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Quicksilver the Archangel
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 Posted: Mon May 26, 2014 11:13 pm
It was pretty easy to direct Canopus to Sugar Shanty. Horatio had been there oodles of times and more so than ever with the discovery of a like minded prankster friend. Daran would just love the time and effort that had gone into this one even if he fussed at her for putting the fish in such a hard-to-reach place. (Richard, the other candyman would not like it at all but when did he ever like her pranks? Besides, he had fed her bubblegum disguised as salmon and that was not an offense that the Himalayan would soon forgive or forget!) Anyway, the thought still made her giggle and now she had a comfy, obliging friend to open the door for her and she was going through with it!
As they arrived on the rooftop, her keen ears curved this way and that. Her nose twitched in the night air, and naturally enough it was smacked right in the nostrils by the rotting fish that they had brought here. (That had been the whole point of getting the stinky thing in the first place.) She detected another smell under it, though, something… sweet. Sweet as fresh candy being made, however strange that was at this time of--
Oh. Oh no! He couldn’t possibly be in there. No way, not this late! The feline squirmed within the Senshi’s hold for the first time as they leapt down in front of the doorway, her little voice indignant and disappointed all at once whenever she saw that there was a light shining from within, “No, no, no this isn’t fair I spent the whole day coming up with this prank Canopusssss.”
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Posted: Mon May 26, 2014 11:13 pm
There were a few times when Sailor Canopus ventured to this part of city, but she remembered each visit fondly. When they approached the street Sugar Shanty was on, she couldn’t help but feel her stomach begin to rumble at the thought of all of the delicious sweets and candy that awaited them if they were indeed heading to the place she thought they were. She had only been there twice, but she remembered each visit well, and she was surprised to see it still there… after the mysterious explosion that left if entirely demolished and a coworker dead, Canopus had just assumed that it would have remained closed indefinitely.
How disappointed she was to see that though there was a store there, it felt… empty. She peered through the glass windows and saw no candies on the wall, nothing for display, and absolutely worst of all no chocolate near the freezers in the back. It was heartbreaking, but she couldn’t fault the store owner… recovering from the destruction of a business and the loss of a life took time to recover from, and it went deeper than piece together brick and mortar.
It seemed that Horatio was more disappointed at the light and the person inside than the empty shelves, and that did put a small damper on their little operation. She let Horatio leap from her hands and followed him to the window, peering inside and seeing the rather thick and scruffy looking gentleman that peered over a notepad and leaned over the counter, too invested in what he was reading over to notice either the disgruntled feline or the senshi that admired his bulging muscles. “It’s not the end of the world… maybe I could distract him, and you can sneak in and set it up? Cats are stealthy, right?”
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Quicksilver the Archangel
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Posted: Mon May 26, 2014 11:15 pm
The cream-colored cat stared dejectedly through the window, her little heart crushed at the thought of her prank not working out the way she had hoped. Daran hadn’t exactly been having the best time of life either, and it always seemed like he enjoyed their time together and the little pranks they pulled. Half the reason she kept coming back here and pulling her shenanigans was to see the look on his face when he realized just who was responsible. His grimaces, his grins, his high fives were all the best and getting them to come out was all she could do for him. It was just like Kallichore, and now Canopus. People needed to relearn what it was to have fun.
Her new friend seemed pretty positive that they could continue, though! “Oh, yeah, I’m completely and utterly stealthy. I slip in the shadow and zoom zoom win all the races.” Some cheer had returned to the Mauvian’s tone at the description of how awesome she was, her flagged tail fluttering in the night as she whipped it around as though mimicking her time in the victory stretch. Tiny paws pressed up against the glass in consideration as she pointed out bluntly, “But see, the problem is that the man in there, Mr. Beefcake Daran has a nose like a hound and I reek of fish and I’m pretty sure that between me AND the actual fish he won’t have to see me. He can just smell me.”
Fish smell, fish smell, how to overcome the fish smell? The one element that she had been banking on to make her prank work and now it was backfiring on her!
...and then she had an idea that made a grin curl across her muzzle. The. BEST. Idea!
“Wait a minute… wait a minute, I already[ reek! Canopus, that’s it!” The way the Himalayan crowed proudly to her companion one might’ve thought that she had figured out the secret to ending the war and ushering in a new age of peaceful coexistence of all people. Her eyes sparkled as she looked up at her gossamer-clad friend as she explained, “See, if I’m over there talking to him he’ll think that all he’s smelling is me, even if you were secretly in the rafters placing the fish. Then, once I leave, he’ll think I left a stink and only much, much later will he find the fish. It’s perfect, let’s do it, okay?”
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Posted: Mon May 26, 2014 11:15 pm
It was clear that Horatio knew the man inside personally, Canopus thought to herself, though admittedly she hadn't recognized him. When she was here the last time, she was greeted by a gentleman with combed back red hair and he was much smaller in muscle size, but their faces did look similar from this angle. Perhaps they were brothers? It hardly mattered, though, as Horatio was quick to think of a scheme, and she looked down at the half eaten fish she pushed towards her with a small look of disgust before scooping it back up, forever thankful she had gloves and that the smell of fish would not permanently stain them.
Her plan seemed interesting and admittedly Canopus wasn’t too sure about making it into the rafters of the store. It was a maze of pipes and vents, no doubt meant for a smaller, more four legged and feline in nature spy to cry through, but she couldn’t deny the logic in Horatio’s scheme. As utterly adorable and endearing as her new friend was, she did smell like fish.
“Alright… I’m going to find a mirror and sneak in through the mirror in their restroom. At least… I’d hope they have a restroom in there. It’d be torturous for a little child to go into a store and not have a place to use the potty.”
Then, with fish in hand, she took off, recalling Chariklo’s long list of available mirrors and their locations so that she could make the jump. She may not have gone to this section often, but she knew there was a mirror around here somewhere!
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Quicksilver the Archangel
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Posted: Mon May 26, 2014 11:15 pm
With every bit of Order in her peppery heart, Horatio wished that she could scoop up Canopus, take her to a Princess, and make her a winner right here and now. The girl was a trooper and had taken to the pranking life with the ease of a fish swimming in water and was as sweet as anything that the Moreau brothers cooked up in that kitchen of theirs. Most importantly, the prank was saved and a plan was put into motion! Walking through mirrors sounded… uh, interesting to say the least, and something to definitely be concerned about in the future, but for now it was merely a means to a glorious, stinky end!
With the senshi safely away, Horatio began to pound against the door, making as much of a fuss as she could to get Daran’s attention. She spoke loud and proud because, really, who else was going to be out at this time of night? “Daran. Daran let me in. Daran come open the doooooor!” Bop, bop, bop, she kept bopping the door with her paws and fully intended to continue doing so until the faux bluenette moved his rump from where he was to where she was.
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Posted: Mon May 26, 2014 11:16 pm
Thus far the night was quiet and boring. Just like Daran Moreau liked it. He needed quiet evenings after the chaos he constantly had been subjected to, time to clear his head and get work, legitimate work done. And since tax season was over and his secondary ‘job’ had come to an abrupt end thanks to the sudden disappearance of his benefactor, that left nothing but the Sugar Shanty and its constant state of limbo for him to work on. In all honesty it was a depressing atmosphere for him, made even more so by the fact that he was the only one there. No Richard to fill the air, no busy sounds of hammers and drills resonating through the air, though there was no need for them. The store, physically, was stable and ready to open its doors. Only the shelves remained empty, and its owner, the confectioner, that kept it trapped within this seemingly endless state of disrepair.
Well, not anymore. Tonight, Daran was determined to crunch some numbers and at least get these shelves filled to the brim with sweets once more within the next week. It was time to set the budget, see who else was still available to return to the store and who else had simply given up on Sugar Shanty and moved on. How many new people they’d have to hire, how many suppliers he’d have to kiss a** to get the supplies they needed, all of it boring adult matters that his twin couldn’t be bothered with to do.
But what was boring to one man was another man’s favorite past time, and given the amount of blood on his hands, Daran needed any escape right now. Even if it meant sitting alone and salvaging a store that he helped raise from the ashes of disaster, doing for fun what others considered to be the worst kind of chore, then so be it.
The annoying tapping at the door took him by surprise and he glared towards it, though he didn’t immediately see someone. Before he could panic, a muffled, but familiar voice, drew his attention to the ground, and he could not stop himself from letting out an irritated sigh. “Horatio…”
Without thinking, he got up and moved towards the door, glancing around and verifying that there was only the Himalayan there before unlocking the door and pulling it open. At first he welcomed her company, but the moment he caught a whiff of her, he let out a gag and moved a foot to push her back out. “UHGH, what… what is that?! Rotting fish? No-stay out!”
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Quicksilver the Archangel
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Posted: Mon May 26, 2014 11:16 pm
“Heeey, that’s not very nice! I come all this way to see you and just because I smell a little bad you try to kick me. I thought you were a better person than that and you don’t even know what I want.” The Guardian Cat was not going to be denied, and rather than resist the foot that nudged she clung to it and wrapped herself around his shoe, demanding his attention.
“I was trying to get a salmon and I fell into the fish bin, and some of them were nasty, so so nasty! Now I stink and the last time I went home after a romp like this I got fussed at really, really bad and had stay outside for a whole week and take three baths before they’d let the kids give me cuddles. Daran I need your help please, I don’t wanna be locked away with no play and no cuddles!” Horatio was quick to turn on the water works, and they were only half false. She would get in trouble if she showed up at home smelling the way she did now, and a poor home life directly affected her ability to help out winners. She put two stockinged paws on his leg and mewled pathetically, begging to be lifted up with the same big, watery eyes she had used earlier on her Senshi friend. “C’mon, we’re prank buddies, right? Surely that somehow covers situations like this!”
Horatio could put on her little show for as long as the man would listen. She just hoped she was buying Canopus enough time!
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Posted: Mon May 26, 2014 11:17 pm
He didn’t want to be cruel to the Guardian cat and in truth he wouldn’t have minded the company. He would have welcomed having someone to talk to after his ordeal, though he had a feeling that Horatio might not have been the best to confide in. Sure, she was smarter than she let on, but it was just not something he thought he was ready to approach. Still, it would have been nice to have someone to talk to, even if it was a cat, and the way she clung to his legs made it clear that she wasn’t going to be leaving anytime soon.
Which was all fine and dandy for his desire for company, but not so much for his sense of smell, and he crinkled his nose as he gave his leg a gentle shake. “I can tell where you’ve been, Horatio- no need to tell me that! I can smell the fish on you-ugh, it’s putrid, and you know that says somethin’ when I say it!”
Not only was the smell offensive to his nose but it would have lingered in the shop for months and he couldn’t have that! A smell like this would chase customers away!
However, the pleas of the Guardian cat did register some pity within him, and his mind raced as to how to best resolve this situation without getting the smell of rotting fish in his store. There was a hose in the alleyway, right next to the store, and he could not stop himself from smiling as he gave an awkward walk towards the alley, never once noticing the little intruder that tried to pull herself through the small mirror in the restroom. “I got an idea… you might not like it, but don’t worry. I’ll get the stench right out of you. Just… let go of my leg and follow me- walking like this is weird.”
He took comfort in knowing two things: his solution would be hilarious to watch, and no one could see the Texan walking like a true, blue cowboy.
Canopus wasn’t too proud to admit that where she found the mirror wasn’t the best of spots, and she was even more ashamed to admit that she was having trouble trying to fit her way through the mirror that was supplied from within the restroom of the store. Had she known that the owner, Richard Moreau, fancied the small and round mirrors over the more practical rectangle ones that decorated most stores, she might have considered simply sneaking in through the front door when she had the chance. She wasn’t a heavy woman, but she was having some difficulty fitting her bosom through.
For once, she cursed her C-cup, though she knew that if she could just fit her breasts through, then the rest of her body would slide right through without a hitch. She wriggled and inhaled as much as she could, thankful that Horatio had managed to keep the man’s attention solely on her long enough for her to finally squeeze through, and she wanted to kiss the ground when she finally stood within Sugar Shanty, but the idea had come and gone within seconds. She was on a mission, and Daran had just cowboy walked his way to the alley with Horatio clinging to his pants… a silly walk, but she pressed a hand to her lips to stop her laughter.
No time for laughs yet! She was on a mission.
She didn’t know what the blue-haired man was planning on doing with Horatio in the alleyway, but she had to assume that she didn’t have enough time to waste. There was no string or immediate ladders in sight, so Canopus’s solution to get the rotting piece of fish onto the rafters was a simple one. She jumped onto the counter and gave it a toss, holding her breath and closing her eyes, in fear of missing completely and it coming back to smack her in the face. In which case, it did, but thankfully it only hit her hair before bouncing off. There was no one to laugh at her fumble, so she scooped it up and tried again! She had to be quick, but she never worked well under pressure!
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Quicksilver the Archangel
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Posted: Mon May 26, 2014 11:18 pm
Seeing Daran walk like a cowboy in an old Western made Horatio laugh. She simply couldn’t help herself! She had never intended for him to waddle around like this, but now that he was she wished she had a video camera or something to capture the moment for posterity. The added space was sure to give Canopus the time she needed to get in, plant the fish, and get out, and that only made her laughter grow even as they approached the hose. “Daran, you gonna have a shoot out at high noon at this point and if I can find a cowboy hat maybe I can play too. Ooooh we can use water pistols, and in the middle of the hot day that’d be super fun and… wait… what is this?”
The Himalayan honestly didn’t mind baths or grooming of any kind. Brushing was nice and got rid of dead hair. Scrubbing was sort of like tickling. Being wrapped up in a towel to dry was sort of a cuddle. But a hose? A hose?! A hose was only good when it was plugged into a slip and slide or some other sort of summer fun. And now the bluenette was pointing it at her and aaaaaaaah it was coooooold! “WHAT ARE YOU DOING THIS ISN’T NICE OH GOD IT’S IN MY NOSE.”
She sputtered and began to try and evade the stream from the hose with bounds and running in circles but her friend was just so merciless.
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Posted: Mon May 26, 2014 11:18 pm
’Yeah, laugh it up while you can, furball...’ Daran thought to himself was he cowboy-waddled his way into the alley, and it didn’t take long to find the hose, silently grateful that some hooligans didn’t run off with it this time. He listened to the Guardian cat’s ramble, reminding him of Richard when he had gotten into one of those train of thoughts, and thanks to his many, many years of keeping a straight face during horrifying family reunions and then some, he managed to keep his smile down until the very last minute.
The moment Horatio had an idea of what he was going to do, though, his face finally cracked and the smile was clear to see, and second later, he was spraying down the cat, not at all caring that he might have gotten his pants soaked from the assault. Maybe it was stress from the recent fight and the blood soaking his hands, or maybe he was just as sadistic as the enemies he fought, but he got much enjoyment out of watching the cat run around, her efforts ultimately fruitless thanks to Daran perfecting his aim from years of hunting waterfowl.
“What? You said you wanted my help an’ I’m givin’ it to you!” Daran crowed, placing one hand on his hip and spraying down the Guardian cat with the other, like it was a pistol at an arcade gallery. Yes, this was definitely good for relieving his stress, AND that terrible stench from his nose. “Now stay still! Gotta get all of that stink off you an’ that won’t happen if you’re runnin’ around like that!”
From within the store, Canopus could hear the sound of running water, Horatio’s panicked yowls, and the man’s laughter, and she almost panicked and deviated from the plan. Was he hurting her? No, it seemed like he had started a hose and like all cats, Horatio had no love for the onslaught of fast-paced liquid coming at her. She didn’t think a little water would hurt a cat, though… she did sound frantic.
The best way to help, she thought to herself, was to get the fish onto the rafters, and motion for Horatio to flee. So, with renewed determination, Canopus tried again, missing but not taking time to dwell on it before trying again. Finally, on the fourth attempt, it landed on the steel vent, completely out of reach and certain not to move unless someone knocked the ventilation pipe down. Perfect! Horatio would have been so proud of her!
The mirror senshi jumped down from the counter and didn’t even bother to make her way to the restroom now, knowing that there was no way she’d be able to squeeze through it and help out poor Horatio before she was completely soaked and waterlogged. Instead, she went for the door, pushing it to no avail and catching herself before she panicked, pulling it open and running towards the alleyway. She smelled like fish, probably had fish bits in her hair, and by this time poor Horatio was soaked, but the deed was done. It was time to go home, and she peered over the side of the building, waving her hand and trying to get Horatio’s attention so that they could hide and bare witness to the fruits of their labor.
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Quicksilver the Archangel
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Posted: Mon May 26, 2014 11:19 pm
This was not the kind of help that Horatio ever wanted to receive from the page! Her long fur slipped down her body like melting dulce de leche ice cream, hung as though she were wearing a coat four sizes too big. Every step she took she left little driblets behind. Her feet lifted into the air and shook to dry themselves one by one as she glowered at Daran. Pranks united them, pranks and a very, very strong desire to get rid of losers, but at the moment it was hard to remember that he (as with most Senshi and Knights) was one of her favorite people. She fluffed up her fur as best she could against the water that drenched her and sneezed in his direction, “UGH, just you wait. Just you wait, next time you need me to give a cuddle or make a fast get away from a prank gone wrong or to distract your brother so you can fix something… okay, I’ll probably be there, but that’s because I am a good winner and you’d better be grateful for me!”
Really, the only balm to her indignation was the fact that he was smiling and laughing. True, she would rather he be smiling and laughing with her rather than at her, but any amount of joy was good. Then she saw Canopus’s frantic waves, and her demeanor instantly became a little sweeter. The prank was done, and the result was that she had managed to cheer up two people in the process as well as have fun herself. All in all, that was a successful night in her book.
She dashed off in the direction of her new friend and left her old one to discover the little gift they had left for him!
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Posted: Mon May 26, 2014 11:33 pm
He was afraid to admit that he might have taken the joke a little too far, which would have been completely uncharacteristic of him, but he desperately needed the laugh, even if it was at another person's expense. It wouldn't have solved anything, and the though his hands were soaked from the loose nozzle, the blood that stained his hands would remained stained there for some time yet. But, at least he had gotten a laugh out of tonight.
Hearing her sound so angry didn't help with his roaring laughter, but still, he tried to control it, fearing that someone would have heard him and thought he was one of those sadistic animal abusers, though if they walked in on him he couldn't have blamed them. If the shoe fits... lace that b***h up and wear it!
"Awwww, now, don't be that way, Horatio! I got some towels in the store if you wanna dry up- I'll rub you down REAL hard, too." And he meant it. However, it seemed that she had had enough of his help this evening, as she suddenly darted off, and he found himself apologizing, throwing down the hose and going after her a few steps before slowing down to a halt. "Awwww, come back! I'm sorry, I didn't mean for it to... ah, ******** it."
Maybe had had gone too far? He tried not to think too hard on it... it was Horatio and despite her age, she did tend to act like a big baby at times. Once she dried off, she'd think of a good prank in retaliation, and all would have been well. At least, that's what he told himself, as he turned off the hose and made his way back to the store to finish his work. He'd just have to keep his eyes and ears peeled for Horatio's retaliatory strike in the future...
He suspected one, but he didn't expect it to be so soon. The minute he pushed the doors open, he was assaulted with a familiar stench, and he didn't need too much time to put two and two together. Somehow. <******** somehow that cat managed to get that stench into the store...
"Clever girl..."
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