Oops! My Bad. (Choucho)

[Lauryn de Vampyre]

Jeremiah was no stranger to the drink, but tonight he had been just a little too friendly. Knocking back glass after glass and shot after shot may not have been such a good idea, but since it was that cute little Ferret that had been buying all the liquor, who was he to refuse?

Sadly, the Ferret had been called away and Jeremiah had been forced to finish his last drink alone. He'd blown a kiss goodbye to the bartender and slowly and unsteadily made his way back home. The streets were far from crowded and the Mouse spoke to himself as he walked, just to hear the sound of his own voice echoing back at him.

Less than a half an hour later Jeremiah was climbing the first flight of steps that led up to his apartment when he began to feel the world shifting below his feet. Well, that wasn't right! His brows furrowed together in confusion until he finally realized it was his vision and balance that were swimming, not the world. He rested the palm of his small paw against the wall to steady himself and closed his eyes - which turned out to be a mistake.

Jeremiah could feel his stomach rumbling and threatening to spill its contents out and made a mad dash for his door. Though he should have been surprised to find his door unlocked, the Mouse had just made it past the threshold when he vomited all over the carpet.

A few heaves later, he wiped the back of his paw over his mouth and grimaced at the foul acid taste leftover.

"Well, shit," he said, looking at the mess. "Thish ish gunna be a bitch to clean up!" That's what he got for having a good time.

It was then that Jeremiah heard an unfamiliar noise in the room and looked around. His eyes grew wide in his head as he stared into the face of a very unfamiliar Heron who seemed to be as surprised to see him.

"What the Suits are you doin' in my apartment?" he demanded, not really noticing his words slurring together. He may be little, but he was fierce!

[Chou]

Ercole picked up the beaker filled with blue liquid (contents not labeled) with his right foot and poured two drops into a second beaker with clear contents (again, not labeled). He found it necessary to work while balancing on only one of his giant feet, it makes him feel less vulnerable (from what? No one knows..). He grabbed yet another container, this one filled with green liquid and dropped exactly five drops down his large beak. His pupils dialated. He also felt it necessary to only work while being under the influence of the very chemicals he was creating. His creations were intoxicating and addictive..for now. For you see, he was in the process of trying to perfect his chemicals to give them a knock-out effect.

Suddenly, he heard his apartment door open and close.

"Oh God, they're here. I just- I need to- They're coming to get me! They'll never take me al- They'll never get my recipes!" Ercole screeched as he frantically tried to clear his table. In his mind he appeared to be moving rather quickly but to an observer he was moving at a snail's speed, it was comical really, an effect that happened often after just ingesting his chemicals.

He ran (crawled) to his living room. There was a blurry, dark figure in the doorway. He could smell the stench of newly expelled vomit. He reached for a container of pink liquid and took a swig. "If..if you think you can just w- walk in here and take what's mine..then you can go to hell" Ercole said as he swung his head toward the figure to get a closer look, "I'll never tell you anything!"

The blurred figure asked him what he was doing in his apartment.

"Y-your apartment?" Ercole studied the area and turned on a light. The blurred, dark figure became a blurred mouse. "I could 'ave swo-..no, this can't b-be my..did I take a wrong turn? If I could j-just see clearly.." He turned completely around and spotted his jumbled work space filled with various colored containers and pipes. "NO. You..you must be after my secrets! You can't have them, you-you're tricks might work on others..but AHA, NOT ME..", he narrowed his eyes and began to hop around excitedly. "Try- you..try anything funny, and I'll mop up that v-vomit with your carcass", his eyes dialated even more, the nervous tick in his neck became more evident, and he prepared to strike.

[Lauryn de Vampyre]

Miah could do nothing but stare at the Avian with a questioning look on his face. Who was coming to get the Corvie? Thinking there must be the police behind him, the Mouse turned around and looked down the empty hallway. Nope, just him. The Torque went back to watching this odd Card walk and hustle around his apartment, gathering things up.

"Hey, you put tha' down! Those are my things,... you!" Miah shouted and pointed. He ducked backwards as the Bird's head almost smashed into his own. He watched the confusion flick over the other's face as he looked about the place, finally realizing he was in the wrong residence. About to turn a smug smile to the man, he looked past the red and black bird and finally took notice of all the items littering the room. Beakers, cups, viles, odd liquids, papers strewn all over the place.

"Hey, hey! HEY!" he shouted to get the Corvie's attention. "Loo-Look a' wha' you did to my living room!" he angrily -and drunkenly- shouted. "Issss gunna take forever to clean this place up..." Poor Miah. He couldn't even see that he was most certainly NOT in his own apartment. Poor Ercole for that matter.

His big mouse ear perked forward at the mention of secrets. Secrets were an oily, silky and pleasurable thing. Miah loved secrets. He watched the stranger bouncing on his small birdy legs and cocked his head to one side. While considering the delicious prospect of secrets, the Mouse had a valued moment of clarity slip over him. He could see, finally, that this room was indeed not his and he had mistakenly barged into someone else's residents. He looked down at the pile of vomit on someone else's carpet. If he could have blushed through his purple and black fur, he would have.

All thoughts of secrets forgotten, Jeremiah looked up at the Avian and sadly frown. "Oh,...oh, Suits! I'm ssssooo ssorry. I though' this was my room. I-.. I mus' be down the hall..." Again, he looked at the throw up at his feet.

"Do you 'ave somethin' I could clean tha' up with?" he slurred.

[Chou]

The heron froze in place.

"This apart- this apartment is mine?" he asked still motionless, "Hmm..I need to change those drapes, green just simply does not suit me."

Ercole released the weight from one of his legs and hopped onto the other. "Something to clean that up?" He looked towards the mouse then down at the vomit that covered his main entryway, "oh ye-yes...here" he handed the tiny critter a roll of paper towels and then took yet another swig from a random vial hidden behind a vase.

"S-so, uhhh...what exactly are ya doing in my apartment, uhhh.." He looked blankly at the mouse, obviously unaware of his name and lightly jabbed him with his beak. "N-not that it mattered m-much, it would probably be made up..th-this mouse is probably from the F-f-f-f-ffforce. How currr-ious it is that he "stumbled" upon my apart-apartment WHILE I was brewing poisons.." Ercole mumbled on accident. He was unaware that he had spewed out those last details out loud. He anxiously ran to the other side of the room and waited for the mouse to answer him.

[Lauryn de Vampyre]

He watched confusion flash over the Heron's face. Didn't he know this was his apartment? And I thought I was drunk! he thought to himself.

Jeremiah stepped forward to grab the paper towels and tripped over his own feet. It took a few tries but the drunken Mouse finally found his footing and started to mop up his disgusting mess. He felt his gorge rise once he picked up the sogging paper towels and tried, very hard, not to throw up again.

"I uh, didn't act'ally mean t'be in your 'partment. I was feeling sick," he explained, motioning to his vomit, "and I, uh, went through the door I thought was mine." He picked up the wads of now gross paper towels and throwing them away in the nearest trash bin. That was the best cleanup job he could do at the moment. His Torque bindings didn't exactly make scrubbing the floors an easy task. It hurt every time he flexed his muscles against his arm cuffs.

One of Miah's brows lifted as he listened to the Corvie talk to himself.

"I'm most certainly NOT part of the police, Mister. I already dun told ya, I didn' mean t'come into your apartment. I though' it was mine. Why the hell d'you keep your door unlocked anyways? Anyone could juss walk right in!" Just like he did.

Both ears perked forward in curiosity. "Poisons? What kind of poisons are you making?" Jeremiah inched closer to the hopping Avian.

[Chou]

The heron hopped over to the table that was positioned up against the wall that divided the living room and the kitchen and climbed on top of the chair that was neatly tucked underneath. He couldn't stop his eyes from moving, and unfortunately the more he anxiously looked around the more his neck twitch would spasm. Which, to any onlooker would be quite the sight. He was especially anxious in the presence of another. He could never control himself enough to sit still for long periods of time. This typically would cause very short encounters with other citizens that were not from Corvistowne and awkward conversations that concluded with whispers of words like "freak", "weirdo", and "psycho".

Ercole's eyes stopped roaming when the mouse finished speaking and transfixed on the rodent. His eyes were just now beginning to focus and he could finally clearly see the mouse. He noticed the shackles on his hands, the vibrant purple coloring of his skin. He very rarely took the time to study other beings. It's not what he's interested in. If it's not liquid, it doesn't matter much, but there was something about this mouse. "Wha-WHAT?! H-how did you know wh-what I was.." He swung his long neck over to the rodent's head and pecked it. "A-are you, c-can you read mu-minds?" The heron seized all movements and huddled underneath the table, knocking the chair over in the process. The chair rolled towards the door. Smoke started to faintly leave Ercole's nostrils. An effect that displayed itself when the heron felt extremely threatened. The large bird struggled to stay under the table, as it was no easy task for something as large and clumsy as Ercole. He soon gave up and rested his neck on the floor in such a way that he could still take cover and clearly see the mouse. He knew he wasn't much of a fighter, and his poisons were a laughing matter - he was vulnerable and he knew it. "P-poisons? Oh..r-right. I'd be c-careful if I were you..I'm a Mmmm-master at brewing knock out p..." Ercole blacked out before he could even finish the lie.

[Lauryn de Vampyre]

Miah watched, astonished, as the Heron managed to hop up on a chair. For someone as intoxicated as himself, he had an amazing knack for balance! He nearly fell over backwards craning his neck in order to keep looking at him.

It took a few seconds to understand the daft man hadn't realized he had spoken aloud! Jeremiah opened his mouth to reply but felt Ercole's sharp beak pecking the top of his head. "Oiy, stoppit!" he shouted, rubbing the spot with a small paw.

"Of course I can't read mind!" he exclaimed, feeling more and more sober by the minute. "You mumbled to yourself. Said you was brewing poisons. I heard you."

All of a sudden the bird wasn't above him anymore, but hiding underneath the table.

.....

Crouching down he peeked at the most cracked-out Card he had ever met. Miah was beginning to like him.

"Why are you hiding?" he asked, noticing the faint tendrils of smoke emanating from Ercole's nares. Lord, he hope the guy wasn't going to combust right in front of him! How on earth would he explain that to the Police Force! The Bird really could freak out then.

It was almost pitiful, the way the Heron's head and neck lay on the ground looking up at him (and for someone as small as a Mouse, that was something). And before Ercole had time to finish his threat, the poor thing had actually passed out.

"Master my ass..." Miah mumbled, activating his Moderate Magical Ability and grabbing hold of the Heron under the wings and hauling him out from underneath the table. He winced in pain as the cuffs dug into his muscles but paid it as little mind as he could. The Avian was so damn big, and a heavy brute at that. It took quite a few minutes and resting breaks before Miah managed to get the man over to the disheveled couch.

Jeremiah looked at all the papers and bottles, hands on his hips and chewing his lower lip. Would the Card be mad at him if he moved all that stuff out of the way? Looking around the apartment again, Miah doubted he would even notice. The place wasn't exactly neat or tidy now was it?

He proceeded to pile all the papers from the couch into neat stacks on the floor and set the empty, full and semi-full containers of liquid near the stack until there was enough room on the couch for an unconscious figure and heaved Ercole onto it.

Miah rubbed his eyes and ran a paw through his long, black main. Suits, but he was getting tired! He looked at the sleeping form of Ercole and wondered if he should just leave. He craved his own bed something dreadful but what if the guy had overdosed on his own stuff? He couldn't just leave him here to die, could he?

Resigned, Miah grabbed a sheet of paper off the top of one of the stacks and started waving it over Ercole's face.

"C'mon now, dude. Y'gotta wake up. I'm getting tired and I don't want to have to babysit your ass for much longer."

He yawned, head and arm drooping a little bit.

[Chou]

Ercole drowsily opened his left eye…then his right. He was immediately confronted by a waving parchment in front of his face. “Ahhhhhhhhh!” the bird screamed and leaped from the couch. The avian must have cleared 10 feet in that single leap. His head was spinning. It might have been all of the various chemicals he had mixing around in his stomach, but as long as the pain was scientifically related…he liked it. Once the heron’s eyes were able to focus, he noticed that the piece of paper was connected to a tiny little arm.

The Corvie seemed to have sobered up considerably from his involuntary nap. The bird almost transformed every aspect of himself while sober. He spoke differently, held himself differently (the nervous tick seemed to mysteriously cease) and most importantly was able to throughly analyze anything to his liking down to the very last delectable detail. But, Ercole preferred to spend his time drinking away the logic stored in his mind, the madness seemed to suit his needs moreover.

He looked towards the rodent with a thirst for knowledge. The dark nature and purple pigment of his markings as well as the bindings on his arms told of his origin. His eyes grazed over the spot just beyond the threshold of his apartment once more at the grimy spot the strangers vomit had occupied. Ercole nodded in remembrance of a long night filled with drink that he experienced not too long ago. The outcome was similar. Nevertheless, he needed to discover the motive of this mouse. “C-cause and effect, you m-must have a hypothesis before you can come t-to the c-conclusion,” the bird mumbled to himself.

“A-all politeness aside dear mouse, but who the s-suits are you…and more importantly w-why are you flourishing o-one of my most p-prized recipes about my face? I-if that’s w-what you’re here for…take it!” Ercole said shooing the mouse. “I-I have a hard t-time believing you’d b-be able to read the scratch anyways. I-if that is not your i-intention, p-please don't hesitate t-to prove me inaccurate.”

[Lauryn de Vampyre]

He'd been happy to see the Heron finally waking up, but then he was screamed at! Heat leaping into his throat it was all he could do not to scream as well. Miah concentrated on his breathing to slow his heart rate while Ercole slowly came to grips with reality again.

The Mouse frowned. Something about the Card seemed... different, but what was it? "What was that?" he asked after the Avian had mumbled something unintelligible.

Well, wow. He was forming coherent sentences and thought patterns now! Could it be the Bird was sobered up now as well?

Jeremiah was about to answer the first question when the second immediately followed. He stopped, looked at the piece of parchment in his hand and raised one eyebrow. That was actually writing? He'd just thought it was drunken scribbles that meant nothing whatsoever.

Miah sighed tiredly and set the piece of paper down on the coffee table. "Look, I don't want none of your papers dude. I was only waving it around to give your face some air when you passed out. I was doing you a favor," he explained, stressing the last word. "I'm not going to rob you."

He looked around the apartment. What the Suits would he want to steal from this place anyway? He guessed what looked like trash was this man's treasure.

"The name's Jeremiah, but you can call me Miah. Everyone does," he introduced himself. "I'm sorry I came barging in your apartment like that but I have been drinking a lot tonight..." He would still be slurring his words if the whole ordeal hadn't sobered him up some. As it was, the Mouse was still feeling a nice buzz but was no longer drunk off his tiny ass.