So We Meet Again [Dark] *FINISHED!*

[seraaches]

”You haven’t heard of Ashwin?” Kelasia asked curiously, though a bit absently as her mind was now on the books rather than the conversation. The library really did have a nice selection! ”Everyone says he’s one of the leading experts in our area on Banders, their genetics, and breeding. I really hope to have a chance to speak with him at length.” She got a bit of a dreamy expression thinking about it. To be able to ask all of the questions going through her mind of a real expert; she sighed softly before recalling herself. With a slight flush she glanced at Minh. Fortunately, the feline still seemed a little absent-minded about their conversation.

”Are you going to get a Bander for yourself as well?” the skunk asked curiously. ”Are you looking to breed them someday as well?” Wait, wait, rein in on the questions. She had to give people a chance to reply.

[Dark]

Minh couldn’t help but be amused by Kelasia’s obvious enthusiasm, and she smiled, figuring she would reward such an honest display with a little truthfulness of her own: “Truth be told, I already have several banders of rather… foreign decent. They’re delightful curiosities, but not the most temperate lot. I’m hoping to get some new stock into the gene pool and see if I can’t breed that little quirk out of them.”

She flipped through the other book on behavior patterns briefly, and continued, “Frankly, I’m hoping to distract Mnem from the money I’ll be spending with a cute furry little bundle of joy all her own, but I’m not exactly sure how well it’s going to work as a diversion.”

The wheels were turning in her head, and Minh thought for a random eruption of bullshit it was actually a rather brilliant idea. They did need new breeding stock. Of course, she needed to hold off until after they got back. And there was always the matter of keeping Monty from eating any potential mates…

[seraaches]

”You have a large purchase coming up?” Kelasia asked innocently as she continued to look through the books for other interesting bander topics. She hadn’t realized that Minh had banders already; despite the skunk’s suggestion, the black feline didn’t really seem like the best owner for other creatures or anything else that required any sort of care. The Sorgaire Range female doubted she’d trust Minh with a plant. Perhaps with Mnemosyne’s influence, however, everything would be able to survive or even thrive.

”I’m hoping to get a bander,” Kel confided in a sudden burst of confidence towards the other darker coloured woman. ”But I still have far too much to learn to get one yet.” She sighed softly, wondering how exactly to learn everything she felt she needed to know before getting one of the small creatures. ”Is the foreign stock different from those you usually see around the Capital?” Kel asked throughtfully.

[Dark]

Different? Different was an interesting choice of words, but fairly apt in describing Monty and her brood.

“Just a tad; I’m fairly certain they’re an entirely different subspecies, at this point. Thicker pelts, longer bodies, that sort of thing.”

Aaand—time to change the subject before Kelasia started asked any more pointed questions, because she really didn’t know how the dear little darling would react upon discovering Minh’s banders were the result of illegal genetic experimentation. She’d just have to make sure Kelasia never met Monty. Nobody should really met Monty—it forever changes one’s perspective of bandersnatches and makes it nearly impossible to ever look at their furry little faces without feeling an intense chill of paranoia—because they were watching.

“So what have you been up to since we last saw you at the café? Anything interesting?” Of course, from what little she knew of Kelasia, she'd been working and possibly visited the library a time or two. The girl really needed a life.

She dropped the book on genetics into her haversack, and picked up an interesting looking book charting the history and evolution of banders over the centuries.

[seraaches]

Kelasia was still inspecting the bookshelf so she missed Minh’s smooth move with the book. She finally pulled out a few other titles for the Corvistowneian female and gestured with her head to a nearby table. ”Would you care to sit down for awhile, Minh?” the slate blue and grey skunk asked quietly. ”It will be much easier to look through the books.” The offer was soft and tentative, as though she wasn’t certain the other woman would agree to relocation.

The skunk looked a little confused at first that the black cat inquired after her recent activities when she suddenly realized that it was something –friends- did. Her face lit up slightly, and she stuttered slightly again, afraid Minh would be bored with her response, ”R-re-really n-nothing t-too much. I’ve been working a lot because some of the accounts are off.” She flushed and sent a sidelong glance towards the feline. ”Wot have you and Mnem been doing?”

[Dark]

Minh took the proffered books and added them to her growing stack, moving to the table Kelasia had pointed out and immediately making herself at home—spreading the books out and digging out a notepad just in case she ran across anything interesting. She didn’t think she’d be taking all the books home, but some of them might provide an interesting gem or two of noteworthy information.

“Well, Mnem has settled in nicely; the apartment has been overrun with hordes of exotic flora which I suspect are mostly toxic in some way or another, and the mutant dust mites have finally signaled a retreat in the face of Mnem’s mad cleaning regime.”

She flipped idly through a conspiracy theory with no small measure of delight, considering anything else of note that might interest Kelasia, “Mnem has gotten herself several new beaus in the short time she’s been here at the capital; they all seem relatively happy with the arrangement. Oh! And my research has been going along smashingly.”

[seraaches]

Kelasia blinked in surprise and looked over at the black feline with the same expression evident across her blue face. She wasn’t even certain which part to begin asking about first. Toxic plants and mutant dust mites? Boyfriends who didn’t mind being one in a pack? Not that she had a lot to say on that subject; if she’d seriously let herself consider Theofilus she might not like wot she found out about herself. ”Mnem has toxic plants?” came out faintly and unconsciously; the skunk didn’t even really mean to ask the question at all.

She finally settled on the easiest one to ask about, though it might not be the topic Minh would like to pursue with her. ”Wot research are you working on now?” Corvistowneians were very interesting, the female skunk had long since decided. Their amazing passion towards a subject was something she greatly admired and hoped to one day emulate.

[Dark]

Er… Obviously Minh hadn’t done a very good job at steering the conversation away from subjects of a slightly sticky nature; time to improvise. General was good, and because she couldn’t lie to save she needed to stick with something she knew. The best lies were mixed with truth or some sort of bullocks like that.

Of course, there was no reason to lie about her research—it was how she was conducting her research that was to be avoided. The research was sound, but the principles…not so much.

“I’m trying to isolate and identify the entire genome, but because of the current level of technology I’ve mostly been bidding my time and hoping some engineer gets off his lazy arse and invents something useful. For the moment I’m focusing on specific mutations—I’ve drawn a wide selection of blood samples from volunteers, and I’ve been growing samples in my lab to try and identify the genes responsible. It’s actually quite fascinating.”

[seraaches]

Wow…. That all sounded very difficult and high level, especially compared to her own usual trains of thought. Kel was very impressed despite herself. Minh seemed a bit too, well, air-headed to be into such a serious subject. Well, no, air-headed wasn’t the correct word. Kel couldn’t quite think of the right descriptor for the cryptic black feline, but into genomes did not fit into the skunk’s view of the other woman.

”That’s amazing,” the Sorgaire Range creature said with muted excitement. ”Why don’t you invent something, Minh?” the skunk asked softly. It seemed if you understood wot was needed, it would be easier to actually make the needed implement. Though perhaps Minh didn’t have the technical know-how for glassworks or mechanicals that would be needed. That was an interesting thought as well. Kel felt her mind drifting to not only Minh’s research, but also the needed instruments to work out how to make something to help isolate genes and map a genome. Of course, it would be easier if she even knew wot a genome was…

[Dark]

It took Minh a moment to make sense of what Kelasia was suggesting, and with comprehension came intense plotting. Kelasia was right, of course; she should buckle down, do the research, and create what she needed instead of twiddling her non-existent thumbs and waiting for something she was perfectly capable of inventing herself.

She stood and the chair she’d been crouched on skittered backwards—she was on a mission. The notepad went into her haversack, along with the conspiracy theory just for its entertainment value. The other books she left scattered where they’d fallen. She didn’t feel guilty in the slightest—she was supporting the librarian’s livelihood.

“You’re right! Where’s the science section? I need schematics.”

If she could examine existing designs and current production methods she should, potentially, be able to extrapolate how to create her own microscope within the parameters she required for her research.

She tossed the haversack over her shoulder and looked at Kelasia expentantly.