awashlogs | Event Twenty-Three.

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Event Twenty-Three.

Hickety pickety, my black hen,
She lays eggs for gentlemen;
Sometimes nine, sometimes ten,
Hickety pickety, my black hen.

t's a beautiful day today. The sun is shining, the Town is peaceful...and there's a new fluffy (or scaly or slimy or who knows what) friend living in your home, staring at you. One moment they're gone, then next they're there, staring at you with bright, inquisitive eyes.

At first, everything seems fine -- they're friendly, and cute, even, and very helpful. But... well, as per all things in the Town?

It can't ever be that easy.

Take care to watch out for what these Cute Animal Companions are going to do, because it's not going to be pretty.

Welcome to Awash's Twenty-third event log, everyone! Further information on this event can be found here at the OOC post. You are welcome to make your own logs and posts for this event!

If there are any questions, please ask them here. Thank you!

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[ you know what these animals really hate? Super close relationships. And it's hard for a relationship to be closer than what Lupin and Cairngorm have. It's early enough in the week that he's not yet aware of just how nasty these animals can get; therefore, he doesn't think twice when he sees Cairngorm and their ram out in the road, offering an excited wave and beginning to head over. ]

Cairn! Listen here - I just -- woah!!

[ whatever he was about to say is swiftly cut off as the ram suddenly charges him. He's agile enough to avoid it, but the animal isn't done after just one charge - it turns and goes after him again. Cue Yakety Sax as Lupin gets chased around by an angry sheep.

By the way, he's not alone. The fox was following after him (because it won't leave him alone, no matter how hard he tries), and as soon as it lays eyes on Cairngorm, it breaks out into a run, too, launching itself straight at their face. ]

Lupin— agh!!

[ Obviously, they're immediately alarmed by the sudden attack of their fluffy sheep friend, but they're not going to get a very accurate visual of what's happening on the account of being ambushed by Lupin's fluffy fox friend. It latches one paw into their hair to cling on while it tries to claw at their face, hissing all the while. They'd yank it right off if they weren't 1) afraid of killing it and 2) afraid they'd lose some of their hair... all they can do is try to get their hands on it's slippery body as it frenzies about.

The ram, on the other hand, can only keep it's head down in a charge for so long. After Lupin's first evade, it chases after him for a few seconds, before pulling it's head up - all so it can try and lead him in the direction of a wall to back him up into, of course. It doesn't slow down even as they both approach the buildings of the old shops in the central part of town. Maybe it's time to get to higher ground.. ]

[ Exactly what he's thinking. Lupin knows exactly what the ram is trying to do - he's had the police try and pull the same thing on him enough times. Getting up and out of trouble will be easy enough for him. His attention is just divided, what with his fox currently trying to eat Cairngorm's face. They'll be fine, probably - they are made of stone, after all - but he can't help worrying.

He lets the ram back him into a corner, but, predictably, he scales the wall with uncanny ease, finding footholds where normal people wouldn't even see them. If Cairngorm wasn't made of solid quartz, he'd have run over and grabbed them, first, but, well. He'd dislocate his arm. So once he's up on the roof, he settles for shouting at them. ]

-- Up here!

[ As Lupin calls them, they're just about prying the fox from their face, though they can't seem to get it's claws out of their hair. They're stuck holding it an arms length away from their face with both hands around it's torso, stomping over near the direction where they heard Lupin's voice. ]

How did you— ugh, whatever.

[ They didn't see it, but it's not hard to believe that he clambered on up there in a short few seconds, given the amount of times they've witnessed similar stunts. Here's where they'd shake their head if there wasn't fox claws in their shimmering hair. The ram, on the other hand, doesn't hesitate to charge right at the foundation of the building he's standing on, the feeble wood making a loud crack upon the impact. ]

Are you sure you should've gone up there?! [ As the ram trots back to try and hit the building a second time, Cairngorm is doing what they can to stand between the building and it, though it's sort of like a goalie situation. ] How are you going to get away?

[ He was hoping they'd follow him up here so he could pull the fox off of them, but he supposes the whole having-a-fox-attached-to-their-face thing would make jumping up here hard. He remains steady even as the building wobbles. He didn't think it would go this far to try and get him, honestly... if he causes property destruction so soon after they got done rebuilding things from that dragon attack, he'll feel guilty. ]

I'll be all right! [ he flashes a wave at Cairngorm, and a bit of sleight of hand has him suddenly holding one of his many cherry bombs between two fingers. ] Do me a favor and grab that ram!

[ if he can get the two animals together, he should be able to knock them both out at once and give himself and Cairngorm a little time to recuperate. ]

[ They know one of those little things can't hurt them, probably, but that doesn't make them feel any less apprehensive about it getting thrown near them. Still. IT can't be worse than what will happen to Lupin if this ram breaks the building and he falls through or something. So when the ram runs forward, they bend their knees and grasp out to try and get a handful of the fleece, knowing that as long as they grab on, it won't be able to go much of anywhere unless it wants to hurt itself. It skids to a halt as soon as they get their hand on, though it continues to try and wriggle free.

Of course, capturing the ram means letting one hand go on the fox, which means its able to reach their face again, and they're not appreciating getting swatted and pulled on. Knelt over with one hand on each animal, and their eyes screwed shut, they bark out: ]

Hurry up—!

Heads up!

[ he's not going to throw an explosive at Cairngorm!! Even if he's pretty sure they'd be okay, he's not 100% sure, which means he's not doing it. That's how Lupin works. On the other hand, he's almost completely sure that they're not going to get knocked out by some sleeping gas, which is what the little ball he tosses contains - he aims it squarely at their feet, and it bursts on impact with the ground, enveloping them and their two new animal companions in a green-gray cloud.

He doesn't think it will affect them. He doesn't know it won't, but even if it does, he can at least drag them off somewhere out of the way while the animals are down for the count. Probably. Lupin peers over the edge of the building, waiting for the smoke to dissipate to see what happened... ]

[ As he predicts, they're not affected at all by the gas - not that it quells their surprise when it all comes pluming out of that little device. The second round of Lupin throwing stuff at them and them not knowing exactly what to expect is just about as fun as the first round, which was not very. At least this time they're not falling out of a tree.

It doesn't take long for both the animals they're holding onto to stop struggling, and eventually go entirely limp. They're both fast asleep in a matter of seconds. Thankfully, their hand is pressed right against the fox's chest, still, so they can still feel it's breathing and heartbeat and don't have to worry that they suddenly died or something - Lupin wouldn't do something like that anwyay. With a worn-out sigh, they let go of the sheep and gently place the fox on the ground next to it, stepping out of the cloud as it fades. ]

Ugh. [ Their hair is still sticking up at odd angles because of what the fox did, but they seem unharmed other than that. ] I knew these things were weird. Attacking us like that...

[ Yet another example added into the pile of times they're grateful to be a gem and not a human - they're sure they'd be in a world of hurt right now if it hadn't been the case. ]

Will they be asleep for a while?

[ Lupin would never knock them out of a tree a second time! On purpose, anyway. The point is that they're safely on the ground. It's a relief nonetheless when the dust clears and Cairngorm is still standing. Not affected, just as he'd predicted. He knew he shouldn't doubt himself. His work done, he finds a way back down to the ground, nimbly moving from gutters and windowboxes until he lands softly on his feet in the dirt; Lupin stretches his arms over his head, then starts walking over to Cairngorm, talking as he does so. ]

No kidding. I'm beginning to think I should have tossed him into the woods like I meant to at the start of all this.

[ once he's close enough, he reaches a hand out to brush through their hair, smoothing the ruffled edges with gloved fingers like it's the most natural thing in the world. ]

They'll be out for an hour, give or take. It's meant to work on humans, so it should be a little stronger on anything smaller. [ a beat. ] Sorry about that - he's been rowdy, but never that rowdy. I think he's jealous. Are you all right?

[ They forget their hair probably looks a mess up until he starts fixing it - which they're half grateful and half embarrassed at, reaching their hands up to go over it themself, too. ]

I'm fine. Its nails are the ones that might be damaged...

[ In fact, they're almost sure of it. That's what it gets for trying to scratch up the equivalent of a boulder, they guess. Cairngorm knows that Lupin is unharmed considering he got away from the ram, so they don't bother asking after they give him a good once over just to be sure. Then, they slowly look back to the pair of sleeping animals on the ground, brows tilting upward. ]

They'll just find us again if we leave them there. It's been following you everywhere, right?

[ Hmm. He doesn't feel terribly worried about his fox hurting its nails. It probably deserves worse for going after Cairngorm like that - it has no idea how lucky it is to get off that easy. His hands return to his pockets, following their gaze to their downed animal companions.

This has been a weird week, huh. ]

Yeah. I've tried locking it up, building a cage for it, everything you can think of, but the little rascal's one hell of an escape artist.

[ he's running out of options that aren't killing it, and he's not going to kill an innocent animal just for being annoying, even if it's probably the town's doing... ]

[ They hum in agreement. ]

The only way I can get that one to stop is to hold onto it. Even then, it knocks it's head against me while trying to get away...

[ Maybe because it knows they'll let go out of fear they'll damage it's horns... and it already cracked them once. Why do they have to babysit such troublesome kids... the most selfish inner part of them is thinking that these animals are cutting into the time they should be getting to spend with Lupin themself (thoughts not available for public record.) ]

Maybe if they were stuck to something else heavy. [ Then they could ditch them there!! ] Or... can't you just put them back to sleep again after they wake up?

[ that makes sense... right?! ]

[ please share your lovey dovey thoughts with lupin cairngorm ]

I'm afraid not. I don't have too many of these knockout bombs with me. The materials are hard to come by here - even if I've a bunch stocked up by this point, it's not enough to keep the animals out all the time.

[ also, that would kill them with a drug overdose, or at least not be good for them, he's pretty certain. ]

Your other idea's not so bad, provided we kept them fed and watered. [ he pauses; then, suddenly, a look passes over his face that says he's got an idea. ] We could put them in the well. They shouldn't be able to climb out of there.

[ They're gonna pretend like they aren't eager to get both of them out of their hair (literally) and not deal with it anymore, just nodding in agreement calmly. ]

They won't drown or anything?

[ The water isn't too deep if they're standing up... they guess they'll just have to wake them up before they go in there. ]

I have a feeling there will be a consequence if we let them die.

[ otherwise... killing it might not be that bad of an idea - like with the wolves. ]

Well - yes, but it would be cruel, more than anything. Most of them aren't that aggressive.

[ most of the ones he's run into, anyway. The ram is the first one that's actually tried attacking him. He crouches down, gathering up the unconscious fox into his arms. As much of a pain in the ass as it's been - and as annoyed with it as he is right now - he's still not quite willing to cross the line and put it down. ]

The water's not so deep. I think they'll manage. I hope. [ he gestures with his chin to the ram. ] Do you think you can carry that guy all right?

[ how would it be cruel?? Thinking about it, even if they killed them, humans could still eat them, right? So it's just natural selection. They guess it would be a little sad, but there's a big difference between regular animals and humans; maybe because they're non-human and so long-lived, they're feeling much less sympathy than he is for their lives.

Anyway, they wave a hand, scooping up the ram around it's mid section with some ease. ]

It's lighter than you are. [ And they've hurled him like a football on numerous occasions. ] It's easy as long as it's asleep.

[ i mean TECHNICALLY cairngorm has a point but lupin isn't about to get into an ethics debate about the morality of killing animals for meat... he just wants these animals to be out of his life already so he can talk to his dang rock in peace.

Their comment makes him wrinkle his nose in mock offense. ]

Now you're just being cruel. There's no way I weigh more than a full-grown ram.

[ heading off to the well... come along, grouchy ]

[ They're coming along... still carrying the ram with complete ease. ]

It doesn't make that big of a difference to me. [ what's a hundred pounds of difference to a person made of stone?? ] You know, Phos is one of the heaviest among us with all that gold and platinum. I can still throw them just as well, too.

[ pause. ]

...Can you not carry this?

[ it actually takes him a second to parse what Cairngorm's talking about - it seems like an absurd question. For any human, anyway. He doesn't doubt their strength in the least - he's sure they can toss Phos like nobody's business - but when his is called into question? Suddenly, he feels defensive. ]

I could carry it. [ maybe ] It would just be... difficult. A two-hand job, certainly.

[ MAYBE ]

[ They raise a brow at that, peering over at him. He always does seem to get a little huffy whenever they point out how weak he is, even if it is the truth, so they accept what he says, shrugging. ]

I guess you did carry half of me that other time. [ a beat, and then deadpan: ] Barely.

[ Even when accepting his alleged threshold of strength, they can't help but make a side comment. Not that they aren't grateful for that time... it's just silly to push himself like that if it's too hard on his fragile human body, that's all. ]

You're lucky the thing you're taking care of is so small.

[ the roasting he is enduring here... ]

Oi. Any regular human would have trouble carrying you, for your information. I'm a fine example of my species - above average, even!

[ he has to stand up for himself a little bit! He shifts the fox into one hand unconsciously, as if he needs to prove that it weighs nothing and a tough manly man like himself can carry it without a second thought. It's not his fault humans have an upper limit on strength...! ]

[ Are they supposed to be impressed by him doing that... they're not. Which they communicate in their unimpressed expression, but mercifully hold back saying so bluntly. ]

Okay. [ They say, sort of non-committal like. ] It's not like I'd know either way.

[ Except for the fact that Lupin has no special powers, which does lead them to believe he is below average in the magic abilities department. But among his own world, they'll take his word for it, since they have nothing else to prove otherwise. ]

I am too, you know. I'm sure you already know of quartz's durability and hardness.

[ they don't need to say it for him to feel it. the judgment... it's good they don't bring up the fact that he has no magic powers, which was normal to him up until he showed up here and found out that every other human apparently does, and which he's still a little peeved about.

It's fine. Cairngorm's weird brag is enough to distract him from feeling defensive. Are they trying to impress him, now, or what? It's kind of funny, honestly... ]

Well, sure... Are those desirable traits for a gem?

Well, yes. The more durable and the higher hardness, the better fighter a gem makes... low hardness gems are considered weak.

[ And they are, when it comes from a logistics standpoint. Unless that gem has something special going on. It's not so much that they are trying to brag, but more like prove to him that them being above average means basically nothing to him, just as him saying so to them means basically nothing either. ]

In general, having a higher hardness is desirable. Or, it might be more accurate to say that it's undesirable to have a lower hardness.

[ right, right, and they're all fighters. He could comment about how that's fairly different from what humans enjoy in gems - luster, purity, color - but it always feels weird to talk about, and if he feels weird about it, he can only imagine how Cairngorm feels. So, instead, he shifts the fox in his arms, raising an eyebrow at them and giving them a little smirk. He rebounds fast. ]

So... in other words, you're a real catch? You don't need to tell me twice.

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Event Twenty-Three.

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