Den (
dens_extra_pups) wrote in
dens_tf_den2015-08-07 09:45 pm
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llv. The Mansion. Unexpected Correspondence
mailbox: *shining pillar of flawless steel... has caught somebody as Ultra Magnus pulls up to the gate with the things he went to the city for*
Ultra Magnus: ... *snickerfit, moves to approach and see who was dumb enough to try and mess with the mailbox again*
young man: *gives him a long look* Do you live here?
Ultra Magnus: Yup.
young man: *points with his free hand at the US Mail logo magnetically stuck to the side of his battered pickup* I'm your new mailman.
Ultra Magnus: ... Okay, so the professor made the mailbox security too good. *will move to see if he can't get the young man's hand free, and will also check to see what was put in the box*
young man: *sighs* The last guy told me to shake the box for a surprise. I was stupid enough to do it.
box: *sees Magnus and recognizes him. Lets go of the captive, and opens the hatch so he can get the mail* *has no mail, it's still in the bag by the carrier's feet*
Ultra Magnus: You hurt?
young man: *seems to be a slow-spoken and cheerfully melancholy individual* Nope. *hopefully examines his wrist* *slightly disappointed* Naw, not even a bruise. *attention goes back to the mailbox* Is that set in concrete?
Ultra Magnus: About five feet down into concrete, yeah.
young man: *low whistle* You folks had trouble with vandals?
Ultra Magnus: Unfortunately, yeah.
young man: *shakes his head and stoops to pick up the mailbag* I'll just dump this in there so nobody yells at me. *fills mailbox*
box: *half closes the removal hatch, but then remembers Magnus and opens it again. Mail goes on the ground*
young man: *grunts* Whoops.
Ultra Magnus: No worries. *moving to pick up all the mail*
young man: *stoops and helps. Figures he did his job, and the mailbox seems to know this guy, so it's alright to give the mail to him now* So you're a mutant?
Ultra Magnus: *as he bundles all the mail neatly to be sorted once he's inside* Yeah... Why?
young man: *as he straightens* Me too. *shows scars where webbed fingers were separated* Didn't get anythin' cool, though.
Ultra Magnus: *small frown* So they changed your hands? *a bit upset and concerned for the young man*
young man: And feet. Yup. 'N took some points off my ears.
Ultra Magnus: *more frown* That kinda sucks...
young man: *shrugs* Guess it kept me from bein' bullied for my looks. Speakin' of looks, you don't stand out.
Ultra Magnus: *quietly, feeling a bit sad now* Guess I don't...
young man: *draws brows together* Hey, sorry.
Ultra Magnus: *quietly* Doesn't seem fair that someone like me doesn't look different when there're good people out in the world who are forced to either change their appearance or are treated like crud because of how they look.
young man: *slow blink* What do you mean?
Ultra Magnus: People like you, kids and adults I've met... *big man has a sad*
young man: You mean you got something that don't show? *long face brightens just slightly with curiosity. His body language also shows that he's feeling sympathy for Ultra Magnus' sadness*
Ultra Magnus: Yeah...
young man: Oh. *pat* Eh. Weird looks 're no good if there's no fancy stuff to go with it, anyway. I better get going.
Ultra Magnus: *small nod, checks to see if there's any more mail for the school* Next time, don't try to shake the box
young man: *chuckles as he turns back to his truck* I'm gonna get Bob for that. *doesn't seem like that getting will be very terrible*
Ultra Magnus: *small nod* Drive safe. *will head for the mansion*
young man: *waves as he drives off*
Ultra Magnus: *stops once he's inside the gate, starts sorting mail*
Ira: *rides past on his black mare a moment later*
Ultra Magnus: *pauses as he comes across a letter sealed with wax that has a return address in Japan* *looks up* Hey, Ira?
Lady: *pauses and turns her head as she hears her master's name called*
Ira: *rumbles and grumps about having riding time interrupted, but will guide Lady over to Ultra Magnus*
Ultra Magnus: ... You don't have a saddle. *just noticed this. Wonders to himself how long the old soldier's been riding like that*
Ira: *snort* Is that all?
Ultra Magnus: Oh! No. Do we know anyone in Japan? *will offer the sealed letter*
Lady: *snuffles his car. Pretty car, have nose prints*
Ira: ... *will reach for the letter, brows climbing as he sees that it's addressed to the teachers at the school* I'll take this to Optima.
Ultra Magnus: Alright. See you back at the house.
Ira: *nod. Clucks his tongue quietly to Lady, gently nudging her sides with his knees*
Lady: *nose bumps Magnus in the chest as taught, and then turns and trots toward the people house*
Ultra Magnus: *soft "oof", will wait until Lady and Ira are out of sight before getting in the car and driving around to the back of the school, where the veggie garden is*
Legacy: *standing there sadly, once more watching as several small children, a Pit Bull, a miniature donkey, and Lassie play Bao in his newly planted lettuce bed*
Ultra Magnus: *parks the car and turns the engine off before getting out* Hey, Legacy. I got what you asked for.
Legacy: *perks and turns toward him* Are you sure you got the right one? *slight startle as Lassie notices Magnus and barks a greeting*
Ultra Magnus: *will get the box out of the car and move to offer it to the tiny man*
Legacy: *pulls the beautiful black wooden game board with the four painted leopard legs and painted leopard head and tail out of the box and sighs* Yes. This looks like what they've put in the garden.
Ultra Magnus: Want me to go give it to them?
Legacy: *looks up at him with a bit of a grin* Thanks, Magnus. I can do it.
Ultra Magnus: Alright. I'll go sort out the grocery list for next week, then.
Legacy: There's chili mac on the stove, and fried stuff in the oven. *grinning at the flexible whiskers on the leopard face*
Ultra Magnus: *chuckles* Alright. Don't let the kids get sunburnt. *will head for the house, sorting the mail he hadn't gotten to yet*
Legacy: *soft snort* Teach your grandma to suck eggs. *attention toward the kids and calls softly* Sora? Do you want a present?
Sora: *looks up from the game* *headtilty*
Legacy: *holds out the big wooden game board so that she can see clearly that it is a board for the game that she's playing* *grin*
Sora: *surprised string of Swahili and French, will scoot closer to inspect what Uncle has*
Legacy: *hunkers down and sets the board on its feet* See? It's the board game. And your baby bears wouldn't need so many baths anymore.
Sora: *excited chatter as she sees what the board looks like with all its pieces, will call to the other children*
Bea: *looks up as little Army members scoot over to see* Are we done playing, Sora? Do you want me to bring the baby bears?
Simba: *is flopping his ears as he sniffs noses with the fake kitty*
Sora: *excited Swahili, points to the board game Uncle set up*
Allen: English, dude, English. 'Member? *hunkers down to study the board's face, but then gets up to run after Ultra Magnus into the house*
Bea: Oh wow! *gathers up all of the baby bears and brings them over* Is that what a real board looks like?
Delores: Cat cat miow. *tweeks the board's whiskers*
Sora: *nodnod* *happy mix of Swahili, English, and French*
Bea: *settles on the grass and scoops the jar of baby bears out of the basket on her walker. *offers them to Sora so that the little girl can divide them into two sets once more*
Denver Jr.: How come it's got cat parts, Sora?
Sora: *rapid explanation as she moves to get everything set up for a new game*
Denver Jr.: *listening intently, as are the other little kids*
Legacy: *will move to sit where he can keep an eye on the children*
Allen: *followed Magnus inside, and now offers the man's cellphone* I gotcha unstuck.
Magnus: Huh? *reaches for the offered phone to see what Allen's talking about* ... *soft groan as he sees how the child got him past the puzzle that was preventing advancement in the level
Allen: You just hadta ask the dog ta go with ya.
Magnus: That's a fox.
Allen: *eyes widen in his little silver face* It didn' look like no lady.
Magnus: Not that kind of fox. There's an animal called a fox.
Allen: Really? You got time ta tell me about 'em? *startles and looks toward the sound of a wail and a shriek of childish rage* Uh, I think Temperance just tried claimin' me from Lissy again. Aunty Debbie's gonna be *unprintable*.
Magnus: Sure. *attention going to the commotion, moves to head that way*
Allen: *tags after him looking apprehensive but showing no sign of trying to run away*
Debbie: *silent as she moves to set her beadwork down for the moment. Intends to either find someone who can break up the scuffle, or break it up herself*
Temperance: *shrieks unprintable things, her dark green eyes snapping in her thin little reddish orange face. Despite being seven years old, she's smaller than her opponent. This daunts the tiny child with the short black crest of hair not one bit*
Lissetta: *takes the other girl's hit, and then smacks her across the room again* MY Allen! You no take Lissy's boy! Boy ask for LISSY!
Allen: *bad language shows his appreciation of his lady's strength and determination*
Magnus: *one with his face palm*
Debbie: *silently moving to get Temperance*
Temperance: *yelps as she's caught, and then looks up with a questioning and uncertain look* What, Aunty Debbie?
Lissetta: *sees Temperance caught and promptly sits down to resume counting pony beads* Fiteen, sicteen...
Debbie: *small headshake. Now is not the time for fighting*
Temperance: *puzzlement shows as she points to Allen* I wanna marry that boy.
Allen: Nuh uh. Yer too little.
Debbie: *frown for Allen*
Allen: What? She is.
Debbie: *quiet sigh*
Lissetta: Tennyun, tennyfree....
Magnus: It's not nice to say that sort of thing out loud, Allen.
Allen: *mystified expression* But we gotta whole lesson on tellin' the truth.
Magnus: And now it's time for a lesson on manners.
Debby: *just dots at Magnus, then moves to bring Temperance back to the lesson*
Allen: *hotly* I got good manners!
Lissetta: One hunnerd! *yup, she has no clue*
Magnus: It's time for the lesson on tact, then.
Allen: *unhappily* ...I got no *bad word* idea what dat means.
Magnus: Then let's learn it. And about the animals called foxes.
Lissetta: Foxes? *picks up her box of beads and scoots over* Lissy koalafied for that lesson? Lissy can learn? *glances over at the door as Sora herds the kids in from the garden*
Sora: *yap yap yap. Has Estella-Sissy on her back!*
Estella: *wordless as usual. Also currently emulating a chipmunk because Unca Legacy gave her a strawberry*
Delores: *sees no Papa. U-turn and back out of the room to find him*
Debbie: *watches Delores go, expression unreadable*
Optima: *side-steps the little cat girl on her way into the room. Sees Debbie's expression and comes over to check on her* Hi, Debbie.
Debbie: *looks to Optima* ...
Optima: *comes to sit beside her* *gently* What's wrong?
Debbie: *attention going back to the children, lips thinning for a moment. She's worried about Temperance and Lissetta*
Optima: *looks at the two little girls that Debbie's gaze lingers longest on, and sees Lissetta chattering away to Magnus and the other children at the fox and tact lesson, and Temperance frowning intently at her beading work* *eyes go back to Debbie. What worries you?* *doesn't realize that she talks to her quiet friend the same way that she talks to her husband*
Debbie: *trying to think how to explain about the tussle earlier*
Allen: *from Magnus' lesson* But that's why I wanna marry Lissy when we're old. My kids'll be big 'n strong.
Optima: *mental face palm*
Debbie: *nod* *yes. That is part of the thing that worries her*
Optima: *softly* It's Deepdweller custom. Did you know that Muhlisha is married?
Debbie: ... *hadn't realized that*
Optima: *nods* Torque. She chose him herself.
Debbie: *small nod. Is familiar with Torque and doesn't mind the quiet man and his kitten being around*
Optima: *voice still soft* Delores has chosen someone already too.
Debbie: *blink. Surprised* *knew the little catgirl was sharing part of each meal with a large, quiet, sweet boy a few years older than herself, but not the reason why*
Optima: *nods* She's taking care of Shrimp. *even more softly* Rinaldo is hoping that you'll claim him.
Debbie: *very surprised by this*
Optima: I'm told that only the most admired women are treated that way.
Debbie: O_O *much blushing now*
Optima: They get to choose. Like Muhlisha when she chose Torque and fought an older woman for him.
Debbie: ... *thinking on this muchly now*
Optima: Oscar likened the process of getting a good mate to the process of getting a good apartment close to work in New York.
Debbie: ... *confused now. She's never dealt with that sort of thing*
Optima: *gently* You have to fight for them.
Debbie: *oh. That, she kind of understands*
Optima: I'll show you my apartment in London some day. It's even worse there than in New York.
Debbie: *very small nod*
Temperance: *from the other group* But I like Allen. He's pretty 'n he brings in 'sources.
Magnus: *frown* Maybe we should call Allie about this.
Sora: Baka!
Ira: *coming in with the letter he got from Magnus, expression a storm of emotion*
Optima: Sora, please don't call Temperance that. Magnus, Debbie and I can mind your group while you take Temperance to the land line.
Magnus: Alright. *will move to get up so he can bring Temperance to the land line*
Optima: *notices Ira's expression then, and half rises to go meet him before she stops and looks to see if Debbie still needs her*
Debbie: *small headshake. Go*
Optima: *smile for her friend, and then stands and goes to her husband, her eyes asking him what's troubling him even as her arms reach out for a hug*
Ira: *reaches for wife* *quietly* We got a letter.
Optima: *snuggles* It's not trouble. *read this in his body language*
Ira: *softly* It shouldn't be possible though.
Optima: *leans back to look quizzically up at his face, then absently reaches into his pocket as it wriggles and pulls out one of her dwarf rabbits*
Ira: *offers letter*
Optima: *happily licky bunny under chin with one hand as she takes the letter with the other. Looks at the thick, handmade paper without stepping away from Ira*
letter: *written in a loopy script, introduces the writer as Kae Yau Yasu. States that they want to work with the Pax School, and mentions helping "the firey ones". Also lists a few places that would be good for meetings*
Optima: *reads it, studies the writing, and then looks up at Ira* She's old. This script hasn't been used for a long time, and it shows influences of even older alphabets.
Ira: *quietly* That's not the impossible part.
Optima: *brows lift quizzically. What's impossible?*
Ira: *quietly* She was killed in an explosion on one of our missions.
Optima: *hand with letter to her mouth* When did you know her?
Ira: *quietly* We met a few years after World War One ended. The last time I saw her was about four years before I met Fury.
Optima: *softly* That was before the programs.
Ira: I was one of Freddie's Freighters at the time.
Optima: *sucks in her breath and puts her bunny hand on his chest* *softly* I hadn't realized you saw that time.
Ira: *softly* I've seen a lot.
Optima: *hug*
Zoom: *licks Daddy's back* *chin chin. Love love*
Punky: *wriggles and pushes at the flap over her pocketnest*
Ira: *hand goes down to liberate Punky from his pocket*
Punky: *lick lick, chin chin, love love*
Ira: *quiet rumble*
Optima: *softly* I wish I could have helped you through those years.
Ira: *softly, leaning to touch his forehead to hers* You're here now, and I'm glad for that.
Optima: *closes her eyes and sighs* *and then startles as Allen squeaks*
Ira: *attention going to the squeak*
Lissetta: *happily* Lissy huggin' him like Mama Optima's huggin' you!
Allen: *little silver face looks kind of blue. Expression says he's squished, but not about to protest*
Optima: *lets go of Ira* Oh, Lissy. You're hugging too hard.
Ira: *soft snerk*
Debbie: ... *very soft snerk*
Lissetta: *turns Allen to look at his face* Lissy squish boy-boy? Allen broked?
Allen: *wheeze* I like hugs.
Ira: Just don't squish him too much.
Lissetta: *purses her lips like Rachel does, and then tries again*
Allen: *lighter shade of blue*
Optima: Still too hard, sweetheart.
Debbie: *watching in silent amusement now*
Lissetta: *loosens up*
Allen: *sucks in air, and suddenly his grin looks more convincing* I like hugs!
Ira: *amused rumble*
Optima: *smiles at the kids* *softly* Hugs are good.
Lissetta: *happy little girl headbutts Allen affectionately, and then lets go of him and goes looking for her box of beads to count*
Allen: .>.o *gonna have a shiner*
Debbie: *moving to get her students back to the lesson, pausing only to fish some of Lissetta's beads out of Estella's mouth*
Optima: *watches a moment, then looks back to her husband* We can start by going to Tokyo and then see what we can do about finding the contact mentioned here.
Ira: *nods* I've got a friend in Tokyo who knows a lot of people.
Optima: Do you know where he lives?
Ira: *recites the address* Never been there, though.
Optima: *brows lift* I own that building.
Ira: *surprised rumble*
Optima: It's one of my low cost apartment projects. *blinks and looks at the fuzzy licky monster in her hand* Zoom, stop that. No kisses.
Zoom: *lick lick, chin chin, love love*
Punky: *doing the same thing to Daddy*
Ira: *quiet rumble*
Optima: *reaches for the second bunny* I should put them in their cage and start getting things ready for the trip.
Ira: *nods, gives Punky* *then his attention's going to Sora*
Sora: *much frown. Heard you say something about a trip, Aunty!*
Optima: *quick peck for husband, and then cuddles her bunnies close and goes to her knees by Sora* Sora, do you think you can help Faridot take care of everyone while Papa Iron and I go to Japan?
Sora: *nodnodnod. Does not want to go where the baka cousins are! Will stay with Faridot* *pause. Looks around*
Optima: What is it? *glances at Simba as he wanders in and walks to Sora*
Sora: *looking for a certain bitty*
Optima: What are you looking for, sweetheart?
Ira: *moving to see if Sora wants picked up*
Sora: *quiet string of Swahili* Mash.
Optima: Ohhh. Monster Mash is with Granny Marty.
Sora: *perks, happy chatter. Likes Granny Marty very much*
Optima: *smiles* She's teaching the babies to make rice crispy squares.
Sora: *more happy chatter, scoots off to both get a favorite treat, and to grab Monster Mash*
Estella: *spits out beads and runs after Sora*
Sora: *stops long enough to crouch so Estella can climb on her back*
Estella: *up she gets, and then points as she spots Cathay in the hall*
Sora: *yap yap yap, chatters to Mama Cat!*
Cathay: *scoops both little girls up and nuzzles them, then turns toward the staff kitchen*
Sora: *much snuggle, such yap, what chat. Talkative!*
Optima: *smiles and stands as the happy little voice fades, then looks at her husband* I'd better get that done.
Ira: *nods* I'll go pack.
Optima: *another peck* I'll make the phone calls and come up to help you.
Ira: *nuzzle*
Optima: *cuddles, then snerks softly as a licky tongue tickles her hand. Turns and strides from the room to put the bunnies in their home*
Ira: *moves to head for his and Optima's room, first locating suitcases, then focusing on the essentials as his mind goes back to years long past*
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