foolishwren | 86. [Video/Action for Ecruteak] Christmas morning.

[ACTION]

_{[You know what makes a good alarm clock on Christmas morning? ... Besides small children? ... DOGS.]

[There was once a time when a Christmas with the Masons involved Heather using her father's bed as a trampoline. But by this point, she's more interested in sleeping in. You know, in general. But that's hard to do with Pokemon around.]}

Ugh, Cooj-- have you been eating the old socks at the bottom of my bag again...?

_{[Shoving the Growlithe's blunt muzzle away from her face, she sits up in bed. Most of the other Pokemon (those that are out of their balls) are still asleep, but THAT DOESN'T STOP CUJO OF COURSE. He drops something slobbery in her lap and then shuffles backwards on her bed, rumpling up the blankets in the process. She flaps a hand at him, rubbing her eyes.]}

C'mon, boy, you're acting like it's Christmas or someth-- ....

_[OH.]

...

_{[She looks down at him briefly.]}

... Okay, go wake up everybody else.

_{[Half the time what she tells him to do seems to go in one shaggy ear and out the other, but she doesn't need to tell him to do that twice. As he leaps off the bed in an explosion of happy panting, she finally turns her attention to the object he dropped in her lap.]}

... My flashlight?

[VIDEO]

_{[Has anyone ever wanted to see live footage of somebody trying to strap one of those dog backpacks to a Growlithe that won't hold still?]

[Well, anyone checking out the network around lunchtime on Christmas Day will get to watch the Adventures of a Hapless Trainer and Her Hyperactive Dog for awhile as Heather tries unsuccessfully to get one of those things on him for about twenty minutes, outside in the snow.]

[After lots of yelling, falling down, and a brief period of getting dragged around (he's big enough to do that by this point...) she loses her grip and he eventually runs off with the damn thing half-fastened. Probably gonna lose it in a snowbank somewhere. Picking herself up, with a grumble, she takes back the PokeGear from whoever had been filming this charming home video (probably Harry or Henry) and shakes her head.]}

Man, last time I get Cujo a Christmas present. Ungrateful mutt... _{[She looks out at the orange dot that is Cujo, clearly visible in the far-off snowy landscape, and waves dismissively.]} He'll be back when I start giving treats to all the others.

ANYWAY, uh...

_{[Turning back to the screen, she swipes a hand under her nose briefly. It's been running in the cold.]}

So, Merry Christmas, everyone!

Haven't opened all the gifts yet, but uh, thanks to everyone who sent stuff for us. ... Hope all of mine got through, I kinda mailed some of 'em last minute...

_{[OH WELL. Shrug. They'd get there sooner or later.]}

I'd better go make sure Cooj doesn't lose that thing in a ditch or something, it cost good money. Later!

_[BLIP.]

[OOC: For Ecruteak action, feel free to encounter Heather wandering around town later! She'll be trying to hunt down the friends of hers who are in town so that she can hand them their Christmas swag in person.]

[ALSO feel free to assume your character got their present from Heather, if you haven't already seen the list! I don't think I forgot anybody...]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

_{[Cooper y u gotta be so verbose.]

[Heather tilts her head a little at that response, still wearing her crooked grin, but she seems to get the idea.]}

... Yeah. Uh-- what you said!

_{[... But hey, you know what? Bro-fist makes it official. She holds up her hand in the traditional fist-bump position. ... Was the bro-fist even a thing in Cooper's time.]}

_{[...uh, yeah, but frankly they really weren't a thing in the FBI. So he looks from her fist to her face ... it's obvious he should be responding here somehow, but he'd rather get to know what than take a chance.]

[So he raises his eyebrows in a way that can only be transcribed as 'enlighten me'.]}

_{[... Uh oh. LESSON TIME.]

[It's okay, though, she doesn't mind. She's already had to explain countless slang words to a millions-of-years-old space robot. One FBI agent from the 80's shouldn't be too hard!]

[She blinks at him a little, then tucks the compass box under one arm and reaches out to grab his hand and tuck the fingers into a fist, before pointedly bumping it against her own in demonstration.]}

S'like a handshake. But cooler.

_{[Sure, okay. All things considered, that's hardly weird. In fact it has some advantages, like if you're sick and don't want to transfer viruses. :I]

[He studies his own fist for a sec, like she did something extraordinary to it when she transferred this amazing wisdom to him. Then he just looks at her, almost cheekily.]}

Right. I'll be sure to remember.

Do that.

It'll make you at least thirty percent cooler. Guaranteed.

That doesn't sound like a verifiable statistic, but I suppose I'll have to take your word for it.

_{[And after Tricia nudging his side long enough now, he relents and throws a new snowball for her and watches her go.]}

Pfff, ask any scientist and they'd totally agree with me.

_{[Dog-dislike or no, she does get a little smile on her face as she watches the blue-and-yellow canine go bounding out across the snow. Then she look back at the books in Cooper's hands and nods to the police almanac.]}

I took the liberty of including a few of my notes in that one.

I'm sure you'll find 'em helpful.

_{[The mugshots in there were really improved by the stickynotes with dastardly mustaches on them stuck under the offenders' noses.]}

_{[Oh, yes. It's a makeover they all definitely needed.]

[He looks at her appraisingly for a second before opening that book as well, letting the pages flip by in that way you do the first time you open a book - and he grins widely at seeing the various post-its. He stops to read one or two but mostly just eyes them, and the ones with doodles on ... there's a snort somewhere in that exhale.]}

_{[She bites her lip and waits when he opens the book-- and then her grin grows when she sees that her additions are going over well. After their grim conversation in the diner the other night? She figured that he could use a laugh.]}

I felt my observations would really add to it.

Heather, why you're not already in the law enforcement is a mystery to me.

Eh, they're probably just not ready for my brilliance yet.

Is anyone?

_{[THERE'S A CERTAIN FONDNESS TO THAT. He certainly wasn't. ...probably still isn't. :I]}

_{[Her answer is that classic crooked grin. It's a face that says 'Yeah you're right, nobody's ready for me.]}

You know, believe it or not, I actually used to want to be a cop when I grew up?

... I mean, I was like... five... but still.

A lot of kids seem to have that idea. Saving the world is an appealing notion.

_{[That gets a laugh. Because hell, it's true.]}

Yeah... then it turns out to be a lot harder than you think it is when you're a kid.

86. [Video/Action for Ecruteak] Christmas morning.

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