third pounce

[nyancrophile]

[Today, very close to the factory, you may encounter a mummy in Mayfield. A mummy with cat ears and a tail, which has also been thoughtfully wrapped. The mummy is holding what seems to be a beating heart in a jar, and keeps looking from it to the factory. There are more organs sitting on a gurney inside, all pulsing like the heart, but Orin could only manage to bring one jar with her. Without help, there's no way she'll be able to carry every single internal organ in her body.

And so, she is at a loss. The first time, she tried to leave without her organs. She didn't get very far before her head began to empty, her posture began to worsen, and her arms began to rise. At some point, she found herself turned around after shuffling aimlessly for a few minutes, and the closer she got to the factory, the better she got.

She decided, then, to bring her heart with her. The heart is the core of the body, after all; it and the brain are the most essential in terms of life and death, and maybe that's what was causing the problem.

But as soon as she left, she could feel her thoughts dimming, and all she could do was go back. So now she paces outside the factory, looking back inside, unsure of what to do. She could try pushing the organs along with her feet as she walked, but that could break the jars, and she doesn't know what would happen if the jars broke. There's no way she can carry them all by herself. Orin has found herself between a rock and a hard place, unable to leave the factory unless someone comes to her assistance.

So all she can do is stand just outside the factory and wait. And if someone does happen to get within earshot, Orin will force the fabric around her mouth apart and yell:]

Heeeey! You! I got a favor to ask!

Comments

[nyancrophile]

You'd hafta be in charge of gettin' the cart, in that case. If I went with ya, all I'd be able to do is walk around like this.

[She stretches her arms out in front of her.]

[roadrolling]

[thumbs up]

♪ Goh ih. Waih hewhe, I'hh be wighh back!

[off he goes on a grand cartventure!!

it's about twenty minutes before he comes back, pushing an empty shopping cart in front of him]

[nyancrophile]

[Orin waves, then indicates the door to the factory.]

The rest of 'em are in there on my gurney. Might as well bring the book with me too, it was kinda interestin'.

[As she muses about the book she was given, she beckons for Len to follow her into the factory.]

[roadrolling]

[he nods, following her with a rattle of cart wheels.

as they enter:]

♪ ... I'm howwy hoo.

Foh wha happehh hoo you.

[nyancrophile]

[As usual, she pauses to figure out what he's saying before replying. Once she figures it out, she smiles, a little bitterly.]

Thanks, kid...it coulda been a lot worse than this, though. At least I'm still alive, even if I'm achy an' empty. There's a sayin' that cats have nine lives, an' I wanna go back home with all of 'em intact!

[By now they've reached her gurney, and thus her organs. Much like the heart Orin is still carrying, they're all pulsing in time to a nonexistent beat.

Also of note is a book lying next to the jars. The title is The Book of the Dead, a translation of Egyptian death rituals. Orin tosses this haphazardly into the cart, then slowly and carefully begins placing her organs in it as well.]

[roadrolling]

[the smile he gives her back is a little bitter too, but encouraging.

he starts to help with the organs as she loads them in. it's creepy, unspeakably creepy, but Orin seems to be doing fine with this situation, so Len's not gonna be the first to freak out.]

[nyancrophile]

[The clink of jars against metal against a backdrop of silence is uncomfortable, so Orin decides to fill the silence with conversation.]

Ya know, it's ironic, what they did to me. I'm in charge of haulin' corpses back home, an' they made me more or less a walkin' corpse myself. Even wrapped me up nice like the book talked about...that's another part of why it coulda been worse. At least corpses are somethin' I'm familiar with, right?

...I'm kinda talkin' big, aren't I? It's not like I wasn't freakin' out when I came to or anythin', 'cause believe me, I was. But I've had plenty of time to freak out, so it's time for somethin' else now!

[With one final clink, the last of the jars is placed into the cart.]

oh god I'm sorry his speech is so impossible to read /o\

[roadrolling]

[That's a good attitude! Len smiles a little more genuinely as the last jar is loaded in.]

♪ Ihh kinh of iwonihh wih me, hoo. [he pauses, his face darkening] Akhuawwy... I'm a hhinger. Hhey hrieh hoo hake my voih...

Wehh, hcrew hahh. I'm hoh gohha huh up hah eahy!

[It's largely bluster at this point. Waking up in the recovery room, Len felt weak and helpless, and now he's holding to his pride all the more fiercely to make up for it. At least until he can get back to his sister.

But there's real determination there, too.]

it's no problem!! o/

[nyancrophile]

[This pause is longer than the prior ones, because Orin gets hung up on "singer" and "voice" for several moments. "Singer" is the easier of the two to figure out, though, and once she gets that, "voice" becomes fairly obvious given his lost tongue. Can't sing very well if you don't have a tongue, after all.]

A singer? Did I get that right? If I did, then damn, that just makes it worse. Not to rub it in or anythin', that's not what I'm tryin' to do!

[Orin decides to shift the conversation to something else in order to hide her lack of tact.]

Whaddaya say we get outta here?

Re: it's no problem!! o/

[roadrolling]

♪ Yeah. ... Hohh wowwy, you'h hoh wubbing ih ih. Hoh hike ihh youh faulh ow ahyhing.

[getting out sounds like a fantastic idea. Len nods and goes around to the handle of the cart. lead on, catmummy!]

[nyancrophile]

Yeah, but still, my master tells me I gotta watch what I say more often...

[Rin does indeed lead the way right out of the factory, where she pauses.]

Where are ya headed? I can walk ya home if ya want. Might be able to scare off any of the crazies by pretendin' to be a real mummy or somethin'.

[Orin sticks her arms out in front of her again and feigns a few shuffling steps. She hopes her attempt at humor works, regardless of whether Len accepts her offer.]

[roadrolling]

[he does grin a little]

♪ Hihe-fohhy-heveh Beuwah -- uh, my hihher'h houh...

Buh, um, I hink I'h behher geh home mehihhihe ow homehing firhh. My mouf weahhy huhh...

[nyancrophile]

Five...forty-seven?

[When Len mentions medicine, she nods as soon as she figures out what he was saying.]

Yeah, we should definitely get you somethin' for your mouth. I dunno much about treatin' wounds or anythin', but there might be somethin' here in Mayfield that can help. Wanna try hittin' the store? Or d'you have medicine at someone's house you can take or somethin' like that?

[roadrolling]

[five? he shakes his head and traces a nine in the air.]

♪ Howe woulh be gooh. I huhhow wha we have ah Wrih'h pwahhe. [Wrih? Rin. He hates that he can't even say his sister's name.] I houlh be okay, hhah big guy wih he wingh hook kawe of me ih hhere, buh...

[nyancrophile]

Oh, 947! Gotcha!

M'glad to know someone was takin' care of ya in there. Now unless I misheard ya, ya said home would be good, right? 947 Beulah?

[roadrolling]

[shakes his head with a resigned sort of half-smile]

♪ Hhowe. Buy hhome mehihhihe, hake hhe carh back. I cah pwobabwy hoo hahh myhehf, akhuawwy.

Afher we geh you home wih aww youh... uh... [points at the organs]

[nyancrophile]

Just when I thought I'd finally figured it all out, too! I'm losin' my touch...

Well then, if we're goin' to my place first, we should head for 1650 Albright Lane! It's real gentlemanly of you to want to come with me...

Oh, wait! What's your name, anyway?

[roadrolling]

♪ Ihh okay! I cah bawewy eveh uhherhahh myhehf...

[he pauses, frowning]

♪ Uh... I cahh hay ih. Waih a hec...

[he looks around. sidewalk, grassy sidestrip -- aha there's a rock. he bends down to pick up the rock, and scratches his name out on the sidewalk:

L E N]

[nyancrophile]

[Orin watches over his shoulder, and once he's done she sounds it out.]

Len, huh? Nice to meetcha! My name's Rin, but my friends calls me Orin, so you can call me that if you want!

[roadrolling]

[he blinks at her, and then actually laughs as he stands up again.]

♪ Hhahh my hhihher'h hame, hoo!

[nyancrophile]

[Orin laughs, too.]

Your sister? Sounds like your parents knew a good name when they heard one!

[roadrolling]

♪ Ah, we hohh'h have pawehh. We'he wobohh!

[nyancrophile]

[She can get every word in this sentence...except for the last one. Where Rin's from, robots are virtually nonexistent.]

Sorry, I can't quite catch the last word. Could ya write it out like ya did with your name?

[roadrolling]

♪ Ah, okay.

[he bends down to scratch R O B O T S out on the sidewalk]

[nyancrophile]

R...Robot?

[She sounds it out.]

...Huh. Can't say I've ever heard of one'a those.