Tact
Nov 30, 2009, 07:47 PM
Since it's December (or almost December), I decided to write a holiday edition of my FKL fanfic. You remember that, from so long ago? Yeah, well, I changed it up a little bit. Here are the first few parts.
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Tact woke up to the usual beeping sound of the alarm, and sat up in bed. He quickly jumped out and walked across the room to turn the alarm off. By turning on the television for the local weather report, Tact learned that it had snowed the night before. He smiled. He loved the snow. It made everything outside look better and it kept all of his friends inside and close by. He thought of how the view outside the window would look as he put on his usual needle dress. As Tact went to the door and opened it, he found Cordelia standing right outside. “Good morning!” She nearly yelled cheerfully. “Did you hear about the sn-oh, you're wearing the wrong dress!” Tact answered,
“What? I'm wearing the same kind of dress I've been wearing since I came here.” Cordelia patted Tact on the head and asked,
“Don't you know what day it is, you silly cat?” Tact was still very confused. He responded,
“No...I haven't been bothering to check a calendar since every day became the same.”
“I guess I get to be the one who tells you it's the first day of December, then. I'll be right back,” started Cordelia. She left, walking briskly down the hallway. The head maid returned a couple of minutes later, gingerly holding a needle dress that was a dark red and green instead of the usual black and white. “Here's what kind of dress you get to wear this month. We celebrate Festivus here, but I figured the Christmas red and green suited you best.” Tact accepted the dress, somewhat excited to wear something different for once. “I'll help you p-”
“I don't think I'll need any assistance putting this on,” Tact interrupted. “You know I can put the regular one on by myself every day. Why would I need help with this one?” Cordelia bowed her head slightly. Before closing the door, she added,
“There's something else after you put on that dress.” Tact sighed, wondering what the “something else” could be. It turned out to be a pair of earrings that hung slightly, with little round bells on the ends. “Now, let's get to work. Shall we? The girl in room 83778 has requested that some food be brought to her room.”
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Picking up the tray of food from the basement's kitchen, Tact noticed something that was more than a little off. He inquired,
“Is this birdseed?” Tact made a surprised expression when Cordelia confirmed his suspicion. “Well, okay then. I'll get right on this.” While he made his way around the first floor of the mansion, he realized how the whole place had been decorated overnight. Holiday adornments hung from every table and railing. The paintings on the walls all changed to have a more wintry theme. Looking at all of the decorations, Tact quickly found himself lost. After rounding a corner, he stumbled upon a young man with two fox tails performing maintenance on a robot. The man was engrossed in his work, but the robot was still as conscious as a robot could be.
“Hello,” the automaton said with a noticeably metallic, but still feminine voice. The man with the fox tails mumbled to himself,
“Darn...the vocal processor still doesn't work. I'm going to have to go shopping later and get you a clearer modulator.” The robot seemed appreciative of this, smiling. She then asked her creator,
“Thank you, Talon...now, do you suppose we should help this person?” The man now known as Talon looked up and saw Tact. He stated very matter-of-factly,
“Do you need something? I'm a little busy here.” Tact responded,
“I need to know where room 83778 is. Would you or your...eh...friend know?” Talon faltered for a second, but his robot quickly recovered and answered,
“Yes. Walk 50 feet straight ahead, then make a 60-degree left turn at the fork. After that, walk 70 more feet and the door should be on your right. Is that all?” Tact nodded and bowed as much as the tray would allow, the bells on his ears jingling lightly. He walked off in pursuit of room 83778, hoping he wouldn't get lost again.
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As Tact wandered through the halls, he thought to himself. Just a little more walking...and on the right, 83778! There it is! Using his left hip to help support the tray, he knocked on the door with his right hand. A short wait later, the door opened and Tact had to look down to see who had answered. It was a little girl whose head seemed to be just as big as the rest of her body. Her head had cat ears and she also had a tail with a small bell on it. After a moment of awkward silence, she spoke up,
“That's not how you'll help find my friend, Miss. Birdseed? My friend is no ordinary birdy.” Not wanting to freak the girl out, Tact switched to his female voice and inquired,
“Then why did they have me bring a bunch of birdseed here?”
“It's okay. Not a lot of people know why Birdy isn't a regular bird. I guess you can help me look for her if you want,” the catgirl offered. “You can put that tray down over there. It's unlikely, but she might have some later.” Tact answered,
“Sure, I'll help. Where do you think she'll be?” Tess put one of her tiny hands on her chin for a good fifteen seconds.
“Well...there have been some small things missing lately. Straws, pillow stuffing, bits of discarded computer cables. There was no explanation for it, it's just gone,” she pondered. Tact and Tess walked around her room for a few minutes before Tess noticed part of an ethernet cable sticking out from under a closet door. She jumped up, pulled the doorknob down, and opened the door. Looking up at the shelves, she concluded that she couldn't see anything in the closet (the shelves were too high). “Miss...do you think you could check the upper shelves for me? There's a ladder in the next room over so I can reach things. I bet you can use it, too.”
“Okay...what's your name, anyway?” Tact asked before going to grab the ladder. Tess enthusiastically shouted, “Tessu! But you can call me Tess.” Tact responded,
“Tess seems like a fitting name. Now let's get this ladder up here...” As he moved the ladder into position, he heard some chirping noises from the top shelf. He climbed up the ladder, only to come face-to-face with a very angry-looking emerald dove in its nest. The white-and-pink bird, with green wings, immediately flew out of the nest and straight at Tact's face. He screamed,
“Aaaaaagggh! Get it off, get it off, get it off!” Tact flailed his arms around, but only after this did he remember that he was standing on a ladder. The bird did not get to peck Tact's eyes out, but he did black out upon falling to the floor.
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“Hey...hey, Tessu! She's waking up!” Tact heard an unfamiliar voice. He slowly opened his eyes to see another small girl kneeling beside him, lazily ringing his earring-bells. She couldn't have been more than eleven years old, with long black hair. As Tess walked into the room, the black-haired girl turned to acknowledge Tess's presence. Tact saw little, green, feathered wings on her back, sticking out through her hair. Tact surmised that this girl must have been the bird who attacked him on the ladder.
“Oh, I thought she was really hurt...are you okay, Miss?” Tess asked. Tact groaned in pain and sat up. He answered,
“Yes, Tess...I'm fine now.” The bird girl smiled and eyed Tact, then Tess. She exclaimed,
“It's good to know your mom's feeling better, Tess!” Tact and Tess both balked. At the same time, they began to speak.
“I'm not her...she's not my...we aren't related!” Tess continued, “I know we both have cute little cat ears and tails, but that doesn't mean she's my mom, Birdy. Don't you owe an apology to...oh, we don't even know your name, do we?” Tact introduced himself, still a little wierded out that someone mistook him for a mother. “We'll call you Tactu! I hope you don't mind!”
“Not at all...but what time is it? How long have I been knocked out on your floor?” Right after Tact was done talking, there was a knock at the door. Birdy ran to the door and opened it up to see a masked man with a flamethrower standing outside. He waved to everyone and asked,
“Are you girls ready to make dinner?”
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Tact opened his mouth to ask who the man with the paintball mask was, but Tess yelled out,
“Spiku!” Birdy and Tess both ran over to him, clearly excited that he came to visit. Tact thought, Well, I guess that answers both of my questions. If Tact could see behind that paintball mask, he would probably have seen a smile. Spike started to walk off, waving for everyone to come with him. Tess stood on tiptoes and locked the door after everyone was out.
“Tess, Birdy, who's your new friend?” Spike inquired. Tess was the first to start talking.
“I couldn't find Birdy, so I sent for something that might help draw her out. The silly people down at the kitchen sent Tactu with birdseed. I knew that wasn't going to help, so I asked her to help find Birdy the old-fashioned way. We got a ladder and climbed up to the top shelf of the closet-” Birdy interrupted,
“Where I wanted to make my new nest! I was scared. I didn't think anyone would think to look in there. So I did what came naturally. I tried to peck her eyes out! I didn't get to, but she fell off the ladder and hit her head on the floor. She was out cold for most of the afternoon on our floor until you showed up!”
“You just let me lay there on your floor? Why didn't you move me?” Tact seemed slightly peeved. Birdy responded,
“Well...well...your dress was pointy!” Tact couldn't stay mad at that kind of answer. He broke into laughter as the group arrived at the kitchen. Spike walked up to a counter and heaved his flamethrower onto it, then turned around to address everyone else.
“Time for me to be Iron Chef Spike, we need to have these treats ready soon. Tess and Birdy, you two can build the giant Oreos for dessert. Tact, was it?” Tact nodded, and the bells jingled again. “You can help me make the geoduck.”
[/spoiler-box]
[spoiler-box]
Tact woke up to the usual beeping sound of the alarm, and sat up in bed. He quickly jumped out and walked across the room to turn the alarm off. By turning on the television for the local weather report, Tact learned that it had snowed the night before. He smiled. He loved the snow. It made everything outside look better and it kept all of his friends inside and close by. He thought of how the view outside the window would look as he put on his usual needle dress. As Tact went to the door and opened it, he found Cordelia standing right outside. “Good morning!” She nearly yelled cheerfully. “Did you hear about the sn-oh, you're wearing the wrong dress!” Tact answered,
“What? I'm wearing the same kind of dress I've been wearing since I came here.” Cordelia patted Tact on the head and asked,
“Don't you know what day it is, you silly cat?” Tact was still very confused. He responded,
“No...I haven't been bothering to check a calendar since every day became the same.”
“I guess I get to be the one who tells you it's the first day of December, then. I'll be right back,” started Cordelia. She left, walking briskly down the hallway. The head maid returned a couple of minutes later, gingerly holding a needle dress that was a dark red and green instead of the usual black and white. “Here's what kind of dress you get to wear this month. We celebrate Festivus here, but I figured the Christmas red and green suited you best.” Tact accepted the dress, somewhat excited to wear something different for once. “I'll help you p-”
“I don't think I'll need any assistance putting this on,” Tact interrupted. “You know I can put the regular one on by myself every day. Why would I need help with this one?” Cordelia bowed her head slightly. Before closing the door, she added,
“There's something else after you put on that dress.” Tact sighed, wondering what the “something else” could be. It turned out to be a pair of earrings that hung slightly, with little round bells on the ends. “Now, let's get to work. Shall we? The girl in room 83778 has requested that some food be brought to her room.”
[/spoiler-box]
[spoiler-box]
Picking up the tray of food from the basement's kitchen, Tact noticed something that was more than a little off. He inquired,
“Is this birdseed?” Tact made a surprised expression when Cordelia confirmed his suspicion. “Well, okay then. I'll get right on this.” While he made his way around the first floor of the mansion, he realized how the whole place had been decorated overnight. Holiday adornments hung from every table and railing. The paintings on the walls all changed to have a more wintry theme. Looking at all of the decorations, Tact quickly found himself lost. After rounding a corner, he stumbled upon a young man with two fox tails performing maintenance on a robot. The man was engrossed in his work, but the robot was still as conscious as a robot could be.
“Hello,” the automaton said with a noticeably metallic, but still feminine voice. The man with the fox tails mumbled to himself,
“Darn...the vocal processor still doesn't work. I'm going to have to go shopping later and get you a clearer modulator.” The robot seemed appreciative of this, smiling. She then asked her creator,
“Thank you, Talon...now, do you suppose we should help this person?” The man now known as Talon looked up and saw Tact. He stated very matter-of-factly,
“Do you need something? I'm a little busy here.” Tact responded,
“I need to know where room 83778 is. Would you or your...eh...friend know?” Talon faltered for a second, but his robot quickly recovered and answered,
“Yes. Walk 50 feet straight ahead, then make a 60-degree left turn at the fork. After that, walk 70 more feet and the door should be on your right. Is that all?” Tact nodded and bowed as much as the tray would allow, the bells on his ears jingling lightly. He walked off in pursuit of room 83778, hoping he wouldn't get lost again.
[/spoiler-box]
[spoiler-box]
As Tact wandered through the halls, he thought to himself. Just a little more walking...and on the right, 83778! There it is! Using his left hip to help support the tray, he knocked on the door with his right hand. A short wait later, the door opened and Tact had to look down to see who had answered. It was a little girl whose head seemed to be just as big as the rest of her body. Her head had cat ears and she also had a tail with a small bell on it. After a moment of awkward silence, she spoke up,
“That's not how you'll help find my friend, Miss. Birdseed? My friend is no ordinary birdy.” Not wanting to freak the girl out, Tact switched to his female voice and inquired,
“Then why did they have me bring a bunch of birdseed here?”
“It's okay. Not a lot of people know why Birdy isn't a regular bird. I guess you can help me look for her if you want,” the catgirl offered. “You can put that tray down over there. It's unlikely, but she might have some later.” Tact answered,
“Sure, I'll help. Where do you think she'll be?” Tess put one of her tiny hands on her chin for a good fifteen seconds.
“Well...there have been some small things missing lately. Straws, pillow stuffing, bits of discarded computer cables. There was no explanation for it, it's just gone,” she pondered. Tact and Tess walked around her room for a few minutes before Tess noticed part of an ethernet cable sticking out from under a closet door. She jumped up, pulled the doorknob down, and opened the door. Looking up at the shelves, she concluded that she couldn't see anything in the closet (the shelves were too high). “Miss...do you think you could check the upper shelves for me? There's a ladder in the next room over so I can reach things. I bet you can use it, too.”
“Okay...what's your name, anyway?” Tact asked before going to grab the ladder. Tess enthusiastically shouted, “Tessu! But you can call me Tess.” Tact responded,
“Tess seems like a fitting name. Now let's get this ladder up here...” As he moved the ladder into position, he heard some chirping noises from the top shelf. He climbed up the ladder, only to come face-to-face with a very angry-looking emerald dove in its nest. The white-and-pink bird, with green wings, immediately flew out of the nest and straight at Tact's face. He screamed,
“Aaaaaagggh! Get it off, get it off, get it off!” Tact flailed his arms around, but only after this did he remember that he was standing on a ladder. The bird did not get to peck Tact's eyes out, but he did black out upon falling to the floor.
[/spoiler-box]
[spoiler-box]
“Hey...hey, Tessu! She's waking up!” Tact heard an unfamiliar voice. He slowly opened his eyes to see another small girl kneeling beside him, lazily ringing his earring-bells. She couldn't have been more than eleven years old, with long black hair. As Tess walked into the room, the black-haired girl turned to acknowledge Tess's presence. Tact saw little, green, feathered wings on her back, sticking out through her hair. Tact surmised that this girl must have been the bird who attacked him on the ladder.
“Oh, I thought she was really hurt...are you okay, Miss?” Tess asked. Tact groaned in pain and sat up. He answered,
“Yes, Tess...I'm fine now.” The bird girl smiled and eyed Tact, then Tess. She exclaimed,
“It's good to know your mom's feeling better, Tess!” Tact and Tess both balked. At the same time, they began to speak.
“I'm not her...she's not my...we aren't related!” Tess continued, “I know we both have cute little cat ears and tails, but that doesn't mean she's my mom, Birdy. Don't you owe an apology to...oh, we don't even know your name, do we?” Tact introduced himself, still a little wierded out that someone mistook him for a mother. “We'll call you Tactu! I hope you don't mind!”
“Not at all...but what time is it? How long have I been knocked out on your floor?” Right after Tact was done talking, there was a knock at the door. Birdy ran to the door and opened it up to see a masked man with a flamethrower standing outside. He waved to everyone and asked,
“Are you girls ready to make dinner?”
[/spoiler-box]
[spoiler-box]
Tact opened his mouth to ask who the man with the paintball mask was, but Tess yelled out,
“Spiku!” Birdy and Tess both ran over to him, clearly excited that he came to visit. Tact thought, Well, I guess that answers both of my questions. If Tact could see behind that paintball mask, he would probably have seen a smile. Spike started to walk off, waving for everyone to come with him. Tess stood on tiptoes and locked the door after everyone was out.
“Tess, Birdy, who's your new friend?” Spike inquired. Tess was the first to start talking.
“I couldn't find Birdy, so I sent for something that might help draw her out. The silly people down at the kitchen sent Tactu with birdseed. I knew that wasn't going to help, so I asked her to help find Birdy the old-fashioned way. We got a ladder and climbed up to the top shelf of the closet-” Birdy interrupted,
“Where I wanted to make my new nest! I was scared. I didn't think anyone would think to look in there. So I did what came naturally. I tried to peck her eyes out! I didn't get to, but she fell off the ladder and hit her head on the floor. She was out cold for most of the afternoon on our floor until you showed up!”
“You just let me lay there on your floor? Why didn't you move me?” Tact seemed slightly peeved. Birdy responded,
“Well...well...your dress was pointy!” Tact couldn't stay mad at that kind of answer. He broke into laughter as the group arrived at the kitchen. Spike walked up to a counter and heaved his flamethrower onto it, then turned around to address everyone else.
“Time for me to be Iron Chef Spike, we need to have these treats ready soon. Tess and Birdy, you two can build the giant Oreos for dessert. Tact, was it?” Tact nodded, and the bells jingled again. “You can help me make the geoduck.”
[/spoiler-box]