[ORP:Ded] A Lazy Day in HyTech... [Colt+Mena+Triane+Mw+Etc]

[Maxx D]

What was formally known as the "Main Hyte Activity Area" was thoughtfully carpeted to protect little Hytelings from injury, and sometimes to give punishing carpet burns to violent tussling by the older ones. The computers in the corners flashed merry screensavers - Jun had refused to turn them off by citing something about "Internet" and "IV drip", despite the fact he had a laptop in his room. Nevertheless, it gave a good electrical glow to the room and kept Belle busy as she wondered how to cut down on electrical costs without actually switching them off.

Demi would occasionally turn and glance over to ensure everything was in good order, and a withering gaze if the situation called for it. Sometimes Jules would wander in and past into the staff lounge, with Quincy enthusiastically following.

Currently there was only one person in the area, sprawled lazily and messily on the floor. Maxwell - "a grossly overgrown Hyte," Demi once stated - sporadically turned to lie on his back; otherwise he lounged on his front, resting his head on his paws.

"I need company." He growled.

"Keep that up and you'll never get any." His master said as he emerged from the male washroom and exited into the staff lounge.  

[AnimeEyeshime]

'Mena's house may or may not have been on fire--she was still rather fuzzy about the details as the alarms had gone off, and she'd followed a squeaking Ellery outside where her mother was promptly "wigging out," as she'd heard someone say once. There had been lots of big shiny red trucks and high pressure hoses that she'd been quick to retreat from--water was not the young Hyte's friend. Mama had grabbed her by the paw, practically tossed her (still clutching little Ellery of course) inside, and soon enough they'd arrived at Hybrid Technica.

Mama had explained that she needed to go back home to talk to the nice people with the high pressure hoses and get everything sorted out, so for now could she just play nicely inside with Belle and her other friends from HyTech. 'Mena had nodded solemnly (always the best course when dealing with a hysterical parent, in her opinion), and plodded inside with a moderately calm miniature pink tentacle monster in her hands, only to see the older Hyte who'd messed with Colt's Magic Box. She didn't know if she could trust him--he'd called them shrimps, after all--so she stood there, frowning thoughtfully at Maxwell.  

[Maxx D]

Sighting that Belle had gently and cheerily ushered in a little kitty girl, he stretched his paws out and sat up. He was too lethargic to actually move, so akin to a maneki neko he beckoned 'Mena over.

"I see one of the shrimps comes with an octopus!" He said with condescending glee. "You do know you're going to feel the urge to eat that thing sometime, right? It even looks cooked!" His last rumination had evidently given him primitive urges; his claws were extended - but he consciously withdrew them and attempted a kind look at Mena, which was immediately ruined by his toothy carnivorous smile.

"Come closer, little girl?" He selected a bad choice of words. "I don't bite."  

[Kuro Maata]

Colton had been minding his own business, playing with the magic box when it had exploded in his face. Colton didn't know what had happened since his hearing had temporarily gone haywire, what with the suddenness and the sheer terror he showed by jumping three feet into the air. Kuro had rushed in, taking him up and telling him that she would have to get a new magic box for him that he knew how to work. The puppy boy was both sad and scared; he cried for a few minutes before asking the inevitable question. "Mom, where do magic boxes come from?"

Not wanting to ruin the surprise, Kuro hesitated. "Well, I have to go and ask the great magic box wizard to make me a new one; it might take some time, so I'm going to drop you off at Hytech, okay?" Colt simply nodded and hummed to himself as he sat in the backseat of the car on the way to the place he'd been for the Christmas party. He happily jumped out of the car when it stopped in front of the entrance, standing on tip-toes to kiss Kuro on the cheek. "I'll be back when the magic box is done, okay hun?" Again, Colt nodded, turning to the entranceway and nearly skipping inside. Kuro smiled at her little boy's enthusiasm and drove off to the nearest electronic store - erm, nearest magic box wizard...

The puppy boy made his way inside, spotting 'Mena and almost ran over to pounce on her in greeting, but he also saw that other guy, the one that had called him a 'shrimp' and had made the magic box listen to him. On one hand, Colt wanted to ask the other Hyte how he'd done it, but, on the other, he was a little disgruntled about the insult. So, Colton warily stepped closer to his batch-mate, standing just behind and to the side of her. "Hi, 'Mena," he whispered softly, keeping his eyes on the older feline Hyte.  

[RuthieAngel]

Io, Ganymede and Callisto were playing a roaring game of 'Pin the Tail on the Dead Cockroach' in the farthest corner of the Hytech Lab. They were avoiding Maxwell at all costs. He had been eyeballing them most of the morning with a look of pure hunger on his face.

Mena had come in and peaked the little one's interest. They liked Mena but were a little weary of her too since she looked a lot like that Maxwell character.

Io drop-kicked the dead carcass and watched it skitter across the lab floor. Ganymede quickly scurried after it and almost ran square into Maxwell's backside. He pulled on the breaks and started to run in the opposite direction. Io and Callisto just stood there with their jaws totally slack.

When Colton came in, all three ran as fast as they could toward the sweet puppy that they knew Ruthie loved ever so much.  

[Demi End]

Midway through the tedium of database revamping, a flurry of motion from Ruthie's Stocking Stuffers caught Demi's eye - a quick glance back revealed, in plain sight, a…a…

A DEAD INSECT.

Indefensible. She rose from her seat with single-minded purpose, halting in her drive to exile the offending object only to retrieve the necessary tools from the storage space behind the stairwell.

"Get out of the way and make yourself useful," she muttered as she snapped up the cadaver in a sterile bag and shoved Maxwell towards the wary young Hytes [and Bytes], spraying the area liberally with disinfectant. A discreet trip to the garbage lot later, HyTech was dead-cockroach-free once more. Work was grimly resumed.  

[RuthieAngel]

The little bytes stared in awe at the swiftness and severity of Demi. She scared them more than anyone else in the whole Hytech crew, yet they were strangely drawn to her stern and mysterious ways.

Callisto inched away from Colton and her fellow stuffers and crawled noiselessly toward Demi. She crept up to Demi's chair and pulled herself up on to the swiveling chair's leg. There she curled up into a small ball and fell asleep.

Io and Ganymede couldn't believe what they were seeing. They knew any minute that Demi would discover the unwanted 'pest' on her chair and they could only imagine what would happen.

So enthralled were they with the daring Callisto that they neglected to notice that Maxwell was now only a few feet away.  

[AnimeEyeshime]

'Mena gave Maxwell a very skeptical glance as she drew the now rather alarmed Ellery closer to her body. "S'not an octopus," she said with a sniff, and thought about informing the older Hyte about why it was a very bad idea to attempt to eat a tentacle monster, but her scheming was interrupted by the arrival of her batch-mate, and she turned to look at him with a quick grin. "Colt~ This might be fun now!" She watched the tiny Byte creatures scamper up to the dog boy with curious eyes. Those looked cool...  

[RuthieAngel]

Io and Ganymede had to think fast to get out of eating distance of Maxwell. Unfortunately the only one close enough to hide behind was Mena and they just weren't sure about her yet. Io, being the largest of the three, decided that it was either in Maxwell's belly or this cute little cat girl's belly. He liked the idea of the cat girl better.

He grabbed Ganymede by the hand and rushed over to Mena..  

[Maxx D]

The entrance of the shrimpy young canine-boy attracted Maxwell's attention, which was soon disrupted by a rough shove by Demi. He emitted a sulky mrew as she went about her disinfecting. His eyes darted to Mena. "If it's not an octopus, maybe a squid? You're gonna eat it someday." His ear turned back as the spraying ceased - he'd lost the attention of the feline child.

Once Demi'd accomplished her business and returned to the counter, he'd noticed multicoloured bobbleheads trailing from Colton and Mena's side to Demi's chair - Bytes. His tail swished, and he turned his gaze back to the two shrimpy kids.

"Hey." He hissed loudly. "You guys wanna be more than shrimps? Wanna make a deal?" He tilted his head to a side, and gave a fanged grin.  

[RuthieAngel]

Io and Ganymede were not interested in the tone of Maxwell's voice. They knew all too well what his kind of deals included.

Ganymede jumped into Colton's lap.

Callisto just kept on sleeping. Oblivious to the world.  

[AnimeEyeshime]

'Mena watched the Bytes scamper towards her with a cocked head. "C'mere, little ones," she cooed, shifting Ellery the crook of one arm and gesturing towards Io and Ganymede with her now free paw. "I won't hurt you. See? This is Ellery." The pink tentacle monster peered over an arm and waved a friendly tentacle or three.

At Maxwell's words, 'Mena looked up suspiciously at the older Hyte. "It's common to inform one of the terms of the deal before any acceptance is required," she said. While being elevated in status was mildly appealing, she had an awful feeling it involved Maxwell eating the cute little Bytes.  

[RuthieAngel]

Io started to cry. He didn't want to be eaten. He grabbed Mena's tail and held on for dear life.  

[Maxx D]

Maxwell rested back on his haunches, assessing the situation.
"Well, it looks like you've almost got half the deal done. It was 'collect the cute little sweetbytes' up, which was your bit." He tossed his head back a bit, and purred "Next comes 'give them to me'. I know their names 'course," pointed with one claw, "Io, Ganymede..."

"...And Callisto." He said brightly, the claw moving to point at Demi's chair. "Whoever gets that - I mean, her - automatically ascends from any crustacean status. That would be pretty impressive."

"See, I'm on intimate terms, non?" And in an attempt to be non-threatening, he rolled onto his back, and blinked charmingly at the little ones. "It's not too hard. Unless, of course, you barnacles can't handle it."  

[AnimeEyeshime]

Mena twitched in surprise at a sudden addition to her tail, and used her free paw to pull her tail over so that Io could see Ellery and said comfortingly, "It's okay, little one...I won't eat you," she said, shooting a particularly dark look at Maxwell when she mentioned eating things. "Ellery, say hello." The pink tentacles waved again at the Byte.

She frowned again at Maxwell. She didn't really trust people that smiled like that. And he wanted to eat the Bytes. And Ellery. "They're scared of you. Why would we have to get them for you if you were 'friends' with them?"