Housepets!

"Well," Derek explains, idly making a coin run around his knuckles. "One o' dem uses it like a skippin' record player and repeats fings and suchlike. Da ovver pretends like 'e's a incompetent idiot an' all nervous-like an' den astounds da audience when da trick works at da end. It's all about comedy an' timin."

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Scotty giggles to himself and refrains from making a joke that he knows will go right over Lucilla's head. Instead he simply points to the second of the open doors across the open-plan lounge room.

The house is small quite small despite being two-stories. Compact, yet cosy, the real-estate agent had described it. When the wolves first enter the house they'll find themselves in a space shaped like a fat L. They'll step into small kitchen that's separated from the dining area by a bench with barstools which drops to a low breakfast bar with a rounded end. The breakfast bar is the end of the bench that's closest to the door. The dining area is a decorative pendant light hanging what is currently a bare area of the same floorboards that extend through the kitchen and to the door. The dining table and chairs and the lounge suite, TV cabinet and rug are stacked in a large pile in the middle of the living area beneath the stylish ceiling fan with attached light. At the far end of the room a set of sliding glass double doors lets in the sunlight from the back deck and garden. A staircase hidden by a wall ends just at the dining area and leads up to the upstairs landing, bedroom, spare room and bathroom. The other open door in the living area leads to a small bathroom that also contains a washing machine, dryer, and large laundry sink. The whole place feels modern and open despite its small size.

Frances slaps sticky notes on the doorframes of the upstairs rooms so the wolves know which boxes to take where and then after hesitating for a moment due to her unfamiliarity with wolf customs, offers Caesar and Amadora.
"Thank you. I don't know what we'd have done without you and your pack. How can I repay you for your kindness?"

"A b-broken what?" Will inquired, stopping his practicing in confusion. "Record? Like a paper record? How does that work?" He tilted his head to the side in thought, with a hinge of panic. Is this something a pet would know? Oh no, I really hope not. I'm not sure I could explain, if it means reliving that time again...

Hlaoroo wrote:Scotty giggles to himself and refrains from making a joke that he knows will go right over Lucilla's head. Instead he simply points to the second of the open doors across the open-plan lounge room.
The house is small quite small despite being two-stories. Compact, yet cosy, the real-estate agent had described it. When the wolves first enter the house they'll find themselves in a space shaped like a fat L. They'll step into small kitchen that's separated from the dining area by a bench with barstools which drops to a low breakfast bar with a rounded end. The breakfast bar is the end of the bench that's closest to the door. The dining area is a decorative pendant light hanging what is currently a bare area of the same floorboards that extend through the kitchen and to the door. The dining table and chairs and the lounge suite, TV cabinet and rug are stacked in a large pile in the middle of the living area beneath the stylish ceiling fan with attached light. At the far end of the room a set of sliding glass double doors lets in the sunlight from the back deck and garden. A staircase hidden by a wall ends just at the dining area and leads up to the upstairs landing, bedroom, spare room and bathroom. The other open door in the living area leads to a small bathroom that also contains a washing machine, dryer, and large laundry sink. The whole place feels modern and open despite its small size.
Frances slaps sticky notes on the doorframes of the upstairs rooms so the wolves know which boxes to take where and then after hesitating for a moment due to her unfamiliarity with wolf customs, offers Caesar and Amadora.
"Thank you. I don't know what we'd have done without you and your pack. How can I repay you for your kindness?"

"Nothing," Caesar answered. "We are doing this for the pizza."
"I am doing it for the cuddles," Lucilla said, putting Scotty down on the couch. "When you'll walk, we'll go hunting together too!"

HoundInATree wrote:Albert turned to Jess, 'Well, I could really do with cleaning myself up first. So I'm going to go and sort that out first. I'll catch you around.' Albert then left in search of the bathhouse.

Having decided to take the long way around, Albert had eventually arrived at the Baths. He was covered in mud by this point, far more then when he first set out for the Baths. But hey, if your going have a wash why worry about being a little more muddy before doing so.

He walked inside leaving a few dirty paw prints on the floor. 'Hello, is this the public bath house?'

Meeko could almost start to enjoy just laying where ever it is he was. Seemed pretty peaceful the way everything was being filtered into his mind. Experiencing anything around him without feeling as if it was his senses taking it in.

xhunterko wrote:"Tsk tsk brother, goodness goodness," he said, "As if their methods are any better than ours! Honestly. Now." He stepped before crowd of pets. He walked to Meeko first. He pulled out of his satchel two small clay glasses. Then he poured a tea into both of them, it smelled of blueberry. He then turned over Matatabi. Then in an old language, he started singing and began wafting strong smelling salts under his nose. He gave one to Nora, and she did the same to Meeko.

That ended up changing quickly, one overpowered odor cut its way through to him. He coughed twice and rolled on his side to start to get up with a moan. "Wa... What was that?"

Two familiar figures stepped into the bathroom at that moment. "Oh, hey lovebirds!" Valiant said, followed by Belisarius, before both stepped into the shower -not an easy task, considering that the wolf alone almost filled it.
Not that the smaller dog minded it, as he turned on the water. "So, princess, what are yours and Mitch's program for the evening? I'm feeling alive, my love is back, and the team's reunited. And the wolves are likely to spend the night at Francis' place." He started using his cybernetic arm to rinse and massage Belisarius' back. The wolf's tongue lolled out in pleasure. "If I didn't fear to lose my underfur, I'd shower more often with you."
---
Box after box, soon everything was put into its proper room.
"Shall we open them?" Caesar asked to Francis.

Matatabi also rolls and groans at the scent and clutches at his head, whining something about a headache.

--------------------
Chris drops to her knees next to the ferret as he talks.
"Meeko! Yer awake! Are you okay? Dat were just smellin' salts to wake you up."

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Scotty doesn't have the heart to tell Lucilla that he might still not end up walking and that even if he does he'd be too slow to catch anything so instead he just nods his agreement before looking around for his chair, wanting to explore the house more now that he's got time.

"Pizza? You sure that's all you want?" Frances asks, watching the pile of boxes gradually diminish.

valerio wrote:"Shall we open them?" Caesar asked to Francis.

"Um... Maybe not the stuff for our rooms because that's kinda personal but the rest of the boxes, sure, if you want. I'll make sure to give you double the pizza in return." the human grins. She opens one of the boxes in the kitchen and pulls out a miniature easel for recipe books, standing it on the bench.
"I used to just use this to read while I ate. Now I have a better use for it." she explains, giving Cinzia's recipe book pride of place on it.

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"Nah, not paper. It's like... It's a kinda plasticy fing and you put it on a turntable an' it plays music. Here, I 'ave one somewhere." The human gets up and rummages in a box for a few moments before returning with a large cardboard square emblazoned with a faded red logo and equally faded picture.
"Here. Led Zepplin, "Stairway to 'Eaven." One o' my favourites." He carefully tips the case to the side, allowing the record to tip out into his hand.
"It's kinda like an old version of a CD only it uses a needle to read it instead of a laser, see? An' if ya scratch it or if it gets dirty den it skips an' gets stuck playin' the same line over an' over again." The magician offers Will the record for closer inspection.
"Here. You can 'old it if ya want. Just don' drop it."

"No no, it's okay mister," Lil' said, "Our village is just in the woods, we'll leave as soon as Ren' can walk."
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"The usual smelling salts, heh," Antario said, he picked up the mugs of blue berry tea and handed them to the pets, "Here, this will help off set the effects. Blueberries. Works wonders sometimes."

Benjamin bowed to Meeko.

"And terribly sorry for the shooting, some of us get zealous at times," he said.
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In the small but spacious building, several panda lay in a wide cistern of shallow water. Doors along the sides led to shower stalls. The building itself was well lit and airy. A few pandas were lounging in the pool. Some where washing as well. A couple looked at Albert, then continued what they were doing. In the back, opposite of the door, a friendly female voice called out.

"Come on back here dear! Don't mind making tracks! This IS a Bath House after all," it said.
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"Oh shush, you've done nothing wrong," the left guard said to Star, "Honestly though you've done more by staying around. I think you should give yourself a second chance."

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Mitch stepped aside to let the big mammals in with a grin.

"Oh, not much, funny you should ask, we were just on our way to you," Mitch said, "Do you guys know what the wolves are doing? My dad has instituted a ceremony for tonight and we have to at least invite folks."
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"Well, if they're not at the entrance most should be leaving by now," the panda said to Jess, then he leaned in with a grin, "Might want to follow your friend to the bath house though."

"Not *all* we want of course," Titus answered. "But once we feasted on the leftovers of a picnic, and there was this wondrous thing with 'pepperoni' as the humans called them. I guess you guys can do good things from time to time."
"And don't fret over your concept of 'personal items', anyway," Amadora said. "You wouldn't care about our 'personal items', right?"
---
Belisarius was working on Valiant's head, scritching behind the ears. "I suggest you tell the human Francis to have the pizzas delivered to your village, then. but first, extend formally your invitation to the rest of the pack. Amadora and Caesar appreciate old-time formalities. Plus, nothing beats a good feast during a party: The pack will *love* it."
"Not to mention that we are hungry like heck as well," Valiant grinned.
"TMI, big brother," Rikki said with a sigh, knowing what would be their conversation topic once they'd get back from the party...

The first order of business after just managing to get into a sitting position was to get a little more comfortable. Then after Meeko brought legs halfway up and resting his arms on his knees, the next order was to look around at just where ever it was that he was. Most he could get out of that was somewhere in the woods, not exactly spirit raising.

Hlaoroo wrote:Chris drops to her knees next to the ferret as he talks.
"Meeko! Yer awake! Are you okay? Dat were just smellin' salts to wake you up."

xhunterko wrote:"The usual smelling salts, heh," Antario said, he picked up the mugs of blue berry tea and handed them to the pets, "Here, this will help off set the effects. Blueberries. Works wonders sometimes."

It took another second or two to take in what was said to him. "Yes yes... I'm okay Chris." He looked at the drink that was offered to him, "Thank you." He took the drink and downed it rather quickly, not taking the time to taste it at all.

xhunterko wrote:Benjamin bowed to Meeko.

"And terribly sorry for the shooting, some of us get zealous at times," he said.

"It's fine, I get it, scary unwanted dirty guest not good for business. But were two shots really needed?"

Will took the record carefully in his paws, marveling slightly at the size. Flipping it around slowly, he inquired "You s-said it skips when scratched, b-but uses a needle to read? Wouldn't that scratch it o-over time anyway? That doesn't sound g-good."

Mitch shook his head and sighed.

"It's not a party party. Again, it's a memorial service. More of a funeral march, if you will, sigh, I need to text people, hang on," Mitch said, pulling out his phone and looking down to text. Then he paused a moment, and looked up, slightly blushing and embarrassed.

"Um, um, you guys want us to turn around? Cause I DO need feedback back and forth from you guys," Mitch said.
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Benjamin was a tad offended but he let it show for a moment, then let it slide. Then he looked to the troops that brought Meeko in.

"Wellllll?" He said. All four looked summarily guilty. The lead spoke up.

"We do apologize. It's been months since the program started. You've been the first stray we've seen and we wanted to show something for it," he said. The others nodded in agreement.

xhunterko wrote:Mitch shook his head and sighed.
"It's not a party party. Again, it's a memorial service. More of a funeral march, if you will, sigh, I need to text people, hang on," Mitch said, pulling out his phone and looking down to text. Then he paused a moment, and looked up, slightly blushing and embarrassed.

"Um, um, you guys want us to turn around? Cause I DO need feedback back and forth from you guys," Mitch said.

All of three obeyed promptly.
"If it's a remembrance ceremonial," Belisarius whispered to Valiant, "We could participate. My pack has homages to pay to our ancestors."
"Me too," whispered back the Italian wolfdog. It had been ages since he had prayed for his colleagues, fuzzy and not, fallen in the line of duty...

"Dey don't tend to, no. Da needle usually wears out first. An it's angled a little wiv de direction o' rotation so it doesn't dig into da record or nuffink. Plus it's only tiny and fin. I'd show ya if I knew which box da player was in. You ever seen records in movies or TV shows or anyfink?"

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"Oh, fank goodness!" Chris exclaims, hugging Meeko. "I'm glad you're okay! Fanks fer revivin' in, Mister 'Ealer!"

--------------------
"Um... *ahem* ... Er... It's just personal... Like... Wolves bury meat and bones sometimes, don't you? You wouldn't want somebody else digging up your food, would you? Same sort of thing, that's all. It's just our special stuff." Frances is a little pink but brightens somewhat as she thinks of that analogy.


"Where did my chair go? I wanna explore and unpack a bit." Scotty writes before passing the pad to Elio.

Hlaoroo wrote:"Um... *ahem* ... Er... It's just personal... Like... Wolves bury meat and bones sometimes, don't you? You wouldn't want somebody else digging up your food, would you? Same sort of thing, that's all. It's just our special stuff." Frances is a little pink but brightens somewhat as she thinks of that analogy.
"Where did my chair go? I wanna explore and unpack a bit." Scotty writes before passing the pad to Elio.

"You're right, gonna fix that thing to last you until tomorrow, at least. Are you excited? I still remember Valiant's face when he got his arm back. Just like a puppy at a double Christmas."
"Well," Amadora answered. "Food is a really precious thing. It's worth defending. We wouldn't touch your food, but...stuff is stuff."
"Human stuff, you meant, darling," Caesar kindly corrected her with a smar smile.
"No, I meant that you are so going to sleep with the omegas."
"*whine"*

"I d-don't really watch television very m-much," Will answered, shaking his head. "My family is a lot m-more book heavy than most. I think Uncle Paige h-has a bit to do with that, actually." He interrupted himself with a small laugh. "I'm pretty sure he w-was a library in a past life or s-something."

Mitch turned around with Rikki with a slight sigh of relief. Though he DID pick up what Bel said. Mitch took his phone and made a few texts. One to his father, and a few to some other folk, and some spies, then he stopped a moment, and looked at Riki. Sheepishly.

"Um, I just remembered, I need to hook you into the network," he said. He tapped his phone a couple places, showing the numbers for mostly everyone else important. He had been meaning too. It's just that he SHOULD have before now. He handed her the phone briefly.

*KLINK*

Came a sound from under the sink. Mitch facepalmed, and opened the cabinet door.

"I can only assume," Mitch said to the Left guard hiding there.

"Yes, terribly sorry, I was caught off guard on inspection, and hid here," he said, looking ashamed.

"Out," Was Mitch's only order and he promptly obeyed. Mitch shook his head.

"All these numbers you see you should add to your phone," Mitch said to her, "Texts will be coming in about a minute or so." Rikki had a few, the parents and others, obviously, but there were a few key secret numbers missing.
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Antario nodded.

"It is a pleasure miss," he said. Benjamin's phone buzzed, which he examined, and only texted one word: WAIT. Before seeing how the situation would handle itself here.
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In front of Frances's house, a Left guard paused a moment, and wrapped on the door.

"Heheh. Is Uncle Paige yer owner den?" Derek queries, putting the record away. "An' dat's an interesting coincidence, if'n ye don't mind my sayin'. A guy called Paige likes turnin' pages. Hehe."

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Scotty nods eagerly. "I think learning to walk again will be harder than learning to use an arm but I can't wait to be free of the chair!"

--------------------
Frances excuses herself from the wolves and crosses to the front door.
"Hi. Can I help you?" she asks the panda politely.

xhunterko wrote: In the small but spacious building, several panda lay in a wide cistern of shallow water. Doors along the sides led to shower stalls. The building itself was well lit and airy. A few pandas were lounging in the pool. Some where washing as well. A couple looked at Albert, then continued what they were doing. In the back, opposite of the door, a friendly female voice called out.

"Come on back here dear! Don't mind making tracks! This IS a Bath House after all," it said.

After a long pause Albert walked over to where the voice was coming from. He paused a moment to look around, shortly before slipping on his own tracks. 'Are you absolutely sure you don't mind me leaving mud lying around like this, ma'am?'

Hlaoroo wrote:"Oh, fank goodness!" Chris exclaims, hugging Meeko. "I'm glad you're okay! Fanks fer revivin' in, Mister 'Ealer!"

Meeko returned the hug, looking over Chris's shoulder to look at the Pandas. "Indeed, thank you."

xhunterko wrote:"We do apologize. It's been months since the program started. You've been the first stray we've seen and we wanted to show something for it," he said. The others nodded in agreement.

"It is okay." He started, "So what happens now?"

Will shook his head, "No, he isn't m-my owner, that's Sam. Uncle Paige is S-Sam's dad's cat. He was there before I was; a-actually, I think they moved here together, but I'm not p-positive." He paused a bit before continuing. "Now that I think a-about it, our last name is Turner. S-So Uncle Paige's full name would b-be Paige Turner."

Star shrugged at the guards words, seeing the little reunion between Chris and Meeko, he decided to deliberate the words later. He stepped closer to the two, "So, how is everyone feeling? Feelings are good, and should be checked." He asked, a bit awkwardly.

xhunterko wrote:Mitch turned around with Rikki with a slight sigh of relief. Though he DID pick up what Bel said. Mitch took his phone and made a few texts. One to his father, and a few to some other folk, and some spies, then he stopped a moment, and looked at Riki. Sheepishly.
"Um, I just remembered, I need to hook you into the network," he said. He tapped his phone a couple places, showing the numbers for mostly everyone else important. He had been meaning too. It's just that he SHOULD have before now. He handed her the phone briefly.
*KLINK*
Came a sound from under the sink. Mitch facepalmed, and opened the cabinet door.
"I can only assume," Mitch said to the Left guard hiding there.
"Yes, terribly sorry, I was caught off guard on inspection, and hid here," he said, looking ashamed.
"Out," Was Mitch's only order and he promptly obeyed. Mitch shook his head.
"All these numbers you see you should add to your phone," Mitch said to her, "Texts will be coming in about a minute or so." Rikki had a few, the parents and others, obviously, but there were a few key secret numbers missing.

her fingers moving in a blur, such was her speed, the ferret inserted the numbers, then returned the phone to Mitch.

xhunterko wrote:"Well, if they're not at the entrance most should be leaving by now," the panda said to Jess, then he leaned in with a grin, "Might want to follow your friend to the bath house though."

"Oh, I'd much rather be helping... unless you think he would need help at the bath house?" Jess pondered aloud. "I don't see what he'd need help with... or does the bath house need help? are they understaffed? Oh no, is it backed up because there aren;t enough people helping and he won't get in if I don't go? what if..." her train of thought became progressively more worried and fast paced, until she just stopped and ran towards the bath house.

HoundInATree wrote:

xhunterko wrote: In the small but spacious building, several panda lay in a wide cistern of shallow water. Doors along the sides led to shower stalls. The building itself was well lit and airy. A few pandas were lounging in the pool. Some where washing as well. A couple looked at Albert, then continued what they were doing. In the back, opposite of the door, a friendly female voice called out.

"Come on back here dear! Don't mind making tracks! This IS a Bath House after all," it said.

After a long pause Albert walked over to where the voice was coming from. He paused a moment to look around, shortly before slipping on his own tracks. 'Are you absolutely sure you don't mind me leaving mud lying around like this, ma'am?'

Jess came running in next to albert. "I heard... or was lead to believe, um... or just thought..." she stumbled over her words realizing she'd just gotten herself worked up over absolutely nothing. she should probably talk tto her dad about this compulsive need to help, but that's a storty for a later day. "Is there anything I can do to help out in here?"

Mitch blinked.

"All 35? Don't let dad know, he'll put you in Intelligence!" Mitch said, as his phone beeped.

He read it aloud.

"Time has switched to 7:30-8 to allow for political maneuvering. Stop. Stay dressed, you may be asked to pull some diplomacy along with your fiance'. Stop. By the way, she's been added in, stop," Mitch said.

"Darn," he said, putting the phone away, before it beeped again.

"Your caution with the wolves has been acknowledged, thank you. The Boys may be called to diplomacy as well, please tell Bel to feed Valiant, who has been added, any cultural information that may be applied, stop," Mitch said.

"Nuts, no free time for any of us," Mitch said, "Though I guess he doesn't mean for you guys to stop your shower." He texted that to his dad, who texted in agreement. Which, also was sent to Valiant's phone. Along with a request for cultural information when the time was convenient. Mitch then went to Rikki's left, side hugging her. As his phone buzzed again.

"Sigh. Stay at your present location. Stop," he said, "Well, I guess we're here for a while."
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Benjamin put his phone away.

"Well, there's one of two things," Benjamin said to Meeko, "One, first and foremost, you can be free to go as you please. OR, despite everything we have done to you, since you are the first feral we've caught. Would you like to give us a chance to put the program in practice? You can say no. And I wouldn't blame you."

He then acknowledged what Star said who had come from behind with a nod.
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The left guard bowed to Frances to the floor, before getting back up to speak.

"Is the pack leader, or a diplomatic representative, present and available to speak to on the premise?" He queried. While he was a left guard, his rankings and markings suggested he was a high rank than average.
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"My dearest, look at the floor," she said, pointing down to the muddy concrete speckled many red panda paw prints, then she turned to Jess.

"No dear, we do not, this is rather easy to run," she said, "Now, however. If you are here to shower. We offer single stalls in the front half, and double stalls for two people in the back half. Lockable from the inside. We provide towels, one or two. And bars of soap, one or two. And the same for our wash cloths. Now. Will that be a double shower for two?" With that she added a grin and raised eyebrows.

"Or will that be two single shower stalls? Or sadly, just one?" She said.

xhunterko wrote:Mitch blinked.
"All 35? Don't let dad know, he'll put you in Intelligence!" Mitch said, as his phone beeped.
He read it aloud.
"Time has switched to 7:30-8 to allow for political maneuvering. Stop. Stay dressed, you may be asked to pull some diplomacy along with your fiance'. Stop. By the way, she's been added in, stop," Mitch said.
"Darn," he said, putting the phone away, before it beeped again.
"Your caution with the wolves has been acknowledged, thank you. The Boys may be called to diplomacy as well, please tell Bel to feed Valiant, who has been added, any cultural information that may be applied, stop," Mitch said.
"Nuts, no free time for any of us," Mitch said, "Though I guess he doesn't mean for you guys to stop your shower." He texted that to his dad, who texted in agreement. Which, also was sent to Valiant's phone. Along with a request for cultural information when the time was convenient. Mitch then went to Rikki's left, side hugging her. As his phone buzzed again.
"Sigh. Stay at your present location. Stop," he said, "Well, I guess we're here for a while."

Valiant looked puzzled, while Belisarius lathered his back. "I don't get it: I may come, but not Bel--*YIP* Ohhhh please keep popping that spine, pup! Hmm, did you work as a chiropratic in some previous life?"
"Read some books discarded by a human who worked at a hospital. But don't worry, my sweet pet," The wolf kissed him on the neck, eliciting a strong wag that sent a hefty spray out of the cabin. "This is for Rikki. And you belong to my pack now...Speaking of which, we must give you the test. And knowing Amadora, she won't go at all easy on you."

xhunterko wrote: Benjamin put his phone away.

"Well, there's one of two things," Benjamin said to Meeko, "One, first and foremost, you can be free to go as you please. OR, despite everything we have done to you, since you are the first feral we've caught. Would you like to give us a chance to put the program in practice? You can say no. And I wouldn't blame you."

He then acknowledged what Star said who had come from behind with a nod.

"What about option free, come 'ome wiv me? Or is dat implied in option one?" Chris queries, just to confirm. "Um, I'm fine, Star. You?"

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xhunterko wrote: The left guard bowed to Frances to the floor, before getting back up to speak.

"Is the pack leader, or a diplomatic representative, present and available to speak to on the premise?" He queried. While he was a left guard, his rankings and markings suggested he was a high rank than average.

"Pack leader? As in... Leader of this house? Or do you mean the wolves? Or do you pandas call yourselves a pack and you're after the head panda?" Frances asks, slightly confused. Not being familiar with the pandas' culture she doesn't recognise this fellow's uniform at all.

Inside the house, Scotty watches the wolves unpacking and trying to work out which way up to stand the books on the shelf as he waits patiently for Elio to fix his chair.

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Pecan wrote:Will shook his head, "No, he isn't m-my owner, that's Sam. Uncle Paige is S-Sam's dad's cat. He was there before I was; a-actually, I think they moved here together, but I'm not p-positive." He paused a bit before continuing. "Now that I think a-about it, our last name is Turner. S-So Uncle Paige's full name would b-be Paige Turner."

"Oh, cool. So 'e live in da neighbourhood too den? I wonder if I'll meet 'im... Great name dough! Please tell me 'e's a writer or a librarian! Or at least a reader!" Derek jokes. "Are dere any ovver pets in yer 'ouse or is it just youse two den?"

"Here you go!" the old man said, coming back with the chair. Though it didn't look in perfect shape. "Sorry, I'd need more time to do a better job, but since tomorrow is the great day, this should suffice. Take no bumps and you'll be fine. Lucilla, you can put him down now."
The muscly female did so. "Comfy?"

Meeko could not help but smile at what Star said, given with what had just happened to him it seemed out of place but more of something that should be in place for something like this.

xhunterko wrote:"Well, there's one of two things," Benjamin said to Meeko, "One, first and foremost, you can be free to go as you please. OR, despite everything we have done to you, since you are the first feral we've caught. Would you like to give us a chance to put the program in practice? You can say no. And I wouldn't blame you."

Of course for the moment there was a more pressing issue for him that took all of his focus away from answering verbally himself. "If you do not mind me saying, that is some system you have in place. Detain with force and then allow to go free if one wants."

He paused and looked at Chris, who had changed his world by offering him a home. Yet now he was being offered to become a part of some program with red pandas. There was no consideration needed.

"If I really am allowed to leave and continue to be free, I would rather prefer that option."

Luckily, Mitch tucked himself and Rikki out of the way.

"The bath ladies will want to talk with you then Bel," Mitch said grinning, "You might impress them."
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A group of kits walked out on the forest paths.

"I thought he was nice," said Ren.

"Hush," said Lil', dragging the group in tow back home.
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The panda did not seem to notice or care about Frances demeanor.

"The pack leader of the wolves, my dear," the panda says, "Our tribe needs to take care of some politics with them. If that is all right with you, madam."

xhunterko wrote:Luckily, Mitch tucked himself and Rikki out of the way.
"The bath ladies will want to talk with you then Bel," Mitch said grinning, "You might impress them."

"Whenever they want. Does this ritual involve they taking care of me? I always wondered how it'd be, to be served by a bunch of nice ladies--eep!" he stopped himself when a metallic hand squeezed his thigh.
"Careful, love. You *do* know I am as jealous as Italian-blooded guys come."
---

xhunterko wrote:The panda did not seem to notice or care about Frances demeanor.
"The pack leader of the wolves, my dear," the panda says, "Our tribe needs to take care of some politics with them. If that is all right with you, madam."

Both Caesar and Amadora came forward. "We are here as leader and representatives," Amadora said. "Whatever you shall discuss with us shall be shared with our pack, later. How can we help you?"

Chris looks a little crestfallen at Meeko's decision.
"You mean... You don't wanna come 'ome wiv me an' be adopted?"

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Scotty uses his handpaws to lift his legs and tail into place and then nods and gives the wolf a thumbs up and the elderly human a smile.
"I wonder if Val's human can give me a new chair for when I'm not in the walking-thingy." he writes. "Also I wonder if they've any solution to make communication easier and safer when I'm moving..."

"Sure, come on in." Frances says, leading the panda to the lounge area and standing aside as the wolves address him. "You can use the spare room upstairs or the bathroom-slash-laundry through the door there if you want some privacy." she offers.

Hlaoroo wrote:Scotty uses his handpaws to lift his legs and tail into place and then nods and gives the wolf a thumbs up and the elderly human a smile.
"I wonder if Val's human can give me a new chair for when I'm not in the walking-thingy." he writes. "Also I wonder if they've any solution to make communication easier and safer when I'm moving..."

"Well, I'm fairly sure he thought of everything. I mean, you don't come offering something like that without some emergency back up or something. I hope. Who knows, perhaps he'll find a way to make you actually talk, heh."

"Yes, h-he's definitely a reader. That's his f-favorite thing to do, actually. Well, r-read and learn things. I don't think I've ever heard of s-someone who could speak more languages than h-him," Will answered. "I'm s-sure you'll meet someday, but he's gone f-for a few days at some space c-camp thing. No other p-pets, though.

Star was going to answer fine, but winced slightly at Chris' reaction to Meeko's words, "There goes the good feelings..."

Meeko was going to wait for the answer of being allowed to go free until,

Hlaoroo wrote:Chris looks a little crestfallen at Meeko's decision.
"You mean... You don't wanna come 'ome wiv me an' be adopted?"

He looked at the red pandas around him, and Star, then at Chris. "Free to make my own choices..." He started in a low and in a rather apologetic tone, "To be able to decide if I would want to hypothetically be adopted by a caring dog." He paused, "So I could avoid situations like these." Pausing again, "That is what I would want, yes indeed."

"Then you are free to go," Benjamin said, bowing once more, "Again, we apologize for the trouble today."
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"Privacy is required, the upstairs room will be fine, thank you," the panda said with a bow.
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"Not everything we do is a ritual Bel," Mitch said, crossing his arms, "Though they may want you to demonstrate what you know."

xhunterko wrote:"Privacy is required, the upstairs room will be fine, thank you," the panda said with a bow.]

The two wolves followed the pandas upstairs as directed. It must be given to her, despite her temperament, Amador didn't show but formal politeness once she had closed the door. "Please talk, no one will interfere."
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xhunterko wrote:"Not everything we do is a ritual Bel," Mitch said, crossing his arms, "Though they may want you to demonstrate what you know."

"Neat! I will be their best teacher then! Will bring you some forest wisdom!"Belisarius stepped out of the shower and went down on all 4s...before shaking himself as dry as possible. All of a sudden, it looked as if a tropical thunderstorm had passed into the place!
"Sorry, should've warned you, Prince," Valiant said with a sigh. He walked to a closed and took out two towels. One big enough for the wolf, one for him, and one for his Mitch and Rikki. "Thought you'd like to share, eh?" he added with a sly grin

The captain lifted his hood to reveal a calm, strong face littered with many scars. A half chewed left ear, a scar starting at the right of his neck, going down his back, and, if one looked closely, along his left arm. He bowed before both, then got up.

"Thank you for this privacy," he said, "My name is Larenguard Ilchiz. Left Arm Captain. I have been sent as a fact finding mission. Granted our meeting was a rocky start. However, we have been given concerns that warrant secrecy of information for now. First, I must impart some news. The Chieftain and his wife are expecting. As such, celebrations will be performed. However, the chief has made concerns that our people have grown too easy, and forgetful. So he has ordered a Mourn March. A remembrance of the dead and fallen. Because you are now family, but not panda, you are not required to attend. However, we must invite you."

"I can not do that myself. This is a state affair. We will send a diplomat to invite the pack as a whole," he said, "We do not wish to make any mistakes. Are there any protocols that you would like us to observe concerning this?"
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Mitch simply stood there for a moment. Blinking. Before taking the towel, shrugging.

"Well, at least he's clean," Mitch said, drying Rikki off first, "Oh, love. Um. I've taken the liberty of first inviting Bel and Val if they wanted to double up on the wedding. I thought you might like the idea. What do you think?"

"Hmm. Well, p'r'aps when ye've mastered da ball an' cups I can teach ye a trick wiv a book tae show 'im. Whatcha fink o' dat?" Derek suggests to Will.

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Scotty smiles. "That would be cool!" he writes before pausing. "Say, think you guys could help me get my room set up, please? I can't really organise the furniture or posters myself..."

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Chris' hurt look vanishes as Meeko talks and is replaced by one of confusion as she henhouse her head in the manner of befuddled dogs.
"So... You DO wanna be adopted den? Or don't you?"