Just Another Night at the Lab [Closed]

[Kari Muffin]

Shrugging seemed appropriate. If a raccoon wanted to fly or not before him it didn't help. He was still stuck with his stubby little wings and wishful thinking. The raccoon's tail swished at the thought of Ataxia helping with his research. He wouldn't honestly mind.

"You've offered to do quite a bit," he grinned. "You know, I'll take you up on the offer with helping organize my lab before anything else. That and I have to give you the suppressant drug, which I'll deliver before we go out for ice cream."

Rocky suddenly found him holding back a yawn. When had he gotten so tired so quickly? No that wouldn't do at all. He would just drink some coffee when he got home so he could stay up just a bit longer to clean the mess he had left. "And frankly, I don't know if a muse like you could be inspired by someone else's work."

[danishweasel]

"Well, yeah, I guess I have. But I want to see you flying! Though I do suppose you're right. You'll need a nice, organized lab before too much research can be done, or else that might get mixed up with everything else. It wouldn't be good to cause a bigger mess trying to help."

She knew what he meant, but what it came down to was she enjoyed helping people. It gave the warm, fuzzy feeling of curling into a bundle of towels just finished being sun dried except inside. And she knew that it made those she helped feel happy too, so why not? And it would give her a break from her own work. Everything would work out spifftastically.

"Ooh, I'm glad you mentioned it! Nearly forgot about that suppressant drug, though I'd be hard pressed to forget about ice..."

Her jaws stretched open into a yawn soon after Rocky's. Tricky little things, yawns, so contagious, and she still didn't know exactly why...Once she was finished with her break, she would have to look into it. After the fleshrot. And changing society. It would be okay if the yawn research was kept on the back burner.

"Oooy....java would hit the spot right about now, huh? Want some?"

Ataxia padded over to a lower cabinet, pulling out a coffee pot and setting it on top of a stand over one of the Benson burners.

"As for being inspired, that's easy. Flying's something you want more than anything, right? That's enough of a motivation for me."

[Kari Muffin]

"Coffee would be fantastic," Rocky said rubbing his face. Why was he so freaking tired all of a sudden? Had he been running that long without sleep? No, not really. He had his usual six hours of sleep last night. Whatever, coffee would fix it.

"Thank you so much," He said with a smile. "I haven't had anyone offer to help me in a long time. I really appreciate it."

He did. It had been forever since he had a friend, or anyone for that matter, willing to help him with work. Rocky had very few friends actually. He may have been cordial, and he may have been nice to everyone he met, he just was bad at the whole sociable thing.

Rocky tilted his head curiously at the Bunsen burner with the coffee pot on it. A lot of people in Corvistowne did that, but he never really liked the idea of not having a proper place to store kitchen supplies. That was one of the few organization skills he had. That and he didn't like it when he forgot where he put his Bunsen burner that worked.

[danishweasel]

"Ah, coffee. Had to've been a Corvie discovery. A drink that'll keep you going to the early hours of the morning. I always make sure to keep the lab stocked."

She pulled out a bag of generic coffee and filled part of the pot with grounds and the rest with water before placing it back on the stand and lighting the burner.

"Oh, don't mention it. I'm glad to see there are still some friendly faces around Corvistowne. It seems that some people get so into their own work, they forget the folks around them. Sort of a shame, really. But the way I see it is if I help others, maybe they'll help someone else, like a set of dominoes."

Ataxia paused as she watched Rocky's reaction to the coffee pot on the Benson burner and laughed sheepishly.

"Yeah...I don't have much of a kitchen, really, so I use that as a replacement stove. Works well enough."

She walked over to a nearby refrigerator and opened it. Inside was a fifty-fifty split between lab supplies and food items. After nabbing the milk and slipping the door shut with a hind leg, she padded back over and put the milk on the table near the percolating coffee.

"Don't worry. Everything in that fridge is safe."

[Kari Muffin]

"See, I have a proper kitchen because I know if I didn't I would starve myself to death. That and I would misplace my only working burner," Rocky said with a wave of his hand. "I imagine it would be safe. I drink my coffee black anyway."

He was still quite curious about how much of her supplies were in the fridge. It was pretty big and that was a lot of room for supplies, and obviously enough room for food as well. The raccoon's tail swished. "I don't know. Coffee doesn't keep me wired for long, I think I've developed too much of a tolerance for caffeine. I just don't want to end up like my mother and have to drink seven cups of coffee so I can go to bed." He snorted. Coffee was scary powerful when people drank too much of it.

[danishweasel]

"I probably would have a proper kitchen, but...eh, I don't really have the space or the money to have one around. So, I just sorta improvise. I'm not really the best cook anyway, so just the basics are fine by me."

She took the milk back to the fridge and placed it back on the shelf. No reason to have that out, then.

"Same here. The way I work most times, best not to dilute that life-giving coffee. Besides, the bitterness helps to keep the eyelids open."

Ataxia checked on the pot as it started to steam. Color was still a little pale, needed a bit more time. While she waited on the coffee, she nipped out a couple mugs from the lower cabinets and placed them near the burner.

"Yeah, I know the feeling. I need to take a pot in order to keep me going anymore. Thankfully, I don't need any to get to sleep. I'm not that bad yet, but I'm sure if you gave me some time..."

[Kari Muffin]

"The best thing I can cook is a grilled cheese sandwich. Even if I use a cookbook I'm kind of miserable." That was an understatement. He burnt almost everything he tried to make. Coffee and grilled cheese sandwiches were about the only thing that never burnt for him.

"I got my house for pretty cheap. It was supposed to be haunted, and it was also falling to bits when I got it." Rocky said while grinning. It was dirt cheap because of both of that, and thankfully he had been saving money up since he was fourteen. Wanting to get away from his parents had been good for something. "And if I'm desperately strapped for cash I suppose I could see the spare furniture. Though it would have to be to another Corvie, I don't think anyone else would appreciate the wear and tear." The raccoon snorted. He really needed some of that coffee.

[danishweasel]

"Most of my meals come out of a box or a can. Whoever said that cooking was a science never saw a Corvie like me try and cook. Then again, when you have to do everything with paws and teeth, things get a lot more difficult. The whole lack of thumbs thing is sort of a pain, but you deal with what you've got."

Ataxia checked the coffee one more time, making sure to put a towel in her mouth before trying to tip the lid. It was dark enough by now, so she took it off the burner and set it next to a metal stand holding a funnel lined with cheesecloth. After placing a cup under the funnel, she poured the coffee through the filter with a tilt of her head.

"Yeah, my parentals helped me out to get this place. They needed me outta there if they wanted to do their work without mine getting in the way. The person who lived here last was pretty inventive with their remodeling and that's been a big help for me. Coffee's on."

[Kari Muffin]

"You're pretty inventive yourself," Rocky said as he padded over to take his cup of coffee. He knew it was too hot for him to even try to sip it. He didn't feel like burning himself on coffee either.

He blew on it before speaking again. Talking just seemed better than silence. "My mom wanted me to stay with her. However, I'd been saving up for quite sometime. She was sad when I left. I suppose that's why she loves it when I bother her for things. I'm a mommy's boy I suppose." He snorted again. Admitting that out loud was one thing, admitting that out loud with someone else in the room was another. Hopefully Ataxia was a long term friend, he didn't see anything that would break a friendship besides being forgotten.

He doubted that would happen either. He may not be memorable, but Ataxia didn't seem like the one to forget.

[danishweasel]

"Heh, to keep funds enough for research and living, you learn to be inventive as possible. It's also the time you learn that nearly everything has more than one use. Heck, most of the stuff around here other than the lab instruments were built or throw-aways that no one else wanted. Though my dad helped me build the wheelie stairs to get to the higher cabinets."

She emptied out the grounds from the cheesecloth, replaced it, and poured herself a cup of coffee. Not wanting a scorched tongue, she waited on the java, as tempting as it was.

"Nothing wrong with being a mommy's boy. My parentals and I, we sort of drifted apart after a while. I'm still not sure myself as to whether they really wanted kids or not. Their priority was their research and I usually got in the way of things. They trained me for my own research, though. Prepped me up with my own lab and equipment and sent me on my way. Still, I can't thank 'em enough for all the practice they gave me."

It was strange talking about her family. She hadn't really thought about them for the longest while or seen them, even though they lived in the same town. All in all, it was probably better that way. The last time they had been around each other, some pretty venomous things were said, and she would rather not have to go through another one of those conversations with them.