PHOTO | He found the snitch??

[redarm]

Noah Robin Catbell shared a photo. 4/01 near The Towers

can anyone tell me what the duck this is??
it showed up in a package from retrospec.
i wasnt gonna open it but then it ducking CHEWED its way out of the package.
what the heck kind of animal is this??

[Uh yeah he hasn't noticed the parental filter yet, or the pun name.]

Comments

[redarm]

heck no its not.

gee thanks.
will retrospec even take it back?

[appraiser]

no idea
maybe it can eat through the office building door lol
have you been back there to see if there's anybody working?

[redarm]

not lately no.
im gonna find a box.
be right back.

[appraiser]

ok
come back safe
if you're not back in 10 minutes i'll come find you

[redarm]

you dont even know where i live.

[Okay he's gone now. TIME PASSES...will he come back before ten minutes is up?? Was he eaten alive by this creature? STAY TUNE...]

[appraiser]

Noah

[ ... ]

are you alive

[ ... ]

please respond

[ ... ]

should i call the police

[ ... ]

[redarm]

[AT 11 MINUTES...]

im fine
its
nuzzling me???

[appraiser]

oh good you're back, i was about to write up a missing persons list

nuzzling
with its teeth or what?

[redarm]

uh thanks?

no teeth just
i think its face?
but it feels like some kind of metal.

[appraiser]

what kind of metal
does it heat up if you stick it in fire?
wait no-- before that
you're *sure* its alive? with organs and a brain, not like the oranges

[redarm]

im not sticking it in a fire.
what the duck ryoji.
i dont know what it is.
its responding to me, but i dont see any spot for organs.

[appraiser]

it might be like the oranges
how would you define life, Noah?
is it alive? does it need to eat for survival? what are you going to name it?

[redarm]

i dunno what life is or if it needs to eat but
its not like the oranges.
those things just smile and dance no matter what you do to them.
i think its actually happy to see me??
dunno why

[Which alone is weird...]

[appraiser]

where is its face
it's hard to tell happiness by the picture, without eyes and a mouth

also you have to name it

[redarm]

well it got a mouth.
just hard to see when its closed.
havent found the eyes yet.

and i do?
i dunno what to name anything.

[appraiser]

hmm well, not all animals have eyes
like the olm

and yes, you have to name it! it helps create a bond, see?
name it after a personality trait, or a favorite food, or anything that feels right

[redarm]

whats the olm?

uh ok
guess ill try to think of something then??

[appraiser]

its a little salamander! its very cute and pink and has underdeveloped eyes

when you think of one, try calling it by the name and teach it to come!
assuming it has ears
or a way of hearing

[redarm]

oh.

[A pause]

ok
i tried calling it pac-man
and it hissed at me.
i dont think it likes it.

[appraiser]

lol pac-man would have been a fitting name though
but it can hiss! can it vocalize anything else?

[redarm]

i dunno. lets see.

[ Which he'll be doing just that. Trying to get the creature to talk, to make any noises. It doesn't respond to most of it. But when Noah asks if it can do anything, he's in for a surprise, as the creature opens up his mouth and a video begins to play.

Not just any video though. It was a recording of something he's seen before. In a vision.

Seeing that? Is a real shock, and throws him for a loop.

So much, that he kinda forgets to respond to Ryoji. Sorry Ryoji. ]

[appraiser]

[ NOAH!!!!!!!!

How many minutes pass before Ryoji starts sending regularly spaced texts to check up on him. "Noah" "hey" "are you there?" "still alive" "please come back" and similar messages fill Noah's phone, buzzing every few minutes until—

Noah's phone rings.

It's Ryoji.

Please pick up. ]

[redarm]

[SORRY.

He hadn't been paying attention to the texts, too absorbed in what he saw. It's only when the phone actually rings does he get snapped out of it, and even then, he sounds distracted]

Hello?

[appraiser]

Hello. It's Ryoji. Please give me your address. I'm coming over.

[ There are no questions. He's not asking. ]

[redarm]

Ryoji- [Ah right, he left him hanging didn't he?] Shit, sorry-

[...]

...Yeah. You should probably see this. I'm at [ADDRESS HERE. ITS IN THE TISSE AREA, near the Towers].