the Clinic (Open character-based RP)

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“Well they have a driving range if you don’t want to pull your…slashes” She smiled broadly.

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“Hehe, funny,” Ian said with a short chuckle. “I might do that if I was playing around alone. When you’re playing with others around here, they generally like their serves returned within the fenced area around the clinic.”

Ian stopped and turned to watch Kruth’T. He started tapping the tree with a claw. Ian cocked a brow as he listened, a bit confused at what he was doing. A moment passed before Ian caught on, or so he through, to the beat. It was his heart beat….or at least he thought it was. When Kruth’T started tapping with his other fingers, he was thoroughly confused.

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"I generally don't bring my hearing to those levels, as it would be distracting in a crowded area. But it has proven useful, epically when tracking criminals."

"But as for my past, I am kinda stranded here. At least until my people find me at least."

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Slightly embarrassed at his ignorance, Ian grinned with reddened cheeks. “Um, exactly….what did you do? At first I thought I caught on but then you lost me, hehe.”

Kruth'T looked at Ian for a moment, just a little surprised. "I was tapping to the time of the five nearest heart beats. Yours, hers, that mammal's." Kruth'T pointed at the squirrels' hiding in a hallow in the tree. "And those birds." now pointing at two birds perched on the tree.

"My species evolved from a predatory species, that relied mostly on sound to track prey. Most of my people can still attain their level of hearing through training." Kruth'T paused for a moment. "Such training is necessary for my... job."

"So, tell me about yourselves." Kruth'T asked quickly, as if to change the subject.

((OOC: Happy holidays!))

Kruth'T paused for a moment. "Such training is necessary for my... job."

*A Pop and a Whoosh*

"Job? What job?" asked Orchid as she became suddenly visible. She didn't know how her shields had turned themselves off but she was glad they had. "And my scaley friend, just what - exactly - do you want to know about each of us and why?"

Orchid had so much she wanted to say but it was hard to organize her thoughts into something remotely coherant. It was even harder to know who she could trust with what information about herself.

After all, how would they react to the notion of a rather reluctant space vampire in their midst? Would they wish to do her harm, or perhaps examine her as some odd lab specimen? Would they want to kill her, cage her or help her? How was she to know who to trust with her secrets?

She felt suddenly as if the whole world were looking at her, judging her, disecting her as her eyes looked away. "It's just there's so much to my story, I don't know what you want to know or what I can tell you that you'd understand. . . It's not a pretty life or undeath I've had. . ." Orchid sighed then continued with her apology, "It's just that it's so. . . complicated, you see."

Her downcast eyes watched her now uneasily fidgeting feet, her gloved hands toying with bits of imaginary lint on her spandex tights as she suddenly felt very exposed and small in the company of those who she hoped were her new friends. She waited for what seemed an eternity for someone to say something to take away her awkwardness of the moment.

When Orchid appeared out of nowhere Kruth'T jumped. What? Huh? Where? HOW? Kruth'T was dazed by Orchid's sudden appearance. So it took him a few moments to proses her questions.

Fortunately, He had regained his balance we enough to reply, when she wound down. He replayed what she had said in his mind. Taking a moment to fully collect his thoughts, and come to a decision.

"Listen, Orchid, I'm an explorer. I'm from a very far away place, and dimension. My interest is in this world's people. Not to judge them, but to better understand them." Kruth'T said simply. "I mean you, all of you." he said gestured to include all that was present.

He shrugged, and continued "I am ship wrecked, and so far, the only know survivor of the ship I was aboard. I have only been active on your world for about half of it's orbit, so there is still much I do not know."

Kruth'T looked up to a patch of sky, that was peaking through the leaves not yet fallen. "However, your secrets, are your own to keep. We all have things we can not, or will not share. Digging out your personal truths is not why I'm here. Nor it my intent."

Finally, he once again faced the humans. "I just have one real question." He paused for a moment uncertain if it would be rude to ask. "Whats an undeath?"

Ian laughed to hide his embarrassed ignorance. “Oh! Wow, that’s amazing!” he said with his wide grin, “I wouldn’t be able to hear Ella’s heart beat from this distance even if I tried, much less several heart beats at once.”

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"So, tell me about yourselves." Kruth'T asked quickly

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When Kruth’T asked others to share, Ian just pulled the two ends of his headband to tighten it an opened his mouth to speak. “Well…” He didn’t get a chance to continue, as Orchid surprisingly rejoined the group.

One part of Orchid’s and Kruth’T’s conversation that sparked his curiosity was the undead part. This was the first time Ian was hearing anything of this and was probably what caught his attention earlier.

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Finally, he once again faced the humans. "I just have one real question." He paused for a moment uncertain if it would be rude to ask. "Whats an undeath?"

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Ian nodded toward Kruth’T but his smile had long faded. “Do your people know of death? When an organism’s life functions cease and no longer perform actions conscious to their being? Well, undeath comes after that, when life is forced back into something dead. It’s different from revitalizing those near death though. Undead act different from how they were when they were alive.” His eyes traced through the group, going from Kruth’T, to Ella and then stopping on Orchid. “I’ve had the opportunity of dealing with vampires before which are a type of undead, but I admit I’m no scholar on the subject.”

It slowly dawned on Orchid that perhaps she'd said too much. It was just so difficult trying to relate to the living beings around her, it had been so long since she'd been in anyone's company during her self-imposed exile.

She was aware of eyes staring at her which made her more nervous and self-conscious as her symbiote reassured her.

"We're alright host. They're just curious. I don't sense they mean you any harm, but you do need to be careful what you say about us to them - it could potentially frighten them or make them more curious about us. . ." said the symbiote to it's host, Orchid.

Orchid lifted her eyes to look into the eyes of the curious friends around her. "Ian's explanation is pretty accurate. Unlike some affected by my... condition... I'm really very shy and quite harmless. In my life, before my... change... I was a botanist. I was working on my PhD at the University when the... incident... in Talos Island happened. I'll spare you the details but the change has been quite... profound. I'm here for help in understanding what's happening within me as I'm still comming to grips with it all."

She had hopes that perhaps her new friends wouldn't ask too many questions. It wasn't that she didn't want to talk about her 'condition' but rather she really didn't know to relate it in terms they could comprehend. She was still wary of who she could and couldn't trust with her story.

Orchid gestured towards Ian's headband, "Are you a martial arts practicioner?" Then she smiled to Kruth'T, "I'd like to hear about the worlds you've visited. I imagine you can tell some interesting stories." Then she looked to Ella, "I'd like to get to know you better, it's been so long since I've had a female friend to do girly things with."

It had been ages since Orchid had done really girly things like manicures, pedicures and playing with hairstyles. For that matter it'd been ages since she'd been shopping as her tattered and threadbare trenchcoat and leopard print dress hanging in the closet could attest. Perhaps if she remembered her more feminine charms it would help her transition into being more human and less cold toward the humans who's company she so desperately craved.

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"I'd like to get to know you better, it's been so long since I've had a female friend to do girly things with."

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"Well, you can certainly get your fill here," Sis grumbled as she stepped towards the group. She'd missed the tapping and the conversation about undeath, but she would be happy to wax poetic about the terrible tortures the Spa would provide. Sis was also thoroughly lost. She'd headed for the tennis courts originally, taken a left turn, jumped a log or two, kicked up some leaves and ended up here. On the plus side, it had been great exploring the forested area. On the minus side, she had no idea where she was. On the plus side again, she recognized some people.

"Heya Ian, Ella. Waiting on the shirt for you, kiddo. I'm hoping it and a more substantial bathing suit arrive today." Sis glanced at her watch. "When's mail call anyway?" She nodded to Kruth'T, who looked familiar but whose name escaped her, and Orchid, who looked like she needed a few years in the sun. "Heylo."

((I almost forgot about this thread…))

Ian raised a brow at Orchid’s story. He didn’t really have a clue about her and now she seemed even more intriguing. “So exactly what conditi-”

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Orchid gestured towards Ian's headband, "Are you a martial arts practicioner?"

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Still a bit confused from the previous story, Ian tried muttering an answer. “Um, well yes but the headband is just something a friend-”

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Then she smiled to Kruth'T, "I'd like to hear about the worlds you've visited. I imagine you can tell some interesting stories." Then she looked to Ella, "I'd like to get to know you better, it's been so long since I've had a female friend to do girly things with."

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Okay, so she changed the subject….I guess if she doesn’t want to talk about it, I shouldn’t force her to, he thought to himself. He was still interested in figuring out more about this woman. It might be good for her and everyone else if he knew more….or that’s what he’d like to believe.

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"Well, you can certainly get your fill here," Sis grumbled as she stepped towards the group. "Heya Ian, Ella. Waiting on the shirt for you, kiddo. I'm hoping it and a more substantial bathing suit arrive today." Sis glanced at her watch. "When's mail call anyway?" She nodded to Kruth'T, who looked familiar but whose name escaped her, and Orchid, who looked like she needed a few years in the sun. "Heylo."

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“Hi Sis!” Ian burst out as Sis joined the group. “Wow, you look positively radiant this morning. Did you spend an extra hour powdering your nose or something.” He scratched his head about the mail call thing. “Not really sure. I thought people just picked it up from the front desk when it came or either have it delivered to their rooms.”

Ian was kind of excited that Sis was here now. Not that there was anything wrong with the others, Ian just felt he could relate to Sis a bit better. In his excitement, he ended up changing the subject. “Oh, and you should have been here just a minute ago. From over there,” he pointed at a tree, “Kruth’T was able to hear my heartbeat and tap it on that tree. Then he did Ella’s, mine and some birds and squirrels too. All at the same time! Isn’t that cool?”

He completely forgot about introducing Orchid and his cheeks flushed with embarrassment. “Oh, right. Sorry, this is Orchid. I just met her this morning too. She’s really good at archery. Earlier, we were at the shooting range and she just planted shot after shot on those targets. I never thought the weapons this place provides were any good but she still managed perfect accuracy.”

"...but she still managed perfect accuracy.”

Orchid could feel a blush begin to blossom under the ebony skin of her cheeks. A shy grin began to warm into an ivory smile on her face, "Well... I do confess to having a few lifetimes to practice my archery skills. And I do apologize for being a little inept at my social graces if I seem excited, it's just been so long since I've been around people."

She wondered if Sis had been to the spa and wanted to ask but decided not to confuse the conversations of the group. Instead she opted to stay quiet and observe, hopefully to rekindle some lost memory of protocol and manners.

"Speak when spoken to is what your grandmother always said" mentioned the symbiote to Orchid's mind. "Patience, it'll all come back to you in time. Like archery, all it takes is practice and restraint."

Kruth'T listened to Ian's and orchid's explanation as to what Undeath was, but he felt their explanation somewhat lacking. from their reactions he guessed it wasn't a normal part of the human life cycle. Some kind of secondary stage? No that would be inconsistent with their reactions. I wounder... Based on their reaction it would have to be a not good thing.

He decided to shelve that investigation until much latter. Noting how uncomfortable Orchid seemed to be with the subject.

<Orchid> Then she smiled to Kruth'T, "I'd like to hear about the worlds you've visited. I imagine you can tell some interesting stories."

Kruth'T was about to respond when Sis walked up. When she nodded to Kruth'T, he nodded back. He then hung back as Ian introduced her. When he finished he steeped forward. "Nice to meet you again, only this time without someone throwing doors around." Kruth'T said jokingly.

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“Hi Sis!” Ian burst out as Sis joined the group. “Wow, you look positively radiant this morning. Did you spend an extra hour powdering your nose or something.”

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Sis scowled. "Afternoon. Y'all miss lunch or something? And...er...thanks." Sis jammed her hands into her pockets. Radiant, huh? Go figure...

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[Ian] scratched his head about the mail call thing. “Not really sure. I thought people just picked it up from the front desk when it came or either have it delivered to their rooms.”

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Sis nodded. "Fair enough. I'll have to check, once I find my way back. I've just been wandering aimlessly, which translates into being thoroughly lost."

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“Oh, and you should have been here just a minute ago. From over there,” he pointed at a tree, “Kruth’T was able to hear my heartbeat and tap it on that tree. Then he did Ella’s, mine and some birds and squirrels too. All at the same time! Isn’t that cool?”

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Sis quirked an eyebrow at Kruth'T as she nodded slowly. "Kinda like hearing hoofbeats in those old Westerns?" she asked. "I can see how that would be useful."

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“Oh, right. Sorry, this is Orchid. I just met her this morning too. She’s really good at archery. Earlier, we were at the shooting range and she just planted shot after shot on those targets. I never thought the weapons this place provides were any good but she still managed perfect accuracy.”

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Orchid could feel a blush begin to blossom under the ebony skin of her cheeks. A shy grin began to warm into an ivory smile on her face, "Well... I do confess to having a few lifetimes to practice my archery skills. And I do apologize for being a little inept at my social graces if I seem excited, it's just been so long since I've been around people."

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Sis smiled a little. "Nice to meet you, Orchid. Been living the hermit life? I can't imagine where. Paragon's so packed, I keep expecting it to top NYC for 'most people per square mile' at some point." Sis shrugged. "'Course it's crazy transitory. You never see the same people more than twice, seems like."

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Kruth'T was about to respond when Sis walked up. When she nodded to Kruth'T, he nodded back. He then hung back as Ian introduced her. When he finished he steeped forward. "Nice to meet you again, only this time without someone throwing doors around." Kruth'T said jokingly.

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Sis laughed. "Yeah, that was a surprise. Worked out okay in the end I guess. Only pissed off a few guards. Looks like you ended out all right. Would you believe that guy's usually in a wheelchair? Saw him in the gym earlier. Takes all kinds." She glanced around at the small group. "Don't let me interrupt whatever y'all were doing. Like I said, I'm just wandering."

((Arrghhh thread lost my whole post :P I'll jump in later when I have time with a new post.))

((Got that new post yet? ))

((I think we're still waiting on HaloInc, or at least I am.))

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Then she looked to Ella, "I'd like to get to know you better, it's been so long since I've had a female friend to do girly things with."

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Ella smiled happily at this. “I’d like that”

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"Heya Ian, Ella. Waiting on the shirt for you, kiddo. I'm hoping it and a more substantial bathing suit arrive today." Sis glanced at her watch. "When's mail call anyway?" She nodded to Kruth'T, who looked familiar but whose name escaped her, and Orchid, who looked like she needed a few years in the sun. "Heylo."

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“SIS!!” Ella ran over to her, but stopped short just when it looked like she was about to hug her. Her smile broadened when Sis remembered the shirt.

“Mail doesn’t arrive till late…after dinner usually”

((I was thinking your post would be...longer ))

“Well, we were just headed to the tennis courts to play a few sets,” Ian said after the group had finished talking back and forth, “We can all go together. Maybe even play a few doubles sets.” With that, Ian started leading to the courts, hoping everyone would follow.

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“SIS!!” Ella ran over to her, but stopped short just when it looked like she was about to hug her. Her smile broadened when Sis remembered the shirt.

“Mail doesn’t arrive till late…after dinner usually”

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Sis chuckled quietly at Ella's enthusiasm. "No mail until after dinner? Man...well, looks like it'll be a midnight swim then, assuming the package shows. Guess you'll have to wait too then, kiddo."

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“Well, we were just headed to the tennis courts to play a few sets,” Ian said after the group had finished talking back and forth, “We can all go together. Maybe even play a few doubles sets.” With that, Ian started leading to the courts, hoping everyone would follow.

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Sis shrugged. "Works for me." Hands in pockets, she fell into step behind Ian, kicking at the leaves on the ground as she went. She'd left her hair out of the ponytail this time, to allow it to dry to the light surfer-blonde color it had acquired from so much time in the sun.

"So how come the firing range is so far out here?" she asked. "It's pretty far from the buildings...can you shoot stuff other than arrows?" Sis grinned, thinking that maybe she could get some additional stress relief from firing a large gun or something, like in the movies.

<Sis> "So how come the firing range is so far out here?" she asked. "It's pretty far from the buildings...can you shoot stuff other than arrows?"

"I thought it might have been intended for training, but Ella disagrees. Now I think it's more for the personnel in that underground facility to use. It has an entrance right next to it. Both are fairly good sized." Kruth'T said as he fallowed Ian. "The range is larger, now that I think about it, then would be strictly necessary for the security forces to use."

Kruth'T paused in thought for a moment. "But then again, I don't have much experience with ground based ranges so I could be wrong."

Now that Sis had brought it up, Kruth'T found himself puzzling over what he had learned from being near it. The sound generators were extensively used within it, but instead of masking it's presence to Kruth'T it had given him a 'look' at it's interior. Not that the 'look' was very detailed, more like the equivalent of a rough floor plan of the areas he had walked over.

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"So how come the firing range is so far out here?" she asked. "It's pretty far from the buildings...can you shoot stuff other than arrows?" Sis grinned, thinking that maybe she could get some additional stress relief from firing a large gun or something, like in the movies.

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“It’s far away because guns are loud and some patients need their rest. Sure you can shoot guns….depending on your security rating. They cut down the powder ratio on the ammo, so the shots aren’t as loud or as powerful” Ella left out her actual calculations for her theory.

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“It’s far away because guns are loud and some patients need their rest. Sure you can shoot guns….depending on your security rating. They cut down the powder ratio on the ammo, so the shots aren’t as loud or as powerful” Ella left out her actual calculations for her theory.

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"I thought it might have been intended for training, but Ella disagrees. Now I think it's more for the personnel in that underground facility to use. It has an entrance right next to it. Both are fairly good sized." Kruth'T said as he fallowed Ian. "The range is larger, now that I think about it, then would be strictly necessary for the security forces to use."

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Sis frowned slightly. "Underground facility? What am I missing? What IS this place? Isolated in some crazy corner of the city, hosting weird medical experiments and magic-gone-mad, with a paramilitary force to "protect" it all? This sounds like a bad horror movie!"

And when did I become so paranoid?

Sis laughed a little, mostly at herself. "I wonder if I can turn this into a movie script, make a ton of money, and retire..." She glanced up as the tennis courts came into to view. "Or, I can just be the next Anna K...almost good enough at tennis, with tons of endorsement deals, and a new famous boyfriend every week."

“Can I be the famous boyfriend on the second week of every month?” Ian joked through his wide grin, a spark of mischief in his eye. He laughed through his grin, as he elbowed Ella, hopefully to show he was mainly kidding.

“Anyway, you sound kind of paranoid,” he said over his shoulder as they reached the gate of the tennis courts. “What medical experiments and magic are you talking about? This place is pretty tame considering the types of guests that stay here. I’ve been able to help out in a few extreme cases but they always have everything under control around here.”

Compared to the shooting range, this place was relatively low tech and low security. The only live guard there was around here was in the clubhouse that was nearly equidistance from almost all the other recreational areas in this part (the tennis and basketball courts, the outdoor pool, the fields which could be used for several different sports, the track, etc.). The person to stand guard in the clubhouse kept watch on the security surveillance and kept the keys to everything around there.

For the tennis courts, there were several nets lined up so around 4 different games could be played simultaneously, a group of bleachers to one side so you could be near any of the courts that were being played on, and behind the north side of the bleachers, a short roofed area was blocked off from the large rectangle that was the group of courts by a small set of stairs that went down into the earth and a steep hill that made up half the section and shielded the rest. In the blocked off section, some chairs, a few drink machines and tennis equipment. Normally, the tennis ball machine was locked in a shed-like building out behind the courts but someone must have been playing earlier and left it out, along with a mess of tennis balls scattered around two of the courts.

Ian came back to the group with a handful of rackets he retrieved from the area by the bleachers, guessing at the right sizes and weights for them. “So, who wants to play?”


((If you had a different idea for the tennis courts, Halo, I can just delete the two paragraphs with the area descriptions in them.))

"Underground facility?" thought Orchid as the hair on the nape of her neck began to rise. "What the heck kind of place is this?" she continued to ponder.

She had a brief subliminal flashback to the Council base and it's underground prison. The noticeable chill running down her spine made her inadvertantly shiver for a moment.

Orchid lowered her eyes briefly as a pained expression quickly crossed her face and then was gone. Her back had stiffened and her hands automatically clenched into fists before they too relaxed.

"Listen closely to any hints they may reveal about this underground facility" whispered a voice in Orchid's mind. "We need to know what they are doing to their 'patients' here..."

Orchid saw the tennis rackets in Ian's hands as she feigned a relaxed smile, "Ah! Tennis - I haven't played in years!"

She waited to see what the others would do before reaching for a racket or not.

((If you had a different idea for the tennis courts, Halo, I can just delete the two paragraphs with the area descriptions in them.))

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((Nope thats perfect!))

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“Can I be the famous boyfriend on the second week of every month?” Ian joked through his wide grin, a spark of mischief in his eye. He laughed through his grin, as he elbowed Ella, hopefully to show he was mainly kidding.

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A small spark of jealousy flashed though Ella, until she got the poke in the ribs and understood that he was joking. “Oh! Only if I can be your girlfriend on the first week of every month” She smiled playfully.

Ella never really did learn how to joke. It simply wasn’t included when she was born, and when her mind was [censored] and she was ‘re-programmed’ that [censored] didn’t have a sense of humor either. So occasionally, Ella would say inappropriate things.

Ella eagerly took a racket from Ian when he returned with them. Even though it was a bit bigger than what she should use, she insisted on the pink one. She bounced lightly on her toes enthusiastic to start.

She looked around "Doubles or singles?"

Kruth'T meant to study the tennis courts, he truly did. But from the moment his clawed feet touched the sun warmed concrete he felt quite good. It took him a moment to wrench his attention form the warm ground, to his friends.

By this time Ian had already returned with an armload of strange devices. Kruth'T studied one that he took at random. From the comments the others had said regarding Tennis, he figured it was some kind of game.

"I think I should sit out the first game." He said with some regret. "At least observing you should clue me in on how to play this game."