Audubon Zoo

[GGJ5]

The famous Audubon Zoo covers nearly 60 acres of land, giving home to over 2,000 animals, named for the renowned artist who resided in the Crescent City in the 1800s. Not only is the zoo home to two rare white tigers and some rare white alligators, but it has a swamp exhibit, gorillas, an insectarium, and reptile house, but the zoo is also nearly 100 years old. Very little damage was sustained after Katrina, as it's on higher ground, so all the animals are very safe and have resided here for a while. When there are few visitors, the animals can and will act depressed, and so the zoo has reopened to visitors from Wednesday through Saturday.

[Elda Forever]

Lilith Eytinge

Lilith looked eagerly at her map of the Audubon Zoo, smiling as she climbed onto the Swamp Train alone. There was an empty seat beside her, and the sound of people laughing and children teasing each other. She'd been willing to pay and enjoy the zoo, since she had always made a habit of visiting the local attractions at any place she went to. In Paris, it had been the Eiffel Tower that had captured her heart, and not only because of its fantastic view from the top, but the memories attached to it. That's what she was here for - memories. Memories she had to make by herself, with no one to share them with, but memories, just the same.

The Swamp Train was a small, white buggy-type contraption for the customers of the zoo to ride in while they enjoyed the attractions of wild animals captured and cared for. It could either be a daunting experience for a devout advocate for freeing creatures, or it could be a fantastic experience for those who longed to see the endangered species cared for and safe. Lilith was particularly interested by the idea of the white tigers. Oooh....I bet they're GORGEOUS. I always wanted a tiger cub for a pet.

She tucked her black hair behind one ear and smiled, looking around at the congregating folks come to see snakes and creatures of all sorts. A thought struck her that made her want to giggle. Where the wild things are... But she looked up at an unexpected someone who headed towards the empty seat next to her.

[More than Music]

Raiu Wahei

He looked around, holding his sketchbook close. His deep brown eyes scanned the place. Honestly? He had come here hoping to have to same luck here as at the Aquarium. Run into a pretty girl. Why? Because he wasn't afraid of them now. Juliet-chan had helped that.

Half-heartedly, he hoped to find her here, but knew that was ridiculous.

Why did he want to see her anyway? He'd met her once and was already thinking about her again. 'Get a grip,' he told himself, his expression as blank as if these thoughts had never crossed his mind. 'Can't expect to find a girl like her every day. Just give it up and try to enjoy the zoo. You know, like the average living being? That thing I'm suppose to be a part of? Supposedly.' With a sigh, he searched in his pocket for his music. This place was too crazy... to much yelling. He couldn't stand it much longer.

His eyes fell on that train-thingy that lazy people sat on to sit on their asses but still look at everything. He couldn't flip through songs and walk, it just wasn't practical. That was like trying to text and walk. It could be fatal. So he slipped onto it, not looking to see if it was empty or not and slipped an earphone into his ear with his right hand and flipping through the songs with his left.

'Oh yeah. All those lame hours trying to be ambidextrous pay off.'

Then he looked up to see someone sitting next to him. 'Lilith...' At first he said nothing, just watching her calmly. 'What's she doing here? I guess I didn't expect to meet her again... New Orleans is a big enough place you lose people. But... it's not all that bad, I guess. I guess I was just hoping to meet Juliet first... Wonder what she'd say if she knew I have a painting of her in my room.' He turned away, saying nothing and opening up his bag. 'I knew I'd gotten her eyes wrong... Crap, now I feel like I messed up the entire painting. Oh well, guess I'll just do another version when I get home. Blue eyes. Not silver. Okay, I can remember that.' His bag was oddly shaped, almost resembling a small gray and silver lunch box, though it was soft-sided and gray. Inside laid some pencils, sharpeners, his cellphone and some other miscellaneous things.

Like the crane that Juliet had given him.

He stared down at it softly. He still hadn't peeked. It had been almost a week and he hadn't peeked. It was a test of willpower, in a way. Of course, when he'd waited a complete week he'd decided that was enough, and, as long as he ran into Juliet to boast that he hadn't opened it yet, he'd be okay.

But he was terribly curious to see what she had written on it.

[Elda Forever]

OOC: Dude I think you gave Raiu my bag! I don't know what to think of that... BIC:

Lilith Eytinge

Her eyes widened a little as she recognized the face next to her, looking nonchalant and more than a little bored as he sat down on the empty seat. They had met very briefly some time ago, at the beach. She remembered the artist fairly well, and knew his face even better, but his name was escaping her. Lilith hated to think about how terrible her memory was, but there was no denying the total blank she was drawing. She knew it wasn't a common name, though it sounded close to one...and thinking on that idea just made it seem more confusing.

Meanwhile, he stared back at her blankly as if he was having trouble placing her, too. Lilith offered him a soft smile. He immediately turned his attention from her and into his bag, and Lilith's smile started to fade. What? Lilith began to instantly blame the change of focus on his artistic nature. He seemed to be digging through a dull-gray lunchbox for something, though she couldn't figure what. Hopefully it wasn't just an excuse not to talk to her. Though, she reasoned, she wouldn't really blame him for that. You haven't said anything either, her conscience pointed out simply. So stop looking at his pretty hair and find something decent to strike up a conversation with.

"It's not 'Ray', is it? That doesn't sound right in my head... Sorry." she wondered what was so interesting in his bag, and couldn't keep herself from peering in like he was. There was an assortment of drawing tools - typical - and several pencil shavings, along with a slightly crumpled paper creation that seemed to beg to be taken out of the dark hideaway of the strange and rather ugly bag. "Is that one of those paper cranes? I've always wanted to be able to do those.."

[More than Music]

Raiu Wahei

Neither him nor Lilith said anything when they met eyes, so he opened up his bag and looked down at the paper crane. Raiu proceeded to think silently until Lilith spoke up.

"It's not 'Ray', is it? That doesn't sound right in my head... Sorry."

Raiu looked up, a little interested, turning off his music. No point in listening to it if she was going to talk to him. Whatever. "Raiu," he corrected flippantly, going back to staring at Juliet's paper crane. "But 'Ray' works if you can't say that right. Whatever."

"Is that one of those paper cranes? I've always wanted to be able to do those.."

He glanced up again, then back at the crane, then back at Lilith. "Hm?" He thought for a moment. "Me too, but then I couldn't ask her for another one." Raiu offered Lilith a small smile and brought the paper creation out for her to see. "Here." He held it out to her. "Got it from a friend going for a wish... The one-thousand crane thing or whatever." Shrugging, Raiu opened up his sketch book. It had a pocket on the inside of the front flap that held the sketch he'd made of Captain that day. He looked down at it softly, pointing to it. "That's her."

'She's beautiful, isn't she? I bet she doesn't know it. Most people don't.' He looked sideways at Lilith. 'You're kinda pretty too. Kind of.'

Screaming kids distracted him. He put a hand over his ear and sighed. 'Cut it out. What are you--' His eyes widened when he saw what they were screaming about. There were two white tigers just up ahead and one of them was rising up on its hind-legs. Hands moving instinctively, Raiu pulled his glasses and a charcoal pencil out of his bag. Once the glasses were on, he began trying to convey it on paper even as the majestic creature lowered itself back onto the ground. It didn't take him long before he leaned back in his seat. "Perfect," he muttered to himself.

The train came to a stop. Raiu gathered his things quickly and got off, then looked at Lilith. 'Might as well take a chance.' "Wander with me?"

[Elda Forever]

Lilith Eytinge

He wasn't turning out to be a brilliant conversationalist. Lilith momentarily wondered if that was because he simply didn't want to talk to her again, or what. Slightly irritated by the idea, she decided he have to talk to her anyway. "It's not 'Ray', is it? That doesn't sound right in my head... Sorry."

Raiu looked up then, turning off his music before finally answering her. "Raiu," Lilith nodded, trying to set the name to memory. "But 'Ray' works if you can't say that right. Whatever."

Lilith frowned. "It's not that I can't say it...I just couldn't remember it." She was a little insulted at the way he said that. Like she was some idiot who couldn't figure out a stupid name. "Raihu" Her brows furrowed in frustration that her own tongue wouldn't wrap around the name, but she started to smile just the same. She tried harder. "Raiu. Right? So there, Raiu." Lilith leaned over to peer into his bag - what was he finding so interesting in there? - and her eyes widened. "Is that one of those paper cranes? I've always wanted to be able to do those.."

He glanced up again, then back at the crane, then back at Lilith. Like he didn't know what she meant by what she'd said. "Hm?" That response was very intelligent. "Me too, but then I couldn't ask her for another one." At last he offered some sign of human regard - he smiled and held out the paper creation for her to see. Delicately, she took it in both her cupped hands, inspecting it. "Here. Got it from a friend going for a wish... The one-thousand crane thing or whatever."

Lilith's eyes sparkled as she inspected the folds of the crane, her mind trying to mentally discover how it worked, how it did what it did and how boring, flat paper had created this. She started to unfold it, perhaps to unlock the secret of the paper crane, while Raiu dug for something. Lilith raised on curious eyebrow when she saw the writing inside. Smiling to herself, she folded it back and turned to Raiu with an innocent look. He was showing her a sketch he'd made of a girl. Lilith leaned forward. He looked down at it softly, pointing to it."That's her."

An almost impish smile came to her lips, "She's beautiful." Lilith handed the crane back to Raiu, adding, "You've got to have her teach you sometime. Then next time we accidentally run into each other, you could show me."

Just then a bunch of kids ahead on the train started to scream, the high-pitched racket sending Raiu into a silent and surprising complain. He put a hand of his ear and sighed, as though he had to live with that all day long. Lilith, used to the noise-level, thought nothing of it and raised herself a little on the seat, neck straining to see. A small laugh escaped her when she saw the gorgeous white tigers up ahead. Her hands gripped the back of the seat in front, her eyes locked on every muscle as one of the beasts rose on his hind-legs, lazily falling back to the earth with his exquisite fur quiver at each slow movement. The sound of a quietly muttered comment from Raiu made her look down, seeing him putting the last touches on a charcoal drawing of the more active of the tigers.

"Cool," Lilith said, both eyes consuming the drawing just as they had the actual tigers, hungry for every line. "They're such beautiful creatures..." The train stopped, and Raiu started to quickly gather his things together. Lilith half-watched him, wondering if their run-in was about to end now. She wasn't sure if she wanted it to or not. Raiu was kind of annoying, and easily annoyed, from what little she knew of him. But it was nice having someone to talk to, and she wanted to see what else he could draw.

Probably sensing her hesitation, he turned to Lilith and said, "Wander with me?"

Lilith smiled, "Sure. I've practically got a degree in that." They started off in a random direction, Lilith turning all ways in search of a new animal to watch. "You come here a lot?" She asked absently, trying to keep her pace slowed down to Raiu's, a small distance between them as they walked. "It's a good place for inspiration, so far as drawings of animals go," She rolled her eyes a little, "For obvious reasons. I suck at drawing animals. But I do a very lovely bowl of fruit." If you like bananas that look deformed.

[hanashyrexchana]

OOC: Anika/Chance time! This will be... interesting xDD BIC

Anika Ross

It was unbearably hot. Sweat was starting to form on Anika's brow as she stood in front of the Zebra exhibit, holding on to John's tiny hand. He wasn't burning up, of course; he had shorts and a teeshirt on. But Anika refused to go anywhere, not even out of her own bedroom, without a sweater and jeans. So she'd have to endure it and pray that John got hungry soon. A nice lemonade or icecream cone would do her wonders. Her son, however, was fascinated by the stripped horse-like animals. He kept reaching out towards them, as if he could somehow stretch his arm over the fence and the field all the way to the creatures mane to grab it. “A-Ani-” He grunted, pushing his hand out as far as he could. ” Pick me up!” he demanded, swallowing his four year old pride. A smile played on Anika's lips as she did just that, placing the small boy on her shoulders like her father used to. She had to hold on to his legs tightly as he adjusted himself and leaned forward, much happier with the new view. There was no way she would allow herself to drop her world.

John rested his chin on top of his mothers head, letting his arms lay limp to his sides. “Aun' Ani?” That's right, he was still convinced that she was some distant relative that lived nearby. Anika wondered if anyone would ever tell him otherwise. “Hmmm?” She asked, prompting him to continue his question. ”I'm thirsty.” Finally.

Without a word she made her way over to one of the drink stands, looking at the prices. “Two slushies, please.” John happily took the lion and logo covered cup as Anika paid up. Using one hand to hold her own drink and another to hold onto John's leg, Anika moved to find a bench. It didn't take very long, though she still had to take time to carefully maneuver John on to the bench without spilling either of their drinks. At long last she was able to cool off- the sitting down part was an extra bonus. John chatted happily away as Anika scanned the crowd suspiciously. She had yet to get over her paranoia, and the zoo had so many people. Had it been her choice, they would have gone to a little park or something, but John had insisted, and his word was her command. She owed it to him, after all.

[Elda Forever]

Chance Savege

What a warm day. Chance was in the middle of a group of friends, hopping back and forth between his school project about animals and their habitats - he'd chosen the penguin, but hadn't gotten over to them after several hours and a lot of photos - and catching up with acquaintances and best buds that he'd happened across on his journey through the familiar scenes. Donning a bright yellow wifebeater and contrasting trunks, as well as enormous sunglasses dangling on the edge of his nose. Jamming against his 'bling-bling' - an assorted selection of as many of his necklaces as he could get away with - around his neck was his mother's borrowed camera. Allegedly, it was supposed to be for the wildlife at the zoo. Chance just liked to claim that half the wildlife at the zoo happened to be outside the cages wearing sunblock and sticky children fingers.

"Hey, have any of you guys seen Jodie?" he asked, to no avail. For some reason he hadn't showed up yet to help Chance with his project - they were partners on it, and had to use photos and an essay and crap like that. Jodie was in charge of powerpoint. Because Chance avoided programming like the plague. And because Chance claimed he only had a Mac at his house. He'd picked a meeting time, and chosen the front gates as a hanging point before they rambled on about anything but their project. But he hadn't seen him. After about ten minutes, Chance left a voicemail on Jodie's phone to let him know he was going to start the photo-vomit.

Having successfully wasted most of his day quite happily, Chance wandered over to the nearest drink stand and ordered himself a large strawberry-lemon slush, practically skipping over to a table as he slurped. Whatever, Jodie probably had his reasons, and it wasn't like using the zoo as an excuse to bum around all day wasn't a good enough reason for him. Tapping his shoe and with his free hand checking his cell phone for messages, Chance sighed and looked around to watch passersby. At the table next to him was a tired-looking chick bundled up almost Eskimo-like in the Louisiana humidity with a cute three-year-old, who were sharing slushies of their own. Chance slipped his sunglasses atop his head and gave the little boy an energetic wave, grinning at him as he slurped. Then, as he had hoped, he came across a lemon, which somehow shot thick waves of bitterness and shock through such a tiny straw. Chance's face twisted and he jerked and squinted as his eyes began to water. "Jee-e-z!" He giggled, his shoulder still jerking and one eye batting out of his control at the lemony taste. "That's gooood!" To the boy, he asked, "What flavor, do you have, shorty?"

[hanashyrexchana]

Anika Ross

Anika did her best to look happy with John. She was happy. Happier than she usually was these days. But she was also very, very nervous. So many people, so many strangers, and she had no idea what a single one of them were thinking, what any of them were capable of. That scared her to death. Forcing a laugh at one of John's silly three year old joke, she took a hold of his free hand with hers. A sign of affection, a means of protection. Holding hands was killing two birds with one stone, even if they were so very small and so very sticky. Admittedly, Anika herself felt safer with her sons hand in hers. Finally, a relaxed smile made its way across her face. John didn't notice. He didn't even mind if she smiled or not; he just loved telling her stories. ' It's a good thing he's a talker, I'd have no idea what to tell him,'

A strange boy approached, and Ani eyed him wearily. He sat at a nearby table, but she could see him eying them. She recognized him from school and tried to rack her head of what she knew of him. Hyper, but that was obvious. Even the way he walked was bouncy. Weird taste in.. well, everything. But again, that was obvious. All in all, he didn't seem to harmless. Nevertheless, Ani felt her spine shiver when he started talking to John.

”What flavor do you have, shorty?” John tilted his head to the side when he realized the older boy was talking to him.

John took another sip to make sure he knew the right answer.”Watermelon!” Anika watched Johns smile grow. She recognized that smile. She used to see it in the mirror all the time, she still saw it in old picture albums. ”It's my favorite.” He confided.

[Elda Forever]

Chance Savege

The boredom coming from a momentary lapse in constant input and utter adorableness from nearby animals made the little boy with his face in a slushie a very endearing sight. Chance lifted up his sunglasses and send the boy a smile, waving energetically. ”What flavor do you have, shorty?” he asked the kid as a conversation opener. The kid tilted his head to the side curiously, making Chance chuckle. Before answering, the little boy gave his slush a very meticulous, research-full sip. Chance leaned forward onto his knees to wait eagerly for his answer, grinning at the cuteness.

”Watermelon!” the boy announced proudly his verdict. Chance gave a little clap around his slushie cup, giving his nod of approval. The kid had a cute smile - Chance was sure he'd be a heartbreaker when he got older already. ”It's my favorite.”

"It's a prime flavor if I ever knew one," Chance agreed wholeheartedly, "I got lemon-strawberry, though. Because I like the spazz-attacks. It's like playing a game with your tongue." Playfully, he let his tongue dangle out for demonstration with the kid, holding up a finger for patience as he gave his a good long sip. It took awhile, and he started to get a severe brainfreeze, but finally, the lemon came. Chance's shoulders jerk out of his control and his face muscles shuddered with glee and surprise. He nearly spit out more slushie from all the giggles he experienced in the act. "Wicka-wicka woooow!" he exclaimed, giggling. "Good stuff..." Slurping a little more, he turned to smile at the older girl that was with the cute kid. "What flavor do you have?"

[mystmoonstruck]

OOC: Anyone who is interested is welcome to speak to Golden. BIC:

Golden Hunt

Today had been much busier than the average, Golden mused as he wandered around the grounds of the zoo. While he had anticipated coming here in his usual tourist guise, he had ended up seeing it as part of a photo shoot. Today hadn't been a major thing, but it had the perk of adding to his wardrobe at a time when he was traveling light. While he wasn't sure about the ensemble, particularly his moussed hair, he figured that there were some nice pieces.

Hoping that he wouldn't scare the animals, Golden strolled along, hands in pockets, pausing to look even where there were no creatures to be seen, simply admiring the environments created for them. Yes, he knew the arguments against zoos, but he had seen so much of the world that he had come to view them as reminders to people of what was out there in the world, especially species hovering close to the brink. He wasn't a crusader, but he always had done what he could to support his beliefs. Still, here he was at 19 wondering if he should focus on something instead of embracing dozens of interests and hobbies. What was he going to be?

Golden Hunt did not care for deep, serious thought, but he was aware that childhood had ended~though he had made it last clear through his teen years. Before long, he would be 20 then 21 then... With a soul-shaking sigh, he walked to a nearby bench and sat down, looking around at other visitors, knowing there would be no familiar faces. His family would not be along at any moment, and he felt a pang of homesickness. Tonight, he would write a batch of letters and dozens of postcards. That thought perked up his spirits somewhat. He was unaccustomed to falling into such a thoughtful mood, and he longed for some distractions. However, he supposed that his "look" might not be as stranger-friendly as his usual apparel. So, it was up to him to sit up straight and smile!

Soon, he found himself humming~appropriately enough, Simon & Garfunkel's At the Zoo. Before long, he was mumble-singing it, his head dancing to the mental musical accompaniment, followed by his tapping feet. "'The monkeys stand for honesty, Giraffes are insincere, And the elephants are kindly but They're dumb. Orangutans are skeptical Of changes in their cages, And the zookeeper is very fond of rum. Zebras are reactionaries, Antelopes are missionaries, Pigeons plot in secrecy...'" Yes, he was beginning to feel much better.

[The Phantom of Paris]

Cassandra "Cassie" Wright

"Girls, slow down!" Cassie called to her little step-cousins as they took off down the path through the zoo, chattering excitedly to each other. Cassie followed behind, pushing her half-sister Chloe along in her stroller--Chloe who was nearly a year and a half now. How time was flying by. Cassie's first semester of her sophomore year of college had just wrapped up, and she was spending the day with Cecily, Grace, and Chloe, who she hadn't seen since Thanksgiving.

It had been an interesting semester. Cassie had fallen out of touch with a great many of her friends, it seemed. Only Lilith was close to her now, and that was partially because they were roommates. She loved living with Lily, but she missed the old days of laughing with Erin and embarrassing Yukito. She had been right all along--after the wedding of Yukito and Erin, things had been different. Really, if she had to pinpoint it, life had been different since the night of the party, the night of the shooting, the night of Irene and Jodie's deaths and the night that Yukito had had to fight for his life.

The night that poor, sweet Amane had been put into a coma.

"Hurry up, Cassie!" Grace called impatiently, startling Cassie from her reverie. She picked up the pace, reaching them with an apologetic smile.

"Cassie, we're hungry," Cecily said, tugging on the sleeve of Cassie's blue jacket. Cassie smiled softly. Nearly three years she had known these girls, and yet Cecily, now nearly nine years old, still felt timid and shy around her despite the fact that they were family. "Okay. There's a snack stand right over there. You guys want me to go with you?"

"No!" Grace cried. "We're old enough to go by ourselfs! Right!"

Cassie deliberated for a moment. She could see the snack shop from where they stood, so chances were the girls would be safe... "Okay," she said, reaching into her purse and handing the girls some money. "But hurry back, you hear me?" They took off like rockets, arguing over who would get what.

Cassie gave a light laugh, shaking her head as she turned the stroller around, making her way towards a bench. A guy maybe a few years older than her was already there, but there was nowhere else around to sit. "Hey," she said quietly, offering up a smile. "Mind if I join you for a few minutes?"

[mystmoonstruck]

Golden Hunt

In the midst of S&G, Golden's attention was drawn to the approaching group of females~a girl who looked as if she might be in her late teens and a couple of tykes who looked and sounded as if they were testing the limits. He chuckled as she doled out some money, freeing the little ones to a trip to the treat-station.

Then, still wheeling the stroller, she headed his way, and he sat up even straighter, smiling as she approached.

"Hey," she began, "Mind if I join you for a few minutes?"

"Not at all!" He patted the seat next to him. "I could use the company~but I promise not to be one of those overly pushy-type guys you meet in places like this." He chuckled softly and shrugged. "I don't usually look quite like this," he tried to explain, wondering what his modelly look must look like to her. "I was doing a shoot, but I think they figured a gazillion pictures of me are quite enough. I'm sort of looking forward to washing the goo out of my hair. Right now I feel like Duran Duran meets Flock of Seagulls." At that, he wondered if she had any knowledge at all of Eighties New Wave. "Aunt?" he guessed, motioning with a nod of his head toward the girls who now were receiving their orders. "Or just a good friend? I know. I know. It's none of my business. By the way..." He held out his right hand. "I'm Golden. Golden Hunt. Darn!" He made a dramatic wince. "I always get that wrong!" Shifting to his best Sean Connery, which wasn't very good at all, he re-introduced himself: "Hunt. Golden Hunt." Now, if only he hadn't followed up with that snort of a laugh!

[The Phantom of Paris]

Cassandra "Cassie" Wright

"Not at all!" The guy said, and Cassie smiled and settled herself next to him, pulling the stroller around so baby Chloe could see her. She reached into her bag and pulled out one of Chloe's toys, handing it off to the one-and-a-half year old before leaning back against the bench, readjusting her crimson scarf. "I could use the company~but I promise not to be one of those overly pushy-type guys you meet in places like this."

Cassie gave a little laugh, shaking her head. "I'm sure you won't," she said, but the guy was still talking, offering up a little laugh of his own along with a winning smile. "I don't usually look quite like this." Cassie furrowed her brow in confusion as the boy continued. "I was doing a shoot, but I think they figured a gazillion pictures of me are quite enough. I'm sort of looking forward to washing the goo out of my hair. Right now I feel like Duran Duran meets Flock of Seagulls."

Cassie laughed again, suddenly understanding. "My roommate does a bit of photography, and we did a photoshoot a while back. I know the feeling. I think the hair looks pretty decent, actually, but I get what you mean--it's fun to get dressed up, but sometimes it's even more fun to take all the dressy stuff off and just be yourself again."

"Aunt?" the guy asked, gesturing towards Cecily and Grace over at the snack stand. "Or just a good friend? I know. I know. It's none of my business."

Cassies shook her head. "No, you're fine. It's actually step-cousin--" she said, pointing to the older girls, "And half-sister," she added, putting her hand on the stroller to indicate Chloe. She blushed a little bit, but kept smiling. "It's a complicated family thing we've got going on here."

"By the way..." he said, holding out a hand, which Cassie shook. "I'm Golden. Golden Hunt. Darn! I always get that wrong!" Suddenly his voice shifted, morphing into a good attempt at a very recognizable accent. "Hunt. Golden Hunt."

Cassie gave another laugh. "Very good!" she said, giving him a tiny round of applause. "I'm Cassie. And that's Chloe," she said, nodding to the baby in the stroller, "but she's not very good at introductions yet, so she lets me take care of that for her."

[mystmoonstruck]

Golden Hunt

Movie lover Golden was pleased as the proverbial punch (though he wasn't certain of what that phrase meant and reminded himself to look it up later) when his bit of mimickry paid off with not only a laugh but also applause. How good could it get?! He had an audience again although the "Peanut Gallery" was too young to appreciate his brand of silliness. He was tempted to try Daffy Duck on Chloe but suddenly pictured sending her into screams of terror at being spoken to by a weird-haired 6-foot+++ human duck.

"Pleased to meet you, Cassie and Chloe," Golden returned bowing his head to each in turn. "So nice to meet someone who gets that shoots don't always bring out the best in the individual. I mean, do they really think we rush out to buy this stuff?!" Then, he thought about the perks and backed off a bit. "Well, I admit: I get to keep a couple of items. But I'm pretty good at mixing and matching though I'd rather have more money than~um~threads." He grinned, a dazzling, movie-star expression, and he winked, a quick blink as playful as his nature. "So, Cassie..." Could it be? Could it actually be true that he was at a loss for words at the moment? That did not happen often. He realized that part of his attention was on the two little girls now returning to their side. He couldn't help it: If little ones were around, he had to keep watch, knowing how quickly things could happen. He had hovered over enough nieces and nephews to be a good watchdog a la Nana of Peter Pan. Now, didn't that fit into this sisters' description of a gallumphing Golden Retriever? The chuckle got away from him, and he halted it. "Sorry. I just thought of a family joke. I ride herd over my sisters' kids when I'm back home, and the girls reminded me of that. Don't worry. I'm not some moussed fiend who cackles to himself and... Oh wait! I might be!" The snort of laughter would either set her at ease or have her moving to another bench. "So, you model, too?"