The Volunteer Experiment

[Adelaide McLisk]

"You'll be working with someone else today, Add."

Which really frustrated Add, though she knew it probably shouldn't. Part of the reason she'd begun this volunteer job was to work with other people and get to know them better, mostly through interactions with various animals. So in actuality, she should be thrilled at the prospect of working with someone new. She would gain all new exposure and better fulfill her duty of interacting with people on a semi-social level.

Still, the whole fact that they just decided that Add should work with someone else on a whim bothered her a little. They could have at least said something. It wasn't as though Add was the type to protest such arrangements. Again: that was the whole point of her being here. She supposed that she really wasn't in a position to protest overmuch one way or the other. This was how thing were, and she just needed to accept it.

So Add got into her gear, which consisted mostly of getting an apron and some gloves on. This wasn't entirely normal for the rescue, so Add had brought her own. She'd pulled her hair up into a tight bun and felt very much ready to do the messy work of helping rescued animals. Now she just needed to find her coworker...

[Adeline Pierce]

a failure is fleeting I’m gonna walk a hundred miles I’m gonna whistle all the while If that’s what it takes to make me smile I’m gonna walk a hundred miles I’m gonna run right up this hill Summer sky or winter chill If I gotta take a break I will But I’m gonna run right up this hill I wanna hold the whole wide world Right here in my open hands Maybe I’m just a little girl A little girl with great big plans I’m gonna go and take a chance I’m gonna learn to ballet dance Learn a little something ‘bout romance I’m gonna go and take a chance I'm -- Adeline was excited and nervous all at the same time, and it was making her stomach do funny little flips. It was volunteering here at the animal shelter that would help her decide what she wanted to do with the rest of her life—and she was really leaning toward open her own pet shop. Maybe if she ran a pet shop, poor kitties and puppies wouldn’t wind up at the shelter so often. But she would start here. Helping these poor kitties and puppies and anything else that were stuck at the shelter. If she could talk to them, she could tell people which one suited them the most—and get more of them homes! Right? She liked to think so. It was just a quick bus ride away and Adeline, though she knew she would be cleaning up messes and dealing with animals, always wanted to look her best. However, she was a practical lady who had worn just a fitted t-shirt she wouldn’t mind getting dirty, a plain jacket, jeans, and tennis shoes. Nothing too casual, but nothing that would be absolutely ridiculous for what she was doing. When she got to the shelter, she took a deep breath, held her purse tight against her hip, and walked through the doors. She’d been there a thousand times already, but had just been told she would be working with someone else. Sometimes she had a coworker, and sometimes she was by herself. But she hadn’t worked with this—Adelaide, she thought her name was? she knew it was similar to hers—person yet. She was always nervous meeting new people. There—it was probably the girl in the apron. She took a deep breath and approached her with a friendly smile. “Hello! I’m Adeline, and I’m one of the volunteers today,” she greeted.

adelaide • 305 • sorry for the delay I tend to sleep in a lot • THANKS ♥

[Adelaide McLisk]

Add turned to see the other volunteer, immediately analyzing her. Several probabilities popped up at once, most of which Add sort of mentally shelved for addressing later. Even Add had learned that her very first impression of people was, generally speaking, incorrect. Too many variables, especially involving other people. Add did attempt to greet the other, mostly by sticking her hand straight out in perhaps the most robotic fashion possible.

"It is good to see you, Adeline," she said, attempting to put a little bounce into her voice and failing quite spectacularly. "I am named Adelaide, and I volunteer here as well," she paused for a moment, seeming to consider something. "I believe that we are assigned to work together today."

Well, the name did sound like the one that Add had been given. She couldn't help but note the similarities in their names. Similar origins and everything, though Add supposed that was just a coincidence as opposed to anything more solid, much like they're both being assigned to work here, or the most likely probability that both were mutants, since most of the locals of Adeline's age were gifted in that manner.

[Adeline Pierce]

a failure is fleeting I’m gonna walk a hundred miles I’m gonna whistle all the while If that’s what it takes to make me smile I’m gonna walk a hundred miles I’m gonna run right up this hill Summer sky or winter chill If I gotta take a break I will But I’m gonna run right up this hill I wanna hold the whole wide world Right here in my open hands Maybe I’m just a little girl A little girl with great big plans I’m gonna go and take a chance I’m gonna learn to ballet dance Learn a little something ‘bout romance I’m gonna go and take a chance I'm -- Adeline was never good at greetings and she almost forgot how to respond to a handshake. However she managed to catch herself in time and keep the moment from dragging into awkwardness. She remembered that the proper response was to return the favor and offer her hand for a handshake. Geez how could she almost forget that? Adeline extended her hand a little less stiffly than her coworker had and shook hands with a smile. “It’s nice to meet you, too,” she said pleasantly, feeling a little bit of her anxiety float away. The girl seemed pretty normal. A little older than her, probably, but normal. Stiff, but hey maybe she wasn’t good with strangers either. She tugged on some strands of her own hair out of habit and tried to make a little bit of small talk before they got down to business. That was polite, right? “Hey—um, your name is Ad-Adelaide, right? I think that’s what they said—if so we almost have the same name!” she giggled. Hopefully that wasn’t too weird. She wasn’t being weird, right? She sure felt weird. Of course she had been hoping that the other woman would have given her name in return and then made things easier, but that’s okay. Adeline wouldn’t judge.

adelaide • 213 • Hurr sorry she's being awkward • THANKS ♥

[Adelaide McLisk]

Add took the offered hand in hers for a relatively awkward handshake, giving it a few light pumps before realizing it. Adeline seemed a little uneasy with Add, which Add was actually used to. She knew that she sometimes came across as off-putting, and she often got that same reaction from people around here, since so many of them were those that were more inclined to utilize their emotional reactions first.

"Yes, my name is Adelaide. that is what I said," repeated Add, frowning slightly. "And it is not that surprising that we have similar names. The name is quite popular among most people."

She paused for a few more seconds, watching the other girl shift and look slightly awkward. Again, this was very much behavior that Add was used to seeing around her. Though at least most people compensated by talking a lot, feeling like they needed to fill the air with noise and words in order to make things perfectly clear. This one seemed to be one of the quieter ones.

"Did you receive a list of items that we are supposed to be completing during our work?" asked Add, tilting her head and looking at the girl as if to discover something. "Or are we to find someone in order to discover this information?" Since Add really hadn't worked here long enough to really know what to do without being informed, at least, not yet. She could probably guess, but her last guess had involved hosing down cats, so...

[Adeline Pierce]

a failure is fleeting I’m gonna walk a hundred miles I’m gonna whistle all the while If that’s what it takes to make me smile I’m gonna walk a hundred miles I’m gonna run right up this hill Summer sky or winter chill If I gotta take a break I will But I’m gonna run right up this hill I wanna hold the whole wide world Right here in my open hands Maybe I’m just a little girl A little girl with great big plans I’m gonna go and take a chance I’m gonna learn to ballet dance Learn a little something ‘bout romance I’m gonna go and take a chance I'm -- At first Adeline’s eyes widened slightly and then she grimaced, face turning red. Though she was wearing a smile, it wasn’t because she was happy—she just smiled when she wasn’t sure what else to do. “Oh my god I’m so sorry! I’m just—I’m really nervous and I guess I wasn’t paying attention or I missed it or—I’m so sorry,” she practically squeaked. Well, that was going to haunt her sleep for the next month and a half. She was past just nervous now. Oh no, now she almost had crippling anxiety. Adeline almost wanted to just crawl into a hole and die somewhere, but she knew that wasn’t an option. The next best option was to just excuse herself for a moment and cry, but that wasn’t the best option either so she would just have to deal with it and move on. If she could. She could pretend. She could put on a brave face. But she would forever think that Adelaide believed she was mentally ill. Or really stupid. But was there a difference? Adelaide’s next question threw her off just a little bit and she swallowed hard, trying to ignore the burning sensation in her cheeks. She looked away, now totally incapable of making eye contact, at least until something came up that made her forget her faux-pas just now. “Um, we don’t really need a list—all we really need to do is feed everyone, help customers if we get any, and clean out stalls and cages. When we run out of that stuff to do we can keep the animals company—make sure they’re still friendly and don’t become shy around people,” she explained, tugging at strands of her hair slightly. A list? She certainly hoped there wasn’t a list—she hadn’t been told about one.

adelaide • 304 • lol i'm a sorry excuse for an RPer, my bad. • THANKS ♥

[Adelaide McLisk]

Add blinked at the apology, trying to figure out what she was supposed to do with that. As far as Add was concerned, no apology was needed. She certainly didn't mind repeating herself, and it was quite clear that the other girl was flustered. It only made sense therefore that she might not have noticed something like an introduction. Add was tempted to point all this out, but she spent too much time thinking on it, wondering if that was the proper course of action. That time, thankfully, meant that they could focus on the reason they were actually here as opposed to bantering about with pleasantries.

No list. That made Add frown slightly. They usually gave her a list, but then again, they didn't usually pair her with someone else to work with. Therefore Add concluded that whomever was in charge figured that Adeline knew enough about how this worked that she didn't need a list, and that this information could in turn be presented to Add. It did take Add a few seconds to come to this conclusion, but she was soon nodding her acceptance of the situation.

"We do not have any customers," she said, her head having turned for a moment to look to the front. "So should we be focusing on cleaning the cages and stalls?" she turned to look at said stalls and cages, trying to deduce where was a good point to begin. Eventually Add pointed toward one end. "Should I perhaps start on that end and work my way to the middle while you work at the other? No," she frowned, lowering her arm. She should've thought that through a little more before speaking. "I'm not entirely sure of the proper procedure for the cleaning of cages, so I should at least accompany you to several, to gain an understanding," Add nodded as if that decided things then turned to Adeline. "So where would you like to begin? Perhaps we should start with the smelliest of animals first?" though Add wasn't certain which that would be; she did figure that it couldn't be hard to figure out.

[Adeline Pierce]

a failure is fleeting I’m gonna walk a hundred miles I’m gonna whistle all the while If that’s what it takes to make me smile I’m gonna walk a hundred miles I’m gonna run right up this hill Summer sky or winter chill If I gotta take a break I will But I’m gonna run right up this hill I wanna hold the whole wide world Right here in my open hands Maybe I’m just a little girl A little girl with great big plans I’m gonna go and take a chance I’m gonna learn to ballet dance Learn a little something ‘bout romance I’m gonna go and take a chance I'm -- Adeline looked around slightly. She sometimes started by feeding everyone, but it was late enough that they probably already got one feeding today and could wait until they were done cleaning to eat, so she nodded and tried to control herself a little better. She was letting her nerves get the best of her. Usually she was okay around strangers, just a little nervous, but when you mixed work—or volunteering?—with strangers then she got a little extra flustered. What if Adelaide had ended up being like a four year veteran that thought she was doing everything wrong? Of course that wasn’t the case, so she needed to calm down. “The dogs are probably the messiest, but they’re also the easiest to clean because of their enclosures,” she mused out loud, indicating to the back room with a sweeping gesture. The animals were usually kept in separate rooms to keep stress down. She smiled and added, “I start with them first usually because they’re better with conversations, anyway.” But then she grimaced slightly. “I mean, because they actually listen—the cats don’t really care that much and mostly ignore you. . . ,” she elaborated. She wasn’t used to talking to people outside of the school—what if Adelaide was just some normal person who didn’t want to be around a mutant? She kept her head down and headed for the utility closet. “The stuff’s in here. . . ,” she murmured, pulling open the door and getting an armful of “green” disinfectants and two rope mops. Adelaide probably already knew where the cleaning stuff was. “There’s not much of a procedure. We just move the animals to an empty cage while we get theirs spiffied up, then rinse and repeat.”

adelaide • 292 • Blegh • THANKS ♥

[Adelaide McLisk]

Add nodded, her eyes flicking for a moment toward the cages as if she could see the dogs from here. She could hear them to some degree, barking a little. Add didn't realize it, but they probably recognized Adeline's smell and knew that the one human that they could actually talk with was close. So, being dogs, they grew quite excited, some outright trembling with pure joy at the thought of being able to once again speak with the two-legged beings they loved ever so much.

When Adeline spoke about holding conversations with the animals, however, Adelaide looked back her, her lips pursing. The other girl spoke less like someone who enjoyed unloading her troubles onto creatures that couldn't speak back and more like someone who could hold a legitimate conversation with beasts. This was Kalispell, and there were people with much stranger abilities.

Fortunately, Add didn't possess much in the way of manners. So for her, it was no issue to just blurt out the question that Adeline worried so much about: "When you say that you speak with the animals, do you mean that you possess a unique ability which allows you to communicate with animals as we are communicating, or are you talking about the fact that animals possess personalities and tendencies to respond to human sounds?" She asked while she was being led to the various cleaning chemicals. And, as though this were a perfectly normal question and not something that would be considered strange by the vast majority of the populace, Add ducked down and grabbed cleaning supplies.

"If so, I would suggest that it would make our task much easier. I would imagine that you could directly ask the animals what they want us to do," Add paused for a moment, adjusting her grip on some of the green chemicals so that she could more easily slide them into her apron. She patted herself down, making sure everything was in place. "If not, then I suppose we shall have to make due." She paused, blinked, and looked at Adeline, again obviously waiting for the other girl to make the first move. It was her area, after all; Add was more or less a visitor.

[Adeline Pierce]

a failure is fleeting I’m gonna walk a hundred miles I’m gonna whistle all the while If that’s what it takes to make me smile I’m gonna walk a hundred miles I’m gonna run right up this hill Summer sky or winter chill If I gotta take a break I will But I’m gonna run right up this hill I wanna hold the whole wide world Right here in my open hands Maybe I’m just a little girl A little girl with great big plans I’m gonna go and take a chance I’m gonna learn to ballet dance Learn a little something ‘bout romance I’m gonna go and take a chance I'm -- It seemed as though she had been found out. Adeline grimaced slightly, then turned sheepish. “Um—well,” she stammered, unsure if she should continue. She wasn’t really sure why she was dancing around the subject—Kalispell seemed quite aware of what was going on in the little school for “gifted” people. Adelaide certainly didn’t seem that freaked out about it. In fact, she was talking about it like an asset. She supposed she could have had a worse power than just talking to animals, so why hide her special little gift from anyone? Was she really that nervous about being accepted? “You caught me,” she sighed, fidgeting slightly where she stood—normally she would have been messing with her hair, but her hands were kind of full with cleaning stuff. “Both are actually true—but I can literally talk to them. It’s uh, one of the reasons I don’t really need a list of things to do. Most of the animals aren’t really that picky, but the cats certainly have a specific way they like things done.” She shifted her contents in her arms and smiled at the sound of the dogs. “Pats! Pats pats! Need pats! Pats are my favorite!” one of the dogs was howling. “They’re pretty excited to see us, we better not keep them waiting,” she said with a little bit more pep to her voice. Seeing the animals and even just thinking about spending time with them always made her feel a lot better. She carried her little armful of cleaners out and headed toward the dog kennels. Once the door was open, it erupted into a cacophony of howls and barks of excitement. “Settle down!” she said warmly, in English. They knew what those sounds meant, at least. Some of them settled, but others kept up their barking. She turned to Adelaide and rolled her eyes. “They’re so excitable. Act like they’ve never seen people before.” “Calm down! We can’t play now, but if you guys settle down we can get cleaning done faster and then later we might be able to take you guys outside if we’re not busy,” she told the dogs, only slightly aware that she probably looked and sounded ridiculous to Adelaide. Most of the time she didn’t even realize she was barking, but she knew, in the back of her mind, that it was exactly what she was doing. But it was what she did—she could just hope no one laughed at her. Though Adelaide didn’t really seem like the laughing kind. Eventually, the dogs quieted to just a few little whines.

adelaide • 434 • sorry it's kinda long • THANKS ♥

[Adelaide McLisk]

Add stared, or, well, continued to stare as Adeline worked through her issue. She could talk to animals, which seemed logical; Add had pretty well just concluded that. It sounded quite helpful and useful given their current situation, as Adeline herself explained. "I would imagine that they would abuse the situation quite readily," said Add, turning to look at the animals. She couldn't understand them, and she couldn't help but wonder if that was a good thing in this particular situation.

"Even I can tell that they are most excited," said Add, "so I hope that your ability is of more use than that," and if Add noticed anything blunt or perhaps a little emotionless about that, she didn't seem to notice. She simply fell in behind Adeline, carefully looking at the various animals. They certainly seemed a lot more excited to see Adeline than Add. "Perhaps they remember you as the person that can actually communicate with them," said Add.

The mathematician paused as the other volunteer moved forward. Strange noises came out of Adeline, and Add could only assume that she was communicating with the dogs. They certainly seemed to be reacting to the noises. It sort of sounded like barking, though perhaps a tad bit more sophisticated.

"I wonder if someone could learn to communicate with animals by listening to you," said Add. "Though I suppose it is too nuanced." she looked at the animals. "What you said seems to have quieted them though; was it perhaps something to do with threatening them and proclaiming yourself as the alpha? I would imagine you are quite imposing to them," again, said with a completely straight face and blank expression.

[Adeline Pierce]

a failure is fleeting I’m gonna walk a hundred miles I’m gonna whistle all the while If that’s what it takes to make me smile I’m gonna walk a hundred miles I’m gonna run right up this hill Summer sky or winter chill If I gotta take a break I will But I’m gonna run right up this hill I wanna hold the whole wide world Right here in my open hands Maybe I’m just a little girl A little girl with great big plans I’m gonna go and take a chance I’m gonna learn to ballet dance Learn a little something ‘bout romance I’m gonna go and take a chance I'm -- Adeline smiled a little sheepishly and ran her fingers through her hair. “Of course—they can tell me when they’re not feeling well, if they’re hurt, so on and so forth. I can usually convince them to do whatever so long as they’re agreeable. I’m really good at helping people decide who to adopt, too,” she explained on the way back. “It’s a little more difficult, though with the locals because. . . I can’t really broadcast it. I can’t talk back to the animals as readily, but I can at least listen to them, see which ones likes the people and who’s personality works better,” she explained, scrambling with a spray bottle she almost dropped. The more time Adeline spent with Adelaide the more she realized she was pretty—strange. A little weird and hard to talk to, but Adeline was a pretty tolerant person. She was going to try her hardest to get along with her. She knew about mutants—maybe she was one? Maybe it was her power that did this to her. Who knew. Maybe she was just kind of socially awkward. That happened. It could be why she was hanging out with some animals. Alpha? That was a strange conclusion to come to. “Uh—no not really,” she chuckled slightly. It was a meaningless gesture, she just turned to laughter when she didn’t know what other kind of reaction to make. “I just told them that we wouldn’t be able to work as fast if they didn’t quiet down, and that the faster we got done the more time we’d have to take them outside and stuff.” She leaned the mop against a wall and set the cleaning supplied on a counter. “I could probably teach people the simple stuff, like this sound mean this, the posture means that, but. . . it’s a lot more complicated than that. I’m not sure I could actually teach someone to have the same communication skills I do. I would probably try to if someone asked but who knows how well it would work.” After looking around for a second, Adeline stood up and stretched. “Well, we have quite a few empty runs. Did you wanna just each of us start at one end and work our way to the middle or something?” she asked.

adelaide • 387 • sorry for the wait • THANKS ♥

[Adelaide McLisk]

It did strike Add as an incredibly useful ability given Adeline's place of employment. She listened most attentively as the other girl explained how she could often help people find the right animal for their needs. The mathematician nodded in agreement at several points. "That is most admirable, and while you may not be able to reveal your ability to the general public, you could most certainly convince someone that you are an expert. Veterinary medicine would be most excellent for you, though I imagine there are several career paths."

And Add knew that your ability did not necessary define your career path. That had been part of her problem when she'd gone to college. The math genius thing led everyone to think that she should be an engineer or professional mathematician. Add, however, was much more interested in people, in figuring them out and discovering how they functioned and operated. Maybe that had been part of the reason why she'd gone and did what she'd done, though that did seem a stretch, even to Add.

"Ah, you appealed to their logic then," she said, looking at the animals. "I would not have expected animals to be very logical creatures," though she guessed that it might be some kind of survival technique. Add was also disappointed to learn that she probably couldn't learn how to communicate with the animals as Adeline did. The gesture thing though, she would study that and see if there was something there she could replicate.

"That is a most excellent plan of action," Add agreed, nodding to the other girl. "However, I still believe that I should assist you on at least the first couple, so that I can achieve a solid understanding of what is needed and then clean the others by myself. I therefore await your signal to begin," and Add dug about in her apron, producing cleaning supplies and turning to stoically face Adeline, ready to begin as soon as she was.

[Adeline Pierce]

a failure is fleeting I’m gonna walk a hundred miles I’m gonna whistle all the while If that’s what it takes to make me smile I’m gonna walk a hundred miles I’m gonna run right up this hill Summer sky or winter chill If I gotta take a break I will But I’m gonna run right up this hill I wanna hold the whole wide world Right here in my open hands Maybe I’m just a little girl A little girl with great big plans I’m gonna go and take a chance I’m gonna learn to ballet dance Learn a little something ‘bout romance I’m gonna go and take a chance I'm -- Talking with the other young lady was becoming easier and easier as the conversations drew on. Adeline figured this was just how Adelaide was, and that she needed to accept her this way. As they connected, Adeline became more at ease with the methodical and robotic woman. “Oh—right! I forgot you wanted me to show you,” she said, lifting a hand. She bent over slightly and pulled open some cupboards under the counter she had set all of the cleaning supplies on and pulled out a bucket. She lifted it up and headed toward a big bath with a hose attached to the faucet. “There’s usually buckets under here, and I usually fill it over here, where we give the dogs baths if they get real dirty.” With a couple turns, she had the water flowing and filled it up with steaming hot water, then poured some of the bleach she’d grabbed into it. “You can use whatever solution you want, but I tend to use three parts bleach to six parts water.” The bucket was heavy was she heaved it over to a dog pen and set it down. “We can do this one first. He’s not as demanding. Are ya, boy? Who’s a good boy?” she cooed, turning toward the German Shepherd mix sitting attentively at the front of the cage. When addressed, even in English, he got to his paws and started to wiggle happily, whining quietly. Adeline giggled and opened up the cage. “Go ahead and throw him in one of the empty cages. His name’s Brownie—he was a kid’s birthday present but then, well, the novelty wore off when he got big.” She sighed and shook her head. It could have been avoided if someone had asked them if they wanted a large breed or a small breed. “It’s no lie there are a ton of different paths I could take—and I definitely would want to help animals. I just don’t know what I’d prefer to do—save their lives as a vet, train them ten times faster, or make sure animals are getting the right home the first time,” she muttered as she stepped inside the now-empty cage, leaving Adelaide to get Brownie settled into his temporary kennel. Adeline grabbed up the food and water dishes in the kennel and brought them out toward the big bath. “We can clean the dishes in here, but I like to do the kennel first so it can dry while we do the dishes,” she explained off-hand. “It’s amazing how logical animals really are,” she said, grabbing up the mop she had forgotten against the wall. She needed some conversation material while cleaning, so she’d refrained from answering her questions until they got started. “Certain species have different kinds of logic, or really simple logic, but it can be appealed to if you know the right way to do it.” Instead of carrying the bleach water bucket inside the kennel, she left it just outside and dipped the heavy mop into the water, making sure it got soaked before she wrung it out by hand—she wished they had a more up to date mop, but the cement flooring was hard on sponge mops. “It’s pretty simple—most of the cleaning is mopping, but I also wipe down the parts of the fence they can reach because some of the dogs chew on the chain link,” she explained, starting to scrub the floor.

adelaide • 579 • i'm going to try to post more often, sorry • THANKS ♥

[Adelaide McLisk]

[It's fine; I'm sorry I let it sit for as long as I did: lots of business  to take care of over this weekend]

Add nodded, accepting Adeline's sort of apology for what it was. Losing track of such details struck Add as being perfectly reasonable, even if she herself rarely experienced that. They had been discussing many different things, and Add imagined that hearing all the barking and calling of the various animals certainly wasn't helping matters. Even she might experience some confusion if she had various intelligent beings seeking her attentions.

she helped Adeline fill the bucket and prepare the mixture as best she could, making note of the precise mixture (and Add certainly was going to make sure that the mixture was quite precise when she got around to doing this on her own). Add then moved to help move the bucket as best she could, though she didn't want to rush the other any more than was absolutely necessary. A dog appeared and Add reluctantly took it. She strongly resembled one of those people who had just been handed a baby yet were operating under the belief that dropping the infant might cause it to self-destruct. Add took the animal to another cage, set him down gently as she figured that the throwing was less literal, and, when he looked up at her with wide eyes, she gave him a few reassuring pats.

"That is most unfortunate. It is a shame that we do not hold people more accountable when they take in the lives of another living creature," intoned Add, perhaps a little more harshly than was strictly necessary. She paused, considered her tone, and figured that it was probably just the circumstances, or perhaps some strange emotional attachment to the animals that really couldn't be properly explained. She scratched Brownie behind the ears and then moved over to rejoin Adeline.

The paths discussion was intimately familiar to Add; she nodded. "I experienced the same issue, believing I should use my gift to enter mathematics, however I found it unappealing," she wasn't entirely sure why though. It probably had something to do with it not being challenging enough. "But there is still time to determine which path is the most correct for each of us," she concluded, nodding confidently. So many options made so much sense.

Add then moved to clean the dishes as suggested, grabbing them and preparing them. While she moved, she listened to Adeline's explanation, nodding. It was nice to know that the animals had a logic of their own. Add had always suspected that was fairly common among the various species, but hearing it from someone that knew was reassuring. She might have suggested it, but she was busy making sure she didn't breathe in too much bleach. "Yes, we would not want the dogs to chew on something that would cause them ill," she agreed, looking around the kennel. It was a moderately nice one, as far as they went. The shelter tried to be kind to the creatures it took in, which definitely meant something. "Are the animals happy here? As much as could be?' she wondered aloud, pausing for a moment to study.