003 - Arf?

[silentrunning]

[Chell is actually outside today, sitting near the duck pond, watching the floating birds in utter fascination. She's never seen ducks, so she doesn't know what they eat. But she does have some bits of cookies and bread in her pocket. Every time she wishes up food, she stows a little away, just in case there should come a time when she can't find food like there was back in the facility. Right now, she is eating a little only slightly stale bread, and tossing some into the pond for the ducks to eat.

If Chell were being honest, she'd say she's a little lonely. If she even knew what loneliness is. So idly she opens her journal. She doesn't know how to filter messages to individuals, so she writes this message with the person's name at the beginning, in hopes that they'll see it when they flip open their journal... And she really doesn't mind if anyone else sees.]


Nick
How are you? And where do you live?


[She stares at the duck pond for a few minutes more. The birds are mesmerizing to her. And as she stares, she thinks. It would be very nice to have a friend like that, an animal friend she could share her food with and who would follow her around. That sort of thing. So she pens another question, this time to the castle at large.]

I know some of you have animals. How did you get them? I don't mean animals who can talk and write. I mean... [She taps her pen on the page, trying to think of the words.] like animals to follow you around, who you can share your food with, like... [She remembers one animal from her childhood, one she had always wanted, but been unable to have due to her brother's ever-present allergies.] Like a cat.

Comments

Chell??

[takethat]

Uh... I'm good... and... the second floor?

[What on earth?]

NickRe: Chell??

[silentrunning]

Oh good. I'm glad to hear that.

[She thinks for a minute...How to ask this next question without tipping him off to what she's thinking...]

Are you hungry?

Chell

[takethat]

Um... I could eat?

[Although he's going to get up and lock his door just in case...]

Re: Chell

[silentrunning]

[Chell takes that as an invitation. There's the sound of shuffling and clomping as she stands up and marches away from the duck pond. She is going to do something nice for Phoenix. But what... She wants to offer him food but what?

Scratching her head, she thinks of the best food she's found so far that isn't cake and soon a castle ghost is handing her a plate of big, fat, still-warm chocolate chip cookies. Chell grins! This is perfect!

Walking into the Castle and to the lobby, she debates. Should she take the elevator? She hates elevators insomuch that she's terrified that they will dump her out in unwanted places. But she wants to be fast, before the cookies cool.

Reluctantly, she pushes the door button, and runs inside, poking the button for the second floor.

When the elevator dings and the doors fly open, a few seconds later, she is joyously surprised. The elevator took her she wanted to go. Reaching out, she pats the door in thanks before clomping off to find his room. Bet you can hear her coming from a mile away, Nick.

Finally she finds the room, and tentatively knocks at his door. She knows enough about politeness to not just barge in.

She knocks on his door, and steps back, waiting expectantly, plate of cookies in one hand, journal in the other.]

[takethat]

[It's okay, Chell. Phoenix will never judge your fear of elevators.

He's unsurprised by the knock--he was expecting her arrival, after those leading questions!--but he answers the door with a quirk of his eyebrows nonetheless.]

Can I help--

[When he sees the cookies in her hands, his mind immediately snaps to the last time he had cookies... which causes him to blush furiously.]

--you?

dictated

[optimystic]

I got my fish from a festival. I don't know if we're going to have another one soon, but you can always try that way!

Re: dictated

[silentrunning]

Chell stops feeding the ducks, and writes back a reply.]

Thank you. I don't know what a festival is, but I hope one comes again.

[optimystic]

Or, let's see... do you have any specific pet in mind? I bet we could find you something outside of a festival.

[silentrunning]

[Chell thinks.]

Um. I don't know any specific animals other than cats. I can't remember ever seeing any.

[optimystic]

Well if you want, I bet there's a pet store somewhere in town. You could look at all the animals there and get a better idea for what you want.

action

[circleoflife]

[Mufasa spots the girl while strolling outside. It looks like a lovely spot to have a little rest, so he casually begins to stroll on over, his footsteps somewhat muted, but hopefully, enough to announce his prescence to the girl. She was within eyeshot, at least. None-the-less, he opts to take a seat a little a ways away from her, in case she felt threatened by his presence.]

Re: action

[silentrunning]

[Oh she notices him. But unlike most people, she doesn't know what a lion is. And she sure hasn't ever seen one in the flesh. And since he's just wandering over and flopping nearby, she doesn't consider him a threat at all. When he takes a seat nearby, she smiles at him and raises one hand in a friendly wave hello. It's nice to have company, honestly. And Chell never judges books by their covers.]

[circleoflife]

[His smile widens a touch when she waves to him. Playfully, he raises up a foreleg, rolling his toes in a similar fashion of a wave.]

Good afternoon.

[silentrunning]

[she silently chuckles at his waving back. Not in a mocking way. But she enjoys it immensely. When he greets her, she thinks hard. How can she greet him back? After all, he doesn't have a journal on his person and might not be able to read her letters anyhow. So, she does the next best thing. She grins at him widely, in the most absolutely friendly way she can.]

[circleoflife]

[Awww, what a charming young lady!]

Lovely day to be spending outside, isn't it?

[ruin_mania]

[written back in a neat hand]

There's an animal shelter in town that adopts pets to a good home, if you're interested in meeting one.

[silentrunning]

[This gets a smile back, though the as-yet-unknown writer of the message wouldn't see that of course. But Chell writes back.]

OH. I would like that very much. Thank you so much.

[Yep. She still can't get over people being friendly and helpful. She ends her message with a smiley face.]

[ruin_mania]

Of course. I'd like to see them go to good homes, after all.

[Raine did spend a year in a Pokemon world, thanks to the castle's interference. It's important to her to see that animals find good homes.]

[silentrunning]

[Chell likes that. She likes the idea of homes. And she'd write as much.]

Homes are very important. I had one once and then I had another and now there's here.

[ruin_mania]

I hope you can make this place your home as long as you're here.

[Some people don't, maybe even a majority. But the ones who do always seem to have a much easier time of it.]

;dictated

[fluthlu]

Mine was given to me by a friend, but I'm sure you could locate a shelter or pet store in town.

[A polite clearing of her throat.]

Also, it would be inadvisable to share your food with a cat, I'm afraid.

Re: ;dictated

[silentrunning]

[Chell thinks about that for a minute before writing back.]

What do you feed cats? I know dogs can't have chocolate because it made a friend of mine ill.

[This person seems very knowledgeable.]

[fluthlu]

Any vet would suggest cat food, I'm sure. With minimal table scraps.

[Said a bit dryly, though not too harsh - clearly this person she's talking to doesn't have much experience with animals.]

[silentrunning]

Nope. No experience whatsoever of any kind. There couldn't be pets in the house, except for fish, since her brother had had such bad allergies. And then Bring Your Daughter To Work Day had happened, and after that, everything had blown up.

Her next message is quick to follow though.]

Thank you. I know very little about pets. There were no animals in Aperture that I saw. And cats were an example, because they're the only animal I can remember. But I guess all pets have special food too. Thank you very much for explaining that to me.

[fluthlu]

My pleasure.

[Rose is not surprised to hear this. She's never heard anyone sound so alien about the concept of pets. Except, perhaps, for her alien friends.]

Is Aperture your home world?