Marathon!

[mitochondriaaya]

Aya had trained faithfully, just like she promised (and despite her period starting a few months after that promise. Really? She didn't need that!). The weights had been added by about the second month of training and she was really, really proud of her stamina!

And the marathon they'd chosen as their first was coming up this weekend, with fund raising as done by Elcy...and yeah. "Don't tell me you have to cancel!" she said into the phone, pulling one foot up to stretch out her thighs. "Don't! I can't go and do this alone!"

Comments

[sliceitwithwind]

Okay, he had to join in.

"Aya." Dilan looked at her with confusion, "When has anyone in the territories ever made fun of you? They love you even more than they love me!" She was so tiny and adorable and...thirteen now. Almost fourteen. "They're probably gonna hit on you."

[mitochondriaaya]

With two sets of hands they could build more escape routes! "Hmmm, I know. Never, they all really like me I know! But...I don't fit in anywhere really now. And I really can't keep up with katzu runners so some of them will have to slow down if they don't want me getting lost..." And she worried! A lot!

And...time for her own confusion! "Why would they do that? I don't even have real boobs yet!"

[sliceitwithwind]

"What do boobs have to do with it when it comes to Katzu?" Dilan asked in turn, "Katzu don't really have boobs! I mean some do? But mostly if they're nursing. And if some of the younger people come running they'll be at about your speed, you know? The ones shorter than you."

[mitochondriaaya]

"Boobs mean a human is at dating age? I DON'T KNOW! I haven't really grown any..." okay, some, but she hadn't measured recently. "So why would they hit on someone who's still all kid sized?!" IT MADE NO SENSE TO HER!

"How many of the kids haven't had growth spurts yet? I know there's only ten or so new babies...so mostly still everyone we know..." But that covered a range of years, and her brain kind of assumed they'd all be Dilan's size now. Because Dilan was the katzu standard! They were all on Dilan's schedule in her mind!

[sliceitwithwind]

"Because you're old enough." Dilan said, "I mean, I was dating when I was kid-sized! And some of them have been kinda following you around since you were eight. There'll be some people who're going to be short, still."

[mitochondriaaya]

Freeze. Blink. "What do I do if they do?!" She hadn't researched dating! Except in the vague 'listening to the boys talk about it' kind of way! Meep!

[sliceitwithwind]

"Well. If you like them you could kiss them." Dilan said, "Or hold hands, or something. If you don't like them like that you should pretend not to notice unless they say something obvious, and then be nice and tell them that you're not interested but you still like them."

[mitochondriaaya]

"And it won't hurt their feelings if I don't like them?" They wouldn't hate her? And kissing?! "I never thought about kissing before! Not really! My friends talk about it but they're older than me! And don't your noses get in the way?!"

[sliceitwithwind]

"That's just part of dating." Dilan said, "Kissing isn't that hard. You tilt your face a little, you don't mash straight on. You should kiss Haran, he's had a thing for you for years. You can tell by how he always follows you around. He'd be really good for a first boyfriend."

[mitochondriaaya]

"He has?!" Why didn't she notice that?! Haran was just fun to hang out with and showed her local plants! At night so she didn't burn! "Am I suppose to get a boyfriend on vacation?!"

[sliceitwithwind]

"Yeah." Dilan said, smiling, "You can! It can be a summer-time romance, or something where you write to each other a lot during the school year."

[mitochondriaaya]

"Huh," Aya remarked thoughtfully as some minnows made their way to freedom as well. "I'll think about it? I like Haran, he's nice." She very well might! Elements knew that the katzu boys were a lot more attractive than the highschool set here?

"It's kind of weird to think about."

[sliceitwithwind]

"Well, if you don't wanna don't push yourself." Dilan said quietly, ruffling her hair, "But it's something to think about! You know that Katzu boys will never take advantage of you." Because that kind of thing was taken extremely seriously in the Territories. "Also they're not as afraid of Braig as the people here are."

[mitochondriaaya]

"Dunno. Guess we'll see huh?" Their trip was almost a month away! Maybe she'd want to date by then? Who knew! "Why are people still afraid of Braig? He's not at the highschool anymore! They shouldn't be so worried!"

[sliceitwithwind]

"That doesn't stop him from being crazy protective about us." Dilan pointed out wryly, "If anything he's crazier since he can't be there if you need him right away."

[mitochondriaaya]

"Hey, I take karate and run marathons! I'll be fine even if he's not here!" She laughed and passed Dilan some seaweed for his section. "We're tougher than we look!"

[sliceitwithwind]

"I know! It still makes him worry." Dilan rolled his eyes affectionately. "Thanks!"

[mitochondriaaya]

"He worries too much!" Aya laughed and waved off his thanks. There was plenty of seaweed to go around! "Aren't guys in the household suppose to get weird and violent when the girl starts thinking about dating? Do you think it'll be bad for him?"

[sliceitwithwind]

"Well, yeah." Dilan blinked, "I doubt that he will. I mean, unless you date a dick."

[mitochondriaaya]

"Hey! You were worried I'd start shopping like a girl! I can worry about guys at home with shotguns and stuff!" They were equally stereotypical! "And what all makes a guy a dick instead of just a jerk? Not that I want to date jerks either..."

[sliceitwithwind]

"Yeah, that's fair." Dilan agreed, "Um. If he hurts you, like hits you or something? We get to kill whatever you leave." That was a good guide, right?

[mitochondriaaya]

"Oh, so dicks are abusers?" She could work with that definition! "I don't think we have many of those here but I'll keep an eye out? And you know all the guys with Dahnil!"

[sliceitwithwind]

"Yup! They're all family." Dilan agreed, building another little path out.

[mitochondriaaya]

"Serial killers fool their families all the time!" Said the girl who'd been researching serial killers! "Abusers could to! But yeah, don't think there's any in Dahnil. They'd good people."

[sliceitwithwind]

"Yeah, but when was the last time you heard about a Katzu serial killer? We tend to be more suicidal than anything else."