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 Posted: Mon Jul 29, 2024 2:27 pm
I am probably going to end up giving the local furries a bad name, Cherish thought, only somewhat ruefully, as she wandered through the city. She had the day off and had been itching to get out and make some harmless trouble. Maybe weird a few people out. Just silly fun. And while she herself wasn’t a furry, so far as she knew, she had a deep appreciation for that community’s creativity and skill when it came to their costuming. Thus, while in Wales, she’d managed to order a head and some matching ‘paws’. But she hadn’t gotten a chance yet to wear them out and about.
That changed today. She grinned under the head and performed a little pirouette in the middle of the sidewalk. So far she was thoroughly enjoying herself, though she had to admit that the middle of summer was probably piss poor timing on her part to do this. She could feel the sweat trickling from her scalp and down her neck and it was maddening. Maddening enough to take her head off and have a little break? Maybe. At least her pastel rainbow tutu and bikini top helped to keep her core cool.
Waving at a tiny, staring child, Cherish grinned again. When the kid waved back a few moments later, she felt a wash of warmth that had nothing to do with incipient heat stroke. Kneeling, she pulled a tiny fake daisy from a bag at her waist and presented it to the tot. Then, she stood back up and capered away.
Okay, once she could be sure of not traumatizing a kid, she was ripping the head off and taking a break.
”its_p a o” Her mask is basically a cute-fied pastel velocirator with fluff and feathering and ridiculous eyelashes.
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Posted: Mon Jul 29, 2024 8:05 pm
Mel had a tendency to make the most of her days off when she wasn’t in one of her funks, and today was no exception. After waking up at an ungodly hour (for a day off, anyway), she managed to do some yoga, cook her breakfast, feed and walk Lulu, and get herself showered before heading out for some errands–a stop at the bank, and a stop at her kickboxing gym to talk about her contract renewal and other programs they might have on offer to supplement what she was already into, and then groceries after lunch.
It was on her way to lunch that she did a double take at what she saw across the street.
“Is that a dinosaur?!” she asked in as loud and surprised a voice as one might expect after seeing something like that. Clearly she meant to ask it more to herself, but it caught the attention of the people passing by around her. They all sort of glanced at her first, and then in the direction she was looking, before going about their days.
Unlike them, Mel still had her eyes on what looked to be a very cute dinosaur pirouetting across the street. Unfortunately they were in the middle of a block, but she turned right around and followed just a few steps behind from where she was across the street. When it stopped to play with a little kid, Mel took that opportunity to speed walk the rest of the way to the crosswalk.
The universe must have been smiling down at her right then, because it turned to “Walk” as soon as she got there, and she sprinted across the street.
“Dino–” she was huffing and puffing a little bit, between the hurrying and the heat and her curiosity, “–saur!" She paused to wave her hand a little bit as she added, "Sorry... not sure...what to call you. I just…had to get a closer look...to make sure I wasn’t seeing things.”
The magical underbelly of Destiny City had a way of making one begin to doubt one’s sanity sometimes.
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Posted: Tue Jul 30, 2024 9:41 am
From under her animal head, Cherish blinked in mild surprise. She’d never been chased down before! At least, not when she wasn’t doing anything actively questionable. Taking a moment to think, she came to a swift decision and patting the blonde on the head with her scaled and clawed ‘paws’, jerked her head to indicate that the blonde should follow. She needed a break anyway, might as well have a comfy chat while she did.
Finding an out of the way outdoor cafe, she threw herself into a chair and took the head off, setting it off to the side and trying to not drip too much. Grinning up at the blonde, Pan patted the chair nearby.
“Well, c’mon, sit! Order if you want, my treat,” she said cheerfully as she peeled her ‘paws’ off. “It’s my first time wearing this set up out, so it’s nice to see some reactions. ‘m Cherish, by the by. And I guess dinosaur works. It’s certainly a stylized dino noggin. But I thinkkkkkk the correct terminology is scaly? It’s a furry subset, but don’t quote me on that. I’m in it more for the costuming.”
She paused in her chatter only long enough to seize the iced water the waiter had brought over, lean back so she wouldn’t make too much mess, and poured the contents of the glass over her face and head.
“Oh, that’s better! Holy damn, it gets hot in that thing. So what’s your handle? And seriously, order something. I gotta make sure they don’t hate me too much before I leave.”
She might not care what mundanes thought, but any form of service staff was an entirely different matter.
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Posted: Tue Jul 30, 2024 11:38 pm
The pat to her head was…unexpected, but when the dinosaur gestured for her to follow her confusion turned to eager anticipation at meeting whoever was underneath the hood, so to speak. Beaming, she quietly (which was its own challenge for her) followed the dino to an outdoor cafe. The fascination still hadn’t worn off by the time they got there, and Mel was still beaming as she took a seat beside her. “I…feel like I should look it up to be respectful of the furry community, but if it’s okay with you I’ll stick to ‘dinosaur’ in the meantime?”
She was about to ask why dress up in the summer when Cherish splashed herself with the cold water, which had Mel giggling as she reached into her bag and pulled out a small towel–she got a freebie from her gym for re-upping her contract–and offered it to her. “I was gonna say. Summer doesn’t seem like the greatest season to try a new costume like this out, but I mean." She shrugged, still smiling. "If you’re having fun with it, I think that matters more at the end of the day.”
“I go by Mel, nice to meet you! And I will have…” She flagged the waiter down after he finished up at a neighboring table. “One caramel latte, please. Thank you.”
He paused to take Cherish's order as well, if she had one, but once he was gone she turned her attention back to Cherish first, and then the dinosaur head. “So did you make this or did you buy it from somewhere?"
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Posted: Wed Jul 31, 2024 10:19 am
”Ahh, two lavender matchas, iced and a couple dozen boxed pastries, please,” Cherish put in her own order while accepting the towel from Mel. As she wiped down her face, she grinned ruefully.
“Well, it’s just the head and paws, y’know? I didn’t think it would be as bad as a full fursuit. I mean, obviously, it’s still bad, but not as bad,” she laughed as she pushed her soaked hair back and over her ears. “As I’m not technically a furry, I can’t really say what terms are the best, but I can’t see where dinosaur would be all that offensive. Might be something to google later.”
Setting the towel aside, she made a mental note to get Mel’s address before they parted because there was no way in hell she was giving back a sweaty, damp towel. That s**t was going to be freshly laundered first. Grabbing the raptor head, she thunked it down where Mel could have a good look.
“I do have a little fan up in there, but I think I need something a little more powerful. Or maybe I need the padding rearranged? It’s part of why I decided to just wear it. Otherwise, I’d never know what needs to be worked on. G’won.” she grinned and nodded encouragingly. “You can touch it if you want. Just be careful.”
She paused as the waiter returned with their orders to snatch up the first of the two drinks she’d ordered, draining it in less than a minute.
“Oh, that is heavenly, that is,” she sighed. The pastries would be a little treat for later at the Castle. She had the feeling that not many officers thought to bring snacks along to share. Besides, someone had to make sure the Generals ate, right?
“Oh trust me, you don't want to see me try to sculpt anything like this unless you have a Lovecraft fetish. Nah, I ordered these from a lovely little fursuit crafter in Wales. Once I’ve saved up a bit more, I’ll go back to her to get a matching tail and maybe boots since Birkenstocks don’t really cut it, do they…”
She held up a sandaled foot and wriggled her toes for comic effect. Then, taking up her second drink and taking a more leisurely sip, she raised an eyebrow at Mel.
“So what’s your story? Do you often talk to strangers like this?”
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Posted: Wed Jul 31, 2024 9:00 pm
Mel’s expression brightened all the more when Cherish moved the head closer to her, and she leaned toward it with eyes full of wonder and curiosity. “More powerful, or maybe just more fans?” she said, carefully running her hands over it. It was softer than she thought it’d be, and she couldn’t help but play with it a little bit. Possibly too much…and when she caught herself she blushed a faint pink and stopped to take a sip of her drink.
“Or maybe add some sort of vent if you can put it where it’s easy to hide?”
She sipped and thought a bit more in hopes of possibly helping out this perfect stranger. She nearly snorted her coffee, though, when the comparison was made between her sculpture and Lovecraft. “That might be a secret source of income one day,” she giggle-coughed, now a bit redder in the face but clearly amused. “But I’d love to see the full costume once you finish getting everything you need.”
Mel quieted for a moment, taking a few more sips and clearing her throat until she was finally comfortable again, and her face went back to normal.
“Not often, but I think I’m more open to it than maybe most people? Ah! I don’t normally chase them down unless there’s some reason to, I swear. In this case I just felt like I’d miss the opportunity to ask about this. I’ve never seen one outside of a convention or someone’s side-gig or job or something, and I thought it was super cute.” She gestured at the head with her free hand.
“I mean, come on.”
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Posted: Thu Aug 01, 2024 11:26 am
Nodding, Cherish chuckled and gave the dino head an affectionate pat.
“Hey, I ain’t judgin’” she drawled. “Got no room to since I’m the one who forked out a lot of cash just to be able to wander around and make pearl-clutchers uncomfortable. Well, and maybe spice up some of the LARPs I go to. But since those usually involve people trying to smack you in the face with a stick, I may have to figure something else out instead.”
Honestly, it is weren’t for how expensive the head had been, she would have happily worn it as part of a LARP costume. Maybe she still could if she abstained from the fighting… But what the hell kind of fun would that be?
She was half listening to Mel when she came back to Earth with a mental thump. Side gig? There were people out there wearing fursuits as a side gig?!?
“Whoa, whoa, whoa,” she said, waving her hand. “Back up. Who’ve you seen that does this as a side gig? I want in on that action since my degree has been pretty useless so far!”
The possibilities were already springing to life in her head if she could just figure out a decent enough hook and use that to monetize the ******** out of herself. And here was Mel giving her this fascinating information on top of calling her cute. She’d have to remember to credit Mel once she found her platform and became rich and famous.
Grinning and fluttering her eyelashes playfully, Cherish rested her chin in her hands, elbows on the table.
“You’re sweet to say so, thanks! Wanna be my manager if I turn this into a side gig? I promise I don’t bite unless y’ask nicely and I only get a little growly if I haven’t had my coffee in the morning!”
Sure, she was mostly playing, just trying to get a reaction out of Mel. But the offer was also half real. She didn’t know a thing about business and the idea of asking one of the officers if they wanted to manage her civilian gig of dressing up as a pastel dinosaur was kind of too mortifying
for words.
Even the bare idea of it had her clinging to her soul to keep it from leaving her body right then and there!
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Posted: Thu Aug 01, 2024 9:04 pm
There were some things that Cherish said that went over her head, but she figured Google could be her friend about those things later. And when she honed in on the side gig part of what she was saying, Mel looked wide-eyed and a little confused.
“Um. I just meant, like…big costume sorts of gigs in general. Mascots at sports games, posing out front of a storefront to pass out flyers, that kinda thing. I’m sure there’s a job market for these types of costumes, too, if you look hard enough?”
Mel gave a nervous laugh, hoping she didn’t just absolutely rain on her new friend’s parade with this clarification. The offer to be her manager had Mel shaking her head, as well.
“And I’ll have to pass on the manager offer. It’s tempting, but I love what I do and I can’t really imagine doing anything else. It’s tempting sometimes, though, when things get all crazy at the lab.” Her ever-present smile turned apologetic at that, as it felt like she was somehow letting Cherish down. Even if they were still just acquaintances, and honestly they might not see each other again, the thought of upsetting another person weighed on her a bit.
“I’m sorry…”
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Posted: Fri Aug 02, 2024 10:25 am
Oh. Mascots. Ah well…
Waving a hand dismissively, Cherish took note that Mel’s way of reacting seemed to be apologetic shrinking. Well, that was hardly any fun at all. Still, in an effort to keep the poor thing from shriveling in on herself too much, Cherish smiled and shrugged.
“Hey, it’s all good. No worries and no need to apologize! Seriously,” she continued, lips quirking in a half smile. “If this is how you react to teasing, we gotta work on your self-confidence, girl!”
She thought a moment before nodding to herself and turning her full, unblinking attention onto Mel.
“I am a shameless troll, my friend. I would say that about 95% of the s**t I say or do is purely for the reaction. It amuses me and mostly harms no one. I might annoy some people, but when I’m on my bullshit, it’s just good fun. So! That being said,” she continued, interest clear upon her face, “Lab? What kind of lab? Are you a mad scientist? Curing cancer? Cloning dinosaurs? Tell, tell, tell!”
Grabbing her drink, she took a long sip, eyes on Mel and clearly wanting to hear all about it.
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Posted: Mon Aug 05, 2024 7:36 pm
’Teasing?’ she thought, blinking.
Mel sighed in very obvious relief when Cherish clarified in probably the absolute best way to clarify for someone like her. The girl was back to her smiling self mere moments after her explanation, looking a lot more at ease again as she sipped her coffee.
“Forensics lab,” she said, in a tone that made it very obvious that she was absolutely in love with her job. “I’m more in it for the science part, but I think it’s pretty cool. Getting to contribute to justice being served, or sometimes correcting an injustice. There’s limitations, of course, and it isn’t perfect, but…” The blonde sighed thoughtfully at that. Not everyone was a fan of the justice system, and while she could understand why she was still proud to do what she did everyday.
“But I did think about other avenues when I was doing my undergrad! After narrowing everything down, it was either this or researching cures for diseases. My childhood dream won out in the end, though, since that was the opportunity that came to me when it all came to a head.”
After another sip, she nodded to Cherish. “Enough about me, though. I don’t lead a very adventurous life.” Not her civilian life, anyway. “I feel like you have a lot more interesting stories to tell than I do.” She gave the dino head a fond little pat, smiling.
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Posted: Tue Aug 06, 2024 10:54 am
Cherish had her own opinions when it came to justice, but she was perfectly willing to keep quiet when it meant learning interesting things. Besides, Mel seemed to understand that justice wasn’t so perfect, so why cause a fuss? And really, it was interesting to hear her speak with such clear passion.
“So like, does your lab work on murders or more mundane crime? All I know about the subject comes from Forensic Files and those episodes are all so old now.”
For a moment, Cherish entertained herself with the mental image of Mel hosting an updated version of this show. The image was way too damn cute, though. And given how she’d reacted to the idea of managing talent, she had an idea that Mel was not the type to seek any kind of attention. Pity since she reckoned most people would be more receptive to learning when taught by cute, enthusiastic people. Oh well.
“So forensics was your childhood dream,” she said slowly before being knocked from her mental train by Mel’s sudden questions. “Me? Most adventure I get is riding my motorcycle. Sometimes,” she lowered her voice and leaned in before winking conspiratorially, “I even break the speed limits.”
Leaning back, she grinned and chuckled. “Nah, but seriously, I don’t know about more interesting. Just different experiences is all. But fair’s fair. I was in marching band as a drummer and I still drum in my free time.”
Of course, she wasn’t completely certain, but she did have nebulous memories of drum lines and marching. She knew things she liked and she did enjoy drums, so it was a fair guess.
“What else… I did university in Wales for music and graduated and moved back here a few months ago. Been looking for a decent job since, but for now I do music tutoring. It pays the bills and I’ve always been a saver, so I get by in a reasonably comfy manner.”
Of course, she thought, it didn’t hurt that the Dark Kingdom made sure that it’s adherents could survive and helped with incomes. Really, even if she never found an actual civilian job, she’d be fine. As far as she was concerned it was just one more reason why her side trumped the White Moon.
“Now as for interesting stories… I’m sorry to say I only have ones where I make a happy a** out of myself. I wasn’t kidding about being a troll, y’know. I mean, I wouldn’t intentionally antagonize Bubba McHickface, but I do have a bad habit of not always reading the room, I guess. So I’ve gotten into a few fights. Nothing I haven't been able to walk away from though!”
Granted, the other party usually didn’t walk away, but Mel didn’t need to know that part.
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Posted: Tue Aug 06, 2024 9:31 pm
She didn’t mind answering questions about herself, but when it came to work she had a tendency to go on…and on, and on, and on. She hated the idea of boring potential new friends, so she was relieved when Cherish went along with her not-at-all-smooth segue into talking about her instead. Mel sipped her coffee, eyes big and focused and clearly interested in what she had to say.
And she nearly snorted it when Cherish joked about breaking the speed limit.
Thankfully she didn’t, and by the end she slowly nodded her head. “Definitely more interesting than mine,” she started, setting her coffee down before leaning forward onto the table a little bit. “Going to school in Wales must have been an adventure all its own, and if you’re into music that’s a whole other thing.” The girl looked a bit dreamy over the idea. She had considered studying overseas for college, too, though with how things lined up for her back then it probably wasn’t meant to be. She was still resolved to go out and see the world one day, though.
“I mean…fights are interesting stories. I’m glad you’ve been able to walk away from ‘em all, though.” She looked thoughtful for a moment, thinking of her own personal fight experience and recalling one that she nearly hadn’t been able to walk away from…
Mel shook the memory away and leaned back, grabbing her coffee on the way and taking a sip to ground her back in the here and now. She could have a crisis about nearly dying later. “And hopefully you find a job soon,” she said, her focus going back to Cherish. “Or you can double down on tutoring if you really like it? Put out more ads, maybe take on more students?”
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Posted: Thu Aug 08, 2024 8:50 am
”Eh, I don’t see it as who’s the more interesting,” Cherish said easily. “Like I said, it's just folks having different experiences. Wales was great, but please don’t ever ask me to try and pronounce the name of that one train station of theirs because I will die.”
Finishing off her matcha, Cherish realized that she wasn’t feeling quite so drippy, which was a form of heaven in and of itself. Flagging the waiter, she ordered another drink and considered Mel’s words. She was starting to think her new friend had a fairly rosy view of life and she found herself hoping that nothing ever burst that bubble of optimism. It was honestly kind of refreshing to be around.
Mouth quirking in amusement, she shrugged, “Music is music. My degree is in theory so I’m sure I could bore a room with a lot of technical jargon that no one but maybe me would care about. Alas, no one ever offers degrees in Rock Stardom, I feel that one would have been far more in line with my interests. And as for my students…”
Cherish made a despairing expression, eyes rolling to convey mingled pain and amusement. The kids were fine. The kids usually listened.
But the parents… Holy ******** shitballs, the parents. Just thinking about them made her want to power up for the express purpose of starseed harvesting. Bunch of entitled, helicoptering twats…
“Looks, the kids are great, really. But most of the moms? Oh. My. GAWD. Some of the dads are just as bad. They act like I should be transforming little Johnny and Susie into the Beethovens and Mozarts of this era. Most of the kids don’t even want music lessons, but I do my best with ‘em because I get it. And they really try for me, but you know they’d be a lot happier if they were allowed to just be kids. It’s infuriating.”
Really, it was all First World Problems, but it still annoyed her. And the idea of taking on more students was enough to send a shiver of genuine dread through her soul.
“I dunno, Mel. Sitting on cakes for weirdos on the internet may be the better life choice if I get too strapped for cash.”
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Posted: Thu Aug 08, 2024 5:41 pm
Mel’s ever present smile was steady on her lips as she listened to Cherish, only occasionally disappearing whenever she sipped her drink. She was nearly finished with it, though, so when Cherish flagged down the waiter she asked for a cup of iced water to replace it.
“Mm…helicopter parents…” Her smile strained a little bit. Just a little, if only because the term did make her think of her mom. In her case Mel could very easily defend her and say that she was genuinely well-meaning, but there were times where her hovering did make Mel want to just disappear into the ether. “I can relate with the kids on that one,” she laughed nervously. “Even as a kid I felt bad for my teachers that had to deal with my mom.”
She quickly sipped the last bit of her coffee before sighing. “At least in my mom’s case, I don’t think she was that bad. She liked to meet with my teachers to check up on my progress in my classes at school. The issue, I think, was how often she wanted to meet. I think it got to weekly meetings with all my teachers before the principal finally got involved.”
Her brows gradually knit together and her cheeks tinged a faint pink as she tugged on the memories.She looked and sounded more embarrassed about this part of her background than anything else.
“So I get it. And hey, if that makes you happy, then why not?” Her cheeks were still a bit rosy, but her smile was slowly coming back. “That’s probably the thing I hope for the most for my friends and family.”
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Posted: Fri Aug 09, 2024 10:12 am
Not that bad, huh? Cherish kept her skepticism purely on the inside at that one. Parents who were ‘not that bad’ did not produce adult kids who reacted the way Mel was. And weekly meetings. Weekly. Her heart hurt for the kid Mel had been. Talk about someone who probably hadn’t been allowed to just be a kid.
Still, if Mel wanted to say things were fine, then Cherish wouldn’t argue. It wasn’t her place nor her business. Mel was a big girl and could handle her own business. Unless she chose to involve Cherish in which case, it was even more Mel’s business.
“Happy living is the end goal, for sure,” she said smoothly, deciding it was best for everyone to react only to Mel’s words and not the very interesting expressions she was making. “Which in all likelihood rules out cake-sitting for a living. But a couple of nice kids to teach and enough income to live without worrying about bills? Yeah, I could go for that.”
And plenty of starseeds to harvest, she added on silently. As long as she could do her real job without having to worry about income and rent, she was more than content. And s**t, Mel was a scientist and worked in an actual lab, so she was probably doing all right. Probably doing all right outside of work too since she gave off pure Cinnamon Roll vibes.
Smiling a little to herself, Cherish lifted her glass and saluted Mel with it.
“Here’s to livin’ the dream.”
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