Tale as Old as Last Wednesday [Maid IC]

[Trobby]

"Gophers, you say? Polite gophers? What's so unpleasant about that?"

Ante was there. There was no telling how long she'd been there. Probably all of two seconds. Primarily because there was no longer any need to be anywhere but right there, within asking-for-instructions from Terran, just in time to hear his quip about gophers.

She wondered if perhaps some animal charisma might help talk the gophers out of thieving their vegetables.

[Atreli]

"When your maid and especially when you're away from home, one day is an eternity." Lune said with a touch of sadness in her voice.

She wanted to say also, that he must understand what that's like but she didn't want to remind him of painful times.

In some ways they were same but still being two entirely different individuals. She looked over at him for moment then back to sea.

[Lycan 01]

Yuki raises an eyebrow at Terran. "Gophers? Interesting. How exactly are they... polite?"

When Ante shows up, Yuki simply turns and gives her a nod of acknowledgment, before turning her attention back to the butler.

[Deme]

To Ante, Terran gave a sigh.

"Ask this of me when *thou* hast spent a moonless night repairing the lawn after digging up their tunnels to stop their absconding with the fruit of my labors."

"As for the hows....Listen."

He laid down on the ground and put his ear to the earth. The maids that did the same would hear it...

"After you, old chap."
"No, no, after you."
"Oh, but I do insist."
"Nonsense, nonsense! It'd be quite rude of me otherwise."
"Oh, I know! Why don't we both pull at the same time!"
"Oh, what a splendid idea!"

There was faint clapping and giggling.

And then a turnip vanished.
----------------

Leon was reminded, was the thing: it was hard not to be reminded of something someone was complaining about when it'd been your existence for years.

...But he also wasn't going to say it. That would just create a feedback loop of worry and sadness, and he wouldn't put her to that.

Instead he smiled and kicked up the sand with a black hoof. No, instead, maybe some good nostalgia.

"...What is your home like, My shining moon?"

[Trobby]

Ante, who had indeed been listening to the entire polite conversation, attempts to stop said turnip from disappearing beneath the surface, reaching after it if she must.

Spoiler

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Athletics: (1d6x3)[18]

[Atreli]

" Definitely not as interesting as it is here. Down there it's all parties and pomp and circumstance. My family is the giving kind always helping out their fellow mermen. Though I am a princess, I do have many siblings that help me and teach me my lessons."

She paused as if wondering if she should say something then decided to just say it. " Although kindness sees no bounds in my family we are still part of a community that solves our problems through intense violence and and matches to the death. I came here really to enjoy a life where such sports were unheard of."

Her voice bordered on the melancahly throughout.

[Deme]

Leon *liked* pomp and parties. He missed them both intensely. Circumstance, not so much, but parties -- oh, he missed a good ball.

"It sounds...Not all that different from life up here, excepting the violence. And even then; it depends on where you look."

Still, sensing the loneliness in her voice,

"Ah, but what does the past matter? Such a time has no place in matters of the present. Tell me, have you seen anything up here you like in particular?"

----

The gophers pulled down harder, working together.
(1d6x3)[9](1d6x3)[9]

Neither of them budged and inch, and each took 1 stress.

[Atreli]

A small knowing smirk crossed her face at his question. " I must admit I love the notion of what food is like up here. "

She paused. " Do you find that silly?" Fumbling with the edge of her dress, she spoke again. " It is silly, what with so many other things to choose from but it's what I like."

[Trobby]

Ante, who is not one to be dissuaded by the surprising strength of small rodents, and who has never before in her life seen a Warner Bros. cartoon, decides the only course of action is to put all her effort into it, and hope to out-endure the obnoxiously polite creatures.

Spoiler

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Will: (1d6x4)[4]

[Lycan 01]

Yuki, sensing that Ante likely needs a bit of help, offers her a hand.

A literally hand, in the form of grabbing Ante's shoulders. Her left hand locks firming in place like a vice, though not tightly enough to hurt, while her right hand grabs a firm grip of the maid's uniform. She then gives a mighty tug, pulling back at the proper angle to get the best results. If her calculations are correct, she and Ante will avoid falling, the plant will be saved, and the gophers will be exposed (and swiftly dealt with). If her calculations are wrong...

Well, she owes Ante a bit of misfortune anyway.

Spoiler

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Cunning: (1d6x3)[6]

[Deme]

"No, I think what people like...Is something they themselves only can judge. If you laughed at me for being interested in your people's music, would that be fair to laugh?"

Leon expounded as he went along. The sea, a pretty girl...Ah, it was lovely.

---

"Oh, I say! Quite the tough one!"
"Yes, yes, quite!"
"Would you care to pull a bit harder? I don't want to tire you out."
"No, no, if you're game, then of course I'm up for another go!"

And so the gophers pulled back harder.

(1d6x3)[3]
(1d6x3)[18]

The girls take 11 Stress divided between them, I think sounds fair -- you be the judges on how...

And then Ante gets pulled down as far into the hole as her body can go. The resulting pull is too much for the buttons on her blouse, since it's being held by Yuki...And they go flying, leaving her blouse open...And Yuki's arm can't exactly handle that, either, so it pops her hand off. What an unlucky day in that department.

This affair causes Terran, who was coming back after getting a shovel...
To freeze in place, blushing. His 'shoot, I opened the door at the wrong time' kicks in, and he drops the shovel and turns his back.

[Trobby]

It is true that Ante had never seen a cartoon before in her life. And it also seemed that she didn't know the true rules of cartoon physics, which state that one's body should become half-submerged within the ground when pulled by an excessive force, such that one's skirt flares outward in a highly undignified manner. It is fortunate, then, that Ante had never studied cartoon law.

Unfortunately, this also meant that her arm was now completely buried in the ground, in a way that was all too realistically stuck. To say nothing of her lack of a blouse, which thankfully only left the back of her body and bra strap exposed for the moment.

Remarkably enough, she remained calm, if only to prevent agitating the all-powerful ground-dwelling rodents into gnawing at her now-submerged arm.

Slowly, she turns her face towards Terran, and cracks a wry smile.

"...ah yes....I can see now why they are such trouble. Ah...and now, I think I could use a little help."

[Hawkflight]

Truth be told, Ante didn't get it at all. And the reason was far more severe than Hani could imagine.

Ante is a demon. A several hundred year old one at that. And although she was aware of the shorter life expectancy of humans, it was an alien idea to her. Saying then that Hani felt she wasn't maturing fast enough would be to her like a fly complaining it had far too long to live. It simply couldn't register for her.

And...of course...she rather liked the idea of having a little sister. She wouldn't say it aloud, but it made her feel a bit more...

"I shall go see what the other maids have set out to do for the day. When you're finished, find me or Terran, and we will give you something to do."

Hani nodded, and nibbled away at her french toast for a bit. When she was done, she 'maid' sure her uniform was on right and set out to find Ante. She entered the garden just as the polite gophers were mentioned.

"Oh, I say! Quite the tough one!"
"Yes, yes, quite!"
"Would you care to pull a bit harder? I don't want to tire you out."
"No, no, if you're game, then of course I'm up for another go!"

And so the gophers pulled back harder.

(1d6x3)[3](9)
[roll1]

The girls take 11 Stress divided between them, I think sounds fair -- you be the judges on how...

And then Ante gets pulled down as far into the hole as her body can go. The resulting pull is too much for the buttons on her blouse, since it's being held by Yuki...And they go flying, leaving her blouse open...And Yuki's arm can't exactly handle that, either, so it pops her hand off. What an unlucky day in that department.

This affair causes Terran, who was coming back after getting a shovel...
To freeze in place, blushing. His 'shoot, I opened the door at the wrong time' kicks in, and he drops the shovel and turns his back.

Hani was curious about these polite gophers, so naturally she made the executive decision to investigate. But not before giggling quietly at Ante's misfortune. She quickly stifled herself, shifting into her kitten form to avoid being seen. Maybe, just maybe if she could convince the gophers to stop stealing these vegetables, or at least to share, then she could actually help. And that would make her very happy.

Spoiler

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Rolling Will to find a gopher hole: (1d6x3)[3](9)

[Lycan 01]

Yuki staggers backwards, before quickly regaining her balance. She then holds up her left forearm, and studies the noticeable absence of anything beyond her wrist.

"Damnation," she states flatly with a scowl, before looking around for her hand. She's either ignoring Ante's plight, or is oblivious to it.

[Deme]

Terran has, to save himself a load of awkward, switched his brain onto a special Terran-only frequency. He's not ignoring it -- rather, his entire system is devoted to convincing him that the shirtless girl behind him does not, in real world terms, exist.

In the Terran-frequency, he's having a nice morning in a composed garden, doing sword-drills. There's a pot of tea on the fire, the birds are singing...It's a very peaceful and quiet place, the Terran-Frequency.

---
Hani finds a hole! The gophers, meanwhile, are walking away with their prize, praising each other. Humans getting stuck? Who cares?

[Trobby]

"Oh dear, not that again." Ante says with the sort of annoyance one does not save for missing limbs. "Today is not a lucky day for us, Yuki. Ah, maybe it got tangled up in my blouse?"

[Hawkflight]

Hani finds a hole! The gophers, meanwhile, are walking away with their prize, praising each other. Humans getting stuck? Who cares?

"U-Um ... e-excuse me?" Hani said, sticking her head into the gopher hole.

[Deme]

The gophers see the kitten. They're carrying their recent thefts under their arms in a comical size.

"Aaaaaahh! A cat! Please leave, if you wouldn't mind!" He turned to his identical companion and asked, "Would you care to flee screaming first?"

"I really think the honor should go to you."
"Oh, now, I do insist. Age before beauty, you know." By all indications, they are the same age. They also look the same size.
"Well, why don't we go together?"
"Oh, you always have the best ideas!"

[Hawkflight]

The gophers see the kitten. They're carrying their recent thefts under their arms in a comical size.

"Aaaaaahh! A cat! Please leave, if you wouldn't mind!" He turned to his identical companion and asked, "Would you care to flee screaming first?"

"I really think the honor should go to you."
"Oh, now, I do insist. Age before beauty, you know." By all indications, they are the same age. They also look the same size.
"Well, why don't we go together?"
"Oh, you always have the best ideas!"

"Oh!" Hani exclaimed. "Um, it's okay, um, I'm not going to h-hurt you," she said, slightly confused and a little hurt they would think that.

[Lycan 01]

"Oh dear, not that again." Ante says with the sort of annoyance one does not save for missing limbs. "Today is not a lucky day for us, Yuki. Ah, maybe it got tangled up in my blouse?"

Yuki completely ignores Terran, Hani, the gophers, and everything else except for Ante. Very slowly, she turns her head so that her eye locks on the demon-maid. The corners of her mouth twitch slightly, forming a faint frown. A few sparks kick off from her severed wrist.

"This is not a good day for me," she flatly states, almost hissing it. She then turns her gaze towards a nearby apple tree, where the blouse and hand are tangled up in the branches. "Not a good day for me at all."

[Atreli]

Lune laughed delightfully.

" You are very right Sir."

[Deme]

Hole Truth

"Are you certain? You are a cat, after all."
"Quite right."

Apple Tree

Athletics check, please!


We Walked on the Beach Besides The Old Hotel Castle

"Perhaps so. Up to indulge my interest?" He said, trying to segue to what they came for.
"...Or is there something else on your mind?"

[Hawkflight]

Hole Truth

"Are you certain? You are a cat, after all."
"Quite right."

Hani nodded certainly. "Y-Yes, absolutely," she said.

[Trobby]

Ante looks up in the direction Yuki is, and sees the tatters of her blouse, grimacing in frustration.

"Hold on just a moment, and I shall ah, attempt to assist."

The demon maid attempts to pull herself free of the cartoon-physics hole, gophers be damned.

Spoiler

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Athletics: (1d6x3)[6]

[Atreli]

" I'm good thanks. " She smiled softly.

" Yes, let's get started. " She walked a bit forward, approaching the ocean. Parting her lips, she began to sing. At first it was just a melody, a simple sound but soon became a song.

The words didn't emerge as english but an ancient language, one most people had forgotten about. Her body began to transform as she sang. Flesh became hard as rubber, legs became a long frilled fish body with beautiful bright colors that seemed to glimmer even more in the sunlight.
As fingers became claws, she unbuttoned her maid uniform. Getting it wet and dirty would make her feel dreadful, she tucked it safely on a large rock to make sure it stayed as it was. Underneathe, her shells kept her from being embarrassed, rope belts of beads and small shells encircled her waist. As she took off her maid hat and placed it with her uniform, the beads and shells in her hair glinted.

It felt wonderful to be herself again. She laid right in the surf, carrying herself through the song, not just in her heart but from her lips. Blissful to be locked in this moment then any other.

[Lycan 01]

Yuki rolls her eye, grabs Ante, and gives a huge yank to assist her.

---
Athletics: (1d6x2)[10]

[Deme]

Above Ground

They succeed in pulling Ante out! And no one loses any limbs or anything this time!


Below Ground

"Well, then, friend cat. How do you do?" One of them asked. They bowed.


Beach

Leon may have been a bit surprised, to see the truth. But it was a good sort of surprise; he was glad it was true. And he was glad of the song. He sat down just beside the surf and listened to it, trying to guess the meaning of her heart in the way the melody rose and fell like the tide. He, too, could lose himself in a bit of music, and his eyes closed as if entering a peaceful sleep.

He could pick up the melody enough to hum it with her, and so did -- it actually seemed to be, excepting the foreign lyrics, some variation of an old local song he had heard as a child. His deeper melody on her higher one formed a peaceful harmony that rode on the back of the ocean waves.

[Trobby]

"Ah, thank you, Yuki." Ante says, refraining from saying anything about 'losing an arm' herself, just barely. She dusts herself off a bit, frowning at the situation as a whole.

"Well, this is even more of a setback than before, but no matter! We shall persevere...ah, your hand. Let me get it for you."

Ignoring her lack of blouse for the moment, Ante marches right up to the apple tree, and attempts to jump up and retrieve the tatters of her former blouse, as well as Yuki's errant hand.

Spoiler

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Athletics: (1d6x3)[18]

[Atreli]

As the song came to an end the ocean took up playing in the background of their silence.

Pushing herself up on a large flat rock,different the one her maid uniform rested on, she closed her eyes for a moment, listening to the waves.

She then turned to him, contented bliss watching over her in that perfect moment. " That song is one I've always known and it's my favorite by far."

[Lycan 01]

Yuki simply stands idly by and lets Ante hop up and down to try and grab the blouse and severed hand. Her expression is one of bemusement, and doesn't change as her eye lazily looks the other maid over. "Hm. I think I would get more enjoyment out of this if I were a 'straight' male, or otherwise had a sexual interest in females," she offhandedly muses.

She's silent for a moment, before casually adding: "Interesting choice of brazier. It says a lot about you, you know..."