Sime/Gen Roleplaying: Two Roads Diverged Scenario
Episode #13: What in Tarnation?! (6/8/98)
Eliza hears (or dreams) a noise and sits up in the dark.
Eliza listens carefully for a few moments but hears nothing but the stirring of the horses and the wind in the trees.
Eliza: [softly] Snake? You awake?
Wise Snake tosses restlessly.
Wise Snake: Unnmmj.
Wise Snake: Don't do that! Unnhhh.
Eliza crawls over to where Snake is sleeping.
Wise Snake's tentacles are crawling about.
Wise Snake: Richard? I... no no!!
Wise Snake: Stop... it's too expensive!
Wise Snake: Aiii!!
Wise Snake starts clawing her eyes in her sleep.
Eliza hesitates with her hand out, then puts it gently on Snake shoulder.
Eliza: [hisses] Snake! Wake up.
Wise Snake: No more rubber! No more rubberrrrrr!!! [despairing]
Wise Snake jerks, then comes suddenly awake.
Wise Snake's eyes fly open and she sits up abruptly, panting wildly.
Eliza: Are you okay?
Wise Snake: ... Eliza?
Eliza: Should I wake Nick?
Wise Snake: I had the most horrible dream.
Wise Snake looks over at Nick, who is dead asleep after having stayed up an unreasonable number of hours in Snake's service.
Wise Snake sighs.
Eliza: It was only a dream Snake, dreams can't hurt you.
Wise Snake: No, I guess not.
Eliza: Do you want some water or something?
Eliza: [meanwhile, the sky is fading into dawn]
Wise Snake: Oh... sure.
Eliza gets up and steps over the sleeping people [amazingly without kicking them] to get to the bag with the water in it and a mug.
Eliza carries it back, pours some and hands it to Snake.
Eliza: Here.
Wise Snake does a double take, then realizes Eliza had a container in her hand when she did that.
Wise Snake: Thank you. [accepts the cup]
Wise Snake is still a bit fuzzy.
Eliza: You okay now Snake?
Wise Snake: Er... yes. Yes.
Wise Snake always says that.
Eliza is awake now with no chance to go back to sleep and sighs.
Eliza: I guess it's too early to wake everyone.
Wise Snake: Yeah.
Wise Snake looks around at all the sleeping Gens and realizes she is going to be spending a lot of time on her own now.
Wise Snake: There's a farmhouse down the way... want to see if we could buy or steal something for breakfast?
Eliza: Sure!
Eliza takes a quick drink.
Wise Snake pushes back her greasy black mane.
Eliza: Okay, I'm ready. Where's the farmhouse? I don't remember seeing it.
Wise Snake points the way... not back toward the road, which they are camped about a half mile from, but in the other direction.
Wise Snake: We didn't pass it before.. I zlinned it.
Eliza sighs.
Wise Snake grimaces in distaste at the cold, damp grass and the cold mist in the air.
Eliza: It's times like this I wish I could zlin.
Wise Snake thinks it's at times like this she wishes she could sleep more than 3 hours.
Wise Snake starts off in the direction of the farmhouse, slogging through the tall grasses.
Eliza hops and jumps and skips along beside her.
Eliza: [chatting away like crazy]
Wise Snake shushes Eliza.
Eliza: And once we get your hair bleached....
Wise Snake blanches at the mention of bleach.
Eliza: [whispers and crouches] what's wrong, do you zlin someone coming?
Wise Snake: No.. I just want to approach quietly.
Eliza: Oh, okay.
Wise Snake continues down into a small dale, then starts crossing toward the house and its various outbuildings.
Farm House is sitting quietly.
Eliza gets a great big dose of nostalgia.
Farm House is covered in faded, weathered paint.
Wise Snake zlins about carefully, attempting to locate any people and determine whether they are asleep or awake.
Eliza: Looks like home.
Eliza: [cows can be heard mooing in the distance]
Eliza licks her lips at the thought of fresh milk.
Wise Snake: Shh...
Wise Snake flicks a tentacle in the direction of a shed, where the faint sounds of scrubbing can be heard.
Maggie mutters and curses as she scrubs out the 5th stall with bleach.
Maggie: Don' no where those no good sons a mine are THIS time, but Ah sure as hellmgonna tear a strip off their hides for leavin their pore old ma and dad alone yit again....
Bossy: Mooo.
Maggie: Oh, hold yer horses girly, Ah'm a comin in just a moment.
Maggie pants and sweats and pushes herself up in the stall, picking up her bucket as she goes.
Bossy is painfully full of milk and lets her discomfort be known.
Maggie carries the bucket out of the stall and sets it down, then goes to fetch a bale of straw.
Bossy looks back.
Maggie: Aaaaugh! [hauls it over clumsily]
Maggie: When I get mah hands on those no good.... [cuts the wire]
Maggie kicks the straw into the stall and spreads it around, then goes to untie Bossy and lead her into the stall.
Bossy follows her lead.
Duve comes walking into the barn, dragging a rake.
Duve is a dull-looking boy of about 12 or 13.
Duve: Hey ma,
Maggie looks up as she's dragging the milking stool and bucket into place.
Maggie: Wall, it's about time you little-- where were you?
Duve: I wuz up by the sand pit with Moony and Noa.
Duve seems utterly oblivious to her anger (or much else)
Maggie: How many times have I! Ooh. [pissed]
Maggie sits down and grasps Bossy's udders.
Duve continues to stand there, rake tilting down to the ground behind him, mouth hanging open, eyes half-lidded.
Bossy discovers Maggie's hands are COLD!
Bossy: Mooo!
Maggie: You just don't listen do you?? [starts squirting milk into the bucket with great vigor, in time with the accents on her words.]
Bossy winces with each angry pull.
Maggie: Day [squirt] after day [squirt] you just keep [squirt] on with the same [squirt] IRRESPONSIBLE [squirt] behav [squirt] ior with nev[squirt]er a let up... what do you think is going to happen to you? [squirt] [squirt]
Duve: Aw mom.... [bored]
Duve: Chores are boring.
Duve: Anyway, Moony found a bottle in the sand pit old man Sugus said was worth 15 p.
Duve: He's gonna take it in to town and sell it and we're gonna share the coins.
Maggie: If your papa finds out you got coin you aren't handin him, your behind's gonna be tanner than a smoke sausage boy!
Maggie switches teats.
Bossy relaxes at the break in abuse...
Maggie: [squirt!!] Now you get [squirt] yer ass in[squirt] here and start muck[squirt]in' out them stalls[squirt] boy! These girls[squirt] cain't wait all day![squirt]
Maggie: Where's your brother? [squirt]
Bossy begins wincing again.
Duve: Uh, I dunno.
Duve: [playing stupid or genuinely stupid? Kinda hard to tell, and would it matter?]
Duve drags the rake on past and drops it in the middle of the aisle.
Duve goes to the 6th stall and unties that cow's rope.
Fly lands on Bossy's ear.
Bossy flicks at the irritant.
Fly flies off, circling.
Fly lands again in the same spot.
Fly washes his eyes and forelegs.
Bossy flicks again.
Fly takes off again, this time not staying aloft for as long before returning.
Fly: Hey, hey hey baby! You and me is on the same side, here!
Fly: What's with all this fleckin' ears on me?
Fly lands on Bossy's ear again.
Bossy sets up for a really big flick!
Fly: I'm not your enemy baby, we got some common ground.
Fly: It's the Man we got to worry about, not each other!
Fly: I ain't the one makin you one sore mama right now am I? I'm just a little old fly.
Bossy doesn't know what's worse, cold handed Maggie or this Kizlode fly.
Maggie: [A couple more buckets later, finally leaves Bossy in peace and goes on to the next victim]
Bossy breathes a bovine sigh of relief.
Fly: It don't have be this way though, see that's the thing.
Fly: You ought to be roamin free, eatin in a field out somewhere.
Fly: See what I'm sayin'?
Fly: This ain't right. It ain't natcheral.
Bossy flicks!
Fly flies up, circling.
Fly lands again, this time under Bossy's eye.
Fly: I know you don't be dissin me, because I ain't done nothing to deserve that treatment.
Fly: I'm just mindin my own business here, know what I mean? I'm just mindin my own business.
Bossy flutters her long eyelashes.
Fly cleans his hindlegs on each other.
Fly flies up to avoid the eyelashes.
Fly circles in the still air over the stalls.
Huck: I'm a here naw maw.
Maggie stands up abruptly from where she was yanking on another cow.
Maggie: Why you no good snake bellied excuse for a worm farmer! [* worm farmer = Sime]
Maggie: Where you been this time?
Maggie: Pa n I been stuck with alla work to oursef fer the 4th day in a row now! You thenk yer taxes grow on a tree or somethin?
Maggie: ~~habitually irate~~
Huck: Aww maw you know not to do dat to me when I'm in need!
Huck puts the buckets down looking sorry for himself.
Maggie: ~~ ~~
Maggie: Look you, this tha last time we kin pay fer yer taxes ifn you ain't gon be worken on the farm, do yew unnerstand?
Huck: I work damn hard on the farm maw!
Huck: I do twice the work since I done gone Sime.
Maggie: Twice nothin is still nothin boy!
Maggie: What in ell have ya been doin on the farm that don't involve bein' here with your phee-seek-al presence?
Maggie: ~~exasperated~~
Huck sighs.
Huck: I'll just git on with the milking then.
Huck slides along the side of a waiting cow and milks her out with one hand and 3 tentacles.
Wise Snake skirts the cow shed and approaches a chicken hut.
Eliza sneaks along after her.
Huck sinks his head on the side of the cow and tries to feel positive about his trip today to the local Householding.
Wise Snake finds a semi-rusty padlock on the henhouse door and pulls out her picklocks, zlinning again to make sure everybody's attention is firmly elsewhere.
Wise Snake finds a lot of people who's attention is nowhere in particular, but nobody who is paying attention to herself and Eliza.
Wise Snake nods.
Huck: [squirt squirt squirt]
Eliza hears the rattle of buckets coming from the shed and clutches Snake's shoulder convulsively.
Wise Snake practically snaps a pick off in the lock as she jerks.
Wise Snake: Watch it! [hisses]
Eliza: [whispers] Sorry, people are awake here Snake!
Wise Snake: Yes I know! [whispers] That's why we're being very quiet!
Wise Snake jerks the rusty lock downward, then pulls it off the hasp as it opens.
Wise Snake: Let's see if they've collected the eggs yet.
Wise Snake: [one really has to wonder if maybe Snake has done this before]
Huck lifts his head and zlins around.
Huck: Maw....
Huck: I think someone is here Maw!
Wise Snake slips inside the shed and starts reaching under chickens, picking up eggs quickly.
Huck: Maw! you going to look or what?
Maggie gets up and stamps up toward the front of the cow shed.
Maggie: Awright, awright, hold yer horses!
Maggie: Ya know if ye hadn't gone and gotten the dog kilt we'd have advance warnin on these things!
Maggie: Ya no good... [muttering]
Maggie: Yeeowww!!!!!!!!
Huck mumbles something unintelligible into the side of the cow.
Maggie does a double back flip as she slips on the rake Duve left in the middle of the aisle.
Huck jumps up, kicking over the bucket.
Huck: WHAT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Maggie's foot lands on the tines of the rake, flipping the rake up so the handle smacks her in the forehead.
Maggie topples slowly, wearing a pole-axed (or maybe rake-handled) expression.
Huck augments into the passageway, crouching and ready, breathing hard and totally hyper.
Eliza jumps at the yell.
Wise Snake slides out of the chicken house again and fumbles with the padlock.
Wise Snake: Come on come on.. we should get out of here.
Wise Snake snaps the padlock on.
Huck circles his fallen mother, confused at the sudden loss of signal.
Eliza: Did you hear that yell?
Eliza: Someone yelled Snake!
Maggie is still wearing the flummoxed expression, even in unconsciousness.
Wise Snake: Yes yes, and I zlinned too.
Wise Snake: Come on.
Eliza sticks to Snake like chewing gum.
Wise Snake wonders irrelevantly why Eliza is smelling so minty-fresh today.
Wise Snake scurries back across the field with the eggs and Eliza.
Huck zlins other, strange fields, and his tentacles writhe madly.
Eliza: Aren't you going to see who was yelling, Snake?
Huck rushes out the door.
Wise Snake doesn't answer until they are well out of zlinning range of the farm.
Wise Snake: Well yes, of course.
Wise Snake: Just as soon as we aren't holding their eggs anymore.
Eliza: ~ confusion ~
Eliza: But we are going... oh I see.
Eliza: I'll take the eggs and follow you.
Wise Snake: Okay but whatever you do, stay out of sight OK?
Eliza: You don't want me to come back and help?
Eliza: ~ worry ~
Wise Snake: Yes, but don't let anybody see you under any circumstances.
Huck can't zlin anything strange and tries to return duo.
Eliza: Ok... I'll try.
Huck finds it shen hard but finally manages it by sheathing all tentacles and gritting his teeth.
Huck turns around to see what is wrong with his maw.
Huck: Maw?
Huck: Oh shen Maw!
Wise Snake slips stealthily back to the farm.
Huck: Duve!!!!!!!!!!!!
Duve sticks his head up over a stall.
Duve: What ya want, Huck?
Huck: You shendoni lorsh! You left the rake in the passage again!!!!!
Huck: Look at poor maw!
Duve comes over and looks.
Huck starts to head to his maw, then thinks better.
Duve: Well, golly, Huck!
Huck: I don't think I should be here. I'll go get paw!
Huck backs out of the shed, before turning and fleeing to the relative safety of the house.
Duve: Okay Huck.
Huck: PAW!!! PAW!!! MAW DID GET PLUM KNOCKED OUT AGAIN!!!
Wise Snake zlins Huck disappearing into the house, and takes the opportunity to sneak up close along the wall of the cattle shed, on the opposite side from the house.
Paw: What ya hollering about now, damn kids, man can't get his rest.
Wise Snake stays low, gaining as much cover as possible from the ground.
Paw does up his suspenders as he heads down the front steps of the house.
Wise Snake zlins that only the child and the unconscious woman are in the shed.
Huck stops by his paw. "Maw's in the shed, I don't want to be around when she comes to. Damn near attacked her as it was!"
Wise Snake slides into the shed's rear door and pulls it softly shut, putting the bar down for good measure.
Paw: Okay okay, I'll take care of her.
Paw rocks over to the shed.
Duve has his back to Snake, still looking at his maw and scratching his head.
Wise Snake zlins the Sime father coming and slithers behind a metal water trough, flattening her nager.
Paw wonders why they shut the door and pushes on it, surprised to find it locked.
Wise Snake uses the wasted moments of his confusion to duck from behind the water trough into the feed room.
Paw heads around to the other door.
Paw: Duve? Maggie? What you doing in there!
Duve: Paw! Maw done did it again! Wit thuh rake.
Eliza puts the eggs down by the medicine bag where Nick or Linn would find them and sneaks over the comatose bodies again before belting back in the direction of the farmhouse.
Wise Snake tosses an empty can into the corner behind Duve.
Duve whips around, startled by the noise.
Wise Snake augments lightly to the other door and swings it shut too, plunging the shed into darkness.
Wise Snake slams the bar down, then drops again.
Duve: What thuh...??
Duve: Paw, ya done locked me in! [disbelief]
Eliza manages to get more then halfway back before tripping and falling in something slippery and odorous.
Duve: I ain't in changeover paw! Come on, let me out!!
Duve hurries toward the door, tripping over his maw.
Paw: Duve boy? What you doing in the shed wiff ya maw!!!
Paw panics.
Paw pulls at the door.
Duve stumbles up again, disoriented.
Wise Snake times careful placement of a foot and trips Duve into the feed room.
Paw: Come on Duve! Open up! We were going up to the Householding today anyway! It can't be that quick!
Paw augments to pull off a wooden beam.
Wise Snake shuts the feed room door and slams it.
Duve: Dad!! I ain't in changeover! I ain't I ain't!
Wise Snake, panting, crouches over the unconscious mother and slides into healing mode.
Paw bellows.
Eliza gets up and looks down at herself in disgust.
Maggie moans as the channel's ministrations begin to take effect.
Paw: Open up this door now Duve! I'm gunna get the strap to you!
Paw zlins the interior to see if his boy is going into changeover.
Wise Snake hesitates, then says she'll forgive herself for this someday -- and steals the woman's selyn.
Paw: What the.... Who's in there!
Wise Snake: Shen [under her breath]
Wise Snake: ~~Maggie~~
Paw: What you doing to me wife!!!!!!
Paw freezes.
Paw: That you Duve?
Maggie: Paw? [weakly]
Paw pulls off another wooden plank.
Paw: I'm a comin Maggie!
Paw rips off another wooden plank.
Duve: Uh Dad... I don't feel too good.
Eliza continues on stickily.
Wise Snake slides back to the rear of the shed and pulls up the bar, then slips out the back.
Maggie sits up in confusion, her headache completely gone and no sign of dizziness.
Maggie: Well, don't that beat all!
Maggie: I ain't never got knocked out quite like this afore!
Paw climbs in through the resulting hole.
Wise Snake floats up the rear steps of the house and slips in the back door.
Paw zlins his wife in confusion.
Paw: Maggie, where is Duve? Did he hurt you?
Maggie: What you done break down the door for, paw? The back one's open.
Maggie points at it.
Paw: It wasn't a minute ago...
Duve: Dad? [weakly... from the feed room which has a closed door]
Paw: Son?
Paw zlins around and walks over to the feed room.
Paw: What you doing in there son?
Wise Snake locates the renSime and approaches the room he's in, zlinning as close to ~~Maggie~~ as she can.
Paw: ~ confusion ~
Duve: I don't feel so good, dad.
Duve is slumped in a corner.
Paw: Hold on son, I'll have you out of there.
Paw opens the door.
Huck keeps his head under a pillow and refuses to zlin what's happening.
Huck: Ohhh I should have gone yestday.
Wise Snake appears like an apparition in Huck's doorway and uses her field to draw him hyperconscious.
Wise Snake: ~~Maggie/lush Gen Offering~~
Huck waves around.
Wise Snake: ~~enticement~~
Huck floats up from the bed, drawn by a steady stream of offered selyn.
Huck reaches out unthinkingly to the apparition.
Wise Snake holds out her arms projecting ~~your Gen~~
Huck: ~ need ~
Wise Snake: ~~promise/offering~~
Wise Snake allows him to take her in transfer position.
Huck takes gentle hold of the dream gen and tenderly leans forward.
Wise Snake: ~~yours~~
Huck has never had such a nice needmare before.
Huck makes fifth contact and starts to draw and draw and draw.
Huck wishes this dream could last forever.
Wise Snake: ~~soaring rapture~~
Huck soars up on the field of dreams and pulls back, eyes closed in rapture.
Huck becomes aware that something isn't quite right here....
Wise Snake uses her field to put Huck to sleep.
Huck curls up in a ball on the floor.
Wise Snake tiptoes out of the house.
Duve: Dad, I feel really weird.
Eliza washes herself down in a barrel outside the chicken coop [on the far side of the shed]
Paw flings the door open.
Wise Snake does a double take as she realizes there is a changeover victim in the cow shed!
Duve is curled up against a corner.
Paw: You just come out and explain to me what's been going on here.
Paw: I'll get the strap to you boy!
Eliza peeks around the side of the chicken coop then dashes for the side of the shed.
Paw takes a step in and grabs his son by the arm to drag him out.
Duve cries out.
Paw feels the heat of his son's arm and drops it, jumping back.
Paw: Aww Duve boy!
Maggie: What you doin to the boy, Paw?
Paw: Maggie! Go get the wagon! We got to get Duve to the Householding!
Wise Snake lurks beside the cow shed, waiting for a moment to slip back in.
Paw: Now Duvey, don't worry, we will get you there in plenty of time!
Paw hopes.
Paw: When did you start feeling bad?
Duve: About 4am sir.
Duve only uses Ma'am and Sir when he is deathly ill.
Duve: [or thinks he is]
Maggie: I'm a go get tha wagon now.
Maggie leaves the shed.
Wise Snake slides inside.
Paw worries more about the fact that his son knows what time it was he felt sick then about anything else.
Wise Snake's adrenaline is pumping.
Wise Snake: ~~I am the ambient~~
Eliza peeks into the shed.
Paw looks up and zlins around.
Paw: Someone there?
Wise Snake flattens behind the water trough.
Wise Snake realizes the Eliza has gotten the guy's attention and groans inwardly.
Paw takes a step back.
Paw: Who's there! I zlin you! Come out with your hands in front of you!
Eliza flattens herself against the wall, breathing hard.
Paw: Duve, you just stay there till your maw returns with the wagon.
Paw: Don't move, don't leave the room ok?
Duve: I ain't goin nowhere dad [weakly]
Wise Snake hates to do this to the poor guy.
Wise Snake reaches out with her field and pulls Paw hypo.
Paw finds himself suddenly "blind"
Paw: Wha the....
Wise Snake glides up behind him and uses her field to knock him out.
Wise Snake: [er.. I meant that in the gentlest possible sense]
Paw drops to the floor.
Paw: [like a bag of feed]
Wise Snake darts out the door, grabs Eliza, and pulls her into the shed.
Wise Snake drags the door shut again and throws the bar.
Duve looks up in confusion, hearing muffled sounds of a scuffle.
Eliza: Waaaaa!
Snake hushes Eliza sharply.
Eliza: Shussh shuhss.
Eliza: Sorry.
Wise Snake: Hold this guy asleep [whispers] I'll handle the changeover.
Eliza looks confused.
Eliza: Hold him?
Wise Snake hurries back to the feed room.
Eliza kneels down and puts her hands on his arm.