"Come on!"
A blonde girl charges down the path at full speed, her long legs tearing a path through the visiting families. She drags a black-haired girl behind her by one wrist, who laughs and shouts apologies as she stumbles to keep up.
"Roxy!" the brunette complains.
"Come on come on you've gotta see 'em first!" Roxy shouts. "It's just round here –"
They come to a screeching halt outside the door of the desert house, and Roxy drops her voice as they step inside.
"Aren't they the cutest thing?" Roxy breathes. Wide-faced and long-tailed, a creature remarkably like an ordinary house cat scampers across a narrow expanse of sand. The sign beside the glass reads 'Felis margarita; Sand cat.'
"They're my favourite – oh."
Jade is growling slightly in the back of her throat. Nearby, a mother with a pushchair gives them a strange look. Jade glances at Roxy apologetically.
"Was that a bad idea?" Roxy asks, pulling Jade back out into the sunlight. "I thought you didn't..."
"Only mostly." Jade sighs. "Any other suggestions?"
Roxy pulls a face. "We could go look at the wolves..."
Suddenly, Jade's face lights up. "I have a better idea. We'll go with whatever's nearest... when you catch me!"
She hares off, and Roxy launches after her, both laughing their heads off under the bright July sun. They make it halfway across the park before Jade hesitates for a moment too long at a fork in the road. Roxy barrels into her, nearly sending them both crashing to the ground.
"That one!" Jade says through her giggles, pointing towards the large tree fenced off beside them. They walk over to it slowly, out of breath and arm in arm, peering against the sunlight to make out the inhabitants.
"There!" Jade gasps, pointing. Roxy follows her gaze and sees a flash of auburn disappearing between the branches.
"Ailurus fulgens, red panda," she reads. "Says they live in the Himalayas! Awesome!"
"You ready?" Jade asks her.
"Always." Roxy winks.
A nearby toddler, his mother distracted by a phone call, watches the two girls with widening eyes as they embrace tightly, hair shining blonde-black in the sunshine – and then disappear, leaving nothing behind but one last, laughter-filled cry.
"Himalayas, here we come!"
I hope you enjoyed the challenge. Thank you, and goodnight.
[For more of the same, please try Bubblebound, my epic-length shipping manifesto. Friendships will be broken, sloppy makeouts will occur in earnest, slash will be everywhere. Update coming soon(ish) to a website near you!]