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Here are my characters.

Name: Molly
Age: 3
Gender: female
Appearance: http://browse.deviantart.com/photography/?q=ragdoll%20cat&order=9&offset=72#/d34tekb
Personality: Molly is a sweet-heart and kind to everybody she meets. It seems she does not have a mean bone in her body. She also is doesn't seem to be afraid of anything at all. She can be recklessly brave and naively courageous, but she doesn't seem the harm in it.
History: Molly was bought by the family from a local Ragdoll Cat breeder when she was 10 months old, a little later than normal adoptions.
Other: none

Name: Gage
Age: 3
Gender: male
Appearance: http://browse.deviantart.com/photography/?q=tabby&order=9&offset=24#/dsiac8
Personality: Gage isn't the friendliest of cats especaily to dogs. He is wary of new aquaintances and can seem rather mean and judging. However, he is a loyal friend and protector to those who have gained his trust, which at this point is only the other cats he lives with.
History: Gage was a stray at since the day he was born until he found a home on the Callister's porch when he was two. He eventually found a home in their house.
Other: none

Name: Lucy
Age: 11
Gender: female
Appearance: http://browse.deviantart.com/photography/?q=shetland%20sheepdog&order=9&offset=48#/d32a2bd
Personality: Lucy is an elderly, kind soul who is very good natured to all animals. She is the ulimate mother figure and will listen to anybodies problems and give them her best advice. Although she isn't fond of cats, she does give them a chance.
History: Lucy was adopted by Duke when she was just a puppy and has been his loyal companion ever since.
Other: none

Name: Duke Lanely
Age: 27
Gender: male
Appearance: http://antikersg-p-photo.deviantart.com/gallery/#/d4htgnp
Personality: Duke has a laid back, go with the flow attitude even though he keeps up a rather active scheduale. He works two jobs and volunteers at a number of places and still has time to jog outside and relax in front of the television. He has a good heart though he doesn't always know how to do the right thing.
History: After Duke graduated collage, he soon moved into his own place. To keep up with the bills, he works two jobs.
Other: none

Name: Sally Callister
Age: 49
Gender: female
Appearance: http://browse.deviantart.com/photography/?q=mother&order=9&offset=0#/d21hkxv
Personality: Sally is a lover of animals and nature and the outdoors. But she is also a realist and a pessimist which is why she is the first one to give up on finding the cats.
History: Nothing important.
Other: none

Mine~

Name: Emily Callister
Gender: Girl
Species: Human
Age: Just turned 11
Personality: Emily is headstrong and fiery tempered, but surprisingly patient...under the right circumstances. Though she is naturally impulsive and curious, she tends to hang back before making a decision, long ago discovering that she doesn't really want to go by her heart alone -strong and somewhat polarized emotions tend to wind her up in deep trouble. Still, she has a sensitive heart and refuses to stand by idle when she see's that there's something she can accomplish with her own two hands.
Personal History: Emily looks forward to summer vacation more than most, perhaps because her birthday is always after the last week of school, or perhaps because of the escape from her classmates. Being an only child, she quickly learned how to become independent and invent games for herself while her parents were at work. Unfortunately, once she started school, this made it harder for her to fit in, along with her personality making her a "prime target" for bullies. She mostly sticks to herself and plays hard outside, and rarely feels lonely so long as her cat buddies are at her side.
Appearance: http://sergey1984.deviantart.com/art/Holding-and-Being-Held-60102920?q=boost%3Apopular%20in%3Aphotography%2Fpeople%2Fchildren%20girl%20child&qo=117

Name: Gizmo
Gender: Tom
Species: Feline
Age: 15
Personality: Gizmo is pretty laid back, prefering to sleep in a sun-beam in his old age, though he used to be a formidible hunter, so it takes alot to irritate him. However, he has earned battle scars over the years by protecting his human-family and the other cats from stray dogs, snakes, or invading ferals.
Personal History: Gizmo was adopted from the shelter by the Callisters when he was a young kitten shortly after their marriage. Because of that, he has a high tolerance level for young children and is extremely protective of his humans, expecially Emily, though he's more Peter's cat than anyone elses.
Appearance: http://kiyoshi-ryuu.deviantart.com/art/Ancient-Eyes-III-93180152?q=boost%3Apopular%20in%3Aphotography%2Fnature%2Fdomestic%20ancient%20cat&qo=22

Name: Midnight
Gender: Female
Species: Feline
Age: 3
Personality: Midnight is initially skittish, but very sweet once she warms up. However, she becomes very jealous of other cats her humans may have associated with while away and can stay moody for days.
Personal History: Midnight spent a good portion of her kitten-hood as a stray before she was taken in by a family. However, they soon tired of her once she matured -expecially when they discovered she "gave" them a litter of kittens. The family dumped her and her kits onto the animal shelter doorstep as soon as the kits were weaned. From there, all of the cats went off to new homes -all except her and her runt. Eventually, the Callisters stopped by and -after a good deal of begging and promises made by Emily- adopted the mama cat and her remaining 2 month old kitten.
Appearance: http://ibjennyjenny.deviantart.com/art/Mama-Kitty-131478260?q=boost%3Apopular%20in%3Aphotography%2Fnature%2Fdomestic%20mama%20cat&qo=3

Name: Munchkin
Nicknames: Mini, Munki
Gender: Female
Species: Feline
Age: 4 months
Personality: Very sweet and curious, but tends to have a nose for trouble (it's a miracle if she can go a day without breaking something)
Personal History: Munchkin doesn't remember much before her month at the pound. When the Callisters came to adopt her and her mother, she immediately formed a special bond with Emily.
Appearance: http://aconitum-napellus.deviantart.com/art/The-Small-Adventures-of-Poirot-130929590?q=boost%3Apopular%20in%3Aphotography%2Fnature%2Fdomestic%20small%20tabby%20kitten&qo=40

Name: Peter Callister
Gender: Man
Species: Human
Age: 48
Personality: Peter is a hard worker, and sometimes has a short fuse when under alot of stress. Still, he loves his family and generally has a positive outlook on life. He is somewhat indifferent towards animals themselves, but he puts up with them for his wife's and daughter's sakes.
Personal History: Not really anything noteworthy, other than he's successful at his job.
Appearance: http://browse.deviantart.com/photography/people/portraits/?q=father&order=9&offset=240#/d1b07i8

Ooc:// Sorry it took me so long to get this started. Lots of holiday shopping had to be done! Anways, we can start just after the two planes land.

Bic:// The large cat carriers rustled about on the cart as the five cats we pushed towards the pick up end of the airport. They were loaded off the cart and set among the other barking and mewing carriers. Molly sighed as their crate finally stopped moving. "You know, I was expecting Florida to feel much warmer than this," she commented, trying to see through the holes of the crate to find Emily coming towards them.

"Its just the air conditioning," Gage grumbled from his position curled up in one corner of the carrier. "Don't get all flustered over nothing."



Sally exited the plane, taking in a deep breath of hot southern air. "Isn't this wonderful?" she asked her husband and daughter as they made their way into the airport to pick up their luggage and the cats.

"The air smells different," commented Gizmo, tucking his paws underneath him and wrapping his tail around his nose tightly to protect his old bones against the draft. "I reckon it maybe 'cause of the different state, but it's hard to believe it'd change that much..."

Munchkin's stomach burgled noisily. "I'm hungry! When's Emily coming? I thought Florida would smell like fish! Gage, you promised!" she mewed in protest. Like Molly, she began rubbing her small nose against the air holes in hopes of a small peep of any change, but all she could see was the top of a very large cage. "Uhg! What's that smell? It's yucky!"

"Hush little one," her mother mewed softly. "It's a dog. Don't provoke it."

"Well, I for one could use a stretch," yawned Gizmo lazily. "My old bones were never meant for this."

***
Emily rubbed her eyes sleepily. "I guess," she mumbled, her voice slightly hoarse from her nap. "When do we get our cats back?"

"Soon," replied Peter Callister, glancing at his wristwatch as he trailed after his wife and daughter. "Better hurry; I arranged for a cab to pick us up and it'll be here in less than an hour."

"You're old bones were't meant for much according to your complaining," Gage muttered under his breath. He finally stretched out his front legs and stood up, padding into the center of the carrier beside Midnight. "The little one does have a point, though," he said loudly this time, meaning for everyone to hear. "I've smelt the beach and this is definately not the scent of it."

Molly backed away from the door at the this, concern in her voice when she quietly asked, "You don't think we ended up in the wrong place, do you?" She didn't know much about the ways of human travel, so she had no idea how such a mistake could be made. An unsettling feeling lodged itself in her stomach at this thought, though, and she couldn't shake it. Instead, she closed her eyes and prayed that Emily would come find them soon.

"Don't be ridiculous," Gage scoffed at Molly suggested that somehow they weren't in Florida. Despite it being his suspicions that probably put the idea into her head, he returned to his corner and curled up again.

"The humans will be here any moment," he muttered as he laid his head on his paws, glancing out of the bars of the door for any sight of their young owner or her parents.



Sally nodded at her husband as she lead them into the airport. "We're picking them up as soon as we get our luggage," she said as she walked towards the pile of suitcases that was building higher and higher as they walked. "On second thought, why don't you go see them now," she added, staring done the pile for sight of their own bags. "We'll be over there in just a second." She waved her hand towards a much smaller wing of the airport where only a few barking and mewing crate were lined up.

Gizmo purred in amusement at Gage's muttered comment. After the younger cat settled back into a rear corner beside him, he rasped softly, "That's true, which is probably why I have lived so long!"

"I'm sure it will be fine," Midnight murmured, stretching her limbs before settling down beside the other female and grooming Molly's ears comfortingly. "Emily will come soon and then we can get out of this cramped cage and explore the new place."

Munki soon became bored with trying to spot Emily through the air shafts. She watched the rag doll's fluffy tail twitch enticingly, took a step towards it, then stopped guiltily; teasing Molly now would only upset her further and end with her ears being boxed by one of the other adults. With a huff, she irritably settled at the now vacant spot by the door, determined to catch the first glimpse of their owners and little Emily. She stared at her own tail twitch...temptingly...

***
"Really? I may?" Emily exclaimed, all grogginess gone in an instant. Without waiting for another confirmation, she happily skipped toward the claiming area, giggling to herself every now and then. Florida! No school! Her cat buddies! And her birthday in two days too! As far as her almost-eleven-years-old brain was concerned, it simply couldn't get any better than this. Once she entered through the portal, however, she felt her happiness slowly melt away. She simply couldn't spot them!

She quickly dashed over to the shallow barrier, eyes scanning for a large grey carrier on wheels with a blue stripety ribbon tied around the handle. The simply had to be there somewhere! She began to bounce, balancing herself by throwing her weight into her arms and gripping the barrier's railing, frustrated to be too short to see past the first row -even on her tiptoes!

"Hey kid! Lil' lady! That ain't a toy!" an anxious airport worker exclaimed, grabbing her from underneath her arms and setting her back onto her feet. "Now what were you thinking? I reckon that's one good way for you to hurt yerself."

"Oh, sorry," Emily mumbled sheepishly.

The man turned to walk away.

"But excuse me, sir? Hey sir!" Emily called after him.

"Yeah what?"

"Um, have you seen a large grey carrier?"

"Sure I have, but you'll have to be more specific. What kind of dog was it?"

"Not a dog!" Emily exclaimed, stamping her left foot in frustration. "Five cats! Five cats in a grey carrier with a blue-striped ribbon!"

"Five cats you say," the man chuckled. "Hey Joe! Seen a large grey carrier with five grey cats?" he called to a buddy.

"Can't say that I have!" "Joe" called back. "Why, I can't recall even seeing a carrier with two cats, let alone five!"

Devastated, Emily quickly fled back to her parents, fighting the urge to cry, but her panic continued to rise and the lump in her throat tightened with each footfall. "Mom! Dad! They're not hear! The man says they're not hear!"

Gage opened his mouth to reply some smart comment to Gizmo, but decided against it. Being stuck in this small carrier had all of the cats a bit tense, and Gage didn't want to do anything that would increase the sour mood. He tucked nose under his tailm trying to distact his mind from the worry that was taking over his whole body.

Molly purred quietly as Midnight licked at her ear. "I am looking forward to exploring this new place," Molly admitted, the fear that a huge mistake had been made seeped away as she relaxed. Out of the corner of her eye, Molly noticed Munchkin scrunched up in attack towards her tail. Molly smiled at the kitten, even though she walked away from the temptation to sit by the door again. With a smirk on her face, Molly inched closer to the tabby kitten, reaching with a silent paw until she caugh the tiny tail under her paw.



Sally dropped the leather suitcase as her daughter came running to her, yelling at the same time. Quickly picking it back up, she turned to Emily with a concerned look. "Now, calm down, I'm sure thats not what the man meant," she said soothingly, not believing her daughter for even a second. "Here's your bag. Now, lets go get out cats."

Handing Emily her duffle bag, Sally headed over to the Live Animals section of pick-up. She spotted to men standing near the low barrier that separated the carriers and crate from the rest of the airport, and she walked right up to them even though she seemed to be snickering over their own private joke. They were both young in age, and Sally felt very elderly when she scolded them like their mother. "Are you the two men who told my daughter our cats aren't here?"

The two boys immediately straightened up into the professtionals they were trained to be. "Oh, uh, yes, ma'am," the taller one spoke up, glancing nervously at his friend. "She mentioned a blue carrier with four gray cats inside, but that carrier isn't here."

Sally huffed out a sigh. "Thats because our carrier is gray with a blue ribbon, and it contains five cats," she replied irriatably.

She could pratically see the boy shaking as he said very quietly and slowly, "Well, that carrier isn't here either."

"What?!" Sally exclaimed, pushing back the two attendants to enter the section of carriers herself. She walked up and down the aisles but their carrier was no where to be seen. Her heart was racing as she realized that their cats had not come to Florida with them!

Peter quickly grabbed his wife by the shoulders firmly, but not too rough, and gave her a light squeeze before she could cause anymore damage. "Enough," he said firmly. " We go speak to the big man in charge -see if this is merely a misunderstanding or if there is any information on what to do next. Then, we go to our place and wait," he rationalized, searching Sally's eyes before finally releasing her. "Causing to much of a scene is the last thing we want to do." At this, he inclined his head over to where Emily was fidgeting anxiously.

Emily stared silently at the exchange between the adults with widened eyes of clarity and innocence that only a child can possess, the fingers of one hand fiddling with her bag's zipper, the other moving back and forth between adjusting the weight against her thin shoulder by the strap and wiping excess moisture from her palm. All the while, her teeth worried small bits of skin away from the inside of her lower lip, and occasionally the girl rocked back and forth from her heels and her toes.

***
Munchkin squeaked in surprise as she felt a large paw seize her tiny scrap of a tail, quickly turning to face her assailant and nearly whisking it free in the process. Unfortunately, she felt it snag and felt as if the first joint were nearly ripped from the socket in her rump in the process. Her paws collapsed underneath her, causing her to bump her chin and have her back arch slightly. Munki then tried a different tactic; she flopped over onto her side, white belly fur exposed, and batted at Molly's paw with a sheathed paw.

Midnight watched Molly play with her kit with a sense of warmth and pride. She then sat up and walked over towards the two toms, not really wanting to get caught in the crossfire. "She really is good," the queen murmured.

"What's that?" mewed Gizmo.

"Molly," Midnight replied. "I don't know of any other cat who'd be willing to play with a kitten at Molly's age."

"I agree, but Molly has never been the typical cat either," the old Tom purred in amusement.

Sally nodded to her husband, glancing at Emily and realizing she probably could have handled the news a little better. "Your right," she saud to Peter quickly, walking back out of the mess of crates and going back to the two boys in charge of the room. "Is there someone we can speak to about a possible mix-up?" she asked them, her voice completely calm now.



Molly giggled at the little one's attempt at escape. She finally lifted her paw when Munchkin started to bat at it. Not letting the kitten get away so easily, though, Molly nudged her gently on the side with just enough force to roll Munchkin over on to her belly.

"You've got that right," Gage mewed in response to Gizmo's comment. "Then again, I suppose thats why we keep her around." He smiled as he watched Molly with the kitten.

Ooc:// Sorry for the crappy post. I have writer's block.

Ooc: 'Tis alright. Hopefully this one will be enough for the next one.

Bic:
Joe pointed mutely down the corridor as his buddy began to hastingly ramble directions. "Uh, d-down the hall, to the right, then left and you should be to management where someone sh-should be able to assist you," he stammered. "Er, excuse us," he hastily apologised again before turning his attention back to his job in fervor.

Peter Callister sighed; he suddenly got the strong impression that searching for a sign might prove to be more helpful. "Come on, we'd better get going," he mumbled to his wife. He then turned his attention briefly to the two flustered attendents. "Thank you for your time; I'm certain we can take it from here."

He then led his wife and daughter the way directed, but soon found the posted signs to be more informative. After what took longer than what he'd have liked, the family eventually found the management offices. "Do you think you can handle this? I need to call our driver real quick and make sure we still have a ride." Peter then pulled his cellphone from his right waist pocket, switched the settings off of airplane mode, and dialed the provided number. "This is Peter Callister. Something's come up and we may be longer than predicted."

***

Munchkin suddenly felt the pressure release from her tail, but before she could fully escape, she felt Molly's muzzle roll her onto her tummy again. The kitten then quickly used her hind legs and seemingly boundless reserves of energy to launch her onto the ragdoll's back, her first few attempts ending with her slipping down the side due to Molly's slippery coat, but her third attempt was met with success. Munki then used Molly's collar to help her climb to the top of the older cat's head and proceeded to playfully nibble the ragdoll's ears.

"Well, having Molly around certainly makes things easier on me!" Midnight chirped.

Sally followed her husband to the management office, nodding to him when he asked if she could take care of things. She set her suitcase at a bench just outside the office and said to Emily, "Why don't you sit out here while I take care of things? This shouldn't take long." She gave her daughter her most convincing smile, her heat being eaten away by worry on the inside. She patted Emily's should before opening the glass doors.

Inside, there were four separate desks, two of which were already dealing with issues and one of which empty. Sally made her way over to a lady with graying hair clasp loosely at the back of her neck. She looked friendly, so Sally didn't hesistate at all when she sad, "Excuse me? I think there has been some sort of mistake with the Live Cargo portal."

The lady, whose name tag read Jean, glanced up from her typing and nodded at Sally. "And what is the problem exactly?" she asked in a professionally practiced tone. She had a kind, concerned smile, though, that comforted Sally a bit. Perhaps Jean would really help as much as she could.

"We brought five cats with us who were in a gray carrier with a blue ribbon. When we went to retreive them, they weren't at the pick-up. Perhaps they are somewhere else in the airport?" Sally suggested, praying that the solution would be as easy as heading to a secrete upstairs room and finding their cats waiting for them.

Jean paused as if processing this before she typed into her computer again with determination. "Where is it you left from?" she asked without looking away from the screen.

"The US Airways Airport in Virginia," Sally replied, still not sitting down on the chair opposite the desk. Her fingers picked at her nails as she could only watch Jean typing away and clicking on links Sally couldn't see. She glanced behind her shoulder to see Emily sitting on the bench. She gave her a quick smile just as Jean let out a quiet, "Oh dear."

Sally whipped around, seeming as if she was ready to jump of the desk. She gripped the back of the chair she refused to sit in. "What is it?" she asked in panic.

With reluctance, Jean stared at Sally for a good two minutes before she finally said as calmly as she could, "It seems there was a mix-up at your Virgina airport concerning the cat carrier. It was tagged incorrectly and boarded on a different flight. The carrier never made it on to your flight here. It is currently in North Dakota."



Molly giggled as Munchkin tried to climb up her back, not resisting at all and actually lowering herself a bit to make it easier on the kitten. She finally made it up to the top of Molly's head, and the ragdoll continued to laugh at the young cat. Molly left Munki stay up there for a bit, letting her enjoy her small victory. After a few minutes, Molly shook her head just hard enough to knock the kit off balance.

"She's made it easier on all of us," Gage added with a smirk. "No offence, Midnight, but that little one of yours can be quite energetic and ignorant of other's irritation."

Emily slowly trailed after her father, feeling very confused and emotionally drained to the point of near exhaustion. She quickly collapsed onto a bench and allowed her duffle bag to fall by her feet with a soft thud. She watched with surprising apathy as her father continued to pace up and down a short segment of the hall that ran alongside the management offices.

Peter ended the call shortly before his wife rejoined them. "Our taxi is currently stuck in traffic," Peter sighed. "The driver gave an estimate of at least an extra hour. Do you have any news about our cats?"

***

Munchkin tumbled from atop of Molly's head, sliding down the side of the older cat's face, and landing in a heap beside the rag doll's left foreleg. The kitten, now tired of the game, curled up next to her hero and wrapped her tiny tail around her body.

"She misses her siblings," Midnight commented wistfully, suddenly jabbed by a pang of longing. "I doubt that she even remembers them. They were all so young..."

Gizmo shifted awkwardly. Motherhood was something he could never understand.

OOC: ...meh. Mild writer's block. xD

Sally's face still wore the unbelieving surprise that it had when Jean told her what had happened to the cats. Her facial expression didn't move as she robotically thanked Jean for her help and the manager assured her that she would contact the airport in North Dakota and find out what they could do. Sally made her way back to her husband and daughter, vaguely listening to Peter until he asked about the cats. Without emotion, she explained the situations in short, clipped sentences. "Virginia Airport made a mistake. The tags got mixed up. The cats aren't here. There went to North Dakota."

Her thoughts were jumbled and confused, and Sally couldn't find it in herself to feel sad or mad or anything. Just shocked.



Molly smiled down warmly at the little kitten, settling down on her belly and laying beside the curled Munchkin. She lifted her front leg over Munki so that the kitten lay between Molly's two front legs. Then, Molly laid her head down on her leg and closed her eyes, tired from their long trip.

"Well, if she misses them, she has to have some memory of them," Gage stated logically, not the best at dealing with these sort of emotions either.

OOC: sorry...I've been really busy with classes and stuff

Bic:
Peter Callister rubbed his face slowly between his calloused hands. "Wonderful," he groaned. "Did that woman give an estimate of how long it would take to get them back here?"

Emily's head quickly jerked up, sending her already tousled light brown hair tumbling into her eyes every which way. She hastily tucked the larger strands behind her ears. "What? North Dakota? But that's like...a billion miles away! We-we have to find them!" the almost eleven year old exclaimed.

"Calm down, Emmy. We'll find them," Peter sighed, pulling his daughter into an embrace with a quick squeeze. "It just may take a bit of time." He quickly shot a glance at his wife over their child's back, silently willing Sally to pick up on the same note.

***

"I'm afraid it's not that simple," Midnight explained sadly. "She misses them by realizing that she has all of this energy built up, but no one to play with. It's like if a kit is separated from its mother too early -it may not have strong memories of her, but it still looks for a substitute."

Munchkin's stomach grumbled again, this time more audibly. The kit shifted uncomfortably on the plastic bottom of the cage as she tried to resettle against Molly's warm side and ignore her impatient belly.

Midnight cast a worried glance at the two toms. "How much longer until the Callisters fetch us? Our trip ended ages ago...we couldn't have been forgotten, could we?"

Gizmo shifted from his sitting position and rubbed his nose against one of the air shafts. Already, the scent of the other pets who were on their same flight were beginning to grow stale and fade away.