Lost and Found (Claire)

[GRIFFIN CARTWRIGHT]

Love wasn't a word Griffin used often. It wasn't a word he took lightly. When he loved something, it was because there were no other words that described how much he felt towards that item, or in some cases person. He loved his parents. They gave him life and they were respectable people. They were hard working individuals, and people he could look up at. Outstanding citizens.

The museum was a place Griffin loved, and in turn his job was something he loved as well. Every morning when he rose he went to the bathroom, washed his face, looked in the mirror and smiled knowing he was going to get to go to the museum, one of his favorite places in the world. It certainly helped that his newest friend Claire worked alongside him. When Claire was scheduled the same days as him his time there at the museum always seemed just that much more enjoyable. They would see each other at lunch time, work on some of the displays together, and occasionally have free time to chat, but not often. They did different things in the museum, but their paths crossed often enough that Griffin felt more content with her having the same shifts. She was someone to laugh with, share knowledge with and simply talk with. She could hold her own in a conversation when she wasn't tripping over her tongue, or her feet, and had knowledgeable and often humorous things to add to their conversations.

Today was one of those days that Claire would be working with him. He'd seen her that morning when he clocked in, silently admiring her ability to walk in the crazy, yet beautiful high heels she wore, though she didn't always walk with grace. There was a part of Griffin that felt guilty for finding humor in her stumbles, but never in her pain. He still cringed thinking about the time she tripped in her heels and went head first into a glass display case. Her forehead was slightly bruised for nearly a week. Griffin thought of that and grinned as he worked on the display he was instructed to take down, since a new exhibit would be opening soon.

As he took down the racks, a small cry reached his ears. He stopped what he was doing and turned towards the sound. It was close, but not so close that he could make out where it was coming from exactly. "Hello?"He called out gently, but there was no reply. The soft sniffling and whimpering continued. He stepped out of the display and made his way towards the edge of the room, following the sound. He had to walk slowly and listen carefully in order to hear exactly where it was coming from.

Finally he was at a dead end. The man pursed his lips and looked around, spotting the culprit. A girl with long dark hair was sitting pressed close to a statue of a mummy, her knees pressed tight to her chest, her face buried deep into her knees. Griffins heart lurched slightly for the child. She was obviously upset and scared and by the looks of it lost since he didn't see a parent anywhere nearby. In fact, it was only him and the girl in that particular area of the museum.

Griffin took a cautious step towards the girl, and then another and another until he was close to her. "Hi."He called out gently, kneeling down so he could be eye level to her. The child looked up at him and he could see the damp redness of her eyes. It was apparent she was crying. "I'm lost." She whispered in a small, scared voice. "Lost?" He asked, trying to sound reassuring. "You're never lost in a museum." He said gently, but the girl gave him a look that said he was crazy. "Yes I am! I'm lost and they're going to leave without me!" "Who is?" "My teacher! They're going to leave me in the museum forever!" Griffin chuckled. As a boy he wish he could have been left in the museum forever. "When I was your age I wished I could live here." He explained to the girl as he stood up. "You know this place is pretty special." The girl sniffled and looked quizzically at Griffin." "It is?" "mhm." He nodded. "Come on, I'll show you the front and we'll find your class." The girl got up and started moving with Griffin as they headed out of the area they were in.

"Why is it special?" She asked, watching Griffin as they walked together. "Well," He started as they moved easily side by side, "Because at the museum you get to actually see all the things you learn about. Nowhere else can you see the woolly mammoth who was extinct before our great-great-great-great-great-great-grandparents were born. And have you been to the butterfly exhibit?" The girl shook her head, eyes full of wonder. "You haven't? There are reall butterflies in there. They'll land on your head. Not just any butterflies, either. Butterflies you would never ever see in Scriptor Bay out in the parks." "Really?" Her voice became excited and Griffin nodded with another "mhm!" "Wooow..."

Griffin continued to tell the girl about more of the exciting exhibits when they got to the front desk where Claire was sitting. "Hey." He called out in high spirits when he got close enough. "This is Isabelle. She got separated from her class. You wouldn't happen to know what exhibit they're in, would you?" He asked, having no idea that the little girls class had left 5 minutes before they showed up.

[CLAIRE MCLEESTER]

Why was it so busy on a weekday afternoon?! They didn't have any shows or special galleries opening up! There was no after hours cocktail party for the mayor or any civil rights movement going on. So why was Claire so busy and tied up in a bunch of paperwork? That's right.

School field trip day.

Claire had somehow managed to overbook the museum for two schools to come in on the same day for their annual field trips. She had sworn she'd made them both a month apart but then when she had to move a few events around she'd accidentally placed them both on the same day. At the same time. It had been a nightmare. They had still been a little short on staff and were currently down to only one tour guide. So in order to not get nine History classes from two different schools mixed up Claire played tour guide for half the day.

Everything went smooth. Except for a few minor problems.

Claire had managed to not only get a few names mispronounced in the Native American exhibit, but she'd also nearly knocked the statue of a great Indian Chief over when she slipped on a Little Hostess cupcake wrapper that she still swears a little redheaded boy dropped there intentionally. And although Claire could walk through the entire museum blindfolded and be able to point out every exhibit and read off every date, when put on the spot she got stage fright and stuttered the Gettysburg Address.

But that was all done and over with now. Devon had finished up his tour a good half hour ago and Claire just finished saying her sweet goodbyes to the second school just a few minutes ago. Now she was able to get some real work done. After she got the gum off of the bottom of her brand new, gorgeous neon orange high heels. "You are a beautiful shoe." She sighed, admiring the upside down piece of shoe art as she stabbed at the gum with the letter opener.

It seemed as if her quiet time was going to come to an end when she saw Griffin heading over. "Hey yourself tiger!" She said in a bright, upbeat tone, waving the shoe at him and then looking at it in her hand. She quickly set down the letter opener and her shoe. Except she missed the counter and they both fell to the floor underneath the desk. She scooted her chair out and climbed underneath to grab them. When she backed out of the small crawl space she went to get up but didn't back out enough and hit her head on the underside of the counter. "Auow! Geez.." She winced and reached a hand to the back of her head to massage it but forgot her shoe was in her hand and banged the heel in the same spot she'd just hit on the counter. "...whatiswrongwith--shoe!" She held it out in front of her and acted like she was strangling it before she set it down on the counter and looked over at Griffin and the little girl, wanting to give them her undivided attention.

"This is Isabelle. She got separated from her class. You wouldn't happen to know what exhibit they're in, would you?"

"Well hi there Isabelle!" Claire said and smiled at the girl but then the rest of what Griffin decided to suddenly register in her head. As if she wasn't having enough of a hard time now she was a little slow at processing information?! "Come again?" She asked and looked at her coworker, her jaw tightening and her mouth open. "You mean the schools that just left.. the.. " ohgodisthiskidlost?! Thinkofsomething! "...Griffin? Can I-- can I talk to you for a minute? Over.. by the giant.. emblem..thing..y..?" She pointed towards the giant city seal that was on the wall while multitasking and trying to put on her shoe and straighten up the desk all at the same time. Awkwardly, of course.

[GRIFFIN CARTWRIGHT]

Griffins brows knitted together when Claire hit her head on the desk, and then with her shoe and then proceeded to do what appeared to be strangling the inanimate object. He put an arm protectively out in front of the little girl he was with as if to protect her from his psychotic, yet very lovable coworker, a hint of a smile playing at the left corner of his mouth. Her antics were endearing. Isabelle wrinkled her nose watching the crazy lady but then grinned when she started talking, lifting a hand to wave when Claire greeted her. Isabelle liked her. She was funny!

"You mean the schools that just left.. the.. " The grin quickly faded off Isabelle's face. "Did...they leave?" She asked looking up at the tall gentleman that had escorted her to the front. Griffin was skeptical but smiled down at the girl, unsure if it were true or not. "No." He said with a slight chuckle, waving his hand dismissively. You think they would leave without you? Psh." The reassuring smile was back and the girl followed his lead, grinning back. No, her class wouldn't leave without her..

"...Griffin? Can I-- can I talk to you for a minute? Over.. by the giant.. emblem..thing..y..?" Green eyes were back on his counterpart and he gave a nod. "Sure thing." He said with an upbeat tone before looking back at his new little friend. "I'll be right back. Hang tight, alright?" Griffin said to the girl who gave a big nod and went to the desk, grabbing one of their booklets on the upcoming exhibits.

Griffin felt nervous by what Claire had said and his heart tightened as he moved to the emblem. "Please tell me they didn't really leave without her." He said softly, looking at Claire before his gaze averted back to the child. Poor thing.. she only wanted to see the dinosaur exhibit again! How could they leave a child behind? Hadn't somebody counted? "Which school is she from?" He asked, looking back to Claire. "Let's call them and get them back here!"

[CLAIRE MCLEESTER]

"We had two schools here at the same time. Normally we don't do that but someone double booked. We don't have to point fingers or name names or anything..." Claire began to fidget, her hands going from slapping her sides to crossing and then up into her hair which was already a mess. "I don't know which one to call!" She just hoped that the little girl couldn't hear them talking. She tried to keep her voice down but it was a museum and sound traveled fast.

She was going to lose it if she didn't calm down. She stood up straight and shut her eyes for a second and then looked over at the girl as if she were studying her. "She's probably from my group. I took one of the schools and was their guide and I was a little preoccupied." Claire started to feel guilty and knew that they hadn't left that long ago. "Maybe we can call the school and they can get a hold of the bus and get them to turn around?" If that little redheaded demon hadn't been throwing things at her she would have been paying closer attention to the others. But then again, what about the teachers?

"Don't they do head counts before they get on buses?"

[GRIFFIN CARTWRIGHT]

He knew he should be serious at the moment but Griffin was too busy watching Claire wriggle with anxiety. His head calmly turned to the side as he watched her move her hands all over, finally sliding a hand to his mouth to cover it as a smile spread over his lips. He couldn't help it. She was adorable and charming and, well, a little amusing to watch.

"Someone booked two schools at the same time?" He asked with mock shock once he'd controlled his little grin. It wasn't typically like him to encourage his friends to sweat a little, but he couldn't help it with Claire. They had become friendly and her little outbursts began to amuse him, and he often found himself encouraging them a little.

He felt a little guilty once he said it, seeing her twitchiness continued. He reached a hand out and put it on her shoulder, cupping it gently and giving a little squeeze. "Calm down." He coaxed, a warm smile welcoming her from his face. "No sense getting upset over this. Mistakes happen, and this is easily rectified. Why don't we go over to your desk and we'll each call one of the schools and ask if they left a girl behind named Isabelle. She doesn't even have to know. We could take her over to the butterfly exhibit while we wait for them to return." It seemed like the perfect plan. Plus he would get to see the butterfly exhibit, something he truly enjoyed!

[CLAIRE MCLEESTER]

Claire was about to start stomping her heels on the ground in her nervousness. Sure, it was obvious that Claire had made the mistake and it was more than likely her fault that the girl got left behind, but she still wasn't going to come out and say it! It was obvious enough without her words to back it up.

"Are you sure she came with one of the schools? She didn't just.. morph here from somewhere?" That was the dumbest thing she'd ever said. Okay, maybe not the dumbest but it was ranking pretty high up there! "Genius!" She said out loud referring to herself and shaking her head as she turned on her heels so she could head back over towards the desk.

How did she double book again? She'd been so busy lately, and as much as she liked having him around she was starting to think helping Griffin get a job there was a mistake. In fact, she could even blame this on HIM! If he hadn't been walking by with those gorgeous eyes and those pants. Those pants! He'd been pushing a trolley by when she'd been on the phone rescheduling one of the schools. If he hadn't distracted her with his... gorgeousness she wouldn't have double booked! So actually, she could debate about whose fault it truly was. But that would also require her to admit that she had been watching him. Of COURSE she had been watching him! All the girls were watching him! Sometimes she wanted to just... blind Priscilla, another employee there. She only worked part time but she did say some rather obscene things she'd like to do to Griffin when she was alone with Claire. If Claire were her sister, she would've clawed Priscilla's eyes out eons ago.

"I've got the number here somewhere." Claire plopped herself down into the rolling chair and spun around to face the desk. She had a large desk calendar that she used for scheduling, along with a spiral planner which was portable. Of course, she kept the numbers in her portable planner so not just anyone could find their clients information. Anyone could look over the desk at the large calendar and see when people were coming in, but they wouldn't know specifics like phone numbers or for those who offered up their private galleries to the museum, their account numbers. That was something Claire was careful about keeping confidential and neat. In alphabetical order. She flipped open her planner and sifted through the different tabs until she came to the contacts. She set it down on the desk and pointed at two of the schools with her index and middle fingers as a way to bookmark them. She had all the schools listed in the area, the college included.

"These are the two that came today." Claire's eyes moved to Isabelle but she slowly turned in the chair so the rest of her was facing Griffin. When she peeled her eyes off of the girl they were bright and big, a giant, nervous smile on her face. "Hey I've got an idea. How about you take her now and I'll meet up with you? Yeah? That sound like an awesome plan?" She figured Isabelle would be curious and listen in to what they were doing if she was still there.

[GRIFFIN CARTWRIGHT]

Griffin was completely ignorant to the hungry eyes of his female colleagues. He had always just assumed everyone there was extraordinarily kind to him, and in general. The man slid an elbow on the desk and looked between Claire and Isabelle who were both respectively looking at their own papers. That kind, amused look slid over his face as his green eyes went from one to the other.

"Hey I've got an idea. How about you take her now and I'll meet up with you? Yeah? That sound like an awesome plan?" Both Griffin and the girl looked at Claire. Griffin gulped but then nodded.

"That's an awesome idea. What do you say, Isabelle? Why don't you and I go check out the butterflies while Claire finds out where your class wandered off to." He stood upright and folded his arms neatly across his chest. The girl looked between the two adults and then nodded. "Alright." "Great! We'll see you in a bit, Claire." He said with a little wink before putting a hand on Isabelle's shoulder and began escorting her towards the butterfly room. "Oh, hang on one second." He said, turning around and doing a sort of jog back to the desk. "Hey.." He said softly into her ear as he leaned down over her shoulder. "Relax, alright? This isn't your fault." He patted her shoulder gently with a chuckle before jogging back to the girl and moving easily down the hall with her.

The two talked, or rather Griffin talked most of the way down there. He went on about the different types of butterflies in the exhibit, what they ate, and why it was so warm in there. He explained she needed to be careful where she walked because sometimes the butterflies landed on the ground and their wings were delicate and they could easily be crushed by careless museum visitors.

The butterfly exhibit was mostly empty when they arrived and Griffin continued his own personal tour in the exhibit. He had spent a great deal f time in that one. Being a creature of flight himself, he truly appreciated and respected the insects and was utterly fascinated by them. He memorized details of every bug in there; where they were from, if they migrated, what they looked like as caterpillars, their diets...everything!

"That one? it's the Scarlet Peacock or Anartia Amathea. It's found all over South America! It eats mostly.." His eyes moved up to the door as he noticed the familiar red hair approaching. "Hang on there, kiddo." Isabelle nodded and kept looking at the Agraulis vanillae lucina that was eating near her. "Hey.." He greeted at the door, hoping to hear some good news.

[CLAIRE MCLEESTER]

As the pair started to walk away Claire took a long, deep breath but when Griffin came back she held it in right when she was about to exhale, her chest sticking out and her cheeks protruded as if she had a mouthful of grapes. Relax, alright? This isn't your fault." She looked up at him with her chipmunk cheeks and nodded her head, her eyes growing big as she gave him a thumbs up. "Mmmhm!" She confirmed and then waved at him as he walked away, waiting until they were gone before she finally let out the giant breath and coughed a little.

She picked up the phone and dialed the number to the first school and waited for someone to answer. It rang close to twelve times before someone finally picked up. "Yes, hello! My name is Claire I'm with the Museum and I was wondering if the bus that came here for the field trip today has arrived back to the school safely or no- actually I can't hold --" Claire shook her head as if the lady on the other end of the line could see her. "No you don't -- see, I have a student here who was separated from the field trip and I -- I can't -- okay I guess I'm on hold."

After being placed on hold four times and three different staff members later, Claire finally got through to find out that she had called the wrong school. "Ye- Yeah-- no thank YOU ma'am for your impeccable customer service. Yeah. Yeah okay. Goodbye." She hung up the phone and put her head in her hands and sighed. That was the meanest, crotchety old lady she'd ever spoken to on the phone. And she had her fair share of talking to mean old women! Maybe it was just her, though. It was getting awfully close to the next moon cycle and her mood did change depending on how full the moon was.

The next number she called it was a little easier to get through to them and after a smooth conversation she was able to arrange for them to have the bus turn around in order to come back and pick up Isabelle. Claire felt good when she hung up the phone for the second time and sat there with a look of accomplishment for a moment before she got up, ready to go find her coworker and the lost little girl.

And of course they were in the butterfly exhibit.

Claire headed towards the exhibit and saw Griffin coming to meet her. But her attention was taken off of him when she spotted a few of the butterflies floating around and just had to follow them around with her eyes. She stopped in front of him and just looked around at them, feeling the desire to chase after them kicking in. But she didn't. She was reminded that there was a reason she was there when Griffin asked her how her conversation with the schools went.

"It's fine. I got a hold of the school and they're calling the teacher on the bus and they're going to have them turn around and come and get Isab-phbleh!" One of the butterflies decided they didn't want Claire to keep talking and flew right onto her lips. "Get-- go --" She started to swat at the air around the butterfly, trying to get it to fly away without actually hitting it. She couldn't hurt a fly, much less a beautiful butterfly. It flew up into her hair and laid there, followed by a couple more. "They're coming back. Really?" She tilted her head to the side and her eyes looked up to just catch a bit of the butterfly's wing since that was all that was in her line of sight. Then she looked back at Griffin. "Of all the exhibits." She muttered and then laughed.

[GRIFFIN CARTWRIGHT]

Griffin breathed a sigh of relief at the news that the girls bus was coming back for her. That was close! "That's good." He said in an upbeat voice as the butterflies began to attack Claire. He couldn't help but smile with amusement as they seemed to flock to her. He'd never seen the insects take to anyone like thatbefore. Not that Griffin spent that much time in the exhibit, but what time he had spent in there, he had never seen the butterflies act that way. "Must be your perfume?" He said in a tone that was almost questioning but then his features softened a little. "Or maybe they can sense how sweet you are." He offered kindly, not realizing how cheesy he was probably being. Griffin didn't understand that very well; cheesiness. He spoke what was in his heart and on his mind, and used honesty all of the time. If something he needed to say was cruel he did his utmost to sugarcoat. It was simply his nature.

"Hey, cool!" Isabelle said, coming over and smiling up at Claire. "How'd you get'm to do that?" She asked looking to Griffin and then back to Claire.

Griffin chuckled and shook his head, then gently shrugged his shoulders. "One of the very many mysteries of Claire. She's apparently a butterfly queen." Griffin winked and folded his arms over his chest. "Neat." Isabelle chuckled before moving back towards one of the bushes of flowers where a lot of the butterflies seemed to be congregated.

Griffin reached up and gently shooed the butterflies from Claire's hair. "Come on, guys. Give the queen a little breathing room." He teased as they began to fly from her head, though many stayed close, hovering around their heads. His head moved to follow them, though he didn't seem them as a play thing like Claire did. Griffin was studying them. "You know, butterflies are interesting." He started, watching the green and yellow butterfly land on top of Claire's head once more. "When they fly their wings move in circles, like the number 8. Or life." He reached his hand out and put his finger in front of the green and yellow bug, letting it hop on. He brought it close to his face to examine it. "Their wings are so delicate, covered in tiny hair like scales. They're not like birds or other flying insects. They sort of...flit. It's almost like they're swimming through the air." He flicked his finger and the butterfly flew off and flitted around before hovering around some exotic pink flowers. Griffins pale eyes followed it for awhile before moving back to Claire. "Did they say how long they would be?"

[CLAIRE MCLEESTER]

"Must be your perfume?"

Not likely.

"Or maybe they can sense how sweet you are."

Cheesiest line. Ever. Except for some strange reason that line didn't seem to be cheapened down when Griffin said it. Maybe it was because Griffin had never said anything mean in the time that Claire knew him, or because it didn't sound like he was flirting, OR it could have been because Claire thought he was the greatest thing since sliced cheese itself that she didn't think it was all that corny. And she even smiled and let out a little nervous chuckle. "Sweet as gravy!" She said trying to be cool but after she said it her smile froze and slowly turned into a frown. Her features scrunched up and she shook her head at herself. Gravy?!

Claire knew she wasn't right in the head and started to laugh again nervously, shifting her weight from one foot to the other the way she normally did while her hands fidgeted. "Not that gravy is sweet or anything. Not that there's anything wrong with gravy either! I like gravy on.. biscuits and gravy? Huh? Yeah? Those are so -- YUM! Am I right? Or with mashed potatoes? That's a GREAT place for gravy! It's just not as sweet as something like... german rock sugar! Have you ever tried some of that? It's pretty good! I like it in my tea... or just kind of eat it by itself.." Shut up, Claire! Shut up shut up shut UP! She scolded herself in her mind and shut her eyes, letting out a long sigh.

Claire did finally shut up long enough to smile at Isabelle like nothing was wrong and waited for her to go off to do her own thing again, observing a bush full of butterflies before she set her focus back on Griffin and tried to think of a calm, intelligent thing to say. But luckily she didn't have to! She just had to listen to him talk about butterflies.

He knew a lot about butterflies. Sort of like how she knew a lot about cats. It came natural for her though. She kind of WAS a big cat. At least when there was a full moon she was. She didn't like to just hang around as a giant feline like her sister did. Her sister! She had to call her... maybe tonight after work? Not like she had any plans or anything.

Claire nodded her head, looking up at the butterflies and off into the distance while she was making plans in her head but still there and listening to Griffin talk. When he asked her what time they could expect the bus to arrive to pick up Isabelle Claire blinked a few times just staring at Griffin. "...eight?" She said after hearing him talking about the butterflies wings and how they flew. Then she shook her head. That wasn't right. "No-- I-- they said they were having the bus turn back around. Should be soon though."

A butterfly flew and landed on Claire's cheek and by pure instinct her hand shot up and slapped her face, nicking the butterfly and sending it spiraling to the ground. Claire's eyes nearly popped out they were open so wide, standing there with her hand still against her cheek in awe at what she just did. Did she just?! "I just killed a butterfly didn't I?!" It sent her into a panic, looking at the ground to see the butterfly, and although it was still moving she was in such shock she didn't see it clearly. "I killed it! I just altered the future! Is it dead?!"

At that moment her cell phone started to ring and she quickly picked it up, to find out it was the school. "Hello? Yes this is she. Yes, she's right here with me I-- ....seriously? Oh you've GOT to be kidding me how-- Okay. Bye." She hung up her cell phone and stared at it and then down at the butterfly that was crawling around slowly on the floor, and then at Griffin. "...the bus blew a tire. They're waiting for another bus to come get the kids on it and bring them home. It's going to take longer. I did this didn't I? It was the butterfly effect!" Claire was completely bewildered the way only Claire could be. She felt like she was going to start hyperventilating. "I need an inhaler. I don't even have one! Since when do I have asthma?!"

[GRIFFIN CARTWRIGHT]

Griffin's eyes widened when she said eight. He wasn't supposed to work that late and he didn't want to leave poor Isabelle there, but was glad when Claire said the bus would be there sooner. That was a relief. What made his eyes widen again, however, was the butterfly being smacked and flitting to the ground like a shot down plane. He felt like he watched the entire thing in slow motion. The poor butterfly flying towards her, landing on her cheek unsuspectingly and WHAM! The hand flying up and swatting it down towards the ground.

"I killed it! I just altered the future! Is it dead?!" What could he even say? He had no idea. He looked at the bug and then at Claire as her phone began to ring. A million things seemed to be happening it once and it confused Griffin as he watched Claire talk on the phone for a second before focusing on the butterfly. He kneeled down and looked at it. It seemed to be alive, if not a little hurt. He examined its wings, noting the little faded spot on the one side. He didn't know if it could be fixed or not, or if it would be doomed to die.

"...the bus blew a tire. They're waiting for another bus to come get the kids on it and bring them home. It's going to take longer. I did this didn't I? It was the butterfly effect!" He wasn't sure if he should feel worse for the bug or the girl. Griffin looked up at Claire with kind, concerned eyes. "I need an inhaler. I don't even have one! Since when do I have asthma?!"

Griffin stood up and put a hand on Claire's chin to catch her gaze, just barely touching her skin. "Stop." He said in a soft voice. "All living things are important, but there's no need to get worked up over this. Butterflies get injured, they die, just like every living creature." He explained softly, knowing many of the specimens had passed during their stay at the museum. That's why there were loads of cocoons and larvae and caterpillars there. He pulled his hand away. "It was an accident and accidents happen. Really, it's alright." He bent down again, this time gingerly picking the bug up and showing it to Claire. "He's hurt, but not dead. I'll bring him to the caretaker. He'll bring this guy in the back so he can be more comfortable, alright?" He attempted an encouraging smile before moving away and bringing the bug over to the guy who was the designated caretaker. When he was finished he went back to Claire.

"Are you alright?" He asked, hoping she had calmed down some. "Maybe we can go see another exhibit. Or if you want I can keep Isabelle here occupied for a bit on my own. I know you're busy.. I don't want you to get in trouble if this is too much trouble.."

[CLAIRE MCLEESTER]

Claire looked like she was going to go into cardiac arrest when Griffin left with the butterfly but then she realized she was getting worked up over nothing! Sure, it was a butterfly but she couldn't possibly have altered fate or the future or whatever because she swatted a butterfly. It wasn't even dead! She was in the green! She ate butterflies before by mistake! Not.. like as her per se, it was her in her animal form. That made it okay, right? Sure, why not.

When Griffin came back over to her she took a few deep breaths and nodded her head. "I... sometimes have little freak outs? Like AAAGHH but it's nothing to be too worried about. I always manage to.. get a grip. It's normal! Ha ha.. ha.." She laughed uncomfortably and put her hands on her hips and leaned forward a bit as if she were out of breath. "It's fine.. its good.. we're good!"

Claire looked up at Griffin again and offered him an awkward, strained smile. "Sorry about that. I got panicky. As long as nothing blows up I'll be okay now. We've got a situation on our hands." She could have left Griffin to take care of it but she'd be lying to herself if she said she didn't want to stay. She liked spending time with him. They were friends! At least she thought so.

"Maybe we should just call her parents? I mean, call the school and have them call her parents to come pick her up? I don't know how long it's going to take them. When I took the school bus it broke down once and we were stuck sitting there FOREEEVERRR waiting for a substitute bus to come. And when it did they sent a short bus and there wasn't enough room so I had to wait for the second one. Lucky me." She slapped her hands against her legs and rolled her eyes at the thought of those days.

"I'm suppose to be getting off early today, but I can stay late and hang around until someone comes to get her? I'm not doing anything.. important. I don't have to go save someone's life or anything. It's cool."

[GRIFFIN CARTWRIGHT]

Griffin felt a little bad for Claire as she continued to talk. He wondered if she would ever calm down, and he was beginning to realize it wasn't just in his presence. He had a funny feeling this is just how she was and he wished desperately he could ease her anxiety. Every time she got worked up he wished he could just pull her into a hug or something equally comforting to get her to just breath, only he knew a girl like Claire would not be calmed by that. In fact he was certain with Claire it would do the exact opposite.

Still he simply let her speak coming to realize it was the best and only real way to let her calm down. She was sort of like a tea kettle. The water would rapidly begin to boil until there was enough steam to shoot out and then slowly, as the heat was turned off, the boiling would stop and eventually she would be calm water again, but it was a matter of letting her get to that point. Griffin watched as Claire began to boil, then blew, then calmed, boiled, blew, and he could see that she was again beginning to settle.

"I'm suppose to be getting off early today, but I can stay late and hang around until someone comes to get her? I'm not doing anything.. important. I don't have to go save someone's life or anything. It's cool." He gave her a kind, gentle look and nodded. "As long as no ones life will be in danger." He agreed softly with a little smile. "Honestly, you can leave when you need to, though. I'm good with kids. We can play it by ear, though." Griffin was usually good with kids. despite his age, he was a gentleman and could relate easily to children. He enjoyed their curious innocence and even more telling them stories of where he's been or filling them with knowledge. Wasn't that part of the Avisaille way? Wasn't that part of why they traveled? To share their wealth of knowledge?

"Too bad we don't have a shoe exhibit. You would be a great guide for that." He teased with a chuckle before turning towards the little girl. "Hey Isabelle, want to see another neat exhibit?" The little girl turned towards the pair and gave a big grin and nod. "Which one?!" She asked excitedly, obviously thrilled with her own little adventure. Griffin turned to Claire and raised a brow. "Yeah. Which one?" He asked in a playful voice.

[CLAIRE MCLEESTER]

Claire couldn't keep herself from smiling at what Griffin said about a shoe exhibit. She didn't know that much about shoes. She just happened to really like them. She knew a lot about Star Wars or anything that pertained to the Big Bang Theory, she could even wing her way through that conversation! She might not have looked like it anymore on the exterior, but deep down inside she was still a closet geek of infinite random information.

"Too bad, huh?" Claire started to laugh and spun on her heels to walk out of the butterfly exhibit. She didn't want to be there any longer! Normally she didn't mind the butterflies and normally she was a little nicer around them. But not now. She almost killed one! And she figured it was because Griffin was there and they were waiting for someone to come pick up the little lost girl.

"Hey how about we go visit the dinosaur exhibit?" Claire leaned over and pressed her hands to her legs, looking at Isabelle. "Did you know that the bones were found here? In our very own city? Pretty exciting, huh?"

[GRIFFIN CARTWRIGHT]

Griffin could see that Claire was all too glad to leave the butterflies. Probably afraid that she would hurt another one. He felt bad for the bug, but in some ways felt worse for the human that harmed it. She hadn't meant to and certainly had meant no harm to come of anyone or anything. That wasn't how Claire was. "C'mon, Isabelle." He called out to the girl as he himself left through the plastic draped doors and then out of the exhibit, Isabelle close at his feet.

"Hey how about we go visit the dinosaur exhibit?" Griffin nodded, sliding his hands to his hips. "That sounds like a great idea." "Did you know that the bones were found here? In our very own city? Pretty exciting, huh?" Isabelle looked up at Griffin for confirmation and Griffin nodded. "It's true. They found parts of a Hadrosaurs right here. They're duck billed dinosaurs. Probably used to find food right there at the ocean."

"Really?" Isabelle's eyes lit up with wonder as they all began walking towards the dinosaur exhibit. "Mhm." Griffin agreed looking over to Claire. "Don't we have it right here in this very museum, Claire?"