An Apple a Day [Kari] [FINISH]

[Harpsdesire]

”Oh, I know! They are so scary!” Joel said, but so cheerfully that it suggested that he considered it one of the jubjub’s better qualities. ”A mome rath or tove makes a better pet, although I’d really like to have a bander. Then again, bandersnatches can be pretty mean, too.” Joel’s face took on a pouting expression for just a moment as he complained, ”Dad won’t let me have a pet. He says I’m too young, and that I’d just experiment on it anyway… I so wouldn’t.”

The boy’s unhappy tone didn’t last for long, as Josephine uttered a word he couldn’t resist. ”Yes, science! Science is amazing. You can learn about all sorts of things, like why the sun goes up and down in the sky, what makes trees turn colors in the fall, or how to make explosions. I like learning about exoskeletons best! That’s the armor on crabs and insects.” Joel said, full of an almost giddy enthusiasm for his favorite topic.

Still, he made himself leave Josephine a moment to talk. He was pleased that they shared so much in common. He was also a reader and a troublemaker. ”I have a sister, too. Sometimes we read or do experiments together, but mostly she’s kind of a pain.” Joel’s little nose wrinkled at the thought of his sibling and the intense rivalry they had developed over the years. With similar obsessions, each longed to be the first to crack the tough questions about how exoskeletons could be naturally grown on a card. At the moment, Callie was slightly ahead in her research, but next week the situation might be reversed. Torn between cooperation and competition, the pair were often at each other’s throats. They loved each other underneath it all (although at his age Joel was not eager to admit to loving any girl, even in a sisterly way).

”We get into trouble all the time, sometimes with my brothers.” He said happily, ”Or we make messes, and sometimes set stuff on fire... I don’t really like when I upset mom or get punished, of course, but usually it’s fun to make trouble.” Joel grinned mischievously. He wandered a bit further from the fruit stand as he talked, moving out of the crowd of people trying to buy apples and pears. He motioned with one heavy paw for his new friend to follow him to a quieter space between stalls where they would be less likely to get their tails and paws stepped on.

[Kari Muffin]

"My parents won't let me have any pets either. Though I play with my Aunts banders and Tove. My Mommy doesn't like any sort of pets so I don't think I'll get to have one anytime soon." In other words she would never have the chance to have a pet. Unless somehow she managed to convince her mother that it would be a good thing. Yeah... right.

Science sounded... interesting. Beyond her, but she supposed that it could be interesting. Apparently it was a Corvie thing. She would store that away for later.

"Oh? That's pretty cool!" she said as she balanced the apple core on her nose. She really needed to find a place to throw it away, but of course she couldn't see a trash can anywhere. Why didn't they clearly mark things here in the city? Things were easier to find when she was in one of her various homes.

"Getting punished is the worse part about making trouble, but I sometimes get away with things because my parents don't find out!" She gave the cat a mischievous look. "Want to cause some trouble now?"

[Harpsdesire]

"It's good that you get to play with some at least." Joel said earnestly.

"Maybe your aunt would let you help feed them or something, and then when your mom sees how good you are with pets, she'll change her mind. Joel was optimistic about the outcome of this plan, even though he had tried it himself without success. He would try changing a few variables, he thought, and then repeat the experiment.

"It is cool!" He agreed, pleased that she responded so positively to the idea of science. Even if she was a girl, and not a corvie, and didn't know much about science, Josepine was alright in Joel's book.

This opinion was only reinforced by what she said next. He returned her trouble-making glance in kind. "I like the way you think!" He said with a chuckle. Troublemaking was exactly what he wanted to do, even if he hadn't yet realized it himself. After all, it would be a total waste to have such complete, parent-less freedom for the afternoon and not do anything interesting. As long as he returned by dinner time more or less intact and with the groceries he had been sent for, the young boy figured he could probably get away with goofing off for a while. A wide grin split his face as he asked, "What kind of trouble do you have in mind?"

[Kari Muffin]

"I don't think taking good care of a pet would change my Mommy's mind," she said as her tail drooped slightly. Even if she was responsible her Mom didn't like pets at all. She dislike banders, she disliked just about anything other than Aces. And she doubted her mother would give in to getting them a pet Ace.

As for trouble... there were plenty of things they could do. The city was filled with opportunities, but most of them were far from lighthearted adventures that were safe for children. She went through the various places they could go through her head.

"How about we go to the candy store? We can see if we can get free candy!" She said brightly, her tail wagging at the prospect of treats. "Or we could go to the toy store, but I think we can get free candy. The old lady at the store is super nice when you give her a cute look."

[Harpsdesire]

"Hm." He snorted softly and shook his head. "Moms can be so stubborn." Even his own mom, who he loved very much was sometimes so unreasonable. She seemed to have rules for everything, like "don't play with your food", "don't jump on the bed" and "no experimenting on your sister".

He was glad to have a rare few hours of freedom in the marketplace and someone to share in the troublemaking... someone who didn't know his parents, and therefore couldn't possibly tattle on him. Eating candy right before dinnertime was another one of the many fun things his parents didn't encourage, and it sounded like just the right kind of trouble.

"Candy sounds good. Let's do it!" Joel wagged his tail, too, although it felt a little unnatural to do so. He bounced a little on his over sized feet and gave Josephine the cutest look he could muster (which was admittedly less cute than he hoped. He was getting a bit too big to be truly adorable, and his limbs were just starting to lengthen into an ungainly adolescent lankiness).

"Do you think this is cute enough?" If it wasn't, well, she would just have to be cute enough to get candy for both of them. One apparent benefit of being a girl was the easy command of unspeakable levels of cute. He had seen his sister use the girl-cuteness-beam against grownups before.

[Kari Muffin]

Josephine couldn't help but giggle at the boy's expression. He wasn't as cute as she had hoped. Weren't cats supposed to be adorable and fluff and all that nonsense? She figured he would at least have a bit of an advantage there, but really he just looked adorably silly. "I think it's good enough for adults!" she said cheerfully as she started to lead the way to the candy store. Free sugar was something she could never wait for.

She turned to Joel, putting on her best adorable puppy face. It was startlingly effective against her aunt, though it hardly worked on her mother. Maybe that was because her mother claimed to invent the look. She didn't think that was true, since Mommy tended to exaggerate just about everything. "How about my cute face? Is it good?"


The store was very plan on the outside. However once someone looked into the large window they would see the bright colors that screamed out to children. Lolipops, chocolate and all sorts of confections was strewn across the store. The little girl bounced forward, pushing the door open with her nose.

[Harpsdesire]

"Awesome." Good enough for adults was, well, good enough! He followed the little canine eagerly, as excited about trying out the effectiveness of his cute face as he was about the prospect of free candy. He idly considered doing some kind of experiment to see what kind of adults were most susceptible to cuteness, but he knew he would never get around to it. Most other pursuits were put aside in favor of his primary Corvie interest, including other veins of scientific inquiry.

Josephine, being smaller, younger, and more practiced, had him beat in the cute-face department, and Joel had no problem accepting this. "That's very cute." He told her happily, although as a boy, he probably wasn't the best judge of cuteness. As far as he could tell, girls spent a lot of time thinking about what was cute, and he hardly ever thought about things like that at all.

When he saw the food in the shop window, his face took on a longing look that was actually cuter than he would have liked. The apple he had eaten just a few minutes before was forgotten at the sight of piles and piles of brightly colored sweets. "This place looks great." He whispered to Josephine as he followed her in.

[Kari Muffin]

The wolf's tail was wagging cheerfully behind her as she trotted into the store. The smell of pure sugar floated through the air, her tail wagging faster. Josephine had inherited most of her mother's mischief and excitement to everyone's dismay.

She stood on her hind legs and pressed her paws on the glass counter so she could look at the candy behind it. So much sugar right in front of her. She put on her cutest and most pathetic look as she stared at the wide array of nummy things in front of her.

The shopkeeper peered over his counter to look at the two. He was an older Morganberry gentlemen who dressed in equally bright colors. His mane was silver, though that could have easily been because of a dye job. "Are you children looking for anything in particular?"

Josephine looked up, "Um... do you have rock candy?"

[Harpsdesire]

Joel followed Josephine's happily wagging tail up to the counter. He waged his own back and forth a few time in response, even though he wasn't naturally inclined to the canine mode of expression. Breathing in the mixed scents of chocolate and fruity sweets, he grinned even wider as he took a position beside his new friend.

Soooo many goodies... The boy's mouth watered. "I like those red gummy fish! Ooo, or licorice pipes." His widened eyes darted from one heap of colorful treats to another in a way that suggested that he liked pretty much every treat present. He licked his chops, the recent apple snack completely forgotten. Now that he was actually faced with the candy and his inability afford nearly as many of the assorted sweets as he wanted, Joel's adorably pathetic looked was surprisingly improved.

He looked up at the Morganberry shopkeeper with a cherubic smile. "How much are the toffees?" After seeing this place, Joel resolved to make at least an attempt of negotiating a higher allowance with his parents. As it was, he had been saving up all he could for a particular piece of lab equipment he dearly wanted. It was a good thing he hadn't brought his piggy bank along-- this store could make a considerable dent in his savings.

[Kari Muffin]

The man cheerfully directed Josephine to the particular candy she was looking for and then addressed the boy. "The chewy kind is five, the hard kind is four per pound." He said as he pulled one of the trays out. "Would you like to try one?"

Josephine's tail was wagging a mile a minute as she did her best not to bounce in place. She was glad that Joel was here, and that he had actually asked about the price of something. She edged a bit closer to him when the man offered the toffee. She carefully reached out with a paw and took a piece, the man didn't seem to be particularly upset about it, so she popped the bit of candy in her mouth.

How much money did she actually have on her?

Her tail continued to wag as she glanced around the store. "Hey, once you decide if you want that candy can you help me pick something out for my sister."