A Cloudy, Non-Glowing Day [End]

[Momo]

“Argh, this isn’t right at all!” The little chipmunk murmured miserably to herself. It seemed that no matter how much luminol a mouse swallowed, it wouldn’t display chemiluminescence – that is, no light was emitted from the poor little thing’s stomach. Instead it began seizing violently and foaming at the mouth, probably from acute hydrazine poisoning. With a tired sigh, she methodically euthanized the tiny little rodent.

Wendy was becoming increasingly more frustrated with each failure. Mistake after mistake after mistake, and the repetitiveness of it made her want to scream, stomp her feet, and give up all together. She did the two former very often, but never the last. She was a Corvie after all; it was a breed too stubborn to quit, even in the face of defeat.

She dumped the now-still body of the mouse into a container nearby. She supposed an autopsy was in order, but the Club had next to no interest in cutting it up. It was obvious that the problem lay in the ratio between the luminol and the oxidizing agent: she speculated too much of the former had been present in the formula.

The chipmunk looked around her neat and tidy laboratory that made up the basement of her apartment. Crates of mice were squished in a corner, while the majority of the space was taken up by various lab equipment, a desk completely covered by stacks of paper, and a pile of miscellaneous glow sticks, fluorescent minerals, and a net full of firefly larvae. Usually she loved the space, but at the moment she was feeling oddly claustrophobic. Maybe she’d go get some air for a while.

Forcing herself to smile, Wendy padded up the stairs and into her tiny flat, her eyes immediately drawn to the door. She was feeling so restless; a change of scenery would definitely do her good. How long had she been working down there? Two days straight? She missed the sunlight.

And oh, what a beautiful day it…wasn’t. How disappointing! Still, cloudy days could be fun too – she would just need to work harder to enjoy it. She took a seat on a bench nearby to watch as the sun bravely peeked out from the rapidly darkening storm clouds

[Vyn]

Hatter had been fixated on his work as of late.

He'd figured out one of the kinks in his animation spells and had successfully managed to have one of his clockworks speak... and then it had stopped. Hatter was frustrated beyond belief. There was absolutely no explanation for why the spell hadn't held up. Except, maybe for size. Or a proper vocal structure?

His obsession with fixing the problem became so that, after a great deal of time, he found himself being lured out of his basement by Peaches many days later only to be stuffed into Loreta's bed'n'breakfast with the demands that he eat, sleep, and stay the hell out of his lab until he'd repeated the process a few times. Before he could even plan to be sneaky, that blasted son of his had overheard and taken the matter's into his own talons: he'd personally keep 'dear old pops' out of the lab.

That boy terrified him.

So there he was, recently rested and quite full, and in the pursuit of a long walk and some tea. "I can't believe you let me miss tea time," the two-toned Corvie shook his head and glanced down at the mechanical Mome that was chasing eagerly after him, chirping in a tone that could only be apologetic. "Well, next time, we'll just have to set some proper timers so it doesn't happen again." Ooo, a clock... He could install a proper clock on Doorie and...

He turned around, almost headed for home, when Doorie abruptly latched onto his ankle and began to keen. ...Oh yeah, not going home. Blast it!

"Then I suppose I ought to find someone to have tea with," he sulked and reached down to pluck the Mome off of his foot. Finding someone would be painfully easy, especially after Doorie's ear-splitting outburst.

[Momo]

Wendy turned her head upwards, her face trying to take in as much sunshine as they could before the clouds completely took over the sky. These endless rainy days were beginning to depress her. It wasn’t a coincidence she worked with light; she used to be terrified of the dark as a child and even now she withered under persistent gloom. And it definitely didn’t help that her scientific breakthroughs, small as they often were, had grinded to a halt.

“I’m just having an off week, that’s all,” she whispered in a halfhearted attempt at reassuring herself. She glanced next to the bench, where a few dandelions struggled to grow in the cracks of the narrow sidewalk. “Plus, all this rain is helping something.” The chipmunk tried to forget that it was possible for flowers to drown from over-watering.

Actually, the only real plus side to this terrible weather was the stillness that blanketed the streets. Wendy herself loved company and was quick to laugh, but every so often she got so nervous that a little peace and quiet did her good, although it was a bit unnerving sitting here utterly alone. Usually that amount of solitude could only be found in her laboratory, and even then the fireflies made the most peculiar buzzing sound.

All of a sudden, whatever serenity she had managed to achieve was ripped away as a terrible, mechanical scream echoed off the concrete buildings that made up Corvistowne. She had never heard anything like it, and her little heart went pitter-patter against her ribs so fast she thought would burst. Taking a few deep breaths, she turned her head to see what was coming around the bend.

Oh…was that the scary monster? It was actually quite small, but she couldn’t guess what it was, except that it appeared to be half animal, half machine. That would explain the horrible noise it made. Who would ever want something like that?

Oh.

Well, this was turning out to be a very odd day, to say the least. Wendy, swallowing her anxiety and fear, walked towards the strangely dressed human, a timid smile on her face.

“Um, hi. I’m so sorry to bother you, but is your…pet – is it okay?” She asked the man, tipping her head so she could better see his face. His eyes were two different colors, what was the chance of that?

“I mean, I’ve never seen one of these things before, so I just wanted to make sure they didn’t make that kind of noise all the time…” She was aware that she was beginning to babble, and laughed tensely.

[Vyn]

Hatter spun as the feminine voice piped up behind him and found himself staring down at a chipmunk of his region. Cute girl, and he did like black and yellow.

"G'day!" He chimed. Company had found him after all~ "And Doorie is quite alright, he was just reminding me that I was out for tea~" His voice lilted in a sing song manner as he sat the mechanical Mome down once again so that he could check his pocket watch and verify, once again, that it was indeed tea time. "Speaking of, I'm Hatter," the Joker swept off his hat in a dramatic way that made it hard to tell if he was joking or serious and grinned fondly at the new woman. "And I believe it'd be a great pleasure to me if you'd join me for tea?"

Flipping his hat back onto his head, Hatter grinned and waited for the chipmunk's response. He really did love company with tea...


Doorie, meanwhile, remained completely non-pulsed by the entire situation. Hatter was typically like this and, so long as he stayed in pursuit of the tea drink, Doorie would just follow along loyally.

[Momo]

Wendy felt her tense muscles relax ever so slightly. It seemed that this stranger – and if first impressions were correct, he was very strange – was at least polite, and wasn’t it nice to happen upon a friendly face? Everyone was so isolated in Corvistowne, too involved in his or her experiments to socialize. It was a welcome change of pace to meet someone not rushing off to a lab or a library to do some research.

“Oh, that's good!” She chirped, looking at the creature. It looked a little more pet-like now that it had a name. “It’s nice to meet you, Hatter.” If she found the name odd, she didn’t show it; the only change in her expression was her growing, more natural smile, although her amber eyes still retained a worried tint. “I’m Wendy,” she added a little quieter. When was the last time she introduced herself to someone? She really did need to get out more…

Eh? Tea? Wendy blinked, startled by the sudden invitation. On the one hand, he seemed kind and harmless, and what would be better to chase away the rainclouds than making a new friend? Of course, he could end up being a sociopath and slaughter her, or poison her with the Earl grey.

No. That was stupid. Geez, she was really losing it. If she didn’t accept she’d probably go off the deep end completely. “Um, sure,” she managed to squeak. That didn’t sound very enthusiastic – try harder. “Yes, okay! That sounds like fun.” Wendy added a little louder, making herself smile wider.

[Vyn]

"It's a pleasure, Wendy. Sorry to startle you like that~." The Joker grinned warmly, eyes bright as he watched her tension ease up a bit. Poor girl, Doorie's noises could be a bit unusual... That was part of the reason he was intrigued by including speech but.. oh, oh yes, he was talking to someone.

The Hatter waited for a moment, watching the decision churn in her head -- she had such a sweet, expressive face~ -- until she finally settled on accepting his offer, and with a cheerful smile to top it off. He liked her already. She seemed a bit shy, or maybe just a little reclusive?, but she was trying quite hard to cheerful and pleasant.

"Wonderful, wonderful! It's been such a long time since I've got to have tea with a stranger! It's the best way to make new friends. Follow me, dear, I know a lovely place that sells the best teas in all of Corvistowne." He laughed, casting her a mischievous smile. "I'd know, I'm endorsing it!" As Hatter started off in the direction of the tea shoppe, Doorie chirped and whirred and scampered off after him while Hatter called over his shoulder to Wendy, "So, tell me about yourself! What's your Science?"

[Momo]

Wendy shook her head earnestly. “Oh, no, don’t worry at all; I’m easily spooked, it’s not you’re fault.” She explained with a little self-conscious laugh. “It’s, um, very…” Cute? Liar, liar, pants on fire. “Interesting. I don’t think I’ve ever seen anything like…him?” She guessed, doing her best to ignore her lingering discomfort.

Dimples appeared on her cheeks. He looked happy that she had said yes, and so she was happy. In fact, it was just like a little bit of sunshine had emerged from the clouds, and how much less on edge that made her! Sometimes she was still afraid of shadows, but for now she was safe.

“Okay! Lead the way,” she replied genially before obediently following in his tracks. She giggled at what an odd troupe they must’ve made: the tall and eccentrically dressed human and his mechanical pet, with a plump chipmunk trotting in their wake. “Well, I can’t wait to try it then,” Wendy said happily. She felt like she could trust the man’s judgment concerning caffeinated beverages.

She didn’t like talking about herself...she was just so boring. Still, he was being so nice to her it was really the least she could do. “I like making things glow,” she explained before blushing. “I mean, bioluminescence and chemiluminescence in particular.” It was important she didn’t start babbling about the fireflies in her basement or her fascination with moonlight.

“What about you? What do you do?” She asked meekly, glancing again at the creature at his side. Did he really make that? Create life?

[Vyn]

Hatter chuckled a little as she explained herself. Doorie was startling, especially if she'd never seen anything like him before and was easily spooked. "Yes~ Him. Or, well, technically it is an it... as it can't breed, but I call it a 'Him' because I found it more endearing." Which it was.

The thought of the tea to come made Hatter quite happy. He would've typically prepared the brews himself, but there was no helping it this time: he wasn't allowed back into his home, or his lab, until he was 'rested' and so he would have to rely on others to make his tea for him.

"O! Bioluminescence! Very interesting! Have you had much success?" Hatter had always been intrigued by glowing things, especially in mechanics, but naturally glowing things were also intriguing... Even more so if they shouldn't glow. ...Perhaps Wendy would get along with Ophe? She liked mixing things that shouldn't go together. He'd have to remember to talk to her about that, Ophe could be able to help... but she was asking about his Science and glancing at Doorie which were two very irresistible things for Hatter to talk about.

Abruptly the human twisted around, walking backwards so that he could talk and gesture as he wanted with the chipmunk that was keeping him company.

"Mechanics," he chirped happily, "living mechanics! I've found Artificial Limbs to be the top of the market, there. People would pay a great deal for a mechanical limb that works smoothly with one's nerves and tissues considering how uncomfortable some mechanical limbs can be." The man nodded sagely for a moment, his thoughts wandering briefly to Loreta. "However! my personal pursuit is what you see here with us: Doorie. Life. Clockwork Mechanics capable of Life, of genuine people personalities, everything!" He didn't usually blurt all that out on the first meet-n-greet sort of thing but really it was so close he could almost taste it! How could he not think about it right now?

[Momo]

“Oh, I see,” she said with a nod. “Yes, that sounds a lot better than calling him a thing.” Even the fireflies were given genders in her lab, although she didn’t know how to differentiate males from females yet. Something to do with the patterns of their flashes…

“Um, a little,” Wendy began lamely. “I’m able to make all sorts of insects illuminate, like beetles and butterflies,” she explained, thinking of the monarchs in her bedroom that glowed green at night. “It’s not very difficult with little things like that, you just need to start injecting them with certain enzymes when they’re in the larvae stage. But now I’ve moved on to mice, and so far that hasn’t been going too well…” She trailed off with a despondent little sigh. “I hope that I’ll figure out what keeps going wrong soon,” the chipmunk finished with a weak smile.

She hurried her pace to keep up with Hatter, who surprised her by spinning on his heels to face her, while continuing to step lively. His barrage of information was engrossing, although she couldn’t imagine the use of a mechanical limb. Still, the idea of metal and flesh working symbiotically was intriguing. And to create actual life from iron and steel! It was beyond anything Wendy had ever seen or even dreamt about. She stopped dead in her tracks, her face stuck between awe, fear, and excitement.

“…Life? With actual emotions? How? How is that possible…?” She questioned, looking at Doorie in frank astonishment. The creature definitely appeared to have feelings, and was at least as sentient as the mice she experimented on, maybe even more so. It struck her that the idea was similar to some sort of deus ex machina but Hatter probably wanted something more organic than machine. “Can he understand us?” She asked curiously, more than a little dazed. The chipmunk knew that there were many scientists in Corvistowne working on staggering projects, but this…

[Vyn]

Hatter beamed as she spoke. O! Glowing insects! That made him think of pretty Vana, she would've loved little glowing butterflies... and hadn't she gotten a child after that unfortunate event with her lover? Heartbreaking, but oh... he was still talking to Wendy, yes. Making rodents glow?

"I know a geneticist you might want to pursue eventually. Her name is Ophelia. I know there are naturally glowing creatures out there and, I'm sure, you could use genetic splicing to transfer the gene that causes one to glow from one animal to another." It seemed plausible at least. "Well, logically it makes sense, but Ophe is the authority on what genes mesh well with others, not myself."

And then, of course, his chipper explanations brought the conversation to a rather bumpy halt as the chipmunk stopped dead with an incredulous look on her face. He stopped where he was, one foot poised in mid-motion. Hum.

"Well, honestly, it's all a bit iffy... Getting emotions that aren't pre-programmed has been near to impossible so far. Even Doorie, whom I've been working with since I was a boy, is still just a vast memory of indexed actions and reactions running on a program that I found most enjoyable. But he has no free will, he can't disobey the task he's currently been programmed with.

Such as his current one: Hatter is not to return to the Lab for a period of 24 hours. So if I try to go back, like earlier, he will make a scene or light me on fire, or something, until I submit and continue looking for R&R." The man stopped suddenly, realizing he'd been rambling, and cleared his throat. "But yes, ultimately, science alone hasn't been able to create life, but with a little bit of magic you can do the trick." He winked mischievously, like a magician teasing his audience with the secret of how to pull a rabbit from his Hat.