i_speak_softly | Fifty-Sixth Theory [Action]

((Forward-dated to Sunday the 26th, after the village has cleaned up from the ice storm.))

[That was a good last try, Winter, but you are rapidly losing your hold over this ectotherm. He was trapped in C5 for several days, after Luke Skywalker’s guests shook off their movie-marathon stupor to realize they were iced in, but since making it safely back to House 55 he’s been increasingly alert and moving around with greater purpose.]

[Today he put on his heated snowsuit and struck out across the snowy village to the library. He had found this puzzle-box among his things, and he wants to work on it without his housemates hanging over his shoulders.]

[He also wants to strike up a conversation with anyone who so much as glances at him. Cold weather and semi-torpor don’t present many opportunities for socializing, and the normally-quiet Turtle has a lot of pent-up conversation in need of an outlet. It won’t be at his normal intellectual level, but it should at least be better than it has been in recent weeks.]

((Feel free to help Don with the puzzle-box, but I don’t want it to be opened yet.))

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[And Beast follows, though not quite paying as much attention to Don anymore as he sees oh mon Dieu this is a lot of books. Granted, his library at home is about the same size as this, if not bigger, but he hasn't been in it in years and none... none of this he can read. Where... where would he even begin?

So now he's just left standing there, feeling more than a little lost.]

[Don considers a table in a corner, then chooses one in a fairly high-traffic area instead. He wants to talk to people today!]

[Standing here some more, trying to figure out what to do, before he remembers... he's a giant animal standing in the middle of the library rubbing his paws. Somebody must notice this!

Ohhhh, what to do, what to do... Don is still sitting there. Well... Don knows him, right? Maybe he wouldn't mind if he came over. Just... just for a little while. Maybe he could even teach him about libraries, like how Robert teaches him about everything. Or at least give him some advice...

Yes... yes, he thinks he'll do that before he draws attention. Slowly... sloooowly creeping forward to sit down in one of the chairs.]

[Oh, hi, Beast. Don is just going to launch into conversation at you.]

I was hoping you would sit with me. It gets really boring sitting at home with the same people all the time, doesn't it? I mean, you like them, but you want to talk to someone else once in a while. Or just not talk to your housemates, because they're always asking questions or trying to help you when you need to figure something out on your own.

[He knocks the puzzle-box against the table in frustration.]

You understand, right?

[He flinches at the unexpected talking, and then, as Don goes on, he just sits there in plain confusion. Why is he talking about this? It... seemed to come out of nowhere.

But he asked him a question, so he should probably answer it. After all, there have been times where he wanted someone to talk to besides all of his servants.] I-I... yes, I... think so.

[He nods - of course you do.]

I'm working on opening this box. I know it will take time to solve, but there's something worthwhile inside, and getting it myself will be more satisfying than asking someone else to open it for me. [He jiggles a piece ineffectively - it doesn't move the way he thought it would.]

... I wouldn't mind a little help, though.

A... box? [He looks at it with interest... never heard of a box that needed "solving" before.]

You... d-don't have the key?

[He shakes his head.]

It's a Japanese puzzle-box. The only way to open it is by sliding the pieces the right way.

[He lowers his head onto the table to be at eye-level with the object. It definitely looks interesting, this Jah-pan-eez puzzle-box, whatever that means.]

H-how... how can I help?

[Don pokes the box across the table.]

Try it. You can't do any worse than I'm doing myself.