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 Posted: Wed Nov 29, 2006 9:25 pm
Solo reaction to interview.
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Posted: Wed Nov 29, 2006 9:27 pm
Helping the Neighbors
It was unfair, least in Joli's mind Sean had been such a nice guy, he didn't deserve what had happened, he didn't deserve to be dead... She had mulled this over all night, hidden away from everyone in her original duplex. Now however her body craved the warmth of the sun on her scales and she was attempting to get out of the duplex once more... it was getting to the point where she nearly was tempted to buzz the labs for help... but was she ready to risk dealing with the git again so soon. So with intermittent curses, mostly french, escaping her mouth she repeatedly kept trying to get the door handle open resulting in a lot of scratching/scraping noises on the inside of the door, she knew eventually she'd wear right through the wood of the door with the sharp claws she bore
Richard was on the way to the cafe to grab lunch as he walked by the duplexes. He was halfheartedly looking for his misplaced cane, left somewhere during the night of Shenzi's transformation. He got along fine with out it except for stairs in the village but it made moving his girth alot easier. He was paused when a sort of scrabbling reached his ears, followed by a loud curse. Well it certainly sounded like a curse but it wasn't one that he knew. He looked at the door, curious, then the scrabbling continued. He stepped up to it cautiously and knocked on the door.
"Excuse me, but are you alright in there?"
There was a pause and silence for nearly a minute, it wasn't a voice Joli was familiar with... but even so she wanted out "Can't reach the handle" she eventually admitted, her distinctly British accent coming through the door at the person on the other side. It wasn't something she REALLY wanted... to meet someone she didn't know, she was still scared of people's reactions to her appearance
"Can't reach the handle?" Richard repeated quietly, somewhat perplexed. "Would you like me to open it for you? Is the door unlocked?" That was louder, intended to be heard. The voice had a note of confusion in it but sounded friendly.
"Please... it's not locked... I can't reach the lock to lock it either" she backed up a bit into the darkness which was the inside of the duplex, not quite as dark as upstairs... but close
"Alright then." Richard opened the door and peered into the duplex. He was wearing one of his self tailored suits if holes cut for his tentacles and extra arms. The Tentacles as usual when meeting new people, were in their striking pose above Richard's shoulders
Joli squinted up into the light that poured into the room from the outside, after a little bit of focusing she could see he was not unchanged, and she was rather relieved it wouldn't be someone she'd have to explain the island to. After a moment she moved towards the door her yellow tongue flickering "Thankyou" she said quietly
Richard should have put two and two together and expected a non-morphic islander but Joli's appearance was still a bit jarring. He blinked a few times before recovering himself, forcing a friendly smile onto his face. "Ah, well. Your welcome." He moved aside a bit to let her move through the doorway. "I don't believe we've met yet. Name's Richard."
"I'm Joliette, I dont think we have.." she paused next to him looked up at him, the sight was a touch daunting, she wasn't used to this still and then she moved outside "Guess eventually I'll have to figure out how to make this easier"
"Pleased to meet you." The smile was genuine now. Richard studied the door's handle for a moment. "Hrrmm. I suppose I could jury rig something with some duct tape and twine if you'd like." He looked down at her and then her fore claws. "Do you still have thumbs? I seem to remember Pyroth did." At least she seemed very coherent despite her form. He found both that and the fact she was still living in her duplex an encouraging sign.
"Thumbs" she paused and turned holding up a front 'paw' "not really... would have to be something that a claw could hook on... and not cut..." she would have sighed about then if she could have instead she just studied him and his odd appearance
"Well, I could tie it to a block of wood. Perhaps you could bite on that and pull?" A bit undigified perhaps but Joli looked like she might be beyond the point where that worried her. He stole a glance around the duplex, curious about who this woman was/had been.
The duplex was not only dark, but it looked bare besides the original furniture that was in the duplex. "Whatever needs to be done.. or I have to call the gits at the labs. If you feel creative enough" she nods a lil
"I'm sure I can rig something up." He smiled, feeling useful made him very happy. "Just need a few things from the village center. If they allowed us power tools I could probably do something permanent but we'll have to jury rig something for now. Would you like me to? I'm not doing anything pressing at the moment." His stomach grumbled a bit in protest but it was easy to ignore for now.
Joli stopped a few feet out from the duplex in the nice warm sunshine and turned to face him "well we could do something sure... uhmm the storage is like on the side of the building, and it does have tools, that's how I built the darkroom upstairs" she glances up at the boarded up duplex above the one she had come out of
Richard nods, "Exactly where I'm heading. That's where we built the message board." He starts walking in that direction. "Darkroom eh? You an artist?" He hoped it wasn't that sore of a topic.
"Photographic journalist... or was at least" she replies quietly as she lumbers over the village square... "uhm, you wouldn't mind bringing some out would you? it's kinda cold in there, I just want to stay in the sun." she asks him
"Certainly." At least he wouldn't have that problem. He had yet to meet a feline islander or realize just how strong the instincts seem to get, he really had no idea what he was in for. He went into the shed. Rummaged around for a bit and returned with a small plank of wood, some rope and a roll of duct tape. When he came back he continued the conversation. "Another journalist eh? Thought I was the only one. Came here for an interview actually."
In the time that he had gone inside she'd found a comfortable place in teh sun and had closed her eyes, hearing his voice however she opened them once more. "Yes, I came here more on accident then anything... I was following a tip that Vasile DeRossi was faking his own death... found the isle from afar on a yacht that I rented with a telescopic lens... Got tricked onto the isle by the promise of an exclusive to a movie" and with that she let out a low growl
Richard knew Vasile was an islander but who he was in real life was completely lost on him. He hadn't really followed hollywood in the last ten years. He shook his head frowning. "That seems to be the standard procedure. I guess I was lucky, Moreau spelled it out for me, then knocked me out and handed me over to Sabin." Richard tone was a little bitter but he had grown used to telling the story.
"That doesn't sound like much fun... the git has had it out for me since I got here, I swear... honestly I do... When I got here I was a vegan... now look at me" she stopped and rested her head on a front paw as she sorta lay there 'curled' up and watched him with the wood and tape
Richard took the hand drill, braced the piece of wood on the concrete landing of the shed and started to bored a hole through it, grunting with the effort. "Just have to make do with what we have I guess. Hope someday this turns out to be a house of cards." He finished the hole and poked a bit of rope through it, then tied it in a messy knot. Rope-work wasn't his forte. He held it out to Joli. "Can you grab this?"
Joliette lifts her head and looked at the roped wooden handle thing and lifted a clawed fore-paw and then eventually lifted it just high enough to catch the wood with her claws and gave it a tug... a rather firm tug though not intentionally so "Seems so... I so would love for Moreau to be caught in all this... and punished for it"
"Well I'm sure there will be plenty of witnesses ready to testify. I know I've filled a couple journals with evidence already." Richard nodded with satisfaction at his handy work. "That will serve I think. Now we'll just duct tape it your handle on your door." Richard switch topics, "Still, it beats the Congo so far. What sort of journalism did you do? Mostly celebrity?"
"I worked for World Weekly News in Britain, a little of everything is my work... this isn't going to be easy to adjust to not being able to do what I love to." she pulls her hand back and nods, "are you making two? I can't get in easily either inside or out"
Richard blinked and then looked a bit embarrassed. "Oh right. Forgot about that." He went back inside the shed for a moment to grab some more wood. Upon his return he set about repeating the process. As he worked he talked. "I don't suppose you could go digital? Get a motorized tripod and camera. Should be able to work that with practice right? Trim a claw or two." Richard was apparently looking at the bright side of things today. He was always a strong proponent of learning to work with what you have.
"I dont know, I've never tried anything outside the normal. I suppose I guess" she wasn't holding much hope in continuing what she loved to do. "What kind of journalism you do?"
"well I was a hotspot blogger. Embedded myself with the red cross in the Congo and in Baghdad for a few years." Richard speaks with pride. "Then well I had a heart attack and went into profiling various CEO's personal histories and comparing it to their business decisions. It was supposed to be less dangerous." He grinned.
"Less dangerous" she gave what could just about be deciphered as a laugh, having no diaphragm for laughing though it was kinda tough to be laughing. "I suppose that's one thing we can all wish for at least... " she looked towards the labs general direction
Richard turned a bit serious, "Well at least your done right? You survived with your sense of humor intact eh?"
"Yes I suppose you can say that... done... I'd rather have not even started" She watches his handiwork as he makes a second 'handle' for her door. "What are they making you become?"
Richard looked a bit uncomfortable thinking about his impending change. He knew it couldn't be long now. He scowled at the board, his hole was a bit crooked. It would serve. "A very odd cat. I've never cared for cats." Oh and there was a chance he'd go insane too.
"Seems then like to go with cruel and ironic changes, like me... I was vegan, now look at me, I cant even eat veggies at all" her eyes watched his extra limbs. "Certainly is a... odd cat"
Richard attempted to appear nonchalant about it but it was clear that it was bothering him. "It Sabin's cat apparently. My serum is based on his pet." The last word was almost spat. He finished tying the knot around the plank. "Alright, now we have two. Won't be much of a security system though."
"Nothing to secure here, for the most part it's safe... That sounds like the git's cruel nature... one time before I'd first changed, I saw him in the jungle and we got into it... and next thing I know I'm waking up hanging from two meat hooks in the walk in fridge of the cafeteria" she puts her head down again on her front paw (hand)
Richard nods, he hadn't personally encountered Sabin's wrath besides the cruel nature of the Halloween trail. "Sabin is an odd character, sounds like you have a bit of a history with him." Really Richard just didn't see being a vegan turned carnivore was that bad. He didn't understand Vegans or even vegetarians. He started to move toward the duplex.
Joliette followed after him, her tail leaving a trail in the ground behind her. "Just slightly, just think perhaps I've been something of a project to him"
Richard searched for a change in topic as the two made their way across the village. "So you have a darkroom all setup? The labs let you do that?"
"Yes I do... actually the labs paid for all the supplies I needed for it... the git no less" she looked up at the boarded windows ahead
Richard knew very little about traditional photography, he either had a digital camera or sent in his film to be developed. "Hrrm, do you have a printer?" Richard wasn't sure if the idea's he had would be any use but it was good to know your options.
"Printer? you mean for a computer?" she was curious what was he was thinking of at that point in time
"Yeah a computer printer. I have my laptop but I didn't carry one around with me." They reached the duplex, Richard started to measure how much rope it would take to dangle the block at Joli's eye level.
"Yes I have a printer, my laptop, my camera, my lenses, among a lot of other things, it's all up there" she tips her head upwards to motion towards the upper duplex
Richard smiled a sort of conspiring smile as he tied the rope to the door. "Good to know. Ever thought about putting it to use? I mean news travels slow around here." His voice was low, he hoped to low for the mics.
"I've developed a lot of stuff up there yes, and writing things on my laptop... but I dont know what else I could do exactly, did you have something in mind?" now her journalistic side was getting curious and perked
Richard wasn't sure he wanted to explain his ideas, he supposed it wasn't a big deal. Writing a small newsletter but he was thinking of publishing Sabin's interview in it. He really wasn't sure what the reaction would be to that. "Well, I've got a bit of an itch to do a little informing. Expand on my letters a bit."
"informing" she lifted a claw and tapped it on her chin "Now there's a thought, that's kinda what brought me here to begin with, there is a lot of things that have happened here"
Richard began to menance the handle with the duct tape. He wasn't sure how long it would hold so he over did it. The handle was soon covered with an inch thick layer of duct tape. "Imagine you've got plenty of experiences that you'd love to share, since you've been here so long. People should know about the island, past and present. Don't you think?"
Now he was making the wheels turn in her head "You know, that's definitely something that could perk interest... Even though I've been here a long time, there's much I dont know either"
Richard stood back from the door and flashed Joli a toothy smile. "No harm in finding out more right?" Well there could be, but Richard hadn't let that stop him before and wasn't about to let it stop him now. "Give that a pull will you?" Gesturing toward the door.
Joliette nods and turns her head towards the 'handle' and moves forward and with a lot less difficulty then when she was trying to get out reached forward and hooked her claws on the 'handle' and gave it a tug relieved to see the door pop open an inch "Oh thank heavens... thankyou"
"Your welcome, I'm always glad to be some help. Much better than sitting around brooding." He'd done enough of that. With the door now open he moved to secure the other block to the inside. "Any chance you can type? Maybe if we set up a computer on the floor?"
"To be honest I haven't tried, I haven't even been able to get it out of the darkroom yet, I'm having door and counter problems everywhere I go at the moment" she admitted her problem at present
"Well I can help with that. Stairs make me grumble a bit but I think I can get over that for a fellow journalist."
"Right now stairs dont seem to be an issue, it's the door handles, carrying and reaching things that is my issue" she nods and her tongue flickers as she listens to his words
Richard ponders. "Well We could pull out the desk, put the handles on the doors and maybe put ramps to the bed. Use low bins for organizing things. Get a wide step stool that you could push around." He fixed up the inside door and Presented it to her.
Joliette nods for each and every note and idea he made, she had a feeling it was going to require a call to the labs, but she'd figure that out as it came. "You really have good ideas"
Richard grinned "Heh, I had an uncle that got his arms blown off in world war II. After practicing and a little help the man didn't need hands." He paused, "Dad refused to eat his cooking however." He chuckled. "Point is your not paralyzed, we just need to set things up properly."
Joliette chuckled and nodded "I will have to agree that I do have to get used to this, at this point, I've been in this position for a very short time. I'm not used to it"
"Alright, can you reach the intercom? Why don't you spend some time thinking about how you want to set things up and order what you need. Once it gets here give me a buzz. I'm in duplex 70. I'll see if I can't grab an extra pair of hands."
Joliette turns her head and looks way up at the intercom "Uhm no.. I think I'll just have to come scratch on your door. I can't really reach that" she pauses "but I would appreciate the extra help"
Richard peers at the intercom for a moment. He considers it, scratching his chin. "You need a poking stick."
she lifts a paw and shows a lack of true fingers "uhmm slight problem with that I think" she grumbles to herself a little inwardly
Richard took a pen out of his pocket a bit it. He held it in his mouth and moved it up and down. He wiggled his eyebrows for empathize.
"Ok Ok I get the point" she looked a touch sheepish... well as sheepish as the carnivore could
He winked and chuckled good naturedly. Alright I'll stop bother you. For now. Stop by when your ready for furniture moving." He turned to head off. He was getting hungry now.
"Thanks Richard.. I'm gonna do some sun soaking now I think" she nods and uses her new wooden handle to pull the door shut and headed for the beach
"Take care." With a wave Richard turned had headed toward the cafe
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Posted: Thu Nov 30, 2006 4:00 pm
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Posted: Thu Nov 30, 2006 4:04 pm
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Posted: Mon Dec 04, 2006 8:40 pm
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Posted: Mon Dec 04, 2006 8:42 pm
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Posted: Mon Dec 04, 2006 8:52 pm
Awhile after their convorsation either when Richard was there, after he'd gone out and come back to his duplex or even before he returned a small note in an envelope was slipped under his door. There was nothing written on the white envelope but it what was inside that may be of particular interest to the displacer beast. Quote: I know what you've probably heard or guessed from me by now. Especially by how I reacted to guessing your change. To tell you the truth Richard, because I think you deserve to know the truth, I have become good friends with Sabin. I know most people on the island don't like him, and for reasons of their own, but for some reason he is really nice to me. And he does share things that could potentially get him in trouble with Moreau. So, yeah… I don't know… that's the truth behind some things that'd I'd rather leave unclear to most islanders. But I'm not as far gone as a few people seem to think. I mean, hell, I tried to escape from the island already once. And I do disagree with everything here--if you couldn't tell by the graveyard happening. So... I'll help what I can. This is only to be between you and me Richard, our secret, I’m trusting you. I'll give what dirt on the labs I can, but I’m only communicating by letter and you have to destroy them once you read them. I told you my connection with Sabin and I do not want that jeopardized, by him getting angry or Moreau getting angry. When I have something for you I'll slip it under your door. It may not be often but I'll do my best to help you ruffle a few feathers. Besides, Moreau's dirty laundry deserves to be aired out on the island-at least we can get a chuckle out of his predicaments. That's about all I have to say. Tell me the sorts of things you're looking for and I'll do what I can to get the info for you. Heck, I may already know some of it. Your friend, Awen Zyn P.S. Please don't forget to destroy this letter.
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Posted: Mon Dec 04, 2006 8:56 pm
Richard reads the letter as soon as he finds it. Narrows his eyes at it and rips it to peices.
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Posted: Thu Dec 14, 2006 8:07 pm
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Posted: Sat Dec 23, 2006 12:42 pm
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Posted: Sat Dec 23, 2006 12:45 pm
Christmas Already? Cody Archer In front of the door of your duplex lies a small gift wrapped in regular paper by a string. There are some words scribbled with ordinary pen, saying: "Merry Xmas. From Cody" ((Cody doesn't remember the number of most of the duplexes his friends live in, so he painted gifts for everyone))
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Posted: Mon Dec 25, 2006 4:43 pm
(Reserved for staff gift)
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Posted: Fri Dec 29, 2006 9:56 pm
Outside your duplex door is a small gift, wrapped in simple lined paper with your name written on top, and a little card taped to the top. Upon opening the gift, you see an apparently blank CD;  The note reads: Richard
Hey Tatka! Been missin' ya lately. Sorry for the late present. Hope you like it, though. It's a CD of some of my band's songs. Enjoy, and merry christmas!
Love,
Shenzi
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Posted: Thu Jan 04, 2007 5:29 am
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Posted: Sat Jan 06, 2007 8:16 am
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