Of Bugs and Scones [Open]

[Crick Watson]

Just another day in this new...home, he supposed. Although, it shared no qualities that any proper home should have. There was no one who really cared what happened to any other members, and everyone seemed to be looking out for only one person....themselves. At least, this is what Crick has observed so far in the two days he has been here, thus far. As he sat down at the cafeteria table, he gingerly grasped a napkin in his pincers, one set on each end of the napkin. He then folded it and placed it in his lap, looking around...just as with the past few days, he was getting quite a few strange looks, and was being avoided as if he had the Black Death plague. Not that he blamed them at all...he had seen his own reflection enough to understand completely. It was a rare sort of fellow who was either quite brave, or else looked past outward appearances and into the soul. Regardless, he had what he came to the cafeteria in the first place for...tea and scones. He was quite glad that this cafeteria had some scones in stock every once in a while...especially the blueberry ones. Not quite as good as how mum made it, but it still reminded him slightly of home...and especially of his dear sister, who he wished he could have contacted in all this time. Alas, life did not allow for that...he'd figure out a way to get a message to her at some point, he supposed. For now, he simply took his time in enjoying his three blueberry scones he had grabbed, gingerly holding one between his pincers and eating that before continuing to the next. Once he finished eating, he would grasp the glass he had grabbed and sipped on it, taking his time in enjoying his tea. Once that was gone, he would again pick up the napkin and gently dab at his mouth to remove crumbs and any liquid remains of the tea...he noticed that he was definitely more well mannered than anyone else he had met thus far here. He then folded his napkin into a small and neat rectangle, placing it on the tray he had used to transport the scones, and took it over to where the tray return was. From there...well, he supposed a stroll would do no harm, would it? As he left the cafeteria, he tipped his top hat to a pair of patrolling guards in a polite manner before speaking in his proper British accent.

"Good day to you, sirs! I hope everything is pleasant for you."

They simply gave him a strange look and walked faster...but Crick didn't really care...at least he had made the effort to be polite. He then continued walking down the halls, wandering a bit randomly at this moment in time.

[Fox]

Fox was wandering the halls as well, hoping to run into one of his friends. Alas, they all seemed to be occupied in other areas or otherwise unavailable. So Fox was left to wander about of his own accord for the most part, he was still restricted from entering some areas... especially after his little 'incident' in the science wing when they tried to experiment on him against his will. That had resulted in the death of five guards, with six more people being hospitalized. The only good thing to come from that day had been him meeting Marisa.

As Fox was lost in his thoughts his foxfires swirled about him. Despite not being able to harm a living thing, they did cause most people who didn't know him to simply skirt around him in the halls. He continued to walk, not really paying attention to where he was going. Fox turned a corner then, and collided with something rather solid. The kitsune let out a startled, "Oof!" as he had the wind momentarily knocked out of him and landed hard on his rump.

[Crick Watson]

Crick didn't realize that anyone else had been wandering the halls, as well...and as such, he was quite surprised when a robed bundle of fluff crashed right into him as he turned the corner. He himself managed to avoid being knocked over, due in a large sense to the fact he was quite a bit larger than the other fellow...who didn't appear to be as lucky as he, as the purple fox looking fellow ended up on his rear. He hastily spoke as he extended a pincer as an offer to help him back up.

"Oh, I'm dreadfully sorry, my good fellow...are you all right? I hadn't seen you as you turned the corner...had I known you were there, I would have slowed down, or else come to a stop so this wouldn't have happened."

Honestly though, he halfway expected the little fellow to turn tail and run. His appearance was quite unsettling after all, if not downright frightening...he did let out a small sort of smile...well, his version of such, anyhow...which most likely didn't help with easing the frightening appearance due to his rather sharp looking teeth.

[Fox]

Fox's eyes did grow a little larger once he saw exactly who he'd bumped in to. His instincts told him to run, but the rather intimidating fellow didn't seem to want to hurt Fox or anything. In fact, the stranger was actually extending a hand of sorts to help Fox up. The kitsune tentatively reached out his hand to grasp the pincer like appendage, accepting the offer.

Once he was on his feet again his mind registered everything that this insect-like man had said. Fox no longer felt like running, in fact he smiled up at the oddly dressed bug-man. "I'm sorry, I think that was my fault really. I should have been paying more attention to where I was going." His ears drooped a little, feeling a little bit shy.

"I like your hat..." Fox added a bit sheepishly.

[Crick Watson]

Crick was pleasantly surprised to see that the little fellow wasn't running after all, but instead accepting his help. He did gently use the pincer to grip the furry fellow's arm, but only so he could help the fellow get up, and he made sure to not apply anywhere near enough force in the grip to cause pain. Once the furry little fellow was on his feet, Crick took a step back to give him breathing space. He waved aside the semblance of an apology.

"Oh, pish posh, good fellow. No need to worry about it at all, I understand completely. The name's Crick Watson...though several guards have already taken to calling me 'Cricket' as it is. I suppose whichever you feel better will do."

He then extended his right pincer for what would pass as a handshake in the end, again only gently closing them around the paw and arm should he accept the offer. Which would be when the hat was brought up. Crick let out a small laugh before gently grasping the rim of his hat with his left pincer, taking it off and holding it in front of him with both pincers on opposite ends of the hat.

"What, this old thing? It has seen much better days, I assure you...but it has, and still does, serve me well in comleting my gentleman's ensemble. What true gentleman would be without a top hat to go with his monocle and suit, after all?"

With a chuckle, he offered the hat to the little guy to examine if he so chose.

"You can look at it closer if you like...just be careful with it now, okay?"

[Fox]

Fox accepted the offered handshake, feeling a little more confident around Crick. "Pleased to meet you Crick. Everyone around here calls me Fox." While Fox may not have been a gentleman, he did have enough manners to introduce himself as well. Fox tilted his head to one side as Crick explained that the hat was part of an ensemble, which Fox guessed must be a fancy word for outfit. It was kind of fun to be around someone who talked in such a fancy way, if for nothing more than the sheer novelty of it.

When Crick offered the hat for Fox's closer inspection, Fox eagerly accepted it. He did take care with it, as it was very rude to mess up someone's belongings. Fox gently donned the hat, managing to squeeze both his ears inside the of the top hat. It wasn't the most comfortable thing, and it made his hearing muffled. After another moment he removed the hat, and offered it back to Crick.

"I don't think I like wearing hats... it pinches my ears. It looks good on you though." Fox said with a smile and a wag of his tails.

[Crick Watson]

Crick would firmly return the handshake and smile once more.

"Oh, but the pleasure is all mine, Fox. You seem like a rather decent fellow....sad to say that our meeting happened in such a dreadful place, but happen it did regardless, and I must say it seems like a stroke of good fortune. I only wish the location was better."

Crick then watched as Fox examined and tried the hat on...and Crick found it hard to hide his amusement. The top hat didn't really go very well with Fox's chosen attire, and he looked a little silly without his ears visible. He was a cute fellow though, regardless. Crick nodded and gingerly took his hat back, donning it once more.

"Why, thank you, good sir. I tend to think I look rather spiffy, if I do say so myself....despite how I appear, anyway. Most tend to run in fear or avoid me these days...though I used to be human, and I was as well dressed then as I am now. You look rather good yourself, old chap...you manage to pull off those robes rather nicely, and I don't think you really need a hat to look spiffy. You don't have to wear a suit to look good,after all...it's just my preferred choice of clothing."

It was that moment that Crick noticed something more unusual to him than the purple fur...he apparantly had multiple tails. Intriguing.

"I say, Fox...if you don't mind me asking, how many tails do you have there? I have never seen such a being as you with more than one tail, and I am rather fascinated by it. That and the lights floating about your general vicinity. Oh, and of course...feel free to ask me questions, too...I do not mind answering them at all."

[Fox]

Fox seemed momentarily surprised when Crick asked about the kitsune's tails and fox-fires. He quickly recovered though, more than happy to answer the questions. "Oh, I have three tails for the time being." He let one of his tails swish up toward his front so he could hold it himself, then started combing his tail a bit with his little claws as he continued to speak.

"These little lights... well they're hard to explain. Everyone calls them 'fox-fire' but they only look like fire. They can't really burn anything. People seem to avoid me though... I guess they're afraid of getting burnt or something." Fox added, then realized that Crick must have a similar problem. Crick was rather intimidating to look at after all. It really was too bad that most people judged one solely on appearances.

"But not everyone is scared so easily, cause I've made a few friends lately." Fox said, letting go of his tail to let it wag with the others behind him.

"I hope you don't mind, but how did you wind up looking like that if you're a human?" Fox was a little curious, as most of the inmates he'd come across still looked mostly human.

[Crick Watson]

Crick tilted his head slightly to the left as he tapped his left pincer against his chin as he listened...a habit he had back when he had fingers, and it had apparantly not faded with his transformation. He nodded slightly and replied to Fox's explanation after a moment.

"Quite intriguing, good fellow. Quite intriguing indeed...though I notice you used mentioned you have three for the time being...are you going to end up growing more of them? That is quite fascinating, if this is the case...as for the fox-fire, well...honestly, all I see them as are pretty little floating lights. They don't really even look to dangerous at all to me, in all actuality. Though something tells me that they can't be grasped at."

He let out a small, gentlemanly laugh before pausing at Fox's query. His eyes changed a bit to a slightly more green shade than the simple yellow-green it had been a moment ago. He shook his head before replying.

"Oh, I don't mind at all, Fox. The truth of the matter is...I'm not entirely certain how it happened. All I know is one night, I suddenly got hungry and ended up eating at least my own weight in food, and promptly fell asleep...and when I woke up, not only was I trapped inside a...a cocoon of sorts, I suppose...when I emerged from it, this is what I had become. I myself don't understand the hows and whys of it, but I accept that it is."

He paused again to see if Fox had further questions before speaking again.

"Well, I am glad to hear you have made friends...I admit, due to my appearance...well, I have yet to find any myself. I am sure it will come in time."

[Fox]

Fox listened to Crick before making another comment. That was certainly odd how Crick came to look as he did, but Fox believed every word as he had no reason not to. "So you ate a whole lot then woke up in a cocoon? Sometimes I eat three times my body weight in a day and I never wake up in such a strange manner. Maybe it's only humans who overeat wake up like that..." Fox said, thinking that simply overeating might make humans mutate now.

"As for my tails... I think I'll keep growing more. My mom had six and my dad had seven after all." He added with a little hint of pride, mixed with just a tinge of sadness. Fox really did miss his family. He snapped out of his slight melancholy though as he thought about the friends he'd made.

"If you'd like... I'll be your friend." Fox offered with a grin.

[Crick Watson]

Crick shrugged a little...he himself wasn't sure of the specifics, so of course he was unable to say that Fox's thought process was either wrong or right. Though...he was surprised to hear that Fox was able to consume thrice his weight.

"Perhaps, perhaps not...I shan't say I know for certain, for I do not. Interesting tidbit of information there...so you're going to continue growing tails as you age, then? I can't say I have ever had the pleasure of meeting anyone half that interesting until now....and believe me, I know how it is to miss someone...though I halfway believe that my sister thinks me dead by now."

He sighed as he himself entered a little bit of melancholic moodiness, his eyes turning to a shade of green with a tad of yellow mixed in. He always did miss his sister while they were seperated...but he also wanted to have the best possible education he could receive. It wasn't like he planned on permanently staying in America....though of course, he had no choice now, unless they happened to have a facility like this in Britain...and even then he wouldn't be able to visit his sister, he was certain. He did snap out of it when Fox mentioned he would be his friend, and his eyes quickly lit up to a much more yellowy color.

"Oh, a capitol idea, good fellow! I do believe I would very much like that, as you seem to be reasonably pleasant. I do believe that I shall enjoy having someone to call friend here."

[Fox]

"Yay!" Fox's own eyes lit up a bit brighter when Crick agreed to be his friend. The little fox-fires dancing about also seemed to blaze up for a few moments as if in response to Fox's emotions, then they quickly settled back to their normal level of glow. His bushy tails were wagging quite a bit now, which showed just how happy he was to have another friend.

"Maybe I'll be able to introduce you to the other friends I've made too! Most of them are a little strange looking, but then again most humans look strange to me. Anyway, they're all really nice though which is all that really matters." Fox said with an excited little giggle. While it was true that even normal humans had always seemed weird looking to Fox, that didn't stop him from making friends with them.

[Crick Watson]

Crick let out another of those smiles...even though he was trying to show he was happy, due to his appearance it quite likely looked more like he was a predator thinking about its next meal. However, despite that this may be what his appearance is, he was actually quite glad to have found not just one, but possibly more friends.

"Splendid! That sounds like a rather nice idea right there. I can't say I've ever seen humans as strange looking, but I can understand where you come from when saying that. It is good to hear that they are all nice...I look forward to meeting them whenever the chance arises."

Crick then paused, and thought for a moment. He had to wonder, just who else they had locked up here that were as friendly as Fox, and what they were truly like? As he thought, just for grins, and also to see Fox's reaction, he made vocalization noises that were exactly the same as the music from the old game show "Jeapordy" while the contestants were supposed to be writing down their answers in the final section of the show. He had to wonder if Fox had even ever watched TV in the first place...but if he had seen Jeapordy, he'd recognize the tune instantly.

[Fox]

Fox had never seen a television, let alone any shows on one. Who knew what kind of havoc he could wreak with his imagination if he watched a bunch of cartoons or a sci-fi movie? Apparently the Black Rose corporation didn't want to find out, thus his restrictions from such things. So when Crick started to hum the Jeopardy theme song, Fox merely tilted his head to one in a slightly confused manner.

"What song is that? I don't think I've ever heard it before. Does it have any words to it?" He asked, genuinely wanting to know the answers to his questions. Fox had such an inquisitive mind, but unfortunately his learning experiences had been stifled almost completely since his capture. That might have also been why he still behaved like a child, or the mere fact that he was still a child by his own race's standards.

[Crick Watson]

Crick paused in his music a moment...so it seems Fox was unfamiliar with that show, at least. He nodded before proceeding to explain...though, the music did actually resume at the same time as he talked. The result is his regular voice talking over the music from the TV show.

"It is the main theme from a game show on television called 'Jeapordy.' It's a show that basically tests the knowledge of the contestants, and has a rather unique way of asking the question, as well as how the answer must be. As an example...say the question to me is asking who is standing in front of me right now. The question would be stated as 'The person standing in front of you.' My answer would actually end up needing to be 'Who is Fox?' if I wanted to be correct....but no, there are no words to this particular tune."

Upon finishing his explanation, the music would stop. He wondered what Fox was going to end up thinking of the fact he was able to speak and play music at the same time with quite apparant ease.