Don't pet them, grab them! [Mingle]

[ourearth]

Date: 25th of July
Characters: Open!

---

I.

In the afternoon on the 25th, a network message alerts the Numbered to the fact that the petting zoo in Moss Manor's Menagerie is facing a major break-out: Someone has torn down the fences, and all the bunnies, sheep, and all the other animals typically found in petting zoos have decided to book it. They are now swarming the manor's grounds.

Due to the staff being nowhere near enough to catch them all, and due to the generally low threat level of the animals that escaped, visitors are asked to help catch them instead of being sent away.

And anyone who just happens to show up and help will be happily welcomed and included in the fort, without any question of who told them that help is needed.


II.

Afterwards, Lady Margaret Camilla Brassant invites everyone onto her patio and offers refreshments - tea, water, little sandwiches, cake and scones with clotted cream and jam. She retires quickly herself, but not before giving a brief speech thanking everyone who helped save the gardens from hungry mouths.

Comments

[blueskying]

Sky hasn't heard the network message. He's here on unrelated matters, ie bracing a little notepad against the prosthetic part of his forearm, and noticed the hue and cry going up.

Maybe as a young man he'd have got in the way of a running sheep and all that momentum that comes with it, and gone crawling after rabbits, but he's not a young man and anyway his hooks would probably hurt a struggling animal. Chickens, now. Even fur-feathered white silkies, more like plush toys than the birds he knew, are still chickens. Long ago in a state far away he'd been a farmboy.

So he may be seen in a quieter area casting cracked corn and talking in a peculiar high mutter, "Here you go, girl, here you go," as extremely fluffy birds emerge from hedges and undergrowth to scratch at the lawn in pursuit of their food. Exactly how he's going to get any of them back in a pen is something he's going to have to figure out later. They're docile, he should be able to heft some of them up.

[runs]

Kitty, a struggling giant bunny pressed against her chest, comes across the scene and stops to peer at it curiously. She's not particularly surprised to see someone she knows here - for a kid her age, she knows a surprising amount of older people, and besides why would he not be here, sitting peacefully in the middle or commotion and mayhem with a flock of happy birds? That sounds about right for him. She wonders if the seeds are better than the cookies he has.

"How do you know that that one is a girl?"

[scarsolderthanyou]

"Are those supposed to be chickens or baby emus?" asks a familiar voice. Sam Stone got the network message, himself, and is here to investigate. He'd drifted immediately to the familiar thatch of hair and sharp-ended arm.

[dragoonrouge]

A quick bus journey and Sadie found herself at Moss Manor. The house itself was large and grand in the manner that all old country manors were, and any other time Sadie would have wanted to poke around.

However, today she was going to be involving herself in the moderate pandemonium because animals. Waving to a very stressed member of staff she sets off around the grounds, time to see what animals she can find...

[channingchanningchanning]

After a bit of poking around she will find a frightened dwarf goat.

Or rather, the goat will find her, barrelling towards her with the single-minded determination that being frightened out of one's mind causes. The cause of this fright might not be immediately visible, but it is certainly audible - loud, agitated barking somewhere behind the poor animal. Perhaps Chad wouldn't have this effect normally, but the goat is confused anyway about all the commotion, and he's absolutely going to take advantage of this. Helping out everyone by herding the animals! Towards people who can catch them. Clearly there is no flaw in this plan.

I. Please, throw the worst animal possible at him. =D

[iamnotgod]

Walter arrives on the same bus as Sadie, feeling about as ready for this as he'll ever be.

"Hope I'm not too late?" he asks one of the staff, a wry attempt at a joke. He shakes his head.

"Right, where am I needed?"

[dragoonrouge]

Sadie trailed behind Walter, seeing as she had been avoiding everyone it had been a while since she had spent time with her library companion.

"I bet they're going to send you out to catch crocodiles." She jokes, grinning up at him.

[brofistsforall]

Jacob arrives half to investigate what's going on, half to investigate who announced the...shenanigans. It wasn't a voice he recognized, and at least for his own curiosity, he'd like a better idea of whom else was affected. What common thread units them...?

Either way, that can wait a moment. He's hardly the best at wrangling animals, but he's doing his best, coaxing a donkey to stay still while he approaches. "It's all right, I'm not going to hurt you..."

[scarsolderthanyou]

"Would it be better to leave it one animal per person, or should I try coming from the other end so it can't run away?" asks a tall old man with an American accent, eyeing the donkey from behind sunglasses.

If Jacob's been paying attention to the network, he'll recognize him as the one telling the hysterical messenger to calm the hell down, so he's definitely a fellow number-linked person.

[blueskying]

"At least he's got a bridle," Sky observes helpfully, not sure how close he should get. He knows donkeys and horses are strong and flighty, but that's about it. They'd invented tractors by the time he was working on his family's farm.

He's another old white man with an American accent, but short and with an obvious prosthetic. "And I suppose if he's used to kids he should be on the steady side, probably."

[channingchanningchanning]

Clearly it will be very helpful if a tiny white dog suddenly shoots past him in pursuit of some quite panicked chicken. Right?

[scarsolderthanyou]

This is more funny than anything else, to be honest. Sam shows up at the manor and surveys the chaos with an amused expression more than a concerned one. Still, he's not one to sit around and watch while other people are doing things, so he collects himself a variety of food items and starts stalking animals, aiming to use the food items to lure them within catching range, or even right back to their pens.

He mostly sticks to ones he doesn't have to bend down to pick up, if possible. He's not a young man anymore.

[warped_replica]

I
The next bus to arrive following Sadie and Walter delivers Benjiro to Moss Manor. With a quick notification sent to Sadie with his phone, he tucks his phone into a pocket to go inside. Upon entering, he immediately scans for signs of a worker to speak to in order to figure out where he might be most helpful...which would ideally be in some capacity other than handling the animals. Cats are about the only animal he feels comfortable interacting with thanks to a more urban upbringing.

That plan lasts for about five seconds.

Coming around the first corner, he stops in his tracks as a llama barrels towards him. Without a thought, he springs backwards out of the path with only a hand grazing the edge of its fur as it passes across at the intersection. Not stalling, he steps forward again to regain view of the creature. It doesn’t seem to know where to go with several visitors already having chased it into an agitated state. Benjiro knows he would not be able to run it down even if he tried, so he stands still to block the exit and watches as he considers the limited options.

II
Hesitant to follow the invitation initially as Benjiro is far more inclined to assist with repair of the damaged fences rather than face a social gathering, he relents with the promise of a chance to catch up with Sadie so they could talk. That, and he is curious to see who is present from the network that he recognizes, along with the pool of other potential numbered in the gathering. Slow to follow others, he watches for anyone moving in a different direction away from the patio.

II! As promised.

[iamnotgod]

Walter made sure to catch Ben's attention after all the hubbub died down. Luring out the peacocks had only been the beginning of the hectic day for him, and he really would have liked time to be alone.

Only, in one sense, he had as much of that as he wanted now, didn't he? Just not the way he wanted. Seeking out those he's connected with, then, is preferable.

He'd found an empty corner, one where the floorboards wouldn't creak and no one kept sneaking glances or asking You sure you don't want to take anything home? It's the least you all deserve for helping us...

II

[dragoonrouge]

It does not take Sadie long to locate Ben hovering somewhat awkwardly towards the edge of the group. She walks up to her friend with a smile and hands him an empty plate, pulling him towards the food table.

"Hey, so you survived your encounter with the vicious forces of the petting zoo?"

I

[runs]

One of those visitors that have chased it into agitation is Kitty, who is still running after it.

She's a bit bogged down by the guinea pig that she holds cradled against her chest, though. She slows down when she notices that someone is standing not too far beyond it - someone she knows fairly well, no less - and arrives at Ben's side in a slightly accelerated trot.

"I think they're helpless when you push them over."

Sheep. She's thinking of sheep.

[spaghettimonster]

IA. Catching flies in your mouth
After checking into the latest message from mysterious voices, Russell throws caution to the wind and rides his scooter up to the Moss Manor Menagerie to check it out. And sure enough, something's gone horribly wrong with the fences. There's animals everywhere, and a mix of staff and random visitors working to herd them back to safety.

Give him a minute to process the fact that this is actually happening. Or don't, and yell at him to get over and help already.

IB. Catching escaped animals
On the plus side, Russell's a young man and reasonably fit. Enough to contribute to the animal wrangling, and even get pressured into helping with the larger and more frightened animals.

II. Catching your breath
Russell takes the invitation for refreshments and seats in the patio, of course. It would be rude to turn the lady down, and besides, he needs to unwind before he goes driving anywhere. Plus there's a few familiar faces in this crowd, like his roommate, and one of his sort-of cousins. Who knew that petting zoos were the sort of place they visit...?

II

[runs]

Kitty has settled down to eat scones. Well, technically she's eating clotted cream and jam with some scone buried under it.

Which has caused her to run out of both spreads rather quickly. "Hey, can go get me the clotted cream over there?" she thus addresses the next best person with long arms, which happens to be Russell. She can't reach the little bowl, but maybe he can...

IA

[iamnotgod]

Well, speaking of other familiar faces!

Granted, Walter's more running past than running at. Someone's tried to lure a donkey into following him, and has gotten more than they bargained for!

It's surprising how the man can stay ahead of this ass... possibly.

IB

[warped_replica]

During his time in the gardens, he may very well come across his extended family member. Benjiro is standing just off one central path, looking up from beneath one of the larger trees with a perplexed expression. This will not be an easy task for certain, and his backpack has already been set aside.

Benjiro notices someone near and turns his head. Surprised to see Russell, he actually does a quick double take before he steps back on the path to meet him. “Russell? You’re here too?”

Ib

[dragoonrouge]

In Russell's quest to wrangle animals he will almost certainly come across a blonde, sunglass wearing teenager tugging at the bridal of a particularly stubborn Shetland Pony.

Said teenager would be very grateful for a helpful intervention.

Post II (As discussed)

[warped_replica]

As everything is winding down and people are dispersing from the patio to head off with most of the refreshments either consumed or spoken for, Benjiro is lingering to one side after having tried to speak to staff for more information. During his time scanning in the crowd, he had confirmed that his cousin was still present, and it is Russell he is waiting for now. As soon as he sees Russell start down the path leading away from the patio, he’ll stand to hurry after him with a brisk walk.

He calls for his attention as he nears, “Russell! Wait up!” Once he manages to come up beside his taller cousin, he slows only somewhat in an effort to match pace. “Sorry, I uh...” he hesitates with a slight frown, “There’s something I wanted to ask you.”

[channingchanningchanning]

I.

Chad is out and about being helpful.

Or arguably helpful. He is trying to help, which is partly limited by him also having to evade capture by the man that he came here with. Mostly the actual usefulness of it is limited though because a barking dog running towards any type of animal might indeed send them moving, and perhaps even in the right direction... but it also causes them to panic.

Which is why unlucky people who have come to be helpful might find themselves in the middle of a chicken stampede, at the receiving end of a panicked sheep's blind flight, or in the way of any other sort of fleeing animal too frightened to watch where its going.


II.

At the afternoon tea refreshments afterwards, Chad is being a very good dog and not begging for food. Instead, he is lounging on a chair, having been carefully cleaned by the guy he came with back to pristine whiteness, and enjoys the shade of a parasol and the little dish of water placed in front of him.

I. But also I SEE THAT PARASOL.

[iamnotgod]

Well, this is just grand. First peacocks, and now this!

Seeing the guinea pigs scattering about, moving in not anything like a herd, leaves Walter making a strangled growling noise himself.

Picking them up is almost guaranteed to get him bit, so instead he's using what he can to reroute the separated pigs - and doing his best to not trample any himself.

"A little more direction for these little guys would be nice!" he mutters.

[darkmagiciangirl]

I
Chihiro hadn't really planned on leaving the house today but she had caught the Network message and - while she didn't respond - though it would be nice to get out and help out catching some animal friends. She would check in with a staff member, then head out to the grounds to see what kind of trouble she could catch, entirely unprepared for this experience.

II
Going and capturing the animals for the petting zoo was certainly eventful, and she may even dare to say she had fun. She had found a spot to sit with a tall glass of ice water with lemon and a plate with a couple of little sandwiches of varying types and a scone.

I

[dragoonrouge]

Sadie spotted someone whose hands weren't already full with escaped animal, and considering she was trying to round up the rest of the dwarf goats she could use all the help she could get now that the dog had left.

"Um, excuse me! Hey, are you free to help?!"

[tobodlygo]

I.

They are, indeed, out.

Jim's having a great time to be honest, because he's trying to collect as many of the rabbits as possible.
He's found a good 'ol wicker basket, nice and deep, was filled with hay at some point, probably, but now with several large bunnies.

He's currently walking around with one large boy cradled in his arms. He really, really wants to keep him.

"I'm gonna call you Leonard." He coos to him, rubbing the rabbit's stomach and getting a thump in the face from the back legs for his efforts.

Ow.

II.

Jim has been picking out the lettuce from the sandwiches and feeding them to Leonard. He's not being that subtle about it.

I

[iamnotgod]

"Er, Jim?"

Walter's moving a more sedate pace, now. Collecting rabbits is a lot more slow-paced than hunting down peacocks, or running from donkeys...

"I don't think we'll be allowed to keep the animals. They are for the petting zoo," he adds, gently moving yet another rabbit back into its basket.

He's good at the soft touch, and he can relate to them always looking like they're nervous. Not so much the kicking, though.