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 Posted: Mon Nov 21, 2016 1:10 pm
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Who: Laurel, Oliver, and Zeke
When: November 21, 2016; around noon
Where: Lab 305
Weather: Brisk and crisp! A perfect late autumn day
A call came in and another quickly went out, zipping to Oliver's ear to impart the wonderful news. Giddy as ever, Zeke's words were a flurry of consonants and vowels that promised a handsome boy waiting eagerly for the other man's arrival.
Whether or not the boy was eager was up in the air in truth, but the fact he was handsome was a given. All Raevans were quite pleasing on the eyes. Regardless, Zeke promised that he was and if the Cheetah wasn't well...Zeke was more than eager enough for two people. He had it covered.
"I'm at the Lab now so come on over when you can!" He had finished with that and a trill of a goodbye, hanging up the phone and immediately setting himself up for Oliver's arrival. File? Check. Pen? Check. A drink of water to clear the little cottonmouth that had cropped up in his rapid-fire phone call? Checkity-check! He was ready, now all he had to do was wait. |
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Posted: Mon Nov 21, 2016 1:54 pm
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The phone call came in while Oliver was out on a walk with Izzie, and he had to grasp onto a tree to keep himself from fainting. His son was here, his son was here! The wait was over, just in time for Thanksgiving! He couldn't think of a time more convenient to be born than this, but now he had to race home and bring Izzie home!
He couldn't remember the last time he'd ran through the forest this fast, but as soon as the dog was safely in the house (although confused about what her owner was so excited about) he bolted back outside. Then back inside to find his keys, and a second time when he realized he'd forgotten his wallet, until finally a third time to find another coat, just in case his Raevan happened to be chilly. It was the end of November, after all, best to be prepared.
"Come on, come on!" He grumbled, waving at the car in front of him to turn and making a beeline for Lab's parking lot. Once he parked, the blond wasted no time getting to the front door and only paused when a last minute wave of apprehension hit him. Would his Raevan like him? Would he like the rest of the family? He took a deep breath, put on his best smile, and solider walked inside.
"Hello? I'm here to pick up my Raevan!" He exclaimed, grasping at his scarf. He wasn't quite sure where to go from here. Maybe it was best to stand and wait?
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Posted: Sat Dec 03, 2016 6:50 am
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Posted: Sat Jan 07, 2017 9:15 am
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Oliver gave the words Zeke knew he would. Who could resist skipping the filing and getting right to the main event?! Honestly!
"Pfft! Don't worry about it, you be as jittery and excited as you want!" The vet was much the same just by nature but people knew that about him. There was no shame in Oliver losing any cool and composure he had for this moment! Shaking his head, the vet turned and pointed to a door at the back of the lobby, innoculous in its single pane of glass kind of way.
"If you would just follow me this way, I will take you right to him!" Without much further ado the vet bounded to his desk to scoop up the "forgotten" file and then to the door he had pointed to. He opened it wide for Oliver to pass through first, finally speaking what he had meant to say when he had shook his head just a bit before.
"I have not actually seen him yet, no. But that's because of a little tradition we have here at the Lab." He fell into step with Oliver as they went down the hall, pointing to some door just a short ways away. "See, what we do here is we let the Guardian see them first between you and the one making the introductions, me. I know his gender, I know he's healthy, and I know he doesn't have any legs but that last part is a given."
He grinned.
"Basically we want you to be the first person he impresses on. Besides, I'm kind of distracting and shiny and that would cause a problem if I walked in first, ha!" Zeke gestured to his hair, his piercing-laden face, and the bright and colorful selection of clothes he had made for himself. "That being said, there have been past incidents where I meet the Frei first. That mostly happens on account of them getting out of their waiting room or them needing to be with another person rather than left alone, y'see. But they are very few and far between."
Shoshana had been the last and before her there had only been Vesna and Lorin. Three Frei out of the countless others that had gone off without a hitch.
"Okay, so that being said here's what we're gonna do!" He suddenly left Oliver's side with a bounce, stopping and pivoting on his toes before another rather innocent-seeming door. He made a grand show of putting it on display much like some sort of game show beauty. Oliver's prize was behind, fittingly, door number 2.
"I'm going to knock on the door to let him know we're here. This way he isn't too surprised when the door opens. When I open the door, you head on in first. I'll wait out here for five minutes or so so that you two can get acquainted before I come in and meet him myself and we get this paperwork settled. Sound good?"
He was supposed to be still when he explained all this but he was far too excited to be anything other than bouncy.
"If you're ready, I'm ready. I'll knock on the count of three."
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Posted: Sat Jan 07, 2017 8:14 pm
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Oh, well, that all made perfect sense, and in a way, Oliver was relived that he was going to be the first person that his Raevan saw. But, it also meant that he had to be careful not to frighten him or leave a bad first impression. They were going to be living together from now on as, if all went well, father and son after all. You couldn't have a bad first impression of your father now, could you? He straightened his shoulders and happily followed Zeke to the door.
"Healthy, I've never been more delighted to hear that word from someone else in my life." He laughed, taking a breath in before continuing. "And of course, I understand, but I will say now that I am a bit nervous about being the first person he sees because... Well, you know... I've really got to make a good impression, don't I?"
He chuckled a little more and adjusted his collar.
"Though I am terribly excited." He assured, pausing. "And, er..."
He looked to the door, his eyes widening as he gave it a good once over, and firmly nodded.
"Yes, I'm ready. As ready as I'll ever be."
---
Something didn't feel quite right about this room. There was this sense of familiarity, like he'd been somewhere similar long ago, but the feeling was difficult to pin down and define.
Or maybe he was just easily distracted.
There was this clear, shiny thing across from him that had taken him away from his thoughts. It had these tiny white things in them and, being the first thing that had caught his attention after waking up, he hovered over and dumped the entire thing out. Further inspection proved that the white things didn't smell like anything, were very soft, and that the container they were in made an awful sound when it made contact with the floor.
He moved on from there, abandoning the fluffy things on the floor, and turned to face yet another shiny thing. This one was big, rectangular, and had a funny opening underneath it, which he promptly placed his hand inside of. The paper he pulled out afterward only interested him until he'd emptied the container entirely, and then he found himself looking toward the door.
A noise. Muffled by the walls, but he could hear it. His ears flicked and he inched closer, only pausing when his nose was against the door and he could just see some light filtering in from outside. His eyes widened.
There was more to this place, and there were more, louder noises coming from outside. But, did he want to venture out to greet it himself, or wait for whatever it was to come greet him?
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Posted: Sat Jan 14, 2017 7:40 am
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Posted: Sat Jan 14, 2017 3:53 pm
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The Raevan pressed himself closer to the door. The sounds were even closer now, almost as though they were right behind this barrier, but how could he get around it? He squinted, his hands running along the right side of the door until they connected with a shiny, round object attached to the door. Was this something he could use? He grasped it cautiously.
Then the knocks startled him.
"Ah!" He shrieked, hovering quickly back toward the opposite wall. What was that? It didn't sound friendly... But then the door swung open and, suddenly, he felt vulnerable. There wasn't anywhere for him to hide, not in a room this small, but he wasn't sure if he wanted to stay where he was, either. He shrunk, his shoulders arching and his back pressing further downward, and closed his eyes.
Oliver breathed in, closed his eyes, and stepped forward with purpose as the door opened. It was upon exhale that he opened them and let himself look around. The first thing he noticed was the mess of cotton balls and paper towels on the floor, which led his gaze to the smashed container. His lips stretched and puckered. If this wasn't a small preview of what he was getting himself into, he didn't know what was.
However, following this mess also led him to the end of a dark colored ribbon, and all the way up to a rather fearful looking Raevan. He let out a gasp and gripped his chest, before slowly moving toward them.
"H-Hello there..." He said, peering at them in awe. "Are you alright? Did I scare you?"
Hesitantly, a pair of red eyes opened and turned to look at Oliver. ... That voice. Something about it sounded familiar, but like everything else before it, he couldn't figure out where. Slowly his shoulders lowered down again and he turned, his hands reaching out toward Oliver's face and then down to his arms. Something, there was just something, and the more he thought about it the more he wanted to latch onto him and never let him go. His entire body quaked with anticipation, and before he knew it, he'd tugged the blond into a bear hug and started purring.
"HELLO!" He cried, grasping onto Oliver with all his might. "Hello! Hello! Hello!
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Posted: Sat Jan 14, 2017 4:22 pm
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Zeke heard the little shriek just as he swung the door open, but as Oliver passed through and there was no following sound of pain or fright, he took it as the Frei being simply startled. As he did when allowing the two new family members to meet, he hung back just a couple steps away with his back against the wall, listening intently. Oliver stammered out a greeting and there was a moment of silence after wherein the blond's words hung in the air before suddenly--
"HELLO! Hello! Hello! Hello!"
The vet covered his mouth to stop a laugh from escaping. His shoulders shook with the effort, especially considering Oliver probably just had the wind knocked out of him, judging by the sound. Curiosity got the better of Zeke (as it often did) and he peeked around the corner to look into the room. He saw Oliver clearly in what had to be the second biggest bear hug the vet had EVER seen but then his eyes fell on the Frei holding the blond man and Zeke was agog.
He hadn't expected to see such red hair on a Cheetah! It was a delightful shade and worked oh so well with his dark skin and matching eyes and especially with the dark black ears poking out of his head. Of course with Oliver blocking the rest of him attire was hard to make out, but his wings were easy enough to spot! Literally bony and flecked with a few messily grouped feathers, the combination the boy had been born of had definitely made him unique!
Zeke simply HAD to meet him.
"Easy there, kiddo! You might crush him if you hug any harder!" The colorful man stepped from his hiding place and revealed himself, standing in the doorway with his eyes bright and his smile luminous. "You okay there, Oliver?!"
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Posted: Sat Jan 14, 2017 5:40 pm
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The Raevan's attention snapped up from Oliver and straight to Zeke as he appeared, and for a solid minute he didn't seem to know what to do. On one hand, he wanted to immediately let go of the blond man and latch right onto this new colorful person, but on the other he really, really, wanted to keep hugging. He let out a whine of indecision and reluctantly let go, only to face yet another tough choice. Did he want to hover over to meet the new person or stay put? His face twisted in frustration.
Oliver caught his breath as well as possible and flashed a weak thumbs up to Zeke. God, that hug felt like it had had the force of a train! He was so winded, but it definitely meant that his Raevan was happy to see him! A grin stretched out over his features.
"I'm more than okay, I'm fantastic!" He laughed, leaning around to get a better look at his Raevan. He was certainly interesting, espescially with his bone decor and cords, but what he couldn't get over was how striking his hair and eyes were. A red cheetah? Where had that come from? It was so surprising but, in a way, fitting! His soul had been a total surprise, after all.
"My goodness, look at your spots! He chattered, reaching out for a spotted shoulder. "I thought you'd have them all over you, Laurel, but they're almost like freckles here... I'm amazed."
"Laurel?" The Raevan quizzed, his eyes drifting down to his shoulders and back to Oliver. He didn't know what the fuss was all about, but he did agree, his spots were very nice.
"Oh, right! That's you!" Oliver replied, waving his hands about. "Or, rather, that's your name. Your name is Laurel."
"My name?" Laurel questioned, watching Oliver's hands and tapping his chest thoughtfully. "Laurel. I am Laurel."
He contemplated the name a bit, his brows furrowing, before pointing to Oliver.
"And you?"
Oliver paused, apprehension once again washing over him, and took a breath.
"You can call me dad, if you'd like." He said, clasping his hands. "Or, you can call me Oliver."
"Dad." Laurel repeated, brows furrowing again. Oliver was nice, too, but he thought the word dad felt better. It was shorter and easier to say.
Then, his gaze went to Zeke.
"You too? Dad?" He asked.
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Posted: Sat Jan 14, 2017 5:58 pm
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Posted: Sat Jan 14, 2017 8:51 pm
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"Oh, Zeke!" Laurel chimed with zeal. Another short name, like dad, and fun to say! He bobbed his head a little, mentally chanting it and smiling. However, the introduction of a new word brought him back and he tilted his head.
"What is home?" He asked, his brows arching toward Zeke's outstretched hand. ... What was he doing?
Was Zeke offering his hand to him? He studied it and eventually grabbed it and leaned in further.
"... You don't have spots, but it's very nice!" He observed.
Oliver, who couldn't seem to catch his breath for long enough, let out another laugh and shook his head.
"Home is where you're going after this, with me." He said, snorting as Laurel scrutinized Zeke's hand. "As soon as Zeke and I are done finishing up some paperwork, we'll get in the car and I can show you. I've already set up a room for you and everything."
Laurel looked to Oliver as though everything he'd said was gibberish. Home wasn't here where they were? What was paperwork? Car? He blinked and shook his head.
"I don't understand...?"
"It's okay, you will when we get there." Oliver replied, before turning to Zeke. "I am very excited to get him home and settled, but I do want to make sure that I have everything signed and squared away first. Where do we go for that?"
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Posted: Sun Jan 15, 2017 5:58 am
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He couldn't help but laugh right along with Oliver.
"Why thank you! And no, no spots but I do have other things!" Wearing long sleeves he couldn't put his tats on display quite so easily but he could point at his face and the numerous piercings there. He winked at Laurel before looking at the Cheetah's Guardian.
"Don't worry Laurel, you'll love your new home! And oh yes! Just a little bit of signing and you two will be free to go!" Zeke gestured to the table in the room and made his way to it. A crunch underfoot gave him pause however and looking down he finally saw one of the many glass pieces littering the floor mixed with cotton balls.
"A curious one, I see." He pointed out the mess to Oliver and completed the rest of the trip to the desk on tiptoe. "Just watch your step and Laurel, please don't touch anything on the floor, it's very sharp!" Despite having to do a little extra work after the fact he was still as pleasant and cheery as ever. Zeke prepped the paperwork Oliver would need to sign, procuring a pen from a drawer and laying it out on top after putting Laurel's name on the proper line.
"So just a quick rundown-slash-translation of the legal mumbo jumbo: you fully understand the requirements going forward as far as providing care to Laurel, promise to take care of him to the best of your ability and update the Lab on his development, and of course at any time if anything happens whereupon you cannot take care of him any longer..." He trailed off, looking at the strikingly different couple before him. After all that Oliver had been through to get him, Zeke was certain that last bit wouldn't be necessary. He shrugged. "You know where I'm going with this.
"But alright, all you gotta do is sign in these spots," he pointed them out on each of the three pages, "and then a final printed name and signature down here with the date. Just don't sign this line here, that one's for me as the overseer!"
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Posted: Mon Jan 16, 2017 4:36 pm
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Laurel squinted and tilted his head. None of the answers he was being given were satisfying enough for him, and really, they only served to make him more confused. Even Zeke's warning about sharp objects was met with confusion. Why couldn't he touch the things on the floor? What did "sharp" mean? He leaned toward the pile of broken glass and considered figuring it out for himself, only to be distracted when Oliver gently nudged him away.
He locked eyes with the blond, briefly as he turned, and followed him toward the table where he seemed equally fascinated by the pen and papers. What was that funny little thing and why was Zeke rubbing it on those white pages? He reached out for it.
"What is this?" He asked. "What's it for?"
Oliver knew from the moment that the glass was mentioned that Laurel would want to investigate, as it seemed he was curious about everything he'd heard so far. He didn't want his son getting hurt within seconds of meeting him, now did he?
"That's a pen, it's for writing." He said, moving to tap the space where Zeke had written Laurel's name. "Look here, he's written your name with it. What do you think?"
Laurel leaned over the space and studied it for a moment. He didn't know how to read it, or any other word on the page for that matter, but it looked nice to him. He lifted the paper up to his face.
"What do all these tiny words mean?" He said, pressing it to his nose and tilting it about. "And what is mumbo jumbo?"
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Posted: Thu Feb 02, 2017 2:22 pm
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