Anya woke up the next morning later than usual for a Wednesday. She stretched out and tiredly padded out to the table where there was already a steaming plate of eggs and bacon waiting for her. With half-opened eyes, she scooped the eggs onto her fork and then shoveled them into her mouth. She felt like she was forgetting about something, but her sleep-addled mind couldn't quite piece together what it was. As she ate, her adoptive father sat comfortably in the seat across the table from her, flapping open his newspaper. Her giant white dog, Bond, took his usual seat beside her chair, awaiting any food that may slide his way.
"How did you sleep, Anya? Are you feeling better?" Loid asked casually, not looking up from his newspaper. He was frowning at the contents.
"Mmm-yeah?" Anya responded sleepily. She scooped another mouthful of food into her mouth. Her brain was slowly starting to piece together her surroundings. "Where's Mama?"
"She said she had an early meeting to attend this morning. She said it was very urgent, so she left before I could prepare breakfast," Loid responded evenly. Anya pouted, staring at the empty chair where Yor usually sat during their morning de-briefs. Her adoptive mother always left her with a few words of encouragement before Anya had to leave for school...
School! She was late!
Anya gasped and tumbled out of her chair, racing towards her bedroom, almost tripping over her dog in the process. She was going to be so late to her classes and would get a Tonitrus bolt and then get expelled, disappoint her father, and be sent back to another terrible orphanage and–
"Where are you going in such a hurry, Anya?" Loid asked, following her from the table.
"I'm gonna be late!" Anya huffed, searching her room for her uniform. Loid sighed.
"While I appreciate the incentive for your schoolwork now, I have already called your school to inform them that you were not feeling well. You are going to be going to the doctor today, remember? After yesterday?" Loid reminded. Anya paused, finally remembering the events of the day before. She slowly put down her uniform, slightly relieved that she didn't have to worry about schoolwork today.
"Are we gonna watch cartoons all day?" Anya asked excitedly, her eyes brightening at the idea. No homework, just her spy cartoons, and her dog. Maybe she could have her Papa play spy with her as well.
"No, Anya. We have to go to the doctor, remember? I was thinking we would just have you checked out at my work since I have to go in anyways and I'll have Franky take you home." Loid explained, kneeling down to be on Anya's level as he spoke. Anya couldn't help but pout. She had already planned to spend the whole day with her Papa! And he was leaving. She opened her mouth to voice her complaints, but one quick look into his mind told her that he was definitely worried about some new mission that he was to be assigned. Loid placed his hand on Anya's head, ruffling her pink hair.
"I wouldn't leave unless it was important, and it looks like you're already feeling better," Loid said in a voice so soft that it made Anya believe every single word. She didn't need to read his mind to know that he definitely meant that he wouldn't have taken this mission if she had any more symptoms.
Maybe she could lie to the doctor today and make sure that she could spend the day with her Papa! That sounded like a great idea at first, but Anya was already apprehensive around doctors after she had been experimented on. Maybe she could lie just enough for her to not get poked and prodded, and for Papa to have to stay home.
Bond's little white ears perked up as she was thinking about what to say to the doctor. Anya immediately turned to her dog, using her powers of telepathy to read his mind.
Her precious big white dog, Bond, had also been experimented on when he was just a pup. He had been specially trained to carry around important documents and even bombs to important buildings within the city. Other dogs in his mixed litter had been experimented on and trained in a similar fashion, but thanks to quick thinking by Anya, they had all escaped their terrible owners relatively unscathed. He always took great care to keep those around him safe using his powers of short-term precognition. It had gotten him into trouble from time to time as it was hard to communicate to his human counterparts why he was behaving a certain way, but he figured that it would be better for him to be hurt than those around him.
