That Ain't No Trash Panda [Liltotto/Ania]

Not sure how, but Ania just knew the lady at the front was talking to her. They were a good few paces away from each other, and her focus was on the sugar she was guzzling down, but she just knew. Truth be told, once the sweetness permeated her mouth, for whatever reason Ania felt less on edge. From the distance, she did hear mention of money and the lady's willingness to take care of it, so maybe that had something to do with it. Call it a bit of good faith; maybe this lady really was going to feed her.

If that was the case, Ania was willing to do what she needed to. Ania put the sugar down, grabbed a napkin, and hopped off the stool, and ran over to the lady's side. She looked up to the owner. If it wasn't for the appeasements, he would've been fuming. Still, it was easier--and better--for him to take the opportunity to gain reparations, rather than just sit on a $1200 hole and be grumpy.

At least, that would've been the case if it weren't for Ania's interpretation of apology. As if it were righting some wrongs, Ania lifted the napkin up to her face and spit the sugar in her mouth out. She presented it to the owner to give it back.

The owner was frozen stiffly in shock, maybe awe, but definitely horror.

? What'd she put Ania's hand down for? What'd she lead them to the trashcan for? Hey! What was she doing throwing away perfectly good sugar?! Ania expected a damn good explanation for this.

And what she got? Some damn hokey pokey. What, did she think Ania was stupid or something? The girl knew what an apology was. The kids at school taught her what it was. This one time, she hid her lunch and lunch money away so that the kids couldn't take it; instead, they just beat her up and told her to apologise for it. Apologising was something you told bullies to get them to stop bullying you for the time being.

Oh, you know what? That actually makes sense; the diner owner was kind of a bully, always getting mad for no reason.

Ania nodded her head towards the lady and walked back to the owner as instructed. Hands at her side and all.

"Sorry for breakin' ya crap."

She turned her head back to look over at the lady to see if that was sufficient.

The owner received the check, at first with a bit of reluctance. He still felt spiteful towards the girl. Nevertheless, this was the money necessary for repairs--an extra $200 on it thanks to his embellishments--and enough to clear the air of its grievances. With a grumble, he hobbled off back into the kitchen.

Perhaps the owner and Ania were more alike then either of them would like to admit, because she too was feeling grumpy. That's how it was when you get lectured, something she felt was happening for more often off the islands than on it. That said, the lady was kind of right. If someone came onto her boat and started thrashing it around, Ania would let them have it!

But, to do that, she needed the power to assert herself. Which brought everything full circle. Power ran the world, it ran everything, and if you didn't have it, you were shit out of luck.

The grumpiness in her compounded. Grumpy at being lectured, and grumpy at the world. It truly was unfair.

"No. We not good."

Ania held a pout and some of her tears back. Not that she'd let that be seen. The girl ran back out of the diner, tugging on Hobbes's tail as on the way, and sat down on the stairs leading up to the restaurant. She tooked her head inbetween her knees. Hobbes followed her and lied down, leaning on her back. If a tiger could emote, he'd wear a confused expression on his face, but comforted her with his body heat nonetheless.

Ania did nothing but stew in her sadness. It was something to stew about, after all. It always felt like it was her who got the short end of the stick--no one else. Okay, sure, that happens, so now it was up to her to do something about it. And she did! Or, she tried. Ania went all out into the big world by herself, for two whole years now! What did she have to show for it: nothing. Her quest for power, wholly unquenched. She roamed around and got nothing done.

Her rumination was interrupted by the approach of the lady from before. Well, first it was interrupted by the intense smell of fried foods approaching her; Hobbes knew it too, and he got up to try and prop Ania up, nudging her until she'd lift her head.

Initially, she resisted, even shoving Hobbes away at first. But, eventually, the furry bastard chomped down on her hair and pulled it back, forcing her head up.

"OW! Hobbes!"

Her anger was covered up by the snot dripping from her nose, and the wetness of her cheeks underneath her reddened eyes. Ania gave a big 'ol "SNOOOOOORT" and breathed haphazardly, her eyes trained on the food. She looked at it, then at the lady, then the food again, and then at the lady one more time before grabbing the fries, handing it to Hobbes to munch on. She took the onion rings for herself.

"No tek baks."

Cautiously, Ania started ravenously consuming the onion rings. The saltiness filled her mouth, the oils coating cheek to cheek and the juicy burst of flavour from biting into it with supreme savouriness. It was the kind of experience that transcended spacetime. It was hard to stay mad.

Once finished, she looked at the lady. She was nice. It was weird. Ania didn't really know how to express that impression, not in words at least. At most, she could only scoot towards her and hug her rather than talk about it. Ania wanted to stay like that, if only for a little while. Maybe she could talk after that.

The hug was almost liberating in a sense. It was a warmth she had long gone without from anyone besides Hobbes, and Ania convinced herself that was enough. The truth of the matter was, this was a yearning buried deep within her. Not just to hug someone, but for them to hug back.

No doubt about it, the lady would feel moisture on her shoulders, probably running down her back. There was no audible reaction, no sobbing. Just a free flow, a release of the aggravations Ania held. She even let out, in a hushed whisper, "Mama..."

Minutes later, Ania felt more gathered. She rubbed her face on the clothes of the lady's shoulder--snot, tears, and all--and distanced herself. She looked around to find Hobbes. The big bugger was asleep. That was okay, though. Ania leaned back and put her weight on the oaf's belly, his fur encapsulating her. The sky seemed brighter, bluer, but that was most definitely because of the water in her eyes refracting the light.

"Lady, are you strong? Powerful?"