{"sf1_id":605337,"sf2_id":null,"title":"The Morning After","author":"assilsasta","words":3590,"posted_at":"2013-10-22T05:57:00.000Z","tags":["Kangaroo Mouse","Liger","adoption","vacation"],"url":"https://fse.anthro.fr/stories/605337-the-morning-after","original_url":"https://sofurry.com/view/605337","image_url":"https://www.sofurryfiles.com/std/thumb?page=605337\u0026ext=.jpg","description":"","content":"(June 8 07:30) Lilliana Fargo was awoken by the beam of sunlight that\npeeked through the space in the curtains directly into her eyes. Blinking and\nblocking it with her hand, she noticed a warm fuzzy weight at her side. Looking\ndown she saw the little kangaroo mouse, still wrapped in her towel, curled up\nin a ball next to her. She must have abandoned the game sometime late that\nmorning and fallen asleep. She picked up her pocket watch off the bedside table and\nflipped it open. Six hours, that is plenty sleep for one night, can always get\nmore on the road later. Looking at the mouse again, first some new plans need\nto be made. Slowly sliding out from under the mouse girl, she slipped on some\npanties and sat down at the little complimentary desk/table and opened her laptop\nand went to work on her changes. --- (09:00) Cecily opened her eyes, looking around slightly disoriented,\nshe saw the liger sitting with her back turned looking at a computer screen.\nThe entire night was all a fog in her mind, but she remembered the liger, she\nwas nice. What was her name, some kind of flower? Quietly she tried to slip out\nof the bed and make her way to the bathroom; her clothes must be dry by now.\nTrying not to disturb the liger any more than she already must have, Cecily\njust wanted to make her escape and be done with it. No one ever really wanted\nher around anyway, not even that boy that begged her to come out here, once he\ngot what he wanted even he tossed her\nout on the street. Surely this woman had better things to do with her life than\nlook after her also. Startled by the sound of the armchair scraping on the floor,\nCecily squeaked and tripped over her feet. Catching herself with the door to\nthe bathroom, she looked over her shoulder. Looking directly at her the liger\nhad a huge toothy smile on her face. \"Good morning Sisy. Sleep well?\" Lily asked watching her\nstand up slowly. \"Cecily.\" she replied softly \"What?\" \"My name is Cecily\" She said just a bit louder. \"Well, Sisy. I think I have come up with yet another stupid\nplan. You have three years before you age out of the system, but you need\nsomeone to take responsibility for you until then. It is too early to make\nphone calls out west, but I think I can pull a few strings and get something\narranged.\" Watching the fragile mouse\nstart to shake, \"Are you OK?\" Lilly stood up and started to walk over as the\nmouse darted into the bathroom slamming the door behind her. What does she want?\nNo one is really this nice, not to me. She thought to herself as\nshe shook leaning against the door. What does she mean 'pull some strings'? Who\nis she going to drop me on this\ntime? She slid down the door, hugging her knees to her chest and\nwrapping her long tail around her. If\nonly I had gotten out while she was sleeping. Cecily squeaked as she\nheard a knock at the door. \"Hey in there. I didn't mean to scare you\" The liger said\nfrom the other side. \"If you want, get dressed and we can go get some\nbreakfast, and your stuff. By the way, where are you staying? You really didn't\ntell me last night.\" Sitting silently, Cecily hugged her knees tighter. She felt\nthe thud of the liger's body hitting the door, but not trying to get in. \"Look,\nI am not good at this talking to people thing.\" Lilly said, her voice much\ncloser to the floor. \"And I don't know what I am thinking these days. I ran\ninto you in that alley for a reason. I am not sure why, but everything I have\ndone in this last month put me right there. We're kinda in the same boat here.\nYou don't have a family, and what's left of mine could care less what happens\nto me. So I was thinking...\" She paused trying to figure out how to say what was\non her mind. \"Maybe we could help each other out here. But before we can figure\nthese things out, I need breakfast.\" She finished as both their stomachs\ngrowled almost in unison causing them both to giggle. --- (10:00) Leading Cecily to the parking garage where the Camaro\nwaited, \"Come on Squeaky, Breakfast awaits.\" She said as she slid the key into\nthe lock on the trunk. \"Toss that shit in here and lets get going. What do you\nwant for breakfast? Denny's, IHOP? Anything but BK, I need my grits, and their\n's sucks sweaty man balls.\" Walking to the driver door, \"Get in, it's not\nlocked.\" Sitting in the passenger seat, which was made for a much\nlarger person, Cecily buckled the seat belt and looked at the sparse dash. Every\ncar she had been in had all sorts of gadgets that she had never had a chance to\nfigure out. This one looked simple yet intimidating to the kangaroo mouse.\nThere was only a classic radio with knobs to tune the channels, no CD player or\nsatellite radio, yet the instrument panel was covered with gauges, she counted\nnine total. Cecily yelped and covered her ears as the finely tuned muscle car\nroared to life. \"Help me turn on the A/C could you.\" Lilliana asked as she\nrolled down her window. Cecily looked around the dash for the controls, but only\nfound two levers marked \"Vent\". Confused she meekly asked, \"Where is the\nswitch?\" \"Right there on the door beside you. Its a 60-2 model A/C,\nwe roll down two windows and get this thing up to 60.\" Lily said pointing at\nthe crank for the window. 'We gots ArmStrong power windows too. Powering these\nwindows will make your arms strong.\"\nLooking at the confused expression on the mouse's face, \"So what's for\neats squeaker?\" Tapping the shifter into reverse, Lilly threw one arm over the back of Cecily's seat\nand turned almost completely around while backing the car out of the spot. Swinging back forward,\npaw landing on the shifter she looked at her companion. \"OK Cecily, you ready\nto feel what a real car is like?\" She said with the biggest grin her face could possibly manage. Dropping the\nbeast into first gears, and giving it gas and releasing the clutch, the engine\nrevved with rear tires spinning, letting off smoke and the smell of hot rubber.\nThe Camaro suddenly launched forward, causing Cecily to squeak and cover her\neyes. When they had finally entered the street, Lilly slowed the car to a\nnormal pace and looked over at the cowering kid in her passenger seat. \"Shit,\nI'm sorry. I didn't mean to scare you again. I am making a shitty role model\nalready.\" Thinking for a moment at the stoplight, \"Fuck, I should probably stop\ncursing too. This is going to be harder than I thought.\" --- (10:30) The pair sat at a table in the IHOP looking over the menu,\nLilly already knew what she wanted, the Biscuit \u0026 Gravy combo with extra\nbacon and sausage. She sat her menu down and looked over at the teen mouse in\nfront of her. She looked so small for her age, here in the restaurant, shielded\nby the menu, she looked like a small child no older the seven or eight years. Tears started forming\nin her eyes as she thought about the past night. She must have gone through a\nlot in her short life. But if Lilly had anything to do with it, things were\ngoing to be different, for them both. \"You can have anything you want, Sisy.\" She said just wanting to break the silence. A\nsmall eep came from behind the menu, \"No rush either. It's not like we have to\nbe anywhere any time soon.\" \"I will have some pancakes.\" Cecily said setting her menu on\nthe table. \"Pancake? Is that all you want? Not Chocolate chip, or fruit toppings? I said\nanything,\" \"Just pancakes, ma'am.\" She said just above a whisper. \"Now don't start that mam shit with me. My name's Lilly, if\nyou come up with something better try it out and see if it fits.\" Leaning back\nin her chair and crossing her arms, \"Here's the deal, I am not going to leave\nyou alone in this city, I would not wish that on anyone your age. So you have a\nchoice, and I am going to leave it up to you. I can either, take you back to\nOregon and drop you off at Family services,\" the look of dismay on Cecily's\nface was agonizing, \"or we can make some calls and see what we can do about you\nstaying with me.\" Lilly saw a sparkle in Cecily's eye that quickly vanished,\nreplaced by the melancholy face she had seen all morning. \"Either way you're\ngoing to be spending a lot of time with me for the next month.\" \"Why?\" Cecily asked timidly. \"Well, here's the thing. I just quit my job and decided to\ntake a break from the grind for the next month or so. And I am not giving that\nup just to drive you back to a place you don't even want to be. \"Leaning her\nelbows on the table and folding her hands. \"Look, I have twenty five days till\nI get on a cruise to Hawaii, and a vacation fund that has been building for ten\nyears. I plan on stopping at every amusement park, tourist trap and natural\nwonder I can think up between now and then. For me to take you back you will\nhave to suffer with me though the horrific fun and excitement I plan on\nhaving.\" Looking Cecily in the eyes, \"I am giving you a choice of the end of\nthis adventure, not whether I am taking you with me or not.\" Flipping back in her\nchair again, \"But there are going to be some rules.\" Just then the waiter came to take their order. Piping up\nloudly Lilly said \"I will take the biscuit and gravy combo, add three scrambled\neggs, extra bacon and sausage, and cover it all in enough gravy to drown a\ncow.\" Then pointing over at Cecily,\" And she will have the three stack\nchocolate chip pancakes with the whipped cream smiley face on it. O.J. around\nthe table, even the empty seats, and two cups of coffee.\" As the waiter left\nshe hears a faint whisper form the other side of the table. \"I am half deaf in\nboth ears, you will have to speak up a bit for me to hear you,\" Just loud enough to hear across the table, Cecily said,\n\"Thank you... Lilly\" \"You're welcome.\" She replied. \"Now my rules are simple.\nRule 1. I am rude, blunt, opinionated and foul mouthed. If I say or do\nsomething that offends you, you need to tell me. If you don't, how am I\nsupposed to know not to do or say that again?\" She waited for a response. When\nnone came she continued, \"Rule 2. No running off. Both my and your vacation\nwill be ruined if I have to hunt you down in some strange city that neither of\nus know. And I will come looking for you.\" Lilly paused for another moment.\n\"That's it, simple. I will only make other rules if they are necessary. Let's\nhope they're not.\" A barely audible \"Yes, mam.\" Came from the other side of the\ntable. \"Polite and mannered young critter, aren't you?\" Pulling out\nher phone, \"Now where have you been staying so we can get your stuff?\" Cecily squeaked\nout an address that Lilly quickly typed into the navigator on her phone.\nLooking at the location on the map, \"Um, we will get you new stuff. I am not\ngoing there.\" Putting the Droid 4 back in its holster, \"I guess that sets our\nplans for the day. I wanted to see Potomac Mills anyway. Shopping will be good\nfor us, girl bonding time.\" ---(17:00) After hours of shopping, Lilly dressing the little mouse in\nevery outfit she could find in every\nclothing store they passed, Lilliana finally dropped herself on a bench. She\nlooked over at the mouse girl, who for the entire trip had not been much more\nthan a shadow and dress up doll for Lilly, and said \"I don't know about you but\nthis is boring.\" Getting only a nod, which was the peak of any conversation or\nquestion asked all day. \"How about a round of Lazer Tag. I saw one outside when\nwe drove around.\" She heard an eep come from the kangaroo mouse who was holding\na bag full of new clothes. \"Ok, maybe a bit much for you, Squeaker. What would\nyou like to do? Anything within driving distance.\" Looking down at the ground, Cecily mumbled something too\nquietly to be heard over the bustle of the mall on a Saturday afternoon.\nLeaning in close to hear what the meek mouse girl said, she could barely make\nout 'FYE'. Leaning back and looking across the walk, Lilly saw the\nentertainment media outlet, \"Sure, let's check it out. I haven't gotten any new\ntunes in a few months.\" When they\nentered the store, Lilly saw the first burst of energy and excitement from\nCecily, as she leaped nearly ten feet forward to the CD displays, feet never\nhitting the ground until arrival. The girl bounced around from Pop to Rock, to\ninstrumental and classical. Lilly stood back, watching the sparkle in her eyes\nas she passed each CD under the scanner of the sampler headphones. She walked\nover to the wall and grabbed a CD player and cassette adapter before going back\nto where the Mouse was bouncing to the beat of some random song. \"Well, little\nmiss D.J, have you made a road selection?\" When Lilly spoke, Cecily dropped the headphones and took a\nfew steps back, \"I'm sorry.\" Kneeling down to get to her eye level, Lilly told her, \"You\nhave nothing to be sorry for. You did nothing wrong. We have a long trip ahead\nof us, and music would make the hours on the road go by faster. I am pretty\nsure you don't want to listen to old lady music, so pick you out about ten or\nso CDs. We still have to hit up Wal-Mart for a sleeping bag for you. I plan on\ncamping tonight. Our next stop is Busch Gardens in the morning, then on to\nOrlando.\" Stepping back in cautiously, watching Lilly, Cecily picked\nout a wide variety of music, some country, pop, rock, classical, Celtic, as\nwell as a few that Lilly did not really pick up on. They walked to the counter\ntogether, and Lilly paid for the selection without paying much attention to the\ncost. Exiting the store, Cecily hugged\nthe bag of music tightly, as if it would run away if she let go. --- (20:00) After picking up a slightly bigger tent and other hygienic\nnecessities, the two drove to a nearby KOA camp. Setting up camp by the light\nof a campfire on a Saturday night was not Lilly's original plan, but with the\nmusic playing and other campers still wake, it was not that big of an issue.\nShe was just happy that Cecily seemed more at ease now than she had been all\nday. While Lilliana cooked fish over the camp stove, she watched Cecily dance\nto the music playing through the car stereo. The music came to an end as Cecily sat down next to Lilly in\na camp chair. The question caught Lilly completely off guard, \"Why?\" Looking over at Cecily as she pulled the fish off the\ncooker, \"What was that, Sisy?\" \"Why? Why do you want to take me? What's in it for you? It\ncan't be the money, the way you spent it today, and everyone has a reason to\nwant me around. What is yours?\" Cecily asked, being more direct than Lilly was\nready for. Thinking for a moment, Lilly really had no idea how to\nanswer the question. Looking down at the fish, she gave the only answer she\ncould think of, \"I don't know. Nothing I guess. I never really thought about it\nthat way.\" \"I need to know why you are doing this. You're being nice to\nme, spending money you don't have to. I don't get it. Either you are crazy or\nyou are getting something out of it.\" \"You know what, you're right. I am crazy. I was thinking the\nsame thing when I started looking up the information this morning. But, to be\nhonest, I really could not leave you in D.C.. I would not be able to sleep at\nnight, thinking you were right back there behind that club defenseless. When I\nlook at you it makes me angry. I can see the pain and neglect in your eyes. I don't know what\nhappened to you before now, but just looking at you makes me want to hurt\nwhoever hurt you. I hate seeing that look of fear on your face every time I say\nsomething. I guess I have just gone soft.\" Looking over at Cecily she continued, \"What I want to see is\nwhat I saw in the music store, a happy girl without a care in the world. You\ndeserve that. Whatever you have been through is in the past. I don't care what\nit was, hell; I won't even ask if you don't want to talk about it. What I want\nfor you is just to have what every girl your age should have, a safe place to\nstay and whatever makes you happy.\" Looking back down at the food, \"I guess my\nmotives are selfish. I want to help you because I could not live with myself if\nI didn't.\"  Cecily sat in silence\nfor a moment, picking at the food in front of her. \"I guess I can live with\nthat. Can't be any worse than other places I have stayed.\" Eating a small bit\nof the fish. \"Besides, you can always send me back like the rest.\" \"Hold on a second, I think you missed a small detail here. I\nam not an Oregon resident, so I can't take you on as a foster child. I would\nhave to adopt you. Once that is done, there is no going back.\" Lilly was amazed\nby the shocked look in Cecily's eyes. \"If you want me to do this we are going\nto be stuck together for at least until you are out of high school. And the\namusing thing is, I have no clue where that will be. I can make a few calls\ntomorrow to get the temporary custody ball rolling. I know a few people in the\nstate from a contract a few years back.\" Finishing off her small meal she went\non, \" I think they will need physical signatures, so we will have to be in the\nstate for that, but I might get Susan to walk some of the paperwork though, if\nI can FedEx it to her.\" The look of disbelief still vivid on her face, Cecily asked,\n\"What the hell are you talking about? That stuff take months.\" \"Sure it takes months to finalize, but if I can get the\npaperwork pushed through, you can stay with me until then. The only problem is,\nyou will have to suffer through my road trip craziness and a cruise to Hawaii.\nYea, I know, who would want to go to Hawaii when you can just live on the\nstreets?\" Looking at her again, \"Damned if I am not fixin' to do the second\nstupidest thing in my life. So what will it be Sisy, try living with a crazy\nliger who is currently jobless and homeless, or try and strike it out on your\nown again?\" \"Why would you do that? It's crazy, you don't even know me.\" \"I am going to do it, because I believe in doing the right\nthing, and leaving you out there by yourself is wrong.\" Tossing her paper plate\ninto the slowly dying fire, Lilly started walking to the two man tent. \"Think\nabout it, Sisy. Finish your food, and when the fire dies, get some sleep. We\nhave Busch Gardens in the morning.\" Cecily sat there for a long time looking into the smoldering\nashes. What is wrong with this woman?\nNo one really thinks like that. Kneeling down, she poked at the embers\nwith a stick, causing them to crumble to ashes. Even if it is real, it will fall apart like everything else someday.\nWhen will it hurt more, to leave now or wait till she pushes me away? Cecily\ndozed off in the hot summer night there by the fire while contemplating and\narguing with herself. Lilly sat in the tent, watching Cecily until she fell\nasleep. Hearing the young girl whimper in a dream, Lilly went out and laid down\nwith her, wrapping her arm over the small frame and pulling her close. She felt the shivering stop and tense muscle\nrelax. Together they slept there on the ground, the liger and the mouse that\nhad captured an once empty part of her heart. "}