|
Post by HungryHunter on Jul 20, 2017 22:04:46 GMT
Becky was in fact drawn to the spices. They smelled stronger than everything else, catching her attention. She jumped onto the counter and whisked a bottle of cinnamon off the shelf with a strand of hair, suddenly pausing to regard Arthur. She chirped at him, seeming to ask permission. It was his food she was inspecting after all. She would kill somebody who tried to steal from her stash.
|
|
|
Post by TimePuppy on Jul 21, 2017 18:13:24 GMT
She went for the third option. Luckily, instead of playing with the spices right away and tossing them everywhere, she looked at him and made noises as if asking for permission. The frost mage considered it for a second. Yes, he could work with this. He erected small barriers on the counter, creating a rectangular area where she could play with the spices without messing up the rest of the kitchen. With that compromise of letting her play and creating boundaries, he pointed at it and nodded she'd get the message.
|
|
|
Post by HungryHunter on Jul 21, 2017 19:23:26 GMT
Becky seemed to implicitly understand Arthur's message. She nodded and instantly sprinkled a little cinnamon on her finger. She sniffed it, reeling at the strong scent. It was like some roots she had tasted, an overpowering sort of spice. She put her tongue to it and yelped, wiping it away on her arm. She dropped the bottle and looked to another. Through the rest she went with curiosity. Salt was acceptable, pepper made her yelp louder than the cinnamon, rosemary tasted weird but smelled amazing, and most of the rest weren't interesting enough either way to even think about once she found ginger. It was like the cinnamon but somehow delightful. She licked up as much of the bottle as she could manage before the spice became overwhelming. She stopped to cough, sending up a multicolored cloud of spices.
|
|
|
Post by TimePuppy on Jul 21, 2017 21:18:28 GMT
The ginger likes ginger. Go figure. Arthur patted the girl on the back to help her cough out all the spices and then gave her a glass of water. When he was sure she wasn't suffering from any adverse effects, he took out the pie from the oven, using ice gauntlets instead of oven mitts. He left it to cool a bit further away from the girl. He didn't want her being overenthusiastic about dinner and getting burned.
|
|
|
Post by HungryHunter on Jul 22, 2017 4:40:51 GMT
Becky gratefully guzzled the glass of water, surprisingly not splashing herself. She looked with curiosity at the pie, smelling its tasty meats already. Her stomach growled, but she saw how Arthur set it away from her. She wasn't supposed to touch, she surmised. She settled for a few more pinches of ginger, punctuated by sips of water.
|
|
|
Post by TimePuppy on Jul 23, 2017 20:36:14 GMT
With a bit of magic, the cooling down went a lot faster then it would have normally. "Kids!" Arthur called Love and Haze over while setting up the table. While Haze helped him out, Love took the opportunity to cut up some vegetables to make a salad.
They gave everyone eating utensils, even though Arthur was pretty sure the girl would ignore them.
|
|
|
Post by HungryHunter on Jul 24, 2017 3:55:01 GMT
Becky ran over to the table when called, bringing her water along. She stared at the pie, but waited for it to be split up. She was aware that she couldn't eat it all and even if she could, she couldn't take it all from them. So she silently waited for a few seconds before gracefully spinning in her chair to face the kitchen and Love chopping vegetables. She wanted those too! Her mouth watered as she watched the little vegetables get chopped up. She loved foods that delivered some liquid within them. She didn't have to go to a river when she had enough of them.
|
|
|
Post by TimePuppy on Aug 1, 2017 20:05:51 GMT
It wasn't long until the table was completely set and everyone sat down to eat. Everyone had a glass of juice in front of them and there was a jug of water in case the girl wanted more of it.
While they ate and led small talk mostly about Loveline's evening, Arthur had the opportunity to think about the day. Mostly he was surprised that MOG didn't really try to toss challenges at them after his visit in the zoo. What was his plan when he let Arthur take care of her? Why did he want to let her go free? Did he simply get bored of her? That seemed like quite a likely answer, actually. Still, that didn't seem like the best reason to just toss away his plaything.
|
|
|
Post by HungryHunter on Aug 1, 2017 21:20:55 GMT
Becky ate silently, using her utensils more over the course of the meal as she saw the others using them. She came to admire their efficiency, cutting food into edible pieces much easier than just tearing at it with her mouth. With her swift mastery of the tools, she finished quickly, sated again. She laid her head on the table to stare at Love and Arthur, trying to understand their conversation. It was hopeless. Not enough context clues. It didn't seem important anyway. She turned her head to Hazel and stared into her eyes, waiting for a reaction.
|
|
|
Post by TimePuppy on Aug 7, 2017 9:54:19 GMT
Everyone was quite impressed with how quickly the girl learned how to use eating utensils. And she did it all on her own. Loveline, who was sitting next to her, was going to assist her, but there was no need. She was a quick learner. Was that a result of genetics or of the need for adaptability in the harsh environment where she spent a huge majority of her life?
When the girl started staring at Hazel, it took Hazel a few seconds to realize she was being stared at. When she looked up and her gaze met the girl's, she felt blood rushing to her cheeks. Why was the girl looking at her? Did she have something on her face. After wiping her face, she slowly turned her attention back to her food. At this point it was clear that, were they in the wild, Becky could've stolen Hazel's food without a fight. Perhaps the only reason Hazel didn't run away from the table yet was because her father and sister were right there. But her discomfort was still obviously reflected in the fact that her chewing slowed down, as if the food suddenly turned to rubber in her mouth.
|
|
|
Post by HungryHunter on Aug 8, 2017 1:49:28 GMT
Becky looked away when Hazel broke eye contact. She was just awkward and scared. She looked around until she caught Arthur's eyes. He might be more interesting! She locked eyes with him like she had with Hazel and stared deeply, leaning forward towards him.
|
|
|
Post by TimePuppy on Aug 8, 2017 17:48:35 GMT
Arthur noticed the girl was looking at him almost right away. He also noticed her plate was empty. "Are you still hungry?" He offered her his plate with what little was left on it.
|
|
|
Post by HungryHunter on Aug 8, 2017 21:42:38 GMT
Becky grumbled when he too didn't seem to understand her signal. She would have to show him personally. She stood up on her chair, hair behind her looking like an octopus, dark as ink with too many arms, ready to grab and grapple. She jumped from her chair to pounce on Arthur, knocking him out of his own seat to wrestle with him. She held back, not sure how much physical force he could withstand, but her grappling was still rough and bruising.
|
|
|
Post by TimePuppy on Aug 17, 2017 13:22:26 GMT
Everyone looked up at the girl when she stood up. Everyone was confused for a moment until she pounced on Arthur. Hazel ducked to avoid getting hit herself. Loveline rolled her eyes and shook her head and went back to her dinner. Arthur dropped the plate which luckily landed on the table without breaking. The next moment he was on his back, the backrest uncomfortably poking at his back. But he didn't seem to mind. Indeed, all he did was smirk.
"So that's how you want to play." He put feet on the edge of his seat and pushed to do a sort of somersault on the ground and pin the girl underneath him.
|
|
|
Post by HungryHunter on Aug 17, 2017 23:41:57 GMT
Becky squealed with glee when Arthur pinned her. He got it! She wiggled and pushed her knee into his chest to get enough room to maneuver, then used that space to scramble around onto his back. She clung tight and giggled, trying her best not to fall off if he moved.
|
|
|
Post by TimePuppy on Aug 19, 2017 11:17:25 GMT
The girl is quite slippery. She managed to climb onto his back from under him. She didn't go for a choke hold straight away (was she holding back?) so getting her off of him would be a bit easier even in this awkward ground position. Arthur used one hand to grab just above her wrist and the other to reach back and grab her collar. He jerked forward to create momentum, at the same time twisting her wrist to loosen her grip and trying to pull her off by the collar so she'd land in front of him. Then he would get up so future attacks would be easier to dodge.
|
|
|
Post by HungryHunter on Aug 19, 2017 18:51:12 GMT
"Eeeeee!" She called as she was flipped off of Arthur, landing squarely on her back. She giggled as she picked herself up and hugged Arthur. The hug tightened and she began to bend back. If given the chance, she would show off surprising strength in pulling him off the ground and slamming him back down in a belly to belly suplex.
|
|
|
Post by TimePuppy on Aug 23, 2017 17:45:08 GMT
Arthur thought the girl admitted defeat when she hugged him. That's why he was fairly surprised when he found himself on his back. Super strength is one of the more useful powers for a powered individual. It's subtle enough to take anyone by surprise and it's easier to hide from normal people, especially for a young girl. While still on the ground and before the girl could get upright even if she tried, Arthur tried pushing her to the side while at the same time sweeping her off the ground with one leg. Then he would try and straddle her and pin her arms.
Loveline sighed at their roughhousing (sometimes she wonders if Arthur is truly an adult) and she and her sister cleared the table, leaving what remained of Arthur's dinner in case he wants to continue after they're finished.
|
|
|
Post by HungryHunter on Aug 23, 2017 19:17:09 GMT
Becky was toppled just as Arthur planned, falling onto her back. Arthur's pin worked, and as hard as she struggled, she couldn't break free. After a few seconds attempting it, she went still. She could knee him off, but that would be too rough for play. Instead she just broke down in giggles and attempted to wiggle away again. She couldn't remember the last time she had a fun fight! Usually she was fighting for her survival, not for the fun of it.
|
|
|
Post by TimePuppy on Aug 24, 2017 10:43:05 GMT
After he saw she finally gave up, Arthur got up again and smiled at her. If she wanted to try again, he was ready. He could go all night and since she was pretty good, it was good practice if he ever has to fight a grapper.
|
|