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Shortie by Lone Wolf

~Yeah, Mohammed. Can ya come over? Great! See ya in a few~

	I didn't know what Axen had in mind when he hung up the phone. I had 
only caught the end of it, which was "see ya inna few." I didn't bother to 
ask him who he was talking to, or why for that matter. I didn't want to be 
rude. Besides, the daytime talk show he introduced me to - The Maury Show - 
was occupying my time. I thought nothing of it. And I thought nothing of it 
when he sat down next to me to watch along.
	"Now," the host, I assume it's Maury, said in perfect, well rounded 
English. "This next girl...."
	"I don't get it," I said. "Why do these girls do this to themselves?"
	Axen chuckled. "Welcome to Earth," he said. "Population, 6 billion 
nuts and one squirrel." 
	I laughed. I was quickly getting used to the human humor. "Seriously, 
Ax." Two days with him and I'd already established a nickname for him. "Why 
do they do this?"
	He sighed. "I don't know. That's the problem with my race - we're so 
stupid sometimes."
	"More like ignorant to the bleeding obvious and arrogant to high 
hell."
	He laughed. "Well, they weren't ignorant when you landed."
	Just then, the teen girl started mouthing off at the audience. As par 
for the course, the obvious cusses were beeped out, the obscene hand 
gestures were fogged, and her mouth was blanked so we couldn't read her lips. 
I was a little thankful for it and curled up next to him. "If I were to ever 
act like her at home, I would have gotten my ass kicked twice over."
	He smiled. "Well, let's keep watching. I know what's going to happen 
to them."
	"What's going to happen?"
	"Same thing that always happens."
	"Now," Maury said. "These girls say that they won't give up their 
destructive lifestyles. So we've sent for a little help. Ladies and 
gentlemen, please welcome our old friend, motivational speaker Dee West!" At 
those words, the audience roared up. And through the back of the set walked, 
with a very pissed off look on his face, a dark toned human, heavily built, 
and ready to do business. The moment he got on stage he started right on the 
girls. I chuckled.
	"They deserve it."
	"Wait," Axen told me. "There's more." He chuckled. "Perhaps he'll 
start handing out bars of soap. That's always fun to watch."
	"Oh? I'll have to see that some time..."
	"Shh...watch."
	Dee finished chewing out the girls - mostly because Maury pulled him 
away. "But we can't do this alone," Maury continued. "We've called in a 
little help. From Oswego, Kansas, here are drill sergents..." The names of 
the newcomers and the boot camp where they work were drowned out by the 
cheers of the crowd. And when the two military looking guys got on stage, 
THEY started to yell at the girls and order them around.
	"Your people are so weird, Axen," I said.
	He smiled. "You know, Emily, you're right. But it sure is 
entertaining!"
	"Can't deny that..." He hugged me gently. "But this is becoming 
disturbing." He nodded and turned the sound off. "So what now?"
	"Well, I'm sure you don't want to watch Jerry Springer."
	I shook my head. "No thank you! I don't need to watch lesbians on TV 
unless it's planned, directed, and comes on a little black tape."
	"True." He pulled me a little closer. "What else is on?"
	He smirked and changed the channel, turning the sound back on. I 
quirked a brow, but said nothing. A few minutes passed. Eventually a show 
came on. "Here it comes, from the Bob Barker Studio at CBS in Hollywood, the 
most exciting hour of fantastic prizes. The fabulous, sixty minute Price is 
Right!"
	I squealed excitedly. "A game show!"
	"You know it! One of the best god damn gameshows going. Always watched 
it as a kid. The highlight of my day!" He laughed. "It's had the same fuckin' 
time slot since I was two!"
	I chuckled. "That good, eh?"
	"Hun, you dun know da half of it!" I chuckled and cuddled up in his 
arms more.

	It was halfway into the game "Plinko" when the doorbell rang. Axen 
told me he'd be right back and went to answered it. While I shouted at the 
moron who made a bad choice, he was downstairs discussing something. By the 
commercial break, he had come back up. "Emily, hit the mute button, will 
ya?"
	I took the remote and hit the appropritate button. "What's up Axen?"
	"Ooh's dat?" a second voice answered.
	I quirked a nervous brow. "Axen?"
	"Don't worry Emily," he reassured me. "It's only a friend of mine. 
Mohammed, come up and say hi to my guest." He stepped out of the way and a 
new human entered. This new one stood about his height, was a little 
stockier, and wore glasses. His skin was darker than Axen's; he was 
definately not from Axen's branch of the human race. And he was quite 
startled at me.
	"Wha da fock?! Zaiko, dat's da 'coon gurl!"
	"No shit man."
	"Wha is she doin' 'ere?"
	"I'm taking care of her. Duh!" Axen shook his head and came back to me. 
He sat down and I hugged him.
	Mohammed, as I figured, dropped his jaw. "Ah you dat frendly wit 'er?"
	"Not yet. I don't plan on getting that close for a while. Now shut the 
door, we need to talk." Mohammed sat down in a chair.
	"What's this about, Axen?" I asked.
	"Well, there's a slight dilema in your being here. I'm not going to 
ask you age, since there may be a difference in our time. What year of 
school are...were you in before you came here?"
	"Uh...senior year of high school."
	Mohammed shook his head. "Don evin joke lik tha Zaiko. Is not a good 
idea ta enroll 'er in Clinton."
	"What's wrong? Just give her an equivelency test and sign her up in 
one year of high school. I'm not going to let her waste her time here."
	"Axen, who's Clinton?"
	"De Witt Clinton is the high school I attend. We'll get you one year 
of schooling to finish up your senior year. It's better than sitting here 
and watching TV all day."
	I chuckled. "What's wrong with that?" He changed the channel, right to 
Jerry Springer. "Point taken! Turn it off!" He complied.
	"Zaiko, you ar a nut!" Mohammed said. "The'll neva take 'er n!"
	Axen smirked. "You forget, friend. I am a master of words. Don't 
underestimate what I can do with them."
	"Fine. Whateva. Turn da sound back on. Ah love da Price is Right!"

	As much as disliked giving up his short vacation, he knew this was 
nescessary. I agreed with him (even though I wouldn't have minded staying 
home and watching Maury Povich.). Mohammed was animately against it. And he 
had good reason, too. "Dude, wha will da othas thin' when dey see 'er? 
Rememba wha happen when we got outta school for da vacation!"
	He looked me over. "Yeah, you're right Mohammed." He looked out a 
window. "Thank god weather permits it." He went into his closet, fumbled 
around, and pulled out a big, cotton coat with a hood. "Emily, I hate to do 
this, but you're going to have to put this on while we're out."
	I smirked and put my hands on my sides. "What? You don't think my fur 
can't handle a little bit of cold."
	He shook his head. "That's not what I meant." He held it by the hood.
	"Oh...you really want to cover up my face?"
	"No. But then again, I don't wanna have to run the risk of causing a 
stampede of people. They aren't used to such lovely creatures as yourself 
and will go running in the opposite direction."
	"Dat's fo shure!" Mohammed commented. He blinked and looked at Axen. 
"An since when ah you used ta thin's like 'er?"
	He rolled his eyes. "Are you that daft, Mohammed?"
	"Oh no you did not!" I smirked. It seems that if you want to get 
Mohammed to speak proper English, you have to insult him. "Oh no you did 
not! I swear to christ man, I'll knock your teeth out!"
	"Dude, calm down. I meant that in the sence that you can't remember 
why I asked you to build my website."
	Mohammed blinked, looked at me again, and looked back to Axen. "Ya 
mean..."
	"Yeah, she's like them."
	"Oh damn. Sorry man."
	I began to worry. "Axen?"
	He took my hand. "It's okay. Don't worry. This isn't your fault." It 
was amazing. Despite the fact he was a guy, he knew the right to say. I 
smiled and hugged him. Mohammed choked and stepped out. "It's okay Emily. 
Now, put the coat on, pull the hood over your face, and tuck your tail in. 
We're off to get you classe at a human high school."

	At the time, the only picture I had of DeWitt Clinton was the panicing 
of several hundred students. I never really got a good look at the building. 
Well, let me tell you, the architecture is absolutely amazing. According to 
Axen, it's just over 100 years old. And, god damn it, it looked good for 
it's age! After flashing his ID to security, he led me half way around the 
building to an office. "Wait out here," he told me and Mohammed. "I'll talk 
with my guidance councelor and see if we can try to break you to her in the 
nicest way possible."
	"Gotcha," Mohammed said.
	"As you wish," I added.
	"And Emily, please try to keep the hood on." I nodded and he went in. 
That left me and Mohammed alone in the hall. We were a bit hesitant to start 
up a conversation; it was obvious on his face and, if he could see it, on 
mine. But I had to show him I wasn't THAT bad, so I started up something.
	"So what's new?"
	He chuckled. "You are."
	"Oh. Well, what do you find so strange about me?"
	"It should be obvious. You're...jus not somethin' I would expect ta 
see every day in class."
	"C'mon, it wouldn't be that bad. You would get used to it."
	"I would? Emily, you dun no me dat well. You 'ave no clue wha I would 
an would not get used to."
	I frowned, knowing fully he couldn't see me. "Oh? And are the rest of 
your kind as insensitive as you?"
	He looked at me. "Pritty much. I jus gav ya a sample of wha you can 
expect."
	"What?"
	He sighed. "As much as I hate to admit it, Axen is right when he talks 
about our kind. You'll have to ask him sometime."
	"So you were..."
	"...Jus puttin ya on. I thin' you're kina cool."
	I smiled. At that point, Axen decided to poke his head out of the door. 
"Emily." I looked at him. "Mrs. Force is ready to meet you now. C'mon in."
	"Wha about me?" Mohammed asked.
	"You can come too if you want." He smiled and stepped in. I followed.

	Mrs. Force was, as far as I could tell, a caring woman who was 40 
something years young. She smiled as I entered. "You must me Emily." I 
nodded silently, figuring that's what Axen wanted me to do. "Please, have a 
seat." I sat down next to Axen, leaning on his arm for comfort. I honestly 
felt a little scared. Mrs. Force looked at him, and he nodded. "So Axen 
tells me that you're not from around here."
	"Yes ma'am," I said quietly.
	She blinked. "You must be from an old country family." I shrugged. 
"You really don't know?"
	"Respect for your elders is par for the course where I come from."
	"Oh?" She smirked and looked at Axen. "I wouldn't mind working there 
for the rest of my life." She chuckled. Axen didn't. "Well, Emily, where are 
you from?"
	"Uh....the Serendi Province on C. Prime."
	She smiled. "Really? You've got quite an imagination. Now, where do 
you come from, really?"
	"She isn't lying, Mrs. Force," Axen cut in. "She's really from some 
place called the Serendi Province on the planet we know as C. Prime."
	She blinked. "Uh...so what does that mean?"
	"Mohammed, close the door and block anyone from seeing in." Mohammed 
quickly complied. "Mrs. Force, you may not like what you're about to see. 
Brace yourself." He turned to me. "Emily, take off the hood." I hesitated 
before I did so. Mrs. Force took one look at me and almost fainted. He got 
up and went over to her. "Are you okay?" She nodded slowly. "Emily is a 
ra'cui. It appears that her planet is populated by all sorts of animal 
humanoids. She was the reason everyone went running in all directions on the 
day we left for break."
	"She caused all that?"
	"We're not used to this sort of thing. We're probably not supposed to 
know about them until we four are long dead. But something brought her here. 
And I want to make her life as easy and as comfortable as possible."
	"And you think signing her up in public school is really going to make 
matters better?!"
	"I know. Mohammed had the same reaction. But I want this for her. I 
can't leave her alone while I'm in class. I can't allow that."
	She smiled. "Axen, you've got a good heart." She looked at me and 
smiled. "Go sit with her Axen, she needs you." 
	He sat back down and hugged me. "It'll be okay, Emily."
	"So, Emily, what year of high school were you in on your home 
planet..."

	Axen was right when he said that he was a master of words. He managed 
to get me scheduled for most of his classes when he had them and his lunch 
period. Nine periods a day for five days a week, save vacation. The only 
problem was that I would have to go through two periods without him. I would 
be trapped in a fairly uncomfortable position for about an hour and a half a 
day. But it was worth it. I got my program card and we left for home. 
Mohammed went his way, and Axen and I went mine. "Axen, that was nice of 
you."
	"That's my nature hun," he said. "You might have to get used to it."
	I smiled and kissed his cheek. "So when do classes start again?"
	"Tomorrow. We'd better get a good night's rest. It's going to be 
grueling for the two of us tomorrow."
	"How so?"
	"Well, they're gonna want to introduce you to the school, so that'll 
cost us all a period or three. And, of course, I'll have to assert the fact 
that I'll be watching over you and if anyone tries anything stupid on you, 
I'll kill them. I'll have to dispel the fact that I'm a pacifist and don't 
like to fight. And then you'll have to meet the teachers that you have to 
deal with. I guess I'll be staying with you all day for a week or so. Then 
you'll be-" I grabbed his shirt collar and kissed him. His eyes widened as I 
pulled away. "What was that for?"
	"You were worrying too much. I had to stop you somehow."
	"Well...thanks for doing that."
	I laughed and put my arm around his waist. "So what's for dinner?"

End

Emily Marcus is © Lone Wolf and <([ Lone Wolf Studios ])>
Mohammed is Ishmael Mohammed, a.k.a The Wizard and is © himself and his 
parents
Mrs. Force is my honest to god angel of a guidence councelor and is © 
herself