(Untitled)

[crazyspacegirl]

Zoe didn't have any recollection of learning the things that people learned as they grew up over time, like how to read and that corners were right angles which meant they were ninety degrees, but she knew that she knew them. She also knew that even if she was now somehow older and taller and much more mature than her mother (who had run off to

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[poison_lipstick]

"...Ni hao," Saffron replied, slightly puzzled, after racking her brain for a moment to try and figure out who the girl was and why she looked so familiar. Really, though, considering what was going on with some folks, the girl could have been anyone. "Do I know you, sugar?"

[crazyspacegirl]

"Yes!" Zoe was just pleased to have been recognized, even though Simon Chicago was making a displeased sort of grumbly noise deep in his throat to remind her that this wasn't really a family friend, even though neither he nor Zoe really had a personal issue with her.. "Do you want me to tell you, or do you want to guess?"

[poison_lipstick]

"I'll guess," said Saffron with a slightly amused smile as she started puzzling it out. "Let's see now...you speak Chinese, but that doesn't necessarily mean you're from the black. You look terrible familiar, but you're not calling me jian huo or the like, so you must not be River. Why do you look so familar to me, though?"

She was silent a moment, her eyes narrowing in thought, as she took the girl's appearance into consideration along with the current island phenomenon. "Zoe?" she said, venturing the best guess she could come up with.

[crazyspacegirl]

Zoe put a hand over her mouth and giggled at the bad word, and kept herself from blurting out the answer.

"Right on the first try!" she exclaimed, clapping her hands. "I'm probably not supposed to talk to you, but Mama's a little kid and I can do what I want."

[stormweathered]

"Ni hao," Castle greeted cheerfully, ignoring the fact that he had woken up in a role distinctly better-suited as 'plucky mother' to Alexis than 'wacky father'. Of course, not being able to recognize anyone was quickly beginning to grow frustrating and exhilarating at once. As far as mysteries went, it was about the best he could ask for. "Let's see. Only a few people I know speak Mandarin here, so I'm going with River or Helen."

[crazyspacegirl]

"Nope!" She shook her head and thought about whether she ought to give herself up right away or be mysterious with someone she wasn't sure she knew, though if they knew her mother they probably weren't a stranger. "I'm Zoe. Who are you, usually?"

[stormweathered]

Castle felt himself babbling before he realized he was doing it out loud. He stopped himself with a pinch to his lower lip, aware that he was gaping. "Wo de ma," he muttered, blinking rapidly. "What? Me? Name? I'm Castle, it's Castle, look at you, you're so big."

[crazyspacegirl]

"I know!" Zoe was still pretty surprised by the whole thing herself. "And you're so..." She gestured vaguely toward his chest. "You're a girl."

[piemakerprince]

The pie maker was aware strange things were afoot yet again, and once he'd gotten the chance to leave the bakery, he started for home to check on Chuck and Eli. Mostly, Ned was glad he wasn't one of the many children running around, nor was he the opposite gender.

He raised a hand when a familiar, sunny greeting was called out, confused when he didn't recognize the girl.

That didn't stop Digby, however. Grown up or not, Zoe had a familiar smell, and Simon Chicago was with her. Whatever had happened, she was still a friend, and he still nudged her leg happily -- and he didn't even have to worry about being too big to play with her now.

[crazyspacegirl]

"Digby!" Zoe had to get on her knees to greet him in what she considered the proper manner: a hug and a kiss on the nose.

Simon Chicago greeted his canine buddy with a put-upon woof. He hated it when his people went weird.

"Is Eli still a baby, or can he come exploring with me?" she asked, looking up at Ned.

[piemakerprince]

The combination of the pie maker's head tilting and the confused look on his face was a familiar, if now rarely used, gesture. He wasn't stupid, not at all, but sometimes it was hard to admit something, even when the evidence was staring you right in the face.

"Eli's a baby," he said slowly, then crossed his arms, surreptitiously pinching his inner elbow. He twitched. "...Zoe?"

[crazyspacegirl]

Zoe beamed, pleased that she was evidently still recognizably herself even if she was suddenly older.

"Yes, it's me. Zoe Reynolds. You look like Simon Chicago looked this morning when you tilt your head to the side like that." She demonstrated, wondering if it would make anything look different.

It just made the world a little bit lopsided, which wasn't really all that interesting when she was still getting used to the new perspective provided by the vast gain in height.

[plntfood]

"Ni hao," Mathias replies automatically, which Sam echoes, waving at the girl Mathias doesn't recognize before she runs over. "Sam," he says, trying to get her to stay by his side, but he's still on crutches and his leg still aches every now and then. "Sam, no, stay here with me."

He looks up at the girl and smiles apologetically. "I'm sorry, she hears Mandarin and thinks you're someone she knows."

[crazyspacegirl]

"But she's right. Usually she's bigger than me, though." Zoe grabbed Samantha's hand, and it struck her as weird and kind of sad that her best friend was still so small when she was, at least temporarily, practically a grown up.

"Don't you recognize me, Mathias?" That made her a little bit sad, too, even though she knew it wasn't his fault when she had fit comfortably on his lap just yesterday.

[plntfood]

Studying the girl, Mathias is about to shake his head when it occurs to him what's happening again. Before he has a chance to say anything, though, Sam delightedly crows, "Zoe!" and shakes the other girl's hand back and forth, trying to get her to crouch down. "Zoe's big," she tells Mathias, beaming.

As soon as she'd said it, he'd realized it was true. "Zoe?" he asks, just to be sure.

[crazyspacegirl]

Zoe dropped down to sit on the ground in a manner not much different from her usual graceless plop. She might have more control over her body's actions now, but she hadn't quite gotten entirely used to it.

She grinned up at Matias, pleased he hadn't really forgotten her. "It's me! I got big."

[has_2ls]

Ni hao. It had to be River or her kid and considering Jack was...well, smaller than usual right now, a familiar face would be comforting. Sam had tried not to giggle at him earlier and he'd given her a look and decided to go find clothes that fit. Clearly he'd forgotten how short he used to be as a teenager.

"It's Jack. Are you River or...?"

[crazyspacegirl]

Zoe waited patiently for the rest of the sentence, but when it wasn't immediately forthcoming she had to ask.

"Or... what? River's my mom but today she's younger than me."

Another thing she knew without thinking about it too much was that stuff like this happened all the time around here.

[has_2ls]

"Hey, Zoe," Jack said, wondering how you talked to someone who was supposed to be, you know. A toddler. He guessed it would be just like talking to anyone else and he shrugged.

"How young is young? As young as you normally are? Is someone taking care of her?"

[crazyspacegirl]

"Oh, no, she's not a baby. She said she was seven and a half and then she went to go find some friends to play with. I think she's fine." Zoe wasn't used to worrying about much beyond making sure she always knew where her beloved stuffed parrot was (safely at home in her bed, at the moment), and she was sure her mother could take care of herself. That was what she did.

"Is this what you looked like when you were this age for real?"