98. [Action for Saffron City, backdated to Friday]

[foolishwren]

<sub>[It's funny, because these sorts of weekends have come to be ones that Heather dreads, clear memories or no. She doesn't remember much of them when they roll around, but she remembers enough, and usually what she remembers is bad.]

[So yeah, she's sort of been walking on eggshells, waiting for this to happen.]

[BUT... between all the craziness going down throughout November... bundling over to Kanto with the rest of her family to cheer Crow on during the Tournament, spending Thanksgiving in the packed-to-bursting household of a grumpy FBI agent and the enormously large family unit he seems to have somehow gathered (despite... being himself) ...]

[It drives weird dreamy weekends filled with amnesia and horror and the Koolaid Man bursting through the wall out of the mind, a little!]

[.... Which is why, yeah, uh, she's out taking Cooj for a nighttime walk on Friday night, and doesn't quite notice anything's up yet.]

[Or the pink bunny following her around.]</sub>





[OOC: Tags may be horrendously slow due to NaNo, but I had to hiatus-break at least a LITTLE for 4th Wall! Robbie the Rabbit will be lingering in the background of any given thread, but feel free to throw anything at Heather and not bother with the spooky pink bunny chillin over there.]

Comments

[heavyweaponsbot]

Why not come up? See for yourself.

[And because it's Heather, he has no qualms about lowering a hand for her. Granted, it makes the old joints grind together, but that is what we do for family.]

[Besides. Being over twenty feet tall means it's all too easy to see that thing in the street behind her.]

[Best get her off the ground.]

[foolishwren]

<sub>[She thought he'd never ask!]

[Beaming obliviously, she promptly returns Cujo to his ball (he had been barking and turning in circles at the sight of the giant Autobot) and dashes over to hop up into Ironhide's hand. There's no snowy hills for them to demolish this year, but either way it's good to see him in his own skin.]</sub>

Y'know, when I told you to come see me so I could beat you up, I didn't mean to come looking like this.

_{[RUDE IRONHIDE SHE CAN'T BEAT YOU UP WHEN YOU'RE TWENTY FEET TALL AND MADE OF METAL. >8I]}

[heavyweaponsbot]

[Thankfully for Cujo, Ironhide is apparently a closet dog person. Autobot. Sentient being. Whichever. He allowed the running and barking with weird patience -- like the dog was one of his "kids".]

[Heather is deposited on his shoulder. Carefully.]

You could still try. But it would end badly for you.

[He offered! At least.]

[foolishwren]

<sub>[Awww, so they don't look like 'rodents' to you anymore, Ironhide?]

[She steps onto his shoulder, reaching for the familiar hand-holds she'd used to steady herself in the nightmare limbo.]</sub>

I may be a badass battle-babe, but I can't fight a pile of metal that's the size of a building. That's a bit much.

I'll wait till you're a little more downsized.

[heavyweaponsbot]

[Only a few of them are exempt from rodent-status.]

[He keeps his hand where it is for a moment or two before lowering it, watching her out of the corner of his good optic.]

'Pile of metal', hmn? Be insulting, if it came from anywhere else.

[foolishwren]

_{[She grins and knocks once or twice on the side of his head.]}

Aw, you know I only hurt ya 'cause I love ya.

[heavyweaponsbot]

[He grunts, and pulls his head back.]

You just knocked on my audio receptor.

[foolishwren]

I did? Sorry.

_{[She doesn't sound that sorry.]}

Whaddya say we get outta here so we don't knock any buildings over?

_{[THIS AIN'T LAKESIDE, people are actually like... using those buildings.]}

[heavyweaponsbot]

You are not.

[At her suggestion though, he grunts, and starts limping off. There has to be a park or something somewhere.]

[And at least by now, he knows how to walk carefully through human streets.]

I like this plan.

[foolishwren]

_{[She tightens her grip, swaying as he walks. Although she has those vague, dreamlike recollections of the times she's seen him on other weird weekends like this, it still feels like a long time since she's stood on his shoulder and watched the world from up high. Because hell, the last CLEAR memory she has of it is from... that awful week spent in the void.]}

I like to think I come up with pretty good plans.

[heavyweaponsbot]

[His own memories are much the same. He chalks a lot of it up to memory file issues -- being ancient and all.]

[There's a clump of trees in the distance, the edge of town looming ahead.]

Sometimes. Sometimes you do, yeah.

[foolishwren]

... Only sometimes?

I don't think you're giving me enough credit, old man.

[heavyweaponsbot]

Giving you plenty of credit. I could have said you never have good ideas.

[foolishwren]

_{[She rewards that with a slight kick-- though she's careful to keep it away from the spot that Ironhide referred to as his 'audio receptors'.]}

Hmph, speak for yourself!

[heavyweaponsbot]

[He grunts, chuckling -- amazingly enough.]

I never said I had good ideas, outside of combat.

[foolishwren]

Well, then keep your commentary to yourself!

_{[If he looks, she's totally sticking her tongue out at him.]}

[heavyweaponsbot]

[He saw that.]

[And now he's just. Going to pick her up in one hand.]

[foolishwren]

_{[... Well, she's not exactly gonna try to run away from that, she's like fifty feet off the ground.]}

Hey!

[heavyweaponsbot]

You were saying?

[He has both hands cupped around her, for safety. She could totally climb over his hands if she wants, he hasn't made a cage or anything. Just giving her more support.]

[foolishwren]

_{[Well, she's not gonna be trying any crazy jungle-woman climbing shenanigans while she's like thirty feet off the ground. So she sort of presses her hands against Ironhide's caged fingers like a captured mouse. >:c!]}

I was saying your ideas are DUMB.

_{[Yeah she knows you're not gonna crush her Ironhide. What do.]}

[heavyweaponsbot]

[What do?]

[He's going to shake his hands. Ever so slightly. Hopefully it's just enough for a Wobbly Heather and not a Skull Cracked Open Heather.]

Sometimes.

[foolishwren]

<sub>[W-WHOAAAUGH no don't do that D:]

[Heather lets out a warble and braces herself against the inside of his cupped, metal palms.]</sub>

Hey!

[heavyweaponsbot]

Yeah?

[He holds his hands still, at that, lifting one off to peer down at her.]

[foolishwren]

_{[She stares up at him, visible rattled (LITERALLY HAR HAR).]}

Careful!

I'm still made of meat, you know!

[heavyweaponsbot]

I know. That was why I was careful.

[For someone over two stories tall, made of armor and guns? That was pretty careful.]