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Shelly bounced up and down, making a pile of jumbled stuff in her room to search. For what exactly? Things that Shannon recommended she’d bring today for a special event like this of course! Because today was going to be the day that promised that the other toons ( along with her of course ) would be going above ground! Shannon told her that after some persuading, Delilah agreed that everytoon could go outside! But on one condition.
To follow some strict and scary rules in order to even step foot out there. Worst case scenario: One of her friends explodes into nothing but an ichor puddle.
The thought of one of the toons going from a friend to black goo sent a shiver up Shelly’s backspikes, but it swiftly ebbed after she went over an imaginary checklist of the things she’ll bring outside to distract herself.
Big boots for going through the grass? Check. A book about prehistoric plants that she could compare with the ones that her handler always talked about? Check. A scrapbook full of plants her, Tisha and Bassie were going to flatten once she found them? Check. Long pants that wouldn’t get dirty? Check!
Humming as she put everything in orderly piles surrounding her, she overheard shouting coming from the other side of her room. Curious, she got up and padded towards the door, her footsteps barely making a sound on her soft carpet floors. She rested her head near the golden knob, meeting side to side with shouting from Vee on the other side.
“I just think this whole idea is absolutely stupid!” Vee sneered. “Well, Delilah did say there were going to be rules and precautions..” Dandy noted, his voice noticeably jollier than usual, which is pretty strange, considering he was talking to Vee of all people.
“Really? From Delilah? Please.” Vee derisively scoffed.
“Really? REALLY!?” Dandy piped. “VEE! This is IMPORTANT! We all wanna see what’s out there, and there's no chance that something like exploding into ichor would happen ANYWAY! Lighten. UP!”
Shelly could almost hear Vee tilting her head to the side sardonically. “What makes you think you won’t die out there?” Her footsteps inching towards the flower. “Both you and Pebble were not only the first toons that stepped into Gardenview, but the most fragile!” Vee snapped, expecting a response from Dandy which was answered with his realized silence. She scoffed before continuing her voice louder as if it was going to explode.
“SEE!? Even YOU don’t know! What makes you think we all won’t die out there?”
The argument stopped for a bit before Vee’s voice noticeably softened as she huffed, pulling on her antennae. “It’s just dumb! I don’t want any of us to die, Dandy! You know that!” Dandy was still silent, and by then, Vee gave up on talking to him.
Shelly heard Vee’s footsteps growing silent away from her, followed by Dandy’s going the other way.
Shelly slowly walked back to her circular pile, far enough so that she was out of hearing range from her door and as if nothing just happened, continued to check if everything was ready for the outing. Only this time, something nervewracking began to crawl slowly on her back, her eyes losing focus from what she was doing, sweat dripping down her shell, with one thing on her mind: What if Vee was right? What if they all explode due to the big ball of light that Shannon described to her? What if a meteor fell down on everytoon!? She shook her head profusely to snap out of visualizing any of those thoughts, and began to search for a bag to put all the outing stuff in.
Dragging the bag out, she was only halfway done with packing everything up when she heard a knock on the door. “Who’s there?” Shelly called out. “Tisha!” The voice behind the door retorted. Shelly briskly got up and opened the door.
"Morning! “ Tisha greeted amiably, a warm smile shown on her face. It seemed that she was preparing for the occasion early since she was all dressed head to toe in clothes, and the only bare skin Shelly could find was on her face! "Morning, Tisha!” Shelly greeted back. “Come in, Come in! I need to see if I’m all ready!”
Tisha avoided some for the clothes in the ammonite’s room and sat on the edge of her bed, her outing bag being placed next to Shelly’s as Shelly began to talk about how fun and interesting it was going to be once they were out there. “After all this time, wouldn’t it be fun to see Bassie again?” Shelly asked, putting on her coffee brown gloves. “Yeah! It’s been a while since we’ve catched up with her anyway..“ Tisha trailed off, her eyes noticeably shinier as she daydreamed spending time with the Easter Main.
Just as Shelly was zipping up her bag, an announcement played above the two toons.
It was full of static and was really scratchy but you could make a few words out of it.
“ATTENTION -- TOONS FROM FLOOR ONE TO FLOOR THREE WHO *kssh* UP FOR THE OUTING, PLEASE MEET AT THE TRAIN STATION UPFRONT. WE HAVE 7 MINUTES BEFORE WE *kkshh*”
“OH! It’s time! Quick, let’s move!” Shelly held Tisha’s wrist indignantly as they quickly raced against the clock. Time was ticking!
The toons were gathered outside on the rainbow entry carpet, all in their little friend groups, filling up the train station with chatter before Delilah blew her whistle.
“Now then.” She began. “Before I state the rules, it’s crucial to note that you all are around a safe perimeter around Gardenview grounds since, unfortunately, I haven’t tested out how you all would do with the UV rays.”
The crowd was filled with shrugs and murmurs about what a UV ray was, and Tisha looked at Shelly as if she was going to respond with an answer, but Shelly didn’t know what Delilah was talking about either.
Delilah alerted the crowd once again by clearing her throat before continuing. “Along with that boundary, I’ve set out a few ground rules so that all of you wouldn’t break any. Follow these rules, and you all may be able to come back outside again in the future.”
Delilah pulled out a list. “Rule One. Do not eat the bracken, grass, or any of the flowers outside. That goes for you especially, Goob and Pebble. Rule Two, Like I said, Devan and Arthur will be watching you all, so it’s best that you don’t go far. Rule Three. There is shade underneath the forest full of trees and foliage, which is where the boundary is, so if it gets too hot, you are allowed to go under there, but frolicking is recommended. Rule Four, NO BITING, NO DIGGING, AND ESPECIALLY NO STEALING.” She started at Gigi, Connie, both the Craft Siblings, and Shrimpo for that rule. “And finally, Rule Five, it’s best that you all explore the parameter, I expect each and every one of you to be able to explore the outside of Gardenview freely, but let me say this again.”
“If any of you are found outside the boundary, you will be punished harshly. Do I make myself clear?“
Everytoon silently nodded in fear, but you could hear Shelly’s tail pitter pattering fervently on the ground nearby.
Assuming that everytoon agreed, Delilah moved out of the way. And as if right on cue, Dyle’s train skidded on the tracks, ready to board. Shelly noticed that Devan was also going on the trip too, which confused her since she didn’t see him up until now, but oh well!
As the train began to dash upon the tracks, Shelly was immediately blown away.
The sights and smells and feels of everything drove the snail-swirled toon to vigorous curiosity as she was drifting away from her feet by what she saw! Not only with the sights and sounds, but with new animals that she never saw in person! Her eyes caught birds, this weird mottled dog, and sea water! It reminded her of the times she’d talk to Finn to which he’d always mention sea water, and different types of fish, like the blue tang for instance which surprisingly, she found as well! Each and every time she’d find something new, Shelly would point it out to Tisha, who was just as curious as she was. The short travel came to a close and everytoon was ushered off of the train to say hello to grass underneath their feet.
Now, here I would say that Shelly was really excited to be met with the sun, the big ball of light that Shannon described to her time and time again as she got off the train, but that wasn’t the case. Her eyes were jumpscared by the bright sunglow light instead, because she made the rookie mistake of staring at it for too long in wonder. Thankfully, Tisha didn’t notice Shelly’s pain because of the sunhat she was wearing, because if she did, Shelly would’ve been really embarrassed!
After profusely rubbing her eyes, Shelly took everything around her in. The clouds in the sky, the grass on the ground, and everytoon running around and doing their own thing beneath the sun. Bassie came to say hello again too, laying down on the grass right next to the both of them.
“ So.. “ Tisha started, putting her sunhat down to enjoy the view. “Bassie, how have you been?”
The Easter Main was playing with her handlestring, not making any eye contact. “I’ve been good..staying down on the lower floors is a bit scary.. you?“
“Good as well! Everytoon’s keeping me busy..” Tisha giggled
The three girls all looked around in silence before Tisha glanced at the prehistoric main staring up in the sky. This was one of the happiest times of Shelly’s life! Her eyes were following the clouds, and she seemed focused. She tapped on her shoulder.
“Yeah?”
“You wanna get started on your little projects now orr?” Tisha asked eagerly, unlike Shelly, TIsha despised everything around her. The creepy-crawlies underneath the picnic blanket, the shared silence, the amount of dust and dirt, she needed something, anything to do to get rid of it. Bassie wasn’t really that happy either, unlike what Delilah said, there weren’t that many flowers in where they stayed, just hills, and grass. And besides, keeping a good images keeps her happy.
“OH RIGHT! I forgot about that!“ She scooted over to her bag and pulled out a big half-filled scrapbook.
“We should go flower finding!”
Bassie was somewhat wrong about her first glances outside. Careful in not trying to step out of the boundary, she followed both Tisha and Shelly around the area. Gardenview Facility was towered right next to her, but from afar she could see a whole meadow’s worth of different flowers, along with some nice shade underneath. Her pupils dilated as she saw an abundance of flowers, including some hyacinths and tulips. She directed both Shelly and Tisha to see the beauties, and plucked a few.
She stopped to think. This didn’t count as stealing, right? She won’t get into any sort of trouble, right? She won’t be yelled at? What happens if she does get Tisha and Shelly into trouble? Would it be her fault?
“Bassie, you alright?” Shelly asked, noticing Bassie’s spaced out panic.
“YEAH, Yeah I’m fine! You can flatten the flowers now! I’ll be watching!”
“Actually, I was wondering if you wanted to flatten them with us!”
“...Really?”
“Yeah!”
Plucking a tulip, Bassie handed it to Shelly, who vigorously smooshed the plant flat. The three girls glanced to have a look!
Although it was rather flat, it still was vibrant, just 2D this time!
“Wow..”
The more flowers they plucked, the less worried Bassie got. This project was somewhat relaxing for her. Tisha was having a good time too! Taking a few flowers to smell as well. Working so hard to keep everyone clean had to have taken a tool on her. She wishes she was so hardworking so that Tisha wouldn’t have to work so hard.
And Shelly, her joyful toothy grin was the happiest she’d seen her in a while. Staying on the Spring floor is boring for sure, but staying above and not being seen? That was the worst in her book. Even then, Bassie noticed how resilient she was in that. No matter how many times she was left in the dust, it didn’t affect her at all. If only she had that resilience with Cocoa, maybe then she wouldn’t be so resentful for her
She trekked the meadow until she reached underneath the tree. She looked back to see Tisha and Shelly right behind her to take some shade in too, since she could tell that they were also spent from this fun outing.
Getting comfy, the three of them cuddled up on top of each other, watching everything around them go by. Shelly was noticeably flustered, her tail wagging a ton right near Bassie, who had her head rested on the girl’s lap. Tisha smoothed out her dress and laid on Shelly’s shoulder too.
She wanted to stay like this forever.