[Action/narration]

[ionianmode]

Comments

[things_go_boom]

Lash didn't notice anything at first, merely that Ionia had a new haircut.

"Hey! that looks really nice on you," she told her passing by as a greeting.

[ionianmode]

"Thank you, Lash!" Ionia reached up to touch it, her expression growing thoughtful for a moment.

"...Do you think that it makes me look more grown up?" This was important, you see. Very important.

[things_go_boom]

That was a weird question. She thought about it for a few seconds before answering.

"I guess shorter hair does make someone look older...it kinda reminds me of Kumatora's." Hopefully that was a good thing for Ionia. "Why the question?"

[ionianmode]

Apparently, yes, as she immediately broke out into a sunny grin.

"I have made a resolution, Lash! It is not just my hair that is changing!"

[INEVITABLE ENCOUNTER a billion edits]

[icequeen_aran]

After last night's SPACE ENCOUNTER WITH AN OLD FRIEND, Samus was tired, irritable, broody and trying her best not to show it. Despite all that, she still decided to be AN AVID LURKER OF PHYSICS as usual and Ionia's absence was noted. Especially after hearing from Dougie Dearest she was NOT PLEASED WITH HIM. And such, Samus set forth to do what she does best and hunt the target down. If she could find Ionia, it would be the perfect opportunity to talk to her while Falcon was busy teaching. NO BOYS ALLOWED OKAY.

She did not expect to find Ionia with significantly less hair.

"...Ionia?"

[ionianmode]

Ionia loved school; she was hardly the type to ever consider ditching any of her classes. Her absence was an open act of rebellion, a blunt declaration of her independence, an exciting and anxious--

...Oh. She was caught.

There was absolutely no doubt in Ionia's childish mind that Samus would be very firmly on Falcon's side; she was quite sure that she was about to receive a lecture about how bad she was being and how Falcon was totally in the right by lying to her. And then she'd probably get dragged back to Physics.

So when Ionia turned around, it was with a look of obstinate rebellion stamped on her face. "Gra..." No, wait. Could she still use Grandma if Samus was apparently Papa's special person? She would not use Mama. Absolutely not. That would imply some level of acceptance toward this situation. So after a moment's doubt, she settled for just a blunt "Ms. Aran."

[icequeen_aran]

If that look wasn't accompanied by such rebellion, the method of address alone said a thousand words. She knew what that look meant. She knew it well.

"...Your hair..." Samus had no intentions of dragging Ionia back to Physics and was doubly resolved not to now.

"I think my hair was about as long as yours was when I last cut it that short."

[ionianmode]

Not quite the first thing she'd expected to hear. Not only because it wasn't a reprimand, but because the idea of Samus with short hair had never even occurred to Ionia. It must have taken years to grow it that long; she'd always kind of figured that Samus had simply been growing it forever.

Even though she had made up her mind to be angry and distant, curiosity always had a way of getting the best of Ionia; her expression softened a little. "When did you have short hair...?"

[oso_tigre]

It's okay, Ionia, Auntie Kumatora will take you out for ice cream and punching bags... once she figured out the problem, of course.

"Hey! You got your hair cut!"

[ionianmode]

"Yes! I did it last night!"

A pause.

"...I did some of it last night. Nancy fixed the rest of it. It is not a very good idea to cut hair by yourself." Or so she'd learned the hard way.

[oso_tigre]

"Only if you don't know how to do it right!" Kuma fluffed her own... mess of pink. "I've been cutting my own hair for years, so I'm pretty pro at it."

At least that's what she tells herself.

[ionianmode]

Oh, Kumatora.

"Maybe I will be good at it some day too if I practice. I think I might keep it this short from now on. Haircuts are not that scary at all!"

Another pause.

"Except for when you do a very bad job at them." Seriously. That first glance in the mirror was brutal.

[monotreme_101]

Walkin' down the hallway, maybe headed to Goombella's dorm. Who knows?

"Oh, Hey Ionia. Nice haircut. Pretty short compared to how it used'a be!"

[ionianmode]

"Thank you, Knuckles!" What a nice red kitty he was. She flashed him a grin, giggling sheepishly. "I did not mean for it to be this short, actually... but I am not very good at cutting hair."

[monotreme_101]

"Huh. You used my name today! haha!" Knuckles gave a slight chuckle - it sounded odd for her to call him something that wasn't Mr. Red Kitty. "Hey, it looks pretty good for having cut it yourself. It's all even on both sides n everything." he said, ducking around to take a better look.

[ionianmode]

"Getting your name wrong is something that a kid does. Just because you are a red kitty does not mean it is your name." And, after all, Ionia was totally not going to be a kid anymore. Independent, mature being, right here.

...Well, maybe not totally independent just yet. "It was a lot crookeder when I cut it. Nancy made it look better. He is a very talented bear!"

Awww Ionia, will a robot make you feel better?

[operatingbuddy]

There was a robot hovering down the hallway. He spotted Ionia. Naturally, he did the polite thing and greeted her. "Hello," he said.

Robots make everything better.

[ionianmode]

Naturally, the polite thing to do would be to say hi back to th-- WHOA. THAT WAS A ROBOT.

"You are a robot!" Ionia blurted, displaying her dazzling grasp of the obvious.

Re: Robots make everything better.

[operatingbuddy]

"Affirmative," R.O.B. replied. "May I be of assistance?"

[ionianmode]

"Ionia loves robots," she informed him in an awed whisper.

"I have robots too," Ionia added. "They are not as smart as you, though. You are talking!" He was a talking robot! Somebody had built him a voice! Programmed him to make words and to put them together and to actually understand what people were saying to him! This was a very smart robot.