action | June 11 morning

[leftmytower]

[ Rapunzel was wandering around the camp, having finally found the area with the lodgings after being dropped off by the Airport Shuttle. She was late, of course, but the tiny, local Pennsylvania airport only made flights out this way twice a week, and Rapunzel got horribly lost while on a layover in Houston and missed that flight, so it was really just a mess. But she was finally here!

She made a little yelp and stopped when her hair got caught on a particularly large stick. ]

I need one of those elastic hair things. Wish I'd thought of that before I came.

[ She chewed her bottom lip. That would have to be fixed later, right now she needed to set her bags down and get Pascal settled. He was not enjoying all of the moving around. Her nose was nearly touching her map of the camp she'd been mailed. It was positioned awkwardly on the aquarium, since Pascal took two hands to carry. ]

Pascal, you are so heavy! Gosh, there should be a picture of a turtle or something, all these cabins look the same... Where is mine?

Comments

[burninglow]

Wow! I'd love to see him turn red. Maybe if he crawled around in my hair it'd work! Though, I'm not sure if Pascal would like that. He might get tangled.

[She marvels at the idea of an animal who can change his color on command simply by stepping on something. She wonders...]

Can I pet him? Does he like that sort of thing?

[leftmytower]

Actually, he likes hair! He loves to hide in mine when he sits on my shoulder. And sure, of course! Here, let me get him.

[ She reached into the cage and, with some coaxing, convinced Pascal to lazily crawl into her hand. Grinning, she held him out for Fi to pet. ]

He doesn't bite or anything, I promise.

[burninglow]

Oh, really?! That's amazing, I hope he likes mine just as much!

[Fiametta reaches out to touch Pascal, taking off only one of her bulky gloves. She casts it aside on the floor and points out two fingers, which she gently runs down Pascal's back. Easy, Fi. The gloves are off. Don't start anything.]

His skin is so unusual...

[leftmytower]

[ Pascal sat silently and let her pet him, enjoying the gentle touch.

Well, "tolerating" might be a better word. ]

Yeah, it's smoother than you'd think, right?

I'm sorry he's a little boring, but watching him eat is the coolest. He snaps his tongue out like a whip to snatch bugs!

[burninglow]

Yeah! I thought he'd be scaly like a fish.

[She gives him a soft scratch at the back of the neck with her warm fingers. Animals like being scratched, right?]

Oh, I really think that'll come in handy. Does he like to eat spiders? I'm afraid of spiders, and this cabin gets a lot of them, so...

[leftmytower]

Actually, you know, he does! I got one in my room once and he was on my bed and he found it and-

[ She snapped her fingers. ]

Maybe that'll make it easier to feed him, since I doubt I can find a place that sells crickets around here!

[burninglow]

[Fi scratches her chin, thinking, and then sits down at the edge of her bed.]

They might have some sort of pet food at the camp store. I know I've seen some other kids around with pets - one of the little campers has a wolf, I think.

[leftmytower]

A wolf? Isn't that dangerous?

It's not a big deal if not, he just eat bugs anyway! It's all he needs. Well, and water, of course! Oh, that reminds me-

[ Rapunzel put Pascal back into his terrarium and then pulled a little spray bottle from her bag, spraying the tree and the rest of the interior.

An extra misting went on Pascal directly, who was seeking the cover of his tree leaves. ]

[burninglow]

It seemed like it, but from what I know, she's pretty well trained. I roomed with the little girl last summer.

[Almost instinctively, Fi shirks away from the spray bottle, just a little. Nothing bad would happen to her - she showers regularly after all - she just doesn't like to unintentionally get wet.]

Why do you need to spray him?

[leftmytower]

Well, they're originally from the rainforest, so he's supposed to be in a hot, humid place. He actually absorbs the water through his skin, instead of drinking it! So he needs "rain" at least once a day in his terrarium.

[ She looked up from Pascal and beamed. He was the coolest pet, and no one could tell her otherwise. ]

I'm sorry! I didn't get you, did I? [ She just realized that Fi had jumped away. ]