Disclaimer: Transformers and Beast Wars are not mine in any way, shape and/or form; I'm just playing with its characters~ X3
Chapter 2: Meetings
Axalon crash site, Silver Lake Preserve, 11:54 pm…
"How are the repairs coming along, Rattrap?" The ever patient voice of Optimus Primal asked.
He was now sporting a silver back gorilla as his beast mode; it wasn't exactly the most subtle disguise, but it was the nearest animal that the ship's scanners picked up that was compatible with his systems.
" 'Comin'? They ain't even started!" Was the annoyed reply of Rattrap, newly named because of the gray rat he'd taken his beast mode from.
"The entire ship's a scrap pile! Wires're sparkin' left an' right, the navigation system's toast, an entire engine's gone and we ain't got spare parts worth slag! I am happy to say that thanks to you, Fearless Leader, we are now stuck on this primitive mudball!" He kicked angrily at a fallen piece of scrap metal, glaring at the ship. Or, well, what was left of it.
"I'm afraid that Rattrap's right, Optimus." The calm deep voice of Rhinox, now a brown rhinoceros, intervened before Rattrap said something else that would get him into deeper slag. "We were simply not equipped to handle space battles, and we don't have the materials to replace anything at the moment, other than a few fried circuit boards…" He trailed of as he pulled out one of said fried circuit boards.
Optimus let out heavy sigh, his shoulders slumping slightly "Well, that's just Prime…" Rubbing tiredly at his optics, he tried to stay positive. "Isn't there something we could use from the locals? From what we've seen from the satellite transmissions we've intercepted, they've got a decent level of technology…"
" 'Decent'? HA!" There was derisive scoff. "Please. Some o' da tech dey got here's so primitive; a sparklin' would get bored wit it…"
"But can you use it?" He asked again, trying to keep his annoyance out of his voice. "Your file did say you're a master of improvisation, so I believe that this is as good a time as any to prove that." Optimus raised an optic ridge, challenging the rat to tell him otherwise.
Smacking his forehead then running his hand slowly down his face, Rattrap uttered a sigh of annoyance and frustration. He should've known that file would get him in trouble…"Yeah, I can use da humans' tech, but it's gonna take a long, long while."
Sighing heavily, rubbing his optics once more. "How long?" He was dreading the answer already.
"About two local stellar cycles." Rhinox answered distractedly while studying a circuit board that was burnt beyond repair.
"…Wonderful." Sarcastic? Maybe, but he couldn't be blamed right now. "I guess we're going to have to learn more about this new planet, since we'll be calling it home for a while…"
"Oh, no! You can call it 'home', I'm gonna call it wat it is: 'mudball'." No way was he calling some backwater, primitive, dirt-covered planet home!
"Shut up, Rattrap." Was the unanimous reply from the two mechs.
Suddenly, Optimus blinked. Wait. Two? Where was…
"Rattrap, where's Cheetor?" Optimus just now realized that the young mech was missing and had probably been so for a while now.
"Whaddo I look like, his sparklin' sittah?" Was the annoyed answer, as the rat stuck his head into an opening, trying to get at a piece of shrapnel that was stuck in what was left of a capacitor unit.
"…I think he said somethin' 'bout explorin' the forest or somethin'…" He finally, resignedly, grumbled when he felt Optimus continue to burn holes on the back of his helm.
"What? You let him go alone into some unknown forest? Without letting anyone else know?" Yes, he was growling by now. "What if the humans see him? Don't you think they'll start getting suspicious if they see a wild animal just wandering around? And did you forget that there are still Predacons out there?"
Rattrap just glared; then enunciated slowly. "Like I said. I. Ain't. His. Sparklin' sittah. Dat's your job." He said with a small smirk. That'll teach him for not listening to him and gettin' 'em stuck on this mudball.
"Rattrap…" Optimus growled, but stopped and let out one last frustrated snarl, then immediately composed himself. Cheetor was missing, now was not the time for this. "We'll continue this…discussion, later. Until then, stay with the ship. Rhinox, you and I will go look for Cheetor."
And with that, he turned around stiffly, and without another word, transformed into beast mode and headed into the forest. Rhinox gave one last impassive stare at Rattrap, sighed, shook his head and headed after Optimus, transforming into beast mode as well.
"Hmph, good riddance." muttered Rattrap. Now he could work in peace without the big ape breathin' down his neck struts.
Outside NYC city limits…
Cheetor was in awe at the sight before him. The city, and yes, it may have been an alien planet, but he recognized a city when he saw one; was absolutely amazing!
There were large glass and metal towers as far as his optics could see. And the lights! It reminded him so much of New Iacon and the Crystal City Spires. It made him feel a little homesick. But only a little. Right now, his excitement and eagerness at exploring this new planet was overriding any and all other feelings and thought processes.
Oh, what he would give to be able to run and jump from rooftop to rooftop; to experience all the new sights, sounds and smells, maybe even tastes! The thought made his grin widen. He wanted to go down there so, so much…
But he couldn't. And it wasn't just cuz he was a giant, alien robot that the locals would likely run away from, because that was the reason he'd picked out a beast mode; so he could hide what he was from curious optics…or whatever it was that humans had for visual components.
No, it was because of his beast mode. He knew his beast mode, a cheetah, was a hunter, a predator, something these humans would fear. He'd only picked it cuz there was a specimen nearby that the Axalon had scanned and he'd downloaded some info about it and saw that cheetahs were the fastest creatures on this world. Well, at least on land, that is.
Then a thought struck him. He was fast…fast enough that maybe the humans wouldn't be able to catch him. Heck, they probably wouldn't even be able to see him! The idea alone brought an ecstatic smile to his furry muzzle. Maybe he could go and come back before Optimus and the others realized he was gone…
And just as he took his first step towards the city, he heard his designation being called out by the very clear, very worried, voice of his commander.
"Cheetor! Where are you?"
'Aw, slag!'
The young mech sighed in resignation, with one last longing look at the city, he called back.
"I'm over here, Big Bot!"
"Cheetor!" There was a very palpable relief in his voice as he approached the young cat. "What are you doing out here? You could've been seen! Not to mention the Predacons are still out there and they could've ambushed you!" He scolded, albeit gently.
Cheetor's hunches slumped. "I know…I'm sorry, I was just curious about the area…and then I found the city…" He looked back at the bright lights that were now slightly obscured by the thick trees. "I'm sorry; I guess I should've let you guys know first..."
Optimus sighed softly. "It's not just that, Cheetor. We're on an unknown planet, severely outnumbered by a race that we have no information about, nor do we know how they might react to us. They could probably mistake you for a threat and try to either capture you or kill you." He knew he was being blunt, but it was probably the only way to get the severity of their situation through to the youngling. "I know you're curious about this place, and so am I, but we have to be more careful."
"Yes, Optimus, I know." He felt like a sparkling being scolded, he hated the feeling but knew it was just Optimus' job to make sure they all remained in one piece. "Do…do you think we'll be able to explore some of this place later?" He grinned tentatively.
Optimus smiled and chuckled softly, placing a large, yet, comforting hand on the young mech's head. "Don't worry, Cheetor, according to Rattrap, we'll be stuck here for a long while. We'll have plenty of time for exploring later…"
Then he was cut off by the sounds of some sort of motorized vehicle heading in their direction.
No, not one. Several.
"Optimus!" Rhinox whispered harshly in alarm. "It's the humans! There're several of them, I count twenty, and more may be coming!"
"Slag it!" He could now see the humans' lights shining through the edge of the trees. "We have to move, now!" But as soon as he turned, he saw there were more lights behind them. They were surrounded. No!
"Slag!"
"What do we do, Big Bot?" Cheetor whispered in near panic, his fur starting to rise as his beast mode began reacting to his agitation. "Do we make a run for it?"
"No! They might have weapons." Optimus looked quickly around them; the humans were getting closer. "We may have to go with them, at least until we find some way to escape without injuring them or ourselves. Just act 'normal', and don't give them any trouble."
Cheetor and Rhinox exchange one last wary glance before nodding at Optimus.
This was going to be a long night.
The next day, 7:15 am…
It was a clear winter morning in New York, the cars were covered in fine sheets of ice, the snow scattered around the sidewalks in varying sized mounds and the people making their way quickly to their schools and work places looked like multicolored Michelin Men with their numerous layers of winter clothes. It was the perfect day to remain in doors and sit by the fireplace, if you had one, and drink a mug of hot chocolate or coffee.
Unfortunately, Ashley had four classes today that she just could not miss. But that didn't stop her from whining about it to her friend.
"It's just not fair, Rosie! It's way too cold out to walk, let alone remember stuff for an exam and two quizzes!" Her arms were crossed and she was pouting sulkily, grumbling. "If it wasn't cuz Prof. Spitz said the test's worth 50% of the grade, I'd be in bed right now…"
"Ay nena, you whine too much! I mean, don't those classrooms have heaters?" She'd been through this with Ash before, and as always, she would whine and threaten about 'staying next time'. Of course, there've been several 'next times' since her first winter in the city.
"They broke down yesterday." She stated glumly. "And the entire place is like a morgue! I swear, I thought I saw my breath!"
"Oh, don't be such a drama queen! I have a night shift at the diner today, remember? So don't go whinin' about cold without walkin' seven blocks, at night, first!"
Ash just glared balefully. "Yes, I know that! But I still wish it weren't so damn cold." She continued sulking, as if Rose hadn't said anything at all.
Rosie just gave her a disbelieving stare and asked dryly. "Y've lived in New York for 3 years and you still haven't gotten used to the weather? I mean, didn' it snow where you lived?"
"Of course it snowed! I just…I mean…Oh, never mind." She waved her hand dismissively. "Is the paper here yet?"
Rose raised an eyebrow and looked up to the ceiling. "Dios, dame paciencia…" She continued muttering as she made her way over to the door, opened it and picked up the newspaper.
Then, she unceremoniously dropped it in front of Ash. "Here. And don't take too long, Will's gonna be here to pick you up in 30 minutes." And with that, she headed to her bedroom to get ready for the day's chores.
Willow "Will" Morrison was a young veterinary student that had transferred from Raleigh, North Carolina to New York City to finish her last two years of her doctorate degree. They'd met her after a year of living together.
Ash was the first to meet her when her Anatomy of the Animal Kingdom professor had taken her class to the Museum of Natural History, where Will's own Advanced Biology class was "field-tripping". They'd met at the African cats exhibit, were they got to talking when Will commented on Ash's sketchbook and drawings, things just clicked after that.
After both their classes were over, they decided to continue their conversation at the diner Rosie worked at, leading to Will meeting the fiery Latina and the both of them 'clicking' as well. It had been a very interesting conversation, especially when Willow told them her heritage.
Apparently, Will was part Cherokee, on her mother's side, thus explaining her long, ebony hair and light copper skin.
The girls became even more entranced by her story when she explained that when she was a baby, her parents had taken her to be introduced to her grandparents and consequentially the small tribe they were a part of; and that was when the tribe's shaman blessed her with an owl as her 'spirit guardian', that despite being an omen of death in many tribes, it was considered a guardian of wisdom in theirs.
And Willow was a very wise woman indeed, despite her young age of 26.
"Yeah, yeah, I know." Ash mumbled and took a sip of her coffee, unfolding the paper.
She wished she'd waited to take that sip, though, when she almost choked on it as she read the headline. "Oh my gosh! Rosie, you gotta come see this!"
The muffled 'THUD' of an object falling, a yelp of pain and a series of curse words in Spanish were her answer.
"Maldita sea la madre-! What, Ashley?" She stomped her way over, although it was hard for her to be intimidating with the very noticeable limp to her stomp; and was now glaring death daggers of doom at her. "If this is one of those silly tabloid stories…."
Ash ignored the threat as she simply pointed at the page with an excited, almost childlike smile on her face. This made Rosie a little wary, but she looked at the newspaper. There in big, bold letters was:
"WILD ANIMALS FOUND WANDERING NEAR OUTSKIRTS OF SILVER LAKE!"
"Wild animals? What, like, bears or mountain lions or somethin'?" She didn't know what all the fuss was about. Of course there were 'wild animals' at the Silver Lake Preserve. Hence, a preserve, duh.
"Try more like a gorilla, a rhino and a cheetah!" The excitement in her voice grew until she practically squealed the last part with a large bright smile on her face and practically squirming in her seat.
"What?" Ok, that got her attention. She immediately read a few sentences and, lo and behold, it did say 'a gorilla, a rhinoceros and a cheetah'.
"Mal rayo parta…But…how did they get there? You don't exactly see those wanderin' New York; outside of a zoo or museum, that is."
Ash just shrugged. "No clue. It says here that the animals were pretty docile, so they think that maybe some rich mogul bought them as pets and when they got too big, he let them loose."
" 'Let them loose'? They can't seriously think that…" She said incredulously, an eyebrow arched in disbelief.
"Like I said, they don't know yet. But can you imagine it? Those poor animals! To be all alone in a forest without shelter! And in this weather!" There was a hint of sadness and worry in her voice. "Especially that poor cheetah! They're not built for this kind of weather, y'know! They have really thin coats of fur; I hope he's all right…"
" 'He'? Ay, please, don't start, Ash. I know you love cats, but do notgo thinkin' that this is some unfortunate house cat. I doubt it would think twice about eating you."
"But…but didn't you read the paper? It said they're docile! And I know he's not a house cat, and, like you said, I love cats! I can't bear to watch them suffer! And an actual cheetah! In New York City!" She veritably squealed in childish delight. "It's almost too good to be true~!"
Rosie simply rolled her eyes at her friend's childlike behavior. "Sí, sí, I know"
In fact, had their land lord allowed pets in the apartment, Ashley would've probably brought home every single stray cat she found.
"But I'm sure the animal rescue people are taking care of 'em." A slight note of nervousness made itself known when she asked. "Um, where are they taking them? It's not like they can go to the local animal shelter…"
"Oh, don't be ridiculous, of course they're not taking them to the shelter!" She stated in a 'Well, duh!' tone of voice.
Turning to the newspaper, she continued reading and made a sound of satisfaction "Ah, here it is! They're taking them to the Bronx zoo. At least, until they can rehabilitate them so they can be sent back to the wild. But with all the hunters out there these days, I'm not sure that's such a good idea…"
"Don't. Start. You worry about school and other stuff enough as is. You do not need somethin' else to worry 'bout. Besides, it's not your problem. It's the zoo's." Rosie sounded matter-of-fact and final.
"Now, are you ready yet? Will's gonna—" She was interrupted by the ring of their doorbell "Speak of the devil, she's already here." She looked at Ash critically "Well?"
"Yeah, yeah. I'm going, I'm going!" Finishing her coffee, she quickly grabbed her bag and headed for the door.
"Hey, Will!" Ash smiled brightly at her friend as soon as the door was open.
"Good morning, Ashley." Will replied softly with a small, shy smile, looking behind her at Rosie. "Good morning, Rosario."
Rose's eye twitched slightly, and she quickly pinched the bridge of her nose and let out a deep and exasperated sigh. "Will…what have I told you about my name?" Sometimes their friend was just a little too polite.
"Yeah, we've been friends for two years! We're waaay past full first name basis~"Ash teased her lightly, trying to hide her giggling behind her hand. Rosie really hatesher name!
"Oh! I'm sorry, Rosa-er, I mean-Rose!" Willow said contritely, blushing in embarrassment. "You know how I am with people, and you know my momma raised me to be respectful to others."
Rosie sighed in resignation. She never could stay mad at Will. Ashley, yes, but never Will "It's fine, just…I don't like that name and I wouldn't feel insulted if you called me Rosie or Rose, ok?" Giving her a wry smile, she continued in a fond tone. "You're my mejor amiga, Will, mi hermana. Both you and Ash, you're family, ok? So don't worry."
"Yeah, we're sisters! And sisters don't call each other by their full names…unless their pissed off, that is." Ash threw a teasing grin in Rosie's direction.
"Ashley." A warning.
"See?" Was the bright reply, completely ignoring said warning.
"Pendeja."
"I love you, too, Rosie-posy~!"
Rosie merely continued to glare and then flipped Ash the bird, a grin twitching at the corner of her lips.
Will couldn't help but laugh softly at her friends' exchange; they really did act like sisters. "Ok…that's enough you two. Rosie, I'll try to loosen up a bit more." Giving the small Latina a sheepish smile, she turned to leave and lightly push Ash out.
"Now, come on, Ash, or we're going to be late."
"Alright, alright, stop pushing!"
Both girls waved goodbye to Rosie, before closing the door and heading down the three flights of stairs to the small lobby.
There they went out through the side door that led to the inter-connected parking lot in the building next door. Getting into Will's mint green Toyota Prius (she was such a green freak), the girls buckled up and Will started driving them up the streets of New York.
"So, Will, did you read the newspaper today?" Deciding to make some conversation, Ash wanted to share her excitement with someone who would appreciate it.
"Yeah, I did. I can't believe they found three African animals just wandering around outside city limits!" She smiled in subtle excitement. Like Ash, she loved animals and this news was very exciting.
"Next they'll be finding alligators in the sewers…" She grinned playfully at Ash.
She immediately burst out giggling "Y'know...it has been proven that people flush down their pet alligators they bring from Florida..."
"Oh, you~!" Will chuckled softly. "They're being taken to the Bronx Zoo, right?"
"Yep! Hey, you wanna go see them after school?" There was a small begging whine to her words.
"Please? And since Rosie's got the night shift today, we can all go together!"
"Oh, I don't know, Ashley…I still have that thesis essay I need to finish for my Animal Behavior's class…" She answered hesitantly. "I mean, it's my last year, thank the spirits, and then I'll be heading to my practice internship, so I really can't afford to dilly-dally…"
"Oh, right. I forgot that." Ash deflated slightly, then perked up again almost immediately "Wait a minute, I know! How about you write your paper on the animals they discovered? I mean, they probably were owned by a rich guy since they were babies and stuff; that had to do something to their natural behavior, right?" She smiled winningly, knowing her friend probably wouldn't resist the opportunity.
"Well, yeah…" She conceded thoughtfully, adding more surely. "Yeah, that could be…and rich people smuggling and training wild animals is a pretty common thing now a days. And I don't think anyone's made a study on the effects these conditions might have on those kinds of animals." She smiled brightly "Oh Ashley, you're brilliant!"
"Oh, I know." Ash stated, grinning smugly. "Sooo…how does three o' clock sound?"
Silver Lake, Ranger station, 12:32 pm…
It had been pretty easy to fool the humans into thinking they were simple animals, unusually docile, but regular animals none the less. Although they got slightly nervous when the humans started wondering amongst themselves just how three African natives had managed to make their way into Silver Lake Preserve.
Apparently, their beast modes weren't normal for this area. But the three mechs let out a sigh of relief when the humans decided that another human must've probably brought them here; something about 'getting rid of evidence of smuggling'.
After that, there was a long and tense conversation about what to do with them.
The answer came the next day when one of the men offered to call a friend of his in the Bronx Zoo and see if they could accommodate three extra 'guests'. The animals were obviously docile, so sending them directly back to the wild was out of the question.
The Wildlife Conservation people at the zoo could probably help re-condition the animals for life in the wild; so it was with a relieved sigh and big smile that the man gave the others the 'ok' and had the trucks head towards the city.
Taking the time alone that the ride provided them; Optimus decided to explain to the other two what they're next move should be.
"Alright men, it appears that we're being taken to some kind of animal reservoir for the time being. All we can do at the moment is humor the humans and play along. I know it won't be easy, but it's our only option to keep our identities hidden."
"Yeah, but what if they try to have us scanned? They're gonna notice something's off…right?" Cheetor asked worriedly.
"Don't worry yourself over that, Cheetor," Rhinox replied, remaining as calm as ever "So long as we are in our beast modes, our cybertronian workings will remain hidden from the humans' primitive scanning equipment. It has programs that will feed the machines false data and make it seem like we're regular animals."
"And we won't be around for long," Added Optimus reassuringly. "Just until we figure out a way to escape without anyone getting injured or…Rattrap comes looking for us." But the last part wasn't exactly said with much confidence.
"We're on our own, aren't we?" Cheetor sighed in a knowing tone of voice, lying on his belly, his head on his front paws and his ears drooped.
Neither Optimus nor Rhinox could find the words to deny that. Instead, Optimus tried comforting the young mech. "Don't worry Cheetor. These humans don't seem to want to hurt us; in fact I think they want to help us…in their own way. We'll be out before you know it. Besides," He smiled encouragingly. "I thought you wanted a chance to explore the city and it looks like we're heading there. We might even learn more about these people and find some way to let them know what we are and befriend them, perhaps even warn them about the Predacons."
The young feline sighed sullenly. "Yeah, I guess…I just thought I'd be doing the exploring from outside a cage…" He grinned weakly.
"It'll be alright, Cheetor. I promise."
Bronx Zoo, 3:45 pm…
When they arrived at the zoo, it was nothing like what the mechs had thought it would be. There weren't any actual cages, just high walls to separate the humans from the animals. The areas they were staying in were more like small habitats that looked like they'd been plucked directly from the real thing.
The newly formed cheetah enclosure even had enough space to run, even if it was in wide circles, but at least it wasn't cramped.
Cheetor sighed in relief. 'Hmm, maybe it won't be so bad…'
And it wasn't, really. Sure, he had to take the many humans' gawking, mostly sparklings and younglings, pointing at him and shouting at their creators to 'look at the big, spotted kitty'.
Of course, the young mech didn't mind this, oh, no. Not. At. All. It was actually quite an ego boost, especially when he found out he was the only cheetah in all the local zoos. Apparently, the Axalon had scanned the specimen from another zoo when they were passing over the giant land mass they were currently in.
He couldn't help but show off a little for the kids; running at speeds that were fast enough to be considered 'normal' for his species, but not enough to seem out of the ordinary; 'stalking' around his area, as though looking for prey that wasn't there, even letting out a few roars and yowls, sniggering silently to himself in mirth when the kids, and even a few adults, would scream or jump at said displays, but always applauding and cheering afterwards.
Oh yeah, it wasn't bad at all.
He was just about go lie down and rest near one of the sunlamps they had placed all over his current 'home' (and thank Primus for that, it was fragging freezing on this planet!), when he heard it.
Heard her.
"Oh my gosh, you guys, look! There he is! Isn't he amazing?"
It was absolutely, the most beautiful voice he had ever heard. In his opinion, anyways.
"Ay, nena, would ya calm down? You're embarrassing us!" The second female voice sounded annoyed, and had a heavy accent, slightly similar to the one Rattrap had picked up.
"Oh, leave her alone, Rose, she's just having fun." A third female voice joined the others, this one softer, but still not as beautiful as the first.
Cheetor couldn't help himself. He had to look. Slowly, without looking too obvious, he turned around…and he felt his spark do a weird flip-flop in his chest. Oh Primus…
She was beautiful. He didn't know how he knew the femme he was looking at was the one he'd heard, he just did.
In all his existence, he'd never seen a femme as bright and lovely as the one standing not 10 feet from him, smiling so widely he wondered how her face didn't split. But he realized he couldn't see her without anything else on her face but a smile. Her face was a lovely heart shape with a few strands of soft-looking, tawny gold-brown hair framing it, hanging over a piece of cloth on her head, and he absently noticed that it had patterns similar to his fur.
She was pale, but not overly so and, as he let his optics adjust zoom in on her, he noticed there was the lightest dusting of, what looked like, light-brown spots over her nose-ridge.
But it was her eyes…Primus, he'd never seen a color like that. It was a light green with a slight halo of gold at the edges, like sunlight streaming through leaves. Oh yes, she was beautiful.
And then, their eyes locked.
Cheetor couldn't help but freeze up. And promptly started to panic.
'Oh no! She saw me! She's gonna find out! She's gonna find out!'
Then, for a very brief moment, he saw her eyes widen, then almost glow in a happiness and wonder he'd never seen in another's optics.
Forcing himself to blink, he quickly looked away, hoping the girl wouldn't think much of what just happened (and at the same time, secretly hoping she did) and continued, albeit more quickly, to his original destination. He lay down and prayed to Primus that she wouldn't say anything, or Optimus was going to have his hide. He quickly closed his eyes and pretended to fall asleep.
But there was no way he would be sleeping anytime soon.
Not when all he saw behind his shuttered optics were a pair of shining green-gold eyes sparkling in joy at him.
Nope, no sleep tonight, or tomorrow night if his over-active processors had any say in it.
Outside the cheetah enclosure…
"Oh my gosh! Did you guys see that?" Ash asked her friends, puzzled and delighted at the same time. Did that cheetah just…?
"Hmm? See what, Ash?" Rosie asked, raising an eyebrow and looking up from the small, obviously freshly printed, plaque that had some web-page grade info on cheetahs. Probably from Wikipedia…
"He lookedat me, the cheetah, he…" She trailed off hesitantly, starting to wonder if she'd imagined it…
"Of course it looked at you. With all those gritos de loca…" She answered with a teasing smirk.
"I did not scream, I squealed; there's a difference." She stuck her tongue out playfully. "And I meant that he looked at me, like, really looked. Like…like…"
'Like he was conscious…sentient. But…it's not possible…"
"Like what, Ashley?" Will asked curiously and slightly worried. She'd just returned from looking at the Zoo map, trying to figure out where they would place the new gorilla, since she doubted they'd place him with the others. "What happened?"
"Um…never mind, it's probably my imagination. That test really did a number on my brain, heh heh heh…" She chuckled hesitantly, scratching her head sheepishly. No, there was no way…and besides, her friends would probably worry about her sanity if she said things like that.
"Well, okay…so, should we go check on the other two?" Something was amiss, Willow was sure, but she decided to let it go for now. Ashley would tell them when she was ready.
"Um, yeah, let's do that. Come on." She grabbed her two friends' arms and started leading them away, but kept stealing small glances back at the cheetah's enclosure. There was something about him; she just couldn't put her finger on it…
Oh well, there was always tomorrow.
A/N: Spanish-English glossary
Ay, nena – Oh, girl
Dios, dame paciencia – God, give me patience
Maldita sea la madre-! (Puertorrican saying) – Damn the mother of-!
Mal rayo palta (Puertorrican saying) – Well, I'll be (rough translation ^_^;)
Mejor amiga – Best friend
Mi hermana – My sister
Pendeja – Stupid or idiot (rough translation)
Gritos de loca – Crazy girl screams