Welcome to Gaia! ::

Pasha made her way up the side walk slowly, stuck behind a quacking mother pushing a double wide stroller and a beleaguered father holding a massive cotton candy. She floated higher for a moment when she spotted Wasa at the gates, waving enthusiastically. By the time she reached the artist, both kids in the stroller were crying, and the crowd naturally parted to give the racket some distance.

"Wasa!" Melisande threw her arms around the woman's waist and hugged her, careful to avoid the hat. "You look so cute!!"

The Muse had dressed up as well. A halter giraffe print maxi dress complemented her slight build, and she had worked her pale hair up into two buns high on the top of her head. She beamed at her old friend, and took one of Wasa's hands gracefully in both of hers. Thick wooden bangles clattered around her slender wrists. "Thank you for inviting me, I've never been to the zoo! What is the occasion?"

"Thank you!" Melisande beamed as Wasa swung her hands. She'd always associated the woman with pleasant times. Every time Wasa had been around, Aki had been happy. Someday, Pasha would get up the courage to ask Wasa what had changed.

Hopefully, today would be as fun as those memories. Kyou's lovely Summer party was still fresh, and the Muse was in high spirits. "A pivotal project? That sounds important." Meli's serious face was serious. She let go of only one of the artist's hands and tugged Wasa towards the Zoo entrance. "Tell me all about it! Does it involve bugs?"

Things with Wasa usually involved bugs.

Pasha grasped the ticket happily, drifting after the woman towards the gates. "A pivotal mystery?" The Muse inquired, and instinctively dipped low enough for her waist to brace against the turnstile. It clicked happily behind the Sigel, who turned in a slow circle once they were inside. Everywhere she looked there was color, signs, people, and plants! "Well, this is an inspiring place!"

A young freckled man offered Meli a map of the Zoo, and she took one, gratefully. "Look! What do you want to see first? The monkeys? Oh, or the birds!" Pasha held the map up for Wasa, the tips of her turquoise tinted nails dimpling the edges of the brochure.

"Perfect! We will see everything, that way! We start over here?" Pasha took Wasa's hand in hers and led her to the left, only to stop abruptly as a freckled young man stepped into their path.

"Smile! I'll take your picture, ladies! It will be waiting for you in this little booth on your way out!" He snapped a picture the moment Melisande smiled uncertainly, wrapping herself close against Wasa's arm. He handed them a claim ticket and grinned before dashing off to the next entering group. "Smile! I'll take your picture with your kids..."

Pasha twisted to watch. The group behind them seemed to know exactly what was coming, and wrangled their kids into a compact gaggle just seconds before the camera snapped. The colorful front gates and gilded statues were visible in the background, dotted with hanging baskets of brightly colored flowers and bunches of floating balloons.

"Is that his job?" The Muse asked, marveling. Ever since she had gotten a job of her own, she had been fascinated with the ways people could make money. Taking pictures all day seemed like a-

She winced as one of the kids abruptly vomited, splattering the lad's shoes. His wide, bright smile never faltered. Pasha looked away hurriedly, and changed her mind. Maybe it wasn't an easy job after all. "Oh, here are the animals!" She gasped, and tugged Wasa along to the first cage fronted exhibit. A short fence and thick bushes kept people from reaching the bars. Ignoring the sign, Melisande floated up over the fence and greenery, suddenly conspicuous.

"What is in here? Where is the animal?"

Melisande glanced down as Wasa tugged at her skirts, and floated back a few inches. Surprisingly, it wasn't earning the Muse any dirty looks, but people were halting in their tracks staring at the woman floating above the bushes. It seemed like Pasha was her own attraction.

"Spider monkey?" The Sigel drew back even further, clasping her hands against her chest. That sounded horrifying! "Where are the cute animals? Like the tiny giraffes and the kitties?"

A small child with a runny nose reached up to Melisande's skirts and tugged them absently. "Gwafes are big."

The child laughed and snorted his snot back up at Wasa's joke about kittens coming from cardboard boxes. He dropped Melisande's skirts long enough to wipe his nose along the back of his forearm.

Pasha missed the beady eyes entirely, and followed Wasa's urgings farther into the zoo grounds. "A nursery?" Her pale brow knitted in worry, and she held the woman's hand just a little bit tighter. "Is that where sick animals go?" The crowd watched them drift away, and dispersed, murmuring.

"I don't know if I want to see that. I'm having a lovely time, though." The Muse looked a bit wistful, staring down the row of people and cages and clever horticulture as she trailed along behind the artist. She'd never gotten to do something like this with Aki.

"What do you want to see the most? The peacocks? The bats?"

"Of course! You tell me, too?" Pasha paused to look at the map, tilting her head in the direction of the spiral that Wasa had inscribed. "Tiny babies-" Melisande repeated absently, and tilted her head the other way. "There is a Panda Pavillion! And the Monkey Maze..."

Something tickled at Melisande, that Wasa had said. She peeked up from the map, and glanced at the other woman's face before dropping her gaze again to the paper. "Wasa? Was I ever little? I don't remember being a baby. Were you there? When I was a tiny one?"

Aki had never been willing to discuss the circumstances of Pasha's creation. She felt as though she were breaking some unspoken rule by asking Wasa, but the Muse wanted to know.