
"What kinna dog are you gonna get?" Taki asked, and scampered underneath one of the tables, to the other side, where his head popped up above the table once again, and he went on exploring with all the curiousity of a kitten.
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Posted: Wed Aug 08, 2007 3:54 pm
"I don't know, Mama Estelle said she was going to take me to the shelter, but then one of the ladies that lives on the corner said her dog had puppies, so maybe I'm going to get one of those," she explained, having no real concept of breeds. The lady actually lived in one of the apartment buildings, her husband was the super, and the puppies were a sort of American bulldog mix. "I want something tough though, to keep me safe," she added, starting to look through the cabinets, "Do you want some cookies?"
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Posted: Fri Oct 19, 2007 12:22 pm
"I bet you could beat someone up if you really needed to!" Taki said with blind optimism, and then his ears both pointed directly towards Manuela at the offer of cookies. "Cookies? I love cookies. Papa won't get them very often because he says that he ends up eating them instead of me, and that he'll get fat. I said that next time I'll just eat them all before he can," Taki rattled off, and found a chair, climbing up into it and perched happily on the very edge of it, awaiting the promised cookies.
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