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 Posted: Sun Jan 25, 2009 8:32 pm
"Thank you! We can use all the help we can get!"
Eponine froze uneasily when he asked why the chickens were secret. "Well... It's sort of complicated," she admitted, feeling as if she were divulging military secrets. But hey, it was a safe secret, wasn't it? "Uh, when... When my friend came to LOTUS, you see, she's from a farm, so she's used to having animals around... Well, she bought chickens because she thought it was normal, but you know... We ended up sort of hiding the chickens," she admitted lamely. "She didn't exactly get the approval of higher-ups- You won't tell anyone, will you?" Eponine asked uneasily. "I mean, they're just chickens; they're harmless..." Well, they were harmless unless if they decided to peck you to death. And turning on the lights to find that one's room was full of chickens was quite a surprise, even though it happened more than one would expect. "But they lay lots of eggs and all," Eponine added defensively. "And they eat leftovers and we put the droppings in the fertilizer. So they're really economical, really..." On impulse, she added, "I mean, you can come feed them sometime. They're sort of funny." As soon as the words were out of her mouth, Eponine began worrying. What if, what if, what if?
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Posted: Tue Feb 17, 2009 3:26 pm
The corners of Archer's mouth quirked. He could guess which friend Eponine was tactfully not mentioning and he tried to look as serious as possible as he nodded. "I promise to guard the secret with all of my powers as a gentleman." he swore to her and then quickly answered her next question. "No! ...No, I'm quite fine as far as chicken feeding goes. Thank you for offering, but animals and I tend not to mix well." He looked sheepish as he admitted it. Gentlemen were supposed to at least be good with horses and dogs but Archer couldn't even get on with those staples of a gentleman's idle life. "But the chickens sound quite useful. I wouldn't say they're out of place in a building meant to support life in the middle of nowhere. They're really quite sensible."
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Posted: Tue Feb 17, 2009 10:58 pm
Eponine nearly jumped with relief. "You are a gentleman!" she exclaimed in wonder. She had never really seen one before, after all, only pretenders to the title and robots. "Oh thank you!"
The chickens were noisy, pooped a lot, and pecked everything, but Eponine found that she rather liked the chickens. They were like Estrelas, in a way, with a sort of earthy outlook to life and an acceptance of anyone they took a liking to. Still, it could get messy, the feeding, and she understood why Archer didn't want to come out covered in gloop and feathers. "You don't like animals?" she asked, slightly curious about the Englishman. He wore a suit and hat- was he some sort of royalty or noble or something?
"They are, useful really. And my friend says that it's nice to sleep in a room full of chickens on a cold night." Well, Eponine had never tried that before personally, but she took Estrelas' word for it.
Behind Eponine, a chicken strutted across the marble floor.
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Posted: Wed Feb 18, 2009 2:51 pm
"Well," Archer said with a sort of dry humour, "I hope I am a gentleman, anyway. It's my pleasure." Eponine's comment piqued Archer's curiosity and he asked "Have you known many gentlemen?" He knew that there were several in LOTUS, but whether they acknowledged they were or not was a mystery to him. Not everyone who was a gentleman tried to be, after all.
"No, not particularly. I fear that they are-" He froze and stared ahead, putting a finger to his mouth. "Shhh." Creeping slowly around Eponine, he edged closer to the bird and finally leapt at it, arms outstretched.
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Posted: Wed Feb 18, 2009 5:22 pm
Eponine thought curiously. Well, maybe there were a few candidates for the title at LOTUS. She had met nice men here, like Nice Shane, who had given her the lovely hat. But thinking back to the theater... She wondered if robots counted- not robots like herself, but the programmed machines that she was designed to replace.
"I... I've certainly met a few nice people here in LOTUS," she slowly replied. "I'm not sure if they'd consider themselves gentlemen. Would you have to consider yourself a gentlemen in order to be one?"
"What are you-" Eponine stopped when he shushed her. What was he doing?
Archer's sudden movement sent her on red alert before her actually processing unit had time to react. Eponine screamed (as was programmed into her) and scrambled away faster than a startled cockroach. "What are you doing?" she yelled as soon as she got her mouth back under control.
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Posted: Wed Feb 18, 2009 6:14 pm
Archer grabbed the chicken just as Eponine screamed and he held it tight as it struggled. "I'm terribly sorry, Miss Eponine!" he called as he was attacked by the bird and clucked at. "I was afraid I would scare it if I said anything!" Wrestling with it, he finally managed by a positive feat of acrobatics to wrap it in his jacket so it would at least struggle less. Holding it up, he took a deep breath. "I believe this belongs to you." he said finally, holding out the chicken.
"As for gentlemen, I believe you just are one whether you choose to be or not." he said finally. "Some people are natural gentlemen." Archer was not one of their number.
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Posted: Thu Feb 19, 2009 4:31 pm
Had he gone mad? Did he have rabies? Was there something wrong with his brain chemicals? Eponine thought, frightened. First Archer had sudden lunged over. Then he seemed to start dancing? She didn't know how to deal with regular humans, much less insane ones. Quickly, she sifted through what she did know about demonic possession (thanks to Estrelas). Put him in a lake? Flog him at noon? Tie him naked next to a barrel of frogs on the first full moon of the month?
Maybe she should run and get one of the Sians-
Oh.
Eponine covered her mouth in relief as Archer turned around with the struggling bundle.
"A chicken!" she exclaimed, half in surprise and half in something else. The Englishman had risked injury and took off his jacket to catch the chicken!
Eponine gladly took the bundle and unwrapped the chicken, holding it securely. She dusted feathers off of the jacket and handed it back to Archer, smiling for the first time since their meeting.
"Thank you! You really are a gentleman!"
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Posted: Sat Mar 07, 2009 7:41 pm
Archer held the jacket gingerly, looking at it with suspicion before he folded it up and tucked it under his arm. He paused, and then unfolded it and put it on. Wearing a chicken jacket was still more dignified than going jacketless.
He smiled back with somewhat sheepish post-praise foolishness. "It was nothing, Miss. Anything to make a lady's life a bit easier." Still, it had been a tough fight. A tad worriedly, he queried "Ah... But out of curiosity, how many other chickens are about?" He wasn't sure he could handle another.
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Posted: Wed Jul 15, 2009 2:23 pm
Eponine was still smiling brightly even through Archer's discomfort with the chicken-y jacket. Misinterpreting his discomfort, she said reassuringly, "Don't worry Mr. Wells. These chickens don't have rabies. They're real safe."
Wait, to make a lady's life a bit easier? Was he referring to her as a lady? Eponine? It would be embarrassing if she thanked him and he meant something else, but it would be mean if she didn't say anything... "A lady? You mean me? Thank you?" she asked sheepishly.
"Well... Not too many," Eponine said defensively. "There were only about fifteen chickens in the pen that broke, and now you've just caught one!" she exclaimed, smiling hopefully at Archer.
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Posted: Wed Jul 15, 2009 2:58 pm
Rabies? Archer eyed the chicken somewhat more suspiciously but did not deign to comment. If Miss Eponine thought they were safe, he would tentatively take her word for it, but he was reminded strongly of just how much he despised animals. They were messy, loud, occasionally diseased, and highly improper.
He softened though as she thanked him and flashed her a wan smile. He could put up with chickens and rabies, he supposed, if it was in the line of duty. "You," he told the French operative, since she seemed to sound uncertain, "Are certainly a pleasant lady indeed. Do not let anyone persuade you otherwise."
What she said next though was perhaps not so charming and he suppressed an ungentlemanly shudder. Fourteen chickens. Fourteen chickens running around LOTUS doing whatever chickens did (and he had no doubt that whatever chickens did, they did not do it tidily). "A-ah. I see. Well, I suppose that, as with all unpleasant situations, we must deal with it one chicken at a time."
He paused, looking at the chicken in her hands and frowned slightly. "So now that we have the bird, where shall we deposit it? I was on my way to the library when first we met, but I cannot just leave you here holding a farm animal and my trip was certainly not urgent." He coughed. "And besides, with fourteen more afoot, it may be useful information to know."
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Posted: Wed Jul 15, 2009 8:34 pm
Eponine's cheeks blushed heavily (thanks to a series of tiny hydraulic workings under one of her protective silicon layers pumping a light dye) when Archer called her a pleasant lady. "Uh- uh- well... Thank you, well, thank you!" she exclaimed, smiling wider. So this human thing could really work out after all! "You are a pleasant gentleman too."
She frowned slightly in thought, holding the struggling chicken. "Well, I can just go put it back in the new pen," she said. Was it polite to ask to go to the library or take her leave? She decided to disguise it as a cultural question. Eponine thought it rather clever, in fact. "So, in England, what is proper for a lady to do in my situation?" There!
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