Something was bugging Glytch. He had spent the entire night in the Library, calibrating his mass VORP .txt command file and studying Old Castle Alexander's blueprints.
He wasn't sure why, but something told him VORPing cables into the vents could be problematic... And problems when dealing with Lanthian tech were frequently disastrous.
Eventually, he pushed back from the table and walked away, hoping a break would clear his head enough for him to figure out what the problem was.
Glytch wandered through the stacks, picking out books at random and leafing through them. Most of them were incomprehensible. One was rather clever... Or rather, two. One was a book full of seeming gibberish of several languages. The book right next to it was so old all of the ink had faded and the pages were full of holes, gnawed into tatters by moths. With a smirk, Glytch glanced first at one, and then the other. All of the holes, when overlayed over the matching page on the book of gibberish, all centered on Latin words.
How clever. I wonder what all of this translates to... Something about trees and life. Maybe a book some old carpenter wrote about that one really hard wood? Maybe he discovered it and wanted to keep it a secret from his competitors...
Glytch shut the books, instinctively closing his eyes against the expected cloud of dust normally produced by such ancient tomes.
Waitaminute.
There wasn't any dust. Glytch peered at the books before putting them away and running his finger across a bookshelf. His fingertip came away completely clean.
"Huh."
Glytch found a rolling shelf ladder and climbed up to the top shelf and ran his finger along the very top. Still no dust.
"How...? Dang. The janitorial staff of this place must be an absolute horde."
A couple hours later, Glytch went back to his table and sat down. The moment he looked at the blueprints again, it hit him, and he immediately stood up, knocking his chair back with a loud clatter.
"DUST!"
"Shhh!" Someone hissed from somewhere.
"Sorry... I just had a-"
"Yeah, yeah, it happens all the time with you bloody academics. Whatever."
Glytch picked his chair up and pulled out his phone to call Al.
"Hey, Al?"
"Glytch? How are you? I'm glad you can make it to the party!"
"Yeah, I'm good. I'm actually working on a little something for that."
"Oh, dear."
"Heh, don't worry, I e got it under control."
"No pyrotechnics, you understand?"
"No, I promise. I'm working on some musical entertainment. Completely harmless, ok?"
There was a dubious silence as Al tried to think of a way music could be used to level his house and the surrounding countryside. Failing that, he relented. "...alright, fine. Was there something you needed? I, er, seem to have gotten myself into a bit of a jam, so unfortunately we'll have to make this quick."
Glytch chuckled, wondering what on earth Al's 'jam' was. "Tell me... How clean are the vents in Old Castle Alexander?"
"...Pardon?"
"The vents. Air ducts. How clean are they?"
"Well, uh... I'm not really sure. Moron ably about as clean or dirty as any other vent in an old house. Maybe a bit cleaner. Ed seems to take his job rather seriously."
"How would you feel if I offered to have them instantly scrubbed spotless?"
There was another suspicious silence. "And how exactly would you accomplish that? And... Why?"
"I need to teleport some equipment into the house, and it's pretty spread out. I need to run cables through some vents, but the Library's VORP system has a safety feature; it won't teleport anything into a location already occupied by solid matter. It automatically displaces air, but displacing water or solid stuff can end up putting someone into a bad situation, so..."
Glytch heard Al sigh heavily over the phone. He could almost see the old Brit putting a hand to his forehead. "As long as you don't take part of the house along for the ride, I don't see any harm in cleaning the ducts for me."
"Trust me."
"Glytch, there is nothing you could possibly say that would make me suddenly not trust you any more than that."
"Just trust me on this, ok? I've actually made some improvements to the system, it's working really well."
The line was silent again, this time for a much longer moment. "... I stand corrected."
"Well? Can I do it?"
"Fine... But if you blow up the house or turn it into a radish, I expect you to fix it. Understand?"
"Of course!"
"Alright... I really hope I don't regret this. As if I didn't have enough stress today..."
Pillsbury + 1 year:
Moderators: Bookworm, starkruzr, MrFireDragon, PrettyPrincess, Wapsi
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GlytchMeister
- Posts: 3733
- Joined: Wed Oct 16, 2013 2:52 pm
- Location: Central Illinois
- Contact:
Re: Pillsbury + 1 year:
He's mister GlytchMeister, he's mister code
He's mister exploiter, he's mister ones and zeros
They call me GlytchMeister, whatever I touch
Starts to glitch in my clutch!
I'm too much!
He's mister exploiter, he's mister ones and zeros
They call me GlytchMeister, whatever I touch
Starts to glitch in my clutch!
I'm too much!
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GlytchMeister
- Posts: 3733
- Joined: Wed Oct 16, 2013 2:52 pm
- Location: Central Illinois
- Contact:
Re: Pillsbury + 1 year:
The dust issue was actually bugging me IRL... Though my eureka moment was inspired by me noticing my dresser was dusty.
He's mister GlytchMeister, he's mister code
He's mister exploiter, he's mister ones and zeros
They call me GlytchMeister, whatever I touch
Starts to glitch in my clutch!
I'm too much!
He's mister exploiter, he's mister ones and zeros
They call me GlytchMeister, whatever I touch
Starts to glitch in my clutch!
I'm too much!
-
Just Old Al
- Posts: 1684
- Joined: Tue Jul 31, 2012 4:43 am
- Location: Wilderness of Massachusetts
- Contact:
Re: Pillsbury + 1 year:
The story told in Phix’ office ended to a resounding silence…for at least three seconds.
“WHAT?!”
“Yes, dear. Al bested an apotropaic sphinx – and we need to figure out how to break the bond.”
Rather than answering, Phix turned to the elderly Brit. Index finger thrust at him like the bladed weapon Phix obviously wished it was, she advanced on him.
“YOU. YOU are a manifestation of chaos! Do you stay up all night thinking of ways to cause trouble? Is there something in your genetic makeup that thrives on chaos? While I have to admit that the thought really is fairly hot and I would have loved to see the fight, this really is a problem.
The “woman” in question is under punishment from the sphinxes – however she is still a sphinx and all of the hormonal attributes are still there. In short, my lad, you have managed to get yourself a harem. Wasn’t species-jumping to a centaur enough for you? Had to add a sphinx to the mix? I should just eat you myself and be done with this – but with my luck you’d win.” All of this severity was marred by the gasping sounds from Greg over in the corner, collapsed in a breathless heap and laughing hysterically.
Al stood steadfast and totally unrepentant under the tongue-lashing.
“FIRST, How the Hades was I supposed to know she was a sphinx or that you all had history? As I doubtless need to remind you I am very recently come to this insane asylum you call the paranormal world, and I’m not exactly up on all of the physical characteristics to look for when trying to “out” a paranormal masquerading as human. I also was not at your wedding or aware of the details, other than that fact that it was nearly as big a bloodbath as Pillsbury.
Secondly – if you DON'T read me in on all the dirty little family secrets I don’t exactly know, now do I? What are you going to tell me next – that my uncle Edgar was actually a werebeagle? It would fit well – his wife was an absolute bitch.”
Further strangling noises came from the Greg corner.
Neil, as befitted a natural commander, stepped into the middle of the argument. “OKAY, you two – either get a room or calm down. We need to figure a way out of this mess. Phix – are there cases of unconsummated mating bonds in situations like this?”
Phix thought for a moment and then nodded. “I’d have to check the literature, but yes. If Al and Ari are kept apart for some number of weeks then her hormonal imperative will fade. There’ll still be a bit of unrequited lust there but it won’t be at the drop-your-drawers stage it’s at right now. The easiest thing to do here is fire her – get her off the property and in a few weeks Al will be a revered memory instead of a lust object."
Further strangling noises came from the Greg corner at the words "lust object". Al sniffed disdainfully as Phix continued.
"In any case, you need to fire her – I’m not thrilled with her having anything to do with any one of us and she deserves to rot in the hell we put her in.”
“No. Absolutely not. You are NOT going to fire her either because of what she used to be nor because of this little pavane she and I got into.
That young woman – YOUNG WOMAN – has been an utterly charming asset to AHI and to my outfit since the day AHI gave her the job. Other than a regrettable taste for Justin Bieber she’s been an utterly efficient, civil, polite young lady and I am NOT going to sacrifice that or her because YOU have a grudge!”
“Grudge? You call being annoyed that she tried to kill my wedding party wholesale a grudge? What are you going to call World War Two – an unfortunate disagreement?” Phix was flabbergasted – she didn’t expect any pushback from anyone on what she saw as a simple, commonsense solution – and Al was just being impossible.
“That was NOT ARI – that was the Sphinx. That creature is dead to her – she has no idea who or what she was. All I see is a young woman trying to make her way in life with no advantages, and doing the best she can. All this paranormal tripe has nothing at all to do with that young woman – and her guts in taking me on when she could have just gone limp and let me do what I wanted shows a strength of character and a caring for those in her charge that deserves to be rewarded and nurtured. She is going to be one helluva human being – and deserves the chance.”
“Fire her – you can likely convince Daisy and Buck to do it. You do, and the first thing I will do is break every one of my personal rules and hire her as my majordomo at Richer Engineering. I am NOT going to lie down on this, and YOU are not going to make me do it. My family will be none too pleased with me, but so be it. Loyalty of that stripe needs to be rewarded, and YOU are not going to stop me from doing it.” These last statements were punctuated with Al striding forward and thrusting his index finger into the face of a very surprised Sphinx.
At that point, the room became still – a pregnant pause. One second became two, two became three, and finally Phix blinked.
“Okay. I see your point. Damn, Al – I can see why your men followed you when you wore the suit. Okay, so firing her is right out. I have to say I don’t like it, but I understand.
There is another way to deal with this – but you are not going to like it. First, it requires Daisy in on it” Al rolled his eyes skyward and shook his head - he'd been hoping to avoid that “and there is a measurable amount of risk here – and not a small one.
Let me tell you what you’ll need to do….”
“WHAT?!”
“Yes, dear. Al bested an apotropaic sphinx – and we need to figure out how to break the bond.”
Rather than answering, Phix turned to the elderly Brit. Index finger thrust at him like the bladed weapon Phix obviously wished it was, she advanced on him.
“YOU. YOU are a manifestation of chaos! Do you stay up all night thinking of ways to cause trouble? Is there something in your genetic makeup that thrives on chaos? While I have to admit that the thought really is fairly hot and I would have loved to see the fight, this really is a problem.
The “woman” in question is under punishment from the sphinxes – however she is still a sphinx and all of the hormonal attributes are still there. In short, my lad, you have managed to get yourself a harem. Wasn’t species-jumping to a centaur enough for you? Had to add a sphinx to the mix? I should just eat you myself and be done with this – but with my luck you’d win.” All of this severity was marred by the gasping sounds from Greg over in the corner, collapsed in a breathless heap and laughing hysterically.
Al stood steadfast and totally unrepentant under the tongue-lashing.
“FIRST, How the Hades was I supposed to know she was a sphinx or that you all had history? As I doubtless need to remind you I am very recently come to this insane asylum you call the paranormal world, and I’m not exactly up on all of the physical characteristics to look for when trying to “out” a paranormal masquerading as human. I also was not at your wedding or aware of the details, other than that fact that it was nearly as big a bloodbath as Pillsbury.
Secondly – if you DON'T read me in on all the dirty little family secrets I don’t exactly know, now do I? What are you going to tell me next – that my uncle Edgar was actually a werebeagle? It would fit well – his wife was an absolute bitch.”
Further strangling noises came from the Greg corner.
Neil, as befitted a natural commander, stepped into the middle of the argument. “OKAY, you two – either get a room or calm down. We need to figure a way out of this mess. Phix – are there cases of unconsummated mating bonds in situations like this?”
Phix thought for a moment and then nodded. “I’d have to check the literature, but yes. If Al and Ari are kept apart for some number of weeks then her hormonal imperative will fade. There’ll still be a bit of unrequited lust there but it won’t be at the drop-your-drawers stage it’s at right now. The easiest thing to do here is fire her – get her off the property and in a few weeks Al will be a revered memory instead of a lust object."
Further strangling noises came from the Greg corner at the words "lust object". Al sniffed disdainfully as Phix continued.
"In any case, you need to fire her – I’m not thrilled with her having anything to do with any one of us and she deserves to rot in the hell we put her in.”
“No. Absolutely not. You are NOT going to fire her either because of what she used to be nor because of this little pavane she and I got into.
That young woman – YOUNG WOMAN – has been an utterly charming asset to AHI and to my outfit since the day AHI gave her the job. Other than a regrettable taste for Justin Bieber she’s been an utterly efficient, civil, polite young lady and I am NOT going to sacrifice that or her because YOU have a grudge!”
“Grudge? You call being annoyed that she tried to kill my wedding party wholesale a grudge? What are you going to call World War Two – an unfortunate disagreement?” Phix was flabbergasted – she didn’t expect any pushback from anyone on what she saw as a simple, commonsense solution – and Al was just being impossible.
“That was NOT ARI – that was the Sphinx. That creature is dead to her – she has no idea who or what she was. All I see is a young woman trying to make her way in life with no advantages, and doing the best she can. All this paranormal tripe has nothing at all to do with that young woman – and her guts in taking me on when she could have just gone limp and let me do what I wanted shows a strength of character and a caring for those in her charge that deserves to be rewarded and nurtured. She is going to be one helluva human being – and deserves the chance.”
“Fire her – you can likely convince Daisy and Buck to do it. You do, and the first thing I will do is break every one of my personal rules and hire her as my majordomo at Richer Engineering. I am NOT going to lie down on this, and YOU are not going to make me do it. My family will be none too pleased with me, but so be it. Loyalty of that stripe needs to be rewarded, and YOU are not going to stop me from doing it.” These last statements were punctuated with Al striding forward and thrusting his index finger into the face of a very surprised Sphinx.
At that point, the room became still – a pregnant pause. One second became two, two became three, and finally Phix blinked.
“Okay. I see your point. Damn, Al – I can see why your men followed you when you wore the suit. Okay, so firing her is right out. I have to say I don’t like it, but I understand.
There is another way to deal with this – but you are not going to like it. First, it requires Daisy in on it” Al rolled his eyes skyward and shook his head - he'd been hoping to avoid that “and there is a measurable amount of risk here – and not a small one.
Let me tell you what you’ll need to do….”
"The Empire was founded on cups of tea, mate, and if you think I am going to war without one you are sadly mistaken."
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Sgt. Howard
- Posts: 3338
- Joined: Tue Jul 31, 2012 11:54 pm
- Location: Malott, Washington
Re: Pillsbury + 1 year:
" 'Lust Object', " snickered Greg in his corner, "DAMN Al, you have way with critters, don't you? BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH!!!!"
One swift SLAP from Phix ended that- " 'Critter', you say? ... go ahead and laugh some more... if you dare,"
One swift SLAP from Phix ended that- " 'Critter', you say? ... go ahead and laugh some more... if you dare,"
Rule 17 of the Bombay Golf Course- "You shall play the ball where the monkey drops it,"
I speak fluent Limrick-
the Old Sgt.
I speak fluent Limrick-
the Old Sgt.
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jwhouk
- Posts: 6053
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- Location: The Valley of the Sun, Arizona
- Contact:
Re: Pillsbury + 1 year:
Meanwhile, I'm over here wondering when someone is going to get why Ari's last name is Wardoff...
"Character is what you are in the dark." - D.L. Moody
"You should never run from the voices in your head. That's how you give them power." - Jin
"You should never run from the voices in your head. That's how you give them power." - Jin
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GlytchMeister
- Posts: 3733
- Joined: Wed Oct 16, 2013 2:52 pm
- Location: Central Illinois
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Re: Pillsbury + 1 year:
Ward off... She keeps people away from things. Right?
He's mister GlytchMeister, he's mister code
He's mister exploiter, he's mister ones and zeros
They call me GlytchMeister, whatever I touch
Starts to glitch in my clutch!
I'm too much!
He's mister exploiter, he's mister ones and zeros
They call me GlytchMeister, whatever I touch
Starts to glitch in my clutch!
I'm too much!
-
DinkyInky
- Posts: 2382
- Joined: Tue Jul 31, 2012 9:38 am
- Location: Where there's more than Corn.
- Contact:
Re: Pillsbury + 1 year:
PM sent...I cannot say this without cringing.jwhouk wrote:Meanwhile, I'm over here wondering when someone is going to get why Ari's last name is Wardoff...
Yanno how some people have Angels/Devils for a conscience? I have a Dark Elf ShadowKnight and a Half Elf Ranger for mine. The really bad part is when they agree on something.
Aphyon chu kissa whol l'jaed.
--Safyr Drathmir
Aphyon chu kissa whol l'jaed.
--Safyr Drathmir
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Just Old Al
- Posts: 1684
- Joined: Tue Jul 31, 2012 4:43 am
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Re: Pillsbury + 1 year:
“WHAT?!”
Al tiredly rubbed his hands over his face, then said “I have had people yelling that word in my ear all day. Please don’t do that.”
Daisy snorted. “Well, pardon me if finding out my husband is a multi-species BIGAMIST is a bit disconcerting! First it’s a centaur, now an apotropaic sphinx – what next, werewolf or would you perhaps prefer something cuter and cuddlier?”
Al sighed – this was not going at all to plan. “Dear, it was completely inadvertent..”
“INADVERTENT! How can jumping and hog-tying a SPHINX be INADVERTENT! Care to explain that Mr. Ty-Rap!”
“Okay. From the top, I had no idea the young lady was a sphinx. Secondly, I did not jump her - I was lying on the floor and she was pointing a gun at me - I had to get an emergency arrival of a biological nature into the back shop before it let go and made a nasty toxic mess. Third, the “marriage” has not and never WILL be consummated. Please stop yelling at me – it’s been a very long day.”
Daisy was not quite so easily placated. “And when did we hire this blushing flower of a SPHINX, eh?”
“We didn’t - your HR department found her. I interviewed her – she was a bright, charming young lady and more than capable of doing the job. She also took over handling the visitor schedules for the back and front shops, and took that off my hands. Very able and not at all obtrusive.”
“I’m sure she wasn’t obtrusive.” Daisy snorted again.
“LOOK. GET OUT OF IT. I did not plan this nor was I planning any inter-species trysts – you are all the woman I could ever want and then some you silly bitch. Kindly turn the green-eyed jealousy routine off and listen to me – I need your help to fix this. Either that or just go the hell away – I can’t take a lot more right now.”
Daisy was taken seriously aback. In all the time she and Al had known each other this was the only time she had ever seen him be less than a perfect gentleman – to anyone he deemed worthy of the privilege.
“I’m sorry, dear – it’s hard to be the wife of a handsome man and not get a little green-eyed when things like this happen. So, what do we have to do to fix this?”
“Simple – I need to fight her – and lose.”
“WHA- Oh, sorry.”
“Yes, fight her and lose. If I do this on my own I’m a dead man – she’ll kill and attempt to eat me. Not going to work real well as a human, but there’s a biological imperative going on here.”
“So how do we keep that from happening? I mean, it would make an awful mess of the shop and all…”
“Very funny. Ha. Ha. You are such a comedian. Shut up and listen.”
Al tiredly rubbed his hands over his face, then said “I have had people yelling that word in my ear all day. Please don’t do that.”
Daisy snorted. “Well, pardon me if finding out my husband is a multi-species BIGAMIST is a bit disconcerting! First it’s a centaur, now an apotropaic sphinx – what next, werewolf or would you perhaps prefer something cuter and cuddlier?”
Al sighed – this was not going at all to plan. “Dear, it was completely inadvertent..”
“INADVERTENT! How can jumping and hog-tying a SPHINX be INADVERTENT! Care to explain that Mr. Ty-Rap!”
“Okay. From the top, I had no idea the young lady was a sphinx. Secondly, I did not jump her - I was lying on the floor and she was pointing a gun at me - I had to get an emergency arrival of a biological nature into the back shop before it let go and made a nasty toxic mess. Third, the “marriage” has not and never WILL be consummated. Please stop yelling at me – it’s been a very long day.”
Daisy was not quite so easily placated. “And when did we hire this blushing flower of a SPHINX, eh?”
“We didn’t - your HR department found her. I interviewed her – she was a bright, charming young lady and more than capable of doing the job. She also took over handling the visitor schedules for the back and front shops, and took that off my hands. Very able and not at all obtrusive.”
“I’m sure she wasn’t obtrusive.” Daisy snorted again.
“LOOK. GET OUT OF IT. I did not plan this nor was I planning any inter-species trysts – you are all the woman I could ever want and then some you silly bitch. Kindly turn the green-eyed jealousy routine off and listen to me – I need your help to fix this. Either that or just go the hell away – I can’t take a lot more right now.”
Daisy was taken seriously aback. In all the time she and Al had known each other this was the only time she had ever seen him be less than a perfect gentleman – to anyone he deemed worthy of the privilege.
“I’m sorry, dear – it’s hard to be the wife of a handsome man and not get a little green-eyed when things like this happen. So, what do we have to do to fix this?”
“Simple – I need to fight her – and lose.”
“WHA- Oh, sorry.”
“Yes, fight her and lose. If I do this on my own I’m a dead man – she’ll kill and attempt to eat me. Not going to work real well as a human, but there’s a biological imperative going on here.”
“So how do we keep that from happening? I mean, it would make an awful mess of the shop and all…”
“Very funny. Ha. Ha. You are such a comedian. Shut up and listen.”
"The Empire was founded on cups of tea, mate, and if you think I am going to war without one you are sadly mistaken."
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jwhouk
- Posts: 6053
- Joined: Wed Aug 01, 2012 7:58 am
- Location: The Valley of the Sun, Arizona
- Contact:
Re: Pillsbury + 1 year:
Arania stretched on her couch in the studio loft she was now renting at the historic Fort Snelling Army base. The place had just opened up after she'd gotten the job at AHI, and she was really starting to be annoyed with Drey and Mori. Of course, the same thing could be said for the two of them of her, as she was finding herself singing "Sorry" too many times throughout the day.
The job at the Number 2 plant just down the road (and one stop on the Light Rail) from the complex had invigorated her - and the other two were getting more and more resentful. She didn't need that kind of negativity in her life right now, anyways.
Things had gotten a bit... strange... after she'd tried stopping Al from going into the containment area. For some reason, she kept having dreams of having her way with him... and, for some reason, she was always imagining that she was his angel, with wings spread wide, covering him, nuzzling him...
Her thoughts trailed off as she realized her CD had stopped playing. She'd noticed that she could concentrate more when she was listening to music - especially the Bieb. She swooned to herself for a moment - soooo dreamy...
She reached over and put on another of her Bieber CD's, then went out to the kitchen. For some reason, she'd been hankering for some pork ribs - and now, since she could afford it, she'd gone out and bought some.
The CD was about halfway through the third track when she realized that she was eating the ribs raw...
The job at the Number 2 plant just down the road (and one stop on the Light Rail) from the complex had invigorated her - and the other two were getting more and more resentful. She didn't need that kind of negativity in her life right now, anyways.
Things had gotten a bit... strange... after she'd tried stopping Al from going into the containment area. For some reason, she kept having dreams of having her way with him... and, for some reason, she was always imagining that she was his angel, with wings spread wide, covering him, nuzzling him...
Her thoughts trailed off as she realized her CD had stopped playing. She'd noticed that she could concentrate more when she was listening to music - especially the Bieb. She swooned to herself for a moment - soooo dreamy...
She reached over and put on another of her Bieber CD's, then went out to the kitchen. For some reason, she'd been hankering for some pork ribs - and now, since she could afford it, she'd gone out and bought some.
The CD was about halfway through the third track when she realized that she was eating the ribs raw...
"Character is what you are in the dark." - D.L. Moody
"You should never run from the voices in your head. That's how you give them power." - Jin
"You should never run from the voices in your head. That's how you give them power." - Jin
Re: Pillsbury + 1 year:
I would love to hear it, if you're willing to share it.DinkyInky wrote:PM sent...I cannot say this without cringing.jwhouk wrote:Meanwhile, I'm over here wondering when someone is going to get why Ari's last name is Wardoff...
My own hunch was that since her memories-of-self have been thoroughly erased/suppressed, she's been reduced to a mental state little different from childhood. Hence, she's not legally competent, and the authorities would probably consider her to be "A. Wardoff the court".
(and that's a bit cringe-worthy, too.)
-
jwhouk
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- Contact:
Re: Pillsbury + 1 year:
No, that's a pun. 
Try "ward off evil spirits with this talisman"...
Try "ward off evil spirits with this talisman"...
"Character is what you are in the dark." - D.L. Moody
"You should never run from the voices in your head. That's how you give them power." - Jin
"You should never run from the voices in your head. That's how you give them power." - Jin
-
Just Old Al
- Posts: 1684
- Joined: Tue Jul 31, 2012 4:43 am
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Re: Pillsbury + 1 year:
The ride to the plant the next morning was awkward and quiet. Al, dressed in one of his old ripstop fatigue sets and boots, was driving, and Daisy, clad in jeans and a turtleneck was sitting in the passenger seat of her Bentley. Neither had said much, especially after the arguments the night before.
They were waved through the main gate and drove through the passages to Building 2 – sitting lit up and ready for business. “I guess that means Ari’s here.” Al said, even though he had just confirmed that with the gate guard a few minutes before.
He’d also told the guard that no one for Building 2 was to be allowed through until further notice – this was going to require privacy.
“Are you sure you can handle this?” Al asked, though he’d asked this more than once.
“Yes, let’s just get on with it. I want this over. Then you are taking a course at Gryphon on how to spot paranormals.” Daisy was brusque, and Al realized that this was not something that was going to be easily smoothed over. Here was a crux point in their relationship – there’d been a lot of stress with the vendetta, but this was the first real problem that had happened between the two of them personally.
Privately, Al was a little concerned that Daisy would miss her cue, or not respond quickly enough. He loved his wife, and had full faith and confidence in her, but things were a bit…strained…and this could be a convenient accident for MIB to clean up.
Exeunt Sergeant-Major indeed Al thought.
Rather than parking inside, Al pulled the Bentley alongside the building in one of the visitor slots and shut it down.
“OK, I am going to go in. You wait a count of five and come in after me. Don’t interfere until the right time otherwise this isn’t going to work.”
Daisy said nothing, and offered no solace. Feeling truly alone, Al got out of the car, emptied his pockets of everything onto the driver’s seat and then walked to the door. A three count saw Daisy out of the car and behind him, and Al entered the building and started to walk toward his office.
Ari looked up from her desk, the ever-present Justin Bieber music on her personal player. Upon seeing him her face lit up, and she bolted from behind the desk. Toeing off her shoes, she ran toward him, security blazer flying to the ground. Tie was next and the top two buttons of the shirt undone when she got within reach of Al – and he moved.
Dropping to stance he used her momentum to propel her over his leg, sprawling to the floor several feet beyond him. Spinning, he repositioned himself as she charged him again, a gleeful light in her eyes. Again she charged, and this time Al threw her toward a more open space on the floor hoping for room to maneuver.
Behind them both and completely ignored by Ari was Daisy, arms folded and silently watching the fray.
With the third charge Ari’s tactics changed. She circled him, looking for an opening, a weakness she could exploit to her own advantage. Sheer lust was no longer the motivator – by fighting back Al had changed this from a simple mating to a challenge – and these rarely ended with both combatants alive.
Thanking his gods and Neil for two good legs Al circled in place, waiting for the next attack. He didn’t have to wait long, as with a shriek of fury Ari threw herself at him, a trifle too fast for him to be able to react cleanly. Sphinx and human toppled to the floor, human on his back on the ground with the sphinx straddling his chest, clawed fingers reaching for his throat. A quick twist and lift tossed the girl off, and both scrambled to their feet.
Al was in trouble, plain and simple. That skirmish had moved him too close to the wall – he had little maneuvering room and would have nowhere to go if attacked from the right angle. Ari knew this as well, and maneuvered to take advantage of his entrapment.
Al was also tiring rapidly and was wounded – at least one rib and likely more had not survived the last exchange unscathed. Ari was tiring as well, her breath coming in heaves, sweat pouring off her – but the deadly predator’s gaze did not change, nor did the clawed fingers straighten.
Dodging, feinting, Ari kept pressing in on Al, getting closer and closer with each maneuver. Finally, Ari feinted and Al reacted, and she knocked his legs from under him. Leaping, she pinned him before he could roll away, and her teeth reached for his jugular.
Screaming and leaping Daisy closed the distance between the pair, grabbed Ari by collar and belt and heaved her across the floor. Running, jumping, she pinned the hapless sphinx to the floor, hand reaching for her esophagus. With a howl she held the sphinx’s windpipe closed and screamed “YIELD!”
On the third repeat of the "YIELD" scream the madness in Ari’s eyes faded and confusion took its place. Daisy let go, chest heaving from the exertion. Ari looked up “Ms Alexander! What’s going ON?” Her voice, contrite and thoroughly confused told Daisy that the cure had worked, and that the crisis was over.
Daisy climbed off the young woman and offered her hand. Taking Daisy’s hand and struggling to her feet, Ari asked “What happened? Yesterday Al and I had a…fight…and since then that’s pretty-well all I remember.”
“We’re not sure, dear, but thankfully I came in with Al this morning. When we came into the building you attacked him. He’s combat-trained, but while he was trying not to hurt you he let you get in a few good hits on him. I think we need to pick him up.”
“Oh, GOD, I hurt him! I’m so sorry! I don’t understand….”
Al had finally scraped himself off the floor and trying not to breathe too deeply limped over to where the two women were standing. “I think it was something that was in the Halliburton cases that came into the back shop yesterday. One of them had a leaking container in it – which is why it was an emergency to get it under cover. The container had started to leak when we finally got it into containment – and you must have been sensitive to it. I am truly sorry this happened to you.”
“Go home for today and tomorrow too – paid of course. I am going to get AHI environmental in to check the building – and we’ll deal with it from there. Again, I am sincerely sorry.”
Soon enough the problem was straightened out. A confused Ari was taken home by AHI security, and Al and Daisy locked up the building and headed home. Al was lying in the back seat – the broken ribs were not making breathing or anything else easier – and he said “This hurts like hell. How are you feeling?”
Daisy pulled the car over on the quiet lane, put it in park and came around to climb into the back. With her face close to his she repeated “How do I feel?” in a dangerously quiet voice.
“HOW DO I FEEL? HOW THE HELL DO YOU THINK I FEEL YOU GODSDAMNED MORON! YOU DAMN NEAR GOT YOUR THROAT RIPPED OUT AND I HAD TO PLAY “WONDER WOMAN” TO SAVE YOUR SORRY ASS FROM A PSYCHOTIC AMNESIAC SPHINX AND YOU ASK HOW I FEEL?”
“HOW THE HADES SHOULD I FEEL!”
Al had no words. Enraged as she was he was madly, dizzyingly in love with her – all over again. “I love her when she’s mad” held no truer sentiment than at that moment.
She was magnificent. Bruised, clothes torn, smudged with dirt and in general disarray she was still the most beautiful thing he’d ever seen.
She continued - volume lower but thoughts no less intense. “I will TELL you how I feel. I feel like if I have to save your sorry ass from anything ever again I might – just MIGHT not do it. I love you, you silly man, but there are days I ask myself why – and today is one of them.
Let’s go home - I’ll call the vet to come over and shoot you, er bandage those ribs and then we can watch THIS.” With that she held up a tiny cube with a belt clip. It had a lens on one side, and tiny controls.
A Go Pro.
Al had a sinking feeling that he was not going to like the answer to the next question.
“When did you start filming?”
“Right as you walked in the door. I got ten minutes of pure unadulterated Sphinx porn as you and Ari had at each other. I killed it as I went for her – hated to ruin a good scene like that.”
“You are not…”
“Oh, YES, I am. Phix asked me to – right about the time she told me you refused to fire Ari and agreed to this absolutely batshit crazy plan. Why didn’t you tell me that there was another way out of this – one that didn’t involve you risking your life?”
Al sighed, and winced as the ribs creaked. “I didn’t tell you because you would have refused to do this – and Ari deserved to keep a job she did well and her life as she’s building it for herself.”
Daisy nodded. “Fair enough. The next time you think to withhold things like this from me don’t. I will forgive this once – not twice. You saw me in action today – do you really want to see it again?”
Al did – most sincerely. She was MAGNIFICENT. However that was not the answer she wanted, so he meekly said “No, dear. I don’t. Can we go home now?”
“Yes dear.” With that Daisy climbed back behind the wheel and headed for home.
They were waved through the main gate and drove through the passages to Building 2 – sitting lit up and ready for business. “I guess that means Ari’s here.” Al said, even though he had just confirmed that with the gate guard a few minutes before.
He’d also told the guard that no one for Building 2 was to be allowed through until further notice – this was going to require privacy.
“Are you sure you can handle this?” Al asked, though he’d asked this more than once.
“Yes, let’s just get on with it. I want this over. Then you are taking a course at Gryphon on how to spot paranormals.” Daisy was brusque, and Al realized that this was not something that was going to be easily smoothed over. Here was a crux point in their relationship – there’d been a lot of stress with the vendetta, but this was the first real problem that had happened between the two of them personally.
Privately, Al was a little concerned that Daisy would miss her cue, or not respond quickly enough. He loved his wife, and had full faith and confidence in her, but things were a bit…strained…and this could be a convenient accident for MIB to clean up.
Exeunt Sergeant-Major indeed Al thought.
Rather than parking inside, Al pulled the Bentley alongside the building in one of the visitor slots and shut it down.
“OK, I am going to go in. You wait a count of five and come in after me. Don’t interfere until the right time otherwise this isn’t going to work.”
Daisy said nothing, and offered no solace. Feeling truly alone, Al got out of the car, emptied his pockets of everything onto the driver’s seat and then walked to the door. A three count saw Daisy out of the car and behind him, and Al entered the building and started to walk toward his office.
Ari looked up from her desk, the ever-present Justin Bieber music on her personal player. Upon seeing him her face lit up, and she bolted from behind the desk. Toeing off her shoes, she ran toward him, security blazer flying to the ground. Tie was next and the top two buttons of the shirt undone when she got within reach of Al – and he moved.
Dropping to stance he used her momentum to propel her over his leg, sprawling to the floor several feet beyond him. Spinning, he repositioned himself as she charged him again, a gleeful light in her eyes. Again she charged, and this time Al threw her toward a more open space on the floor hoping for room to maneuver.
Behind them both and completely ignored by Ari was Daisy, arms folded and silently watching the fray.
With the third charge Ari’s tactics changed. She circled him, looking for an opening, a weakness she could exploit to her own advantage. Sheer lust was no longer the motivator – by fighting back Al had changed this from a simple mating to a challenge – and these rarely ended with both combatants alive.
Thanking his gods and Neil for two good legs Al circled in place, waiting for the next attack. He didn’t have to wait long, as with a shriek of fury Ari threw herself at him, a trifle too fast for him to be able to react cleanly. Sphinx and human toppled to the floor, human on his back on the ground with the sphinx straddling his chest, clawed fingers reaching for his throat. A quick twist and lift tossed the girl off, and both scrambled to their feet.
Al was in trouble, plain and simple. That skirmish had moved him too close to the wall – he had little maneuvering room and would have nowhere to go if attacked from the right angle. Ari knew this as well, and maneuvered to take advantage of his entrapment.
Al was also tiring rapidly and was wounded – at least one rib and likely more had not survived the last exchange unscathed. Ari was tiring as well, her breath coming in heaves, sweat pouring off her – but the deadly predator’s gaze did not change, nor did the clawed fingers straighten.
Dodging, feinting, Ari kept pressing in on Al, getting closer and closer with each maneuver. Finally, Ari feinted and Al reacted, and she knocked his legs from under him. Leaping, she pinned him before he could roll away, and her teeth reached for his jugular.
Screaming and leaping Daisy closed the distance between the pair, grabbed Ari by collar and belt and heaved her across the floor. Running, jumping, she pinned the hapless sphinx to the floor, hand reaching for her esophagus. With a howl she held the sphinx’s windpipe closed and screamed “YIELD!”
On the third repeat of the "YIELD" scream the madness in Ari’s eyes faded and confusion took its place. Daisy let go, chest heaving from the exertion. Ari looked up “Ms Alexander! What’s going ON?” Her voice, contrite and thoroughly confused told Daisy that the cure had worked, and that the crisis was over.
Daisy climbed off the young woman and offered her hand. Taking Daisy’s hand and struggling to her feet, Ari asked “What happened? Yesterday Al and I had a…fight…and since then that’s pretty-well all I remember.”
“We’re not sure, dear, but thankfully I came in with Al this morning. When we came into the building you attacked him. He’s combat-trained, but while he was trying not to hurt you he let you get in a few good hits on him. I think we need to pick him up.”
“Oh, GOD, I hurt him! I’m so sorry! I don’t understand….”
Al had finally scraped himself off the floor and trying not to breathe too deeply limped over to where the two women were standing. “I think it was something that was in the Halliburton cases that came into the back shop yesterday. One of them had a leaking container in it – which is why it was an emergency to get it under cover. The container had started to leak when we finally got it into containment – and you must have been sensitive to it. I am truly sorry this happened to you.”
“Go home for today and tomorrow too – paid of course. I am going to get AHI environmental in to check the building – and we’ll deal with it from there. Again, I am sincerely sorry.”
Soon enough the problem was straightened out. A confused Ari was taken home by AHI security, and Al and Daisy locked up the building and headed home. Al was lying in the back seat – the broken ribs were not making breathing or anything else easier – and he said “This hurts like hell. How are you feeling?”
Daisy pulled the car over on the quiet lane, put it in park and came around to climb into the back. With her face close to his she repeated “How do I feel?” in a dangerously quiet voice.
“HOW DO I FEEL? HOW THE HELL DO YOU THINK I FEEL YOU GODSDAMNED MORON! YOU DAMN NEAR GOT YOUR THROAT RIPPED OUT AND I HAD TO PLAY “WONDER WOMAN” TO SAVE YOUR SORRY ASS FROM A PSYCHOTIC AMNESIAC SPHINX AND YOU ASK HOW I FEEL?”
“HOW THE HADES SHOULD I FEEL!”
Al had no words. Enraged as she was he was madly, dizzyingly in love with her – all over again. “I love her when she’s mad” held no truer sentiment than at that moment.
She was magnificent. Bruised, clothes torn, smudged with dirt and in general disarray she was still the most beautiful thing he’d ever seen.
She continued - volume lower but thoughts no less intense. “I will TELL you how I feel. I feel like if I have to save your sorry ass from anything ever again I might – just MIGHT not do it. I love you, you silly man, but there are days I ask myself why – and today is one of them.
Let’s go home - I’ll call the vet to come over and shoot you, er bandage those ribs and then we can watch THIS.” With that she held up a tiny cube with a belt clip. It had a lens on one side, and tiny controls.
A Go Pro.
Al had a sinking feeling that he was not going to like the answer to the next question.
“When did you start filming?”
“Right as you walked in the door. I got ten minutes of pure unadulterated Sphinx porn as you and Ari had at each other. I killed it as I went for her – hated to ruin a good scene like that.”
“You are not…”
“Oh, YES, I am. Phix asked me to – right about the time she told me you refused to fire Ari and agreed to this absolutely batshit crazy plan. Why didn’t you tell me that there was another way out of this – one that didn’t involve you risking your life?”
Al sighed, and winced as the ribs creaked. “I didn’t tell you because you would have refused to do this – and Ari deserved to keep a job she did well and her life as she’s building it for herself.”
Daisy nodded. “Fair enough. The next time you think to withhold things like this from me don’t. I will forgive this once – not twice. You saw me in action today – do you really want to see it again?”
Al did – most sincerely. She was MAGNIFICENT. However that was not the answer she wanted, so he meekly said “No, dear. I don’t. Can we go home now?”
“Yes dear.” With that Daisy climbed back behind the wheel and headed for home.
Last edited by Just Old Al on Thu Dec 31, 2015 9:04 am, edited 2 times in total.
"The Empire was founded on cups of tea, mate, and if you think I am going to war without one you are sadly mistaken."
-
Just Old Al
- Posts: 1684
- Joined: Tue Jul 31, 2012 4:43 am
- Location: Wilderness of Massachusetts
- Contact:
Re: Pillsbury + 1 year:
FROM: al@richer-engineering.com
TO: phix@library.org
Subject: Video of the recent conflict:
Before you look at that video and assume that you would be the victor in any conflict that we engage in, let me remind you of a few things.
1. The purpose of this engagement was for me to LOSE. That was preordained to free Ari from the issues she had been put upon by our initial conflict.
2. I was trying as hard as I could not to injure her, while she felt no such stricture against me. This as I am very sure you know puts one at a sincere disadvantage, and explains the broken ribs I suffered from her landing on me.
3. Had the previous strictures not been in place Ari would not have survived the initial engagement as a combatant.
To conclude, don’t even think about it.
Love, Al
P.S.: Hope you’re enjoying the footage.
TO: phix@library.org
Subject: Video of the recent conflict:
Before you look at that video and assume that you would be the victor in any conflict that we engage in, let me remind you of a few things.
1. The purpose of this engagement was for me to LOSE. That was preordained to free Ari from the issues she had been put upon by our initial conflict.
2. I was trying as hard as I could not to injure her, while she felt no such stricture against me. This as I am very sure you know puts one at a sincere disadvantage, and explains the broken ribs I suffered from her landing on me.
3. Had the previous strictures not been in place Ari would not have survived the initial engagement as a combatant.
To conclude, don’t even think about it.
Love, Al
P.S.: Hope you’re enjoying the footage.
"The Empire was founded on cups of tea, mate, and if you think I am going to war without one you are sadly mistaken."
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Sgt. Howard
- Posts: 3338
- Joined: Tue Jul 31, 2012 11:54 pm
- Location: Malott, Washington
Re: Pillsbury + 1 year:
From: phix@library.org
To: al@richer-engineering.com
Subject: RE;Video of recent conflict
There would be no incentive either way.
To: al@richer-engineering.com
Subject: RE;Video of recent conflict
There would be no incentive either way.
Rule 17 of the Bombay Golf Course- "You shall play the ball where the monkey drops it,"
I speak fluent Limrick-
the Old Sgt.
I speak fluent Limrick-
the Old Sgt.
Re: Pillsbury + 1 year:
. . . Remind me to be very careful around sphinxes.
--FreeFlier
Wolf-who-watches wrote:One will remind you. Often.
--FreeFlier
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DinkyInky
- Posts: 2382
- Joined: Tue Jul 31, 2012 9:38 am
- Location: Where there's more than Corn.
- Contact:
Re: Pillsbury + 1 year:
FreeFlier wrote:. . . Remind me to be very careful around sphinxes.
Wolf-who-watches wrote:One will remind you. Often.
--FreeFlier
Safyr wrote:I like this wolf. Sounds very fun.
Yanno how some people have Angels/Devils for a conscience? I have a Dark Elf ShadowKnight and a Half Elf Ranger for mine. The really bad part is when they agree on something.
Aphyon chu kissa whol l'jaed.
--Safyr Drathmir
Aphyon chu kissa whol l'jaed.
--Safyr Drathmir
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jwhouk
- Posts: 6053
- Joined: Wed Aug 01, 2012 7:58 am
- Location: The Valley of the Sun, Arizona
- Contact:
Re: Pillsbury + 1 year:
"Joe? What's this video in your inbox?..."
"Character is what you are in the dark." - D.L. Moody
"You should never run from the voices in your head. That's how you give them power." - Jin
"You should never run from the voices in your head. That's how you give them power." - Jin
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DinkyInky
- Posts: 2382
- Joined: Tue Jul 31, 2012 9:38 am
- Location: Where there's more than Corn.
- Contact:
Re: Pillsbury + 1 year:
Ruh-roh!jwhouk wrote:"Joe? What's this video in your inbox?..."
Yanno how some people have Angels/Devils for a conscience? I have a Dark Elf ShadowKnight and a Half Elf Ranger for mine. The really bad part is when they agree on something.
Aphyon chu kissa whol l'jaed.
--Safyr Drathmir
Aphyon chu kissa whol l'jaed.
--Safyr Drathmir
Re: Pillsbury + 1 year:
(If a few weeks of separation would have taken the edge off and changed Ari's attitude from lust to admiration... they could have given her a long paid vacation. Or a temporary reassignment.)
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Sgt. Howard
- Posts: 3338
- Joined: Tue Jul 31, 2012 11:54 pm
- Location: Malott, Washington
Re: Pillsbury + 1 year:
Warrl wrote:(If a few weeks of separation would have taken the edge off and changed Ari's attitude from lust to admiration... they could have given her a long paid vacation. Or a temporary reassignment.)
Much more fun this way- c'mon, you really didn't expect a SIMPLE solution, did you?
Rule 17 of the Bombay Golf Course- "You shall play the ball where the monkey drops it,"
I speak fluent Limrick-
the Old Sgt.
I speak fluent Limrick-
the Old Sgt.