the animorphs

[instar]

Renée is gone in the morning, a pot of maple oatmeal for the girls and Trouble cooling on the stove and a note on the fridge, she's going to be gone all day on a day trip to Tucson with her friends.

Andi wakes up first. Bella's not far behind.

Comments

[aeskhyne]

Trouble flutters up out of the basement. <Pigeons really like being home, turns out! This is fun, I love it.>

[morphbox]

<I'm home, Bella! And you're home too!>

<What is wrong with you?> asks Bella.

<Everything's great! We're home!>

[aeskhyne]

<...Are you not getting any of this, Bella? I mean, I am really glad to be home right now. Not so glad I can't talk about anything else, but pretty fucking glad.>

[morphbox]

<I am aware that my pigeon has this set to "home" and I could find it again, but I'm more curious about whether that's because we morphed here or because this is, in fact, home ->

<Home!>

<- or for some other reason than I am glad about it. This didn't happen with the butterfly.>

<Butterflies don't have homes. Silly butterflies, homes are great. We're in ours!>

[aeskhyne]

<I have it set to 'home' too, and I definitely don't live here,> says Trouble. <Ethan? Robin?>

[palmofyourhand]

<Yes,> says Ethan from the basement, <we're home too.>

[morphbox]

<Well, good for you all, I guess. Are you guys going to have this problem with any animal more complicated than a butterfly and less mindful than a human or an Andalite, I wonder.>

[aeskhyne]

<What problem?> says Trouble. <Andi's the only one who's high on it. >

[morphbox]

<Even you make it sound like it's having mood-altering effects.>

<That's 'cause being home is great!> enthuses Andi.

[aeskhyne]

<Well, yeah,> says Trouble, <but it's not a problem, it's fun.>

[morphbox]

<What if we have to make a morph do something it isn't inclined to like?> Bella asks. <Sure, being a pigeon at home sounds like a generally pleasant experience, but we might have to be pigeons not at home, among other possibilities.>

[aeskhyne]

Trouble wanders idly back and forth across the living room floor, then flaps up onto a couch cushion and settles there.

<I dunno, I'm just not seeing a big disaster here. Not for me, anyway. I don't know about anybody else.>

[morphbox]

<Andi? How would you feel if we had to leave home for a while?>

<Oh, that's okay, as long as we get to come back,> replies Andi blithely.

<...Okay, the pigeons are probably handleable, then, but I'm worried about things like - small prey animals, anything particularly nasty especially if it fights with others of itself, that kind of thing.>

[aeskhyne]

<...You know what I wanna do,> says Trouble, <I wanna fly all around the city as a pigeon. Really get to know it, you know? I think I'm gonna do that.>

[morphbox]

<If any of us is going to leave the house as a pigeon I want to do it by opening the garage door slightly and having you walk out under it, so it looks like a pigeon wandered in and then out again. How are you planning to keep time while out flying?>

[aeskhyne]

<Didn't say I was gonna do it right now. I dunno, good question, how should I?>

[morphbox]

<If you didn't want to range as far as it sounds like you do I'd say come back to a central location with someone keeping time for you every few minutes. Since you do - you could set out an hour and fifteen minutes before sunset and head back "home" when the sun starts to go down to allow time.>

[aeskhyne]

<Mmm, good plan,> he says. <I'll go with that.>

[morphbox]

<Okay. I'm gonna demorph in a bit. What can you tell me about the pigeon mind besides it really liking to be home, guys?>

[aeskhyne]

<It's got some of that same alertness I got from the Andalites, but a little different,> says Trouble. <I'm not that worried right now, but I get the sense I could be if, say, there were any hawks nearby. Not too bothered by loud noises or people walking by, but when there's real danger, haul ass! That's what I'm getting. And food, pigeons are really into food.>

[morphbox]

<Oh, no, hawks,> says Andi. <Hawks are bad. Is there any food? I could eat.>

[instar]

Bella demorphs. It takes a while and it's not very pretty and she loses the beak last.

"Yeah, sure," she says, when she's done. "I'll get you some bread."

She gets some bread. She tears it into crumbs for her enthusiastic sister.

[aeskhyne]

Trouble goes for the bread, too.

<This is awesome,> he says.

[instar]

"I'm sure. Robin? Ethan? Bread?"

[palmofyourhand]

Ethan and Robin come barreling up out of the basement and dive on the breadcrumbs.