#bergen_county

"I've got..." She waves her hand around.

"I guess even the baby counts."

"You have a baby? You kept your figure!"

That startles a real laugh.

"Worse, it's a brother."

"The WORST!" He gasps.

"I've got a whole sandwich of'm."

"Well, if you want to join my pack, we're not mutually exclusive." He warns, "So it's not a get out of family free card. You have to stay in THIS one too."

"I..."

"If I..."

"I know this is for the best. For everybody. And it's good, isn't it? And I should be over it already."

Connor flops over and rests his head near her. "Tell me about it? And can you scratch behind my ears?" Puppy eyes.

She reaches out to scritch. "I told you, we went to Oz."

"I wasn't scared, of course. Les was, don't tell anyone."

"Yeah?"

"We couldn't go to Emerald City, though. They had our pictures up on the wall, with a bounty for shoplifting."

"But the giants, they didn't care about that, and besides, it wasn't really shoplifting, neither, not if it makes it back, right?"

"Anyways, our house and all our stuff, they're just fine but they're in Munchkinland so we can't get to them real easy and we can't just make a new house in the old spot neither because... because of lots of good reasons..."

"This place is just for now, though. I don't know how yet, but... but.... maybe it'll be an earthquake? Or until we borrow too much from the lodge. Or..." She looks upwards. "Or we run out of space, I dunno."

"Bad stuff DOES keep happening." He nods. "You just gotta learn to bounce with it. Doesn't make it hurt less, but you survive rather than breaking."

He is not going to tell her it will be all right. That's not the type of lie this Pooka gives.

"Anyways, it'd be dumb to join your pack if it's temporary, y'know?" Twisty fingers again.

He considers. "If you join up then leave? Then you were still here for as long as it lasted. I don't hate those cookies Mrs. Novak gave me because they're gone now."

She looks sideways at him, quiet.

"A wise cat once told me, Hakuna Matata. It wasn't really that wise because Cats are pretty dumb. You can't have no worries, but once you realize there's ALWAYS worries, you can... like..."

He ponders. "Prioritize how much real estate they get up here." Tapping his head.

"M'sorry. I'm better than this."

"It's my first day." Connor confides.

"Did you know that we have flying horses? Just don't be underfod when they're overhead. They make BIG plops."

"Flying wolves, you mean!"

"No, those are wildcats. The flying GOATS have hooves."

"Betcha everything flies if you try hard enough."

"I can fly! Wanna go see? It looks like jumping, and then there's the down part."

"Down goes faster sometimes, but the lake is soft."

"And it's HOT out."

"I don't mind a birdbath..."

"Wanna race?"

"Last one to the lake has to fly in first!"

She grins.

"MOOOOOOOMMMMM! STREETLIGHTS!"

And then - without counting down, she takes off for the back door at a sprint!

"No fair!"He laughs, then pauses to grab one last cookie before racing after her.

(Scene!)