#furry house lets gooooo

[satohqbanana]

Rewrite Tag

Rules: Rewrite the previous person's lines in your own style, then supply a few new lines for others to rewrite.

A.k.a. my favorite writing activity (again). Let's GOOOOO!!! Apparently, I tagged @kaylinalexanderbooks in my last Rewrite tag, but the published post must've eaten up her line and my rewrite of her line. 😭 I do remember doing it; do take note that I reviewed and edited the post before I published it so it says "I have two sets of lines from two writers". I'm so sorry Kaylin for the mixup. As an apology, please have three rewrites:

Line 1: Warning: Body horror, possibly upsetting imagery

Orange and white fur tore out of the follicles of my skin, with high-frequency black stripes coating my body. My skull squatched and stretched and crunched into a new form, ears and muzzle rearranging themselves into a feline structure. My spine and hips warped and elongated into a longer torso, stretching into a tail, contourting until I had no choice but to put my hands, morphing into padded paws, on the ground. My nails grew alarmingly quick into claws I could retract, my teeth burst out of my gums into fangs. My entire body tensed in the exhilarating pain. Once I was comfortably in the complete form, I almost collapsed out of relief.

Mine:

Now see, while the power to transform is truly amazing, the act of transformation can be quite a bother. During which, pain overwhelms my human flesh. I keep my eyes open to watch streaks of black, white, and orange cover my arms and long, sharp nails grow from my fingers. I fall to my knees as my torso elongates and my spine stretches into a tail. I support myself with padded paws as my skull morphs itself into a boxier form. I must admit, though, that the shift from hearing sounds from next to myself to hearing sounds from above myself can be a bit of a delight - as is completing my very furry feline transformation. My paws are all cold and sweaty, but my heart relaxes in relief.

Line 2:

“How’re you and Niri? I accidentally found out you texted him.” “We’re fine.” Hannah smiled a bit. “Is that a hint of red on your cheeks?” I asked. “Now, don’t you start,” Hannah said, pointing harshly. “I had to deal with Charlie and Amanda grilling me about the boy I was texting in your absence.” I smiled. “I’ll come save you.” “Thank you.” Hannah swung the door open and we went back into the crowded family room. I tried to ignore the devices pulling me back.

Mine:

"So. That little text of yours." "Hm?" The slight flush of Hannah's cheek tells me I don't need to say the thing. I still say the thing, though. "I meant Niri." "Oh, don't me!" She crossed her arms and turned her head away. "Thanks to your little antic, I've barely survived the hot seat with Charlie and Amanda." "Alright, I guess I do owe you one. If anybody asks, it's because I like the attention, and not because silly widdle Hannah isn't ready for The Talk--" With a harsh palm, she hit my shoulder multiple times. I can only laugh. It even distracts me from the devices probing into my head. "…thanks." "I got you, Babe. Our blood kin better be ready for me." With that, Hannah swung the door open, and we presented ourselves before the family.

Line 3:

Jack scrutinized the castle before him. It stretched up, up, up into the sky--and as they were already in the clouds, Jack didn’t want to know how high the tallest tower was above the ground--how he wouldn’t like to be the poor bloke who was defenestrated from it. The castle was made of some sort of dark stone, giving it the unsettling feel of a haunted house. There was the cobblestone path, yes, but on either side of it, Jack realized that yes, they were still on clouds, though where the castle was, the clouds were dark and gray, and when Jack listened closely enough, he realized that there was a booming irregular pulse of thunder that shook the ground ever-so-slightly, enough to cause the stone beneath his shoes to rattle.

Mine:

Jack followed the cobblestone path that paved the gray clouds around him. Soon, he arrived before an eerie castle held together by strong masonry. It knocked on the gate of the highest level of heaven - so he imagined as he gazed upward. Standing atop its towers must've been exhilarating and horrifying - the last fool who'd fallen from one definitely saw their life flash before their eyes. As that incident came into mind, something flashed in the inky clouds as well. Seconds after, thunder rolled and the ground - or the clouds - shook in its booming roar.

And the new line you must try to rewrite is this snippet I wrote for a test scene in Arcanium:Liberatio:

Curious, he followed the voice. A sensation from his palptayl gave him directions. Following that impulse, he exited the market district and found himself before the Garden of Hues. Beyond the trellis gates were pillars peeking from the vines they supported and trees carved to create arbors beneath the sky. Fragrant flowers of different colors bloomed here and there and short wooden fences marked the stone path before him. The sound of running water almost dampened the song that piqued his interest, but the melody called to him once more. Ignoring the sights before him, he placed trust in his palptayls and jogged through the garden. His motions disturbed the surrounding fauna but he cared little. Desired implored him to uncover the mystery and he ached to know whose song this was that instilled intense emotions in him.

Please note that "palptayls" was my term for a special set of antennae that Lyarshu has. This is temporary, as I realize having too many special terms can confuse readers in the long run. :(

This is a gentle tag for @wyked-ao3, @literarynecromancy, and @drchenquill.

Arcanium tag: @philosophika (ask to be added)

[nattikay]

Me: Oh yeah, aliens are also a thing in the Sims...eh, well, that’s not really my cup of tea; I probably won’t do anything with them

Sims: Oh hey btw when you make an alien Sim you can make both their alien form as well as a human disguise form

Me: ...

...

...

...OK FINE TIME TO MAKE AJA AND KREL LET’S GOOOOO

So their human forms turned out to be pretty straightforward. I think they came out pretty decent nearly right off the bat! :)

Their Akiridion forms, on the other hand...those were tricky, as they involved a lot of custom content. And when I say custom content I mean literally MADE BY ME. ^^” I hand-altered pretty much every part of their Akiridion forms in some way or other.

Their hair is still a default EA mesh, but I wasn’t satisfied with the default color swatches so I had to go in and custom-recolor them.

I do have some CC I downloaded a while ago for Akiridion eyes, but for some reason custom eye colors don’t show up as selectable swatches in my game despite being in my mods folder, so I had to make some of my own...in the “face paint” category rather than the “eye color” category. But hey it worked! So fyi for anyone interested, you CAN override eye colors with face paint; I’d recommend that route if you wanna make some custom eyes o3o 

(theoretically you could also use this technique to have your Sim change eye color with each outfit, if you want!)

The clothes were the trickiest part. EA does have a glowing “alien suit” that’s pretty cool, but it only comes with green glow. At first I tried to just use that suit with a custom swatch for blue glow, which did actually work (looked a little rougher than the official swatch but was still functional, glow and all):

(screenshot taken before fixing the eyes, obviously ^^”)

...but I still wasn’t quite satisfied with the overall aesthetic. It would be ok for an oc but didn’t really look enough like Aja and Krel to me. But what else could I do? I’m not good enough at modeling in Blender to create my own custom mesh for the outfits, and I couldn’t think of any EA full-body outfits that had the right shape I could recolor....

...UNLESS....

...what if I just painted it directly onto their skin as a “tattoo” like I do for custom fur patterns on the furry mod?!

This was a good start, but of course under normal circumstances Sims aren’t allowed to be “naked”; even if you remove all the clothes you can in CAS it’ll still give them non-removable underwear in its place. In order for the tattoo idea to work properly, I had to find a way around that as the game wouldn’t recognize the “tattoo” as clothes and try to make me put a different outfit on top of it.

So what I did was grab some skintight swimsuits and just...deleted the diffuse texture (as well as specular/shadow/etc maps), effectively rendering the swimsuit invisible in-game. So as far as the code is concerned, they are technically clothed...it’s just invisible so you can see under it without triggering the default underwear...and IT WORKED!!

They’re not perfect, you can definitely see where I didn’t quite line up the UVs right, but I think it’s a pretty darn good start! 

At the moment they’re using the exact same texture, based on Aja; I know Krel’s outfit design in the show is slightly different than his sister’s BUT I wasn’t sure if the technique would work and didn’t want to waste time making two separate nonfunctional textures, so I just used Aja’s as the test. Now that I know it works, though, I’ll go back and make a proper one for Krel later. For now they’ll just have to match haha.

Aja is also sporting @zaneida-and-sims4​’s Angor Rot style legs, cuz I thought it was a bit closer to the show, even if it caused some more issues with the texture lining up. I tried to give them to Krel as well, but for some reason it wouldn’t show up as an option for him. Sorry Krel, you’ll have to stick with regular human legs. ^^; If it makes you feel better, they don’t work on Blinky either (I would be tempted to wonder if maybe they only work on females were it not for the fact that they DID work on NotEnrique...oh well).

I did also experiment with a mod that allowed for extra arms, HOWEVER the arms were basically just an accessory and didn’t actually have any animation on them. While they would cool in screenshots, in-game it just looked really distractingly stiff and awkward, so I ultimately opted for just two arms. 

Varvatos Vex is not currently in the game; I MIGHT add him in later but if I do he’ll be a dog like Aarrrggh. We’ll see though.

So that’s that! I probably won’t play much from the perspective of this house directly, but I look forward to finding them out and about in the world... 👀

[willow-salix]

Day 62 of Isolation on Tracy Island and today felt like a good day for revenge!

Don’t get me wrong, I absolutely adore Gordon, hell I love all the boys, but the younger two can be a handful at times and now and then you have to remind them who is boss. That was the point that we were at.

We got up early and tracked down a few accomplices that were more than willing to help us out with our plot and snuck the Furby into Gordon’s room. Now, we would wait.

Gordon emerged from his room about three hours later, carrying the Furby.

“I found your little friend,” he greeted me, waving the Furby as proof. “What were you expecting to achieve by leaving it at the end of my bed?”

“Nothing,” I frowned. “I just thought you might want him back, that's all.”

“Sure, that's all.”

“It is,” I shrugged, sipping my coffee.

“So it won't be a problem if I leave him here then?” He placed it on the table in front of me.

“No problem at all,” I assured him. “Hi fuzzy-butt, did you have a good sleep?”

Gordon looked at me suspiciously as he poured himself a glass of orange juice, but there was nothing he could say or do to prove that anything untoward was going on.

I went back to my toast and my tablet where I was busy sorting through my files and arranging them into folders (yes, that's what I had been reduced to in my need to be productive after more than 60 days) when the Furby moved. 

Gordon waited for me to freak out, and honestly it did make me jump, but I was trying so hard not to give him the satisfaction.

“He’s awake,” Gordon intoned in a deep and creepy voice. 

“I see this,” I commented, patting it on the head.

“I love you,” the Furby warbled.

“Aww, I love you too, Furby,” I replied. “It’s kinda sweet once you get to know it.”

I tried so hard not to react to the slightly disappointed look on Gordon’s face.

“So you don’t think it’s haunted any more?” he stole a piece of my toast.

“No.”

“Bet you feel a bit silly now, being scared of a toy now you know it’s not haunted?” he grinned.

“Who said it wasn't haunted?” I didn't look up from my screen.

“What? You just did.”

“No, I said no. Meaning no, I dont still think it’s haunted.”

“That's what I just said!”

“I dont think it’s haunted, I know it’s haunted.”

“Don’t be silly,” he laughed. “How would you know?”

“It told me,” I grabbed the last piece of toast and my tablet and stood up. "We had quite an in depth chat last night."

“It’s a toy,” he scoffed. “It’s programmed to respond to you. I looked it up, they have pre-programmed words and the more you talk to them the more words they say. They have no ability to record or learn.”

“You keep telling yourself that, boo.” I booped him on the nose and left him with the furry monster. 

Making myself scarce I let myself into the Round House, the new base of operations, where John, Scott and VIrgil were waiting for me.

“How did it go?” John asked.

“The seeds have been planted,” I answered cryptically. Not for any real reason, only that it was fun.

“Excellent, on to the next round.”

For the next hour we took it in turns to make random noises into his comm, spacing it out so that they happened every three to four minutes. We eee’d, we kaaaa’d, we squeaked and cooed, throwing up in the odd words like food, love or hug. It was disturbing, but oddly fun.

“OK, you’re up,” John said, handing over the baton to me and Scott. We had an acting job to get to.

We found Gordon, with the Furby, in the lounge.

“Hey," he greeted us, not looking up from his phone where he was watching a show.

“Hey,” Scott answered, getting comfy on the couch. I curled up next to him with my book and prepared to try my damndest not to laugh.

“Coooeeee!”

“It’s off again,” Gordon laughed. “It’s been chatting the whole time since you left.”

“Maybe it missed me,” I replied.

“Missed you,” it parroted back.

“Aww that’s cute,” Gordon smiled. “It must be learning already.”

“Cute,” it echoed.

Silence descended for around ten minutes.

“Tickle!” The Furby suddenly demanded. “Tickle. Feed me!”

“It’s hungry,” I told Gordon. “You had better feed it.”

“Feed me!”

For the next few minutes Gordon sat there with his finger in its mouth as it made nom nom noises and burped occasionally.

“Love you!” it chirped.

“Aww, hi Furby,” I chatted back to it.

“Hi, Hi, Hi,” it echoed.

“Should it know how to respond like that?” Scott asked, looking up from his magazine. "I thought it didn't record?" 

“It’s just a toy,” Gordon laughed dismissively. 

“What’s going on?” Alan asked, bounding into the room.

“Gordon is feeding his haunted Furby,” I answered.

“It’s not haunted,” Gordon scoffed.

“Weeeeee!” The Furby yelled.

“OK, that’s creepy,” Alan shuddered. “I don’t like it.”

“This is getting old, anyone want a cup of coffee?” I asked. 

“Coffee, Furby want.”

Gordon’s eyes grew a little wide but he hid it well.

“OK, how did you do that?”

“Do what?” 

“Make it answer you.”

I gave him that look that said he was being particularly dense. “I spent all day yesterday teaching it to answer back, in between screaming bouts of terror.” I rolled my eyes and headed to the kitchen.

I made use of the five minutes it took to make the coffee to let John and Virgil know how things were progressing and to give them further instructions.

“Coffee,” I announced, placing the tray on the table. A chorus of thanks answered me.

“Tanks,” Furby joined in.

Alan jumped, Gordon looked disturbed .

“It’s a coincidence,” Alan hedged.

“No it’s not, she's doing something,” Gordon answered, his eyes narrowing in my direction.

“Or John is,” Alan agreed.

“What am I doing?” John asked as he appeared in the doorway.

“Hi!” greeted Furby. John waved a hand at it in acknowledgement. 

Gordon and Alan exchanged glances.

“Tickle!”

“No.”

“Tickle!”

“This is getting boring,” Gordon groaned as it continued to demand tickles and tell him it loved him at regular intervals. “How do you shut it up?”

I shrugged. 

He pulled out his phone to look it up. “Apparently you have to leave it in a dark place to make it fall asleep.” He grabbed the Furby and stuffed it into Jeff’s desk drawer.

Peace reigned for over an hour. Scott excused himself to go for a run, John took his vacated spot beside me and Virgil joined us about ten minutes after Scott left.

“See, it’s gone to sleep now,” Gordon commented to Alan.

“Out!”

“What was that?” Virgil asked, looking concerned.

"He spoke too soon," I groaned.

“Out!”

“Was that the Furby?” Alan whispered, going pale.

“It’s probably just woken up or something,” Gordon soothed. "It heard us and responded."

“Want out!”

“Go and get it,” Alan insisted. “It want’s you.”

“No it doesn't,” Gordon scoffed, but there was an edge to his tone that said he wasn't as confident as he appeared.

“Gooooo,” it called.

“What’s it saying now?” Alan asked.

"I wouldn't ignore the ghost," I advised him.

“It’s just talking nonsense again, it’s programmed that way,” Gordon flopped back down again. "It's not haunted, it's not alive and it doesn't know anything!"

“Goooorrdon!”

“I’m out of here!” Alan was off quicker than Grandma when she spies a sale.

“Gordon, love me!”

“Wait for me!” Gordon shot off after Alan like he had a rocket up his butt.

“That, was glorious,” I giggled as John retrieved the Furby and took the batteries out.

“How long do you think we should leave it before we tell them the truth?” Virgil asked.

“At least until bedtime,” Scott answered, coming over to receive his well earned high five.

[audreyannerp]

Lola Leads

(A roleplay between @askaudreyanne / @audreyannerp and @red-rad-and-rod . It doesn’t have a real ending, but, here we gooooo.) - It was finally starting to look and feel like springtime in Michigan. The seemingly sporadic weather seemed to have finally settled on a warmer temperature. There were no more snowfalls coming out of nowhere and the plants were becoming more lively by the day. The grass was green and dusted with flecks of other colors as the flowers began to bloom. A certain freckled redhead by the name of Audrey had been looking forward to this day, more so for her furry friend than herself. Lola, a scruffy-looking mixed breed about the size of a beagle, had been Audrey's Christmas gift to herself. As such, she had never seen the local park, with the weather as cold as it was. Now, however, the young dog trotted happily next to her owner, or rather, a little ahead. She was quite the excitable one and still had trouble walking calmly with her master. It didn't help matters that she was finally getting to see a new setting and was eager to see and smell everything in the immediate vicinity. Though it took an uncountable number of pit stops, the two made it to the park. The young woman found a bench and sat down, reaching into her bag to get out a bottle of water and a doggy dish. After pouring her pet a drink and taking a sip for herself, she pet her dog's floppy ears. “That was a long walk, huh, girl?” The dog didn't respond, but simply lapped up the water vigorously. “Yeah. Can't blame ya for being thirsty,” the redhead giggled. Lola stopped to look up at Audrey, wagging her tail for a moment, before looking into the distance. Before she had a chance to respond, the dog had shot off in a blur of brown and white, taking her leash with her. “Ack! Lola! Come here, girl!”

- "I'm bored" J.C. looked over from his spot, a bench fairly close to one of the two play structures, and scoffed gently. Both Mum and Dad had work today, so lo and behold, he was tasked with watching his little sisters. No big deal, really; might as well do his standard thing and take them to the park to tire them out. Usually made for a fairly easy time afterwards. Seemed like that wasn't the case today, at least with one of them. "Syd, we've only been here for about half an hour, how can you be bored already?" Syd, currently laying on the grass near him, blew a bit of hair out of her face as a response. "You haven't even done all that much; save for surveying the play structure, checking out the swings, and nearly getting sick on the little roundabout. You tired or something? Still a bit dizzy from spinning around super fast." "No." J.C. shrugged, letting out a sigh. "Theeeen I don't know what to tell ya, kid. You can hang with me and have a boring time ooooor you can go play." He looked up to catch a glimpse at the younger of the sisters, Kat, looking like she was having a blast on the swings. "What about the swings?" "Kat's on them, and she's talkin' with another kid. Knowing them, they're gonna be on there for hours. An' there's a line for the rest of the swings...I could just go over, push some of the other kids outta the way, and jump the queue..." Syd looked to her brother, a sort of defeated look on her face, "but if I do, then you'll make me sit on one of the benches and 'think about what I did' and 'how wrong it is'." "Preeeeetty much, kiddo. Laws of the playground, can't exactly break 'em." Syd had a small chuckle at the comment, before starting to focus on something. "Y'see that?" J.C. looked in the same direction. "What?" "There's something coming in our direction....kinda small...really fast...." Suddenly, the ten-year-old let out an excited gasp. Kind of small and really fast? That usually meant... "PUPPYYYYYYYY!!!" - Despite the clear excitement of the child, Lola opted to focus her attention on the young man. She bounded over to the bench and promptly placed her front paws on his knees as she 'danced' excitedly for attention, tail wagging a mile a minute. The dog was scruffy-looking, but clearly not a stray. Aside from the collar and leash dangling from her neck, she was clearly cared for with a healthy weight and a shiny clean coat. What's more, she looked too cute for someone not to take her in. Her markings, shades of brown with a white face and underbelly, were beautiful, while her pale blue eyes practically sparkled, and her cute little pink nose was too much to resist! Audrey followed a short distance behind, putting those athletic legs of hers to work. The redhead dashed past the swing set, quickly addressing the girl Kat was talking to. “Hi, Jenna! Bye, Jenna!” With that out of the way, she continued to call for her dog. “Looooolaaaaa!” - Kat, a little confused, looked to Jenna. "You know 'er?" Jenna laughed, "Know her? I can tell you all about her...." (....) At the sound of Syd shouting, J.C. jumped a little. Jeez, she could be loud sometimes...what was that all abo...ooooh, a puppy. Of course. From what he could tell, they had a leash, tags, and they weren't some hulking looking thing (even if it was, Syd'd still go nuts. Something as big as a Newfie, she'd risk getting bowled over, regardless). Eh, as long as he kept an eye on the two of them, it shouldn't be an issu- wait, why was the dog coming towards him? Ignoring the small "Heeeey!" from Syd, J.C. looked down and gave the little dog a smile. "Heeeey there, little bit." he chuckled, "Who'd you get away from, eh?" Hearing the sound of "Looooooolaaaaaaa!", Syd pointed it the direction of where it was coming from. "Prooooobably the person shouting 'er name?" "Ah, good call." J.C. shouted back, "Over 'ere!" - The canine rested her head on his knee for a moment before she perked up at the sound of her owner growing closer. While she was happy to see her, the dog didn't approach, merely faced her with a wagging tail. “Lolaaaa,” Audrey, started with a lecturing tone, “you can't run off like that. You could get hurt.” Lola lowered her head in apology as her owner took the leash once more. “I'm sorry about her. She's still a bit of a puppy.” Lola looked up at the two of them talking, tail wagging. - J.C. chuckled, giving Lola a little pat on the head, "Mischevious little thing, aren't ya? Worrying your Mummy like that..." He looked to Audrey. "Cute little dog you've got there. Lola, was it? That's her name?" - Audrey giggled. "Thank you. Yes, this is Lola," she gestured, 'introducing' them. She may have left things at that, but the accent got her curious. "I'm gonna go out on a limb and say you're not from around here. Like, not even somewhat close to around here." - "Nnnnnnope!" piped up Syd, moving next to her brother. "We're from WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAY across the Atlantic. ....Or...whatever degree of "way" Bristol is." - Audrey jolted slightly, not having noticed the child in the scramble for her dog. Placing a hand to her chest, she let out a wheezy laugh. "I'd say that's pretty far. Also, diggin' the hair. What are you two doing all the way over here?" - "Work." J.C. answered, "Dad works for one of those international companies, and often times, we end up coming with. Kind of like a mini-holiday, I guess you could call it." "Aaaaand 'cos he and Mum each had something they needed to take care of, we got to go to the park with this guy right here!" Syd added. - Lola looked at the child, tail wagging as she looked at her expectantly. "Ahh. That makes sense." She paused, raising a brow. "We?" - Syd giggled at Lola, "Silly puppy..." "Yup," J.C. tossuled Syd's hair a little bit, "This one right here is Syd, aaaand my other little sister should be on the swings..." he looked towards the swing and could see a blur of blonde, pink, and purple. Yep, that was her. Cool, she hadn't moved...save for the back and forth motion of the swing, but..."Yup, Kat's on the swings." "I'm 10 aaaand Kat's 8." Syd added. - "You can pet her, if you want," she smiled at Syd. "She's a friendly dog, albeit rowdy at times." Audrey turned to look towards the swing. "Ahhh. I knew there was a reason I didn't recognize her," she turned back to J.C. "I have a good reputation as a babysitter, so I've gotten to know a lot of the kids around here. For example," she pointed back towards the swings with her thumb. "That's Jenna talking to your sister. She has a baby brother on the way." - Syd's eyes lit up like it was Chrtistmas morning. Giving Audrey a quiet "Thank yoooou", she went about gently petting Lola, all the while quietly going "Puuuuuppy, puppy, puppy, puppy, puppyyyyyyyyyy....." J.C. snickered at his sister before turning to Audrey. "Aaah. Baby brother on the way, eh? That oughta be fun." - Lola rolled onto her back, exposing her underbelly as her tongue lulled out. “Yeah. I don't have any siblings myself, but I do have five younger cousins who were over at our house pretty often. Actually, that's the reason I don't have any siblings,” she snickered. “Enough kids in the house as it was.” - J.C. laughed, "Kind of sounds like our place, at least around the holidays. Syd and Kat can be a handful, but add...I don't know, at least five to ten other kids to the mix- anywhere from two years old to well into their teenage years- and it's...something, alright." "Exhausting?" Syd asked, "Is that 'cos we'll drag you outside to play?" "...To be honest, I'd rather be out with you guys than having to deal with relatives asking a number of questions." he snickered. - "Good golly, Miss Molly! That's a lot of kids! I sure hope the other adults help out, at least a little bit. I mean; I love kids, but even I need a break here and there." She chuckled. "It still is sweet of you to play with them, regardless of the awkward questions with the older relatives. Let me guess... 'How's school? Work? Are you seeing anyone? Thinking about marriage? Kids? What's in your future?' "

- J.C. chuckled, nodding. "Preeeeeetty much. At least with kids, they ask you things like what your favorite dinosaur is." "It's a brachiosaurus." Syd loudly whispered. "It most certainly is. There's usually a 'tag out' system in place, so I do get to have some 'grown up' time...speaking of questions, I....don't think we've actually officially introduced ourselves. I'm J.C., and you are?" - Audrey giggled at the dinosaur comment. “Oh, how rude of me,” she held a hand to her chest before holding it out to shake. “I'm Audrey, born and raised Michigan citizen,” she smiled widely, revealing her large front teeth. “Is this your first time here? I could recommend some good spots to visit.” - "Charmed," J.C. responded, smiling as he shook her hand. "It is...we actually came across this place by accident, so...any help or tips are greatly appreciated." - Taking her hand back, she held two fingers to her head and mock saluted. “Can do! Now, let me just think a moment here...” She put her chin in her hand as she thought. “Well, when it comes to free entertainment, you've already found one of our parks. As for spending a little cash, you can't come to Michigan and not try a Coney Dog. It's a shame you didn't come in the summer, since that's when you can get the best Coneys from Timmy's Coneys. Old Timmy only sets up shop in summer, but there are restaurants you can get them from year round.” - "Aaaah, drat. I'll have to make a note of that...if it's open only during one time of the year, they must be pretty good." "What's a coney dog?" Syd asked, "'Cos all I'm picturing is, like...you put it in an ice cream cone and put regular hot dog stuff on it." - “An ice cream cone? What makes you think- Ohhhhh, coney dog. Nahh. It's short for Coney Island Hot Dog. Basically, they take this specific kind of hot dog and top it with this meat sauce; not chili. It's something else. Anyway, it's usually topped with a heaping helping of onions and mustard. You can get them plain too though. Some people like theirs with cheese.” - "Ooooooooooooh." Syd blinked, "I don't know, I kind of like my idea more." J.C. scoffed lightly and shook his head. Kids could be such weirdos sometimes. "Well, even if we can't get them specifically from Timmy's Coneys , is that something that you'd be willing to eat after we're done here?" Syd nodded enthusiastically. "I think Kat would, too, 'cos it doesn't have green stuff on it. At least, from the sounds of it." "You want to go and ask her?" Syd gave the two a salute and ran off, yelling "PLAY NICE, YOU TWO!" to the pair. J.C. laughed, "We weren't...! Aaaaaand she's gone. Dang, she's fast." - Lola watched as Syd ran off. There goes the person giving her attention... Oh well. She rolled back over onto her stomach and closed her eyes. Audrey laughed as well, taking a seat next to J.C. on the bench. “Your sister seems like a hoot and a half! I'm guessing she keeps you on your toes, huh?” - "Tiptoes is more like it." he responded, smirking a bit. "She's a character, I will give her that." - She chuckled. “I've known kids like that; like real life versions of Calvin from Calvin & Hobbes... You ever read that comic?” - "Oh, yeeeah! I read those all the time when I was a bit younger. Still do, occasionally. ...Although, I read them in French first, then went to English once my grasp on the language improved a bit..." - Audrey cocked her head to the side. Didn't his sister say they lived in Bristol? “French?” - "....Ah, right, right..." He cleared his throat a little, "See, I'm....not originally from England. Syd and Kat's mum and dad are my adoptive mum and dad. Been so since I was around 2 years old. I'm originally from France." - She slowly raised her head and lowered it as she let out a drawn out, “Ohhhhhhh.” Rather than pry for details, she simply smiled and said, “I'm glad you were able to get adopted at a young age. Adapt to your new family faster and all that. I've thought about adopting myself, but I think it's a little early to think about that sort of thing. I don't even have a boyfriend right now,” she laughed. - He gave her a smile back, as a silent way of saying thanks. "I'm thinking of doing the same, honestly. I mean, I'm happy either way- adoption or otherwise., but...kind of in the same boat; just out of school, no girlfriend...all that fun stuff." - “Not often I see a man who openly admits to wanting kids,” she giggled, nudging him with her elbow. “Shame you live across the ocean,” she joked with a wink. - J.C. chuckled, a little bit of a awkward/nervous edge to it. "Haha, yeah. It kind of be nice to have a couple of my own...I mean, there's Syd and Kat, but they're my sisters. Having a kid be your own's a little different." - “Ah, I'm just messing with you,” Audrey smiled, hoping he didn't think she was actually hitting on him. “I would imagine so. Speaking of, I wonder what those two are talking about. With how fast Syd sprinted off, you'd think she'd be back by now.” - "That's a good question...I don't hear any sort of screaming or yelling, so they're not fighting..." He snickered, "Maybe she got distracted and now they're both on the swings?" - Audrey shrugged. “Maybe. I don't mind though. I'm totally free today, so I don't mind waiting... Though I suppose those two don't have to be here for the directions. Would you rather I just tell you where to go and get out of your hair?” - "If you want; you're welcome to hang around if you don't have anywhere to be today. Besides, I think the minute Syd mentions the word 'puppy' to Kat, she'll come running over." - Audrey snickered. “I think I'll stay. Lola loves attention, I love kids, and you seem pretty nice~” - J.C. couldn't help but blush a little. "I, um....I try, heh..." All of a sudden, a more high-pitched "PUPPYYYYYYYYYY!!" came from the playground. Aaaaah, there it was...a "Kat, wait up!!" followed shortly. "Speaking of kids, sounds like Syd mentioned the 'P' word...." - “Sounds like it,” she agreed, making sure she had a firm hold on Lola's leash. Lola had perked up at the sound of the shout and was now wagging her tail eagerly, whining impatiently for what she was sure would be more attention. - Pretty soon, a little blonde girl dressed in pink and purple had joined the pair. She looked to the redhead, smiling. "Sooooo, you're Audrey, right? Jenna's been tellin' me about you." Shortly after Kat had arrived, Syd turned up, out of breath. "Easy, kiddo. Take a sec and rest." he told the smaller redhead. Syd did just that, walking over to the other open space on the bnch and plopping down with an "Oof!" "An' Syd says you've got a puppy. Can I pet her, please?" - “Mm-hm,” Audrey smiled warmly at the blonde. “And you're Kat?” Lola was currently on her hind legs, trying to pull away to reach Kat, whining all the while. “I don't think I have a choice here,” she laughed, gesturing for Kat to come over. - "Yep!" She nodded, skipping a little closer. "Hiiiiiii, puppyyyyy~!" "The name's Lola." Syd piped up. "Hiiii, Lolaaaaa~!" - Lola wagged her tail as she excitedly sniffed at the newcomer. Deciding she liked the child, the dog gave her a few licks. “She's a friendly one, isn't she? I like your outfit, by the way. Pink and purple are my favorite colors~” - "Uh-huuuuuh." Kat giggled, as Lola showed her affection. "Mine too!" - “Neat!” While Audrey was curious as to what Jenna said about her, she decided keeping the focus on the dog would make more sense. “I got her from the local shelter. The people working there said she's a mixed breed, but weren't sure what all is in her. They think she might have a bit of Border Collie in her though.” - "Oooo, Border Collie, eh?" Kat looked to J.C., "That's not one of those super big dogs, right?" J.C. smirked, "Yeeees, and I know what you're asking. You know my answer already." "Dang it." - “I'm guessing you've been wanting a dog? I know the feeling,” she smiled sympathetically. “Lola here is my first dog and I've just recently turned twenty four years old! My family's house could get so chaotic at times that a dog just seemed like it would be too much, despite my asking. Figures my parents would adopt their own dog not long after I went to college.” She shrugged. “Oh well. At least the two get along.” - Both kids looked at Audrey. Twenty-four? "...No way, you look way too young." Syd spoke up. J.C. couldn't help but laugh a little. "Syd, twenty four's not old. Nowhere near it." "You only say that 'cos you're twenty three." Kat added. "Twenty four in August, though. Point is, early to mid twenties is not old." - Audrey giggled, taking 'look way too young' as a compliment. “I sure hope not! I want to be married with kids before I'm old!” - "Human years don't work like dog years, you two." J.C. chuckled. "If that were the case, Syd would be anywhere from 56 to 78 years old." Kat snickered. J.C. looked to the little girl, "And you'd be somewhere from 48 to 64 years old, depending on breed." Syd tilted her head, looking at her sister. "Soooooo, what kinda dog d'you think she'd be? One o' those yappy little chihuahuas?" Kat gave her sister a cheeky smile, "You're probably one of those big, bumbling ones that slobbers a lot." J.C. sighed quietly, seeing where this conversation was going. "Okay, you two, tone it down a bit." - Audrey chuckled. She knew where this was going... and just how to stop it. "My parents have one of those; a little chihuahua, I mean. I should have a video of her playing with Lola on my phone, if you two can get along long enough to watch it." - Ah, Audrey was pulling out the big guns...puppy videos! Dang it, she knew one of their weaknesses! Looking begrudgingly to each other, smiling a semi-forced smile, the sisters slowly side-hugged each other in a "See? Friends!" sort of way. - She could tell the two weren't happy, but they got an A for effort. “Alrighty~ Let me just get out my phone real quick.” Digging through her purse (which she had thankfully kept on before she ran after Lola), she soon pulled out her phone, which had a unique cover. The cover was pink in color, with a pattern of purple hearts and teddy bears, as well as rhinestones scattered throughout. “Oh yeah! I'm still getting used to that,” she showed them the phone. “My cousin made this case for my birthday. Isn't it neat?!” - Syd and Kat were like a pair of puppies themselves, watching as Audrey pulled out her phone. If their ears could've perked up, they would have- the case was so cute! "Uh-huuuuuuuh." J.C. had to chuckle a bit; he didn't really know whether it was the shininess of the phone case or the promise of watching dogs playing together, but the way his sisters looked right now was pretty funny. - Audrey chuckled. “Alright alright. Enough of that. Onto the video~” Scrolling through her gallery, she found what she was looking for, turned up the brightness and volume, then pointed the screen towards the girls as she pressed play. The video started with a view of Lola and a small white chihuahua with semi long fur. The two dogs were sharing a rope toy, each with an end in their mouth. While the chihuahua tugged with all her might, Lola simply stayed still, tail wagging as she watched the smaller dog try to take the toy. “I don't think Daisy's getting that toy any time soon,” Audrey's voice could be heard from behind the camera. “Let's give her a break. Lola, come here, girl!” Rather than drop the toy and come to her master, Lola instead dragged the toy and the chihuahua over to her, resulting in cackles from those off screen. - The once squabbling siblings immediately quieted down and watched the video intently. It almost seemed like the two were in some sort of trance, giggling almost simultaneously. J.C. shook his head, amused at the girls and the dogs. - The video ended and Audrey chuckled. “Yeah. They're a hoot, alright! You want to see some pictures?” - Cue a simultaneous nod from the sisters.

- "Alrighty~" She brought up her photo album for Lola and Daisy and proceeded to flip through it. - Both girls giggled at the sight of the two. "Note to self: when these two start squabbling, find cute puppy pictures." J.C. mumbled, pretending to scribble on an invisible notepad. - Audrey giggled, then snorted. She proceeded to cover up her nose, bashful. - J.C. giggled at...well, Audrey's giggle; it was so cute! - She cleared her throat, as if to clear the awkwardness she felt away, and moved on to flip through the pictures. She had quite a few of them. “I could send you some, if you want. Though I suppose I would need your email for that.” - E-mail? Huh...that...must mean that she wanted to keep in contact?? Not that he minded, of course. It was just...they'd only JUST met. Or maybe it was because if he didn't have them, Syd and Kat would constantly be begging to go back to Michigan, just so they could find Audrey and have her show pictures of Daisy and Lola. "Uuuuuh, sure!" he said, trying not to chuckle awkwardly. First time a pretty girl had asked for his e-mail. "Do you, um...want me to type it in on your phone as a little note, or...?" - She really hadn't put much thought into it when she'd said it, but she soon realized the implications of what she'd said. Oops. Not that she would mind keeping in contact... She thought for a moment, then smiled. “Sure thing!” she said as she opened up her notes app and handed it to him. “If you get an email from 'teddy bear lover,' it's me.” - J.C. gave her a nod and quickly typed in his e-mail address. "Aaaaand if you get a response from...." His...e-mail was a liiiittle embarrasing, he thought. He had made it when he was about Syd's age, so... "...well, this, then it's me." "Bluerangerbaguette714"....seemed like a good idea at the time. He liked Power Rangers, he liked baguettes, and 7/14 was an important holiday in France. "I, uh...haven't updated it yet. Made it when I was about 10 or 11...." he chuckled nervously, face turning a bit pink. - Audrey looked at the email address and had to make a great effort not to laugh. She was trying so hard, her body was actually shaking slightly. “Makes sense,” her voice came out as a squeak. “My dad helped me pick mine so I wouldn't be embarrassed late-her-her-her!” So much for not laughing. “I'm sorr-ee-hee-hee!” - Eeeeeh, he should've seen that coming. Way to go, 10-11 year old J.C. ...Buuuuut at least he could laugh at himself. He joined in on the laughter; a little awkward at first, but it started to sound more natural as he went on laughing. "It is kind of ridiculous, looking back on it." he admitted. - Audrey held a hand to her face, trying to stifle the laughter. “It's not that funny! I just told myself not to laugh and that made it hilarious!” Her laughter did die down to a snicker and Lola looked at the two in confusion. - "I mean, if you imagine something like..." he began to "demonstrate" a few Power Rangers-like poses and trying to say random things in French as epically as he could, "...while thinking of it, then...I mean, that's usually what I think of anytime I read that." - She snickered a few more times at the poses. “As someone who knows karate, that just makes it more hilarious.” - Syd snickered at her brother. "You're a dork, J.C." "The dorkiest~" he responded. "The dorkiest in all the la- wait a sec...karate??" Syd asked, turning her focus to karate. "You knowkarate??" - “Mm-hm~” she nodded. “I may not be the violent type, but karate is good for blowing of steam and is a good confidence booster. I may not be the brightest, but at least I can raise my foot above my head.” She smiled awkwardly. “That's what I like to tell myself, anyway.” - "Show me!!" Syd said, bouncing on her heels excitedly, "Please??" - “Raise my foot above my head? Sure!” She stood up from her seat on the bench and proceeded to do a few stretches before lifting her leg almost completely vertically. “Don't try this at home, kids. Not without lots of practice, anyway.” - All 3 Malones (Syd, mainly-followed by J.C. and Kat in terms of intensity) went wide eyed. "Hoooooly crud!" Syd gasped, awestruck. - Audrey chuckled and brought her leg back down. “Yeah. I've been practicing this sort of stuff since I was a kid.” - "Not to brag, but..." Syd dusted off her knuckles, "I, uh....I do a bit of karate myself." "I don't think what you do is actually karate," Kat piped up, "I think that's more like flailing about." Syd "hmmph"ed, took a few steps back, and demonstrated some of her "moves". - “Hmmm... I'd say that was more... avant-garde karate than traditional karate.” Translation: You're not very good, but I don't want to hurt your feelings. - Syd smirked at her sister. "See? She knows talent when she sees it." - Audrey simply smiled and nodded. Best not to break her confidence. She'd offer to teach her some moves, but she doubted she'd see the trio again anytime soon. - "Whateeeever you say." Kat mumbled quietly, rolling her eyes at her sister. " 'S gonna come in handy when I get a job when I'm older." Syd added. "...What was that again?" J.C. asked. With Syd, it changed just about every couple of weeks. "Circus performer/bodyguard/secret agent...with a penthouse." - "I'm guessing you're aiming for a more physical line of work then? Can't blame ya. I'm a personal trainer myself." - "Oooo, that sounds like a good idea, too! Maybe add that to the list..." J.C. chuckled, "With a physique like that, I wouldn't be surprised." Maybe that was a little too forward? He coughed, and rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly, "Good surprised, though. You, ah...I imagine you're very skilled at your job- helping people with getting into shape. - “My physique? You haven't even seen me out of these clothes,” she laughed, before realizing what she said. “N-not like that!” she stammered. “I meant out of these specific clothes! My workout clothes show more.” - "I, um...I'd hope so? N-not in a weird way! Just....so you don't get overheated or anything; speeding up the dehydration process while exercising is rather risky, and..." His voice began to trail off, "I'm...gonna stop talking now...I...made it awkward..." Syd looked between the two, smirking a bit to herself. Super friendly to each other AND awkward when they think they've made a misstep? Oooo, was Cupid nearby~? - “No, no; it's fine,” she chuckled. “I know what you meant. It's good to dress for your workout; don't overheat or sweat up your regular clothes.” She sat back down and began petting Lola. “Though I know some prefer the less revealing clothes. I used to be the same. Took me a while to get past some of my self esteem issues, y'know? You just gotta get a breathable material.” - J.C. nodded, understanding the "self-esteem issue" thing all too well. Not really wanting to dive into that (mainly because...well, come on, he and Audrey had just met), he focused more on the breathable fabric thing."Yeah. That way it's like...when a person's all done workin' out for the day, they're not dripping with sweat or smelling like an old pair of socks." - Audrey snickered. “Depends on your definition of a workout. That's why we have showers at the gym~” She paused for a moment. “Weren't we talking about stuff to do in Michigan? How'd we get here?” she laughed. - Oh thank goodness, the subject changed. He laughed, "Dunno, that's actually a really good question..." "Can I go back an' play now?" Kat asked. "Go for it." J.C. told her, giving her a small nod and taking a glance at his watch. " 'Bout 30 more minutes, alright? I want to get you guys fed, too." "Can we get those coney dogs??" Syd asked. J.C. shrugged, "Yeah, sure. Probably the only time we're going to be able to get them, so why not?" "Sweet!" Syd gave Lola a quick pet before running back to the playground. "Last one there's a rotten egg!" she called to Kat. The little blonde mimicked her sister's actions, instead yelling "Bye, Audrey! It was nice to meet you!" "What she said!!" Syd shouted back. - “Same to you!” she called out before relaxing back against the bench. “They seemed nice~ I should probably give you directions before I forget.” She proceeded to dig through her purse. “I'm sure I have a pen and paper in here somewhere... Also; while it's not limited to Michigan, it seems to be a northern U.S. thing. If you can find Blue Moon ice cream, go ahead and try some. I can't really describe the flavor, but I love the stuff. If you've ever had Superman ice cream, it's basically the blue part in that.” - J.C. chuckled. "They try. Kind of nice that they're screaming more from running around than fighting. Iiii...don't think I've had that flavour before, but with a name like 'Superman', that might sound like something Syd'll like. May as well try some Blue Moon just for the heck of it, y'know?" - Having pulled a notebook and a pen, Audrey proceeded to jot down the directions. “Yup yup! Always nice to try something new~” In addition to the directions, she jotted down a few other places they could look into while in Michigan. - "Haha, yeah. I should tell that to Kat, or as I call her: 'Little Miss No-Greens'. She'll eat her fruits and veg, yeah, but only if they aren't green. ...Good thing it's 'Blue Moon' ice cream and not...'Green Moon'." Okay, so that was kind of a lame joke, but hey. Glancing over at her writing, he smiled a bit. Not only writing down the names of places, but directions, too! "...Forgive me if this sounds a bit weird, but...you have really nice handwriting." - Audrey chuckled at the green moon joke, then giggled at the compliment of her handwriting. “Not weird,” she assured as she bashfully played with her hair, twirling a short curl around her finger. It was nice to get a compliment on something that wasn't her physique. “I take a lot of notes. Helps me remember things.” - He nodded, "Always good, always good. Nothing worse than having something super important you need to do or get, then completely forgetting to. Like... 'don't forget the milk....don't forget the milk....wait, what was I getting?...Ah, crud! I forgot the milk!" - Audrey snickered. “Yeah. That's why I write everything down,” she flipped through her notebook to show page upon page of notes. “I've had friends ask how I got them the perfect gift, and I'm like, 'Remember how you were talking about that thing three months ago? Yeah. I wrote it down.'” She flipped a page and twirled her pen. “Speaking of, how do you spell your sisters' names? I wanna write them down. Yours too... I'm imagining there's more to your name than a J and a C.“ - "I should start doing that," he noted, "Did it a lot more while I was still in school, but having recently graduated, eeeeh....not so much. Would be good to get back into the habit." At the "more than a J and a C" comment, he chuckled. "I would hope so, otherwise my parents were very lazy. It's short for Jean-Claude: J-E-A-N, dash ,C-L-A-U-D-E. Syd's is S-Y-D-N-E-Y, and Kat's is K-A-T-R-I-N-A." - “A-ha! It's a good thing I asked,” she proceeded to write the names down. “I definitely would have spelled those wrong otherwise. You never know; that Greg could be spelled with two Gs at the end or something.” - "Haha, yeah! Or the 'Christopher' that you pass by every day spells it as 'K-R-I-S-T-O-F-F-E-R." he replied, offering an example. - “Oh goodness. That reminds me of a comedian talking about names who said he met a girl named Amy, but it was spelled A-Y-M-I-E. I think it was Brian Regan.” - J.C. had to laugh, "Or you get a name that has about seven different consonants all piled together, but it's pronounced as 'Jim'." - Audrey snickered. "Okay; now you're just making stuff up." - J.C. gave her a cheeky smile. "Maaaaybe just a little, yeah." - “Your sister was right. You are a dork,” she grinned. - "Now if only being a dork was a profession." he snickered, "I'm overqualified." - “You'd have some stiff competition. I've memorized at least half the recent My Little Pony songs word for word. And let's not forget all the Disney songs.” - "If it's any consolation, I do a meeeean rendition of 'I Just Can't Wait to Be King'...granted, I'm always designated as Zazu, but hey." J.C. shrugged, "Now my 'Winter Wrap Up' can use a bit of work, but..." - He knew My Little Pony too? Nice! Audrey grinned before softly singing one of Nala's lines. “No one saying be there~” - Cue him responding with a "No one saying 'Stop that!' " - “No one saying seeee heeeere~” She jokingly thought that, if he joined her on that line, he must be her soulmate. - He did indeed, laughing a bit as he did so. - Audrey laughed as well, unable to believe he actually did it. “Oh, wow. You're the first guy who's ever sung Disney with me... Well, besides kids... and my dad... Okay; the first adult male who isn't related to me.” - J.C. shrugged, smiling, "Hey, you have to admit that they are pretty catchy, so it's kind of hard not to. ...Well, that and it's pretty fun to sing along to stuff, anyway." - She nodded in agreement. “It's a little different when you're in front of other people though.” She rubbed her arm, smiling bashfully. “I'm usually a bit shy with that sort of thing, but, I dunno, you seem... safe? for lack of a better word. Like, I don't imagine you would make fun of me. Then again, we did just meet, but, eh,” she shrugged. “just a feeling.” - 'Safe', awwww~ That was kind of the way he felt about her, too. His heart felt like it was burning with something. Not heartburn or anything like that, but more like...some warm affection-type feelings. They appeared to be past the level of acquaintance and more on the level of "friends who hadn't seen each other in years"...which was kind of strange, since they'd just met. Best not to question it, though.... He gave her a gentle smile, "It sucks being on the end where you get laughed at. I know from experience, it's...not the best feeling. So I make it a point not to do that to others, y'know? Break the cycle, treat others how you want to be, something along those lines..." - “Woof,” Audrey exhaled, looking towards the sky. “Tell me about it. I was prime bully bait as a kid. Not only did I have plenty to make fun of, I cried really easy, so they always got a reaction.” - J.C. mimicked Audrey's actions, "My main 'points of fault', I say with heavy emphasis on the air quotes, were the fact that I was still learning English, my accent- a lot heavier at the time- my glasses... the list goes on and on." - She sat back up and pointed to her front teeth, which were fairly large in comparison to the rest of her teeth. “You see these? This is after I've grown into them.” She paused for a moment, looking confused. “Who makes fun of a French-English accent?!” she exclaimed as she threw her hands up. “Those are, like, the best accents to have!” - "At least they weren't missing...? I know that's not a lot of help, but..." he pointed to his, "These two are actually fake. Got my two adult teeth knocked clean out when I was a little older than Syd. Took a while to get the implants, so..." he blew a bit of air out of his nose, "Bet you can guess how well that went over with the little buttmunches that were in my class. The real kicker was when I finally got them and sounded like Daffy Duck for a solid month and a half." He rubbed the back of his neck, "That....probably isn't much help, and I don't mean to make it sound like I'm taking the conversation away from you, but...I dunno, that whole 'safe' feeling you said you have with me kind of...extends over from me to you, too." - “Cheese on a cracker!” Audrey exclaimed with a hand to her chest. “That's horrible! How on earth did they manage that; a hammer?!” She waved her hands. “Oh no no no no. It's fine. I'm talking to you, not at you.” - He gave her a nod, a sort of not verbal way of saying "I understand", before continuing. "More like running into a tree...going down a hill on a bike...at near full speed....as part of a dare from a couple of older boys. The bit they forgot to mention was that I had to jump off the bike before it hit." He sighed, shaking his head, "Y'know, part of that was my fault for taking the dare, but...11 year old me didn't want them thinkin' I was a chicken or anything." He smirked, another thought occurring to him, "Althooooough....I knew one of the older kids, so before I went home, I went to his house first and showed his parents- who knew my parents and were good friends with them- what happened." - Audrey grimaced, recoiling at the thought of such a stunt. “I'm sure that was a delight for them to see,” she shuddered before shaking her head to rid herself of the thought. “My dad actually had to have a veneer in high school. He got in a fight, something he never does, because the guy made my mom cry. They barely knew each other at the time, but Dad was smitten with her from day one. Anyway, he was beaten to a pulp and lost a chunk of tooth, but he married my mom in the end so... yaaaayyy...” she waved her hands. - "Ooof..." J.C. had to cringe at the thought, "Buuuut...I guess in the end, it all worked out? Better than my parents. ...I'm...not 100% sure of how my birth parents met, but my current ones...that's a different story. Short and skinny is that they knew each other as kids, Mum was a right pillock to Dad, she moved away, then they re-united in uni and I guess...everything worked out? Apologies, burying the hatchet, all that good stuff." - “Huh,” she shrugged, “Fair enough.” She paused to look down at Lola. “I wonder if she knew we would get along somehow. Like some sort of doggy sixth sense. I mean, out of all the people in the park, she went straight for you.” - He chuckled, "I dunno...I mean, the same tends to happen when people ask me to hold their babies and they're all smiles and whatnot. I don't even do much, other than give them a 'Hey, what's up, little darlin'?' or 'Salut, petit lapin!' and I'm getting this few-toothed smile." He stopped and thought for a second, "I mean...people aren't handing me babies all the time, but...you get what I mean, right?" - Audrey tittered at the thought. “Come, Julia! We must find a kind stranger to hold our baby!” - J.C. started to go into a giggle fit, trying to picture the scenario. - Audrey did as well. Meanwhile... While Edward wasn't the boss, he was well respected in his workplace. He was a hard worker and had been with the company for over twenty years. He knew the inner workings of things and could navigate the building blindfolded. While he may not be the most social, he was certainly polite and was sure to greet the employee from their English branch. “Roger Malone, was it?” the exceedingly tall man inquired, holding out his hand to shake. - New country, new people...at least it's the same company? Albeit, a different branch, but...stiiill the same company, so not all that much should be that different. Kind of wished that Reggie or Eric had come along, that way I'd at least know someone... "Roger Malone, was it?" came a voice. Snapping out of his little funk, the Englishman smiled in the direction it was coming from. Ah! Now time to match a voice to a faaaaa....hoooooly moley, this guy was huge! Was...was that who that voice belonged to? Only one way to find out.... "Aaah, yes! Yes, that's me." he chuckled, "I know I have a few names I was supposed to remember, so I'm going to take a stab in the dark, and say yooooou're..." David? Jack? Not a Sandra, that was for sure... "...Edward?" - "First try; impressive. Edward Davis; yes," he nodded. "I believe the meeting is in," he checked his watch, "about fifteen minutes. So you should have time to learn your way around or stop by the breakroom. There may still be a doughnut or two, if you hurry." - Roger gave him a nod. Sure, this guy seemed really intimidating, but...it wasn't like he was trying to assert his dominance over him? Nothing like "Move it, peasant, there are doughnuts with MY name on it in the breakroom." "Duly noted...perhaps a little stroll around, then, ah...get down to business, eh?" Totally nailed that office small talk. - Edward simply nodded, not acknowledging the awkwardness. He could be awkward himself, when out of his element. “I'll leave you to it then. If you need help with anything, Sandra should be happy to assist. She's pretty easy to spot with her curly blonde hair and large glasses. If you can't find her, well, it's pretty hard to miss me,” he chuckled slightly. - "Curly hair, large glasses...got it. Cheers, mate." he gave him a smile and a nod before heading off. Hmm, maybe this guy would be the guy to stick to during this whole shebang. Seemed like he knew what was up. - Edward did the same and went about his business until it was time for the meeting. The meeting went about as well as one could expect, if a little longer than usual to fill in the newcomer. Statistics were discussed, questions were asked, ideas were suggested, and progress was made. Satisfied, the higher ups dismissed the others to go about their usual business. - The question was...what...exactly was his usual business now? Roger's usual usual business involved bumming around with Reg and Eric for a little bit before getting back to work, but they were back in England. Then he got a glimpse of Edward again. He knew his way around...would he mind if he just shadowed him for a bit? "Aaah, Edward?" - Edward turned around and raised a brow at the Brit. "Yes? Can I help you?" - "Er, perhaps." He cleared his throat, obviously a little nervous, "Would it...trouble you if I, ah...shadowed you for a little while? You're the only face that I can actually immediately place. I don't know if our positions are equivalents to one another, but...it's always good to know a little about a lot?" Translation: Holy cow, I'm beyond awkward around here, please let me just stay under your wing for a bit. - Thankfully, Edward decided to show mercy on the awkward man. “That shouldn't be a problem, as long as you don't go shouting in my ear while I'm trying to work or something.” He made a subtle gesture with his head to follow him before heading for his office. The inside of his office was a strange mix of sterile and welcoming. While he had various degrees on his walls with pens and papers arranged just so, he also had photos and childish nick-knacks scattered about. Seemed he wasn't the only influence on his office. - "Oh! Noooo, no, no, no, I usually keep to myself, anyway. Perhaps a little chatter here and there with a couple of colleagues, but otherwise..." Upon entering the office, the sterility offset him juuuust a tad. Sure, Roger was a rather tidy man as well, but this was perhaps a step up from his level of cleanliness. Then he caught sight of the photos and little "decorations". Resisting the urge to breathe a sigh of relief ("Oh thank god, he's human"), Roger couldn't help but crack a small smile, having a couple in his own little office space back home. Must be a "dad" thing- having a couple little "projects" your kids have done just hanging around in your workspace. "Family man, eh?" he asked, breaking the silence. - “They're my world,” he admitted, smiling softly and making his front teeth even more prominent. Turning a frame on his desk to face the other man, the photo revealed a recent photo of his wife and daughter. The two women shared the traits of red hair, green eyes, and freckles. The daughter had short hair while the mother had long hair. Another major difference between them, besides their ages, was the fact the mother was short and of an average build while the daughter was taller with an athletic build. “My wife, Abigail, and our daughter, Audrey. Quite the family resemblance, isn't there?” he smiled widely, proud of his girls. Edward almost seemed to become another person when it came to his family. - Roger had to chuckle a little; to think that this scary looking guy was a big ol' softie. "They're lovely~" he responded, as he started to dig out his wallet. If they were going to do an impromptu show and tell, then he supposed it was his turn. "Let's see..." Finally getting the wallet out, Roger dug around and found a more recent photo of his family. "Aha!" He handed it over to Edward, "This one took a few tries, since everyone wanted to muck about, buuuut..." In it were him, a blonde woman who was a couple inches shorter (and had a looser sense of dressing; nice jeans and a shirt as opposed to Roger's shirt and tie deal), a young man close to his height and in a rugby shirt, and two young girls: one with hair a shade or two darker than her mother's and dressed a little more "girly"(t-shirt and a skort), and one with bright red hair, dressed more casually: sweatshirt and shorts...and a purposefully goofy smile. "My wife Charlotte, my son J.C., and my daughters: Katrina and Sydney." he said, pointing each of them out. - Edward took the photo and adjusted his glasses as he got a good look. “You still have young ones, I see. One of them pretty mischievous, from the looks of it,” he smirked as he handed the picture back. “Thankfully the more mischievous of my family are my nieces and nephews and not my responsibility... They're nothing compared to their mothers though.” - Roger chuckled, both at Edward's comment on his picture and his "not my responsibility" comment. "Yeeeeah, haha. Could be worse...one of Charlotte's siblings has triplets, who've just turned two." - “Three terrible twos? I'm good with numbers, but I don't have an answer to that. Speaking of multiples; my wife's older sisters are identical twins. Quite literally double trouble, given their natures.” - "They don't either, apparently. Just kind of taking it a day at a time. " he laughed, "Twins, eh? Interesting! My wife's older brothers are twins as well. Fraternal, though." - “Huh. Small world,” he mused aloud as he sat down at his desk and began typing away. “Sorry. We can keep talking. I just feel the need to be productive while we do so.” Working was practically a compulsion for the man. - "Guess so." he chuckled. "And that's totally alright." Granted, as he said that, Roger had sort of...run out of things to talk about other than the weather... - The room was silent for a bit, save for the click-clacking of the computer keys. “...Would it be alright with you if I put some music on?” He usually listened to music while he worked. While this was usually done via headphones, he didn't want to appear as though he was ignoring the man, nor did he want to leave him in awkward silence. - Roger gave him a nod. "Go for it." Hey, potential new topic of conversation! "What, ah...what sort of music are you into, out of curiosity?" - Edward proceeded to take out an iPod from one of his drawers and skim through his music. “It's difficult to pinpoint, honestly. I listen to multiple genres and it can vary depending on my mood.” Now, what might the average person like? “...How about some pop rock?” - Roger shrugged, "Fine by me." - Edward nodded and brought up the playlist. Upon pressing play, Michael Jackson's Thriller started through the iPod's speaker. - A smile started to spread across Roger's face. "Heh. Usually anytime I hear this, it's from Sydney blasting it the morning of October 31st. I find it interesting that it was actually released almost an entire month after Halloween, yet that's what a lot of people associate the song with..." - “Not surprising, given the theme of the song and the accompanying music video. I really appreciate the choreography in that video.” - "Right? To be honest, the one that gets me is 'Beat It'; albeit more so for the whole 'two legitimate rival gangs' thing. To think they were able to not completely brutalize each other honestly astounds me." - “Couldn't have been easy,” he remarked as he typed. “Shame music and dancing can't really solve your problems, like in the movies.” - Roger chuckled, "Yeeeah. If it was able to, my wife and I would have been friends starting in childhood, as opposed to establishing a friendship during university. Long story." - “Actually, if it weren't for conflict, I likely wouldn't have wound up with my wife. Also a long story.” - ...Huh. Interesting... "I mean...I'm up for sharing mine; I'm not sure about you. Though, I am curious. If you're comfortable sharing, would you like to elaborate first or shall I?" - Edward took a look at his watch, before scooting away from his desk and facing his chair towards Roger. If they were going into long stories, he could at least give him his full attention. “I have some time. Go ahead,” he gestured slightly with his hand. - Roger gave him a small nod, found an available chair, sat, and took a deep breath. "Fair enough. Right, let's see...both her and I were born in and spent most of our childhood in Liverpool. It's a fairly sizeable city, however, the two of us ended up attending the same primary school. Her by her own volition, and myself since my mother was the headmistress. Her being a 'rebel' and me being a 'toffee-nose' as she called it, Charlotte wasn't exactly keen on me, or a number of other students. Or teachers, for that matter. She was a...er, perhaps a couple of steps above being considered a 'troublemaker'- enough to the point where she ended up being expelled. Now, after that, there were several rumours that had gone around; saying she ended up in prison, fled the country..." He chuckled, thinking back on some of the other rumors that circulated, "In actuality, she went to another school. Save for perhaps...two or three times in between, neither of us saw each other again until university. We ended up being paired together for a project. I was still considered as a bit of 'teacher's pet', whereas she never really left her 'rebellious' phase. The process itself was akin to pulling teeth, but eventually, we found out that the two of us knew each other...albeit, our last memories of one another were not exactly the best, per se. It took a number of months. but eventually, she had opened up quite a bit and ended up apologizing for the grief she'd caused me as a lad. " He smiled slightly, "After that, we just started hanging out together, and lo and behold, sometime later we ended up getting married and raising three children." - Edward listened and nodded politely as the other spoke. “That's a nice story. Not everyone gets an apology from someone who wronged them, let alone marries them.” - Roger shrugged, chuckling. "I guess she really needed was some time to mature. Same for me, as well. Come a bit out of my shell and all." - Edward nodded. “I know the feeling. Abigail makes sure I don't keep to myself too much. As for our story... how much time do you have? I have a tendency to wax poetic with this sort of thing.” - Roger laughed, "I've got all day, mate. Lay it on me." - “Very well.” Smiling, he began his story. “Abigail... I'll never forget the moment I saw her... It was during my junior year of high school. I was on my way to class when, among the cacophony of locker doors slamming, the squeaking of shoes on the hallway floor, and the incessant chatter of students, I heard the most beautiful sound to ever grace my ears. It was a giggle, soft and pure, conveying the warmth and happiness one would expect of an angel. That's what she was, an angel. And, just as one would expect of an ethereal being, I was only able to catch a glimpse of her as she passed by. Hair the color of the rising sun and eyes that sparkled like emeralds, she was, and still is, the most beautiful woman I have ever seen. I was completely in awe. I had no idea how a girl as beautiful as her could exist, nor how I couldn't have noticed her until that point. While I've never been able to answer the first question, it wasn't long until I was able to answer the latter. I'd never seen her before because she had only just begun attending our school.” He did warn Roger he could wax poetic. The rest of his story was just as eloquently worded; covering how, though he admired her, he didn't pursue her, how he tried to be happy for her when she began dating a bully of his, the rage he felt when the other had taken advantage of her, the fight for her honor that he lost, and the gratitude Abigail had for his attempt. - ....Man, he wasn't kidding. Edward was practically a reincarnation of Shakespeare- armed with a silver tongue and a talent for creating crystal clear imagery. It was almost as if Roger was there himself, observing from the sidelines. "That was....forgive me for being so emotional, but..." Roger wiped some stray tears from his eyes. "That was absolutely beautiful..." - Edward chuckled awkwardly, scratching the back of his head as a blush painted his features. “The story itself or the way I told it?” - "Both. Any of those degrees you hold happen to be an English or Literature one?" - He chuckled once more. “I'm afraid not. My interest in the arts is not something I've pursued outside of hobbies. I was encouraged to pursue a stable career path, in my youth.” - "Aaah. I mean...perhaps having it as a hobby is slightly better than a career? In those fields, I have been told that how much you make- if anything- is all dependent on luck. With your talent, I imagine you would be able to have been noticed fairly easily, but...perhaps it would be more stressful, in a sense. There are deadlines in an office setting, yes, but deadlines in an artistic sense...what if you're in a creative slump but need to produce something the next day and are unable to?" He chuckled nervously, hoping that his 'spitballing' of sorts made at least some sense. "That's all a matter of opinion , I suppose. I-I don't consider myself as one of those types that thinks that being an artist, in any medium, isn't a career..." - “Exactly. I don't think I'd be able to think and create freely whilst simultaneously being restricted by deadlines.” He sighed slightly and smiled. “Besides, I'm quite content with where I am now. I'm not looking for fame. I have a job that provides for my family and I can still engage in my interests as hobbies.” - Roger nodded, smiling as well, "So all in all, it sort of worked out." - “Pretty much.” He checked his watch, brows rising at the time. “I really talked your ear off there. It's almost lunch. Speaking of, I can recommend some good places to eat, if you haven't been here before.” - "Is it?" Roger checked his as well, and eyebrows shooting up as a result. "Ah, so it is. Time flies when you're having fun, I suppose. That would be great, actually! I've been to the States several times, but not Michigan...so I'm not sure what this place does and doesn't have." - "It would be remiss of me to not mention coney dogs while you're here. Other states have tried to make them, but Michigan really is the best place to get one. Though the absolute best place to get one is a little shop only open in the summer, but I know a place that's a close second." - "Aw, drat...but hey, second best is better than nothing I suppose!" Roger paused, "What, ah...what exactly is a coney dog, if you don't mind my asking?" - Edward laughed, or rather, exhaled through his nose. “It's basically a really good hot dog topped with a seasoned meat sauce, onions, and mustard. Not to be confused with a chili dog. While not gourmet food, it's sort of a local specialty that I've yet to see done just right anywhere else.” - Roger nodded as he listened. "Ah! Definitely sounds like something the kids will eat, so if need be, that covers dinner...probably will have one for myself as well- just to say that I've tried it." - “I certainly recommend it. Jackson is serious about its coney dogs, so if you ever want to try one, here's the place... Now I'm craving one, honestly. You want to come with me so I can show you where it is?” - Roger chuckled, "Might as well." - Back at the park, Audrey parted ways with the trio of tourists to take Lola back home. Energetic as she was, a puppy needed her rest. In fact, Audrey had to carry the pooped pooch part of the way home. When lunchtime rolled around, the redhead found herself craving a Coney dog something fierce. She didn't want to come across as though she was following the group, but she figured they would have already eaten and left by the time she got there. Upon reaching the restaurant, Audrey was surprised to see a different familiar face exiting his car. “Hi, Dad!” Audrey called from across the parking lot. What were the odds? “Hi, sweetie!” Edward called back. - Upon arriving, Roger stayed in the car for a brief second to send a quick text to his son. When it sent, he unbuckled his seatbelt and joined Edward, chuckling a bit at the two's interaction. "Ah! Daughter, right?" After Audrey left, it was soon time for J.C. and the kiddos to head on out. As expected, Syd and Kat had worked up an appetite, and started getting into a bit of a "discussion" over what to have. To keep them from going at it the entire time they were walking, the older brother told them that he already had a place in mind. ...Granted, that meant he'd have to deal with the two of them going "Where're we going?", "C'mon, tell us!", and "No, wait, lemme guess, it's THIS place!", but hey- they weren't fighting. Pulling out his phone to check the time, he noticed that he had a text from his dad: If you're in the area, I'm grabbing lunch with a colleague. If the girls can't agree on somewhere, here's the place's address..." The young adult chuckled, texting back You must be a mind reader, we're actually on our way there now. Be there in 7-10 min. - Audrey cocked her head, confused, but smiled. It wasn't often she saw her father outside the office with someone she hadn't seen before, but she saw it as a good thing.

"Indeed I am~"

Edward beamed and placed a hand on her shoulder, always happy to introduce his daughter to someone.

"Hard to believe I helped make this beautiful young woman, isn't it?" Edward laughed.

"Daaaaaaaaddyyyyyyy," Audrey covered her face, but smiled all the same. - Roger chuckled, "Well, it's very nice to meet you. I'm Roger Malone, I'm, ah...sort of your father's shadow today." - Audrey raised a brow, not quite sure what he meant by that. “He works for a foreign branch of my company and has decided to stick close to me during his visit here," Edward explained. "Oohhh," Audrey nodded. "It's funny you should mention that. I actually met three people from England today. Well, two girls from England and one man originally from France..." - Roger raised an eyebrow and had to hold back a small smirk, "Let me guess...one of the girls had bright red hair, the other was blonde, and the man had glasses?" - Audrey blinked. "Yeah. How'd you know- wait..." she started snickering. "You're their dad, aren't you?" - The man chuckled, "Indeed I am." - "What are the odds?" Audrey laughed. "Wait... uh-oh..." Edward looked confused. "Why uh-oh?" "Now they're gonna think I'm following them," she half whined. "I told them about this place, but I thought they would have been here and left by now." "I doubt that will be a problem," her father assured. "Besides, who would be disappointed to see you again?" he smiled and ruffled her hair. "Dad..." she sighed. - Roger smiled slightly. "I sent him a text, he said he'd be here in no more than 10 minutes or so. May be a bit longer since he's got two little munchkins in tow, but we'll see." - "No more, but maybe longer," Audrey snickered. "Ahhh, I'm just kidding." - The father chuckled, "You never know." - Her smile faltered a bit. "Sooo, should I leave orrr...?" - "Nooo, no, no, no, no! You're welcome to stay, I don't see it being an issue at all." He looked to Edward, "Besides, lunch with your children- regardless of age- is always a nice change from grabbing something by yourself." - "I suppose it's like a daddy daughter double day... with a son," she smiled awkwardly. - "In a sense, yes." Roger chuckled, "Should we be heading over to get some food, or would you rather we wait for the other three?" - "It wouldn't be very polite to eat before everyone is seated, let alone before everyone is in the building," Edward remarked. - "Ah, true, true." He put a hand to his forehead and gasped, trying to be dramatic and funny. "A most shameful misstep on my part." - Audrey snorted at this as Edward exhaled through his nose. - Roger chuckled and straightened himself up. Seemed as though goofiness ran in the family... Meanwhile, about 2 minutes away... "J.C., come ON! Where're we going?!" Syd whined. "I told you, it's a surprise~" he said, teasing her a bit. - "-and then Lola just bolted over to them! J.C., specifically. I don't know what her deal was, but she went straight for him. Maybe she smelled the different country on him somehow," Audrey laughed. - Roger laughed, "Quite possibly! I know that there's the belief that animals and children can sense something in people, be that good or bad, so who knows..." "I don't WANT a surprise; I want food!" "Really? Huh, that's a first...fine, I'll tell you. You remember that place that Audrey was talking about earlier?" Upon being asked this, the ten year old started to calm down a bit. "...The one with the hot dogs?" "Well, coney dogs, to be more specific, but yes. And we have a guest joining us...." That seemed to perk the two up a bit. Food AND company... - "Well, she wanted attention from him, so I imagine she sensed good," she shrugged. "She certainly liked all the attention the girls gave her; that's for sure!" - Roger chuckled, "Aaaah, looks like I'm going to be getting the 'Dad, can we get a dog??' question when they get here..." - "Their brother already answered that, I think," she snickered. - "Hopefully, he went with what I told him, and not 'heck yeah, let's go down and get one right now." the father chuckled. "Are we there yet?" Kat asked. J.C. took a quick look at the street signs, then off into the distance, trying to see if the place across the street was indeed the name of the place that Audrey had recommended. "Aaaaah, I think so?" He saw a couple of people standing in the parking lot, one soooort of looking like their dad? He wasn't 100% sure. What he did know was that there was a guy who was huge..."C'mon, let's go check it out." Once they were safely across the street, Syd and Kat's eyes grew huge, recognizing a familiar face. So THAT'S who their surprise guest was! Even before J.C. could recognize who it was, the girls dashed off. Initially thinking that the two were coming to him, Roger, turning his head at the sound of a "YAAAAAAAAAAY!!" from Syd, knelt down and braced for impact. ...Only...they didn't go for him... "Audreeeeey!!" Kat happily cooed, "J.C. was right, this WAS a surprise!" - "Hi, girls!"Audrey laughed, hugging the two. "Didn't think I'd see you guys again so soon!" She smiled apologetically and shrugged at their father. "She has a way with kids," Edward quietly informed Roger. - "Apparently. They blew right past me..." the dad chuckled. Wow, they seemed excited...did they miss Dad that much? Once J.C. got closer, he couldn't help but smile. This was a nice surprise! Upon reaching his father, he put an arm around him. "I'm surprised they didn't knock her over..."

- "She is a strong one," Edward commented. "Turns out your dad and my dad work for the same company," Audrey gestured to the respective fathers. "What are the odds, huh?" - "They do?" Kat asked. Looking to where Audrey gestures, she finally noticed Roger and made a bee-line for him. "Daddy!" While Roger pulled his youngest into a one armed hug (the other arm being around J.C.), Syd, meanwhile, stayed silent and with Audrey, looking at her father...or whoever that gargantuan person was. Was she 100% sure on that? That this guy was really her dad? They didn't look all that alike, save maybe for the teeth. She wasn't scared, per se, more in awe of the size of Edward - Audrey followed Syd's gaze and she soon chuckled. "Tall, isn't he? Don't worry," she leaned closer to whisper, "he's nowhere near as tough as he looks." - Syd merely blinked, as if she was observing something at a museum. "So you said you and Audrey's daddy are here?" Kat asked. "Yup," Roger gestured to Edward, "Kat, this is Mr. Davis. Edward, this is Kat." The little girl looked up, then fell kind of quiet. He was HUGE! She was only 4'3", this guy had to be 11 feet tall at least. Tightening her grip around her dad's hand ever so slightly, she gave Edward a slight nod and a bashful "Hi..." - Edward frowned as he looked between the two girls, believing them to be frightened of him. "It's always this," he sighed, "or begging to sit on my shoulders." - "I'm not scared, really..." Syd spoke slowly, "You're just really tall..." she smiled a bit, trying to convey that she was more amazed than frightened. - "I'm aware," he nodded. "How many retorts do you have to 'How's the weather up there' joke now?" Audrey smirked. "I'm not sure, honestly. Surprisingly, it's been a while since I've been asked that." - "...How IS the weather up there, anyway?" the ten-year-old asked. - "Partly cloudy with a one hundred percent chance of a joke I've already heard." - ...Alright, that was kind of funny...Kat and an equally nervous J.C. (in a more "This is the girl that I think I like's dad?! I know I'd have to watch out regardless, but holy moly..." sense, as opposed to Kat's "I'm but a small bean, pls no.") giggled. - Edward smiled and exhaled through his nose. "We should probably get inside before our lunch break is over." "Ohh, good point," Audrey perked up. "I have the day off, but you don't." - J.C. exhaled through his nose as well, "Guess it's a good thing that you guys were here. These two were close to ripping my arms off from...'hangriness'? I know that's not a word, but you get the idea." - "I suppose the portmanteau of 'hanger' wouldn't really work, lest someone think they wanted to hold clothes," Edward remarked as he held the door open. - J.C. chuckled. The man had jokes...always a good sign. Upon the door opening, Syd practically ran in (giving Edward a 'Thanks!!' as she passed by)- partially to find a seat and partially because FOOOOD. "Sydney, slow down, please." Roger spoke up, "Running isn't going to speed up the amount of time it'll take to get your food." - "Nope. That's up to us," Audrey chuckled as she speed-walked in. "Thanks, Dad!" - J.C. and Roger (and a Kat attached to Roger's leg), followed suit, giving Edward a "Thanks, mate" as they passed by. Even the somewhat nervous eight-year-old managed to squeak out a "Thank you, mister". Syd quietly groaned and threw her hands up- not so much in an aggressive way, more like an exasperated Muppet. "Okaaaaay." - "You're welcome," Edward said just before heading in himself. Rather than several tables, the restaurant had a few very long tables with chairs on either side. "Sooo..." Audrey started, "three on one side, three on the other?" - "Sounds fair." J.C. nodded, "Keeps Kat and Syd from fighting over who gets to sit where." - "Maybe we can go by family? Wait... that's four to two..." Audrey pondered. "Boys and girls?" Edward suggested. - "That works." Roger looked to his youngest, still clinging to him. "You going to be okay? Sitting over with your sister and Audrey?" Kat thought for a second before answering. "If Syd's not gonna be flingin' stuff at me, yeah." Syd scoffed, "Naaaah, too many grown-ups around. You're fiiiiine." - "I could sit in the middle," Audrey offered. "Any fights would have to go through me." - Kat smiled slightly, "That works." - As the group took their seats, Audrey slid off her light jacket to reveal her T-shirt and bare arms underneath. If they were wondering if she had strength to match her flexibility, there was their answer. - J.C.'s eyebrow's popped up as he got a look at Audrey's arms. Knowing that her father was right next to him, he had to resist the urge to whistle. - Audrey eyebrows scrunched together, feeling as though she was being watched. She looked up to see J.C. "...What?" - "Hm?" Ah, crud, he was noticed! Granted, he was looking at a "tame" part of her body, but still! "Ah! Sorry, sorry, I, um...I..." His face going a little pink, J.C. averted his gaze. "I just...caught a glimpse of..." he coughed, "You look...pretty strong." Totally nailed that recovery. - Given her T-shirt didn't really show any cleavage, she believed him. "Oh," she shrugged before flexing her arm. "Yeah. I work out." "She's a pretty one, huh?" Edward smiled at him, but it was threatening and with a piercing gaze; a look that said, 'Don't you dare.' - Feeling incredibly small as he was given the "Dad Glare" (as Syd called it. Roger had a similar one, but Edward's was about twice as intimidating), J.C. slunk a little in his seat, and replied with a "Y-yes, sir." "Betcha she could totally piledrive ya, J.C." Syd noted, as she watched Audrey flex. "..P...piledrive?" "Yeah! Like...SLAM! Right through a table!" Oh, she meant WRESTLING...oh thank god. J.C. chuckled nervously. "Um...p-probably, but...I don't know if she would. N-not that it implies that she's weak or anything! She can...I imagine she holds her own. I, er...I'm...going to shut up now. - Audrey seemed oblivious to her father's 'threat' as she laughed. "Maybe? You can calm down though. I wouldn't try anything like that. I may like to spar here and there, but I only fight fight as a last resort." - J.C. chuckled, trying to have it come of as NOT being nervous. "Haha...good to know." "Aw, we could've tag teamed..." Syd whined slightly. - "Maybe for a play fight. If I gave it my all, I imagine I could be pretty dangerous. I mean, I have won a few karate competitions," she couldn't help but gloat a little. Her strength was something she had utmost confidence in. "I can break boards... cinder blocks... found out I can crush melons with my thighs..." - Cue J.C. sputtering and choking on his own saliva. "...You alright, son?" Roger asked. " [cough] [cough]Yeah! Yeah, I'm [cough] f-fine!" - "Oh jeez! You choked on your own spit, didn't you? Hate when that happens..." "Why did you try crushing melons with your thighs?" Edward asked. Audrey chuckled and absently played with her hair, "Well, I saw a lady do it on YouTube and it made me curious." - " [cough! cough cough] Yeah..." "Sometimes you learn the best stuff off of there." Syd pointed out. - "It's pretty good for how-tos," she agreed. - The little redhead thought for a second."...Soooo if I wanted to learn how to make a glitter bomb..." "Don't get any ideas..." Roger started "I said 'if', not 'I'm going to make one..." - Audrey tittered. "You're such a scamp, Syd." - "The scampiest~" Syd smiled. "So you're saying you're a shrimp dish?" J.C. asked, obviously joking. - Audrey giggled at the joke. "Or a chicken dish, depending on your taste and if you're scared or not." - J.C., Syd and Roger snickered. The only one who wasn't all snicker-y was Kat. She wasn't exactly scared or upset, per se, but more....cautious, mainly because of Edward. - Audrey noticed Kat's lack of laughter. "You okay, Kat?" Edward looked over to the young blonde with a raised brow. He didn't mean to look intimidating in doing so... but he looked intimidating in doing so. - Temporarily snapping out of her little funk, the little girl looked to Audrey. "Huh? Yeah! Yeah, I'm...I'm fine." "You're not sick, are you?" Syd asked, "'Cos I don't want to get whatever it is you've got." The little sister shook her head "no". - Audrey frowned, able to tell she was lying. "If you're worried about not liking the coney dog, you could always just scrape the coney meat off it and just eat the hot dog." - "I think I'll be okay." Ah, good, a slight change in focus. Perhaps she could keep it going and ask her "standard" question when it came to trying new foods: "It doesn't have any green stuff on it, does it? In the meat stuff?" - "Naahhh. You're good. Not a vegetable in sight... Except for onion, but you can get it without." - Kat smiled slightly, "That's doable." - "Good~ Oh, looks like it's time to order," Audrey chirped as she looked over at their server. - "Oo!" Syd chirped, looking over the menu. "In that case, I'll haaaaaaave..." Roger, J.C., and Kat followed in terms of ordering; nothing spectacular- a coney dog and a drink. - Audrey and Edward did the same; though they both ordered two coneys. Edward was a big guy and Audrey needed the fuel for her active lifestyle. - "They do dessert here, right?" Syd asked, smiling expectantly. - "They do, actually," Audrey smiled. "It's sort of a custom to get rice pudding as dessert when having coney dogs." - Aaaaaand there went that smile. Here she was thinking they had ice cream. The idea of rice pudding was not sitting well with her, indicated by a slight "Ick!". "Ah, c'mon, kiddo. You're trying something new for food, you won't do the same for dessert?" J.C. asked. He thought for a second; maybe a little of the "monkey see, monkey do" logic he would use when she was younger would work... "...I'm probably going to have some afterwards, would you be against trying a bite or two? "...I mean, I guess I could have a bite. If you really can't finish your dessert without someone else having a bite of it." Syd answered, trying to play it cool. J.C. smirked slightly. - "You've never had rice pudding?" she cocked her head. "It's really good! Like, I know rice might have a weird texture to some, but this rice pudding is nice and creamy and sweet with cinnamon." "Besides," Edward started, "how will you ever find a new favorite food if you don't try new food?" - Syd raised an eyebrow. "Cinnamon? Ooo, now I'm warming up to the idea~ That's one of my favourite flavours...other than bubble gum, cherry, lemon, and cotton candy." Kat's "stiffness", as it were, started to loosen up after she heard Edward. That sounded like something that her dad said a lot... - "Good~" Audrey and Edward spoke simultaneously. "I almost feel bad getting rice pudding without Mom," Audrey chuckled. "Speaking of, have you talked to her today?" "You should know the answer to that," Edward chuckled. "I called her this morning, just as I always do when we're not in the same house." "I'll catch you forgetting one of these days," she joked. - J.C. chuckled quietly, thinking the whole scenario was pretty cute. - "My mom is hanging out with her sisters today. That's why she's not here," Audrey informed. - "Speaking of, did yooooou call Mum today???" Syd asked, interrogating her father. Roger chuckled, "I had sent her a text earlier; making sure she got to where she was going alright." "You've gotta call her, though!" the ten year old lightly scolded, "It's more important to talk and hear each other's voices!" "I haven't had a chance to, sweetheart. I'll do it when I get back to the office, alright?" Syd gave her father a suspicious look, but backed down with an "...Okaaaaaay....if you say so..." - Edward couldn't help but snicker at this. "This isn't the competition of the dads, Syd," Audrey chuckled. - Ah, and he laughed too! Kat smiled a bit at his reaction. "Mmm, you're right, that's on Father's Day..." the child mused. - Audrey snorted at this. "No-ho it's not!" - "So then why do they have all those 'World's Greatest Dad' mugs?! You don't just get that title wily-nily!" - Audrey shook as she tried not to laugh.

"I don't know," she squeaked. - "They have the 'Dad Games' in Scotland, right?" J.C. asked, snickering and going along with Syd's misconception. "They sometimes coincide with Highland Games, so they combine the two?"

"Sometimes, I guess." Syd confirmed, "But they replace something like caber tossing with ball tossing, if I remember correctly..."

Roger couldn't help but snicker as well. - Audrey was a bit lost. She was certain he was joking, but she was unsure as to what was a joke and what wasn't. If they had wife carrying in Finland, Dad Games in Scotland wasn't that far fetched.

May as well play along so they don't think she's stupid.

"Do they have wife carrying like they do in Finland?" - "...They have that in Finland?" the child asked. - "If I remember right. I saw it on a show about strange competitions from around the world."

Yes, she purposely left out the show was called World's Dumbest. - "Oooooooh...."

"Soooo, do they?" J.C. asked Syd, seeing how long she could keep this up. "Have wife carrying competitions at the Dad Games?"

"I'm...not too sure. I think that's one of the new events being added this year. That, and...you know the relay race where you have to carry an egg with a spoon? There's s'posed to be something similar, except it's with a baby and you've got to carry them to their crib as quickly as you can without waking them up." - Audrey had to cover her mouth to keep from laughing.

Edward was pretty good at keeping a straight face, so he decided to weigh in while Audrey couldn't.

"I certainly hope they don't carry them using spoons. Dropping a baby is a lot worse than dropping an egg." - "Oh, no, no- they carry them like you normally carry a baby."

J.C. snickered, "You sure they don't just use really big spoons?"

"No, 'cos that's just dumb…" - "Pffckp!" Audrey clamped her hand over her mouth again. - Syd was confused; why was all of this so funny? They'd asked their question, and they were getting an answer. Adults were weird… - Audrey managed to stifle her laughter once more and her father remained straight faced, as usual.

"I'm guessing you four flew here," Edward piped up to break the silence. - " 'Course we did." Syd answered, "It's not like we can just jog across the ocean." - "Your arms must be really tired then," he smirked.

Audrey slapped a hand to her face.

-

J.C. mimicked Audrey, while Syd groaned. Total dad joke- she should've seen that coming!

Kat, on the other hand, giggled a little. Perhaps that apprehension of hers was starting to diminish.

-

Edward laughed at their reactions.

"Did you tell these dad jokes before I was born?" Audrey asked.

"No. They come in the handbook you get when you become a dad."

-

"I believe 'Dad Jokes' is Chapter 5." Roger added.

"...There's not a handbook, c'mooon..." Syd scoffed.

-

"Do you think we just learn as we go? That'd be ridiculous."

-

"Do mums get one, too?" Kat asked.

-

"Theirs is less of a handbook and more of a full encyclopedia."

-

"How come it's bigger than just a handbook?" the little girl asked. Now she was curious...

-

"Because their book has all the hard stuff in it. The dad book mostly has jokes and funny faces to practice."

-

Syd looked to J.C., "He's not serious, is he?"

"Oh, he is." the older brother confirmed, smirking. "When Mum was pregnant with you, they consulted their manuals. They did the same with Kat- you were too young to remember them doing it, though."

The ten-year-old raised an eyebrow, not buying it. "So what about with you, then? Did they consult this 'manual' too? "

"There's a section in the mum encyclopedia all about adoption- Chapters 15 and 16, if I remember correctly."

-

"...Adoption?" Edward blinked, surprised.

-

J.C. looked over to Edward, chuckling a bit sheepishly. "Yes, I, um...I was adopted by your, ah...work mate here," he gestured to Roger,  "at around 2 years old. Long story. ...Well, not really a long story, but..."

-

"Ah. Well, I won't pry. Didn't intend to put you on the spot there. Sorry."

-

J.C. gave him a small smile, "It's no big deal. You ever want to know, I'm open for questions."

-

"I'm not really sure if I'll ever see you again, so I may as well ask," he shrugged.

"Weeelllllll," Audrey started.

-

J.C.'s eyes darted over to Audrey, before looking back to Edward. "Ummm...."

-

Edward raised a brow, awaiting an explanation.

"I went ahead and got J.C.'s e-mail address so I could send him pictures of Lola and Daisy to show to Syd and Kat," Audrey said with a smile. "Don't know if we'll talk much outside of that, but I figured that counted as keeping contact," she shrugged. - "P-pretty much, yeah." J.C. confirmed, "What with being abroad and all. Can't really come rushing over every time the sibs want to see Lola, y'know?"

-

"Oh. Makes sense," Edward nodded, not too on edge yet. Seemed innocent enough.

-

"I mean, teeeeechnically we could..." Syd suggested.

Roger laughed, "Oh really? How do you plan on raising money to do so, eh?"

Syd stayed silent for a moment before giving an answer. "...I'll figure something out."

-

Audrey snickered.

"I couldn't afford that and I have a job." - "...Theeeeen I'll find a way that makes a lot of money."

-

"Will you let me in on it?" Audrey asked.

-

Syd steepled her fingers and leaned back slightly. "Perhaps. Once I find it, of course."

-

"... Please do so legally."

-

Syd made a facial expression, silently conveying something along the lines of "Dang it...".

"Eh, I can start with a lemonade stand, I guess..."

-

"I think you need a permit for that now, or something, unfortunately," Audrey frowned. "So dumb."

-

"A piece of paper that says 'I can do whatever I want' and has your signature on it doesn't count, either." J.C. added.

"Dang it!"

-

Edward inhaled, about to speak, but Audrey cut him off.

"If you go into an in-depth explanation as to why, I can't guarantee we'll all stay awake."

-

J.C. had to hold back a snicker.

-

"...Sometimes I wonder if we're related. Then I look at your mother," he proceeded to look left and right. "But she's not here right now, so I don't know."

Audrey snickered.

-

"That's what we say about Syd sometimes," Kat piped up, "And we look to Mum, too. Similar personalities."

Syd scoffed, "I'm waaaaay more tame than Mum was when she was my age. Or so I've been told."

-

"Audrey's pretty much a dead ringer for her mother at that age... but with more muscle."

"And less hair," Audrey added. - Roger chuckled, "Charlotte had pigtails at...well, at least at Kat's age.  I think she had them when she was as old as Syd, as well."

"Only real differences are that she's blonde, and that I've never accidently set a building on fire." Syd added. She paused, thinking how off that statement sounded. "It's....not as bad as it sounds. She tells the story better than I do."

-

Edward's eyebrows shot up at this, as did Audrey's.

Before they could question farther, however, their food arrive.

"Oo, yay~ You guys get to have your first Coney!" Audrey exclaimed.

-

Syd and Kat stared at the size of the food, trying to figure out how exactly they were going to get it in their mouths. That was one big hot dog...

"So do we just like....go for it?" The redhead asked, "Aim for the mouth and hope for the best?"

-

Audrey snorted. "Basically."

She and Edward both picked up their own coneys and took a bite. How did they do it? Very carefully.

-

J.C and Roger followed suit while the sisters observed and tried to mimic what they were doing. Kat ended up getting mostly meat sauce on her first go, but it still managed to garner a smile from the girl.

Syd's expression was a little more telling. It was a bit more extreme, as if she had just tasted the best thing in the world. She said nothing, as meat sauce started to drip down her face.

-

Audrey snickered at Syd and took another bite. "Good, right?"

-

The child slowly nodded.

"Don't go all 'wild animal' on us now." J.C. spoke up, wiping a bit of sauce from his own face. "If there wasn't as much in the way of sauce and whatnot on there, I'd say go for it, but I don't think everyone else around us would appreciate getting covered in food.

Syd merely responded with a dazed "Uh-huuuuuh" and went back to chowing down.

-

Audrey giggled. "Agreed. Though there are worse things to be covered in than coney dog."

-

"Like ink from a pen that exploded on you, I suppose." Roger piped up.

"Or mud." Kat added.

"Aw, c'mon, being covered in mud's kinda fun!" Syd, briefly snapping out of her coney daze, spoke up. "Besides, people use it for, like,  beautifying themselves sometimes. Like on spa days, not just after a rainstorm."

"They do noooot..." the small blonde scoffed.

-

"Well, yes and no," Audrey clarified. "Mud masks are a thing, but it's not just plain old mud from the ground.  It's like, a special kind of mud mixed with special oils and stuff."

-

"What about mud baths, then?" Syd asked.

-

"I think it's the same basic idea."

-

"Mmm. So there goes another money-making idea, then." The redhead took a bite of her dog, "I was gonna dig a hole, fill it with mud, and use that as a space for people to take a mud bath in. Find some oils and put those in as well..."

-

"If only it was that simple..."

-

"I don't think you should be worrying too much about money." J.C. noted, "Childhood's meant more for worrying about...heck, I don't know, finding out what happens in the next episode of your favorite cartoon. Or whatever sort of drama will unfold between your dolls the next time you play pretend with them."

Syd scoffed, "But you need money to buy and do things, ya dingbat."

"Thaaaat's...where saving up your allowance comes in." he shrugged.

"Or having someone pay for something for you." the younger sister gave him a cheeky smile, "And give them an IOU, of course."

-

Audrey snickered.

"Yeah. That's what childhood should be, even if it isn't always like that. People always act as though childhood has no downsides. It can be stressful, I know. But it certainly has its perks."

-

"I mean, adulthood kinda has its perks too...you get to drive, stay up late, and even do biscuits for breakfast if you're so inclined." Syd mused, "Buuuuuuuuut you do have a point... I think."

-

"Adults have to pay taxes," Edward replied dryly, causing Audrey to snicker.

-

"...So do kids." the redhead responded, "You've never heard of the 'sibling tax'? Or the 'Halloween candy' tax?"

-

Audrey looked confused. "...I'm an only child and so is my dad, so, no."

-

"The 'Halloween candy' one isn't even really a tax," J.C. spoke up, "she gives up the candy that she doesn't like and gives it to me , Dad, and Mum"

"But I was still the one who went out and got it, so it's still kind of a tax." Syd argued.

"The sibling one is when your brother or sister gets you a snack or somethin' when they go out to a convenience store, and they take a small bit." Kat added. "Like a few Smarties out of a pack, or a sip of a slushie."

-

"Ohhhh," Audrey nodded. "That makes sense."

-

"Plus side is is that it rarely rises." the little blonde continued, "For example, Syd usually takes five of my Smarties; no more, no less. Even though there's a lot that comes in a tube."

"Well, that's 'cos they're /yours/ so obviously, you get the most." Syd shrugged, "Basic economics."

-

"She has a point," she shrugged.

-

Syd smirked. See? Audrey got it.

"Since when has this been a thing?" Roger asked, "I don't remember ever doing that with my siblings."

"It's fairly recent." Kat answered, " 'Sides, I guess it's kind of a good thing, what with you bein' the youngest out of yours an' all. Your siblings and mine are different in terms of personality."

"Oh jeez, can you imagine Mum?" Syd chuckled, "She'd have 5 other people that could tax 'er!"

-

"I thought they could only tax you if they helped get you something? Otherwise, I think it's just called sharing."

-

"Either way." Syd shrugged, "Bein' an only child has its perks, I imagine."

Kat looked over to her sister, appearing offended and assuming that that's what Syd preferred.  The redhead looked to her sister and gave her a playful nudge, one that nonverbally said something like "Hey, you're alright; I tolerate ya".

"It does get kinda lonely, though." J.C. piped up, "I was one for thirteen years."

-

"I've always been an only child. I did have my cousins to keep me company though. Them and the kids we'd babysit," Audrey remarked.

"I was more focused on my studies than socializing," Edward admitted.

-

"I tried to be," Roger admitted, "But that can be a bit difficult when you're needed either as goalie for your older brother's football game or brought to tea with Mumsy and other school officials."

Syd had to hold back a laugh. Ha! "Mumsy". Who called their mother that, nowadays!? That sounded so old-fashioned.

-

"You shouldn't be envious," Edward commented a bit quietly.

-

Roger raised an eyebrow, "I mean, I'm not exactly complaining. Could've settled for not having a football to the face and a black eye or some other bruise with most games, but..."

-

The only response he got was a light grunt. "Mm."

"Sooo," Audrey started, hoping to change the subject, "you want to order some rice pudding?"

-

Ooof, sounds like he was hitting a rough subject. Best not to push it. Thank goodness for Audrey and the rice pudding suggestion. "Uuuum, sure! Yes, let's, ah...let's try some of that!"

-

Audrey smiled and nodded, motioning for their server.

-

Syd looked to Edward, "Iiiif it's any consolation, she's a real 'witch with a capital B' now. I really don't like 'er." Not sure if that helped, but...

Kat, noticing the change in the other father's attitude, became quiet again.

-

Edward looked thoroughly confused. "Who?"

-

"Dad's mum. 'Mumsy', as 'e calls her." Syd clarified. "She's usually nice to him, but she's mean to a lot of other people."

-

"Oh. Not sure why that would be consolation, but, alright," he shrugged.

-

Syd shrugged as well.

Kat, meanwhile, continued cautiously watching.

-

After a moment of silence, Edward felt eyes on him and looked over to Kat.

Was she scared of him still?

Can't have that.

He briefly stuck his tongue out and pulled it back in, looking not unlike a snake.

-

Wait a sec.

Kind of scary guy?

Making silly faces?

That was pretty ridiculous. Silly, even.

The little blonde smiled slightly, giggling a bit at the display.

-

"Hm?" Audrey looked over to Kat, then to her father, who looked as serious as ever.

-

"What's so funny, shorty?" Syd asked.

"Noooothin'." the younger sibling responded, trying to control her giggles.

-

Edward suppressed a smirk. Once the attention was off him again, he crossed his eyes.

-

Cue a slightly bigger smile and more giggles.

-

That's better~, Edward thought to himself, believing that to be enough to calm her down.

The server soon came with their rice pudding.

Knowing the kids were a little unsure of the new dessert, Audrey took the first bite, making sure to look quite pleased with the flavor.

-

Like a group of little scientists, Syd and Kat watched closely to make sure that nothing adverse happened. Looked as if Audrey liked it...soooo if she wasn't immediately spitting it back out, then it had to be good, right?

Only one way to find out...

After a bit of deliberation between the two, Syd was the first to try the new dessert. Her expression had a couple of flashes of confusion (because of the texture), but was still overwhelmingly positive, indicated by the "Mmm!" she emitted.

-

Audrey did her best not to laugh at their cautiousness. She smiled as she continued eating. "Told ya."

-

Kat looked to Syd for confirmation.

"Ish guuuuuuuuh, Kad" she responded, mouth full of pudding.

Slowly, Kat took a small bit of pudding and placed it in her mouth. Her reactions were a bit similar to her sister's but they seemed to be pretty positive as well.

-

Audrey giggled. "So, what do you two think?" she asked J.C. and Roger.

-

Roger nodded, "It's different, but I must say, it does have a delightful taste."

J.C., meanwhile, was about halfway done with his. Must've been that good.

-

Audrey snorted when she looked over at J.C. before covering her mouth and nose.

-

J.C. looked up, a bit of pudding on his nose, wondering what Audrey was laughing at.

Roger couldn't help but chuckle a bit. "Uuuum, son? You've got a bit of..."

J.C. looked down at the little blob on his nose, chuckled awkwardly, and used a napkin to get it off.

-

"You sure you want to be so blunt about it? I mean, you were a little... on the nose," she snickered, as did her father.

-

"I guess you could say that all that stuff on your face made you look a little...off-pudding." Roger added. Cue an "Oh god, dad jokes" sort of groan from Kat and Syd.

-

"How dair-y say that?" Edward jumped in.

-

J.C. couldn't help but laugh; he always appreciated a good dad joke.

-

Audrey tittered as she took another bite. "I'm out. Anyone have any puns left?"

-

"Aw, already? I thought those were some pretty rice puns we had going." Kat piped up.

-

Audrey snickered. "You sure like to go with the grain, don't you?"

-

"I'm surrounded by nerds..." Syd said, shaking her head.

"That's pot calling the kettle black, isn't it?" J.C. asked, smirking and raising an eyebrow.

"...You've still got a bit of pudding on your face, y'know." she said, smirking back. "Might want to get another napkin and dab it off."

-

"Dab it off?" Audrey proceeded to do the 'dab' movement with one arm out and her face in the crook of her other arm.

"I don't see how this will help."

-

At that moment, Syd and Kat immediately lost it, collapsing into a fit of laughter (and some pudding dribbling down their chins). J.C. snickered at their reaction.

Roger, however...was confused.

-

Edward felt the same.

Audrey chuckled, looking at J.C. "Should we tell them?"

-

"One of these days, maybe." J.C. snickered.

-

"If only we were still kids. We could use this as leverage."

-

"Truuuuue."

-

"Oh well. Maybe Syd and Kat can."

-

"...Once they stop laughing, of course."

"Why are they laughing, anyway?" Roger asked.

"Sorry, Dad, it's top secret. Those of a certain age are only privy to it." Syd answered, still trying to calm down.

-

"Ya hear that, Dad? No old people allowed."

"I have baby pictures in my wallet," Edward retorted.

"I'll shut up now."

-

"Oooohoo, the baby picture threat. Things are getting serious." J.C. snickered.

"I have yours, too, you know." Roger added, looking to his son and raising an eyebrow.

J.C. slunk down slightly.

-

"And I used to think you were cool," Audrey jokingly told her dad.

-

"He's kinda funny, I'll give him that..." Kat said, giggling.

-

"Only kinda?" he grinned, his large front teeth quite visible.

-

Kat laughed, "Okay, maybe more than kinda...."

-

"You should see him do the bunny face," Audrey smirked.

"I still have your baby pictures," he narrowed his eyes.

-

Kat gasped. "Bunnies?? I like bunnies!"

-

Edward glared at Audrey, knowing he had to do it now.

He let out a sigh before looking around to see who all could see him do this.

Upon deeming the coast clear, he wiggled his nose, then chattered his teeth.

-

Kat giggled, clapped her hands, and bounced up and down happily.

-

Audrey snickered and her father smiled slightly, still embarrassed, but pleased with the blonde's reaction.

-

"How come YOU can't do a bunny face?" Kat asked her father.

"I can do those really funny voices when you want a bedtime story," Roger offered, feigning hurt "Does that not count for anything?"

"It does, it does!" Kat reassured.

-

"Because not everyone can be graced with my freakish rabbit teeth," Edward commented.

"Dad," Audrey started sternly, "don't make me call mom to ramble about how cute your teeth are."

[mymixofmuses]

Lola Leads

(A roleplay between my Audrey muse and @red-rad-and-rod . It doesn’t have a real ending, but, here we gooooo.)

- It was finally starting to look and feel like springtime in Michigan. The seemingly sporadic weather seemed to have finally settled on a warmer temperature. There were no more snowfalls coming out of nowhere and the plants were becoming more lively by the day. The grass was green and dusted with flecks of other colors as the flowers began to bloom. A certain freckled redhead by the name of Audrey had been looking forward to this day, more so for her furry friend than herself. Lola, a scruffy-looking mixed breed about the size of a beagle, had been Audrey’s Christmas gift to herself. As such, she had never seen the local park, with the weather as cold as it was. Now, however, the young dog trotted happily next to her owner, or rather, a little ahead. She was quite the excitable one and still had trouble walking calmly with her master. It didn’t help matters that she was finally getting to see a new setting and was eager to see and smell everything in the immediate vicinity. Though it took an uncountable number of pit stops, the two made it to the park. The young woman found a bench and sat down, reaching into her bag to get out a bottle of water and a doggy dish. After pouring her pet a drink and taking a sip for herself, she pet her dog’s floppy ears. “That was a long walk, huh, girl?” The dog didn’t respond, but simply lapped up the water vigorously. “Yeah. Can’t blame ya for being thirsty,” the redhead giggled. Lola stopped to look up at Audrey, wagging her tail for a moment, before looking into the distance. Before she had a chance to respond, the dog had shot off in a blur of brown and white, taking her leash with her. “Ack! Lola! Come here, girl!”

- “I’m bored” J.C. looked over from his spot, a bench fairly close to one of the two play structures, and scoffed gently. Both Mum and Dad had work today, so lo and behold, he was tasked with watching his little sisters. No big deal, really; might as well do his standard thing and take them to the park to tire them out. Usually made for a fairly easy time afterwards. Seemed like that wasn’t the case today, at least with one of them. “Syd, we’ve only been here for about half an hour, how can you be bored already?” Syd, currently laying on the grass near him, blew a bit of hair out of her face as a response. “You haven’t even done all that much; save for surveying the play structure, checking out the swings, and nearly getting sick on the little roundabout. You tired or something? Still a bit dizzy from spinning around super fast.” “No.” J.C. shrugged, letting out a sigh. “Theeeen I don’t know what to tell ya, kid. You can hang with me and have a boring time ooooor you can go play.” He looked up to catch a glimpse at the younger of the sisters, Kat, looking like she was having a blast on the swings. “What about the swings?” “Kat’s on them, and she’s talkin’ with another kid. Knowing them, they’re gonna be on there for hours. An’ there’s a line for the rest of the swings…I could just go over, push some of the other kids outta the way, and jump the queue…” Syd looked to her brother, a sort of defeated look on her face, “but if I do, then you’ll make me sit on one of the benches and ‘think about what I did’ and 'how wrong it is’.” “Preeeeetty much, kiddo. Laws of the playground, can’t exactly break 'em.” Syd had a small chuckle at the comment, before starting to focus on something. “Y'see that?” J.C. looked in the same direction. “What?” “There’s something coming in our direction….kinda small…really fast….” Suddenly, the ten-year-old let out an excited gasp. Kind of small and really fast? That usually meant… “PUPPYYYYYYYY!!!” - Despite the clear excitement of the child, Lola opted to focus her attention on the young man. She bounded over to the bench and promptly placed her front paws on his knees as she 'danced’ excitedly for attention, tail wagging a mile a minute. The dog was scruffy-looking, but clearly not a stray. Aside from the collar and leash dangling from her neck, she was clearly cared for with a healthy weight and a shiny clean coat. What’s more, she looked too cute for someone not to take her in. Her markings, shades of brown with a white face and underbelly, were beautiful, while her pale blue eyes practically sparkled, and her cute little pink nose was too much to resist! Audrey followed a short distance behind, putting those athletic legs of hers to work. The redhead dashed past the swing set, quickly addressing the girl Kat was talking to. “Hi, Jenna! Bye, Jenna!” With that out of the way, she continued to call for her dog. “Looooolaaaaa!” - Kat, a little confused, looked to Jenna. “You know 'er?” Jenna laughed, “Know her? I can tell you all about her….” (….) At the sound of Syd shouting, J.C. jumped a little. Jeez, she could be loud sometimes…what was that all abo…ooooh, a puppy. Of course. From what he could tell, they had a leash, tags, and they weren’t some hulking looking thing (even if it was, Syd’d still go nuts. Something as big as a Newfie, she’d risk getting bowled over, regardless). Eh, as long as he kept an eye on the two of them, it shouldn’t be an issu- wait, why was the dog coming towards him? Ignoring the small “Heeeey!” from Syd, J.C. looked down and gave the little dog a smile. “Heeeey there, little bit.” he chuckled, “Who’d you get away from, eh?” Hearing the sound of “Looooooolaaaaaaa!”, Syd pointed it the direction of where it was coming from. “Prooooobably the person shouting 'er name?” “Ah, good call.” J.C. shouted back, “Over 'ere!” - The canine rested her head on his knee for a moment before she perked up at the sound of her owner growing closer. While she was happy to see her, the dog didn’t approach, merely faced her with a wagging tail. “Lolaaaa,” Audrey, started with a lecturing tone, “you can’t run off like that. You could get hurt.” Lola lowered her head in apology as her owner took the leash once more. “I’m sorry about her. She’s still a bit of a puppy.” Lola looked up at the two of them talking, tail wagging. - J.C. chuckled, giving Lola a little pat on the head, “Mischevious little thing, aren’t ya? Worrying your Mummy like that…” He looked to Audrey. “Cute little dog you’ve got there. Lola, was it? That’s her name?” - Audrey giggled. “Thank you. Yes, this is Lola,” she gestured, 'introducing’ them. She may have left things at that, but the accent got her curious. “I’m gonna go out on a limb and say you’re not from around here. Like, not even somewhat close to around here.” - “Nnnnnnope!” piped up Syd, moving next to her brother. “We’re from WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAY across the Atlantic. ….Or…whatever degree of "way” Bristol is.“ - Audrey jolted slightly, not having noticed the child in the scramble for her dog. Placing a hand to her chest, she let out a wheezy laugh. "I’d say that’s pretty far. Also, diggin’ the hair. What are you two doing all the way over here?” - “Work.” J.C. answered, “Dad works for one of those international companies, and often times, we end up coming with. Kind of like a mini-holiday, I guess you could call it.” “Aaaaand 'cos he and Mum each had something they needed to take care of, we got to go to the park with this guy right here!” Syd added. - Lola looked at the child, tail wagging as she looked at her expectantly. “Ahh. That makes sense.” She paused, raising a brow. “We?” - Syd giggled at Lola, “Silly puppy…” “Yup,” J.C. tossuled Syd’s hair a little bit, “This one right here is Syd, aaaand my other little sister should be on the swings…” he looked towards the swing and could see a blur of blonde, pink, and purple. Yep, that was her. Cool, she hadn’t moved…save for the back and forth motion of the swing, but…“Yup, Kat’s on the swings.” “I’m 10 aaaand Kat’s 8.” Syd added. - “You can pet her, if you want,” she smiled at Syd. “She’s a friendly dog, albeit rowdy at times.” Audrey turned to look towards the swing. “Ahhh. I knew there was a reason I didn’t recognize her,” she turned back to J.C. “I have a good reputation as a babysitter, so I’ve gotten to know a lot of the kids around here. For example,” she pointed back towards the swings with her thumb. “That’s Jenna talking to your sister. She has a baby brother on the way.” - Syd’s eyes lit up like it was Chrtistmas morning. Giving Audrey a quiet “Thank yoooou”, she went about gently petting Lola, all the while quietly going “Puuuuuppy, puppy, puppy, puppy, puppyyyyyyyyyy…..” J.C. snickered at his sister before turning to Audrey. “Aaah. Baby brother on the way, eh? That oughta be fun.” - Lola rolled onto her back, exposing her underbelly as her tongue lulled out. “Yeah. I don’t have any siblings myself, but I do have five younger cousins who were over at our house pretty often. Actually, that’s the reason I don’t have any siblings,” she snickered. “Enough kids in the house as it was.” - J.C. laughed, “Kind of sounds like our place, at least around the holidays. Syd and Kat can be a handful, but add…I don’t know, at least five to ten other kids to the mix- anywhere from two years old to well into their teenage years- and it’s…something, alright.” “Exhausting?” Syd asked, “Is that 'cos we’ll drag you outside to play?” “…To be honest, I’d rather be out with you guys than having to deal with relatives asking a number of questions.” he snickered. - “Good golly, Miss Molly! That’s a lot of kids! I sure hope the other adults help out, at least a little bit. I mean; I love kids, but even I need a break here and there.” She chuckled. “It still is sweet of you to play with them, regardless of the awkward questions with the older relatives. Let me guess… 'How’s school? Work? Are you seeing anyone? Thinking about marriage? Kids? What’s in your future?’ ”

- J.C. chuckled, nodding. “Preeeeeetty much. At least with kids, they ask you things like what your favorite dinosaur is.” “It’s a brachiosaurus.” Syd loudly whispered. “It most certainly is. There’s usually a 'tag out’ system in place, so I do get to have some 'grown up’ time…speaking of questions, I….don’t think we’ve actually officially introduced ourselves. I’m J.C., and you are?” - Audrey giggled at the dinosaur comment. “Oh, how rude of me,” she held a hand to her chest before holding it out to shake. “I’m Audrey, born and raised Michigan citizen,” she smiled widely, revealing her large front teeth. “Is this your first time here? I could recommend some good spots to visit.” - “Charmed,” J.C. responded, smiling as he shook her hand. “It is…we actually came across this place by accident, so…any help or tips are greatly appreciated.” - Taking her hand back, she held two fingers to her head and mock saluted. “Can do! Now, let me just think a moment here…” She put her chin in her hand as she thought. “Well, when it comes to free entertainment, you’ve already found one of our parks. As for spending a little cash, you can’t come to Michigan and not try a Coney Dog. It’s a shame you didn’t come in the summer, since that’s when you can get the best Coneys from Timmy’s Coneys. Old Timmy only sets up shop in summer, but there are restaurants you can get them from year round.” - “Aaaah, drat. I’ll have to make a note of that…if it’s open only during one time of the year, they must be pretty good.” “What’s a coney dog?” Syd asked, “'Cos all I’m picturing is, like…you put it in an ice cream cone and put regular hot dog stuff on it.” - “An ice cream cone? What makes you think- Ohhhhh, coney dog. Nahh. It’s short for Coney Island Hot Dog. Basically, they take this specific kind of hot dog and top it with this meat sauce; not chili. It’s something else. Anyway, it’s usually topped with a heaping helping of onions and mustard. You can get them plain too though. Some people like theirs with cheese.” - “Ooooooooooooh.” Syd blinked, “I don’t know, I kind of like my idea more.” J.C. scoffed lightly and shook his head. Kids could be such weirdos sometimes. “Well, even if we can’t get them specifically from Timmy’s Coneys , is that something that you’d be willing to eat after we’re done here?” Syd nodded enthusiastically. “I think Kat would, too, 'cos it doesn’t have green stuff on it. At least, from the sounds of it.” “You want to go and ask her?” Syd gave the two a salute and ran off, yelling “PLAY NICE, YOU TWO!” to the pair. J.C. laughed, “We weren’t…! Aaaaaand she’s gone. Dang, she’s fast.” - Lola watched as Syd ran off. There goes the person giving her attention… Oh well. She rolled back over onto her stomach and closed her eyes. Audrey laughed as well, taking a seat next to J.C. on the bench. “Your sister seems like a hoot and a half! I’m guessing she keeps you on your toes, huh?” - “Tiptoes is more like it.” he responded, smirking a bit. “She’s a character, I will give her that.” - She chuckled. “I’ve known kids like that; like real life versions of Calvin from Calvin & Hobbes… You ever read that comic?” - “Oh, yeeeah! I read those all the time when I was a bit younger. Still do, occasionally. …Although, I read them in French first, then went to English once my grasp on the language improved a bit…” - Audrey cocked her head to the side. Didn’t his sister say they lived in Bristol? “French?” - “….Ah, right, right…” He cleared his throat a little, “See, I’m….not originally from England. Syd and Kat’s mum and dad are my adoptive mum and dad. Been so since I was around 2 years old. I’m originally from France.” - She slowly raised her head and lowered it as she let out a drawn out, “Ohhhhhhh.” Rather than pry for details, she simply smiled and said, “I’m glad you were able to get adopted at a young age. Adapt to your new family faster and all that. I’ve thought about adopting myself, but I think it’s a little early to think about that sort of thing. I don’t even have a boyfriend right now,” she laughed. - He gave her a smile back, as a silent way of saying thanks. “I’m thinking of doing the same, honestly. I mean, I’m happy either way- adoption or otherwise., but…kind of in the same boat; just out of school, no girlfriend…all that fun stuff.” - “Not often I see a man who openly admits to wanting kids,” she giggled, nudging him with her elbow. “Shame you live across the ocean,” she joked with a wink. - J.C. chuckled, a little bit of a awkward/nervous edge to it. “Haha, yeah. It kind of be nice to have a couple of my own…I mean, there’s Syd and Kat, but they’re my sisters. Having a kid be your own’s a little different.” - “Ah, I’m just messing with you,” Audrey smiled, hoping he didn’t think she was actually hitting on him. “I would imagine so. Speaking of, I wonder what those two are talking about. With how fast Syd sprinted off, you’d think she’d be back by now.” - “That’s a good question…I don’t hear any sort of screaming or yelling, so they’re not fighting…” He snickered, “Maybe she got distracted and now they’re both on the swings?” - Audrey shrugged. “Maybe. I don’t mind though. I’m totally free today, so I don’t mind waiting… Though I suppose those two don’t have to be here for the directions. Would you rather I just tell you where to go and get out of your hair?” - “If you want; you’re welcome to hang around if you don’t have anywhere to be today. Besides, I think the minute Syd mentions the word 'puppy’ to Kat, she’ll come running over.” - Audrey snickered. “I think I’ll stay. Lola loves attention, I love kids, and you seem pretty nice~” - J.C. couldn’t help but blush a little. “I, um….I try, heh…” All of a sudden, a more high-pitched “PUPPYYYYYYYYYY!!” came from the playground. Aaaaah, there it was…a “Kat, wait up!!” followed shortly. “Speaking of kids, sounds like Syd mentioned the 'P’ word….” - “Sounds like it,” she agreed, making sure she had a firm hold on Lola’s leash. Lola had perked up at the sound of the shout and was now wagging her tail eagerly, whining impatiently for what she was sure would be more attention. - Pretty soon, a little blonde girl dressed in pink and purple had joined the pair. She looked to the redhead, smiling. “Sooooo, you’re Audrey, right? Jenna’s been tellin’ me about you.” Shortly after Kat had arrived, Syd turned up, out of breath. “Easy, kiddo. Take a sec and rest.” he told the smaller redhead. Syd did just that, walking over to the other open space on the bnch and plopping down with an “Oof!” “An’ Syd says you’ve got a puppy. Can I pet her, please?” - “Mm-hm,” Audrey smiled warmly at the blonde. “And you’re Kat?” Lola was currently on her hind legs, trying to pull away to reach Kat, whining all the while. “I don’t think I have a choice here,” she laughed, gesturing for Kat to come over. - “Yep!” She nodded, skipping a little closer. “Hiiiiiii, puppyyyyy~!” “The name’s Lola.” Syd piped up. “Hiiii, Lolaaaaa~!” - Lola wagged her tail as she excitedly sniffed at the newcomer. Deciding she liked the child, the dog gave her a few licks. “She’s a friendly one, isn’t she? I like your outfit, by the way. Pink and purple are my favorite colors~” - “Uh-huuuuuh.” Kat giggled, as Lola showed her affection. “Mine too!” - “Neat!” While Audrey was curious as to what Jenna said about her, she decided keeping the focus on the dog would make more sense. “I got her from the local shelter. The people working there said she’s a mixed breed, but weren’t sure what all is in her. They think she might have a bit of Border Collie in her though.” - “Oooo, Border Collie, eh?” Kat looked to J.C., “That’s not one of those super big dogs, right?” J.C. smirked, “Yeeees, and I know what you’re asking. You know my answer already.” “Dang it.” - “I’m guessing you’ve been wanting a dog? I know the feeling,” she smiled sympathetically. “Lola here is my first dog and I’ve just recently turned twenty four years old! My family’s house could get so chaotic at times that a dog just seemed like it would be too much, despite my asking. Figures my parents would adopt their own dog not long after I went to college.” She shrugged. “Oh well. At least the two get along.” - Both kids looked at Audrey. Twenty-four? “…No way, you look way too young.” Syd spoke up. J.C. couldn’t help but laugh a little. “Syd, twenty four’s not old. Nowhere near it.” “You only say that 'cos you’re twenty three.” Kat added. “Twenty four in August, though. Point is, early to mid twenties is not old.” - Audrey giggled, taking 'look way too young’ as a compliment. “I sure hope not! I want to be married with kids before I’m old!” - “Human years don’t work like dog years, you two.” J.C. chuckled. “If that were the case, Syd would be anywhere from 56 to 78 years old.” Kat snickered. J.C. looked to the little girl, “And you’d be somewhere from 48 to 64 years old, depending on breed.” Syd tilted her head, looking at her sister. “Soooooo, what kinda dog d'you think she’d be? One o’ those yappy little chihuahuas?” Kat gave her sister a cheeky smile, “You’re probably one of those big, bumbling ones that slobbers a lot.” J.C. sighed quietly, seeing where this conversation was going. “Okay, you two, tone it down a bit.” - Audrey chuckled. She knew where this was going… and just how to stop it. “My parents have one of those; a little chihuahua, I mean. I should have a video of her playing with Lola on my phone, if you two can get along long enough to watch it.” - Ah, Audrey was pulling out the big guns…puppy videos! Dang it, she knew one of their weaknesses! Looking begrudgingly to each other, smiling a semi-forced smile, the sisters slowly side-hugged each other in a “See? Friends!” sort of way. - She could tell the two weren’t happy, but they got an A for effort. “Alrighty~ Let me just get out my phone real quick.” Digging through her purse (which she had thankfully kept on before she ran after Lola), she soon pulled out her phone, which had a unique cover. The cover was pink in color, with a pattern of purple hearts and teddy bears, as well as rhinestones scattered throughout. “Oh yeah! I’m still getting used to that,” she showed them the phone. “My cousin made this case for my birthday. Isn’t it neat?!” - Syd and Kat were like a pair of puppies themselves, watching as Audrey pulled out her phone. If their ears could’ve perked up, they would have- the case was so cute! “Uh-huuuuuuuh.” J.C. had to chuckle a bit; he didn’t really know whether it was the shininess of the phone case or the promise of watching dogs playing together, but the way his sisters looked right now was pretty funny. - Audrey chuckled. “Alright alright. Enough of that. Onto the video~” Scrolling through her gallery, she found what she was looking for, turned up the brightness and volume, then pointed the screen towards the girls as she pressed play. The video started with a view of Lola and a small white chihuahua with semi long fur. The two dogs were sharing a rope toy, each with an end in their mouth. While the chihuahua tugged with all her might, Lola simply stayed still, tail wagging as she watched the smaller dog try to take the toy. “I don’t think Daisy’s getting that toy any time soon,” Audrey’s voice could be heard from behind the camera. “Let’s give her a break. Lola, come here, girl!” Rather than drop the toy and come to her master, Lola instead dragged the toy and the chihuahua over to her, resulting in cackles from those off screen. - The once squabbling siblings immediately quieted down and watched the video intently. It almost seemed like the two were in some sort of trance, giggling almost simultaneously. J.C. shook his head, amused at the girls and the dogs. - The video ended and Audrey chuckled. “Yeah. They’re a hoot, alright! You want to see some pictures?” - Cue a simultaneous nod from the sisters.

- “Alrighty~” She brought up her photo album for Lola and Daisy and proceeded to flip through it. - Both girls giggled at the sight of the two. “Note to self: when these two start squabbling, find cute puppy pictures.” J.C. mumbled, pretending to scribble on an invisible notepad. - Audrey giggled, then snorted. She proceeded to cover up her nose, bashful. - J.C. giggled at…well, Audrey’s giggle; it was so cute! - She cleared her throat, as if to clear the awkwardness she felt away, and moved on to flip through the pictures. She had quite a few of them. “I could send you some, if you want. Though I suppose I would need your email for that.” - E-mail? Huh…that…must mean that she wanted to keep in contact?? Not that he minded, of course. It was just…they’d only JUST met. Or maybe it was because if he didn’t have them, Syd and Kat would constantly be begging to go back to Michigan, just so they could find Audrey and have her show pictures of Daisy and Lola. “Uuuuuh, sure!” he said, trying not to chuckle awkwardly. First time a pretty girl had asked for his e-mail. “Do you, um…want me to type it in on your phone as a little note, or…?” - She really hadn’t put much thought into it when she’d said it, but she soon realized the implications of what she’d said. Oops. Not that she would mind keeping in contact… She thought for a moment, then smiled. “Sure thing!” she said as she opened up her notes app and handed it to him. “If you get an email from 'teddy bear lover,’ it’s me.” - J.C. gave her a nod and quickly typed in his e-mail address. “Aaaaand if you get a response from….” His…e-mail was a liiiittle embarrasing, he thought. He had made it when he was about Syd’s age, so… “…well, this, then it’s me.” “Bluerangerbaguette714”….seemed like a good idea at the time. He liked Power Rangers, he liked baguettes, and 7/14 was an important holiday in France. “I, uh…haven’t updated it yet. Made it when I was about 10 or 11….” he chuckled nervously, face turning a bit pink. - Audrey looked at the email address and had to make a great effort not to laugh. She was trying so hard, her body was actually shaking slightly. “Makes sense,” her voice came out as a squeak. “My dad helped me pick mine so I wouldn’t be embarrassed late-her-her-her!” So much for not laughing. “I’m sorr-ee-hee-hee!” - Eeeeeh, he should’ve seen that coming. Way to go, 10-11 year old J.C. …Buuuuut at least he could laugh at himself. He joined in on the laughter; a little awkward at first, but it started to sound more natural as he went on laughing. “It is kind of ridiculous, looking back on it.” he admitted. - Audrey held a hand to her face, trying to stifle the laughter. “It’s not that funny! I just told myself not to laugh and that made it hilarious!” Her laughter did die down to a snicker and Lola looked at the two in confusion. - “I mean, if you imagine something like…” he began to “demonstrate” a few Power Rangers-like poses and trying to say random things in French as epically as he could, “…while thinking of it, then…I mean, that’s usually what I think of anytime I read that.” - She snickered a few more times at the poses. “As someone who knows karate, that just makes it more hilarious.” - Syd snickered at her brother. “You’re a dork, J.C.” “The dorkiest~” he responded. “The dorkiest in all the la- wait a sec…karate??” Syd asked, turning her focus to karate. “You knowkarate??” - “Mm-hm~” she nodded. “I may not be the violent type, but karate is good for blowing of steam and is a good confidence booster. I may not be the brightest, but at least I can raise my foot above my head.” She smiled awkwardly. “That’s what I like to tell myself, anyway.” - “Show me!!” Syd said, bouncing on her heels excitedly, “Please??” - “Raise my foot above my head? Sure!” She stood up from her seat on the bench and proceeded to do a few stretches before lifting her leg almost completely vertically. “Don’t try this at home, kids. Not without lots of practice, anyway.” - All 3 Malones (Syd, mainly-followed by J.C. and Kat in terms of intensity) went wide eyed. “Hoooooly crud!” Syd gasped, awestruck. - Audrey chuckled and brought her leg back down. “Yeah. I’ve been practicing this sort of stuff since I was a kid.” - “Not to brag, but…” Syd dusted off her knuckles, “I, uh….I do a bit of karate myself.” “I don’t think what you do is actually karate,” Kat piped up, “I think that’s more like flailing about.” Syd “hmmph"ed, took a few steps back, and demonstrated some of her "moves”. - “Hmmm… I’d say that was more… avant-garde karate than traditional karate.” Translation: You’re not very good, but I don’t want to hurt your feelings. - Syd smirked at her sister. “See? She knows talent when she sees it.” - Audrey simply smiled and nodded. Best not to break her confidence. She’d offer to teach her some moves, but she doubted she’d see the trio again anytime soon. - “Whateeeever you say.” Kat mumbled quietly, rolling her eyes at her sister. “ ’S gonna come in handy when I get a job when I’m older.” Syd added. “…What was that again?” J.C. asked. With Syd, it changed just about every couple of weeks. “Circus performer/bodyguard/secret agent…with a penthouse.” - “I’m guessing you’re aiming for a more physical line of work then? Can’t blame ya. I’m a personal trainer myself.” - “Oooo, that sounds like a good idea, too! Maybe add that to the list…” J.C. chuckled, “With a physique like that, I wouldn’t be surprised.” Maybe that was a little too forward? He coughed, and rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly, “Good surprised, though. You, ah…I imagine you’re very skilled at your job- helping people with getting into shape. - “My physique? You haven’t even seen me out of these clothes,” she laughed, before realizing what she said. “N-not like that!” she stammered. “I meant out of these specific clothes! My workout clothes show more.” - "I, um…I’d hope so? N-not in a weird way! Just….so you don’t get overheated or anything; speeding up the dehydration process while exercising is rather risky, and…” His voice began to trail off, “I’m…gonna stop talking now…I…made it awkward…” Syd looked between the two, smirking a bit to herself. Super friendly to each other AND awkward when they think they’ve made a misstep? Oooo, was Cupid nearby~? - “No, no; it’s fine,” she chuckled. “I know what you meant. It’s good to dress for your workout; don’t overheat or sweat up your regular clothes.” She sat back down and began petting Lola. “Though I know some prefer the less revealing clothes. I used to be the same. Took me a while to get past some of my self esteem issues, y'know? You just gotta get a breathable material.” - J.C. nodded, understanding the “self-esteem issue” thing all too well. Not really wanting to dive into that (mainly because…well, come on, he and Audrey had just met), he focused more on the breathable fabric thing.“Yeah. That way it’s like…when a person’s all done workin’ out for the day, they’re not dripping with sweat or smelling like an old pair of socks.” - Audrey snickered. “Depends on your definition of a workout. That’s why we have showers at the gym~” She paused for a moment. “Weren’t we talking about stuff to do in Michigan? How’d we get here?” she laughed. - Oh thank goodness, the subject changed. He laughed, “Dunno, that’s actually a really good question…” “Can I go back an’ play now?” Kat asked. “Go for it.” J.C. told her, giving her a small nod and taking a glance at his watch. “ 'Bout 30 more minutes, alright? I want to get you guys fed, too.” “Can we get those coney dogs??” Syd asked. J.C. shrugged, “Yeah, sure. Probably the only time we’re going to be able to get them, so why not?” “Sweet!” Syd gave Lola a quick pet before running back to the playground. “Last one there’s a rotten egg!” she called to Kat. The little blonde mimicked her sister’s actions, instead yelling “Bye, Audrey! It was nice to meet you!” “What she said!!” Syd shouted back. - “Same to you!” she called out before relaxing back against the bench. “They seemed nice~ I should probably give you directions before I forget.” She proceeded to dig through her purse. “I’m sure I have a pen and paper in here somewhere… Also; while it’s not limited to Michigan, it seems to be a northern U.S. thing. If you can find Blue Moon ice cream, go ahead and try some. I can’t really describe the flavor, but I love the stuff. If you’ve ever had Superman ice cream, it’s basically the blue part in that.” - J.C. chuckled. “They try. Kind of nice that they’re screaming more from running around than fighting. Iiii…don’t think I’ve had that flavour before, but with a name like 'Superman’, that might sound like something Syd’ll like. May as well try some Blue Moon just for the heck of it, y'know?” - Having pulled a notebook and a pen, Audrey proceeded to jot down the directions. “Yup yup! Always nice to try something new~” In addition to the directions, she jotted down a few other places they could look into while in Michigan. - “Haha, yeah. I should tell that to Kat, or as I call her: 'Little Miss No-Greens’. She’ll eat her fruits and veg, yeah, but only if they aren’t green. …Good thing it’s 'Blue Moon’ ice cream and not…'Green Moon’.” Okay, so that was kind of a lame joke, but hey. Glancing over at her writing, he smiled a bit. Not only writing down the names of places, but directions, too! “…Forgive me if this sounds a bit weird, but…you have really nice handwriting.” - Audrey chuckled at the green moon joke, then giggled at the compliment of her handwriting. “Not weird,” she assured as she bashfully played with her hair, twirling a short curl around her finger. It was nice to get a compliment on something that wasn’t her physique. “I take a lot of notes. Helps me remember things.” - He nodded, “Always good, always good. Nothing worse than having something super important you need to do or get, then completely forgetting to. Like… 'don’t forget the milk….don’t forget the milk….wait, what was I getting?…Ah, crud! I forgot the milk!” - Audrey snickered. “Yeah. That’s why I write everything down,” she flipped through her notebook to show page upon page of notes. “I’ve had friends ask how I got them the perfect gift, and I’m like, 'Remember how you were talking about that thing three months ago? Yeah. I wrote it down.'” She flipped a page and twirled her pen. “Speaking of, how do you spell your sisters’ names? I wanna write them down. Yours too… I’m imagining there’s more to your name than a J and a C.“ - “I should start doing that,” he noted, “Did it a lot more while I was still in school, but having recently graduated, eeeeh….not so much. Would be good to get back into the habit.” At the “more than a J and a C” comment, he chuckled. “I would hope so, otherwise my parents were very lazy. It’s short for Jean-Claude: J-E-A-N, dash ,C-L-A-U-D-E. Syd’s is S-Y-D-N-E-Y, and Kat’s is K-A-T-R-I-N-A.” - “A-ha! It’s a good thing I asked,” she proceeded to write the names down. “I definitely would have spelled those wrong otherwise. You never know; that Greg could be spelled with two Gs at the end or something.” - “Haha, yeah! Or the 'Christopher’ that you pass by every day spells it as 'K-R-I-S-T-O-F-F-E-R.” he replied, offering an example. - “Oh goodness. That reminds me of a comedian talking about names who said he met a girl named Amy, but it was spelled A-Y-M-I-E. I think it was Brian Regan.” - J.C. had to laugh, “Or you get a name that has about seven different consonants all piled together, but it’s pronounced as 'Jim’.” - Audrey snickered. “Okay; now you’re just making stuff up.” - J.C. gave her a cheeky smile. “Maaaaybe just a little, yeah.” - “Your sister was right. You are a dork,” she grinned. - “Now if only being a dork was a profession.” he snickered, “I’m overqualified.” - “You’d have some stiff competition. I’ve memorized at least half the recent My Little Pony songs word for word. And let’s not forget all the Disney songs.” - “If it’s any consolation, I do a meeeean rendition of 'I Just Can’t Wait to Be King’…granted, I’m always designated as Zazu, but hey.” J.C. shrugged, “Now my 'Winter Wrap Up’ can use a bit of work, but…” - He knew My Little Pony too? Nice! Audrey grinned before softly singing one of Nala’s lines. “No one saying be there~” - Cue him responding with a “No one saying 'Stop that!’ ” - “No one saying seeee heeeere~” She jokingly thought that, if he joined her on that line, he must be her soulmate. - He did indeed, laughing a bit as he did so. - Audrey laughed as well, unable to believe he actually did it. “Oh, wow. You’re the first guy who’s ever sung Disney with me… Well, besides kids… and my dad… Okay; the first adult male who isn’t related to me.” - J.C. shrugged, smiling, “Hey, you have to admit that they are pretty catchy, so it’s kind of hard not to. …Well, that and it’s pretty fun to sing along to stuff, anyway.” - She nodded in agreement. “It’s a little different when you’re in front of other people though.” She rubbed her arm, smiling bashfully. “I’m usually a bit shy with that sort of thing, but, I dunno, you seem… safe? for lack of a better word. Like, I don’t imagine you would make fun of me. Then again, we did just meet, but, eh,” she shrugged. “just a feeling.” - 'Safe’, awwww~ That was kind of the way he felt about her, too. His heart felt like it was burning with something. Not heartburn or anything like that, but more like…some warm affection-type feelings. They appeared to be past the level of acquaintance and more on the level of “friends who hadn’t seen each other in years”…which was kind of strange, since they’d just met. Best not to question it, though…. He gave her a gentle smile, “It sucks being on the end where you get laughed at. I know from experience, it’s…not the best feeling. So I make it a point not to do that to others, y'know? Break the cycle, treat others how you want to be, something along those lines…” - “Woof,” Audrey exhaled, looking towards the sky. “Tell me about it. I was prime bully bait as a kid. Not only did I have plenty to make fun of, I cried really easy, so they always got a reaction.” - J.C. mimicked Audrey’s actions, “My main 'points of fault’, I say with heavy emphasis on the air quotes, were the fact that I was still learning English, my accent- a lot heavier at the time- my glasses… the list goes on and on.” - She sat back up and pointed to her front teeth, which were fairly large in comparison to the rest of her teeth. “You see these? This is after I’ve grown into them.” She paused for a moment, looking confused. “Who makes fun of a French-English accent?!” she exclaimed as she threw her hands up. “Those are, like, the best accents to have!” - “At least they weren’t missing…? I know that’s not a lot of help, but…” he pointed to his, “These two are actually fake. Got my two adult teeth knocked clean out when I was a little older than Syd. Took a while to get the implants, so…” he blew a bit of air out of his nose, “Bet you can guess how well that went over with the little buttmunches that were in my class. The real kicker was when I finally got them and sounded like Daffy Duck for a solid month and a half.” He rubbed the back of his neck, “That….probably isn’t much help, and I don’t mean to make it sound like I’m taking the conversation away from you, but…I dunno, that whole 'safe’ feeling you said you have with me kind of…extends over from me to you, too.” - “Cheese on a cracker!” Audrey exclaimed with a hand to her chest. “That’s horrible! How on earth did they manage that; a hammer?!” She waved her hands. “Oh no no no no. It’s fine. I’m talking to you, not at you.” - He gave her a nod, a sort of not verbal way of saying “I understand”, before continuing. “More like running into a tree…going down a hill on a bike…at near full speed….as part of a dare from a couple of older boys. The bit they forgot to mention was that I had to jump off the bike before it hit.” He sighed, shaking his head, “Y'know, part of that was my fault for taking the dare, but…11 year old me didn’t want them thinkin’ I was a chicken or anything.” He smirked, another thought occurring to him, “Althooooough….I knew one of the older kids, so before I went home, I went to his house first and showed his parents- who knew my parents and were good friends with them- what happened.” - Audrey grimaced, recoiling at the thought of such a stunt. “I’m sure that was a delight for them to see,” she shuddered before shaking her head to rid herself of the thought. “My dad actually had to have a veneer in high school. He got in a fight, something he never does, because the guy made my mom cry. They barely knew each other at the time, but Dad was smitten with her from day one. Anyway, he was beaten to a pulp and lost a chunk of tooth, but he married my mom in the end so… yaaaayyy…” she waved her hands. - “Ooof…” J.C. had to cringe at the thought, “Buuuut…I guess in the end, it all worked out? Better than my parents. …I’m…not 100% sure of how my birth parents met, but my current ones…that’s a different story. Short and skinny is that they knew each other as kids, Mum was a right pillock to Dad, she moved away, then they re-united in uni and I guess…everything worked out? Apologies, burying the hatchet, all that good stuff.” - “Huh,” she shrugged, “Fair enough.” She paused to look down at Lola. “I wonder if she knew we would get along somehow. Like some sort of doggy sixth sense. I mean, out of all the people in the park, she went straight for you.” - He chuckled, “I dunno…I mean, the same tends to happen when people ask me to hold their babies and they’re all smiles and whatnot. I don’t even do much, other than give them a 'Hey, what’s up, little darlin’?’ or ’Salut, petit lapin!’ and I’m getting this few-toothed smile.” He stopped and thought for a second, “I mean…people aren’t handing me babies all the time, but…you get what I mean, right?” - Audrey tittered at the thought. “Come, Julia! We must find a kind stranger to hold our baby!” - J.C. started to go into a giggle fit, trying to picture the scenario. - Audrey did as well. Meanwhile… While Edward wasn’t the boss, he was well respected in his workplace. He was a hard worker and had been with the company for over twenty years. He knew the inner workings of things and could navigate the building blindfolded. While he may not be the most social, he was certainly polite and was sure to greet the employee from their English branch. “Roger Malone, was it?” the exceedingly tall man inquired, holding out his hand to shake. - New country, new people…at least it’s the same company? Albeit, a different branch, but…stiiill the same company, so not all that much should be that different. Kind of wished that Reggie or Eric had come along, that way I’d at least know someone… “Roger Malone, was it?” came a voice. Snapping out of his little funk, the Englishman smiled in the direction it was coming from. Ah! Now time to match a voice to a faaaaa….hoooooly moley, this guy was huge! Was…was that who that voice belonged to? Only one way to find out…. “Aaah, yes! Yes, that’s me.” he chuckled, “I know I have a few names I was supposed to remember, so I’m going to take a stab in the dark, and say yooooou’re…” David? Jack? Not a Sandra, that was for sure… “…Edward?” - “First try; impressive. Edward Davis; yes,” he nodded. “I believe the meeting is in,” he checked his watch, “about fifteen minutes. So you should have time to learn your way around or stop by the breakroom. There may still be a doughnut or two, if you hurry.” - Roger gave him a nod. Sure, this guy seemed really intimidating, but…it wasn’t like he was trying to assert his dominance over him? Nothing like “Move it, peasant, there are doughnuts with MY name on it in the breakroom.” “Duly noted…perhaps a little stroll around, then, ah…get down to business, eh?” Totally nailed that office small talk. - Edward simply nodded, not acknowledging the awkwardness. He could be awkward himself, when out of his element. “I’ll leave you to it then. If you need help with anything, Sandra should be happy to assist. She’s pretty easy to spot with her curly blonde hair and large glasses. If you can’t find her, well, it’s pretty hard to miss me,” he chuckled slightly. - “Curly hair, large glasses…got it. Cheers, mate.” he gave him a smile and a nod before heading off. Hmm, maybe this guy would be the guy to stick to during this whole shebang. Seemed like he knew what was up. - Edward did the same and went about his business until it was time for the meeting. The meeting went about as well as one could expect, if a little longer than usual to fill in the newcomer. Statistics were discussed, questions were asked, ideas were suggested, and progress was made. Satisfied, the higher ups dismissed the others to go about their usual business. - The question was…what…exactly was his usual business now? Roger’s usual usual business involved bumming around with Reg and Eric for a little bit before getting back to work, but they were back in England. Then he got a glimpse of Edward again. He knew his way around…would he mind if he just shadowed him for a bit? “Aaah, Edward?” - Edward turned around and raised a brow at the Brit. “Yes? Can I help you?” - “Er, perhaps.” He cleared his throat, obviously a little nervous, “Would it…trouble you if I, ah…shadowed you for a little while? You’re the only face that I can actually immediately place. I don’t know if our positions are equivalents to one another, but…it’s always good to know a little about a lot?” Translation: Holy cow, I’m beyond awkward around here, please let me just stay under your wing for a bit. - Thankfully, Edward decided to show mercy on the awkward man. “That shouldn’t be a problem, as long as you don’t go shouting in my ear while I’m trying to work or something.” He made a subtle gesture with his head to follow him before heading for his office. The inside of his office was a strange mix of sterile and welcoming. While he had various degrees on his walls with pens and papers arranged just so, he also had photos and childish nick-knacks scattered about. Seemed he wasn’t the only influence on his office. - “Oh! Noooo, no, no, no, I usually keep to myself, anyway. Perhaps a little chatter here and there with a couple of colleagues, but otherwise…” Upon entering the office, the sterility offset him juuuust a tad. Sure, Roger was a rather tidy man as well, but this was perhaps a step up from his level of cleanliness. Then he caught sight of the photos and little “decorations”. Resisting the urge to breathe a sigh of relief (“Oh thank god, he’s human”), Roger couldn’t help but crack a small smile, having a couple in his own little office space back home. Must be a “dad” thing- having a couple little “projects” your kids have done just hanging around in your workspace. “Family man, eh?” he asked, breaking the silence. - “They’re my world,” he admitted, smiling softly and making his front teeth even more prominent. Turning a frame on his desk to face the other man, the photo revealed a recent photo of his wife and daughter. The two women shared the traits of red hair, green eyes, and freckles. The daughter had short hair while the mother had long hair. Another major difference between them, besides their ages, was the fact the mother was short and of an average build while the daughter was taller with an athletic build. “My wife, Abigail, and our daughter, Audrey. Quite the family resemblance, isn’t there?” he smiled widely, proud of his girls. Edward almost seemed to become another person when it came to his family. - Roger had to chuckle a little; to think that this scary looking guy was a big ol’ softie. “They’re lovely~” he responded, as he started to dig out his wallet. If they were going to do an impromptu show and tell, then he supposed it was his turn. “Let’s see…” Finally getting the wallet out, Roger dug around and found a more recent photo of his family. “Aha!” He handed it over to Edward, “This one took a few tries, since everyone wanted to muck about, buuuut…” In it were him, a blonde woman who was a couple inches shorter (and had a looser sense of dressing; nice jeans and a shirt as opposed to Roger’s shirt and tie deal), a young man close to his height and in a rugby shirt, and two young girls: one with hair a shade or two darker than her mother’s and dressed a little more “girly”(t-shirt and a skort), and one with bright red hair, dressed more casually: sweatshirt and shorts…and a purposefully goofy smile. “My wife Charlotte, my son J.C., and my daughters: Katrina and Sydney.” he said, pointing each of them out. - Edward took the photo and adjusted his glasses as he got a good look. “You still have young ones, I see. One of them pretty mischievous, from the looks of it,” he smirked as he handed the picture back. “Thankfully the more mischievous of my family are my nieces and nephews and not my responsibility… They’re nothing compared to their mothers though.” - Roger chuckled, both at Edward’s comment on his picture and his “not my responsibility” comment. “Yeeeeah, haha. Could be worse…one of Charlotte’s siblings has triplets, who’ve just turned two.” - “Three terrible twos? I’m good with numbers, but I don’t have an answer to that. Speaking of multiples; my wife’s older sisters are identical twins. Quite literally double trouble, given their natures.” - “They don’t either, apparently. Just kind of taking it a day at a time. ” he laughed, “Twins, eh? Interesting! My wife’s older brothers are twins as well. Fraternal, though.” - “Huh. Small world,” he mused aloud as he sat down at his desk and began typing away. “Sorry. We can keep talking. I just feel the need to be productive while we do so.” Working was practically a compulsion for the man. - “Guess so.” he chuckled. “And that’s totally alright.” Granted, as he said that, Roger had sort of…run out of things to talk about other than the weather… - The room was silent for a bit, save for the click-clacking of the computer keys. “…Would it be alright with you if I put some music on?” He usually listened to music while he worked. While this was usually done via headphones, he didn’t want to appear as though he was ignoring the man, nor did he want to leave him in awkward silence. - Roger gave him a nod. “Go for it.” Hey, potential new topic of conversation! “What, ah…what sort of music are you into, out of curiosity?” - Edward proceeded to take out an iPod from one of his drawers and skim through his music. “It’s difficult to pinpoint, honestly. I listen to multiple genres and it can vary depending on my mood.” Now, what might the average person like? “…How about some pop rock?” - Roger shrugged, “Fine by me.” - Edward nodded and brought up the playlist. Upon pressing play, Michael Jackson’s Thriller started through the iPod’s speaker. - A smile started to spread across Roger’s face. “Heh. Usually anytime I hear this, it’s from Sydney blasting it the morning of October 31st. I find it interesting that it was actually released almost an entire month after Halloween, yet that’s what a lot of people associate the song with…” - “Not surprising, given the theme of the song and the accompanying music video. I really appreciate the choreography in that video.” - “Right? To be honest, the one that gets me is 'Beat It’; albeit more so for the whole 'two legitimate rival gangs’ thing. To think they were able to not completely brutalize each other honestly astounds me.” - “Couldn’t have been easy,” he remarked as he typed. “Shame music and dancing can’t really solve your problems, like in the movies.” - Roger chuckled, “Yeeeah. If it was able to, my wife and I would have been friends starting in childhood, as opposed to establishing a friendship during university. Long story.” - “Actually, if it weren’t for conflict, I likely wouldn’t have wound up with my wife. Also a long story.” - …Huh. Interesting… “I mean…I’m up for sharing mine; I’m not sure about you. Though, I am curious. If you’re comfortable sharing, would you like to elaborate first or shall I?” - Edward took a look at his watch, before scooting away from his desk and facing his chair towards Roger. If they were going into long stories, he could at least give him his full attention. “I have some time. Go ahead,” he gestured slightly with his hand. - Roger gave him a small nod, found an available chair, sat, and took a deep breath. “Fair enough. Right, let’s see…both her and I were born in and spent most of our childhood in Liverpool. It’s a fairly sizeable city, however, the two of us ended up attending the same primary school. Her by her own volition, and myself since my mother was the headmistress. Her being a 'rebel’ and me being a 'toffee-nose’ as she called it, Charlotte wasn’t exactly keen on me, or a number of other students. Or teachers, for that matter. She was a…er, perhaps a couple of steps above being considered a 'troublemaker’- enough to the point where she ended up being expelled. Now, after that, there were several rumours that had gone around; saying she ended up in prison, fled the country…” He chuckled, thinking back on some of the other rumors that circulated, “In actuality, she went to another school. Save for perhaps…two or three times in between, neither of us saw each other again until university. We ended up being paired together for a project. I was still considered as a bit of 'teacher’s pet’, whereas she never really left her 'rebellious’ phase. The process itself was akin to pulling teeth, but eventually, we found out that the two of us knew each other…albeit, our last memories of one another were not exactly the best, per se. It took a number of months. but eventually, she had opened up quite a bit and ended up apologizing for the grief she’d caused me as a lad. ” He smiled slightly, “After that, we just started hanging out together, and lo and behold, sometime later we ended up getting married and raising three children.” - Edward listened and nodded politely as the other spoke. “That’s a nice story. Not everyone gets an apology from someone who wronged them, let alone marries them.” - Roger shrugged, chuckling. “I guess she really needed was some time to mature. Same for me, as well. Come a bit out of my shell and all.” - Edward nodded. “I know the feeling. Abigail makes sure I don’t keep to myself too much. As for our story… how much time do you have? I have a tendency to wax poetic with this sort of thing.” - Roger laughed, “I’ve got all day, mate. Lay it on me.” - “Very well.” Smiling, he began his story. “Abigail… I’ll never forget the moment I saw her… It was during my junior year of high school. I was on my way to class when, among the cacophony of locker doors slamming, the squeaking of shoes on the hallway floor, and the incessant chatter of students, I heard the most beautiful sound to ever grace my ears. It was a giggle, soft and pure, conveying the warmth and happiness one would expect of an angel. That’s what she was, an angel. And, just as one would expect of an ethereal being, I was only able to catch a glimpse of her as she passed by. Hair the color of the rising sun and eyes that sparkled like emeralds, she was, and still is, the most beautiful woman I have ever seen. I was completely in awe. I had no idea how a girl as beautiful as her could exist, nor how I couldn’t have noticed her until that point. While I’ve never been able to answer the first question, it wasn’t long until I was able to answer the latter. I’d never seen her before because she had only just begun attending our school.” He did warn Roger he could wax poetic. The rest of his story was just as eloquently worded; covering how, though he admired her, he didn’t pursue her, how he tried to be happy for her when she began dating a bully of his, the rage he felt when the other had taken advantage of her, the fight for her honor that he lost, and the gratitude Abigail had for his attempt. - ….Man, he wasn’t kidding. Edward was practically a reincarnation of Shakespeare- armed with a silver tongue and a talent for creating crystal clear imagery. It was almost as if Roger was there himself, observing from the sidelines. “That was….forgive me for being so emotional, but…” Roger wiped some stray tears from his eyes. “That was absolutely beautiful…” - Edward chuckled awkwardly, scratching the back of his head as a blush painted his features. “The story itself or the way I told it?” - “Both. Any of those degrees you hold happen to be an English or Literature one?” - He chuckled once more. “I’m afraid not. My interest in the arts is not something I’ve pursued outside of hobbies. I was encouraged to pursue a stable career path, in my youth.” - “Aaah. I mean…perhaps having it as a hobby is slightly better than a career? In those fields, I have been told that how much you make- if anything- is all dependent on luck. With your talent, I imagine you would be able to have been noticed fairly easily, but…perhaps it would be more stressful, in a sense. There are deadlines in an office setting, yes, but deadlines in an artistic sense…what if you’re in a creative slump but need to produce something the next day and are unable to?” He chuckled nervously, hoping that his 'spitballing’ of sorts made at least some sense. “That’s all a matter of opinion , I suppose. I-I don’t consider myself as one of those types that thinks that being an artist, in any medium, isn’t a career…” - “Exactly. I don’t think I’d be able to think and create freely whilst simultaneously being restricted by deadlines.” He sighed slightly and smiled. “Besides, I’m quite content with where I am now. I’m not looking for fame. I have a job that provides for my family and I can still engage in my interests as hobbies.” - Roger nodded, smiling as well, “So all in all, it sort of worked out.” - “Pretty much.” He checked his watch, brows rising at the time. “I really talked your ear off there. It’s almost lunch. Speaking of, I can recommend some good places to eat, if you haven’t been here before.” - “Is it?” Roger checked his as well, and eyebrows shooting up as a result. “Ah, so it is. Time flies when you’re having fun, I suppose. That would be great, actually! I’ve been to the States several times, but not Michigan…so I’m not sure what this place does and doesn’t have.” - “It would be remiss of me to not mention coney dogs while you’re here. Other states have tried to make them, but Michigan really is the best place to get one. Though the absolute best place to get one is a little shop only open in the summer, but I know a place that’s a close second.” - “Aw, drat…but hey, second best is better than nothing I suppose!” Roger paused, “What, ah…what exactly is a coney dog, if you don’t mind my asking?” - Edward laughed, or rather, exhaled through his nose. “It’s basically a really good hot dog topped with a seasoned meat sauce, onions, and mustard. Not to be confused with a chili dog. While not gourmet food, it’s sort of a local specialty that I’ve yet to see done just right anywhere else.” - Roger nodded as he listened. “Ah! Definitely sounds like something the kids will eat, so if need be, that covers dinner…probably will have one for myself as well- just to say that I’ve tried it.” - “I certainly recommend it. Jackson is serious about its coney dogs, so if you ever want to try one, here’s the place… Now I’m craving one, honestly. You want to come with me so I can show you where it is?” - Roger chuckled, “Might as well.” - Back at the park, Audrey parted ways with the trio of tourists to take Lola back home. Energetic as she was, a puppy needed her rest. In fact, Audrey had to carry the pooped pooch part of the way home. When lunchtime rolled around, the redhead found herself craving a Coney dog something fierce. She didn’t want to come across as though she was following the group, but she figured they would have already eaten and left by the time she got there. Upon reaching the restaurant, Audrey was surprised to see a different familiar face exiting his car. “Hi, Dad!” Audrey called from across the parking lot. What were the odds? “Hi, sweetie!” Edward called back. - Upon arriving, Roger stayed in the car for a brief second to send a quick text to his son. When it sent, he unbuckled his seatbelt and joined Edward, chuckling a bit at the two’s interaction. “Ah! Daughter, right?” After Audrey left, it was soon time for J.C. and the kiddos to head on out. As expected, Syd and Kat had worked up an appetite, and started getting into a bit of a “discussion” over what to have. To keep them from going at it the entire time they were walking, the older brother told them that he already had a place in mind. …Granted, that meant he’d have to deal with the two of them going “Where’re we going?”, “C'mon, tell us!”, and “No, wait, lemme guess, it’s THIS place!”, but hey- they weren’t fighting. Pulling out his phone to check the time, he noticed that he had a text from his dad: If you’re in the area, I’m grabbing lunch with a colleague. If the girls can’t agree on somewhere, here’s the place’s address…“ The young adult chuckled, texting back You must be a mind reader, we’re actually on our way there now. Be there in 7-10 min. - Audrey cocked her head, confused, but smiled. It wasn’t often she saw her father outside the office with someone she hadn’t seen before, but she saw it as a good thing.

"Indeed I am~”

Edward beamed and placed a hand on her shoulder, always happy to introduce his daughter to someone.

“Hard to believe I helped make this beautiful young woman, isn’t it?” Edward laughed.

“Daaaaaaaaddyyyyyyy,” Audrey covered her face, but smiled all the same. - Roger chuckled, “Well, it’s very nice to meet you. I’m Roger Malone, I’m, ah…sort of your father’s shadow today.” - Audrey raised a brow, not quite sure what he meant by that. “He works for a foreign branch of my company and has decided to stick close to me during his visit here,“ Edward explained. "Oohhh,” Audrey nodded. “It’s funny you should mention that. I actually met three people from England today. Well, two girls from England and one man originally from France…” - Roger raised an eyebrow and had to hold back a small smirk, “Let me guess…one of the girls had bright red hair, the other was blonde, and the man had glasses?” - Audrey blinked. “Yeah. How’d you know- wait…” she started snickering. “You’re their dad, aren’t you?” - The man chuckled, “Indeed I am.” - “What are the odds?” Audrey laughed. “Wait… uh-oh…” Edward looked confused. “Why uh-oh?” “Now they’re gonna think I’m following them,” she half whined. “I told them about this place, but I thought they would have been here and left by now.” “I doubt that will be a problem,” her father assured. “Besides, who would be disappointed to see you again?” he smiled and ruffled her hair. “Dad…” she sighed. - Roger smiled slightly. “I sent him a text, he said he’d be here in no more than 10 minutes or so. May be a bit longer since he’s got two little munchkins in tow, but we’ll see.” - “No more, but maybe longer,” Audrey snickered. “Ahhh, I’m just kidding.” - The father chuckled, “You never know.” - Her smile faltered a bit. “Sooo, should I leave orrr…?” - “Nooo, no, no, no, no! You’re welcome to stay, I don’t see it being an issue at all.” He looked to Edward, “Besides, lunch with your children- regardless of age- is always a nice change from grabbing something by yourself.” - “I suppose it’s like a daddy daughter double day… with a son,” she smiled awkwardly. - “In a sense, yes.” Roger chuckled, “Should we be heading over to get some food, or would you rather we wait for the other three?” - “It wouldn’t be very polite to eat before everyone is seated, let alone before everyone is in the building,” Edward remarked. - “Ah, true, true.” He put a hand to his forehead and gasped, trying to be dramatic and funny. “A most shameful misstep on my part.” - Audrey snorted at this as Edward exhaled through his nose. - Roger chuckled and straightened himself up. Seemed as though goofiness ran in the family… Meanwhile, about 2 minutes away… “J.C., come ON! Where’re we going?!” Syd whined. “I told you, it’s a surprise~” he said, teasing her a bit. - “-and then Lola just bolted over to them! J.C., specifically. I don’t know what her deal was, but she went straight for him. Maybe she smelled the different country on him somehow,” Audrey laughed. - Roger laughed, “Quite possibly! I know that there’s the belief that animals and children can sense something in people, be that good or bad, so who knows…” “I don’t WANT a surprise; I want food!” “Really? Huh, that’s a first…fine, I’ll tell you. You remember that place that Audrey was talking about earlier?” Upon being asked this, the ten year old started to calm down a bit. “…The one with the hot dogs?” “Well, coney dogs, to be more specific, but yes. And we have a guest joining us….” That seemed to perk the two up a bit. Food AND company… - “Well, she wanted attention from him, so I imagine she sensed good,” she shrugged. “She certainly liked all the attention the girls gave her; that’s for sure!” - Roger chuckled, “Aaaah, looks like I’m going to be getting the 'Dad, can we get a dog??’ question when they get here…” - “Their brother already answered that, I think,” she snickered. - “Hopefully, he went with what I told him, and not 'heck yeah, let’s go down and get one right now.” the father chuckled. “Are we there yet?” Kat asked. J.C. took a quick look at the street signs, then off into the distance, trying to see if the place across the street was indeed the name of the place that Audrey had recommended. “Aaaaah, I think so?” He saw a couple of people standing in the parking lot, one soooort of looking like their dad? He wasn’t 100% sure. What he did know was that there was a guy who was huge…“C'mon, let’s go check it out.” Once they were safely across the street, Syd and Kat’s eyes grew huge, recognizing a familiar face. So THAT’S who their surprise guest was! Even before J.C. could recognize who it was, the girls dashed off. Initially thinking that the two were coming to him, Roger, turning his head at the sound of a “YAAAAAAAAAAY!!” from Syd, knelt down and braced for impact. …Only…they didn’t go for him… “Audreeeeey!!” Kat happily cooed, “J.C. was right, this WAS a surprise!” - “Hi, girls!"Audrey laughed, hugging the two. "Didn’t think I’d see you guys again so soon!” She smiled apologetically and shrugged at their father. “She has a way with kids,” Edward quietly informed Roger. - “Apparently. They blew right past me…” the dad chuckled. Wow, they seemed excited…did they miss Dad that much? Once J.C. got closer, he couldn’t help but smile. This was a nice surprise! Upon reaching his father, he put an arm around him. “I’m surprised they didn’t knock her over…”

- “She is a strong one,” Edward commented. “Turns out your dad and my dad work for the same company,” Audrey gestured to the respective fathers. “What are the odds, huh?” - “They do?” Kat asked. Looking to where Audrey gestures, she finally noticed Roger and made a bee-line for him. “Daddy!” While Roger pulled his youngest into a one armed hug (the other arm being around J.C.), Syd, meanwhile, stayed silent and with Audrey, looking at her father…or whoever that gargantuan person was. Was she 100% sure on that? That this guy was really her dad? They didn’t look all that alike, save maybe for the teeth. She wasn’t scared, per se, more in awe of the size of Edward - Audrey followed Syd’s gaze and she soon chuckled. “Tall, isn’t he? Don’t worry,” she leaned closer to whisper, “he’s nowhere near as tough as he looks.” - Syd merely blinked, as if she was observing something at a museum. “So you said you and Audrey’s daddy are here?” Kat asked. “Yup,” Roger gestured to Edward, “Kat, this is Mr. Davis. Edward, this is Kat.” The little girl looked up, then fell kind of quiet. He was HUGE! She was only 4'3", this guy had to be 11 feet tall at least. Tightening her grip around her dad’s hand ever so slightly, she gave Edward a slight nod and a bashful “Hi…” - Edward frowned as he looked between the two girls, believing them to be frightened of him. “It’s always this,” he sighed, “or begging to sit on my shoulders.” - “I’m not scared, really…” Syd spoke slowly, “You’re just really tall…” she smiled a bit, trying to convey that she was more amazed than frightened. - “I’m aware,” he nodded. “How many retorts do you have to 'How’s the weather up there’ joke now?” Audrey smirked. “I’m not sure, honestly. Surprisingly, it’s been a while since I’ve been asked that.” - “…How IS the weather up there, anyway?” the ten-year-old asked. - “Partly cloudy with a one hundred percent chance of a joke I’ve already heard.” - …Alright, that was kind of funny…Kat and an equally nervous J.C. (in a more “This is the girl that I think I like’s dad?! I know I’d have to watch out regardless, but holy moly…” sense, as opposed to Kat’s “I’m but a small bean, pls no.”) giggled. - Edward smiled and exhaled through his nose. “We should probably get inside before our lunch break is over.” “Ohh, good point,” Audrey perked up. “I have the day off, but you don’t.” - J.C. exhaled through his nose as well, “Guess it’s a good thing that you guys were here. These two were close to ripping my arms off from…'hangriness’? I know that’s not a word, but you get the idea.” - “I suppose the portmanteau of 'hanger’ wouldn’t really work, lest someone think they wanted to hold clothes,” Edward remarked as he held the door open. - J.C. chuckled. The man had jokes…always a good sign. Upon the door opening, Syd practically ran in (giving Edward a 'Thanks!!’ as she passed by)- partially to find a seat and partially because FOOOOD. “Sydney, slow down, please.” Roger spoke up, “Running isn’t going to speed up the amount of time it’ll take to get your food.” - “Nope. That’s up to us,” Audrey chuckled as she speed-walked in. “Thanks, Dad!” - J.C. and Roger (and a Kat attached to Roger’s leg), followed suit, giving Edward a “Thanks, mate” as they passed by. Even the somewhat nervous eight-year-old managed to squeak out a “Thank you, mister”. Syd quietly groaned and threw her hands up- not so much in an aggressive way, more like an exasperated Muppet. “Okaaaaay.” - “You’re welcome,” Edward said just before heading in himself. Rather than several tables, the restaurant had a few very long tables with chairs on either side. “Sooo…” Audrey started, “three on one side, three on the other?” - “Sounds fair.” J.C. nodded, “Keeps Kat and Syd from fighting over who gets to sit where.” - “Maybe we can go by family? Wait… that’s four to two…” Audrey pondered. “Boys and girls?” Edward suggested. - “That works.” Roger looked to his youngest, still clinging to him. “You going to be okay? Sitting over with your sister and Audrey?” Kat thought for a second before answering. “If Syd’s not gonna be flingin’ stuff at me, yeah.” Syd scoffed, “Naaaah, too many grown-ups around. You’re fiiiiine.” - “I could sit in the middle,” Audrey offered. “Any fights would have to go through me.” - Kat smiled slightly, “That works.” - As the group took their seats, Audrey slid off her light jacket to reveal her T-shirt and bare arms underneath. If they were wondering if she had strength to match her flexibility, there was their answer. - J.C.’s eyebrow’s popped up as he got a look at Audrey’s arms. Knowing that her father was right next to him, he had to resist the urge to whistle. - Audrey eyebrows scrunched together, feeling as though she was being watched. She looked up to see J.C. “…What?” - “Hm?” Ah, crud, he was noticed! Granted, he was looking at a “tame” part of her body, but still! “Ah! Sorry, sorry, I, um…I…” His face going a little pink, J.C. averted his gaze. “I just…caught a glimpse of…” he coughed, “You look…pretty strong.” Totally nailed that recovery. - Given her T-shirt didn’t really show any cleavage, she believed him. “Oh,” she shrugged before flexing her arm. “Yeah. I work out.” “She’s a pretty one, huh?” Edward smiled at him, but it was threatening and with a piercing gaze; a look that said, 'Don’t you dare.’ - Feeling incredibly small as he was given the “Dad Glare” (as Syd called it. Roger had a similar one, but Edward’s was about twice as intimidating), J.C. slunk a little in his seat, and replied with a “Y-yes, sir.” “Betcha she could totally piledrive ya, J.C.” Syd noted, as she watched Audrey flex. “..P…piledrive?” “Yeah! Like…SLAM! Right through a table!” Oh, she meant WRESTLING…oh thank god. J.C. chuckled nervously. “Um…p-probably, but…I don’t know if she would. N-not that it implies that she’s weak or anything! She can…I imagine she holds her own. I, er…I’m…going to shut up now. - Audrey seemed oblivious to her father’s 'threat’ as she laughed. "Maybe? You can calm down though. I wouldn’t try anything like that. I may like to spar here and there, but I only fight fight as a last resort.” - J.C. chuckled, trying to have it come of as NOT being nervous. “Haha…good to know.” “Aw, we could’ve tag teamed…” Syd whined slightly. - “Maybe for a play fight. If I gave it my all, I imagine I could be pretty dangerous. I mean, I have won a few karate competitions,” she couldn’t help but gloat a little. Her strength was something she had utmost confidence in. “I can break boards… cinder blocks… found out I can crush melons with my thighs…” - Cue J.C. sputtering and choking on his own saliva. “…You alright, son?” Roger asked. “ [cough] [cough]Yeah! Yeah, I’m [cough] f-fine!” - “Oh jeez! You choked on your own spit, didn’t you? Hate when that happens…” “Why did you try crushing melons with your thighs?” Edward asked. Audrey chuckled and absently played with her hair, “Well, I saw a lady do it on YouTube and it made me curious.” - “ [cough! cough cough] Yeah…” “Sometimes you learn the best stuff off of there.” Syd pointed out. - “It’s pretty good for how-tos,” she agreed. - The little redhead thought for a second.“…Soooo if I wanted to learn how to make a glitter bomb…” “Don’t get any ideas…” Roger started “I said 'if’, not 'I’m going to make one…” - Audrey tittered. “You’re such a scamp, Syd.” - “The scampiest~” Syd smiled. “So you’re saying you’re a shrimp dish?” J.C. asked, obviously joking. - Audrey giggled at the joke. “Or a chicken dish, depending on your taste and if you’re scared or not.” - J.C., Syd and Roger snickered. The only one who wasn’t all snicker-y was Kat. She wasn’t exactly scared or upset, per se, but more….cautious, mainly because of Edward. - Audrey noticed Kat’s lack of laughter. “You okay, Kat?” Edward looked over to the young blonde with a raised brow. He didn’t mean to look intimidating in doing so… but he looked intimidating in doing so. - Temporarily snapping out of her little funk, the little girl looked to Audrey. “Huh? Yeah! Yeah, I’m…I’m fine.” “You’re not sick, are you?” Syd asked, “'Cos I don’t want to get whatever it is you’ve got.” The little sister shook her head “no”. - Audrey frowned, able to tell she was lying. “If you’re worried about not liking the coney dog, you could always just scrape the coney meat off it and just eat the hot dog.” - “I think I’ll be okay.” Ah, good, a slight change in focus. Perhaps she could keep it going and ask her “standard” question when it came to trying new foods: “It doesn’t have any green stuff on it, does it? In the meat stuff?” - “Naahhh. You’re good. Not a vegetable in sight… Except for onion, but you can get it without.” - Kat smiled slightly, “That’s doable.” - “Good~ Oh, looks like it’s time to order,” Audrey chirped as she looked over at their server. - “Oo!” Syd chirped, looking over the menu. “In that case, I’ll haaaaaaave…” Roger, J.C., and Kat followed in terms of ordering; nothing spectacular- a coney dog and a drink. - Audrey and Edward did the same; though they both ordered two coneys. Edward was a big guy and Audrey needed the fuel for her active lifestyle. - “They do dessert here, right?” Syd asked, smiling expectantly. - “They do, actually,” Audrey smiled. “It’s sort of a custom to get rice pudding as dessert when having coney dogs.” - Aaaaaand there went that smile. Here she was thinking they had ice cream. The idea of rice pudding was not sitting well with her, indicated by a slight “Ick!”. “Ah, c'mon, kiddo. You’re trying something new for food, you won’t do the same for dessert?” J.C. asked. He thought for a second; maybe a little of the “monkey see, monkey do” logic he would use when she was younger would work… “…I’m probably going to have some afterwards, would you be against trying a bite or two? ”…I mean, I guess I could have a bite. If you really can’t finish your dessert without someone else having a bite of it.“ Syd answered, trying to play it cool. J.C. smirked slightly. - "You’ve never had rice pudding?” she cocked her head. “It’s really good! Like, I know rice might have a weird texture to some, but this rice pudding is nice and creamy and sweet with cinnamon.” “Besides,” Edward started, “how will you ever find a new favorite food if you don’t try new food?” - Syd raised an eyebrow. “Cinnamon? Ooo, now I’m warming up to the idea~ That’s one of my favourite flavours…other than bubble gum, cherry, lemon, and cotton candy.” Kat’s “stiffness”, as it were, started to loosen up after she heard Edward. That sounded like something that her dad said a lot… - “Good~” Audrey and Edward spoke simultaneously. “I almost feel bad getting rice pudding without Mom,” Audrey chuckled. “Speaking of, have you talked to her today?” “You should know the answer to that,” Edward chuckled. “I called her this morning, just as I always do when we’re not in the same house.” “I’ll catch you forgetting one of these days,” she joked. - J.C. chuckled quietly, thinking the whole scenario was pretty cute. - “My mom is hanging out with her sisters today. That’s why she’s not here,” Audrey informed. - “Speaking of, did yooooou call Mum today???” Syd asked, interrogating her father. Roger chuckled, “I had sent her a text earlier; making sure she got to where she was going alright.” “You’ve gotta call her, though!” the ten year old lightly scolded, “It’s more important to talk and hear each other’s voices!” “I haven’t had a chance to, sweetheart. I’ll do it when I get back to the office, alright?” Syd gave her father a suspicious look, but backed down with an “…Okaaaaaay….if you say so…” - Edward couldn’t help but snicker at this. “This isn’t the competition of the dads, Syd,” Audrey chuckled. - Ah, and he laughed too! Kat smiled a bit at his reaction. “Mmm, you’re right, that’s on Father’s Day…” the child mused. - Audrey snorted at this. “No-ho it’s not!” - “So then why do they have all those 'World’s Greatest Dad’ mugs?! You don’t just get that title wily-nily!” - Audrey shook as she tried not to laugh.

“I don’t know,” she squeaked. - “They have the 'Dad Games’ in Scotland, right?” J.C. asked, snickering and going along with Syd’s misconception. “They sometimes coincide with Highland Games, so they combine the two?”

“Sometimes, I guess.” Syd confirmed, “But they replace something like caber tossing with ball tossing, if I remember correctly…”

Roger couldn’t help but snicker as well. - Audrey was a bit lost. She was certain he was joking, but she was unsure as to what was a joke and what wasn’t. If they had wife carrying in Finland, Dad Games in Scotland wasn’t that far fetched.

May as well play along so they don’t think she’s stupid.

“Do they have wife carrying like they do in Finland?” - “…They have that in Finland?” the child asked. - “If I remember right. I saw it on a show about strange competitions from around the world.”

Yes, she purposely left out the show was called World’s Dumbest. - “Oooooooh….”

“Soooo, do they?” J.C. asked Syd, seeing how long she could keep this up. “Have wife carrying competitions at the Dad Games?”

“I’m…not too sure. I think that’s one of the new events being added this year. That, and…you know the relay race where you have to carry an egg with a spoon? There’s s'posed to be something similar, except it’s with a baby and you’ve got to carry them to their crib as quickly as you can without waking them up.” - Audrey had to cover her mouth to keep from laughing.

Edward was pretty good at keeping a straight face, so he decided to weigh in while Audrey couldn’t.

“I certainly hope they don’t carry them using spoons. Dropping a baby is a lot worse than dropping an egg.” - “Oh, no, no- they carry them like you normally carry a baby.”

J.C. snickered, “You sure they don’t just use really big spoons?”

“No, 'cos that’s just dumb…” - “Pffckp!” Audrey clamped her hand over her mouth again. - Syd was confused; why was all of this so funny? They’d asked their question, and they were getting an answer. Adults were weird… - Audrey managed to stifle her laughter once more and her father remained straight faced, as usual.

“I’m guessing you four flew here,” Edward piped up to break the silence. - “ 'Course we did.” Syd answered, “It’s not like we can just jog across the ocean.” - “Your arms must be really tired then,” he smirked.

Audrey slapped a hand to her face.

-

J.C. mimicked Audrey, while Syd groaned. Total dad joke- she should’ve seen that coming!

Kat, on the other hand, giggled a little. Perhaps that apprehension of hers was starting to diminish.

-

Edward laughed at their reactions.

“Did you tell these dad jokes before I was born?” Audrey asked.

“No. They come in the handbook you get when you become a dad.”

-

“I believe 'Dad Jokes’ is Chapter 5.” Roger added.

“…There’s not a handbook, c'mooon…” Syd scoffed.

-

“Do you think we just learn as we go? That’d be ridiculous.”

-

“Do mums get one, too?” Kat asked.

-

“Theirs is less of a handbook and more of a full encyclopedia.”

-

“How come it’s bigger than just a handbook?” the little girl asked. Now she was curious…

-

“Because their book has all the hard stuff in it. The dad book mostly has jokes and funny faces to practice.”

-

Syd looked to J.C., “He’s not serious, is he?”

“Oh, he is.” the older brother confirmed, smirking. “When Mum was pregnant with you, they consulted their manuals. They did the same with Kat- you were too young to remember them doing it, though.”

The ten-year-old raised an eyebrow, not buying it. “So what about with you, then? Did they consult this 'manual’ too? ”

“There’s a section in the mum encyclopedia all about adoption- Chapters 15 and 16, if I remember correctly.”

-

“…Adoption?” Edward blinked, surprised.

-

J.C. looked over to Edward, chuckling a bit sheepishly. “Yes, I, um…I was adopted by your, ah…work mate here,” he gestured to Roger,  "at around 2 years old. Long story. …Well, not really a long story, but…“

-

"Ah. Well, I won’t pry. Didn’t intend to put you on the spot there. Sorry.”

-

J.C. gave him a small smile, “It’s no big deal. You ever want to know, I’m open for questions.”

-

“I’m not really sure if I’ll ever see you again, so I may as well ask,” he shrugged.

“Weeelllllll,” Audrey started.

-

J.C.’s eyes darted over to Audrey, before looking back to Edward. “Ummm….”

-

Edward raised a brow, awaiting an explanation.

“I went ahead and got J.C.’s e-mail address so I could send him pictures of Lola and Daisy to show to Syd and Kat,” Audrey said with a smile. “Don’t know if we’ll talk much outside of that, but I figured that counted as keeping contact,” she shrugged. - “P-pretty much, yeah.” J.C. confirmed, “What with being abroad and all. Can’t really come rushing over every time the sibs want to see Lola, y'know?”

-

“Oh. Makes sense,” Edward nodded, not too on edge yet. Seemed innocent enough.

-

“I mean, teeeeechnically we could…” Syd suggested.

Roger laughed, “Oh really? How do you plan on raising money to do so, eh?”

Syd stayed silent for a moment before giving an answer. “…I’ll figure something out.”

-

Audrey snickered.

“I couldn’t afford that and I have a job.” - “…Theeeeen I’ll find a way that makes a lot of money.”

-

“Will you let me in on it?” Audrey asked.

-

Syd steepled her fingers and leaned back slightly. “Perhaps. Once I find it, of course.”

-

“… Please do so legally.”

-

Syd made a facial expression, silently conveying something along the lines of “Dang it…”.

“Eh, I can start with a lemonade stand, I guess…”

-

“I think you need a permit for that now, or something, unfortunately,” Audrey frowned. “So dumb.”

-

“A piece of paper that says 'I can do whatever I want’ and has your signature on it doesn’t count, either.” J.C. added.

“Dang it!”

-

Edward inhaled, about to speak, but Audrey cut him off.

“If you go into an in-depth explanation as to why, I can’t guarantee we’ll all stay awake.”

-

J.C. had to hold back a snicker.

-

“…Sometimes I wonder if we’re related. Then I look at your mother,” he proceeded to look left and right. “But she’s not here right now, so I don’t know.”

Audrey snickered.

-

“That’s what we say about Syd sometimes,” Kat piped up, “And we look to Mum, too. Similar personalities.”

Syd scoffed, “I’m waaaaay more tame than Mum was when she was my age. Or so I’ve been told.”

-

“Audrey’s pretty much a dead ringer for her mother at that age… but with more muscle.”

“And less hair,” Audrey added. - Roger chuckled, “Charlotte had pigtails at…well, at least at Kat’s age.  I think she had them when she was as old as Syd, as well.”

“Only real differences are that she’s blonde, and that I’ve never accidently set a building on fire.” Syd added. She paused, thinking how off that statement sounded. “It’s….not as bad as it sounds. She tells the story better than I do.”

-

Edward’s eyebrows shot up at this, as did Audrey’s.

Before they could question farther, however, their food arrive.

“Oo, yay~ You guys get to have your first Coney!” Audrey exclaimed.

-

Syd and Kat stared at the size of the food, trying to figure out how exactly they were going to get it in their mouths. That was one big hot dog…

“So do we just like….go for it?” The redhead asked, “Aim for the mouth and hope for the best?”

-

Audrey snorted. “Basically.”

She and Edward both picked up their own coneys and took a bite. How did they do it? Very carefully.

-

J.C and Roger followed suit while the sisters observed and tried to mimic what they were doing. Kat ended up getting mostly meat sauce on her first go, but it still managed to garner a smile from the girl.

Syd’s expression was a little more telling. It was a bit more extreme, as if she had just tasted the best thing in the world. She said nothing, as meat sauce started to drip down her face.

-

Audrey snickered at Syd and took another bite. “Good, right?”

-

The child slowly nodded.

“Don’t go all 'wild animal’ on us now.” J.C. spoke up, wiping a bit of sauce from his own face. “If there wasn’t as much in the way of sauce and whatnot on there, I’d say go for it, but I don’t think everyone else around us would appreciate getting covered in food.

Syd merely responded with a dazed "Uh-huuuuuh” and went back to chowing down.

-

Audrey giggled. “Agreed. Though there are worse things to be covered in than coney dog.”

-

“Like ink from a pen that exploded on you, I suppose.” Roger piped up.

“Or mud.” Kat added.

“Aw, c'mon, being covered in mud’s kinda fun!” Syd, briefly snapping out of her coney daze, spoke up. “Besides, people use it for, like,  beautifying themselves sometimes. Like on spa days, not just after a rainstorm.”

“They do noooot…” the small blonde scoffed.

-

“Well, yes and no,” Audrey clarified. “Mud masks are a thing, but it’s not just plain old mud from the ground.  It’s like, a special kind of mud mixed with special oils and stuff.”

-

“What about mud baths, then?” Syd asked.

-

“I think it’s the same basic idea.”

-

“Mmm. So there goes another money-making idea, then.” The redhead took a bite of her dog, “I was gonna dig a hole, fill it with mud, and use that as a space for people to take a mud bath in. Find some oils and put those in as well…”

-

“If only it was that simple…”

-

“I don’t think you should be worrying too much about money.” J.C. noted, “Childhood’s meant more for worrying about…heck, I don’t know, finding out what happens in the next episode of your favorite cartoon. Or whatever sort of drama will unfold between your dolls the next time you play pretend with them.”

Syd scoffed, “But you need money to buy and do things, ya dingbat.”

“Thaaaat’s…where saving up your allowance comes in.” he shrugged.

“Or having someone pay for something for you.” the younger sister gave him a cheeky smile, “And give them an IOU, of course.”

-

Audrey snickered.

“Yeah. That’s what childhood should be, even if it isn’t always like that. People always act as though childhood has no downsides. It can be stressful, I know. But it certainly has its perks.”

-

“I mean, adulthood kinda has its perks too…you get to drive, stay up late, and even do biscuits for breakfast if you’re so inclined.” Syd mused, “Buuuuuuuuut you do have a point… I think.”

-

“Adults have to pay taxes,” Edward replied dryly, causing Audrey to snicker.

-

“…So do kids.” the redhead responded, “You’ve never heard of the 'sibling tax’? Or the 'Halloween candy’ tax?”

-

Audrey looked confused. “…I’m an only child and so is my dad, so, no.”

-

“The 'Halloween candy’ one isn’t even really a tax,” J.C. spoke up, “she gives up the candy that she doesn’t like and gives it to me , Dad, and Mum”

“But I was still the one who went out and got it, so it’s still kind of a tax.” Syd argued.

“The sibling one is when your brother or sister gets you a snack or somethin’ when they go out to a convenience store, and they take a small bit.” Kat added. “Like a few Smarties out of a pack, or a sip of a slushie.”

-

“Ohhhh,” Audrey nodded. “That makes sense.”

-

“Plus side is is that it rarely rises.” the little blonde continued, “For example, Syd usually takes five of my Smarties; no more, no less. Even though there’s a lot that comes in a tube.”

“Well, that’s 'cos they’re /yours/ so obviously, you get the most.” Syd shrugged, “Basic economics.”

-

“She has a point,” she shrugged.

-

Syd smirked. See? Audrey got it.

“Since when has this been a thing?” Roger asked, “I don’t remember ever doing that with my siblings.”

“It’s fairly recent.” Kat answered, “ 'Sides, I guess it’s kind of a good thing, what with you bein’ the youngest out of yours an’ all. Your siblings and mine are different in terms of personality.”

“Oh jeez, can you imagine Mum?” Syd chuckled, “She’d have 5 other people that could tax 'er!”

-

“I thought they could only tax you if they helped get you something? Otherwise, I think it’s just called sharing.”

-

“Either way.” Syd shrugged, “Bein’ an only child has its perks, I imagine.”

Kat looked over to her sister, appearing offended and assuming that that’s what Syd preferred.  The redhead looked to her sister and gave her a playful nudge, one that nonverbally said something like “Hey, you’re alright; I tolerate ya”.

“It does get kinda lonely, though.” J.C. piped up, “I was one for thirteen years.”

-

“I’ve always been an only child. I did have my cousins to keep me company though. Them and the kids we’d babysit,” Audrey remarked.

“I was more focused on my studies than socializing,” Edward admitted.

-

“I tried to be,” Roger admitted, “But that can be a bit difficult when you’re needed either as goalie for your older brother’s football game or brought to tea with Mumsy and other school officials.”

Syd had to hold back a laugh. Ha! “Mumsy”. Who called their mother that, nowadays!? That sounded so old-fashioned.

-

“You shouldn’t be envious,” Edward commented a bit quietly.

-

Roger raised an eyebrow, “I mean, I’m not exactly complaining. Could’ve settled for not having a football to the face and a black eye or some other bruise with most games, but…”

-

The only response he got was a light grunt. “Mm.”

“Sooo,” Audrey started, hoping to change the subject, “you want to order some rice pudding?”

-

Ooof, sounds like he was hitting a rough subject. Best not to push it. Thank goodness for Audrey and the rice pudding suggestion. “Uuuum, sure! Yes, let’s, ah…let’s try some of that!”

-

Audrey smiled and nodded, motioning for their server.

-

Syd looked to Edward, “Iiiif it’s any consolation, she’s a real 'witch with a capital B’ now. I really don’t like 'er.” Not sure if that helped, but…

Kat, noticing the change in the other father’s attitude, became quiet again.

-

Edward looked thoroughly confused. “Who?”

-

“Dad’s mum. 'Mumsy’, as 'e calls her.” Syd clarified. “She’s usually nice to him, but she’s mean to a lot of other people.”

-

“Oh. Not sure why that would be consolation, but, alright,” he shrugged.

-

Syd shrugged as well.

Kat, meanwhile, continued cautiously watching.

-

After a moment of silence, Edward felt eyes on him and looked over to Kat.

Was she scared of him still?

Can’t have that.

He briefly stuck his tongue out and pulled it back in, looking not unlike a snake.

-

Wait a sec.

Kind of scary guy?

Making silly faces?

That was pretty ridiculous. Silly, even.

The little blonde smiled slightly, giggling a bit at the display.

-

“Hm?” Audrey looked over to Kat, then to her father, who looked as serious as ever.

-

“What’s so funny, shorty?” Syd asked.

“Noooothin’.” the younger sibling responded, trying to control her giggles.

-

Edward suppressed a smirk. Once the attention was off him again, he crossed his eyes.

-

Cue a slightly bigger smile and more giggles.

-

That’s better~, Edward thought to himself, believing that to be enough to calm her down.

The server soon came with their rice pudding.

Knowing the kids were a little unsure of the new dessert, Audrey took the first bite, making sure to look quite pleased with the flavor.

-

Like a group of little scientists, Syd and Kat watched closely to make sure that nothing adverse happened. Looked as if Audrey liked it…soooo if she wasn’t immediately spitting it back out, then it had to be good, right?

Only one way to find out…

After a bit of deliberation between the two, Syd was the first to try the new dessert. Her expression had a couple of flashes of confusion (because of the texture), but was still overwhelmingly positive, indicated by the “Mmm!” she emitted.

-

Audrey did her best not to laugh at their cautiousness. She smiled as she continued eating. “Told ya.”

-

Kat looked to Syd for confirmation.

“Ish guuuuuuuuh, Kad” she responded, mouth full of pudding.

Slowly, Kat took a small bit of pudding and placed it in her mouth. Her reactions were a bit similar to her sister’s but they seemed to be pretty positive as well.

-

Audrey giggled. “So, what do you two think?” she asked J.C. and Roger.

-

Roger nodded, “It’s different, but I must say, it does have a delightful taste.”

J.C., meanwhile, was about halfway done with his. Must’ve been that good.

-

Audrey snorted when she looked over at J.C. before covering her mouth and nose.

-

J.C. looked up, a bit of pudding on his nose, wondering what Audrey was laughing at.

Roger couldn’t help but chuckle a bit. “Uuuum, son? You’ve got a bit of…”

J.C. looked down at the little blob on his nose, chuckled awkwardly, and used a napkin to get it off.

-

“You sure you want to be so blunt about it? I mean, you were a little… on the nose,” she snickered, as did her father.

-

“I guess you could say that all that stuff on your face made you look a little…off-pudding.” Roger added. Cue an “Oh god, dad jokes” sort of groan from Kat and Syd.

-

“How dair-y say that?” Edward jumped in.

-

J.C. couldn’t help but laugh; he always appreciated a good dad joke.

-

Audrey tittered as she took another bite. “I’m out. Anyone have any puns left?”

-

“Aw, already? I thought those were some pretty rice puns we had going.” Kat piped up.

-

Audrey snickered. “You sure like to go with the grain, don’t you?”

-

“I’m surrounded by nerds…” Syd said, shaking her head.

“That’s pot calling the kettle black, isn’t it?” J.C. asked, smirking and raising an eyebrow.

“…You’ve still got a bit of pudding on your face, y'know.” she said, smirking back. “Might want to get another napkin and dab it off.”

-

“Dab it off?” Audrey proceeded to do the 'dab’ movement with one arm out and her face in the crook of her other arm.

“I don’t see how this will help.”

-

At that moment, Syd and Kat immediately lost it, collapsing into a fit of laughter (and some pudding dribbling down their chins). J.C. snickered at their reaction.

Roger, however…was confused.

-

Edward felt the same.

Audrey chuckled, looking at J.C. “Should we tell them?”

-

“One of these days, maybe.” J.C. snickered.

-

“If only we were still kids. We could use this as leverage.”

-

“Truuuuue.”

-

“Oh well. Maybe Syd and Kat can.”

-

“…Once they stop laughing, of course.”

“Why are they laughing, anyway?” Roger asked.

“Sorry, Dad, it’s top secret. Those of a certain age are only privy to it.” Syd answered, still trying to calm down.

-

“Ya hear that, Dad? No old people allowed.”

“I have baby pictures in my wallet,” Edward retorted.

“I’ll shut up now.”

-

“Oooohoo, the baby picture threat. Things are getting serious.” J.C. snickered.

“I have yours, too, you know.” Roger added, looking to his son and raising an eyebrow.

J.C. slunk down slightly.

-

“And I used to think you were cool,” Audrey jokingly told her dad.

-

“He’s kinda funny, I’ll give him that…” Kat said, giggling.

-

“Only kinda?” he grinned, his large front teeth quite visible.

-

Kat laughed, “Okay, maybe more than kinda….”

-

“You should see him do the bunny face,” Audrey smirked.

“I still have your baby pictures,” he narrowed his eyes.

-

Kat gasped. “Bunnies?? I like bunnies!”

-

Edward glared at Audrey, knowing he had to do it now.

He let out a sigh before looking around to see who all could see him do this.

Upon deeming the coast clear, he wiggled his nose, then chattered his teeth.

-

Kat giggled, clapped her hands, and bounced up and down happily.

-

Audrey snickered and her father smiled slightly, still embarrassed, but pleased with the blonde’s reaction.

-

“How come YOU can’t do a bunny face?” Kat asked her father.

“I can do those really funny voices when you want a bedtime story,” Roger offered, feigning hurt “Does that not count for anything?”

“It does, it does!” Kat reassured.

-

“Because not everyone can be graced with my freakish rabbit teeth,” Edward commented.

“Dad,” Audrey started sternly, “don’t make me call mom to ramble about how cute your teeth are.”