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A Place In This World (Collector of Rarities x Nobodysangel)

The Medical Center wasn't too far away, just up the path a bit from the Children's Zoo, a building that wouldn't have looked out of place in any suburban medical office complex. It wasn't generally open to the public, but as Desmond was fast discovering, Ris wasn't exactly the general public when it came to this zoo. She knocked on the side door politely, and a moment later a middle aged woman dressed in a khaki jumpsuit opened the door, looking out curiously before seeing Ris and smiling brightly. "Ohh! Hey, there you are, Ris! C'mon in, Stavros is being a little brat." She looked up curiously at Desmond and then to Ris, grinning slyly. "Sooo you brought your boyfriend huh? You two are so cute!" Ris opened her mouth, her eyes wide and slightly alarmed and embarrassed, trying to correct the woman but Melinda was already heading down the hall. "Hey! Ris is here and she brought a boy with her!" There were a number of good natured wolf whistles and cat calls in response to that, and quite a few people poked their heads out to wave hello to Ris and to check out her 'date'. She glanced back at Desmond, her face pink with embarrassment. "St-Stavros is almost ready to go back out into the enclosure. He'll...probably spend one more night here, so....so it's lucky we came today or we wouldn't get to see him."

Dr. Akembe, a tall thin man with dark skin and a South African accent, was working with Stavros when Ris and Desmond were allowed in by Melinda. He glanced up as the vet tech opened the door, smiling broadly when he saw Ris. "Aaah, Damaris!" He raised a hand in greeting. She smiled a little. He'd always insisted on using her full name, a term of respect, he told her. "You have a friend today, it is good to meet you." Ris smiled back at Desmond. "This is Dr. Baruti Akembe, from Johannesburg. Dr. Akembe, this is my friend Desmond. May we please see Stavros?"

Dr. Akembe was gracious enough to take them back to the holding area where a single young male otter, the infamous Stavros, was laying contentedly under the heat lamps, drying off from a swim in the little plastic tub in his enclosure for him. A white wrapping around one hind paw was the only indication that he wasn't the very picture of otter health, and Dr. Akembe smiled, leaning against the door frame and nodding to Ris. She grinned at Desmond and headed towards the enclosure, and apparently Stavros recognized that someone had come to play, as he was up on his feet, although favoring his right hind leg a bit, and bouncing happily as Ris came to him, reaching down to pet him as he nuzzled her hand. It was obvious that Ris was known and trusted from the way that Stavros clambered up the little dividing wall to butt his head under her chin, cooing and squealing happily, making Ris giggle. "Well, come say hello!" She told Desmond cheerily, petting the soft, warm fur of the little creature now nuzzled against her chest.
 
Desmond couldn't help but chuckle a little bit at Ris's reactions to everyone teasing her. It was all good-natured, he knew, but she was so adorable when she was flustered. Again, he wanted to ruffle her hair a little, but refrained since he didn't know how she'd react to such a gesture. It was more than a little cute to see her go right back to what she was talking about a moment ago because she didn't know how to react to everyone's good-natured ribbing. He almost said "Lead the way, sweetie," but once more restrained himself to keep from embarrassing Ris any more than he already had.

Desmond followed Ris down the hall and into the room with the otter. He was a little surprised to see the critter under a heat lamp, but he supposed that the doctor knew what was best for the animal. Still, he'd never thought that otters would want or need to be under a heat source like that: he'd always assumed that aquatic or amphibious creatures didn't play well with heat. He made a mental note to read up on otters to see what sorts of things they liked; it turned out that he was learning all sorts of new things today. He gave Dr. Akembe a polite smile and nod and shook his hand. "A pleasure to meet you," he said. He let out a small chuckle as he saw the little otter spring to life and nuzzle up against Ris as soon as she was close enough. "Energetic little guy, isn't he?" he asked, both to the doctor and Ris. Upon being invited, he stepped forwards and held out his hand for the otter to examine. He didn't know how otters got to know humans, but holding out one's hand to sniff was the accepted way to introduce oneself to a dog or a cat, so Desmond figured that there couldn't be any harm in starting there.

"I didn't know otters liked heat," he said. "I always assumed that if something lived in the water, it preferred cooler temperatures."
 
"Well, they do like cooler water so swim in, but otters spend a great deal of time sunning themselves." She smiled as Stavros sniffed at his hand a moment, his little paws grooming his whiskers quickly as he drew his face back and chirped at the two of them. Ris turned quickly and held out her arms, letting him slip out of her grip and back down into the water with a splash and a plop. Ris smiled slightly as she folded her arms, leaning against the wall and watching as the otter slid through the water like a slick, furry missile. "Otters are typically very energetic. Considering that they eat between twenty five and thirty percent of their body weight every day, they tend to be very energetic." She glanced back at Desmond a moment. "Is there any other place you want to see? Stavros isn't the sort to like to be held often. He's finicky like that; some days he likes the attention and he'll flirt with the assistants to get extra fish. Other times he'll put his little nose in the air and there's no dealing with him."

Dr. Akembe left them to their conversation, knowing Ris well enough to know she was just as competent as any veterinary assistant working at the clinic would be. He watched the girl lean in over the wall and trail her fingers through the water, giggling as Stavros twisted through the water to brush against her fingers, chasing the digits as they combed through the water, catching and nipping gently at her fingertips before letting her go to chase her fingers once more. Glancing over at Desmond, she smiled a little, nodding to him. "Go on and do the same if you like. He's in a good mood right now, so he won't nip your fingers too hard."
 
Desmond smiled and followed Ris's example, letting the otter nip and bat at his fingers in the water. It was a strangely pleasant sensation, having his fingers nipped at by a playful animal; he could definitely feel teeth scraping against his skin, but it wasn't happening in an aggressive way at all. The otter's fur also had a pleasant, sleek feel to it, reminding Desmond of what it felt like to wash his hair. He chuckled a little at the image that came unbidden to his mind of him shampooing the squirming otter. Immediately afterwards, he found himself wondering if any of the veterinary staff ever had to wash the otters. He supposed it must come up on occasion, but he couldn't imagine that it was a routine occurrence. Or was it?

Desmond simply let his mind wander; he was having more fun than he could remember having recently and he enjoyed spending time with Ris. He certainly never would have been able to get into a place like the zoo's veterinary center with any of his other friends, though he knew that many of them would have loved to come along. Man of them would have enjoyed Ris's company as well, though he doubted that many of them would have given her the chance he had at the start of the day. Then again, he didn't know if he would have given her the same chance if any of his friends had been around. Sure, a few of them still lived in the Boston area, but even Craig and Helen, both of whom planned to stay in Boston their whole lives, were presently touring Europe together. Had Desmond not been so lonely, he might have turned the other way when he first saw her. He hated admitting such a thing about himself, but he was glad that he hadn't walked away; now more than ever, he knew that he wanted Ris to work with him.

He played with Stavros a little longer before pulling his fingers out of the water and turning to look at Ris. "Well, we said we'd go and see the butterfly garden before we left, didn't we?" he asked. "And the bug carousel after that, right? So how about we do that and then go find some dinner.
 
Desmond looked as though he was having fun, and that was the most important thing to Ris. After all, she was rather the host this time, and he was her guest. It was her job to make sure he had fun. Then maybe he'd come back again some other time. But...he'd mentioned her moving to Boston with him and working with him at the lab, so she supposed that she was at least tolerable. He seemed to think very highly of her brain, and she wanted to make sure that his faith in her brain wasn't misplaced. Stavros popped his head up to nuzzle their hands as they waved goodbye to him, smiling and thanking Dr. Akembe for allowing them to visit with the otter, and headed out of the medical center. "That's right, if you're still wanting to. We can walk through the butterfly garden to get to the carousel, then the exit isn't far." She smiled, her long legs making quick strides towards the garden entrance.

The garden was fairly empty this time of day, which gave them the whole place to themselves. The pathway through the garden was smoothly paved and winding through the riot of colors and and scents, and little leaf-shaped plaques pointed out facts about butterflies, mostly geared towards younger children. Ris herself was uncharacteristically quiet as they stepped inside, smiling as she crouched down by bushes and gently moved aside branches to display butterflies in every glorious color and pattern of the rainbow. It took a moment for eyes to begin to adjust, to let the patterns of leaves and flowers fade back slightly and focus on movement. But once that was done, the butterflies were suddenly so easy to see that it was hard to imagine how it was possible to miss them before. From the regal orange and gold and black of the monarchs to the tiny western pygmy blue, as well as the more exotic butterflies, like the black and blue and gold Queen Alexandra's birdwing butterflies, the gardens were a flurry of color and movement, with the sweet scent of a hundred different flowering plants filling the air. She glanced over at him a moment and smiled. "If you stay very still and quiet, they'll come land on you."

Sure enough, just a few seconds later, a pair of brilliant electric blue butterflies (blue Morphos, she explained under her breath) fluttered away from a bright pink blossom and floated over towards her, pausing to land for a moment on top of her head, before fluttering away once more. She smiled, her eyes closed happily and turned to look over at Desmond. "We should probably hurry if we're going to ride the bug carousel before the zoo closes. Do you think we can come back here again to stay longer before you go home?"
 
Although Ris kept insisting that she make him feel at home, Desmond was more than glad to play along with what she wanted to do. She might have been playing hostess, but Desmond liked seeing Ris smile. The longer he spent in the girl's presence, the more he felt like he was taking her on a date; an idea he wasn't opposed to. He was also enjoying not having to crane his neck downwards in order to hold a conversation with her. Most of the other women he'd dated were much shorter than him, so it was nice to meet someone of compatible height.

Desmond watched and listened as Ris showed him about the butterfly garden. Desmond had always been phobic of insects; he was fine being in the same vicinity as them, but even the pretty ones, like ladybugs and butterflies made him nervous if they got too close. Still, he wanted to make Ris happy, so he took a deep breath and nodded just before she pulled back the branches of the bush to release the cloud of butterflies into the air. He had to admit, it was a lovely sight, even though the thought of so many fluttering wings approaching him made him nervous. He took another deep breath and did his best to hold still, watching as the beautiful insects settled on her head. He couldn't help but giggle a little at the sight, which was quite possibly the most adorable thing he'd seen recently. Shortly afterwards, a Queen Alexandra's butterfly settled on his shoulder, its wings gently brushing his cheek. Desmond very nearly jumped at the sensation, but managed to calm himself down. He glanced at the butterfly out of the corner of his eye and watched it for a while. It wasn't quite so bad now that it was stationary; it was the erratic, fluttering way that they flew that made Desmond nervous. He looked over at Ris and gave her a broad smile as another butterfly landed on his chest.
 
She had always liked the Queen Alexandra butterflies; so big and beautiful, almost a foot wide wingspan, and to see it resting so contentedly on Desmond's shoulder made her smile in delight. Butterflies were very wise animals, she'd always thought. Floating above everything like dancers on the wind, like there was nothing that could hold them down, no anger or sorrow or regret that could ever make them any heavier than jewels on the breeze. The Morphos on her head fluttered a moment, re-situating themselves, and she stepped carefully over to Desmond, one finger gliding up over his chest gently, feather light, coaxing the butterfly onto her finger before lifting it up to fly away. She did the same to the one resting on his shoulder, smiling at him as she placed the delicate creature back on the flowering shrub it had been on before she'd disturbed them. The Morphos seemed to have the idea that it was time to move on, fluttering free of her hair and around her head a moment before disappearing into the flowers once more. "The zoo closes in twenty minutes... we'd better head out to the carousel to get the last ride." She took his hand gently and led him down the path, through the fluttering clouds of blue and black spicebush swallowtails and the rich royal violets of the purple emperors and the snowy whites of apollos.

The bug carousel, true to her word, was fairly close by the butterfly garden. Brightly colored and with the rising and falling calliope music so often found in carousels, it had the peculiar honor of being the only carousel which had riding figures made entirely of insects. From brightly colored, curious looking praying mantises to large eyed grasshoppers and even a dung beetle chariot, it was obvious that it was just strange and quirky enough to appeal to Ris immensely. She smiled at him, pulling him up onto the steps of the carousel. "I'm riding the caterpillar. What do you want to ride?" The music was still playing, and the carousel was mostly deserted now, with people heading towards the exits, leaving her and him with a handful of people left, but the carousel was large enough to fit them without even having to be near the others. She threw her leg over the fat green caterpillar, settling herself in the saddle groove and holding on to the brass pole, grinning with anticipation. "If you want, the praying mantis there is fun." She pointed to the one beside her, looking at him expectantly.
 
Desmond smiled as he was lead out of the butterfly garden. It had been fun to visit, but he was glad to be away from all of the fluttering wings. He smiled as he saw the bug carousel. He'd always enjoyed carousels: each one was a unique work of art comprised of stationary statues with moving parts and integrated lighting and, more often than not, music to make the whole experience all that much more enjoyable. Of course, he'd only thought of them that way recently; as a child, he'd simply enjoyed them because they were fun and pretty. Some carousels were less enjoyable than others: especially the little ones that one sometimes saw outside of grocery stores that were barely tall enough for a child to sit on. He liked this one, though. The insect theme really worked in its favor and each mount was well-designed and well-crafted. His eye was drawn to a dragonfly, but it was a good eight seats away from the caterpillar Ris liked, so he took the praying mantis instead. It was interesting figuring out how to mount the mantis, but with a little help from Ris he situated himself and smiled in anticipation for the ride to start.

As he waited, he thought about what to do after the zoo closed. He'd promised to let Rise have the bed in his motel room, but he wondered what to do about dinner. He supposed they could order out, but he wondered what Ris would like. He shrugged inwardly to himself; he could simply ask her once they were done at the zoo.
 
The music was still playing even before the carousel started up, but with a smooth push forward the boards began to turn, and the mounts to glide up and down as Ris held on to the brass pole of her caterpillar and giggled with delight. The music rose and fell like the mounts themselves in lilting notes and she closed her eyes, wrapped her hands around the pole and just let herself sway with the music and the motion of the carousel. She seemed almost boneless, as if she would simply slide off of the caterpillar's back at any moment. And yet she didn't. She lay back on the caterpillar, her feet hooked around the polished wood, one arm holding on to the pole and the other hanging down by her side and she seemed to be singing something unintelligible to the tune of the carousel's music. The words were too soft and the movements of her lips too mumbled for anyone to tell what she was singing, but the tune was obvious.

This was why she loved the carousel. She loved to lose herself in the gentle up and down and round and round, to ride the painted wood as if it were a wave in the ocean and she was the foam on the crests. Like the little mermaid in the real stories, not the Disney version, but the one that became the seafoam that capped the waves. And that was what it felt like to her sometimes, to ride the carousel at the end of the day, while everyone else was hurrying home to their families and their dinners and their television programs. Some days she dreamed that she could fall into the music, that the mount beneath her would come to life and carry her away. Too much Mary Poppins, she supposed, but the idea of soaring through the skies on the back of a butterfly, or leaping through the city atop a giant grasshopper...it was fanciful and wonderful, a lovely daydream. She wondered absently as her eyes opened just a crack to glance over at Desmond beside her, if perhaps he had ever felt the same draw, the same urge to simply run and run until there was nothing recognizable anymore.
 
Desmond had always loved the fantastical as well, but his life had taken a turn for the fantastic when he was fourteen. Now, all he wanted to do was understand what was happening with his body and perhaps see if there was a better way to keep it from changing on him without his say-so. He could certainly lose himself in a book or a movie, but he was a bit less fanciful than Ris was. That said, he enjoyed watching her lose herself in the moment. Ris was fascinating to Desmond: she could be so naive and innocent, but downright brilliant at the same time, not to mention adorable. He kept his eyes on her the whole ride, only stopping when the ride ended. He climbed off of his mantis and offered Ris his hand to help her down.

"So, you're still welcome to take the bed in my motel if that's where you'd like to stay tonight," he said, "but I want to know what you want to do about dinner. I'd suggest ordering a pizza, but we already ate one for lunch. We could look online and see who delivers or we could just order something and pick it up. Or, if we're feeling particularly lazy, we could just get something at a McDonnalds' drive-through."
 
She was always a little sad when the music was over. However this time, Desmond was there, his hand outstretched to help her off of the caterpillar's back and she couldn't help but smile a little. Pulling herself back upright, she placed her hand in his and slid off of the mount, straightening up her clothes as he discussed their dinner options. She hesitated slightly when he suggested the motel, but she supposed they could always ask for a cot or something for her to sleep on. Or him to sleep on, if he insisted on her taking the bed. Otherwise, she could just create a cot and say that it was under the bed or in the closet...except he may have already looked there. But then the thought of McDonalds made her perk up and she grinned a little at the thought. "Could I have chicken mcnuggets? I love those! With french fries and honey mustard?" She was nearly bouncing with excitement. "I could have a Happy Meal, maybe?" She'd seen a commercial, they had dinosaur toys in the Happy Meals at that time, based on some new cartoon movie coming out and she really wanted one of the triceratops. Those were her favorite.

She paused a moment, frowning as a thought came to her. "Ohh. But you've probably had McDonalds a lot. Do you have something else you want to eat since you're here in town visiting?" He was the guest after all, he should be the one to pick the food. Besides, Ms. Nichols had promised to take her to McDonalds for their weekly meeting tomorrow. Not that she would mind eating chicken mcnuggets two days in a row but she'd be happy with having them just once to let him eat at a place he liked during his vacation here.
 
"McDonald's is fine," said Desmond, grinning. "I spent most of the day driving and I'm only interested in food that can either be delivered or we can pick up in a drive-through; I'm a bit too tired to sit down for a meal." He lead Ris back to his car and held open the passenger door for her. Once she was seated inside, he walked around and got in the driver's seat. He'd contemplated the glint in Ris's eye when she'd asked for a Happy Meal and, from what he'd learned of her that day, guessed that she might want a particular toy with her meal.

"If I remember correctly," he said, "they've usually got two different toy lineups going at once for the Happy Meals. Then again, the last time I had a Happy Meal, I was ten, so they could have changed things since then. Is there on toy in particular you've got your eye on? I know that some stores will let you ask for a specific one if you're polite. Also, do you just want the nuggets and fries or do you want a soda too?"
 
She bit her lip a little, not wanting to seem so demanding. It made sense that he'd be very tired after all; Boston to New York was a long drive. And...he'd come all this way to see her. It made her feel rather warm inside to think of it and she smiled, looking down at her hands shyly. "I...w-well, they do have a new line of dinosaur toys. And I was hoping to get the triceratops one. They're my favorites." She confided quietly. "And...I'd like a soda, yes. Most of the McDonalds have Hi-C orange so...so that would be fine, thank you very much Desmond." She said, shuffling her feet slightly as she played with the seat belt.

She felt rather bad to just ask for things like this. It wasn't very nice of her, especially since she couldn't pay him back. But he was offering, so would it be more rude to refuse than to let him get her something? Well, she was lucky, if she was hungry still after the chicken mcnuggets, she could always create more for herself to eat. "Have you been to your hotel yet?" She asked curiously, looking over at him. If he hadn't been there yet, she could create a cot and that way no one had to sleep on the floor or in the bathtub. She wouldn't want to see him hurting his back like that, after all. That'd hardly be a proper way to repay him for the lovely trip and the lunch and now dinner.
 
"It's no trouble," said Desmond, smiling. "And I've only been to the motel briefly to check in and drop off my luggage. I haven't even really unpacked or anything. It seems like a nice enough place: it's not like one of those run-down motels you see in horror movies or anything. I mean, it's not high-class, but it's certainly comfortable."

Desmond remembered that they'd passed a McDonald's on the way to the zoo, so he drove them back the way they'd came. Sure enough, five minutes later, they were pulling in at the drive through. "Hey," said Desmond as they pulled up at the speaker. "I'd like to get a Happy Meal with chicken nuggets, honey mustard, a large fries and a large Hi-C orange." He shot Ris a smile. "If it's not too much trouble, do you think that you could give me the triceratops toy with the Happy Meal?" The speaker buzzed out something that was unintelligible, but sounded affirmative. "Thank you! And for me, I'd like to get a couple of chipotle barbecue chicken wraps, a large fries and a large root beer. Thanks again!"

Desmond pulled up to the window, where they were handed their meals and then a tray with their drinks. The young woman behind the window frowned a little when she didn't see any children for the Happy Meal, but gave them their food without comment. Sure enough, Ris's Happy Meal had the triceratops toy inside. "Now all that's left to do is to see if the motel has cartoons," he said, smiling over at Ris. "It shouldn't be too far away."
 
She smiled a little as he mentioned that he hadn't really had a chance to go poking around in the hotel room; that would give her a chance to create a cot if there wasn't one already for her to sleep on. Some hotels kept cots stored under the bed or in the closet and if he hadn't looked, he wouldn't know better. "It sounds nice. I hope it does have cartoons." She said wistfully, grinning brightly at the little, brightly colored folded carton of her Happy Meal, squirming with the anticipation of getting back to the hotel and eating her food before playing with her new toy. It was a rule, after all. Ms. Nichols always made her eat her food before she got to play with her new toy. It seemed a good rule of thumb, to get the necessities out of the way first before the fun things.

"I hope that no one worries about me at the shelter tonight." She said softly, laying her head back against the head rest and watching the city fly by outside the window in a blur. Ms. Nichols would probably wonder where she was, so she should give her a call. But she'd probably worry anyway...maybe it was better to go to the shelter tonight and meet up with Desmond tomorrow. But...but she was looking forward to hanging out with him... She bit her lip, torn between wanting to spend the night talking with her new friend and watching cartoons, and keeping everyone from being worried about her. The city was dangerous when you were homeless...it wouldn't be outside of the realm of possibility for something to have happened to her.
 
"Would you like to use my phone to check in?" asked Desmond. "If you wait until we get back to the motel, you can give them my room number to put their mind at ease. Did you not check in and tell them that you'd be seeing a friend today?"

Desmond hadn't expected Ris to need to check in with anyone. Then again, he hadn't expected to be taking her back to his motel room, so he supposed that the entire thing was unexpected. The motel wasn't far away and they arrived a few minutes later. Desmond pulled the keycard out of his pocket and slipped it into the door while Ris carried the food and drinks. The room was spacious for a motel. Certainly not a luxurious place, but for a room with only one bed, a chair, a desk and a TV atop a cabinet. There was a closet in an alcove next to the bathroom, but that was about it. The bed was large enough for two people, but half was currently occupied by a duffle bag and a backpack.

"Make yourself at home," said Desmond, gesturing broadly at the room. "Also, here's my phone if you want to call anyone to check in. Just sit down anywhere you like when you want to eat."
 
She nodded and took his phone, thanking him quietly. "I did tell them I was meeting a friend today, but I didn't know I wasn't going to be going back to the shelter tonight. Ohh, I have to meet Ms. Nichols tomorrow for my weekly check in. You can meet her then if you'd like, tell her about the job that you want me to do." She said, smiling a little as she dialed the number of the shelter's main office. After a couple of rings, one of the afternoon volunteers picked up and she gave her name and explained that she would be staying with a friend that night and please let everyone know not to hold a bed for her. The girl sounded a little concerned, but Ris assured her she was fine and after a few more reassurances, she agreed to tell the other volunteers.

Handing his phone back to him, she turned to inspect the room, smiling a little. "It looks very nice and comfy. Ohh, let me see if they have a cot under the bed." She went to the far side of the bed, the furthest from him, and crouched down. It always took more effort when she didn't have an object of similar mass, but she could change the air molecules in a pinch. "Oh, they do have one! Here we go." She pulled out the newly created hotel cot. It might not be one like they use here at this hotel, having never been there, but it was sure to be close enough.

Brushing off her hands, she went to the desk and took her food, opening it carefully and sighing in delight at the smell. "Thank you for dinner, Desmond. And..and for everything today. I had a very good time." She said shyly, her face turning pink as she shoved a fry in her mouth to preclude any other need for her to say anything.
 
"Oh, that's good!" said Desmond as Ris pulled out the cot. "I'd have given you the bed anyways, but I wasn't looking forwards to sleeping in the tub."

The desk was situated close to the bed, allowing Desmond to sit on the edge of the bed and still be able to use the desk as a table. He placed his food on the edge of the desk and opened up the first of the wraps; McDonalds' chipotle chicken wraps were always something of a guilty pleasure for Desmond, though they weren't particularly filling so he always wound up eating two of them. Because of the way his body worked, however, he really didn't have anything to worry about, but he always felt a little guilty bingeing on fast food in front of his friends. As he ate, he watched Ris with a smile; it was nice to be around someone as genuine as her.

"Don't mention it," he said around a mouthful of chicken wrap. He quickly swallowed and set his wrap down so that he could talk without being rude. "It was fun to be shown around town by someone who knows the sights. You even got me in a few back doors! How many people get to see the vets in a zoo care for the animals? I even got to play with an otter, and I can tell you that's something I never thought I'd get to do in my lifetime. You're a good host, Ris. Thank you for showing me a good time."
 
Dinner passed fairly comfortably, with Ris enjoying her chicken nuggets immensely (she was very careful about creating extra nuggets; she was pretty hungry still after making the cot and needed a little bit of extra sustenance to make up for it. She doubted Desmond would notice the decided lack of napkins in the bag, and it was much easier to have something to work with when making replications of things. She ate in between responding to Desmond, smiling a little as he expressed so much enjoyment at the day they'd spent together. "I...I'm glad you had fun, Desmond. Thank you for lunch. And for dinner. And for coming to visit me. And for the hotel. Though I suppose you would have had the hotel anyway so I can't really take credit for that." She said, carefully folding up her fry container and used sauce cups and tucking them neatly into the nugget box.

The container for her Happy Meal had a number of little puzzles and games on it, and she stopped talking for a while to do the little word finds and the mazes and to solve the little trivia questions that adorned the box, before unwrapping the plastic around the little wind up triceratops. Grinning happily, she moved her box out of the way and wound up the toy, resting her chin on the table to watch it waddle mechanically across the table, giggling in delight. She loved wind up toys the best. They offered a nice sense of companionship in a way, being able to move. It was a facsimile of life, but it was a nice fantasy, imagining that she had her own tiny little pet dinosaur.

Of course, she happened to glance up at her companion and immediately felt very bad for ignoring Desmond and not offering him the chance to try out the dinosaur toy first. It was only fair, after all. Hopefully he didn't think she was ungrateful or rude. She looked up at Desmond and blushed a little, holding out the toy. "I'm sorry, I'm being selfish. Did you want to play with him too?" She asked, not wanting to be rude to her friend. After all, he'd been generous enough to buy her food and let her stay in the hotel room, not to mention offering her the job and a place to live; the least she could do was offer him the chance to play with her new toy.
 
Desmond enjoyed watching Ris; she was so wrapped up in her own little world that she might not have noticed Desmond watching her with a contented smile on his face. He had never met anyone who was so genuinely energetic and enthusiastic about everything she did before. It wasn't even necessarily that Ris had a child-like energy to her: it was more that she took everything she did very seriously, but loved every moment of it. The sense of wonder he got from Ris wasn't childish either: he knew she was highly intelligent and understood everything that went on around her and appreciated it for what it was.

His train of thought was broken when Ris turned to him and offered him the little orange triceratops. "You weren't being selfish at all," he assured her. "It's your toy, so it's only fair that you get to use it first." He scooted away from her slightly on the bed and placed the toy beside him so that they could both see it. He wound up the little triceratops and let it go climbing over the little hills and valleys created by the wrinkles in the sheets. "You know what I've always wondered?" he asked as the toy whirred away. "I've always wondered what color the dinosaurs actually were. There are so many toys and movies out there that have them in all sorts of different colors, but no one knows what their actual collocations were. What do you think?" he smiled and gestured at the toy. "Do you think triceratopses were actually orange?"
 
She frowned slightly, considering this as she rested her chin on her hands, looking at the little orange dinosaur curiously. "Hmm...it's possible. Normally in animals, coloration would evolve for camouflage. Orange is a pretty bright color, but the late Cretaceous Period, particularly the Maastrichtian stage, was defined as a largely sub-tropical climate, it stands to reason that it would be possible. Realistically speaking though, it would be more likely that it was made orange for easier recognition and response by younger children, for whom the toy was intended. Young children tend to respond best to bright colors from a purely psychological standpoint, most likely due to underdeveloped eyes and pathways in the brain." She smiled at the triceratops toy and watched it wander over the wrinkles like a prehistoric landscape. "That and orange is a very nice color. Very cheerful."

She looked up at him a moment. "Do you really want me to come with you back to Boston? You don't have to say it if you don't mean it. And...I'm a bit weird. It's alright if you've changed your mind. I won't blame you."
 
Desmond watched the triceratops climb along the wrinkles until its spring completely unwound, at which point he picked it back up and handed it to Ris.

"I haven't changed my mind, Ris," he said, giving her hand a little squeeze. "I want you as my lab assistant; I mean it. The way you pick up on everything and keep it memorized is incredible. You've been able to answer almost every single question I've given you today; the only time I can remember stumping you is when I asked if you wanted to come to Boston with me. You have an incredible talent, Ris, and I think that you can do a lot of good in this world given the proper chance. I want to give you that chance, Ris. I'm not sure how you wound up where you are right now, but whatever happened in the past is just that: the past. You're an incredible girl and you deserve a chance to make something of yourself."
 
She took the toy and looked down at it as he spoke, turning his words over in her mind like a Rubik's Cube. She had never thought overmuch about being intelligent; she simply remembered what she'd read or heard or seen, and things just naturally made sense to her in a lot of ways. She had never considered herself to be particularly smart. She'd actually considered herself to be rather slow, since that was what her teachers had always said about her. Poor, sweet, simple little Ris. She was sure she could finish high school, and she liked the classes she'd taken online but had never really considered it anything more than simple activity to keep herself occupied.

He didn't ask about her past, and she liked that. Still, it would be better for him to know. That way he could make an honest decision based on all of the information, and she wouldn't start a new life, only to have it snatched away from her again when he inevitably found out about her. Living together, working together, he was sure to eventually stumble upon some instance of her abilities and she didn't want to see that happen to him. He might not even believe her but she had to at least try.

"It's...okay, Desmond. I'll tell you, if you want to know." She said, looking down at the toy as though it held the words she wanted to say. "You might not believe me though. It's hard for me to believe as well. If you're going to ask me to come live with you and work with you, it's only fair you should know." She said, her voice forcibly calm and modulated, awaiting his answer.
 
"Ris..." said Desmond, squeezing her hand as he organized his thoughts. "I only want you to tell me if you have a criminal record, alright? I won't hold it against you, but it's something I'll need to know because my employers will want to run a background check on you and I think that we should be open to them about everything. No matter what you did, though, I want you to understand that you are a sweet, intelligent young woman and I want you as my lab partner no matter what."

Desmond held Ris's hands in his, waiting for her response. He was outwardly calm, but his heart was beating heavily. He'd never really thought about why Ris was in the position she was now. He figured that she simply hadn't been given a chance, that her parents didn't want to deal with her idiosyncrasies and she'd never found someone who knew how to interact with her properly. He'd never considered that she could possibly be involved in something illegal, largely because she didn't look the type to be. Still, he supposed anything was possible, so he did his best to project a calm exterior while keeping himself from accidentally crushing her hands in his own.
 
"They said I was evil. That there was something wrong with me. I just got scared." She said, looking down as he held her hand in his own. "I didn't...I didn't hurt anyone. I just got scared. I was the Nurse in the play, she was a very important part, that's what my teacher told me. And I memorized the lines, I knew them by heart. But...but when I looked out and saw all those people, all those people staring at me..." She shivered a bit, closing her eyes. "I lost control. The atoms that made up my body...I couldn't hold my form. I was too scared. One minute I was there, the next, I was a mist, dispersed over the auditorium." She frowned, looking down at her hand in his. "My parents were happy to be rid of me, I'm sure. I was a very difficult child they said, and they had my brothers and sisters to be worried about. Why would they want to waste their time on a child they couldn't understand when they had other children who were so bright and athletic and all? But after the incident at the school, well..."

She shrugged it off slightly. "That was where I met Ms. Nichols, you see. After I came to the Facility here in New York. There were books and all, but it was too dangerous for me to go to school, and I wasn't allowed out because the ability to manipulate matter on the sub-atomic level is considered flight risk, I suppose." She frowned. "I don't know why they worried so much. where was I going to go? My parents had made it very clear how they felt on the matter." She glanced off into space a moment. "I kept hoping they'd try to exorcise me. At least then I'd have known that they'd want me if there wasn't something wrong with me. I'm not possessed or anything like that, but it would have been nice if they'd made the effort."
 
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