Lirri's Story

|Lirri|

Hands shoved in her pockets and eyes scanning the dusty roads, Lirri walked along the streets silently, kicking up dirt every once in a while. Her shoe tip connected with a small rock, sending it flying off, a look of frustration on her face. ’Three days. It’s been three days since my last pointed job. You’d think there’d be a ton of stuff, what with the adults being so freaking clumsy, but nope, not recently. Eh, maybe I’m just looking in the wrong places. Understandable considering this place is a bloody rat’s nest. If you can even call it that. It’s demeaning to rats everywhere.’

With a sigh, Lirri let her head fall to the side, and she blinked a couple of times before her eyes focused on something. It seemed to be a scrap of paper, but… paper was something that shouldn’t be left on the streets. Wandering over to it, Mouse bent down. ’Especially what with the sca-‘ And right at that moment her bracelet went off. Lirri’s eyes widened as she snatched up the crumpled little object. Whether or not it belonged to someone, it needed to get off the streets before someone’s life got threatened.

’How far am I from my place!?’ She looked around frantically before her mind clicked and she sprang into action, darting forward. ’If I don’t get there in time….’ Mouse shuddered, her whole form shifting as she put on another burst of speed. A soft pattering of feet scampering along the cobblestone might be heard if someone were listening closely, but unlikely, considering loud noises were all around- shutters slamming shut, pounding of feet along the ground, such things.

Her course shifted, and she slipped inside a small crack in a nearby building, pressing forward in her mad dash to return to her area. Her round ears perked up as she ran, honing in on the sound of the scanners approaching, though their proximity was quite a ways off considering her hearing was now enhanced. Racing up the stair railings, Lirri came into a room, and leaped forward, her tiny paws scrambling against the wood before sinking in and giving her grip, which she used to pull herself up. She was on a windowsill which she quickly darted through, ignoring the broken glass, clambering onto an old clothesline and working her way along it.

She suddenly flung herself off of the wire, freefalling about two stories before she felt herself shift again, the wind catching feathers and abruptly catching her and lifting her up as she shifted her speckled wings. She quickly flapped them, making way more ground… obviously, she was flying after all. Sighting her small shop which she called home, she pressed her wings against her body and tucked her feet close to her downy stomach, dive bombing towards the place.

With a loud thud Lirri landed on the ground, her back pressed against the wall and her arm over her eyes as she panted. Changing like that was exhausting, and she’d have to dip into some extra food. She probably had something she could fix up if she tried, plus if she was a smaller animal she could most likely stave off the majority of the different metabolisms. Shape-shifting had its advantages, as well as its toll.

But her thoughts were interrupted by a stinging sensation in her leg, as well as the scanners approaching. She immediately tilted her head down, looking at her leg as the scanners passed and left. Mouse’s facial features contorted with a wince, blood trickling down a cut in her leg which she received while climbing through that broken window. ’Baka, where’s your brain!?’ She groaned, letting her body roll a bit till her side was against the wall as she clutched her leg. She had had to shift, otherwise the scanners might have gotten suspicious; it wasn't an ideal idea, going from small to large shifts any physical stresses, including cuts and bruises.

Lirri rose from the ground, slightly limping as she walked into her home, a small bell which she had found a few months ago ringing, signaling someone had entered. She continued past the desk at the front of the small room and through the door at the back. It was a pretty nice place, it had two floors, and occasionally running water. Not like she couldn’t cope without the ‘comfort’. There wasn’t anything stopping her from gathering anything she needed from elsewhere. But right now it was a definite blessing as she lifted her leg onto the basin of the pump, praying that she’d have water right now.

She pushed down on the lever with bated breath, but nothing happened. A look of annoyance flashed across her face followed by a wince. She let out a sigh, about to turn away before she heard the trickling. Immediately she shoved her leg under the small stream of water, cleaning off the grime and blood. After finishing that, she cupped her hands and washed her face from the sweat as well as getting a quick gulp of water. She then turned it off, not expecting to get water from it for the rest of the day, and went in search of the bandages Prelude had given her a few weeks back. She was doing her best to make them last- she hated asking for things, it made her seem weak, and weak was something no one could be nowadays, not to mention it took that small toll on others as well.

”Aha, there you are, ya little bugger.” Her fingers wrapped around the cloth before unraveling some of it around her cut and then fastened it. Lirri whispered a small thanks once again to Prelude for being so kind. It definitely wasn’t unusual for Lirri to injure herself, running about and doing crazy stuff she really shouldn’t.

Mouse sat for a little bit before glancing up out of the window, a look of worry spreading subtly along. ’Did they get anyone this time?’ She suddenly paused before looking down at one of her pockets. ’Oh yeah, the paper….’ She slipped her fingers inside the cloth pouch and pulled out the crumpled little ball. ’Probably not even his, but I guess he’d like to have it nonetheless.’

|Lirri|

After getting up off of the floor and dusting herself off, Lirri placed the bandages back on one of the shelves, attempting to make a mental note to keep track of them, but not really putting much effort into it. ’I should really rearrange this place so I can actually find things….’ With a shrug, Mouse returned to the front part of her shop, placing her hand on the handle of the door and twisting it before stepping outside.

She glanced around, a look of concentration on her face as she recalled which way it was to the Newspaper Booth. She had a fairly good mental map of her streets, or at least a homing device, plus the fact that she could be pretty much any animal really helped in getting back before the scanners. Lynx stepped off the stone step of her door onto the path that led to the streets of Project 21.

Her foot was just hovering over the pavement, about to step down, when she heard a rather loud crash coming from the upper floor of her home. Her eyes widened and a guarded look flashed across her features as her form stiffened. ’What the heck was that!?’ Quickly scanning the ground for anything she could use as a weapon, Lirri spotted a pipe which she swiftly picked up and made her way back to the door.

Slipping inside, her head tilted upwards towards the ceiling in order to focus on just where the crash had come from. Mouse didn’t lose a beat as she stalked up the steps and turned to the left towards one of the handful of rooms on the upper story of her building. The only time she paused was in front of the door, and that was only for a moment before she turned the knob and swung the door open, wielding the metal.

What she found in that room was a definite shock, and in her surprise, the pipe came clattering to the floor. ”Bloody heck, man!” Her eyes quickly took in the scene, the window she had left open early that morning, Liam on the floor in a heap, and a few of her items knocked from their shelves, which pissed her off just a bit. An irritated look given from the fact that he had come in completely unannounced, and through the window nonetheless, filled her features.

”Liam, you are so freaking lucky you didn’t decide to jump into my bedroom, or I swear I would have smacked you with that pipe… about a dozen times too.” A good-natured grin now replaced the fierce look she had on earlier, and Lirri picked the metal pipe up and propped it against one of the bookshelves filled with all sorts of trinkets that were yet unclaimed by their owners.

”But seriously, mind telling me why you're in my house, and why through the window instead of the door?” She leaned back against the wall with her hands behind her back, until she remember the paper that was in her pocket, and shifted forward to pull it out. ”Oh, and I think this is yours.” She held it out for him to see before tossing it at his head.

Area: Invading Lirri's storage-room

”Liam, you are so freaking lucky you didn’t decide to jump into my bedroom, or I swear I would have smacked you with that pipe… about a dozen times too.”

"But seriously, mind telling me why you're in my house, and why through the window instead of the door?”

Still on the floor Liam glanced up to see Lirri with an extremely pissed look on her face. Just as he was about to reply she threw a paper directly at his head. ”Oh, and I think this is yours.”

"Hm?" Liam now got up off the floor, well at least sat down on the floor in a criss-cross-applesauce formation. He opened the crumbled up piece of paper and stared at it with an odd look. "Hm, this is one of the papers that I didn't write...It's also hard to describe what the item is as it's in some broken English! Ah well I will just have to find a very old dictionary. As for your first statement and your first question..." Liam stopped speaking as he quickly remembered the paper he had landed on, he quickly stood up and picked up the paper before sitting back down. He made a quick glance at the paper then smiled.

"Anyway, if I wanted to enter your bedroom I would have just used the front door, I mean the worse I could do is fall asleep on your fluffy bed which is far more comfortable than mine. As for the reason I'm here? Well a nice little paper landed inside your house and I jumped in without thinking and well...now we are here. How about we put this awkward event behind us and move on hm? It would be bad if people heard I broke into females houses! I mean that would ruin my reputation, just think 'Liam Chase' The pervert of Project 21!" Liam had kept his hands behind this back the whole time, trying to create something out of his writings. He then stood up, hands still behind his back and walked over to Lirri. He took what he had been forming out of his hands and put it in Lirri's hair, what had it been? It was a beautiful pink rose who's scent couldn't be beat by a thousand other flowers combined; well at least that's what the book said.

He walked back and looked at Lirri. "There, perfect! Now if you don't mind I should get going; besides you must have loads of errr...detective stuff to do."

|Lirri|

Lirri crossed her arms lazily once more as she listened intently as he spoke of what had been on the paper she found. ’So it was his.’ Her ears perked as he said ‘find’, but she immediately relaxed once more. Just a bad habit.

Answering her biggest question as he got up from the floor, revealing another sheet of paper on her floor with a momentary smile, Mouse tilted her head to the side, intrigued as to what was on that as well. However, her thought was broken as he spoke up.

”Anyway, if I wanted to enter your bedroom I would have just used the front door, I mean the worst I could do is fall asleep on your fluffy bed which is far more comfortable than mine. As for the reason I'm here? Well a nice little paper landed inside your house and I jumped in without thinking and well...now we are here.” She smirked at his comment about her bed, sticking her tongue out a bit. ”Down and fur~” She made a quick remark before listening to him explain what she had picked up already. ”Lucky you didn’t break anything or I would have to drag your sorry butt out of my house down a flight of uncomfortable stairs.”

” How about we put this awkward event behind us and move on hm? It would be bad if people heard I broke into females houses! I mean that would ruin my reputation, just think 'Liam Chase' The pervert of Project 21!” Lirri laughed, covering her mouth with her wrist as a wry smirk spread across her lips. She opened her mouth to say something else when Liam got up and advanced towards her with his hands behind his back. She took up a somewhat guarded stance, watching his movements. He leaned towards her, bringing his hands out from behind his back to fasten something to her hair. She relaxed as he backed up to look at her, and that’s when the scent of the flower hit her nostrils. With another smirk, she leaned back against the wall, ”Ewan would be so jealous,” she grinned up at him before lifting a hand to stroke one of the petals, ”But thanks.” Lynx shrugged, before her attention shifted as he spoke once more.

”Now if you don't mind I should get going; besides you must have loads of errr...detective stuff to do." Lirri shifted in front of the door, crossing her arms. ”Ah, not so fast. You’re gonna help me clean up the mess you made with all of my stuff,” she motioned towards all of the trinkets fallen from their shelves and scattered about on the floor from Liam’s crash, ”And no, not really. I haven’t been given a real job in at least three days. If you have more papers you need finding, I wouldn’t mind helping you out."

|LIAM CHASE|

”Ewan would be so jealous, But thanks.”

Liam couldn't help but snicker at the thought of Ewan giving Lirri some flowers he just recently picked then having himself come along and just create a flower out of midair; completely destroying Ewan's self-esteem and hope. Then again Ewan seemed to like someone else, but that was just Liam's own personal observation.

"So what your trying to tell me is that my competition is Little Ewan? Oh man Lirri that's just grand, you know what? Just because I find that down-right adorable I'll continue to let him pick flowers for you."

Just as he finished speaking and was about to leave Lirri quickly darted in the way blocking his only exit...except the window but that really wasn't a good escape route at this rate.

”Ah, not so fast. You’re gonna help me clean up the mess you made with all of my stuff,”

”And no, not really. I haven’t been given a real job in at least three days. If you have more papers you need finding, I wouldn’t mind helping you out."

"Hm so what your saying is so far for you life has been pretty boring? No cases in three days? Wow that would be great for the paper! I can see it now 'Great P21 Detective Lirri has a 3-day slump in work! What does this mean for the detective?!'" Liam began to laugh a little bit imagining how little people would care and just give another excuse to have Lirri do more work.

Liam started by picking up a crate that had seem to have fallen, inside was really nothing of interest except some papers and other objects that held little to no interest to Liam. He put the box on the shelf and saw something on the floor that caught his eye. He quickly turned to see a silver shine in the corner of the room. Upon closer inspection the shine came from a pure silver pocket-watch that seemed to still run, Liam assumed it was fairly old, then again it may have just been neglected and just have aged very quickly due to harsh environments. "Hey Lirri, where did you find this?" He said holding out the pocket watch for Lirri to see.

|Lirri|

"So what you're trying to tell me is that my competition is Little Ewan? Oh man Lirri that's just grand, you know what? Just because I find that down-right adorable I'll continue to let him pick flowers for you."Lirri smirked back at Liam, sticking her tongue out at him. ”Psh, I didn’t think I insinuated that; and what were you going to try to do otherwise, shove his head into one of the gutters?”

”Hm so what your saying is so far for you, life has been pretty boring? No cases in three days? Wow that would be great for the paper! I can see it now 'Great P21 Detective Lirri has a 3-day slump in work! What does this mean for the detective?!'" She rolled her eyes with a grin, ”It means that she’s got a few days off of having to run about and instead attempt to organize this place up, but as you can see, somewhat lazy job.” As Liam moved to start helping her pick up the plethora of little items scattered about the room, Mouse walked over to the opposite side to carefully collect the items and replace them on their respective shelves and inside boxes and the like.

After a couple of minutes into the work, she heard Liam call from the other side of the room, ”Hey Lirri, where did you find this?” And he held up a small pocket watch she had found a handful of weeks back. ”I found it in one of the drainpipes like two and a half weeks ago while running another job. I’m surprised it still runs, and a little shocked no adult has come to claim it. I guess it’s just an excuse to go get a new one. I shined it up as much as I could once I found it and just stashed it away up here and kinda forgot about it.”

However, before she could even think to return to her work or listen to his next comment, a shiver ran down her spine and a hard look flashed across her face for a moment, concentrating on something. She suddenly shifted her form into that of a black footed fox, tail held straight out and ears perked forward. Her maw parted, and she inhaled the light air from outside. Immediately her danger senses peaked, ’Storm.’ Lynx shifted back, and quickly ran to the open window, shutting it and fastening it closed.

She turned to look at Liam as the sky began to get a darker tinge to it. The storm was rapidly approaching. ”There’s a storm coming, and it’s like nothing I’ve ever picked up before. Ah, gimme a moment, I’m gonna go make sure everything’s closed.” And with that, she quickly darted out of the room to go wander swiftly around the house to make sure all the windows were closed and also double check the door. Once she completed her round, she returned to her storage room and sat down on the floor, looking over at him.

”Psh, I didn’t think I insinuated that; and what were you going to try to do otherwise, shove his head into one of the gutters?”


"Maybe, but only if you replace my glorious flower with his own! Oh Lirri how heart broken I would be!" Liam put his hand over his heart and looked away from her in a sarcastic notion.

”I found it in one of the drainpipes like two and a half weeks ago while running another job. I’m surprised it still runs, and a little shocked no adult has come to claim it. I guess it’s just an excuse to go get a new one. I shined it up as much as I could once I found it and just stashed it away up here and kinda forgot about it.”

"Hm...interesting, well It's mine now as long as it's alright with you." Said Liam with a smile on his face as he twirled the pocket watch around his finger by the chain once again before slyly putting it in his pocket. "I personally am a large fan of pocket watches as they are small yet intricate, somewhat like writing. You know I've always wanted to just open a pocket watch up then try to re-create it by only using writings, I mean how would you describe all those gears interlocking and exchanging rhythms! Just imagine writing the clicks and chimes word by word oh how jo-" Liam's explaining was soon interrupted by Lirri's frantic movements.

Liam immediately began to take notice to these movements and kept his eyes focused on Lirri as if she was giving him some sort of hint. Quickly she changed into a fox before his eyes, each time she transformed it amazed Liam, yes of course he could turn air into a colossal rock a to where she seemed to be able to effortlessly transform regardless of her knowledge of the creature.

”There’s a storm coming, and it’s like nothing I’ve ever picked up before. Ah, gimme a moment, I’m gonna go make sure everything’s closed.”


Liam stood lonely and quiet as Lirri quickly ran throughout the house confirming the safety of the house before coming back to the storage room and sitting next to Liam. Confused, he simply sat down next to her and stared down at the floor completely unaware of what to do.