eumenis | Apocalypse Mom Rides Again ((for ancienttouched))

Furiosa has always been pretty quick to twig to small children in the Nexus. She's spoken to a few of them, and a couple people who looked like small children but weren't, really, and academically she knows that a little fox-tailed toddler could be a ten-thousand-year-old goddess of destruction in disguise or something, but she's still one of the Many Mothers. She notes the tiny presence, the ill-fitting dress, the bare feet. Poor thing must be so cold...

"When I was a little girl," she says in a soft, low voice, "one of my mothers made me a doll a little like that one in there, in the blue dress. She stuffed it with meadowsweet and lavender and it smelled good to hold when I went to sleep. Did you ever have a doll like that?"

The sudden voice startled her. Fur fluffing out as she jumped with a startled squeak. All but scrambling back a few steps when she saw the strange woman speaker to her was a human. Or at least looked like it.

But she was being... nice. So far at least. Maybe she was an Edenite. But Kippa still lifted her tail almost protectively as if to hide more of her face behind it, other than wide, uncertain eyes peering at the woman over the red and white fluff, ears at an uneasy half-mast as she nodded slowly, letting go of her tail with one hand to point at the display of stuffed animals, where a fox plush sat among the rest.

"Like that. Kind of. She sewed it out of one of her old shirts... dunno what she stuffed it with, Miss."

Well, she certainly didn't intend to scare the child, but Furiosa just stands where she is, looking down at her mildly while she recovers from the startlement. She has no way of knowing what kind of situation the little fox girl has come from, but 'not a good one' seems like a safe guess.

When the kid answers her, pointing out the plush in the window, she smiles and sinks to one knee so she's not looming so much, craning her neck to look at the toy. "That's sweet," she says. "I don't know where mine is now. Probably long gone. A lot has happened to me since those days. But there are a lot of children where I live. I thought I might see something here they would like."

It helped, that Furiosa didn't come closer, that she knelt down. It didn't mean much, but it did mean that if needed, Kippa could get a head start on running if it turned out to be necessary.

"Mine got burned." She remembered that much. Fire, smoke, the clamor of everyone fleeing for their lives, the shouting and screaming-

Her brow furrowed slightly as she snuggled a bit more securely against her tail, both arms around it again as she shivered, and it wasn't entirely because of the cold.

"I bet they'd like most of it, Miss. All these toys look really nice." Sure most are second hand, but Kippa had never had a purpose-made toy before, outside her little shirt-fox, so they all looked lovely, scuffs and dings or no.

"Well...we make a lot of our own toys," she says. "But I'd like to have one shaped like a camel, for some of the pups that help tend the herds. And a lot of them could use new shoes, I think."

"I'm sorry your toy got burned," she says softly. "Would you like to come help me pick out some things to take back to our children back home? I could pay you by getting you a couple things, too."

Like a fucking coat and some shoes, for starters. And a toy fox.

She shouldn't. It could be a trap. It wouldn't be the first trap baited by kindness that Kippa had seen or been warned of.

But it sounded like a trade. Trades were okay. And... she wanted to trust. People were good weren't they? You just had to give them the chance to be. Her mom had told her as much. So the offer would get a tentative nod from the fox girl.

"Okay. I... yes. That sounds fair, Miss." She hoped this lady was as nice as she was acting. This place would feel a lot less scary if she could make a friend.

Good. That's a good reaction. Wary, but not terrified. A child should be careful around strangers, and the last thing Furiosa wants is to scare her into running off, but she can't not try to help. She smiles at the pup and nods her approval, offering her right hand in a handshake.

"My name is Furiosa. What should I call you?"

"Kippa." Wary still, but not as nervous as she'd been, ears lifting as she reached tentatively to shake hands, over-sized sleeve slipping to show the still-raw red mark around her wrist that would certainly age to bruising in the coming days. A shy sort of handshake before drawing her hand back to clinging to her tail, though not quite hiding behind it as she had been.

"It's nice to meet you, Miss Furiosa."

The sight of that mark prompts dual impulses in Furiosa, because she knows it has to have come from ropes or shackles. She's seen a lot of that. "Fukushima," she murmurs softly, wanting both to embrace and protect this little girl, and to find out who did that to her and kill them.

She closes her eyes for a moment, because rage is not comforting to kids, even if it's on their behalf, and then in a steady voice she says, "It's nice to meet you, too, Kippa. Listen...I don't want to scare you, but I'm worried you're in trouble, and I want to help."

"So let's...let's go shop a little, and maybe if you feel safe enough with me after that, we can talk. Would that be okay?"

Kippa didn't know what that word meant. But she recognized the tone well enough, as well as the moment Furiosa took to recenter. It reminded her in some ways of how her mother would have to stop and take a breath to stay calm instead of yelling or otherwise causing an outburst that might draw unwanted attention to them.

The offer was unexpected. She honestly wasn't even sure what to do with it, fingers curling reflexively in her fur as she thought a moment before nodding. Talking was alright. And it wasn't promises or anything. It was fine.

"That... that sounds okay."

"Good." Furiosa smiles, and if it's a little strained at the edges, it's still completely sincere. Even if she can't help this child, someone in the Nexus is certain to want to. They'll figure out what she needs and what she feels safe accepting, and go from there.

She rises and beckons Kippa gently to the door of the shop. "Just stay close to me. They won't mind you walking around with a paying customer. What's your favorite color?"

Yep, moving on to lighter topics, at least for the moment.

Kippa can't help but return that smile, even if it's still a bit small and shy. But it was another good sign as she nodded at the instruction. It made sense. People tolerated Arcanics if there was a human with them, at least so long as they seemed well behaved. She could do that, already moving to keep up with Furiosa, curious gaze skipping towards the shelves she could see from the entry of the shop.

"I like blue, Miss. Like the sky when it's sunny out." She was entirely alright with lighter topics!

"Blue is a pretty color," she agrees. "Green is my favorite, like growing things. Sometimes when I have free time at home, I'll go sit in the orchard at the top of the Towers and just enjoy the colors and the warm wind."

She eyes the door, which has signs displaying store hours, one that says 'No unaccompanied children', and one that says 'shirt and shoes required'. "Can you read that language, Kippa? It's all right if not. I'm just curious."

Perfect excuse to just get her shoes the moment they walk in the door, anyway.

"Orchards?" Kippa perked up at that, curious. "What kinda trees, Miss? Mama said that in the forests sometimes there's trees so old that they were there before everything, back when the Old Ones weren't just ghosts."

The question had the girl stopping short, peering at the sign. And frowning in an almost sulky way when she realized that she didn't recognize the language there. Not that her mother had much spare time to teach her to read but she'd ensured that she could at least know the letters, suss out important words.

"I know my letters... but I don't know those ones. What's it say?"

Furiosa has to pause for a second to take that in. Ancient trees and Old Ones. It sounds like a fairy story, and she can't help but look a little wistful. "Ours are apples trees, peach, lemon and orange, and some pomegranates and olives a little lower down the Tower. They're not very old, I'm afraid, but we had old trees where I grew up."

She reaches over and pets her hair gently without thinking about it, then withdraws, hoping that wasn't too much. Oops. "It's probably not the same lettering your world uses. It just says that they want you to have shoes on to walk around inside, so we'll just have to get you some first thing."

"You have orange trees?" Well Furiosa has her attention now, ears perked, and the start of a less shy smile on her face. "Mama got an orange once- they don't grow up North where we lived so I'd never seen one before but it was so tasty!"

The touch to her hair didn't seem to scare or upset her, even if Kippa did hunker down behind her tail a little bit more, in an almost bashful way. Especially when reminded of her shoeless state, peering down as she wiggled her bare toes.

"Oh! Yeah, that'd probably be a smart thing. It's not this cold back home, at least not right now."

Oh, Mothers help her. This kid is getting some oranges one way or another, as soon as their shopping trip is finished. "They smell good, too, don't they?" She agrees. "Peaches are my favorite, but I like almost any fruit."

She opens the door and ushers the child inside gently, heading straight for the front counter. The woman manning it looks human, although she's pretty tall for it, approaching seven feet, with a cushiony figure and whimsical half-moon glasses. "We need shoes for this little girl," Furiosa tells her. "Warm shoes for winter. I'll buy them first, and then we'd like to look around."

The tall woman leans over the counter to get a look at Kippa, blinks, glances at Furiosa, and hums thoughtfully. "I think we can manage that. Socks, as well? Or tights?"

"Yes..." Furiosa glances at Kippa. "Tights would be warmer if you can fit her." Because, tail?

"We fit all kinds! Wait here a moment."

"Fruit is all really good, I could eat nothing but fruit forever!" Not really because well, a growing girl needed more than just fruit. But she'd certainly put forth her best effort!

The woman running the shop looks human enough that with that lean over the counter, Kippa can't help but gulp lowly, side-stepping a little closer to Furiosa as if she might hide behind her if needed. But the moment passed, and the woman seemed to be hustling to get some options, which left the little girl to peer curiously at her from around Furiosa's legs and over her own tail.

"You think so, hm? What about vegetables?" Furiosa teases gently. She's surprised when the girl moves closer to her for shelter, and since petting her hair is apparently not off-limits, she does so again, soothing.

"No one's going to hurt you here, Kippa," she says. "I promise you that. Not while I'm around."

The woman returns after a couple minutes with a pile of three different pairs of tights in her arms, and a couple pairs of little snow boots, tethered together with ribbon. The tights vary from navy, to white with pink dots, to purple and pink stripes. The boots, likewise, are colorful. One pair has snowflakes, another has hearts, and the third has some sort of cartoon character. Furiosa breaks into a small grin. The pups don't need boots or tights where she comes from, and she wasn't quite expecting this much whimsy. She immediately gravitates toward the stripes, but glances at Kippa. "We should try on whichever you like best, first."

That got Kippa making a face, though she did seem to consider it. "Maybe. Broccoli is okay I guess. Mama said it was like eating trees so we could grow up big and strong just like they are! But not pickles! They make my nose itch."

That promise was... soothing. This lady was so nice. She had to be an Edenite. Or whatever they called themselves here. Maybe this whole place was nothing but them? She hadn't seen any signs of Federation occupation. It could be. "Thank you, Miss."

Any nervousness was forgotten though when the shopkeeper came back, and Kippa's attention was caught by the bright colors and pretty patterns of what she was being shown, eyes brightening in excitement. "Those ones! The pink and purple!"

Did they match the tunic she was wearing? Nope. Did she care? Again, nope! They were pretty, and that's all that she was thinking about.

"Broccoli does look like trees," she agrees. "I'm sure your mother was right."

Sooner or later she's going to ask what happened to her mother, but already she suspects the story is going to be very much like her own. Fire. Loss. Shackles. If she can keep it from getting any worse, she will.

Furiosa was already reaching for the pink and purple, so she laughs, a quiet little bark of delight, and nods, plucking them out of the pile to hold out to Kippa. "Can you get into them yourself? If I try to help with my left-side claws I'm afraid I'll snag them to bits."

Which means the shopkeeper would have to help. She's willing to, of course, but she'll wait politely until asked, having already gathered the fox child is wary of her.

"I can do it, Miss!" Kippa assured her, accepting the tights from Furiosa with a grin. While the shopkeeper was giving the girl her space, it was easy enough to point her towards the little changing stalls, which the Arcanic scampered over to, her striped prize clutched overtop of her tail.

With the door closed, they'd hear nothing too strange, shuffling, a startled little noise when she overbalanced and fell on her rump, but a few minutes later Kippa would be prancing back out, tights donned, and her tail... well quite a bit more fluffy than it had been. Static worked on little fox girls just like everyone else it seemed. She skidded to a halt on the well-polished floors, grabbing for Furiosa's leg to help keep her balance as she stuck a stripe-clad foot out, wiggling her toes again.

"They're so pretty!"

Furiosa is listening in case of trouble, but it sounds like nothing Kippa can't handle thus far, so she opts not to interfere. When the girl emerges, there are a few other things piled on the counter, some potentially for her, many for the Citadel children. They don't need tights, but socks, light legwarmers, scarves and gloves aren't a bad idea.

When Kippa bounds out of the changing room, Furiosa's face goes through a series of emotions, all positive, most unusual for her to experience. She ends up cupping her right hand over her mouth, highly entertained by that tail and trying not to giggle. She reaches down to help her balance when she collides with her leg. "They look like they were made for you, pup. Do they feel comfortable?"

She nods at the shopkeeper, a silent 'yes, we'll take these' signal, and crouches again to set the boots out for her to look at.

"Yes Miss!" Kippa chirped in reply, looking rather cheerful compared to when Furiosa first met her. For whatever had happened to her, she still bounced back quickly, resilient and optimistic it seemed.

The boots she had to hem and haw over a moment. She had no idea who the character was, so it was really between hearts and snowflakes. But the glittery snowflakes and the little fluffy pom-pom ties were more than enough to decide her, the little fox girl grinning as she plunked down to sit right there on the floor and tug the boots on. Once they were on? Well they felt right but only one way to be sure! So that would be Kippa practically bouncing back to her feet to hop a couple circles around Furiosa in thoughtful experimentation before she was nodding.

"These fit too!"

The shopkeeper has seen a lot of children come and go here, but at this point she is also charmed. They may be getting a discount.

Furiosa presses on the toes of the boots to see if there's any room in them for her to grow, grinning at her enthusiasm. "Good! Stripes and sparkles."

Do they match? Who the hell cares? It'll keep the child warm, and she clearly likes them. That's all that matters. Furiosa ruffles her hair gently--it's becoming a habit, she's clearly getting attached--and plucks a pink flowered bag with a water bottle in it off the counter. "This is for you, too. You should never be without water, even here. I'll fill it up for you after we leave here."

It was probably for the best that Kippa was unaware of the power she held.

Whatever the case, Furiosa got a sunny smile from her at that hair ruffle, a soft little 'hey!' escaping her without any real seriousness as she reached to pat her hair back into place. At least before she was being offered that bag and the advice, nodding in agreement.

"Yes, Miss!" It was smart advice- she'd been lucky so far that water had been easy to come across in her life, but she'd heard plenty of stories. Deserts where it was hard to come across, or camps too close to mass graves where the water ended up tainted. It wasn't always guaranteed.

"You can call me Furiosa if you want to," she says. "Or just Furi. I think we'll get you a coat, too, but let's take our time and look around first, hm?"

"I'll hold these up here for you," the shopkeeper says. "Do you want a cart?"

Furiosa glances at the shopping carts parked by the wall and nods. "Might as well. Do you want to sit in the basket, Kippa?"

"Okaay M- Furi." She liked that, to be honest. This lady was nice. She seemed tough, like she could handle herself, but she was kind, and she spoke gently, and when she smiled there was something in her eyes that softened just a little. Soft clouds after a rainstorm rather than the steely dark sort that brought thunder and lightning. Probably not enough for most people to trust a stranger, but it seemed it was enough for Kippa.

And she'd never seen a cart like the metal mesh ones lined up to one side, but she did get the idea of what Furi was offering, and nodded again, a bit more enthusiastically.

"Yeah!"

Furiosa tugs a cart loose from the line and steers it closer, then holds out her hands, offering to pick Kippa up and set her in the front divider of the basket. "Watch your tail; I don't want to pinch you."

It's possible there will be a mutual exchange of static electricity here, but Furiosa doesn't seem to care, giving a slight wince and then laughing as she sets the girl in the basket. "You're gonna have to sit so you don't fall out, but otherwise just make yourself comfortable."

"How long have you been in the Nexus, anyway? Did you just get here?"

The little zip of static when she was lifted just earned a little yelp and giggle from Kippa, who was perfectly content to settle where she was set in the cart, feet kicking out idly. It certainly gave her a better vantage of the place, letting her get a better look at the higher shelves.

"I did! The main plaza was full of people so I... well I avoided it. I was lookin' around to see if I could find where the rest of the Arcanics were, and ran into you!"

"That's probably a good instinct," she says. "Most of the people here are very kind, but it's never a bad idea to be careful of crowds."

She steers down the closest aisle, which is mostly baby clothing, far too small for Kippa. She pauses long enough to pick up some onesies, though, and eyes the receiving blankets. They do pretty well with blankets on their own these days, but the material is softer here, and after a moment she drops a green one into the basket and holds out a blue and yellow striped one for Kippa to look at, as if asking her opinion.

"I don't know what an Arcanic is. I don't think we have people by that name in my world. But there are all sorts of beings here, not just humans. Can you tell me more about where you come from?"

"Arcanics don't usually do really... good in crowds of humans." Understatement of the century, and from the tentative way Kippa says the words, she's well aware of that. The blanket however gets a nod, but that's no surprise. In her mind you can never have enough soft blankets, especially for babies like these blankets are meant for.

"Arcanics are... what happened when Humans and Ancients made babies. A real long time ago, and Arcanics can have babies all on their own too so there's lots of us now. But the Humans back home don't really like us." A soft huff as she studies a display of soft toys, brows drawing. "They say we're just animals. Bad or rabid. They have a big church full of scary ladies that experiment on us... they cut us up to use parts to make potions."

"Back home is... not very nice. I dunno why."

"All we have is humans, where I come from," Furiosa says thoughtfully. "And they can be very cruel to one another, too. But not everyone is like that."

Obligingly, she steers closer to the shelves of toys, probably searching for a camel. There's a llama. That's not quite the same thing, but it's close enough to buy for the price on the tag.

"You seem like any child I've ever known," she says. "Smarter and braver than some, maybe."

She 'walks' the llama across the bar of the cart and has it bump its nose against Kippa's arm. "If anyone here were cutting up any person for experiments, a lot of people would try to stop them." A lot of angry people, she suspects. "You should never leave the Nexus with anyone you don't trust, but no one can hurt you while you're here."

"Some of the humans are nice. The Edenites want everyone to live together, peacefully... but there's not a lot of them anymore."

"I don't know... I don't feel very smart or brave." Kippa watched the path of the llama plush, pretending to hide behind her tail again with a soft little laugh when it bumped against her, before her attention was drawn by what Furiosa was saying.

"...This place is safe then? I mean... how do they keep people from hurting each other?" She wanted it to be true, but then, it seemed rather impossible in some ways.

"Well...usually." Furiosa can't lie to a child. "Normally there's a kind of magic that makes it so people can't hurt one another. Sometimes it fails. And you can already tell, it can get cold here, so it's not as though nothing bad can happen. But there's very little fighting."

She tips the llama into the basket and picks up an elephant and an extremely fuzzy black cat. If there are no other foxes on these shelves they can get the one in the front window. All of these toys are pretty cute, though. They just might not hold up as well in the Citadel as they would in a gentler climate.

"This one's good fabric," she says of the elephant. It's corduroy, it should be fine for the older, rougher children.

"I come here to trade and buy things to take home. The world I come from is a desert, and it can be very harsh. I do my best to keep the people in my city safe and supply their needs...it'd be hard without this place to come to, though. We've gotten a lot of our plants from here."

"That... makes sense. Magic can be picky like that." It was still reassuring that there was some protection. It was better than nothing, as far as Kippa was concerned.

"It looks tough, just like a real elephant is. I've seen pictures of them and they're huge!" For emphasis, she was flinging her arms out wide, even if there was no way she could properly demonstrate the actual size of them. She'd sure try though!

"I think some Fox-kin come from the desert! The Thornyblossoms... they have bigger ears than I do, and their fur and tails are all tan and sandy-colored."

Furiosa breaks into another charmed grin and plunks the elephant into Kippa's lap gently. "Well you hold onto this one until we find you a nice toy fox. I've seen them in picture-books, too, but never a real one. They may not exist in my world any longer."

"There used to be foxes in the Green Place. Not like you, I mean, not...Arcanics, just little foxes. But they had the same red color, and black tipped ears." She considers a moment. "They must have been there for the mice and rabbits."

"My clan sisters used to tease me saying the way I laughed sounded like them barking in the night."

"Okay, Miss Furi!" Kippa was more than willing to accept the elephant, arms going around it snugly, letting her tail loose for the moment to flick at her side.

"There's lots of animal-foxes back home too. They're fun to watch run but they can be real loud sometimes too." The Arcanic girl propped her chin against the elephant's head, ears flicking. "If they get going sometimes it sounds like people screaming even." She shivered lightly, tightening her grasp on the plush.

"Kinda spooky."

"The climate is very harsh in my world. We don't have as many animals left in the world as there should be. But we raise camels for milk, and we have cats to protect our food stores, some guinea fowl for eggs, and a couple dogs. And there are lizards and snakes and bugs around. We eat them, too."

"And crows. Always lots of crows."

They've hit a part of the aisle where there are some dresses hanging, and Furiosa pauses, her eye caught by one. She shouldn't. It might be too much, and she still wants to get the little girl a coat, but...

It's sky blue, with a cloud pattern, and rainbow borders on the cuffs and collar, and when she touches the material, it feels pretty thick and soft. Sturdy enough for a child to play in. She plucks it off the rack and holds it up to Kippa, trying to decide if it would fit.

"...I think you'd grow into it," she says slowly.

Apocalypse Mom Rides Again ((for ancienttouched))

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