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There was one of the people who she'd had pointed out that he was a human, mate to one of the female wolves. In rat form, Affinity crept into one of the pockets on his cargo pants to hide. A human was a lot less scary, he was at least not going to get all big and hairy and slavering on her. She did not like the idea of being in a were-creature's pocket when they shifted -- she was not completely sure where the clothing went if it was dedicated, and if it was not, she might be shredded along with it.
She was quite cozy for a walk, but when they started to climb into a VW Beetle, the pocket was more confining than comfortable. She sneaked out and crawled under the front seat, settling into the hollow in the middle of the tiny back seat of Leigh's Bug.
Leigh was driving, and the car swerved suddenly as Leigh apparently caught sight of Affinity's lavender eyes behind her. Affinity waved a paw as the Garou pulled her car cautiously over to the side of the road. Sinfi looked at the rat on the back seat, pulling his head back abruptly. "What have we here? Are you the dormouse, escaped from your teapot?"
Affinity answered them, though she did not think they could understand anything she was able to say in rat form. As their blank expressions seemed to agree with this assumption of hers, she switched abruptly into girl-shape, startling the other two yet again.
"A bit larger than a mouse, but smaller than a breadbox. Definitely animal," Sinfi told Leigh. Then, correcting himself as he scooted back a bit further and Affinity shifted forms, "Quite a bit bigger than a breadbox, now."
They seemed startled, but easily accomodating. Strange things must happen to them often, Affinity thought. They introduced themselves. Leigh talked on the phone to the man they were going to meet - she confused Affinity a bit by saying she "used the term man very loosely," and then calling him "Mister Eight-Legs himself." Affinity thought perhaps it was a were-spider. She had heard stories of such, though she had not known if they were true. After all, there were tales of a lot of things that weren't true.
The place they were going turned out to be a museum in Forth Worth. Affinity was pleased. She liked looking at the things in museums. She had to answer the call of nature, as well. The museum had sculptures around it grouped into types, she noted briefly as she hurried to the entrance, the other two following, with Sinfi's arm protectively around Leigh's waist. As soon as they reached the lobby, Affinity located a restroom and went straight inside.
Once she returned, she followed Sinfi and Leigh around the first floor and up to the second like a tagalong younger sister. Apparently Leigh could not find the person she had come to meet. At length, Sinfi said, "I suppose we could borrow a megaphone and call." Leigh was peeking up the stairs to the third floor, roped off and marked "Under Renovation."
"Or we could tour around and look at the pictures and stuff," Affinity suggested.
"Feel free to peruse," Sinfi told her. "I have a feeling we'll be here a while." Affinity nodded to him and started off toward the Egyptian displays. Sinfi called after her, "Should the situation change, be ready for a hasty departure." He and Leigh vanished up the roped-off stairs.
As Affinity examined the artifacts and artworks, a smallish man with white hair and dark glasses approached her. He had a white tipped cane in one hand and a notebook in the other. He stopped at the exhibit that was currently undergoing the Ratkin's scrutiny, and asked, "See something that captures your fancy, miss?"
Affinity pointed to a carving portraying birds and other animals. "That is really good. Really old, too." She nodded toward a scarab set. "The bug carvings are really cool, too."
The man with white hair handed her the notepad and a piece of charcoal. "Would you care to sketch it for me?"
Affinity looked at the man skeptically. "Why? You doing some kind of experiment on kids here? You shouldn't be doing that without a note from my mommy, you know."
The older man chuckled. "Not at all, my dear. You see, I'm blind." He removed his glasses and showed Affinity the milky irises in his face. "The charcoal has an agent in it, which, when scratched across this paper, causes it to raise ever so slightly." He demonstrated with a deft motion. "If you would sketch this object, I would be able to look at it by touch."
"Oh," Affinity said grudgingly. "Sorry. Okay, I'll try." She took the charcoal and paper.
The man smiled. "Splendid! What a delightful child you are." He tapped his way a short ways away and waited as Affinity drew a cartoony picture of the carving.
She brought him the finished picture. It was probably her imagination, but the weird chemicals in the paper and charcoal that made it raise up were making her fingers tingle uncomfortably. She wanted to wash her hands. What if it gave her cancer? What if it poisoned her or kept her from changing shape or something? Who knew what nasty stuff was in those chemicals. As she handed the drawing over, she said, "I should go wash that chemical stuff off my hands now, before I catch something from it. Enjoy the picture." She started to sidle away back to the lobby restroom.
The man ran his finger over the drawing with a look of concentration. "Oh, that's very nice. You've done a wonderful job. Couldn't I persuade you to draw something else, perchance? Not to worry, " he reassured her as he rubbed the charcoal against his own hands, "it's perfectly safe, you see."
"What do I get out of the deal, Mister?" Affinity asked, not for a second believing it was perfectly safe. But probably not that fast acting or he wouldn't have put it on his own hands, she thought, she would have time to wash it off after drawing another picture.
"A promising career as an aspiring artist? Oh no, the youth today, that will never do. Something more tangible, certainly. How would you like my glasses? I have a spare pair, and these are quite nice." He held them out to her with a look of searching expectation on his face.
Affinity looked at the glasses cautiously. "Those are blind man glasses. I'm not blind."
The man frowned and dug into his pocket for a moment, pulling out a plastic bead bracelet which seemed to dance in the light from the windows. "This? Does this interest you?"
The Ratkin girl nodded, coming closer to look at the bracelet critically. "Oh, that's pretty. Okay." She took the bracelet. "One more picture, trade for the bracelet, then I'll go wash my hands."
"Wonderful. Pick something pretty to sketch." He settled down to wait.
Affinity slid the bracelet onto her wrist and looked around for a new subject. She chose the carving of the head of an egyptian princess wearing a fancy geometric headdress. She put in more effort than she had on the first one, since this one was paid for; she felt the drawing go more smoothly than the first had, sliding more easily out of the charcoal onto the paper. For a moment she wondered why it was so easy now, but the thought didn't linger.
She held up the drawing and smiled. Her sketch was as beautiful as the carving. She handed it to the man with a flourish. "Here you go. This one came out pretty good. I'm gonna go wash my hands now and then come back, okay? In case you need help finding your way and stuff."
"Never fear," he told her, "I haunt these halls often." He traced the lines of the picture with his fingers. "Oh yes, this is quite nice. With a little more practice, I'll bet you could outdo one of these old fogies any day." He chuckled and turned, tapping his way away, slowly.
Affinity grinned, flattered, as she raced to the restroom to wash up. She scrubbed all remnants of the charcoal off her hands before returning to the exhibit. By that time, the old man was gone. She figured he had done that on purpose, so she didn't go looking for him or anything. She looked at more artwork, toying with her new bracelet, until Sinfi came back to find her and they both went to find Leigh again.