A Newcomer :Morning: (Callie)

Sighing, Callie tried to clear her mind of everything she was just told. It wasn't anything useful to her anyway... It was just making her panic and being panicky was nothing she had a want for! Regardless she was still rather interested in the subject... But instead of trying to learn what strange things he knew about her, maybe she should ask him some questions about him! "Heh... It's okay, I've just never heard anyone talk like that before... Called special a few times maybe, but it never felt for good reason." Callie tried her hardest to give a convincing smile. "D-don't worry, I forgive you. Everyone makes mistakes sometimes, right? But... Say, who is this person you keep referring to? The one that I remind you of? Are they a lost friend of yours, someone you haven't seen in a while? Oh! Do they live back at Somewhere?"

"New... Friend?" Callie toyed around with the word in her head, repeating it over and over in her mind. "I haven't had a friend in a long time..." She'd whisper to herself, hardly loud enough to hear before catching herself looking into the big blue ever looking eyes of Lulu. "A-aside from you of course Lulu! Y-you've always been there for me!" She'd quickly add in a much louder voice before squeezing the bear into another hug and taking notice of the smiley face that had appeared on 8D's monitor. "Hehe, well tell him that I like him too!"

"Why yes! They did live in Somewhere with me." The professor returned to his seated position and pat the ground beside him, beckoning Callie to join him on the lush grass. "He was my assistant and friend. He and I worked hand in hand to make our home a better place. Sure some times I would get on his nerves and sometimes he would rub me the wrong way, but we always knew that we were not only connected through a shared goal, but through a friendship tighter then any other." The professor felt a pain in his heart as he thought back on better days, however there was little time for that now, "I just never truly thought I would refer to him in the past tense..."

The professor stifled a laugh and relished the death of the sour mood his memories put him in as the young girls enthusiasm once again turned infectious. "Ohohoho! I'm sure he knows dear girl. I'm sure he dose. 8D is quite excitable, and I'm sure this has made him VERY happy. If you have any more jokes, I'm sure he would love to hear them,"

Callie thought about the offer, but decided against it. She usually found it extremely uncomfortable to sit on the ground without either revealing or accidently sitting on her tail, so instead she just crouched beside him. Also this... Old friend he was describing really didn't remind herself of herself that much if she was honest... Callie didn't quite understand what she had in common with this other person the man was referring to. Although Callie could clearly see this other person meant a lot, yet she didn't really know what to say. Sadness wasn't her expertise. "I'm sorry..."

"Hmm..." Any more jokes? Aww, that was a tough one! She knew what kinda things made her laugh, but they don't always work on everyone and she didn't know these two well enough to know what the perfect joke would be! Think Callie, think! "Um, how does a... Ehm, why do... No... When does a... Gah!" Covering her face with her hands she pressed down on her forehead trying to think of anything clever. She hated being under pressure... "W-what do you get... When you cross a Fox, w-with an Ox?" She'd pause for a moment and take her hands away from her face again, waiting for a chance for them to guess before saying. "A-a lonely F..."

The professor would look at the young girl for a moment, simply regarding her as if she were the only entity in existence. It was almost like he was looking through her, yet not quite to something behind her."Thank you... though... It's a tad late for sorry I'm afraid," Callie would get the distinct impression he was not talking to her... but perhaps, through her to some one else. "Though... What's done is done, one must not linger in the past"

In regards to the Joke however... The professor would chuckle and bring his palm to his face in minor shame"Oh Lord... Hehheh heh... Quite the Pun there dear Callie... But perhaps-" The professor was interrupted by the violent vibrations coming from his wrist mounted computer. He would cast a side ways glance at it before smiling under his mask and presenting the screen to her."It seems he quite enjoyed it though,"

A weird feeling came to Callie as he spoke, he was staring at her... But wasn't looking at her. She'd stare back at him wide eyed but wouldn't say anything in reply, she thought it would be best to leave him to his thoughts... Plus she had no idea what he was on about.

Callie would turn away embarrassed, there was nothing worse than being put on the spot like that and she wasn't all too proud of the joke she ended up using... I-it was okay! But nothing special you know? She would of wanted to use something amazing! Something to prove herself as being real funny ya know? B-but it was hard to make stuff up on the spot okay? "H-huh?" She turned back and peered at the screen. "Hehe, at least he liked it." Callie thought for a moment before deciding something. If he would put her through that pressure, it was only fair to give what received, right? This should be fun! "So, he is really into jokes is he? Does he have any good ones? I bet he has way funnier jokes than I do!"

Taking a moment to look around and take a deep breath in of the air around her... Gah! She suddenly got reminded as to why she thought this guy seemed interesting to begin with. After talking for this long she had kinda got used to it but it was still pretty over powering to her. "Um, don't mean to sound rude or anything... But..." She would sniff at the air again nervously before asking. "W-why do you smell like that? I've never smelt anything like it before."

The screen remained the same for a few moments as the tiny computer thought about it's next move. He had to come up with a killer joke if he was going to secure his first friend that wasn't the person who created him. "Please, allow me to read it to you dear Callie," the professor took a look at the screen for a moment, if Callie was able to see his face she would have ran. "Oh lord man really?.... Gah fine..." Professor J shook his head and deeply regretted grabbing this particular model as he ran out the door."He said... What do you call a guy with carrots in both his ears?...." The professor would wait for Callie to respond before sighing and sacrificing what little he had left of his dignity "Anything you want... He can't hear you! Hah... heh... eeeeeeh"

Professor J would stand and brush himself off when Callie asked him about his smell. He would chuckle lightly and try to give himself a sniff"I probably just smell like my homeland dear Callie. Why? Is it a bad smell? It has been a while sense I was able to shower..."

Come ooonnnn.... Come ooonnn...! The anticipation was killing her! Tell me what the joke issss, stop stalling Professor J! By the way he was reacting to reading it himself she knew it was either something really funny or really stupid, but it didn't matter she wanted to know!... C-carrots? What's funny about carrots? "Umm... A man with an ear ache?"

Callie stared at Professor J for a moment, trying to keep a completely straight face. Yet it was to no avail. A smirk slowly arose upon Callie's face, which again she tried to hold for as long as she could. The joke was awful... But in a way that made it even more funny to her. Eventually she couldn't contain herself. She burst out laughing, and whilst trying to catch her breath between laughs she fell over backwards, landing on her poor delicate tail and letting out a very odd sounding shriek of pain. "Owww!!!" She rolled onto her side as to not be putting anymore weight on it, it hadn't really hurt as much as her reaction made it out to... It was more just the shock of it that scared her.

"Mother of science you actually found that to be humorous?... This place truly is strange..." Professor J sighed and attempted to pinch the bridge of his nose momentarily forgetting that he was wearing a rather thick gas mask. Feeling rather foolish for a moment he decided to just roll with it to save face, or lack there of as it were. He also refused to look at 8D's screen, knowing full well the AI would be so absolutely full of itself right now. Whenever he told a joke that landed 8D would get so utterly insufferable and the other J-series would all complain about how utterly insufferable he was. That coupled with the fact that when they were hooked up conversation between them happened near instantaneously and you have a never ending cycle of bad jokes and angry AI on your hands... and no one wants that. Though eventually his vibrations became far to intense and the good professor caved, taking a quick peek at the view screen.


"Oh what has you in such a tizzy?" He asked mildly annoyed with the program. Once he looked to Callie again it became abundantly clear why the little clown was so upset."Oh my! Dear Child you must be careful! Come come. Let us see if we can't find you any ice for your... tail?...Huh... Dose everyone around here have  tail? Is it weird that I don't have a tail?" The professor would ask as he helped the young girl to her feet craned his neck to try and spot a first aid tent.

Owwww... Aww, she felt like such an idiot. How did she always find herself doing this silly things. It was like she couldn't go a whole day without making a complete fool of herself. Callie felt just about ready to slap herself, it was going so well as well! Now not only that's ruined... But she was in a fair deal of pain... How could this day get any worse.

One of Callie's ears suddenly perked up as Professor J was trying to find out if she was okay. N-no... Callie would reach around behind her to stroke the hurt part of her tail, feeling the tails smooth fur between her fingers. "Ahh!" Never ask how things can become worse you idiot! Now everything is ruined... Especially when in a place like this, he'd freak out and everyone would see and then what could she do... Callie quickly concealed away her tail under her clothes again as the man helped her up. She was just about ready to turn around and run away... But his reaction wasn't what she expected. He seemed more confused than freaked out... Geography wasn't anything Callie knew about, but she knew that this guy must've been from somewhere very, very far away to not find this weird straight away...

"P-please..." Tears began distorting Callie's vision as she spoke with a weak and defenseless voice. "N-no, not everyone here has a tail..." Callie couldn't help but sniffle and wipe away her tears between each sentence. "A-as far as I know, I'm the only one... But please! I-if you tell anyone else here they would freak the hell out and everyone would know! Y-you can't let that happen! Please I beg of you! Y-you're the first person who hasn't instantly screamed in my face when they saw... But these people... Especially in a place like this, they would come and capture me a-a-and...!" By this point Callie's face was streaming with tears and her voice just out right gave out in fear... Instead she turned to make sure no one else was paying attention to what was going on. Even though it was fairly difficult to see anything through her tears. Yet she didn't want to risk anything and ran off towards a nearby wall where no one was gathered around... She felt at least somewhat safer here than in the middle of the grass... "Owwww..."

"I see..." The professor's voice would drop low for a moment as he reguarded the tail... How strange... Not only was the first person he met here one of the people he was looking for, but a biological anomaly at that. Mayhaps one of a supernatural origin, that would prove quite interesting, for it would mean this "Endymion" was already a center or super normal activity. While yes this area did indeed have the potential for it, the thought that it may already be taking place never crossed the good professor's mind. These thoughts, however, were for another time. Right now he had a near tears little girl to deal with and that took priority.

"Never you mind little one, a little girl with a tail is far from the strangest thing I have seen. Though I would place it in he top ten now that I give it some thought... You secret is safe with me my dear Callie, just so long as you promise to cheer up. I shant have any tears on such a fine day as this!" Professor J would pat Callie gently on the head before holding a hand out to the young fox girl with a smile in his voice."Now, hows about we go find some ice for your bottom. After all, I'm sure that your Costume pinched a nerve when you took that tumble. It must hurt like the dickens." J put a bit of extra emphasis on the word costume, just to be sure she got the message.

Callie would stare at the ground, debating in her head if what she just told the professor was smart or not. Maybe she could of just made up some sort of excuse for it... Or not just... Exploded like she did. But it was a sensitive topic for her and she panicked okay! It's hard to make up stories when all you want to do is run for your life... She sniffled, trying to wipe the last of her tears from her eyes. As long as what she said worked... I-it'll all be okay, right?

H-huh? What kind of other things had he seen she wondered, perhaps there were others with secrets to hide... I mean Professor J himself was covering up his face, so maybe. Finally Callie lifted up her head and tried her hardest to give a convincing smile. "T-thank you..." Feeling strange comfort from being petted, Callie held out her own hand back to the man. "Costume...?" She would take a moment to understand what he meant by that... Why hadn't she thought of that excuse before! I-it would probably work way better than most of the haphazard excuses she usually made up on the fly. Especially as none of them ever worked. Callie nodded her head to show she understood and followed Professor J.

"Not a problem dear Callie," J would take her hand and hold it gently. Truth be told... He had expected to come here and simply work on his own for the duration of his stay. Perhaps hire a few technicians but nothing substantial. This little girl, however, seemed to pull at his heart strings a little... Maybe it was the freshness of the wounds in is heart that allowed her to break through the thin walls he put up... Which made what he had planned all that much harder to accept.

"Tell me Callie, do they have Ice Cream in Endymion?" He would ask as 8D's screen lit up. The little computers processor churned for a moment as it's small cameras took in the world around it. This place... This Endymion, it was so different from his home. All he had ever known was the inside of the Professor's lab and what he was given. He silently wondered what this new world would hold for him as and if he would make more friends like Callie.

"Ice Cream?" Callie's eyes lite up in excitement. She loved ice cream! She remembered the first time she had some and thought it to be the angel of all foods. Yet she hadn't been able to have one in absolutely aaaggeeesss. First he's nice to her, then he agrees to keep her secret and now he's going to get her ice cream!? Professor J was quickly becoming one of Callie's favorite people she'd met in a long time.

"Y-yes! They do!" She would twist her head around to scan their surrounding, although she knew ice cream was most definitely a thing in this town, she wasn't quite familiar with where it was sold. "Although, we might have to go on a scavenger hunt for some! Cause I'm not really sure where you can get some around here." She'd smile wholeheartedly at the Professor. "What's your favorite kinda ice cream? Mines that one that goes all swirly!"

"AHA! Brilliant! I cannot possibly see any way this could go wrong!" The Professor laughed heartily as he and the young fox girl began their search for their frozen dairy treat.  "Hmhmhm I've always been partial to the ones that are Vanilla ice Cream sandwiched between two Chocolate Chip Cookies. No the most exciting I know but they remind me of the way my mother used to reward my father and I for our hard work in the fields." He smiled inwardly at the happy memory.

"Wait... What currency do they use in Endymion?"


"Callie my dear! There's two of us and only one of him! If we run in opposite directions perhaps we can shake him off our trail!" Despite the hefty load of ice cream sandwiches in his hands the good Professor was remarkably fast. At first it all seemed to be going swimmingly... The pair had found a street vendor and made their order, however, because J had little (or no) Endymion currency... The barter system had to be invoked. The Professor had thought a trade of one of his enriched Fuel Rods for a couple dozen Ice Cream sandwiches and bars would be fair, and after explaining how valuable the rods were, the Frozen Snack proprietor agreed.

However... Once J and Callie made it a few blocks away they would notice the kind  Ice Cream man barreling after them with significantly less hair and a healthy green glow... Turns out the man's cart did not have the necessary five inch thick lead containment chamber needed to house the fuel rod... And as such the vendor, for whatever reason, felt slightly cheated by this... And well... Here we are.

"Fret not dear Callie! For we are in the right! We paid for our goods and he is simply experiencing buyer's remorse. History will see us as the oppressed masses! Though for now... You go hide in the Cafeteria! I will hide elsewhere, and we will meet up later! May Science Protect you my little friend!" J would give Callie one last reassuring pat on the head as he took off in the other direction. Though he would stop a few feet away and turn back to the young girl one more time."Oh! And 8D says once I build him a body he wants to play with you! ... Wait who said I was giving you a body?.... Oh perish the thought! I must be off!"

With a wave, The good professor would take his leave.... Shortly fallowed by a bald glowing man... After all it was all the weird masked guy's fault. Little girl was just along for the ride

How was it that she always ended up in this kind of scenario... They only wanted ice cream, a-and this time the guy with all the ice cream got something in return! Unlike those other times... B-but did you see how many ice creams he had! That's just greedy to keep them all for himself, no wonder he was kind of tubby. It was a surprise that he could run that fast to keep up with them, although he did get the advantage of running first! Plus it still kinda hurt her tail to run... Although, was that the same guy? On second, rather hurried inspection when she had the slight chance to turn around, the guy was almost bald. The ice cream vendor wasn't bald... They must do quick hair cuts around here.

"T-the cafeteria? Why would I-" Before she could finish her sentence, she felt Professor J pat her head and back away... I guess there wasn't really much time for talk now. "Sure! I can't wait to see you again 8D!" Callie took a moment to hide behind a conveniently placed tree as the bald man shot past after the professor, she leant back out and waved. "Baaiii, I'll look out for you later Professor J! Thanks for everything!"

With that she too would take off in the other direction just incase the ice cream vendor decided to go after her instead... Where was it he said to go again? The cafeteria?