Dori and Leo (Backdated to July 5th)

[x-leosamson.livejournal.com]

Leo tries to bring Dori out of the trees with the world's oldest bribe: food.




This summer was the best in the last couple of years. At least, that’s the way Doreen was starting to see it. Back home, in Beverly Hills, the trees all belonged to other people, and you couldn’t really spend the day in them. And while some beaches were okay, it was still hard to go places with a large bushy tail and claws.


But up here, out in the trees she felt like she actually belonged. In the end, maybe it was better to be a bit of a wild animal. Not too much. She had a tan, and people could visit her up in the trees and Monkey Joe was getting some much needed exercise. So he wouldn’t be a very, very pudgy squirrel forever.


Doreen was leaning happily against the back of a tree, resting on the branch, Monkey Joe on her lap.


“This summer is just awesome…” About the only thing that would make it better would be if her Dad called.


Leo wandered down one of the many paths into the woods, thinking about coping skills. He still remembered being a med student at JHU and running into a patient who would tour the Great Blacks in Wax museum at least daily, more if particularly stressed. In his family, when stressed, his father fixed things, his foster sisters knit, Sam shopped, and his mother cooked. In great amounts. After pawning off half of the most recent delivery of kugel on TJ & Sam, he still had three batches. Hopefully the apple cinnamon kugel would be enough to coax a certain girl out of the trees for a conversation.


He glanced up again, and finally spotted Dori perched on the lower branch of a tree, her squirrel on her lap.


"Dori!" He raised the bag he was carrying, "Hungry?"


Doreen looked down, the smell of food alone was enough to get her stomach going, even though she did have a lot of junk food with her, “Hi! Yeah, I’m really hungry, what is it? It smells like apples,” she said, sniffing at the air. And cinnamon. Monkey Joe scrambled up to her shoulder as she sat up, taking another deep breath and smelling the food. Even though she was making it a point to go inside and shower, she still resembled more of a wild animal at this moment than a girl, at least in her stance. Tanned, her claws longer than normal and her tail bright and bushy, but that wasn’t on her mind.


Food was.


“I like apples. Monkey Joe likes them too.”


"Then I think you'll like kugel," Leo responded, sitting on the ground and opening the bag invitingly. He spread out a placement and placed the kugel there with two water bottles and plastic dishes and utensils. "And Monkey Jo can have some as well, as long as there's nothing harmful in this for him--it's mostly apples, cinnamon, egg and egg noodles, with raisins, nuts and sugar."


Doreen regarded the set up for a moment. Sometimes, people would just hand food up to her but she got the feeling that this wouldn’t be the case this time. It wasn’t like it took much effort to climb trees and then to go up and back down. She made it to the ground easily, her feet calloused enough from running around on the trees that the dirt and things didn’t bother her. The food smelled so good.


“I’m sure it’s okay. He only really gets sick when he eats too much, which happens a lot because he really likes food,” Doreen said, walking up, the smell of the food overtaking everything else. “I mean, sometimes I do that too, but not so much anymore.”


Leo smiled at her as he scooped out servings of kugel, "I think everyone does that at least a little, Dori--you should see the amount of food my family cooks for the 4th of July."


"So how are you and Monkey Joe today?"


“We’re alright. It’s nice outside, and there aren’t many places like this back home. It’s pretty cool to be able to spend all day outside,” she said, petting Monkey Joe as he climbed on to her lap and looked at the apple kugel hungrily. The smell was over taking Doreen too, but she didn’t stuff her face right away because that wasn’t polite.


“I really like it here.”


"I'm very glad," Leo replied simply, "And this is certainly a good place if you like being outside." He was quiet for a moment, concentrating on the kugel, and watching with slight amusement as Dori carefully restrained herself as she ate. "You know, we do have a rather lovely inside as well. I haven't seen you there very much recently."


“I’ve been inside. There’s bathroom there,” Doreen said, setting some food to the side for Monkey Joe, “And clothes, and stuff. So I have to go in sometimes. Maybe you just haven’t caught me,” Doreen suggested.


"Oh, of course," Leo responded calmly, "That's entirely possible. How often would you say you've been coming inside?"


“Um…” Doreen paused to think about it, “I go inside to use the bathroom and to shower and stuff. So a few times a day, maybe. Not really for very long at a time though. If it’s nice I can sleep outside,” she said, taking a bite of the food. If it wasn’t nice outside, she could crawl into the tree house and sleep which she had done a few times. She hadn’t even really taken the time to file her claws and it showed on both her hands and feet she realized. But that was okay, it made climbing easier.


"Hmm," Leo said, taking a moment to drink a little water. "So you're really spending quite a lot of time out here. Is there any particular reason?


“Um… well, it smells kind of funny inside right now, I guess,” she said, after shifting a bit. The smells inside, those pertaining to Yvette were bothering her right now. That mixed with never really getting a chance to be outside like this every day were the main factors, she realized. “Besides, it is really nice out here. When it’s not raining.”


"Do you know what's causing the smells?"


“…Yeah,” Doreen admitted, “I mean, it’s kind of hard not to…” she said, giving some more of the food to Monkey Joe.


Leo nodded, having a slight suspicion, "And what do you think it is?"


“Um… it might be Yvette?” she said meekly.


"Ah," Leo replied calmly. "Her scent has changed due to her injury? I can understand how that could be upsetting." He ate quietly for a moment. "Dori, Yvette should be recovering fairly soon. Will you be able to spend more time in the mansion then?"


“…Yeah… I guess. I mean, they put that thing on her and now she just smells… wrong,” a part of her still thought there had to have been SOMETHING that she and Inez could have done to keep the accident from happening.


"I know," Leo responded quietly. "But the inhibitor was necessary to help her heal. And she will heal, Dori." Leo looked up at her, "And you will too."


“I didn’t get hurt,” she said, looking up, Monkey Joe settling in her lap, “Yvette did, but she shouldn’t have.”


"We don't have to have physical injuries to be hurt, Dori. What you girls experienced was frightening, and that hurts too."


Leo sighed, "And of course Yvette shouldn't have been hurt," Leo replied, "But the fact that she did is not your fault. It is not Inez's fault, or Yvette's fault. It is the fault of those who made the mines."


“…I know, everyone keeps saying that. I don’t know why anyone could even make those things in the first place,” Doreen said, “Why can people do that?” Or back home, even though it wasn’t deadly, just treating someone like it didn’t matter, “They were just kids playing. They didn’t deserve that.”


"I don't know, Dori," Leo replied, "I wish I did." He shook his head and gazed out into the trees, "No one deserves that. I can only hope that the work Red X did will help prevent some children from being hurt, and that others can keep working to clear the mines."


“I hope they get them all out. You know, I really, really didn’t like it there,” Doreen admitted.


"I hope so, too," Leo smiled slightly, "And I can't blame you for not liking it." He considered the container that was now empty of kugel and looked back up to Dori with a grin. "Apparently the kugel is good?" He considered her with a slightly mischievous look. "You know, my mother will be sending more next week. I could promise to save you some--and cook a few other Jewish dishes you might like...if you'd have a meal with me inside the mansion?"


“It was! Really? That’d be cool!” Doreen said, “Sure, I’ll have a meal inside if there’s more apple kugel,” she smiled, “It was really, really good.”


"I'll hold you to that."