Cherry Blossom Snow

Experiments

In her dimly lit bedroom, eight year-old Leona Vasquez opened her large brown eyes while her cat-like ears, protruding through the messy brown hair on her head, twitched with discomfort. She sat up, wiping away the mucus dripping from her feline nose. She yawned, her mouth lined with sharp, pointed teeth. Planting her furry paws on the floor, she stood up, using her tail to maintain balance in her drowsy state. Leona had tawny skin and an overall mostly human appearance. She walked to her father's bedroom and woke him.

Her father, a fifty-two year-old human by the name of Leopold, was of similar skin tone, and what remained of the hair on his balding head was black, as was his mustache.

"¿Qué hora es?" Leopold inquired, his voice groggy.

"It's three o'clock," Leona replied with youthful innocence.

"I have to get up to go to work in two hours. Why did you wake me?" Leopold questioned, the concern of an exhausted parent clear in his voice.

"I had a scary dream," Leona confessed, her eyes searching for reassurance in her father's gaze.

"¿Eso es todo?"

"I just wanted to know you were still alive and well. También, I'm thirsty."

"Then have some water and go back to sleep," Leopold advised, his tone filled with both love and practicality.

Leona got a glass of water to drink. She then went back to her bedroom and fell asleep. She woke up and returned to Leopold's room an hour later and woke him up.

"I wet the bed," Leona confessed, her voice tinged with embarrassment.

Leopold sighed with understanding.

"Sorry," Leona murmured, her ears drooping in shame. "Can I sleep in your bed?"

"No," Leopold replied, trying to be firm.

"¿Por favor?"

"Está bien," Leopold relented.

Leona got into the bed, curled up, and fell asleep. Leopold went back to sleep soon after. An hour later, he woke up and got out of bed, waking Leona.

"Where are you going?" Leona mumbled sleepily, her eyes half-closed.

"I have to get ready to go to work," said Leopold.

"Can I come with you?"

"No."

"¿Por favor?"

"Está bien," he relented once more.

Leopold prepared himself to go to work. He showered, dressed in a suit, and packed his suitcase. Meanwhile, Leona fell asleep again. Leopold carried her with him, also bringing along Armistice, a tiny albino human/rabbit hybrid he created as a pet for her. One of Leopold's in-home servants, a middle-aged blond woman named Jennifer Levin, flew them by helicopter to Tasmanian Genetic Research Company Complex 25.

The complex was surrounded by a high-voltage electric fence with gun turrets and watch towers spaced at regular intervals. After landing in the courtyard, Leopold carried Leona and Armistice through a security checkpoint and into the building. The ceiling, walls, and floors were all just plain white. There were no windows and no decorations of any kind. The air was cool and dry. Leopold passed the receptionist at the front desk, down a hallway, to the employee lounge. The room was not particularly extravagant, but it was reasonably pleasant, with a sofa, a television, a coffee machine, a refrigerator, some vending machines, and a table with some magazines and board games.

(121068738826) U-A101509146298Y-E, otherwise known as Akira, was put in charge of babysitting Leona. In addition to enhanced sight, scent, hearing, and mental capabilities, he was able to walk as a biped and his hands were capable of performing intricate tasks, but he was otherwise anatomically similar to an ordinary ferret, with fur striped in an alternating pattern of light and dark brown. Akira had been entrusted with supervising Leona on multiple occasions in the past, so he knew her well. He did not care much for her, but he was quite fond of Armistice, and they were always delighted to be reunited.