Lunch wjith Meltjina

[Daanarri Raurrssaatta]

Daani sat at a table, awaiting her new-found friend. A bowl of squirmy white mice sat in front of her, and she was enjoying watching them crawl over each other.

She had a straw in her hand, and she placed it in the bowl, letting the mice grab hold with their little pink feet. Daani giggled as the strongest sajoi tried to climb to freedom, and then tapped it off the straw, letting it fall down to the others once more.

[Meltina]

The doors to Yog's bursted open and in skipped a girl, dressed in a cat costume. Yes, it was Meltina - commonly known as "The Cizerack Wannabe".

Spotting Daanarri, her blue eyes widened slightly and a toothy grin was placed on her face. She reached up and held her fake cat ears in place while running towards where the Cizerack girl sat.

"Hji!"

She climbed into the seat across from her new friend and plopped down, looking at the mice.

".. Cool, arrre jyou gojing to eat thossse?!"

[Daanarri Raurrssaatta]

Daani grinned at her friend. "jYesss! Do jyou want one too?" She held one out to Meltina, cupped in her hand, its littel whiskery face peeking out from between her fingers.

"Thejy'rrre verrrjy good." Daani plopped one into her mouth and crunched it enthusiastically.

[Meltina]

"jI've never trrrjied one beforrre!"

Her eyes were now rapt with attention as she looked at the furry critter Daani had. She was just about to take it when the Cizerack plopped it into her mouth and chewed on it enthusiastically. Now, Meltina thought that it was some sort of candy so she reached down and scooped one up in her paw glove.

"Okajy, jI sssuppossse that one wouldn't hurrrt."

Bringing it to her face, she sniffed it experimentally before trying to latch onto it with her teeth. It squeaked and she jumped, slamming it down onto the table. Dazed, the furry thing began to try and run around the table - in circles.

[Daanarri Raurrssaatta]

Daani giggled. "Thatsss not how jyou eat jit! Qujick, grrrab jit and put jit jin jyourrr mouth!"

Very helpfully, she demonstrated with another one of the tiny mice, and then added, mouth full of bones and feet, "Jusssst grrrrab the tajil! Therrre...almosssst!" Daani encouraged Meltina, who didn't seem to know what to do with the injured sajoi.

[John "Bluto" Blutovsky]

"Whoa..."

A burly, scruffy looking young man arrived at the table with the two girls, watching one of them eat a whole live mouse. He stared with wide, glazed eyes, as if he'd seen her walk on water.

"That is like...the coolest crap I've seen all day....dude!"

He became entranced with the sight, watching Daani lord over the scramblind sajoi like some Angel of Death, holding their very lives in her grasp. He looked at the little sajoi, holding one up, as he spoke in hushed tones.

"Hello little guy? Scared? You should be. You're gonna die! Soon, the life will be torn from your little white body, and you will be meat for the beast! You'd better say goodbye to your family..."

He continued to stare as the sajoi hung in the air...

[John "Bluto" Blutovsky]

.

[Daanarri Raurrssaatta]

Daani snatched the sajoi away from the forrda, and growled at him. "Don't plajyu wjith mjy food!"

[John "Bluto" Blutovsky]

Bluto leaned back a bit, eyes wide.

"Whoa, yeah. Uh...sorry. I, uh...just ...eat one again!"

He leaned forward, like a Caesar, watching a gladiatorial event with morbid interest.

[Wei Wu Wei]

"Good morning, Danni-chan," Wei said to the little Cizerack girl.

Wei had a favor to ask of Daani.

"Danni, I need you to do a big favor for me, ok? I am going to get married soon, and I need you to be a flower girl. You will walk in front of the bride and drop all these pretty flower petals on the floor. Would you do that for me?"

Wei hoped she would say yes. Then he saw Meltina. "Who is your friend, Daani-chan?"

Then Wei noticed the drunkard. "And why in the world would you be chosen to babysit two small children?"

[Daanarri Raurrssaatta]

Daani willingly popped the mouse into her mouth and made a silly face while she ate it. This forrrda was weird. Meltina hadn't eaten hers yet, but Daani was distracted again by another visitor to her table.

The eight year old Cizerack listened intently to Wei Wu Wei, and then retorted, "He jisssn't babjysssjittjing usss, he'sss watchjing usss eat! jI'm not a babjy!"

Then she grinned, a bit of sajoi tail between her teeth. "jI'd ljike to be jin jyourrrr... weddjing? jIt sssounds ljike fun!" Daani wondered if it'd be anything like a Cizerack rrou'arr ceremony. She'd been too little to attend Saa and Cirr's rrou'arr and relished the idea of being included in Wei's.

[Meltina]

Meltina frowned and grabbed the sajoi's tail, watching it squirm. With a triumphant grin, she was about to pop it in her mouth when a man sauntered over to their table and commented on them.

Momentarily distracted, she looked over at him and giggled, then returned her attention to the little furball in her hand. And yet, once more, another man came over. He was talking about a wedding of some sorts when he asked who she was.

"jI'm Meltjina!"

With that, she popped the sajoi into her mouth.

All she could taste was a bunch of hair and something squirmy, and it reminded her of the worms her and her cousin used to eat when they were five.

"Mmmffh..!"

It bit the inside of her cheek and she tried to spat it out, only successing in having its behind come out. Now, it seemed to be stuck and she didn't know what to do.

[Daanarri Raurrssaatta]

Daani's eyes widened, and she lifted her hand, intending to be helpful. With a little poke, Daani pushed the little sajoi butt back into Meltina's mouth. "Jussst chew!" She pantomimed eating one, and watching expectantly as Meltina continued to struggle.

[Wei Wu Wei]

Wei laughed. "Now now, Daani, I think your friend Meltina is having trouble chewing her food. Come now, Meltina, let's get that sajoi out of your mouth. Open wide."

Meltina opened her mouth and Wei quickly snatched the little mouse out and held it frimly by its middle. His martial arts skill helped him to remove the sajoi quickly without hurting Meltina in the process.

"There you go."

[Meltina]

She had only opened her mouth to try and say, "No," but the man had taken the sajoi out of her mouth. Letting out a wail, Meltina reached out and snatched the critter back, determined to prove herself to Daani.

Popping it back into her mouth, the girl glared at the man and bit down on the squirming sajoi. And wrinkled her nose up in disgust. Some sort of hot liquid spilled out onto her tongue along with lots of hair, and it was really, really chewy. She had no idea that she just ate a live mouse-thing -- she honestly believed it to be magical candy.

She continued to chew very slowly, swallowing with a look of disgust plastered across her face.

"Eww!" She said, when she was done at last.

"I want a glass of juice!"

[Wei Wu Wei]

Wei was shocked to see Meltina grab the sajoi back from him and swallow the whole thing.

"Wow. What determination. But sometimes all it takes is starting over from the beginning again. Good work, Meltina."

Wei stopped a serving droid and ordered some juice for Meltina.

[Daanarri Raurrssaatta]

Daani looked down at the bowl, and saw that she'd managed to eat all but one last sajoi while Meltina had been chewing. "jYou want jit?" She held it up for the other girl, trying to ignore the huge forrrda that was still cheering her on.

Meltina's juice arrived, and Daani smiled, her missing teeth creating a snaggletoothed grin.

[Meltina]

Meltina shook her head vigorously.

"jIt givesss me hajirrrballsss!"

As if to prove her point, she coughed some sajoi hair into her glove and held it out so Daani could see. She grinned triumphantly.

[Wei Wu Wei]

Wei laughed. "I guess that leaves the last one for you, Daani."

Weu turned to Meltina. "Would you like anything else to eat, Meltina?"

[Daanarri Raurrssaatta]

Daani frowned at Wei, and shoved the last squeaking morsel into her mouth. "Mmmphhh mhhh hhmpphh!" She looked surprised, and then swallowed hard. "jI am havjing lunch wjith herrr!"

The little Ciz waved Wei away, and then asked Meltina, "Do jyou want anjythjing elssse to eat? jI can get sssome fjisssh!" Then she turned to Wei, and added, "jYou can eat wjith usss too!"

[Wei Wu Wei]

Wei smiled. "Thank you, Daani, I;d love to."

Wei sat down.

"I'll have some teriyaki chicken, please," Wei said, stoppping a serving droid with his foot.

[Meltina]

She frowned. Hopefully this man wouldn't talk alot and ruin her and Daani's fun!

"Fjisssh sssoundsss awfulljy good!"

Despite the adventure her stomach just had, she was still hungry. Anxiously she looked down at the droid, and, acting just like the man, pretended to be superior.

"jI'd ljike sssome fjisssh and whateverrr elssse the fjine ladjy wantsss."

She had heard adults talk like that before, and pretended to be like one.

[Wei Wu Wei]

Wei let the little droid go get the food, and decided to watch the children. You could learn a lot from watching children.

[Daanarri Raurrssaatta]

Daani giggled at Meltina, and cleared her throat carefully. "jI'd ljike sssome fjisssh too. The...usssual." She winked at the droid, even though she had no idea what the usssual would end up being. Hopefully the droid had some idea.

"Ssso, Meltjina, wherrre do jyou ljive?" Daani leaned on her elbows and looked at the other little girl.

[Meltina]

"jI made mjyssself a ljittle home underrr the sssshrrrubsss that werrre planted outsssjide of Yog'sss!"

It was her own secret, but now that Daani asked she found that she just couldn't contain herself. Pride beamed from the little girl as she straightened up in her seat.

"jI can ssshow jyou afterrr the drrrojid brrrjingsss the fjisssh!"

Actually, Meltina wouldn't mind jumping down from her seat and running outside, crawling under the bushes and showing her new friend the hole she had dug in the ground .. but, most grown-ups would say what she just said, and at the moment she felt very grown up.

[Daanarri Raurrssaatta]

She gasped, "jYou ljive outsssjide?! Can jI sssee jit!?" Daani hopped up from the table, food momentarily forgotten, and ran around to Meltina's side.

The little Cizerack grabbed Meltina's hand, and pulled her to her feet. "Letsss go!"

[Meltina]

Suddenly, Meltina became the little kid she was and giggled mischeviously, breaking out into a run as she pulled Daani behind her. The two ran out the doors of Yog's and Meltina stopped, pointing towards the shrubbery.

"jIn therrre!"

[Daanarri Raurrssaatta]

Bending down to look under the bush, Daani frowned. "Thjisss jisss jit?" There didn't seem to be much there, but maybe she wasn't looking in the right spot.

She sat back on her haunches, and looked up at Meltina, questions in her eyes.

[Meltina]

"No, sjilljy," Meltina giggled and got down on her hands and knees, crawling under the bush.

"Rjight ... herrre!"

The girl reached out and shoved aside a torn side from a cardboard box, which hid her little "hangout". Now there was a hole, which led to a tunnel, which then led to her little 'den'. Sure, it took a long time to finish, but she was full of energy and accomplished it happily.