Visitors ch. 4

Instructions

Kitty bounced around the flat. Literally. She had been cooped up for too long and her still-a-kid brain was currently winning over her wish to act like a moody teen. "Should we, like, take her to the park or something to run out her energy?" Dawn asked idly. "Only if you want her to disappear off the face of the planet." /Literally./ "Does she get like this often?" "She's like this almost all of the time, actually." "I don't even want to imagine what she'd be like on sugar or caffeine." Aster paled a bit. "Take bouncy her and multiply it a hundred times over then square that, and you're nowhere near it." "Well, I suck at math so I wasn't going to do the equation anyway." “What’s going on?” Kitty asked, bouncing over, giant smile faltering for only a second when she saw Dawn. "Nothing. Just making conversation," Dawn told her. “What are you talking about? Is it me? ’Cause it’s not polite to talk about people behind their back.” "It's also not polite to butt in when the adults are talking." Kitty sniffed. “You’re hardly an adult.” "But I'm old enough to make adult choices. And even if I wasn't, I'd have to, because nobody cares about me enough to want to help." Kitty’s bouncing slowed the tiniest bit, and she frowned, forgetting Dawn was a human for a moment. “Are you alright?” Dawn let out a sardonic laugh. "I'm never really okay." Kitty grinned. "Welcome to the club! We have Th--Aster, who is always determined to make us happy when we seem sad. It doesn't always work, but at least most of the time we get cookies." "Sweet. Cookies make every crisis better." "Not really, but they work for a little bit. Then reality comes crashing in and the cookies taste like dust." Dawn shrugged with a strange smile. "Always works for me." "Then you're lucky." "Nah, I've just had more practice ignoring my emotions." “Who says? I’ve lived longer than you’d think.” Kitty challenged while Aster facepalmed. "That's cool. Indefinite aging. How old are you?" Aster shook his head behind Dawn’s back, but Kitty, hyper as she was, didn’t notice. “Dunno honestly. You?” "Uh, I don't really track my birthday...I think I'm 19 now?" Dawn answered. Aster sighed. “Is there even a purpose to this conversation?” "I mean, we're learning things, aren't we?" “I suppose so.” He agreed reluctantly. A hyper Kitty often meant one with little screening of her words, and he didn’t fully trust Dawn quite yet. "What? Is that a bad thing?" Dawn asked. "Do you have some SUPER SECRET INFORMATION I'm not supposed to know about?" “Yes.” Kitty said with fake seriousness. “We’re secretly aliens and we’re here to gather intel so our leaders can take over the planet.” "The alien part I'd believe, but I don't think you two have the brain power to assist with planet dominance. No offense, of course." “Offense taken!” Kitty said with a dramatic gasp. "Offense taken because I could believe you're aliens or because you don't seem like the type to take over planets?" Dawn questioned. “Because you think I can’t take over a planet. I very well could, especially if I got Selene to help. And L—Logan.” "Who are Logan and Selene?" Kitty paused a moment. “Aster’s friends. They’re advocates of anarchy and overthrowing the government.” "Rad. We can definitely be friends if I ever meet them." "You probably won't, they move around a lot." "Ah. Lots of moving parts in your life, eh?" "Yup!" "Mine doesn't because all of the pieces are dead except one." "Ooh, which one?" "Me!" Dawn exclaimed with mock enthusiasm. "Oh. Thought you were included in the dead parts." "Nah, I'm just dead inside. Not outside." "Well, THAT I can see." "Well, looks like you can pass the first part of High school Biology because the first they taught me was how to tell if something was alive." "Ooh, fun." "Yeah...turns out couches can't walk...so they're not alive." "Wait, really? But they always try to eat the things you drop." "But they don't breathe or use energy so...not living." "Huh." "Yeah, it's weird." "Wait, are plants alive then? Cause they don't walk or breathe," Kitty pointed out. "They don't breathe, per se but they kinda do. They also respond to their environment so, therefore alive." "Huh." "I dunno. I don't make the rules." "Maybe you should." Dawn laughed. "Nobody wants me to be in charge." “I think you’d do a better job than most of these other humans.” "Thanks, I think." "You're welcome, I think." Aster stared at them. "What just happened?" "I have absolutely no idea!" Kitty said cheerfully, grinning widely. "I agree with the gremlin. I haven't got a clue." Dawn said dryly. "And WHAT is with the gremlin thing?! What did I miss?!" "I'm just a cute lil gremlin!" Kitty said, smiling innocently. "Y'know what? Forget I asked." "That's probably best." Kitty agreed, still smiling. "Yeah, she's right." Dawn laid back against the couch and closed her eyes. "You two are the most beautifully strange people in the world. I am confident about that." CONT.