Subject: “No,” he replied.
Author:
Posted on: 2022-07-05 16:29:46 UTC
“I don’t know who you are, and I don’t care. Now vacate of my path posthaste!”
((So much for “somewhat” abrasive. And I didn't think this was going on at Headquarters—but it makes more sense if it is, so I’ll roll with it.
—Ls))
So, it’s (American) Independence Day and I’m starting this RP because of it.
Basically, your agent(s) have been kidnapped by some other agent and forced to participate in a national holiday celebration.
Hopefully, that should be understandable.
—Ls
“MINA!” yelled Carlisle. “What is going on?”
He had been relaxing in his RC when Mina randomly opened a portal beneath him. And now he was here. At a parade. Carlisle hated parades.
“It’s Fourth of July!” said Mina. “And we’re at a parade. And we can go see my aunt later.”
“Yes,” said Carlisle. “I can see that. But why did you have to bring me along. And why do we have to be on the float?!”
((There’s a bit of an example of what this should be.
—Ls))
"Mummy, why are those agents on that float?"
Sasha Fontwell glanced down at her daughter and then up at the passing float, two agents appearing to bicker on top of it. "Shenanigans I expect," she said slowly. "These things never seen to go off without shenanigans, to be honest with you that's why we left daddy at home."
Lindsey cocked her head to one side seeming to think about it for a moment. "Is that why you locked Daddy and Uncle Wallis in the bedroom?"
Sasha grinned shot Lindsey a wicked grin. "Don't worry, I told Shawn to let them out if there are any problems or if the console goes off."
“Well,” said Carlisle. “I’m getting off this stupid float! You can throw candy to little kids all you like, but I'm not riding on this eagle any longer!”
“Of course you don’t like floats!” Mina sighed. “You don’t like anything.”
“Well,” Carlisle said. “I’m getting off! As soon as I figure out how.”
((You can reply as if he’s off if you’d like, it’ll speed up interaction.
—Ls))
It was at the same moment Carlisle finally portaled off of the float, that Lindsey finally slipped out of her mother's grasp using every once of strength in her eight year old body, along with no small degree of support from the Ironic Overpower.
Sasha froze for a moment looking at Carlisle and then at the rapidly closing portal that her daughter had just run through. While most mothers would scream and panic at this point, and likely let loose a string of foul language aimed at Carlisle, Sasha just sighed. She'd been doing this far too long now.
On top of the float meanwhile Lindsey burst out with a huge grin, clearly proud of her momentary shot at escapology, watching the 'crowds' below the float before finally locking her eyes on the teenager before her. "Hello, who are you?
Meanwhile, on the ground...
“I am known as Carlisle Cressington. Now please, get out of my way.” He walked past her, then turned around. “By the way, you have a stray apostrophe.”
((Hopefully that’s understandable.))
Lindsey grinned at the young agent. "I'm Lindsey," she said proudly, "my daddy works in the field and my mummy is one of the trainers. Are you a trainee agent? Are you in mummy's class? Why are you up on a float? Who was that rude man?"
She paused in her pile of questions for a moment, tilting her head to one side and looking closely at Mina. "What type of candy do you have?"
“Here want some gummy bears? Or gummy worms? Or chocolate? I love chocolate! Oh, and we have caramel!”
She grabbed each treat as she mentioned it and shoved it into Lindsey’s arms. “I’m on this float ‘cause it’s fun! That was my partner. He left ‘cause he’s boring. I’m a reeeeeal live agent! Well, I think I’m alive. Who’s your mummy?”
((How old is Lindsey again? Mina’s 15.
—Ls))
"Aren't you a little young to be a real agent?" Lindsey asked with an unimpressed look on her face, but still taking the offered chocolate anyway and stuffing it straight into her mouth. "My mum's down there," Lindsey added pointing an impossibly chocolatey hand towards Sasha in the crowd. "Sasha Fontwell, she was a floater but she's personnel now and trains lots of young agents."
There were far more words that were rendered unintelligible by the quantities of chocolate in her mouth, but eventually she managed to form them again. "I'm going to be a great agent one day, I've already been on lots of missions," she finished, somewhat deliberately failing to point out that lots meant two, and that on both occasions she'd snuck onto a mission without her parents permission and had gotten into rather large amounts of trouble afterwards.
((She's eight. From what I've seen of Mina she may know some of this, so here's the exposition: She was born in Headquarters to Agents Steven and Sasha Fontwell, who have been agents since 2011 and had spent some time in the nursery before that.))
“Who’s giving out the chocolate here?” Mina asked. “Me! And I think you ought to understand being ‘too young’.”
She pulled a RA out of her pocket. “See this? It’s a Remote Activator. Only real agents get these.”
Mina gestured to her flash patch. “And real agents get flash patches as well.”
((Mina didn’t spend much time in the Nursery, due to . . . issues she caused, so I don’t think she’d know Lindsey.))
"My Uncle Shawn always says you can tell the new agents because they're excited by the things," she said giving the kind of cocky look only a self assured eight year old can actually manage. "Then they wind up crying when they break them."
Lindsey held her ground, standing there staring at the young agent, trying to look stern and serious, an appearance that was somewhat marred by the volume of chocolate around her lips.
((I didn't want to assume, just figured I'd pass on the information in case :) ))
She threw the RA onto the float’s floor and jumped, crushing it.
“See? Your uncle doesn’t know anything!”
Lindsey looked at Mina, then down at the broken RA, and then back up at Mina again. "Wow, did you just destroy your RA just to prove you're better than an eight year old? Good job, you win." Lindsey gave a mock bow, channeling far too much of her father. "You're clearly the better Agent."
“I’m the better agent, I’m not crying, and I do win. And you—“
She carefully moved the chocolate so that it was out of Lindsey’s reach.
“—can’t have any more chocolate.”
((I think that at some point Mina’s bad luck powers might affect her. Maybe.
—Ls))
... and Lindsey stumbles a little, her earlier overconfidence replaced by a glimmer of fear.
"Why are you stopping?" She asked, glancing over at Mina and wiping her chocolate covered hands on the dungarees she wore their fight of seconds before seemingly forgotten, as the float suddenly, and completely judders to a halt.
I’m not the one driving.”
"Then who is driving? I don't think this is fun any more."
Now what I am I going to throw to the...”
She paused and looked around.
“...crowd that used to be here?”
((Maybe Sasha’s driving? She should be done arguing with Carlisle by now.
—Ls))
Lindsey slowly made her way to the edge of the float, kneeling down. "Um, Mina," she called with a note of terror in her voice. "I can't see anyone at the controls."
As she turned to look at the agent, tears began to well in her eyes.
The float was slowly veering towards a wall.
"You said you were the full agent, you know how to deal with this sort of thing don't you?" As she moaned, Lindsey looked over the edge of the float once again, wondering just where all of the people had actually gone.
Mina walked along the edge of the float. She then slipped, her fingers barely grasping the float’s edge.
Lindsey moved forward to try and support Mina, before realising that it was unlikely she would have the strength to hold onto the older girl if she were to fall. Instead she fell into her father's defense mechanism of sarcasm. "No, I think you should let the eight year old drive," she muttered half angrily and half in fear. "Do something!"
What do you WANT me to do?!”
Mina was slowly losing her grip.
She glanced back and forth confused at the lack of people below, her eyes finally falling to the broken RA, moments before diving to grab Mina's ankle, trying to hold her steady. "You know if you hadn't broken the Remote Thingy then we coulda just portaled off!"
She finally lost her grip entirely and fell onto ground.
and likewise not wanting to be left alone, Lindsey maintained her grip on Mina's ankle and the heroic struggle began, a battle of titanic forces. Could Lindsey keep hold of Mina without loosing her own grip? Could she haul the other agent back up to the safety of the floats top? Could she defy Mina's bad luck powers?
Of course not, she was an eight year old girl and so after what she would later describe as an epic struggle (but in reality lasted barely a second) Lindsey felt herself pulled over the edge, still clinging to Mina's foot as she plummeted.
Lindsey landed on top of her.
“Ow,” Mina moaned.
before ducking back down as the float collided with the nearest wall exploding with far too much sound and fury as if it were attempting to be far too mellow dramatic in it's death.
"So, um, what do we do now?" She asked meekly.
Sasha watched the somewhat abrasive older man as he moved away, tugging the stray apostrophe out of her hair with a sigh. "It's amazing what you pick up surrounded by kids all day," she moaned.
Without moving from his path she squared her shoulders, putting on her best teacher voice. "I think you mean 'get out of my way PLEASE' Agent Carlisle. Field agents have to put up with unspeakable things while in the Word Worlds, and therefore deserve a little politeness when at Headquarters, wouldn't you agree?"
“I don’t know who you are, and I don’t care. Now vacate of my path posthaste!”
((So much for “somewhat” abrasive. And I didn't think this was going on at Headquarters—but it makes more sense if it is, so I’ll roll with it.
—Ls))
Sasha stepped aside, rolling her eyes and offering Carlisle the face that was usually only reserved for Steven when he was in trouble.
"Well, it's always nice to meet an agent with manners," she muttered under her breath, turning her attention to the float where Lindsey was still talking to the young agent.