HPU - Richmond Acres

[hypernovatic]

"Let me see one." Ryze said picking up a magazine.

[LovingCorgi]

"Fine...I'll wait to start my project."

[Hlaoroo]

Flynn disappears for a few moments and then reappears through the hatch. "Mum says pass them down and we'll have a look through them. Apparently some of them are quite collectable. But once she knows what we've got she's pretty sure you can have some."

~~~~
John ruffles the corgi's ears. "Good boy. You'll feel better for it. Oh, by the way, Mrs. Walton, is there any word on the poachers?"

[Esper]

"What's all this?" Mercury purred, picking up a magazine with a couple of happy looking people on the cover, each holding a puppy, "Looks like a couple of shepherds!"

[Argent]

"Mum... Mrs. Walton won't let me have the really good National Geographics either."

He sets a handful aside. "Wolverine King", "Wildest Place in North America", "Wolf Wars", "Great Migrations", "Inside Animal Minds".

~~

"Mister Friday was saying that they'd found an old prefab they might have been using, but there was nobody there. They're going to haul it off to the dump some time next week. I don't think it's safe to assume they're gone."

[Hlaoroo]

Flynn also flips through a few of the magazines and reads out the titles. "'Early American Railroads'. Cool. 'Great Mysteries of the Universe'... 'France's Greatest Vineyards'... 'Fine Fur Coats - From Mink-'" he stops, staring shocked at the headline. "'Rabbit and Pine Marten'." he finishes quietly. "I don't think anyone will mind me chucking that one out." He quickly shoves the magazine into the nearest rubbish bag before Sixtoes can see the cover. Grabbing the next magazine he bursts into laughter at the headline. "Well this one is appropriate! 'Grey Squirrel Invasion - Britain Under Seige'."

~~~~
"Do you know where in the woods that was? It's just my house is right on the edge so..."

[hypernovatic]

"Let me see." Pyre said moving to where he could see the magazine.

[Argent]

"But these were fox squirrels, look at the fur balls. And this isn't Britain. And should a European rabbit be making fun of immigrant species? I mean, technically even humans are immigrants here, they've only been in North America, what, thirty thousand years? And who is it causes most extinctions of native species? It's not immigrants, is it? Oh no, it starts with an 'H'!"

Clearly Cinnamon has Views.

~~

"I'm afraid not, but here's the ranger station number, you can ask them."

[Hlaoroo]

"You're thinking waay to much into it. I was thinking about how they've invaded this attic too." replies Flynn.

~~~~
John takes the number. "Thanks for that. Well we'll be off. What time is Mr. Walton due back?"

[Argent]

"I suppose, I get that protectionist nonsense so much from the raccoons and other wild animals around here, it's like PETA has been recruiting them I wouldn't put it past them, condescending sons of baboons that they are."

~~

"I don't know how long he'll be, they have a lot of animals there, and don't take very good care of them. He usually stops off at the pub on the way back, it's a fur farm, you know... anyway, probably around four thirty?"

[Hlaoroo]

"Do you talk to many of them? The wild animals, I mean. Are they very friendly?"

~~~~
"Ah. Something tells me we should eschew mentioning that farm to Flynn. We'll pop back in at around a quarter to 5 then, if that suits?"

[Argent]

"I get along really well with most of the animals around here, I'm not a threat, you see, because I've got such a small territory and I'm sorry to say this but not being an invasive species gets me a lot of brownie points with them, most native animals are really terrible bigots you see, and of course you can't show weakness I learned that one real quick and I have to say it's a good thing that I met Mr. Badger or I could have been in real trouble but don't tell Dad about that or he'd ground me for the next ten lifetimes. Plus I have all kinds of useful skills I can trade with them, they do understand human money of course but reputation and favors and territory works better."

~~

"Quarter of five it is!"

[Hlaoroo]

"Well I'm sorry to say that I don't think they'll like me very much then. We rabbits have a reputation for being both invasive and territorial. Back home in Australia it was mainly the humans and carnivores who gave you trouble though." Remembering that he's talking to a pair of carnivourous animals he stammers out an apology. "Oh... er... sorry. No reflection on present company of course..."

~~~~
"Alrighty then. We shall see you this afternoon. Come on, Koa. See you later, Mrs. Walton and... uh..." He trails off, realising he doesn't know the teenager with her.

[Argent]

"Maybe we can import some Australian marsupials to make up for it. They'd sure be more pleasant than the local ones!"

~~

Samantha informs John that her son's name is Sandy and refrains, on receipt of a sharp look from said worthy, from elaborating on the etymology of this praenomen.

[Roarin]

I see you have learned to have a sense of humor.

"Maybe..." Senka made a mock growl. "You town animals have been a bad influence..."

It's ...
Moonbeam starts, an then thinks about that for a minute. Admitting that your injured and not at your best to a predator seemed even to him to be a really crazy thing to talk about.. but then she already knows about it..
It is stiff, sore and stinging. he admits.

"That sorta sounds like it sucks.". The lioness remarked, reminding herself of the other thing that sucked today. She then looked around for the person that was helping solve that problem.
"So, where's Kandi? I haven't seen her since we got to the barn."

[Serence Frostbite]

"So, where's Kandi? I haven't seen her since we got to the barn."

"dunno , and really don't wanna find out , since I'm not exactly a "lovable" feral in her eyes , unlike somebody, not that I care though"

[sunauto]

With a sigh he leans back the seat and looks over at Lucky. "So how long do you think they will be up in the attic?"

[Keeshah]

"Maybe..." Senka made a mock growl. "You town animals have been a bad influence..."

An you have only been among us for a few hours! You will be curled up in front of the fireplace, with a bowl of cream, purrring away like a house cat in a few days at this rate..

"That sorta sounds like it sucks.". The lioness remarked, reminding herself of the other thing that sucked today. She then looked around for the person that was helping solve that problem.
"So, where's Kandi? I haven't seen her since we got to the barn."

Moonbeam looks back at his rump..
I think having all the fur shaved off, an the skin stained that iodine red, which is just making all that more noticeable is worse!!
Moonbeam thinks for a minute...
Was she up in the loft thumping stuff around up there?? I though you an my wolf went to check on that??

"So, where's Kandi? I haven't seen her since we got to the barn."

"dunno , and really don't wanna find out , since I'm not exactly a "lovable" feral in her eyes , unlike somebody, not that I care though"

I think your lovable! in a kinda cute and scary way..
Rocky chimes in with.

[Roarin]

An you have only been among us for a few hours! You will be curled up in front of the fireplace, with a bowl of cream, purrring away like a house cat in a few days at this rate..

"Please.". Senka scoffed, a hint of pride in her voice. "Do I look like the cuddly type that likes laying around a house, getting fat on that fake meat in a can?". She cringed just thinking about it. And why would anyone want to sit around near a fire? That sounds... Dangerous

Moonbeam looks back at his rump..
I think having all the fur shaved off, an the skin stained that iodine red, which is just making all that more noticeable is worse!!
Moonbeam thinks for a minute...
Was she up in the loft thumping stuff around up there?? I though you an my wolf went to check on that??

The lioness shrugged. I thought Nadia went up there to check. Think we should go back to the barn and see?"

[Keeshah]

An you have only been among us for a few hours! You will be curled up in front of the fireplace, with a bowl of cream, purrring away like a house cat in a few days at this rate..

"Please.". Senka scoffed, a hint of pride in her voice. "Do I look like the cuddly type that likes laying around a house, getting fat on that fake meat in a can?". She cringed just thinking about it.

I wouldn't know, Your only the second cougar i have met just these past two days.

And why would anyone want to sit around near a fire? That sounds... Dangerous

My human did that all the time when we went camping. and she would cook stuff on it.

The lioness shrugged. I thought Nadia went up there to check. Think we should go back to the barn and see?"

Moonbeam looks over at the fox.
Did you go up an check on things??

[Hlaoroo]

"Maybe we can import some Australian marsupials to make up for it. They'd sure be more pleasant than the local ones!"

~~

Samantha informs John that her son's name is Sandy and refrains, on receipt of a sharp look from said worthy, from elaborating on the etymology of this praenomen.

"Oh ho ho, you obviously haven't tried to reason with an angry possum! 'This is my tree, this is my territory, that's my food, now either get out or I'll bite!'" Flynn emulates the possum's high pitched screech. "There's no talking to them! The macropods aren't too bad though - they don't mind sharing a bit of grass here and there."

~~~~
After shaking Sandy's hand, John takes his leave with Koa hobbling behind with the crutches. Back in the car he pulls out his list again. "Let's see... hardware store, cards, phone, heater, vet... What have I missed? Ah, I know." Pulling out of the carpark, he stops at two more shops before returning home. Sending Koa back to the garage with his rope and nails in a carry bag, John carries the heater and glue inside the house and then returns to the car for his last two purchases - a box of Swiss chocolates and a large bunch of flowers. Entering the kitchen he places the items on the bench and then sweeps Joan into a fond embrace, planting a kiss on her lips.
"Happy anniversary, my beloved!"
Joan covers her mouth in embarrassment. "Oh, John. I completely forgot with all the excitement of the move. Happy anniversary!" She returns his kiss.

~~~~
Flynn looks up from the magazine he's perusing. "Was that a car pulling up? I'm sure I heard something."

[Serence Frostbite]

I think your lovable! in a kinda cute and scary way..
Rocky chimes in with.

"aww thank you...wait , say what ?"

The lioness shrugged. I thought Nadia went up there to check. Think we should go back to the barn and see?"

Moonbeam looks over at the fox.
Did you go up an check on things??

"I sort of forgot , ya know , being between a horse and a hard wall"

[Keeshah]

I think your lovable! in a kinda cute and scary way..
Rocky chimes in with.

"aww thank you...wait , say what ?"

What.
Rocky answers.

The lioness shrugged. I thought Nadia went up there to check. Think we should go back to the barn and see?"

"I sort of forgot , ya know , being between a horse and a hard wall"

Moonbeam smirks an snicker-whickers naughty..
Well then, maybe you should go exploring the upper reaches of the barn..

[Argent]

Cinnamon doesn't notice much of anything outside what he's reading. "Did you know that pound for pound, the least weasel has the strongest bite of any animal in North America?"

[Serence Frostbite]

What.
Rocky answers.

"that's not what I--oh hardy ha , you did that on purpose "

Moonbeam smirks an snicker-whickers naughty..
Well then, maybe you should go exploring the upper reaches of the barn..

"alright." Nada said , jumping off Rocky "But if this is one of your funny tricks Moonbeam I'll hit you like they hit a baseball , hey Senka wanna come along?"

[Hlaoroo]

"No, I did not know that. I'm sure I heard a car. Can you climb down the rope and check, Sixtoes? Sixtoes? Sixtoes? Earth to sixtoes?" Flynn waves his paw in front of the pine marten's face.

[Argent]

"Oh, what? The car? There's no way they'd be able to start that. Oh! You mean your dad's car! Sorry, I thought you were talking about the old haunted car, that would be spooky if that started up, wouldn't it... OK, OK, I'm going!"

The weasel scrambles down and pokes his pointy face out the garage door.

Then sprints over to the kitchen so he can poke his pointy face in the door.

And gets right to the point. ALL the points.

"Hello, Mister Porter, we've about cleared out the attic there's these National Geographics I've found some I'd like to have that would be OK we were just going to throw them out, because they smell all of squirrel. And you know if we moved a couple of those boxes you could just about fit your car into the garage already, oh and I found a hatch, so you can get humans up into the garage attic, well I found the top of the hatch and Flynn found the bottom half so I guess we both found it, and I'm sorry I couldn't fix the heater because after I fixed it I found the ceramic bit that supports the element is cracked though, I'm sorry about that but is that OK? The fan motor is still good you should probably keep that as a spare part, because that's usually what goes out first in these heaters so a working fan motor is a real find. Oh, and we think that old car might be haunted, wouldn't that be cool?"

[Hlaoroo]

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa." laughs John, getting hopelessly lost under the mustelid's tirade. "One thing at a time. Where do you want me to start?"

[WeirdGamer]

With a sigh he leans back the seat and looks over at Lucky. "So how long do you think they will be up in the attic?"

Lucky think for a minute and replies, "Well, given this group's record of misadventures in only two days, I'd say a long time."

[Argent]

"How about good news first! You know how we couldn't find a way out of the garage attic? Well we found one, the squirrels had stacked all these boxes and tiles over the hatch so you couldn't open it. I found it and then Flynn went looking and he found it from the other side, but we didn't carry anything dirty through the upstairs we dropped it all down through the garage except for some of the magazines even though they're all smelling like squirrels but Mrs. Porter wanted them so that's OK right?"

[Hlaoroo]

"Well that was good of you, it'll save us cleaning the landing. So where is the hatch on this side? Was there anything good in the magazines?"

[Argent]

"Oh yes! They're National Geographic, the one about European woodlands is pretty tore up, I think they must have been looking at the pictures but I can't tell what they were because there's too many missing. Let's see... there's this great article on wolverines, and North American carnivores, and a really hilarious article about how humans think animals think, and one about mustelids in general but I think they could have gotten cuter models, and lots about wolves how come humans are so into wolves, they're just wild dogs, basically, but I guess they've got some interesting hunting techniques, and there's amazing article about otters and coyotes in Yellowstone Park that really shows up who the hardest predator THERE is..."

[Hlaoroo]

"Cuter models... like yourself?" asks Joan with a wink.
"Any good technology-related articles?" John enquires.

[Argent]

Cinnamon poses! He's a giant ham for such a little guy.

"Oh, they wouldn't take me, I mean I have been in articles before, for ASPCA and stuff, 'cos of my accident, but really I look horrible in them 'cos they were all send us money so we can rescue poor injured animals, but I've got these patches here and here where I got scar tissue, besides I wouldn't want to look at pictures of myself."

He shakes his head.

"It's National Geographic, not Scientific American, and most of them are so old the ads are completely prehistoric."

[Hlaoroo]

"Oh come now, you're not that bad. I wouldn't even have noticed the patches if you hadn't pointed them out. I do concur though that reporters always seem to try to get your worst angle and then choose the most hideous photo from the bunch."
"You remember the photo of me at the judo finals? I'd just landed from a high kick towards the end of a sparring match. I was dripping with sweat and I had the most hideous expression on my face - a combination of concentration and pain from where the other guy had blocked my kick rather more forcefully that was really necessary."
Joan laughs. "Oh, that one! I still have it on my phone somewhere." She flips through photos for a few moments before finding the object of her search. Turning the phone around she offers it to Cinnamon.
"Oh no, you're not showing him, are you? Oh, no!" John half-laughs, feeling a little embarrassed. "Well, if that's the way you want to play..." Pulling out his own phone he brings up a photo of Joan with her face tightly screwed up after sucking on a particularly sour slice of lemon. Making sure Joan can see the photo, he too passes his phone to the pine marten.
"I think we can all agree that animals are far more photogenic than humans!" John laughs.

[Argent]

Cinnamon peers with interest at the pictures. "Wow, you guys can do the most amazing things with your face muscles. But I gotta agree... most animals anyway. There's exceptions, like, nobody can make an opossum look good. I was just telling Flynn, they ought to import some of those cute Australian marsupials instead."

[Hlaoroo]

"It's a nice idea but it would never end well. Any time a species is introduced to an area one of two things will happen. Either the species will die out or they'll grow to epidemic proportions and cause a huge amount of damage. Not fun either way... Do you think any of the magazines are clean enough to be worth keeping or to be sellable or donateable?"

[Argent]

"Humans always say things like that, but I don't see you guys all going back to Africa or wherever. Yeh, there's a few bad apples, but I figure us natives can get along with most immigrants, especially with improved education and training programs! I mean, humans are learning to live with animals better so I figure animals can meet you halfway, it's only fair!"

Cinnamon decides that he's maybe being a little condescending, so he takes the opportunity to change the subject, "Oh, the magazines..."

He bounces out the door, calling, "Let me get 'em..."

[Hlaoroo]

Joan opens her mouth to reply to the Pine Marten but before she can say anything he's already vanished. She shuts her mouth again and shakes her head in amusement.

Flynn is about to suggest that he and Ryze go look for Cinnamon since he's been gone a while when the Pine Marten pops up again. "Oh, hello, Sixtoes. So did I hear a car or not?"

[hypernovatic]

"Hey, Sixtoes." Ryze said happily."What happened?"