[ prp ] Animal Kingdom (america, jan)

[lizbot]

Arriving early to minipet duties was a bit of a habit, and one that'd become very necessary during the past few days. While a number of techs avoided her, there were always others willing to ask outright if she'd done it. There was a lot of disapproval, but that was less disturbing than those who'd spoken with the giddy edge of morbid admiration. The keenly smirking joke of telling Life techs to get a life had stopped being fun by the end of her first day back from jungle duty. Today it was just plain tired as ******** and she didn't have much patience for it.

At least the creepy critters didn't ask stupid questions, even if some of them pooped their own body weight on a daily basis. Humming through a set of bobby pins, she began pinning her braid up while she walked over to the supplies closet to get suited up.

baneful

 

[Baneful]

Jan was in a very chipper sort of mood as he arrived to minipets duty. Lawr had been watching the duty roster and calculatedly signing up in order to get maximum America exposure. It kept him busy when there was little else to do other than maintain his weight and research the sahara. Stalking her had become a private sort of exercise and he had been sure to drop gossip himself wherever he could, joining chatter in the corridors around the island.

He loved animals. He loved them so much. Kitties and dogs and all the little creatures, people said they were made of fear but that didn't matter, he loved them all the same and they spoke to him.

Lawr cared little for animals, just like everything else.

When he walked in, he looked surprised to see America there, beaming ear to ear. "Well hello there missy." he crooned, joining her over by the supplies. "Looks like we get to play petting zoo together. I can help you with them, I understand their thoughts after all."

He gave her a pat on the back. "Together we can prevent any more little accidents eh?" She got an obnoxious wink and a nudge.

lizbot

 

[lizbot]

Back stiff at the casual touching, America jabbed the last two pins in too hard and rolled her eyes with a muttered, "Patience preserve me." Wrenching open the closet door she pulled out a pair of coveralls and sturdy gloves and then left him to grab his own.

Don't want your help with anything, a*****e.

I'm sure their thoughts of you are much the same as my own, 'Where did this officious turd come from, and how come nobody is cleaning him out too?'

The only little accident here is your ******** continued existence.

"You see to your work, I'll see to mine," she answered, voice clipped as she stepped into the coveralls. She couldn't ignore him entirely, not if she wanted to be professional about her own work. But she could keep herself from feeding into it.

She could.
 

[Baneful]

Jan looked hurt as she stormed away, picking up his own gear and donning it. "Well that's not very nice missy." he lamented with a heavy sigh. "I was just trying to be amenable."

Tidying up his clothing he had to stop short of the reflexive instinct to obsessively align everything, it was a coverall, not a tuxedo. "And that ain't very nice either. We can work together, that's what we are meant to do ma'am. I thought you were capable of that." he shook his head.

"But if you are going to be mean and huffy when I didn't do anything other than get my lil old neck wrung by you then I don't know what I can do for you short of continue to try and get you to come out of your shell again. I liked ya best in the laundry room when you were nice to me."

He peered into one of the tanks curiously. "Jeez these critters come in all shapes."

lizbot

 

[lizbot]

Ignoring him.

No problem.

She had this.

America picked up bag of FEAR candies and a poop kit, making her way to the first tank. This was the section she liked starting out with, fat little ponies of all sorts frisking and gambolling for attention and treats. Plus the little unicorn things pooped stars and wasn't that just the most precious thing? She plucked a herpicorn out of its tank, tucking it firmly under one arm and cleaned out the tank with the other.

When she finished, America held the happy, squirming thing up and cooed, "Why how-do, Mister Pigsly Pudge? You're lookin' mighty fine today, yes indeed. What was that?" She brought it's little muzzle close to her ear and made a surprised little gasp.

"Why goodness gracious, ya don't say! Some terrible old man thinks he can try and make me feel bad for him? Enough to make me forget that he's a scumbag opprotunist and all around hypocrite?" She turned and for a second both girl and chubby unicorn were staring at Jan, faces full of judgement.

Placing the minipet back she booped its nose and fed it a candy to its giddy delight, "Well don't you worry, because it takes more than a silly mister overestimating his own charms to make me forget his wrong-doings."

This ignoring him thing may not be too bad afterall.  

[Baneful]

He gave her a long slow look and a rather broad smile, unable to keep back the laugh. "That's actually fantastically adorable you know." he said, eyeing the little herpicorn with an edge of incredulousness. "Pigsly Pudge, really?"

Shaking his head he wandered over to pick up one of the other minipets to feed it, a rather affectionate looking vaisel which he held to his chest for a moment where it rumbled loudly He nimbly handed it a treat which he almost certainly didn't have in his hand moments before and it gobbled it greedily. As he placed it back in its tank he addressed some perceived question with a vague sort of shrug. "Oh I don't know what her problem is either. I'll ask."

He set a hand on the bone of his hip and frowned. "What wrong doings, by the way?" and his tone was earnest, not aggressive in the least. "You say I am an opportunist and a hypocrite or your little hombre does. But I tell you what, I've only wanted to help better you since I got here, I cared about your chastity and valued it. You didn't, so I felt like it was okay to get a slice of it, and I don't regret that in the least. You have to be one of my favourite fillys."

Turning back to his task, he avoided seeing her expression as she replied. The next minipet he picked up was a small and unusually long wyvling which he let weave in between his splayed fingers. He watched it, rather than look at her even while he added. "I'm sure you don't mean to mess up everything you try to do."

 

[lizbot]

America looked like she'd just sucked a lemon at being called adorable by Jan. Normally it was a thing she'd like and take as a compliment, but the more she was exposed to him the more she found certain things to be soured and ruined by his presence. Him giving her a taste of her own medicine received a narrow look, and then so many eye rolls. That much eye rolling could not be healthy, but fortunately she was a teenage girl and a goddamn pro at it.

She moved between the tanks of fat little unicorns, ponies, and kirrini, efficiently taking them out, cleaning the waste, and feeding them as she chatted with friendly affection. "And hello to you too, Miss Mops 'n Socks. I'm fine, thank you! Oh? You heard about that man who called me a harlot? And tried to shame me with using my dead ma with his huckster spiritual talk? Yes, such people do exist in this world, but here, you have a treat, I need to move on to Slim Jim McPhee. Yes that's right, and such a handsome boy you are!"

The derpicorn wobbled drowsily at her, "Oh you heard about the time he tried to shame me for having sex by bringing up my dead parents? And when I explained my pa was still alive, he said Oh, you didn't know. And offered to tell me what it was if I paid him? He changed his tune quick enough after though, and don't you fret, I checked on my pa and he's juuuust fine. People think he'll get some prize or another. Why thank you, I am proud of him myself. Howdy there, Maisy Day! No...now don't you be difficult, none of that."

The pygmy kirrini tried to run off, but America kept a firm hand on it as she worked. "Oh you're worried because you heard some slimy old dog imply my pa wasn't really my father? Well," she said confidingly, "...he also offered to cleanse a nice young man of his homosexuality, so I think we can both agree he's a little stupid and mean, now can't we? But you probably shouldn't underestimate him, let me tell you. That man decided to wait to tell me who he really was after I'd given him the pleasure of my company. Yes, that's right, he waited until he could tell me over twitter. He's sees an opportunity to pull one over on someone and doesn't miss even a single beat."

She picked up the next, a stunted pony, and made kissy faces at it, "Yes I've had a bad couple days, haven't I? But don't you worry, because unlike some people, I'm capable of learning and becoming a better person, so not matter what set backs I have, I'm on a better path than that man."

Her voice had grown teeth, gritted and tightly controlled around the sass. Picking up and handling the minipets was a godsend, because they didn't do anything wrong, they didn't deserve to be hurt by the anger he inspired oh so ******** easily. She thought about her hands around his throat, filly ********> and gently held and played with the creatures uncontrolled anger would harm or even destroy.

She could do this.

It was a temporary measure of dealing with him at best, but she'd take it.  

[Baneful]

Lawr listened intently to what she had to stay, letting her finish "channelling" the minipet before he spoke. "Well, I believe what ah believe." he said finally. "And the voices I hear are bone fide. You are a harlot, you just aren't ashamed of it the way you should be is all. You revel in being a fallen woman and that's ok, I don't think you'd know religion if it hit you like a charging buffalo." His eyes lit up at the mention of her father being still alive. "I'm glad to hear he's still alive. For now." he turned back, done with the wyvling and picked up a cephalatto which made a wibbly sort of noise that made him set his mouth in a thin line. "Homosexuality is absolutely undeniably a sin and it can be cured. I have cured it in the past, I was merely offering a service to the man, that is all. It doesn't make me a bad person."

He shook his head grimly at the squid. "I know, she's very mean isn't she? Don't worry, I forgive her, I always forgive her no matter how angry she gets or how much she hurts me. Because I'm her friend."

He put it back, having to forcibly shake its grip off of his wrist. "I'm sorry to hear you've had a bad few days ma'am, but those few days were nothing to do with me. I was only out of line after that pod duty because I take murder seriously, even accidental murder and I feel like no one else on this island actually does."

She got a sidelong look. "But I don't think you meant to mess up, and I think you can become a better person, every day is a new start and I will help you with each."

She'd called him old.
 

[lizbot]

Picking up a foxfire, she peered into the soulless, glinting depths of its eyes and gave it knowing look. "I agree Señor Wenceslas, someone is fairly preachy today. And every other day for that matter. It's like he thinks I don't know about little Miss Chantelle, hmmm? Oh don't say such things about his clothes, honey. That's rude."  

[Baneful]

Lawr stopped talking, giving her a look that wasn't curious, wasn't shocked but was blank instead.

He took a few moments before he said. "What do you know about Chantelle?"

 

[lizbot]

"Well I have a few opinions on her that are very likely to be truths, but let's just say I noticed that she's taken my advice on the perfume and that she seems to be in a relationship with Mister Jerry." She waggled the foxfire's paw at Jan, "Tsk tsk. That high horse of yours must've been borrowed without permission." She finally looked at him and stopped, frozen.  

[Baneful]

He didn't move, he didn't even let his expression flicker. All he did was stare, and behind his eyes he wished that it was simpler to make her stop.

"It ain't my job to protect chastity." he said, making a guess at what the woman meant, based on her comment about Jerry. Pushing it that way if it wasn't. It didn't stop the irritation he felt at the mention of the perfume, a mistake which would insistently come back on him.

The smile returned, but it didn't reach his eyes. "And it ain't your business either way."

 

[lizbot]

She relaxed slightly, but caution was still in her body language. Placing the creature back in its cage and giving it a treat, America didn't quite turn away from him, didn't offer him her back. "Well," she began, approaching the next, "...it would certainly be nice if people minded their own business, now wouldn't it?"  

[Baneful]

"It would be for the best is what." he said, the joviality coming back into his tone. He turned his back to her and leaned down into one of the tanks where a treat was fastidiously trying to squeeze itself into a corner to avoid the way he was looking at it. He picked it up and it let out a squeak at the bite of his nails, he was only regretful he didn't have his claws on.

"But I am happy to take up the mantle of care. You need someone to look out for you who isn't inept, doomed, stupid or all three missy. You deserve a lot more than you have."

He eyed the treat which wouldn't stop squeaking. "I think this one has an injury. What's the paperwork for that?" he asked.

 

[lizbot]

Why she expected him to maybe get the ******** point finally, America had no clue. If ever there was a lost cause, this a*****e right here was about a hundred times worse. She proceeded to make faces and throttling gestures at the man's turned back, but when she saw what he was holding, America let out a small gasp, "Tubadiah!" The girl ran to the closet to grab a minipet first aid kit, and then rushed over, jabbing a clipboard at Jan. "Here, now hand him over."