Housepets!

RandomGeekNamedBrent wrote:"well not much with the power out," Riggs answered. "we've got a radio, a couple handheld games... we could always do spin the bottle or truth or dare but there ain't much daring to be done down here either."

"What kinds of handheld games do you have? And what does "spin the bottle" involve?"

Hlaoroo wrote:"Like that thing we saw but smaller and without the storm on top. Also not as... Black."

"So, like, a dust devil?" Jack asked.

Serence Frostbite wrote:"yeah yeah, I'm just....." Storm said, hitting her forehead "I just haven't seen anything like this before. Does it happen often here?"

"Kinda." the badger said, shrugging. "I don't know if we're exactly in tornado alley, but we are pretty close to it. Tornados aren't that uncommon here."

Tesla nods. "It reminds me of a sandstorm, in a way. Solid in color and harsh, better to be inside for them, and caused by wind. It's only a loose relation, though." She starts to daintily eat at the meat of the cactus pear, shivering some as the cold of the rainwater begins to chill her.

CyberDragon wrote:"So, like, a dust devil?" Jack asked.

"Yeah, exactly! We call 'em willy willies though. It's the old word for 'em. The stories say they have evil spirits in them that grab naughty joeys. Not entirely sure I believe it but why take the risk? Pellet?" Jake offers his tin of timothy pellets around, not sure what the badger eats, but pretty sure the big rabbit would eat them.

CyberDragon wrote: "What kinds of handheld games do you have? And what does "spin the bottle" involve?"

"Well a couple old Tiger electronics games, I think there's a Game Gear here too," Riggs answered. "and it's easy. we sit in a circle, one person spins a bottle, then whoever it lands on... they kiss."

Hlaoroo wrote:"Pellet?" Jake offers his tin of timothy pellets around, not sure what the badger eats, but pretty sure the big rabbit would eat them.

"Sure, I'll try one," the rabbit said, taking one.
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CyberDragon wrote:"Kinda." the badger said, shrugging. "I don't know if we're exactly in tornado alley, but we are pretty close to it. Tornados aren't that uncommon here."

"Well, the conditions for them to form are common, but I don't think they touch down often," Met said. "not like every day, but maybe 3 or 4 times a year?"

Hlaoroo wrote:"Yeah, exactly! We call 'em willy willies though. It's the old word for 'em. The stories say they have evil spirits in them that grab naughty joeys. Not entirely sure I believe it but why take the risk? Pellet?" Jake offers his tin of timothy pellets around, not sure what the badger eats, but pretty sure the big rabbit would eat them.

Jack shook his head at the offered pellets. "Carnivore. Thanks for the offer though." he said.

RandomGeekNamedBrent wrote:"Well a couple old Tiger electronics games, I think there's a Game Gear here too," Riggs answered. "and it's easy. we sit in a circle, one person spins a bottle, then whoever it lands on... they kiss."

"Huh. Okay." Jack said, sounding fairly indifferent to the idea of the spin the bottle game. "I actually have no idea what either of those systems are. What games do they have?" Being only about five human years old, those systems predate his birth by decades.

RandomGeekNamedBrent wrote: "Well, the conditions for them to form are common, but I don't think they touch down often," Met said. "not like every day, but maybe 3 or 4 times a year?"

"That's not too bad I suppose." Storm said, looking around idly "Anyway, anyone happens to have a clock or something?"

"Do they set off that noise every time?" Joey asks, wiggling a finger in his ear. "That's bound to get annoying!"
"Yeah, we never had anything like that back home." Jake agrees.

"Yes... though the sound usually plays throughout the tornado warning." She wraps her tail around herself, then shivers a bit more. "Might not have the system set up right. The town is fairly new... Hey, can I ask for a towel? I need to dry off some..."

CyberDragon wrote:"Huh. Okay." Jack said, sounding fairly indifferent to the idea of the spin the bottle game. "I actually have no idea what either of those systems are. What games do they have?" Being only about five human years old, those systems predate his birth by decades.

"Well, the tiger games are mostly sports games, and the game gear has solitaire and a couple sonic games," Riggs answered.

Leafolawl wrote:"Yes... though the sound usually plays throughout the tornado warning." She wraps her tail around herself, then shivers a bit more. "Might not have the system set up right. The town is fairly new... Hey, can I ask for a towel? I need to dry off some..."

"Sorry, I don't know if we have any down here, but we may have some blankets if it'll help."

"Now that is a game I recognize. I'll play Sonic then." Jack said, reaching for the Game Gear. "How long do you think we'll be down here for?"

"Anything... The rain was much too cold, and I'm soaked from it," she explains, then starts to lick some of the moisture from her fur.

Unlike Tesla, the roos are quite used to braving the weather.
"Really? I thought it was quite refreshing." Joey tells the fox.
"Well, except for the hail." he quips before flinching at another thunderclap.

Jake notices his and Joey's hats on the mattress where they'd landed and dusts them off. He passes Joey his but neither roo puts them back on, preferring to dry out a bit first.
"Why don't we play a game we can all join in? We could show you some memory type ones we used to do with the mob back home." he suggests.

"Memory game huh?" Storm smiled sheepishly "noooooot my strongest point"

CyberDragon wrote:"Now that is a game I recognize. I'll play Sonic then." Jack said, reaching for the Game Gear. "How long do you think we'll be down here for?"

"hard to tell," Met answered. "depends on the direction the tornado was going and how fast its moving. We'll just have to keep an eye on our phones for updates.
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Leafolawl wrote:"Anything... The rain was much too cold, and I'm soaked from it," she explains, then starts to lick some of the moisture from her fur.

"Gotcha," Riggs said as he hopped to a cabinet with some beddings and came back with a blanket.
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Hlaoroo wrote: "Why don't we play a game we can all join in? We could show you some memory type ones we used to do with the mob back home." he suggests.

Serence Frostbite wrote:"Memory game huh?" Storm smiled sheepishly "noooooot my strongest point"

"I'm game for some memory games," Maria said.

Tesla takes the blanket, bundling herself in it. "Thank you Riggs. Sorry we came in like we did. The tornado came at us shockingly quick." She keeps her ears plastered back as she shuffles towards the others.

"I excel at memory games," the small fox announces, still shivering in her now bundled state.

"Alright, well... Okay, this is one we used to play called "I'm going grazing". Basically one person starts by saying "I'm going grazing and I'm going to eat..." and then they name a plant that's safe to eat. Then the next person says "I'm going grazing and I'm going to eat..." and they have to say the previous person's plant and name another one. The third person says the first two and adds their own and so on until someone repeats one or forgets them or says a dangerous plant by mistake." The big roo becomes more animated as he fondly remembers summer days spent playing the game when he was a joey. Little did he know at the time he was being educated in proper roo dining habits.

Jack looked up from the Game Gear. "I'd... think that might be tough to play in an interspecies group. Especially one where a good chunk of the members can't eat plants anyway. Technically most plants could be considered dangerous."

"Yeah" Storm chuckled "I don't know how well I can do in that game. But I can try, vegetables are technically plants, right?"

Leafolawl wrote:Tesla takes the blanket, bundling herself in it. "Thank you Riggs. Sorry we came in like we did. The tornado came at us shockingly quick." She keeps her ears plastered back as she shuffles towards the others.

No problem, I was getting bored here anyway."

Hlaoroo wrote:"Alright, well... Okay, this is one we used to play called "I'm going grazing". Basically one person starts by saying "I'm going grazing and I'm going to eat..." and then they name a plant that's safe to eat. Then the next person says "I'm going grazing and I'm going to eat..." and they have to say the previous person's plant and name another one. The third person says the first two and adds their own and so on until someone repeats one or forgets them or says a dangerous plant by mistake." The big roo becomes more animated as he fondly remembers summer days spent playing the game when he was a joey. Little did he know at the time he was being educated in proper roo dining habits.

"that sounds like a very specific version of a game i've seen on tv," Maria said.
"yeah, I think i know what you're talking about," Met seconded. "That version may be a bit easier in our mixed company. We clap our hands together in a specific way and one person names a category, then we have to name something in that category staying in rhythm and if you take too long or repeat one you lose."

Jake looks disheartened by Storm and Jack's responses but perks up again at Met's suggestion.
"That could work!"
"I'm in!" Joey enthuses. "What sort of categories though?"

"Even ground topics. Business types, vehicles, and social workers, though that short list could certainly be expanded," the tiny fox offers from her bundle.

Jack shrugged and put his game down. "I'd be fine with playing that."

"yeah thaat sounds like something I can probably play well" Storm replied happily

"Alright, let's get started," Met said before explaining the exact way they'd play the game.
surprisingly, Met and Maria were the first to be eliminated from their own game. Jack was out next, followed by Jake, Riggs, and Joey. in the final round of storm versus Tesla, both players fought valiantly, but Storm managed to outlast the fennec.

"Way to go, Storm, you're way smarter than Met," Maria called out.
"hey, don't forget you were out before me," Met teased.
"I never claimed to be smart."

"Yup. Knew I'd suck at that." Jake laughs. "You did surprisingly well though, Joey."
"Of course. I always said I was the smarter of us." Joey grins, earning himself a punch on the arm.
"I think you two went easy on us though, Met and Maria." the older roo accuses playfully.

"Right around the middle." Jack said, sounding a little bored. "Average, again. At least the universe is consistent."

Tesla swallows nervously. "This is a bit harder to keep up with having so many players, too... W-well done, Storm," the fennec quietly congratulates, then shrinks into the blanket some to shiver... more from her nerves than the cold at this point.

"Hehe, thanks guys" Storm smiled shyly "It was totally luck though, I didn't even think I could win"

round 2: Jack went out first, Jake and Joey once again lasted fairly long, the final was Met vs Tesla, with the lion winning.
round 3: the roos were the first 2 to go out. Tesla, disheartened by losing the finals twice, didn't try as hard and went out early. The finals were Storm vs Jack, with the lioness winning.
round 4: Tesla was further disheartened and lost first. Joey went next but Jake almost went to the finals. finals were Jack vs Met, with the lion winning.
round 5: Jake and Joey once again went out first, Tesla made her way back to the middle ground. the finals were Riggs vs Maria and the monkey, with a lion not winning. the monkey managed to stay focused long enough to win.

"Yeah! I managed to dethrone the king and queen of the jungle," Maria celebrated.

"Wait... you mean I... lost?" Jack said, a look of shock on his face. Then, suddenly, he started cheering. "WOO! I wasn't average for once!"

Tesla starts extracting herself from the blanket, having warmed back up—physically and from the nerves loss. "Well, it was fun... Hopefully the storm passes soon... Mom's probably worried." She looks towards the stairs, ears perking up to listen.

CyberDragon wrote:"Wait... you mean I... lost?" Jack said, a look of shock on his face. Then, suddenly, he started cheering. "WOO! I wasn't average for once!"

"You're happy you lost?" Storm smiled , a little bit confused.

"Well... yeah, sort of." Jack said in response. "I'm always in the middle. Always average. This might be the first time in months that I've been something other than middle-of-the-road."

CyberDragon wrote:"Well... yeah, sort of." Jack said in response. "I'm always in the middle. Always average. This might be the first time in months that I've been something other than middle-of-the-road."

"huh, I see.....well at least you're happy about it I suppose." Storm said, still a little bit confused, but at least there was an explanation, even as weird as it was.

Leafolawl wrote:Tesla starts extracting herself from the blanket, having warmed back up—physically and from the nerves loss. "Well, it was fun... Hopefully the storm passes soon... Mom's probably worried." She looks towards the stairs, ears perking up to listen.

"Yeah, hope my dad is ok too" she sighed "do you hear anything up there ?"

"Well, that was fun.Well fought, everyone!"

"So how do we know when it's safe again?" Jake asks, swivelling his ears as he tries to listen to the storm.

"I hear a lot of cracking from the hail hitting pavement, plant rustling from the wind, and... someone's driving out there. Probably emergency rescue services... Or maybe there's an area that's clear of the storm that they're going to give the all clear to." The fennec turns to everyone. "Until they do, it's advised not to go out. So unless they stop by here, we're still stuck."

Hlaoroo wrote:"Well, that was fun.Well fought, everyone!"

"So how do we know when it's safe again?" Jake asks, swivelling his ears as he tries to listen to the storm.

Leafolawl wrote:"I hear a lot of cracking from the hail hitting pavement, plant rustling from the wind, and... someone's driving out there. Probably emergency rescue services... Or maybe there's an area that's clear of the storm that they're going to give the all clear to." The fennec turns to everyone. "Until they do, it's advised not to go out. So unless they stop by here, we're still stuck."

"I guess we should probably turn on a radio," Riggs said, walking to a cabinet to dig around a bit. he pulled out a small hand crank radio. he turned it on and tuned it to a news station so they'd hear when its safe to leave. "hopefully it ain't too much longer."

"How long do you normally have to stay down for?" Joey asks.

Jake, on the other paw, is fascinated by the radio and shifts to look at it more closely.
"This is so cool! Can we talk to people with it? Geoff has something like it in his car he uses to talk to the clinic sometimes. What's that handle do? And the thin shiny thing?" he asks, pointing to the antenna.

"Hail?!" Storm asked with heightened concern "That can't be right. It wasn't that cold before the storrm, right?"

"It is that cold thousands of feet up where the storm is." Jack said, casually. "Hail's not too uncommon in thunderstorms, and often happens during tornadoes."