Mingle: For a limited time only...

[hearsthesea]

Who: Everyone!
Where: Anywhere on the hub
When: Days 134-139
Open/Closed: Open mingle goooo!

[Copper, lizards, and vines - oh my! With the recent installation of 9S and co.'s scanning equipment and the also recent, significantly wetter rainstorms there's quite a lot to check out on the island right now. Plus, the monitor robot still needs a name. You're not going to leave them nameless forever, are you?

Too bad Genette's put out word that everyone's about to be moving location soon. That means these are the last days the coven has for a little while to get everything in order, whether it's to take things to the next destination or to leave them behind. Get your bags packed and your huts cleaned, everyone!]

Comments

[rootandbranch]

I think I might be so much bigger that they don't realize that I could be alive at all! That's the plan, anyway...

[he says that last in an undertone, barely moving his jaw, and then returns to quiet. he needs to be a rock, after all!

...sooner or later, one of the little lizards DOES poke its nose out from under the boulder and squint suspiciously around. Geir holds his breath, eyes wide and fixed on the tiny reptile.]

[hearsthesea]

[Shirley nearly calls out an exclamation of some sort, but remembers to hold herself back at the last second. Don't want to scare the lizard off, after all!

She will be watching intently though, and she's guessing Geir will be too.]

[rootandbranch]

[the lizard creeps out... a step closer, and closer, and closer...

then, suddenly, it darts under Geir's chin. Geir stares at Shirley with wide, almost comically startled eyes. what to do now?!]

Eep--

[hearsthesea]

[The plan worked too well!!! Shirley scrambles up and meets Geir's eyes, quickly realizing that he has about as much idea what to do as she does. Great.

She reaches out her arms and makes to grab the lizard, but it occurs to her that they also don't want to scare it off. Does Geir think it's worth chasing off the lizard to get it off him? She looks to him again to check.]

[rootandbranch]

[Geir keeps his voice as low as he can, realizing that he might tip the lizard off as to his true nature at any moment. this is an unexpected opportunity, but not one he can take advantage of himself.]

I-if I pick my head up, do you think you could grab it? I'm too big!

[he's not bad at handling small objects -- incredibly good, in fact, considering his size and the tools he has for it, in fact -- but moving as fast as he would have to in order to hit the lizard with his claws, he can't imagine not squishing it by accident. an elephant can pick an egg up, but grabbing a moving egg while it's trying to get away from you is a different thing!]

[hearsthesea]

[Can she do that? Shirley's not sure she can, so she hesitates before whispering:]

I don't know!

[Because she can try, but honestly she feels like she's just going to mess it up somehow.]

[rootandbranch]

Let's try it. It can't be worse.

[of all the things that could happen here, Geir doesn't honestly mind that much if the lizard ends up escaping. on a list of awful fates from a scale of one to ten, not learning as much about these strange little bandage making machines of nature is somewhere in the negative scale. and in the meantime, one of them is wriggling, ticklish, under his chin.]

Tell me when!

[hearsthesea]

[Frankly that doesn't give Shirley much more confidence, but if Geir wants to then who is she to refuse?]

Okay. I'll count, then. Three, two, one...now!

[rootandbranch]

[Geir jerks his head back and away obligingly. the little lizard is baffled for a brief moment of hesitation, then darts for the safety of the real boulder. think fast!]

[hearsthesea]

[Shirley's prepared thanks to the countdown, and she makes a dive for the lizard as soon as Geir lifts his head away. She actually manages to get her hands around it, but as Shirley doesn't have a lot of experience catching live creatures she instinctively lets go when it squirms and the lizard runs off to a real boulder.]

Oh...

[rootandbranch]

Oh, well. It was close!

[Geir tries his best to peer under the other boulder, but his eye simply doesn't go that close to the ground, no matter how absurdly he twists his head around. there's too much nose or eye ridge in the way.

he doesn't seem mad about the escape...]

Was it slippery?

[hearsthesea]

Slippery?

[Shirley's more frustrated with herself than Geir is, because of course she would mess it up like that. She's caught up enough in her feelings that she has to think for a second to consider Geir's question.]

Yes, it was.

[rootandbranch]

Ha! I bet that's the stuff that makes it act like a bandage. We learned something after all!

[mission success!]

[hearsthesea]

Wait, just like that?

[It's just a moment's surprise, but it's enough to lift Shirley a little out of her frustration. What Geir says sounds like it could make sense, but still!]

[rootandbranch]

Sure, why not?

[Geir doesn't see a point in getting upset about a lizard slipping away. this is all an exercise to learn something and spend a pleasant afternoon; why invest a lot of emotional upset into a single picture of what the outcome should look like?]

Ehehehe... I bet we can find out how shy they are after they've been scared now.

[hearsthesea]

[You don't understand, Geir. Failure is hard and important!!!

That Geir doesn't seem to think anything of it seems weird to Shirley, but it does help take her mind off her own feelings. It's kind of nice, actually.]

I suppose. I didn't think of that.

[rootandbranch]

Of course you didn't! I'm... like a really big lizard. So I'm the expert here. Biggest Lizard Geir, that's me!

[he grins at her to let her know he's joking around. if someone else called him a lizard, his pride might be touched, but he's not above poking a little bit of fun at himself on his own behalf.]

What's your name, anyway? It's nice to meet you.

[hearsthesea]

Oh.

[She'd been too generally uneasy to give it before, probably. But Geir seems more or less okay.]

It's Shirley. It's, um, nice to meet you too. So what do you think?

[She gestures over to where the lizard's gone hiding.]

[rootandbranch]

We can either wait and see when it comes out, or I can flip the boulder over and you can try again. Which would you rather?

[he looks at her expectantly, curious about her answer. this is genuinely a very low pressure to him; maybe she'll loosen up if she gets to decide!]

[hearsthesea]

Me?

[Shirley's also not really used to calling the shots when she's not in tune with the ocean, but she's feeling a little less stressed now thanks to Geir. Makes the decision easier.]

I think...maybe I can try again.

[rootandbranch]

All right! You tell me when this time, too.

[Geir sits up more, a bigger undertaking than it sounds with how much of him there is, and rests his foreclaws on the boulder. there's a glint in his eye that indicates that he's still pretty amused about this whole thing. lizard hunting! it's certainly an incongruous way for something like him to spend the days.]

[hearsthesea]

Okay.

[Shirley wipes her palms on her skirt before going on with anything. It's not dignified as a Merines ought to be, but it seems necessary for the task at hand. Slippery and wriggly...she can do that maybe, if she's prepared.]

I think I can try now. On my count again?

[rootandbranch]

On your count!

[Geir tenses, waiting. he can do his part of this job, and as soon as Shirley says three, he'll flip the rock over immediately.]

[hearsthesea]

Three, two...

[Shirley counts down again, and when Geir flips the rock she makes another dive for the lizard. There's some grappling, but she actually manages it this time! She holds the lizard out to Geir once she's sure she has a decent hold, still slightly bewildered at her own success.]

I did it...?

[rootandbranch]

Hey, good job!

[Geir puts his eye down level with the lizard in Shirley's hand, his tone respectful. it was certainly a very respectable second try.]

Aww, look at the weird little thing. Don't be scared, little lizard!