._Snoofington's Raevan

[Snoofington]

Bunny Patrol
starring Anita, Tango, LuLu, & Josh

Anita runs into Josh and his Raevan charge at a pet store but, in the midst of catching up, something goes terribly wrong.

 

[Snoofington]

Kissing Booth

Anita cleared her throat, the taste of Japanese teriyaki chicken still fresh and lingering on her taste buds. Lunch break had just concluded, and she rubbed her hands on the napkin as she returned to her workstation, the game store located within the Gambino mall.

Slipping under the flip-door on the side of the counter with ease, she returned to the cash register and calling to her manager in the far corner as she reorganized the games people always removed from the shelves and then returned in the wrong order. Alphabetizing was key here, and they had to do it every opportunity they got; opening, lunch, and before closing.

”Hey, Anita, something came for you while you were at lunch,” she said after returning the last of the F games to their rightful places. Darting into the back momentarily, her boss returned with a purple and white printed box covered with pictures of lamps and a lot more tape than would be necessary.

”…I got a lamp?” Anita’s voice was filled with skepticism as she reached out, taking the box from her manager and setting it on the counter in front of her. The other female shrugged, clearly not paying it much mind, and returned to reorganization.

There was one other person in the store, just an average Joe wandering the shelves in search of some game they had likely just sold out of. There were a lot of those who would come to browse and not say a word and it seemed as though he had already been greeted so Anita paid him little mind, instead keeping her attention on the box. Confusion was setting in the more she looked at it; she hadn’t ordered a lamp, and she certainly would never address anything to be delivered to her at work, so what was going on?

Turning the box gently around in her hands revealed a note card with an incredibly striking scrawl, one she could just barely decipher; Game Lady Anita.

Oh, so it’s you, a smirk pulled at her cheeks as she set it down again and reached over to a mug on the corner of the counter; it held a vast collection of pencils, pens, bobby and safety pins as well as a small pair of scissors. She plucked the silver utensil from the container and took one blade to the proper places on the box; both ends and down the very middle, releasing all of the oddly placed tape. Its contents were… questionable; within resided a few unopened bags of marshmallows, surrounded by both broken and unbroken peanuts. At first, it seemed as if those were actually the contents, but upon removing one of the bags, more was revealed; napkins, what appeared to be pillow stuffing, cotton swabs as if a bag or two had been opened and dumped within, tissues that were torn up to act as some sort of bedding, petals from various flowers Anita had trouble identifying, and the weirdest yet appeared to be small amounts of relatively stale bread.

Past all of these strange trinkets lay a few pieces of Styrofoam, both small and large. Surely these were the prizes and the Raevan merely had trouble understanding what he was supposed to package them with to keep them safe. Digging them out, Anita set them on the counter next to the box, and then dug around a bit more to make sure there was nothing else to miss. Nothing worthy of note was found, and Anita pulled the trashcan beneath the counter toward her with a foot and emptied the rest of the box out, hitting the side of the can to be sure all of the stray peanut shell pieces and bread crumbs found their way out.

A few more people had filed in by now, greeted by her manager, but none had come up asking to buy anything yet and so Anita’s attention continued to be transfixed upon the odd gifts her only Raevan customer had sent her. Attached to the larger piece of Styrofoam was another card, similar to the one her name and address had been written on and done in the very same handwriting. The note’s message was very simple and short, but none of her questions were answered from it alone.

Game Lady Anita,

Precious things require precious care.

I trust you.

- Zul

Yes, Zul had been his name. He hadn’t returned since she sold him the many things he requested, but obviously this package meant she had pleased him in one way or another. It brought a prideful smile to her face and she refolded the note, setting it back inside the box.

Her hands trembled with excitement as she reached over to the larger of the two containers, one very blocky and the other slender and small. Peeling away the top section, her expression changed from wonder to confusion and then back again. Within resides a large orb of glass covered by a green piece of cloth with a zigzagging pattern. Attached to the top was some form of metal contraption ending in a circle with a long string. If it weren’t for the side and the string, she would have mistaken it for a lamp, indeed, or at least an accompanying light bulb but it was a giant compared to its companion.

Removing it from its squeaking, protective home, she turned it around in her hands for a time before setting it back in, covering it, and returning it to the box. Her hope was that the smaller one would provide an answer, but as she removed it from its holdings, she only found more questions. A corked vial with a piece of mistletoe inside tied by a bright red string lay inside. The beauty of this item was far more simple and easy to indentify, but it still gave no explanation as to Zul’s intent. Christmas was over, mistletoe season was gone and passed, but it seemed likely he had sent this before that time. Perhaps it was a visual metaphor of a thank you kiss? It was all the answer she could come up with for now.

Instead of returning it to the box like its companion, Anita slipped the vial of mistletoe into her back pocket, collected the foam and put that into the box, empty. The box found a nice, comfortable spot in an empty cubby beneath the counter and it was back to work. Just in time, really, as one of the people who had been meandering around finally came up to her as her gaze leveled and slipped an RPG game for one of the newer platforms onto the counter.

”Will that be all, sir?” she smiled, and so did he.

”Yes ma’am. It’s a present for one of my friends. Birthday.” It seemed people were still willing to make up some stories if they were a bit embarrassed by their purchases. She had no room to judge, though RPGs were certainly not her shtick.

As she typed in the price on the register, she chuckled, ”Well, they should be happy. That’s supposed to be a good one. That’ll be fifty-two hundred, please,” the gold was given and she added it to the register, reaching down to grab a bag. With a practiced hand, she slipped the game and receipt into the bag and held it out for the man to take. ”Thank you for your purchase,” and before she had time to let go, Anita leaned forward and touched lips with the total stranger.

For a brief second, there was silence. It had happened in a flash, neither of them really reacting at first but still both holding onto the bag. Slowly, Anita pulled her hand back, eyes locked with her customer whose expression mimicked her own until a wide smile cracked onto his face, a frown setting onto hers.

”Is this some kind of special sale? Buy a new game, get a kiss?”

Her voice was caught in her throat; the only thing coming out was stifled noises of frustration. No, there was most definitely not a sale like that, not at all! His comment reaffirmed her fear, however; she had just kissed a total stranger without even thinking about it.

The customer laughed at the fact she didn’t answer him and walked off, hugging his bagged game close to him.

Slowly, her green eyes scanned the store. Her manager and the other customers were staring at her; a few of the customers were repeats she had seen before. Anita’s face grew hot and she grabbed onto the bottom hem of her shirt, twisting it so hard her knuckles were turning white. What had just happened? He wasn’t even good looking. In fact, she noted as she moved her tongue around, he even took away the delicious Teriyaki chicken taste and replaced it with something… else.

She swallowed, trying to get it off of her taste buds.

Little time was given for her to recover as another customer stepped forward, and she found her face growing even redder as he stood there, slowly pushing a game case towards her. The corner of her mouth twitched into an awkward frown as she kept her gaze on the game, not daring to look at him. This didn’t help anything, as in a manner of seconds she found herself leaning forward once again, only this time she was met halfway.

Instantly, her hands shoved against his chest and he was pushed away. In that time, she hurriedly rang up the order, bagged it and demanded the three thousand gold. Upon him paying and leaving, she heard him mutter the word “b***h”.

”Uh… Anita…?” her manager’s voice broke through the unnatural silence, but Anita didn’t turn around.

Wouldn’t.

Couldn’t.

”…Yes?”

”What’s going on?” the tone she was taking was unpleasant, both concerned and deeply annoyed at the same time. It was an odd and disconcerting combination, causing Anita’s frustration and embarrassment to peak as her vision became blurry.

Shuddering, she brought a hand to her face, fingers freezing against the heat her cheeks were radiating, ”…I… don’t really know. It’s like I can’t control myself…?”

It made no sense, she was always a prude at heart. Of course she would make crude jokes and wouldn’t censor others if they spoke to her about their relationships, even if it got particularly detailed. She was always the one to just make a joking face and nothing more, but when it concerned her she was straight and true and only did that sort of thing when she meant it. Thus far in her nineteen years of life, that had been for an exceedingly small amount of people, limited to one with family excluded.

She had only ever kissed one person and now she was handing them out like hot cakes for no reason, and she had absolutely no control over it.

”You can’t control yourself?” her repeating the phrase made it sound all the more asinine; an excuse a child would come up with, ”Anita, it’s going to be messing with sales.”

From one corner of the store, one of the customers piped in, ”Uh, actually, I think it might help sales.”

She hadn’t noticed with her attention on the discussion and her eyes blurred with angry tears that still refused to fall, but after the first two incidents, there were a lot more people congregating in the store and outside of it.

Oh please, God, no.

Her manager seemed to be at a loss, letting out a frustrated sigh. ”Whatever. Just keep selling. If it’s helping, let it help.” Clearly the manager didn’t know her very well. This was not a business tactic.

Anita turned to face her customers-turned-adversaries; the vast majority consisted of males of various age ranges, from tween to middle aged, but a few women were tucked into the group now, making her cringe. Kissing men was one thing, that was her preference, but unwillingly kissing men plus unwillingly kissing women when she felt no attraction to them was a whole other ball game.

Taking only a few seconds to ready herself, Anita cleared her throat, rubbed her eyes to rid them of the blur and took a deep breath, ”Can I help you, sir?”

For the rest of the day, this was the pattern: a man would come up, have a game, controller or some other accessory to purchase, and he would then speak to her in a very displeasing manner. A lack of tact was prevalent, as they were now under the assumption that she was “loose”. Without any more answers than she had, they were now assured at least one kiss, and they knew it. Mostly it was just pecks, for younger people it was on the cheek instead and she was thankful for every child that came in because of it, though they weren’t buying things just to get a quick taste of her lady mouth. The women that came in specifically for the kiss were obvious, generally sporting short, boyish haircuts and they would speak to her in exactly the same manner as the men.

She had to assure them that she wasn’t bisexual, but it was clear they didn’t believe her in the slightest.

Hours passed in the same manner, and once or twice there would be a customer who decided a quick peck wasn’t enough, they wanted a make out session. They would reach over the counter when she leaned in, grab her and hold her so she could just barely squirm. This was usually met with angry shouts from the other customers, as well as the manager shoving them off and denying them service, snatching the game and putting it back on the wrack.

Anita was grateful they did that, at least.

”Thanks for buying…” her enthusiasm had long gone, as well as the surprise and frustration. She was resigned to it after hours and hours of the same thing, but now it was near closing and she didn’t care any more. Anita reached over the counter and roughly grabbed the customer’s hood, pulling him to her instead of the other way around, and planted a weak one on him, immediately releasing the man.

It was the final customer of the day and the end to her torment.

The sound of clapping caused her a start and she whipped around to look at her manager for the first time since opening Zul’s gift.

”I don’t know what that was all about, but it was great. Maybe we should do that for all of the female employees! Sales were crazy!”

”You’re welcome to do that yourself, I’m never doing this s**t again,” the remark was snide but her patience was gone. Today had been torture and it showed; no smile, a completely dead pan expression on Anita’s face. Any visible embarrassment had gone and was replaced with annoyance.

Her manager scoffed but shrugged it off, ”You’re starting a good trend. Keep it up, it’ll probably help you in other careers.”

It’ll help my foot in your a**. This was left unsaid. ”I’m gonna go home…” Anita was met with no objection. She grabbed her coat out of the cubby and pulled it on, zipping up and raising the hood. She pulled the box out, as well, and frowned at it. However nice a gesture it was on Zul’s part to give her a gift in exchange for her giving him apparently excellent service, it somehow sparked a whole torrent of unpleasantness she didn’t want to deal with ever again. Pulling out the vial of mistletoe from her back pocket, she slipped it into its Styrofoam covering and set it next to its companion.

What was left of the tape was removed carefully and used to close the box up again as she exited the mall, walking out to a bike rack. The box went under arm as she crouched down to unlock it, then placed it in the metal basket just behind the seat. She had gotten the bike second hand from someone who did deliveries with it, and the basket was installed for easy holding as they didn’t have a driver’s license at the time.

It was serving a purpose now.

What the hell is wrong with me…? There was no answer, so Anita pedaled home, not daring to look at anyone in the parking lot or anywhere else.

 

[Snoofington]

Process of Elimination

It had been a few hours since her shift ended, the sky darkening as evening slowly turned to night. Cloudy and foreboding, it mimicked how Anita felt as she sat on her bike, hood still up while staring dumbfounded at the front wheel.

What the hell was that all about?

None of it made sense. That wasn’t like her at all. It had happened so suddenly, it had to have some relation to the present Zul had given her, but how? That made even less sense until she remembered what Zul was: a Raevan. Not a human. Raevans all had special powers, didn’t they? LuLu could talk to animals, of that she was certain.

Reaching to the basket behind her, Anita pulled out the vial of mistletoe and examined it. A few green beads hugged the tip of the red string, matching the object inside of it.

Very festive.

”…You’re not supposed to be a physical metaphor or something, are you?” Anita promptly told herself to shut up and put the vial back into the box. With renewed zeal, she began to peddle to the front door and dismounted the bike, pulling it into the building. It was still working hours for most, and no one was around, which she was very thankful for. Her mother’s car was missing in the front parking lot, as well, so she would have the house to herself for a few hours to work things out.

Up the few flights of stairs and onto the third floor, she dug through her hoody pocket to retrieve her apartment key and unlocked the door, returning it to its home in her hooded sweatshirt before picking her bike up so as not to scuff the glossy wooden floor. She paused to kick the door closed before setting the bike on the carpet in her room.

A familiar white and grey lump was curled up on the sofa, honey-brown eyes watching her every move, tail wagging the closer she got to him and finally going crazy once she began to scratch his head.

”I had an adventure today, Tango. It sucked,” she spoke frankly, but the dog just watched her, large eyes fixed on hers as he panted away. ”And I have an idea for tomorrow. If mom comes home, and something weird happens, we won’t do it, though.” Anita shuddered at the thought of kissing her mom on the lips, showing the sheer disgust for the idea on her face.

Tango paused in his breathing before giving her a big, sloppy kiss of his own.

The rest of the day came and went, and Anita pulled the covers up over herself before Tango joined her on the bed. Being large enough for two people, she let the hulking Wolfhound share the opposite side. He curled up into a ball on his side, legs tucked in close to his body while his head was propped up by the pillow much like a person.

Her mother came home a bit late that night, but not before she had gone to bed. Without the mistletoe on her person, the only kiss that occurred was on the cheek, much different than those earlier in the day.

Data One was achieved: if it really was affecting her, she had to have it close by or on her for it to do so.

Light peaked in from the curtained window and Tango pulled himself up and off the bed, waking Anita. For a moment she lay there, enjoying the comfort of her bed. One glance at the clock made her nearly jump right out of the bed, until she realized what day it was.

Saturday.

Relaxing slightly, her attention shifted to the box still sitting in the basket of her bicycle. It was time to do a test and acquire Data Two.

Anita made herself some breakfast, a chocolate chip bagel with cream cheese, bantered a bit with her mother and then grabbed the mistletoe, tying the string to Tango’s bandanna for the mean time. She fetched his leash and the two were out the door.

”Alright, boy, you’re gonna help me out,” not that he cared, he was just panting hard and slapping her leg with his tail as they walked because they were going outside, ”We’re going to do two laps around the buildings, one with you holding the mistletoe, and one with me holding it.” The plan was to see if Tango suddenly felt the need to kiss everyone, or if she did based on the proximity. If she still did while Tango was holding the mistletoe, or if she didn’t kiss anyone either time, then the experiment was over and she would be at a complete loss.

The two walked in time with one another, paws and shoes hitting the ground in a rhythm. Considering the day, Anita was hopeful for lots of people to be out and about. It was almost mortifying for her to think that, should this work and she was right, that she would be kissing even more people than yesterday, but this was for science!

Occasionally people would pass by, jogging or walking their own dogs. Tango would always sway out to the end of his lead when another dog passed by, but Anita didn’t let him get close enough to lick them silly. The behavior was unusual for him, as he tended not to pay attention to other dogs while taking walks, even if they were barking at him. Ultimately, the first lap was a failure as she didn’t kiss anyone, nor did anyone approach her for a kiss, so it was on to the second phase of the experiment.

The longer they stayed out, the colder it got, and the clouds were still gathered from the previous night. Anita removed the ‘toe from her companion’s bandanna, pocketing it, and they continued on their trip once again. This time, every step she took she could feel her heart beating just a bit faster. Something in her gut had told her that the previous trial wouldn’t work, but this time she was sure it would as it mirrored what she had done the past day.

As they continued, less people were seen. Like last time, they were usually on the other side of the street or otherwise too far for either of them to really be “drawn” to one another. Still, her face grew more red and not just from the cold.

Why was she doing this? Why was she putting herself into this sort of situation? Just to figure out if a piece of mistletoe a customer had given her actually forced her to kiss other people?

Her eyes cast downward, watching her feet, You’re such an idiot… Anita would have flung more insults at herself if she hadn’t smacked right into a young man in a black peacoat walking down the way. Immediately, she felt her gut tense up and she could do nothing to stop herself as her lips found his.

”H-hey!” he yelped in surprise, hands immediately going to her shoulders. Whether the action was to hold her back or make sure she didn’t fall over, she couldn’t be sure. Their faces matched, both a deep crimson. Lucky for him, his shade of skin hid it better.

”Oh god! I’m sorry! I-I wasn’t watching where I was going!” trying to pass it off as an accidental kiss via the bump was her first train of thought, and she could only hope that he believed it.

Either way, Data Two was acquired.

 

[Snoofington]

Animal Instinct

”Oh. My. God. You’re, like, so dumb! Can’t you do anything?!” the vial of mistletoe berated the fabric covered bottle, tapping its glass with the beads on its string. Its voice was a shrill valley girl accent, filled with the notion of its own superiority.

The bottle rolled over slightly on a sea of black, scratching the top of its glass with the string attached to its end, ”Uhh… well, that’s not very nice, mistletoe. You’re not really one to talk, are you…? All you do is make people kiss. I mean, what’s that all about?” This one sounded slow and lumbering, like a gentle giant that couldn’t quite put two and two together.

A harsh scoff came from the ‘toe, ”You’re just mad because I get all the attention. I mean, who wouldn’t want a piece of me? But you don’t have anything appealing about you! You’re not a light bulb, not that you were actually meant for a lamp, and you don’t even have a way to be opened. What the hell is anyone supposed to do with you? And what’s with that God awful pattern?”

”Hey, come on, my mom knitted it for me, special…” the bottle recoiled, turning its back and rolling away from the mistletoe.

Anita sighed, shoving her face into her comforter. She lay on her bed backwards, bare feet beneath her pillows so they stayed warm. Her hands gripped the two objects and made them remain stationary, her puppets no longer having the voices or emotions she had given them.

Tango panted across from her, leaning against the door of her closet. She couldn’t tell if he was amused or not.

She had been at this for hours, starting after breakfast. Her mother was at work again, leaving she and Tango to their own devices, and with no interest in computer surfing or game playing, she found this to be the next best option.

After the experiment from yesterday, Anita had felt conflicted. On the one hand, she had gotten exactly the information she needed, and she had been right! The mistletoe was forcing her to kiss people, some how. On the other hand, what did that exactly mean and why would Zul give it to her? At the same time, she had only figured out one piece of the puzzle, as the gift had been two objects, not just the mistletoe, and she knew nothing about the bottle in her right hand.

Her thoughts had been jumbled the entire day, going back and forth between what she knew and what she didn’t. Compared to one, the other was much larger and the fact that she really knew next to nothing about this was intimidating It almost felt like she should just stay out of it all and leave the two items in a drawer to collect dust.

But, for some reason, she couldn’t bear the thought of doing that.

Unlike other presents she had gotten in years passed, she was certain the novelty of these two wouldn’t wear off. Whether they be puppets or experiments, or even something she hadn’t thought of before was irrelevant. They were special, precious, as Zul had described them, and he had trusted her enough with these precious items that he had given them to her, a stranger, over anyone else.

She had to take care of them, there was no way around it.

Letting out another sigh, she gazed up at the only member of her audience, dead pan, ”No applause?” His panting ceased momentarily, giving her a brief look of skepticism. She rolled her eyes, pulling herself up and holding the large bottle out for the dog to sniff.

His nostrils flared as he took in the scent, seeming to catch nothing interesting until he got to his feet, ears down and tail lower than she had seen it since he was young.

”…Tango?” she held it closer to him, causing him to back up until he was out the door, to which he quickly exited with his tail tucked firmly between his legs. …Oh god…

The dog’s reaction was worrying.

Animals typically had a sixth sense, something humans universally lacked; the ability to sense strange things in the world. Cats were reported to be able to sense earth quakes a few hours before they occurred, often fleeing to safety, and all kinds of animals have been recorded reacting to the paranormal over the years. If Tango, an otherwise cool and collected dog, was frantically fleeing from this thing, maybe it was… dangerous.

Maybe that was why Zul said it needed to be cared for. So it couldn’t hurt anyone.

Without a second thought, Anita stood, moved over to her side table drawer and opened it, depositing the soul bottle inside. The Essence was one thing, making her kiss people willy nilly, but if the bottle was actually dangerous then she didn’t want to look at it if she could help it. Needing precious care or not, she wasn’t going to subject her animal or anyone else in her life to something that could potentially cause harm.

Leaving the Essence on her bed, she exited her room and located Tango, lying on the floor with his ears down in front of the doors to the balcony. ”I’m sorry, buddy,” Anita bent down on her knees, stroking Tango’s head as he whined quietly in response. ”I put that bad thing away. It won’t hurt us.” At least, she hoped not.

It took a few minutes of constant attention and loving, but eventually Tango was returned to his normal, jovial self, and the two deposited themselves on the couch to watch some television. As a treat, Anita turned on the animal channel and Tango’s eyes were wide with attention at the other dogs, cats and wild animals running around the screen. When he was younger, he would watch such shows and bark and howl and try to get inside of the TV. Anita was convinced he wanted to play with them. After a few years, he decided it was okay to merely watch with avid interest, hardly anything stealing his attention from the screen when such shows were on.

Still, it wasn’t as interesting to Anita and she found herself staring into her room more than at the TV.

”…It’s not really possible, is it? …For mistletoe to do that,” she turned to Tango and after a second he looked, double taking at her as if he suddenly realized she had been speaking to him and not herself. ”I mean, it’s right there in the room, and it does that, so obviously it can, but real mistletoe… that’s not how it works at all. That’s not natural.”

He gave her a look as if he were questioning how she would know. Anita’s personal experience with either one of the subject matter, mistletoe and kisses, was extremely limited. She pouted as his attention returned to the screen. ”Mistletoe that forces you to kiss… Forceful Mistletoe…” the name sort of rolled off the tongue. Tango didn’t look back at her this time, letting her go off on whatever tangent she pleased.

Something Josh had told her at the pet store suddenly came to mind, something about LuLu, but she couldn’t quite remember. Something about what she had been when the two of them had met.

”…Sentient ink…”

Her eyes went wide.

Sentient ink and forceful mistletoe, both things that couldn’t possibly exist in nature and one of them was something that had either turned into or caused a Raevan to be born.

”…Did… Zul give me… one of his kind?” Tango yawned beside her as a commercial replaced anything interesting on the television set.

 

[Snoofington]

Reminiscing

Two years ago, and nearing three, there had been a beach party. A beach party that Anita unwittingly attended, thrown by something called Lab 305 as a fundraiser. It was at this time that her first encounters with Raevans occurred.

The very first Raevan Anita could remember was an elegant but casual looking female with long brown hair. This Raevan’s name and face eluded her, but at the time she had been accompanied by a small woman with green hair and glasses whose name also was just out of Anita’s memory. Upon meeting the woman, Anita inquired as to her Raevan charge and she mistakenly thought the beings were referred to as “Ravens”, such as the bird. It seemed to make some sense, the Raevan had wings that, if she recalled properly, were like a bird’s.

Most everything of the conversation was a blur, lost to time, but she knew what the subject matter had entailed, the more she thought about it.

What caused Raevans to be.

Over the months, Anita had encountered others, even having seen a few more at the fundraiser itself; a blue female with ribbons on her arms and a black and red Raevan whose gender she couldn’t recall. Whatever the case, she was almost certain that Raevan had taken a picture of her after she had fallen and scraped her back up.

A stray finger reached back and traced the scratches along her back that were now long gone.

Two Raevans stuck with her the most, besides LuLu; Zul and a lovely rose whose name she hadn’t gotten.

The rose Raevan she had met by coincidence when she took Tango on a picnic in a park soon after she had moved to Gambino. Her dog startled the poor Raevan, but Anita recalled her being hauntingly beautiful.

All of the Raevans were so inhumanly beautiful, so perfect and pristine, even Zul with his seeming lack of wordly knowledge and LuLu with her wild nature, there was no fault she could truly put on them. They were human, and they weren’t. They had spirit, they were all unique.

They had a soul.

The idle motion of Anita’s finger on her back stopped abruptly as she stared at the bedside table, imagining the contents within: a notebook or two, the DVD remote she rarely used, pencils and pens and a few DVDs, and the bottle she had hidden inside, away from Tango and away from her. Away from the world. The bottle that Zul had so lovingly entrusted her with.

”… combining a captured soul with certain magical substances …”

”…A soul… They have a soul!” Anita shouted, flinging herself violently from her bed spread and pulling the drawer out so hard it would have fallen out if it weren’t for the metal stoppers on the end. The contents shifted, bottle rolling towards her and she couldn’t take her eyes off of it. ”…A captured soul…” her gaze quickly shifted to the vial of mistletoe that had been keeping her company on the bed, ”And magical substances…”

It added up now. The mistletoe was the essence, something magical that couldn’t be found in nature. She recalled the woman giving an example, but exactly what it was had been lost to time. The empty bottle that had come with it, in turn, was used to house a soul, a captured soul. Considering Tango’s reaction to the bottle, there must have been something special about it that caused souls to be drawn to it and held within.

Zul had truly given her something precious, something to be cared for with the best of her ability. If her train of thought was accurate, then Zul really had given her a Raevan, trusted a Raevan to be in her care.

The smile that had been forcefully tugged at the sides of her face slowly began to subside as the idea seeped in. Slowly, but surely, it was making more sense, and all she could think of was LuLu.

Poor LuLu, with her heart in the right place, trying so hard to just do what she thought was right without fear of the consequences. LuLu, with her sentient ink essence and her rabbit soul, who she had seen be parented by a friend. The weight of what Zul had done, had trusted her with, was crushing down upon her.

Even still, there was the realization at what the green haired woman had meant by a “captured soul”. A Raevan was made from a fallacy of nature and a stolen soul. A soul taken against its owners will.

A Raevan was not a toy, it was not a pet, it was a person. A person that needed to be taught, parented, helped to grow into a good person with a nurturing hand and kind words. The only image that stuck now was Josh chastising LuLu and Anita lowered herself back onto her bed, eyes open but not seeing what she was looking at. Zul thought she could do it. Zul, a Raevan himself, believed that she should take care of one of these creatures, that she should be the one to give it life and help shape it, but the only thing she could think of now was whether she trusted herself to do it.

…Taking care of a dog and a person are completely different…

Of all of the Raevans she had met, she couldn’t remember a single one that was a baby. They all looked so grown up, so mature, but the mentality was where the cause for concern lay. When they were created… born… they couldn’t possibly be imparted with all of the necessary knowledge. They couldn’t possibly be omniscient creatures; nothing in existence was, natural or unnatural. Everything in existence had to be taught, some how or another, and carried up until it could truly exist on its own.

Anita wasn’t even at that stage yet, herself, evidenced by the fact that her own father evicted her from the house he had offered her.

She sneered, disgusted, torn away from her memories and thoughts as reality returned around her and she saw that the essence and bottle were still with her.

They were hers and hers alone.

”…I’ll do what I can for you,” she whispered, staring at the mistletoe before setting it gently beside its empty brother, ”All that I can.”

 

[Snoofington]

Confirmation

Sleep hadn’t come easy.

With all of the things she had figured out—or thought she figured out—about the situation Zul had put her in, worry was overtaking the girl like a tornado destroying a town.

All through the night, she lay with her eyes wide open, hardly blinking. Her mind retreaded thoughts of Raevans she had met, the essence and bottle sitting next to her in the drawer, Tango sleeping soundly next to her. Josh. LuLu. Zul. Alex. The rose, the eagle, the fish, every Raevan she had ever seen and the gravity of it all was too much.

Work was hell, but she remembered not to take the mistletoe with her this time, and everyone seemed disappointed, including her manager. She held back the urge to tell everyone to “go ******** themselves” and instead continued on with business as if she hadn’t a clue what they were talking about.

It was easier that way, even if they occasionally tried to kiss her. She always pushed them off and continued the order, seemingly unphased.

Still, the distractions didn’t do much and she found her thoughts returning to the same place as she stabbed at her usual lunch of teriyaki chicken with her white plastic fork. Her eyes glazed over, a few tears dropping onto the foam container with soft plips.

…I don’t think I can do it, Zul…

Tango greeted her at the door when she returned home, licking her pant leg before she kicked the door closed and walked her bike back into her bedroom. He followed her closely, hopping onto her bed and laying down with no intention of leaving, even when she instructed him to. Defeated, she closed her door and flopped next to him, laying an arm over her eyes.

For a long time, there was silence. The deep silence that would usually envelope her before sleep, when all sounds and thoughts ceased and there was only breathing to concentrate on. She couldn't tell how many minutes or hours passed, it all seemed such a short time before she couldn't take the silence any longer.

”Why does he think I can do this? He doesn’t know me. He knows nothing about me, but he trusts me with a life? A life that isn’t even born yet? A life I have to take?!” Tango moved his head, resting it on her belly. Without thinking, her free hand went to his head and began its usual routine of strokes. ”…I don’t know if I can do it… For a Raevan to be born… I don’t even know if I can do that… never mind taking care of one…”

Flashes of times she had babysat for friends of her mom whizzed by, but that wasn’t the same. Watching a kid that didn’t belong to you was one thing, parenting was another game all together. Some bleary-eyed minutes later, Anita dried her eyes and waited for her nose to stop whistling every time she breathed before pulling her cell phone from her pocket. She needed definite answers, not just speculation, and she needed them now.

A shaking hand navigated its way through the contacts list and highlighted Josh’s name. The last time she called it had been almost a year ago, if not longer. One failed plan for a game day after they had exchanged numbers in that elevator.

That damn elevator.

Ringing ceased all thought, her heart pounding so hard it almost hurt. It ended, the voicemail message giving her a start and she sighed just before it began recording, collecting herself. ”…It’s Anita. I got something in the mail, thought you might be able to help me understand. If you lost my number, it’s ***-***-****. Call me back… please.” The usual timber in her voice was gone, given way to an unsure monotone that would probably worry the boy, but there wasn’t much she could do about it now other then wait for a response and hope he hadn't changed numbers.

She closed the phone and set it on the table, attention turning to Tango who had moved to his side, still laying his face against her abdomen.

”…Do you think I can do it?”

His tail gave a few limp wags.

Anita smiled.

 

[Snoofington]

Christmas is Over!
starring Anita & Josh

After a bit of phone tag, Anita and Josh plan a meeting so Josh can explain how the Essence and Soul Bottle work.

------

The jingle of the keys as Anita set them down on her bedside table was comforting, meaning that her excursion out as finished and she had succeeded. Flopping onto her bed, Tango leaped up beside her and curled into a ball, large brown eyes staring at her in concern. For a while, she stared back, neither of them looking away, but she moved and cuddled up, resting her forehead on his large, furry one.

"You think I can do it, right? Josh seems to..." the lighter tone of her voice caused his tail to wag in excess, slapping against the sheet as his ears went down and he couldn't contain his tongue as it lapped at her cheeks, chin and neck. Anita laughed, rolling over to avoid the dog's tongue that had obviously gotten a taste of her already eaten donut. It took some time to calm him, but Tango snuggled up and resting his head and front legs in her lap while Anita reclined and flipped through various channels. She stopped on a nature show, detailing various things across the planet. A smile perked up on her face; perhaps she could study up on things that weren't animals and get some ideas this way. Attempting not to rouse the dog, Anita leaned over and dug out a notebook and a pencil, preparing to take notes.

If she was going to do this, she was going to do this right and get as much knowledge as she could. Keeping a keen ear out for anything interesting that wasn't constituted as alive, Anita scribbled down various quick notes such as the Raevan souls Josh had listed, the Essences she knew of, and all of the answers to the questions she had asked that day. The corny 'Because knowledge is power!' line drifted through her mind and she cracked a grin.

 

[Snoofington]

There's Not Just 'Gators in the Sewer

The question was no longer if she could, but how.

She was right about it all: the essence and the bottle, the soul, everything. Now it was only a matter of what she could possibly combine with mistletoe that would make a Raevan.

Of the ones she recalled, Anita could find no patterns; LuLu was comprised of ink and a rabbit, while Zul seemed to be something heat oriented and… otherwordly. A proper term was lost to her. The other one she remembered the most seemed to be made from a rose, quite obviously, but also something dark… not quite sinister, but intimidating all the same. It was hard to discern if the rose was the essence or the soul, however.

What could she possibly pair with mistletoe?

Compared to the Raevans themselves, mistletoe that forces one to kiss seemed so bland, especially in comparison to the one she knew for sure, sentient ink. Still, there were some ideas of what not to do that were creeping up already. A human soul would be absolutely out of the question; that would be outright murder. An animal was wary on Anita’s list, as well--her eyes drifted over to Tango.

Definitely not an animal.

In her mind, that left nearly every option gone. Sighing, she turned and looked over the side of the couch, watching her mother watering a potted plant, a fern.

Plants were alive, they needed food, water, sun, care, or eventually they would die. That, then, meant they might have souls. If the dark rose Raevan had a rose for a soul, then that would be proof enough.

Or you’re loony.

She didn’t care. If it was an alternative to murder, then she would see to it that whatever Raevan came from this marriage of two plants would be completely murder-free.

”I’m gonna take a walk out to the docks to get some air,” she announced, setting the soul bottle down on the coffee table as she gathered the proper garments for a trip out into the Winter chill.

Minerva turned with a look of surprise as she noticed Tango’s leash wasn’t added to the equation, ”Not taking your dog?”

”Nope!” she huffed, rushing back to the table and grabbing the bottle, ”Just me!” and she was out the door, leaving Tango and Minerva to stare at each other for a few brief seconds before returning to what they were doing.

Anita’s feet dangled over the cold water on the wooden dock, the soul bottle resting on her legs, cold fingers holding the freezing glass. Every time she breathed, it fogged up slightly, but it quickly dissipated.

My knowledge of plants is horrendous… Within the last half hour of sitting in the same position, the only things that had come to mind for a soul were an evergreen tree, making a really boring Christmas motif for the poor Raevan, or a foxglove which were more interesting but nowhere in the area. After several more minutes of wracking her brain, Anita came to the final conclusion; plants sucked.

Maybe it worked for the rose, but it wasn’t going to work for the mistletoe, stubborn as it was to have everything its way.

”What do you want?” she asked the bottle, who unsurprisingly offered no response.

With the cold wind and silence, it wasn’t hard for Anita’s mind to wander towards silly things; vague scenarios that played out as if she were some type of adventurer, essence and bottle tied to a belt around her waist and she would whip out the bottle to capture wandering spirits instead of murdering living humans and animals or whatever else souls could be taken from.

More and more she was liking the idea and her mind went to what sort of ghosts she could get and if that might be considered “cheating” some how. A silly notion, but one she took very seriously. Humans were still off limits, but if she could have a soul, any soul, it would be the ghost of another canine; a friend and companion for Tango, someone who could simultaneously guard the house and protect the family but also properly communicate its wants and needs outside of whines and barks.

Once more, her thoughts found their way to LuLu, sweet LuLu, and her animal soul. Her mind unfurled a vivid scenario of LuLu and this imaginary canine Raevan getting along better than she and Tango did; play fighting like animals but also rough housing like humans. Occasionally the dog-Raevan would growl from excitement, and it sounded so real.

It almost felt like her Raevan was already born.

Pain.

Searing pain.

Liquid.

Blood? Water?

Her body curled up on the soft dirt, the blinding pain reverberating through her entire being. On her front and back she could feel blood, could just barely see it trickling down near one of her eyes. As she slowly opened them, she heard the growling again, louder than before, and her breath caught in her throat.

Standing level with her fallen form was a massive reptile, wide jaws with dozens of teeth and in its gigantic maw lay the delicate soul bottle.

No.

Without warning, the hulking crocodile whipped itself around and began running back down the dock, slipping into the cold water.

No!

No matter how much her mind protested, Anita couldn’t move. The blood dripped into her eye and her vision was lost. Adrenaline pumping, the pain was dulled enough for her to vaguely understand where she had gotten hit. It had attacked her, apparently with its size rather than its jaws, and flung her into a nearby palm tree which she smacked her back against. The blood from her head was likely an accidental scrape against one of the monster’s teeth. Its teeth alone were bigger than any crocodile’s she had seen on TV or at the zoo; this creature was larger than life, almost like it was prehistoric.

No, it couldn’t have been that big.

Opening one eye, she could see, but the other was held tightly shut as it stung from the blood that had managed to seep into it. She could still hear it swim, its tail cutting through the water with practiced ease.

With every inch of her shaking, Anita barely managed to sit against the palm tree she had been knocked back against and shuddered, breath coming out in shaky gasps. Her good eye tried to follow the sounds of the croc sloshing about in the water. It moved in and out from under the docks, swimming to and fro as if performing a dance of victory.

Why?

Why had it taken the soul bottle?

When she first got hit, her arms instinctively wrapped around where it had been, but the crocodile was too fast. She held only herself close and the crocodile stole it.

It stole the most precious gift anyone had given her.

Hands shaking from a mix of fear, wind chill and anger, Anita pulled her phone out, dropped it, and brought it up to her face. Clumsily, she managed to dial “0” after trying several times.

”…Connect me to Animal Control…” her voice shook, weak and breathy as she still recovered from having the wind knocked out of her. The receptionist asked her to hold for a moment, and there was a clicking sound before silence. Anita exhaled as pain seared up, but she didn’t let her line of sight drift too far from the crocodile. Occasionally it would lift its head above the water, show her the bottle and stare her right in the eye.

Another click and there was a male voice, ”This is Animal Control, what is the state of your emergency?”

”…There’s a crocodile… in the Gambino Port.” as she spoke, she watched the croc submerge, as if to hide from the prying eyes of her phone.

”Has anyone been injured?”

”It attacked me, but… not bad…”

”Are you in a populated area?”

The croc reemerged above the water, splashing back onto the dock. It growled, staring Anita down, and she felt her stomach twist into a thousand knots. All she could do was breath hard into the phone until it turned, holding the bottle carefully, and began making its way to land.

”Ma’am? Are you in a populated area?”

”…It’s heading for the apartments…”

 

[Snoofington]

To Catch a Predator

The man’s directions were still lingering in her mind.

He had told her to go somewhere safe, alert the apartments and make sure none of the people left the building, and for her to sit tight until they arrived. She had just finished following one of those orders as she returned her phone to her pocket but the other two were a bit difficult.

Anita called her mom, asking her to tell everyone inside not to leave the building and that she had called Animal Control to take care of the problem. They were supposed to arrive soon. Her mother was good about keeping emotions and tensions down in times of crisis, so she trusted her with this task more than anyone else she knew. It was part of her job description, after all.

Every time she blinked she could see the large reptile with her precious bottle in its jaws. If it crunched just hard enough, with the jaw closing power crocodiles and alligators both had, then it could easily shatter. It didn’t seem like it was trying to destroy the bottle, though, but rather almost exuded a pleased aura while it had it.

Anita told herself to shut up and concentrated on pulling herself to her feet, using the tree as leverage. Since the phone calls, she had completely lost track of the croc but didn’t hear or see any unusual movement in the water—it was still on land, and likely still heading for the building. Pulling her jacket sleeve over her hand, she rubbed the blood away from her eye as best she could and got what was in it out. Despite the slight pink tint and blur, she now had both eyes at her disposal again, as well as a new found determination.

She had to get that bottle back, undamaged, and soon.

But how?

Her body didn’t need to think things over, it already started moving. Slow at first, aching from every inch of her front and back, head and heart pounding so hard it was difficult to concentrate on anything other than staying upright. The more she moved, the easier it got. The pain wouldn’t dull any more than it already had from her building adrenaline, but as she got used to the pain she was able to work through it; keep moving even though it felt like sharp spikes were jabbed into her joints, chest and shoulder blades.

Muscle memory, more than anything, navigated her to the parking lot and she finally slowed down to a near stop. The crocodile wasn’t anywhere to be seen at the front of her building, though the possibility of it having made its way to the opposite one was high. Even still, it may have been too late. Perhaps it retreated even further back, trying to get away from civilization and had fled past any hope of being caught.

No. The bottle couldn’t be gone; it had to still be here.

Anita’s boots scuffed against the pavement, the bottoms of her jeans dragging and getting caught beneath her soles as well as on some patches of ice. Occasionally she would falter, causing her to stop and get her footing before continuing until she was finally in the grass and all there was were small patches of snow and firm earth. The other side of the building was long and mostly barren, having a large green dumpster as well as several large trash cans scattered around. No windows on this side, only a long gutter that lead all the way up to the roof just above her floor.

Catching her breath, she rested a hand on the side of the building, fingertips that peaked through the half-fingered gloves she wore as cold as ice, barely even registering the texture of the exterior. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary here, so she began walking along the perimeter, dragging her hand along the wall until the dumpster where she let it fall limply.

A loud crashing sound erupted from its other side, sending the trash cans rolling out into the field, contents spewing in a whirlwind of garbage. Accompanying the terrifying and disgusting symphony was a hissing snarl, a growl all too familiar. It peaked out at her, bottle not in its mouth but jaws wide open, ready to snap at the slightest provocation. The sounds it made seemed to be goading Anita on, telling her to “try and take it”.

Without a second thought, Anita grabbed onto the edge of the dumpster and pulled herself up, black plastic top denting from the sudden addition of one hundred and thirty pounds. In response, the crocodile shuffled forward, snapping its jaws but getting nothing in them, only causing it to growl more ferociously.

Once again, she found herself frozen stiff. Only her eyes moved as they followed the beast back over to the other side, watching it take something up into its mouth and run off, turning the corner at the opposite side of the building. From there, she could just barely make out the familiar cloth tied to it, that green zigzag pattern.

That b*****d is playing Keep Away…

With its direction, it would meet her right at the front doors if she got down off of the dumpster to try to get inside now. She was such an idiot for not having done so sooner. The trembling returned and her eyes burned with tears of anger, frustration, disappointment, worry, guilt. So many things flying through her mind; one hand reached up and tugged at her hair while the other balled into a fist and slammed against the gutter, sending a noisy vibration through it. Anita gasped, having meant to hit the wall, and her wet eyes looked up.

There were stairs to and from the roof. The building was designed so that people could easily stargaze, with nothing to obstruct the view on the roof except for a single doorway that lead to the stairwell.

You’re insane… she alerted herself, as if she didn’t know already.

Shaking, sniffling, Anita got to her feet and carefully made her way to the gutter. It was large and wide and when she put her hands around it, the foundation seemed quite thick. Metal prongs held it in place, only being a foot or so apart vertically. Taking a deep breath, Anita removed her gloves, pocketed them, and wrapped her hands around the gutter tightly while propping one foot up as best she could on one of the prongs. Hesitating for just a moment to keep her footing, she lifted the other off the dumpster to test her weight.

The gutter shifted noisily, scraping against some of the looser prongs, but ultimately stayed in place. She sighed, a mix of relief and fright, and took another deep breath before attempting to climb higher. The process was slow, Anita taking several seconds each climb to make sure her feet were in exactly the right place before continuing. There was nothing beneath her to break her fall, and she kept her eyes far from the ground, concentrating only on what was directly in front and above her.

Every motion upward was relieving, every inch higher getting her closer to her goal. The higher she climbed, the more she trembled. When it got too bad, she would take pause to calm herself, reassure herself that she was almost there. Her breathing shifted as her hands gripped the edge of the building, one at a time. As her weight shifted to her upper body instead of her lower, she let out pained gasps. Her chest scrapped up against the building until she managed to get her torso over the side, then slowly one leg was put over the edge. A final shout told the world of her victory and she rolled onto the roof, lying on her back as her hyperventilation slowly subsided, giving way to tears once again.

”Get up…” she ordered, eyes closed and throat dry, body sprawled out and freezing. A chilled wind blew by, causing her to whimper loudly but giving her that extra boost she needed to stand. She couldn’t stop now, she had to get inside and find a way to get the bottle back.

She was running out of time. If catching a rabbit's soul had taken Josh half an hour, there was no telling how much time was left for the crocodile.

Her trip down the stairs was slow and arduous. She gripped the railing tightly, limping down each individual stair with a weak hop, shivering and huffing. All sorts of ideas were buzzing through her mind, most of them making very little sense but all consisting of ways to either trap or incapacitate the crocodile until the AC unit arrived. If she didn’t get it back herself, something terrible might happen to it. None of them would know what it was, how important or fragile.

Two main ideas that seemed to have some vague sanity in them were either baiting the crocodile away from the bottle or sneaking up on it to hold its mouth shut with electrical tape. If days of watching animal shows with Tango had taught her anything, it was that crocodiles jaw opening power was far weaker than their closing power, and they were nearly rendered helpless if their jaws were taped shut. The same went for gators.

Exiting the stairwell revealed completely deserted hallways. It was almost surreal; during the day, especially weekends, there were always at least one or two kids playing with their toys in the hall, people walking back and forth between the elevator and their rooms, any sort of activity but it was suddenly like the building had been abandoned. It was eerie and Anita didn’t like it one bit.

Her door creaked open as she pulled herself inside, coughing from the change of cold air to warm.

”Anita!” her mother’s voice rang out as she and Tango ran to her, arms immediately getting wrapped around her as she was pulled into a tight hug. Almost immediately, she was held out again and hands were being rubbed all over her face, getting the blood from her scratch everywhere, ”What happened?! Are you okay!?”

”I’m fine, I fell,” she dodged out of her mother’s grasp and immediately made her way to the closet, crouching down and sifting through bags and boxes. ”Do we have any electrical tape?”

Dumbfounded, Minerva didn’t immediately respond but stared at her daughter in disbelief, ”…Electrical… what do you want with that?”

Anita huffed, shoulders slumping forward before she got to her feet and entered the kitchen, ”It stole something important…”

The very idea sounded completely ridiculous.

A wild animal, likely escaped from the zoo or some reserve, had opted not to make a meal out of Anita but instead steal something completely inorganic and useless to the animal, and merely seemed to be playing with it.

Her mother made a quiet sound of confusion, but was unable to provide a proper response.

”Don’t ask, I just – I need to get it back before it gets damaged or… broken…” her hands clutched a cold bag of left over sliced ham, ready to pull it free from the cold confines of the refrigerator when a wailing siren cut through the air. Screeching tires accompanied it, and Anita cursed under her breath, slamming the door shut.

Plan demolished.

She would have to trust the Animal Control unit with her bottle after all.

 

[Snoofington]

An Old Man’s Resignation

The wailing siren cut through the chilled silence outside, alerting all who were not privy to an emergency situation. Slush kicked up beneath the tires as the Animal Control unit’s vehicle came to a stop within the apartment’s parking lot and all sound ceased with the engine.

Within the apartment room, Anita peeked out from behind the curtain, watching a few uniformed men hop out of the front and back of the car, the ones in back keeping the large doors open and bringing out various pieces of equipment. Another pulled out a phone and placed it to his ear. Just a second later, her pocket began to vibrate and she pulled the device free.

”Hello?”

The responding voice was the same one who had spoken to her previously; ”Hello, is this the caller of the emergency?”

”Yes, this is Anita Bishop.”

As he spoke, he rounded the side of the truck and watched the other men work, ”Hi, Ms. Bishop. Could you tell me where you last saw the animal?”

Clearing her throat, she opened the window and leaned out of it enough to get a clear view of the entire front of the building, ”Yes, if you turn around to your left, he was at the back of the building on that side.” The man almost seemed surprised when he looked up and saw her, offering an acknowledging wave which she returned. ”I don’t know how you work, but try to be careful. He took something of mine that’s very important…”

”Took something?” he repeated, pausing for a moment, ”Alright, we’ll keep a look out and try to retrieve anything. Depending, it may have mistaken it for something else and that’s why it took it. When we apprehend the crocodile, we’ll give you another call, Ms. Bishop.”

”Okay, thank you… Good luck,” she sighed, hanging up the phone and closing the window back up, shivering from the icy air that had blown in. The warmth of the apartment really was comforting.

…

Cold air, cold water; neither were a good combination. He had to stay as close to the surface as possible without getting spotted so he could keep even slightly warm. Damn weather. From his current position at the center of the docks, he could see the top of the large square vehicle and watch the men pooling out of it and begin preparing for their hunt.

He was wanted, branded a criminal, all because he was trying to find a reasonable way out.

All of what the old man had taught him and his natural instincts would have to be employed until he was absolutely ready. Getting captured and euthanized was not proper; it was weak and a loss on his part. If he was going to depart this world, it would be on his terms. Just like the old man.

The earliest memory he had of the bearded geezer was when he first hatched from his egg; there was a blinding light at first, but it all dimmed down and he saw the person who would be the strongest influence in his life: his superior officer, his comrade, his father. Many times he had heard the old man gloat about him, using the name he had christen him. Time had long since washed those lesser memories away. Names weren’t important, but presences and actions were, those were the things that defined a creature’s very existence.

”He’ll be the greatest soldier! One not ruled by war!”

So, the old man was crazy. His useless family always told him so, spoke of him in horrible terms when he wasn’t around and couldn’t stand up for himself. A little crazy never hurt anyone, the old coot meant well and just wanted to relive his war stories while he was so close to death.

Who could fault him?

Years passed and the crocodile grew, becoming large but learning all of his natural hunting skills through various situations set up by his comrade. He wouldn’t grow up to be a helpless lap croc, but one that could take care of himself fully well. He could hunt when he needed to, scavenge if necessary, and his jaws were so thick they could snap a leg in half. So much pride was on him from the old codger but time is cruel. While he could take perfectly good care of himself, his superior was requiring the begrudged assistance of his family. Always he would shun them, but they insisted and shortly after taking him away, he was gone.

They began taking his things. The house, the furniture, all of his war relics, everything he had earned and was his. The crocodile was included. They taped his mouth shut, put him into a dog crate and moved him to an area with a lot of water.

”We can’t take care of him. Besides, he was trained well enough; he can survive on his own now.”

This was the justification as they opened the crate, quickly peeled the tape away and dumped his scaly body into the water. Retaliation was imminent; he leaped back onto dry land and snarled, wide mouthed and ready to snap, scaring the old man’s “family” away. There would be no retribution, but he had to have them screaming in terror to be even mildly satiated. It was all he could do to make it up to the old man.

Peeking up, his eyes remaining covered by the protective yellow film until they adjusted, he kept a close watch on the humans from the truck. They had moved out, surrounding the perimeter of the building. He had long since been in the water after encountering that girl a second time. Innocent bystander as she was, she had exactly what he needed—at least this was what he felt.

The glass and metal bottle between his jaws was held with such care, not a crack or scrap on it, even when he wanted so badly to gnash his teeth and growl. This bottle he had taken was his salvation and deliverance; it was everything he could have ever hoped for. There would be no glorious death in battle, no war, but there would be a way for him to rejoin his old man and this bottle was the means to do it.

”There!” one of the men overhead spotted him, causing the others to rush around the docks.

Causing a terrible splash, he collided back with the water and swam deep, keeping a fast pace so he didn’t cool down anymore than he already was. His body wasn’t moving as fast as it should have, lethargy coming down on him like a ton of bricks, but he kept on. The beach was met and he ascended, running across its cool sands towards the building once again. Behind him came the shouts of the men, afraid he would approach the structure too closely and some how break in.

He had no intention of endangering the population, he just wanted to be left alone with the damn bottle long enough…

Just long enough…

His scaly feet slowed at the icy parking lot, pace steadily declining. The humans hadn’t quite caught up with him yet, but he belly flattened against the near frozen asphalt and he had to half drag himself further. His tail smacked against the ground, sending flecks of snow and water droplets everywhere. Breathing was becoming a laborious task, so quiet and shallow, as though his airway was restricting while his heart continued pumping a mile a minute, only getting more desperate as the seconds ticked on.

Yellow eyes widened, the cat-like slit becoming a thin line, and his body ceased. The cold air encompassed him and while the last few huffs of breath escaped his lungs, a green smoke began to seep into the glass bottle from the metal handle, pouring in like it was being injected. In time, his body deflated with the last of his breath and the wide open reptilian eyes glazed over.

He had succeeded.

…

One of the front apartment doors opened and Anita stepped out, arms crossed while she rubbed them for warmth. The head of the unit had called her again, saying it was safe and that they weren’t sure if the item the crocodile had was hers but she could take a look to confirm it.

Two of the men were bent over something in the parking lot and as she got closer, she could make out the wide tail of the animal. Shuddering, she slowly walked to the other side of them and was given a start, her body clenching up tight at the sight of the crocodile lying completely still with its open eyes locked on her.

The surprise of seeing her attacker nearly drew all attention away from the bottle within its jaws, but as she closed the distance, it was plain to see.

It was filled.

”Was that the thing he took from you?”

Anita nearly shot out of her skin, whipping her head around wildly to see the man she had been speaking to. He was tall, fairly tanned and with a wide build and dark hair. For a moment she sputtered but managed to regain her composure, ”Yes. Could I… Is it okay to take it?”

He scratched the back of his head, gaze drifting to the best, ”Well, he’s dead. I imagine you’re welcomed to. It looks like the cold was just too much for him, the old geezer.”

Swallowing hard, Anita looked back over. Dead, soul taken. Sighing, she approached and knelt down in front of its mouth, hands waiting hesitantly in front of its jaws. One of the other unit members reached over, preparing to open its mouth for her but she raised a hand to stop them. For a moment, all she could do was stare, but she placed a hand on its long face and gaze it a slow, gentle stroke.

”I’m sorry this happened…” she whispered, likely confusing the men around her, but she got a good grip on the bottle in its mouth and used the other to lift up its jaw before carefully closing it until its teeth clicked together.

A crocodile soul, mistletoe that forces you to kiss.

Fate certainly had a sense of humor.

 

[Snoofington]

Life Moves On

…Soon…

Green eyes opened to the pitch black room, curtains blowing slightly at the window left ajar. To her right, a furry lump was rested across her pillow. When her eyes adjusted, she noted the familiar canine’s head, chin rested against the pillow, a paw atop and beneath it and the rest of his body covered with the comforter as he breathed slowly. Mumbling in dismissal of her awakening, Anita rolled to her left and adjusted her pillow, keeping an arm beneath it for support.

…Soon…

Frowning, she opened her eyes once more and allowed them to adjust again, gazing around the area. A lot of dark shadows, her grey-blue walls blank save for the occasional attempt at artistry. In the corner adjacent with her bed was the cabinet she used for clothes and atop it her television set, wires hanging down from the back to a single open drawer that housed a game system. The controller was peeked out as though it were saying ‘hello’, one side resting on the drawer. Beside that was the closed walk-in closet and then her also closed bedroom door.

Nothing was out of the ordinary, causing Anita to frown more. Breathing deep, she reached up and closed the window, snuggling back under her covers and curling up so that only her head was poked out of the top.

…See you…

Half a curse left her lips as she gave a start, shooting up to a sitting position and startling Tango awake. He grumbled, doing the same as her and pulling himself over until he pressed a paw against her leg, ears swiveling to and fro to judge any foreign sound or danger. After several minutes of nothing, Anita sighed and relaxed, the two looking at each other before she scratched him behind his ears and he flopped back down.

Every so often, it would be a low growl sound, accompanied by those words. It seemed, however, that Tango wasn’t hearing it. Is it in my head? Feeling a little crazy, Anita turned herself and mimicked Tango, flopping onto her front. One arm reached up and grabbed the top of the mattress while the other pulled out the drawer from her beside table. Right where she left it, safe and sound, was the soul bottle filled with its green vaporous swirl. There was a very dim natural light to it, making it look as though it were just barely glowing but it added no light to the room or table.

”You doing okay in there?” she whispered, adjusting herself as she scooped it up with one hand and rolled over, resting the bottle on her belly. The smoky contents pooled lazily for a moment, looking as though they would collect at the bottom before some unseen, unheard and unfelt force pushed them up once more to begin their twirling anew. It was almost hypnotizing to watch, similar to the simple pleasures of staring at a lava lamp but amplified to the nth degree.

Now that the bottle was filled, Tango didn’t seem as frightened of it, not moving away or running off when it was brought out in his presence, but his ears always went down and he took a submissive posture. Perhaps he could sense the crocodile within.

For a long while, she sat and watched the smoke float around, chasing itself in circles, blossoming into vague shapes for a split second, it never quite did the same thing twice. The minutes ticked by quickly as Anita found her eyes glazing over; she was beginning to drift off from the silent lullaby of crocodile smoke. As her eyes closed, the smoke riled itself, shifting violently as though a tornado had appeared within the bottle.

…I will…

Once more she jostled awake, half on the cusp of sleep but she had been aroused enough to put two and two together. Just as the words left her mind, the smoke began to calm again, revert back to its slumbering drift. ”You’re doing that…” she bit her lip, keeping her voice to a soft whisper. Anita glanced at Tango; his eyes were open, staring at her and the bottle but they slowly began to close again as he prepared himself for more sleep.

”…It can’t be fun, cooped up in there…” Anita sat up and leaned forward resting her forehead against the bottle to stare inside, a finger idly stroking the cold glass, ”I’ll show you to mom in the morning. I’ll get you ready to be born…”

Time between then and the morning was vague. Anita could barely remember a thing about it, but when she awoke he bottle was cradled in her arms and Tango had switched to sleeping on his back, paws in the air with his head still on the pillow. All of the covers had been kicked off but he provided her enough warmth for the night.

A yawn cut through the living room as she pulled her door open, Tango trotting out in front of her toward the kitchen. Her mother was there, taking the day off from a head and throat cold, but she was surprisingly jovial. Even all stuffed up as she was, she cooed at Tango when setting down his full bowl of food, graced with a few clumps of chicken and cheese.

”Hey, little girl. I made some eggs,” she sniffled while bringing her own plate to the table and taking a seat, blanket wrapped around her shoulders.

Anita laughed, half dazed, and moved to the kitchen to grab herself a bowl. ”Not contagious, are you?” without waiting for a reply, she scooped in some and got the butter from the fridge, putting in a large glob.

Her mother shook her head while chewing, ”No, no, I’m two days past that point. Actually, I was going to give you some money today so you could go out somewhere. Late birthday present.”

The girl froze stiff, mouth agape. She had forgotten about her birthday? Taking a few seconds, she calculated the date. Yes, she had missed her birthday. ”…I completely forgot,” she mumbled, dumbfounded, and sat across from her mother. ”Ah, actually… I have a better idea than you giving me money. I mean… material things I’m pretty good on right now,” Tango trotted over and rested his head on her leg, waiting for her to pet him before retreating beneath the table to warm their feet.

Minerva made an interested noise, her own green eyes looking up from her plate. ”Ah… well, it’s kind of like…” why were words always so hard to find when you were attempting to explain things like this? ”I have a couple of these friends that I met awhile ago, and they’re sort of like care takers? Do you remember me telling you about that beach fundraiser a couple years ago?”

”Oh, yeah, the one being held by some company…”

”Lab 305,” she nodded, taking a bite of her eggs so they wouldn’t get cold mid-conversation.

”Yeah, yeah! I’ve seen the building once or twice. Nice looking place, very floral.” Her mother laughed, scooping up another heaping spoonful of scrambled eggs.

Anta chuckled, but continued, ”Well, as it’s a laboratory, it stands to reason they’re doing some experiments. Ah… and, that whole crocodile incident…” she trailed off, eyes locking on her room. Showing would probably make things easier. Holding up a finger asking for her mother to wait a moment, Anita retreated to her room and pulled the bottle from the table, carrying it carefully into the dining area. She moved her bowl aside, giving room to the bottle as she set it on the table. ”You know how they said that the crocodile died from the cold?”

Her mother’s eyes stared at the bottle and its green contents, her chewing slowed. ”…Anita, what is that?”

Here it was… ”This is the crocodile. It didn’t die from the cold, it… its soul… was sucked into this.”

”Honey, are you feeling alright? Where did you get that thing?”

”I’m serious. Mom, this is the crocodile’s soul. What they make at the Lab, they’re called Raevans. They’re… they’re like people, but… they’re not. They’re very different; they have wings and their bodies aren’t complete—they have a torso and a ribbon.”

”What are you talking about, now, honestly? I mean, the zombies and the vampires around here are weird enough—“

”One of the Raevans gave this bottle to me, as well as an Essence… it’s-it’s something that can’t really exist in nature, like ink that writes on its own. Mom, one of the Raevans wants me to take care of another Raevan.”

Her mother sighed, placing her spoon onto the plate and sitting up straight, ”So. This-this is what you want for your birthday? You want to take care of one of these things? Honey, I don’t even know what one looks like!”

”No. What I want for my birthday is for you to say, in all honesty, that you think I am capable of taking care of one.”

The two of them paused, eyes locked, both expressions tense. For ages, it seemed to drag on, with them both arguing a silent battle and there was no clear winner.

Eventually, after nearly five minutes, she spoke again, ”If you don’t think I can do it, say so. I don’t want that present unless you think I can do it, one hundred percent.”

”Wh-what do they eat?”

”I’ll find out.”

”Are they dangerous?”

”Oh, that’s not fair. Tango could be ‘dangerous’ if he was raised differently,” she leaned back and pointed beneath the table, her mother doing the same to look. Tango rolled over onto his back, paws in the air, waiting for a belly rub, tongue lolling across one side of his face.

A deep sigh came from Minerva, her eyes not leaving Tango. ”You will take care of it? You’ll feed it, clothe it, shelter it, and teach it. Everything a parent would do?”

”Yes,” it was hard for her to not add on ‘without fail’ but that would be an exceedingly presumptuous statement. Still, it was how she felt right then, completely empowered.

Another long pause came.

”Then happy birthday, Anita; I believe you can take care of one of these… Raevans.” Before Anita’s wide smile grew ear to ear, she raised her finger and leaned forward, ”But get me as much information as you can! Write everything down so I know what to expect!”

Tango and Minerva both jumped out of their skin as Anita rocketed out of her chair, emitting a loud “whoop”ing sound and shuffled to the other side of the table, giving her mother a tight hug, coupled with a peck on the cheek. ”Don’t worry. I didn’t get hurt by the croc, I’m sure a kissing crocodile Raevan won’t be too bad,” and she slide on her socked feet across the hard wood floor back to her room, continuing to “whoop” and holler.

Minerva laughed quietly to herself which slowly turned into a near silent groan, watching her daughter go, ”A kissing crocodile…” her eyes became as large as saucers, ”A WHAT?!

 

[Snoofington]

Crocodile Kisses
starring Anita & Zeke

Finding Lab 305 was easier than Anita thought and she arrives to drop off her Essence and Soul Bottle.

------

Keeping a strong, swift gait as she crossed the street, Anita couldn't wipe that grin off her face. It had been plastered on since Zeke took her into a firm hug before letting her leave. It seemed, in that short time barely equaling a half hour, the two had bonded on a very deep level. While they still knew next to nothing about each other in regards to their history, habits, or small talk things, emotionally the two were very connected.

Seeing the not-quite half formed Frei ribboning inside of the tank's liquid, Anita had been captivated from the first second and all she could do was imagine herself in Zeke's shoes, walking around the Lab and doing idle tasks while every day the Raevan who would be under his care was slowly growing, bit by bit. It was similar to a mother going for an ultrasound, except Zeke had the leisure of being able to see its progress every single day.

A thought occurred to her, and her smile grew ear to ear in such a way that she got a few looks from people passing by. In the coming weeks, her own Raevan would begin to form in a neighboring tank and Zeke would be able to look upon the both of them with ease. Resolved, Anita devised an unspoken, secret plan to make a trip to Lab every Saturday or so to bring Zeke coffee and a donut and perhaps get a chance to look in at both of their progress.

Maybe they'll be able to connect, too...

 

[Snoofington]

Gratitude
starring Anita, Zul, & Alex

Having gotten Anita's message from Zeke, Zul and Alex return to Anita's place of work so that she may thank Zul properly.

 

[Snoofington]

Twice the Glow
starring Anita & Zeke

With a bribe of donuts in tow, Anita travels back to Lab to see the progress of her Raevan and get more information on the species as a whole.

 

[Snoofington]

It's Got a Head!
IM RP with Ravina Loki

From: Anita
Zeeeke can't come today how are things?
Sent: 12:46PM 3/28/10

From: [LAB] Zeke
Hey! And that's okay, things are well. Big changes since last time!
Received: 12:48PM 3/28/10

From: Anita
Big? How big! I'm so excited!
Sent: 12:53PM 3/28/10

From: [LAB] Zeke
XD Big as in it's got a head!
Received: 12:54PM 3/28/10

From: Anita
OMG! Any obvious gender?
Sent: 12:57PM 3/28/10

From: [LAB] Zek
Not yet. The water's murky so that kind of hides features. I'm sure once it grows a bit more it'll be obvious though! X3
Received: 12:59PM 3/28/10

From: Anita
Damn you murky water! How about yours? Progress?
Sent: 1:06PM 3/28/10

From: [LAB] Zeke
Murky water - the bane of us all! XD Still slow going around the torso, but it's grown more in the arms!
Received: 1:10PM 3/28/10

From: Anita
Arms! They both really want to stay surprises, don't they?
Sent: 1:14PM 3/28/10

From: [LAB] Zeke
Yes they do! I bet they're getting a good laugh out of us not knowing one way or the other. XD
Received: 1:15PM 3/28/10

From: Anita
Have you nailed down a name for either gender? I'm still looking.
Sent: 1:19PM 3/28/10

From: [LAB] Zeke
Not yet, but my poll is going pretty well. I do agree with some of the popular votes on either side. Find any you like yet while looking?
Received: 1:21PM 3/28/10

From: Anita
Mm, I guess for a girl I like Jordan... I can't imagine it being too girly with the soul it has. Stuck on boy names.
Sent: 1:24PM 3/28/10

From: [LAB] Zeke
Jordan's nice! And it's a two-way name too, so there's that. What letters have you searched for boys?
Received: 1:27PM 3/28/10

From: Anita
Yeah, unisex! A-H so far, there's so many!
Sent: 1:32PM 3/28/10

From: [LAB] Zeke
26 letters, billions of names! When I was looking, I tried narrowing it down by searching for gender-specifics only. Maybe that'll help you?
Received: 1:35PM 3/28/10

From: Anita
Probably. I didn't want to go too girly with girl names, but strictly male names should be easier!
Sent: 1:38PM 3/28/10

From: [LAB] Zeke
Makes sense, since you've got a /croc/ for a Raevan soul! And I hope it works for you! Advanced Search is your friend XD
Received: 1:40PM 3/28/10

From: Anita
Waiting is so haaard~ I wonder if a name will just click for us when they're born.
Sent: 1:42PM 3/28/10

From: [LAB] Zeke
It is. I've been keeping busy, but I can't help thinking about it too! I wonder too, but I'm gonna try and have at least two names for each gender picked before then.
Received: 1:46PM 3/28/10

From: Anita
I'm gonna try and have two names, too, then! Maybe you can help me pick? I can't do a poll like you ):
Sent: 1:49PM 3/28/10

From: [LAB] Zeke
Sure! I'd be happy to help. Anytime you have your choices, I'd love to see what you pick. :3
Received: 1:52PM 3/28/10

From: Anita
Mom isn't helping much on names lol. What's your current top two?
Sent: 1:55PM 3/28/10

From: [LAB] Zeke
Aww! And mine are Dorian and Jericho for a boy and Sophia and Anastacia for a girl. Though there's a few others that sound really nice, I can't remember the rest off the top of my head.
Received: 1:59PM 3/28/10

From: Anita
Oh wow! The boy names are so cool! The girl ones are really pretty! I think my votes are Jericho and Anastacia
Sent: 2:01PM 3/28/10

From: [LAB] Zeke
Thanks! X3 I tried to not look at the meanings since you know something pretty could really mean something outlandish or weird, but I'm happy with the choices. And I'll take your votes to mind too!
Received: 2:06PM 3/28/10

From: Anita
I keep looking at the meanings. Should stop that I guess. Not like most people look at the name meanings when naming their kid anyway. :D Yay!
Sent: 2:08PM 3/28/10

From: [LAB] Zeke
Well you don't /have/ to stop, but maybe try just looking down the lists without clicking on the names to see. Should get you through the pages faster at any rate. And right!
Received: 2:11PM 3/28/10

From: Anita
True true! Well, the search continues, then! Thanks for the updates, wish I could've stopped by today.
Sent: 2:14PM 3/28/10

From: [LAB] Zeke
You're welcome! And hey, don't be down, there's another weekend coming up soon and you're free to text or call me when you need to or want to meet up!
Received: 2:16PM 3/28/10

From: Anita
Thanks! I'll definitely try to come by next time, but do you wanna hang out sometime on a less professional level?
Sent: 2:18PM 3/28/10

From: [LAB] Zeke
That sounds like fun! After today I'm gonna be going in earlier to work this week, so I should be out earlier as well. Maybe we could meet up then for lunch or something?
Received: 2:24PM 3/28/10

From: Anita
Sure! My day off is Wednesday this week, does that work?
Sent: 2:27PM 3/28/10

From: [LAB] Zeke
That sounds fine to me! You live in Gambino right? I'm a Duremite myself.
Received: 2:28PM 3/28/10

From: Anita
Durem! Used to live in Durem. Wouldn't mind visiting. We can go somewhere for lunch there? Suggestions?
Sent: 2:31PM 3/28/10

From: [LAB] Zeke
Awesome and sure! Hmm...Anything you prefer for lunch? There's quite a few places depending. :3
Received: 2:33PM 3/28/10

From: Anita
Mm, tough. I like hot foods, so maybe a restaurant or diner? I like meats~
Sent: 2:35PM 3/28/10

From: [LAB] Zeke
Hmm...I know of a hole-in-the-wall sort of place off Cherry Street called LeAnn's. They've got pretty much everything - soup, salad, sandwiches, hot food, cold food...Good stuff if you're interested!
Received: 2:39PM 3/28/10

From: Anita
Ooh, that sounds good! Hole in the walls usually have the best stuff, too!
Sent: 2:45PM 3/28/10

From: [LAB] Zeke
Yes they do! And that place has outdoor seating so if the weather's nice there's always that! X3
Received: 2:46PM 3/28/10

From: Anita
Cool! I'll Mapquest directions. So see you there on Wednesday?
Sent: 2:48PM 3/28/10

From: [LAB] Zeke
Yup! Wednesday at lunchtime, I'll be there!
Received: 2:50PM 3/28/10

From: Anita
Sweet! And thanks again!
Sent: 2:54PM 3/28/10

From: [LAB] Zeke
You're welcome Anita! Take care!
Received: 2:55PM 3/28/10