Artemis Child

Artemis Child Ch34

After finishing our food, we paid and walked out side.

"So where are we headed?" Serena asked Kaylyn who was checking a small compass. "We need to go to lake Erie." She said and seemed to be doing calculations. "We also need a cat." She added.

"Wait why?" I asked her confused. "There are loop hole ways into the underworld. Just trust me." She answered, but wasn't really leaving me with many options. "So anyone know where the nearest pet shop is?" Gena asked to make the weirdness more logical.

"This is why giving me my Ipod would be great." Gena complained as we asked directions. "Well aunt Mel took it for a reason." I reminded her. Andrew was walking back towards us from a small group of people. "Great news, the nearest pet shop is only a few blocks down that street." He in formed us. "Wait, a pet shop near a chinese buffet. No one finds that a little weird?" I said hinting at a steriotype.

"Coincedince, I think Not!" Toni added to my joke. No one laughed, insted we headed down the street.

The pet shop had this big window, that showed puppies, parrots, and ferrets. All made Gena, Serena, kaylyn, and me stopped to stare. The puppies were cream color labs, who wrestled and nibbled on each others ears. The ferrets were napping in the warm lamp light with their cute paws up in the air. The parrots stared back at us, their beautiful colors making each one seem to have a random personality.

"Great Guga-mooga. They are so cute!" Gena exclaimed as she got as close as she could to them. "We have to go inside anyway, so you might be able to play with them." I said to her.

Walking in, the smell and sounds of animals blinded my senses. Literally, my sense of smell was overwelmed, my hearing bombarded, and my sight grew too sharp for my head to handle. "Guys I have to wait outside." I said and walked back out.

("I'll take over.")

Cory, coughed and then rubbed his eyes in iritation. "Guys I have to wait outside." He said and walked out. Kaylyn was walking up to the man behind the the counter arrogantly. "I would like to purchase a cat." She said with a forced breath. She obviouly doesn't like buying things, when she could steal it. "Anything specific?" The man asked her. "No, but if you have a blackat with orange eyes then yes." She replied to the man.

"I don't think we have any of those. Feel free to look at our selection of them, he pointed to the back near some hedgehogs. "A cat in general will be great." I said to speed this along. Suddenly a weird sound filled the air. "Ah no he is at it again." The man said and lifted up a small curtain near the left side of the counter.

This revealed a hawk in a cage, letting off the loud noise. "He used to belong to a famous general!" The man informed us, by shouting over the noise. "He learned the word General! Infact every time he hears the word he goes balistic! No one will purchase him, and I cannot let him go in the city!" the man said and pulled out a needle from a box. "I used to be able to sedate him, but my boss said if one more time he had an out burst!" He paused, "Then, I will have to put him down!" He finished.

"No!" Toni shouted. Which suddenly silenced the animal. "I'll will take him." He said with a new kind of tone. "Ok I guess, I'm buying a cat and a hawk." Kaylyn said and handed the man the last roll of hundreds.

("I'll take that." "No wait thats not fair. I only get this small part?" "Sorry. I'll make it up to you." "From our situation. I doubt it.")

The pet store door opened and out came the group. Although Kaylyn had a cat in her hands, and Toni had a hawk on his shoulder. "Toni what's with the hawk?" I asked him.

"This animal is one of the many symbols of my father. The man had to put him down, so we bought him." He said and scrathed the animals chin.

"Guys did you know that hawks used to be trained to retreave things." Toni said as we were walking. "Oh god, now I could never bring you to a club. We would be in there and you would point at a girl." I acted out what I was saying. "You would point at her and say 'The blonde' Then the bird would take off. 'Aoh' Few seconds later we would hear the blonde scream as the hawk drags her to you by the hair." I gave Gena's hair a little tug as I acted this out. "You turn to her and say: 'Hey, you get dragged around here often?'..." I looked into Gena's eyes as I said this. "Corny jokes are the best." She said with a smile.

"Would you say that they are.........a-Maze-ing." Toni said his corny joke with a pause. "Get it maze is another name for corn."

"Toni." I said with a frown. "You killed it." Jokes made the walk a whole lot more enjoyable.

Night was creeping apon us as we walked. The moon of a waning cycle, hung over us and made the city pavement shimmer. Looking over I noticed Toni and Serena were holding hands. 'Gosh, he isn't afraid to move quickly.' I thought to myself.

"We should cut through the park, it's faster than walking around the hugh place." Kaylyn said and led the way. Suddenly a firework exploded in the sky, a red and green cloud of color was formed.

Ahead of us, people in a group were cheering. We kept walking, they were on or path through so we ran into them. "It's the end of april, why are there fireworks?" Andrew asked us.

"Heeeyy!" A elderly voice came. "Have you come here for Shōwa Day?" The voice asked us. A elderly japanese woman aproached us, holding sparklers. "It is very good seeing such youth, celebrating this day." She said as another firework went off.

"I do not understand. Me and my friends were just passing through." I told the truth. In the light of the fireworks, her face became sad. "But I would like to know about this: Shōwa Day." I said to make her feel better, and I knew that we have been walking for hours. We needed a break, what better than to be under the moon and fireworks.

"Shōwa Day..." She started, as we walked. It was rude, but her accent was getting harder to follow as she talked so I did my best to listen. Gena was now sitting on one of the park benches, and watching the fireworks.

Serena and Toni seemed to be getting to know each other more as the time went on. Andrew was helping the people, being alot different than the person he was around his friends. Kaylyn pet the cat, to keep it from being afraid by the light desplay.

After an hour of the woman's story, she sat down and thanked me. "Most do not care for foreign tales of strenght, or tales of power from some other land. Young man I thank you for letting me teach you something new." She said, with a heartfilled smile.

Walking back to see everyone. Gena was asleep on the bench, Toni was asleep on Serena's lap, and Andrew was slowly slumping to the ground from his current position against a tree.

I picked up Gena, and carried her. She let out a slight snor as I kicked Toni to wake him up. "Come on guys we can't sleep in a park." I wispered to them and motioned for them to follow.

After fifteen minutes of walking, kaylyn protested. "I can't walk anymore, I am gonna pick a lock to an empty building if need be. "Sshh. Ok just be quiet." I whispered and did my best to not wake up Gena.