Crickets and Cuties (Alena)

[Safia Chatterjee]

Safia came to the Ark often - at least every couple days - in order to keep her food supply for her green anole, Smaug, from running out.  The little creature ate a surprisingly large amount for something of its size; at least crickets were cheap, otherwise the Indian girl would have probably needed a job to keep his tummy full.

Some days she just got the crickets she needed and left; other days, she wandered around, looking at the various pets and supplies the store had to offer.  Safia was partial to reptiles - probably no surprise - but she also love the birds and mammals.  If she had been able, she would love to have a kitten along with her lizard.  But alas, all she could do was watch them play and romp around with each other in their cage.

Smiling, Safia stuck a couple fingers into the cage, wiggling them around until it caught the attention of a little black fluffball.  The kitten wriggled its rump and pounced, piercing surprisingly sharp claws into the dragon girl's fingers.  She yelped and retracted her hand, examining the wound before laughing.  "You're a feisty creature, aren't you?" she cooed.  Oh, she liked that one a lot.  It reminded her of herself.

[Alena Milosz]

It was a brilliant plan. Go to a pet store. Find the pet store. Find a cute (preferably fluffy) animal. Take pictures of it. Place pictures strategically around her sister’s house. Casually bring up how well Alena cared for animals. Valentia would be bringing home a kitten within no time.

Or at least she hoped.

So when Alena reached the pet store, she walked inside with a wide grin. Her eyes lit up with excitement the moment she caught sight of the various animals. It only took her moments before she found the kittens, and the Russian couldn’t help but to let out a light squeak of excitement. Pulling the small digital camera out of her back pocket, she walked up to a cage.

There, she had barely noticed the presence of another human, even if she was taking a picture of the girl’s hand as the kitten played with it. Alena crouched down and framed the shot, teeth sinking into her bottom lip as she focused.

Click.

[Safia Chatterjee]

Safia's eyes lifted to watch as a girl suddenly approached, smiling like a dork. She kept quiet for the moment, silently curious what the stranger had in mind. Was that a camera? The Indian girl tilted her head, dark eyes watching.

When the other girl started taking pictures of the kittens, Safia still didn't say anything. She wasn't sure whether she was in the photos or not, but judging by the girl's behavior, she'd hardly noticed that Safia was there. Finally, she cleared her throat and gave a smile.

"I hope I'm not ruining your pictures," she told the stranger with a slight flutter of her eyelashes. Hey, she was cute, and there wasn't any harm in that. "I can get out of the shot, if you'd like. This little guy already tried to take my finger off anyway." Safia chuckled and shifted a little to the side, until she estimated she was out of the camera's viewing range.

"Can't get a kitten for yourself, so you're settling with pictures of them?" she guessed after a few moments. Safia wasn't sure why else someone would be doing what the girl was.

[Alena Milosz]

When Alena heard a voice, she jumped slightly with surprise. It was only then did she consider that the hand the kitten was playing with was actually attached to a person. She snapped her head in the direction of the voice, eyes widening with a light embarrassment. “Oh!” She stood up, clutching her camera to her stomach. “No, not at all.”

She gave the girl an awkward grin, laughing at her own expense. “I hope you don’t mind.” Alena looked down at her camera before turning it to show the picture she had taken of the kitten and her hand.

“The plan is to take pictures,” she said, her Russian accent coming through, “Then get the cat.” She grinned, as if her plan were clear as day. It was going to work. She was determined. As the Russian brought her camera back to herself, she extended her free hand as a means to shake.

[Safia Chatterjee]

Safia chuckled as the girl noticed her, flashing another smile as their eyes met. "Okay, good. I'm not always all that photogenic," she said with a shrug of a shoulder. Of course, the girl wouldn't know she meant when she had scales and horns and a tail, but it was alright.

She fiddled with her fingers against the cage and shook her head, looking down. "No, it's alright," she replied. Safia leaned in to look at the picture, glad to see that- "Oh, it's just my hand," she laughed. At least her hands weren't covered in black scaley skin at the moment. "I expect full credit if this ever ends up published anywhere," she teased lightly.

"Ahhh..." Safia was slightly confused. "And how is that plan going to work?" she asked curiously. The Indian girl looked down at the offered hand and took it, shaking with a strong, firm grip. "Safia," she offered by means of introduction, lips curled upward. "... I have to admit, you look a little familiar," she added after a moment. "Do you go to Hammel by any chance?"

[Alena Milosz]

“Everyone is photogenic.” Alena replied with a stern nod, her smile never faltering. “It is the photographer’s fault if not.” At least, that was what she believed. There was always a way to capture beauty on camera, it just depended on how you went about it.

“Of course!” At times, Alena took things a bit too literally; the language barrier often prevented her from telling if a person was joking or not. “Do you mind if I put it on the internet?” She asked, “I have a blog where I put up my photos.” And, of course, she’d give full credit to the girl.

“I will tell you if it works.” The Russian replied, raising her eyebrows enthusiastically. Because, of course it was going to work, and when it did, the plan wouldn’t sound quite as outlandish. “Safia.” Alena repeated, her accent wrapping around the name. “That is beautiful.” She shook her hand just as firmly, despite being so small she always tried to offer a hearty handshake. “Alena.”

To hear she looked familiar surprised Alena, her eyes widened in a curious way, but by no means did it bring her mood down. “Yes, I do!” She chirped, “I started in February.”

[Safia Chatterjee]

Safia wasn't sure she agreed with the photographer's statements, but she smiled nonetheless. "If you say so," she replied with a chuckle. "I just seem to get caught off guard a lot, but... I guess that is the photographer's fault." It sorta made sense, if she thought about it.

She hadn't meant her comment seriously, but when the girl asked if she could put it up online, Safia blinked. "Oh, um, sure, that's fine," she replied, her voice colored with surprise. "That sounds great. Maybe I'll have to check out your blog!" And not just for her own pictures - Safia was interested in seeing the girl's work anyway.

This girl was interesting. Russian, the Indian girl guessed? That's what her accent sounded like, at least. "Oh, thank you," she replied with a slight blush and another smile. "Alena... That is a beautiful name too." She bit her lip and added,"Do you mind if I ask where you're from? I don't want to be rude, but I couldn't help but be curious."

Safia nodded as the girl confirmed her school. "That must be why you look familiar," she decided. "I've been there for a couple of years, but maybe we have a class together or something." She panned her gaze back down to the cage of kittens. "So, um, what else do you do, besides taking pictures of kittens?" she asked with a bit of humor.