[FIN] Natural Selection: Cottage Style (Seth, Dacj, Eli)

[elfgurl1234]

Subtitle: "Darwin Never Saw This One Coming"*

For whatever reason, Dacj had called earlier yesterday afternoon and rather insisted that he stop by for a visit. Not that he at all minded stopping by the Cottage, but he had unfortunately been scheduled for the late shift last night and had been unable to come then. Today, however, he was free, so the two had made plans to hang out this afternoon instead. Part of him couldn't help but wonder however if there was any particular reason that she wished to see him so soon.

The weather report this morning had said there was a 60% chance of rain today so Seth had decided to drive today rather than walk. The cloudy skies didn't bode to well for staying dry otherwise, and he rather did not wish to take his chances. The drive to the Cottage was a rather short one, and, after parking the car out front, the cheetah Hyte stepped out of the car and made his way over to the front door.

It's been a while since I've stopped by, he noted to himself as he rang the doorbell and waited patiently. I should probably make an effort to visit more often.


*Title and subtitle courtesy of AnimeEyeshime  

[AnimeEyeshime]

The door flung open promptly to reveal a bikini-topped Dacj, sarong tied about her waist and holding what, upon close inspection, appeared to be a cocktail glass but had to be the M*cktail the Cottage had just welcomed home recently. "Seth! Come in, come in! Phoebs and I were just getting a swim in before the rain comes, and taking Mirth along for the ride. Mom jiggered up a lid so we had her on a floatie in the pool~" 'Mirth' of course had to refer to the drink, who seemed incredibly put out for a drink. Maybe it was just one's imagination...

Dacj shut the door behind the cheetah, and gestured for him to head to the dining room. It had been forever since they'd really used it properly, since Mom tended to eat in the lab and Missy was a scarce sight except outside near the pool, and Shimy of course was usually locked up in the library 'round now. That meant it was just up to Dacj and Phoebe, and they hardly bothered to sit down for meals. It was a full dining setup though, probably could hold the entire kuppy family and their significant others. She set Mirth's glass down on the table, gave it a friendly, reassuring pat, and turned back to the cheetah with a grin. "How've ya been? Haven't seen you since the party at HQ."  

[elfgurl1234]

"Mirth?" Seth questioned glancing at the cocktail momentarily as he stepped inside. He hadn't been around for much of the HQ party, so he had missed seeing the new drinks handed out at the end. It seemed that Dacj managed to be one of the lucky recipients.

He followed her into the dinning room and looked about the room briefly, wondering if the lavish set-up was ever even used. "Ah, I've been well. Just a bit busy is all," he replied with a smile. "What about yourself? I see you have a new little addition to the family now." The mention of which made Seth wonder once again exactly how Maxwell kept the little drinks a secret from Jun and Maxx.  

[AnimeEyeshime]

"Mmm, glass-babysitting's fallen to me," Dacj said, giving the glass another gentle pat on the rim. "Shimy's demonic with sweets so I didn't want to let her out of my sight--Mirth, that is. A few more days and she'll be out of her glass~ We're looking forward to it." She glanced around the empty room and shrugged. "Since things are very unlively for once. Mom's busy, Shimy's busy, Eli's busy with moving, Uncle Na-kun took Sorcha off on some vacation thing..." What she meant to say was that the Cottage felt empty, which it did. It felt silly to openly admit her loneliness on the matter, though.

"Mirth should provide...well, some mirth. And it'll be the first kid in awhile that hasn't had to come back from the future," she added wryly.  

[elfgurl1234]

Seth had to chuckle. "Yes, it is probably best to preserve the space-time continuum if at all possible," he said with a small smile. "Things are unlively here at the Cottage though? Never thought I'd see the day." The smile turned into a faint smirk. "I suppose we must change that. Any suggestions perhaps?" He figured perhaps that the reason behind the invite was mostly boredom. That was fine though, he enjoyed hanging out with any of the kuppy family.  

[AnimeEyeshime]

"I know, right?" Dacj said, with a wry smile. It was downright boring! And everyone was off for the summer and it was no fun at all. Still, that's why she'd brought Seth over, right?

"Actually...I did have something in mind," the kraken said brightly. She grabbed Mirth's glass again by the stem with one hand, sending the liquid inside sloshing about dangerously as she grabbed Seth's hand with her other, dragging him down the hallway to the living room.

The couches had been pushed back, and a large rectangular plastic mat covered in rows of different colored dots lined the floor. Phoebe wiggled in the armchair, spinner board on her lap. "So we're gonna play, right? Right?!"

"Feel like playing Twister with a couple of tentacle monsters?" Dacj said, with a wide grin and a quirked eyebrow. "We'll go easy on you--at first, anyway."  

[elfgurl1234]

Seth wasn't sure whether to laugh or... to react in some other fashion when he saw the Twister mat splayed out on the floor. Surely this was payback for the jab he had made at Eli, although it was still rather amusing. "Hello, Phoebe," the cheetah Hyte greeted with his usual smile, amber eyes soon going back to the twister mat. "I believe that the two of you will have the distinct advantage in this game, but sure, I'll join. Will we be taking turns with the spinner then?" This was going to be interesting to say the least...  

[AnimeEyeshime]

"Actually, I ought to be able to manage it with a club," Dacj said, moving to place Mirth on top of one of the shelves on the entertainment center, so she could watch in her glass out of harm's way. "Might take a couple tries before I get the swish-flick right, but practice makes perfect~"

"Hello, Seth!" Phoebe piped back merrily, bouncing over (quite literally on her gelatinous four legs) with spinner under her arm, presenting it to Dacj before giving Seth a quick hug in greeting. "Don't worry, we can be on a team together and trip Dacj up!"

"Betrayal! My own older sister, conspiring against me!" Dacj said dramatically, a hand fluttering to her heart as if she were mortally wounded. Though it wasn't apparent to look at them now, Dacj never forgot the young jellyfish hybrid was her older sister, and had watched over her protoform tube. Just because Dacj was bigger and maybe a bit more mature now didn't mean Phoebe wasn't still chronologically older--the kraken always thought this was an important distinction to make.  

[elfgurl1234]

"Team work can accomplish many things," Seth remarked with a smirk, gently patting the jelly mer's head head as she hugged him. "Perhaps we should establish some ground rules first though? Are tentacles going to count under both arms and legs, or just legs?" If they counted for both then it might make things a bit too easy for the kraken Hyte. Just as legs though meant she would at least have to move her arms around more.  

[AnimeEyeshime]

"My clubs are arms, the rest are legs," Dacj said without hesitation. That still gave her an enormous advantage, but she continued on with, "And I'm not good enough with balance to stand with less than three of my tentacles, so I'll go even further and say I'm only using my legs in pairs of two. So four legs, four arms--it could be worse for you~"

"Mmm...I guess that's fair," Phoebe agreed. After all, she had four legs herself, and two arms. "So? We know the rules? Ready to play?"  

[elfgurl1234]

"That sounds far," Seth agreed with a nod of his head. Limiting the limbs in that fashion helped to even the odds a lot. "Let's play then."

The cheetah Hyte had never actually played Twister before, but it was a simple enough game that he knew what to do. It wasn't too difficult at first either. Left foot here, right hand there, right foot here... It didn't start getting too challenging until the closer colors were occupied and one had to stretch across for an open one. "I don't suppose a tail can count for a free limb?" he asked with a small laugh as he tried to reach back behind him for a blue circle.  

[AnimeEyeshime]

"W-e-e-e-e-l-l," Dacj drawled, leisurely contorted in a way that someone with regular legs would never be able to manage, "I suppose it's only fair. Since Phoebs and I both have four legs and all, a tail should count for something."

"Do the next one!" Phoebe said commandingly. Even the jellyfish was starting to show some strain--she was smallest and thus had limited reach. She trembled now and again, sending ripples over her entire body.

"All right, all right~ Green right hand!"  

[elfgurl1234]

It was a small relief to be able to use his tail in some of the harder to reach places. The game continued on, and they were very soon quite tangled. The position most certainly wasn't an easy one to hold either, and he could feel his supporting arm nearly ready to give way. "What's the next color?" he asked, trying his best not to let any of the strain show in his voice. The cheetah Hyte might have been at a major disadvantage, but right now neither of the girls were in very easy positions either. Sooner or later someone would give way.  

[AnimeEyeshime]

Phoebe was the first to fall. "Blue left foot!" Dacj called. The jellyfish reached, and reached--and then overbalanced, toppling to the mat with a squeal. She managed to wriggle her way off the mat, and took up a seat by the spinner.

"I'll spin from now on--it's a one on one battle now!" Phoebe declared.

Dacj chuckled. "Oh, it is so on. Seth--be prepared!"  

[elfgurl1234]

Seth had nearly fallen himself when Phoebe had lost her balance beneath him, but the cheetah Hyte was thankfully able to recover. He smirked at Dacj's declaration. "I won't make it so easy for you to win."

It was marginally easier at first having six more open circles again, but that didn't change the fact that they were already in weird positions. Not to mention the fact that since it was now down to the two of them, each was trying their best to trip the other up without losing their own balance. Suffice it to say, they were soon in a rather awkward tangle. "What's next, Phoebs?" he asked, feeling extremely awkward with their current positioning and hoping to quickly move.