ArchivedLogs:Pigpen

Pigpen
Dramatis Personae Ellin, K.C., Melinda, Tola
In Absentia	2015-01-01 "Because DNA says so."
Location <NYC> Central Park North
Central Park North is slightly quieter than its southern counterpart, being further uptown and slightly out of the bustle of the City - insofar as one can escape the bustle of the City even here, in the acres of green and blue that make up Central Park. The reservoir is in the northern half, providing miles of jogging and biking trails along the clear water, as well as benches for people to sit and rest. It's a bright clear afternoon, sunny and crisp; not as frigid as it could be, and a distinct lack of zombies making the park kind of busy, this holiday. Busier over in this part of the East Meadow, where a large temporary fenced-in area has been erected, a tent thrown up, a banner hung from an information table -- NEW LEASH ON LIFE, it reads, the area beyond attracting quite a few passersby to stop and gawk. Or coo. Or pet. There are quite a number of animals, some in their own little kennels, some left more free to roam a smaller caged-in playpen full of toys; by far mostly dogs and cats, though there are a couple rabbits in one corner hutch, a guinea pig nearby them, and one very friendly pot-bellied pig happily playing /with/ a couple of the dogs in the playpen. K.C. is not working the information table; /that/ is being left to the people more adept at explaining that these animals have been rescued from homes where they no longer had people to care for them after the plague. Instead she is helping oversee the actual interactions between people and the animals -- currently crouching down by one very small girl and helping explain to her the proper way (gentle, gentle!) to interact with a dog. Melinda is out walking with her daughter, the small green toddler strapped into a stroller for the time being - Central Park being far too large to expect one of such short limbs to be able to maneuver entirely under her own steam. The pair is bundled up appropriate for the weather, the small one in a tiny puffy coat of a bright purple color and thick yellow jeans with socks over the bottom cuffs, while the large one wears leggings with leg warmers, high boots and oversized sweaters over the top. Her coat is one of the color blocked Columbias. When they see the pet fair, the pair pulls over and moves closer, Mel pulling the child aside to unstrap her and allow her to roam. "{Now, what do you want to see? Kitties? Puppies?}" Melinda speaks Spanish, but does ASL at the same time. The child's bright green eyes blink briefly at mom, but mostly stay fixated on the pig. Meanwhile, Ellin is sort of everywhere right now. There's number Four working the information table, another, number Two is helping people fill out forms. Yet another (One) is showing people by the caged animals. Number Three is with K.C., trying to help and/or learn what she has to teach. And Five has just taken notice of Melinda and her child. Number Three is talking at the moment,"So anyway, I'm, like totes apologizing for being a meanie-head the other day! Oh Em Gee! That is such an adorable puppy. You like puppies?" This last of the little girl. Meanwhile, Number Five smiles brightly at the toddler, and signs,"{Good eyes.}" She points at the pig then, and asks,"{You like the oink-oinks?}" Apparently, she doesn't know the word for pig. But she's willing to wing it. "{They're funny and cute.}" "Don't grab puppies. Let them come. See? Not scared now." K.C. is nodding -- to herself, to the dog, to the little girl, as the dog snuffles at the girl's hand before the girl dispenses scritches, giggling slightly at the cold-wet nose. The Spanish and signing alike around her she doesn't pay much attention to, but she does furrow her brow slightly at Number Three's apology, tapping a hand briefly against her knee before answering -- "Totes apologizing. Totes apologizing what. Why. What. Adorable, yeah. Yeah this is totes adorable. All these puppies adorable. Can't take them all home, though, too many puppies. Hey, green." She's looked aside, now, eyes locking on Tola for a long time with a long focused stare. "Why green." Melinda keeps an eye out, a thin, black cylinder in her hand. She shoves it in her purse as she takes that from the stroller as well and walks with the girl as they move closer to the animal enclosures. She glances at Ellin... then looks over at Ellin before shaking her head. She finally finds her attention on number Five, pausing to say, "Cerdo. Pig." She also demonstrates the sign. She gives a little smile. "We're not exactly looking to adopt, but would it be okay if she played with them? I was kind of hoping she'd be more interested in the cats." Obligate carnivores are best. Tola isn't interested in much except the 'pig, pig, pig,' she signs over and over again. Then she toddles over to the pen where the pig is and wraps her chubby little fingers around the fence that separates them. Mom's ears perk when someone points out a color she has grown particularly sensitive to. It's far more noticeable of a color now that the city is settling more and more winter. She turns her head and eyes K.C., "Why not?" Three pipes up happily,"Because I was totes a biotch. When you are wrong or mean, you are supposed to apologize and acknowledge it." Well, at least she's patient today? Hopefully? "Doesn't mean we can't lavish them with, like, tons of affection. Who knows when they might get spoiled like this again? And then green is mentioned,"Because DNA says so. Anyway, it's a very nice shade." Riiiight. Five meanwhile leans over the fence and holds out her hands as if to lift the child, but doesn't actually pick her up,"That sounds fine with me, with your permission, ma'am. Though we'll have to show her the proper way to pet the pig. Some kids like to pull on the ears and tails. Truth be told, though, pigs are wonderful. They're easier to train than dogs and cats most of the time. Food totes goes a long way in teaching them." The self at the information desk is reading this right out of the pamphlets,"Very easy to house train. KC, is the porker over here house trained already?" Tola is oblivious to the discussion of her skin color. Instead, she is fixed on this strange and unusual animal that she has only read about to this point. She is very still as her mother lifts her over the fence (instead of letting one of the Ellins do it), but as soon as the soft shoed feet hit the ground, she totters over to Delilah, hands open and somewhat steady, aiming for the broad side of the animal. "It's an okay shade," Melinda frowns a little, her daughter's skin a little less vibrant, given the shorter hours of sunlight and the need to be kept covered and warm. "It's okay, guys, you don't have to sell the pig so much. I'm still dealing with a child in diapers. I'm not sure I want to be cleaning up after a pig as well -- how does that work with a pig this size? Would dog bags work, or do you need a shovel?" Five straightens as the mother lifts the child, hands clasping behind her back to watch. As for the child's shade being 'okay', Ellin shrugs. She has no idea what the kid's normal skin color is like or how it should look in the first place. Then she's approaching the pig to crouch down next to the child, even as Three follows along. "Little kids are adorable too. I love getting to see them play with the fuzzies. Dog bags, mostly. She's probably about... sixty pounds. The breed can get to be about... two hundred or as low as thirty, and then you might need some extra effort. Delilah should be full size by now, though. This kind of breed, they get abandoned a lot because non-reputable breeders tend to sell them as mini pigs, and then they don't stay small. There's no actual 'micro' or 'teacup' pot belly pig breed. Just some of them suffer dwarfism. A very small amount of them. It's too bad. They're extra smart, and you can actually litter-box train most of them if you go to the extra effort. Their only really special thing is, you need at minimum, a box of dirt for them to root in. And you need to be around a lot if there's not another pig in the house." Pamphlets to the rescue! "K.C. Is Delilah walk-trained, or litterbox trained? Is she full grown?" A pause. "K.C. knows just about everything about these animals." "Pig is not for sale," K.C. answers Melinda firmly, stooping to pet Delilah. "Don't sell the animals you give them a home, see, they don't have homes now. There's a rehoming fee but that's not, that's not a sale, that's for expenses, we're not selling the animals, we're not a /store/, you can't /buy/ the pig, we're not selling you," she adds to Delilah. "Full-grown pig now. That's all. Only this big. Not so big. Have some bigger dogs here. Walk-trained. Walk her outside. She likes to be outside. Likes to play. Out in the snow. Out in the water. Likes to go everywhere. Or sit. See?" Delilah is settled into the grass now, kind of placid as Tola totters up to her side. "I didn't mean selling... like that. I meant going for the sale, trying to get a person to commit to an enterprise or in this case the adoption of a pet. We... have no money right now and that includes money for feeding another being, vet visits, and toilet supplies." Dollar signs resting heavily on her mind, Melinda crosses her arms over her chest and watches her daughter, her lips pursed and her shoulders hunched. "I apologize for assuming. I just... want her to still have some interaction even if we can't take one home. We can go..." During all of this, Tola doesn't care. She has managed to plant her face against Delilah's side and plant some kisses on her flesh. Her hands make little scrunchy movements, petting her but not moving much. The child's whole weight is pressed against the pig for a moment or two before she turns her head to laugh (and possibly breath!). "K.C. is very passionate about the animals. Someone needs to speak for them. So K.C. does. Really, I wouldn't worry about it. K.C. will tell you if she expects or wants an apology, right? She's not afraid of voicing her opinion." The other self walks off to assist someone with one of the Gerbils, while Five remains to talk and chat. "Anyway, I wouldn't worry so much. If you can't help now, then maybe some day when you're more able to in the future. She'll probably still want to be best friends with a pig in a few years and there will always be animals in need of help." She shrugs helplessly. "Anyway, I don't think we asked anyone to leave. She's totes getting along with Delilah, and Delilah seems to totes be enjoying the attention." "Apology," K.C. is shaking her head, hand scuffing over the fuzzily shorn top of her scalp. "No, no, just saying. Delilah. Good pig. She likes the petting, see. Good pig. Don't need your whole life story. It's okay to pet them. Don't have to keep all the pets. Better not to keep them if you're not ready. Not everyone's ready. For pets. Important to only go to homes that are ready. They still like love. Don't have to explain." K.C. nods along with Number Five, one of her hands lifting to wiggle fingers twitchily in the air. "Always animals need loving. Always animas in need of help." "Oh. Good. I think she's taking care of that part." Melinda gestures to the child who is now hugging the pig and petting one shoulder at the same time. The mother relaxes a little, her arms more loosely around her waist, her purse dangling gently against her thigh now. "Apologies again. I would love to help with the rehoming, but like you said, we need to make sure they go to good homes. I have a neighbor who might be interested. I will let him know to stop by... how late are you going to be here?" Five chuckles a little to herself. "Really, it's totes alright. And if someone appropriate DOES come up, then we know who to thank. Every little bit helps. And it's like on TV. They don't need to be perfect. They just need to be willing and dedicated to trying hard." The girl smiles and bends down to pick up a cat who has begun to strop itself along her leg. It's a fluffy ball of fur indeed. "I think K.C. likes short answers anyway. That's just what I think, though. Actually, K.C., do you prefer short answers or long ones?" She's curious herself. "Anyway, your kid is a natural. I'm sure they'd love someone to come by and show the animals some love. I think the volunteers spend a lot of time caring for the emotional needs of the animals as well as the physical ones." K.C. frowns, shaking her head. Then nodding. Then shaking her head. Then nodding. "I like right answers," she finally says. "Yeah. Right answers. Sometimes I don't understand them." She straightens up, brushing her hands down against the front of her pants and smiling, brief, as Tola hugs Delilah. "We take care of the animals. I have to take care of that one." That's as much as she gets towards goodbye, beelining off to go deal with an overly enthusiastic curly-brown mutt attempting to climb up a newly arrived young couple. Melinda steps into the enclosure as well and kneels down to talk quietly with her daughter as she pets the pig and coos at her quietly. They play for a while with the animals before heading off later, well before the sun sets.