Lions and Tigers and MONKEYS! Oh my!
who: @emilie-blanchard, @victoriamorganxx, @colbyarchibald and aurelie
when: october 20th, 2015
where: the zoo
Victoria alternately glanced around the park and then back down at her phone, trying to figure out which of these buildings, exactly, Colby was working in. A zoo staff had pointed the four of them in this general direction, but now, she was lost again. She shot off another text to Colby, frowning at her screen before looking up at Meike, Emilie, and Aurelie. "Colby should be here soon..." To save her from how awkward she felt. Yes.
Colby the redhead had been running a bit late due to the fact that one of the koalas was having a bit of a stomach issue. She had to help the doctor make sure the little guy was stabilized before being excused to find the group of people Vic had brought to the zoo that day. She looked at her phone, and smiled when she knew just where they were. It took her less than five minutes to get out of her building and to spot the group of women. "Hey, sorry I'm a little late. I had a situation out back," she said with an apologetic smile. "Are we all here?"
Meike hadn't exactly anticipated that this would be the turn out; not even close. Awkwardly she bounced on her heels as she glanced between Emilie and Victoria. Then at Aurelie. This was all a bit too much. “Maybe sooner than later,” she muttered with a forced grin. Her expression grew into something resembling relief. “Yeah, we are. I think--” she glanced around once more. “So where do we start?”
Emilie had Aurelie balanced on her hip, the young child had decided that she'd save the walking until they were actually with the animals. But Emilie knew that she'd just end up picking her back up to give her a better view. She looked around, her focus switching between the three woman and her daughter before nodding. "---Right. I know this one's definitely excited to get started." She spoke, hoping her expression didn't give off just how awkward she felt.
Victoria decided that if this was what she got for trying to think of a fun activity everyone could do because Meike wanted them to meet each other, then she was never being nice again. Still, she plastered a smile on her face, gesturing to Colby, then to each of the others. "Colby, this is Meike, Emilie, and her daughter, Aurelie." She paused. "A situation with a lion cub?" she inquired, curious. Clearly, Victoria had her priorities.
Colby could sense the awkward tension amongst everyone from a mile away. She had absolutely no idea what she had gotten herself into, but she knew she was so going to make Vic owe her for this one if it wound up being this awkward the whole time. "Hey everyone it's nice to meet you," she said kindly. She playfully rolled her eyes at her childhood friend. "No, this time a Koala actually As for where we're starting, that all depends on this little angel," she said gesturing to the little girl. "What do you want to see little princess?"
Meike was obviously not the most comfortable with this predicament-- even though her intentions had been good. “Right, yeah definitely. It's nice to meet you. Though I think we've already,” she shrugged dismissively. It didn't particularly matter at the moment. “Thanks for doing this, by the way. I've actually never been...” Sheepishly her head hung as she waited to see what Aurelie had in store for them.
Emilie didn't want this whole situation to end up being awkward. She wanted for the group of them to enjoy their visit too the zoo--not feel awkward around each other. She offered a small wave after the introductions before glancing at Aurelie. The child offered up an excited 'les singes!' to which Emilie rolled her eyes with a chuckle. "She means the monkeys. Sorry-- she has a tendency to speak in french if I haven't already told her to speak in english." She explained.
Victoria turned to Aurelie as the girl piped up in French, and then smiled at Emilie. "You usually speak to her in French?" she asked, then grinned at the young girl. "I love monkeys too." Turning to Colby, she made a dramatic gesture. "Lead the way, Dr. Archibald." She had a feeling she was going to owe Colby big time after this.
Colby "Alright, monkeys it is," she said with a smile. The redhead walked them towards the exhibit where the monkeys were. "It's not that far of a walk, so don't worry," she said easily. Within five minutes, she opened the door into the building that held the exhibit. "Here you go," she said with a smile. "All the monkeys you could ever want." Once they were all inside, she walked up behind Vic and whispered in her ear, "So, how did I get dragged into a double date?"
Meike stuffed her hands in her pockets as they walked. She wanted to completely behave herself, not exactly sure what the protocol was with her-- whatever Emilie was. She was thankful that it didn't take long. Awkwardness wasn't something she handled well-- ever. “Oh, wow,” she commented with wide eyes. Despite feeling off about the whole thing, she was far too excited for this. “They're so cute! Oh, my god--” she practically squealed, but cleared her throat. “Are you they like you-- remember Aurelie?” Meike clearly did not know how to talk to kids.
Emilie returned the smile in Victoria's direction before nodding. "Usually, yes. Although I've been trying to speak to her in English more and more so she feels more confident when speaking it." She explained, watching as her daughter grinned at the other girl. After they'd arrived in the exhibit, she let Aurelie down to run up for a closer look. She turned to watch Meike's reaction, her smile growing wide. The young child perking up at being spoken to, responding with an excited nod as she continued to take a few moments to look at each and every monkey.
Victoria nodded. "Are you from Canada?" she ventured, smiling at Aurelie's obvious delight as she looked at the monkeys and trying not to laugh at Meike. France would've been her next guess. She met Meike's eyes for a moment, trying to ignore the way her heart skipped a beat - stupid, stupid - and instead caught up to Colby by the chimpanzees, looping her arm around Colby's. "Because you love me?" she tried, then shook her head. "No, definitely because you tried to drown me when I was a kid." An over-exaggeration of Colby pushing her into the water, but still.
Colby smiled when she saw how much Meike and the little girl were enjoying the day. It always made her happy when she saw other people love animals as much as she did. "Having her know two languages is really beneficial, and she'll pick up English faster now than most adults would." She pointed out a few fun facts about the monkeys to the little girl who seemed to soak up the information like a sponge. When Victoria appeared beside her, she laughed at the woman's dramatics. "Please, I didn't almost drown you, but I guess I do love you. Just next time let me know that I'm going to be your date for something, yeah?"
Meike caught Victoria's gaze for a brief second; however, she playfully rolled her eyes instinctively. Most of what was said went in one ear and out the other. She focused all her attention on the monkeys. Her head nodded as everyone spoke politely, but really most of everything went over her head. “They're just so...” she almost squealed again. Glancing at Emilie, she hoped the woman hadn't noticed-- or worse Victoria.
Emilie nodded again. "Yeah, Montreal to be exact. But my father is French." She answered with a smile. "She'll be starting up kindergarten pretty soon, so I want her to know as much English as she can so she doesn't feel awkward when other people don't understand French." She grinned at how her daughter seemed to love all the information she was learning. She walked over towards Meike, her hand going to rest on the small of the brunette's back. "Having fun?" She teased with a raised eyebrow.
Victoria nodded. "That makes sense. Kindergarten - so she's... four? Five?" She sent a pointed glance at Meike, as though to remind her that she should probably pay attention. At Colby's remark, she stuck her lip out in a pout. "I could have died," she said dryly. "And this is not a date.” Lowering her voice, she added, "I mean, if this were a date, it would have just been me, petting the cute lions. And there would be wining and dining. Which I'm guessing I'm going to have to do after this, so we can have our date /then/." She grinned at Colby. At a soft squeal coming from the other side, she raised an eyebrow at Meike, tacking on her own comment after Emilie's. "Too much fun, perhaps?"
Meike wore a child-like expression as she continued staring at the monkeys. While it wasn't her intention, she'd mostly tuned everyone out. Or had until she tensed up. Seeing as she hadn't known how to act around Emilie, she was taken by surprise. She did however recover very quickly. “Yeah babe-- bud, lots.” Turning away from the cage, she instantly scoffed at her old friend. Of course, Victoria would have something to say. “You're an a--- you're not a very nice person,” she corrected herself sheepishly.
Emilie nodded at Victoria's question. "Almost five, yeah. Just over a couple of weeks until her birthday, actually." She answered, still somewhat enthralled by Meike's reaction to the monkeys. Seeing her like this made her heart squeeze slightly. "Bud?" She mused with a raised eyebrow, but quickly shook it off. "Well, I'm glad you're having fun." She smiled, moving over to where her daughter was. She ruffled the child's hair as the four year old started spouting off some story about the animals.
Victoria was just about to respond to Emilie when Colby turned to her almost apologetically, excusing herself - some sort of animal emergency. After the redhead had said her goodbyes to the group, Victoria turned back to Meike, Emilie, and Aurelie, a heavy weight settling in her gut. Even Meike's "bud" comment had her grimacing instead of the usual laugh it would pull out of her. "So, how did you two meet?" Meike wanted them to meet, and she might as well get all the details that Meike hadn't had the time to share with her yet.
Meike chuckled to herself, playfully nudging Emilie in the process. “Is that a problem, bud,” she asked returning the expression. Her brows raised almost tauntingly. All the while she was inwardly cringing at herself. When Emilie moved away, she couldn't help the tiny pout-- immediately missing the contact. She nipped at the inside of her cheek while considering Victoria's question. It was a little awkward to say the least, but she'd bite. “Well, we knew each other from before. Actually even before you and I--” she trailed off, not at all delving into that. “Emilie used to go to Toronto for drama camp-- and I had absolutely nothing better to do during the summers. So, I just kind of went out of pure boredom.” Really she had no better explanation than that. “But she had a girlfriend back then... so that's it.” And with that her attention turned back to the monkeys.
Emilie glanced back at Meike just in time to catch the pout. She grinned to herself, scooping Aurelie back up to rest on her hip after she'd tugged at her leg a few times. She wandered back over the brunette's side smiling at the explanation. "Theater camp, theater workshops--- they were a blast for me. Not sure how she dealt with it though considering she's not a theater buff like I am." She chuckled, before cringing at the mention of her ex. It was evident on her face how uncomfortable she felt at the thought of Isabel at this exact moment. "Uh--yeah, right." She murmured, shaking the thoughts and forcing a smile.
Victoria raised an eyebrow, almost daring Meike to finish the sentence. "--met each other," she finished for the brunette, suppressing a roll of her eyes. Meike was clearly not very good at this dating thing - in a way, it was a comfort to Victoria, who realized she shouldn't be feeling that way at all. She smiled at Emilie's description of the camp, turning a teasing grin onto Meike. "I never would've pegged you for the theater camp type, but apparently there's a lot I need to learn about you." Noticing Emilie's wince at the mention of her ex, Victoria decided to turn the subject back onto theater. "Do you still act?" she asked Emilie.
Meike nodded in total agreement. There was plenty Victoria didn't know about her. And honestly, she preferred it that way. “Like you even care,” she retorted with a faint smirk. The expression dropped the moment she realized she'd said entirely too much. She wanted to ask whether Emilie was alright, which she clearly wasn't, but she figured that would only make matters worse. Instead she tried to convey her apology in silence. “Tell her about my cooking skills, Em,” she muttered with a barely there grin, trying to make things less awkward.
Emilie was glad Victoria had changed the subject. "I do! -- If I can find local acting gigs. The whole traveling for work isn't so fun when you've got a kid that you end up missing." She chuckled, running her free hand through her hair. "Other than that I coach theater classes, so it's my job now." She smiled. She knew that Meike would've apologized had they been in a different situation as they were now. She reached out to give the brunette's arm a reassuring squeeze to let her know that she was fine before quirking an eyebrow. "Right-- her cooking skills. Off the chain. So good." She spoke sarcastically with a grin.
Victoria had grown up in a family where her parents were hardly around, and she could appreciate that Emilie wanted to stay with her kid. "Coaching sounds like fun. Do you have any divas in theater class?" She couldn't help the brief flash of hurt at Meike's offhand remark, but that was how their relationship had always been. Up until a day ago, and she couldn't blame Meike for acting as she normally would. "You're right," she said, voice light as she forced a grin on her face. "I don't." She raised an expectant eyebrow, waiting for Emilie's response, but her expression changed into a natural smile as Emilie confirmed Meike had zero cooking skills to begin with. "Nice try, Schmidtty."
Meike furrowed her brows for a brief second. Something seemed off with Victoria but she couldn't be sure. Any concern subsided and its place was their normal banter. “Of course, you don't. Such a great loss.” Her words were coupled with her perfectly sculpted smirk. Glancing down at her arm though, her grin turned to a more genuine one. A little too casually, she took hold of Emilie's arm-- liking the closeness. “See a classically trained actress. I'm amazing,” she boasted in faux-pride before glaring at Victoria for the umpteenth time. “Schlampe.” She almost corrected herself, but she figured she was safe. “Where are we headed next? Because I'm totally for staying here all day.”
Emilie nodded with a laugh. "We've got a couple of divas. They're mostly the younger kids, actually." She glanced between the two of them as they interacted, Meike taking hold of her arm helped the feelings of slight jealousy subside. She looked up at the girl, offering a warm smile. She turned her focus onto Aurelie seeing if she had any suggestions but by the looks of the child's shrug she didn't mind where they went. "---I suppose we could just sort of wonder? See what animals we come across?"
Victoria was surprised; she had assumed Emilie mostly taught adults, but she supposed acting classes came in all forms and ages. "Perhaps they're spoiled at home," she offered, and found that it was easy to pretend to be very interested in what these - she glanced at the placard - orangutans were doing when Meike slipped her arm around Emilie's. She turned back to gape at Meike, however, at the insult - she picked up a thing or two from her back in Yale. "That's a low blow, especially since I can't respond to that here," she said, gently placing her hands over Aurelie's ears as she continued, "Du scheisse." She dropped her hands almost immediately, not wanting to scare the poor kid. Nodding in agreement with Emilie, she replied, "Sounds good to me." She really wanted to see the lions - Colby had mentioned something about cubs - but she wasn't about to say that out loud.
Meike waved her hand dismissively. Though she was highly amused. “Verpiss dich! She doesn't even understand.” Glancing between Emilie and Aurelie she felt herself freaking out. “She doesn't, right?” God, she was really bad at this whole dating thing-- if that's what they were even doing. Scrunching up her nose, she finally nodded in agreement. “Yeah that sounds good. Just maybe-- no bears.”
Emilie chuckled. "Most divas are." She retorted before laughing at Meike's question. "No, she doesn't understand-- don't worry." She assured her, glancing down at the very confused expression on Aurelie's face. "What-- are you afraid of bears, babe?" She teased with a nudge. "We can steer clear of the bears, I promise." She added with a shake of the head whilst turning towards the exit of the exhibit, Meike's arm still around her. "I don't know about you guys--- but the Elephants are probably what I'm most excited to see."
Victoria laughed, grinning at Emilie. "You're always very rude to me," she pointed out; she was out of the very limited German she knew, and the only thing left was far too close to the word 'fuck' for her to feel comfortable using around Aurelie. "Oh my god, you're afraid of bears? This is too good. You'd better hold on to your girlfriend a little tighter." A pause. "I can take Aurelie to see the bears, if she wants." She glanced at Emilie, as though seeking her approval. She followed the couple and the child out of the exhibit, walking over to the map outside the exhibit and pointing. "It says the elephants are this way."
Meike looked at Victoria and then back at Emilie. Awkwardly, she rubbed the back of her neck. The two hadn't exactly talked about what they were, and Victoria really had a way with words. “Yeah... I'll do that,” she muttered, not at all sure how to respond to that. “Elephants do sound so much better than bears--- which I'm not scared of at all.” Except that's what she was-- terrified really. Wordlessly she followed Emilie's lead, still feeling a little off base with what had been said.
Emilie glanced back at Victoria-- and then to Meike after the comment had been made. Her and Meike definitely hadn't made what they were exactly clear, yet. She didn't know how to react, so she simply shrugged it off, focusing on Victoria's next words. "Oh, if she's up for it totally! However something makes me think that she might be just as scared of the bears as this one." She retorted, nudging Meike. "Elephants are a lot cooler than bears--- at least in my opinion anyway." She paused. "Right, whatever you say." She chuckled, before looking off in the direction Victoria had pointed. "This way it is, then."
Victoria frowned a little at the silence that had followed, but decided not to dwell on it. "No bears today, then," she said easily; it didn't bother her much - she didn't absolutely need to go see them. "Elephants are supposed to be really smart, right? I think I read somewhere that they're one of the few animals that can recognize themselves in the mirror." As she nodded again, she started to lead the way towards the elephants exhibit.
Meike knew this was not something she'd live down. “I'm not scared of them. They're just not aesthetically pleasing.” As they walked, she enjoyed the minute breather. That is until Victoria had to speak. “You're such a nerd, Morgan.” Rolling her eyes, she stopped however as they reached the exhibit. “Wait, really? Those big a-- things can recognize themselves?” This time she wasn't as amused. The monkeys had stolen her heart. She could admit that Emilie was right, they were pretty exciting still. “I wonder what would happen if one of those got out,” she asked nonchalantly moving her hand. Instead of merely holding onto Emilie's arm, she grabbed her hand-- but didn't look at her.
Emilie nodded along at Victoria's words. "Yeah! They're so cool--- they can also paint, you know? Holding the paintbrush with their trunk--- I may have watched a few too many videos of 'em." She sheepishly added, slightly geeking out about the elephants. "Some bears can be quite cute!" Emilie protested, lacing her fingers with Meike's as they entered the exhibit. "---I can't imagine it being too good of a situation."
Victoria stuck her tongue out at Meike, not buying the excuse one bit. "You're such an--" She paused, changing tactics since bad words weren't allowed. "Nobody asked you, Schmidt." She brightened as Emilie agreed, sending Meike a pointed glare. "That's really cool. I didn't know they could do that." She laughed, nodding along. "You might have to see the bears after all." She moved a little closer to get a better look at the elephants. "They seem docile for now."
Meike was pleasantly surprised by the direction things had gone. They were an air of calmness around them finally. Not to mention Emilie was rather adorable as she babbled about the elephants. “On what planet, Em,” she asked in utmost seriousness. Bears were scary, not cute. “The elephants are cute, though.” This whole ordeal was about Emilie and Victoria getting along. And that's what they were doing, but that only made Meike feel even more awkward. “Should I just get you guys a room,” she joked throwing a smirk at the both of them.
Emilie grinned widely. "Like you said-- they're very intelligent." Elephants were probably her favorite animals--- whenever she'd been to the Zoo as a child, their exhibit is where she'd spend most of her time. She rolled her eyes at Meike's remark. "On this one. ----The small ones are adorable." She insisted. She nodded in agreement, almost tugging at Meike's arm as she eagerly moved closer to the big animals. "You're insufferable." She spoke, shaking her head at Meike with a small grin.
Victoria watched their banter, mostly amused, though a small part of her felt... weird about it. She tried to shake the feeling. "All of them are adorable," she interjected. Rolling her eyes at Meike's comment, she added, the sarcasm obvious in her tone, "Not that I'm not up for that, but if we all three disappear, who's going to take care of Aurelie?"
Meike effortlessly allowed herself to be pulled closer. She definitely didn't mind having a better view. Just as she was about to reply to Emilie, she nearly choked. Bringing her free hand to her mouth, she coughed a few times. Victoria's comment should not have been surprising considering all the things they'd done in college. Still it nearly knocked the wind out of her. “You're so hilarious, Morgan,” she managed, her face now an unfamiliar shade of red.
Emilie offered up an "I agree!" as she took to admiring the elephants, a child-like grin plastered all over her face. "Regardes toutes les éléphants, poupée!" The french easily flowing as she addressed her daughter, her grin only widening as Aurelie got excited. She choked out a laugh before nodding--- not knowing exactly what words to add to that.
Victoria barely batted an eyelid as she replied, "It's part of my charm. Women love it." She didn't bother to glance over at Meike or Emilie, her eyes trained on the informational placard as she read about the elephants. "It says here that they use their tusks to move objects or to dig." She grinned at the three of them now.
Meike shook her head, this time using Emilie's words on Victoria. “You're insufferable,” she said with an eye-roll. Furrowing her brows, she looked out at the elephants. “That's kind of interesting to say the least.” The more she looked at them, the more she realized it wasn't just bears that terrified her. “They're pretty big--” she commented more to herself than anyone else.
Emilie focused on the elephants whilst explaining what Victoria had said, to Aurelie in French. "Very efficient too. Only further proving their intelligence." She added, her focus shifting to Meike and she nodded. "They're huge. Even the young elephants are bigger than you'd expect."