"It's central, convenient. I can walk to work in seven minutes."

[sings_too]

((Closed RP for Fraser, Ray, and Starbuck. >.<))Walking beside Ray down the Main Street of a place that was not actually Disneyland, Benton raised a hand to interrupt his partner

Comments

[shake_bad_guys]

"That's about the size of it, yeah." It was really kind of nice to be the one telling the ridiculous story for once. "Oh, also, I got her gun off her. Got it back at my place. She's not too happy about that."

Ray looked a little skeptical at the apparently random choice of shop. "You sure you don't want a place where there's more trees or something? How do we know if nobody's living here already?"

"HEY," he yelled into the doorway, almost in the same breath. "ANYBODY LIVING HERE ALREADY?"

[sings_too]

"Well, I don't know at the moment, but-" Benton started, only to be cut off by Ray's shout. He waited the requisite 7.5 seconds for someone to reply, either by shouting back or perhaps by shooting at them, and when neither occurred, he continued; "It does appear to be empty, although it may have an occupant who is simply out at the present time. I imagine I will have to ask around to be certain."

To the question he could only shake his head and drag his thumb across one eyebrow.

"Trees? Well, yes, I suppose. Although there doesn't seem to be much in the way of a suitable area for a campsite, if that is what you're suggesting." A thought occurred to him. "Which, ah, land were you assigned to?"

[shake_bad_guys]

"Not here, no, but there's a kind of little island with woods and stuff." And okay, said woods didn't look all that much like the vast frozen tundra they'd recently been hiking across, which Fraser seemed to consider homelike, but to Ray's city-born eyes it still looked more like somewhere you might want to camp, which in his mind equaled 'stuff Fraser likes.' (After being made to sit by campfires in a Chicago city park a few steps away from a wino and a pretzel seller, this was probably a forgivable apprehension.) "You gotta take a boat, though. I'm in, uh, Cowboys and Indians Land? S'in a fort-thing. Over that way." He pointed.

Looking back at the store, "You wanna go in or what?"

[sings_too]

"Frontierland?" Benton guessed, thinking of the map he'd seen in one of the ticket booths. "And I do think I ought to stay in the area to which I was assigned."

He gave the shop a dubious glance. "It doesn't really seem necessary. They're all quite similar, really. Where has Diefenbaker got off to?" he added, lookig back the way the had come.

[shake_bad_guys]

Ray rolled his eyes. "You don't gotta stay in Main Street just because Mickey said, 'Main Street.' It's not a law. Nobody cares." True, he was staying in his own assigned land, but that was just, like, convenience.

Where was the furface? "Probably scouting out the junk food situation. Which, there is a lot." He looked down the street. That popcorn wagon hadn't been knocked over, but... "Hot dogs and pretzels over there," he said, pointing at Coke Corner.

[sings_too]

"Oh. Well in that case, perhaps somewhere less... commercial would be more comfortable," he agreed, looking off to where Ray was pointing. "Oh dear. This is going to be a problem." He raised his voice to call the wolf. "Dief! Diefenbaker! Strange, in a new place one would think he would stick a little closer."

[shake_bad_guys]

Ray looked at Fraser in bemusement. "Wolf get un-deaf or are you working on some kind of psychic link through shouting? C'mon," he said jerking his head at the restaurant, and striding off.

In regard to Fraser's living space... "I got the stuff that was on the dogsled," Ray offered. Not that that was much of a comfort to Ray, who was already missing his record collection and cowprint plates and photos and assorted other crap he'd accumulated over thirty-odd years. Not to mention having an actual bed. But he figured not-California had to be even weirder for Fraser than for him. So, "There's pemmican. It's all yours, believe me, buddy."

[i_have_my_flaws]

The reason Diefenbaker wasn't sticking close to his human happened to be very simple. He'd found someone prettier to spend his time with. Specifically a prettier, furrier someone.

Starbuck had been running. In fact, she'd been running a lot more than usual, telling herself and everyone else she knew that she needed to clear her head. As a result, she had gained a gaunt look that was very unlike her, but she didn't seem to notice.

She also never did consider that these runs she was going on might lead her to into unwelcome company. And she certainly hadn't expected another dog to come up and make friends with Sador in the middle of her jog. "I don't know what you two think you're doing," she called out. "But she doesn't have time for any funny business, so I'd give up now, if I were you."

[sings_too]

Diefenbaker turned his head to gauge the newcomer for potential doughnut possession. Finding her decidedly lacking in that department, he gave her a dismissive yip and bounded off in the other direction, encouraging Sador to follow.

Around the corner, Benton gave his partner a fond smile.

"Why thank you Ray. That's very generous of you." He lifted his head in the direction of Dief's bark. "Ah- there he is."

[i_have_my_flaws]

Sador tore off after the dashing young rogue, prompting Starbuck to follow, cursing as she went.

The cursing died the instant she rounded the corner.

Leoben was there. Accompanied by... the strangest looking man she'd ever seen. This might have had something to do with the fact that he looked like he was dressed to go camping. On the freezing tundra. The hat only made for a wackier picture.

Her hands curled into fists. "Sador. Back."

[shake_bad_guys]

A second later, Ray had stepped in front of Fraser, one hand pushing his friend back warningly and the other going to rest on his gun.

(("dashing young rogue" *DIES*))

[sings_too]

"Ray, what are you-" Benton began, tilting his body to one side to peer around the man who was inexplicably blocking his view. A blond woman in jogging apparel was giving them an icy glare.

Well, it didn't take a Mountie raised by a librarian grandmother to put two and two together here. Still, the beautiful Alaskan husky was a surprise.

"Ray," he said quietly as he noticed the hand go for the gun, and then raised his voice to greet the woman. "Good afternoon, ma'am."

[i_have_my_flaws]

"Who the hell are you?" she asked, sure that a flutter of annoyance had crossed her face at being called 'ma'am'.

She tracked Ray's motion toward the gun and widened her stance. Not that it would stop a bullet.

[shake_bad_guys]

"Nice," Ray said, before Fraser could start in on the standard preamble about RCMP, the killers of his father, blah blah. "That is real polite. You don't got a name for him, huh?"

"Kara, right?"

[i_have_my_flaws]

"I've never seen him before," she growled, because there was no way she'd let him treat her like a child on top of it. She didn't bother confirming her name because the fact that he had to ask wasn't funny.

The other man... didn't look anything like she'd imagined one of the Final Five would. Which only confused her more. Maybe Leoben had already managed to make friends in this place. Wouldn't that be nice.

[sings_too]

"Excuse me," Benton interrupted, stepping out from behind Ray as the other man clearly had no intention of moving and giving the woman, Kara, his best, most reasonable smile. "I'm sorry, but this man cannot be who you think he is. Detective Vecchio is a member of the Chicago Police Department and a good man. I personally have seen him save dozens of lives and put his life in danger for the sake of justice and upholding the law, which, if I'm understanding the situation correctly, seems very much at odds with your belief that he is... some sort of genocidal robot."

As his calming speeches went, that one had been pretty good until that last bit. Benton scratched at his eyebrow with a fingernail.