Tues. April 1st, 2014

“You know, it seems like asking for trouble having a doctor’s appointment on a day like this.”  Anna said with a little giggle as she turned a corner, maybe not slowing down enough like she should have, it was clear that she was loving her new car.

“Yeah I know, but it was all that they really had, and I would like to think that they would have some professionalism not to do something like that.”  The catwolf paused a moment, “you have bail money right?”  She asked as she pulled into the parking lot, the hybrid pulling into the closest one to the door that she could find.

“I don’t know, you do some things that make me question if you’re a doctor at times.”  Anna said with a little snicker as the two got out and started for the door heading into the building.

“Well I’m kind of a special case.”  She said poking her tongue out a little as the two looked around the waiting room, hearing someone calling to them, welcoming them to the office.

“Do you have an appointment?”  The male horse asked as they walked up to the counter.

“Kiyomizu.”  Shanoa spoke up, smiling a little, thinking that she would finally get to put the whole more than one bun in the oven thing to rest.

“Here we go.”  He said as he typed something in before looking back up to the pair.  “Well I have you all checked in, the doctor will be with you in a few moments.”  He said before going back to work, leaving the pair to find a seat.

“You know, you have been smiling a lot this morning…  And I don’t know if it’s the car or if you’re barfy.”  Anna teased as the two sat there waiting.

“Well I am a little barfy, but it’s not too bad…  And as for the smiling…  It’s partly the car but mostly the fact that I’m getting scanned so we can see that there is just the one growth in there…”  She said smiling and poking her tongue out a little.

“So…  You want to make a bet on that?”  Anna said with a little snicker.

“I’m listening.”  Shanoa said leaning in a little.

“Well I still think that it’s going to be more than one…  And I’m going to bet that it’s more than one…  And if I win I want to have a house built…  A nice brick one, big enough for us and our growing family.”  She said reaching over and resting a paw on her wife’s belly.

“And if I win…”  She paused, trying to think of something that she would want from her wife, though it was a little hard given that Anna was everything that she could or would want in a wife.  “But when I win this bet, I want you to wait on me hand over hoof…  You know, the whole nine yards.”  The hybrid said poking her tongue out a little before feeling her wife kissing her on the cheek.

“Sounds like a deal to me.”  The doe said with a smile.

Just a few moments later, the pair heard someone calling their last name, looking up to see a female cow standing at the door leading into the back with a clipboard in hand.  “I’m ready for you.  So it looks like the mother to be is here to get a check up, make sure everything is going right.”  She said as they walked down the hall to one of the exam rooms.

“Given the method of conception, we want to make sure that everything is doing just that.”  Anna said as they stepped into the room, the doctor walking over to the desk that was set up.

“I still blame you.”  Shanoa said as she sat down on the bed, causing the paper covering under her to crinkle.

“I love you to.”

“Alright then.”  The cow said turning to Shanoa and holding out a paw that was quickly taken and shook.  “I’m doctor Erickson.”

“Shanoa, and that’s Anna, my wife.”  She said motioning to the doe that was sitting in the corner of the room.  “It’s a pleasure.”  Shanoa said slipping back onto the bed as she watched the bovine starting to get things ready.

“It’s a pleasure to meet you too.”  She said as kept getting things set up and running.  “So I take it this is your first time getting one of these?”

“First time that I have gotten one, but I have seen it done a few times…  And I might have given one or three of them.”  The hybrid said, wiggling a little as she pulled her shirt up, showing off her slowly growing belly.

“Sounds like someone has worked in an OB/GYN before?”  Dr. Erickson asked as she started putting the gel on the scanner.

“Well I did a little time there, but I ended up more in the pediatric side of things.”  The catwolf said, letting out a little squeak as she felt the scanner pressing against her tummy, the cool gel seeping into her fur and matting it down as it was moved around.

“Well, it looks like you’re halfway to a six-pack, and I don’t mean your abs.”  The doctor said with a little smile as she looked at the monitor, Anna snickering.

“Yeah, yeah, yeah, happy April Fool’s day, now how is the one that’s in there?”  Shanoa asked rolling her eyes a little at the joke.

“So, have you two picked out any names yet?”  Dr. Erickson asked as she kept scanning the catwolf’s belly.

“Well  I was thinking something a little more traditional, but Anna wants something a little more…  American.  We’re thinking Emiko Sophia for a girl or Yuki Neil for a boy.”

“That’s only two names.  What about a name for the third?  Or what if all three are the same gender?”  She asked, smiling a little as she kept working.

“You know, jokes only go so far, and this one is hitting that point…  The chances of me having twins is out there enough, but triplets…  I’m starting to think that you got your degree in a cracker jack box.”  The catwolf said with a huff, shaking her head a little.

“If it ain’t triplets, your baby has a serious defect, because I’m finding three developing sacks.”  The doctor said, now smiling broadly, Anna leaning in a little with an eyebrow cocked.

“You know…  You’re a nice doctor and all…  But…  Tell me the truth, or just turn the screen so that I can see the one developing embryo.”  Shanoa said shaking her head again.

“Ma’am, you might want to stay seated.”  Dr. Erickson said as she turned the monitor so that Shanoa and Anna could see it.

“You know what this means.”  Anna said, smiling from ear to ear, fighting back laughter.

“That I just lost a bet, and somehow…  Fate…  Genetics…  Science…  Or all three just fucked me over.”  The catwolf said looking at the screen that showed that she did, indeed have three embryonic sacks.  “Well shit…  It looks like I lost a bet with dad too.”

“It looks like I’m going to be seeing a lot more of you two.”  Dr. Erickson said as she turned the screen back, fiddling with the keyboard and a few other parts of the machine.  “It looks like you have some interesting talks to have.

“That’s one way to put it.”  Shanoa said shaking her head a little, looking down at her belly.  “I think that I have a few phone calls to make…  And an ass or two to kick.”  She said, a tear forming in the corner of her eye.

“Oh come on.”  Anna said getting up and walking over to the catwolf, taking her hand.  “It means more little ones to love, and spoil.”  She said giving her paw  squeeze, letting out a squeak as she felt her wife pulling her into a hug.

“And they are ours.”  She said holding onto her wife, tears were rolling down her cheeks even though she was purring.  “We are going to be one big...really big, happy family.”  Shanoa said holding onto Anna.  “I love you.”

“I love you to.”  Anna said happily as she held her wife, “and I want you to know that I’m still going to spoil you rotten.”  She said smiling, finally pulling back from the hug.

“Such a lovely sight.”  The doctor said as she offered the two a tissue or two.  “Well it looks like I’m going to need to see you back in about a week…  And I’m sure that you’re going to want this.”  She said handing over a print out of the scan, showing off the soon to be babies.

“Well it looks like we have to break the news to Curio….  And family….  And start coming up with more names.”  Shanoa said drying her eyes, “but before any of that, I need a shower.”  She said looking down at her matted fur.

“Sounds good.”  Anna said turning to the bovine doctor.  “It’s been a pleasure, and we look forward to seeing you again.”

“Thank you doctor.”  Shanoa said taking Erickson’s paw and shaking it again. 

-----------------------------------------

Stepping through the door, Shanoa let out a little sigh, smiling at the sight of Curio coming down the hall.  “Hello sweetie.”  

“So how many babies is momma Shanoa going to have?”  Curio’s tablet spoke up as she looked up to her.

“I’m going to tell you, but first, I’m going to go shower…  And Anna is going to call my parents and tell them that I have news.”  Shanoa said starting off for the bathroom.

“Momma…  Can I use your computer?”  Curio asked, following her down the hall.  

“You know the rules.”  Shanoa said with a little smile as she stepped into her bedroom, Curio slipping on off to Shanoa’s office and getting into her chair, wiggling around a little.  The bat seemed to know what she was looking for, keyboard clicking and clattering a little as she typed, mouse moving and clicking around as she sought out whatever she was looking for, that or she was in a heated battle in some game.

By the time that Shanoa was out of the shower, finally happy to have that goop off of her belly and out of her fur, Anna had called and assembled Shanoa’s parents.  By the time that she was dressed and in the living room with the rest of the group, tea and coffee had been passed out.  Shanoa found a seat with her wife, letting out a little sigh as she looked at her parents, both of them smiling at her.

The catwolf sat there for a moment or two looking at her family, that was all looking back at her, all of them smiling from ear to ear.  “What….  Don’t look at me in that tone of voice.”  She said wiggling a little in the seat next to Anna.  “I’m just going to say this now….there will be a limit to the shit that you all get to give me.”

“So is this where we start making guesses?”  Ren said with a little snicker.

“That’s why I passed out the index cards and markers.”  Anna said causing Shanoa to turn and look at her.

“What……  I don’t know if I love you or hate you for that….”  The catwolf said looking around again.  “Well before I can think to tell you all the news….  Curio sweetie.”  She called out, there was a moment of silence before a patter of feet filled the hall as the bat came to a stop in the living room, coming to sit with her mothers.

“So momma Shanoa’s going to finally tell us.”  She said happily, looking up to her.

“Yes.”  Shanoa said pausing for a moment, trying to think of how to put it.  “Well you see….  It seems that I drew the short end of this particular stick, and dad, before you say anything….  Mom you too, this has nothing to do with the shrine and what I said there.”  She paused again.  “It seems that I have three little ones growing in me.” 

The room was silent for a moment as they all held up and turned their index cards around, some of them having anywhere from two to twelve kids on them, Ren and Izumi being the only one that had three on them.

“So…  What do we win?”  Ren asked, leaning forward.  “It’s a good thing that you didn’t put anymore yen were your mouth is….  You two are going to need all that money to take care of our three little grandkids.”

“I don’t think that would have mattered all that much, I’m still out a lot of money.”  Shanoa said looking to her wife.  “We kinda made a bet about the number of kids, and well it looks like I had lost.”

“So, just what did you take her for Anna?”  Izumi asked with a smile.

“Well some catwolf has to look into having a nice big house built for us, something that will be big enough for us….with a nice brick exterior.”  The doe said smiling and poking her tongue out a little.  “Oh and don’t let her kid you, she knew that the bet that she made would be a win-win one, she knew that I’m going to spoil her no matter what.”

“It looks like momma’s going to be super busy.”  Curio’s tablet spoke up, causing the two to look down at her.  “And I really like the idea of getting to be a big sister and help with all three of the kids.”  She said proudly.

“You know, you say that now, but the moment that I ask you to help with a diaper change or something, you’ll come up with some reason to run.”  Shanoa said leaning over and ruffling her daughter’s hair.

“Don’t be silly momma, that’s why you have the face masks, and the check up gloves.”  Curio said with a little nod.  “That and with me helping out even more, that means that I should get an even bigger allowance.”

“And there’s the catch.”  Shanoa said shaking her head a little.  

“Well you know that she is your daughter right?”  Anna said nudging her wife a little.

“I know, but I was hoping that she didn’t pick up all that…..Oh god….Lets hope that the kids take more after Anna in that case.”  Shanoa said looking off to the side.

“You know…  Givin’ the way things have been going with all the bets and things like that, Anna, you should make sure that Shanoa never goes to Vegas….She’d end up in the poor house.”  Mea’s tablet spoke up.

“No, I wouldn’t end up there, I would end up in jail.  It would be to easy to start counting cards and that would lead to more…..and yeah.”  Shanoa said turning to her mom and dad.  “I know that you two said something about staying till the kids are born, but just where are you two going to be staying?  Do I need to clear out the office?”  She asked turning to them.

“Well I had planned ahead and looked into a long term hotel type thing, Hibiscus can tell you more about it.”  He said with a little shrug.  “But given that you’re going to have three kids….  I think that we’re going to be needed here….”  He said smiling.

“Ok, so I will get the office set up for you.”  Shanoa said letting out a little sigh, “the living room makes a better office, it’s closer to the fridge and coffee.”

“Oh….  Sweetie….  You remember the shrine?”  Izumi asked, a smile starting to grow on her muzzle.  “The things that you said?”

“No….  I have no recollection of the events of which you speak.”  She said half rolling her eyes.  

“Something about black magic not working on you?  That ring a bell to you?”  Izumi asked, smiling from ear to ear.  “And something about not even the fates being able to knock you up.”  The mother feline said.  “You know they say that the fates are like cats, that they can hold a grudge for hundreds of years….  Well it looks like they didn’t need that long…  And it’s not so much a grudge as it’s a blessing.”

“Mom…  I still don’t think that the fates had something to do with this.  I mean I’m sure that there is some way to explain this with science.”  Shanoa said, pausing for a moment before speaking up again.  “And, if the fates did really have something to do with this, then they would know that I do consider it a blessing and a hell of a one at that.”  She said shaking her head a little at the knowing smiles that she was getting from her mother and father.

With that, the growing family sat around talking about the coming things, talking about how the pair were going to have to find someone to help with designing and building the perfect house for them, one were Shanoa could have guests over and still have an office.  Talking about names for the kids, mixing tradition and more American names for them, something that would give the people at school an easy time when calling on them.  Even to them learning the same traditions that Shanoa grew up with, and that Curio was learning at the moment.

---------------------------------------------

Fri. April 2nd, 2014

Shanoa let out little sigh as she sat at her desk.  She was happy that her mother and father would be sticking around to help them out with the pregnancy and the kids when they were born, but she didn’t really care for the idea of having to give up her office and go back to the living room.  She had a few days to enjoy still having it, so she thought that she would get a little work done, and by work, she had a few people back home that she needed to email and give them the news and or a warning about payback.

Shanoa took the time going down the list of contacts in her email list, picking out the ones that she wanted as she worked on the email.  The first one was to her group of friends back at Jonestown Memorial, letting them know what was going on, and the big thing, the pregnancy of her triplets.  Once that one was done, she moved onto the other email, the one to her other ‘work’ friends.  This one was a little more in depth, calling each one out and finding some way to tease and or blame them for what was happening.

Once that little bit of work was done, there was something that was poking at the back of the catwolf’s mind, just what were the odds of something like this happening.  She sat there looking at the screen for a few moments, thinking of just the thing to type in to get the best results.  She got the first letter or two out before the search bar autofill started showing things.

“Hot topics of deaf culture.”  Shanoa read aloud, leaning in a little to get a better look at some of the other things that was showing up.  “Cochlear implant, cochlear implant controversy deaf culture.  Well I know what Curio was in here doing the other day.”  Shanoa said clicking on one of the links that talked more about the implant, before starting to look a little more into some of the other links, even scribbling down a few things as she went.  “Anna baby, come here a sec.”

“What is it sweetie?  Need something?”  She asked poking her head into the room, walking over as Shanoa motioned her to.  “I swear if this is you Rickrolling me, or Cake Farts…..I will hurt you….”

“It’s nothing like that.”  She said with a little snicker, “I know what jokes and things that I can get you with.  No this is more about some of the things that your daughter has been looking up.”

“Well she is at that age, she’s going to be looking at porn….  I’m sure that you did it at that age, I know that I did.”  The doe said walking in and around the desk and looking at the computer screen.

“If it was porn, I don’t think that I would have to ask you what to do….  I’d just show her how to clear the history, that and might show her some of the good places.”  The catwolf said clicking on one of the tabs that she had open.  “She’s been looking up something else, stuff about cochlear implants, getting them and how the deaf community looks at them.”

“So your thinking that we need to sit down and have a talk with her?”  Anna asked as she read over the text on the page, shaking her head a little.  “You’re a doctor, do you think that she would be able to get this?”

“Yes, I’m sure that we’re going to have to sit her down and have a talk with her.  I was more concerned with how the other articles on this.”  She paused and clicked over to a different tab, this one having an article about how the deaf community felt about something like this.  “As for her getting one, I would have to make an appointment with a ear, nose, and throat doctor, and then I’m guessing that I would have to set up something with a specialist, like an audiologist.  I would have to know what caused her to lose her hearing, if she was born that way or what.”

“Oh, so you’re more worried about how she’s going to look at getting this cause of the deaf community…..culture?”  Anna said as she looked over the article a little more.  “It looks like they don’t really like the idea of something like this.”

“Yeah, the whole thing about hearing parents using this to fix their kids, and the idea of false hope that it gives.”  Shanoa said leaning back a little.  “I want her to make the choice for herself, you know, for her to know that we love her no matter what, and that if this is what she wants, then to not let a community get in the way of it.”

“Well it looks like we have something big to do later.”  Anna said sitting up a little.  “I guess that I should fix us all a nice dinner for when Curio gets back from the park.

“I think that would be the best.  I’m going to look into getting a few more ducks in a row here.”  Shanoa said going back to working at her computer, eyes glancing over walls of texts for once over playing some game. 

---------------------------------

The young blossom bat let out a happy little chirp as she walked down the sidewalk before turning on her heels and walking through the large archway that lead into a large, nice looking park.  She had seen this place a few times before, but up until now it had been a little too cold for her to get a better look, but today was just right.  The long sun dress that she wore fluttered a little in the cool spring breeze that brought with it the strong, sweet scent of flowers, something that she just loved.

Spring had to be one of her favorite times of the year.  The weather was just right, not to warm, but not to cool, the perfect weather for loose fitting clothing.  The other big thing that she loved about Spring is the flowers, there was just something about the sweet, aromatic scent of flowers that just seemed to make her heart flutter and a little hungry.

She was happily wandering around one of the little walking trails that the park had going around the outer edge of it, parts of it tucked under the shade of the different blooming trees around her.  As she walked, one of the plants off to her side caught her attention, it was some kind of fern.  She wasn’t sure what kind of fern it was, but it was one that she had seen in the past, she had seen them all over the place back in Jonestown, something about the sight of it stirred up memories and caused her to smile.  She reached out and started feeling one of the fronds, softly rubbing it between her thumb and forefinger. 

The battling smiled as she pulled her paw away from the fern, looking at the light yellow powder that was on her finger. She knew that it was pollen, she knew what it did, but there was something a little more fascinating about it to her.  Without thinking too much she brought her paw up to her muzzle, long, thin tongue flicking out and getting a taste of the pollen.  The taste was hard to describe, but she liked it and wasn’t to sure why she like it.  

She stayed there for a moment or two more before reaching into her bag and pulling out her tablet, opening the camera app and carefully moving to get the right shot before putting it away and picking one of the fronds, maybe a gift for her moms, or maybe a snack as she walked through the park.

The bat kept walking though the park, looking at the trees, plants, and even the other people and families that were there playing and having fun.  At some point she had stopped at another fern and more or less tried pollinating it with the frond that she had plucked before moving on.  Further down the path, past a family that was having a picnic, she found it, well she smelled it first.

The powerfully sweet, charming smell of a flower caused her nose to wiggle as she walked up to this large vine like plant that was slowly working on taking over a tree and any of the other plants that were close enough to it.  The smell was heavenly, sweet and flowery, almost like an apple blossom, but better.  The white and golden flowers on it were strangely shaped, at least to her, but she thought that it made the plant even neater.  She leaned in, sniffing at the flowers and letting out a happy little chirp.  Again, something in her made her hungry when she smelled the flower, that long thin tongue lashing out and poking into the flower.  She chirped again when she tasted the nectar, it was one of the best things that she had tasted.  

She was there for a while, tasting the flowers, trying to see if there was a difference in the golden flowers and the white ones; part way through all this is when she saw the bench, a stone one, the kind that you would have more for decoration than sitting on.  That didn’t deter her, she brushed it off before sitting down and pulling out her tablet, and starting to type on it, opening the search app and starting to type in different things, wanting to find out what the plant was.

It took a little work, but she soon found out just what kind of plant that it was, a honeysuckle, a Japanese one to be exact.  She sat there, happily reading about the plant, finding that it could grow just about anywhere and that it was rather invasive at that.  Even with it being so invasive, she wondered if she could talk her mom into letting her get one and keep it in a pot or something like that, she knew that she would have to keep it trimmed.  After having finished reading the article for it, she found herself getting lost in reading through different plants that grew in the area, losing track of time and her tablet’s charge alike.

She was reading through a particularly interesting plant called wild oat when her tablet screen went dark.  She let out a little squeak like sound, she hadn’t noticed that it was at such a low charge before it went out on her, she was sure that she had charged it, but maybe she had forgotten.  She sat the tablet to the side as she started digging through her bag, looking for something almost frantically.  Shanoa had gotten her something for when or if this happened, it was a portable charger.  She ended up letting out a little huff as she started pulling all the things out of her bag and started piling them up neatly, looking for the thing. 

Having finally emptied her bag she shook her head, she didn’t have the charger with her.  She had never needed it up until this point, so she just never thought to grab it when she was getting her things together to go out.  Her ears folded down as she started putting her things back into her bag.  She wasn’t worried about needing to text or get in touch with her moms, she had her phone that had more than enough charge, but if she needed to talk to someone between now and getting home, she would have to figure something out, or hope that someone around her knew how to read sign language.

Curio sat there for a little bit longer, looking around the back, subconsciously wanting to pick up her tablet so that she could see what kinds of sounds it could hear for her.  She partly wanted to go back home, but more of her wanted to stay here and enjoy the weather and the sights of the plants around her.  It was about then that she smelt something else that made her hungry, coming from somewhere nearby she could smell food.  She got up and started following it and walking down the path again, soon coming up to a small hotdog cart.  There didn’t seem to be all that many people around it and she was hungry.  She walked up to the cart and looked at the makeshift menu that was there, nearly instantly knowing what she wanted, but she still had to figure out a way to get it.

“What can I get you little lady?”  The male raccoon said looking over the cart to Curio.

She was silent for a moment before letting out a little squeak like sound and started pointing to the board, to the hotdog all the way.

“I’m sorry sweetie, but I didn’t quite catch that.”  He said leaning over a little as he looked at her, waiting for her answer.

She took a step closer to the sign and pointed again before making a gesture of covering her ears and then her muzzle and shaking her head.

“Wait….  You don’t want anything?”  He asked.  “If you don’t want anything, run along now.”

She let out a huff like sound as she mimed speaking the best she could and then shook her head again, and did something similar with her ears.  She even pointed at the board again.

“Kid…  I don’t know if this is some kind of game.”  He said looking around to see if there were any other kids her ages that might be up to something.  “But I don’t know what you’re trying to say.

Curio shook her head again before stepping to the side and started digging through her bag, hunting for something.  She pulled out her phone and started typing on it in the notepad app before holding it up and showing it to the raccoon.

“It’s not a game, I’m deaf and mute, and my tablet that I use to talk and stuff is out of power, and I just want a hotdog all the way.”  The male read aloud, slinking back a little.  “Oh….Oh, I’m sorry.”  He said starting to make the girl’s order as she put her phone away and started pulling out the money to pay for it.  “Here you go.”  He said, handing her the order and taking her money, feeling a little bad as he watched her walking off, looking for some place to sit down and eat.

Curio walked through the park, looking for a nice place to eat, and she soon found one, one that was just perfect.  It was a large tree with roots that broke the surface of the dirt in a few places, gave off lots of nice shade and everything.  She happily sat down and started chowing down on her lunch, not seeming to worried about getting a little dirt on the butt of her dress, though she was a little more careful with the messy hotdog.

She had finished her snack, and leaned back against the tree, looking out at the park and the people that were wondering around, the families sitting on blankets on the grass or running around and playing with each other, she made a mental note of getting her moms out here sometime before things got a little to busy or before Shanoa got to waddly, she giggled a little at the thought of her mom with a big tummy.  The thoughts of her mom being pregnant lead to her thinking about what it would be like having the triplets around, her brother’s and or sisters or some mix of the two, all of the thinking caused the small bat’s eyelids to get heavy as she leaned back a little more, just resting her eyes.

Curio wasn’t sure how long she was sitting against the tree, but she had fallen asleep, random little dreams coming and going, though there was something that persisted through all of them.  It felt like there was something touching, tickling, or even crawling on her face.  Slowly she opened her eyes, going a little cross eyed as she saw it.  It was some kind of bug, some kind of caterpillar crawling up her muzzle.  With a squeak, she brought her paws and wings up and started flailing and wiggling, doing her best to get the thing off her nose.

Jalen Meuller, a barely teen aged Black Footed Ferret was walking through the park minding his own business when from the corner of his eye he caught a glimpse of a bat girl around his age leaning against a tree. What really caught his attention is that she was flailing around, arms and wings seemingly attacking someone, even though she was alone. As he started to walk closer the Ermine kid that he first saw trying to speak to the young bat girl walked past him muttering, “ stuck up bitch”, he said before slipping past Jalen and out of earshot. He walked close to the girl hearing her making squeaking noises as she battled her unseen opponent. “Are you okay? Is there anything I can do to help?” he asked cocking one eyebrow at the light tan furred girl.

Curio took a moment or two more to finally get her senses together and pulled the bug off of her muzzle before blinking and looking up at the male that was looking at her.  She blushed, knowing in the back of her mind that he had seen all of that.  Without thinking she lifted her paws and started signing out what had happened before stopping as it hit her, some random person might not know what sign language was, so she went back to miming out that she couldn’t speak or hear before starting to reach for her phone.

“That’s fine, please continue with what you were saying,” the ferret boy said, both speaking the words and signing them to the bat girl.

She blinked a few times before blushing again and started up sighing.  “I didn’t know you knew.  My name is Curio, I normally have a tablet that I use, but it died, and I didn’t think that anyone around here would know sign language….  I thought that my moms might be the only other people that knew.”  She stopped for a moment, smiling before asking.  “How do you know?”

“One of my aunts has been deaf since birth. When I was little it seemed weird that everyone spoke to her with their hands . But when I got a little older my mom explained it to me so I started learning sign language so I could talk with her. Now it’s just kind of second nature, I catch myself doing it even with my friends,” he explained, again by speaking and signing the words simultaneously. “See, it’s such a habit I even do it when I’m just rambling like a doofus.”

She smiled and nodded a little.  “I don’t think that you’re a doofus….  I think it’s really neat that you know it so well and are talking to me.”  She said blushing a little.  “Oh, what was your name?  And I guess you’re from around here?”

“Jalen, Jalen Meuller, and yes my family lives here in Marblecliff. Have since before I was born. You must be kind of new around here, I would remember seeing a cute bat girl at the park,” he added, blush suddenly coloring the lighter colored fur of his cheeks.

Jalen wasn’t the only that was blushing, his comment caught her off guard and had her blushing too.  “Well me and my moms moved her at the end of February. Momma Shanoa opened a clinic here, and I help out with stuff, that and she’s going to be having babies.”  She said signed out, showing just how proud she was at the idea of being a big sister.  “Do you live near here?”

“Kind of, I mean it’s not real far but not really close either,” the ferret boy answered before sitting down awkwardly to stay looking at her as he did so. “About a mile and a half or so, I walk down here, or ride my bike down two or three times a week.”

“That’s neat, that means that we could hang out sometime, I mean if that’s ok with you.”  She said blush returning before she started up again.  “My family lives near here, like twenty minutes on foot, we’re renting a place until momma Shanoa gets our house built that she betted for with momma Anna.”

“I...I’d like that,” he answered, the blush in his cheeks glowing brighter at the admission. “Your mom's sound, well, kind of weird but kind of awesome too.” After a few moments of wiggling around to get a bit more comfortable, and to get the tree root out of the crack of his backside he added, “my family is pretty boring for the most part, kind of normal for a lawyer and a city clerk.”

“Momma Shonoa is the weird one, Anna is the one that has to keep her in check and make sure she doesn’t do anything and make sure that there’s bail money.”  Curio said smiling a little as she paused.  “Oh and she's a doctor….  Oh and her parents are visiting they are normal, so….we don’t know where she gets it.”  She paused, blushing a little.  “I’m sorry I’m rambling, I just don’t get to sign too much, and I haven’t really met to many people my age.”

“You’re not rambling any more than I have been, and I’m sure that you’ll meet more people. Especially if you hang out around the park here, it’s a pretty popular place,” the mustilide boy said rubbing the back of his neck a little. “I could, ummm, give you my number if you want me to, or maybe we could swap numbers?”

The bat smiled a little as she started reaching into her bag and pulling out her phone and unlocking it.  “Here you go.”  She said offering it to him as if she knew that he knew what to do with it.  “Moms don’t like me being on the phone super late at night, that’s the only rule.”  She said, remembering something about something called sexting, but with the way that momma Anna laughed, it had to be a joke.

Jalen took the phone, blushing harder as for a brief moment his paw touched the bat girls as she handed her phone to him. He quickly entered his name and number into her contacts then dialed his own phone so that he would have her number. “My folks have the same rule,” he signed to her after handing her phone back. “Well that’s one of them, another one is no sending dirty pictures… but I wouldn't do that anyway.”

She smiled and nodded as she took her phone.  “I think that’s the sexting thing momma Anna said something about….  I thought it was a joke cause I didn’t know what it was.”  She said blushing a little more.  “So…..Ummm  are you doing anything tomorrow?  I mean if you don’t have anything to do and if it’s ok with our parents we can hang out my house or something?”

“That could be fun,” the ferret said blushing a little brighter. “I’ll ask my parents and call you later?” he asked, his voice raising in pitch just a bit. “I don’t think they will mind, though dad may give me some stuff for it.” The blush in his face spreading to his neck as well he added, “then again mom might too.”

“Well it’s settled.”  She sighed before putting her phone into her bag.  “I will ask my moms and stuff, and then we will go from there….  And don’t feel bad, I think that momma Shanoa will give me mess for it….  Then again, she might behave with grandma and grandpa there.”  She said with a little nod, before looking at her watch, eyes going a little wide eyed.  It had gotten late as she had been hanging out with her new friend, “I have to go, I told momma Shanoa that I would help with moving somethings.  So I'll wait for your call.”  She said getting up, trying to remember some of the things that she had seen her mom do when saying bye to her business friends.  She held her hand out to him.

Jalen nearly jumped to his feet-paws, brushing off his pants as he stood up before reaching out and taking the bat girls offered hand. He squeezed it tenderly as he turned to and brought it to his lips. Planting a soft kiss on the back he said, “until we meet again fair lady,” making sure she could see his lips as he spoke the words to her.

The bat girl went wide eyed at the sight and feeling of the boy kissing her paw, she had never seen something like this, she thought from watching Shanoa that people shook hands, but there was something about this that she liked.  “I…..Thank you.”  Was all that she managed to sign before turning and heading off, hiding the blush that she was sure was covering her from head to tail.

------------------------------------------------------------

The sound of the door squeaking open caught Shanoa and Anna’s attention from the kitchen, causing them to stop working on dinner, playing a game of grab ass, or both to see their daughter walking into the house.

“Hey sweetie, welcome home, dinner is just about done.  So go wash up and have a seat, we need to talk.”  Shanoa said as she watched her daughter stopping in the middle of the room and looking at her before starting to sign to her, telling her about her tablet’s battery before skittering off to her room to get the charging thing that Shanoa had gotten her.

“That’s a little unlike her.”  Anna spoke up as she turned back to the meal that they were working on.  “She never forgets something like that.”

“Well I think that there might be a lot on her mind at the moment, that or she did like I do when I forget to charge my phone and just fell asleep.”  Shanoa said with a little shrug, “we will just have to make sure that she has it charged and has the backup charger with her….  I might need to get another one, that way she can keep one in her bag at all times and then have another for other things.”

“Sorry mom, I didn’t mean to let my tablet die, I just kinda fell asleep last night and forgot to charge it.”  Curio’s tablet spoke up for her as she walked into the dinning room and sat at the table.  “Is that why we need to talk?  I mean I don’t think that I did anything wrong or anything….  Am I in trouble or something?”

“No sweetie.”  Anna said drying her paws off on a dish towel as she walked into the room and sat down with her.  “Sometimes we all need to have a little talk about things, and Shanoa and I think that this one might be really important.”  She said, her wife joining them at the table.

“One of the things that we need to talk about is clearing your search history.”  Shanoa said with a little snicker as she saw the look on Curio’s face.  “And before you ask, no you didn’t look up anything bad.”

“What your mother is trying to say, is that she found something that you were looking up on her PC, the stuff that you had been looking up about a cochlear implant.”  Anna said leaning in a little, shaking her head at her wife.

“Oh, I was just looking that up cause I was curious about it.  And momma never showed me anything about clearing my history.”  Curio said with a little huff as she poked her tongue out a little.

“There’s nothing wrong with looking up something like that, there’s nothing wrong with wanting to know if there is a way to help or fix being deaf.”  Shanoa said smiling a little.  “I looked up and into some of the things that you had been looking into, and from what I have seen there is a lot of bad and good about the idea and having the cochlear implant.”  She said, reaching out and putting her hand on her daughter’s paw.  “And your mother and I want to know, what you want and when we say what you want, we mean just you.”

“Yes sweetie.  We want you to think about what you want, without worrying or thinking about what other people will say to or about you for getting the implant.  Don’t think or worry about what other people want, we want you to pick and do what will make you the most happy.”  Anna said reaching out and putting her hand on Curio’s other hand.

“I have thought about it, and I would love to get to hear, and to be able to hear what my mommas sound like.”  She said looking up to them, “I want to be able to hear the birds when I go out to the park and see the flowers.  But from what I read on the one article, the implant might not work, or might not work like I think that it would, or that I might not even be able to get one.”  She said starting to sniffle a little.

“Well that’s the thing, there is upsides and downsides to getting something like this, and as for being able to get one, it would depend on a few things.  If you’re feeling up to it, if you tell me if you have been deaf all your life, or if something happened.”  Shanoa said holding onto her daughter’s hand, before she pulled them free to start typing on her tablet.

“Well I used to be able to hear, but then when all that stuff happened, there was a lot of loud bangs.  They were really, really loud, to the point that it hurt.  After I got out of there, all I could hear is this loud squealing…..squeaking sound, it’s hard to describe….and then it all went quiet.”  She said looking over to her doctor mother.

“It sounds like the loud sounds damaged your hearing, and then you being out on the street where you couldn’t get any help or treatment, it lead you to going deaf.  I’d like to think that, that’s something that the implant can fix.”  She paused for a moment.  “If you would like, I can look into getting you an appointment with an ear, nose, and throat doctor, and if that goes good, then we can see about getting an appointment with a specialist….  How does that sound to you?”

“That sounds like it would be really nice, but I’m kinda scared honestly.”  The little bat typed out before looking to her mothers.

“I bet that you are sweetie, this isn’t something small, this is something that could change your life, and I know that if I was in your shoes, I would be more than worried.”  Anna said reaching out to hold her daughter’s hand.

“She’s right, this is big, and it’s ok to be scared, but we both want you to know that we will be right here for you, the whole way.  So if this is what you want, then this is what we will get you.”  Shanoa said smiling and reaching out to take her hand, giving it a squeeze before she let go so she could type.

“I would love that momma.”  Curio said, smiling happily and wiggling a little as Anna reached out to wipe away a tear that had started sliding down the bat’s cheek.  “What about talking, does that mean that I will be able to talk again?”

“That might be a little easier I’d think.”  Shanoa said with a smile, “you said talking again, so I take it that you could talk before going deaf?”  She said watching her bat nodding.

“I could talk before I lost my hearing, and then I just couldn’t hear myself, so I kinda just forgot how to talk and gave up on it.”  Curio’s tablet spoke up for her.

“Well then I’m sure that we can teach you to speak again, it might take a long time, cause there is a lot of words and weird things in english.”  Shanoa said with a little snicker.  “Well it looks like all of the ducks are in a line, so let's get back to making dinner….wanna help Squeaky?”

“Yes momma.”  Curio said before they all got up and headed into the kitchen to get back to making dinner.

-------------------------------------

Curio, Anna and Shanoa had spent most of the time before and during dinner talking about what the bat wanted with the idea of the cochlear implant, and needless to say, there was a lot for the young bat to think about, and there was still a lot of it that was running around her head, but one thing did pop up.

“Momma Shanoa, can I ask you something?”  Her tablet spoke up, causing the catwolf to look next to her and away from the movie that they were ideally watching. 

“What is it sweetie?”  The mother asked, looking a little worried.

“Would it be ok if I had a friend over tomorrow?”  She asked, blushing a little as she looked up to her mom, thankfully for her it was a little to dark for her to see.

“I don’t know….  I think that it depends on the kind of friend you’re talking about.  Is he a boy friend?  And just when did you meet this kid?”  She asked, leaning a little as she put an arm around her.

“Well we met at the park today.  My tablet died and well, there was a bug on my face and he saw and came to help…..and kinda found out he knows sign language.”  She said with a little nod.  “We sat there and talked for a really long time and he seems really nice.”

“Hmmmmmm…..  I think that it would be ok….  But there will be rules.  If you two are in your room, you’re door is to be open, no ifs ands or butts.”  The catwolf paused for a moment or two, “oh and none of that snuggling under a blanket and letting your paws wander.”

“You know, you might want to practice what you preach there.”  Anna teased, giggling a little.

“That doesn’t count.”  Shanoa said holding up her ring finger.  “We’re kinda married…..and I am kinda filled with your little horned kids.”  She said looking back to Curio.  “That’s the rules, is that good?”

“We can do that.”  She said nodding happily, knowing that all she had to do was wait for the phone call to let him know the news.

“Good, and I might see about ordering you two a pizza or something.”  Shanoa said with a nod.

“And I will make sure to keep her from getting to….secret agent on him.”  Anna said smiling and nudging her wife.

----------

Of all the things Jalen Meuller had done in his short thirteen years what he had done over the last hour and a half had been the hardest and, to be honest about it, just about the strangest that he could remember. He had expected his parents to give him at least a little bit of a hard time when he asked them about going to see the bat girl he had met at the park. But he had not been even slightly ready for what had happened. First was his mother’s fawning over how her baby boy was growing up,then his older brother, who happened to be home visiting from college, teasing him non-stop about being a lady killer. Then his father had chimed in with a fifteen minute lecture about what it means to ‘be a man’ and ‘taking responsibility’. Then of course there was ‘the talk’, why did his parents just suddenly assume he needed to know all that anyway? It wasn’t like he even knew Curio well enough to even think about her like that, well to be honest, he hadn’t before they brought it up. Now here he was, pacing the floor of his room, phone in paw wondering if the pretty bat girl had been thinking of the things his parents and brother had talked to him about, wondering if he should call her or not.

“This is stupid,” he muttered to himself flopping down into the beanbag chair in front of his entertainment center. “Curio was sweet and nice sure, but I really don’t think she was flirting with me… was she?” He leaned back into the chair further, his free paw going to rub across his face. “No, mom and dad are just nuts, she was just being nice and happy to meet someone new that was nice too. Besides,” he grumbled, shaking his head and bringing the phone into his view, “she’s my age, and I wasn’t thinking about stuff like…. THAT. I’m sure she wasn’t either.” Gathering his nerve, and trying hard to push the things his parents had talked to him about to the back of his mind he pressed the dial icon on his phone, the young bat’s number having been displayed the entire time he was agonizing over making the call. After several rings he heard the sound of the call connecting, meekly saying, “hello?”

“Kiyomizu house.”  The voice on the other side answered.

“Ummm, hello, my name is Jalen Meuller, is Curio home by chance? We met at the park today and ummm…” the ferret boy said trailing off for a moment.

The person on the other side snickered a little.  “You know she’s deaf and mute right, kinda hard to talk on the phone…..and your the boy that she’s crushing out on.”  She said, the sound of shuffling and movement heard from her end as she walked through the house.  “Curio…..your boyfriend is on the phone.”

“Well, I uhhh,” the boy stammered trying to think of an answer that wouldn’t make him sound like a total geek. “I guess I didn’t… wait what?”

“Moooooom.”  A younger female voice came through the line.

“Her she is….and just remember buddy.  She has the phone on speaker and I will be right in the other room.”  

“Momma Shanoa, stop.”  Curio huffed out before taking the phone, fumbling with it for a second.  “Hello…”

“Curio?” Jalen asked barely waiting a moment before continuing. “Duh of course it is goober,” he said half under his breath. “Hi, it’s me Jalen, from the park today,” he added with a questioning tone to his voice, almost as if he were asking a question .

The bat giggled a little as she watched her tablet showing what he was saying.  “Well I would hope that it’s you, I mean you sound a little unsure there….  I hope mom didn’t give you too much trouble, she can be silly sometimes…..soooo  Ummmmm what’s up?”

“Oh yea, sorry. She kind of caught me off guard, you were right she is kinda weird a little…” he said blushing though he knew the bat girl couldn’t see. “So yea, okay I asked my parents and, well after a bit of a talk that I would rather have skipped they said it’s okay with them if we, ummm hang out together.”

“That’s awesome.”  The bat said happily, bouncing a little in place.  “And don’t feel bad, I got the talk and stuff the other day, and then another talk, something about not being under a blanket and letting our paws wonder.”  She rambled off, “So any time that you want to come over, I was thinking like tenish?”

“God, it sounds like your moms gave you as much grief as my family gave me,” the boy replied with a little giggle. “Ten sounds good to me, though since it’s our first… date or whatever it is one or both of my parents are sure to stick their muzzles into it. Meet the other parents and all that stuff,” he added with a huff. “Maybe we can get lucky and they won’t embarrass me too much before they are happy with things.”

“Good that saves me the trouble of needing to meet them.”  Shanoa’s voice called out from the other room.  “Does he need a ride here?”

“Mom you just want to show off the car.”  Curio said with a little huff.  “And well, mom wants to meet your parents too.”

“I know they’ll want to bring me over there so they can get this meeting thing done, make sure they know exactly where I’ll be, who will be there and that kind of thing. Is there, ummm, anything I should know ahead of time? Or anything I should bring with me? Like a windbreaker if we take a walk or anything like that?”

“Ummmm Bring a jacket, we might go for a walk, or something, I know that momma Shanoa said something about a pizza, or maybe going out for lunch or something, when she’s less barfy.”  She paused for a moment, “you might not want to bring food over or anything that smells strong, she gets barfy easy.”

“I will order you kids a pizza or take you out some were, your choice.”  Shanoa called from the other room, possibly getting to the point that Curio was starting to think that she was listening in a little more than she said she would.

“Alright, sounds like a plan,” the ferret boy said, his voice sounding a bit more cheerful. “Sooo, I’ guess I’ll see you tomorrow then Curio, around ten. Ummm, bye,” he finished unsure of how to really even end the call.

“That sounds nice.”  The bat said happily, blushing a little at the thought of the ferret coming over in the morning, not to sure why she suddenly had butterflies in her tummy.  “See you tomorrow.”  She said, hanging on for a moment or two longer before ending the call.

“You know….  It looks like you have it bad for this boy.”  Shanoa said with a little snicker as she leaned against the door frame.  “Puppy love….  Well bat love.”  She teased.

“Mooooom.”  Curio huffed out as she handed her the phone.  “He will be here at tenish…  And his parents are coming to, they want to meet you, so please behave.”  The bat said looking up to her mother with a stern look on her face.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”  The catwolf said smiling and shaking her head a little.  “I will behave, I will make sure not to talk about some of the cute things that you do, the little squeaks that you make in your sleep….or your plushie….or how you….”

“Moooom…..  No!”  She said giving her a nudge.  “I will make sure to get the smelliest food for the mornings if you do that.”

“Don’t worry sweetie.  I will be here to make sure that she behaves.”  Anna said, appearing behind her wife and wrapping her arms around her.

“Oh god…  I didn’t tell him that I’m adopted….”  Curio said looking up to the deer and wolfcat.

“And?  It’s not like I’m going to tell the whole story of how I found you.”  Shanoa said leaning back a little, nuzzling against her wife.  “I figured like always, I would just tell them that I adopted you.”

“Don’t worry about things like that silly.”  Anna said shaking her a little.  “The only thing that you should worry about is having fun.  And I will make sure she stays out of your hair.”

“Just how do you plan on doing that?”  Shanoa said turning and glancing at her.

“Well.”  She said looking from Curio to Shanoa and starting to whisper something that caused her to blush a little.

“Well that sells me.”  Shanoa said, before the two turned and slipped out of the room, leaving the bat to her thoughts and wonders about tomorrow and the things that might or would happen.