Who: Kat and Open What: Ruminating When: Saturday Where: New York Aquarium, then Al's Ratings/Warnings: TBD
Kat sat in her wheelchair in the Conservation Hall, watching the fish on the other side of the glass swim by seemingly unconcerned at their artificial home. She wasn't sure why she came here so often. The wildlife wasn't the same as what she'd known 'back home' and none of the fish would talk to her since her first visit, not believing that she wasn't a 'split-tail' but an aquatic creature like themselves. And of course unless she wanted to end up in a tank permanently (or worse) she couldn't exactly expose her tail to them and the world to prove them wrong. So which of them was right? Her or them? She wondered sometimes.
Part of her wanted to burn this abomination to the ground. Sea life kept in pretty cages to put on shows for human amusement. And yet their conservation and education efforts did help, and wasn't she just as guilty as the rest? She was living in this world of theirs, using electricity and buying things. If anything her carbon footprint was higher than most families thanks to her custom townhouse with a basement water tank damn near the size of one of the Aquarium's smaller ones. At least she bought enough carbon offsets to cover what she used and then some.
A frustrated growl and Kat turned the wheelchair around, a scowl momentarily on her face before she wiped it off. If she stayed there staring at the glass much longer she was going to explode and that wouldn't do anyone any good, including her.
She really needed a drink.
An hour later saw her settled back in the Bronx, pulled up to her regular table at Al's nursing a rum and coke. "Thank goodness for booze!" Alcohol was a saving grace for humanity, one of the best things about civilization she'd discovered so far along with food she didn't have to catch herself. She took another sip and let out a sigh, trying to decompress. The bar wasn't super busy yet, but the early regulars were starting to trickle in and she nodded in acknowledgement at a familiar face.