Looking down at the man, Ranma simply answered, “You didn’t answer my question. Are you in cahoots with that damned wolf-thing or not!?”
It was then that Ranma regretted raising his voice. The little child in his arm began to squirm a bit. “Shh, it’s okay,” Ranma whispered in hushed tones, his eyes looking down at the baby werecheetah, but only for a moment, as he could feel the wind pressure of Theo’s movement.
As soon as Britanny started crying, Theo wanted to try and comfort the child... But he had to keep his distance, as Ranma then extended his free hand forward, claws bared. “You still haven’t answered my question, blondie.”
Theo frowned as being referred to as ‘blondie’... But something deep within him, probably fear from the primordial response of ‘flight or flee’, he didn’t comment as such. He just nodded his head and kept his distance. “No,” Theo said seriously. “I am not in league with that monster.”
“Good,” was all Ranma said, bring his hand down from an offensive stance to wrap it around the bundle.
Theo let off a good-natured sigh as he saw Ranma hold Britanny so protectively. He knew then that Ranma, while he may look like something terrible, was probably the baby’s knight-in-shining-armor.
But still, this left something else to deal with... What was this Ranma doing with the baby? “Uh, excuse me,” Theo began, trying to get Ranma’s attention. He shivered when he did as those etheral-blue feline eyes seemed to peer deep down into his soul. “Why do you have Britanny?”
Raising an eyebrow, Ranma all but ignored Theo’s question and instead asked, “Britanny? Is that her name?”
Theo looked hesitant to say. “No... I don’t know... That’s the name I’ve been referring to her as, since I was told there’s a child among the werecheetahs...”
Ranma nodded his head slowly. He looked down at the baby, who was looking back up at him. “Britanny, eh? That’s not that bad a name.”
Staying silent, Theo watched a moment more as Ranma held the baby, looking down at her with a toothy grin. Even though Theo felt a shiver up his spine from the sight of those fangs, Britanny wasn’t afraid in the slightest. Still, Ranma hadn’t answered him. “But, Ranma, what about Britanny?”
“And what about her?” Ranma asked as he continued to hold her.
“Don’t you think it’s best to think of her welfare?” Theo asked.
“Of course I am,” Ranma said in all seriousness as he looked at Theo. “I’m keeping her.”
Theo winced at hearing that. “Are you sure that’s wise?”
Sighing slightly, Ranma gave Theo a cocky, toothy-grin. “In all honesty... Hell no. But someone’s gotta look after and raise her.”
At those words, Theo wanted to argue... But those eyes... Theo could see they wouldn’t accept an argument. But maybe... It was a long-shot, but still... “Okay, Ranma. But perhaps we should get out of here.”
Raising an eyebrow, Ranma asked, “Excuse me?”
“Well, who knows when Brendan will come back,” Theo said. “Or possibly with reinforcements! We best get out of here now!”
Ranma nodded his head slowly. He had to agree with the man’s logic. The child’s safety was his highest priority right now. He had to keep her out of danger. “Where to?”
“We could try heading back to Agency Zero,” Theo suggested.
Raising an eyebrow, Ranma asked, “What?”
“Agency Zero,” Theo repeated. “It’s a special branch of the FBI that I work for. They sent me out here to keep troubles down to a minimum.” Of course, Theo didn’t mention that he screwed it up totally. He was feeling low about it as it was, and he felt he owed it to that little baby to make sure she was okay. He wouldn’t be able to do that if Ranma didn’t go with him.
As Ranma continued to stare at him, Theo was silently saying every prayer he could think of. He was nervous as all hell.
What Theo didn’t know was that Ranma was considering all the things Bastet told him. Specifically, there was also the mentioning of that there were people out there who would help him. Could this Theo be one of them?
Finally after the longest time, Ranma bit the bullet and finally said, “All right, I’ll go.”
Theo felt a wave of relief pass over him. Ranma was agreeing. Things would be all right. “All right. We’ll go.”
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(Posted Tue, 13 Jan 2004 00:42)
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