mbv, Scylla's World, More Learning
pod shuttle: *soft beep over the sound of crashing German metal music*
Drift: *unshutters an optic to see what the beep was for*
planet: *right there filling the entire front port as the pod shuttle orbits!*
Drift: *low whistle, will carefully sit up and see if there's a safe place to land
automated message: *pings the ship*
Drift: *responds*
message: *explaining that this planet is a wilderness preserve, and then it's interrupted by the appearance of a JD face on the screen*
Lt. Barklay: Deadlock? Is that you?
Drift: *surprised expression is a go* Er... It's Drift now....
Lt. Barklay: *surprised grin at the lack of the sullen anger that had marked the young Decepticon the last time he'd seen him* Okay. How're you doing?
Drift: I'm doing well. *small smile* I wasn't expecting to arrive at a wilderness preserve....
Lt. Barklay: *grin widens* Scylla's World just got declared. *then perks a bit* Hey, do you know where you want to go yet?
Drift: *considering look* Well.... I hadn't really thought about that.. Aside from trying to find a way back to where some of my friends are....
Lt. Barklay: Friends, huh? Where are they?
Drift: Somewhere on Earth in a different reality.... *checking coordinates*
Lt. Barklay: *blinks* Well, I can give you a ride to Earth, but I don't think I can help with the different reality.
Drift: *blink blink, considers, before he's nodding*
Lt. Barklay: But we're not heading that way yet. Do you feel like hanging out down on the planet for four or five days?
Drift: Sure. Where's a good place to land?
Lt. Barklay: Come on aboard and we'll bounce you.
Drift: *will move to sit up a bit more so he can navigate the shuttle* Alright.
Lt. Barklay: *gives him coordinates for the docking bay* Need a tractor beam?
Drift: I might... *doing his best to pilot the small craft on-course*
Lt. Barklay: Okay. Put her on auto and we'll guide you inside.
Half hour later. On the side of a steep mountain dotted with artistic trees
Drift: *looking around and thinking to himself that Snake Eyes and Tunnel Rat would love this place* *looks down, and then he's laughing as he realizes he's looking at the clouds*
movement: *at the corner of his vision*
Drift: *quick glance towards the movement*
woman: *white-skinned, with leathery, finely scaled skin and a long tail that ends in a fine, whip-like point* *crouching on the branch of one of the twisted mountain trees and watching him with pale blue eyes*
Drift: *slight nod of greeting. Is wary, thanks to the lessons he's learned from Snake Eyes, but the woman doesn't seem like she's going to attack him....*
woman: So what did the JDs send you down for? *voice slightly flat, with a cold edge that seems more tone than attitude*
Drift: I wanted to see what this world's like, since they're not heading towards Earth for a few days.
woman: *nods, the tip of her tail twitching and then twining around a tree branch* Do you have a name?
Drift: *nods* Drift.
woman: *straightens slightly, to show that her lean and muscular figure is clothed in a racer back crop top and shorts with a modesty flap made of some sort of thin, rubbery material* I'm Scylla.
Drift: It is nice to meet you, Scylla.
Scylla: *nods, then hunkers down* DUCK!
Drift: *drops into a crouch, scanning for the threat*
shadow: *whips over right where his head had been, and then wheels for a second pass. It's a massive feline with wide wing webs on its front limbs*
Scylla: *piercing hiss and leaps at the beast as it passes her, her tail and legs wrapping around it as she punches it solidly in the head*
Drift: *startled blurt*
batcat: *angry screech and somersaults in the air, trying to claw with its back legs*
Scylla: *boxes its ears hard and then leaps free as it tumbles down through the clouds. Scrabbles at the rock and then pulls herself up next to Drift* Yeah. Standing out in the open up here isn't really a great idea.
Drift: *boggling slightly*
Scylla: *stands and heads for a cleft in the rock behind him* Come on, let's go downside.
Drift: Er... Okay.... *moves to get up and follow Scylla*
Scylla: *slips through the crack, and then she's pausing and looking back up at him from where she's leaped to another of the trees*
Drift: *slight frown as he realizes he won't fit through the crack* Do you have coordinates for where we're going?
Scylla: *looks down thoughtfully, and then rattles some off*
Drift: *small nod, will give his teleporter a try* *arrives on a ledge in the clouds* *blink blink* Wow... I never thought being in a cloud could make me feel so isolated...
pebbles: *rattle down from above*
Drift: *ducks slightly and looks towards the source of the pebbles*
Scylla: *hurtles into sight and then past him, only to catch herself on a tree a ways down, do a graceful flip and land on a wide ledge down there* Can you see the stairs?
Drift: *looks around, scanning* I think I see them
Scylla: *settles a bit to wait for him, then leans waaayyyy over and looks waayyyy down*
Drift: *moving carefully to get down the stairs, since he's pretty certain that if he fell from here, he'd have more than cracks in his frame to worry about*
Scylla: *nods at him, and then takes another flying leap down the mountain side*
Drift: *moves to follow, carefully. Yes, his way's slower, but he'll get there just the same*
Scylla: *waits at the next ways down, and then drops once more*
Drift: *soft sound of surprise once he's down below the clouds. There's green EVERYWHERE.... and he can smell... something.... There's a few slopes from other mountains, but all the plantlife has his attention*
Scylla: *looks up at the sound* What is it? *quick scan of the area* That bat-lion shouldn't come back...
Drift: *wide-opticed wonder clear on his face* Wow....
Scylla: *quirks one hairless brow, but then understands and grins, her crystal fangs glinting softly in the sunlight* Yeah, it's pretty. That's why the JDs asked me to protect it.
Drift: *curious* Protect it from what?
Scylla: Poachers, loggers, miners. All the different kind of salvagers. *looks down over that green canopy* This is a fresh world, it's worth a lot.
Drift: *frown, looks around* .... Why would they want to ruin it though?
Scylla: People just don't care. They look at a place like this and all they see is how much money they can get from it. Or how fast they can civilize it.
Drift: *more frown* *is reminded yet again of Megatron*
Scylla: *rattles off another set of coordinates, and then vanishes with a well known swish and slight flash*
Drift: *surprised, but will follow with his teleporter* *looking around once he's at ground level. There are animals everywhere in the trees, including the shorter trees that are in the immediate area, which seems to be a bit more open than a lot of what he'd seen from above*
something: *is that soft swish and gentle thump on his shoulder, followed by a very soft chattering sound*
Drift: *looks to his shoulder, unsure about what to expect*
little white wingcat: Prrt? Muu?
Drift: *soft clicks, will reach up to gently touch the little wingcat's back*
cat: *quiet prrrrrrrrr as he arches against the touch, then leans over to stare into Drift's face before flapping off his shoulder and flying through the young tree trunks*
Drift: *watches the cat's progress, before he's moving to try and follow*
cat: *loops back, sees him coming and leads off again, wings nearly silent in the green twilight under the trees*
Drift: *reminded of chasing Snake Eyes, will continue to follow the cat, a small grin on his face*
something: *bellows up ahead*
cat: *does another loop, and then heads for the bellow*
Drift: *on alert, will continue to follow*
something: *and suddenly there is over five hundred pounds of angry hair, muscle, and bone charging him with lowered head and angry snorts*
Drift: *reacts without thinking and draws his blade* *hurls the oversize buck knife straight at the oncoming beast's near front leg*
beast: *stumbles at speed, which results in a spectacular flying flip!*
Drift: *dodges by diving to the side and rolling, before he's landing in a crouch*
beast: *bellowing and thrashing as it tries to get turned over and back on its feet. The knife is knocked free and falls a couple foot away from it*
Drift: *going to try and get his knife back* *darts over and scoops the blade up, feeling a brief moment of surprise at how easily he's fallen into the movements Snake Eyes taught him* *will finish what he started, since he did injure the creature, and it wouldn't be right to leave it to suffer*
Scylla: *drops down from the tree tops and lands in a graceful crouch as the little white cat lands on Drift's shoulder again and purrs for him* ...Nice. Can I have some?
Drift: *blink blink* Er... sure....
Scylla: *looks up and chuckles* He's decided you're his symbiont now. You're not getting rid of him any time soon.
cat: *love love love LOVE as he softly asks for some of the food*
Drift: *soft 'heh', will try and work out how to feed the cat*
cat: *flies over and sits on the dead animal, then sniffs around the cut on its throat. Little teeth are too small to bite through that thick hide, so he looks up and mews again*
Drift: *awkward as he tries to get his knife through the hide*
Scylla: Here, let me show you how to do that. *reaches into a slit on the side of her shorts, which show no sign of a pocket, and pulls out a hand grip that should have showed if it had been in a pocket there. Hits a switch and then uses the resultant small energy blade to cut the animal's hide from chin to tail* First you do this.
Drift: *watching and learning, though he'll also ask questions along the way*
Scylla: *pulls on the edge of the slit* See?
Drift: *small nod, will carefully pull on the other edge of the slit, surprised at how similar to peeling a banana this is*
Scylla: *cuts around the beast's neck and up the insides of its legs, and then peels the hide away totally from its belly, legs, and sides*
wingcat: *happy chirp. Leans out from his perch on Drift's shoulder as his bright eyes unmistakably ask permission to eat*
Drift: *will help the wingcat down and click softly to it*
Scylla: *sniffs, and then shakes her head as she watches the little cat try to bite off a piece of the carcass* Maybe we should just teleport it to the house. If I eat now I'll be too tired to walk, and I need to get back and feed my sons.
Drift: Alright.... *going to try and lift part of the carcass up, wincing as injuries not fully healed protest the move*
Scylla: *heard that creak and stops him, her tail lashing as she frowns* You're hurt.
Drift: *quietly and a bit stubbornly* I'll be alright.
Scylla: *soft hiss* I heard something creak. Only hurt Transformers creak like that.
Drift: It's nothing too serious... *wants to help out and earn his keep...*
Scylla: Well you don't need to lift the thing to teleport it. Get your cat.
Drift: *blink blinks, before he's clicking softly and holding a hand out to the cat*
wingcat: *looks up and makes a soft sound, big ears perked quizzically*
Drift: *more soft, encouraging clicks*
Scylla: Offer him a little bit of meat.
Drift: *will cut off a bit of meat and offer it to the cat then, and continue clicking*
cat: *oh, this is... new. Strange...* *bitty paw up on his hand as sniffy sniffy happens*
Drift: *gentle clicks, will try and coax the cat onto his hand*
wingcat: *not hard to coax, is even purring softly as he climbs up. Then starts to nibble daintily at the offered food*
Drift: *slowly brings his hand closer to his chest, so as not to spook the cat. Will say the sparklet word for 'family' as he does so*
Scylla: Good work. Hold onto him. *tail around Drift's ankle, foot on the kill's head, and teleports them away*
cat: *spooked and holds on!*
Drift: *soothing clicks as he gently offers scritches to the little creature* *looking around cautiously*
Scylla: *also looks around at the heavy metal gridwork dome that encloses the grassy yard that they're standing in, her tail curling thoughtfully. Then turns and heads toward the low, comfortable looking bamboo house that stands to one side of that yard. The house is built to admit people larger than herself, and is open and airy in structure, with a sturdy tile roof over walls that are half open window obscured only by gauzy white curtains* I better feed the kids before I eat.
Drift: *small nod, will try and cut off a bit more of the meat to feed to the wingcat*
cat: *singing his soft little song as he eats the tiny bits he's given, also loves much on the hand that is giving him the noms*
Scylla: *back out now and settles to sit on a wood stump beside the door. Turns her back slightly to Drift as she talks to the two furry babies who are wriggling and cooing excitedly in her arms* Calm down, you little derps. I have to get them out first. Hey, I need that hand for my shirt, Percy. *chuckle*
tall, scruffy, furry guy: *follows her out, a third baby held under his arm like a sack. Pauses to give a friendly and quizzical look quite not in keeping with his wolfish appearance to Drift*
Drift: *blink blink, nods to the tall guy in greeting and continues to feed his cat*
wolfy guy: Hi, I'm Roger. Scylla's husband... whoops!
Scylla: *head snaps up* Hey, Drift, you want to grab Quinn for a few minutes?
Roger: *sheepishly offers baby*
Drift: *soft chuckle as he nods and reaches for the baby. Will click softly to the infant*
Quinn: *massive flail as he crows about meeting a new friend!*
Roger: Yike! Careful.
Drift: *gentle clicks of greeting, is very careful as he moves to sit down*
wingcat: *eyes wide as he looks down at this furry critter who is about his size but much bulkier, then puts his wingpaws down on Drift's chest and streeeeetches out to try and sniff noses with Quinn only to startle into the air as an angry screech comes from the doorstep behind Scylla*
Drift: *looks towards the screech*
cat: *slender, big eyed, dappled. She's standing there with her back arched and her tail floofed as she stares up at the wingcat twice her size and threatens him for being near her family. Two puzzled little big eyed kittens are tumbled around her feet*
Scylla: Kitty, stop it!
Drift: *blink blink*
Kitty: *low growl, but then a startled little squeak as Roger scoops her up and scratches her ears*
Scylla: *glances at Drift* She's a den-cat. They usually live in prides, and she got separated from hers somehow and adopted us. She thinks your flying friend's going to hurt the boys and her kittens.
Drift: Oh.... *small frown* I don't thing Wing would do that....
Scylla: *glances up at the wingcat* With all this food around? I doubt it.
Wing: *little birdlike sound, and then moves to land on Drift's head*
Kitty: *angry howl of warning*
Wing: *cowers as he makes his sound again, only wants to stay with his partner, angry lady!*
Drift: *gentle clicks, will offer Wing more bits of meat, and keep an optic on Quinn*
Wing: *still making himself small to Kitty, is so anxious that he can't even notice the lovely food*
Roger: I know what to do. *moves closer to Drift* Here, give her some of that.
Drift: *will offer Kitty some of the meat then*
Kitty: *cusses at Wing again, but then stops with startlement and sniffs at the piece of meat before looking up at Drift with perked ears*
Drift: *clicks*
Kitty: *hesitates, but then makes a little crooning sound and eats the food*
Wing: *perks, his purr starting up softly. Was the lady angry because she'd already taken this partner? He can share!* *slides down to nose Kitty curiously and get growled at and ignored*
Quinn: *reaching for kitties!*
Drift: *gentle clicks, is amused*
Scylla: *amused too as she watches over her shoulder* Welcome to the family, kid.
Drift: *small smile*
Wing: *soon purring as he noms food with Kitty, who has moved over to sit by Quinn in Drift's arms*
Drift: *happy little clicks* *is totally showing that he's not very old*
kittens: *sudden chorus of shrill little trills as they look around for their mother from where they're now cuddled by Scylla's feet*
Kitty: *looks up and croons, then glances at Drift's face and makes an odd little sound like she's asking for something*
Drift: *will gently offer to set Kitty down*
Kitty: *down on the ground and then asking for something else as she looks up*
Drift: *puzzled, will try offering some more meat*
Roger: *looks over from making ewwww faces at the kill* No, she's asking for Quinn.
Drift: Oh.... *will gently set Quinn on the ground*
Kitty: *lays down by the baby and calls her kittens over, then feeds the two tiny fluffballs*
Quinn: *snuggles Kitty, noms his foot, and tries to talk to Drift at the same time*
Drift: *soft clickstorm*
Roger: *looks around suddenly with a bit of a frown*
Scylla: *sees that and facepalms* I forgot. Sorry.
Drift: *blink blink* Is something wrong?
Scylla: *amused as her husband goes over to peer uncertainly through the gate* I was supposed to be getting food for him, not for me.
Drift: What type of food?
Scylla: Fruit, veggies. That kind of things. He usually doesn't eat meat. *slight chuckle* Well, unless it's snails.
Drift: *moves to get up* What types of fruits are available here? *intends to help gather fruit*
Scylla: You mean what kinds aren't, right?
Drift: *blink blink, grin*
Scylla: *curious quirk of a brow* What's that for?
Drift: Fruit is pretty good...
Scylla: *sits up, both brows raising now, though she doesn't turn to face him* You eat fruit?
Drift: Yeah... I have a mod that lets me eat all sorts of fuel.
Scylla: I thought you hadn't been to Earth yet?
Drift: I wound up in a different reality at one point.... *wondering what his not being to the Earth of this reality has to do with his fuel mod*
Scylla: Ahhhhh. *looks down for a moment at her sons, and then back over her shoulder* I came from another reality. But if you want fruit, and to help Roger out, go ahead. Just don't let anything eat him.
Drift: *nods and moves to head for the gate, will get his blade out* *muses out loud about whether there are any bananas*
Roger: *sniffing* Um... yeah. I think there are. Hold on, lemme stop the power for a bit.
Drift: Stop the power? *confused expression is a go*
Roger: *opens a little box by the gate and presses a button, which stops the humming in that one, movable, section of the dome* Yup. So we don't get fried.
Drift: Oooh... Yeah... That would be a bad way to end the day....
Roger: No kidding. Singed fur really stinks. *pushes the gate open, but waits for Drift to go out first*
Drift: *heads out and does a quick scan of the area, looking for potential threats and finding mostly only small feline creatures, birds, and other beings ranging from a little bigger than Wing to smaller than Kitty*
Roger: *makes sure the gate's closed securely and quickly takes his hand away from it as it beeps*
Drift: *perks as he catches scent of the bananas* I smell the bananas now... :3
Roger: *looks up and grins as he turns his head from side to side* Yeah, they're ready to eat. But where are they? *has noooo idea how to pinpoint or follow a scent*
Drift: *checking the air, before he's pointing in the direction that the scent is strongest* I think they're this way...
Roger: Really? *hopeful grin as he walks over to the young Cybertronian, tripping over his own feet a little along the way*
Drift: *double-checking, before he nods* Yeah. *will move to guide Rodger to the fruit, and keep sensors on alert for threats*
Roger: Oh darnit... *half turns back to the dome* I forgot the bag.
Drift: I can carry things.
Roger: *looks up at him, crestfallen* Yeah, but a bag carries more than arms can.
Drift: I've got storage compartments and subspace.
Roger: Oh. Okay! *happy and goofy grin*
Wing: *nearly falls off Drift's head from the sleep of full belly*
Drift: *grins and then he's catching Wing and gently smoothing the cat's fur* *will offer to give Roger a lift, and look around at the jungle. He's never seen plants this tall except for that one trip he took into the Amazon jungle when Fire Robo and the Aider Robos had arrived. His wonder at just how lush and comfortable this world's jungle is is clear on his face*
Roger: *bit surprised* You want to pick me up?
Drift: *nod* I can keep you safer that way, and we can reach the bananas easier.
Roger: Well... okay. What do I do?
Drift: Just don't try and sock me... *will carefully and gently lift Roger*
Roger: I only hurt myself when I try that. *lifted, and looks around wonderingly from the new vantage point*
Drift: *protective as he walks towards the bananas, taking in everything around him with his own look of child-like wonder*
Roger: *looking up* We have to make sure we don't walk under the conk trees.
Drift: *blink blink* Conk trees?
Roger: *points toward a tall pillar of a tree* Yeah, I think getting hit in the head by a nut case would even hurt you.
Drift: *looks* Oooh... *makes note to avoid those trees*
Roger: *and then looks down and notices the cannon ball like nut casings laying on the ground* ...Do you like conks?
Drift: I don't think I've ever had one...
Roger: Let's get some, those are under a little tree. So if anymore fall it shouldn't be as hard, right?
Drift: *nod* Makes sense... *will move towards one of the little trees, marvelling at the variety of plantlife* *notices that one of the round things on the ground is smooth and shiny* Heeeey....
Roger: *looks up from the nut casing he took and is admiring* What? What's wrong?
Drift: These look kind of like some of the nuts I saw one time on another world... only not rough....
shiny round thing: *pokes out a head and two eye stalks and starts to crawl away*
Roger: *drops his nut case* SNAIL!
Drift: *blink blink, will move so Roger can get the snail*
Roger: *snag! Hug* Do you like snail? They're really good, especially when you fill them with conk nuts before you cook them.
Drift: I've had smaller ones... I don't really care for them, to be honest...
Roger: *sudden crestfallen look* Oh.
Drift: I just can't get past the texture...
Roger: ...Chewy?
Drift: The ones I had were kinda slimy....
Roger: *ears flat and eyes wide* ...Were you eating 'em raw?
Drift: Maybe.... I don't know....
Roger: *looks down at the big shell he's hugging* We'll cook this one.
Drift: *a bit unsure, but will trust Roger* Alright.... *will grab several nut cases and stow them in one of his compartments*
Roger: Snails are good cooked with banana too. *perks as he remembers that they're looking for those fruits*
Drift: Oh? *will look up to see if he can spot the fruits nearby, since he can still smell them, and the smell's gotten stronger*
Roger: Yup. Or with custard fruit. *sudden excited pointing that nearly results in his dropping his snail* I think I see the banana tree!
Drift: *moves to head for the tree, a big grin on his face* Awesome!
banana grove: *is indeed there, beautiful plants with massive white-splashed leaves and bunches of huge, pale purple fruit and flowers. And all that fruit is hanging high over Drift's head*
Drift: Woooow..... Pretty!
Roger: *grins* Really?
Drift: *nod nod* It's different from the plants I've seen on other worlds... *grinning*
Roger: *thoughtful* Somebody gave me some yellow bananas once, before we came here. The flavor kind of... sucked.
Drift: That stinks...
Roger: *wrinkled nose* Yup. Hardcore.
Drift: Huh.... *wonders if he's had any like what Roger was given* Let's try and get some bananas... *trying to gauge just how high above his head the fruits are*
Roger: *looking up again, his ears flat as he studies the lofty prizes* Scylla usually climbs.
Drift: *considering look for his blade* Hmm...
Roger: *wriggles to show that he'd like to stand, though his attention is still on the bananas*
Drift: *will set Roger down and take careful aim at the stem of the closest bunch*
Roger: *distracted, sees another snail climbing up that banana trunk and will go and get it* *the falling banana bunch just misses him*
Drift: *acks and scoots to catch the bunch*
Roger: *buh?* *turns to look, now hugging two snails*
Drift: *grin* Got 'em.... *realizes his blade's stuck in the tree* ... And now my blade's stuck up there...
Roger: *looks up again* ...Oops.
Drift: *gonna look for a stick and try and knock the short blade down*
Wing: *wriggles and stretches, and then sits up with a chirp*
Drift: *absent scritches as he searches*
Wing: *looks up, perks ears, and then swoops into the air and sits on the hilt of the buck knife* *looks dowwwwn at his partner*
Drift: *looks up, soft chuckle* Think you can get it out, Wing?
Wing: Muu? *head tilt. Does Partner want something?*
Drift: *soooo not finding any sticks... will try climbing the tree from the other side then*
Wing: ... *partner has lost part of himself! Claws at tree with wing paws, and then is hovering as the blade heads down... straight at Roger*
Drift: *acks* Roger, watch out! *gonna try and snag the blade as it passes*
Roger: *scoots! And faceplants*
Drift: *fret, worry* Are you alright, Roger? *managed to just catch the handle of the buck knife*
Roger: *rolls over cautiously and checks his snails, then grins*
something: *falls off a banana leaf and hits him right between the eyes*
Roger: *pwnt*
Drift: *drops to the ground and goes to see what fell on Roger* Another snail... *will carefully pick Roger, the snails, and the bananas up*
Wing: *flies around his head, chattering and 'talking'*
Drift: *gently checking Roger over for injury once the food is stored safely*
Roger: *groans quietly and shakes his head* Ow...
Drift: *worried* Are you alright?
Roger: Yeah... I only hit my head.
Wing: *lands on Drift's shoulder, and does his streeetch down to check on Roger for himself*
Roger: Heh... *belly grumble* Oops.
Drift: *soft chuckle, and then a slight squirm as one of the snails explores the storage compartment he stowed it in*
Roger: *looks around* What hit me, anyway? Conks hurt worse.
Drift: Another snail...
Roger: *perks* Really?
Drift: I've got 'em stored-ack! *squirrm*
Roger: o.O?
Drift: *quickly getting the snails out of the compartment* Sheesh...
Roger: *sits up, and then pushes to his feet and staggers sideways with a grin* Let's go eat lunch.
Drift: *will carefully heft the bananas, since they won't fit in his on board storage*
Roger: Need me to carry anything? Ack! *pulls his baggy drawstring pants back up to a comfortable level* What the heck? My butt didn't vanish... oh. *reties them*
Drift: *snerks and offers the snails once Roger's hands are free*
Roger: *has to extract a finger from the knot in the cord, and then retie said cord. Watches the knot warily, waiting for it to come loose again, but then looks up and takes the snails* Thanks! :D
Drift: *chuckles* Let's get back....
Roger: *as Wing drapes himself bonelessly over Drift's shoulder* Okay. *looks around* Which way?
Drift: *remembers the way they came* We went by the conk nuts on our way here...
Roger: Yeah, but there's a lot of those. *uncertain expression as he continues to look around*
Drift: *offers to carry Roger again* I know which way we came.
Roger: Oh good. *lets himself be lifted* Because I sometimes get lost in the house at night.
Drift: I'll make sure we both get back safely. *will head for the gate now*
Roger: *examining the snails as they go, has a big happy grin on his face*
something: *clicks as they pass a thicket of tree ferns. Lots of little tiny clicks, and then silence*
Drift: *scans in the direction of the clicks*
swarms of tiny insects: *hovering in the shade of the fronds*
shells: *some sort of bivalve are stuck onto the trucks of those ferns, partly obscured by the clouds of little flies*
Drift: Something with a shell's there in that thicket.... *puzzled*
Roger: What? Where? Is it a snail?
Drift: *moves closer to the thicket* It's got two halves to its shell, whatever it is....
Roger: o.O? Huh. Maybe we should bring it home.
Drift: *carefully parting ferns to try and get a look at the shelled things*
bivalves: *tightly closed, seemingly in response to the agitation of the little bugs*
Drift: Huh... Weeeirrrrd.... *trying to figure out how to pick up one of the bivalves without dropping the bananas, Wing, or Roger*
Wing: *seems to be holding on alright... he's got a wingpaw hooked onto the place where Drift's shoulder armor stops for his neck to come out*
Drift: *will set Roger on his feet before reaching for one of the bivalves*
shell: *would make a handful for a human, but is smaller for him, and pops away from the 'furry' trunk of the fern easily. Seems to have been attached with some sort of strands*
Drift: *blink blink blink* ... I have no idea what this is, or if it's even food...
Roger: *stands on toes to sniff* ...Smells like meat. Buggy meat, anyway. Like the snails, only different.
Drift: Huh... Well... we should get it back, and see if Scylla knows what it is...
Roger: She's probably asleep, but Mother'll keep it. *lifts his arm to be picked up*
Drift: *will work on picking up Roger without dropping the bivalve or the bananas*
Roger: *soon up and grinning as he anticipates going home and having lunch*
Drift: *keeping sensors on alert as he heads back to where Scylla and Roger call home*
dome: *humming softly as they reach it. Someone seems to be bustling around in there, but it's not Scylla. Whoever it is... is smaller than a human*
Drift: *slows and moves to set Roger down so the energy can be turned off long enough to get through the gate*
Roger: *happily juggles his snails till he can figure out how to get a hand free to open the little box and press the button. Then he's yelping softly and picking up the dropped gastropod before he opens the gate and wanders through* Hey, Mother, we found something new.
Drift: *follows Roger and looks to see who he's talking to*
tiny little furry person: *was bustling around a large box with cooking pots on top of it, but has now stopped and is looking up at him and Roger with large, soft dark eyes. Is a small alien woman clothed in a kilt and an apron* *soft squeak of a chuckle* Everything is new here.
Drift: *blink blink* Er... Hello....
Roger: *looks up at him happily* Drift, this is Mother. Mother... *looks down* That's Drift. He's got that funny thing we found.
Mother: *interested wrinkling of her nose. Softly and with kindly interest* What did you find, Drift?
Drift: This... *will show Mother the bivalve* I've never seen anything like it before.
Mother: *blinks those big dark eyes* Hmm. Neither have I. We'd better keep it in a stasis box till one of the officers can have a look at it.
Drift: *nod* Alright... *looks around for a stasis box*
Mother: *offers him the big stirring spoon in her hand* Make sure that the soup doesn't burn, will you, dear? And just give me our strange new thing.
Drift: *hands the bivalve over, and sets the bananas where they won't be in the way, but still accessible, and turns his attention to keeping the soup from burning*
meat: *simmering merrily in the four pots. Beside the box they're on sit several cases of glass jars and some vegetables*
Roger: *over putting the snails into a little cage made from wood and some sort of laced together wire* *in looking toward him Drift will notice that about a quarter of the kill has vanished, and that its skin is now hanging up against the wall of the house fat side out*
Drift: *curious headtilt as he watches Roger and makes note of other details in the area*
Mother: *back she comes and stands on her toes to reach for the spoon* You can hang the bananas on the hook at the corner of the roof overhang.
Drift: *gives the spoon and goes to hang the bananas up*
Roger: *over by the kill now. Looks at it. Looks at Mother's jars. Looks at it. Looks at the jars* Um... Mother...
Mother: *stirring her soup* I know, Roger. We'll have to find out how to cut it up and put it in the stasis chests in the shed if we don't want it to go to waste.
Drift: *glances at the meat and wonders whether he could help out in some way*
Wing: *flies over to sit by the huge carcass and sniff it, his tail twitching with surprise as he tries to figure out where the skin went! Talks about it*
Drift: *chuckles as he watches the wingcat*
Roger: *BANANANOM* *walks over with his mouth full and mumbles something to Drift*
Drift: *attention going to Roger now* *blink blink*
Roger: *gulp* I mean. Do you know how to cut up... big dead things? *studies the kill, but has nooo clue what it is, other than dead*
Drift: *headshake* I've never had to cut up big dead things for food....
Roger: Oh. *frowny* Well, I know we need pieces that will fit in the stasis chests. I'll go get one! *stuffs the rest of the banana in his mouth and scoots toward the shed, falls on his face and gets banana smooshed all over it, but scrambles up and off he goes again*
Mother: *shakes her head and stirs her pots*
Drift: *will go snag a 'nana while he puzzles over how to cut the beast up*
Roger: *back with banana on his face and a large chest in his arms* Okay... *drops it on his toes and hops around whimpering*
Drift: *comes over to check Roger's toes*
Roger: *toes look like they've been busted before rather often and in different ways. One's evidently broken again, to judge by the swelling*
Drift: *fusses and searches his subspace for something to try and fix the injury* *pauses as he finds something he wasn't expecting... the boots that Heavy Duty lost track of* Huh.. *will get them out of subspace and set them aside for the moment*
Roger: *looks up from where he's now sitting and holding his poor hurt foot to study those things with a puzzled expression* Drift, what's that?
Wing: *cat house! Trying to climb into one boot*
Drift: Boots... *will carefully extract Wing so the cat doesn't get stuck* They go on feet to protect them, I guess... I wonder how they got in my subspace though... I didn't grab them....
Roger: ...Clothes for feet? *eyes wide at the thought*
Drift: *nods* Yeah... I've got a pair of my own for when I'm in my alternate mode, but I don't like wearing 'em...
Roger: *looks at those big, steel-toe boots, and then pulls one onto each foot. Tall as he is, they fit*
Drift: *small grin, will have a bite of the banana he snagged and was holding in one hand*
Roger: *pulls on the bootlaces* What're these for?
Drift: To keep the boots on your feet.
Roger: *looks up at him quizzically* Huh?
banana: *faintly tangy, like the little red ones*
Drift: *enjoying the flavor of the banana, will finish his bite before answering* They're meant to keep the boots in place, so they don't trip you up when you're walking... *wonders if he's recovered enough that transforming won't aggravate the cracks in his frame*
Roger: *studies the laces again* Do I tie them, like my pants?
Drift: *nods, and decides it's worth the risk* I'll show you how... *will transform and give a slight wince as something twinges uncomfortably*
Wing: *sudden cry of fright*
Roger: *mouth hanging open as he stares at Drift*
Drift: *soothing clicks for Wing* *to Roger, as he gets his boots out of subspace* I mentioned I have a smaller form, I thought...
Roger: Yeah... I just never realized Transformers could look like humans.
Drift: *blink blink* Transformer?
Roger: *blink blinks back at him* Yeah, guys like you.
Drift: *more blink blink* Huh....
Roger: Of course I only ever met Swindle, Optimus, and Zoe in the other reality we lived in.
Drift: *slight headtilt. Has heard of Swindle in this reality... and heard rumors of Optimus, but has never heard of anyone named Zoe*
Roger: *doesn't notice. Is distracted by pulling on the laces of one boot and then trying to tie them in a square knot like the one in the string on his pants* Oh yeah, and I met the Transformers that adopted George, too. And that guy named Blaster. They're in this reality...
Wing: *has gotten distracted himself and is talking about the carcass again*
Drift: *will get his blade out, and cut a bit more meat off to offer Wing*
Wing: *eats and purrs*
Roger: *laces all wrapped around the boots and then knotted, he happily gets to his feet and tries walking in them* Heeeey.
Drift: *soft clicks for Wing*
Roger: Will you sell these to me, Drift? *admiring boots*
Drift: They actually belong to another guy.
Roger: Will he sell them to me?
Drift: I think he found another pair.... I don't know if I could get back to ask him for you though, since he's in a different reality...
Roger: *startled* Don't you have a PINpoint?
Drift: I have a teleporter.... but the portal closed behind me when I was trying to bring Fire Robo and the Aider Robos through... I didn't want to leave them behind...
Roger: Does your teleporter work like a PINpoint? Don't you have the coordinates?
Drift: I think it does... *will check for coordinates now*
teleporter: *has indeed got coordinates stored. Those of the patch of Gordon's Planet where he spent the most of his time... and those to the Joe base and the Nexus*
Drift: *blink blink* *slight grin starting to tug at the corners of his mouth*
Roger: Oh yeah... the chest. *picks it up and brings it over to the carcass, only to trip when he gets there and once more drop it on his toes* ... *triumphant cheer!*
Drift: *laughs and goes to cut more meat off the carcass to be stored*
Roger: My toes didn't get hurt again! My toes didn't get hurt again! Thank You, God! My toes didn't get hurt again! *shakes booty, yelps, and yanks pants back up and reknots the string*
Drift: *too amused, though he's also silently grateful that he has coordinates for where to go to get back to Fire Robo and the ladies*
Roger: *grouches at that string, and then looks around blankly before perking and going to get another chest*
Drift: *will work on getting meat cut and stored, with the occasional tidbit offered to Wing*
Wing: *eats what he's offered and checks inside the stasis crate a few times before forming a catloaf beside it where he can guard the food and watch his partner in comfort, reassured by Drift's feeding him that this is the same hunter somehow*
Roger: *brings over a second crate, and then turns and goes to get a third*
Drift: *work work work, offers more noms to Wing, work... and absently hum something he heard Heavy Duty play one time*
Wing: *sniffs this last offering and thinks about it, but is a stuffed kitty. Takes the bit of meat in his mouth and then puts his wing paws up against the side of the crate to try and stretch long enough to put the meat into the thing like his partner is doing*
Drift: *chuckles and gives scritchies instead* Silly Wing...
Wing: *talk talk. Purrrrrrr*
Drift: *soon has the first crate filled, will start filling the second*
Roger: *is that thunk, yelp, and relieved laugh from the shed*
Drift: *very amused and glad that Roger is pleased with the boots, makes a note to either find a way to explain what happened to the boots if Heavy Duty ever asks, or pretend he knows nothing about them*
Roger: *soon appears with that crate* ...And they looked like humans, but Scylla says they're only as big as humans even when they're in 'bot shape. *looks in the full crates, looks at the carcass* ...I don't think we have enough crates. *turns to go get another one*
Drift: Huh... *wonders if the Transformers Roger and Scylla have met are the Autobots, or maybe rogue Decepticons.... Either way, he's got an even better reason than just sight-seeing to go to Earth now....*
Roger: *soon has all six of the big crates over there in a neat line, and is expressively going, 'Eughhhhhhh!' at the intestines of the animal*
Drift: *just a bit grossed out by the intestines too* Ewww....
Mother: *busy boiling jars of vegetable soup with knucklebone broth now* *doesn't look up from her work* What's wrong?
Drift: There's squishy and slimy stuff inside....
Mother: *glances over* Those coiled things?
Drift: *nods* Yeah....
Mother: *kind of agrees, but knows what some of that stuff is good for* Scylla will want to eat that dark red thing, it's the liver.
Roger: *massive 'BLECH' face*
Drift: :P *will cut it out carefully then*
Mother: And if you bring me about this much of the narrower and more tightly curled stuff, I'll make you something from it. *holds her hands about two foot apart*
Drift: *will carefully cut out a two foot section of the tightly curled stuff and bring it over to Mother*
Mother: *wince* Please go and turn it inside out and wash away the smelly stuff.
Drift: Alright... *not sure where to do that, but will look*
Roger: *points over to the big water tank next to the shed. There's a big white metal sink under a tap connected to the tank* *is still too busy going 'ewww' to talk*
Drift: *will go there then, and try not to breathe too deeply while he's cleaning the curled stuff*
sink drain: *rumbles as the water and yucky stuff goes into it. There's something down there processing and cleaning the water*
Drift: *blink blink blink* Huh... *continues to clean the curled stuff until he's satisfied that it's perfectly cleaned*
Roger: *has come over to peek* ...Heeeeyyy, that looks like... *shudder* Nah. *back over to the crates and tries to use a little cart to get the full ones back to the shed*
Drift: Looks like what? *will bring the cleaned curled thing to Mother*
Mother: Thank you, Drift. *takes it and studies it* Will you bring me the jar of sodium bicarbonate from the shelf in the house? Make sure there isn't any blood or smelly stuff on your feet before you go in.
Drift: *nods and goes, pausing to check his feet for a moment*
house: *cool, shady, peaceful. The front room is airy, with a straw-matted floor dotted here and there with large cushions and bright stuffed animals and other toys. Over near the centre of the room a large hammock is hanging from the rafters*
Drift: *looks for the shelf, glancing at the hammock briefly*
shelves: *over at the back of the room, hold a pile of entertainment disks, and jars and other containers*
hammock: *holds a curled up Scylla, three fuzzy babies, and three little cats*
Wing: *looks in hammock and gets face slapped by Kitty. Only mamas and babies in this nest!*
Drift: *very soft snerk, will head for the back of the room*
Wing: *tail slightly floofed as he pads after his partner*
Drift: *investigating the jars now, and trying to figure out which one has sodium bicarbonate* *perks when he realizes that the jars are labeled. Will head back out to Mother with the correct jar*
Mother: *big eyes brighten as she looks up from using tongs to take the big jars of soup out of pots and put them on racks* Thank you, Drift. Put it there, please. *elbow points toward a corner of her grassy work space*
Drift: *small smile, will put the jar where Mother indicated*
Roger: Hey, Drift? What are we going to do with the rest of this? All the chests are full. *looking over from where he's standing by the carcass, his ears flat with dismay*
Drift: *small frown as he moves to come over* I'm... not really sure.... *sizing up how much is left of the creature*
Roger: I think there's about half of this thing left. *walks around it, nose wrinkling again at the guts*
Drift: Hmm... I wonder if the JDs would be interested in any of this?
Roger: *perks* Hey, you mean the IGP?
Drift: *nod* Yeah... Think they'd like it?
Roger: I don't know. Well... *looks at it again* They really like bones. And this thing has really big ones.
Drift: *another nod* Hmm.... *considering look for the carcass*
Roger: It can't hurt to ask, right?
Drift: Right. *on a whim, measures the creature by paces* *impressed whistle when he realizes it's slightly bigger than the mammoths he's met*
Roger: Huh? *looks up from watching Wing have a bath*
Drift: I just now realized how big this thing is... *amused* Let's call the IGP and offer what's left of it to them.... If they like bones, then they'll prolly like this.
Roger: Okay! Do you know how to call them? *saves his pants again*
Drift: *nods and proceeds to do so*
female voice: //This is the Pretty Sailor, Lt. Crichton speaking. How may I help you?//
Drift: //This is Drift... Scylla's husband, Roger, and I have been working on cutting up some meat, and it turns out there's more than the stasis chests can hold, so we thought we'd share it with the IGP. There are a lot of bones, too.//
Lt. Crichton: *amused chuckle* //What happened?//
Drift: //I got ambushed by a big creature when I was following Scylla... She's already eaten her fill, too...//
Lt. Crichton: //Ahhh. And you don't want it to waste or attract predators. Can you give me the coordinates of the carcass?//
Drift: //Yeah...// *sends coordinates*
Lt. Crichton: //Alright, we're going to bound it out of there, so make sure everyone's clear.//
Drift: //Alright. Will do. Thank you.// *grinning now* *to Roger* We've gotta stand clear now...
Roger: Huh? *had been distracted by butterfly outside the dome. Has noooo idea what is going on*
Drift: *will move to gently nudge Roger over nearer to Mother, and make sure Wing's clear as well*
Wing: *stagger, stagger, stagger, FLOP on side. Purrrrr*
Drift: *will pick up the wingcat then*
Wing: *love love!*
carcass: *lights up and vanishes!*
Roger: Ooooo.
Drift: Heh....
largish box: *appears the same way*
Drift: *blink blink, will move to investigate the box , which has a note taped to the outside* *slight headtilt as he reads the note*
Roger: *looking over Drift's shoulder and muttering to himself as he tries to spell out words on the bit of flimsy, which says that the box contains some yams native to this planet, and that he and Drift could work up the ground that's been soaked with blood and such from the animal and plant the yams in the plot*
Drift: Yams.... The type in the box are from this planet... *puzzling over this now... and trying to remember if he's had yams before*
Roger: *perks* Yams are good, and they're pretty too. Scylla says they usually grow in open places like this. Well, some kinds do. The round ones with purple leaves.
Drift: Heh... Well, we could plant some so there's plenty for later on....
Roger: *grins* Okay. *stop* Um. How?
Drift: ... I have no idea.... But I bet we could figure it out...
Roger: *looks at the flimsy* Does it say how on here?
Drift: Just that we could plant 'em where all the blood and stuff from the creature was... *will inspect the note, brows raising when he realizes there's more writing on the back* Oh, there're directions....
Roger: *perk* What's it say to do?
Wing: *laying around the back of Drift's neck. Will yawn in his ear*
Drift: *scritches for Wing as he reads the instructions out loud* Turn the dirt up to a depth of two feet... Do we have anything to dig with?
Roger: *looks around, and then peeks at what's laying under the box* Yup! *holds up the two shovels*
Drift: Let's get started then. :D
That night
Roger: *carefully plants the last little round yam, and then falls back on his butt and looks at his hands*
Drift: *streeetching, a pleased grin on his face*
Roger: Hey, look! I have blisters! ... Ow.
Drift: *comes over to have a look and fuss*
Roger: *blink blink as a faint rumble sounds* Um... I'm hungry too. *looks up* Ohhh. I guess planting all those took awhile.
Drift: *blinks and checks his chronometer, before chuckling* Yeah... Let's get cleaned up....
Roger: Okay. *puts hand down on ground to get up* Ouch...
Drift: *reaches to help Roger to his feet*
Roger: Thanks. *grins at his fellow farmer, and then heads for the water tank, saving his pants along the way*
Drift: *snerks and moves to follow, will go and check the box for anything else that might be in it* *blinks when he sees the elastic* Heeeey....
Roger: *looks over from sticking his head under the tap and burbling* What is it, Drift?
Drift: *holds up what he found* Elastic...
Roger: ...What's elastic?
Drift: Stretchy stuff that goes in clothes to help keep them from falling off...
Roger: *blink blink* Stretchy like Scylla's clothes?
Drift: I guess... *shrugs*
Roger: *comes dripping over to look at it*
Drift: *stretches the elastic a bit to show Roger what he means by it being stretchy*
Roger: *eyes widen* Wooow...
Drift: Maybe Mother can fix your pants with it so they won't fall down....
Roger: *absent pants save and knot retying*
Drift: *chuckles*
Roger: That'll be good. But lets get the mud off first.
Drift: *nods* *will offer the elastic to Roger and move to get cleaned up as well*
Roger: *absently puts it in his mouth and resumes burbling in the water before turning his attention to washing the soles of his boots and his pants and arms*
Drift: *cleaning up... will also splash around a bit*
Roger: *head back in the water and joyfully blows a minor eruption of bubbles! Doesn't notice or care that the water's kind of dirty now*
Drift: *splash splash splash, laughs and splashes some more!*
Roger: *head out of the water and sneezing even as he laughs and shakes the puddles out of his ears* XD
Drift: *splashes Roger* X3
Roger: Heyyy! *hums with laughter and throws water back with one hand. Other is being used to save pants*
Drift: *more laughing as he dodges the retaliation splashing*
Roger: *and then stops and sniffs as a warm, sweet smell comes from the house* Uh... *head turns that way*
Wing: *just fell in the sink. Isn't amused, says the water's yucky*
Drift: *fishes Wing out of the water and chuckles*
Wing: *floof! Shake!* *soft chatter. Likes playing in water too, but that water is icky!*
Drift: *empties the sink and refills it with clean water* *will get Wing cleaned up too* What smells so good?
Roger: I don't know... *sniffs more, but then perks* Yes, I do. It's supper!
Wing: *purring happily. Has none of a domestic Earth cat's scorn for being immersed*
Drift: *cleaning Wing quickly and carefully. Dinner sounds good!*
Roger: *leaning toward the house, but unwilling to go without Drift and Wing*
Drift: *checking to make sure he's got all the yucky water off of Wing*
Wing: *head in the water! Head out! Looks around. Head back in the water! Issa fishin'!*
Drift: *gently pulls Wing out of the water and moves to follow Roger* C'mon, Wing... Let's get dinner.
Wing: *wing paws up onto his chest and tries to climb onto his shoulder with claws*
Drift: *wince wince wince, helps Wing up to his shoulder*
Wing: *kisses his ear, and then floofs and shakes hard!*
Roger: *hums and tries that too* *isn't so good at it*
Drift: Ack! Hey!
Roger: *hums more* What?
Wing: *chirp?*
Drift: *laughs and shakes his head* Let's go eat.
Roger: *perks* Okay!
Wing: *sniffs at Drift's mouth. Is starting to recognize some of the sounds his partner makes*
Drift: *will move to follow Roger once the man starts moving*
Roger: *trotting happily toward the house, one hand on his pants*
Mother: *calls as they come to the door* Take off your boots, children.
Quinn: Booof! *giggle*
Drift: *will take his boots off and click to Quinn, a small smile on his face*
Percy: *issa crawlin' to see Daddy and the new person!* Baah! :D
Orsen: *laying in chair with feet in the air as he noms on a nom*
Quinn: *wants picked, new friend!*
Wing: *oooo, kittens!*
Drift: *crouches and gently picks Quinn up*
Quinn: *happy baby talk as he cuddles. Then pulls Wing's whiskers*
Wing: Rooww!
Drift: *soft clicks, will gently discourage Quinn from pulling on Wing's whiskers*
Quinn: Buh? *lets go and looks up, his big eyes focused on Drift's face*
Roger: *over by the front windows, saving his pants as he hunkers down by Mother and tussles with Percy* Oooo, what is it?
Mother: It's cereal pudding, inside the piece of tubing that Drift got for me earlier.
Drift: *gentle clicks, will walk around a bit and talk to Quinn in sparklet*
Quinn: *cuddles and coos, occasionally adding some soft babble*
Mother: *winds her hot air oven a last time and then lifts the lid and pokes at the pudding with a fork* When this winds down it will be ready.
Roger: Yay!
Wing: *half asleep neck warmer*
Drift: *grins and moves to sit down nearby*
Mother: *looks up at him, her eyes twinkling in the moonlit darkness* Are you staying here tonight?
Drift: *nods* If that's alright...
Mother: I made a place for you to sleep in one of the other rooms. *looks through the clear lid of the oven* Are you hungry?
Drift: A little, yeah... We got all the yams planted though. *smile*
Mother: *small squeak of a chuckle* That's good.
Drift: *smiles and cuddles Quinn*
Mother: Is there anything special that you need to eat?
Drift: Not anymore, there isn't. *sooo glad for the mod High Tech installed*
Mother: *nose wrinkles slightly on her furry little face* Not anymore?
Drift: I have a modification that makes it so I can take in a variety of fuel... It's only been a few weeks since I got it installed.
Mother: Ohhhhh. *slowly* I don't understand all the words, but I think you're saying that you can eat anything now, though you didn't used to be able to do that.
Drift: *nods* Yeah... *more smile*
Mother: *eyes twinkle, and then she glances over at Roger*
Roger: *on belly on floor, propped on elbows with Percy and Orson on the floor between his arms, is crooning to the two babies as one pats his face and babbles and the other listens quietly*
Drift: *watches Roger, and chuckles softly*
Mother: *smile in her eyes brightens* He's a good father, even though he still has no idea how to hold the babies.
Drift: *soft 'heh'* He's still learning?
Mother: *tilts head and thinks* *then, frankly* I'm not sure he can...
Roger: *blows on Percy's belly!*
Percy: *squeal of laughter as he socks Daddy right in the eye!*
Roger: o_<. Ow...
Drift: *blink blink, puzzled expression is a go, even as he glances over at Roger and the rest of the babies*
Roger: *sits up to rub eye* I thought it was Quinn that hit things.
Mother: No, it's Percy.
Roger: Oh. *back on his belly and blowing on the little wriggler again*
oven: *dings!*
Drift: *attention back to the oven, perks*
Mother: *takes off the lid and uses her fork to move the sausage-like pudding onto a plate, then cuts it in half and puts part on a second plate. This done, she takes two roasted bananas out of the oven as well and lays one on each plate* There, children. Supper's ready.
Roger: *carefully getting Percy's fingers detached from his chest fur so he can sit up*
Drift: *grins and clicks to Quinn a bit more*
Quinn: *issa sleepin' baby, his big eyes closed as he exudes heavy peacefulness*
Drift: *okay.... now what?*
Mother: *looks up at his sudden change in attitude* Hmm?
Drift: *quietly* He fell asleep....
Mother: *soft squeak* Yes, babies do that.
Drift: *quietly* Should I tuck him into his bed? *so confused about what to do*
Mother: Can you eat with one hand? *sitting down to shake some of the contents of a white plastic bottle into a little ceramic bowl*
Drift: Yeah....
Mother: Then there's no need to put him down. *lid back on the bottle and sets it aside, then adds water to her bowl*
Drift: *will reach for one of the plates with his free hand*
Roger: *comes over on his hands and knees, a Percy skedaddling along in his wake, then settles to sit and bow his head for a moment as Mother does the same thing*
Drift: *also bows his head*
Mother: *quietly thanks God for the good food, the good home, health, the new garden, and their visitor. Then reaches for her spoon*
Roger: Amen. *grabs pudding sausage and starts peeling the skin off it*
Drift: *working on trying to eat neatly, is a bit awkward*
Roger: *hits his supper like a small tornado... and it's gone* *happy sigh*
Mother: *slowly and neatly eating her thick, soupy, meal*
Drift: *pleased nomming, looks a bit silly at times, but at least he's not making a mess?*
Percy: *comes over and begs for a bite, little face all earnest*
Drift: *quick glance around* Why isn't Scylla eating with us?
Roger: *hums* She only eats about twice a month.
Drift: *puzzled blink blink as he offers Percy a bite of the pudding*
Mother: *as Percy noms and drools happily* It's part of her mutation. When she eats she gorges herself on meat, and then sleeps for a day afterward. *looks a bit sad as she says this*
Drift: *slight headtilt, wondering about the sad*
Roger: *quietly* When we first came to Mother's world, there wasn't anything for Scylla to eat. Then she met Mother's husband... *doesn't look up from smoothing the fur on Percy's head*
Drift: *quietly* Oh....
Mother: I have the two of you now, and the babies. I'm not alone. *pat pats Roger, her eyes smiling in their way*
Drift: *thinking about this now, even as he finishes eating*
Roger: She still kinda feels bad, though.
Mother: She couldn't help it. *blinks at a rumble* Go and get yourself more bananas.
Roger: *gets up carefully* You want anymore fruit, Drift?
Percy: Dirrgght! :D
Drift: No, thank you though... *small grin for Percy*
Roger: Okay. *heads for the door*
Mother: *looks up at Drift and Wing* Tired?
Drift: A bit....
Mother: *eyes smile as she sets her bowl down and gets to her feet* Here, I'll show you where you can sleep.
Percy: *fingers in bowl, and then in mouth. Makes faces and goes to see Daddy*
Drift: *will move to get up before bringing Quinn over to Roger*
Roger: *starts slightly* Huh? Oh, you can sleep with him.
Drift: *blink* Okay... *will move to follow Mother then...*
Mother: *leads him past the hammock in which Scylla still sleeps, and then through the door at the back of the room and into a short hallway. Takes him to the last door on the left and pulls the gauzy curtain aside* I fixed this up for you while you and Roger were making the garden.
Drift: Thank you. *small smile*
Mother: Good sleep. *eyes smile back* If Quinn needs anything just call and I'll come and help you. I sleep in the room next to this one.
Drift: Alright... *will head into the room* *pleased grin when he sees the cot and cushioned pad, as well as the blanket that's on the bed. Attention goes to the two windows as he realizes that they're where the soft, good smelling breeze is coming from*
Quinn: *little sigh and a snuzzle, then falls silent again*
Drift: *will move to carefully lay down on the cot and cover himself, Quinn, and Wing with the blanket. It takes a little while for him to go into recharge, as he's thinking about the events of the day, but when he does his dreams are peaceful*
((co-written with random_xtras))