It was midday when the gray wolfess wandered through the city on two legs, walking through the cracked black streets with a purpose. She had been perusing the library in the ranch in Phoenix Valley and had found that some of her favorite titles were missing. She had thoughts, for a while, about where she could possibly find books such as Alice in Wonderland and The Little Prince and had realized that the city might be a good place to start. Geneva wasn't one to wander far from Phoenix Valley, but she figured that she may as well make the trip. Perhaps she could find a book that Jefferson might like, to read by the fire. Or perhaps she would be able to find a book to recommend to Savina, to read to her puppies.
The last time she had been in the city, she had had a very different mindset. She had been drunk as a skunk and had encountered a peculiar fellow named Nikolai. She remembered very little from that night, except that he had been very kind and had two different color eyes. And that he talked strangely, with a very interesting accent. She tried to remember the melodic tones, but she couldn't. She wondered what had come of him as she turned into the dusty doorway of a library, beginning to go through stacks of books.
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She had followed Geneva all the way from the packlands, trying her best to be sneaky. She had a suspicion that the older female knew she was there, but if she did, she hadn't given Addi any signs of it. The girl's tail wagged as she crept into the library building through the half-open door, letting it creak slowly shut behind her. Now where had Geneva gone? She looked around, frowning.
Addison started with one row of books, then another, then another, sneaking along the ground on her belly. She was getting older, but she still displayed much of the puppy behavior that she had when she had been younger. She was only about halfway grown...maybe it was alright for her to keep that young puppy charm for a little while longer.
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Geneva had a horrible sense of smell. She could hardly smell anything unless it was directly in front of her face. She could feel the dust in the air, but she couldn't really smell it. She traced her finger over the bindings of books, reading titles and tracing lines in the heavy dust as she continued to look. Geneva recognized some titles, but hadn't read more than three quarters of the books she saw there. It excited her somewhat.
She turned when she heard a noise, her eyes wide. She jumped when she saw Addison, not recognizing her for a moment. She brought her fingers up to her throat but then she saw the familiar form. She smiled somewhat startled. "Oh, Addi, you scared me," she said, sounding a little frazzled. She smoother her hand over her face and smiled. Did you follow me here?"
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She shuffled forward on her tummy, going around one corner of the shelving. She felt like some kind of a secret agent, watching Geneva like she did. There was something about the gray wolf that Addi really liked. Plus the fact that Geneva was really good friends with her dad, that helped things. Addison usually liked all the people that Jefferson knew.
She blinked as something shiny caught her eye a few feet away, standing up to walk over to it. It was some kind of a bookmark...but it was made of a sparkly, shiny foil that reflected the small bits of light that had managed to infiltrate the library. She picked it up in her mouth, still being unable to shift, and continued on her search for the older female.
When the youngster found her friend her tail thumped along the floor for a few moments. She'd done it! She spat the bookmark out with a proclamation, ("blegh!") then replied. "Genny, I thinked that you seen me! I thinked that we was playin' a game. I followed you here all the way from Phoenix Valley! I guess I was sneaky though, huh!" She pawed at the bookmark. "And I found dis shiny fing on da floor too! Wazzit for?"
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So effin' cute!
Geneva smiled and relaxed her arms, her hands returning to rest at her sides as she spoke to Addison. She noticed how something caught the light as Addison spoke, before it dropped to the floor. She cocked her head to the side, wondering about it for a moment before she spoke to the girl again. Addison had certainly grown since that day at the Quarry. Her body was much larger, her face longer. She would make a beautiful young women. That time was coming very soon, too. She spared a thought to wonder what Jefferson must feel about that, but then returned to the issue at hand.
"Very sneaky," the gray femme agreed, nodding her head for emphasis. She had had no idea that the girl had been following her. And she must have followed her quite a ways, if she had started in Phoenix Valley. Geneva didn't have a good sense of smell, but her ears were pretty sharp. It seemed as though Addison might have a latent skill for tracking. She'd have to speak with Jefferson about developing it. Addison would probably make a very good huntress or scout.
The gray woman squatted down to look at the shiny thing that the girl indicated. She reached for it, and picked it up with her fingers. It was a thin piece of shining paper. She smiled as she realized what it was. Lime green eyes scanned the floor until she found a small book that had fallen to the floor and lay open there. She picked it up, and held it for Addison to see. "This is called a bookmark," she said. "You use it to keep the page in a book." She flipped to a page, then stuck the bookmark inside, shutting the cover.
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She was interested in hearing about what the thing was, that it was a bookmark and that it marked peoples' places in books. Wolves' places in books, too. Addison couldn't read, but she was interested in books anyway. Some had real nice pictures that she could look at and gather the story from. Those ones were the best! The ones with all the words were harder to understand. "Is nice looking. Is for you!"
She said enthusiastically, her tail sweeping across a few of the books on the shelves, dusting them. "You's can read? I wants to learn it...but is it hard?" She asked.
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[html] Geneva was genuinely touched by Addison's offer. She smiled and took the glittering bookmark, tucking it securely between the pages of the book in her hands. It was strange to have such a young one be so giving and thoughtful. Addison's gift was something that she would cherish and use frequently. She loved to spend time with the spirited girl. "Thank you so much, Addison," Geneva said.
"I love to read," the woman said, settling to sit on the floor in front of the girl. As someone of shorter stature, she knew what it was like to have to look up at others. She often developed an uncomfortable kink in her neck. "My father taught me to read. I've been reading since I was a little girl." Books had been her playground as a child. She had been sickly and had found it hard to venture out with her siblings.
"It might be a little difficult at first, to learn the basics, but after that it gets much easier," the woman explained. The first steps were always the hardest. She leaned down to the girl. "I could teach you if you want." [/html]
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She had lost a lot when she was very young by losing her parents, but she'd gotten Jefferson in return. He was all that she could ask for in a parent and more, and she was so happy that he had found her in the snow that day. without him, she would have been dead. And even then he could have given her to someone else in the pack. But he had taken care of her himself...it was why she called him Daddy.
"You will teach me?" She squealed, rolling around a little bit on the dusty floor. "I want to know! I want to know everything!" She didn't care what it took--Addi was going to learn this!
"You's can read? I wants to learn it...but is it hard?"
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