Phoenix blinked placidly at Eliza baring her teeth. When she growled, she had an initial reaction of flight or fight, as she always did. While she'd live among mutants for almost 20 years, she had not yet been able to completely eliminate that response. However, it was always very quick, not even a moment, before it was replaced by the placidity of knowing it was a mutant showing their anger. When her children had been very young, she had tried to eliminate the behavior, but had completely been unable to do so. Since meeting the Grey Cats, she had found not a single mutant who did not act in the same way, and she related it to her own initial fight or flight feeling. It was something that the body simply did, and there was not much one could do about it. But like most mutants, the gesture of aggression lasted only a few moments, before the mind of self conscious being managed to quell the reaction.
As Eliza closed her eyes, obviously in an attempt to stay calm, Phoenix felt another wave of pity overtake her. The ferret had really thought there was a chance that she would be human again. She had really put her life on hold, for months, for months, and was willing to put it on hold for many more, to hold onto a lie. And now that lie was being shattered. It must be harder than being turned into a mutant in the first place, she thought.
She felt a conflict in her heart for her hosts, the pity not extending to them. They had offered her and her daughter a place to live, and some semblance of home that Eliza could keep believing the lie they had fed her. They had kept her safe, obviously protecting her from Kraangdroids and telling her not to go out and about alone. She would have given the exact same advice had Eliza been staying in her household. Yet, these same people seem to have forbidden a grown woman from going out and about on her own, quite a different thing than advising it. The ferret seemed afraid of them, slightly, so that she had to sneak, like a teenager does to meet friends that their parents do not approve of. That rankled Phoenix. Her own children had the freedom to roam the city between home and the cargo bay at 13, and now, at 19, they were free to do whatever they pleased. Granted, she pulled the mother card occasionally, especially when it came to playing superhero, but as a parent she felt she was allowed to do that, even with her adult children.
When Eliza opened her eyes again, she nodded twice, as if coming to some sort of decision in her mind and said, "You may be right, but there is no use in making that decision until we have all of the facts." Poor thing, Phoenix wanted to enfold the ferret mutant in her arms and whisk the lie away, DrssAàeven now, she still holds onto the hope that there is something that can be done about her mutation.
"Indeed," Phoenix answered to Eliza's last statement, "it waits for no woman, bear, sheep, or snake either. If you figure out how to get it to do so," she winked, "let me know."
She leaned back in the chair, and regarded Eliza, bringing to the forefront of her mind what she had found out about pregnancy, in humans and ferrets. "The only real way to know if you are pregnant," said Phoenix, "is to have an x-ray or ultrasound to see if there is a little one in there, or to actually pop out a baby. Since neither of those are an option, we can surmise, just as we've been doing."
She paused for the ferrets response, her mind running over with the information she'd gathered.
"But surmising could lead to the wrong conclusion," she admitted. "Ferrets can commonly have false pregnancies, that they carry to full term, only to deliver a placenta. Occasionally it happens to human beings too. It could be that." She spoke slowly and firmly, in a professional manner. "And all of your symptoms could also be attributed to many other things. Since I do not know what your stomach measurements were before I met you," she blushed at such an intimate and sensitive topic, "I can't say if you're belly has grown or not. I can do an internal exam and see if I feel anything," she suggested, still blushing, "but to be honest, I am not entirely sure what I should be feeling for in the first place." She took a deep breath, and said what she'd been considering since Eliza had told her that she'd money. "However, you could always pee on a stick." She chuckled, hoping to soften the blow of her rather dismal help.
Eliza's smile stretched a little farther at the Phoenix's rejoinder. She put one arm on the table and propped her head in her hand, giving herself a small scritch behind the ear as she gave her full attention to the healer. Her commentary on the type of equipment that would be ideal made Eliza think of Donatello's lab. No doubt that he would have some kind of device capable of performing the task they needed, or able to build it without too much effort. However without a plausible excuse how could she gain access to it or know how to operate it correctly. She might mention it as a useful tool to have while hunting mutagen, but that still wouldn't get the device into her hands.
"… or to actually pop out a baby." Though she knew that her companion had made the statement flippantly she still shook her head as she awaited a pause in the conversation. "Waiting is definitely NOT an option. I'm already going half crazy and it's been barely a week of just thinking it was a possibility. About the equipment, there may be a chance of acquiring something that could fit the bill, but I would rather wait to see if it is actually needed. For the sake of argument, lets assume that I am pregnant. What then?"
The ferret listened carefully and analyzed what Phoenix had to say. Playing out the different scenarios in her head. The thought of a false pregnancy was almost more horrific than carrying a child. To spend all that time thinking that you were nurturing new life, preparing to welcome a baby into the world only to produce a medical byproduct of an over imaginative mind and one's own defective body. On top of all else she was dealing with, Eliza was genuinely afraid that such a blow would sever her sometimes tenuous hold on reality. No, she needed a definitive answer one way or another.
She was somewhat amused by Phoenix's comment on her waist size. As a seamstress she was keenly aware of her own measurements. She'd spent some of her free time her first couple of weeks in the lair sitting quietly and observing while she made alterations to the outfits she had brought with her on her vacation to NYC. Mostly adding button flys to the seat seams to accommodate her tail. But she had also had to take in some of the more formal pieces, that didn't contain elastic, at the waist. Her height had increased and thus redistributed some of her bulk over other parts of her new frame. She had the measurements written in a notebook back at the lair. She would have to remember to bring it with her next time. Still, it was not the most reliable method, she hadn't shown with Gwyn till she was in her sixth month.
If her face was still capable of showing a blush through her pelt, Eliza would have easily matched Phoenix's reddening face at the mention of an internal exam. Granted, if the signs were correct she would have to face the inevitability of such procedures in the future. However the healer's admitted lack of experience in the area left the idea to die a lonely death. She was not going to go there until it was absolutely necessary and her caretaker had a better grasp of what was involved.
"However, you could always pee on a stick." Her friend gave a slightly nervous chuckle as she concluded her proposal of methods. Eliza let out a puff of relief and eyed the Phoenix, trying to determine if she had been pulling her leg or if she had genuinely thought that simplest solution should be saved for last. The ferret could see that she was sincere and perhaps even a bit hesitant in her final suggestion.
"I think I'll go with door number three." She quipped in a deadpan voice but smiled so that there would be no hurt feelings. She looked out the windows and saw that there was plenty of daylight left in the afternoon. The tour, talk and meal had caused a few pleasant hours to pass but with the days growing longer the sun would still be up for many hours yet to come. "I'm not familiar with the area but there's bound to be a pharmacy or market around, right?" She shrugged her shoulders and tipped her head to the side. "We could probably go out and I'd still have time to prepare dinner when we get back. Maybe even with a bit extra to make the meal special." Smiling she got up and made her way over to her backpack and pulled a wallet clutch out of the front pocket. Lifting it in the air and waggling it back and forth, she cocked her hip and propped her other hand on her waist.
"Luckily I came prepared. If you're flyin' I'm buyin'." She smiled full and genuine, happy to have something tangible to do. Besides, Eliza still enjoyed shopping trips, even if she was only experiencing them vicariously. "So, what do ya say?"
The sight of the wallet made Phoenix's clench slightly. She hadn't realized, all those years ago, when she had carried one, that a wallet could tell so much about a person. By the look of the clutch Eliza was a girlie-girl . The fact it was a clutch at all spoke of an inherent femininity. When she had carried one, it had been a cloth folding one with a snap, the feminine version of a man's wallet.
But seeing the ferret-woman smile in such a genuine way, with her teeth slightly showing, made the feeling evaporate. This had lifted the mutant's spirits in a way that surprised Phoenix. She would have thought That the idea of going about in broad daylight would be harrowing, but it seemed to invigorate Eliza.
Going to a store, buying something with money, being seen by regular humans, doing regular things, and doing a regular thing herself. In the past year, she'd done more of that than she had in the last twenty. But then, that was her plan in the first place…Eliza certainly couldn't go into the pharmacy and buy something, and Phoenix herself would not send a teenager in to do it.
"There is a convenient store about 4 miles from here," Phoenix explained. Seeing the look on Eliza's face, she smiled ruefully, "We like to stay isolated."
She began to walk to the kitchen window and then chuckled. Of course, they would not be traveling on the rooftops today. It would be walking in the street. She turned, a smile on her face, and headed toward the stairs. " Guess we better get walking," she looked at Eliza's sheepishly. "I would drive us, but the car attracts a lot of attention, especially during the day. ' she brightened suddenly, a light bulb going on in her head." Or if you would rather, I can run down there real quick, and you can stay here. "
Eliza felt a bit crestfallen when Phoenix told her just how far away the store was. It wasn't that she was incapable of the 8 mile round trip, but doing so in the daytime would put a damper on their pace. As it happened to her far too often, she would have the desire to indulge in what would have been a normal activity without completely thinking through how her mutation would fully keep her from participating in it. She knew she couldn't go into the store but had thought that she could at least accompany her friend there. But four miles there and four miles back, at least part of the time in full disguise, just did not appeal to her. Not to mention that she was sure the healer would be able to travel faster and easier if Eliza wasn't there to hinder her progress.
Hiding her disappointment she smiled wider, causing her eyes to crinkle into crescent moons. "Great idea!" She opened her bright teal leather wallet, the stylized ladybug motif adding bold pops of black, white and red, to retrieve a few bills. The clutch was a birthday gift from Gwyn last year that her daughter had proudly picked out by herself.
The two of them, with Mikey tagging along on the promise of being treated to some take-out, had made an evening run to the ATM three days ago. She had Gwyn withdrawal a few hundred dollars, enough to cover the shopping she wanted April to do and provide for incidentals for the next few weeks, but not so much as to raise any red flags from banking authorities. She waited in the shadows of the closest ally while Michelangelo kept a rooftop vigil as Gwyn cheerfully visited the ATM then popped into a nearby Italian restaurant. The girl placed her order then sat at the counter chatting with the cashier, making sure to stay in full view of the large storefront window.
Eliza looked on with a mixture of pride and jealousy that night. Gwyn was a people person and shone with exuberance when given the opportunity to talk to someone new, making friends was as natural and easy for her as breathing. It wounded the ferret that she couldn't do these simple tasks herself, but was relegated to hiding in the dark, relying on her child to do them instead. Gwyn smiled, laughed and chatted before retrieving the order and coming back to the alley with a pizza and two cheese steaks. The children were loud and happy as they ate in a nearby playground, empty for the night. However Eliza was silent, wondering how it would affect Gwyn, her social child of light, if the potential pregnancy required them to remain isolated in the shadows.
Eliza snapped out of her ruminations, realizing that she had counted the same bill three times. Trying to play off her pause as mental calculations she pulled out three twenty dollar bills, still crisp and unused, and handed them to Phoenix. "There, that should cover it. Just to be on the safe side you should probably get two different brands, just to make sure that both give the same result." She left the fact that she was unsure if her hormones were still human enough to be measured properly go unspoken. Regardless this plan was a good starting point till they could get more concrete confirmation of her condition.
"While you're gone I think I'll look around the kitchen and make a plan for dinner. I'm thinking some pasta would go nicely with the rest of that salad. It may be a bit too early in the season for tomatoes but if you have any canned I can certainly make a respectable sauce." She continued talking, keeping her voice bouncy, so as not to give away her disappointment at being left behind. "I don't think I'll have enough time to make fresh bread, so you may want to pick up a loaf. There should be plenty extra cash to get some along with anything else you think we may need."
She started to drift back towards the kitchen, casually peeking in the cupboards and drawers once there. "And I really don't mind making a dessert either. Just depends on what I can pull together with what ingredients you have." She ducked behind a cabinet door to take a breath and re-affix her smile. When she leaned out again the healer was standing there, giving her a quizzical look. "I promise you, I'll be just fine. And if I need any help Acros is downstairs, right?" She winked as she lowered her voice conspiratorially. "He did say he would gladly be at my beck and call."
Phoenix watched Eliza count out the bills over and over again, and she realized she had miscalculated something, and not just mathematically. She wasn't entirely sure what it was, but it had something to do with the shopping. Eliza upbeat voice was obviously affectated, but she wasn't sure why the ferret should be so disappointed. It would be quick if she took the car, ten minutes at the most, and there would be no chance of getting seen by any onlookers. With Eliza not being a fighter, it would not be safe for her to wait in the car in her disguise. There was no way, with the great firebird painted on the hood of the black car that it would not attract attention. With a veiled woman in the passenger seat, it was a recipe for disaster. There was a reason why there was only a convenient store, and not something more substantial.
She looked at the bills as Eliza gave them to her, and thought errantly, $60? Does three pregnancy tests and a loaf of bread cost $60? It made her feel very out of date. She nodded as Eliza gave her the shopping list, a notable difference from how her life usually went. She was the one giving shopping lists. Eliza ducked behind one of the cabinets that she was peeking in in an obvious effort to distract herself from disappointment, and Phoenix felt totally at a loss. She went through the past few minutes in her mind, to see what faux pas she might have committed, and could come up with nothing. What was Eliza upset about? She was the one who said she wanted to pee on a stick, and she was the one who suggested cooking dinner. Her confusion must have shown on her face, for Eliza assured her she'd be alright. When she mentioned Arcos, Phoenix had an idea.
"It will only take me ten minutes, tops," she said, going to the bowl on the bookshelf. Moving over the Kraang orb, she grabbed the keys underneath it, and sprinted toward the stairs. "You're welcome to use whatever you can find!" Then, she was gone down the stairwell in a pale flash.
Not five minutes after she'd left, Arcos came up to the main level, a sketchbook and colored pencils in his hands. "A fine hostess she turns out to be, huh?" he said jokingly to get Eliza's attention. "The first person she ever invites over to our house, and she goes off to run an errand." He shook his head in mock disappointment, "Even this mutant knows that's rude." He put the sketchbook and pencils on the coffee table in the living room, and continued on into the kitchen. The sound of a car starting up drifted up through the window, rough and loud. Arcos seemed not to notice. "I am supposed to do whatever you say," he chuckled. "She said," he motioned to the garden window, to indicate the sound of the car, "something about making bread."
Eliza blinked several times at the empty space that once held her friend. Rolling her shoulders and letting out an exaggerated puff of air, she returned to her perusal of the kitchen looking for ingredients in earnest. She came upon the cookware first and pulled out a couple of deep pots and a shallow frying pan. She had her upper half buried part way in the cupboard, retrieving a metal colander and so didn't notice Acros had joined her till she heard the rumble of his voice floating towards her. She quickly extracted herself from the cabinetry and hastily fixed her appearance, smoothing imaginary wrinkles and pulling her long sleeves back down to cover her shaved but no longer bruised arms.
She saw him place his supplies down in the living room but her attention was diverted by the loud roar of what had to be a muscle car. She looked out the window with a tight expression before turning back to the bear and softening her face with a small smile.
"I am supposed to do whatever you say," he chuckled. "She said," he motioned to the garden window, to indicate the sound of the car, "something about making bread."
Eliza looked past him to his supplies on the coffee table. "I hope I didn't take you away from anything. I told your Mom I would get you if I needed some help. Guess she decided to be preemptive." She looked towards the window again as the sound of the large engine revved and then drifted away down the street. "Well, since you're up here already, I'm planning on making some pasta for dinner. I told your mom to pick up the bread since she was going out, hope she remembers." She returned her attention to him fully and gestured to the supplies she'd already retrieved. "I found the pots I needed but haven't started getting ingredients together yet. You've probably saved the kitchen from being completely reorganized in my pursuit of spices and canned goods." She laughed to show she had been joking, mostly.
They fell into easy banter as she listed off what she was looking for and Acros would either retrieve it himself or give her directions in case she happened to be closer. There was a small debate over the quantity they might need. Eventually coming to the agreement to err towards excess.
Eliza set about making the sauce base using the canned tomatoes they found and two little dented cans of tomato paste. It was still several hours till they would actually need to boil the water and make the packages of pasta they had dug out, two pounds of spaghetti and an one off box of angel hair to mix in. If Eliza had learned anything about making Italian, it was that a good gravy should simmer for many hours before even approaching peak flavor. Having set the sauce into motion she returned to the cutting board to dice the variety of fresh herbs that Acros had retrieved for her. She was more familiar with their dried counterparts but was excited to discover what flavors she could coax out of the fresh ingredients.
As she worked she tried her best to keep up her side of the conversation, the Phoenix's bear child was diligent in taking up the role of host that he thought his mother had abandoned. However the more she became immersed in the actual process of preparing the meal the further apart his inquires became and having learned where most of the tools she would need were located, the less she asked for his assistance. Eventually silence fell on the scene, but it was not an oppressive or uncomfortable lack of noise. There was the sound of chopping, grating, stirring and the soft clink of metal utensils lightly hitting each other. Lost in her own little universe Eliza began to hum quietly, a choir piece that she had been practicing months ago but had never gotten the opportunity to perform. Surrounded by the happy sounds of a kitchen being put to use, she did not notice the muffled scratching of pencil against paper.
