The Ivy Garden Boarding House

[Mademoiselle Alvinette]

Bogey was straining at his leash as Natalie got out the ingredients for his meal and started preparing it, but the leash was firmly tied to the table leg, and that puppy wasn't going anywhere! "Good things come to those who wait, ya little stinker!" she teased with a giggle.

Meanwhile, Getoth happily set to work on his own task, but Blip wasn't altogether too sure about being able, or willing, to peel the vegetables, so Iris was giving them some pointers. Natalie shrugged and kept chopping everything she needed.

[Vucas]

~!@#$%- Blip -!@#$%~
-%$#@!~ Blip is Blip ~%$#@!-

Blip read Iris's text very carefully. Ne didn't want to screw it up again. Then again, maybe doing it on purpose will- You know what. No. Blip was going to accept this as a personal challenge!

Mission Objective: Peel Potatoes.

Blip scooted nirself over to the trash can, and spaced out nir figures around the potato for grip, and then... peel.... peel... peel... plop. Down went a piece of the potato's skin. "Well, that does make this a lot easier. Uhh... thanks. Iris."

Why was Blip thanking her? She should be doing some thanking for Getoth and nem helping out! Well, for the moment, Blip was still going to work on the Mission Objective. It was slow going, but this Potato was getting peeled damn it.

[bigxsisxsara]

Iris smiled. "No problem Blip." Iris said before hearing Getoth's question. "It is- actually I need to get there myself. Here I will grab it." Iris said as she fetched a pan for the Salmon and a casserole pan. She handed the latter to Getoth. "Here you go. She said before transferring over the fish. "Once you are done cutting the vegetables measure out two cups of brown rice and put it into the pot. You will then need to put in the turkey and stir it until everything is broken up. The rice is stored in the pantry. A measuring cup for the rice is inside the bag. Let me know when you are done." Iris instructed Natalie having her take care of the more time consuming tasks first.

[Guardian_Fairy_Navi]

"Thank you," he said as he accepted the offered dish. That was set aside for the moment. The onions had browned nicely. Ah yes the rice! Getoth had to collect come of that as well. Well he needed white rice, so he'd check the pantry to see if it was stored alongside the brown rice. It didn't take to long to locate.

Rice and browned onion mixture went stirred into the casserole dish. Next in the saucepan went a mixture of things: broth, salt, saffron, and cayenne pepper. Getoth waited for the liquid to come to a boil, idly stirring to avoid allowing their meal to burn.

"So, Iris. Where did you find this dog food recipe?"

[Vucas]

~!@#$%- Blip -!@#$%~
-%$#@!~ Blip is Blip ~%$#@!-

"One Potato, Two Potato, Three Potato, Four.

Five Potato, Six Potato, Seven Potato, Eight."

Blip sort of sang to nirself as ne peeled the potatoes. While not in time with the song, at the end of the second verse she'd peeled one potato from start to finish.

She looked behind herself at the two lovebirds. They both had one very common thing... well, in common. "You both really enjoy cooking don't you?"

[bigxsisxsara]

Iris smiled at Getoth. "I found it in a book I was given. It seemed to have been a page from a dog treat cookbook. The book was used so I assume it was a bookmark at some point. I did some research on the recipe and found that it is a dog food recipe. It was rather simple so I ended up remembering it." She said laughing. "Not many of my guests or Tennant's seem to need it often however." She admitted. The song Blip sang was rather familiar sounding, only the word "more" had been replaced by the word "eight". When Blip mentioned that Getoth and Iris both seemed to share a fondness for cooking, Iris chuckled. "I guess you are right. I enjoy sharing what I make with others. It makes me happy to see others enjoying themselves." She said looking at the already peeled potato. "You are doing a great job Blip. I think once eight potatoes are peeled you can stop. I will then show you how to cut them so they can cook faster." Iris said with a smile.

[Mademoiselle Alvinette]

Natalie found herself softly chuckling at Blip peeling the potatoes and singing their little song, and soon she was done with the prep work Iris had given her for Bogey's puppy food.

"I'm ready for the next step!" she said cheerfully.

[Guardian_Fairy_Navi]

Now that he was waiting on the mixture to boil and then simmer, he could turn to face the others in the conversation so long as he kept careful watch on the stove. "Yes, I suppose we do," he answered Blip.

"So, how many are expected to join us?" he asked, the question meant for Iris. Getoth was fairly sure of the answer, but he was curious if this fourth guest would be there. Granted given Iris' description of the person being painfully shy the chances were low, but he figured he should ask anyway.

[Vucas]

~!@#$%- Blip -!@#$%~
-%$#@!~ Blip is Blip ~%$#@!-

Blip was determined to get these potatoes done now. If only so ne didn't have to do them anymore. The Reader grabbed another potato and took off large chunks of the skin with each pass. This had gotten much easier. Two Potatoes Down. Iris didn't really need much to be happy did she? Well that was good. Of course, she had taken it all in stride when she gave some of her answers... and she still had nine questions to ask.

Peel. Peel. Peel.

Three Potatoes Down.

Four.

[bigxsisxsara]

It was a new day in the boarding house. Iris was having tea with a ghostly old friend of hers in the dining room. They were talking about this coming Halloween. Was iris going to keep the tradition of a haunted house going or not?

[Guardian_Fairy_Navi]

A sudden pop of displaced air heralded the entrance of an odd and unsettling sight. Getoth and Natalie arrived in a tangle of limbs, Bogey sandwiched protectively between them. There was blood, though upon closer inspection the source appeared to be from Getoth's left shoulder. Entry wound. No exit wound. That would need serious medical attention.

Both Natalie and Bogey were out cold, though Getoth clung to consciousness only barely. He managed to say a few words before losing his own fight, "Brewery. Vintrict. Bracelet." Eyes fluttered closed. Getoth was out.

[bigxsisxsara]

The pop of displaced air caught both of the girls' attention although Iris was the one to investigate. What she saw made her worry. She rushed to the three of them Justin time to hear Getoth's words as he passed out. Iris's blood ran cold. Just what exactly happened? First order of business was to check on Natalie, Bogey, and Getoth. "We need to secure this location." Iris said quietly although she knew she could be heard. "No one we do not know enters the premises."

Iris noticed Getoth was bleeding. A stab of worry felt like it hit her heart. She forced herself to remain calm as she gently picked up Natalie. She had two free rooms on the ground floor that she was going to give to them. The room closest to the library would be given to Natalie while the room closer to the washroom would be given to Getoth. Iris wanted to check the wound.

After moving them both into their rooms, Iris brought Bogey to lay next to Natalie. Iris knew that Natalie would be worried over the pup if Bogey was not with her. She laid out some spare pajamas near the foot of the bed for Natalie as well. However Iris would let Natalie wake up naturally. The poor dear needed a break.

With Getoth, Iris had to remove his shirt to inspect the wound. Someone SHOT Getoth! she thought to herself biting back anger. There was no exit wound. That meant that Getoth wouldn't bleed out. Luckily, despite what most people believed, the damage the bullet did was done. Getoth's body would get rid of it on its own and Iris wasn't about to risk more damage by digging around for the bullet. She would however have to keep it clean and bandaged. "My dear, what have you done?" She asked him softly before leaving the room to get the first aid kit.

[Guardian_Fairy_Navi]

It was several hours before Getoth came to. He was groggy, in pain, and overall in a very grumpy mood. 'Glasses....' he thought, realizing his glasses were missing. He opened his mouth but all that escaped was a tired groan.

He brought up his right hand to rub his face. Hopefully Natalie and Bogey were alright.... He probably looked like such a mess.

[Mademoiselle Alvinette]

Natalie felt awful, both physically and emotionally, as she came to. She vaguely recognized the interior of the bedroom as looking like the ones in Iris's boardinghouse, but she had no recollection of how she'd gotten there. The only thing that made her feel better was little Bogey, who was lying on the pillow next to hers and slowly licking her face.

"I'm sorry he put you through all that," she said softly, pulling the sweet little puppy into a cuddle. "The bad man won't hurt you anymore." She would protect the little puppy. If she could put a TARDIS charm on his collar, she could teleport him somewhere safe whenever she was in danger, even if she for some reason needed to stay behind. She just needed to call some folks and let them know.

She had a feeling that the bad man had only begun his attempts to hurt her, but she would come up with a plan somehow. For one thing, she needed to tell Jed, and Jeanmarie, about this guy. And she needed to tell Barbara the latest. Not only that, but she needed to see about getting some ever-lovin' self-defense lessons already! She didn't know if that would help against the creeper with Jedi-like abilities, but it was always worth a shot.

For now she just lay in bed and cuddled her puppy, trying to get the energy to get up. She was still hurting all over, and she was so depressed and still worried and afraid. She felt like that dark cloud around her brain was here to stay these days. Definitely gonna be an interesting day in therapy today...

[bigxsisxsara]

In the corner of the room a figure moved. It was the ghost girl. She had been watching over the man Iris had taken a liking to. She wanted to introduce herself to him but would chicken out every single time. But today, she would do it.

"Hello Getoth." She said to him as she moved closer. Not a sound was made from her movements as she studied him. Her voice was very soft and sounded far away.