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

[elliexir]

Ellie.

[ She'll let Rio introduce herself. Doesn't seem nice to do it for her. ]

[toybombs]

I'm Rio.

[And this boy would be...?]

[babel_hacker]

I'm Atsuro.

[If this is any other circumstances, he would say "it's nice to meet you", but...]

[elliexir]

I'd say 'nice to meet you' or 'welcome to the group', but that seems pretty out of place...

Soooo how about we show you the Greenhouse instead? There's some water you can wash up with.

[toybombs]

[She does perk up a little at the mention of the greenhouse.]

Maybe we can ask for some of those apples, too-!

[Guess what her mind has been on.]

[babel_hacker]

[That seems to got his attention.]

I'd like to get an apple as well!

[After all that heavy stuff they talked, he realised he didn't know how long he's been out for. When's the last time he ate?]

[elliexir]

All right! Let's go get them!

[ Apples sure boosted the morale quickly, which is good because while the whole situation is pretty depressing, they had to focus on some of the positive sides (and make sure that Rio doesn't cry). ]

[ She leads them back into the Greenhouse, after going through a small corridor first and over to the fenced off trees. The strange mouse with the gas mask is nowhere to be seen (along with his ladder and wagon), but a hastily written note is left on the floor that reads 'BRB IN 30 MINS', so there's that. Ellie leans against the fence, looking up at the trees, where a few apples are taped to the branches. ]

Whoa, they're pretty high up.

[babel_hacker]

[He followed quietly behind them, looking around as they go. If he's stuck here, he should get to know his surroundings better. And not, you know, accidentally get lost.

Once they're at the Greenhouse, Atsuro briefly looked around before he followed Ellie towards the trees. He turns his gaze up and see the apples.]

Whoa, they are. I wonder if we can climb up and get them?

[toybombs]

[Rio looks up longingly, her hands folded by her chest. Apparently she has deemed Atsuro inoffensive enough, because she's stopped hiding behind Ellie now.]

It feels like so long since I ate fresh fruit...

[Unfortunately, she's probably a bit on the short side to make much of a climbing attempt here.]

[elliexir]

The trees look pretty old though, so maybe we should lift each other up instead? That might be kind of fun.

[ Looking at you, Atsuro. Find the strength within you to pick up one of the girls. ]

[babel_hacker]

[He saw that look. What, does he look like he lifts?]

We could. ...I can try lifting one of you two up?

[toybombs]

But then, who should it be?

[She asks as if it weren't totally obvious who the lighter of the two probably is.]

[elliexir]

[ Yes, you totally look like you lift weights, Atsuro. Yuzu totally likes guys who are buff, but Ellie looks over to Rio. ]

Maybe you can pick up Rio. She looks light enough for you.

[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?]