"Hey man! What's up with ignoring us?" Someone asked Karli giving her a friendly slap on her back making her pitch forward and almost getting hit by a car.
"Ack!" She squealed. She quickly went back on to the sidewalk before she actually got hit.
"What the hell was that for?!" She screamed at the two.
"Uh, sorry kid, we thought you were someone else." The guy in a green school uniform said.
"Obviously." Karli said with a snort.
"Karli, are you alright? I saw you almost get hit." Shuichi said to the girl when she was in ear shot. Karli looked in the direction of Shuichi so the two kids that almost got her hit took that chance to leave.
"Hey Shu-kun! I'm fine, no thanks to those two." She said.
"Well that's good." Shuichi responded.
"Why don't we go back to my place together? Our mothers are probably wondering where we've been all day." Karli said.
"Alright, it sounds good to me." Shuichi said.
"So, did you know those two guys you were talking to?" Shuichi asked.
"No, I don't think that I've met them before." Karli said.
"They thought I was a friend of theirs. I think they said his name was Kurama, who ever that is." Karli added.
"Hm, well that's odd." Shuichi said.
"Eh, it happens. We must look alike from behind, that's all." Karli said with a shrug.
"What did you do to your arm?" He asked.
"Hm? Oh," Karli said and looked at the bandage on her right arm.
"Heh, I scraped it up a bit. Alishia and I were in the forest and I musta scraped it on a branch or something. I didn't notice it till we got to our tree house." She said.
"You have a tree house in the forest?"
"Yep, it's right before the part that's all Sakura trees. Alishia and I hang out there a lot. And we found an injured bunny so we're helping it. I'm going to feed it tomorrow. You wanna come?" Karli asked.
"A wild rabbit?"
"Yes, it looked like he got caught in a trap."
"You really shouldn't take care of wild animals."
"Yeah, I know. Alishia and I do it anyways. See once we took care of an injured bird, and we've taken care of a bunch of little forest animals since then."
"You two do all that in your tree house?"
"Yep, we have all sorts of medical supplies and stuff in there."
"I see, so what all animals have you treated?"
"Hm, mostly birds, we've taken care of a swan once. She had a broken wing when we found her. Um, we've cared for quite a few bunnies, and there was once when we took care of a fox, and we've cared for a wolf also."
"A fox?"
"Yep! He was very handsome. I think he had a sprained paw along with some other cuts and scratches."
"Hm, they don't usually come to humans."
"No, we found him in the forest. He lost a lot of blood so he didn't really fight us."
"How'd you get him to eat?"
"Easily, we set food down and then walked away." Karli said. The rest of the way to Karli's house was spent talking about some of the animals that Alishia and Karli have cared for and released.
"Mamma! I'm back!" Karli called walking in the living room.
"Welcome back dear. Why don't you go clean up, no doubt you were playing in the forest." Amy called from the kitchen.
"I swear she talks to trees." Karli whispered to Shuichi who laughed.
"I believe it's a parent thing." He said back to her. Karli stuck out her tong out at him then ran up stairs to clean up and change. When she came back down stairs she saw that dinner was ready.
"Sweet, food!" She said plopping down in a chair. When she sat down she took one look at her plate and lost her apatite.
"Mom, please tell me this isn't what I think it is." She said.
"It depends on what you think this is." Aly said.
"Is everything alright?" Shori asked.
"Mother this," Karli said waving her hand over her plate.
"Looks like venison." She said flatly. When Aly didn't say anything Karli gave her mother a look.
"Mother, you're trying to get me to eat venison again aren't you?" She asked.
"I think everything's fine mother." Shuichi said answering his mother's question.
"Mother, this is venison isn't it?" Karli said.
Her mother sighed, "Karli, I fail to see why you won't eat it." Aly said.
"Mother, this could have been Bambi!" The redheaded girl cried. Shuichi watched the argument between mother and daughter with amusement.
"Karli you pulled that one when you were five. It won't work any more." Aly said.
"Mamma, I'm not eating Bambi!"
"Dear, you shouldn't name your food."
"Mom, you know I don't eat venison, or rabbit, or any other animal that you could find in a forest."
"But you eat pork, and beef, and chicken."
"But those are farm animals! This is Bambi! I might have known this deer!"
Aly sighed in defeat, "There's stuff for sandwiches in the kitchen." She said. Karli got up and carried her plate into the kitchen.
"That girl is impossible Shori. I swear she has a special radar built into her that goes off when ever you put rabbit, venison, or pheasant in front of her." Aly said.
Shori laughed, "Well, at least she does eat some meat. Though I have to say Aly, it was amusing watching her pull the Bambi card on you." Shori said.