I've come t' play! (open)

[Emma Harvan]

They were completely opposite. While one was tall, the other was oh so very short. The tall one was dark haired, dark eyed, tanned. The small one was bright and smiling with a head full of golden curls and enormous blue eyes that sparkled at every new sight and every old one. They were mother and daughter. The little girl wiggled in her seat. Her mother smiled.

"Emma sit still. I've got t' talk t' y'."

Emma stopped squirming and smiled. She looked at her mother.

"Waitaminute. I got t' show y' somthin' Mama. Look!"

She held up one of her small chubby hands and with the other, pointed at each of her fingers.

"One, two, free, four, free!"

Her mother laughed and took the small hand in her own.

"Five Emma. Five comes after four."

The little Emma, barely four, looked dissapointed.

"Oh. Five. I like four better."

Again her mother laughed, but this time there were tears in her eyes.

"Now Em, Lass, Mama has t' talk t' y'. D' y' remember why we're here?"

Emma nodded.

"I'm gonna play."

Her mother nodded, smiling sadly.

"Aye, tha's right. Mama's got t' go home f'r a wee bit and y' get t' stay here and play, lucky girl."

The child grew very serious.

"Y're goin' to help with the fightin' aren't you Mama?"

"Aye."

Emma pounted and slammed her hand on the table.

"But y' said that fightin' was bad! Y' said we should use our nice words!"

The woman sighed and nodded.

"Aye, I said that and don't y' ever forget it. But somtimes Emma, sometimes people got t' fight. I do, and y'r Da does, but not you. You get t' play."

Emma let out a big breath and nodded. She smiled then and the matter was dismissed from her four-year-old self. Her mother had tears on her face and the child put a hand on her cheek.

"Mama? Why'r y' cryin? D' y' want t' stay and play too?"

Her mother chuckled and pulled the hand away, wiping her eyes.

"Aye dear heart. I want t' play with y' forever and ever. But I have t' go now. Just for a wee bit. Stay here. Don't go anywhere else."

Emma nodded and her mother rose from the booth, where they had been sitting. With a last look at her daughter, the young mother walked to the door, murmering reasurrances to herself.

"She'll b' safe here. Safe here."

And then she was gone. Emma however was quite content to sit at the table, looking at different things. Her head barely topped the tabletop but she felt quite grownup sitting there. And never had she seen so many different types of people! It was better than the park. Soon though, she grew restless and started to swing her feet.

thu-bump. th-bump. thu-bump.

Emma sighed and started to sing about monsters and Uncle Trey and a sunshiney day all rolled into one.

"Aaaaaand the monster canna hurt y'..... 'Cause Un-cal Trey is here.... And it's a sunny, shiny daaaaaay.... in the wat'r...."

[Meltina]

"Waterrr? Pfft, who ljikesss waterrr?"

An eight year old dressed in an poorly sewed cat costume crossed her arms, tapping a foot.

"Well ... Okajy, jI ljike puddlesss, but stjill!"

As if that justified anything.

Bright, blue eyes stared eagerly back into Emma's. Meltina had been an occupant of Yog's for quite some time - well, more like having a little stake-out outside of the Bar and Grill. Under one of the bushes. In the ground.

"What'sss jyour name? jI've never ssseen jyou beforrre. jI'm Meltina!"

The little girl had just spied Emma, barely missing the mother as the woman left.

[Emma Harvan]

Emma frowned crossly at the girl in the cat costume-- which was very impressive in her eyes.

"I like wat'r!

And that was that. Emma was happy again and smiling. She scootched off her seat and onto the floor. She pointed to herself proudly.

"'M Emma! My Mama said that I get t' play here! I never seen you either! D' y' live here?"

The little girl looked around in awe. This was a most spectacular place.

[Meltina]

"jYup!"

Forget the minor details that she didn't live inside, but outside.

"jIt'sss a rrrealljy njice place, not to mentjion the barrr ... uhm..."

Her face squinched up as she tried to pronounce the difficult word.

"Barten ...Bartender! The barrrtenderrrr has anjythjing jyou want."

Proudly she beamed at her accomplishment at pronounciation.

"How long arrre jyou gojing to ssstajy?"

[Emma Harvan]

Emma shrugged.

"I dunno. Until m' Mama comes t' get me. She's got t' help my Da with the fightin'. I wish I lived here!"

She spread her little arms as wide as they could go.

"M' house isn't this big! M' Mama sayed tha' I canna go anywhere but here so I can preten' tha' I live here, wi' you!"

Emma smiled and then lowered her voice.

"Can the barmemer get anything?"

[Meltina]

"The fjightjin' ..?"

Slightly confused at this, the little girl dismissed it.

"jYeah, jyou can ljive wjith me and jI'll ssshow jyou lotsss of neat thjings, and majybe jyou'll meet sssome of mjy frrrjiendsss!"

Grinning, Meltina paused and listened at Emma's question.

"Well, almossst anjythjing. He doesssn't have tojysss, but lotsss of food! .. Arrre jyou hungrrrjy?"

[Emma Harvan]

Emma nodded.

"They fight wi' the bad men."


She looked down at her tummy and nodded.

"Mm-hmm. M'belly says it's time t' eat!"

She giggled and took Meltina's handf, smiling shyly.

[Meltina]

"Bad men? Jussst watch them trrrjy to get thejirrr wajy passst me!"

She was invincible!

"Come on, the counterrr jisss jussst ahead of usss."

Flashing a triumphant grin at Emma, the girl started to walk towards the counter while reaching up, holding the pair of fake cat ears on her head with great care.

After reaching the stools, Meltina pulled one out and then frowned. They were both half the size of the seat, but she usually clambered onto them.

"Want me to help jyou up?"

[Emma Harvan]

Emma pouted and shook her head.

"I can d' it!"

She reached up as high as she could and grasped the leg of the stool. Tongue sticking out in concentration the little girl hoisted her leg up onto a brace and then reached up higher, grabbing the seat. After several minutes, Emma reached the top, looking very proud of herself.She looked at Meltina and smiled.

"See? I'm a big g'rl!"

[Andrue Dimitri]

[....]

[Meltina]

Nodding her head in approval, Meltina placed one foot on a brace and then hoisted herself up, sitting down. She swung both of her legs idly while squinching her face up in thought.

"Ssso ... What do jyou want?"

[Emma Harvan]

Emma shrugged and thought about what her mother cooked. After all, Meltina had said the barmemer had everything. Clasping her hands together in excitement the little girl giggled. She'd never eaten anywhere but home and she was going to make the most of it.

"Colcannon and Bannocks!"

[Meltina]

Nodding solemnly, Meltina raised her hand and waved it around until she caught the barkeep's attention. After he walked over to them, Meltina placed Emma's order and then asked for a Bantha Burger.

She had never heard of Calcannon and Bannocks, but it must've been good since Emma ordered it.

The barkeep wrote down their orders and placed the slip inside the small window for the chef, meanwhile Meltina let out a loud and exaggerated sigh.

"I wisssh they'd hurrrjy up," she said, even though it hadn't even been a full minute.

[Emma Harvan]

Emma nodded her agreement. She sighed and drummed her hands on the countertop.

"Maybe when m' Mama gets h're I can spend the night!"

She smiled at the thought. She'd never spent the night away from her mother and father and it would be an exciting change. Emma looked down at her growling tummy.

"The dinner is comin' really slow! I'll be a growed up when it comes!"

[Meltina]

"Wjith grey hajirrr," Meltina added, nodding to back up her statement.

She let out another sigh and looked down at the counter, waiting for their food to arrive. A low grumble came from her stomach and she giggled nervously, clutching it with one hand.

"jI've thjink jI've got tu.. toobercolooosis. jYep, jyep, becaussse jI get rrrealljy hungrrrjy. Do you have it?"

[Emma Harvan]

Emma nodded and imitated Meltina, clutching her stomach.

"Ahhgh! I think I'm gonna be deaded!"

She flopped her head onto the counter and lay there silent for a few minutes. Soon though she could no longer keep quiet and started giggling, slow at first but then unable to stop. She sat up and looked at Meltina, laughing the whole time.

"Th-- the tickle mons'r! He's invistable!"