With Keppit's Calvin, in the Main Thread
Luke turned the corner into the livingroom and flopped down on the sofa. "You know the drill young lady."
Calvin rolled her eyes and started to trot out of the room. As she walked she hollered over her little shoulder "I can go and play but I can't leave the jivvin center and I can't go upstairs." then she was gone and headed for the library. "Didn't say nuffin about the kitchen though."
Harvard was a little skeptical, but that was to be expected, really. His pale nose pressed against the windowpane of the sleek limo, green eyes squinting down the trail to the Jivvin Center. It didn't look like any hall to him, no proper headquarters. What it looked like was a dilapidated hovel about to implode.
The Afya known as Princeton was in his lap, curled against his teen's chest like it was the safest place in all the world. He welcomed the fingers that stroked absently through his coat, brushed and fussed over until it shone and was devoid of tangles. His amber eyes could barely peer out the window, and while he was curious, he was waiting for his boy to make a decision.
He told the driver to wait for him, and got out of the car. The jivvin paced dutifully at his side, until he got to the stairs, bouncing up them in short bounds and beginning to look eager. How could the young man really deny such a look. Sighing, the blonde carefully mounted the steps, doing his best not to scuff his shoes on the wooden planks. "If there's no one here, we are leaving, okay?"
The door was reluctantly creaked open, and the pampered child unconsciously crinkled his nose. "Hello?" He called into the center. Warmer air seemed to greet him from inside. It hadn't smelled, as he suspected, or mold or rot. At least that was good.
Calvin heard the call from the hallway and turned a complete circle before hauling her little body back towards the front door at full speed. She grinned as her claws caught purchase in the hall runner and her meager weight was propelled further even faster. This was a game that she played back hom with anyone who came through the front door. They'd yell 'hello' and she'd run to greet them. Depending on who it was (anyone but Rusty) she might even leap up into their arms or paws...
but here at the jivvin center there was no rug right in front of the door, and as she tried to stop before she hit the newcommers, her claws didn't catch in the same way as they did on the carpet. If the newcommers weren't paying attention she'd barrel right into at least one of them.... "Loookkkout!" She hollered as she slid across the floor at top speed.
Princeton heard her as nails across the hardwood floor and twitched his tail. His boy seemed to be in shock that the inside of the place... actually looked rather cozy. Not nearly as nice or as furnished as his parents' woodland cabin, but not as horrible as he had suspected it to be. He didn't notice the way his companion had crouched at the ready by his ankle, but when he saw the little tan creature streaking out of nowhere toward him, he screeched.
Reeling back, Harvard was almost sure he was about to meet his maker. A nasty little squirrel thing from the depths of the abandoned building! Oh! He did NOT want rabies! Throwing his arms up to his face, Harvard prepared for the worst.
While the human was suffering from a small fit of drama, the Afya bounded smoothly forward, planning to stop his fellow Ust by presenting himself as an equal and opposite force that could result in no other way -in his mind- than a delightful tumble. They had dogs back where he was from, little lap poodles and terriers that would entertain him every now and then. Actually, he was terrified of Harvard's mother's poodles, but the terriers had taught him how to play.
"Princeton? Princeton, no!"
Calvin couldn't have stopped even if she'd wanted to, but as fate would have it, she actually liked tumbles and crashes... She was hardened to it, after all since her brothers were both made mostly of metal.
She barreled forward with a laugh and collided with the other small jivvin about her size. After the crash was through she extracted herself with a giggle, not even bothering to inspect herself for injury, and looked the other two over with a smile.
"That was fun." She giggled. "You should go back out and I'll go back in and we can do it again."
Princeton simply lay there for a moment, somewhat sprawled on his back and in a happy little daze. He gave a wry smile back to the girl, his peach-colored tail thumping the floor just a couple of times at the offer. It was fun, he thought. He didn't know why he was getting all these upset vibes from his bonded!
The human reached down and quickly scooped up his Jivvin, his look skeptical upon Calvin. It had talked, better than his Princeton could, anyway. And it didn't seemed to have hurt him either. But still! "If it's all the same to you," He told her, "I think we'll have a look around."
The Afya squirmed, peering down at what he had already come to believe was now a buddy of his. "Come?"
Calvin needed no second bidding. She licked her front paw once to smooth down the fur and then trotted off down the entry way after the two of them. "The kitchen is that way, and the playroom is that way, and the hall is this way, and the library is that way, they gots lots of books and lots of stuff." She pranced along behind them, grinning up at Princeton every few moments. "They've even got cartoons on the tv. And more than one Tv. And more than one couch. And more than one room with a couch." She bounded a little circle suddenly in all her excitement. "You'll love it! I do!"
"Down, Harvey, pleeease!" Princeton entreated his bonded, clearly already corrupted with eagerness from Calvin's description. He lived in a place much bigger than this, but the novelty was that it was... novel! However, the boy still looked skeptical, stroking compulsively at the frilled hair on his Jivvin's back.
"Well, I suppose," He finally relented, because wasn't this what he had come for? Princeton was back on the ground again and the blonde poking his head into the kitchen. "Is anyone else about?"
The male Ust in the meantime sidled up to Calvin, his eyes twinkling with clear and ready excitement.
Calvin yelped her excitement and bounded an uncontrolled circle around the other jivvin, not even hearing the adult speaking in the background. After all, he wasn't really on her level when you got down to it.
She laughed and swung her tail in circles as she ran a little circle. "Ah'm Calvin! I like cereal and cheese and jumping and sofas and jumpin on sofas and stories and pirates and pirates and more pirates and jumping like a pirate." She suddenly burst out laughing and collapsed to the floor in a fit of giggles.
"'m Princeton!" He chirruped in return, turning smaller circles within her larger one, moving in the opposite spin. "What's pirates?"
Harvard sighed and continued into the kitchen to see if there were any inhabitants... or food to indicate someone lived here. In his mind he was finding dead bodies in the freezer, however, so he was a little reluctant to be settled as of yet. The car would be waiting for them, though, whenever he decided to leave.
Calvin frowed at the other Ust and shook her head. "Shame on you." Shake shake shake... "Shame shame on you. Not knowing what a pirate is." She was stalling of course, trying to think up the best way to describe a pirate. Then it came to her.
"Pirates are cool." She nodded enthusiastically. "They dance and they sail on big ships with stripey sheets for whateverthosethings are called, and they walk the plank and they say Aaaarg a lot." That was all truth. "Sometimes they get swallowed by whales."
Princeton's ears drooped a little at what sounded to him like a reprimand, offering a tentative smile that was too apologetic. Was he supposed to have known about these creatures? His boy had never mentioned anything of the like to him! Although he felt curious about the world around him, he was treated as little more than a pet where he came from. Not that he ever thought of it like that, being a pet. And even so he wouldn't be able to find it a bad thing. He was happy, until this was happening.
Cool... "They ice cubes?" He wasn't familiar with such terms in his home. The Afya's nose scrunched as he tried to think about the little chunks of ice in the water glasses taking off to sea and dancing.
Calvin giggled so hard she snorted. "No silly, they're cool because everyone likes them. If they were made of ice then they'd always be cold, and then they'd do this... " She shook herself as if she were shivvering, clattering her teeth together noisily. "and that's not dancing that's being cold." She nodded knowingly, even though she knew nothing about it really.
"What's he doing?" She pointed at Harvard with her nose.
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Name: Princeton
