Sister's keeper (Jacinda)

[Taya Robbins]

Taya had meant to put in some early studying for the big algebra test that Professor Chandrashekar had slated for Monday. The plan had looked good on paper, and the theory had been sound. But the thing was, it was Saturday, just after noon. And it was gorgeous today - a deep blue sky that went on forever, and the air was warm without being humid, and Taya was feeling much more inspired by the doodles in the margins of her math notes than the painstakingly drawn graphs of conic sections.

So her notes fell in a heap next to her bed, and she flopped onto her stomach over her sketchbook while singing along to the They Might Be Giants (http://youtube.com/watch?v=VJQnZZ-Wmao) album on her stereo.

"Don't, don't, don't let's start,
This is the worst part,
To believe, for all the world
That you were my precious little girl, but
Don't, don't, don't let's start,
I've got a weak heart, and
I don't get around how you get around!"

Her plush red dragon with flight goggles, the one she'd bought on her jaunt to Salem with Damien, sat beside her like a friendly muse as her pencil danced across the page in fluid, looping movements. She was thinking light, airy, and free, and the girl taking shape in graphite was obviously flying, her back arched gracefully, her arms spread swanlike over a stylized patchwork of farmland and branching roads far below. Her head was tossed back, maybe in jubilation, maybe in sleep, maybe in some sort of ecstatic trance. Taya tapped the eraser end of her pencil thoughtfully against her nose, stared at the blank facial mask, then, grinning, started filling in Jacinda's features.

[Jacinda Blake]

Jacinda sat perched on the end of her bed, foam wedges between her bare toes kept them separated while she applied a second coat of spakly red polish to them. It was one of her favorite OPI colors called 'Im not really a waitress..'.

It had come to this. Jacinda Blake - Cullen's unofficial Miss Congeniality had become a bedroom lurker to avoid everyone! If she wasn't in class, working, training or haunting the library she was doing mundane things like this and it was starting to wear on her.

More than once she'd thought about trying to go talk to Carlos and Chris and patch things up because she missed them both so much but.. then she'd start thinking about the sequence of events that had led to the big falling out and come to the conclusion that she should do no such thing! She was the one who'd been wronged!

Waddling on her heels, from her room to Taya's, Jacinda knocked before sticking her head in the door. "Hey you... It's lunch soon, want to go grab some chow with me?"

[Taya Robbins]

Taya had heard that cats could sense human emotion. She had no idea whether that was true or not, but she didn't need superhuman empathy to notice the deep blue funk Jacinda had been stewing in for the past few weeks. And though she didn't know entirely what was behind it all, she'd become convinced that drastic measures had to be taken.

She covered up the drawing with one arm - she didn't want Jacinda to see it before she was done. "Uhh, sure," she said, "as soon as I get this finished." She glanced over at the clock radio by her bed and added, "Maybe ten more minutes? Oh, hey, have you looked outside? It's gorgeous today."

[Jacinda Blake]

Absently, Jacinda glanced toward the window. It was a pretty blue and clear sky, a huge picnic with all her friends would have been awesome. But since the majority were mad at her for who knew what reason.. Bah!

"Nice.. We can grab our trays and go steal a picnic tbale maybe?", she lifted one foot up and pulled free the little bits of foam from between her toes then repeated the process on the other side. Passing her hands over her feet a soft wind made sure they were good and dry...

"I'll just go get ready! Lemme know when you want to go!", she padded back to her room to change in a pair of denim capris and a lightweight aqua poncho over a white tanktop.

Stepping into her most coveted flip-flops, she was ready..

[Taya Robbins]

Taya made sure Jacinda was out of sight, closed her sketchbook, and grabbed her cell phone from beside the radio. Dang it, texting was hard with padded fingers. The phone blooped its confirmation of the message.

Five minutes later, the phone rang. She checked the door to make sure Jacinda was out of earshot and flipped it open.

"Hi... yeah, we're ready. What is it, like, an hour? Sure, we can eat on the way. No, not a clue. Okay, just pull up by the gardens, where the picnic tables are. Awesome! See ya then."

Taya snapped the phone shut and dropped it into her pocket. Then she slid her sketchbook into her backpack next to a few other items and swung it onto her shoulder.

"Kay, Jas! Let's go!"

[Jacinda Blake]

"Ready!", she called out, meeting Taya at the door to their rooms.

"I hope they have something good to eat today. There are only so many servings of macaroni and cheese one can take before it becomes just a cup of orange mush...", it was a sad lament.

"So did I hear your phone ring?", she asked..

[Taya Robbins]

Taya shrugged. "Just my mom about something."

She glanced down at Jacinda's feet and noted the flip-flops. Then she led the way out the door and down the hall.

"Can you believe Mr. Chandrashekar is giving another test on Monday?" she said. "Sometimes I wonder if he gets his classes mixed up. You know, sends the wrong clone to the wrong one, forgets how much homework he's already throwing at us."

Taya bounced down the hallway stairs and headed out the door. The mansion was more or less H-shaped, and the girls' dorms and the cafeteria were on opposite legs, so it was quicker to cross the front lawn outside, especially when the weather was this beautiful. A gentle breeze met them at the door, ruffling the treetops at the edge of campus.

"How about you?" Taya asked. "Senioritis kicking in?"

[Jacinda Blake]

"Gosh yes...", Jacinda agreed.

"Well, you know the thing is..", she said, heading down the stairs to the lawns..

"I've got a lot of extra's going on this year." The X-men for one..

"I finished most of my senior academics early, so that I could slot in being a teacher's aid. I really think after graduation, I want to step it up. Maybe even long-term look into teaching here.. Who knows?!"

The sun, the sky, the breeze... It was a lovely day out. Too bad they couldn't just run off somewhere, like the beach!

[Taya Robbins]

"Really? Wow. Would I have to call you Miss Blake?"

Taya smiled impudently and threw her voice into a childish falsetto.

"Miz Blake! Damien's picking on me! I need more crayons! Carlos keeps burning them all up!"

With the subtlety of a lioness, she steered Jacinda toward the picnic tables and away from the cafeteria.

[Jacinda Blake]

Bursting into giggles at the image, Jacinda shook her head at her nutty friend.

"Detentions all around! We cannot have that kind of behavior in this place of hallowed learning! I'll expect to see you all for nachos and horror flicks promptly at nine!"

She giggled at the thought of what kind of teacher she'd make, but then recalled that Carlos probably wouldn't be showing up for snacks and flicks anymore..

Instant gloom.

"Hey, we're going the wrong way...?", Jacinda asked, starting to turn back toward the cafeteria..

[Taya Robbins]

Taya reached back and tugged her back on-course. "No, we're not," she said.

[Jacinda Blake]

"Taya..", she laughed a bit..

"Seriously.. food is this way. Follow your nose! Like Toucan Sam!", Jacinda tried again to turn toward the cafeteria.

One would think a kitty-girl could forage for food better....

[Taya Robbins]

Taya waited until her back was turned, then pulled a red scarf out of her pocket and held it up against the sky. Suitably opaque...

She turned after her roommate and pounced, pulling the scarf tight across Jacinda's eyes. "Surprise!"

She tied the knot surprisingly easily - good thing she'd spent a half hour practicing that morning - and flailed to grab Jacinda's arm at the elbow.

"We're not going to the cafeteria today," she said with a diabolical grin.

[Jacinda Blake]

After a girlish squeal, Jacinda became disoriented as she was once more spun around away from the cafeteria.

"If this is a surprise party, it's a bit early for my birthday!", she teased.

Rather than struggle she just let herself be led along, she trusted Taya implicity, even despite the fact that it sounded like she might cackle at any moment...

[Taya Robbins]

"Naw, just a kidnapping. And don't try anything. I've been doing Taekawndo with Mr. Rhee. And I've got claws, did you notice?"

Taya patted Jacinda on the back and drove her further down the path, careful to avoid any roots or rocks she might trip over. After about fifty feet, she said, "Curb," and they stepped down onto asphalt.

Then they stopped, and Jacinda could hear a car door opening. "Okay, climb on in. It's a long way to the glue factory."

There was a noise of shock from the vicinity of the driver's seat. The voice was familiar. "A blindfold? Taya!"

"Hey, if we're kidnapping her, we're doing it right," Taya replied. She shut the door behind her captive and ran around to climb in on the opposite side. "Okay, drive!"

[Jacinda Blake]

"Hello Mrs. Robbins..", Jacinda muttered.

She fumbled for the seat belt, managing to get it on without seeing what she was doing as Taya climbed in from the opposite side.

"Taya is abducting me apparently.. Should have known she was a bad seed..", Jacinda grinned from beneath her blindfold.

[Taya Robbins]

"We just can't do anything with her," Lise Robbins replied. "We hoped you might be a good influence on her."

A key rattled in the ignition, and an electric motor hummed to life.

Lise looked over her shoulder as she started to back out. "You can take off the blindfold, Jacinda."

"Aw, where's the fun in that?" Taya protested.

"It's an hour drive, kiddo. I don't think she wants to be blind the whole way."

Taya sighed. "Okay. Just weave around to disorient her first."

Lise laughed. "We're picking up sandwiches on the way. What do you like, Jacinda?"

[Jacinda Blake]

"Anything is fine with me, Mrs. Robbins. I'm starved because someone wouldn't let me go to the cafeteria. But on account that someone is taking me on an adventure my stomach and I shall be forgiving.."

Jacinda grinned, pulling off the blindfold. "I'll put it back on when we are getting close to wherever we are going, if you like..."

She smirked at Taya. "I knew you were on the phone!"

[Taya Robbins]

"Just getting the ETA," Taya said with a wink. "A week ago Mom called to ask if I was free... I told her I thought you could use some time away from campus."

Lise made the turn out the front drive onto Greymalkin Lane. "I didn't know she wasn't telling you," she said apologetically. "I hope we're not taking you away from homewo--"

"Eh!" Taya broke in. "We're not talking about school, remember?"

"Well, you just shanghaied the girl, and I know how you stud--"

"Nuh-uh! Nadda! Jas and I both need a break. Seriously."

Lise smiled tolerantly into the rearview mirror. "Well, did you at least pack sunscreen?"

"Mom!"

"What?"

Taya thew up her paws in aggravation. "I haven't told her where we're going yet."

"Why does that matter? There's lots of places you need sunscreen. If anything, you're only going to get Jacinda thinking by making a big deal of it."

Taya's mouth worked soundlessly, then shut.

[Jacinda Blake]

"I know, I know!", Jacinda teased Taya.

"We're going back to your house and frolic on a Slip and Slide, after weeding the yard and washing the car...", she grinned. "I'm onto ya..."

In truth, she had no idea where she was being taken off too, but she was glad to get away. "This is great Taya, and Mrs. Robbins. I really appreciate being invited, err... abducted to come along."

"I hope you told the school you were stealing me, at least?", she inquired..

[Taya Robbins]

Lise paled in the mirror. "Taya?"

"Relax, I got it covered," Taya said proudly. "Signed you out - even forged your signature. I even packed your bathing suit."

Her mother snorted, then tried to cover it. Taya stared at her uncomprehendingly. "What?"

A second later, she smacked a paw over her eyes. "Dang it!"

Fifteen minutes later, they were on Connecticut 116 and passing around a bag of greasy sandwiches from Penn Station. Taya handed Jacinda her cheesesteak and started unwrapping her own terriyaki chicken sub.

"Jacinda," Lise said, "maybe you can confirm these rumors I've been hearing about Taya's dating life?"

Taya's ears flipped straight up. "Where did you hear about that?"

"I have my sources," Lise replied - and suddenly Jacinda could see where Taya got her devilish smirk.

[Jacinda Blake]

Jacinda grinned over at Taya with an evilly, grinchy grin...

"Busted....", she whispered.

"Well... Mrs. Robbins, I can tell you that the alleged boy in question, although a bit of a cheeseball, is really a good guy. He's very sweet.."

She unwrapped her cheesesteak with a heavenly grown of delight, making sure that she was suitably covered in wrappers and napkins so she wouldn't get the SUV dirty. After taking a sip of her drink, a loaded Mountain Dew, she continued..

"In fact, it's all part of my master plan to keep Taya indefinitely."

[Taya Robbins]

"Mmm," Lise replied, dropping a straw into her iced tea. "And are we going to meet this boy anytime soon?"

"Well, you sort of already did," Taya said hesitantly. "Damien?"

Her mom crimped her eyebrows. "Damien..."

"Dervish," Taya went on. And then she took a deep breath. "About... three and a half feet tall, black fur, wings, tail?"

Lise gasped. "Ohhh, Damien! Yes, I remember, him, he's adorable!"

Taya blushed, and muttered, "Not just in the cute little animal way..."

"I'm going to expect pictures, girl - oh. Oh, no. Taya, look down."

"What?" Taya, thoughtlessly, looked the direction her mother was looking.

On the side of the road was a towering billboard with a doctor and a bald, fin-headed child, both of them smiling plastically at the highway, and a bold, sincere caption reading, "Because they're our future, too. The Jericho Center for Genetic Medicine."

"Oh, God." Taya choked and dropped her head in her lap. The flesh in her ears had turned a sickly white.

[Jacinda Blake]

Jacinda loved it that Taya's mother thought Damien was adorable. Anyone else might not have been so understanding of the baby girl being the girlfriend of a three foot devil..

She'd been on the verge of promising to take loads of pics of the gang for Lise, when they were coming up on the billboard.

Suddenly Jacinda had a sudden urge to open the car window and fly out with her cheesesteak, splattering it across the guys face. She didn't know everything that had happened to Taya there, but she knew all about Jericho from the X-men. The fact that Taya had been there for a while was scary...

"It's ok, Taya...", she whispered, scowling at the sign. "It's ok. Someday soon, someone is going to shut those jerks down, I promise."

She reached over and took a paw in her hand..

[Taya Robbins]

Taya slowly lifted her head. If it was possible to look peaked under a face full of fur, she did. But she managed a weak smile. "I hope so..."

"I have been writing letters for five months now." Lise's voice was quiet and deadly. "Do you have any idea what kind of government kickbacks they get at that place? The lack of oversight? They don't care about their so-called patients, God only knows what they're actually doing there... You know what Kyle said to them as we walked out the door? He told them to go to hell. I have never been more proud of him in my life."

From the look on Taya's face, she shared the sentiment.

Lise's eyes softened. "Hey, let's forget about them, okay? We've got a beautiful day ahead of us."

[Jacinda Blake]

Nodding, Jacinda agreed. She did however make a mental note that if she was in an encounter with the Jericho gang as Tempest to kick the stuffing out them for Taya. Too bad she wouldn't be able to tell her about it though...

Jacinda took a sip of her drink and peeked over at Taya. She didn't look much better..

Intervention!

"So Taya... tell me, what'd you name that new stuffy-wuff of yours again? Not the dragon, the other one...", she picked up her sandwich and took a nonchalant bite...

[Taya Robbins]

Recognition dawned slowly. Taya wasn't sure she was ready to let her mom know she'd ordered a Damien-shaped plush doll.

"Oh... um... I... haven't named him yet. Still waiting to see how it turns out." She caught her mom's eyes in the mirror. "There's this shop in Salem with these hand-made stuffed animals, and they take custom orders."

"Oh?" Lise said. "And what did you get?"

"Just... a memento," she said half-heartedly.

"It's your allowance," Lise said - though under other circumstances, she probably wouldn't have minded digging further. "Let's find some music... you like jazz, Jacinda?"

Mrs. Robbins found an NPR station running through a suite of 1930's swing music, and miles of Connecticut highway rolled on by.

It didn't take Taya long to recover. And it was impossible to miss her perking up when they passed the first sign for Ocean Beach Park.

[Jacinda Blake]

It didn't take rocket science brains to deduce where they were heading when signs for the beaches starting increasing. Jacinda grinned over at Taya, patting her paw again.

"You are the best...", she said solemnly. This was exactly what she needed a day of frolicing in the sun, girl talk and no school. Perfect!

Ocean Beach Park..

"Sun, sand, beaches, pool, arcades, rides, and junk food! I've died and this is my reward for passing Bertrand's class, right?", at Taya's scowl, Jacinda nodded.

"No school, right."

Once they were parked, Jacinnda and Taya scurried out of the back seat in a flurry of fur and giggles, barely being retrained by Mrs. Robbins before descending on the main gate, and looking for a suitable place to go change. If Taya was worried about what other people thought of her appreance, so far she was doing a commendable job of not showing it.

[Taya Robbins]

Taya knew she was getting second, third, and fourth glances - most people looked for a second, then turned away, looked again because they thought they'd been seeing things, looked over their shoulder because they thought she'd gone by and wouldn't notice, then turned around to look one last time and oh my gosh, yes, she does have a tail. And then somewhere somebody who just couldn't turn his head forward again would walk into a light pole.

But if there was one thing Damien had taught her, just through the sheer art of being Damien, it was that you couldn't escape the attention, so you might as well enjoy it. Especially when the attention was coming from boys in bathing suits...

Lise had just paid for their admission and waved them through the gate. "Come on, girls, we're burning daylight."

"That's right, gotta hurry up and relax," Taya replied impishly.

"Darn right," her mom said, and she rolled her neck stiffly. "Oh, I could just spend the whole day lying on the beach. But this is your day, what do you want to do?"

Taya shrugged. "You want to get a solar recharge, that's fine with me. Jas and I can find our way around."

"You sure? I could come with you..."

"We'll be fine, Mom. I'll make sure Jas doesn't get into any trouble."

Taya grinned at her roommate and winked.

[Jacinda Blake]

"Yeah that's me the trouble maker...". Jas smirked. "Honestly Mrs. Robbins, we'll be fine!", she promised.

"We'll call you and find you in a bit?", she suggested, and then they were off, beach bags in hand!

"Alright then, Taya. This is your abduction, I am the helpess victim. What are we doing first? Should we change, or would you like to see how it goes first?"

She wasn't going to push Taya into anything she wasn't ready for. A kitty-girl was one thing. A kitty girl in a swim-suit would for sure draw attention..

[Taya Robbins]

They were coming up on a women's locker room, and Taya hesitated. Three teenaged girls came running out the exit at the far end, probably intent on working on their tans. They were a bit underdeveloped for the bikinis they were wearing, but it didn't really matter. They'd just blend in with everyone else, whether they wanted to or not.

The youngest reminded her of herself just a couple years ago. Whenever she tried on a new swimsuit she'd look despairingly at her small, bony frame in the mirror and wish she could turn heads on the beach like the older girls.

Aw, heck. Taya had seen Jacinda's swimsuit, so at least she knew she wouldn't be the only one turning heads.

"Let's change," she said abruptly. "Beats carrying everything around the park all day. C'mon, Mom gave me some quarters to pay for the lockers."

Jacinda had finished changing before Taya - she was just self-conscious enough that she had to duck into a bathroom stall, and she still had trouble managing the customized tail-hole.

"Okay, ready now..."

She stepped out and caught herself in the mirror on the opposite wall. Same bony frame, but at least the fur helped fill her out a little. She licked one paw and started smoothing out the fur around her face.

[Jacinda Blake]

She had changed into her two-piece, a white bikini decorated with blue flames. She'd pulled back on her capri's though, rolling them up as high as she could. Stepping back into her flip-flops, and shoving the rest of her clothes into a bag, all that was left to do was lather up with some good strong SPF+5000 or whatever was the strongest she could find. Jacinda did not tan.. She went from white, to lobster red and back again..

Popping on a pair of shades, she turned to a rather adorable looking Taya. Jacinda couldn't help it, she grinned big. Taya really needed her own action figure. This one would be 'Malibu Taya' - complete with a paw print painted, surfboard..

"You look great...", Jas assured her.

[Taya Robbins]

Taya tried not to feel jealous that Jacinda was in a two-piece. Fewer edges meant fewer places for her fur to bunch up and pull, and it had been hard enough to find someone who could engineer a tail fly without making things too complicated. But the suit was snug and comfortable, and the green accents matched her eyes perfectly.

"Thanks," Taya said, flushing a little. "We had to take it to someone to put an extra hole in the back. It fits really well, though." She turned and twitched her tail illustratively.

She reached into her bag and pulled out a bottle of spray-on sunscreen to mist her ears and nose where the fur was the lightest. Then she packed her clothes away and stuffed the bag into the back of a locker - with some effort, they managed to fit both bags inside.

"It's so weird," she said suddenly. "Other than showering, I haven't gotten wet, like, completely soaking wet since before I had fur. So, just to warn you, I'm probably gonna look like a walking mop if we go swimming."

[Jacinda Blake]

"Hehe.. I'll be sure to take a picture of that. What great blackmail it would make, hmmm...", she gave an evilly little cackle.

Twisting her long blond hair into and elastic tie and lopping it into a messy knot, they were done and on the way out. Jacinda's flip-flops slapping against the sandy wet cement.

"Hey, we don't have to swim if you don't want to.. How about some mini-golf?"

[Taya Robbins]

"Oh, I am up for absolutely anything. This is like practice."

Taya's padded feet were practically silent on the concrete as they stepped out into the sunlight. Just down the boardwalk, a pair of well-toned teenaged boys in bathing suits emerged from the men's dressing room and stared at them. Two years ago, Taya would have been an afterthought walking alongside someone like Jacinda in a swimsuit - she took some perverse pleasure knowing that now she was drawing at least as much attention.

As they passed by the boys, she smiled at them and, delicately, licked one ivory-white fang.

[Jacinda Blake]

She waited until they were a fair distance away fromt he gawking boys, and then burst into sputtering laughter. It was a good thing for Taya, that Jas hadn't been taking a sip of anything. Resting a hand on her knee, she bent over and peeked up at her friend.

"You are so bad..."

It was awesome.. They were going to have a great time. "Ok so mini-golf, or pool...?", she straightened. "Your choice, of course.."