Wild Wastelands High School (A Wild Wastelands Spin Off) - (Game Thread | Started | Closed)

[Generic NPC 22]

Wild Wastelands High School | Moriarty's Malt Shop
"The Call of the Sylphee"
Sylphee Smithford and Constance Sorrowfeld​

One would think that the daughter of the school nurse would have enough of a background to know exactly how to treat someone who was choking on salad via Heimlich Maneuver. One would have also thought that whomever had prepared the salad for Miss Violet Meyers would have been aware enough of her handicap to avoid putting in large pieces of food in front of the girl in order to avoid a potentially devastating lawsuit. Clearly one is not aware of Constance Sorrowfeld or Colin Moriarty.

Thanks to the life saving actions of John Jacobs, the world could feel secure in having not had the opportunity to witness Constance's decidedly sub-par medical skills. The world did, however, get to bare witness to the application of Moriarty's lips to Violet's butt, in a figurative sense.

"Saint Miles O'Brian! Thank the Lord you're okay!" Mister Moriarty of Moriarty's Malt Shop exclaimed in a rather relieved sounding tone, "And thank you John Jacobs for saving the life of this innocent and fetching young girl. Were it not for your quick thinking, son, I would be mourning the loss of this young girl's future contributions to this fine society of ours."

Or rather, he meant thanks for saving her and mitigating his risk of lawsuit. He could deal with a lawsuit from a brat that choked on a leaf of lettuce that had no business being in the girl's mouth but not a lawsuit from the brat's parents who lost their child because someone was too lazy or stupid to make sure that the lettuce was properly shredded. The Establishment's proprietor turned to the young girl and addressed her.

"Lil Miss. I deeply and sincerely apologize for my cooking staff. I'm more than happy to comp this meal for you to show you that we at Moriarty's Malt Shop take the safety of our customer's seriously." Jeez Colin, laying it on a little thick there?

"Gob! Make this young girl another salad and make sure that the lettuce is properly shredded!" Colin called out back before addressing Violet once again, albeit a bit more quietly and conspiratorially, "I do hope that you don't tell your parents about this. It would be a shame for Gob to lose his job. He'd be forced to move back in with his parents. Terribly abusive that lot."

Back at Table Ayana, the Japanese girl had passed out or rather blacked out or something of a panic inducing level for Constance.

"Dammit dammit dammit. I killed her. I killed her. I killed her," The Young Girl with the Cat Eared Headband panicked as she started fanning the Geisha in Distress, "Sylphee! A little help, please?!"

Sylphee... or rather Sylph as she preferred to be called, stood up from where she sat and brushed out the pleats in her bloodily crimson dress. The girl was no longer smiling but instead looked at the nearly unconscious Ayana Watkins in a rather serious... one could say studious... manner.

"SYLPHEE!" Constance's voice vibrated Sylph's eardrums once again.

Sylphee actions were simple and yet absurdly effective. Picking up a glass of iced water from the table, the young blue haired girl splashed the chilled liquid onto the ailing young Asian's face causing her to sputter. As Ayana's eyes opened, she was greeted by a concerned looking Loli-Taku and a smiling blue haired psychopath holding an empty glass of water.

"Rise and shine!" Sylphee said cheerfully, "Are you alright? It looks like you blacked out for a moment."

Sitting back down, Sylphee handed Ayana one of the cloth napkins from the table and sat there observing the young Japanese Girl while Constance continued to fret over Ayana like a mother hen.

"I'm sorry.I-didn't-mean-to-hurt-you.Are-you-okay,Ayana-chan?!" Constance machine-gunned at Ayana.

[hr]

Wild Wastelands High School | Outside Vault 101
"Conservation of Momentum"
Mercy O'Hare​

It seemed that wounds and bruises were in high demand that morning in Springvale. As the run crested over the horizon, the younger O'Hare sister found herself in a rather awkward position... laying on top of a barely conscious boy. She hadn't meant to hurt him but when she spotted him coming up the hill, she did what her instincts told her to do. That was what Tessa would have done right?

"Hey uhh...I've got a funny question. What happened?" The Stricken Pedestrian asked the stricken non-pedestrian as he looked up at her, he eyes sparkling with love... or concussion... or something brain related. Mercy looked at him, her 12 year old face turning a bit red as she answered in a rather embarrassed tone.

"I... lost control of my wheelchair. I was looking for my sister to bring her home." The Younger of the Twister Rabbit Sisters answered shyly, "I guess I should have been more careful. Are you okay?"

She was actually concerned since she hadn't actually meant to hurt him. Maybe distract him a little while she gave the older O'Hare sister a chance to make her way out of the Vault 101 construction site. He could have let her pass and then ran after her, slowing down her wheelchair to a stop. He could have grabbed her instead of the wheel chair, it would have at least allowed him to convert her forward momentum into horizontal angular momentum. He should not have sacrificed his body in such a manner. It wasn't the most logical action.

The young Mercy shook her head. She was thinking like a Science Book again. Instead, she rolled off the young man and waited for Tessa to bring her the wheel chair. Smiling at her older sister, Mercy winked twice, a sign that the coast was clear and that they were safe. It was something that the two of them had discussed when Mercy expressed her desire to follow her beloved older sister during her night time activities. As surprised as Tessa was at the request, Mercy was happy that her sister had accepted her.

 

[Silence]

Violet | Moriarty's Malt Shop

Violet, after coughing out the lettuce leaf, tried to thank the Nuka Cola Delivery Driver.
?Thank ? chh ? pfffcht ? you.?
The shock about nearly dying had not yet settled in, but her thoughts were racing in all kinds of directions, a lot of them about the embarrassment of drawing all the attention towards her. And ?
?I think ? you can let loose now.? she added, carefully trying to guide a hand away from where it seemed to be stuck, below her breasts.

The attempts of Moriarty trying to save himself a lawsuit mostly just washed over Violet, as the trauma settled in.
"Lil Miss. I deeply and sincerely apologize for my cooking staff. I'm more than happy to comp this meal for you to show you that we at Moriarty's Malt Shop take the safety of our customer's seriously."
She just nodded, even though her head went red.

"Gob! Make this young girl another salad and make sure that the lettuce is properly shredded!
I do hope that you don't tell your parents about this. It would be a shame for Gob to lose his job. He'd be forced to move back in with his parents. Terribly abusive that lot."
"Okay ..." was Violets response, not quite understanding the indications of the sentence in her current state of mind. She had not even planned to tell beforehand, because telling her overprotective parents about this incident would probably lead to something like hiring a personal caregiver and food cutter, who would follow her everywhere.

Waiting for her next salad to arrive, she unconsciously squeezed and played with her empty sleeve, as phantom pain arrived. Still hearing trauma-induced, like everything came from far away, she told the Nuka Cola guy (who was obviously not the waiter, but her confused mind just saw "Nuka Cola" and went from there):
"... Could I have something to drink? My throat still feels like salad."

She winced at the shouting from the other table, and watched over, with a confused daze. Which led her to wince again at seeing iced water getting splashed over the asian girls face. "Isn't she ill? Shouldn't you not spill water over a ill person? She could catch a cold!" she said, mostly to John Jacobs, but not really realizing who she spoke to.

She shook her head, to get the daze out of it, which led to her getting a headache, and more confusion. Not really realizing what she was doing, Violet stood up, saying another thing to Nuka Cola guy while doing so:
"I should get you something for helping me. But we need to stop this dect ... girl from doing harm to the asian girl first!"

Shaking, partly because she was still dazed, partly because she was not yet used to the balance of her upper body, she arrived near Sylphee Smithford. Imagining placing her right hand on her shoulder, she said meekly:
"Couldn't she catch a cold like that?"

 

[Rip Van Rabbit]

Tessa O'Hare || Outside Vault 101
"Description: None"​

Tessa had rushed down the hill to reach her younger sister, straightening up her appearance and slowing down to a stride when she hit ground-level, so as not to incur any further unwanted attention. After rounding the corner, the scene before her was overtly humorous to the Older Rabbit, although it was not without a feeling of cautious dread that steered Tessa's emotional reaction.

"Tess!", Mercy called out, attempting to flag attention that she had already received, "I... I think I killed him!"

Not likely, Tessa mentally responded. Unsure of the dazed individual that her younger sister was straddling, a hand reflexively ran along her thigh, lifting her skirt slightly to lightly touch on the concealed switchblade. Mercy, perceptive in her own right, had waved her off with a simple non verbal double blink. Breathing a heavy sigh, Tessa relaxed and started rummaging through her schoolbag to present a small blanket.

"I... lost control of my wheelchair. I was looking for my sister to bring her home.", Mercy was busy explaining her actions to the unwilling safety net.

"Ha!", Tessa guffawed, immediately followed by a sharp chastising look, "More like I was trying to look for you! Mom and Dad will crucify me if you keep trying to explore on your own."

Of course that was a partial lie. If anything were to happen to Mercy, the blame would fall squarely on Tessa. Whether the parents would actually acknowledge Tessa over Mercy when they got home was different story entirely.

"Alright.", Tessa started. Having moved the wheelchair into its normal position, Tessa started to lift Mercy in a manner that required more physical exertion than she was quite used to. "You're a little too young for this." After a deep breath to collect herself, Tessa peered at the slope leading up to Vault 101. "Are you hurt?", she inquired with a worried tone, yet her eyes remained rather critical. She was taking this as something of personal failing.

Stepping over to the dazed and now mumbling individual on the ground, Tessa crouched by his side, briefly brushing aside the dark hair that was covering her eye to get a better look. "Are you oka - hey, I think I recognise you...", of course there was no guarantee that Tessa would be too well-known outside of the 'delinquent' crowd. Clicking her fingers as she failed to recall his name, "Mister Dependable!". At least that was his reputation around the school courtyard.

Rummaging through her bag with one hand, Tessa located the Vault Boy Bobblehead that she had acquired. They were new and unreasonably expensive, although she felt that some good faith was more valuable than spare cash from Moriarty. "Seems like you need this. Waaay more than I do." Placing the Luck-Edition Bobblehead at his side, she stood up and extended a hand to help him up.

Running out things to say and do, she made a simple flat remark for all his trouble, "Thanks."

[hr]

Kristin Cream || Springvale High School? More like BlamCo-Ville.​

"Mr. Campbell, if you will follow me."

Aha! Like a hand to a hot stove, their handshake was over in an instant. From what her keen senses could gleam, she had discovered a fundamental weakness with those that associated with the Agents of BlamCo: Her touch was akin to that of holy water! Her elegance had finally breached the clouds of despair to illuminate the purity of her being! These were the signs - no, the undeniable will of our anti-cheddar overlords: The Soya Beans!

Of course, space cadet Kristin was lost in her own world, although she was doing her best to intimidate the ceiling with a self-satisfied grin. The Bellcamp, whom possessed neither bells nor did he carry around any visible tents, had taken Kristin on a very brief tour. Passing by the large windows, an enormous circular courtyard had revealed the ridiculous size of the school. More importantly, the tour (Which she hadn't been paying attention to, because being bestowed by the Gods was kinda more important. Kinda.) was coming to an end! And they had barely covered a one-fourth of the school grounds!

"Worry not, Maestro of Percussion Instruments!", Kristin declared with a laugh after placing her foot on a nearby chair, "I can recognise a test when I see one. As my hands knead the dough, whisk the eggs or pour the syrup -- I am guided by forces greater than myself. For in these BlamCo walls - ", she extended her arms widely, " - I am absolutely free!"

And on those words, she gracefully brought a hand to her stomach and bowed.

"I have learnt much from our exchange, but now I am compelled to carve my own path.", Kristin hopped onto a nearby chair, dismounted into a slide and ultimately ended up in a pirouette, a scant few steps from the Bellkeeper's position. "Fret not! If you ever need anything, I can be found in this school's Cheddar Chamber!"

"For now...", Kristin muttered aloud as she stepped onto a nearby window-sill, with her back turned and hands-on-the-hip nonetheless "...I bid you farewell!"

Yes, from this vantage point, Kristin could see everything.

 

[Demonjazz]

John Jacobs, Moriarty's Malt Shop
John looked down to his hands again, he quickly hid them behind his back as he awkwardly let go of Violet. His face growing into a vibrant hue of red, he fiddled with his hat alot, taking it on, and off several times, making stammering thank yous, and your welcomes throughout the entire conversation. with Violet He didn't seem to notice the commotion going on with the small ill girl on the floor, being too wrapped up in his mind to worry about
"... Could I have something to drink? My throat still feels like salad"
The mention of Nuka Cola seemed to get John out of his embarrassed, and panicked funk he was in. He quickly got her a bottle of nuka cola, before saying "I'm only a delivery worker actually, can't legally give you this." The legal implications of giving away a free soda seeming to come to the front of his mind over the asian girl get water thrown on her.
"... Couldn't she catch a cold like that?"
John's mind seemed to focus on the possibility of another medical emergency again... He was really concerned that he was apparently assigned as medical official now... He half slept through that training video anyway. He attempted to move his arms in wide swaths to tell people to get out of his way.
"Okay everyone! Just give the girl some air!.. Uh.. Moriarty, call an ambulance. No telling what could be wrong with this poor girl." He checked her pulse which was obviously still there, and then just kind of backed off because that was the only real thing he knew how to do.
[hr]
Braveer, Springvale Supply
Braveer was actually going to attempt to coach Bob at first because a gentleman always makes sure that his opponent was of equal level as him. "Now we start off with a 1-2-AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHH!" Braveer shouted with a rather girly sounding shriek. His 'blade' immediately shattering into pieces because Braveer always thought that the point of sword fighting was to hit the other's guy sword, and make cool sparks fly out of them, and thus his first instinct was always parry, which was followed by him dodging, and ducking in a far less dramatic way than any of his other gestures. He kept shouting about how he's not "FOLLOWING THE RULES!" Before dramatically getting tossed back in one single swing right into a large pile of cans leaving a large clattering sound as he entered. He started to slowly get his way "... My everything hurts."

 

[CrystalShadow]

[HEADING=3]Adrian Watkins[/HEADING]
The Watkins Family residence
"A Father's concerns"​

Adrian sighed.
He was worried.
Worried in that way only a father truly could be worried.

Reluctantly, he had agreed to let his teenage daughter go out by herself.
Ordinarily, that would already be enough to scare a father, but his daughter?
She wasn't like other teenagers.

Though she was 14 years old, she neither looked, or acted that way for the most part.
Everything about her gave off the impression of a child far younger than that.

Of course, if it had just been that, he might have been able to relax a little.
But there was more. She was asian. Living in an area and time where that drew a lot of attention.

But most of all, she was ill. very ill.
She stubbornly insisted on pretending otherwise most of the time, but it was incredibly obvious to anyone that saw her.
No doctor could ever quite manage to give him a clear answer on what exactly was wrong with her, but the results spoke for themselves.

Still, what could he do? If he insisted on treating her the way her condition suggested he really should, she would resent him for it.
Her childish behaviour and appearance aside, she was still very much a teenage girl who valued her independence.

And it wasn't like he really had the time either. being CEO of a company is far more than a mere full-time occupation.
It consumes your life.
Leaving you precious few moments for anything else.

So what else was there? Insist on her taking a full-time bodyguard, or nurse with her everywhere?
She'd never put up with that, and he knew it.

So instead, he worried. And presently, he was especially worried for some reason.
As though something particularly bad might be going on this very minute.
Perhaps he should go and check on her? He thought, but quickly pushed the thought aside.

He glanced across at the picture on his desk and sighed again.
Picking it up, he stared wistfully at the old photo.
It depicted one of the last, fleeting moments he had been truly happy.
Before his wife's family ripped everything to shreds...

A picture of his wife, holding their child in her arms, who was smiling joyfully up at him...

Janice, his assistant chose that moment to enter his office.
She was carrying a huge stack of paperwork.
They exchanged a glance, and immediately she could tell he needed a moment of privacy, so she hurriedly placed the paperwork on his desk then left again.

Adrian had not seen his wife in years. Her family had made sure of it.
Secretly, he had hoped they could eventually work something out and be together again,
But now, that would never be.
The news of her death had hit him like a runaway freight train, and he had felt completely ruined by it.
As if someone had scooped out all his insides, and left him a thin, hollow shell.

Putting the picture back on his desk, he sighed wistfully.
"Oh, Miyu. What am I supposed to do? She's so stubborn, yet so fragile. I just don't know how to help her. What would you have done, hmm? Miyu?"

He sighed again, and pushed the feelings and concerns as deep inside of himself as he could, and reached for the document on top of the stack Janice had just brought him.
back to work he thought, with a sigh.

[hr]

[HEADING=3]Ayana Watkins[/HEADING]
Moriarty's Malt Shop
"Of weakness and vulnerability... "​

Ayana slowly became aware of drifting...
Drifting through a featureless, empty black void.

Slowly, a sound made itself evident.
A voice. Or voices.
Sounded rather panicked, Ayana noted, in a rather detached way.

This moment of minimal awareness was broken abrubtly by a shock of something cold and wet hitting her face.
If she had truly passed out completely, that would've had no effect, but in her semi-conscious state, it was enough to shock her back into reality.

She opened her eyes to see a cat-eared girl with her face uncomfortably close to hers, speaking near incomprehensibly quickly.
The girl was clearly in some kind of panic, but Ayana hadn't quite registered why.

Then there was the other one...
The blue-haired girl...
Standing there, holding an empty glass.

Ayana put two and two together and realised this girl... This... Sylphee had been the culprit.
"Rise and shine!" the girl said cheerfully, Are you alright? It looks like you blacked out for a moment."

Ayana blinked. The girl was clearly trying to make out as if this was just an innocent attempt to wake her, but her expression gave away a few too many hints of something else entirely.

Ayana considered that perhaps there was at least a small grain of truth in her Grandmother's words...
Some people, it seems, could not be trusted, and would exploit any sign of weakness.
Still, she reasoned, those kind of people were not too common, were they?

She took the cloth napkin Sylphee had handed her, and dried her face.
Shaking her head to clear it a little, she managed to force out "I'm fine." In a whisper.

She turned her head towards Constance, who was still in a panic. Ayana was having trouble focusing her eyes, but tried to pay attention as best she could.
"I'm sorry. I-didn't-mean-to-hurt-you.Are-you-okay,Ayana-chan?!" Constance said, in one big, run-on sentence that was said way too fast.

Ayana forced a smile. "Not your fault." She said, in as reassuring a manner as she could manage.

She noticed the one-armed girl... Had gotten up, and approached them. She stood near Sylphee, and said "Couldn't she catch a cold like that?", it was probably meant as some kind of rebuke for Sylphee's actions, but came out in such a timid voice, it didn't really seem to have much force behind it, and Sylphee probably wouldn't even notice, much less give it any serious thought, Ayana thought.
Still. At least it seemed as though someone had saved her from choking.
Judging by everyone's relative positions in the room, her guess was it had been the Nuka Delivery guy.

And now, it seemed, his attention was also focused on Ayana.
Just when she didn't think this could get any more embarrassing...
He began trying to wave everyone away, as though he was in charge somehow.
Or trying to be.
"Okay everyone! Just give the girl some air!... Uh.. Moriarty, call an ambulance. No telling what could be wrong with this poor girl."
Just for good measure, the guy attempted to check her pulse.

She was still in enough of a daze that she didn't offer any resistance or remark to that.

Nonetheless, her confused mind started putting the pieces together, and quickly realised this was going to turn into a big disaster any second.

The main concern being the Delivery guy, in his attempt to be all responsible and stuff, had suggested someone call an ambulance...

That was the final straw! She had to do something!
A show of strength.
To prove to everyone she didn't need to be fawned over like some sick little kitten!
She laughed inwardly at her own absurd thoughts.
show of strength? You can barely stand. What are you gonna do? Run around like it was all just a joke? Get real!

Ayana sighed, and forced herself up with her hands on the table. They trembled visibly from the effort, and she was very shaky. "Everyone! Please!" She said, with as much confidence as she could put into her voice.
"I'm fine! Please don't worry so much!"

She let go of the table and nearly fell over, but managed to stay upright. Smiling nervously, she grabbed the bag of sweets off the table, and stuffed several in her mouth.
"See? Fine!"
She laughed nervously.
The act was so obviously fake, even she knew it wasn't likely to convince anyone.
She was standing, but wobbling unsteadily, threatening to fall over any second.

An ambulance though? What would be the point? This wasn't some unusual thing that happened for no reason. This was her day to day reality more often than not.

She regretted coming out at all today.
It was more a matter of stubborn pride that she did this.
What she should have done, is stay at home, in bed.

But, that simply wasn't her.
No, she had to prove to the world that she could still function.
Which was a complete lie, and she knew it on some level, but she needed to keep up the pretense, just to avoid sinking into despair...

She maintained her nervous smile, and picked up Neko-chan.
"I know!" She said suddenly, "Cake! Everyone should have cake!" she said, with a childish expression.
"Hello?" She waved at Moriarty. "Give everyone some cake. On me. Just add it to my bill."
Starting to giggle at the absurdity of it, she made Neko-chan wave at constance,
She might have been the strangest one in the room, and rather annoying in many ways,
but right now she seemed the most harmless, and least threatening of anyone here.

Ayana sat down heavily, exhausted from her little display. She pulled some dolls out of her bag, and started to play with them, ignoring everyone, and just happily acting out a little scene, lost in her own little world.
A book fell out of her bag, and she picked it up and put it on the table. It was Japanese, but she ignored it and just resumed playing with her dolls.

It was simply too exhausting playing at being a grownup, and caring so much about what people thought.
The dolls were so much simpler.
They did what she made them, and didn't do anything unexpected.
She didn't have to pretend she was something other than herself with them.

Yawning, she started to eat her banana split, which had been getting neglected in all of this.
The rest of them could just do whatever. She had had enough.

 

[FalloutJack]

Drake was still in a bit too much of a recovering daze to pay much attention to the banter that the two O'Hares were using as their cover...which he wouldn't have paid much mind to anyway. If Drake ever learned the true nature of their outing today, the first thought in his head would be 'Was all that really with a bump on the noggin?'. Once Mercy - who had yet to deliver any, at this rate - was off of him, he sat up properly and heard...

"Are you hurt?"

He was rubbing the back of his head when he looked up and gave off an easy-going smile.

"Not much. I just bumped my head on the pavement. I'll be alright."

"Mister Dependable!"

"Huh?"

That nickname... Some people teased him about it, others liked that about him. The first ones were people he'd stood against that didn't like him. The latter were people that were thankful that he had. Judging by the way she said it, the dark-haired girl seemed more in the second camp, maybe. The girl put down a Lucky Bobblehead, saying he probably needed it more. Drake laughed at this, starting to feel a little better. He took it and stood up now with Tessa's help.

"I would like to thank the academy and my closest, dearest friends for this award."

Cutting that out for a moment, he introduced himself as Drake Kazuna, then said...

"I'm sorry I don't know your name either. I've seen you around at school, but I never asked. And uhh...anybody seen my pack?"

It was off in a shadow, blending in a bit.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Rules? Hah hah hah! You speak of rules to the Torpedo when you explode?! Okay, maybe in football he had to follow them, but this wasn't football and he was trying to get into this place in order to pick up some chemistry stuff. Bob Malcontente' was inside and Braveer's everything hurt, or so he says. Victory was his! And now...over to the counter, where Moira Brown awaited, a bit surprised by the situation.

Moira: You really shouldn't roughhouse in here, Bob. It's a bit ummm...hazardous.

Bob: Because of the mess?

Moira: Because I don't want anything to explode just yet.

Bob: Oh, yes. I can see where you would- 'Just yet'?


Now remember, Bob is a fire-loving ruffian, so while this is a thing that catches him off guard, it's for very different reasons.

Moira: I'm sorry, what?

Bob: You said 'just yet'.

Moira: Well, it's just that it wouldn't be safe while there are customers-

Bob: You mean, stuff explodes in here while the customers are out?!

Moira: Well, I couldn't say-

Bob: That's so COOL!

Moira: I mean, it wouldn't be safe to- ...really?

Bob: What do you think I do with all the stuff I buy here?

Moira: You blow it up. We know you blow it up. Everyone in town knows you blow it up. There's more to these chemicals than just setting things aflame-

Bob: Oh, I know! I do ALOT of fun stuff with 'em!

Bob's getting just a little over-enthusiastic here. He's leaning on the counter with a wild burny-burny look in his eye.

Moira: So uhh...same as before, right? Would you like to send away for more in the meantime?

Bob: Darn tootin'!

He signed another order form for flammables, struck the pen down, and made the tip fly off in a random direction, once broken.

 

[Demonjazz]

John Jacobs, Moriarty's Malt Shop
John looked down to Ayana with a look of concern. Ayana was like ultimate moe, you just had a feeling deep down to protect and help her... Mainly because you were afraid of her getting even more sick, but still! John kneeled down to her level and put a hand on her shoulder as if he was consoling a child. "Are you sure you're Okay! I can drive you to the hospital. It won't be a problem. We can call your dad, make sure he knows what's happening. You're very sick, and you really shouldn't be up, and about right now... At least go home, and rest for me won't you?" He looked over to Ayana, and her large collection of sweets "... Also do you really need that much candy! Candy is a sometimes food, and trust me, you'll get a horrible bellyache. I did the exact same thing as a child."
[hr]
Braveer! Springvale Supply
Braveer started to scramble out of the supply of cans, knocking over a large amount of them onto the floor. The fragile man was obviously already bruising from his fight with Bob. He pointed at Torpedo with an accusatory look. "No! That's not how you fence! It's supposed to be a display of dexterity, and agility, And Nobility, and grace!! Not some sickening display of brute strength like some sort of barbarian's game! Don't you know anything! There's rules, and regulations to fencing! It's a nobleman's game you loud mouthed, immature, barbarous, bastardous, ninnyhammered, smellfungicus, mooncalificus, cockalaroum!" He shouted his face growing a more, and more vibrant red as he went, before shouting at him "THIS! DOESN'T! COUNT! AS! YOUR! WIN!"

 

[Texas Joker 52]

[ jenna sorenson ]

The Last Two Weeks of Summer | Springvale Community | Sorenson Residence Garage
"Did Igor ever sneak up on Doctor Frankenstein in his lab?! Oh wait..."​

One of the many things Jenna wasn't expecting, almost but not quite up there with a robotic uprising, nuclear armageddon, or a Chinese Strike Team behind enemy lines, was having someone step into the garage behind her and comment on the fact that she was working. The fact that that had been what happened took her quite by surprise, so she whirled around on her rolling stool and backed into the table with a yelp.

"Morning Jenna, hard at work I take it?"

"Gah! Don't sneak up on me like that, Toni!" she said quickly, shuddering a little as she took a breath, "You startled me!"

Shaking her head a little, she forced herself to relax some as she glanced back at the terminal.

"Yes, I am. My Pip-Girl is giving me trouble today. Something's wrong with the components that I'm using, or else I'm being too ambitious with the programming I'm trying to run and overloading them. At this rate, if I can't get past the hardware problems, I'll never get it to Version Zero-Point-Eight!" she said, before she turned her head to glance at the offending machine behind her bangs.

By the way her freckled cheeks moved from between the curtain of her hair and the collar of her turtleneck, combined with the tone in her voice, it was clear she was glaring at it.

"... Unless of course, it isn't just a problem with the hardware. It could be a combination of both hardware and software causing problems. What I need is a proper computer lab, and better salvage than the defunct terminals at Springvale High." she murmured darkly to herself.

There was a short pause before she turned back to Toni and seemed to catch herself.

"Oh, before I forget, you're working on a project of your own, aren't you?" Jenna asked.

 

[ServebotFrank]

Isaac Campbell-Springvale High School - The Hallways
"What...?"

It was becoming quickly apparent that Kristin was trapped within her own world. It made no difference to Isaac, he had little interest in a tour to begin with. It was when Kristin finally opened her mouth that Isaac became dumbfounded by her absentmindedness.
"Worry not, Maestro of Percussion Instruments! "I can recognise a test when I see one. As my hands knead the dough, whisk the eggs or pour the syrup -- I am guided by forces greater than myself. For in these BlamCo walls - ", she extended her arms widely, " - I am absolutely free!"

With an overly dramatic farewell, Kristin jumped up to the window sill and stood there looking out the window. Isaac has experience situations like this before, but mainly from students. Not any member of the faculty as ever been so proud of their insanity. Isaac raised an eyebrow at her; still displaying very little emotion in his face. Though he did smirk, every muscle in his body was mocking her and her mental state.

"Well then," He began to say, "Hopefully the rest of your...experience here is most...stimulating and hopefully I never have need of your talents." He turned around and walked down the halls to make his way towards the History Department so that he may continue his paper work.

Jason Douglas- Douglas Residence-Jason's Room
Someone kill that *****...

Jason has been awake for the past few hours when he needed to sleep in. After a hectic night at Jessica's, Jason needed some sleep. Despite his attitude Jason actually likes doing well at school and he needs to get on a decent sleep schedule. It always amazed him how Jenna never did this whilst he was out of the house. Should he scream out the window?

No. Not yet, mainly because he refuses to get out of bed right now. One more fucking bang and he was going to give Jenna his final warning.

"If she doesn't stop after that, her workshop is gone."

 

[Evrant-Knight]

Antonio "Toni" De Leon | Springvale Community | Sorenson Residence Garage​

"Gah! Don't sneak up on me like that, Toni!" Jenna said quickly, surprised by the interruption. "You startled me!" She then shook her head a little before glancing back at the terminal, no doubt running a test on the Pip-Girl's software.

"Yes, I am. My Pip-Girl is giving me trouble today. Something's wrong with the components that I'm using, or else I'm being too ambitious with the programming I'm trying to run and overloading them. At this rate, if I can't get past the hardware problems, I'll never get it to Version Zero-Point-Eight!" She added with a hint of frustration and sadness in her voice. Antonio could relate to that, every so often, he too would encounter problems regarding Project A.R.I.A, the name he had given to the EyeBot.

"... Unless of course, it isn't just a problem with the hardware. It could be a combination of both hardware and software causing problems. What I need is a proper computer lab, and better salvage than the defunct terminals at Springvale High." There was a short pause between her words as she turned to look back at Toni.

"Oh, before I forget, you're working on a project of your own, aren't you?"

"First of all, apologies for startling you Jenna, t'was no my intention to." Antonio replied in a polite tone of voice.

"Secondly, yes, you are correct, I am working on something. Just as how you are working on a one-of-a-kind PipBoy variant; I am in the process of building my own EyeBot. Project A.R.I.A as I have decided to call it is coming along nicely, though I've appeared to hit something of a snag.

You see, the other day, I inadvertently burnt out some wiring and a few processor widgets when trying to get the stability matrix to work properly with the propulsion system; because if the two don't mesh correctly, whilst the thing with fly straight, it'll be constantly rotating, which'll no doubt cause further internal issues. I was heading towards Springvale Supply when I saw you were in here, figured I'd say hello." He further added, elaborating on the exact nature of his mechanical issues.

"You know, I could have a look at your Pip-Girl and see if I can't figure out what the problem is; after all, a second opinion never hurts. That's with your permission of course, wouldn't want to just barge in and start fiddling with things." He finished on, and with good timing as well, given that a few moments later, several police cars raced passed them.

 

[Generic NPC 22]

Wild Wastelands High School | Springvale | Moriarty's Malt Shop
"Never Look a Gift Girl in the Mouth"
Constance Sorrowfeld and Sylphee Smithford​

[hr]

If Ayana Watkins had been under the belief that ordering food for the occupants of the Malt Shop would ensure that people would leave her alone, she was wrong, especially when it came to one Constance Sorrowfeld. Due to her interests and her relation to the Nurse that infected the Roosevelt Academy student body, no one had ever, EVER thought to purchase or give the young Japan-o-phile a gift. If this was an anime and not a Role Play, the occupants of the establishment would have been suddenly blinded by the bright pillar of HAPPY that suddenly appeared in the middle of the room as well as the stars that reflected... no ... exploded out of Constance's eye holes. Were it not for the physical presence of Sylphee, located between Ayana and Constance, Ayana would have found herself the victim of an Atomic Tackle Hug, the type of hug that was so extreme that both assailant and victim threatened to merge into one body, not unlike Nuclear Fusion.

"MORIARTY-CHAN!!!!" Constance called out, "Can I please get some Green Tea Mochi, Almond Crush Pocky, an order of Daifuku and Dango and a pot of green tea?!"

"Really?" A look from Sylphee seemed to say.

"Are you sure you're Okay! I can drive you to the hospital. It won't be a problem. We can call your dad, make sure he knows what's happening. You're very sick, and you really shouldn't be up, and about right now... At least go home, and rest for me won't you?" John Jacobs said to the currently playing with her dolls Ayana.

Were this an anime, the room would have suddenly been engulfed in a pillar of fiery fury as Constance witnessed John's attempt to steal Constance's new BEST BEST BESTEST FRIEND FOREVER AND EVER!. How dare he try to tempt the young Japanese girl into his delivery truck... his white delivery truck... his white, windowless delivery truck... his white, windowless delivery truck which was undoubtedly filled with lewd materials. It was quite an infuriating act to witness.

"Couldn't she catch a cold like that?"

That was Violet asking Sylphee a question in relation in regards to the life saving" measures that were used on Ayana.

"I don't think so." Sylphee said, her smile not breaking. Since it would not be polite to talk about Ayana within earshot of Ayana, the Blue Haired Cheerleader got up out of her chair and started leading Violet away from the table. As she did, however, he hand suddenly shot out, grabbing Constance on the collar.

Apparently, Constance had noticed that the barrier that had separated her and her new BEST BEST BESTEST FRIEND FOREVER AND EVER! had moved and that an opportunity had opened up. Constance's legs had been coiled and ready for such an opportunity and when it presented itself, she sprang into action, launching herself towards the young and fragile cherry blossom.

"HRRRRRK!" Went Constance's throat as the cloth of her collar forced her throat to clamp shut as her ass settled back down in her chair.

Satisfied that Constance was not about to assault young Miss Watkins, Sylphee lead Violet to another part of the Malt Shop.

"I'm sure that she'll be okay. She just seems to have a bit of social anxiety." The Blue Haired Smiler stated simply, "She seems to have a problem with being the center of attention... which is rather unfortunate given Constance."

There was a bit of a laugh at that last line, one that lasted only a few moments before a large finger tapped Sylphee on the shoulder. Turning around, the oldest of the Smithford Dectuplets noticed that the tapper was none other than Sheriff Simms.

"Hi Sylphee. Have you seen Thomas around?" The Sheriff asked in a rather serious tone.

"No. I was supposed to meet him here this morning but I haven't seen him yet. Something the matter?"

The Sheriff considered whether or not to share the news with the young girl. On one hand, she was just a young girl. On the other hand, she was a member of the Cheer Squad and knew the persons involved in the incident.

"Yeah... Lucy Black. She's... Something happened to her this morning." The Sheriff said, "Something bad."

"Wh... what do you mean something bad?" Sylphee asked, her smile fading away.

"We think that she's been killed. That's why we need to talk to Thomas."

"WHAT?! LUCY?! SHE... SHE CAN'T BE... THAT CAN'T BE TRUE!!" Sylphee exclaimed loudly in the middle of the Malt Shop.

[hr]

Wild Wastelands High School | Springvale | Moriarty's Malt Shop
"Le Sigh"
Mercy O' Hare​

[hr]

Mercy frowned and frowned deeply as her sister, Tessa, made her look like a child in front of Drake Kazuna. Mom and dad would kill Tessa? Tessa was the one looking out for Mercy? That was a load of bullsh...

"It's a limited edition Luck Edition Vault-Tec Bobble head. They're supposed to be super rare!" Mercy exclaimed at the gift that Tessa had given to Mister Dependable himself. Despite her angst a few seconds ago, she couldn't help but laugh at her sister's quip in regards to Drake needing the Bobblehead more than they did. As far as she was concerned, she'd used up a fair amount luck managing to land on the chest of Mister Kazuna himself, who appeared to be equally as quippy as Mercy's very own beloved sister.

"I'm sorry I don't know your name either. I've seen you around at school, but I never asked. And uhh...anybody seen my pack?"

Mercy took the opportunity to voice this before her sister hogged up all the glory.

"I'm Mercy O' Hare and this is my sister, Tessa O' Hare." Mercy exclaimed quickly as she scanned her surroundings and spotting the bag not too far off, hidden in the shadows. An idea suddenly hit the young girl as she continued to act like she was looking for the pack, "I... I think it might have flown over the fence into the construction area. If you want, we can talk to our mom about it... she's an accountant for Vault Tec and can talk to the construction foreman."

Lies... all lies...

Mercy felt a little guilty, specifically since she was including her sister in the little white lie, but she'd always wondered what was in Drake's pack. You see, Mercy didn't always get out and about. Prior to the return of her sister, Mercy frequently spent her time looking out the window. Prior to the return of her sister, Mercy had watched people pass in front of her window. Prior to the return of Tessa O' Hare, Mercy would frequently make up stories about the people who passed in front of her window. Prior to the return of Tessa, Drake was one of these people. She'd always imagined that he had some sort of precious treasure in his bag or maybe some spy equipment.

"It's going to be some time before the constructions workers arrive and the Vault construction site is off limits to kids." mercy said, hoping that things would go her way.

 

[Silence]

Violet | Moriarty's Malt Shop

"I don't think so." Sylphee said, and led Violet away from the commotion around Ayana.
Violet, still not completely realizing what was going on around her, did not object to being led away. She was probably not strong enough to keep it from happening, anyways.

The treatment of Constance led Violet out of her shock, by being another kind of shock. "You can' just ..." she murmured, nearly not audible.

"I'm sure that she'll be okay. She just seems to have a bit of social anxiety. She seems to have a problem with being the center of attention... which is rather unfortunate given Constance."

The comment reminded Violet on the look on Ayanas face, which she knew quite well, from herself. "You're right. It's probably not easy for ..." she trailed off again, thinking about who had it worse, she or Ayana. The sentence did not feel right this way. It was a sentence people would use when they were not affected by unwanted attention all the time.

She wanted to continue the conversation, like a normal girl would do, but the Sheriff came before.
Violet listened to the conversation, feeling ignored. Which did also not fit right with her. At least recognizing her existence would be nice, especially if it was about such a subject. Such a subject...

"We think that she's been killed. That's why we need to talk to Thomas."

"WHAT?! LUCY?! SHE... SHE CAN'T BE... THAT CAN'T BE TRUE!!"
Violets mouth stood open. THE Lucy Black was killed? At first she had the same reaction as Sylphee, just not as loud. That can't be true. Then, out of a lack of an emotional connection to the victim, her mind started with all kinds of paranoid thoughts.

"Did I hear that right, Sheriff? A murderer in our town?"
She recalled what she had known about Lucy.
"C-could he target only blond girls? Am I in danger? Or does he target all girls? What does he want?"
She gestured wildly with her one hand.
"Do we need to hide somewhere?"

Finally, some clearer thoughts settled in.
"What happened, exactly? What do you know?"

Still nervous, Violet fiddled for some bubblegum in her jacket, to help her calm down. The process of getting it out of the package took longer, as expected, but she finally got it open with the help of her teeth. Catching the gum with her hand, the package fell on the ground. As fast as possible, hoping the process had not looked too complicated to others, so she would get their unwanted pity, she put the gum in her mouth and kneeled down, picked up the package, and put it back in her jacket.

Standing there, getting back to trying to look as casual as possible (which was, in these circumstances, probably even weirder than ever before), she waited for the Sheriff to answer her questions, while she chewed on her bubblegum.

 

[Neuromancer]

The McKenna Household - Basement(?)
Eddie the Dreamer​

He opened his eyes and was met with the dusty wooden floor.

Raising his torso with a groan, Eddie massaged his temples and took a look at himself. The first sign that something was amiss came from his lower body: He was wearing pants. He distinctly remembered doing things without his pants before going to sleep.

Rubbing the back of his head, he surveyed his surroundings. Though dark, he recognized the layout as that of his uncle's basement. How did he get here? He distinctly remembered falling asleep on a certain seat of a certain car with a certain someone along.

"Arizona," he grunted as he got up, "if this is her idea of a joke...", a wide toothy grin appeared, "well, I will have to applaud her for going through all the effort." Searching the wall to his right for the switch, he flipped it on, to be met with disappointment. A couple of retries followed, to no avail.

"Damn power's off." he grunted as he turned and looked around, "Great. Where the hell's that generator?"

With careful steps and arms flailing around like a zombie on zombie speed, he started navigating his way to the back of the basement where the generator was located, an ominous bright red light illuminating it. Turning blue as the generator started, a faint noise rose, and one after the other the lights flickered and came on.

But that didn't last long. The noise the generator made grew louder and louder, as though it was the roar of a hellspawn giving birth. The lights overloaded, light bulbs exploded, and the generator went silent, dead.

"Fuck's sake!" he yelled, and kicked the generator, "Gimme a fucking break!" Great. If it was any other of generator he could work to fix it, but this one was 'special'. He'd need his uncle's assistance with that. Speaking of his uncle, where the hell was he?

A loud bang came from behind, and Eddie turned to see the door flung open, except, no one stood in the doorway.

"If this really is a joke, it's in dire need of a punchline." he shouted, and cautiously made his way to the door. It was uncanny how the door opened mere moments after the generator had gone bust. So uncanny it was getting unnerving. He took a look at the staircase leading up to the house and found something quite off: He could see. The light of the stairway was on, though faint and flickering. With the generator bust, that should've been impossible.

"This is getting ridiculous..." he muttered to himself as he made his way up the stairs. Something was off, way off. Opening the door to the narrow, dimly lit hallway, he noticed it was night outside. Pitch black. The streetlights were off too? Continuing onwards into the living room, he couldn't help but notice that a few things were... different.

On a cabinet was a picture and an eyepatch, its black leather had been hacked giving it an X-like mark. Set in the frame was a photograph of his family, his Uncle Jonathan, Aunt Emily and Little Cousin Amie. The left edge of the photo had been burned, giving the impression of Amie having been burned as well.

A car sped around on outside, and you could hear something like a squirrel squeak its way to death outside. It looked like the car run over something. Looking outside the window, under the lone light of a single streetlight, a black rabbit was plastered on the road, its eyes and entrails scattered, forming a red pool around its corpse. Beside it sat another rabbit, this one white save for the blood splashed all over its body, staring at Eddie with a single eye, its gaze powerful and piercing. So much, in fact, that Eddie could look no longer stare, and soon he was looking at the furniture.

"Beaten by a bunny at a staring contest" he murmured, lampshading what just happened, "Not my proudest of moments. What the hell's happening?"

On the sofa, barely illuminated by the dim light, sit a stuffed toy tiger. That particular toy tiger. Wondering who brought the damned thing here, he grabbed it from behind and turned to take a look at it.

Something that, in retrospect, was a bad call.

Blood dripped from the tiger's sliced belly, cotton hanging from the wound as though it were intestines, it?s left eye hanging loose from its eye socket.

Then, the sound of metal hitting the flour pierced his ears.

Dropping the twice-damned thing to the ground in shock, Eddie took a sharp turn and frantically searched the room. The clanking was somewhat distant. The garage, he reasoned.

This is some fucked up shit I've walked into.

The garage, unlike the rest of the house, was well lit. Peeking inside, everything seemed normal: The hot rod was parked, the guitar was at it?s place, most of his stuff was tidy -by Eddie standards- , save for the toolbox on the floor. That must?ve been the cause of the ruckus earlier. Carefully stepping inside and taking a look around to check for threats, Eddie went on to grab his baseball bat; he?d feel a lot safer with at least some sort of weapon.

And just as he did, the lights went out.

Panicking, Eddie turned around, where a pair of glowing green eyes stared at him. The lights went back on again, revealing a man clad in black sitting on the engine of the hot rod, his skin rotten like a corpse?s, a twisted, toothy grin etched on his face.

"Hello."

Not wasting a second, Eddie swung at him with full force, only for the corpse-man to effortlessly grab the bat with a hand, wrestle it away, and hit Eddie with a thrust of its hilt, knocking him to the ground.

"Quick to violence," the corpse-man smiled as he jumped off the car, "I'm liking you already. Don?t worry..." he threw the bat next to Eddie, "It's not contagious." He licked his blackened teeth.

"Must say, I like what you've done with the place." He started circling around, looking bewildered, "Has that... personal touch to it." He started stretching, "Oooh, boy, sure feels good to be back. I took a, what, ten? Twelve year vacation? Never was good remembering dates." He turned back to stare at Eddie, the grin having never left his face, "Guess that?s why my history grades have always been below average, huh?"

Eddie stared on at the stranger, dumbfounded.

"What the fuck is happening..."

"Ah, don't think about it too much, Eddie-boy. This is just a dream... Just an abstract manifestation of your inner psyche! Don't worry, nothing in here?s gonna hurt you. See?" The corpse-man slapped himself...

And Eddie felt the impact on his cheek. He rubbed at it even more confused.

"Well, that was strangely uncanny, wasn't it?" The world started getting blurry, and Eddie felt himself getting pulled away, "I suppose that would be all for today. Good to see ya, again, Eddie-boy!"

"I look forward to our next meeting."

***​

Smith Casey's Garage - Eddie's Hot Rod
Eddie the Underwear finding Specialist​

"If you don't wake up, the boss is going to catch us naked. Again. I don't want him to see my tits again, and if you don't want him to see your ass again either, you'll wake your ass up!"

Jolting awake, Eddie took a meek look around with half-closed eyes, his head still ringing from Arizona?s pleasant wake-up talk. The sun hit his eyes, and he groaned as he moved a hand to shield them.

"Gimme a break", he mumbled and reluctantly got out of the car, stretching. His head still was a bit fuzzy; he never quite had such a lucid dream before. In fact, he never had a lucid dream before. And what mind-screwing first experience. Definately not something he?d recommend to anyone. Zero outta ten.

On the other side of the car, Arizona, panic-struck as she were, threw hasty glances left and right, searching for that ever elusive underwear.

"What?s the big rush?" he asked playfully, "You?d probably get a pay raise if you flash a bit. Hardly the worst thing that could happen, eh?" He found his hat on the ground in front of the car, dusted it off, and wore it.

"And besides, I wouldn't blame the boss for wanting some nudity. After all," he spanked his buttcheeks and struck a pose, standing fully erect, as the sun bathed his body in sunlight, "Who wouldn't wanna take a look at these pieces of classical art?"

Seeing that his joke fell flat and was woefully unappreciated, he grunted and turned to search as well. Women these days, so unnecessarily bipolar. He recalled Constance once telling him the term those weird virgin nipponese folk used to describe people like that, but as with most things coming out of that girl?s mouth, Eddie ignored it. Finding Arizona?s brao hanging on the engine of the car, he tossed it at her.

"I think that's yours," he grinned, "Not my size, you see." he touched his chest as though to demonstrate the fact.

"Have you seen my pants? They're not on my side of the garage." he said, having pinpointed his boots and jacket, "And don?t bother looking for my underwear. I went commando, remember?"

 

[Texas Joker 52]

Arizona
The Last Two Weeks of Summer | Smith Casey's Garage | Eddie's Hot Rod
"I am not selling tickets for people to see my tits."​

As she found her jeans, thrown haphazardly over a set of tools that they had ended up using last night on a local junker, she could hear Eddie stir awake behind her.

"Gimme a break."

Arizona, being the kind of girl that she was, wanted to instinctively ask if he wanted that break to be an arm or a leg, but she bit off that remark as she glanced around for her panties, then gave up with a shrug. And when he spoke next, she could already tell that he was probably admiring her ass as she bent over, stepping into her pants.

"What's the big rush? You'd probably get a pay raise if you flash a bit. Hardly the worst thing that could happen, eh?"

"Not the way I want to make my money, babe. There's a damn good reason why I swing a wrench and not dance on a pole somewhere." she pointed out with a narrow glare as she glanced back at him.

When she did, she noticed that he had found his hat, but not much else. Turning to face him properly, she put her hands on her hips and shook her head. Even as he came to attention, buck naked save for his hat.

"And besides, I wouldn't blame the boss for wanting some nudity. After all, who wouldn't wanna take a look at these pieces of classical art?"

"Yea, I'm a real Venus de Milo." she murmured dryly, but she did take a moment to look him over.

The corner of her mouth twitched upward in appreciation, but it didn't last as she started to get back to work, finding her clothes. After about a minute of futile searching, Eddie had found her bra and tossed it over to her, and she got to work, slipping it on.

"Have you seen my pants? They're not on my side of the garage."

She paused in the middle of fastening the hooks of her bra to glance at him, then down at the pants she was wearing right then, and realized that she had put his on by mistake.

"Uh... Yea. I'm wearing them right now. Gimme a moment." she said, securing her bra before slipping out of the jeans she had on and tossing them over.

"Sorry about that. Yours feel the same as mine." she joked, smirking, "Let me know when you find mine."

[hr]

[ jenna sorenson ]

The Last Two Weeks of Summer | Springvale Community | Sorenson Residence Garage
"Two science geeks are better than one. They're also better than around ten brainless Sportos.​

As Toni apologized about startling her and told her that, yes, he was in the middle of a project of his own, the collar of her turtleneck shifted little by little as she continued to chew on her gum and listened. When he mentioned that he was working on an Eyebot that he called "Project A.R.I.A.", she couldn't help but let out a low whistle.

"An Eyebot? You certainly don't think small." she said.

But, as it turned out, he hit a few problems himself. Her cheeks shifted a little underneath the fringe of her bangs as she no doubt grimaced in sympathy.

"You see, the other day, I inadvertently burnt out some wiring and a few processor widgets when trying to get the stability matrix to work properly with the propulsion system; because if the two don't mesh correctly, whilst the thing with fly straight, it'll be constantly rotating, which'll no doubt cause further internal issues. I was heading towards Springvale Supply when I saw you were in here, figured I'd say hello."

"Ouch. It sounds like you're going to have your hands full with that. Hopefully you're getting a good deal for those widgets. I don't even want to imagine how much they would cost in bulk..." she murmured, shaking her head a little.

"You know, I could have a look at your Pip-Girl and see if I can't figure out what the problem is; after all, a second opinion never hurts. That's with your permission of course, wouldn't want to just barge in and start fiddling with things."

She tilted her head a little as she eyed him, and she slowly nodded. She supposed it ultimately couldn't hurt to have a second opinion, and a second set of eyes looking over her work. Still, she was a little hesitant to let what was essentially her baby be tinkered with by anyone but her. Still, Toni seemed capable enough.

"Sure, why not? If nothing else, you might be able to see something I ca--" she said, before getting cut-off by the sounds of police sirens passing by.

She got to her feet and strode over to the edge of her garage to watch the squad cars speed past, and she couldn't help but feel worried.

"What do you think they're rushing off too? I hope it isn't because of someone we know..." she murmured warily.

 

[Evrant-Knight]

Antonio "Toni" De Leon | Springvale Community | Sorenson Residence Garage​

"An Eyebot? You certainly don't think small." Jenna said with a low whistle, surprised by the scale of the task that Antonio was undertaking; then again, the same could be said for her Pip-Girl project. Despite how simple and easy-to-use the PipBoys were, they had a some rather complex programming behind them.

"Ouch. It sounds like you're going to have your hands full with that. Hopefully you're getting a good deal for those widgets. I don't even want to imagine how much they would cost in bulk..." She then added with a murmur, shaking her head a little.

"Yeah, tell me about it." Antonio said with a sigh as he crossed his arms briefly. "Whilst I can salvage a few parts from them, a couple got rather fried in the incident, so they'd have to be scrapped completely."

"Sure, why not? If nothing else, you might be able to see something I ca--" Jenna said before being interrupted by the passing police cruisers. Hopping off from her chair, she strode over to the garage to watch the squad cars race past the pair of them.

"What do you think they're rushing off too? I hope it isn't because of someone we know..." Jenna asked warily, concerned for what was going on.

"I hope not Jenna, though, judging from the street they're heading down, it looks as though they're going towards the Black residence. I pray it has nothing to do with that diminutive psychopath The Pint Sized Slasher if it is though. Do you think we should go and find out?" Antonio asked as he turned to face Jenna.

 

[Rip Van Rabbit]

Tessa O'Hare || Outside Vault 101
"Purple Scene"​

"I'm sorry I don't know your name either. I've seen you around at school, but I never asked. And uhh...anybody seen my pack?"

Brushing the long side-swept bangs out of her eye, Tessa had opened her mouth to answer, only to shoot an annoyed look at her younger sister who had decided to interrupt. She disliked being interrupted. Waiting for a lull in the conversation, Tessa's attention was drawn to an all-familiar noise in the distance: police sirens. Instinctively, Tessa crossed her arms in a vain attempt to cover up her tattoos. Both arms, right down to the wrist, was a menagerie of rabbit imagery varying from downright cutesy to the macabre.

Had someone seen her? Was the Vault already prepped with security measures? No no, that sounds like a different street entirely. What will happen to Mer - ...

Concerned with the immediate safety of her sister, Tessa caught the last bit of her sister's following statement and her suspicious line-of-sight. Yeah, not really subtle.

" - it might have flown over the fence into the construction area. If you want, we can talk to our mom about it... she's an accountant for Vault Tec and can talk to the construction foreman."

Oh for BlamCo's sake!
The more perceptive of the two sisters, AKA Tessa, walked over to the bag. Having being flung a considerable distance and into the shadows underneath a few bushes. Scooping it up and presenting it like she had pulled a rabbit out of a hat.

"Is this your lucky bag? No more prizes unfortunately.", Tessa casually remarked, "Yeah, what the little one said: Tessa O'Hare. At school though...", she pointed playfully, "Tessa Rabbit. If you need anything, I'll see what I can do."

Innocuous enough. Those who knew Tessa by reputation knew what that kind of invitation had meant, to anyone else it just seemed like a friendly gesture. How people responded, well that would always tell Tessa a little something about who she was talking to.

Walking behind the wheelchair, Tessa hugged her sister around the neck from behind in an uncharacteristically affectionate manner. Behind the smiles and giggling, Tessa murmured into her sister's ear a sugarcoated warning, "Cut it out, okay? No friends and family. Those are rules."

When Tessa was confronted by her sister about why she did the things she did before juvenile detention, Tessa told her sister that prison had taught her the value of applying rules to her talents. When asked what she had meant, Tessa chose to be frank with her answer: 'No stealing from friends and family. Never again.'

Supposedly, that rule held true for potential friends, like Drake.
Besides, she was an honourable thief, taking something from someone that helped her was a big no-no.

Breaking off the hug, Tessa's dark hair had stubbornly fluttered back into her eye once more. Looking over to Drake, she had gestured to the sirens wailing not too far off, "Is something special happening today?", flicking Mercy's hair to catch her attention, Tessa posed a question to both of them, "Wanna go check it out?"

[hr]

Kristin Cream || Springvale High School
"Hard Hitting Investigative Journalism"​

Hypothesis: This school was built by BlamCo, therefore it was edible. She suspected cheese.

Control: Kristin licked her forearm. No distinctive taste. The smell of strawberries was rather pleasant.
Experiment: Kristin licked a window. Slightly salty. The vague stench of urine did not help any matters.

Conclusion: Oh BlamCo was good, real good. You win this time.

 

[Neuromancer]

McKenna Residence
Tracks to Nowhere​

Jonathan Aristotle McKenna jumped out of bed and rushed to the bathroom. This was to be a busy day. An important busy day. A day he couldn't afford to waste a minute of.

He was already an hour late.

Frantically looking in drawers and the cabinet for a hairbrush, toothbrush and his pills, he took a second of his search to wash his face and, when realising that the towel wasn't hanging its usual spot by the sink, returned to his search with renewed vigour. Gods, this place was an untidy mess. He needed to find time to tidy up the house one of these days, or at least to fix that Mr. Handy that's been rotting away in the basement. So many things to do and so little time! Finally finding the brushes, he brushed his hair with one hand and his teeth with the other, searching still for his pills with his elbows. Where the hell were they? Of all the days, this had to be the one where he misplaced the damn things.

Finishing "tidying up" (in truth, his hair still was somewhat untidy and there were glimmers of toothpaste still etched on the sides of his lips, but in the hurry he were he didn't pay much attention), he run back to his room, got searched around there and, giving up on his search, got dressed instead. Dressed in unironed clothes, because in his hurry he didn't bother to check. He had already burned enough daylight looking for things he should have been able to find at their appointed place, but he didn't have time to second-guess right now. Hurry, hurry! No time to waste!

He rushed out of the house, taking a few steps away before remembering he didn't lock the door. Right. After that little hick-up, straight to school. No distractions along the way!

It was then, as he walked down the road -Eddie had taken the car, so he needed to take the bus-, that he was met with something worse than a distraction.

"Audrey? Are you okay?"

In front of him stood nine of the Principal's daughters, standing in line as they stared at the street in front of them. Moving closer, he saw the red on the road and stopped in his tracks, mouth hanging open in shock. Blood... And so near Isaac's house... No way. This couldn't have been what he was thinking it was.

But then he saw the eye, and realised that it was, in fact, exactly what he was thinking it was. For a brief moment, he lost himself to the shock, fear and disgust that were swirling around his stomach -lucky for him, he hadn't eaten breakfast-, but then he turned his gaze to the young albino friend of Lucy, who looked like a statue -and not just due to her pale skin, either-. She stared on at the gratuitous pool of blood that lay in front of her, unmoving, unblinking, ready to scream at the top of her lungs.

"Audrey..." he said, as he reached out to her shoulder. She violently pushed him away, obviously in shook. "Audrey! It's me!" he yelled at her as he grabbed her hands and tried to calm her down, "It's me! Mr McKenna! Your science teacher!"

Snapping out of her shock, the young albino took a confused stare at him, then at the pool of blood and back at him again. Shock turned to sorrow, and she buried her head in his chest, wailing as he embraced her. This disgusting display was not something that anyone should ever have to face.

"Girls, it would be best you looked-" he started as he turned to the Smithford, only to see them stare at the blood with an expression largely the same as Audrey's. As Jonathan braced for the incoming screams that were soon to follow, one thing occured to him:

He forgot his bag at home.

 

[FalloutJack]

So, while he was waiting for his precious chemicals to fuel his favorite toy in the whole wide world, there was this ruckus from behind as Hamlet was recovering from his palpable hit. Not that Bob was readily-engaged in thinking in terms of Shakespeare or anything. It just seemed to fit. However, all during Braveer's outburst, here's the line of thinking that Bob WAS entertaining right now.

Bob: Hoo boy, he's mad about something, alright, but I haven't got a clue what he's on about. Brute strength clearly won. I'm standing and he's all shouty and bruised. Doesn't that mean I won? I mean, look at him? He's a poncey twig-boy. And what's he even getting in my face about?

Not really getting this whole 'rules' thing that Braveer was going on about, Bob instead started to get mad himself. Not exactly to the point of the other boy's moral outrage, but if you pushed him far enough...well...he'd knocked people over by shouting at them before! Sometimes, it was his breath, though. He thrust his finger in Braveer's face.

Bob: Now, listen you!

Splat! The ink from Bob's now-broken pen - also in that same hand - went in the other boy's face.

Bob: Whoops.

Moira: Oh, hey. Here, take this and clean yourself off, young man.

It was a rag soaked in turpentine.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Mercy O'Hare and Terra O'Hare... They seemed alright. Well, sort of. He had heard of a Tessa who was known for some aggressive behavior. She didn't seem too bad right now, though. Must've been the usual complaint: Adults. He could understand why there was tha separation, though at the very least, Drake loved his parents. Now, whatever it was that Mercy might've thought about the contents of his pack, the things he had in it were actually pretty normal. He liked Nuka-Cola, he had a crowbar for emergencies, and so on. It also had his radio in it, but that'd snapped off when it hit the ground. When Mercy said she thought the pack might be in the Vault-Tec lot, Drake frowned.

Drake: *Sigh* If it's there, I'd rather go get it. At least my wallet wasn't in there...

However, Tessa had managed to produce it, brightening his spirits immediately.

Drake: Hey, thanks. Saves me a trip.

"Yeah, what the little one said: Tessa O'Hare. At school though...Tessa Rabbit. If you need anything, I'll see what I can do."

He smiled at this, placing the Lucky Bobblehead in the pack and slinging it over his shoulder.

Drake: Tessa Rabbit, it is. And I'll let you know.

He hadn't really heard as much as that about her reputation, but if had a problem and he couldn't solve it himself, having someone to ask for help from wouldn't hurt. He wasn't full of bravado to so an extent that he would deny help from another. Drake was checking to make sure everything was okay in there when Tessa mentioned the sirens.

"Is something special happening today? Wanna go check it out?"

Drake: I don't know of anything special going on, so yeah, sure. I'm not busy.

Thus, Drake and the two sisters would soon enter The Plot.

 

[Generic NPC 22]

Wild Wastelands High School | Springvale
White Scene - News Flash!​

[hr]

The thing about small towns like Springvale is that everyone seems to know everyone and everyone seems to know about everything that happens on their little staked claim in the world. So it was no surprise that news of the rather brutal slaying of Lucy Black, a Model Citizen and Star Cheerleader by all accounts, spread through the suburban paradise more quickly then Constance pouncing on Ayana.

Between the paint job that had been done on the driveway belonging to the Black family and the screams of nine of the ten Smithford Dectuplets, it was only inevitable that the local authorities were called in to see what was going on. And so, Wastelanders, this is where this part of the plot thickens, as it were, like adding corn starch to BlamCo cheese that's got too much milk in it.

[hr]

Wild Wastelands High School | Upper Springvale Residential Neighborhood
Black Scene - The Queen is dead, long live the Queen!
The Remaining Smithford Sisters​

[hr]

Sheriff Simms had been called in by some of the local citizens who'd started up their own neighborhood watch... of sorts. The Enforcers of National Constitutional Law Against Various Enemies, or Enclave, had been patrolling the neighborhood the previous night of the murder. With patrols ending around 2:00 AM, it was determined that Lucy Black was likely murdered sometime between the hours of 2:00 AM to 8:00AM. It was likely that, given the obvious lack of a body, someone had dragged the young woman off to do all sorts of Unholy atrocities to the reportedly attractive young woman's corpse.

At least that was the working theory with the town media. Who was the town media? Well for one, lets meet Carmella Ruiz Dela Cruz. Word was that she used to be a reporter for the New York Times until she wrote a rather unflattering article about the treatment of Prisoners of War by U.S. Soldiers in Alaska. Now, she single-handedly wrote the weekly Springvale Herald. Walking around the perimeter of the crime scene, she listened in on the questioning of the Smithford sisters by Sheriff Simms.

Simms: So do any of you girls have an idea as to who would do something like this?
Smithfords: (Muttering among themselves)
Smithford Girl (Sunny?): We it was probably her boyfriend, Thomas McGee. When we were taking pictures for Halloween Party Invitations, Thomas said that the Pint Sized Slasher would KILL LUCY!
Smithford Girl (Sophy?): Yeah and when he said that, he put his hands around Lucy's neck
Smithford Girl (Scary?): He was mad because she said that Eddie was a better boyfriend.
Smithford Girl (Sassy?): Shut up! That's a secret! Thomas doesn't even know about Eddie.
Smithford Girl (Scony?): He does to!
Smithford Girl (Sassy?): Does not!
Simms: Girls! Girls! Lets get back to my question. Did Thomas actually say that he'd kill Lucy?
Smithford Girls: (Yeses mixes with Nos).
Simms: Alright. I'm going to go look for Thomas. Why don't you stay here and look after your friend, Audrey.

[hr]

The Smithford Dectuplets were in shock. Not only were they without their Queen Bee, they were sure that she'd been struck down by her own King. The best thing to do in this case would have been to draw and quarter the son of a ***** before he could do that to anyone else. Sylphee wasn't aware of this, but her sisters were aware of the crush that she had on Thomas and they'd be damned if that son of a ***** killed one of the Dectuplets, especially since they weren't aware of what the term was for Nine Girls that had been birthed at the same time. Also, it didn't help that they didn't own any horses so drawing and quartering that Lucy Mangler was out of the question. The best they could do now was ostracize him even more than he was.

"Audrey?" Asked Sunny Smithford placing a hand on Audrey's Shoulder, "Come on. We should go. You shouldn't keep looking at ... that. It's not what Lucy would have wanted."

Which was sort of where things went weird. The fact is that the Smithford sisters had been following Lucy's every command, fulfilling every whim and granting every wish that the Queen Bee wanted. Without her, they were quite literally lost and clueless as to how to go on with their lives. The girls looked at one another and nodded before looking to Audrey for answers.

"What would Lucy do, Audrey?" Sherry Smithford asked, "I mean we're just her subjects but you knew her best. You're her number two. You'd know what she'd want us to do now."

"What would Lucy do?" Asked the other Smithford sisters in unison.

Witnessing this, Carmella Ruiz Dela Cruz simply shook her head as she walked away, totally creeped out by 90% of the Smithford Dectuplets. This was right around the time that Carmella ran into Jonathan McKenna, High School Science Teacher!

"Jonathan! Hey!" Carmella called out, waving her hands at the not to blind that she actually needed to wave her hands in front of Jonathan's face, "How're you doing?"

The question was a rather loaded one. It was either 1) Carmella actually caring about the sad-sack Science Teacher enough to actually care about how he was doing or 2) She was sifting for information about what he'd discussed with Sheriff Simms, "Kinda sad right? Lucy Black. She was one of your students wasn't she? Not a very good one from what I've gathered. But, I didn't mean to flag you down to speak ill of the dead. I was just wondering if you know anything about this that you'd care to share with me. I mean... since I live right down the road."

By down the road, she meant in Lower Springvale. Times were tough for the Editor in Chief/Principal Investigative Journalist for the Springvale Herald so if she had to not only live in Lower Springvale but run the office of the Springvale Herald out of it, so be it. It definitely beat working for that asshole Colin Moriarty.

"Actually... weren't you one of the first ones here? Just what were you doing here anyways?"

[hr]

Wild Wastelands High School | Moriarty's Malt Shop
Red Scene - No Need to Panic
Sylphee Smithford and Constance Sorrowfeld (Sorta)​

[hr]

"Did I hear that right, Sheriff? A murderer in our town?"
"C-could he target only blond girls? Am I in danger? Or does he target all girls? What does he want?"
"Do we need to hide somewhere?"

Sylphee Smithford eyed the panicked Violet in a manner that spoke of a desire to slap some sense the girl, as fruitless a task as that would be. A slap is not the right tool for instilling a sense of calm into a person and yet, the daytime television shows that they regularly aired in Washington D.C. showed men slapping women to bring them to their senses. If this were to actually work, why didn't someone enter the Capitol building and slap Congressmen and Senators on a regular basis? Still, the issue of the one-armed woman appeared to resolve itself after her momentary lapse in being subtle.

With Violet temporarily calmed until the next crisis appeared, Sylphee addressed the Sheriff calmly.

"Well if you're thinking that Thomas had something to do with Lucy's murder, Sheriff. I should tell you that he was with me last night." The Blue Haired girl stated flatly.

"All last night?" The Sheriff asked suspiciously

"Well, yes sir. I... sorta sneaked into his room through the window." The Blue Haired Trespasser stated as she noticed that Violet had dropped a second piece of gum on the ground. Picking it up, the girl unwrapped it and popped it in her mouth before making a face and spitting it out. If there was one thing that Sylphee disliked, it was the taste of Cinnamon gum.

*PLOP!* The gum arched high in the air before settling inside a cup of hot green tea that belonged to one Constance Sorrowfeld.

*COUGH COUGH SPUTTER!* Went Constance Sorrowfeld as she started choking and spraying her green tea into a fine mist out of her mouth, all over the young Ayana Watkins and her dolls.

The Sheriff jotted this information down, unconvinced that Sylphee was telling the truth. The story was strange but if Sylphee and Thomas had a relationship, it was likely a motive for murder.

"Still we'd like to talk to Thomas. Do you know where we can find him?" The Sheriff asked.

"Did you check the Mortuarium?"

[hr]

Wild Wastelands High School | Outside Vault 101
Shinobu Powdered Donut Pink Scene - Can mew imyangine an imyanginyary mewnagerie mewnyager imyagining mewnyaging an imyaginyary mewnagerie?
Mercy O' Hare​

[hr]

The McGee and Sons Mortuarium was on the way from the future location of Vault 101 and the Upper Springvale Residential Area. Actually the grave yard did make a rather good, if not a little morbid, short cut for Drake, Tessa and the now mute Mercy O' Hare. She'd kept her mouth shut after witnessing the interaction between her older sister and Mister Dependable himself, Drake Kazuna. This was only intensified by the fact that Tessa had scolded Mercy for wanting to look through the missing until recently backpack belonging to the man that she'd nearly flattened.

The O'Hare family did not live in Upper Springvale. They were, in fact, too poor to afford housing there. But that did not stop them from making a few nocturnal visits every so often since Tessa's return.

"Looks like something happened at the Black house," Wheels O' Hare finally said as she spotted the police tape a distance 2 blocks away. Despite having been lectured by her sister, she'd also been given a rather generous hug. She lived for those little bits of affection that Tess-Tess showed her. With the O'Hare parents always fawning over their crippled daughter, they always acted like the could break at any time. Tessa was the only person that didn't treat her that way... which was why Mercy frequently went out with Tessa.

In an effort to mitigate their risks, Mercy had spent some time learning the layout of the neighborhood before she started on the night time adventures of the Rabbit Sisters. It was helpful to remember who lived where since it would also tell Mercy who had the best stuff and the likely schedules of the families that lived in Upper Springvale. Thanks to just this little bit of information, she and Tess-Tess had been able to grab a number of items without being caught or spotted.

Their wave of terror ended before it could truly start. A branch of the Enclave had formed in the neighborhood after a rash of burglaries in the area. This was the reason why Mercy had ended up suggesting the Vault rather than continue the increasingly risky raised on Springvale's upper crust.

"Hey Sis? You don't think that the girl that lives there was hurt do you? I always thought that she was pretty..." Mercy stated, before muttering "Pretty dumb."

[hr]

Wild Wastelands High School | Springvale High School
Cheesy Orange Scene - Mister BlamCo is having a sale!!
Thomas "Shifty" McGee​

[hr]

Window licker was not exactly a term of endearment around those parts and yet it was literally what Thomas encountered as he turned the corner. An attractive woman in a white sun dress licking a window. There wasn't else that he could say about it without going into gratuitous detail about the freckles on her cheeks or the fact that she looked semi-familiar in a she must have been famous at some point sort of way.

He was staring. It had nothing at all to with with the fact that her... fresh balls of mozzarella were pressed against the window as she tasted it, but rather it had more to do with the fact that Principal Gary Smithford was so cheap that he ordered the school's windows cleaned with cat urine in an attempt to 1) clean the windows using the ammonia present in cat urine 2) use the scent of the cat urine to keep the rodent population out of the school.

That was something about Springvale High School that the staff had attempted to keep under wraps. Compared to the remainder of the schools in the D.C. Metro area, Springvale High School had a must larger rodent population. Some theorized that it was due to the presence of the Vault 101 construction site having disturbed them from what would normally be their nesting areas and driving them into the town. This theory was countered by the fact that none of the residences or businesses suffered the infestation of rodents that Springvale High School appeared to be under.

But we're getting a bit off topic. What? Oh yes. Urine. Cat Urine to be specific. As it turned out, Cat Urine was neither a good window cleanser nor did it smell all that great. The students who attended Summer Session at Springvale High started complaining about headaches after just a few days of exposure to the Cat Tainted Windows. A decision was later made to clean the windows with regular cleanser and to set out traps. Unfortunately the damage had already been done and the windows had a near permanent smell of ammonia, cat nip and meow mix.

Now then, knowing this, Thomas "Shifty" McGee could not help but grimace at the fact that the woman in front of him had been licking the window. Unshouldering his backpack, he opened it quickly and pulled out a cold bottle of Aqua Pura before clearing your throat.

"Umm. Miss?" Said the normally reserved Undertaker in training, "You might need this."

Waiting a couple beats, the Pale but Snappy Dresser started talking once again.

"Are you a new student here? I haven't seen you around. You know that school doesn't start for another couple of weeks right?"

 

[CrystalShadow]

[HEADING=3]Adrian and Lillith Watkins[/HEADING]
The Watkins Family residence
"The whims of little sisters."​

No sooner had Adrian got back to work, than his phone rang.
He sighed, but prepared himself.
This was usually business, so he had to be professional about things.

He picked up the phone, knowing that it'd likely be Janice initially...

"Hello Janice. Who have we got on the line?" He asked.
"It's your sister, Mr. Watkins." She replied replied.

His what? It'd been a while since he had heard from his little sister.
It was a bit of a shock. Still, that was Lilly. You never knew with her...

"OK. Put her through."
The phone clicked, and connected.
"Hi Adrian. It's been a while hasn't it?". It was Lilly's overly cheerful voice alright.
"Uhh... Yes... What's the occasion?"
"What, I need a reason to call my favourite big brother?" He could hear the mock indignation in her voice. He sighed.
"No, of course not, Lilly. How are things in England?"
"Oh, you know. Same old same old. There's riots in London again... Honestly, this place is falling apart really. Europe is a mess."
"Are you... Alright?"
Lilly laughed. "What's this, actual concern? What's wrong brother, not hit your head or something?"
Adrian shook his head. Lilly continued "I'm fine. Really. No need to worry about your little sister. Cambridge is still holding strong. Much like it has done for centuries. The problems are only really just reaching England anyway."
Adrian let out his breath. He hadn't even realised he'd been holding it in. "Oh, well, that's a relief. So, anything else? Meet anyone? Do anything interesting?"

Lilly laughed again. "Oh, not really. Still single. Just can't seem to find the right girl. Speaking of which, I heard your daughter has moved in with you. How has that been going? Is she managing? I mean, I'm sure you're doing your best, but I know what you're like...
That can't be easy for either of you. And with the condition she's in? That's got to be rough"
Adrian sighed. About as much emotion as he typically showed, though Lillith could tell a lot from it. "It's been... Difficult. I'm not used to having to look after her. And she is not taking things well. I don't blame her really. Her mother died, she was forced to leave everything she's ever known in life... And that illness...
But she's being so difficult Lil. I just don't have a clue what to do sometimes.
I fear she'll get in trouble, or, being as stubborn as she seems to be, will push herself too hard, and get even more sick as a result.
What are you supposed to do with a teenage daughter anyway? I don't know whether to set stricter rules, or just let her do whatever, since she seems determined to anyway..."
It was lilly's turn to sigh now "Well, teenage girls can be a handful, I should know" She laughed. "I don't have any real advice I suppose. But maybe things will change soon. Stuff is happening."
"What kind of stuff?" Adrian asked.
"Hmm? I can't really tell you right now. Maybe later."
"Secrets lilly? What are you involved with this time?"
Lilly laughed. Louder this time "Oh, you know. The usual dubious project or other. You'd be surprised what they use Mathematicians for... Why, just yesterday I was working on some really fascinating little... Ohh... But I'm not really allowed to talk about that... Maybe we can discuss that... No, no. You're probably busy right?
"No, no. It's fine" Adrian sighed. While it was true he was very busy, he preferred to let his little baby sister talk. It had been so long since they had spoken after all.
The conversation continued for some time, mostly about Lilly's usual haphazard collection of interests...
Adrian got comfortable, and just listened. He had no idea what she was on about most of the time, but it was hard to get bored listening to her somehow...
But then, he was awfully fond of his little sister, so perhaps he was a little biased, he thought.

[HEADING=3]Ayana Watkins[/HEADING]
Moriarty's Malt Shop
"... Too much for a broken child."​

Ayana Yawned, and, having finished her Banana split, started on the parfait.
She was trying quite hard to ignore everyone now, but that was easier said than done.

For one thing, her mind was just exceptionally good at picking up on things going on around her.
And as much as she tried, she just couldn't shut that off.
Besides which, what was going on was... Bizarre, and overwhelming, and at the moment, largely focused on her personally.

She glanced around, looking for a way out. It was no good. She'd got herself trapped in a corner.
As much as it would be tempting to do a handstand on the table, flip over the other bench, leap across the counter, and slip out the door, that seemed a little over the top.
And who knows if she could even do it in her current state.
Sure, she made stuff like that look easy, but it really wasn't.

Part of the problem was the illness.
Once upon a time she was a gymnastics legend. Everyone thought she'd be winning competitions in the future, that her talent would make her some kind of star gymnast.
But... That was before she got ill.
She may well have had the skill, but what use is that without the strength and stamina to back it up?
Not much.

It wasn't just formal gymnastics either. She had learnt quite a bit about navigating urban environments quickly. A skill otherwise known as freerunning.
Though she had learnt this mostly the hard way, by running away from various members of her family, primarily her cousins.
They found it amusing to tease or even attack her, and she was too small to really defend herself.
Instead, she had learnt how to escape.
Not an easy task, because they were bigger and faster than her, usually.
The trick however, was to take shortcuts they simply couldn't follow.
Climb fences, leap across stairwells, up onto roofs. That sort of thing.
Chances were, if you were quick about it, and chose the right path, you could lose someone pretty fast, even if they could outrun you on level ground.

But... This wasn't really the time and place for that, no matter how much it was starting to annoy her. And really, she could hardly stand. She couldn't make such an escape right now even if she'd tried.

The delivery guy had put his hand on Ayana's shoulder at this point. A fact she didn't much appreciate, but tried to ignore.

Constance had apparently taken her up on her offer, and yelled out rather excitedly to moriarty.
MORIARTY-CHAN!!!!, Can I please get some Green Tea Mochi, Almond Crush Pocky an order of Daifuku and Dango and a pot of grean tea?!"

Ayana groaned softly. All Japanese treats. The girl really was obsessed, wasn't she? Ayana doubted someone like Moriarty would even have most of that stuff.

Sylphee's expression mirrored Ayana's thoughts here perfectly. Was that girl serious?

The twitch, and the obsessive glint in her eye also caught Ayana's attention. She wants to jump me, doesn't she? Ayana thought. I can see it in her eyes

For the moment, Sylphee was in the way, but Ayana knew she had to keep an eye on it...
Constance didn't look like someone will all too much self-control, and that look...
She could very well hurt Ayana a lot. Not intentionally perhaps, but just in her excitement.
And then she really would need to go to the hospital.


"Are you sure you're Okay! I can drive you to the hospital. It won't be a problem. We can call your dad, make sure he knows what's happening. You're very sick, and you really shouldn't be up, and about right now... At least go home and rest for me won't you?" The driver said.

Ayana tried to resist the urge to stamp on his foot. She really didn't like being treated like she was a stubborn little child that didn't know what was good for her.

She noted another, somewhat subtler reaction from Constance this time. She seemed to glare at the poor delivery guy when he had said that...

... So she's obsessed with me personally as well now. This is getting out of hand Ayana thought.

"...Also, do you really need that much candy! Candy is a sometimes food, and trust me, you'll get a horrible bellyache. I did the same thing as a child".
Ayana shot the Nuka Cola Delivery Driver a brief, annoyed glare of her own now. The concern was one thing, but what kind of a condescending remark was that!? Did he think she was 6 or something?
How dare he!?
She tried to calm herself. I'm sure he has good intentions and all. Just let it go she said to herself.

Meanwhile, Sylphee had moved, and was talking to Violet about something.
Clearly, she did not wish to discuss it in front of Ayana, but they didn't exactly move far enough for her not to overhear it anyway.

Sure enough, Constance used this moment to try and leap out of her chair, but Sylphee grabbed her by the collar and held her back, choking her somewhat in the process.

With Sylphee and violet off at the other end of the malt shop, Ayana tried to ignore them. She knew they were talking about her, but she didn't really care.

On the other hand, the sheriff entering did catch Ayana's attention.
What was going on?

The sheriff tapped The blue-haired girl on the shoulder. The conversation that ensued seemed to involve questions about someone called Thomas.

The reason for him being here soon became apparent. Something had happened to... A... Lucy Black?
That name seemed vaguely familiar.
Black...

Weren't those her neighbours?

"Wh... What do you mean something bad?" the girl known as Sylphee asked, the smile she had had for most of the time Ayana had seen her was fading quickly.

We think she's been killed. That's why we need to talk to Thomas The sheriff replied.

What?! LUCY?! SHE... SHE CAN'T BE... THAT CAN'T BE TRUE!! Sylphee shouted.

Clearly they had known each-other. Ayana didn't much care though.
She might not have known Lucy, but that was her neighbourhood. This...
This was all wrong.
This...
Stuff...

Violet, understandably seemed to be a little panicked, She started asking questions of the sheriff, one after the other.
"C-could he target only blond girls? Am I in Danger? Or does he target all girls? What does he want? Do we need to hide somewhere?"
She said, somewhat panicked.
Ayana didn't blame her. This was scary. But, just as quickly as she had begun to panic, Violet seemed to calm down again.

The sheriff continued to question Sylphee.

Violet appeared to drop some gum, while fumbling with it. She put a piece in her mouth, but Sylphee picked up one she had apparently dropped.

Before she knew what was going on, she saw Sylphee spit out the gum, which flew in a high arc and landed directly into Constance's tea.

Cough Cough Sputter! Constance started choking, and sprayed tea all over Ayana, her dolls, and everything else.

Shaken, and somewhat wet, Ayana couldn't take anymore.
She leapt up suddenly, and shoved all her things and the bag of sweets roughly in her bag.
She was close to passing out again from having stood up so quickly, but forced herself to stay upright through force of will alone.

"T-This isn't right. Not right. I... I'm going home. T-this can't..." Ayana was threatening to start crying.
It's not that she knew this Lucy girl or anything, but the shock of it was getting to her, and she was already overwhelmed at this point anyway.
Not to mention being covered in hot tea, and all the people treating her like she was helpless and stupid.

She struggled out from behind the table, stumbled across the room, and forced the door open with some effort, then stepped outside.

She was out of breath, and everything hurt...
Struggling to breathe, she leant against the window.
With effort, she forced herself to take another step, in the general direction of home.

n-no. I'm not... This is... she said, panicking somewhat.

She coughed up blood.
Ignoring that, she took yet another step...

She was threatening to pass out again, but refused to give in.
Again, another step forward.

She didn't know what she was doing, or why she was forcing herself.
All that was still in her mind was that she had to get home...

Whatever it took.
One step.
Another.
On and on...

She was barely even there, but managed to force herself to inch slowly forward.

She coughed up more blood, but didn't really notice.
This had been the worst her illness had been in quite a long time.
Not that she retained enough awareness to think anything like that.
She just kept walking. Ever so slowly...