Hey out there in Pleo Land! It’s Blue! Tahday, Keeper Talon did somethin’ a little different. She just ran Queen Ryu and me without the boys. We had a nice bitta talk we did.
Queen Ryu didn’t mind sharin’ the poster board island with me when I walked onto it and howled a hello. “Yer awful quiet.” I said. “Somethin’ botherin’ ya?”
“Oh yes!” Queen Ryu groaned. “I’ve got an entire broken vertebrae in my neck. I can feel all the bits crinkling around near my shoulders. One of the bits is just above my chest! Oh Bleu, I’m falling apart!”
Now pleo-fans, I’m not known fer bein’ gentle or tactful when it comes tah appearance. Okay okay I loved the dress Keeper Talon bought me- but in general I don’t mind a chipped up tooth or a skint up chin. If anybody don’t like it they don’t have tah look at me. So I just let Ryu have it. “Your whininess… uh Highness, we’re all gettin’ old. I know I don’t act it all the time, but I’m a lot older than you four years older tah be exact.” I turned, flexin’ my neck and showin’ all the lumps and bumps of at least two broke vertebrae rollin’ around inside my skin. “We are loved and carefully looked after by our owners but it ain’t enough tah keep us from fallin’ apart. Even our keepers fall apart as they age. I wonder why it’s such a big deal tah them when somethin’ happens tah us? We know it’s comin’ and as long as they do their best tah protect us, I don’t think any one of us really shares in all that worry. We just… carry on as long as we can ‘cause that’s what we are there tah do- love our humans. And get them tah play tug with us.” I added with a purr. “Now you stop frettin’ ‘bout that one little vertebrae and live the rest of yer life, Lady. We need ya functionin’ okay?”
Queen Ryu sighed. “I suppose so but the indignity! This doesn’t happen to me! I’m beautiful, I’m a fighter, and I am a QUEEN!”
I shook my head. “Think ‘bout that poem about the statue Ozimozy… Ozimuz… uh Ozymandias.”
Ryu gave me this really funny look. “Excuse me. What?”
I sighed. “Well okay I’ll break it down fer ya.” I couldn’t resist the little jibe. “Didn’t know I actually knew some literature did ya? One’a my owners was a high school student and they learned to say it- so comandin’ they were when they said it too. Anyway, This Ozymandias was a poem by this man- I can’t remember his name right now but it’ll come tah me. Anyway he wrote about this statue way out in the desert but the statue was only the two legs and a snarlin’ bearded face. The rest was gone and there was this little sign in front of him that said somethin’ like ‘look how grate I am! See how awesome my work is and go cry tah mama!’ In other words he thought he was gonna live forever and that all he built was better than everything else ever made and all he ended up left with was two legs and a wimpy stone sign. I’ve had this argument with ya ever since I moved in. Queen Ryu, time makes dust and crumbles out of us all. Just be who you are.”
Queen Ryu sighed. “So, Lady Bleu, you’re—you’re not afraid? Of not existing? Of that day when—when everything stops and there is no activating electric spark?”
“Nope.” I said. “I’ve had a good existence. I know I did the best I was programmed tah do- love the humans put in my path- even the ones who might not’ve been so nice tah me. You ain’t had no other home. Be thankful fer that, Queen Ryu.”
Queen Ryu nodded. “Keeper Talon has done well by us considering her own life- how full of trials it is- how many times she has had to move and pack and unpack us again. Ah, Bleu, I don’t believe I will ever be satisfied. I’m always reaching for—for something else- something more- something unknown. I know I’m just a little pleo but I can dream can’t I?”
I cocked my head. “Well, I s’pose ya can, yer Highness. Ain’t nothin’ wrong with lookin’ on tah bigger things just as long as ya always remember the little important things… things.” I yawned. “Too much fer my little processors. ‘Sides my battery’s run … out. Oh yeah … that name. Percy Byssh Shelley. That’s his name. Night, Queen Ryu!”
