It was no surprise that someone was once again escorting her home. First the leopards, then the wolves and now this strange creature, which she had no idea what exactly he was, but human it definitely was not. She could feel that radiating power, that he himself did not seem aware of. He was relaxed as she talked about bloody bunnies… and that was the dripping blood, not the Bloody Hell! Kind, crunchy bones, about cereal and cheese and bugs on the windshield.

As the beautiful, perfectly preserved Jaguar Roadster flew through the streets, she stood up on the seat, nearly bouncing up and down, with one hand on the windshield and the other curled protectively around the bowel of cereal. Thankfully, there had been no milk in it, or it would have spilled and become soggy a long while back, before they got to the elegant villa. As she became quiet with the wind whipping her dark brown locks back out of her face, he spoke of an aurora which she wondered if he had been in the northern reaches, especially since there was something about frost. Yes, it was cold up north, there would be lots of frost there and he could not be all that fortunate if he had been stuck there long, but she was sure that watching the aurora might be well worth it… didn’t he think?

“ Home, sweet Home. ”

He said it with such a serious bored tone, but of course it made her curious, as he started to open the door, she stepped forward and licked the bricks…. To which she instantly started to blow raspberries, and shake her head, pert little nose wrinkled in disgust, and a look of betrayal in her amber and emerald eyes.

“ your home is not really sweet… “ She informed him, once she got the taste of rock out of her mouth, and then stuffed it promptly with a fist full of cereal, while she followed him down the open elegant space to his bedroom. Only now she was convinced there must be sweets hidden somewhere in his home, if he called it sweet, so as he fell into the pillows on his bed, she went on all fours, the bowl placed on the ground beside the bed and pulled up the skirt, looking beneath it. It was a matter of minutes before he skinny little form was three quarters beneath the large four poster, her legs lightly kicking, while giggles suddenly erupted with the sound of something battery operated nearly drowned out by her laughter. A slipper sailed out from the side of the bed, along with some undergarments of a vibrant ruby shade, soon followed by purple, pink, black and gold.

When she was finally pulled out from under her new found treasure trove, there was a toy in her hand… A distinctly neon green color, which she waved around in delight, a thong was wrapped around her lanky curls, used as a band for her locks, and a square little package in the other.

“ I FOUND THE CANDY!“ She squealed with triumphant delight. Since the little roman figure stated on the top ’Cherry flavored.’  And before Caine could say or do anything, she had ripped it open and pushed it into her mouth. Brows furrowed in a frown as she chewed… and chewed… and chewed, finally blowing a bubble… A very long bubble…. That soon deflated from the bites into the material. Her face nearly fell with disappointment again. With it still in her mouth, she frowned up at him, still waving the vibrating toy in her hand “ Its not very good gum…. But I got you one too! “ And she offered him the “ Apple flavored’ one.

“ Oh, mon chere. These are not candies that you eat. They are…. “

“ you can’t eat candies? That’s crazy talk!” she interrupted before he could finish and was on the move again. She seemed to be one of those people that could not stay still for more than a few moments. Wiggling her skinny form beneath the bed again, to find more treasure, only the underwear stash had been depleted by her earlier excursion and she simply crawled all the way across to the other side of the large bed, coming out on the other end and heading directly to his closet. It was, of course one of those huge walk in deals, with doors that pulled open. She was still brandishing that so delightful buzzing toy, which she promptly used to scratch an itch between her shoulder blades, before pulling one of the doors open and stepping into what she considered an entirely other room. 

It was like being in a store, there was all his clothes, neatly organized on hangers, boxes along the ground and various dressers and shelves, with tons of drawers calling her to explore. She started with the boxes at the bottom. Shoes, more shoes… more shoes…. Hats… ties… “ AAHH HAA! Treasure! “ She plopped herself down legs crossed pulling the heavy box onto her lap. The fur covered handcuffs she tossed into the room beyond, with a wrinkle of her pert nose, a silk blindfold was tied across her forehead.. Rambo style. The next wand she came across was so very odd, she stared at it for the longest time. It had a little rabbit on one tip and when she pressed the button it made its ears wiggle really fast. She started to giggle uncontrollably, delighted with the new toy. The other button made the longer part of the wand squirm and wiggle in different directions, she was completely fascinated.

“ you’re a magician! This one must be for the bunnies, you must get a lot of bunnies out of your hats. “ Nodded sagely, while she brandished the new wand. With smooth neon one in one hand and the one new one in the other, she looked from one to the other, before shaking her head. “ You’re a cook! Its for mixing cakes! “ Proclaimed delighted again, and she was on her feet faster than you would think possible. She was heading resolutely to the bedroom door, to go find the kitchen and try it out. Her ponytail swung with each step, dark locks entwined with the silk blindfold ends, the white thong a bright contrast against her brunette curls.

Only she stopped a moment at the side of the bed, to first spit out her ‘not-candy’ and fill her mouth with another handful of cereal. Her small feet made no sound at all, each step taken with a dancers grace. “ we should make a cake now. That way you have one for the bunnies, when they come. “

The whistle stopped her dead in her tracks. For a moment she didn’t even seem as if she were breathing, as if she were waiting for something. One hand raised mid-air with the buzzing, vibrating toy, while the other was outstretched, fingers curled around the door handle. At his words, she instantly turned, like a doll on strings. It was a few minutes after his words that her amber and emerald eyes blinked, and she looked about warily, crouching down, while she watched his movements, with distrust.

With wide eyes, she watched the covers pulled back, and looked over the soft warmth that the bed offered. But it was not till he produced the book , that she became mobile again. The smile returning to her lips, as she launched herself onto the bed, the toy still clasped tightly in her hand. Her small skinny form pressed into the covers, shoes and all.

There was a moment of tug-o-war, when he went to take the toy away. But she did not even pout when it was placed into the drawer, her attention already shifted to the book. Dark rich locks pressed against him, listening to the boom, boom of his heart, waiting for him to start. Her hands had curled around the edge of the covers and pulled them clear up to her chin.

She listened raptly to his voice, her body relaxing next to him. Every once in a while her soft voice lifted to make some odd comment. “ Twinkle, twinkle little star… your ceiling has not sky… The constellations are missing. “ She would go quiet again, listening to the rustle of pages being turned, and the rhythmic in and out of his breath, along with every word read. Her voice was lent to his, those oddly colored eyes closed as she  spoke the words to one of the poems, memorized from a fragmented brain.

“ O to make the most jubilant song!
Full of music   full of manhood, womanhood, infancy!
Full of Common employments   full of grain and trees.

O for the voices of animals   O for the swiftness and balance of fishes!
O for the dropping of raindrops in a song!
O for the sunshine and motion of waves in a song!

O for the joy of my spirit  it is uncaged   it darts like lighting!
It is not enough to have this globe or a certain time,
I will have thousands of globes and all time.

O the engineer’s joys! To go with a locomotive!
To hear the hiss of steam, the merry shriek, the steam-whistle, the laughing locomotive!
To push with resistless way and speed off in the distance.

O the gleesome saunter over fields and hillsides!
The leaves and flowers of the commonest weeds, the moist fresh stillness of the woods,
The exquisite smell of the earth at daybreak, and all through the forenoon.

O the horseman’s and horsewoman’s joys!
The saddle, the gallop, the pressure upon the seat, the cool gurgling by the ears and hair.

O the fireman’s joys!
I hear the alarm at dead of night,
I hear bells, shouts! I pass the crowd, I run!
The sight of the flames maddens me with pleasure.

O the joy of the strong-brawn’d fighter, towering in the arena in perfect condition, conscious of power,
Thristing to meet his opponent.

O the joy of the vast elemental sympathy which only the human
Soul is capable of generating and emitting in steady and limitless floods.

O the mother’s joy!
The watching, the endurance, the precious love, the anguish, the patiently yielding life.

O the joy of increase, growth, recuperation.
The joy of soothing and pacifying, the joy of concord and harmony.

O to go back to the place where I was born,
To hear the birds sing once more,
To ramble about the house and barn, and over fields once more,
And through the orchard and along the old lanes once more…..”

Her voice slowly began to fade, long before the poem had ended. Long lashes falling over the delicate innocence of her features, as sleep began to claim her. She was thin, thinner than she should have been, even in repose, there was a note of pain, or expected pain. Her fingers so tightly clasping the sheets that her knuckles were white, even though her breathing was that slow deepness of sleep.