View Full Version : Miracles and Maple Leaves IC
In the little village of Kaedechuo, the maple leaves are just beginning to turn -- and so, the air is full with a blaze of dawning red, like a seasonal sunset. By falling into the river that winds in and then out of town in an almost semi-circle pattern, the leaves are carried out into the rice fields and the farms of the countryside, away from the mountains. Eventually, an imaginative child might dream, they'd reach a larger town or city. The village runs older, but it still has its fair share of imaginative children.
Tonight, there's a real sunset in addition to the autumn color, gleaming on the river. The sound of crickets is in the air, a mercy after the summer cries of the cicadas. The air is crisp, lending the twilight a weightless quality. A streetlight flickers on at an intersection, sputtering with the effort of waking up. It's not well tended to: anyone who'd be wandering the roads after night knows them well enough, and there's not a lot of money for infrastructure like that. The intersection's a three-way: to the south is the road that runs alongside the river for a while. To the west of the intersection is the town's grocery store, and to the east is the park and school area, though those are further away.
It's here that our story begins, and so...What form is everyone in, and what are they up to?
((Everyone starts with 6 Wonder and Feelings, except for Keitaro, who starts with 9 Wonder and 6 Feelings.))
Trobby
2014-05-18, 06:54 PM
Tami misses the summer. Summer means big fat Cicadas on the trees, perfect for a snack if you can catch one before it takes off. Summer means ice cream falling off of cones leaving her a delicious sweet treat to keep her cool in her fur.
Most importantly, Summer meant long warm naps in the sun to warm her fur up after a cold ice cream.
Autumn could be nice too, but it meant Winter was coming, and that meant a lot of snow and a lot of cold.
Right now though, none of those things concerned Tami very much. In fact, they probably wouldn't concern her later either. What would concern her later would be finding a nice spot to sleep for the night. Someone had gotten a brand new TV, and cozying up in the cardboard box outside, watching the shows on their new big screen as she drifted off to sleep, sounded like the perfect way to end her day.
Right now though, the Tanuki was out behind that house on the inside of a gate that didn't quite shut right, busy trying to lift herself up into a trash can. Her fat Tanuki hind legs dangled from underneath her, and inevitably gravity won out and spilled the contents onto the sidewalk.
Which, as far as Tami was concerned, was a complete success. Especially since the takeout box that had fallen on her head still had perfectly good General Tso sauce.
"Oooh, lucky! They even left a bit of rice at the bottom! Itadakemasu!" The round Tanuki said, proceeding to lick out the box without even taking it off her head.
Atreli
2014-05-18, 07:16 PM
Wolf was running around the park like a chicken on fire , chasing a butterfly in his puppy form. In his puppy form he was quite small with lots of bushy white hair thus giving him the appearance of a very gun-ho cotton ball with feet.
And. It. Just. Wouldn't. Stay. Still.
More barking. Definitely more barking. He needed to get it's attention, scare it still with fear.
The chase had been going for so long at this point that although it had started in the park it was moving quickly to the intersection.
He was currently the pet of the Takazaki family, but every now and then he felt the need to adventure out.
Smell the air.
Roll in some foul things.
Chase butterflies and squirrels and definitely bark at everything!!!
The world can always use more more barking by puppies.
You know, a typical AWESOME afternoon.
TheAmishPirate
2014-05-21, 01:36 PM
Next to the lamppost, a lone Dog stands guard. In the flickering light, danger finds a way to sneak in. And then scampers away when the light comes back on. Then sneaks back in, then scampers back out, woof! Dizzying work, it was. But should that light ever flicker out, then the badness could sneak without going away, and then who knows what next? Such a vital position needed the most loyal and dependable and mighty of guards, and Keitaro accepted this responsibility gladly. Anything to help his most very favorite town, full of his most very favorite people.
His ears perked up at the sound of trash-can rummagings. Whatever that was, it sounded tasty! He'd heard many a trash-can rummage, and he knew what tasty trash sounded like. But oh no! If he left for a snack, then he wouldn't be guarding the lamppost anymore! If he fainted from hunger, then he wouldn't be guarding the lamppost anymore either! Keitaro whined miserably, caught up in a precarious dilemma. There was nothing for it, but to make a mad dash for food, retrieve a trashy snack, then dash back before anyone noticed. He crouched down, little stub-tail waggling in the air, and braced himself for a sprint...
An old woman in a floral apron, her short grey hair in a bob, appeared at the end of the street, walking toward the intersection. In and hanging off her thin arms were heavy bags, full of groceries -- containing, by law, a bunch of carrots and a baguette sticking out of the one on her arms. She pauses under the street light to smile at the little doggy with no tail there.
TheAmishPirate
2014-05-25, 04:18 PM
Ohmygosh, a people! A shrived-up, skinny people with lots of heavy food! And she was waving at him!
Trash immediately forgotten, Keitaro yipped a greeting and scamper-stumble-rolled over to her. Running a few laps about her perimeter - one could never be too careful - he finally came to a screeching, flopping halt by her side. The little corgi bounced back upright, standing proudly at her side. He barked in approval, letting all ne'er-do-wells know this people was a pretty good people, and they'd have to get through him first before they got to her. Turning back to his newly-acquired friend, he gazed longingly up at those big bags of food, giving off a soft whine as he panted. The others sometimes gave him funny looks when he asked for food, but just think of how much better he could guard with a full tummy, and how much easier it'd be for the lady-people to carry those bags when they weren't so heavy.
[I think I'm trying to make Animal to make a good first impression with the emotion of Protection, seeing how Keitaro wants to protect this woman.]
Trobby
2014-05-25, 07:04 PM
"Hmm? Who's making such a fuss out there?"
Tami popped her take-out box off her head, and took a quick peek outside.
~Oh...it's a human...a short, wrinkly human.~ She thought to herself. ~That means she's very old...that means she's got candy. Candy to give to young girls that are cute...I'm cute. So she'll give candy to me!"
Tami practically cackles at her master plan, ducking back behind the fence and transforming back there into Human form.
Human form, Evening: Cost - 4 Willpower
With her new form, she walks out onto the sidewalk, looking very much like a young girl in her pajamas, though really it's only a pink dress and a hat that looks a bit like a night cap. She walks up to the older woman with a cheerful smile on her face, eyes half-closed.
"Hey, hey, grandma! You look like a nice old lady! Have you got any candy?"
Making an impression, Child - 3, Feelings 1
Atreli
2014-05-25, 09:27 PM
Wolf watched the little girl go up to the old woman. He cocked his head a little as he sat across the street, quest for the butterfly cut tragically short.
Wolf barked a few times at them.
Just because.
Something about the girl smelled funny.
A part of him wanted to interrupt them but he kept a safe distance for now.
A stranger was still a stranger til proven otherwise.
The old woman smiles at the corgi, who she's fairly certain she's seen around town once or twice, in the way you see stray dogs. She, very cautiously, bends over to place a few of her bags on the ground and give the dog a pat on the head -- but not, yet, a treat.
"Oh my, aren't you a friendly little dog."
I sadly can't actually guess what the contents of this connection are, not having the PDF on this laptop, but she's making it with her 2 Child, because who isn't a child when presented with a corgi? and 2 feeling, for a strength of 1. You need 1 feeling to add to the check to pass with a 4.
Further pettings were distracted by a young lady's hand in her face. The woman straightened up, using her petting hand (to Keitaro's sorrow, I'm sure) to apply some pressure to her back to make it a bit easier. The aproned lady -- looked at Tami and laughed, gently, but when she spoke, her expression was firm.
"Now, now, young lady, it's not very polite to ask a gift of someone before you even know their name. You're like a little bandit -- I suppose next you'll be asking me for my candy or my life."
She'll mutually make an impression, but the contents will have to wait until I can get the PDF on this laptop. Adult 4, for a connection strength of 1.
Trobby
2014-05-26, 12:34 PM
Tami furrows her brow in confusion at the old lady's remark, pouting a bit, as this is not going the way she had hoped it to go.
"Bandit? But a bandit is a big scary man in a black mask with all stripes on. I'm not a bandit. I'm a beautiful young lady who wants candy."
She tries to look 'cute', or rather tries to pose cutely, though this is probably not earning her any actual points from the old woman. And it probably wouldn't even work if she DID have someone to flirt with. Had she her tail, she'd hug onto it adoringly.
"But it's okay if you haven't got candy. I haven't either. We all have to make do with what we have, and I'll make do with anything you do have old lady."
Having said this, and without asking, Tami lifted up the old lady's grocery bags and peered into them with childlike curiosity.
"Carrots, celery, a big stick of bread, potatoes...Wow you must'a been super hungry to get all this stuff huh?" For Tami, any food that isn't eaten right away is food wasted.
Atreli
2014-05-27, 10:33 AM
Curiosity forced him to go closer but not all the way up to them.
Ears flat, tail wagging hopefully.
Maybe they're friends? But I'm still not sure. I'll hang back still for now and wait.
Tami furrows her brow in confusion at the old lady's remark, pouting a bit, as this is not going the way she had hoped it to go.
"Bandit? But a bandit is a big scary man in a black mask with all stripes on. I'm not a bandit. I'm a beautiful young lady who wants candy."
She tries to look 'cute', or rather tries to pose cutely, though this is probably not earning her any actual points from the old woman. And it probably wouldn't even work if she DID have someone to flirt with. Had she her tail, she'd hug onto it adoringly.
"But it's okay if you haven't got candy. I haven't either. We all have to make do with what we have, and I'll make do with anything you do have old lady."
Having said this, and without asking, Tami lifted up the old lady's grocery bags and peered into them with childlike curiosity.
"Carrots, celery, a big stick of bread, potatoes...Wow you must'a been super hungry to get all this stuff huh?" For Tami, any food that isn't eaten right away is food wasted.
"Well, aren't you a spirited young lady. I'm relieved to hear you're not a bandit," The woman chuckles at Tami's antics indulgently, as only someone's grandmother could. Children were pretty good bandits, where candy was involved; she knew this all too well. All too well... Of course, this didn't actually confirm or deny the presence of candy.
When Tami made her comments, though, she seemed to pause, and something drifted like a cloud onto her face -- it was a subtle, adult expression, neither entirely happy nor entirely sad -- she seemed as amused as before...Or was it mocking? And yet, the curving of her lips could not in earnest be called a smile, not if you looked at it carefully. It blended in well with the twilight's sprit and its color, sliding somewhere between purple and gold, grey and blue.
"Yes, I suppose it is rather a lot, for one person to eat -- or carry. You fall into habit, when you're my age, and just get carried away... This may be a little much for me. I may need some help making do, after all."
she admits to Tami's comment, though she's not talking about the lack of candy this time. She might not even be commenting, not exactly, on the food. Still, she reached down to try and gather up her things...
And a bag broke, sending ingredients rolling across the ground!
((Alright, I'll give Tami a dream for that; that's funny.))
Trobby
2014-06-02, 08:56 PM
Tami tilted her head curiously, these sounded like pearls of wisdom, and she should be gathering those pearls for the future! So she listened.
And nodded.
And listened a little more.
And it didn't really make a lot of sense to her since she was still so young...a little part of her felt like maybe it was more fun to eat food together than alone sometimes...but that's silly, food is food and it's always good to have more food.
She looked down at the bags...those carrots were looking pretty tempting...
Which is why she was completely unprepared for when the bag broke open.
"Wah!~ All your food's getting away! That's no good! That's no good at all!"
Few things could energize Tami to take action, but the thought of escaping food was one of them, as she quickly started gathering up the ingredients to place back in the bag!
...Which then inevitably would roll back out onto the ground every time she went to pick up more.
She'd probably be at it all day if someone doesn't stop her.
((A dream for some very good character development of the old lady))
TheAmishPirate
2014-06-03, 12:38 PM
Ohhhhhhhhhh yessssssssssssssss. Head-pats. Was there any not-food that tasted so good? Keitaro's tongue lolled out, eyes glazing over contentedly.
But just then-another people! He lumbered back to alertness and rolled over to inspect this new character. If they were bad, they'd not be doing anything bad to this people, nosiree. He stuck his nose in the air, sniffing for any traces of bad. He didn't find any, but he did find something else...familiar. There was a smell he'd smelled before, and not just the smell of trash and outdoors. What was it again? The pup tilted his head curiously at the newcomer, whining in befuddlement. Oh well. If he couldn't smell a bad, then they probably weren't a bad. Mission accomplished!
Before he could waddle over and lick them properly, some of the food escaped, running away from their bag-home. Keitaro yipped in panic, and struggled to get a grip on any of the foods as they ran past. That wasn't going to work, but he had to do something! Thinking quickly, he ran over to the busted bag and flopped over the hole, trying to plug it with his plump, sausage-like body.
Ha! He'd like to see the food that could get past that!
Atreli
2014-06-04, 12:20 AM
Wolf lowered his ears and wagged his tail shyly. He wanted to make friends. He really, really did.
But he was nervous.
He had never met anyone other then his family, heck this was his first time out without their supervision.
Slowly, he began to approach.
Wolf would be approaching under a situation of certain panic, as the old woman, the dog, and the girl all tried their hardest to keep the food from escaping. The woman was trying to avoid getting on her hands and knees, since sometimes you do not know when you will get up again, but the fact of the matter was, there was no other way to reach it, and so you were left with her moving about largely uselessly as the other two tried to do something...
The results of which were not entirely clear yet, at least not to Wolf.
Atreli
2014-06-06, 07:41 PM
He tilted his head in confusion. Is this a game?
I wanna play!!
But maybe he should wait a bit before going any farther. he was still a tad nervous about visiting with people you don't really know.
But when they're done they should know he's the friendly sort.
So, playful pose go!
Butt up, head down. Tail wagging.
Please let me play too!!
Most of the ingredients are gathered up by Tami, and kept from further escape by a quick-thinking, sausage-like Keitaro blockage.
((A dream for both Tami and Keitaro for helping.))
However, one last can, apparently for hearts of palm, rolled away from the intersection, toward Wolf, who was apparently totally oblivious to things. It hit his paw with a force just strong enough to make crybabies cry. The old woman started looking for it frantically, giving everyone else one moment to realize where it went, or that she wanted it, before she'd catch on herself.
Trobby
2014-06-09, 06:42 AM
It certainly wouldn't be Tami who would pick up the last can of food. She had already exhausted her reservoir of energy for the day, and settled down next to the sausage-dog for a nap.
And with nothing else quite as soft available, she used the bag-stopper Keitaro as her pillow, resting her head on his fluffy corgi butt.
"I hope I get *Pant* chocolate for this."
Atreli
2014-06-09, 02:33 PM
As a puppy he wanted to cry as it hit him but, instead he saw it as a game. First he jumped back and barked at it playfully.
And then all his nervousness washed away.
He nudged the can with his snout a few inches then began rolling it towards the others.
TheAmishPirate
2014-06-12, 08:28 PM
It certainly wouldn't be Tami who would pick up the last can of food. She had already exhausted her reservoir of energy for the day, and settled down next to the sausage-dog for a nap.
And with nothing else quite as soft available, she used the bag-stopper Keitaro as her pillow, resting her head on his fluffy corgi butt.
"I hope I get *Pant* chocolate for this."
Keitaro let out a yip of surprise. Half from his sudden induction into pillow-hood, half from recognition as the scent of the little girl washed over him. "Tami! Tami! You're a people!" he yipped excitedly, not quite realizing that person-Tami might not understand barks. He licked her face though; licks were the universal language, after all.
As a puppy he wanted to cry as it hit him but, instead he saw it as a game. First he jumped back and barked at it playfully.
And then all his nervousness washed away.
He nudged the can with his snout a few inches then began rolling it towards the others.
Keitaro's ears perked up, spying yet another friend approaching. "Hey Wolf! Hey!" he barked. "It's me, Keitaro! Except I'm a pillow right now and not a dog, so I hope maybe you can understand pillow-talk."
The can dinked softly against the old woman's shoe, causing her to glance down and see it safely recovered by the young puppy.
"Oh, what a good dog you are. Were you playing fetch?"
She knelt down, finding it easier then bending, to recover the can and pet Wolf, if he'd let her. The woman looked across at the exhausted Tami and smiled. With all of the things recovered, this seemed much more peacable.
"There might be some dinner for a helpful young lady after all...If her mother says it's OK. I certainly wouldn't want to steal you from your family at dinnertime...But it does seem you'll be a big help since I've bought too much."
She clearly meant in terms of both bringing this home -- with far fewer
"Of course, I'm not entirely sure how I'll be getting this home to make dinner to begin with..."
She looked over at the burst bag, which, while now safely plugged, might not be entirely useful for carrying home items.
Trobby
2014-06-12, 11:13 PM
Tami turned her head slowly towards her pillow, which had started barking at her. How rude, for her fluffy orange pillow to be barking at her when she needed a nap so very much! She faced the pillow to tell it that pillows are not supposed to bark.
Which is when she recognized the pillow's face.
"...Hey...I've seen you around before..." She says, furrowing her brow. "You're...Kei...Keei...Keeiku Taruto..." She says, thinking about a long orange cake tart.
"..." No, that's not right...
"Keitaro!" She exclaims, patting the Corgi's soft fluffy butt. "Yeah! Keitaro, when did you start being a pillow?"
She hears the old lady talk about...parents? And family? Strange...
"I don't have any parents ma'am...but it's okay! Keitaro is a hard worker. He can carry all the grocery bags for us instead." She suggests, patting the dog's back in full confidence that a single corgi can carry home a meal for four.
Her saying she did not have parents made the woman step back -- but, she supposed, it was not unthinkable. You had to be literal with children. She would put this aside, and trust the girl's word that the adult in her life (though, she had to admit, she was beginning to suspect fishy things) would not mind, and instead looked at the dog being used as a pillow.
"Do you suppose? He might be sturdy-looking, but he's a rather small dog... They both are. Think you can do it, boy?"
She addressed this to Keitaro. Then she looked again at Tami.
"If he can't, I don't suppose you know any other children whose families wouldn't mind helping an old granny out? There'd be dinner in it."
Trobby
2014-06-22, 07:18 PM
Tami sits up at attention at the mention of dinner.
There ARE two boys that she knows could help right away, and that she could very easily 'find'...
But there is a problem...in that both of them are dogs right now.
She looks to Keitaro, and to Wolf, and then up at the old lady.
"...I can...but I need to go get them...and I need these dogs. I can't get them without these dogs."
TheAmishPirate
2014-06-22, 08:06 PM
Keitaro! That was his name! Friend-Tami remembered his name! And then she patted his back and made this the best night ever. He nuzzled her hand affectionately, yipping happily.
To the old lady, he barked affirmatively, tail-stub wagging up a storm. Of course a big, strong guard dog like him could carry all that food. Even if his little legs couldn't hold it all, the strength of his conviction would surely carry the rest. He tried to stand up, to get ready to carry the bags, but there was that ongoing problem of his fluffy backside being used as a comfy pillow.
Well, not really a problem, but it did make standing up a bit tricky. He whined confusedly, unsure of how to both carry the bags and fulfill his pillowy duty.
"Oh, of course. It's not like they're my dogs,"
The woman said, stepping back. She seemed slightly puzzled, and not entirely convinced of all of this, but... Well, there was not going to be more daylight, and with the bag broken, she was either going to have to accept an unusual evening, or leave behind things she'd paid for. And she'd paid for those things, and while she wasn't worried about money, she wasn't worried about money because she didn't use what she had and then leave it lying in the road.
Trobby
2014-06-23, 07:13 PM
Tami stood up as quickly as a girl of her...physique...could stand.
"Okay dogs, we need to go!"
She patted Keitaro, and then realization struck her, as she saw the torn bag.
"Ah, your big butt is blocking the hole. You have to stay here."
She then runs over to Wolf, with all the excitement of a Tami on a quest for dinner.
"You'll have to do. Come on dog." She says, patting her hip to lead the dog behind a corner where the old lady won't see them. She hopes Wolf will follow.
Atreli
2014-06-24, 10:54 PM
Wolf bobbed his head excitedly and followed Tami away and once away from the old woman's eyes transformed into a little boy barely looking eight years old. He had long mop of white hair that was just a few shades paler then his already pale skin. His best trait had to have been his eyes, those light blue eyes that were big, welcoming and eternally excited.
All he was wearing a little black sailor suit with white trim and shiny black shoes.
" But i'm not dog. I'm Wolf." He said to her loudly as he put a fist to his chest.
" What's your name?" Another other person would've stopped for a breath but not Wolf. " You knew Keitaro too before this, that means we can be friends!!"
He hugs her.
Trobby
2014-06-26, 06:05 PM
Tami isn't the kind to go for big hugs, but isn't the kind to be bothered to stop them either, so he winds up just hugging the rather round girl.
"Keitaro and I scrounge sometimes for food." She explains. "And I want some of that old lady's food...she'll give some to both of us, but we gotta help her out. It's an important food-based mission."
Atreli
2014-06-27, 10:43 PM
Wolf nodded gravely, like it was a matter of life and death.
" I met keitaro when he snuck into my backyard to get at some food my family had left me. "
He joined in beside her as they walked back to the old woman.
" I never met another dog before. My family likes to stay inside with them more then be out here. "
Trobby
2014-06-28, 11:08 AM
"Keitaro can help too..but he's keeping the food from getting lost. A very important mission. We must help him." She says as they walk back to the old lady.
"I brought a friend!" She says, patting Wolf on the shoulder. "And I can get another one...but first we need to help Keitaro escape his food-protecting duties." She says, gesturing to the Corgi blocking up the torn food bag.
"I-I see...Is Keitaro this dog's name, then?...And what would your name be, young man?"
She nodded to the boy who walked up with Tami, giving him a welcoming smile, since she wasn't sure how abreast of the rather odd situation before them he was, unaware that he'd been there for most of it. And, to bypass the 'don't talk to strangers' clause many children have, she further explained,
"My name is Hiiragi Hisano; I live just around the corner, by the river, in the old house with the grey slate roof. Do you know it?"
It would likely be a house you'd know, in a general way, or at least the area, if you were a local kid...Or, rather, one who got out much. Streetwise Tami and Keitaro would likely have seen that house, but it's very likely Wolf would not.
((Oh, remember to pay the price for hiding your ears and tail, Wolf!
...Oh, and a dream for Wolf for taking Tami adorably seriously there.))
Trobby
2014-06-29, 09:23 AM
Tami's eyes popped open at attention. It occurred to her that it might not be good for their snack potential if Keitaro was a dog and a human at the same time.
Humans hated when that happened. Something about paws being bad for eating with.
So she had to think of a new name for Keitaro. But what could be a good name for a human? Tami was a good name but she already had that one. Keitaro was a good name but he already had that one too. And they couldn't BOTH have the same name! That would just be wrong of course...
So involved in thinking up secret names for Keitaro was Tami that she didn't even respond to the nice lady's introduction.
Atreli
2014-06-29, 01:11 PM
" My name is Wolf!"
He said happily as he walked up to the old woman.
" Not especially, I'm afraid my people don't let me stray from home all that much." He said matter-o-fact like.
Trobby
2014-07-11, 07:33 AM
"Yeah! His name is Wolf!" Tami echoed. Wolf was a good human name, right? Humans named themselves after animals all the time...probably. "He's strong. And um...I think smart."
Though now that Tami thought about it, she didn't know Wolf that well at all. What if...what if he tried to steal all the food for himself?! That'd be a disaster!
"...Maybe you should keep an eye on him." Tami says warily. "I need to go get Keitaro...OH! But I need to bring Keitaro to get Keitaro, and he's blocking the bag with his butt. We've got to do something about that first."
You know...as a narrator, I feel like I should mention that one of these kids could probably just put the food in another bag...but they're not going to even listen to me anyway.
"Maybe you could take up butt-blocking duty, Wolf?"
...Nope, not gonna listen to me.
At first, she was a little puzzled by the choice in name, but a glance at the boy pointed out there was no way he wasn't somehow foreign, with his white hair. Any more time spent thinking on that would be rude.
As for Tami's increasingly frantic concerns about the food, well...
"Don't worry about that. I think, between the two of us, we can just hold the bag closed for a while, dear. It's quite alright."
She rolled up her sleeves and smiled with her brows knit tight; to be honest, it looked like wrangling these bags was more energizing than most things in her life had been for some time. That, or she was putting on a performance to soothe Tami -- which, in and of itself, had to be energizing.
Atreli
2014-07-11, 01:20 PM
Wolf smiled and danced around in a little circle.
" I can help with that sure. "
He moved closer to the old woman so that he could help her keep the bag closed.
" Go on Keitaro!"
Trobby
2014-07-11, 07:21 PM
Tami was greatly impressed...
by their food-saving endeavor. Truly this was a woman who respected the importance of a good meal.
"Okay, c'mon Keitaro! You've got to follow me!" Tami insists, running around the same corner she'd gone around to 'get' Wolf previously
TheAmishPirate
2014-07-17, 09:08 PM
Tami was greatly impressed...
by their food-saving endeavor. Truly this was a woman who respected the importance of a good meal.
"Okay, c'mon Keitaro! You've got to follow me!" Tami insists, running around the same corner she'd gone around to 'get' Wolf previously
Keitaro gave a farewell yip to the nice old person and waddled after Tami. Now that he was safely out of sight and no longer holding the bag closed, he could...give Tami a proper licking. Feet, hands, face, whatever the pup could reach.
It wasn't very nice to meet friends without greeting them.
While they were away, and Hisano was stuck with Wolf, holding the bag, she thought she might address the boy somewhat.
"So, Wolf, are you new in town? I don't think I've seen you around before."
Trobby
2014-07-17, 09:48 PM
And Tami, of course with the task in mind...
Patted and rolled the sausage-dog over and rubbed his tummy happily.
Then suddenly remembered her purpose, and snapped to attention.
"Wait. Keitaro. I need you to be a boy right now. There is food at stake. Possibly steaks. I don't know."
Atreli
2014-07-18, 02:29 PM
" Oh yes but my family have been here awhile but it wasn't that long ago that I was adopted."
Wolf smiled broadly.
" I love it here especially when I get to protect my family." He pounded his chest and puffed it out proudly.
" Miss Hisano, you should've seen it when I challenged that snake last week. It was epic!"
Adopted? The woman's eyes widened for a moment. Well, that explained a lot. As tempting as it was to collect some gossip...And it was tempting...Very tempting... That sort of thing was hardly a place to pry. With that sort of thing, everyone was happier the fewer comments you made, so she'd keep her big mouth shut.
These thoughts occurred at about the speed it took her expression to settle from surprised to smiling again.
"I think you'll like this town. It may seem quiet, compared to the city...But somewhere out here, nothing but the people and the land and you... I don't think there's anywhere better to be young." She sighed with a wistful smile, thinking of her own distant youth...
Which may have included wrangling a few snakes of her own, so this particular detail split her face into a wide smile; it'd be hypocritical to be mad, though, as a grown adult,
"Oh, my, how brave! You'll be a country boy in no time! Just remember, though: if a snake's got a head like a shovel, you need to show it proper respect and stay out of its way. That's the difference between courage and recklessness. But, do, tell me all about it."
Oh, boy, this is an interesting challenge...Can Wolf tell her a story without letting it slip that he's a dog?
((Also, Hisano would like to make an impression check, since she hasn't before, using her child score because this is a bit of a nostalgia trip, and she's trying to relate to him. That's a 2 plus 2 feeling on her end.))
Atreli
2014-07-18, 11:03 PM
" I totally keep that in mind for the future!" He said excitedly.
" This one was sneaky. I was walking around in the side yard playing with my ball when it spotted it!" He told his story with such energy and enthusiasm anyone would've believed that this event was the single most exciting thing to ever happen to him.
" I stayed out of sight, keeping my eye firmly on the beast, not saying a word. " He paused dramatically for effect.
" Then right when the beast was slithering past I nailed him!" He shouted in a burst of excitement, completely caught up in his story.
" And thus, I protected my family from any harm. " He announced proudly.
(Here is your mutual impression check: he will be using his child score of 3 and 1 from his feelings to make 4.)
TheAmishPirate
2014-07-19, 04:04 PM
And Tami, of course with the task in mind...
Patted and rolled the sausage-dog over and rubbed his tummy happily.
Then suddenly remembered her purpose, and snapped to attention.
"Wait. Keitaro. I need you to be a boy right now. There is food at stake. Possibly steaks. I don't know."
Ketiaro's head lolled over confusedly, still awash with the post-belly-rub daze. "Can't I have the food now? I'm already a boy. I don't think I ever stopped being a boy. I never noticed me not being a boy before."
All this was explained helpfully in a series of soft yips.
"...can we food now?" he barked hopefully.
Trobby
2014-07-19, 07:40 PM
Which of course meant nothing to Tami, as she could not understand a word of Dog.
"Nooooo Keitaro, it is not the time to be a dog!" She says, rolling him back and forth as he makes dog noises at her. "You've gotta be a human now! So that we can get human food."
" I totally keep that in mind for the future!" He said excitedly.
" This one was sneaky. I was walking around in the side yard playing with my ball when it spotted it!" He told his story with such energy and enthusiasm anyone would've believed that this event was the single most exciting thing to ever happen to him.
" I stayed out of sight, keeping my eye firmly on the beast, not saying a word. " He paused dramatically for effect.
" Then right when the beast was slithering past I nailed him!" He shouted in a burst of excitement, completely caught up in his story.
" And thus, I protected my family from any harm. " He announced proudly.
(Here is your mutual impression check: he will be using his child score of 3 and 1 from his feelings to make 4.)
"Oh, how very brave! Were your family more proud, or worried? People could go either way about that sort of thing."
She patted him on the forehead, as a form of praise to top her existing praise. To Wolf, it was probably like being petted by a slightly calloused old hand.
"My grandchildren are all afraid of snakes; they grew up in the city, where you can't find snakes slithering through your garden," She explained, as an example. Her children hadn't been afraid of snakes, but they'd moved away, and their children would squeal if they saw one when visiting their grandparents.
Atreli
2014-07-24, 03:31 PM
" They were very proud but I know they still think i'm a little too young for such things but i'll be an adult sooner then they think!"
He smiled up at her for being patted.
" I'm sure if they had someone like me they wouldn't be so shy around those things!!" He said with chuckle.
TheAmishPirate
2014-07-24, 08:49 PM
Which of course meant nothing to Tami, as she could not understand a word of Dog.
"Nooooo Keitaro, it is not the time to be a dog!" She says, rolling him back and forth as he makes dog noises at her. "You've gotta be a human now! So that we can get human food."
Aha! Human food! Those were words Keitaro knew all too well.
Tami would look down, and suddenly realize she was rolling a plump little boy, dressed the summer shorts and t-shirt of kids everywhere. He flopped about, arms flailing. "I did it! I did the human thing!" he cried out triumphantly.
Trobby
2014-07-26, 07:16 AM
Tami looked down at the round human boy she was rolling around.
She saw nothing wrong with this picture.
"Oh good, we can still save the food then. Come on, Keitaro." Tami says, leading the transformed boy back around the corner to Hisano and Wolf.
"I got the other boy right here." Tami says. "He gave me a little trouble rolling around on the ground though."
"You should treasure your childhood while you can; it's true, you'll be an adult before you know it."
She said, agreeing somewhat with Wolf's stance, and cautioning against it, too. In retrospect, her childhood seemed brief, and her children's childhoods, even briefer. Of course, one of the advantages of being an adult is that you understand how brief and precious your childhood is -- as a child, it's impossible to understand, even when someone told you. She bit the inside of her cheek on that lonely little paradox that most people stumbled upon at least once in their life.
This, though, was interrupted by the arrival of a human Keitaro. She bowed her head.
"It's nice to meet you. I'm Hisano Hiragii. I'm glad Tami could find some friends to help me with my bags..."
She adjusted the split bag.
"I think it could still hold if two people carried it."
Trobby
2014-08-10, 08:46 AM
Tami was the first to come up with a strategy.
"Maybe we could just eat all the food in that bag so there's less bags to carry."
...Well I didn't say it was a cunning strategy. Nevertheless, she shows her interest in getting involved by lifting one of the non-torn bags.
Atreli
2014-08-11, 12:54 PM
Wolf howled with laughed at Tami's strategy.
" That'd be great Tami! But I'm not sure if that's best thing to do. What do you think Miss Hisano?" He asked excitedly.
TheAmishPirate
2014-08-11, 10:31 PM
Keitaro bowed low, straining to keep his balance as he did. "It is a nice to meet you too, Miss Hisano Hiragii Lady Miss. Tami told me you needed a bag-lifter and I can lift bags so I came to help." His words bubbled up from a well of excitement deep within him.
"Wolf and I can carry the bags! he's a strong bag-carrier and with the two of us carrying the bag won't get un-carried." he chimed in.
She was immediately dubious about Tami's plan, since her bags had a lot of raw ingredients she was planning on cooking. And cans. Not that that would stop Tami, but... Tami was, unbenownst to her, literally a wild animal.
So Keitaro's introduction and offer came like a relief to her, since she'd not have to explain why Tami's idea was a bad idea all by herself.
"Yes, Keitaro. That sounds like an excellent plan!"
She puts part of the broken bag in Wolf's hands, and part of it in Keitaro's. That done, she grabs one of the remaining bags, leaving one for Tami. Dealing with just one bag at a time, and a plan, she's a bit spryer and more efficient than with the whole collection.
"One two three..." She hefted her own bag up to a proper walking position. "And off we go!"
((I'm giving Keitaro a dream for "Miss Hisano Hiragii Lady Miss," which I can't help but imagine being translated from some ridiculous honorific string.))
Trobby
2014-08-16, 03:42 PM
Tami stumbled backwards for a second, almost off her feet, but carried herself forward with momentum and followed Hisano dutifully, clutching her load like precious treasure.
"How far away is your house, Miss Grandma Lady?" Tami asks, too lazy to have remembered her whole name, or to try for as many honorifics as Keitaro did.
Atreli
2014-08-18, 11:39 AM
"If it's too far we may be in trouble and run into some sort of obstacle... like a dragon!" Wolf says excitedly.
He pauses, falling into thought and then says, " I don't wanna be eaten by a dragon...I'll miss my chewy ball. "
Trobby
2014-08-19, 06:55 AM
Tami looks up into the air, and has a brief imagination spot.
She pictures Wolf as a gallant Lancer Knight, fighting a gigantic ferocious dragon. With Keitaro as his loyal squire and lute-player off to the side, and Lady Hisano a captive princess in the dragon's cave full of delicious food.
"...But then...where would I be?" Tami says to no one, trying to find a place for herself in her private fantasy.
"It's just down by the river...Not very far at all."
They walked as a group towards the river, then turning to move along-side it, the water reflecting the sky as it blossomed into purple twilight. A late cicada made an attempt at buzzing in the trees that grew along the riverbank, but the noise was small and isolated in the silence, overwhelmed by Hisano's winded chuckle.
"Oh, you're afraid of a dragon? But aren't dragons just bigger snakes, Wolf?"
She said, teasingly.
TheAmishPirate
2014-08-20, 08:56 PM
"They also have legs. And wings. And more than two teeth." Keitaro chimes in from his bag. "Snakes only have two teeth because they've gotta learn how to use two before they can get more." A friendly snake had told him so when he'd asked. And then the friendly snake showed him how its teeth worked. And then his thoughts had gone all fuzzy and he giggled in the grass for a long time.
That was a very friendly snake indeed.
Trobby
2014-08-21, 06:16 AM
Tami thought about these facts for a very long time, before coming to a serious conclusion.
"I'd probably be the wizard who made the dragon kidnap princesses."
Tami imagined herself, a great and powerful wizard covered in robes, wearing a sleeping cap for some reason, cackling madly as she turned a tiny snake into a dragon.
Her tail twitched. She liked the idea of having magic to do all the things for her.
"Yeah...a beautiful, powerful wizard..."
Atreli
2014-08-25, 12:49 PM
Wolf laughed and laughed. clutching at his sides before he regained his composure.
"Oh no Tami! Don't do that! Then I would have to defeat you in a duel!"
Trobby
2014-08-25, 08:05 PM
Tami's eyes flashed for a moment clearly spurred on by this challenge.
"Then a duel we shall have, for I am the greatest and most powerful wizard of all~!" Tami declares, using her bags as a cloak to 'mysteriously' cover her eyes.
Of course, Tami would probably concede to a real duel and break for a nap, but let's let the girl have her moment.
TheAmishPirate
2014-08-31, 12:52 PM
Keitaro leaned back to Hisano. "Don't worry Missy Miss Hisano. I don't want to duel you so we don't have to duel just because they do." he reassured her.
It was very important to make ones intentions clear, especially as a guard dog as big and scary as himself.
"Why, thank you, Keitaro, dear. It's a great comfort to know that,"
She uncovers her mouth just long enough to say before hiding it to suppress a laugh. They were all taking it so seriously, after all! She eventually composed herself enough to join in on the fun with,
"Of course, Tami, you'll want to be careful; I won't have any kidnappers over for dinner. It's not polite to make dragons kidnap people."
She waggled her finger in Tami's direction, having not had the mind-reading powers to have heard her place in Tami's little fantasy, which she might have objected to a bit more.
"Especially not since the only dragon you could find around here... Would be the dragon of the river my grandmother told me about when I was a little girl. But if he's that old, then he deserves your respect far too much to be made to kidnap princesses, so I won't allow it!"
((A dream for everyone for this great bit, besides your excellent patience.))
Trobby
2014-09-04, 07:02 AM
Tami considers this, while looking up at the darkening twilight sky, her eyes flashing against the sunset as her little legs carried her forward on automatic drive.
"I don't really know any dragons Ms. Hisano." She says, showing that she does in fact know how to remember names. "But I don't think I'd ever make one kidnap a person. Not really. It's just fun to pretend."
She considered this awhile longer, and then added
"But I think you'd make a pretty princess all the same."
"I'm glad to know you're not plotting wickedness," She said, entertained by how seriously Tami was taking all of this. With a dangling from her arm, she ruffled Tami's hair.
"But you don't need to worry -- I never really thought you were."
They walked a ways down the street by the river, until they came to a short little house with a wide, low blue-grey roof, set in a fairly large yard with a tall white fence. The house was raised slightly, from an age -- and it may have well, in design if not in details, been that age -- when the flooding of the river was a very real concern.
"Ah, here we are."
She went up to the front porch and opened the door (this is the sort of town where people do not lock their doors regularly), reached down to remove her shoes and put on some house slippers, and entered, gesturing for the rest to follow.
She paused in front of a small alcove and prayed silently, then -- hurrying a bit, with the burden of bags almost over -- down a hallway.
"The kitchen's this way, you can put the groceries in there."
The alcove she left behind, with them left in the entranceway with it, was a memorial. A stick of incense, which was not lit at just that moment, a few fresh flowers in a vase... And a picture with black ribbons around the corners of the frames. The photograph itself was of a white-haired man, somewhat tan from years out-of-doors, with thin-rimmed glasses and a warm, affectionate smile. The picture must have been taken at some formal occaison -- the man's shoulders, barely a part of the picture, had him in a nice-looking suit.\
Also in the entryway were two sets of cardboard boxes. The first set was open, empty, and neatly stacked inside one another. The other set were full, closed, sealed, and naturally disorganized. They had labels with things like "Old clothes" or "Children's toys" or "Books."
It seems things were happening at Hisano's house.
((Alright, one last round of posts before we switch scenes.))
Atreli
2014-09-14, 11:47 AM
"This place is great Miss Hisano! " Wolf yelled as he slipped into his slippers and ran around the house excitedly.
After a few moments he down long enough to try to peek in the box labeled ' children's toys. '
"You know it's almost like you were hoping we'd show up. " he knew it was probably a coincidence but he loved getting to smile.
Trobby
2014-09-21, 09:09 AM
Tami, who was not used to hard physical labor at all, rested her body against the nearest available piece of furniture to catch her breath, acting like she'd just run an Olympic marathon by how exhausted she was.
Then she saw the picture, and peered at it very carefully.
Something about it caught her interest, and made her forget how tired she was for just a moment. He looked very much like someone important, if not to her, then to...
"This must be Ms. Hisano's husband." Tami said with a childlike innocence.
TheAmishPirate
2014-09-21, 02:34 PM
"Some persons have husbands, but other persons have wives. I think they get them to have people to talk to and to help keep the bed covers warm." Keitaro nodded sagely. "Things are warmer when you have twice the persons warming it up and it makes for much better sleeping ins." Not that he'd ever finagled a night off of his post to sleep with a family all warm and cozy under the covers.
At least, not more than once twice several was necessary.
Trobby
2014-09-21, 04:42 PM
Tami's eyes brightened at the idea of being able to cozy up with two big warm bodies inside of a comfy human bed for sleeping. Had she her tail, it would be thumping back and forth on the ground.
"That's very important information Keitaro. Thank you." She patted the boy on the back in a way that one might pat a dog. Exactly in a way one might pet a dog.
And now we'll cut away while Hisano cooks dinner!
Between Scene Business
((I don't have enough dreams to make any connection upgrades, but does anyone else?))
Trobby
2014-10-05, 12:33 PM
Between Scene Things
Tami's connection to Hisano has been upgraded from 1 to 2.
((Also, as a very belated gift, I'd like to give a dream to Hisano, just for being a great first character for Deme's first story in this RP.))
((For the start of the scene, Wolf gets 7 Wonder and Feeling. Tami gets 8 Wonder, 7 Feeling. Keitaro gets 10 Wonder, 7 Feeling.
You will need to spend wonder again to take human-ish form.))
Scene #2
Time: Evening
Place: Hisano's Dining Room
We cut to after dinner's been prepared, though it's only starting to be served: the table's been mostly set, and Hisano's starting to move small bowls of rice from the kitchen: dinner is the rice, some miso soup, and tonkatsu (She apologized, jokingly, for not having shredded cabbage to go with it -- and then realized Tami was probably sincerely disappointed, and tried to distract her with extra rice). It's taking her a while, since there are 4 plates of each, and she's the sort of person who generally doesn't want to ask for help if she can get away with it. The dining room's a fairly-sized place, clearly more suited to visiting family than to Hisano alone, with a long table and room enough to seat about 6. There's an antique-looking teaset on display in a cabinet nearby.
Trobby
2014-11-21, 09:33 PM
Tami will be spending 4 Willpower to maintain her human form
Tami has always enjoyed cabbage. People always buy a whole head of it and, for some reason, never finish the whole thing, so she tends to find large amounts of it thrown out and ready to eat...for a Raccoon Dog at least.
But she's just as pleased by what is being put in front of her, which largely consists of things she isn't that familiar with, but which her nose is telling her is definitely food.
She recognizes rice, which people always make too much of and throw out. And she recognizes the pork, even though she doesn't usually get it all cut up and in whole pieces.
The miso soup however has her perplexed. She has poked her finger in it and blown on it frantically to cool it off. And she has sniffed at it and determined it is very good-smelling, but as far as she can tell, it is simply very hot water with some leafs and weird white cubes in it.
"Grandma Hisano, what are those little white thingies there?" She asks with childlike wonderment that she can still pull off as worldly unknowing, as she points at the hot soup.
As Hisano's finishing up with the table, she chuckles -- children never think of a question about an old thing until they're in a new situation (everything else, presumably, they will think questions about -- and then they'll think of new things to think of questions about. But when you saw it often enough, young enough... Of course, she was wrong, but this is a leap of logic.)
She places down another bowl of soup -- meaning that she's done putting down the soup, and just has to finish placing the rice with the last bowl in her hands, and move to putting down the cutlets.
"That's tofu," She answered, in the tone of voice of someone who has spent the past little while answering every question imaginable, and could now probably write a book... And yet, that still was dwarfed by when her little ones were growing up, and she'd get the same batches, staggered across the years, 3 separate times.
Trobby
2014-12-02, 08:48 PM
Tami's eyes brightened up at the mention of Tofu. She knew that word at least.
"Ooooh my friend Aki loves Tofu. If she were here I'm sure she'd love it too."
Tami tries to reach in to snag the tofu by hand, but when this only causes the tips of her fingers to be burnt slightly, she instead tries to take a veeerry careful sip of her soup, directly out of the bowl.
Hisano tapped her on the shoulder and pointed at the soup-spoon insistently. This is a house, not a ramen shop, young lady, said her expression.
"I'd say you should invite her next time... But I'm afraid that won't be possible."
She said that last bit softly, so that the clink of the plates on the table nearly overshadowed her voice.
((I'll give Tami a dream for some gentle universe expansion.))
Atreli
2014-12-09, 12:10 PM
Wolf quietly ate his food. He was familar with all this due to his own family so he just tried to focus on eating the way they usually do instead of like a puppy.
This is harder then it looks...
"Why not Ms. Hisano?"
TheAmishPirate
2014-12-10, 03:01 PM
Keitaro, meanwhile, had immediately made it his mission to gnaw on each individual piece of pork for as long as possible. Such a rare, meaty treat, the little dog-boy couldn't afford to waste even a morsel of flavor.
"Is it 'cause you won't have food?" Good manners demanded he store his current pork piece in his cheek. "Having people is good but having not-food is even more bad. Do you need more bag-carriers? I can carry lots of bags especially when they're bags with food. Those are the best bags."
What a single-minded bunch... And joined them at the dinner table, since she'd not even had time to put it all down before they descended upon it like, well, like wild animals.
"Ah, it's not like that...Please, don't worry." She paused and considered it, sipping a spoonful of soup. "Well, it might be a little like that, depending on who you ask. Since my husband passed..." It's still clearly a fresh, painful feeling -- she pauses again, longer this time, pretending to busy herself with her soup, but just staring for a moment at the bowl of the spoon. After a moment, she considered, and softer this time. "After that... My children don't feel comfortable leaving me all the way out here, so far from anyone if I needed help." With a shake of her head, as if scolding them for worrying too much about their old mother, she continued. "They insisted, though; I'm beat. You saw the boxes in the hall, right? In a few more days, my oldest son is picking me up, to bring me to the city to live with his family."
Trobby
2014-12-12, 08:44 PM
Tami let her bowl back down to the table, wiping a few drops of the broth off her face, with her shirt sleeve of course.
"But you're already here. Why doesn't he just come to you and help you carry food so that he can get good meals?"
This seems like a fair exchange to her that has no problems whatsoever. As she actually uses her spoon properly....to scoop up the rice. Ah, points for effort, Tami.
For a moment, she was startled by the simplicity of the question. She laughed and shook her head and said,
"It's not that simple, dear. After all, my son has his work, and his children have their friends and their schools. What sort of mother or grandmother would I be, if I asked them to give up their lives for me -- when really, it ought to be the other way around?"
She said this with a bit of iron firmness to her, a strong light shining in her brown eyes; this was something not only that she believed, but considered something of a point of pride to believe.
Atreli
2015-01-23, 12:32 PM
Throughout the latter conversation Wolf had been nodding off. Not out of any intention to be disrespectful but puppies did not stay awake long. Go go go then crash! That was the life of a puppy and currently the crashing part was definitely his.
That said, this completely explains what happened next. Sploosh! With the clapping wet sound of soup hitting flesh, Wolf face planted into his bowl.
Trobby
2015-01-23, 10:33 PM
Tami was lightning quick with her reaction to this unfortunate incident.
"...Oh...Wolf fell asleep."
Lighting that has been taking on a few pounds and sleeping in lately, that is.
"Wolf, I know sleep is good for you but it's rude to sleep when someone's talking. Aki would be really cross with you if she were here." Tami says, poking Wolf's cheek every second or so to try to wake him up.
((A Dream to Wolf for breaking the dramatic tension, and the post drought))
TheAmishPirate
2015-01-23, 11:07 PM
For a moment, she was startled by the simplicity of the question. She laughed and shook her head and said,
"It's not that simple, dear. After all, my son has his work, and his children have their friends and their schools. What sort of mother or grandmother would I be, if I asked them to give up their lives for me -- when really, it ought to be the other way around?"
She said this with a bit of iron firmness to her, a strong light shining in her brown eyes; this was something not only that she believed, but considered something of a point of pride to believe.
"I'm not you and I'm not him and I'm not her and I'm pretty sure I'm just me, but if I were me - and I think I am - I'd like it best if nobody gave up their life for anything." Keitaro stated with firmness and a decidedly more chubby nod.
A bit of soup splashed on his face. He lapped it up with his tongue without taking his eyes off the elderly person-lady.
She sighs a bit, a faint smile on her face.
"I may have been putting it a bit dramatically there, but there is --"
Then Wolf's head splashed into his soup. He'd probably wake up pretty quick, since it is pretty hot soup that's on his face, but not quick enough before Hisano rushes over to him, trying to pull him out of the bowl.
"Oh, wake up, Wolf! You're going to burn yourself, dear!"
Atreli
2015-01-28, 11:22 AM
Wolf sprang up, startled by the temperature of the soup. "I am completely and utterly wake. Always was." He said quickly. He then reached for his napkin to clean himself off.
"...Of course you were," She said, resisting -- for now -- the urge to clean him off herself. Ooh, that little pale hair was soupy, and he wasn't getting it, and she just felt the overwhelming urge to fuss. But it could wait. Let smaller children try and manage for themselves... She counted in her head, slowly.
"What have you been doing all day, that you're worn out just at dinner, hmm? I won't be getting angry notes from your folks for keeping you out late, will I?"
Trobby
2015-02-15, 01:30 PM
"Oh, you definitely won't be getting any of that, I promise you." Tami says, entirely thoughtlessly. "But um...I would like some more rice please thank you!" Tami says, holding out an empty bowl. Since trying to explain their situation was too troublesome, she didn't bother. Especially since there was more rice to be had.
TheAmishPirate
2015-02-15, 01:46 PM
"...Of course you were," She said, resisting -- for now -- the urge to clean him off herself. Ooh, that little pale hair was soupy, and he wasn't getting it, and she just felt the overwhelming urge to fuss. But it could wait. Let smaller children try and manage for themselves... She counted in her head, slowly.
"What have you been doing all day, that you're worn out just at dinner, hmm? I won't be getting angry notes from your folks for keeping you out late, will I?"
"Nawwww, none of my folks get mad at me. Except for maybe when I bring in mud I'm not supposed to. And when I chase the kitties everywhere. And when I knock on the door too much. And when I try to tell them how super amazing they are when it's really dark out." Keitaro furrowed his brow, pouring over minutes and minutes of memories. "But they all say I'm a good boy later, so they must not be that mad." he concluded with a pudgy nod.
"I meant little Wolf's -- he's adopted, isn't he? So I'm sure his family is very protective of a new member."
She explained with a fond smile. She took Tami's bowl to go get seconds of the rice for it. As she came back out of the kitchen, she added,
"Ah, well, that's just the sort of thing that adults need to remember as boys being boys. All my sons were the same way -- always getting mud everywhere. I remember I had to hose Itaru off in the yard a few times before I could let him in the house, even! I scolded him then -- but looking back, all I can remember is how silly he looked, trying to hold the frogs he'd caught in the river in his pockets."
(Keitaro needs a dream for a lovely summary of doghood that also sounds like a pretty good summary of boyhood, which is perfectly suited for a game like this, and might be the point of animal-children characters.)
Trobby
2015-03-17, 05:31 PM
Tami's face came up from her bowl, covered in specks of rice. She still hadn't quite gotten the hang of chopsticks, and didn't seem inclined to anytime soon.
"My mom wouldn't do that sort of thing for me. I usually have to clean myself up all alone."
She furrowed her brow as she thought about this.
"Sometimes I wish I had sisters, to teach me how to groom myself and look pretty and take me to good places to find food..."
At the mention of food, her brow un-furrowed, and she proceeded to lick the bits of sticky rice out of her bowl, making her own face all the messier for it as her little legs kicked back and forth.
Hisano looked at her sadly; it wasn't just that she felt pity, but that her hands were a bit tied. It wasn't like she could be around to help out -- thee move had been decided on weeks ago, and she was pretty sure her boy would accept "But, but, but! Child! In need!" as a good answer.
Eventually, she hit on an idea, though.
"Well, why don't you come by tomorrow, and I'll write down my new address for you? Then you can write to me anytime you have questions, and I'll try to give you my best fashion tips. I think I still look pretty good for a girl my age," She added, with a laugh.
Trobby
2015-04-09, 08:53 PM
Tami had to think long and hard about this. She had to think so hard that she stared at her food without eating a bite, which was easier since her plate was empty now. But her thoughts weren't even on the fact that there wasn't more food on her plate. They were firmly on the offer to be...family.
Tami, truth be told, could remember most of her family, and had been with her family for most of her life. Though her father had been the first to go away. Then her mother. Then her older sisters, then her younger brothers.
Tami was twelve years old this year. She could barely count that high.
"I'm not very good at writing...but my friend Aki can help." She says in response. "And I can let Keitaro and Wolf write too, if they wanna."
((Tami gets a dream, because that's a splendid character moment.))
Hisano listened to the tanuki-girl's thoughts on her plan with the patience born of someone who, between children and grandchildren, had listened to 7 little sets of worries over simple things, and run after 7 sets of feet running away from a bath, or tried (as she looked at her face and realized it was futile) to keep 7 faces clean at a mealtime. And along the way, she had to admit, she'd had a good time of it. After all, her children were right; she could never really stand an empty nest, and got lonely by herself.
Was that what this was? Well, maybe.
"But of course; the more the merrier. And who's to say? It'll be like getting postcards from home."
She said, with a warm smile.
TheAmishPirate
2015-05-30, 01:52 PM
"I can fetch pencils!" Keitaro offered. I'll make sure they even write on papers and everything." Strange, why some pencils would write everywhere, but some pencils would only write in the dirt, and then others would write in the mud and also the floor, but only if you wrote in the mud first.
"Well, alrighty then! It'll take me a while to dig out his address from all these boxes..." She waved her hands towards the box-filled entrance. But when I get started on packing tomorrow, I'll dig up my address book, and you can stop by and I'll write it down for you, alright?"
She offered. She was not entirely looking forward to packing tomorrow -- tomorrow was cleaning out the attic day, and who knows what's up in there? Certainly, she couldn't recall.
Trobby
2015-06-18, 06:40 PM
All of Tami's food was gone now, so she had a bit of trouble focusing on anything but this fact. She slowly looked up at Hisano, as if only dimly realizing she'd been obliquely asked a question.
"...I can come by tomorrow morning...but I'll have to see if Aki can come by."
Atreli
2015-06-24, 10:10 PM
Wolf, who was finally gaining some consciousness, got up and looked outside a moment as if checking the time.
" Oh I was tired Miss Hisano because my friend Aya got the most amazing toy for me today and was throwing to me all day! She's why I have to go now since I like to sleep in her room at night but I'll definitely be by tomorrow so I can get address. ."
"That sounds fine. It is getting dark, and the dinner's been eaten; you all run along home, before people start to worry."
Hisano nodded, and began picking up the empty dishes. She didn't mind the prospect of a little more company, and Wolf's rambling was the sort of pleasant hum that she knew, from years of having kids around, to mostly discard, except for a few key words that she'd remember, in case she was quizzed on it later.
The group would, likely in their own turns -- and if there's any parting words for it, you're welcome to it -- disperse, and head out into the night, which was closing in on them rapidly.
((I'll fit in any goodbyes or notes on departures, and end scene.))
Trobby
2015-08-15, 03:22 PM
Tami rubbed the bits of food off her face with her dress, managing to get more food on her face than when she started. As she patted her slightly rounder belly with one hand, she smiled, the perfect picture of contentment.
"Aaah...Oh, thank you very much, Grandma Hisano." She says, perking about 1/10th to attention as she gently lifted her head and looked Hisano's way, sliding out of the chair so that her body plopped to the ground as she slid out. "I promise I'll make sure Aki makes sure that I write you all the time."
Bowing ever so slightly in gratitude, Tami brushed off as much food from her dress as she could, before slowly ambling her way towards the nearest door.
TheAmishPirate
2015-08-18, 01:59 PM
Keitaro followed Tami's lead, bumbling and plopping off his chair and somehow ending upright when all was said and done. He bowed as well, reaching to touch his toes to get that extra little bit of bow. A good guard dog had to be the most respectful, you see. "Thank you very much, Lady Granma Hisano Miss Ma'am." he recited. "I'll get lots and lots of pencils for you."
With goodbyes said, Keitaro plodded for the door.
Atreli
2015-09-06, 02:11 PM
Wolf sleepily got up from his seat at the table and gave Miss Hisano a hug. " Thank you very much ma'am. I'll try to write when I can." He waved goodbye as he dashed along home, to the little girl who held his heart.
New Scene!
((Standard set of new wonder/feelings, if you need to remember what that is, talk to me. Reminder: you do keep your old wonder/feelings, these are additions))
A gentle rain is falling this afternoon, and the river seems to breed a cloud of fog, rolling down it with the current. Hisano, inside her house, is putting things into boxes. Some of these things were in boxes previously, brought down from storage. But now, it's time to assess. Boxes to sell, boxes to keep, boxes to use. Boxes to remember, boxes to forget, she thinks with a sad little smile. Perhaps -- and then again, perhaps not. She isn't sure she'd want to forget any of it. Not really, though she does recall a disastrous dinner party she could perhaps abandon.
Right now, she is looking through a box of things from their old study, before it became Aiko's bedroom -- she's not entirely prepared for company coming to ask her about addresses and such, which means it's the perfect time for people to arrive and/or meet up for arriving.
Trobby
2015-12-30, 11:45 PM
As it so happens, Tami need not do any arriving. For in her infinite wisdom, she has planned ahead to ensure the shortest possible travel time to arrive at Hisano's house the following day.
That is to say, after gorging herself on food that isn't garbage, she crawled under Hisano's porch, and has been sleeping there since the previous night.
Now in her Tanuki form, she has started snoring gently, the noise barely drowning out the sound of the rain for her and her alone. In a state like this, only one thing could possibly wake her up.
And, right on cue, her stomach began to growl in protest.
"Nmnh...oh...is it breakfast?" She asks herself, barely aware of where she is, let alone the time of day. Uncurling herself, she finds the cold air pressing down against her body, and curls into a circle reflexively to stay warm.
Recollection slowly trickles back into her head however, as she pokes her face up from the circle of warmth she has made for herself.
"Oh...right...Miss Grandma Hisano's house..." She says to herself. The prospect of a damp, cold rain spoiling her good sleepy mood was not terribly appealing, but it was quickly overruled by her desire for good, human-made food.
And so, still in her animal form, she hobbled her way out from under the porch, and clamored up the stairs slowly, stopping just once to shiver in the damp, before pulling herself up onto her hind legs at the window, and peering inward.
Through the rain-streaked window, Tami would see Hisano, still sifting through boxes to make them into slightly different boxes. This one seemed to be full of books and odd knick-knacks. And larger books, like... photo albums, perhaps?
She lingers with her fingers on the cover of one of these -- the only thing on the cover is a little card that's been taped on, though Tami probably can't see what was written on it from her vantage point. It's a long time before Hisano goes to put it away, but she does eventually.
Trobby
2016-01-01, 08:31 PM
Tami presses her face up firmly against the window, kicking her back legs to try to give herself a better vantage point for what Hisano is doing.
What her mind hadn't realized yet was that she was already running out of room for her legs to stretch, and so quickly found herself wobbling her two fat legs back and forth under the windowsill, while her front paws scrabbled to keep herself up.
Tami was not, even in the most generous sense of the word, built for delicate balancing acts, and quickly found her grasp slip away on the wet edge of the window sill. And with a rather loud thud, came crashing back down onto Hisano's porch.
She was definitely very wet now.
Hisano heard the noise and stepped outside. When she saw the tanuki, she froze a little. It wasn't a fearful freeze, though it might have been a little cautious; she was not unaccustomed to wild animals, but you never knew exactly what another creature might do. No, it was...a considerate freezing, so as to not startle the chubby raccoon dog off.
"Trying to stay out of the rain, are we?", she said, her voice barely a whisper. That was a rhetorical question.
Trobby
2016-01-10, 05:14 PM
The young Tanooki - it could not have been more than a year or two old by the look of it - thumped her tail against the wall where its lower body still rested as Hisano spoke. It looked up at her, directly into her eyes with its own shining eyes framed by that characteristic mask. This mask, blending into the eyes almost perfectly, made the young Tanuki look almost asleep, save for the curling of its fat tail and stubby legs.
It laid there for awhile, as the rain pattered against its stomach in an almost comical way. Not indignant, in fact not seeming at all aware of how silly it must look.
Then it reached its front paws out to Hisano, not rolling over, just stretching them out slowly, as if trying to edge closer without having to get onto its feet proper.
This caused the Tanuki's lower body to flop off the wall, and smack gently against the wet puddle of water beneath the window. It very briefly examined its now-damp behind with vague interest, before rolling its head back over to look at Hisano again, tail thumping in the wetness once it saw her.
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