Singing in the Rain (Well less singing and more splashing)

[curiously_cora]

Coraline had barely been able to contain her glee upon waking up and finding the weather had turned for the worse. Staring out at the rain from her shared hut doorway, Coraline practically bounced on toes with glee. Sticking her hand outside she laughed as her arm and hand got covered in cold wet stuff that she very much associated with home. It

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[kaleidoscopeyed]

Wet from the top of her head to the tips of her toes, Karolina was badly dressed for the sudden rain. A hoodie was a poor excuse for a coat let alone a waterproof one, but Karolina wasn't bothered. It was different. She grinned up into the rain and squinted her eyes against it. She laughed and heard it almost immediately echoed by the sound of a younger girl shrieking and laughing.

She located the puddle stomper and called out, "That looks like fun!" She waved and made her way over, walking through the puddles in her flip flops.

[curiously_cora]

Coraline looked at the girl's poor muddy feet and smiled giddily at her. People had mocked Coraline for wearing her wellies every single day but today she'd laugh at them in their incorrect footwear and say I told you so in a very petulant sort of voice. This girl hadn't however mocked her so she would at least be given a respite.

"It's brilliant fun, it's just like home." Coraline said waving back. "I've got some wellies if you want. All sorts of colours and ones with lions and dragons on them."

[kaleidoscopeyed]

Brilliant. Karolina grinned. Wellies. It sounded like slang Molly would have picked up from somewhere.

"Do you think they would fit?" she asked and gave her own mud splattered calves a once over.

[curiously_cora]

“I’ve got exactly thirty two pairs of wellington boots, only eleven pairs fit me and the others are either too big or too small. I got a lot of pairs of willies for my birthday, I was eleven, and the others are ones I’ve discovered.” Coraline said seriously. Wellington boots were not a joking matter. “So yes, I probably do have a pair that would fit. Wellies are the greatest, I’d wear them all the time but I know mum would be very unhappy if she found out I wore them to school. Even if she’s not here, I know she’d be somewhere at home grumbling about pleather and sensible shoes.”

[kaleidoscopeyed]

"Oh! Well that's lucky!" Karolina said and then dimmed to the solemnity that seemed appropriate. "So you, uh, discover boots around? Sorry, Wellingtons right? I, well I'd love a pair. Makes this kind of weather a lot more fun right?"

[curiously_cora]

"The clothes box gives them to me when it's being nice, I thought it was the Other Mother's doing at first but Adam and Cain say it's not. Though it is something she would try to do," Coraline said with a thoughtful frown. She really ought to check the Mirror Room and make sure no child is locked up inside it but the thought of going up there on her own in this weather scared her. Just a little bit. And if she did go Adam would probably ground her again. "You can call them wellies. And yes it does."

Coraline holds her hand out to take Karolina to her hut so she can grab her a pair of wellies.

[kaleidoscopeyed]

She opened her mouth to ask about Other Mother and Adam and Cain but decided against it. "That's really cool!" She realized she hadn't asked the girl's name.

She took her hand, and smiling said "I'm Karolina, what's your name?" She had a feeling that no matter what it was she'd always remember her as the girl with the Wellies.

[curiously_cora]

"That's almost like my name but not quite. I'm Coraline. Not Caroline, Coraline." Coraline said shaking her hand firmly and tugging her along eagerly to share the joyous experience of wellies. "I'm an explorer but I'm going to be an explorer and a spy when I'm older."

[kaleidoscopeyed]

"Wow, they are pretty close," Karolina said, pleased. She let herself be dragged along and listened as the girl talked. "That's pretty cool. Where have you explored?" She guessed that even though the island wasn't that big, a little girl could get into a lot of trouble in the wrong places. She wasn't about to say that though. Molly had taught her that you ought to take what kids said seriously, but not too seriously.

[curiously_cora]

"I went to dinosaur territory on my own but I got into trouble for that and Adam had to go and get me and bring me home. He grounded me for that and Cain told me off too," Coraline said seriously. She hadn't liked being grounded at all and had been even more sullen and angry when she'd been grounded. It hadn't been a very nice time. "And I explored two of the temples when the island changed and I've explored the volcano with Wednesday and the beach with Cain. I want to explore Serenity but the evil dread pirate Captain Mal owns that and he doesn't take too kindly to invaders. He's promised me a position on the crew though next time one comes up so I'm going to wait. I don't think he's bad really."

Coraline stomped through the rain and puddles. She could go on for quite some time about exploring, it was after all her most favourite thing in the world. "And Adam's going to take me to the other island for a holiday, we're going to explore it."

[kaleidoscopeyed]

"Whoa," Karolina said in quiet awe. She had assumed that the girl's enthusiasm for exploring and spying was make-believe or at least a much smaller scale. She mentally berated herself for thinking so much like a grown up. "I've never been to any of those places, except I sort of almost ran into Dino territory-- Oh, hey! Have you been out to the Pygmy grounds? We live near there. You could meet OL." Listening to Coraline, Karolina couldn't tell whether the girl would have been Molly's best friend or her worst enemy.

"So Cain and Adam look after you?" Karolina would bet that Coraline gave them a run for their money.

[curiously_cora]

"No, I haven't yet. I think Adam's scared I might hurt myself again... who's OL?" Coraline said with a curious smile on her face. It was a smile that said that despite what the grown ups thought she'd be going to explore it soon. "I live with Adam but I sometimes stay with Cain as well, they're like my island daddies. Cain lives in a house with his betrothed Glitch and a whole lot of soldiers. They swear a lot."

[kaleidoscopeyed]

Karolina grinned. They sounded like a pretty ragtag bunch to her, but she didn't say so. There was a time and a place to encourage throwing off grown up rules, but a girl, bright as she might appear to be, who unabashedly stomped in puddles, might not be the right person to start with. Not yet anyway. Even so, she couldn't help but answer.

"OL, Old Lace I mean, is a dinosaur. No, seriously!" she said with a smiled. "She's a deinonychus," Karolina said the word slowly, still having trouble with it. "She's not from here," she added. "Maybe you could ask Adam or Cain to come and see her sometime?"

She had a vague thought that whoever Cain and Adam were, they might be very angry with her sometime soon.

[curiously_cora]

"A deinonychus? Really? A proper dinosaur?" Coraline asked, her eyes lighting up with glee. The thought of seeing a real live dinosaur, well okay a real live dinosuar again filled her heart with joy. "I'm sure they won't mind at all."

That was a complete lie, though Coraline reassured herself it was only a very little one. Besides if Karolina lived with a dinosaur then it was bound to be safe. Coraline grinned as she saw her hut ahead. "That's our hut, you can come in but you've got to be careful of Mogwai on the floor. It's my model city, I've been making it since I came here."

[kaleidoscopeyed]

"That's right," she grinned. Oh yeah, I'm going to be in big trouble. "She's pretty cool. My friend from home, who was about your age, used to ride her." Karolina didn't bother mentioning that Molly had also been able to lift Old Lace of the ground with one hand.

"I promise I'll be careful," she said following her to the door.