Brianna chuckled a little nervously. Aw crap. Her dad was here and knew about Grave, and he wanted an explanation.
Oh look... And there was Gina too. Crap and a half, Brianna just KNEW her older sister was going to go off on her for this one. Hmm... Mayhaps she should check for toilet paper for two assholes. Gina was obviously gonna tear her a new one. Ah well, at least it’s just those...
...
Nope. Looks like there’s more. And Stryyp of all people. Just great, Brianna did not feel like explaining to him why there was a little werecheetah that looked a little something like her... If you too into account she had all the features opposite to Brianna.
Ah, and to make matters worse, Jetta was there! The Werewolf Alpha was more than likely going to try and talk the smaller lycanthrope into making more little werecheetahs for the good of the species...
...Of course, wait until she found out Grave was already pregnant. Hoo man, was that EVER going to make waves.
Aw crap, and to top it off, there was Charlotte! The harpy knew!
...
......
Wait a minute! Who cares if the dog-made Harpy knew about Grave. She had nothing to really do with this anyway... Or do anything that could have serious repercussions on Brianna at least...
Uh oh. They were still looking at her. She had to think up something, quick! But she couldn’t tell them the truth! They wouldn’t understand. “Uh, well, dad...” Brianna began slowly. “You see, it’s rather complicated.”
“I’d say so,” Theo said rather bluntly. “But I was hoping you could explain who this girl, this apparent werecheetah is.”
“Or at least why we would mistake her for you,” Jetta added, really wanting to know about THAT.
“And we ESPECIALLY want to know why she’s called Grave!” Gina added worriedly. Oh no, she did not want her sister hanging up with that damn curse that almost killed them all when Bri had been born.
“Er, about that...” Brianna hemmed at her lower lip. She had to think of something to get these people off her case, and believe her. But they wouldn’t believe a mirror clone and entirely parallel universe...
“So why not try a half-truth?” Brianna thought seriously. Mentally shrugging, she knew she couldn’t do any worse.
Taking a breath, Brianna began to speak. “Well, her name is Acacia. We call her ‘Grave’ because it’s a little nickname she picked up.”
“We?” Stryyp asked. “Others know her?”
“Yeah!” Brianna called out. “Gar, for one.”
Blinking her eyes, Gina asked, “Gar knows her?”
Nodding his head to that, Theo made a mental note to ask Gar about that.
“Yeah, I met her on that first trip I took to Jade by myself...” Brianna trailed off “Er, with Genn and Séance,” she soon corrected.
“So she’s from Jade?” Theo asked, an eyebrow raised.
“Yeah, that’s where she was born,” Brianna answered.
Theo nodded his head to that. Odd. He was sure rumors of a werecheetah child would have reached the ears of the conclave.
“So, where did you meet her?” Jetta asked, curious.
“Seer’s Hamlet,” Brianna answered. “She was passing through.”
Raising her hand, er, talon, Charlotte asked, “What was she doing there?”
Brianna thought for a moment. “Bathing I guess.”
“Bathing?” Theo repeated.
Gina raised an eyebrow. Brianna met Acacia while she was taking a bath?
Jetta nodded her head, an inkling in the back of her mind about this bothering her... But what, she couldn’t figure out.
“Yeah, Sheila was showing me the northern pond and there she was...” Brianna frowned a moment, thinking of what to say. “And then there was an accident because of Tirga and...” Brianna mumbled. “Look, she’s a good were, really!”
“I’m willing to accept that,” Theo said.
“Well, I’m not totally convinced,” Gina said. “I still want to know WHY you were using emergency medical equipment on her.”
Wincing, Brianna thought of what to tell them. “As for her reactions to you all... I don’t know what to really say about that. I did tell her to keep a low profile and I guess she was afraid of upsetting me.”
“And the Med Lab?” Gina asked, pressing the issue.
Sighing, Brianna answered, “She came to me for help. She was injured badly, and she couldn’t think of anyplace or anyone to go to besides me.”
Gina nodded her head, accepting that answer... For the moment anyway.
Jetta frowned a little, one thing bothering her. “That still doesn’t explain one more tiny detail.”
Looking at Jetta, Brianna had a sinking feeling. “What is it?”
“Why does she have YOUR personal scent?” Jetta asked. “The only way she could have such a deeply-rooted scent is if she were you, or if she was your lov...”
Jetta’s eyes snapped wide open at that, as the thought that had been bothering here came to the forefront of her mind. Jetta could only bring herself to say one thing. “Oh my.”
Gina just gawked at her sister as the implications of Jetta’s words sunk into her skull.
Rubbing his head, Theo sighed. He knew when Julia heard about this, she was going to take this out on him.
Coughing into his hand, Stryyp was feeling VERY uncomfortable, and thankful for the layer of fur he had to cover him; it hid his blush.
Charlotte just blinked her eyes, wondering why people were going silent.
Looking at the people reacting, Brianna...
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(Posted Sun, 22 Feb 2004 03:41)
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