When Worlds Collude

by
Amanda Reaves and N.C. Weber

    "Hit me!"

    Red looked over at her sister Golden.  "Do you have any idea how often I've wanted you to say that to me?"

    Golden giggled.  "Com'on, Red.  Gimme a card."

    "Okay, okay," said Red as she pulled a card from the deck and passed it to Golden.

    The two sisters were playing a game of blackjack in the park not far from where they lived.  It was a bright, sunny day, yet the temperature was quite comfortable.  There was no wind to speak of, which made playing cards outside ideal.  It had been a rather dull week.  Nothing big had happened at the EndZone Sports Bar where Red worked.  Apparently, her reputation for being a very effective bouncer had gotten around to all the troublemakers.

    Golden, as it turned out, took advantage of her winning people skills and got a job as a soda jerk in a 1950s themed ice cream parlor.  Red thought the job was exploitative, but didn't complain to Golden since she was doing her best to help pay the rent.

    "Hit me again," said Golden.

    "You sure you know what you're doing, Sunshine?" asked Red.

    Golden looked up and smiled brightly at her sister.  "Trust me."

    Red blinked.  If she didn't know any better she would have sworn that there was a sinister glint in Golden's eye.  Nah, she thought to herself, impossible.

    Red dealt Golden another card from the deck.  "I stand," said Golden.  She laid out her cards.

    Red leaned over in disbelief.  "What the...," she sputtered.  "How the hell did you manage a Five Card Charlie?"

    Golden shrugged.  "Just lucky, I guess."

    Red eyed her sister.  "You haven't learned how to count cards behind my back, have you?"

    "Is that like remembering what cards have been played already?" asked Golden innocently.

    Red threw down her hand.  "Alright, who corrupted my innocent little sister."  Despite their being identical in age, Red always referred to Golden as her little sister.  Mostly due to Golden's habit of following Red around like a puppy.  "I think I'd better quit while I'm behind."

    Red scooped up all the cards, gave them a quick shuffle and pocketed them.  "Hey, you hungry?"

    Golden nodded her head enthusiastically.  "I could go for a hot dog."

    "Well, since I lost, I'll spring for lunch," said Red hurriedly.

    "Nuh-uh," chided Golden while wagging a finger.  "You have to do dishes tonight.  Lunch is on me."

    Red snapped her fingers.  "Dang."

    Golden made her way over to a hot dog stand at the edge of the park.  She ordered two hot dogs, a chili dog with cheese for herself, and one with the works for Red.  Golden also purchased two bags of potato chips and two cans of soda.  Red watched as Golden carefully made her way to the picnic table carrying a full load.  At one point, Golden tripped on a small stone and lost her balance.  As she tried to right herself, Red noticed that the food was serenely floating in front of Golden while her arms flailed about in order to regain her equilibrium.

    "Oh ho!" shouted Red.  "That, my dear, is cheating."

    "Hey, you don't see me complaining when you light your cigarettes with your thumb," said Golden.  "Besides, what good is having special abilities if you can't put them to good use?"

    "Good point," agreed Red.

    The two settled down at the table and hungrily ate their lunch.  While Golden ate slowly, savoring her food, Red scarfed her meal in a few quick bites followed by chugging her soft drink.  Red then let out a tremendous belch that echoed across the park.  Golden giggled.  "Ah," sighed Red, "life is good.  I think I'll take a nap."  She glanced at Golden.  "Don't let any weirdoes try to kidnap me."

    Golden giggled once more.  "Okie doke."

    Red leaned back on the table bench and closed her eyes.  To pass the time, Golden pulled out a book from a tote bag she had brought along and began to read quietly.

    Meanwhile…

    "Hey?! Where did the rain go?"  She looked at herself.  "You were right, Xuri.  I dried out during the trip."  She looked back at him as he stepped out of the trees.  "And I'm not mangy!"

    At hearing this outcry, Golden looked up from her book and noticed the two strange looking creatures standing not far from the picnic table.

    "Say, Red?" inquired Golden.

    A groan was heard from the opposite side of the table.  "What is it, Smiley?  I'm tryin' to sleep!"

    "Do you know of any furcons going on in town?"

    "A what?"

    "A furry convention," explained Golden.  "It's where people who are fans of anthropomorphic characters gather to celebrate with contests, art galleries and panels."

    Red sat up and looked at Golden.  "I do not want to know how you know all this," she said.  "Why, pray tell, are you asking anyway?"

    Golden pointed in the direction of the strangers.  Red turned around to get a good look.

    "What the hell?" started Red.  "Is the circus in town or something?  That's just plain weird.  They don't even look real."

    "Maybe they're lost," said Golden.  "I'll go find out."  She put a bookmark on the page where she had paused in her reading and put the book back into her tote bag.

    "You be careful," said Red as she watched her sister approach the strangers.  "They look like a couple o' freaks to me."

    Golden put on her best smile and walked up to Legna and Xurian.  "Hi there!" she beamed. "You guys need help?"

    Xurian chuckled and tapped her on the shoulder.  "You know...that's-a not a polite-a way to greet-a someone."

    Golden blinked at such a strange question.  She had been entranced by the movement of Legna's tails, wondering how she got them to move of their own accord.  She hadn't seen any wires.  "I don't have a tail," she stated.  "So, are you guys here for a convention?"  She peered more closely at Legna and Xurian.  "Wow, those are some really impressive looking prosthetics.  It must have been hard getting all that fur on your faces like that. You really must have spent a lot of money to have those made for you.  Or did you make them yourselves?"

    Suddenly, Golden seemed to snap out of a daydream.  "Oh!  I'm sorry.  How rude of me."  She giggled self-consciously and extended a hand.  "I'm Golden Glover.  What are your names?"

    Golden giggled.  "Oh, that's my sister Red.  She's harmless.  Well...most of the time anyway.  So, are you guys, like, mutants from out of town or something?"

    "Heh...where are-a we...anyway?" he asked to steer the conversation away from his goof-up.

    "Oh, this is Washington," said Golden.  "The most important city in the world."  She thought for a moment.  "You know, we should maybe go inside.  If you two are really mutants, then the government won't like that.  They're kind of afraid of people who aren't normal human beings."

    "Red's a pussycat," said Golden.  "She'll warm up to you.  You'll see."

    Golden led Legna and Xurian over to the picnic table.

    "Goldie, what are you doing," said Red incredulously.  "These aren't stray kittens, you know."

    Red shook her head and sighed.  "One of these days, you're going to get us in a world of trouble.  Alright, alright, they can come home with us...for now.  At least until we can figure out what to do with 'em."  She leaned over an peered at Legna.  "And the female critter is kinda cute."

    Legna smiled and then poked her tongue out at Xuri.  He poked his back and was about to say something when Golden conspiratorially poked Xurian in the ribs with her elbow.  "See?  What'd I tell you?  A big pussycat."

    The foursome took an indirect route back to Red and Golden's apartment using low traffic streets.  Even so, they could feel the conspicuous stares on the backs of their necks.  Even with the hasty detour, it was only minutes before they reached their destination.  Red used her key to access the security lock and ushered everyone inside.  Fortunately, the apartment was on the first floor.  As Red opened the apartment door wide she announced, "Welcome to the Glover Kennel.  Barking, howling and biting permissible."

    After stepping inside, Red froze.  She slowly turned back toward her impromptu guests.  "Sorry, poor choice of words."

    Golden giggled.  "She always says that when showing new friends the apartment."

    "Mmmhmmm...," Xurian said narrowing his eyes a bit.

    "You and Golden look so much alike...," she said before looking around the apartment again.

    The room's central living space was small and modestly furnished.  These were people on a tight budget.  On the coffee table were two recently burned candles, and in between them, a layout of tarot cards had been carefully placed.  Some of the cards hadn't yet been turned over.  A dinette set and a kitchenette were sectioned off on the far end.  An open hallway led to other rooms toward the back of the apartment.

    "Yeah," said Red casually.  "It's one of those fact of life things.  I have enough siblings for every day of the week, and one for Sunday best."

    "We're like octuplets," said Golden.

    "We may look alike, but believe me, we are vastly different people," added Red.

    Legna giggled, "Wow that's a lot...the most we have are four, and trust me," she gave a side glance at Xurian, "they are very different...one for a facet of life...from creation...to death."

    "So, allow me to show my hospitality," announced Red.  "Would you guys like a brewski?"

    Golden turned toward her sister.  "How do you know they even drink beer?" she asked.

    "Never met an intelligent species that didn't," said Red.

    "Red!  The only intelligent species you've ever met are humans like us," laughed Golden.

    "Then you know I'm not lying," said Red as she triumphantly pulled two bottles of draft beer from the refrigerator.  She offered them to her guests.

    Legna bit her lip and nudged Xurian whispering, "You drink it."

    Xuri gave a low growl.  He then looked curiously at the container as Legna walked away.  "What-a is-a that?"

    "This, this my friend is an ancient beverage made from the fermentation of barley and hops," said Red holding the bottle up reverently.   "Purified, pasteurized and chilled to perfection at approximately forty degrees Fahrenheit.  In short, this is the nectar of the gods."  She took a bottle opener out of the flatware drawer and popped the cap.  Then, she put the frosted bottled in Xurian's hand.  His body heat cause a wisp of condensation to pour out of the bottle's mouth.  "Drink up."

    Since Legna didn't seem interested, Red decided to help herself to the second bottled.  After popping the cap, she took a hefty swig of the malted beverage.

    Legna went and sat in front of the tarot cards.  "These are pretty...what are they for?"  Carefully she studied their formation.  "To tell the future of some sort?"

    Golden walked over to where Legna was sitting.  "Not exactly," she said tentatively.  "They sort of give you advice based on your future, but they can't really predict your future.  You see, as you take action to improve things, your future actually begins to change.  I'm still a novice at this, but a friend is teaching me how to read the cards.  You can take a closer look, if you like.  I was only practicing the layout."

    "It's okay," said Golden with a giggle.  She stretched out her hand and immediately the cards lifted off of the floor and neatly stacked themselves.  Then, the deck shuffled itself and finally rested back upon the coffee table.  Golden looked at Legna with a satisfied grin.

    Legna watched Golden as she stacked the cards and put them away.  "Hmm, in all of Ney'Vin's studies, he never said that humans had powers...just weird noses and no tails."  She scratched her head.  "I wonder why he left that out..."  Her tails wrapped around her legs.  "I guess we don't seem odd to you after all..."

    "Well," said Golden thoughtfully, "you two are definitely unique, but you're not the first furry mutants we've seen."

    Red drained the last of her beer and let out a hearty belch.  Golden looked at her sister in mock indignation.  Even so, it was with an effort not to burst out laughing.  "Red!  We have guests!  Where are your manners?"

    "To quote a certain ogre, 'Better out than in,'" said Red.  "But this guy obviously has never drunk in his life if he thinks beer is strong."  She shook her head sadly.  "So, where are you guys from anyway?  Laurel?  Reston?  Let me know if I'm getting warm."

    Red's jaw worked up and down a few times before she finally uttered, "Well I'll be dipped.  You guys really are from another planet!"  Red's mind reeled for a moment, and she had to grab hold of the kitchenette counter.  "Wow!  This is like...big!  Man, the girls are never gonna believe this.  Imagine, extraterrestrials in our living room!"

    Golden had never seen Red react this way.  She was amazed to see little wisps of smoke coming off of Red's shoulders.  "Red?  Are you okay?  You're not upset are you?"

    "Upset?" said Red bewildered, apparently oblivious to the smoke she was generating.  "Why would I be upset?  Do you have any idea what this means?"  At this point, Red threw out her arms to try to express the enormity of the situation.  That was when her shirt ignited.  "Oh, shit!" she exclaimed.

    Quickly, Golden pushed past Red into the kitchenette, grabbed the fire extinguisher that hung on the wall by the stove and doused Red in it's spray.

    "Gaaaah!" screamed Red.  "Damn, that's cold!"

    With the fire out, the rest of Red's top and her bra disintegrated.  Red smiled at Golden.  "Thanks, kiddo."  Suddenly, she notice that she was topless.  "Geep!" she squeaked as she grabbed a chopping board to hide her bare breasts.  Now, it was her cheeks that were burning.  She looked at Xurian and Legna. "Uhm....'scuse me," she quipped as she dashed down the corridor to her bedroom.

    Legna glared at Xurian, "Ask smarty over there..."

    Xurian poked his tongue out at her, then looked at Red.  "I am an Illura with the abilities of teleportation.  I have the ability to teleport through almost anything, from dreams to shadows to molecules."

    Legna folded her arms, "They aren't supposed to travel by molecules because since everything is made from them, its hard to tell where you will come out. Xurian convinced me he knew what he was doing, and I wanted to get out of a storm...and so...I went, and the teleportation brought us here."

    Red chuckled.  "Leave it to a guy to get a girl in even more trouble than she already is.  I guess that kind of thing is universal no matter what galaxy you're from."

    "Is there anything we can do to help?" asked Golden.

     Legna looked at Golden.  "I'll need a door..."

    "You can-a get-a that tomorrow," said Xurian.  "We need-a rest.  Why do-a you need-a it anyway?"

    "To summon a Vinjai...one of light...to head our way home," she said firmly.

    "That-a won't-a work..."

    "Well then shut up."  She poked her tongue out at Xurian.

    "Hey, ain't no thang," said Red.  "We've got mirrors here.  How big are we talking?  We've got hand mirrors, wall mirrors, free standing mirrors.  If you need something the size and shape of a door, a free standing mirror would fit, but if size doesn't matter, a hand mirror would be easier to carry around."

    "It'd look pretty strange carrying a big free standing mirror to the park," giggled Golden.

    "It's late," said Red.  "I think they should spend the night here, and in the morning we can take 'em back to the park.  Hopefully, they can find their way back home."

    Legna glared at Xurian, "Yeah hopefully..."

    Xurian threw up his hands.  "What?" he asked.

    Legna rolled her eyes.

    "Well, let's sort out the sleeping arrangements," said Red hoping to prevent another argument.  "Xuri can sleep in my room, and me and Legna can share the sofa bed.  Oh!"  She paused amidst a sudden revelation.  "Do you guys have bathrooms where you come from?"

    Legna giggled at the question.  "Yesh...we are house trained."  She winked.  "And a small mirror will work fine..."

    Golden and Red set about the task of unfolding the sofa bed.  Golden pulled out a fresh blanket and extra pillows from the hall closet.  She placed the pillows at the head of the sofa bed and spread the blanket over the mattress.  Meantime, Red showed Legna and Xurian where the bathroom was, and she showed Xurian where he would be sleeping for the night.

    "Well, if that's everything, I'm gonna shower and get the smell of burnt cotton and polyester off of me," said Red.  She ducked quickly into her room and grabbed some sleeping clothes.  Then, she headed into the bathroom, shutting the door behind her.

    Xurian waited until Red was in the bathroom and looked at Legna.  "Have-a fun," he said with a snicker as he turned to go to the place set for him.  Legna reached out and grabbed him by the back of his shirt and glared.

    "And what is that supposed to mean?" she hissed.

    "You get-a to sleep with-a Red.  Make-a sure she doesn't catch-a you on fire...," he snickered again.

    "You are so mean," she said with a sharp hit to his shoulder.

    Xuri quickly gripped his shoulder with a glare.  "And-a you are-a violent."  Then, he walked to his sleeping quarters.

    Golden simpered at Legna's expression of gratitude.  "Think nothing of it.  I'm always willing to help out someone in need.  You really should thank Red.  She can be...difficult to get close to sometimes, but I think she's really taken to you guys."

    After a short while.  Red emerged from the bathroom in an extra large night shirt with a picture of a cherubic looking devil on the front.  "Ah," she said while stretching her arms, "much better."

    By now Xurian was sound asleep. All the teleporting he had done obviously had worn him out.

    "Well, I think I shall turn in," said Golden.  "Looks like we're going to have a big day tomorrow.  G'night!"

    Golden went down the hall to her room, and Red proceeded to sit on the edge of the sofa bed.  She looked up at Legna.  "Say, do you mind if I ask you a question?"

    Legna sat on the other side of the bed and proceeded to braid her jet black strands into a ponytail. She tilted her head slightly to glance at Red as her paws made their way down her hair. "Sure, you may ask me anything you like."  She gave a smile.

    Red hesitated a moment.  She seemed to be studying the far wall.  Then, she turned to Legna and asked, "What's it like?  You know, where you're from?"  She took a deep breath.  "I've always wondered about what it would be like to visit another world.  I wonder just how different everything would be."  Suddenly, she seemed to snap out a daydream.  "Listen to me yammerin' away.  We need sleep!"

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