An Addams Celebration, Duex

Posted on Fri 9th Oct, 2020 @ 1:26am by Elizabeth Anderson M.D. & Commander Jasmine Collins-Keller & Commander Paul Graves PsyD & Lieutenant Commander Alora Baro & Khellian s'Siedhri MD & Renato Solis & Jaryl Phoebus & Purulence Addams
Edited on on Thu 15th Oct, 2020 @ 3:54am

1,579 words; about a 8 minute read

Mission: Denouement
Location: House of Addams, Queen Anne Villas, Tivoli Gardens
Timeline: All Hallow's Eve
Tags: Lots of tags! Look for your name from the top down.

Previously, the party attendees are arriving. Drop in now, or miss out on a great party!

---

Baro Alora entered, and this time she went for something different. Rather than a 'repair' persona, last year she'd been 'Vulcan,' god of Blacksmiths, and this year she wore what looked like an Earth World War I era flight suit with a leather jacket, flapped hat and silk scarf. The exact duplicate of the outfit worn by Earth Pilot Amelia Earhart. She rather liked Earth history in addition to her own and this was a chance to really be something different.

Coming out of the Addams' Queen Anne after laying out the catered food items with other contributions, Jade looked down the stairs to see the Chief of Operations. Stepping down into the yard, she crossed to her, and said, "Amelia ... Earhart? Right? I remember something of her story. What a wonderful costume! I didn't have time this year, but you make me wish I had!"

Alora grinned, "I've been taking pilot lessons and one thing led to another in the research rabbit hole. So I had to give a try, I like her attitude and competence. You can always do one later, costumes don't have to be once a year."

"Good point. It's only that the Addams' parties are once a year, and considering the kinds of things that can happen, that could be a good thing," Lantz smiled. "If I remember correctly, you're the Chief of Operations. What made you take piloting lessons? And what are you learning to fly?"

Kya, from the Brown Sector community center, was now deep in conversation with Purulence, the youngest Addams sister, who exclaimed over the food Kya had brought and showed her where to put it. "Do stay and enjoy the party," Purulence invited. "And who is this?" she asked, crouching a little to talk to Lexy. "Are you Haksin's sister?"

Lexy was ordinarily fearless, but Humans had a special place in her mind that was intimidating to handle. Number Six was terrifying, and Humans were always so friendly; life had taught her so far to never trust friendly that came without a price. She didn't want to reply, but a gentle pressure to nudge her towards Purulence gave her a prompt to stutter out, "Y-yes, I'm, Hi. I'm Alexy Adtanis. Hi."

Purulence smiled at the girl. She looked very nervous, which was odd, because Purulence could have sworn this was the same girl who bossed her brothers and sisters around as if she were a queen regnant. "Hi, Alexy! Haksin knows me as Pru; it's easier for him to say than my full name. Would you like some cake or punch? There are all sorts of things you can try, and we've checked to make sure they're safe for people to eat. You can eat pretty much anything that's on an orange tablecloth. I can't make any promises for allergies, though. If you have those, you'll have to tell me what you're allergic to."

Lexy was allergic to a beetle shell used in some food dyes, it didn't always come up but she found herself saying that in nervous excitement. "Nice to meet you Pru, I can't have the blue food coloring sometimes but it's not a big deal. Ummm…" She found she didn't know what to say next, but turned to Six, holding the basket of flowers out for her. An instinct borne of wanting to be liked gave Lexy an insight into what to say to her,

"if you like the flowers, please have them... I pricked my finger so many times, be careful!" Somehow Lexy knew the blood would fascinate this morbid girl.

Six accepted the basket solemnly. "Come with me," she invited. "I have many things with which you may draw blood."

Kya noted Corin and Elizabeth, gratified to see a familiar face amongst the sea of marvelously macabre people here. She had to drop off the cake but was anxious to talk to another adult. Life with kids is lonely, and friends were not easy to make.

Following Kya and Six inside, Damion held the front door open for Elizabeth and glanced in puzzlement at the stained glass window set into the door, which showed a black-haired woman tied to a wooden pole, serenely standing in the middle of a fire that had been lit around her.

"Strange taste in art Dr. Addams has," he said to Elizabeth. He tugged at the black bow-tie of his Casino Royale-style tuxedo and hoped he wasn't pulling it more crooked than he feared it was.

"It's an Addams ... trait, I guess you could say," Anderson responded. "I did a little research into the New York base of the family, out of curiosity, because she always says, 'of the New York Addamses', and they have quite a collection of unusual artwork."

Noticing he'd pulled his tie crooked, she said, "Here, stop a minute and I'll straighten that." Proceeding to do so, she added with a grin, "Now keep your hands off. You look perfectly wonderful as 007, and Kimberly Jones would never be seen with a less-than-perfect Bond."

"Thank you for straightening it," Damion said, relieved. "I need to drop this off," he added, indicating the garment box he'd brought with him. "Since Ischemia's outside, this can be a surprise--which I'd like better, anyway."

Great Grandmama Addams emerged from Chlamydia's study, pushing the doctor's anatomical skeleton, Bonny, ahead of her. Bonny was dressed for the occasion in a pair of coconuts and a grass skirt; for herself, Grandmama had forgone the coconuts in favor of a Hawaiian shirt. The old woman pushed the skeleton's stand to the door and nodded politely to the young couple there. "Open that door up again, would you, sonny? My friend here's going to hold it for guests."

Damion glanced at the skeleton and at Grandmama and grinned. "Dr. Addams does have a fine sense of humor now, doesn't she? Certainly, Ma'am." He stepped back and pulled the door open again so Grandmama could roll the skeleton's stand into place. "Does that thing have locks on the wheels? I'll lock them for you," he told the elderly lady, who was quite the oldest person he had ever met. People in Turkana City didn't live particularly long.

"Oh, nonsense, sonny... I'm as spry as ever I was!" Grandmama bent over and moved the small golden statue of Samantabhadra to block the stand's wheels, then a grinding, popping sound was heard from somewhere under her grass skirt. She froze in place and stuck out a hand. "Ooops. Give us a hand, will you, sonny!"

"Here you are," Damion said and extended his hand to her. "I'm going to move closer to you, and you can lean into me a bit if you need." He set the gift box down and stepped in toward Grandmama, reaching his other arm around her back to help steady her. "You must have been busy all day, getting this place decorated."

"Ah!" Grandmama cried in pain. "My hand!" The hand Damion had taken had come off, leaving him holding the hand and wrist.

Damion's eyes widened for a moment, and then he had to fight the urge to burst out laughing.

"Elizabeth, she's molting! You're a doctor. What do I do?" he exclaimed as if in a panic. "Will a tourniquet help?"

Anderson couldn't answer or she'd burst out laughing herself. She just shook her head and bit her lip, hoping Damion was not actually panicking, because she was almost 50% sure the old woman was playing a terrible trick on Damion ... an Addams Halloween trick.

Damion started laughing helplessly at Elizabeth's attempts not to laugh. "You're no fun!" He turned to Grandmama. "Where did you get this? It feels just like a hand!"

The hand moved in Damion's grip.. Damion yelped in surprise, and Grandmama laughed, straightening with ease as she reached out to reclaim it. "You're a good egg, Mr. Bond. And so handsome! If I were fourteen... even ten thousand years younger!" She chuckled, setting the disembodied hand on her shoulder. "I'm Dawn Addams, but everyone calls me 'Grandmama'."

"A pleasure to meet you, Ma'am. I'm Damion Ildaran, and this is Dr. Elizabeth Anderson." He smirked. "Thank you for welcoming us into your home. It was memorable!"

"My home?" the ancient hag countered as she turned to rearrange the skeleton's limbs to hold the door. "No, I am a guest here, too. It's her home," she nodded as Experiment Number Six strolled by. The hand on her shoulder hopped from the oldest Addams present to the youngest.

"Now wait a minute," Elizabeth smiled at the woman calling herself Grandmama. "Is that Thing in a costume? However did you get him to play dress-up?"

"Thing?" Damion echoed. "That's its name?" It took him a moment to understand that the hand was alive. He could feel the gears turning in his sluggish brain, ticking through observations. It was warm. It could move, propel itself, and accurately aim. How it did that without eyes, Damion couldn't fathom. "It held the gate open for us--unless you've more than the one."

"Thing is... and does... as Thing pleases," the old woman answered with a smile, turning back to the couple. "But sometimes, it's willing to go along with a polite request."

"I'll keep that in mind," Damion said. So Thing was intelligent, too. An intelligent hand with no sensory organs. Stuh-range.

 

RSS Feed