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Anna smiled softly. "See," she whispered, "I won't hurt you, little one." Her fingers stroked his fur gently, pleased with how soft it was. It surprised her how domesticated the creature was. "Do you belong to someone else, love?" she wondered, looking for a collar or something to identify it.
Ollie sighed, letting the woman run her soft fingers through his fur. Never before had he even let a stranger touch him. They stretched out their neck in a haphazard yawn, conveniently showing off their collar-barren nape. Of course not.
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"Tired, little one?" Anna asked, noting the lack of identification. "I can make you a place to rest up where your leg can heal. But I'm afraid we may have ruined my blazer." She sighed and shook her head. "It's alright, I have others." Anna stood and headed down the hall to a closet. From the living room, the animal could hear doors opening and shutting and baskets shifting around. Anna returned with an abundance of fluffy towels. "There you are," she remarked, spreading the towels on the floor. "Make yourself at home, little one."
Ollie tilted his head, his ears perking to every sound Anna made distantly as she gathered the towels. He felt himself smile (internally, obviously.), at the sight of the soft bundle she had brought, then quickly jumped down to the pile. He dragged some of the material around in his teeth, arranging it to his liking, then curled up as he continued to watch Anna. She's… so nice.
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Anna watched it with a softened gaze. "You're a quirky little thing, aren't you?" she asked, tilting her head to the side with a smile. She headed over to her desk, which was also in the living room, and powered on her laptop. "I'd like to find out what you are so I know what to feed you," she murmured, slipping into the chair.
Ollie yawned again, resting his head on his hands while his tail twitched at the sound of Anna's typing. This might take a while. He thought, sighing a bit. Hopefully she eventually just give me strawberries, or guava… He thought, closing their eyes and sticking out an impossibly long tongue to lick their lips.
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Anna frowned with focus as her search results went from over 100 million to a million within a few minutes of searching. Research and selective searches for her job were doing her a world of good now. "A… Kinkajou?" she asked, looking between the animal and a picture on her screen. She read from the description: "Lives in tropical rainforests from southern Mexico through Brazil. Its small, hand-like feet have fingers that are a bit webbed and end with sharp little claws. Dense, wooly fur acts as a raincoat to help keep a kinkajou dry. The kinkajou’s tail is longer than its head and body and is thickly furred and slightly prehensile." She turned her head to the little creature bundled in her towels. "Is that what you are?"
(Copy + paste is lovely… https://animals.sandiegozoo.org/animals/kinkajou)
Ollie let out a small squeak in response. Of course, he could have nodded, clapped his hands, or done a cartwheel to satisfy her odd questions, but that would be quite absurd. Especially since the woman most likely wasn't aware of his… species. And he wasn't very good at cartwheels.
(Lmaoo ikr? XD)
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Anna laughed at the squeak. "Cheeky," she remarked. "Well, it says here that you like to eat fruit and nectar. Well, I'm not so sure about the nectar, but I have plenty of fruit. Are you hungry?"
Ollie tried his hardest not to openly make it seem like he understood what he was saying, but absentmindedly rubbed his face, hoping she'd assume he was starving. The last thing they'd eaten was a stale croissant from work last night, and it wasn't exactly holding him over. Not like he ate much anyways. She figured all that out fast… He thought with awe, tilting his head to better examine the woman.
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Anna was a resourceful woman, and she wasn't stupid. It normally didn't take her long to figure out the background for a case and client, which lead to her working with the best possible combinations for how to assist them. Her rigor and intelligence were two of the things Harry had loved most about her. She had thought.
"Well, I'm not sure if you are or not, but if you are, I'm not leaving you to starve." Anna stood up, the webpage still open on her computer, and headed to the kitchen to retrieve a bowl of fruit from her island table. She set it on the floor and sat down beside it. "I wasn't sure what you liked, so I got the entire thing."
Ollie was at first impressed with Anna's resourcefulness, then was amazed by the smell that wafted from the bowl of all things sweet. He clambered out of the makeshift towel-nest, attempting to pry off the lid with his dexterous hands. And she has the best smelling food!
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Anna giggled and watched her new kinkajou. "I was right, you must not have eaten." She reached out and aided his process. "There you are, little one."
Ollie greedily stuffed his face, feeling a bit embarrassed by his actions, but mostly relieved that the pangs of hunger he had felt for days had been subsided. He looked up at Anna again, staring into her bright eyes as he swallowed a grape. Wow… They thought, keeping their gaze on her for a moment longer before turning back to the bowl
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Anna watched her kinkajou adoringly. "You're a cute little thing, aren't you," she murmured. On her desk, her phone rang. She sighed and resigned herself to standing up so she could answer the call. "Hello?" she asked once she'd selected the button to answer. "Nathan?" She listened for a long moment before a triumphant smile finally dominated her face. "Oh, that's wonderful news! Thank you so much for telling me." She paused again. "Yes, well, I'll see you Monday then. Thank you. Alright, goodbye." Anna hung up and laughed hysterically. "I did it!" She cried out excitedly. A few steps carried her across the floor until she was kneeling in front of her kinkajou again. "Oh, little one, I did it!"
Ollie listened intently, licking the juice off his fingers as he tried to make out what was going on. But, he simply couldn't hear that well. He tilted his head as if to ask, "What did you do??" admittedly, he started to become a little excited himself
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Anna laughed. The kinkajou's gesture was remarkably human-like, but she was too elated to notice. "I won my case!" she cried out happily. "Oh, this is wonderful! We need to celebrate!"
Ollie chuckled to himself, his happiness only growing with her contagious smile. HIs tail twitched as he squeaked with delight, standing up on his back legs. This is wonderful! I'm not sure what happened, but it's wonderful!
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Anna continued to giggle, and her eyes widened incredulously. "Oh, you're beautiful," she murmured, seeing the kinkajou at its full height. She stood up and headed back over to the kitchen. "We need to celebrate, little one," she repeated, getting a wine glass out from the cabinet and a bottle from the refrigerator. "This calls for a healthy glass of Pinot noir."
Ollie chittered, running into the kitchen and scrambling up the counter. If only I could shift! He thought, squeaking at the ravishingly beautiful bottle. He hadn't had much alcohol, he almost never got anything for free these days. But he always wanted to try.
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Anna poured herself a moderately full glass and grinned. "Eager, are we?" she asked with an amused tone in her voice. "I don't suppose you've ever had wine before, have you? Of course not." She shook her head. "I'm talking to a kinkajou," she said incredulously.
Ollie sighed, sitting back as he toyed with his tail. Yes… you are. He thought. And I've never had wine, yes. Unless someone wanted to leave it out in an alleyway or toss it out with a bit left inside, I guess I never will.
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Anna closed her eyes and exhaled out of her nose swiftly. "My husband leaves me, and I start talking to animals. I must be going mad." She opened her eyes and met her kinkajou's wide gaze. "Would you like some?" she asked, waving the wine bottle in her hand.
Ollie knew better. He had to be very careful of what he consumed in this form, so he clambered back down the corner and pretended to sniff around the kitchen. Im sorry… He thought on the topic of her husband.
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"I guess not. I don't even know why I asked," Anna murmured, shaking her head. "I've gone mad." She put the cork back in the bottle and put it back in her refrigerator. She took her glass in her hand and gently swirled the liquid while she watched the kinkajou. "What are you looking for, little one?"
Ollie looked up, giving a squeak in response as he suddenly felt the itch. Oh god… he started to run across the living room, looking for anywhere, anywhere, he could hide.
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Anna looked confused, watching her kinkajou dart around. She sipped from her wine and leaned against the wall. "What are you looking for?" she repeated.
(Down the hall where she got the towels from, there's also a bathroom, so Ollie can run in there)
Ollie sighed at the sight of the bathroom, kicking the door once he was inside to be out of view. Quickly, he shifted, panting heavily as he stared at his battered human form in the mirror. God, Oliver. That was close. he sighed, shifting back into a kinkajou and receding from the rook with caution
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Anna headed down the hall quickly. She approached the bathroom and opened the door. Her kinkajou was heading back out, slipping past her ankles as it did. "What on earth was that, little one?" she asked, leaning her head in and peeking around the bathroom before following her kinkajou back down the hallway.
Ollie, flustered, kept his pace, nuzzling into the small blanket nest as he gave her the benefit of a small squeak. This was no place for him, that was for sure, but he didn't want to leave her either.
