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 Posted: Thu Mar 02, 2006 5:38 pm
Kat wakes with a start -- judging from the heaviness in her head and the stiffness curled around her shoulders, it's still several hours yet before the time she had tentatively decided on rising for in the first place.
Her body is getting a jump on its roiling anxiety: when she blinks drowsily awake, her hands are already tangled in her hair and her ankles are already crossed, with one striped sock nearly thrashed off at some violent point in her afternoon slumber...
Afternoon... That's right; she'd napped through the morning and probably, by now, for most of the rest of the day, too. But why...? It's been a while since I've felt so tired --
And it's in the middle of sitting up, of stretching luxuriously -- of fluttering her hands to conceal a face-devouring yawn -- that realization dawns for the disheveled dancer.
Kat lunges halfway across the guest room of the Observatory (the oh so sinister, oh so boring, and oh so badly guarded guest room of her oh so hijacked place of employment), trips over her trailing sock, and spills out of her shoes and across the carpet, wailing.
Meanwhile, at the door, there is a steady knock, knock, knock.
The rapping is interrupted only by the ballerina's unearthly shrieking, and behind the door, Reno sighs, one eye already beginning to twitch. The things good Turks put up with to visit their psychiatrists! "Daaaani~?"
When the screaming snaps abruptly to silence, there is the slightest, suspicious pause, and then Reno knocks again, somewhat tentatively. "Hallo, D-chan, yo? I just ditched Ruffie upstairs somewhere, I gave him one of your sudoku thingos, and... D-chaaaan~? Are you in there, yo?"
There's no point in tangling with the dancer for no decent reason, after all.
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Posted: Thu Mar 02, 2006 5:58 pm
D-chan jumps at the sudden sound of Kat's wakening wails, snapping the heavy book closed on her finger so hard that she winces. "Racket racket racket," she mutters, ears snapping back to press into her hair, praying that the unruly softness will dampen the raucous cries.
...and then she realizes that there is another voice, one not raised in shrieking, coming through the door. Rising stiffly, she bounces over the ballerina stretched out on the floor and presses one ear against the door, ignoring the grating wails and concentrating on the voice coming through the wood.
A bright smile flashes across her face, fanged and nearly feral. "Congratulations, Reno, you have pronounced 'sudoku' correctly," she laughs over Kat's crying. "Remind me to take you home and bring give you a cookie sometime. Do you need me for something?"From the pile of junk in the corner D-chan has so suddenly vacated, two whining voices rise from the rubble.
One belongs to a writhing winged fox, pawing at his ears as though begging for Kat to fall silent. The other is a bear, looking distinctly annoyed but not quite at the point of flailing in pain. She trundles out of the wreck of a corner, pausing before the ballerina and pawing her nose. It is...not a gentle motion in the least, but the bear undoubtedly does not think that it is so bad.
She has yet to learn her own strength.
And then she continues, her rolling gait taking her to D-chan's side, where she sits and stares up at the fox.
D-chan grins at the animated plush. "It's Reno," she whispers.
Minnie grins, rising on her back paws and wrapping her arms around the half-fox's ankle. She likes the strange man with red hair; now she just hopes he will come in to visit.
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Posted: Thu Mar 02, 2006 6:36 pm
Despite the fact that he is unquestionably hidden behind the richly paneled door from the view of any of the guests, Reno retreats one single step to bow sharply and sardonically to the gleaming wood, and his own smile is something clumsy and unraveling.
"I'll have you know, yo," the Turk complains cheerfully, "I spent a whole, a whole... five minutes or so staring at that little book trying to figure out how to say it. I deserve more than just a cookie, yo! I deserve at least a brownie."
Abruptly, the bronze knob clatters its telltale warning, and Reno curses lightly, his grin evident even in his voice. "Can't do nothing secret around here, yo! Gimme a sec, I've got sommat to show you."
"WHATEVER IT IS," Kat is squealing meanwhile, as loudly and as highly pitched as her abused vocal chords will allow, "IT STARTED OUT MINE! MINE MINE MINE MINE~~ Mine! MINE! It was MINE I brought it BACK and it's MINE I know what it is don't you think I don't I know I do nothing but a no-good thief it's -- ow!"
The squalling dancer recoils in no small amount of surprise at the patting admonishment of one tiny bear, her cries silenced as swiftly as though someone had kicked her in the face. (The accuracy of this comparison will be left unsaid.)
Kat draws back to perch on her heels, as oddly graceful as any rainbow-splotched, tutu-clad ballerina and, more importantly, as speechless as a broken clock -- and then Kat stares at Minnie, one hand gingerly to her nose and her jaw all but unhinged in disbelief, as the bear goes shambling away.
Briefly, the knob ceases to rattle, and there an equal, if far less startling, silence behind the door. "Did you," Reno starts into the thickly soundless void that is not so much quiescence as it is an utter absence of overwhelming noise, "kill her or something, yo?"
And then he shoves open the heavy door, struggling theatrically against the rich, dark wood, and nervously concealing all the while something fluffy and beige beneath one arm. "Aaaugh~ need oil for these hinges, yo~ pretty much have to pry it open anymore..."
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Posted: Fri Mar 03, 2006 2:06 pm
The fox blinks at the suddenly quiet ballerina, watching as her nose turns a slight shade of red. "Of course I didn't kill her...I think Minnie did, actually," she mutters, staring down at the formerly plush bear. "That was oddly effective."
"Don't get too pompous, or else I might only give you half a cupcake," D-chan chides playfully, wagging a black-furred finger at the door. Even so, she retreats a few steps, lifting Minnie off the ground as the bear refuses to release her ankle.
"...wait, something to show me?" Her head cocks to the side as she balances on one paw, the other leg held out to her side as she allows Minnie to swing from her dangling position. The bear growls contentedly at the new game, deep brown eyes occasionally darting to stare at the door that Reno is having such trouble opening. Something to show? A present? Most of the surprises she has seen were gifts. So does that mean that Reno has a present for Dani? Or maybe for the frilly lady with the shrieking voice? Or...
...or maybe something for Minnie?
With a rumbling growl of pleasure, the bear drops the few inches to the ground and trundles to the door that is slowly coming open, standing before the growing crack between wood and wall and staring up to where she knows Reno's face is, looking patiently expecting with her intent brown eyes and the brilliant blue ribbon around her neck fluffed for ultimate appeal.
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Posted: Fri Mar 03, 2006 6:49 pm
Save for Dani's playful words and Minnie's rumbling and Reno's soft noises of dramatized exertion, silence reigns in the guest room. More specifically, silence reigns for the mad ballerina, who remains gaping wordlessly even long after Minnie has long trundled away.
That doesn't stop Kat from staring, though. And stare she does, unabashed, her face reddening from more than just soreness.
"Minnie?" Reno repeats, throwing his shoulder against the heavy door with a muffled thump of muscle on wood. "Your stuffed -- well, not so stuffed anymore, I guess, yo..." A final, immense heave and the Turk stands, in all of his glory, framed by the doorway -- although the image is somewhat diminished, yes, considering that he is slightly hunched over, stubbornly concealing that furry little bundle.
Reno brightens then, grinning widely and kneeling to extend one hand to the little bear -- although his other arm remains secretively curled around a snatch of pale fabric, safely hidden in the loose material of his jacket. "Hallo, Minnie! Did you miss me, yo? I brought you something~" And he awkwardly shifts his free hand to dig animatedly through his nearest (and most convenient) pocket.
Meanwhile, one Kat approaches at a stealthy skulk; she's abandoned her shoes, and they lie some few paces away, sad little green tributes to a combative life long past. Her rainbow socks are trailing, with her toes wiggling in the ankles and the rest pressed beneath the soles of her feet with every step, and as she nears Reno, Kat hunches her shoulders and lifts her hands, eyes narrowed to murderous slits.
She will take what is hers, come Hell or high water~!
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Posted: Fri Mar 03, 2006 7:19 pm
"Yep, that's Minnie," Dani chuckles, watching as the bear toddles off to wait for Reno at the door's opening. "Not quite stuffed anymore...but still cute. Still very cute. Still undeniably cute," she snickers, sitting down on the edge of the nearest bed as Reno throws his shoulder into the door to heave it open at last.Minnie smiles her best smile as Reno leans toward her, rooting through his pocket for something she cannot see but wants to know about. The former plush rises to her hind legs, paws spinning through the air as she tries to grab his hand, see what it is that Reno is after. Dani smiles as she crosses her legs in a distinctly un-ladylike manner: one ankle on her knee, an elbow on her knee and the other wrist draped across her ankle. "So, what is it that you wanted to show me?" she prompts casually, tail twitching to brush across the blankets. One ear twitches in Kat's general direction as the evil ballerina saunters across the floor in loose socks, but no more attention is spared for her than this fluttering acknowledgement.
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Posted: Fri Mar 03, 2006 8:09 pm
"Some might even go so far as to say, yo, that she's stuffed with cute." Reno's voice is light and teasing, pleasantly amicable; he's happy now, no matter the quality of his day thusfar.
This has, against all expectations, truly become his place to relax -- even if he's usually sitting outside the door, rather than kneeling inside. The thought causes a smile to creep furtively across the Turk's face, and he smothers it quickly, although without much conviction: traces of his cheer remain, especially at the corners of his mouth.
"Hold on, hold on, yo," he chides the little bear, playfully catching one wheeling paw before returning to his search with intensified fervor. "Where'd I put it, I know it's in here somewhere... were you serious about that cupcake, by the way, D? I haven't eaten since this morning, yo, and even then it was only sommat I found in the fridge, not exactly great..."
Briefly, warily, one stealthy Kat glances to one casual fox-girl, untrusting of attention even so brief. She cannot operate properly under such severe conditions! How on earth can anyone expect a dancer of her calibre to successfully pull off such a covert mission under such heavy scrutiny!? Kat very nearly spits, but then eyes the carpet and thinks better of it.
Onward!
While most people might shout something along the lines of AHA! or EUREKA!, Reno considers himself beyond such pointless idiosyncrasies (despite the undeniable presence of a certain verbal tic that will go respectfully unmentioned). Instead, the Turk hefts from his pocket a small, loosely wrapped package, apparently little more than gleaming cellophane -- and, as he begins to unwrap it, one Minnie will likely be able to catch a whiff of something very sweet...
Meanwhile, Kat takes a moment to collect her senses and interview her muscles, ascertaining that all her members are present and accounted for, before she ATTACKS!
And then several things happen at once.
For one, as Reno whirls to meet his colorful assailant, the beige bundle beneath his arm spills out in a flourish of drab fabric and vibrant, violet stitches for eyes; Kat scrabbles first for the Turk's snatch of cellophane, until the fallen plushie seizes her attention, and then she attempts clambering over the man entirely, squalling all the while.
"MINE MINE MINE THAT'S MINE YOU TOOK IT IT'S MINE MINE I SAY STUPID TURK STUPID NO-GOOD LOW-DOWN THIEF TOOK IT IT'S MINE I WENT AND GOT IT IT'S MINE~"
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Posted: Fri Mar 03, 2006 8:59 pm
"That she is," D-chan laughs, watching as Reno digs through his pocket for something distinctly sugary for the stuffed bear staring up at him with curious brown eyes. "Stuffed with cute indeed. It's nice to see you in the guest room for once," she adds, drifting to her paws and scampering to evacuate a twitching kitsune from the pile of junk in the corner.
"What, you think I'd keep cupcakes from you?" she asks mockingly, scooping Chevyo up and depositing him between her ears before scrounging through books, discarded armor and weapons, and what appear to be wrappers from various types of candy.
Whether it was Dani who ate them all is another matter entirely.
"Here," she calls, extricating a pristine cupcake from its shelter. "You want--"Minnie watches intently as Reno pulls the cellophane-wrapped something from his pocket. Growling happily, she reaches for it with a paw--
--and then the world descends into a scrabbling, screaming chaos.
As Kat makes her attack, Minnie falls backward, performing an oddly adept backward roll as the ballerina pounces onto the plush. For along moment, she remains very quiet, very still, simply examining the scene with an unnerving calm... ...and then she moves forward and reaches out to pop Kat on the nose again.
Dani stares at the scene, mute with astonishment. Chevyo, sparing only the briefest glance for the raucous disturbance, flutters down to snitch Reno's cupcake.
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Posted: Fri Mar 03, 2006 9:52 pm
Although Kat's attack is abrupt and unexpected, and although she makes up for her lack of skill with abundant, overwhelming enthusiasm, Reno is not a Turk for his dashing good looks alone.
There's the briefest scuffle, in which Kat believes for one squalling moment that she may have the upper hand -- and then she finds herself sprawled on the floor, fingers vainly extended across the carpet for the disheveled plush, with things that feel uncomfortably like boots planted on either edge of her tutu.
"That," Reno decides calmly, "wasn't nice, yo. I wasn't talking to you." He widens his stance ever so slightly, indulging in a smirk upon sight of the mud now streaking the dancer's skirt -- Reno knew he hadn't cleaned his boots this morning for a reason! "Don't interrupt when grown-ups are talking, yo."
"MINE~" Kat is nothing if not persistent, and she takes up her cry immediately, even while pinned and so undeniably outdone. "IT'S MINE IT'S MINE IT'S MINE IT'S -- ow! Owowow~" One hand shoots up to clutch her nose, and Kat glares daggers at what she can see of the little bear, emerald eyes watering.
Laughing, Reno steps away from the ballerina, judging her to be rightfully punished -- by now. He certainly wouldn't want to find himself at the working end of that paw! "S'a good girl, Minnie, yo~! Here," and there is a dramatic tearing away of the cellophane, revealing what appears to be a deceptively large chunk of...
...well, something consisting of several other somethings dried within an inch of their anonymous lives. Held together by molasses and honey, from the scent of it.
"Trail mix~!" Reno announces in sing-song, as he kneels to present the sticky bundle playfully to Minnie. "At least, I think, yo. I had a bit earlier, so it isn't poisonous or anything..." He glances sheepishly to Dani, before snapping his fingers and nodding toward the little tan bundle of cotton-stuffed fabric. "Oh! And that's what I wanted to show you, yo~"
"It's mine," Kat whines, as though this fact needs further statement. "Mine mine mine."
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Posted: Fri Mar 03, 2006 10:23 pm
Before Chevyo can take his undeserved bite into the cupcake, Dani takes the opportunity to toss the confection in Reno's direction, grinning as he takes the upper hand over the flailing ballerina. She snickers and rubs Chevyo's ears with a black-furred hand as he wails in her arms. "Get over it, Chevy," she mutters.Minnie smiles proudly, having put Kat in her place once again. The condescending glance she offers the ballerina clearly states what is on her mind: Don't be such a child. Act your age.
And then trail mix is presented for her inspection, and Minnie takes a long moment to sniff at it with a wet black nose. As it passes her preliminary inspection, she takes a curious bite out of the honey and molasses-clotted mixture.
And in the next moment she takes an enormous bite out of the bar, chewing contentedly as it passes her secondary inspection. Dani scampers forward, kneeling down before the pile of stuffing and cloth, gathering it gently from the floor and holding it up for inspection.
"...it looks like a velveteen" she murmurs, glancing to Chevyo. The guardian nods, pawing gently at the prairie dog as he flutters around her. "Kat? Is this yours?" she asks gently, kneeling down before the dejected ballerina, holding the plush out to her. "Did you go get it from the shop?"As Minnie watches how Dani handles the insane ballerina, her head falls to one side. Is this another way of taking care of a situation? The bats with her paw had worked in getting her quiet, but would being quiet and taking on that tone of voice make her calmer, maybe?
Still so much to learn in life! Minnie suddenly wishes she had hands to write down the notes she wants to take about how ambiguous it is.
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Posted: Fri Mar 03, 2006 11:39 pm
When her oh so coveted plush is extended to her, no apparent strings attached, by a person whose merest glance is enough to send her away wibbling pathetically in her shiny boots, Kat does the only thing that any respectable member of a long line of plushie-enchanting ballerinas would do:
She stares. And opens and closes her mouth a few times, floundering clumsily for the words that have all scampered away to hide in the dark, shadowy recesses of her mind. She also makes a noise that might be easily compared to a rat caught in a meat-grinder, as she slowly lifts her hands... and then she snatches away the prairie dog plushie, hissing her defiance.
"MINE MINE MINE IT'S MINE IT'S MINE I GOT IT FROM THE SHOP I DID MINE MY VELVET MINE MINE MINE! STUPID TURK STUPID THIEF TAKE MY VELVET IT'S MINE~"
Meanwhile, munching happily away on his well-earned cupcake, Reno settles back with folded arms to silently observe these amusing goings-on. Several times throughout Kat's tirade, he draws breath as though to interrupt... although each time he seems to think better of it. Best leave this disaster to the resident mommy --
-- and he smiles again at the thought, smearing icing on his nose.
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Posted: Fri Mar 03, 2006 11:51 pm
Dani sighs as Kat launches again into her meaninglessly nonsensical schpiel, ears pressing into her hair as she turns away. Chevyo, too, buries his face in the half-fox's bushy mane, wailing piteously at the shrill cries as Dani digs through her mess of assorted items...
"Ah, there you are."
The half-fox trots back to Kat and stuffs a full bar of chocolate into the ballerina's mouth, dusting off her hands as she takes her seat on the edge of the bed once more. "Anyway. Did you really take that velvet from her? How did she get out to get it in the first place?"Minnie stares at Kat as she goes back to her gibberish, sighing deeply in that oddly mothering fashion she has. Well, so much for that attempt...perhaps a stern paw really is the best way to control wailing ballerinas...
...and then comes the chocolate bar. Minnie gapes at this for a long moment, a few crumbs of her trail mix bar falling from her mouth onto the carpet. There's something she never expected...now, will this work any better than peace?
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Posted: Fri Mar 03, 2006 11:58 pm
The movement concise and vaguely avian, Reno tosses his head at Dani's interrogation, shoulders quirking irritably. "I didn't take it, yo," he snaps, finishing off his cupcake and dusting his hands. "I found it in the kitchen cupboards. It reminded me of Minnie, yo, so I thought I'd bring it to you. So much for gratitude, yo."
"Gratitude!" Kat shrills, although her voice is quieter and lower-pitched, now that she has been presented with chocolate -- a messy treat which is, by now, smeared all across her face, and somewhat diminishes the image of righteous vengeance that she is obviously going for. "You took my Velvet and you expect gratitude! Filthy Turk, filthy good-for-nothing Turk I can't even believe I'd ever --"
"Hnf," Reno snorts, folding his arms and glancing away. "Dunno how she got out. ...Possibly," a sly glance, "the same way you do, yo."
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Posted: Sat Mar 04, 2006 12:06 am
"I'm not ungrateful that you brought it back," Dani chirps defensively. "I'm glad you thought to show me! It's been a while since I've seen another Velvet, even one that has yet to be animated like Minnie.
She laughs at Kat's vengeful muttering through a bar of melting chocolate. "Be nice, Kat, he's my client. If you chase him away, I'll have no way of getting blackmail fodder!" She winks playfully at Reno as she speaks, her only indication that blackmail is not her only reason for listening to him.
Though, really, the fact that it might be one of her reasons is hardly cause for celebration.
"So you think she gets out using an evil turncoat sarnin?" Dani chuckles, swinging her legs back and forth over the edge of the bed. "I'd be surprised, unless she has a supply of chocolate that she doesn't steal from me."Minnie sighs again as Kat's ranting continues, however muffled it may be by a gooey mess of sugar in her mouth. Well, it seems that ballerina's only respond well to the strict paw.
It is with this conviction firmly in mind that the animated bear trundles over to sit before Kat, glaring up at her face...
...and sneaking occasional glances at the plush. It's hard to ignore something so like herself, after all.
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Posted: Sat Mar 04, 2006 12:30 am
But alas, Reno's feelings are most injured now, and Turkish feelings are delicate (if highly secretive) things. The young man can't help but pout, tightening his arms across his chest and staring sulkily at a distant wall. This wasn't at all how he had planned for this to go! There was supposed to be playing with Minnie and talking with D-chan and flaunting his discovery...
The line of the Turk's shoulders stiffens slightly upon mention of blackmail.
He moves quickly on from this, replying with dizzying swiftness to Dani's rhetoric. "I dunno, yo. She does have one of the dragon thingos, I think. A green one --"
"SO-CHAN~!" Kat gleefully interrupts, clapping her hands. "Good ol' So-chan-chan! I hope he bites you," she adds vengefully, tossing to the Turk a narrow, emerald knife of a glare. "I hope he bites you hard. And they're poisonous, y'know; one bite could kill a man. Over a long, long, agonizing time." A wild improvisation on her part, of course -- and a thorough lie -- but honestly, how many other people will have worked closely enough with Draconics to realize it?
Reno, meanwhile, refuses to give the ballerina the satisfaction of knowing that her little flappy-winged pet has already bitten him... although with her final words, he shifts uncomfortably, rubbing his thumb across his wrist. A long, agonizing death? Well, it isn't precisely what he'd hoped for... Clearing his throat, Reno settles silently down to the very important task of trying to lick the icing off his nose.
Still murmuring fiercely to herself, busily hacking apart the block of chocolate and battling valiantly against tenacious dollops making their homes behind her teeth, Kat cuddles the little beige plush against her chest with every shift of movement, uncharacteristically meticulous in shielding the soft fabric from any trace of staining chocolate.
She glances up, however, once Minnie approaches her again. Purely defensive now, the ballerina snarls uncertainly before the creature's unrelenting glare, tightening an arm around the stuffed prairie dog while she shoves the rest of the chocolate unceremoniously into her mouth. "'Uggah aah!"
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