Scene #4942: Did you hear what I hear?

Owner	Pose
Pippi	She was following through on a snowy evening in New York, after helping clear out the mess of dust and bunnies (AND TWO BATS) that was the Curio Museum, and she paused, taking a step back at a shop window, alight with trees and baubles, delicate frost-kissed glass melting at her puff of breath as she pulled back hre hood a moment, her brown eyes focusing on all the shiney things through the glass. And the toys. And the cheery music. Her head tilts a moment.
Alopex	Her partner in dust-busting wasn't all that behind. Alas, the broom of the curio fought valiantly against the bunnies and bats, but in the end, the few straws that were left clinging to it's frame had fallen. With little to combat the enemies of cleanliness, the thought to aquire a new broom, and possibly spray bottles, in their efforts to combat the dust dinosaur lurking in the deepest corner of the curio, was had. Padding along just to the side of the pup, it takes a few steps for her to realize that Pippi had paused at a window. A curious glance back is given and then the fox's eyes widen. In all the change and upheaval recently, she had completely forgotten about the holiday that she had only celebrated once before. From the looks of it, Pippi didn't even know what it was. Moving back to her side, and the window, Pex tries to explain, quietly, wondering if she should go the whole nine yards with it. "Around this time of year, people enjoy giving gifts to each other as a sign of good will. A lot of the stores around New York will have displays set up like this.." .. May as well go all ten yards, "And if you're really, really good..." With her own spin, of course, "A really amazing ninja, clad in red, will use his skills to deliver gifts to those he deems worthy. Many leave out treats for him in hopes he'll visit. As a result he tends to be a little on the heavy side, but it does not hinder his skill, not one bit." She idly wonders if Pippi will even believe it.
Pippi	An upheaval that Pippi didn't completely understand, but accepted, and hadn't strayed too far away from home -- just in case. She hadn't wanted to lose Alopex for a second time. The red and white pup turns as Alopex comes up, and she raises her eyebrows, ears coming up a little beneath her hood as her head straightens. She blinks, listening intently to the yarn that Alopex weaves, and whens he gets to the really amazing ninja, her eyes light up. She gives a wag of her tail beneath her jacket and she turns back to the window, searching, and then back to Alopex. "You mean that there are /ninjas/ who sneak into houses and drop off presents?! How did I not /know/ this?!" she questions, completely giddy with the idea. "Pex. PexPexPex. Do you think if /I/ got to be a good enough ninja, I could help?" Her tail is going a mile a minute, wagging enthusiastically at the idea.
Alopex	The fox takes on a thoughtful look, glancing from Pippi toward the display, "Maybe. He has this whole team of reindeer that help him move from place to place, but as far as I know, they aren't very talkative. It may be a lonely trip, so... MAYBE, it's possible! It's also possible that he may have left even us gifts, we just have to -find- them," she muses. Well, that would be a good reason as to why they weren't left behind on the 25th. "Oh, it's called Christmas, but there are a few other holidays around the same time."
Pippi	Not that Pippi could tell the difference. Christmas was something new and incredibly exciting and her tail wags. "I bet they're like, big ninja reindeer, right? And they all ninja-leap from building to building and they're so incredibly focused on their job that they don't talk! They take it very, /very/ seriously I bet. And they're all like 'I am the angry grumpy ninja deer, you'd better not mess with me' and he's all silent and deadly and super strong 'cause he has to carry presents for everyone and --" Pippi's imagination runs away with the common sense before it skids to a stop. "OH. OH oh oh! So... so we have to find them? Do you think it was all left behind in the museum or could there be gifts around here? If he's a good ninja I bet he hid them really, really well!"
Alopex	This is the point where there would be a large sweatdrop forming if someone was drawing the conversation. "I .. don't know, actually! I've never seen the reindeer, actually. Occasionally you'll see the red one, but not so much the ones that help him. As for the gifts, well, those could be anywhere! We'll just have to start looking for them -once- we get our errands done. Remember, he gives gifts to those he believes he is worthy, and he -knows- if you are, no matter what you do." An attempt is made to steer back to the objective at hand. If it is successful or not, remains to be seen. "I wonder what he would get you," Alopex muses, starting to turn from the display, "Maybe a gift certificate to FlyBy, or maybe something you see in one of the windows. It's hard to say. Sometimes people write him letters to ask for specific things! Oh.. and if you aren't 'worthy..' ," she turns back, eyes narrow, SCARY, "You get nothing but a rock." The absolute HORROR. . . . Pex can't fake a scary face very well, though.
Pippi	Errands? What are errands? The younger caninje mutant seems incredibly excited as she starts thinking about the things she could get "--maybe a bike. Or a helmet! Or maybe a bike /with/ a helmet and elbowpads!" she states excitedly, dancing from foot to foot before Alopex muses on her own, and hearing the letters part, her face falls a moment and the canine reaches up and scratches the back of her head slightly before mumbling "but my letters are still really messy..." and then -- TERRIBLE! HORRIBLE! HORROR! FEAR! SCARY! WOW! "A ROCK?!" she breathes, and then Pippi considers. "... well... a rock can be useful? Like to hold a door open, or... hold papers..." an ear wiggles, "... down..." the ear wiggles again, and she turns her head. "Did you hear that?"
Alopex	Arms up, scary pose, the whole ordeal, but again, it's not that horrifying. "It's really bad at being a rock, too! It leaves marks everywhere, it's black, it's just AWFUL- Eh?" She was a little into it, so when Pippi alerts her to... something, she stops to focus, "What did you hear..?"
Pippi	Alopex is horrifying. A rock that's bad at being a rock is also scary! Pippi's seen her practice. It's scary. Pippi's nose wriggles a moment, and she pulls down her hood (and shows off her righteous hood hair), and she skirts around the side of the building, drawing up Stick from the holster on her back. Carefully, Pippi lets her eyes adjust from the bright of the street to the dark of the alleyway, making her way along refuse.
Alopex	Seeing as Pex has no reason to doubt her, the fox quickly follows along behind, trying to draw from her own senses, wondering just what the pup has picked up on. Seeing Pippi draw stick out gives her cause for concern, but it's not nearly enough for her to draw her own blade. As much as the multiverse has caused her to draw it lately, it is still something she prefers NOT to do..
Pippi	Stick was drawn, but Pippi doesn't seem intent on bludgeoning anyone. Her head tilts. She listens for a moment, and then points upwards. "Up there." she whispers, and leaping up, she hooks Stick's curved end around the rung of a ladder, pulls the fire escape down and begins to climb. "I'll go take a look."
Alopex	"What did you -hear-?" Pex reiterates as the ladder comes rattling down. When the pup starts to ascend, Alopex isn't very far behind. She wouldn't leave Pippi on her own, but she would be a little slower to ascend to at least keep the element of surprise if a second person was needed.
Pippi	"Something." Pip replies, purposefully vague before she hits the third floor. She pauses, she slowly approaches a window, and the fur on the back of her neck rises up a moment. Her nose gives a snuff, and she shakes her head a moment before poking around at a bunch of boxes. It looks like someone recently left the premesis and left a bunch of junk. An old lamp. Ashtrays. Broken plates. Pippi rummages around a moment, and then with a shift of her weight begins to come back down.
Alopex	Vague indeed. It's almost frustrating, but as she starts to come back down from her little adventure, Alopex pauses in her ascent, and simply hops off the ladder and back down to the street. No harm, no trouble, so she's content to wait and see just what was found.
Pippi	Pippi apparently returns empty-handed. She gives a huff of breath, and gives a shrug. "Guess I misheard something." she explains -- rather unconvincingly. She then suddenly turns, and begins to walk off... and then her shoulders hunch up. She glances over her shoulder, her tail curling slightly before she goes to continue on.
Alopex	It seems that it's Alopex's turn to tilt her head, "Are.. you sure?" She wasn't convinced, but she didn't want to push all that hard, either. "You seemed very insistent that you heard something, Pippi, and as of late I am starting to feel some of your senses may have developed better than my own.."
Pippi	Pippi is not a convincing liar. Her entire body language is off. She slinks. "Nope. Didn't hear anything. Not a thing. Must have been the music. Weird, huh? I bet you the snow bounces sound really weird." she states, a slight whine to the back end of the statement. Her tail doesn't wag. It stays curled.
Alopex	Unconvinced, Alopex's pace quickens until she's ahead of the pup enough to turn and face her, "Hey," there's some concern in her voice. "You can tell me anything, you know, right? I'm not going to fault you, Pippi. If something up there that you saw, or heard, is bothering you, you can tell me, okay?"
Pippi	Pippi looks up at Pex, and then down at her feet. Her weight shifts. Her tail lowers. "I know 'Pex... but..." her weight shifts again, and she gives a huff of breath, and then turns back to the wlal, then to Alopex, and can't even stop mo v ing for along enough to form a thought before she finalizes on something. She then opens up her jacket, exposing a shivering little ball of gray fluff. "... think the red ninja leaves gifts where we can find them?" The ball of fluff gives a very, very weak 'mew' sound.
Alopex	Blink. Twice. It becomes one of those times where being a white fox is too Alopex's advantage, but her eyes widening makes it clear she's surprised. Not upset, however. A soft smile starts to form, but the weak sounding mewl is cause for concern, "I think he would, and I also think this may be a gift for you as much as it is a gift for what you've found.." A gaze goes up the road, down the road, then she starts to think before quickly starting in a very particular direction. "Lets get something to eat. For all three of us."
Pippi	Pippi zips her jacket back up, and she wriggles slightly to adjust the fuzzball's positioning as she follows Alopex, bringing her jacket's upper hem up and over her nose to breath warm air into it. "Something to eat sounds really good." stroommmaghgrroommmmable. "... /really/ good."