paixaorpg | Everywhere the light touches has... humans? [Active/Open]

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Everywhere the light touches has... humans? [Active/Open]

Character(s): Ma, anyone~
Content: Ma's decided to learn the oddities of humans.
Setting: All over the city! Starts at Aunt Unde's.
Time: All day, week 39
Warnings: ...I don't think so? o.o I guess it depends who she comes across lol.

((ooc: If you want to come across her she can be annnnnywhere poking her nose into odd stuff. Separate comment chains for different locations please!))

Ma's kept on her own, mostly out of her son's way, trying to be strong and allow him space to grow up. It's been very hard. But she's done good, she'd like to think! Although the longer she let's him be on his own, the more antsy she gets, and tunnel digging can only distract her so much. Now she's decided on a new project. All these... humans, as they're called, took up the majority of the Paixao population it seemed. Ma's been avoiding them as much as possible, even if that Axel helped her out in the beginning. (And despite her son's insistence against him, Ma still thinks he was overreacting and Axel's an okay guy).

Nah, now she's got it in her head to understand humans. It's a long study, she knows. She also knows she has to be careful, that they could be just as much as a predator as hyenas.

So, Ma's all around the city, poking her head in stores after following on the heels of customers, getting her paws all over everything.

Currently, she's observing clothing, holding up an odd article or two with a skeptical expression.

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Tinkebell had just been flying around, looking for something interesting to kill time with. Having found nothing outside she hadn't already seen before, she ventured into a shop when one of the townspeople opened the door. Flying out of the way of customers, she zipped towards a table and landed near a row of ceramic figures. She loved finding new trinkets and bits of art that humans had created -- though whether or not they were up to her standards varied -- so she was quite distracted by one glossy glass kitten.

But from the corner of her eye, she saw something small and fuzzy move along the floor. Her first instinct was that it had to be Timon, but...what would he be doing here? As far as she knew, he wasn't very fond of humans or their shops.

Leaving the shelf of trinkets, she flew down to the floor to get a closer look. "Um...hey, excuse me?"

At first, Ma didn't move. Because who'd be bothering her? She was barely noticeable in the shop, though even she could agree that there were much smaller things than her that were much more interesting. But then instinct kicked her in the tail and she thought that maybe she was getting too slow in this city, without all the ducking away from hyenas. She couldn't get rusty!

She straightened at once, sentry-mode kicking in, paws pressing to her belly, head jerking towards the voice and ready to bolt. Except... what was that? A dragonfly?

Luckily for Tinkerbell, Ma wasn't purely bug-obsessed as her son, so she just watched the figure with some skepticism, and tilted her head. "...Yes?"

"You are a meerkat!" Tinkerbell grinned, landing lightly on the ground to step closer. "Do you know Timon? Or...ah!" She straightened, wings flaring as she came to a conclusion. "You must be his mother! It's nice to meet you, I'm Tinkerbell!"

Ma blinked, not quite expecting that response. Though she wasn't sure what she was expecting. But this little dragonfly knew her son! And in a good way of sorts it seemed, so Tinkerbell had already won Ma's heart.

"Oh, you know Timmy?" She moved a bit closer, clearly excited, so used to the reactions many of the other meerkats had to her son. "No, it's nice to meet you! Everyone just calls me Ma."

She was able to snort back laughter at the cute nickname Ma gave Timon (hee hee...Timmy!) and reached out to take Ma's paw in her two hands. "Ma, then! Tim...my and I are friends. He's helped me out a lot!" Tink grinned, her wings fluttering. "What are you doing out? I thought you used the tunnels usually."

Friends! Every time she hears those two things together (Timon + friends), she practically glows almost as much as Tinkerbell. He was growing up so much (not to mention that he looked much older, but Ma brushed that thought aside the very first time she saw him and tried to never think on it ever again, because it was impossible).

"He did! That's my Timmy!" She practically bounced with excitement, though at Tinkerbell's question, Ma glanced at the store around her. "I've been trying to figure out all these... human things finally. I can't just keep ignoring them. But there's just so much!"

Tink giggled -- she was so much cuter than Timon, all fluffy and excitable. If his mom was like this, how had he come to be so grumpy and sarcastic all the time? Hands behind her back, she decided to keep those thoughts to herself.

"Oh, well...maybe I can help? I'm not human but I know a bit about them."

~~Blame his father.~~

"You can? That would be lovely!"

Oh Tinkerbell, teach this poor confused meerkat the ways of humans! She's all ears!

"What would you like to know about? Clothes?" She picked up one corner of the fabric. "Since they don't have fur or scales to keep them warm or protect them, they made these to wear." Tink dropped the cloth and smoothed her hands over her own green dress with pride.

"And it's a good way to show off and get attention, like bright colored plumage on birds! Since humans look pretty boring on their own."

Well, to be fair, the meerkats were pretty uniform. She supposed if a human made a really good sentry, and dug especially fast, or gathered resources well, then they would probably make a good mate. To other humans.

"I see! That makes sense."

She thought about it a bit more, than looked around the shop, remembering some of the oddities in the home that Ma's den was located. She scurried away from Tinkerbell, climbing up a table leg and searching out a particular sound, and then... ah! There it was. She moved over to a small cache off odds and ends, and reached in to pull out a pocketwatch. It wasn't quite the small as the thing in the home, but it made that similar noise.

"What about this?" she wrinkled her nose, ears twitching a little every time it ticked. She wasn't too fond of the thing.

Tink followed by hovering after her, landing on top of the table. Watching Ma move was entertainment all by itself, since she was so cute and energetic. "Oh! That's...!" She paused for a moment, frowning. She'd seen these a million times, but could never remember what they were called...or the exact purpose.

"Um..." Great. She didn't want to look like a fool in front of Timon's mother! Rubbing the back of her neck, she smiled. "It's to figure out when they should eat." Yeah, that seemed like an okay explanation.

Ma made a pinched face. That seemed strange, not the explanation - she fully believed Tinkerbell, perhaps too easily, but Tinkerbell seemed more of an expert than her - but the custom itself.

"They don't know?"

Why would need something to help you figure out when to eat?

"Well, they get so distracted by everything else that they forget!" She pantomimed a human walking. "I'm so busy, I have to push paper and walk everywhere!" Then she looked at the pocketwatch, putting her ear to it and nodding decisively. "Ah, that's right! I have to eat soon!"

Then she turned, arms spread in a "ta-dah!" pose. "You see?"

Ma nodded along with Tinkerbell's demonstration. "So it's a reminder!" She exclaimed. She could see some sort of value in that, though the ticking still made her antsy. She put a paw to her chin, gazing around the store. "There's so much else, I don't know where to start..."

Inwardly, Tink sighed in relief. Timon's mother was so kind-hearted and gentle, she really wanted to make a good impression on her. "It's okay, you don't need to learn everything about humans." She put her hands behind her back, shifting a little awkwardly.

"Um...can I ask you a question, Ma? What was Timon like as a baby?" She couldn't even picture the dour, sour, sarcastic Timon as an innocent child, but clearly he had been once...right?

She supposed she really didn't need to learn everything. It didn't seem like a lot of it would help her out much, anyway.

And, well, unfortunately for Timon, Ma saw nothing wrong with spilling all the beans about her son. She threw her paws up, turning away, eyes wide and showing the strain of motherhood as she remembered.

"Ohhh Timon, he was trouble! Just like his father! Always finding things to get his nose into, it was a horror!" Still was, and prone to a lot more, except... he seemed alright in Paixao. It would take Ma awhile to get over the fact that he had friends.

It was a good thing Ma turned away, as Tink had to clap her hands over her mouth to stifle a giggle. Of course Timon was trouble! She could just see it now.

"Well, he's pretty smart. I bet he was just as good at getting out of trouble as he was getting into it!"

"If only! When he was much smaller he had a better chance of getting out of it, but his 'charm' wore off as he got older."

She sighed a little in thought. Things had gotten to the point that if anything went wrong, Timon was instantly to blame. It wasn't fair. It wasn't... not everything was her son's fault. He's a good kid.

"I like this place. I may be out of my depths here, but I think it's done Timon a lot of good."

That's cute, that's adorable. She was such an untrained country bumpkin it was almost unfunny. The rat had turned a corner when he spotted the meerkat mother following these humans and their attire. Goodness did she really have no idea how these worked?

He saunters by the meerkat, a chastising expression on his face as he tsked her.

"Troubled by the ways of the city, my dear?"

Give her a break, Ratigan! She's lived in the savannah all her life ducking into tunnels to avoid being eaten by hyena. She'd like to see how long you'd last in that situation. ~~Probably selling out everyone else to live.~~

But Ma truly doesn't know any better, and is perhaps a terrible judge of character.

She perked up and turned to the voice, recognizing it, and looked a little sheepish. "Everything's so strange..."

Well see he has a natural defense mechanism called swag. The rat sweeps by the meerkat, pulling his most fake sympathetic face. Oh you poor dear.

"Yes, the city can be a strange and unforgiving place at times. I remember when I was young, fresh to the city of London. But I found my place. It's all about getting in the know. you see?"

She's taken in by it, easily. This tactic, much like the city, is also new to her.

"'Getting in the know', huh?" She used to be in the know back home, in a manner of speaking. Now it seems almost impossible. She's barely in the know when it comes to even her son. "You make it sound so easy."

Of course he does, he uses the age-old principle of lying and manipulating your way. How he isn't king of England yet is one of life's great mysteries.

"Yes, yes," he drew out those vowels with weasely joy, "Because it is easy! At least for myself. It's all about poise and presentation."

He tidies up his cravat and adjusts his hat for show.

Her gaze moved from the cravat to the hat and she frowned, not quite getting why he dressed similar to all those people. She tried to change her own poise, straightening - not as much as she would if she was a sentry - and trying to echo his "proper" nature, but she still just appeared Ma. A mother. A constantly worried, frantic, mother.

Her frown deepened. Maybe if she had a hat...

She sighed. "I guess if you say so..." She shook her head. "Well, it's not that important." Finding one's place... Just like Timon wanted... But Ma didn't need that, right? Only she wasn't home anymore. She was in Paixao. "...I'm sure there are other ways."

Oh look at you, acting all poised and proper. He'd snicker if he wasn't so good at masking himself right now. He could string along this sucker like a freshly-caught fish if he wanted. You know what? He will.

The rat extended a sympathetic back-pat, the picture of artificial sympathy, "There's always another way, my dear. Perhaps a wardrobe is in order, hmm?"

Well... that didn't quite seem like a good idea. Why would Ma want to... wear a second layer of fur? But then, why did Ratigan? He seemed to know what he was doing. And Ma, horrible judge of character that she was, trusted his opinion.

So, after a few moments of silent contemplation, she answered, "...Really? You think it could work?" And oh, Ratigan, you've caught this fish.

See, this is why Ma is burrowing for worms and Ratigan dances on a pile of jewels every night. It's all about fashion.

His voice droops to a sickly-sweet tone as he graciously tips his hat, "My dear, before I am done everyone will be dying to meet you."

Double entendre intended.

Ma liked her worms! What would she do with jewels, anyway?

But there's a bit of excitement in her eyes when she looked at him. "Alright, I think I'd like to give it a shot." After all, it couldn't hurt, right?

He smirked, giving her a good old pat on the shoulder.

"That's the spirit! I can see you now, the picture of perfect poise and prosperity!"

Yes. That exactly described Ma. Poise and prosperity.

"So where do we go? What do we do? Oh, I'm so excited!" She bounced a little on her feet.

Bullseye was hanging around the shops, too. It wasn't hard to go around Paixao unnoticed, since most of the people, especially the blond pale ones, didn't seem to look down a lot of the time.

Lately, he had been especially interested in the shops that sold toys. They weren't the same sort of toys that he was used to -- they didn't even talk or move! Part of him wondered if they were just shy, and often he would go to the stores in an attempt to bring them out of their shell, and encourage them to interact.

Today was one of those days, but as he approached... it seemed like one of them was actually animated this time! Wait... wasn't that -- Timon? Trotting over, the smell certainly resembled the other meerkat, and he wagged his tail happily in greeting, wondering how his friend had managed to shrink...

Ma blinked at the sudden intrusion, peering around the particular article to look at the little one. Almost instantly she beamed, placing down the clothing and reaching out with both paws, placing them on either side of his face.

"Well, hello there. Aren't you something," she said sincerely.

Oh, what's this? Praise? Well, Bullseye loved praise! His tail wagged at a quicker pace as she cupped his muzzle, realizing now that this wasn't Timon at all. But she certainly seemed just a nice, and so he nudged her with his nose, trying to entice more pets.

She'll give him more pets! He's adorable. She pulled back a paw to lick it, then adjusts his mane like she would adjust her son's fur. ...It probably looks terrible, sorry Bullseye.

"Where did you come from?"

Well-- good thing Bullseye's mane is a solid piece of felt. He pauses, his tail coming to a stop, as it stays pinned down for a few seconds. His large eyes look up to examine it -- just as it springs back into its neutral spot again. His tail resumes its medium pace, delighted in her company, still.

Looking from Ma, back up to the shop just in front of him, he nods towards the large glass window filled with knick-knacks and old toys. He'd just come from inside!

He asks the same question, but with his nose instead, moving in with his large nose to take a few close sniffs of the friendly meerkat.

Ma watched him make his motions, nodded along as he did so, and then smiled. It's okay, Bullseye, she completely understands!

Except she actually kind of doesn't.

At all.

"Oh! Do you want me to get you something from inside? Come on! I'm sure it'll be easy. I'm great at climbing up to things."

And with that, Ma started towards the shop, fully with the intention of weaseling in and climbing up to the window inside. Not that she had any idea about this whole buying-things-with-~~money~~shiny-things, but hey. He seemed like a nice little guy, it would be the least she could do.

Bullseye just... blinks once at the conclusion she seems to have drawn about the situation, and trots alongside of her. Oh well, and adventure was an adventure, and he wasn't one to complain! Deciding to be helpful, he uses his head to help the meerkat with her footing, providing her with an additional push, even though it was obvious she didn't need it.

Looking up at her, his tail wagged behind him steadily, a happy look on his face, wondering what she would do next.

Successfully making it inside, Ma scurried up to the store window, looking around at all of the stuff with a paw to her chin, deep in thought, wondering it was that he could possibly want.

She dug her paws in, made a surprised sound, and pulled one of her paws out, having a coil of thin metal wrapped around it. She blinked and pulled back harder, sending much of what was piled on top crashing to the floor.

"Ohh! Look out, dearie!" Ma called to Bulleye, anxious of her mess and hoping he didn't get hit by anything. She tumbled onto her back and feel, but her finding sprung out like a rope and kept her from falling.

And there Ma was, hanging down from the window by a slinky, her arm tangled in it. She didn't look particularly happy about this turn of events, struggling to get free, then sighing and forcing a smile.

"Is this what you wanted?"

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Everywhere the light touches has... humans? [Active/Open]

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