There are a lot of towns in the Good Ol' Country, all of them nice and happy. But none of them...
The Fox. (An Original Text-Adventure style Quest)
- Thread starter TripleMRed
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The Beginning.
- Location
- Tampa, FL.
There are a lot of towns in the Good Ol' Country, all of them nice and happy. But none of them as nice and happy as the quiet little town of Briarpatch! Everyone here was nice and friendly, except grumpy Miss Helen the Dog, but that's fine! One grumpy lump can't ruin this town, especially not for Karen the Rabbit!
"Ah, what a beautiful day!" Karen said as she stood outside her home. The sun was shining, the birds were singing (Like Mr. Kennedy, though he doesn't like it when you compare him to the little flying birds around town) and the rolling hills just outside the town looked particularly pleasant to take a stroll through. With a hop to her step, Karen got about doing her round around town. "Hello, Miss Helen!" Karen called out as she passed by her neighbor and the town grump. The female dog, who was watching her children play on the front lawn, instinctively frowned as she heard and saw Karen.
"Hello, Karen," She returned, her mood soured.
"Sorry about the rose bush." Karen apologized once again. That had to be, like, the 18th time she apologized this week!
"Don't be sorry, Karen, be more careful, like a woman your age should be." Helen scolded before returning her attention to her children's makeshift baseball game.
"Don't worry, I will be!" Karen called out confidently. "Hey T.J, J.D. and Bob!" Karen added as she continued on her way.
"Hi, miss Karen!" The three puppies called back, returning her wave. Karen smiled. They were such nice kids, though really, who names their kid Bob? That's, like, anti-parenting 101! Discarding the thought, Karen made her rounds around the rest of the town, her morning ritual of greeting everyone in turn.
"Hi, Miss Rosy!" Karen said to the baker of the town, a plump hen who was putting a number of pies out to cool down on her bakery's window sill. Rosy turned to look at her and waved with a smile. Karen always found it a little funny how much of a motherly figure Rosy had despite never having any children, though she knew enough social norms to not say as much outloud.
"Hello, Karen!" Rosy greeted back, "How's the town looking today?"
"Oh, it's looking as peachy as ever!" The rabbit happily stated, "Mr. Kennedy and his Quartet are out singing today in the square, the Greasers are playin' hooky outside of the theater, and you don't have to worry about Shady Slim, that fox is taking a nap right now."
"I swear, that man has some sticky fingers," Rosy uttered, shaking her head, "Why, just the other day, I caught him trying to steal one of my pies while it was still in the oven!" Despite herself, Karen giggled at the mental image.
"Yeah, he's a real shady guy!" And she wasn't just saying that because he was a fox, that would be racist! "So, you think you'll finally come out of your hen house today?"
"Oh, I don't know..." The hen uttered.
"Come on, it's a beautiful day today and you're always cooped up in your bakery!" Karen insisted. Rosy seemed to give it some thought before ultimately shaking her head.
"No, I think I'll stay in here like usual."
"Oh, alright," Huffed Karen, "One of these days, though, I'm gonna see you get out of that house, come heck or high water!" That earned a laugh from the hen.
"Oh, we'll have to see about that. Oh, I almost forgot!" Reaching behind her, Rosy took out an envelope. "Could you deliver this to Steve the next time you see him? I forgot to hand it to him the last time he was rounding up mail for his deliveries."
"Sure thing!" Karen cheerfully said as she took the mail from the hen's feather-finger thingies. With that, the two said their goodbyes and Karen took off to finish her round about town. The Rabbit planned on ending it by greeting Steve the Mail-Dog when he was coming back from his trip. He usually came back from the other town at around the time Karen finished her morning trip around town greeting everyone.
"Why, hello Karen." A wizened old voice called out. Karen stopped and turned, smiling, to face Mr. Roland the Owl. He was the town mayor and always had good advice for everyone who needed it. He was a funny guy, though. Not funny ha-ha, funny in that he was an owl. But not like a person owl, but a normal owl, only as big as a person. Okay, well, it's a little funny ha-ha considering he wears a vest and jacket fit for his normal owl shape. Anyway, that was a little weird, but nobody else really mentions it so Karen didn't think it was a big deal.
"Hiya, Mr. Roland!" Karen she cheerfully waved in greeting.
"A fine morning today, no? You doing your morning rounds?" Inquired the Mayor-Owl.
"Yup!" Karen uttered in agreement. "Town's looking fine today, like always!"
"That's good to hear." Roland happily uttered, "Now, before you go off on any of your usual misadventures, do stay out of the Back Woods."
"Come on, Mr. Roland, would I really go back there when the Acorn Woods are so much closer?" The Rabbit asked.
"Yes." Was the blunt reply she got.
"...Well, okay, maybe I would have gone." Karen admitted.
"Don't," Was Mr. Roland's stern reply, "You know what happens when you go there."
"Please, Mr. Roland, I only hit my head on a branch one time in there!"
"Karen, you always hit your head on a branch when you go there." The wizened old owl uttered, looking at Karen with a half-lidded look.
"The point is," Karen stated, "I'm not going there." 'Today' she internally added.
"Good." Roland nodded before looking at his pocket watch. "Well, that's all the free-time I can spare for this morning. Back to the office with me." The old owl turned around and began heading back into town hall. "Good bye, Karen."
"Bye, Mr. Roland!" What a great mayor. Anyway, Karen rechecked her mental check list and found she had finished her morning rounds now that she met with Mr. Roland. With an smile, both external and internal, the rabbit began skipping off down the main road towards the outside of town to meet Steve. As she left the town behind, she could already see a figure walking down the hilly road. Her smile growing ever wider, Karen took out Rosy's envelope and began sprinting towards them. "Hey, Steve!" She called out, "You forgot Rosy's...." Karen ground herself to a stop as the figure walking towards her became clearer.
That wasn't Steve. For a second, Karen wasn't sure what she was staring at. They looked like a fox. A person-fox. But they were naked!...And she couldn't see anything to tell them as a boy or a girl. They were long-limbed and lanky, their eyes closed shut, though Karen couldn't help but feel like they could see her somehow. Their limbs moved in a somewhat stiff manner, their walk an admittedly kinda funny goose-step. They lacked a definable mouth, no lips apparent on their face even as they approached closer. The stranger finally stopped a few meters away from her and just sort of stared with their shut-eyed stare. He....She....It? They just stood there, barely moving aside from the slow back and forth swishing of their tail and they just staring at her.
Blinking her shock away, Karen gave the friendliest smile she possibly could. "Hi!" She greeted, proud of herself for keeping her shock out of her tone, "I'm Karen! What's your name?" She even extended her hand out for a handshake.
-----
The Fox stared at the bunny-rabbit-person standing before him. Her? It? Them? The Fox just stared, waiting for the other rabbity person to say something. Finally, it did. "Hi!" It said in a light, girly tone. Ah, a girl rabbit thingy then. If she starts trying to couple with his(?) leg, he was gonna smack a ho. "I'm Karen! What's your name?" She asks as she extended her hand out. The Fox stared at it. The fuck's she doing? Looking for a hand out? Did she want Knifey!?....Nah, she don't know about Knifey. Thus, the original question remains: The fuck this doe doing?
>Suggest something for The Fox to do.
(Greetings everyone and welcome to a new Quest by me, TripleMRed. This Quest sees you, SV, seeing things mostly from the perspective of The Fox, and occasionally other people though it's mostly The Fox. The Fox and the others are their own characters, though you can make suggestions for them to follow! As with normal Text-Adventures, like Prequel or Ruby Quest, the Players will interact with the world and its contents by going through the Characters. No need to all suggest the exact same thing, feel free to suggest something different from everyone else. This isn't a vote system, it's a suggestion box for actions for the Characters to take.
Disclaimer: The author makes no claims to any of the artwork or music that may be displayed on this Quest. Some of it is work from games and other media, as can be seen by the watermarks some contain. Others are from artists around the web. None of it except some of the lore added on to them belongs to me, please support the official owners of the art/graphics used in this Quest. Feel free to ask who they belong to if you're curious. As this is an original quest, though don't be surprised expect to see stuff from existing franchises on here, like characters or such. Again, those belong to the original owners and not me.
Also, anyone have any questions, feel free to ask! So, with that out of the way, whose up for a totally fun and happy adventure?)
"Ah, what a beautiful day!" Karen said as she stood outside her home. The sun was shining, the birds were singing (Like Mr. Kennedy, though he doesn't like it when you compare him to the little flying birds around town) and the rolling hills just outside the town looked particularly pleasant to take a stroll through. With a hop to her step, Karen got about doing her round around town. "Hello, Miss Helen!" Karen called out as she passed by her neighbor and the town grump. The female dog, who was watching her children play on the front lawn, instinctively frowned as she heard and saw Karen.
"Hello, Karen," She returned, her mood soured.
"Sorry about the rose bush." Karen apologized once again. That had to be, like, the 18th time she apologized this week!
"Don't be sorry, Karen, be more careful, like a woman your age should be." Helen scolded before returning her attention to her children's makeshift baseball game.
"Don't worry, I will be!" Karen called out confidently. "Hey T.J, J.D. and Bob!" Karen added as she continued on her way.
"Hi, miss Karen!" The three puppies called back, returning her wave. Karen smiled. They were such nice kids, though really, who names their kid Bob? That's, like, anti-parenting 101! Discarding the thought, Karen made her rounds around the rest of the town, her morning ritual of greeting everyone in turn.
"Hi, Miss Rosy!" Karen said to the baker of the town, a plump hen who was putting a number of pies out to cool down on her bakery's window sill. Rosy turned to look at her and waved with a smile. Karen always found it a little funny how much of a motherly figure Rosy had despite never having any children, though she knew enough social norms to not say as much outloud.
"Hello, Karen!" Rosy greeted back, "How's the town looking today?"
"Oh, it's looking as peachy as ever!" The rabbit happily stated, "Mr. Kennedy and his Quartet are out singing today in the square, the Greasers are playin' hooky outside of the theater, and you don't have to worry about Shady Slim, that fox is taking a nap right now."
"I swear, that man has some sticky fingers," Rosy uttered, shaking her head, "Why, just the other day, I caught him trying to steal one of my pies while it was still in the oven!" Despite herself, Karen giggled at the mental image.
"Yeah, he's a real shady guy!" And she wasn't just saying that because he was a fox, that would be racist! "So, you think you'll finally come out of your hen house today?"
"Oh, I don't know..." The hen uttered.
"Come on, it's a beautiful day today and you're always cooped up in your bakery!" Karen insisted. Rosy seemed to give it some thought before ultimately shaking her head.
"No, I think I'll stay in here like usual."
"Oh, alright," Huffed Karen, "One of these days, though, I'm gonna see you get out of that house, come heck or high water!" That earned a laugh from the hen.
"Oh, we'll have to see about that. Oh, I almost forgot!" Reaching behind her, Rosy took out an envelope. "Could you deliver this to Steve the next time you see him? I forgot to hand it to him the last time he was rounding up mail for his deliveries."
"Sure thing!" Karen cheerfully said as she took the mail from the hen's feather-finger thingies. With that, the two said their goodbyes and Karen took off to finish her round about town. The Rabbit planned on ending it by greeting Steve the Mail-Dog when he was coming back from his trip. He usually came back from the other town at around the time Karen finished her morning trip around town greeting everyone.
"Why, hello Karen." A wizened old voice called out. Karen stopped and turned, smiling, to face Mr. Roland the Owl. He was the town mayor and always had good advice for everyone who needed it. He was a funny guy, though. Not funny ha-ha, funny in that he was an owl. But not like a person owl, but a normal owl, only as big as a person. Okay, well, it's a little funny ha-ha considering he wears a vest and jacket fit for his normal owl shape. Anyway, that was a little weird, but nobody else really mentions it so Karen didn't think it was a big deal.
"Hiya, Mr. Roland!" Karen she cheerfully waved in greeting.
"A fine morning today, no? You doing your morning rounds?" Inquired the Mayor-Owl.
"Yup!" Karen uttered in agreement. "Town's looking fine today, like always!"
"That's good to hear." Roland happily uttered, "Now, before you go off on any of your usual misadventures, do stay out of the Back Woods."
"Come on, Mr. Roland, would I really go back there when the Acorn Woods are so much closer?" The Rabbit asked.
"Yes." Was the blunt reply she got.
"...Well, okay, maybe I would have gone." Karen admitted.
"Don't," Was Mr. Roland's stern reply, "You know what happens when you go there."
"Please, Mr. Roland, I only hit my head on a branch one time in there!"
"Karen, you always hit your head on a branch when you go there." The wizened old owl uttered, looking at Karen with a half-lidded look.
"The point is," Karen stated, "I'm not going there." 'Today' she internally added.
"Good." Roland nodded before looking at his pocket watch. "Well, that's all the free-time I can spare for this morning. Back to the office with me." The old owl turned around and began heading back into town hall. "Good bye, Karen."
"Bye, Mr. Roland!" What a great mayor. Anyway, Karen rechecked her mental check list and found she had finished her morning rounds now that she met with Mr. Roland. With an smile, both external and internal, the rabbit began skipping off down the main road towards the outside of town to meet Steve. As she left the town behind, she could already see a figure walking down the hilly road. Her smile growing ever wider, Karen took out Rosy's envelope and began sprinting towards them. "Hey, Steve!" She called out, "You forgot Rosy's...." Karen ground herself to a stop as the figure walking towards her became clearer.
That wasn't Steve. For a second, Karen wasn't sure what she was staring at. They looked like a fox. A person-fox. But they were naked!...And she couldn't see anything to tell them as a boy or a girl. They were long-limbed and lanky, their eyes closed shut, though Karen couldn't help but feel like they could see her somehow. Their limbs moved in a somewhat stiff manner, their walk an admittedly kinda funny goose-step. They lacked a definable mouth, no lips apparent on their face even as they approached closer. The stranger finally stopped a few meters away from her and just sort of stared with their shut-eyed stare. He....She....It? They just stood there, barely moving aside from the slow back and forth swishing of their tail and they just staring at her.
Blinking her shock away, Karen gave the friendliest smile she possibly could. "Hi!" She greeted, proud of herself for keeping her shock out of her tone, "I'm Karen! What's your name?" She even extended her hand out for a handshake.
-----
The Fox stared at the bunny-rabbit-person standing before him. Her? It? Them? The Fox just stared, waiting for the other rabbity person to say something. Finally, it did. "Hi!" It said in a light, girly tone. Ah, a girl rabbit thingy then. If she starts trying to couple with his(?) leg, he was gonna smack a ho. "I'm Karen! What's your name?" She asks as she extended her hand out. The Fox stared at it. The fuck's she doing? Looking for a hand out? Did she want Knifey!?....Nah, she don't know about Knifey. Thus, the original question remains: The fuck this doe doing?
>Suggest something for The Fox to do.
(Greetings everyone and welcome to a new Quest by me, TripleMRed. This Quest sees you, SV, seeing things mostly from the perspective of The Fox, and occasionally other people though it's mostly The Fox. The Fox and the others are their own characters, though you can make suggestions for them to follow! As with normal Text-Adventures, like Prequel or Ruby Quest, the Players will interact with the world and its contents by going through the Characters. No need to all suggest the exact same thing, feel free to suggest something different from everyone else. This isn't a vote system, it's a suggestion box for actions for the Characters to take.
Disclaimer: The author makes no claims to any of the artwork or music that may be displayed on this Quest. Some of it is work from games and other media, as can be seen by the watermarks some contain. Others are from artists around the web. None of it except some of the lore added on to them belongs to me, please support the official owners of the art/graphics used in this Quest. Feel free to ask who they belong to if you're curious. As this is an original quest, though don't be surprised expect to see stuff from existing franchises on here, like characters or such. Again, those belong to the original owners and not me.
Also, anyone have any questions, feel free to ask! So, with that out of the way, whose up for a totally fun and happy adventure?)
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- Location
- United States
And I love this guy. You can tell he is just so done with everyone's shit.
- Location
- United States
>Wave your hand in front of her eyes. Maybe she hit her head?
Wow, this is way harder than I thought it would be.
Wow, this is way harder than I thought it would be.
- Location
- Tampa, FL.
(Mr. Owl's sick of Not!Tigger's shit.)
Names.
- Location
- Tampa, FL.
Ah, the ever helpful head voices giving sound suggestions. Most of the time, anyway. Still, it was a good enough idea as far as The Fox was concerned. The Fox waved a paw-like hand in front of the bunny-rabbit girl thingy's eyes. The Fox wasn't sure how this would help fix head trauma, but it got a response out of her. Blinking, the bunny-rabbit, 'Karen', giggled before returning the gesture.
"You're a funny guy!" She noted. The Fox perked up at that. He liked this one already. "Er, you are a guy, right?" The Fox looked at Karen in the most 'really' way possible. He then looked at his lack of attributes. Seriously, was it that hard to tell? Honestly, Karen, if he didn't know any better, he'd think you were blind. Still, for the sake of identification purposes, he gave her a thumbs up, his gaze still stuck staring down at his body. "Okay, wow, that's a relief." Karen said, wiping some imaginary sweat from her brow. "Last time I mistook a lady for a guy, boy did I not hear the end of that!"
The Fox nodded as he snapped his head up to look at her again, his cranium bobbing up and down like bobble-head, or one of those water-drinking bird toy thingies that hipsters and douche-bag bosses kept on their desks to fill out space.
"Well, I still didn't catch your name, sir." Karen continued unto the original question she'd presented. The Fox's shut eyes skewed into an annoyed grimace, a paw-like hand pointing at his muzzle and distinct lack of mouth. Jeez, Karen, don't be so insensitive to people without mouths! That's like, what, third grade etiquette right there? Fourth grade at the most! "O-oh, sorry!" Karen apologetically chuckled while rubbing the back of her head, "Um....Do you have a name?"
The Fox gave it some thought, which is to say he spent about three seconds imagining himself with a name like Carl or something and pushed down the urge to lobotomize himself for imagining such a travesty. After that deep and insightful thinking session, he merely shook his head. In all honesty, he never really needed a name. 'Fox' served just fine. That earned a gasp from Karen.
"You don't have a name!?" She asked incredulously. God, Karen, don't be so dramatic. Lots of people don't have names, like....okay, give him some time to think and he'll come up with some examples, but he knows there are people out there without names dammit! "Well, you can't just not have a name, that's like pre-school etiquette right there. First grade, tops!" The Rabbit hummed as she tapped her foot and gave it some thought of her own. "How's about....Foxy!" That is so fucking original Karen. The sheer originality of it made him want to violently retch, which is quite the feat considering the whole lack of mouth thing he had going on. "....Sooo, that's a no on 'Foxy'?"
Karen, darling, he prayed that you never have children if you come up with names as original as that for people. The Fox shook his head no in response.
"Hmmm.....How's about 'Charlie'?" Rabbit, does he look like a woman?! Actually, wait, no, don't answer that, it's already clear you can't tell. "'Foxtrot'?" Dammit, Karen, that sucks but it's awesome sounding but it's also not good but it's also great. "Okay, tell you what, raise your right hand for Charlie, left hand for Foxtrot."
>Suggest something for The Fox to do.
- Location
- United States
I want to have him flip her off so badly. It would just be perfect.
>Raise both of your hands. From this point onwards, you shall forever be known as 'Charlie-Foxtrot'.
Literally my exact thought process. Like, it's a terrible name, but at the same time it sounds cool. Wait, Charlie-Foxtrot? Hah! (That's military speak for absolute clusterfuck)
>Raise both of your hands. From this point onwards, you shall forever be known as 'Charlie-Foxtrot'.
Welcome to Briarpatch, Pt. 1.
- Location
- Tampa, FL.
Though the Fox has reservations for both names individually, putting them together and using both does have a nice ring to it. Fuck it. The Fox raises both hands towards Karen, their central digits raised and pointing to the sky above. Karen's jaw slacks as she stairs at the Fox's crudely articulated decision.
"You.....You want both?" She asked, either not noticing the fact she's receiving the double bird or politely ignoring that. The Fox nods. "Oh, wow. Wow!" Karen laughs, "Alright then, Charlie Foxtrot it is!" Was she not putting a hyphen when she says both? This doe wasn't putting the hyphen when she says both! Karen, that's rude! "Well, Charlie," And now you're using the first one on its own!? Karen, that's sick and cruel! You're sick and cruel! "We don't get a whole lot of strangers here in Briarpatch, so I think it'd be a good idea to show you around town!" Okay, fine Karen, but there better be food! The 'Charlie-Foxtrot' is hungry and he wants some good shit!
The Fox makes it a point to rub his belly. Karen blinks, her mind seemingly trying to work out how he could be hungry when he doesn't have a mouth. Duh, Karen, you don't need a mouth to eat. That's, like, basic eatology 101.
"Uh, you're hungry?" Charlie-Foxtrot nods in response. "Well, how's 'bout this: We go around town, meet some of the folks, then we'll grab a bite to eat at the bakery before we go meet the mayor! Sound good?" Charlie-Foxtrot paused as he considered these terms. They are acceptable, but he expects some good shit at the end of this whole thing!
Karen takes Foxtrot's paw-hand-thingy and starts leading the stiff limbed stranger down the road back into town, talking all the way.
"My house is the first one on the main road into town," She said, pointing to a small, but comfy looking little home on the left side of the paved road going into town. "If you're going to be staying a while, you can stay with me for as long as you need." That causes Charlie-Foxtrot to perk up. Huh, that's actually very nice of her. Thank you, Karen. "We can watch TV, play games, go on adventures," The doe began to list off. Okay, Karen, we get it, it's going to be super-fun. "Oh, that house after mine is Miss Helen's. She's kind of grumpy, but she's a good mom." Karen started waving towards a female dog that was observing her kids playing outside, looks like a game of tag. Aw, how cute! "Hi, Miss Helen!" Karen called out, "We got an out of towner!"
The smile on Helen's face as she was watching her children quickly soured as she heard Karen's voice. "Karen, what are you talking about? Nobody's come from out of-" Helen stops talking as her eyes settle on Charlie-Foxtrot and they widen. Quickly, she stops her kids game and hurries them inside the house at once before closing the door and returning her attention back to Karen. Was it something Karen said?
"Uh, Miss Helen-" Karen begins only to be cut off.
"Karen, what is that thing?" The female dog woman demanded to know, her eyes locked with Foxtrot's own closed ones. What's this lady's deal!?
"This is Charlie Foxtrot!" Karen introduces him. Karen, the Hyphen! "Charlie's from out of town, see," Just Charlie again? Karen, por que!? "And I'm showing him around town!"
"I didn't ask you who it is, Karen," Helen growled, still not taking her eyes off Foxtrot. Seriously, lady, take a chill pill! "I asked you what it is!"
"He's a fox, duh." Karen said as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. Something snapped in Helen's eyes and she pointed a finger at him.
"I don't want that thing near my children, do you understand me Karen?" She said in a steady, seething voice. Wait a second....Is she racist against foxes!?
"Miss He-"
"Karen May Jones, do you understand me." Her voice barely changed as she continued to stare down Foxtrot. "That thing stays away from them and away from my house." Oh my God, she is! She's a totally racist bitch! And to think she's distantly related to foxes, too, so it's a special kind of bigotry at that!
"Okay, Miss Helen." Karen admits defeat, motioning with a hand to try and calm the angered woman down. "Come on, Charlie, let's go see the rest of the town!" Karen said as she began leading Foxtrot away, trying to get some cheer back into her voice again. The Fox followed, but not before he continued glaring at the supreme queen bitch of the town, who returned the glare with a narrowed stare of her own. All the while, her kids were huddled at the nearest window, watching the pair go. All of them waved goodbye! How nice of them! Clearly her racism hasn't ruined her whole household, just her bitchy self.
>Suggest something for Charlie-Foxtrot to do.
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- Location
- United States
... wat
I don't - okay. Alright.
That was a rather extreme reaction out of Ms. Helen, but I can't tell if it's because there's a genuine reason to be afraid, and Karen's a moron, or she's just being xenophobic. Her kids waving goodbye to Charlie-Foxtrot suggests the latter, although to be fair the way he's described makes it sound like he'd be fairly horrifying to witness in person.
- Location
- United States
>Go and meet whoever's in charge of this place. If they all turn out to be racist assholes like that bitch (Hah!) Helen, you may want to consider blowing this popsicle stand.
- Location
- PA
>Go and meet whoever's in charge of this place. If they all turn out to be racist assholes like that bitch (Hah!) Helen, you may want to consider blowing this popsicle stand.
...I feel like we're supposed to be the stranger that causes havoc thanks to derpy-bunny here but then again we might just blow that particular plot out the window.
...I feel like we're supposed to be the stranger that causes havoc thanks to derpy-bunny here but then again we might just blow that particular plot out the window.
- Location
- Tampa, FL.
(Oh, you'll start getting some ideas of what's going on here soon enough. Also, Welcome aboard! Hopefully you've found what's happened so far entertaining enough. Also, if you want, you could make a different suggestion. This Quest runs on a suggestion system, not a voting system.)
- Location
- Tampa, FL.
(If you weren't at least a little curious, I will have horribly failed both myself and you guys.)
Bonus Post: Kneejerk.
- Location
- Tampa, FL.
You are Miss Helen. For ten years, you've lived in the nice little town of Briarpatch. The folks were nice, the town itself was nice, everything was nice. Too nice. You don't remember a whole lot from before ten years ago, other than everyone moved into town then. A part of yourself doesn't want to remember, because you know in the back of your mind that there is a lot of pain there.
It's a nice day, of course it always is, and you've been spending the morning watching your kids play out on the front lawn. It's the weekend so they've got the whole day to themselves and you've already finished grading the homework for last week. You smile as T.J. manages to catch up to J.D and tag her as it. For all of your reservations over how nice the town is, the one thing you will always be grateful for, even if you don't always show it, is how pleasant of a life your kids have here.
"Ha, gotcha!" J.D. cheers as she tags Bobby. You can't help but snort a little. You'd wanted to give your kids matching names, ones that could be condensed into two letters. 'Tom Jones, Judith Doe'. You had a reason for that, a silly reason, but you can't for the life of you remember what it was exactly. Bobby, however, got singled out. You wanted to give him a name like the other puppies, but you remembered your husband insisting they call one 'Bobby' in honor of the man who'd saved his life back in the service. It amused you then, and it amuses you even now. That leads you to reminisce on your husband. He'd been a good dog; loyal, dependable, funny and so many other things you can't even list. He'd been your best friend, the love of your life. And then, you can't remember what happened to him.
You don't try to. You want to, but you know it's one of those memories that just sort of faded away. Still, you know for a fact he's gone. You don't know how, but you know he is. You wipe away the beginning of a tear before chuckling as Bobby chases after T.J. around a fruit tree, like something straight out of an old cartoon. Then again, that's a pretty common thing around here, as you've learned over the last ten years. Nobody really questions it or brings it up, and you've learned long ago to keep your reservations to yourself. You've seen what happens to people who openly-
"Hi, Miss Helen!" An ever cheerful voice called out. You institutionally groan internally as your good mood evaporates. Karen May Jones. Your neighbor of ten years and the town's residential adventurous spirit. She's a grown rabbit doe, but she has an endless bounty of childish enthusiasm that you find both endearing and annoying. Not the least bit because of all the the time's she's gone into the Back Woods on her own. "We got an out of towner!" You groan internally again. The out of towner prank again? You swear if you see Steve being roped into wearing a stupid costume again, you were going to lecture those two something good!
"Karen, what are you talking about?" You begin as you start turning around to look at her. "Nobody's come from out of-" You stop cold when you see IT. Before you know it, your kids are in your house and you've locked the door before you stare IT down.
---
Frantic breathing wracks your lungs as you storm through the mist filled woods, desperate to get away.
---
"Uh, Miss Helen-" Karen begins before you cut her off.
"Karen, what is that thing?" You demand to know, taking every once of your discipline not to start breaking down into frantic breaths as you stare at the THING the doe's bringing up behind her.
---
You can hear it. You can feel it's glare as it storms up behind you, chasing you down. You don't dare turn around, focusing all of your efforts on not tripping in the woods around you, desperate to get to the town you heard was near by.
---
"This is Charlie Foxtrot!" Karen uttered a name. A meaningless set of words that didn't fit because names belong to people and that THING is not a person. You can feel it. In your damn heart, you know that that IT is not a person. "Charlie's from out of town, see and I'm showing him around town!"
---
The town was so close now. You can see the shapes of buildings just past the treeline, in the distance. And then the thing hunting you slams into your side.
---
"I didn't ask you who it is, Karen,I asked you what it is!" You growl out, your patience wearing thin as you start to internally panic more and more.
"He's a fox, duh." Karen said as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.
---
You're hyperventilating as you stare it down, your back to a tree. A massive feral fox-no. Not a fox. Animal foxes don't get that big. You know for a fact that it isn't a fox, but your mind refuses to show you what it actually is. The not-fox tries to claw at you, tearing marks into the belly of your shirt and almost raking your pregnant belly.
---
THAT IS NOT A FUCKING FOX. Something in you snaps.
"I don't want that thing near my children, do you understand me Karen?" You manage to say in a seething voice, your internal panic reaching maximum levels.
---
Something snaps and then next thing you know, the combat knife you'd kept in a hip sheath is in your hands and the not-fox's head is somewhere else. You're still screaming as you stab its guts out.
---
"Miss He-"
"Karen May Jones, do you understand me." You don't change your tone as you continue to stare the fucker in front of you down, daring it to do something. "That thing stays away from them and away from my house." You demand.
"Okay, Miss Helen." Karen utters, dejected. With that, she leads the THING into town, you not daring to break eye contact with the fucker's shut eyes.
---
You pant as you look yourself over. Bloody scratches line your arms and legs, but your belly remains safe. You hear a sound that is like a sick parody of a howl in the distance. Without waiting another moment, you sheath your knife and move as fast as you can towards the town.
---
"Momma, who was that?" Bobby asks as you enter your home.
"Kids, come with me," You say, your panic visible now, "We're going to see the mayor." Like hell you are going to leave them alone with that THING out there. Roland. He knows whats going on. That fucker probably already knows about the THING that's gotten into town, and she was going to be damned sure he took care of it.
It's a nice day, of course it always is, and you've been spending the morning watching your kids play out on the front lawn. It's the weekend so they've got the whole day to themselves and you've already finished grading the homework for last week. You smile as T.J. manages to catch up to J.D and tag her as it. For all of your reservations over how nice the town is, the one thing you will always be grateful for, even if you don't always show it, is how pleasant of a life your kids have here.
"Ha, gotcha!" J.D. cheers as she tags Bobby. You can't help but snort a little. You'd wanted to give your kids matching names, ones that could be condensed into two letters. 'Tom Jones, Judith Doe'. You had a reason for that, a silly reason, but you can't for the life of you remember what it was exactly. Bobby, however, got singled out. You wanted to give him a name like the other puppies, but you remembered your husband insisting they call one 'Bobby' in honor of the man who'd saved his life back in the service. It amused you then, and it amuses you even now. That leads you to reminisce on your husband. He'd been a good dog; loyal, dependable, funny and so many other things you can't even list. He'd been your best friend, the love of your life. And then, you can't remember what happened to him.
You don't try to. You want to, but you know it's one of those memories that just sort of faded away. Still, you know for a fact he's gone. You don't know how, but you know he is. You wipe away the beginning of a tear before chuckling as Bobby chases after T.J. around a fruit tree, like something straight out of an old cartoon. Then again, that's a pretty common thing around here, as you've learned over the last ten years. Nobody really questions it or brings it up, and you've learned long ago to keep your reservations to yourself. You've seen what happens to people who openly-
"Hi, Miss Helen!" An ever cheerful voice called out. You institutionally groan internally as your good mood evaporates. Karen May Jones. Your neighbor of ten years and the town's residential adventurous spirit. She's a grown rabbit doe, but she has an endless bounty of childish enthusiasm that you find both endearing and annoying. Not the least bit because of all the the time's she's gone into the Back Woods on her own. "We got an out of towner!" You groan internally again. The out of towner prank again? You swear if you see Steve being roped into wearing a stupid costume again, you were going to lecture those two something good!
"Karen, what are you talking about?" You begin as you start turning around to look at her. "Nobody's come from out of-" You stop cold when you see IT. Before you know it, your kids are in your house and you've locked the door before you stare IT down.
---
Frantic breathing wracks your lungs as you storm through the mist filled woods, desperate to get away.
---
"Uh, Miss Helen-" Karen begins before you cut her off.
"Karen, what is that thing?" You demand to know, taking every once of your discipline not to start breaking down into frantic breaths as you stare at the THING the doe's bringing up behind her.
---
You can hear it. You can feel it's glare as it storms up behind you, chasing you down. You don't dare turn around, focusing all of your efforts on not tripping in the woods around you, desperate to get to the town you heard was near by.
---
"This is Charlie Foxtrot!" Karen uttered a name. A meaningless set of words that didn't fit because names belong to people and that THING is not a person. You can feel it. In your damn heart, you know that that IT is not a person. "Charlie's from out of town, see and I'm showing him around town!"
---
The town was so close now. You can see the shapes of buildings just past the treeline, in the distance. And then the thing hunting you slams into your side.
---
"I didn't ask you who it is, Karen,I asked you what it is!" You growl out, your patience wearing thin as you start to internally panic more and more.
"He's a fox, duh." Karen said as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.
---
You're hyperventilating as you stare it down, your back to a tree. A massive feral fox-no. Not a fox. Animal foxes don't get that big. You know for a fact that it isn't a fox, but your mind refuses to show you what it actually is. The not-fox tries to claw at you, tearing marks into the belly of your shirt and almost raking your pregnant belly.
---
THAT IS NOT A FUCKING FOX. Something in you snaps.
"I don't want that thing near my children, do you understand me Karen?" You manage to say in a seething voice, your internal panic reaching maximum levels.
---
Something snaps and then next thing you know, the combat knife you'd kept in a hip sheath is in your hands and the not-fox's head is somewhere else. You're still screaming as you stab its guts out.
---
"Miss He-"
"Karen May Jones, do you understand me." You don't change your tone as you continue to stare the fucker in front of you down, daring it to do something. "That thing stays away from them and away from my house." You demand.
"Okay, Miss Helen." Karen utters, dejected. With that, she leads the THING into town, you not daring to break eye contact with the fucker's shut eyes.
---
You pant as you look yourself over. Bloody scratches line your arms and legs, but your belly remains safe. You hear a sound that is like a sick parody of a howl in the distance. Without waiting another moment, you sheath your knife and move as fast as you can towards the town.
---
"Momma, who was that?" Bobby asks as you enter your home.
"Kids, come with me," You say, your panic visible now, "We're going to see the mayor." Like hell you are going to leave them alone with that THING out there. Roland. He knows whats going on. That fucker probably already knows about the THING that's gotten into town, and she was going to be damned sure he took care of it.
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- Location
- United States
...
Well that escalated quickly.
I mean, holy shit. I was certain that this was going to get dark, but goddamn.
Well that escalated quickly.
I mean, holy shit. I was certain that this was going to get dark, but goddamn.
Welcome to Briarpatch, Pt. 2.
- Location
- Tampa, FL.
While it is true that Helen is a racist hyper-bigot of the highest order, even if the rest of the town save Karen is like her, The Fox was not leaving. He was here to stay and that's that.
While she smells and looks like an adult, her upbeat and spunky personality and the way she had a literal hop in her step peaked the Fox's curiosity. Before they moved onto the next house on the way, Charlie-Foxtrot stopped walking, which caused Karen to stop walking because she was leading him by the hand.
"Huh, what's wrong?" The funny bunny asked, a curious look of her own on her face. "Everything alright? You're not upset about Miss Helen, are you?" She asked in concern. While the presence of the turbo-bitch was a damper on things overall, he wasn't upset about that. Well, okay, not totally upset. Anyway, the Fox pointed to Karen and started miming to her about her age. "Oh, charades!" Karen squealed in girlish delight. "I love charades! Okay, let me see....you're a duck-no! A pebble!"
The Fox briefly stopped to just stare at Karen in shock. Okay, first of all, how the fuck did you go from a duck to a pebble? Like, seriously Karen, what the fuck? Second of all, both of those were wrong, he was clearly miming about the existential dread that lies within all living things. Obviously. Quickly shifting gears, Charlie-Foxtrot started using sign language. Since he lacked any signs, he had to make do with using his paw-like hands to make different shapes corresponding to different letters.
"Oh, sign-language, I can read that!" The excitable rabbit declared as she watched her new friend sign away. The massive, buck-toothed grin on her face slowly diminished in size as she tried and failed to comprehend what was being signed. "Uh, sorry, I don't think I know that alphabet. Is that...Nipponese? I swear I've seen signs like that in a show once." Fucking hell, Karen, what the hell is Nipponese and why does it make Foxtrot think of tentacles? And not the awesome kind, either!
Getting increasingly fed up, the Fox began to slap his face in code.
"Morse Code now?" The rabbit asked in awe. "Wow, you know lots of ways to talk like I do, huh! Okay, lets see....And I have no idea what kind of code that is." Fucking damn it, Karen, your lack of education is why we can't have nice things!
Frustrated with the lack of progress, the Fox finally gave up, walked to the side of the road and used his foot-paw-thingy to carve a single word in the dirt: 'Age?'
"'Age'? Oh! How old am I?" Yes, rabbit, that's what he's been trying to ask! The Fox nods, thankful things were finally going somewhere. "Well, I'm 24 years old!" The rabbit declared cheerfully, striking a pose. Damn it, Karen, you don't strike poses unless you can be fucking fabulous when you do them, and with all due respect, you're not fucking fabulous!
Still, that at least answers one of Foxtrot's questions. 24, eh? He's surprised at how young that is to be an adult. Hell, his legs still hadn't grown in yet when he was that age and he was still being used as a chew toy. Ah, childhood memories. Still, he supposes rabbits with their freakish breeding rates would likely mature earlier, so that's understandable.
"How old are you?" She asks, curious now. Charlie-Foxtrot pauses and gives it some thought. Time is a funny thing. Not funny 'haha', funny in that if you're not paying attention, it just flies on by in a hurry. Let's see, counting that, carry the three, square root of pudding....Old enough. He carves as much in the dirt, earning a giggle from Karen. "You're a silly guy." She says while shaking her head. "Well, enough dawdling, it's time to see the rest of the town!" 'Enough dawdling'? Karen, one can't dawdle enough. The art of the dawdle is a very fine one, like aging cheese to perfection or stealing your coworkers snacks when they're not looking. Still, she's the one giving him a tour, so he follows along with her.
---
The tour is a fairly uneventful one. It's the weekend, but most folks are staying at home and not many are out today. Foxtrot met a bird guy called Mr. Kennedy and his Quartet of fellow birds. Bird people are silly creatures. They don't like to be compared to their not-people counterparts but here's a barbershop quartet of them singing their not-so-little hearts out. They're in the middle of practice so not a whole lot of talking goes down, though they are polite enough to offer some friendly waves in the pair's direction. Both wave back, Karen enthusiastically and the Fox like a cross between a wind-shield wiper and a rusty door creaking back and forth.
The town itself is laid out in an odd manner: There is only one, admittedly large, road in or out of town: The thing enters the town, passing by the houses everyone lives at before curling around into a swirl towards the town center. There's a couple of restaurants, an arcade and family eatery, an all in one school building for every primary school grade, a double purpose bowling alley and movie theater built side to side, the post office, a bakery, and the town hall. A few other buildings dot the place, though the Fox doesn't pay much attention to those.
"Right there is the Bakery, like I said." Karen uttered, pointing it out. Indeed, next to town hall was a small, but respectable bakery called 'The Sweet Rose'. It has a flowery motif and a sign showing a cartoon hen holding a pie. "We can go eat there since you're hungry, then we can meet the mayor!" The rabbit utters. The Fox nods. 'Bout damn time, he's starving. As the two head over, however, they notice folks outside of the mayors office, talking: Miss Helen and her kids and...The owl turns to look at the fox right in the eye. Foxtrot stares. Yeah, he sees you, and you see him. A moment passes as the two stare each other down and size each other up.
Finally, the owl smiles before turning his attention back to Miss Helen, who was also staring at Foxtrot. He says something to her that makes her blanch briefly before her face becomes stony and she stiffly nods. With that, the hard ass takes her kids and starts heading home, pointedly not looking at the Fox as she does. Yeah, you better run you bigoted bitch! The kids wave again, which the Fox returns this time.
"Oh, there's the Mayor." Karen stated. "Say, if you want, we can go talk to him now and I'l get us some sweets after that. What do you think?"
>Suggest something for Charlie-Foxtrot to do.
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- Location
- Madison, AL
>Pleased to meet ya! What is your name owl and mayor?
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- Location
- St. Petersburg
24?
> Go greet the mayor. Nice town he got there.
> They don't see a lot of guests, do they? Why would that be?
I am curious about Karen's words about an out-of-towner. Doesn't happen often? But the town's got a road, doesn't it?
- Location
- Madison, AL
how do you do the sideways v?
- Location
- Tampa, FL.
(Whoops! Thanks for catching that! Fixing.)
'>' is a symbol that is over the period '.' To use it, simply use shift then press the key with the period symbol and you should get the sideways v. Hope that helps!
Last edited:
- Location
- Madison, AL
Thx man, couldn't find it.
Welcome to Briarpatch, Pt. 3.
- Location
- Tampa, FL.
Charlie-Foxtrot answers Karen by goose-stepping on over to stand before the not-person bird person thingy. The Fox comes to a stop just within arms reach of the Mayor. Foxtrot is taller than Karen and that Mr. Kennedy fellow and his pals, roughly the same height as Helen. The Mayor, however, is a head taller than even the Fox's lanky ass.
Where most people would be at least a little intimidated by a giant non-person owl thing looming over them, Foxtrot simply gives him a second look over, not the least bit intimidated. The Mayor, for his part, merely continues looking at the Fox silently, a pleased smile on his face.
"Welcome to our little town of Briarpatch." The Mayor says in a genuinely warm and welcoming voice. Doesn't matter if you're being friendly, though. Foxtrot knows you game, motherfucker. "I am Mr. Roland, the Mayor. Though, you already know that last part." He said, glancing over at Karen.
"Hi, Mr. Roland!" Karen says with a wave.
"Hello, Karen." Mr. Roland waves back with his free wing. "Karen, I do believe I overheard you talking to your new friend that you were going to the Bakery for some sweets?" Karen responded with a cheerful nod. "I'd like to officially welcome our guest here in private back at the office, why don't you go on ahead and get something for you both while that's going on."
"That sounds like a good idea, Mr. Roland!" Karen nodded. She waved goodbye as she started heading over to the Bakery. "See you in a little bit, Charlie!" You know what, he wasn't even mad anymore. If she was gonna keep calling him by that instead of the full name all the time, no point in getting pissy....Fuck it, once more for posterity: Dammit Karen!
A chuckle escapes Roland's beak as he turns around and motions for the Fox to follow.
---
The Mayor's office was a big, fancy space. Lots of old items from around the world hung around here for aesthetic reasons. Hell, the whole town hall looked like a cross between an actual government building and a museum. The Mayor's assistant Harriet, a quiet and stern looking dog woman with a surprising amount of muscle on her curvaceous form, was busy looking over some files just outside the office in her own desk. She'd given a respectful nod towards Roland and the Fox when they passed her by, Roland returning the gesture while the Fox settled for waving like the unholy love child of windmill and a inflatable car tube person thingy.
Within the office itself, the Fox stood next to a chair on the other side of the Mayor's mahogany desk. The Mayor sat behind his desk on a pillow instead of a normal chair due to his bestial form. And then they just silently stared at one another, the Fox with his ever closed eyes and the Mayor with that ever so pleased look on his face as he watched over his guest more like a hawk than an owl. After the fifth minute of this silent staring contest, the Fox started to shift in place. Shit, this was getting awkward. The Mayor's golden 'eyes' bored into the Fox's closed ones. The Fox's brows furrowed. Come on, show me your real eyes. The silence was broken by a chuckle.
"Only if you show me yours." Touche, fucker.
"It is a pleasant place, no?" He said with a nod. "Briarpatch, our little town here in the countryside. A nice, quiet place where people can live in peace and comfort." The Mayor uttered, genuine love for this place entering his voice as he spoke. "Our little community is a diverse and proud little slice of the Good Ol' Country that anyone, even those from the big cities, can enjoy time in."
"Indeed." The Mayor agreed. "You're the first new person to come to our town in the ten years since we founded it." Ten years with noone else? "Oh come now, don't look so surprised." Roland waved with a wing. "You know what's going on. We both know what it's like out there nowadays. Not a lot of good people looking for towns to stay in anymore." The owl actually sounded a little bitter about that for a moment. Funny, you don't seem the least bit surprised by a stranger coming into town, not even factoring bitch-McGee's tattle-tailing. The smile returned to his face. " I suppose I should at least explain why I'm not surprised by you, then. It's easy not to be surprised when I'm the one that called you here."
....When in the actual fucking hell did something like you get the balls to call in for someone like him? That damn smile seems to dampen a little.
"Our town's been safe and secure since forever. The only real trouble we have is the....wildlife, out in the Back Woods, but they've always kept to the Woods. For ten years, we've been happy and secure. But recently, I've started noticing some less than pleasant critters milling about up there and I've decided to be better safe than sorry." So rather than chancing it and seeing what happens, you decide to call the fucking cavalry in to babysit the town, that it? "Yes." He bluntly uttered.
The Fox had to admit, he was a bit impressed by how candid this thing was being with him. A little pissed that the higher ups fucked up and sent him on a babysitting mission, but still impressed. Still, he supposed it wasn't so bad. This town was nice enough and he was sure he'd find some tasty stuff while here.
"Well then, it's settled." Roland uttered as he hammered a small gavel near his desk. Quicker and quiter than her size would belie, Harriet swiftly entered and deposited some paper work right in front of the Fox on the desk. "Let's make this official. Just sign on that paper-work and you can get started after a few days getting accustomed to our town." Foxtrot snorted in amusement. Got to give the fucker credit, he's got this whole thing nice and ready to go. Taking a pen out from a near by cup full of them, Foxtrot quickly and legibly wrote down his name. There, 'Charlie-Foxtrot'.
"Ah-ah-ah," Roland uttered as Foxtrot started to turn it over to him, "Full name." Foxtrot paused before sighing through his nose and adding in his family name. There, done. "And titles." Fucking damn it. Okay, now, "All of them." Seriously?! Okay, fine, jeeze! After a solid minute writing it all down, Foxtrot finally and pointedly turned the contact over to the owl. Roland hummed as he looked it over, pausing and raising an eyebrow when he got to one of them.
"Only 10,432? I was expecting more." Hey, fuck you, it's not about how many, it's about the quality of them! "Hmm, fair enough." The Mayor nodded as he handed the contract over to his secretary, who quickly took the paper and went off to file it away. "Well then, I think that's about it for today. I'm planning on officially announcing you as a new member of the community tomorrow, so feel free to enjoy the rest of your day!" The Fox nodded before turning around and starting to head out. "Oh yes, Mr. Foxtrot, one more thing." OH. MY. GOD. What is it now!? The Fox turned around and grumpily stared at the owl.
A new look was on his face. It was a smile, but there was something different about it. Something....colder. "I'm well aware of how hungry your kind is, so let me say that as far as I'm concerned, you're free to eat everything you want out there."....Wait a second....you're not just here to babysit the town from things that might try and come in...."Bon Appetit, Mr. Fox." The Mayor uttered, a spreading his wings apart in a dramatic fashion to emphasize the point. If he had a mouth, the Fox would be sporting the biggest, toothiest grin on the face of this planet right now. He was starting to like this guy.
---
"Hey, how'd it go?" Karen asked as she skipped on over to the Fox as he came out of town hall. "Okay, so, I wasn't sure which one you'd like more, so I got both cherry and blueberry pie!" The Rabbit cheered as she showed him the confections in her hands. "Which one do you feel more like?
>Suggest something for Charlie-Foxtrot to do.
Where most people would be at least a little intimidated by a giant non-person owl thing looming over them, Foxtrot simply gives him a second look over, not the least bit intimidated. The Mayor, for his part, merely continues looking at the Fox silently, a pleased smile on his face.
If there's one thing he learned from his mother while she was using him as a chew toy, it's to be polite when meeting new people. As such, the Fox extends a hand out in greeting. The Mayor chuckles as he extends a wing in turn, its feathers acting an awful lot like fingers without actually being feather-finger thingies like the normal bird-people the Fox had seen had.
"Welcome to our little town of Briarpatch." The Mayor says in a genuinely warm and welcoming voice. Doesn't matter if you're being friendly, though. Foxtrot knows you game, motherfucker. "I am Mr. Roland, the Mayor. Though, you already know that last part." He said, glancing over at Karen.
"Hi, Mr. Roland!" Karen says with a wave.
"Hello, Karen." Mr. Roland waves back with his free wing. "Karen, I do believe I overheard you talking to your new friend that you were going to the Bakery for some sweets?" Karen responded with a cheerful nod. "I'd like to officially welcome our guest here in private back at the office, why don't you go on ahead and get something for you both while that's going on."
"That sounds like a good idea, Mr. Roland!" Karen nodded. She waved goodbye as she started heading over to the Bakery. "See you in a little bit, Charlie!" You know what, he wasn't even mad anymore. If she was gonna keep calling him by that instead of the full name all the time, no point in getting pissy....Fuck it, once more for posterity: Dammit Karen!
A chuckle escapes Roland's beak as he turns around and motions for the Fox to follow.
---
The Mayor's office was a big, fancy space. Lots of old items from around the world hung around here for aesthetic reasons. Hell, the whole town hall looked like a cross between an actual government building and a museum. The Mayor's assistant Harriet, a quiet and stern looking dog woman with a surprising amount of muscle on her curvaceous form, was busy looking over some files just outside the office in her own desk. She'd given a respectful nod towards Roland and the Fox when they passed her by, Roland returning the gesture while the Fox settled for waving like the unholy love child of windmill and a inflatable car tube person thingy.
Within the office itself, the Fox stood next to a chair on the other side of the Mayor's mahogany desk. The Mayor sat behind his desk on a pillow instead of a normal chair due to his bestial form. And then they just silently stared at one another, the Fox with his ever closed eyes and the Mayor with that ever so pleased look on his face as he watched over his guest more like a hawk than an owl. After the fifth minute of this silent staring contest, the Fox started to shift in place. Shit, this was getting awkward. The Mayor's golden 'eyes' bored into the Fox's closed ones. The Fox's brows furrowed. Come on, show me your real eyes. The silence was broken by a chuckle.
"Only if you show me yours." Touche, fucker.
From what little he'd seen, the Fox had to agree that it was a pleasant enough place. A sound escaped the Mayor.
"It is a pleasant place, no?" He said with a nod. "Briarpatch, our little town here in the countryside. A nice, quiet place where people can live in peace and comfort." The Mayor uttered, genuine love for this place entering his voice as he spoke. "Our little community is a diverse and proud little slice of the Good Ol' Country that anyone, even those from the big cities, can enjoy time in."
Yeah, there's this talk of folks from other places appreciating it but apparently the Fox was the only new face they got in a long while.
"Indeed." The Mayor agreed. "You're the first new person to come to our town in the ten years since we founded it." Ten years with noone else? "Oh come now, don't look so surprised." Roland waved with a wing. "You know what's going on. We both know what it's like out there nowadays. Not a lot of good people looking for towns to stay in anymore." The owl actually sounded a little bitter about that for a moment. Funny, you don't seem the least bit surprised by a stranger coming into town, not even factoring bitch-McGee's tattle-tailing. The smile returned to his face. " I suppose I should at least explain why I'm not surprised by you, then. It's easy not to be surprised when I'm the one that called you here."
....When in the actual fucking hell did something like you get the balls to call in for someone like him? That damn smile seems to dampen a little.
"Our town's been safe and secure since forever. The only real trouble we have is the....wildlife, out in the Back Woods, but they've always kept to the Woods. For ten years, we've been happy and secure. But recently, I've started noticing some less than pleasant critters milling about up there and I've decided to be better safe than sorry." So rather than chancing it and seeing what happens, you decide to call the fucking cavalry in to babysit the town, that it? "Yes." He bluntly uttered.
The Fox had to admit, he was a bit impressed by how candid this thing was being with him. A little pissed that the higher ups fucked up and sent him on a babysitting mission, but still impressed. Still, he supposed it wasn't so bad. This town was nice enough and he was sure he'd find some tasty stuff while here.
"Well then, it's settled." Roland uttered as he hammered a small gavel near his desk. Quicker and quiter than her size would belie, Harriet swiftly entered and deposited some paper work right in front of the Fox on the desk. "Let's make this official. Just sign on that paper-work and you can get started after a few days getting accustomed to our town." Foxtrot snorted in amusement. Got to give the fucker credit, he's got this whole thing nice and ready to go. Taking a pen out from a near by cup full of them, Foxtrot quickly and legibly wrote down his name. There, 'Charlie-Foxtrot'.
"Ah-ah-ah," Roland uttered as Foxtrot started to turn it over to him, "Full name." Foxtrot paused before sighing through his nose and adding in his family name. There, done. "And titles." Fucking damn it. Okay, now, "All of them." Seriously?! Okay, fine, jeeze! After a solid minute writing it all down, Foxtrot finally and pointedly turned the contact over to the owl. Roland hummed as he looked it over, pausing and raising an eyebrow when he got to one of them.
"Only 10,432? I was expecting more." Hey, fuck you, it's not about how many, it's about the quality of them! "Hmm, fair enough." The Mayor nodded as he handed the contract over to his secretary, who quickly took the paper and went off to file it away. "Well then, I think that's about it for today. I'm planning on officially announcing you as a new member of the community tomorrow, so feel free to enjoy the rest of your day!" The Fox nodded before turning around and starting to head out. "Oh yes, Mr. Foxtrot, one more thing." OH. MY. GOD. What is it now!? The Fox turned around and grumpily stared at the owl.
A new look was on his face. It was a smile, but there was something different about it. Something....colder. "I'm well aware of how hungry your kind is, so let me say that as far as I'm concerned, you're free to eat everything you want out there."....Wait a second....you're not just here to babysit the town from things that might try and come in...."Bon Appetit, Mr. Fox." The Mayor uttered, a spreading his wings apart in a dramatic fashion to emphasize the point. If he had a mouth, the Fox would be sporting the biggest, toothiest grin on the face of this planet right now. He was starting to like this guy.
---
"Hey, how'd it go?" Karen asked as she skipped on over to the Fox as he came out of town hall. "Okay, so, I wasn't sure which one you'd like more, so I got both cherry and blueberry pie!" The Rabbit cheered as she showed him the confections in her hands. "Which one do you feel more like?
>Suggest something for Charlie-Foxtrot to do.
Last edited:
- Location
- St. Petersburg
> Don't they have meat pies?
I actually wonder that. They are animal-people, so do they hunt animal-animals?
They are not made entirely out of herbivore species either, though of course of the ones we've seen the only one that is explicitly carnivorous is the Owl, who is apparently different from the rest of them.
I actually wonder that. They are animal-people, so do they hunt animal-animals?
They are not made entirely out of herbivore species either, though of course of the ones we've seen the only one that is explicitly carnivorous is the Owl, who is apparently different from the rest of them.
- Location
- United States
Well, the mayor continues to be absolutely awesome. And I continue to be intrigued!
>See if we can get some information out of Karen about these 'Dark Woods'.
>See if we can get some information out of Karen about these 'Dark Woods'.
Welcome to Briarpatch, Pt. 4.
- Location
- Tampa, FL.
While any pie will do right now, the Fox couldn't help but wonder if the folks here had meat pies. What sort of meat did they stuff those with? Normal animal meat, probably, but what if like a cow person ate a beef pie? Would that be cannibalism? These are the real questions, people!
Still, the Fox scraped the word 'meat' on the ground for Karen to read.
"Oh! You want a meat pie?" Karen asked curiously. The Fox just shrugs, more curious than anything. "Well, Rosy has some, but I figured we could get something sweeter to commemorate you coming here!" Aw, Karen, you sensitive doe you! With the curiosity over the existence of meat-pies sated, Foxtrot pointed to both the cherry and blueberry pies. "Well alrighty then, lets get you a slice of both!" She said as she started hopping cheerfully back towards her home, cutting through the town center to get there. "Come on, we'll enjoy these at my house, it'll be great!"
Charlie-Foxtrot followed close behind his new friend, legs moving in their stiff goose-step way. The Fox, however, was looking towards the distance, the trees to the east of the town that made up the 'Back Woods'. They were distant from here, but they were still visible if one were to look beyond the buildings of Briarpatch.
The Fox is pretty sure they're called the 'Back Woods', but 'Dark Woods' certainly seemed like an apt description. Even now, in the bright midday sun, it seemed as though those distant trees were dimmer than any woods should be in them middle of the day. The Fox starts walking side-by-side with the funny bunny and points out the Back Woods in the distance.
"Hm?" Karen looked to where he was pointing. "Those houses? We already went passed them earlier today." Goddammit Karen, look beyond the houses! "...Oh! The woods! Yeah, those are the Back Woods." Karen nodded as she said that. "Nobody's supposed to go back there because of all the wild animals. Well, I mean, the Acorn Woods has wild animals too, but those ones are the nice kind, not the 'bite you in the face with rabies' kind." You can't bite someone in the face with rabies, Karen. It's like, really hard to do that since rabies can't fit on your teeth, it's like in your saliva and junk.
"Anyway, I sometimes go an explore, but I always end up hurt. Like, this one time, I went in and the next thing I know I got this weird colored patch on my fur when I woke up at the doctor's office." She notes outloud. "Everyone just says I fell in with the bad crowd, but I don't think so. I mean, really, the Greasers aren't 'bad', they're just delinquents!" The Fox snorted. These Greasers sound like his kind of crowd.
---
The rest of the admittedly short walk towards Karen's house was full of the young woman's blabbering about some of the misadventures she's had in town, like that once time she lost the key to the mayor's office or that time where she somehow got half of the local farm's cows stuck on the roof of the barn the one time she tried to help there. On a totally unrelated note, she wasn't allowed to help out at the farm anymore.
"Anyway, here's my home!" Karen uttered as they arrived. Karen's house was a decent sized abode, easily capable of fitting a family or two comfortably. It had a cheerful yellow coat of paint and some yard ornaments with extra additions, like lawn gnomes with eye-patches or a flamingo with a party hat on. Outlandish and a little funny, just like the odd bunny carrying a pair of pies next to him. A moment later, the door's opened thanks to careful application of one rabbit's foot. "Welcome to my home! Sorry if it's not much to look at, I don't get many guests." It's fine, Karen, he doesn't expect a free spirit like you to...Huh, that's a pleasant surprise.
It was as colorful and as decorated as outside, yes, but everything was also neat and clean. In all honesty, it seemed that careless Karen is a bit of a neat-freak. The Fox brushed his tail against a picture of what seemed to be a much younger Karen and a whole bunch of other rabbits. Not a speck of dust.
"Let's go to the kitchen so we can enjoy some pie!" She said as she started walking towards the kitchen. The Fox looked around, seeing several doors leading to different rooms. One of them, Karen's room apparently, was open a smidgen. Not enough to actually see inside, but enough to invite curiosity.
>Suggest something for Charlie-Foxtrot to do.