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 Posted: Tue Jul 20, 2010 2:53 pm
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 Ready, Set, Prepare
Blue gel eased out of the tube onto Anita’s hand and was lathered up, then spread across her face and her shoulders; aloe gel. She had applied sunscreen when she went to the beach the other day, but it hadn’t been the right strength and she ended up getting a bit pink as a result. It didn’t hurt so much as ache, giving her a rather sore feeling every time she made an animated expression or moved her arms.
Still, she had gotten out and about and it was good for her and Tango. She had fun, despite some occurrences, and it was all good in her mind.
Setting the bottle back onto her bedside table, she clicked the cap closed and rubbed the remainder of gel off her hands onto her arms, and then making sure her hands were completely clean by rubbing them on her already-sort-of-dirty-jeans.
Sitting pretzel legged on her bed, Anita had an open laptop in front of her and several different torn out pages of one notebook that was in her lap while she held the pencil between her teeth in order to apply the lotion. Removing it, she resumed her scribbling, which consisted of various notes and doodles concerning the Raevans she had met up with at the event. All necessary things to prepare herself for as well as her mother, when the time came, and if Anya was any example, it very well could be soon.
Or it could be later.
There really was no telling, and waiting was becoming very frustrating for the pigtailed woman, evident by her smoother than average finger tips with not a single nail hanging over them.
In particular, out of all her other notes, she was lingering on a section all too familiar, one that she had been lingering on for months now. Names. The laptop was open to a baby name site and she was now sifting through the girls section. Unisex names were her preferred sort, what with all of the female Raevans seeming to have obviously feminine names; Anastacia, Cordelia, LuLu, maybe there were some good ones that would just say “Hey, yeah, I’m a girl, but I could kick your a**, I’m a crocodile!” and one in particular was one she had decided on previously: Jordan. Along side it was Piper, admittedly less boyish when sat next to Jordan but Piper didn’t seem to be complaining. As she scrolled down the page for what seemed like the millionth time, she hit the R’s and spotted a name she knew she had looked at before but had apparently ignored, Riley.
She jotted that one down and then switched to the male section of the site. Of those, she already had two as well, Kai and Avery. Both seemed pretty fun and when she was a child, Kai had been one of her favorite names, so that one went on the list without her even having to find it on a site. Now, however, she was stuck. Those two probably worked well, but now she was at a clincher and was having trouble getting past it. The male Raevans seemed a bit more diverse; Zul, Rivener, things of that nature, and that made names a bit more difficult for this gender to her.
From various sites, she had looked up ancient names, biblical names, African names, Australian names, none of them stuck out or were too weird and long. It probably would have helped to look those sorts of names up if she knew exactly from where her crocodile hailed but there was no way to figure that out for certain, especially not now that it had been reduced to a swirling green mist stuck inside of a bottle that was no doubt currently filling a completely featureless not-even-quarter-formed humanoid.
Sighing, she pressed her palm to her forehead and tried from the A’s once more, dragging the side scroll bar down ever so slowly. Adrien, Aubrey, Bailey, Blaine, Blair, Carson, Connor, Cruz…
Cruz.
Frowning, she narrowed her eyes and stared at it, then clicked the name to see its meaning: Cross, as in the religious symbol. Leaning back a bit, Anita’s lower jaw jutted out judgmentally and she pressed the back button, continuing her search. When she had gotten to the end of the Z’s, she hadn’t added a single new name to the list and she was gripping her pencil so hard that her thumb was making a white crease into the grey plastic.
In one large bellow of a groan, she pressed her pencil to paper and wrote the name Cruz beneath Avery and Kai, if only for a lack of anything better. Something was telling her she probably wouldn’t even be using any of these names and that Zeke would end up helping her name whatever gendered Raevan exited from that mysterious, murky pod, but it was best to prepare and Zeke had his s**t together; if he did this, she wanted to do it, too, especially since his had grown so quickly.
How unprepared he must have been… So Anita had to be prepared, no matter when they would arrive. No matter when they would be born.
Leaning back against her pillows, now much calmer, she gazed around her room. They had such limited space in this apartment, and she wouldn’t be able to deny her charge a room of their own, privacy and a proper living space. She often slept in the living room on the fold out sofa with Tango anyway, it wouldn’t be anything new. Yes, her room would become their room. Sighing contentedly, she closed her notebook and clipped the pencil to the spiral ring, then closed the laptop and collected all of the loose papers. Everything went onto the coffee table in the living room and she returned.
The next hour was spent stripping the bed of its sheets and pillow cases and giving them a wash, folding out the sofa bed and dressing it with the now fresh sheets, and cleaning out various drawers, cabinets and containers in her room and placing them in bags, shoeboxes and various other receptacles to be put into the closet. The drawers of her wardrobe were cleaned out completely, fresh for her Raevan to use as they pleased. Clothes probably wouldn’t be an option for a good long while, but whatever trinkets and items they had, since she would be taking up closet space, could be arranged in those drawers however they pleased. Same with the bedside table, which was also emptied of its contents and kept in a shoebox now placed under the living room bed. They weren’t particularly private items, but things she wanted to keep close at hand; mostly it was her handheld games and systems, also a CD walkman and extra batteries, things of that nature.
From the bathroom, the small trashcan was emptied and placed near the side of the bed she would be sleeping on. It wasn’t as though much was thrown away in the bathroom anyway and she rather figured the Raevan would like to have a trashcan in their room, even if it was small, black, metal and linked. Either way, when they arrived she’d go with them to a super store to pick out various home décor items, trashcan included, that they would like to adorn their new room with.
Her “room” now decorated as much as it could be (and really, it was just a place to sleep, it wasn’t like she didn’t have a lot of the apartment to herself with her mom working and having her own life), Anita felt content with this decision. Sure, they would share a closet, but if the Raevan felt it needed some privacy, it would now have a door to shut. If it was scared and wanted some light, the door could remain open and she would be right there, facing the room to reassure it. This would work out well, she could feel it.
Giving Tango a quick and acknowledging pet with her foot, she dressed appropriately for an outing outside and pulled her shoes on. ”I gotta go to the store, bud. Gotta get some things for your new brother or sister,” she hummed cheerfully, and Tango gave his tail a few dull thumps in response as he watched her leave.
A few hours and several biked miles later, Anita returned with several large bags and stumbled through the door. Tango had taken her absence as an opportunity to commandeer the sofabed and the bathroom trashcan had been moved, likely back into its place. Television was audible from the room beside what was once hers, and she nodded while setting the bags down. Her mom was home, and probably didn’t pay much mind to the trashcan having suddenly been moved or the sofabed being out.
”Is someone staying the night?” this was asked as if it happened frequently and, while it didn’t happen infrequently, it wasn’t the case at all.
”No,” Anita called back, shoving a rather large, puffy and decidedly lumpy bag towards the bedroom door with her foot. The rest of the bags were set on the sofabed near Tango, who paid them no mind, and she picked up the bag on the floor instead. Opening the door by giving it a nudge with her rear, she set the bag down once again and stepped back out.
Grabbing onto the door frame, Anita swung herself into view, hanging somewhat limply in the doorway. Her mom was on her bed in pajama pants and was watching TV while eating a bowl of ice cream. Rough day at work. ”I’m taking initiative,” she said, giving herself a gentle swing forward, and then back.
”Oh, really?” a spoonful of ice cream, ”That’s good, what are you up to?”
”Do you think we should childproof the apartment?”
The spoon clattered against the bowl slightly, her mother obviously assuming something else at first but then she realized what Anita was talking about. Relief was immediately evident.
”Like, the outlets and stuff?”
”Yeah, ‘cause remember that one time when I was little and playing with my Barbie and I was pretending the wall was a mountain that Barbie had to climb, so she stuck her hand in the outlet—“
”That was stupid. But yes, I remember that, and you’re damn lucky nothing happened.”
“Well, that’s what I mean, relying on luck is dumb so we should probably do that. Anyway, I got some other things…” at this, she let go of the frame and retreated back to Tango and the bags, picking a few things from it and returning, this time to her mother’s bedside.
In her hands lay a tube of toothpaste and a toothbrush case, the toothbrush having an odd circle-shaped plastic thing with a hole in the center beside it. The brush was green, somewhat acidic looking, and small as though for a child’s hand. ”Training stuff. You put the round thing on the brush neck and they won’t accidentally swallow the brush or something stupid. And the toothpaste doesn’t have fluoride so it won’t make you sick if you swallow it—but they won’t have a stomach so I don’t even know what would happen if they did swallow it…” this made Anita frown, staring blankly past her mother who wore a similar expression.
Then they went right back to business.
Anita told her where she had gone and what she decided to do with her room, which her mother seemed surprised by but supportive. She had gotten new sheets for the bed, as well, that could easily be exchanged for new ones if the Raevan ended up not liking them after all but better to start them off with something nice and fresh and theirs rather than something borrowed and old. Other things, too, she had gotten some discounts on younger aged games, generally sticking to platformers and side scrollers like she had been first introduced to and some shareware computer games of the same variety would later be acquired and reacquired, as the case may be. She even went the extra mile and bought the Raevan their own set of towels, though she was still a bit oblivious as to how most of them bathed when their clothing was connected to their ribbon and couldn’t be removed, for the most part. It couldn’t hurt, though, and every little bit helped.
”Damn, we’re gonna have to start buying childproof meds again,” Anita glared at the medicine cabinet stationed above the sink in the kitchen alcove.
”Damn, we just stopped that, too. What a world,” Minerva sighed dramatically, setting herself onto the side of the sofabed, giving Tango an appreciative pet on the rump. He rolled over onto his side, silently demanding a bellyrub.
”And if you buy beer, we’ll have to teach them why they shouldn’t touch it.”
”Well, I probably won’t be doing that much. I only do it on weekends as it is.”
”I wonder what else we should do…” she mused quietly, eyes moving to the windows, ”Locks? How can we childproof the balcony?”
”You’ll probably just have to go out on the balcony with them until they learn it’s bad to jump over the side.”
”Splat. Bad. We don’t want a pancake Raevan.”
”Did you pick a name yet?”
”How early on did you have a name for me?”
”Well, the doctor thought you were going to be a boy, so I picked out a boy name first.”
”A similar conundrum.”
”You were originally going to be Saul Arnett Bishop.”
A moment of silence. ”Wow.” Anita, in turn, sat herself on the opposite side of the sofabed and gave Tango the belly rubbing he so desired. ”Right now, I’ve got six… If it’s a girl, Jordan, Piper or Riley. If it’s a boy, Kai, Avery or Cruz…”
Her mother paused, giving the names thought. ”A crocodile, yeah?” Anita nodded. ”Mistletoe and a crocodile are pretty contradictory.”
”I know, that’s what makes it so tricky.”
”Well, keep at it. I like Piper for the girls.”
”Jordan’s my favorite for them. The boy names are a lot harder for some reason. Oh well, if I really can’t decide when it comes down to it there’s you or Zeke or any number of other people who can help me out. Maybe even it could.” That would probably be the best thing about a Raevan fresh out of the tube; while its speech might be meager or hardly there, it could probably understand things a bit better than newborn babies and would likely be able to at least nod its head yes or shake its head no to something it either liked or disliked.
Standing up and stretching, Anita cooed Tango off the bed and turned the television on, getting herself comfortable before her so-to-speak first child was allowed back on. ”I guess I’ll get the crap for the outlets tomorrow. You can find those at DIY stores or something, right?”
An affirmative from her mother, and she nestled back to watch whatever program was on, which turned out to be an animated adventure of a boy with a talking dog. Awesome.
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Posted: Thu Jan 06, 2011 10:00 am
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Frozen Cage(Takes place on December 30th, 2010)
Alongside this
Beneath the covers, something stirred. Sheets ruffled and shifted, a body contorting into various positions of splayed, curled and balled. Try at this body might, the cold clinging to the air was inescapable and very soon the sheets were flung off entirely to reveal Anita sitting upright, brows knit and eyes closed in her pajamas complete with bed head braids.
An unintelligible grumble passed through her lips as she moved to the edge of the bed and pulled her warm slippers on. One hand grabbed a smaller cover sheet and wrapped it around herself like a robe as she walked out of the room. It was early and the alarm hadn’t gone off yet but the TV was on and she could hear her mother eating cereal. Anita stumbled blearily through the living room, returning a greeting from her mother with a grunt, before turning to the kitchen.
Dishes were retrieved and her own bowl of cereal poured before she looked to the balcony windows. Slowly, she set the box down, eyes narrowing to make sure her eyes weren’t playing tricks on her.
”Did it snow?” she asked skeptically. The evidence pointed toward “yes”; both windows were coated with a thick film of frost, making visibility through them impossible.
It took her mom a second to respond as she chewed her bite of cereal. ”Not quite,” she mumbled sarcastically before reaching for the remote and turning the volume up. After a commercial, the local Gambino news station returned. They started off recapping the stories from before the commercial before switching correspondents to cover their ‘top story’.
"Good morning Gambino, my name is Ellen Boaz and you are watching Gambino flash news. A bizarre scene had emerged over night on the western edge of Gambino Isle. A building which is widely known as the "Lab 305" by the locals was frozen into an ice castle overnight.”
A building which is widely known as the “Lab 305” by the locals was frozen into an ice castle overnight.
Lab 305 was frozen into an ice castle.
The spoon dropped right out of Anita’s hand while the news anchor continued to speak. ”There are currently a few speculations, but as of now, there weren't any solid explanation to how such a bizarre thing could happen in such a short amount of time. It is believe that there are two individuals that resides in the building, their fates are currently unknown.”
There might be two people in the building, frozen?
Immediately, Anita’s mind flickered to Alex and Zeke, two individuals who she knew worked at Lab. Zeke only did so on weekends and it was Monday, there was no way he was there, was there? Alex, on the other hand, Anita did not know her schedule. Was there any possibility? As far as she knew, there was one person who owned the Lab and that was Dr. Kyou. If she wasn’t mistaken, the Doctor lived there as well, along with his own Raevan.
Wasting no more time thinking things out, Anita dropped the cover around herself and ran into her room to grab the phone. The issue was pressing, people could be in danger, and she had to make sure everyone was alright now!
Her fingers fumbled with the buttons as she skimmed through her contact list, first landing on Alex alphabetically and giving her a call first. There was no ring, instead it went directly to voicemail as though the phone was off. Hanging up, she tried once more, and again. On the fourth time, Anita let out a frustrated growl and decided to just leave a message—there were other people she needed to get in contact with, as well!
At the beep, Anita immediately let out a ”s**t!” before continuing with a proper message. Her voice was shaking, occasionally gaining a higher pitch as she strained to remain as calm as possible. ”Th-this is Anita,” she stopped and sighed there, trying to catch her breath which felt like was caught in her lungs, ”I just saw the news, are you and Zul okay?! I-I’m gonna call Zeke, but—argh!” Another frustrated wail surged through her and her hand gripped the phone tightly, its plastic creaking from the force, ”Dammit, I hope your line is just busy. Please call me back! Be okay!” As her thumb mashed against the hang up button, another quiet curse slipped through her clenched teeth.
As she thumbed through her contacts, there were several other Lab related numbers she could call (Josh, David, Vivi and Shepard, among others) but her mind was set on one other at the moment, a certain green and purple haired individual whom she would have to beat up if he had gotten himself hurt.
Not even halfway through the first ring was there a response and Anita immediately began running her mouth. ”Oh thank God. Zeke, I just called Alex and only got voicemail. Are you okay!?”
His response was reassuring. Just as she thought, he had been at home and he, too, saw the news. At least they were both on the same page with this situation. He returned her own question with the same and she blanked for a second, ”I’m… Well, I’m not there, so…” It seemed like a no brainer but his concern was felt. ”I was just really worried. I figure Alex was probably getting a lot of calls, wanted to make sure you guys were okay.”
She paused, then, poking her head out to look at the TV. Footage was being shown of firemen spraying the ice covered walls with steaming hot water but it was no good; in time, her eyes widened as her mom offered a ”Holy s**t,” when the clearly boiling water frozen on contact with the side of the building.
”Do you think this is, like… an Essence thing?” she muttered, the only thing that would seem to make sense given the situation and location. Unfortunately, it seemed Zeke hadn’t heard it and was still talking about Alex. He agreed she was likely getting too many calls at once and it made sense, given her status as a Lab employee and it was probable that all of the landline phones in the building were down.
Retreating back to her room, Anita took a seat on a corner of the bed. ”Yeah, that’s probably it…” she tried to reassure herself and Zeke, ”I left a message anyway so there’s not much we can do except wait and try not to freak out…” Anita trailed off, her thoughts spinning. It all felt surreal until she remembered why she had called in the first place. ”The, uh… The news said there were two people believed to be inside, do you think one is Dr. Kyou? He lives there, doesn’t he?”
She listened carefully as Zeke explained Dr. Kyou’s situation of living above the Lab proper with his own Raevan, named Lazarus. In any other situation she would have asked about the good Doctor’s Raevan but this was not the time to be curious about such things. ”Oh man… Well… If it’s just those two, then Alex can’t be in there, right?” another attempt at reassurance, ”I hope they’re okay, though.” Her friend jumped in topic to the boiling water freezing upon contact and her tone immediately electrified. ”Yeah, I heard that, and it froze over, too? Definitely sounds like an Essence,” she decided to continue from where her earlier comment was missed, ”Were there any ice Essences you knew about? Maybe any ice Raevans?”
Unfortunately, Zeke wasn’t so sure. He didn’t have much information to go on and, while it seemed supernatural enough, he couldn’t remember any ice Essences outside of Zul’s but that wasn’t a main part. As far as Anita knew, it only affected how he ate but she hadn’t seen any powers from the demonic Frei. ”Right… And all of the documents of other Raevans and Essences are frozen up in Lab, too… Well… I’m glad you and Anya are okay, though—“ her voice stopped short.
How could she have been so stupid?
Not even once until this very moment had she even stopped to think of what else was frozen in there besides functioning people and Raevans. Not only could there be living, breathing individuals locked inside, but there were others still forming!
”s**t,” she choked, ”s**t, s**t s**t!” This time, her mother yelled out a curious “what” but Anita hadn’t heard it. ”Wh—Zeke, the Raevan tanks…”
His response was simple, if not fitting.
The pigtailed girl began to pace about her room, trying to catch her breath and regain a proper thought pattern. ”Dammit,” she stopped short and gave her wooden dresser a swift kick, ”There’s nothing we can even do…” There was a pause on Zeke’s end before he attempted to offer reasonable explanations, reasons not to worry just yet. Perhaps the Lab had heaters inside or maybe the ice coating was strictly surface damage. Bless his Raver heart.
”Maybe… but if the boiling water is freezing on contact…” she stopped herself. This wasn’t right of her, to undermine Zeke’s attempts at relieving her stress and calming her down. It was all he could do over the phone, try to give reasonable doubt to the worst case scenario. Quickly, she tried to turn her thoughts around, ”W-well… Yeah, maybe it is just on the outside.” She hoped it was.
More reasonable explanations were given. Apparently the Lab had gone through worse than this and, for whatever reason, Anita could believe that. ”Yeah… I can bet it has,” she forced a chuckle to try and lighten the mood, hard as it was. With a deep, calming breath, she tried once more, ”You’re probably right. I guess, uh… Keep me updated if you learn anything. There’s not much I can do but I’m here to help if you need it.” Now it was time to return the favor.
Zeke apologized for having to get off the phone with her but she wasn’t the only one worried about the situation or the people who could be involved. It wasn’t an unreasonable request in the least to cut the call as short as possible and it had already started to drag on. ”Yeah, you’re gonna be busy. I think I’m gonna take off work today… I’m gonna be too anxious to get another done,” she choked out another laugh, ”So I’ll be here. Good luck and be safe, okay?” The sentiment was returned in full along with a wish for her not to let the worry consume her. ”I’ll try. I’ll talk to you later, okay, Zeke?” and with that, the call ended and Anita fell back onto her bed.
Her time there didn’t last long, the warming comfort of the sheets doing nothing to calm her down. Now that she was off the phone, her worries of what was to become of Alex, Zul and her own Raevan bubbled to the surface. Her vision blurred with tears that refused to fall until she sat up, rubbing them away. The sniffling that followed resulted in a good cover for why she needed to take a day off when she called a few minutes later and there were very few questions. A stand in for her was found quite quickly and she wasted no time hanging up afterward. She wanted to try calling Alex one more time but knew it wouldn’t do any good; she’d left her message, it was all she could do alongside not calling to keep her line free.
After what felt like an eternity, Anita made her way out of her bedroom and flopped beside her mother on the couch. Questions came left and right but none were responded to, the inquiry only ceasing when Minerva noticed her daughter steadily crying without a sound, as though her mind had shut down but her body was still reacting on emotion. Arms wrapped around Anita and she was pulled close. The questions could wait, everything would be answered in time.
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Posted: Tue Sep 20, 2011 9:38 am
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The Call
It had fallen on a weekday. A regular, not-at-Lab workday. Zeke had been finishing up some paperwork at his desk for a rescued Bichon Frise with a severe case of matted fur when his cellphone went off. The screen on the top of the flip phone read 'Alex' and without a wasted second the vet happily set down his pen to answer. He expected a cheery reminder about dinner plans or perhaps even a hope and a prayer that he could help her with something Lab-related long before his scheduled weekend shift would start come Saturday.
It was neither.
The topic of the call was, in fact, the last thing on his mind that day but once the words echoed in his ears that thing was slammed right to the forefront of his mind. He gaped and stared sightlessly at the door that stood closed before his desk for several heartbeats. Silence filled the air and the woman on the other end of the line had to call the raver's name twice before he came back to earth. When he did, words immediately started spewing from his lips at a high volume. The tone, the speed, the suddenness, and the overly-loud chatter caused his aloof Raevan to pause in her knitting to stare. Agitation was written upon her features at his random outburst, but Zeke's face was an entire story of delight, amazement, awe, and excitement that combined into one simple thought: He had to be there. NOW.
"Don't call her! I'll be there in a few!"
Zeke made Alex promise five times before he hung up, getting his act together in as harried a manner as any as he did so. The promises were silly on his part - he had already had Alex's word to leave this one to him a long time ago - but his mind was working too fast for him to even consider it. No, everything now was about what had happened and what was to come because of it and how he had to get his a** in gear to get it done. He was a mad whirlwind of activity and it didn't die even as he left the animal clinic and did much like Alex had done with him - speeding himself and his ward from Durem to Gambino in what felt like - and had to be because it couldn't wait! - ten seconds flat.
"We're here!" He cried as he unceremoniously threw open both of the Lab's glass doors and shoved himself inward before Anastacia. A nasty glance was thrown his way by the spider Frei at his uncouth behavior but the Frei said nothing, knowing full well it'd fall on adrenaline-deafened ears. She was right in this regard as Zeke made a beeline for the secretary's desk and the cordless phone topping it without any regard as to who or what could possibly be in his way on the way there. He all but threw himself over the top in his mad dash for the thing, and grabbed it as soon as his feet touched the ground. There was no debate about using the Lab's phone or his cellphone where Anita's number had been so lovingly stored over a year ago. No, Zeke was going to be traditional even in his fervor, and that meant Anita was going to be called at home and on the Lab's lan line. There would be no other way.
He punched the numbers for Anita's apartment, hit the 'Call' button, and waited on frayed and fraying nerves as the ring-backs began.
Brrrrr~
He became keenly aware of a lump in his throat that was blocking all sound, even the pants that came with the dash he had just made and accomplished.
Brrrrr~
Zeke tried hard to get his breathing under control, even as he paced back and forth behind the desk like a caged animal. With the panting came wheezing and with wheezing came the notion that the moment Anita picked up, he'd probably sound like some sort of creeper who gets off on the sound of a pretty girl's voice to his young friend.
Brrrrr~
C'mon, Anita, pick up. Pick up, pick up, pick up, pick up...
Brrrrr...Click!
YES!
"Hi! You've reached..."
s**t!
"Minerva, Anita and Tango!" There was a barking after Tango's name. "Leave a message and we'll get back to you soon!"
"Ah..." The message ended and the shrill 'beep!' sounded off, giving Zeke his sign to leave his reason for calling. Now that he had it, he was left much like he was when Alex called him - gaping and staring at the door. He knew what had to be said - had made a few calls to new guardians himself from time to time - but for the life of him he was stuck! The words had lodged themselves on the lump in his throat and were not budging. Time was wasting, he was waiting, and for the life of himself, Zeke could not get anything out. He simply stood there instead, jaw moving to make the words he could not utter, looking very much like the so called 'deer in the headlights'.
Thunk!
Out of nowhere, something soft but tossed with feeling collided with the side of his green and purple head. The vet whipped around, looking for the culprit, and came across Anastacia - hovering near the couch and looking as miffed as she could be.
"Get on with it!" She hissed through slightly bared teeth, throwing another ball of yarn at her guardian and hitting him square in the chest. He had NOT just dragged her out and driven her around like a maniac without so much as a polite gesture and to the ******** LAB of all places just to gape like a fish out of water on the phone! If he had something to say, for all that was in her, he would get it out and pronto!
Her actions were done out of anger and upset, but the results were just the same as if she had cooed words of confidence in his ear and patted him on the head. Zeke grabbed the second ball as it fell from its hit point over his heart and with something solid now in his once-free hand, the vet took to squeezing the pink yarn like a stress ball and getting himself back on track. No smile was thrown at Anastacia at the moment, but a thank you was in his heart all the same despite that. The actions of the spindly virus Frei dislodged the vocal block and sent the words he wanted to say tumbling from Zeke's lips.
"Hey Anita! It's...It's Zeke! From th-the...the ah...L-Lab!" She would know him and where he worked by now, but as before Zeke didn't realize the silliness of his statement at the moment. "L-Listen...I'm calling t-to inform you that at..." He went quiet over the line again as he flipped the cover of the Crocodile Raevan's manilla folder open, scanning the first white page of notes and information quickly for the time. "At one PM this afternoon, your R-Raevan was released from the d-development tank. He," and he couldn't help but stress the pronoun, "w-was then given a physical and passed with fl-flying colors. This means..."
Again a pause, this time to clear his throat and lick his suddenly chapped lips, feeling the excitement that had leaped into life at the clinic double and then triple in his gut. From there the feeling filled him completely and made his trembling transform into full on shaking as the grin he wore stretched his features to the max in that moment. If he was already like this for and before the phone call, powers that be help Anita when she walked through those front doors! The pause helped his stutter, the vet swallowing it to give clearer, but no less excitedly rushed facts of the matter.
"This means that he is free and ready to go home with you now. He's..." What else could he say? Zeke gripped the cordless phone tighter in his hand and pressed it hard against his ear as though he would hear voices outside the answering machine that would alert him to Anita actually being there. No such luck, but even if there had been a means to do such a thing, it didn't stop the vet from slowly shaking his head as everything was settling in and hard.
"He's waiting, Anita. He's waiting and he's all yours and I swear if you don't get down here quick I'm going to explode!" Zeke burst into laughter. Everything had settled in full well and the very threat was true - someone would have to help Anita the moment she waltzed in because he was going to haul her over to the desk as soon as she stepped foot inside the lobby. No time to waste, even though he was doing so trying to get the message out and get his raucous laughter under control.
"If you need a ride, I do have a car. If you don't...Well then hurry it up girl!" Laughter again. There was no way he could keep a lid on it. Not now. It'd have to run its course and take some of his pent up energy with it because he was unable and wholly unwilling to stop it now. It was official - he'd only be able to stop after everything was said, done, and wrapped up with a neat little bow. Until then though?
"I...Oh man...I'm gonna be here all day, Anita. Come by at ANY time, but sooner would really be better than later, okay? Like I said...I'm probably gonna explode all over the wall at some point and that won't be any good! We're just...I'm ********, I'm too excited! He's here, Anita! Your boy is here and he's waiting for you!" |
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Posted: Tue Sep 20, 2011 1:53 pm
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Scramble
Anita walked into the living room with the faint sound of the toilet running behind her announcing her presence. She made a bee-line for the cordless and its charging station. There were already a couple messages from the other day, she knew, so it was best to get checking them over with before they piled up too high.
She listened to the robotic voice drone on the receiver. ”You have three new voice messages.”
The tone shifted immediately as the first voicemail played. It was a greeting for them all from Aunt Cathy and a reminder for her mom to give her a call. As her aunt rambled a bit, Anita took the time to find a notepad and pen to write down just that: Call Sister 1.
After that was mention of a scheduling change from Dutch. Nothing drastic, just she would be on more opening shifts in the coming week and he wanted her to be prepared. How thoughtful.
When the last message rolled around, Anita had already been lulled into a mundane sense of security. She stood in the living room leaning against the wall to peer out of the sliding doors at the beach below. Not many people were out there this time of year, with the chill like it was. The water seemed cold just from looking at it.
”Hey Anita! It's... It's Zeke! From th-the... the ah... L-Lab!” Her brows furrowed. ”L-Listen... I'm calling t-to inform you that at... at one PM this afternoon, your r-raevan was released from the development tank. He.”
She nearly dropped the phone when in sank in.
Zeke kept talking and all Anita could do was stand and stare blankly. She wasn't even seeing the waves move anymore, they were just a mesh of blue and foam and beach.
”He's waiting, Anita.”
That kicked her into gear. Only... her brain kicked into gear faster than her body. Anita's heart went into overdrive and she clutched the phone so tightly to her ear she heard the plastic groan. Her sock covered feet slid against the smooth wooden floorboards of the apartment and she only managed to take three steps before her ribs met the floor and the wind knocked out of her.
If it weren't for her white knuckled grip on the phone, that would have gone flying too.
”If you need a ride, I do have a car. If you don't... Well then hurry it up girl!”
Anita ignored the soreness in her chest and the bruises that would no doubt bloom the next day. She didn't even hear the rest of the message as she freed up her hand as quickly as she could and slapped the phone back into its charger. Shoes, jacket, keys, wallet, cellphone-- everything she could possibly need was snatched up. At the rate she prepared, it was like she blinked and was downstairs with her bicycle.
Of course it had to be this week her uncle wanted to take her car in for a tune up. That didn't matter now, though. Not when she was peddling like the wind.
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Posted: Tue Oct 04, 2011 10:17 am
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The ReturnSeptember 20th
Cruz was wrapped up in an insulating coat that was quite a bit too big for him, designed to cover an entire section more of torso and then some that he was without. The just born mistletoe frei curled up in the basket at the back of his new guardian's bicycle, arms around himself and hands retreated into the sleeves to avoid the cold air.
Now and then he felt the balance of the contraption wobble and he put his hands on the edge of the basket but never once did it fall. This woman, Anita, kept a careful pace with him as her cargo.
Twice they stopped before getting too far from the building, too far from the colorful man and the yelling girl. Twice he was adjusted, first the bottom of the long coat getting wrapped up to further insulate him and a second time to help him sink into it further so he could cover his nose and mouth. What little hot air he had left was kept inside, circulating, and it certainly helped, but the air outside the coat was notably crisp and frigid compared to the lab.
It felt familiar, his very first sense of deja vu.
All around them as Anita peddled were interesting things. Splotches of dull green, withering colors, the sky was overcast and grey but still the day was bright somehow, and every which way he turned there were more people and lumbering vehicles carrying them. Words he couldn't read lit in neon, lights guiding motorized contraptions, the hum of those motors. The longer they went the less it overloaded him but Cruz's eyes darted to everything new. All of it was interesting and confusing.
---
Driving from Lab 305 to Wavecrest Apartments took about twenty minutes by car. On the other hand, an intentionally slow bike ride took double that and some change. Nearly ten minutes shy of a full hour, they finally pulled into the parking lot. Anita set herself up at the bike rack and moved to the basket.
Cruz was practically deflated, nestled so thoroughly in the coat. ”We're here,” she smiled softly. The frei didn't stir. ”Buddy?” Anita pressed a hand to his back and felt the rising and falling of his breathing, slow and steady. He must have fallen asleep – she couldn't blame him. What an exhausting first few hours.
As carefully as she could, Anita pulled Cruz from the bike and cradled him against herself. Like a child, his arms loosely found her shoulders and he nuzzled into her shoulder. She smiled bemusedly and tried holding him up with one arm – he weighed almost nothing – and retrieved her key.
There were a few confused looks in her trek through the lobby and down the third floor hallway. The easiest assumption was that she was carrying a child, and perhaps she was, but if one looked closer at the proportions it would be obvious something was amiss with that theory.
Not as soon as she put the key in the lock did Tango start going off. She grimaced. Cruz clutched weakly at her and Anita hurried to get the door open.
”Shhh, shhh,” she pleaded with Tango as she pushed past him and closed the door, ”Inside voice.” The wolfhound switched his barking with curious and doleful whines.
Using her legs as a blockade for the pooch, Anita lowered Cruz onto the couch so he could lay on his side. ”Hey buddy,” she tried again, ”welcome home.”
Again, response was minimal. Cruz clenched his fingers against the fabric of the sofa. His breathing was slow and his eyes were closed. Anita frowned. Maybe she should let him sleep. There was still a lot of excitement and anxiousness bubbling inside her that she knew could only be stamped down by getting the frei acquainted with his new living space but this wasn't about her.
With a small sigh, she smiled and nodded. Anita moved one of the couch pillows closer to him and ever so carefully brought a hand under his head to slide the pillow under. Her bare palm touched his cheek and she stopped instantly.
There was no rush of warmth from his face as there should have been from the chill. She hadn't noticed until then but Cruz's skin lacked the rosy flush everyone got when confronted by cold wind. The pillow was instantly forgotten.
”Cruz? Hey--” forgoing comfort, Anita picked the frei back up and propped him against the arm of the couch. She moved his hair out of his face to get a better look. He was pale as anything and felt decidedly cold. ”Wake up. Open your eyes.”
This time the frei rustled. He scrunched his face subtly and gave a soft groan before doing just that. Cruz's eyes barely opened but it was something. In lieu of a smile or spoken greeting, his brows attempted to quirk but it was barely detectable.
Anita heaved a sigh of relief and cupped the frei's cheeks. Both were cold, like the wind was still blowing on him.
”Sit tight for a second, I'll get you warm.” She stepped away quickly and darted into her bedroom – their bedroom – to retrieve the insulated goose down comforter. So much for a presentable bedspread for his welcome home.
When she came back out, Tango was taking large huffs of Cruz's evergreen hair and licking at his cheek. The frei gasped and shuddered but didn't try to move – as nasty as it might have smelled, the dog's breath and tongue were warm.
”Git,” Anita shooed Tango away and he obliged.
She draped the blanket over Cruz so that only his head was exposed and quickly set to work on wrapping him up as closely as she could into a proper baby bundle. There was still more to be done. Another blanket or two were used, a pair of cozy ear muffs she never used, and the space heater propped on the coffee table all sought to warm the croc to his bones.
It was only when she was done that she understood. Cruz was a crocodile. As much as he didn't look it, that animal was a part of him. Her heart dropped. That particular croc was also deemed to have died from cold exposure by Animal Control.
Anita sat on the floor.
It took roughly ten minutes of insulation, heat, and Anita rubbing down his extremities for Cruz to return to normal. The change was observable in stages; first he became more alert, then he nestled further into the blanket, and at one point he ducked himself into the pile of blankets to make himself a little nest. That seemed to do the trick most of all as, when he popped his head back out, the mistletoe frei was all smiles and bright eyes.
”There,” Anita breathed as she sat beside him.
”Th—ere,” he repeated.
”Now, welcome home. This-- this is where you'll be living.” Anita gestured to the apartment.
Cruz gazed around in awe though his interest in the room was short lived as Tango padded into view. ”Ah--” the croc pointed at the pup through his mess of blankets and sunk back into them a little.
”Oh! He's okay. That's Tango.”
Upon hearing his name, the wolfhound's ears perked and he looked at both of them but didn't approach.
”Taa-- Tang--”
”He's a dog. He lives here too.” Anita idled a moment, then smiled to Tango and motioned for him, ”It's okay, come here buddy.”
Tango's ears instantly went back and his tail began wagging. The way dog's mouths opened to let their tongues hang out always made it look like they were smiling to Anita and it seemed Cruz picked up on it too as he smiled right back. Tango first went to Anita as beckoned and got his fur gently ruffled. Cruz pulled himself from the confines of his blanket haven to free his arms and offer his hands in the same fashion. The dog was quick to move to him and attempt to lick his face once again.
This time Cruz recoiled but he giggled and looked to Anita while smooshing Tango's cheeks.
”He's kissing you,” she laughed back, ”That's how doggies kiss.”
Though he wasn't quite familiar with the word yet, something about the action it was tied to felt right. At the same time, it felt very wrong. His instinctual understanding of kissing, food, was through a locking of lips – no tongue involved. It seemed he would be getting no food from this one but the gesture was amusing and appreciated all the same.
---
It was nearly five o'clock before Anita's mother came home. She stepped inside, carrying several large bags from various department stores and mall outlets. Minerva laughed and shooed Tango from the door as she closed it with her rear and quickly made to deposit the bags in her room.
”Hey, sugar cube,” she offered Anita on the couch as she passed.
The loud crinkle of bags sounded in the other room, as well as a loud ”Whew!” before she was back out again. Without glancing at the occupants on the couch, Minerva moved to the coat rack and began removing some layers.
”Is it hot in here or is it 'cause I'm bundled up?”
”No, it's warmer than usual,” Anita leaned back and raised her brows.
”What's the temperature set to?” Minerva side stepped to the thermostat.
”Where it needs to be.”
Her mother scoffed and turned to face her with an indignant smile, ”Somebody's feeling cryptic today.”
”Or very literal.”
Several pale, clawed fingers wrapped over the back of the sofa. Minerva didn't notice them until a full head of green hair rose up with them, to which her natural reaction was to yelp, jump back a few steps, and catch herself on the door. Tango promptly rushed over to tend to her in the only way he knew how, by getting all up in her business.
Anita covered her face with her hands, not meaning to laugh but unable to help herself. ”Sorry, sorry! Mom, it's okay.”
”Mercy,” Minerva managed to give an exasperated laugh, ”Didn't know you had a friend over.”
”Ah, yeah, mom, that's the thing--”
Anita stood from the couch. Soon to follow, Cruz floated up higher. From the currant vantage, it just looked like he was sitting up straighter. There was a moment or two of fumbling where Anita took hold of the frei's coat sleeves and pulled him over. As soon as her mom could see no hint of legs, her amusement faded.
”He, uh-- he was born today.” Cruz smiled curiously at this new woman called “mom”. ”His name is Cruz. I did all the paperwork and everything. So. Surprise.”
There was a long pause as Minerva processed everything before her. She peeled herself away from the door and chanced a step or two closer to get a better look.
”Cruz?” she repeated.
”Krooz,” the croc rumbled.
Her brows rose to their full height as the gravel in his voice was a surprising contrast to his softer features.
Anita stood still with a smile that was quickly giving way to a worried frown. ”He, um-- The mistletoe. He eats kisses, I found out.”
Minerva's eyebrows didn't go any lower. In fact, they tried to go higher but were stuck.
”Kisses? Like-- kisses?” She weakly gestured to her mouth, then brought her hand down to her middle. ”You did say they had interesting ways of eating... with the whole... no stomach, thing.”
For several moments they regarded each other. Anita and Tango both were left out of their gaze, only able to watch the two and glance between themselves. While the mutt seemed perfectly content, Anita was uneasy and her stance shifted.
”So--”
”Does it matter where?”
”Huh?”
”His kisses. Does he only eat if lips touch?”
”Uh,” Anita glanced to Cruz, who smiled back, ”I don't know. He's not very good at talking yet. He, um-- that was what he opted for, though. On the mouth.”
Minerva nodded. Her expression was still somewhere between blank and total disbelief. At the very least, her eyebrows calmed down.
With a tentative motion, the woman dared to step a bit closer. Closer. Each time, Cruz's smile to her brightened. He would have floated higher if not for Anita's grip on his sleeves, weighing him in place like a balloon on a string.
”Let's see.”
To both of their surprise, Minerva leaned down. Her lips pressed to Cruz's forehead in a gentle peck. The croc's eyes fluttered shut as a nourishing warmth spread throughout him from the point of contact. It wasn't as fulfilling to his rune as either kiss to the lips he initiated today but he let out a contented purr and pressed a hand on the coat over his rune.
The weight lifted from Anita could be felt by all occupants in the room.
”Looks like,” Minerva chuckled, easing up a bit.
”Oh, thank God.” Anita rubbed her face and laughed, exhausted. With a bit of hesitance of her own, she too leaned in and gave Cruz a kiss on the head.
He smiled and turned to Anita, curiosity bright in his eyes. All she could do was laugh and duck away towards Tango.
”Get used to that, babydoll,” Minerva laughed. She placed a hand on Cruz's shoulder and smiled, finally at ease, ”Welcome home, sweet pea.”
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