Just Another Night at the Lab [Closed]

[danishweasel]

"Ah, no problem. Can't really say I know the neighbors too well, though. Probably should fix that. All work and no play...though when work is the play...Anyway, I doubt many people would like death by accidental exposure. Besides, if I was to discover a new virus, then make an oops and let it loose and it kills everyone, some other person'll get all the credit for my work! And that would just be a waste..."

Ataxia's ears perked up as she finally reeled her mind back in and reminded herself why she had the closet door open.

"Yes, hydrochloric acid. Right up! Should have some in there...It's kind of a wreck. Neatness isn't one of my strong points. Just relax here for a bit, make yourself at home, and I'll nip up some of that acid for ya."

Ataxia walked into the closet, pawed the door shut, and started her descent down into the lab proper. In her rush, however, the descent went a little too quickly, resulting in a 'crash' when she hit the bottom. Gravity, what a pain.

Apart from the upper 'lab,' there was a separate room. From the looks of it, it seemed to be where Ataxia rested when she wasn't at work. There was a well-worn mattress on the floor covered with half-stuffed pillows; the other half of the stuffing had slowly fallen out through the holes in the fabric. Other than that, there was a typewriter on the floor next to the mattress, modified slightly so that the buttons were bigger. There seemed to be a piece of paper still in the machine.

[Kari Muffin]

Not getting credit for killing off a town? Oh that was a fantastic thought. At least Rocky's research wasn't likely to kill a whole town. Unless he made some large creature fly, but that would be a waste of his research.

"Neighbors aren't that friendly in the first place. One tried to take my head off once just because I rang the bell." He shook his head. "That's why I tried your house instead."

He watched her curiously as she disappeared through her "walk in closet." He honestly didn't want to know if it was more than that, and he didn't particularly care to find out. She had every reason to be private. He respected that. As for messy? Honestly she was the cleanest he had ever seen. His house was a mess, and he swore that sentient things were growing in some odd places. One day he would be able to get a maid who wouldn't run away screaming.

The raccoon waited quietly studying the furniture and the surroundings. She actually had one of the better managed houses in Corvistowne.

[danishweasel]

"That's a shame. Probably all too caught up in their research. Still, no reason to make a fuss over a visitor, 'specially if he needs a hand with some supplies."

She had hoped that hurrying down, letting the pulley go and stopping at the right moment, would lead to the fastest and therefore, most efficient descent. That was when she realized that her reflexes were not the best in all of Corvistowne. Thankfully, the bottom of the pulley shaft was padded for such reasons. Maybe a few bruises and a few moments of her life flashing before her eyes, but nothing terminal.

Shaking the daze away, Ataxia jumped to her feet and started looking around in drawers and on the tables for the necessary acid. Luckily, Rocky didn't have to see the destruction caused by Hurricane Vortex. Glass shards were everywhere as well as some spills that, given her line of work, were probably not safe for any sort of contact. All she could do was sigh, knowing what she'd have to do later.

For precaution's sake, she slipped on thick leather paw covers to avoid any glass that she might come across. A simple cut could mean getting a rather nasty disease. While she had built up at least partial immunity to most of the specimens she worked with, best not to take a chance.

"Now, if I were a little vial of hydrochloric acid...where would I be...?"

After rummaging through a few more drawers, she finally found the clear glass vial with the letters: HCl.

"There you are, you rascally little aqueous solution, you!"

She gripped the vial gently, not wanting to accidentally pull the top off and get a refreshing swig of HCl. After another quick wash-and-shake in the detox shower, Ataxia trotted back to the pulley elevator and lifted herself back up, looking as proud as a pooch who just retrieved a stick after swimming through a lake wearing leather gloves. She set it down by Rocky next to the other two items.

"So, what do you need all this for? Got any plans for it?"

[Kari Muffin]

Rocky blinked at her quick return. He blinked a few more extra times when she asked him the question after handing him the solution. Right, he hadn't bothered to tell her anything about his current project. It wouldn't hurt though.

"The lye is for the mess I made with my last experiment. I have horrible stains on my work table that keep interfering with the chemicals I've been testing. Lye is the only basic substance that I can think of that will neutralize the mess." He shrugged. "The acid is for a separate experiment that needs a bit of purifying. The medical thread is for attaching wings to someone who wants them. I don't ask questions when they agree to subject themselves to my crazy."

It was a rare occasions that someone was willing to partake in his studies, even if he offered to pay them. He could only use stray animals for so long before he needed to apply his research to a subject with a different physiology. "I'm not looking forward to the last project. I don't think they know what they're getting themselves into."

[The Jenn]

DanishWeasel and Kari both receive 1 token each, to be redeemed in Ashwin's Shoppe. This will automatically be added to your recorded totals in the shoppe. Congratulations, and keep up the good RP!

[danishweasel]

"Wings, huh? Testing some prototype wings? Oooh, what kinds of materials did you use?"

Her tail wagged back and forth, smacking into the edge of one of the tables with each swing. Still, she didn't seem to mind or even notice for that matter as she rattled off her questions. What a concept! Though the time and effort it would take to attach a pair of wings, making it so that the nerves and muscles connected and could be controlled by the test subject, adjusting the structure to connect the bones in the wings onto the skeletal structure...just that would make the standard Corvie's head spin, not to mention possibly making a pair of wings. Unless he happened to go grave-diving...but she doubted that someone like Rocky would go there to get his...supplies.

"Who wouldn't want to take the risk? Sounds exciting! Though I can sort of see why you're low on the supplies. A study like that must be super draining. Especially if you don't have some money-making research on the side. If I might ask, and this is sort of a personal question, so I won't mind if you tell me to stuff it and mind my own business...Why do you wanna fly so bad?"

[Kari Muffin]

"Oh, well. It depends. The wings on my back came from a simple bird. Usually I take animal parts and conjoin them, this project however is slightly different. I'm actually using a cadaver that's been donated." He's wings twitched at the thought. The Corvistowneian that had given the body to him was less than respectable. Rocky, however, wasn't one to argue. Beggars can't be choosers.

"Draining is an understatement. I'm going to have to borrow money from my mother if things get any worse." He sighed, and then blinked at the other part of the question. Not many people had asked him why. She was the first in a long time. "My father could fly. I guess I always wanted to fly like her." He shrugged. He never did like his father, and she never did like him.

"It's funny. No one in Corvistowne seems to ask why we study what we study. Is there a story behind your research?" He couldn't help but wonder now that Ataxia brought it up.

[danishweasel]

"Ah, so you do use cadavers. They'd prolly have to be pretty fresh to avoid too much rot. Or else you'd have to go in and replace what couldn't be used and that would just be a mess...that and the chances of the test subject's immune system rejecting the parts. Pretty tricky business there, 'specially with the shifty guys who deal in that line of work, selling bodies. Shiiiifty..."

That was part of the reason she stuck with banders. They were alive and intelligent enough for her purposes. She could see what reactions it would have on a living thing, which most of her diseases required for testing. That and the cadaver-carters were just...blech.

"Though that idea with conjoining animal parts is pretty spifftastic. I'm not up on anatomy as much, but just the sound of that seems pretty complicated."

She listened intently as Rocky gave his reasoning for his research. Seemed pretty reasonable. If you lived and worked around someone who was able to fly, you'd start wanting to do that too. That and there wasn't much to flying that seemed a negative. Maybe the wings might get in the way sometimes, but the pluses definitely outweighed the negatives in her mind.

"Well, I know that our kind is pretty curious. We like to know how things tick, how they work. Still, there's gotta be a driving factor to what we do, y'know? And mine, well...It's kinda a long story."

[Kari Muffin]

"Shifty is an understatement," Rocky snorted. "As for rejection, I've come up with a pretty good formula that prevents it in most subjects. Then again, I have yet to apply it to someone who isn't a bander or small woodland creature. Hopefully I won't have to test it."

That left her story comment. Obviously if she said said it was a long story, it probably was. Ataxia didn't seem like the type to exaggerate to any degree even if she was excitable. Then again, who wasn't at least a little bouncey in Corvistowne. "I'm no tin a hurry, but I certainly won't pressure you into telling me. Stories are sometimes a lot more heartbreaking even more than we realize."

For Rocky that was a pretty profound thing to say, especially since it had nothing to do with flight. Sometimes he actually had his head on straight. "Thank you very much for the supplies. I'll pay you back as soon as I can."

[danishweasel]

"Nifty! That must've taken a deal of research to do. Immune systems are stubborn, lemme tell ya. Persistent as the devil. I might have to ask you for some of that solution. Of course, I'm perfectly willing to trade any sort of knowledge I might have. Though I'm not sure if anything I've studied would help you with flight..."

At the mention of her story and not having to tell, she shook her head.

"No, it wouldn't be right to ask you something so close and personal and not share myself."

She took a breath, looking considerably less energetic, almost staid in a way.

"When I was young, just a pup really, a close friend of mine died horribly from disease...After that, I promised her that I would cure everything that ails this world."

A little wag returned to tail and she pulled up her armbands.

"And so that's what I've been working on! Oh, and don't you worry about paying me back and all that. Think of it as a gift!"