Faith and Kaya, for MM

[faithful_slayer]

Faith has a plan.

She's been working on it for a while, and now it's ready. She's got fake ID - in the name of Kaya Lehane - and she's got tickets, and now she's meeting Kaya by the doors of the bar.

Kaya's never been to a zoo before, and today she's going to Central Park. She just doesn't know it yet.

Comments

[no_thief]

Kaya's looking a little dubiously at herself as she approaches the door, or rather at the clothes Bar has provided for her to wear: tightly fitting trousers of a smooth blue weave and a shirt in bizarrely bright, flowerlike colors.

"Did I put them on right?" she asks Faith.

[faithful_slayer]

"Perfect," Faith says approvingly. "You look like you were born on my planet....here, I have something for you."

She hands Kaya a leather child's-sized messenger bag, one that bears no brand names and could pass for something from Kaya's own world.

"To carry money and things in."

[no_thief]

Kaya brightens slightly, and slings the bag over her shoulder. "Thank you."

(She's been remembering her manners a lot more, lately. As though she's been living like a civilized person again.)

[faithful_slayer]

"You're welcome." Faith smiles at her, holding out her hand. "If anyone asks, you're my cousin."

She doesn't want to try to replace Kaya's mother or sister. More importantly, she doesn't want Kaya to think she's doing that.

[no_thief]

"All right." She nods.

It's not a new idea to her, after all. More than once, Jojana claimed to be their mother.

[faithful_slayer]

Faith takes Kaya's hand, opens the door and leads her out into Central Park.

It's big, green, loud, and it has PENGUINS. This is clearly the perfect place to take a child.

[no_thief]

If she hadn't already visited Felix's world and seen (and heard!) the cars and flying machines, the noise level alone would send her fleeing back into Milliways.

As it is, Kaya holds tight to Faith's hand and stares around with enormous eyes.

[faithful_slayer]

"This is Central Park," Faith says, looking down at Kaya fondly. "I thought we'd go to the zoo, if you want to see the animals."

All kids like petting zoos, right?

[no_thief]

Park she understands, but -- "What's a zoo?"

[faithful_slayer]

"It's a place where we keep wild animals, so we can learn more about them. You like animals, right?"

Faith herself has a vague recollection of going through the standard must-have-a-puppy-NOW stage as a child, though, of course, she was realistic enough to realize it was never going to happen. Her mother was barely willing to feed HER, much less a pet.

[no_thief]

She nods, a little uncertainly. "Is it like a carnival? With the animals in cages?"

[faithful_slayer]

"No, we have those too, but they're called circuses...in zoos, the animals are in large places where they can run around, or swim or fly or whatever...though the last time I was here, they were mostly interested in sleeping..."

[no_thief]

She brightens a little. "That sounds better."

Kaya's only ever seen one carnival in her life, and what she chiefly remembers is how sad the scrawny desert cat looked.

[faithful_slayer]

"This isn't a very big zoo, as zoos go...I didn't want to overwhelm you on your first trip."

Like, say, by taking her to the San Diego zoo.

[no_thief]

She's still holding very tight to Faith's hand.

"There's so many people."

[faithful_slayer]

"....oh. I should have realized....I'm sorry, Kaya..."

Taking her to one of the most highly-populated cities in the world was maybe a bad idea.

"Do you want to go back?"