one new mouse

[vivariummods]

It's been two days since the vote. Since then, there has been little activity. The speakers have never been turned on since that day, and there's been no sign of the owner of that voice. No further contact has been made, and it seems as if the group was abandoned again without a clue as to why they're here. ... Unless any members of the group are lucky enough to wake up early enough to catch a glimpse of something, uh, "new"... In the Greenhouse, while the artificial sky is a reddish colour from "sunrise", a large metal ladder is placed in front of the sickly trees. Beside the ladder is a children's wagon, filled with apples, and on top is an upright mouse with a gas mask... Yeah, as if this place couldn't get any weirder. The mouse quietly mumbles to itself, something along the lines of "... work... not paid... test subjects... spoiled", and holds an apple in one paw and a tape gun in the other. It appears to be taping the apples to the tree branches, one at a time, occasionally climbing down to grab an armful of apples to bring up. It's only a third way through the pile of apples (which only seems to be about a dozen...) so catch it while you can.

Comments

[toybombs]

Eh--

But wouldn't Ellie be better at climbing?

[Ellie do you really trust her to keep her balance in a tree. Do you.]

[elliexir]

Me? I think I might be, but what do you think, new guy?

[ Ellie's kind of unsure about going up since the trees are pretty old and kind of dead or she's not sure if it would support her weight, but she would probably keep her balance and is a better climber... Atsuro, make your call. Who will you send up:

> Ellie
> Rio
> Screw it, I'll climb that tree myself!! ]

[babel_hacker]

[Wait, why is this choice suddenly on him?]

Eh? What do I think? Well...

[He barely know these girls, so he's making his judgement based on their size and, uh... general weight. Which he won't voice out loud. Rio is lighter, but he'd feel uneasy about sending a small kid up there. Ellie is bigger and can probably take a fall better, but then he doesn't want any of them to get hurt.

► Ellie
► Rio
► Screw it, I'll climb that tree myself!!]

How about I go up there and get them instead?

[toybombs]

[You can practically see the awed sparkle in her eyes.]

Really? You would do that?

Thank you so much, Atsuro-!!

[elliexir]

[ Kyaaaa, Atsuro-senpai, you're so cool. So kakkoiiiiii ]

Wait, hold on. [ While Rio might be happy, Ellie is a biiiit concerned. ] Are you sure? What if a tree branch breaks or something?

[babel_hacker]

[He's not even the oldest here...

Atsuro looks up at the tree. The branch might break if he's unlucky.]

...Yeah, I'm sure if I'm careful. And even if it breaks, I don't want you two to fall.

[Chivalry exists!? More like he doesn't want people to get hurt.]

[elliexir]

[ Yeah, but we ignore Rio. She's not deserving of the senpai status. ]

Someone's being a gentleman. [ Said with a slight teasing tone, hahahaha ] But sure, if you're up for it, then go for it, big guy.

[babel_hacker]

[Well, he basically talked himself into this.]

Alright, then. [He looks up at the fences that's in the way. Hm, he thinks he can climb over it. Up he goes over the fences?!

(how high are they anyway)]

[elliexir]

[ The fences are only waist-high but the trees are much higher. They're not extremely tall, perhaps only 30 feet up (a little over 9 meters), so it's not too bad. ]

[ Ellie hops over the fence as well, so she could at least stay somewhere near if Atsuro falls. ]

[babel_hacker]

[Once they're at the trees, Atsuro looks up as if to judge it. It... doesn't feel like he knows what's up. Maybe he had PE classes for climbing?

Okay.

He's going to start climbing. Wish him luck...]

[elliexir]

[ She stands underneath the tree, just slightly off to the side. ]

Make sure to not look down!

[ Is that comforting?? ]

[toybombs]

Y-you can do it, Atsuro!

[Look at this team of cheerleaders, how can he possibly fail with them backing him up?]

[babel_hacker]

[Aw yeah, how can he fail this? Encouraged by their cheers, he climbs up! Carefully and awkwardly, until he reaches the branches.]

Almost there! Get ready to catch some apples, you two!

[You know, so he won't have to carry them down...]

[elliexir]

[ Ellie opens her arms slightly apart, hands cupped and ready to catch some apples...!! ]

All right! Let it rain!

[toybombs]

Ready!

[Her arms are up in a similar fashion. Let there be food!]

[babel_hacker]

[He reaches out and...grabs an apple! Since they're just taped, it's not that hard to pull them off.]

Got it! Here it comes!

[He drops the first apple in the direction. Head's up!]

[toybombs]

[And it bounces right off of Rio's head and, miraculously, into her hands.

Ow.]

U-uuu...

[But... at least she sort of caught it???]

[babel_hacker]

[He looks down at her, concerned.]

Are you okay, Rio?

[It didn't hit you too hard, right??]

[elliexir]

[ GOOD GOING ATSRUO ]

Man, it's like your head is a magnet for trouble. Let me check.

[ First getting cut on your cheek, then having that goat chew your hair, then landing on your head by running away from said goat, and now this apple... ]

[toybombs]

[Once again, her head seems to be just fine. Even if she's sniffling.]

I-I'm okay...

[It sounds like she's trying not to cry, but the wibble kind of ruins the effect.]

[babel_hacker]

[IT WAS AN ACCIDENT, OKAY]

If you say so... I'll grab some more apples, okay?

[Hopefully, his weight wouldn't finally make him fall.]

[elliexir]

[ NO IT WASN'T, YOU PROBABLY DID THAT ON PURPOSE ]

Well, it does look fine, but maybe you should sit this one out, Rio. [ She doesn't want Rio to get hurt... again, but looking up at Atsuro. ] Yeah, go for it, but aim it towards me!

[toybombs]

[She gives a pathetic, teary nod before backing off. She should probably wait for the other two, but...

The temptation is too great. There's a tiny crunch as she bites into the apple.]

1/2

[babel_hacker]

[CURSES, YOU SAW THROUGH MY DASTARDLY PLAN]

Alright!

[As he climbs up and grab another apple, he turns to look for Ellie, mostly so to see where she is. Just as he drop the apple in her direction, he happens to see Rio eating...]

[babel_hacker]

[The small shift in his weight is the final nail on the coffin, and the strain is too much for the poor branch.

Snap.

And he falls to the ground.]

Ahhh--!

[Thud.]