The X-men run missions and work together with the NYPD, striving to maintain a peaceful balance between humans and mutants. When it comes to a fight, they won't back down from protecting those who need their help.
Haven presents itself as a humanitarian organization for activists, leaders, and high society, yet mutants are the secret leaders working to protect and serve their kind. Behind the scenes they bring their goals into reality.
From the time when mutants became known to the world, SUPER was founded as a black-ops division of the CIA in an attempt to classify, observe, and learn more about this new and rising threat.
The Syndicate works to help bring mutantkind to the forefront of the world. They work from the shadows, a beacon of hope for mutants, but a bane to mankind. With their guiding hand, humanity will finally find extinction.
Since the existence of mutants was first revealed in the nineties, the world has become a changed place. Whether they're genetic misfits or the next stage in humanity's evolution, there's no denying their growing numbers, especially in hubs like New York City. The NYPD has a division devoted to mutant related crimes. Super-powered vigilantes help to maintain the peace. Those who style themselves as Homo Superior work to tear society apart for rebuilding in their own image.
MRO is an intermediate to advanced writing level original character, original plot X-Men RPG. We've been open and active since October of 2005. You can play as a mutant, human, or Adapted— one of the rare humans who nullify mutant powers by their very existence. Goodies, baddies, and neutrals are all welcome.
Short Term Plots:Are They Coming for You?
There have been whispers on the streets lately of a boogeyman... mutant and humans, young and old, all have been targets of trafficking.
The Fountain of Youth
A chemical serum has been released that's shaving a few years off of the population. In some cases, found to be temporary, and in others...?
MRO MOVES WITH CURRENT TIME: What month and year it is now in real life, it's the same for MRO, too.
Fuegogrande: "Fuegogrande" player of The Ranger, Ion, Rhia, and Null
Neopolitan: "Aly" player of Rebecca Grey, Stephanie Graves, Marisol Cervantes, Vanessa Bookman, Chrysanthemum Van Hart, Sabine Sang, Eupraxia
Ongoing Plots
Magic and Mystics
After the events of the 2020 Harvest Moon and the following Winter Solstice, magic has started manifesting in the MROvere! With the efforts of the Welldrinker Cult, people are being converted into Mystics, a species of people genetically disposed to be great conduits for magical energy.
The Welldrinker Cult
A shadowy group is gaining power, drawing in people who are curious, vulnerable, or malicious, and turning them into Mystics. They are recruiting people into their ranks to spread the influence of magic in the world, but for what end goal?
Are They Coming for You?
There have been whispers on the streets lately of a boogeyman... mutant and humans, young and old, all have been targets of trafficking.
Adapteds
What if the human race began to adapt to the mutant threat? What if the human race changed ever so subtly... without the x-gene.
Atlanteans
The lost city of Atlantis has been found! Refugees from this undersea mutant dystopia have started to filter in to New York as citizens and businessfolk. You may make one as a player character of run into one on the street.
Got a plot in mind?
MRO plots are player-created the Mods facilitate and organize the big ones, but we get the ideas from you. Do you have a plot in mind, and want to know whether it needs Mod approval? Check out our plot guidelines.
((You're sorry for the long wait? Ahaha... AH-HAHAHAHAAA!.... take THAT! ))
((Actually, sorry for the wait as well ))
The Animal Control guys immediately noticed the clumsy dog trying to wobble away and they pointed him out to Stokely. Miles slapped his own forehead as she tried talking to them to slow them down, but the guys just moved to their car and started collecting their gear, which included long sticks with wire loops and nets.
Oh crap! What now!? If he crossed the street, he wouldn't be able to see his own dog and tell him where to go since Tinaker was obediently keeping his eyes shut. If he didn't cross it and stuck around trying to steer his dog, all of this would have been for nothing!
Oh... wait a minute. There was a third option. Miles didn't have much time to think about it, so he just quickly gave the command and hoped for the best.
"Astor, Watch out for incoming traffic and cross the street. You're on your own"
His larger, brutish looking dog was the only one that could point him out as a mutant at first glance, since he was too big for a normal boxer (and too red eyed). Tinaker could pass for normal at a distance with his eyes closed, even to trained Animal Control folks, since he was a mixed breed and his size was still within normal for a dog and Miles himself was quite ordinary in his appearance. So, the boy ditched his mutant looking canine taking advantage of the distraction Stokes had provided and moved in to try and help his other dog make his escape.
"SISTEEEEER!" he yelled at the top of his lungs as he trotted his way to where Stokely was. A couple of heads from the Animal Control people turned to see him, completely oblivious to the screech a car on the street made as it pulled the brakes to avoid hitting a crossing hellhound.
Miles wrapped his arms around Stokely and hugged her as if he hadn't seen her in one month and twenty one days.
"Have you found him!? Oh, look, there he is!" he said in fake excitement as his dog walked away with one of the cops behind it, close to dropping a net on him, but now that the young mutant was closer, he could easily steer him away from trouble.
The boy let go of Stokely, crouched a little and clapped his hands. "Here boy! Come here!" he said loudly, waving his hands and urging the animal to come closer, but in his brain, the mental command he was giving was "Run motherf$%&#! RUN!! Go forward then turn left!"
Tinaker obliged and the bald cop with the net missed him. One of the guys with a stick and a loop tried to lasso the dog's neck, but that's when the dog turned left. Miles started to run behind the guy and 'accidentally' stepped on the back of his heel, loosening the guy's shoe off his foot.
"Whoops! Come on, sis! Hurry! He's getting away!" he urged now, pretending to chase his dog yet secretely telling him where to go while on the other side of the street, his larger thrall was trotting unnoticed by the cops. For a moment, Miles thought they'd get away from this easily. The bald cop had stopped the chase and the guy who'd lost his shoe had also stopped to put it back on, but when Miles turned his head, a cop and two guys from animal control were still giving chase right behind Stokely and him.
Boy, they really liked their jobs. The two mutants would have to figure out a way to 'accidentally' lose them.
Well, I do remember you. While a mod might be more fit to answer your question with specifics, I don't think there's much of a process to get started again, except maybe explaining in your app history what your character did when he left and then returned.
By the way, there's more players posting and some newbies are really eager to get threads going. I know response slowness was one of the reasons you left, but you may end up having better luck this time around. The posting tides here wax and wane and a lot of it depends on school days / vacations.
Boy, 'Rainbow' turned out to be quite an appropriate name for his character, judging by how his muse changed color, specifically into the 'red' hues. Was she angry or something? Embarrassed, maybe? He had taken all the precautions not to embarrass her with the rest of the library folks by slipping a note instead of talking, so surely that wasn't the reason...
Kara slipped the note back and Miles hoped to find something cool Confucius or Sun Tzu had said. Instead, he only found her denial, an apology and...
... She was not into girls?
Wait, what? That was clearly not a motto but... why was she telling him this? Did he even ask if she was? Was this some sort of indirect clue for him? A clue for what? What did she mean by this?
She was not into girls.
Huh. So she's into boys, of course. She was telling Miles that she liked boys. Why? She probably thought HE thought she was into girls for some reason and she was confirming that was not the case. Why? Because she wanted him to KNOW she liked boys. Why!?
Waaaait a minute.... she's shy. Was this... Was this some sort of awkward, weird, shy way of hers to politely nudge him into...
... Asking her out?
Hi, Miles! I like boys! *nudge, nudge, wink wink*?
Miles eyes widened as he thought out his conclusion a wee bit longer. He started to read the note again as he whispered.
"Well, I AM into girls, but I'm actually seeing someone else and I don't think we should date because..." he started, then stopped when his eyes fixed themselves on the crossed over part of the note she MUST have read through and probably thought was meant for her.
Oh.
OH!
His reaction to his confusion was imminent.
And loud.
"BWAHAHAHAHAHAAA!"
There was a chorus of "SHHHHH!"s and "Quiet!" as some of the students craned their necks to look and stare at them. Others huffed impatiently, urging the librarian to do something about it. Miles ducked his head and managed to quickly type something into his laptop
...ha ha ha ha ha ha...!
Rainbow's neck grew bright red as she raised her arm and pointed a finger at something behind Selim.
"Holy Crap! Look at the boobs on that girl!"
Selim turned around and as he did, Rainbow hit him on the head with a magical shovel.
THE END!
At that moment, he felt the hand of the librarian grabbing and pulling at his arm, forcing him to get up and leading him out the door. Miles stumbled up and barely managed to close his laptop as he was being pushed into leaving.
"Thanks for everything!" he said as he was being encouraged to move forward. The librarian opened the door, shoved Miles outside and closed it behind him, to the sighs of relief from several of the students in the room.
The door suddenly opened again and Miles poked his head back in.
"I'LL SEE YOU AROUND!" he yelled at the top of his lungs, quickly closing the door behind him and running away from the library.
... A poem, actually. It even started off with an acrostic.
Radiant smile and beautiful green eyes Unique, sweet, smart and wise Be my valentine! At least for the day! You'll have fun, that much I can say!
The card was one of those that had a photograph of two little kids sitting in a bench at a park. They weren't hugging or kissing, but they both held balloons, the boy a blue one, the girl a pink one and they were both laughing. The inside of the card was empty, so whoever bought it had to fill it with his own words, which Miles had done. The second set of lines was not an acrostic, but at least they still rhymed.
Geez, who could have known it was so hard to write poetry? I'd have an easier time understanding geometry! You're worth the effort, so I had to try, Hope you liked it, now kiss rhymes goodbye!
The next couple of lines didn't rhyme, but they pretty much ended the letter with a signature from Miles and the date.
From the bottom of my heart, you're a great friend and I really care about you, So have a very happy Valentine, Ruby!
Miles D. Haxton 14-feb-2013
The boy enjoyed his Transformers card, opening it with a grin plastered all over his face and he was really looking forward to roll out this Valentine day, specially since the fox girl had suggested the sci-fi flick! She didn't mention romantic comedies and Miles did not even press the issue.
"Excellent!" he said, his eyes brightening at her idea and counting himself lucky. "Shall we move on, then?"
She was angry at first and he pretty much saw himself getting kicked out of the car but her mood suddenly changed at the mention of the video.
Heh. Funny thing, he could have sworn he heard her ask 'what video?'
It wasn't so funny when the question happened to be real. The girl had no clue. She was completely oblivious to the video and what it had caused for mutants like him. It had touched a nerve on the mutant population and sparked anger in many people, mutants and humans alike and this girl knew nothing of it.
His 'thank you' seemed to have been unexpected and appreciated, so he nodded as his mind still wrapped around her not knowing about the video.
"What, you haven't seen it?" he asked back, almost stupefied. "It's been everywhere. If someone had danced in it, it would be more famous than Gangnam Style, but the only dancing happened at the end of a baton" he said, trying to make light of a situation that had nothing funny in it. It was the only way he knew to try and keep his cool about it, since the few times he talked about the video, he remembered Gina's screams and the cracks and crunches as the cops beat on her. He could feel his blood rise when he remembered it and he didn't like getting emotional over anything lest he turned into a zombie making machine if things got out of control.
"It's a horrible video" he added, now speaking with a more serious tone. "You can find it online. A friend of mine gets beaten on it and all for being a mutant. She has these bat-like wings and horns and grey skin like a gargoyle and the cops... they just... they just hit her, again and again until she's broken. It's awful. That's why I don't like walking around near cops with my dogs. They could try and beat me, but the dogs would fight back and I'd have a whole mess in my hands."
He petted Tinaker on the head, who was sitting the closest to him, but the animal's only reaction was to turn his head and look casually at Celeste. His red, glowing eyes became obvious then.
"I don't know when the whole situation will blow over. Probably when the cops are found guilty. There's just no way they can get away with beating a mutant like that with the proof of their crime so obvious and widespread."
Miles fingers immediately went back to the keyboard and... typed nothing.
She was the hero in his story and she was being challenged! How could she just run or die? No, no... that wasn't an option. Rainbow was not a wuss! This was frustrating. Maybe if he...
>>Shhhh!
Miles turned his head to the offending shusher and mouthed the words "Bite me!" without making a sound. This was important! He needed this grade. Luckily, he had written a lot already and using double spaces he had managed to push the whole thing into second page territory and he was close to reaching page three. When he turned back, Kara was pretty much hiding behind her keyboard apologizing. To whom? That guy? Come ooon! They had to talk, it's not like he could ask her questions using sign language, but at least Miles realized he may have been pushing her a little too much, too often. He made a 'zipping' motion with two fingers over his mouth just to bring her some peace of mind. Boy, she was really shy.
He tried to use what she gave him to work with, but maybe he could give it a little spin. He needed this to be wordy, so he could separate the dialogue lines with double spaces.
Selim looked at her with an evil glint in his green eyes. He then started walking away. Rainbow quickly got up, anger and fury coming out of her as she looked deep into Selim's black eyes and said:
"Are you running away from me? Or are you ready to die!? Because those are your two options!"
Miles nodded and smiled contentedly as he realized his muse had come through one more time, whether she had wanted it or not. Rainbow was ready to kick ass!
Selim looked at Rainbow and boasted his superior knowledge in the magical combat arts.
"You have no hope of defeating me! You will rue the day you faced me in the arena! Ha ha ha...!"
Of course the antagonist needed to have a villainous laughter even if what he was saying wasn't remotely funny. It was a staple in these sort of stories and... Wait a minute! Oh boy! He needed more dialogue and he could exploit this beautifully!
"You have no hope of defeating me! You will rue the day you faced me in the arena! Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha...!"
Welcome page three!
The assignment was supposed to be three pages long, but no one said it had to be three WHOLE pages, so maybe after a few lines in, he could just call it a day. Now all he needed was those few lines. What would Rainbow do after she had been laughed at like that? She'd probably come up with a cool phrase, like a motto or something meaningful that made people think.
He was about to ask... whoa! Wait, no. He had been loud enough to annoy some people OTHER than his muse and she was very shy, so if he wanted to ask her something again, maybe he should try and be a little more respectful. But how could he ask her for a cool phrase if he couldn't talk to her?
The boy remembered a schoolmate had passed him a note in the middle of class earlier in the day and he had tucked it in his pocket. He pulled it out, crossed over what had been written on it and wrote something underneath. He then slipped the note to Kara.
The mood in the room brightened quite a lot more the moment Ruby came out from the bathroom, all ready to go. Miles couldn't help plastering a smile on his face the second he saw her. He didn't move from his chair though, letting the two sisters talk to each other. Emerald then showed a side of her he hadn't seen in the few minutes he had been there. The caring, loving sister side. It was quite endearing and for a second it even made Miles miss his family.
The smile vanished the moment Emerald gave him the nod. She might object to seeing his goofy grin while looking at Ruby but it quickly returned as soon as the older Lupin left the room.
Miles got up from his chair, chocolate's box on one hand, card on the other, a bit of a blush on both cheeks and wondering if he really deserved to date someone like Ruby. Maybe in a past life, he had been a saint of some sort and had accumulated lots and lots of good karma and this was his reward.
"You look wonderful!" he said, the dimple in his cheek quite visible. Ruby apologized for her sister, but he just waved a dismissive hand, trying to let her understand it was not a big deal, even though he had swallowed hard the whole time her sister had been in the room. "Good brothers and sisters worry, it's in the job description" he added, not commenting on Emerald's Valentine woes, lest she think he was being nosy. As to where they were going...?
"If it were up to me, we'd be going to Disneyland or maybe to a Hush Sound concert now that they're no longer on hiatus or I dunno, somewhere really magical and fancy" he said, feeling like there wasn't enough magic at the cineplex.
Miles was packing 67 dollars and 49 cents in his pocket, a mix of some savings and his monthly allowance that should keep him covered till the end of the month, but he was willing to blow it all out tonight if need be. A guy needed to make a good first impression on the first date.
"I was thinking about grabbing a bite to eat and maybe going to the movies, but we can go somewhere else if you want. Any ideas?"
Miles did not mutter a peep. He felt tempted to, but he gritted his teeth in a forced smile as the wrench the woman had for a hand gently crushed his fingers. Some instinct in the back of his head kicked in, telling him not to complain and take it like a man. Anything else would make him look weak, though he was sure she already knew he was no world class athlete. Still, taking in the pain made him look better than shrieking like a girl.
Then again, it was a woman doing the crushing, so maybe 'shrieking like a girl' was not the best comparison.
When she let go of the hand, blood started to flow back to his fingers as he moved them to check everything still worked. Emerald then delivered a warning veiled as casual conversation through a grin that had no amusement behind it. He found himself nodding without even thinking about it. You really didn't think when someone threatened you like that, you just agreed to whatever terms they gave you!
Then he heard Ruby's voice from behind the door and that gave him some relief. Emerald was just being protective and he understood that, so he tried to put her at ease.
"Don't worry, I will" he said truthfully as he did intend to be careful, not only in the way Emerald imagined he could screw things up, but also keeping an eye out for any trouble. Miles visible mutation was his dogs size and eyes, a trait that was sometimes overlooked, but Ruby's ears and tail were far more visible, so he'd do his best to avoid anything remotely troublesome.
"It's mostly food and a movie. And chocolates. And maybe some games. Nothing too crazy or wild or stupid..." he said, hoping to high heaven nothing crazy, wild or stupid would get in their way, or else he might lose his head.
haha! I like that idea, at least for the Ty/Tses phone call it should work. There should be a note, "disclaimer" of sorts for people who aren't paying attention to this planning thread or reading just one of the threads, so the post that does the overlap should have a link to the other thread doing the overlapping with.
Miles swallowed. It was the type of swallow you can notice the adam's apple going up and down as his eyebrows went up, clearly letting the woman know she was not the person he was expecting to open the door. Well, at least she didn't have a broadsword this time around, but her clothes immediately gave the vibe of a woman not to be trifled with. She was polite and smiled but her eyes were zoned in on him like gunsights.
"Thanks" he said, trying not to imagine Ruby bathing lest her sister could read minds or body language or ohGodI'mgonnadie. He then remembered Ruby mentioning her name: Emerald. A wolf shifter. His memories of her in the dream were fractured at best, so he tried to keep his comments on the here and now.
"I'll wait. I think I'm early anyway" he said as he entered the room and still felt her gaze on him, even from behind. He felt like he was being X-rayed. Worse, it was more like one of those TSA machines on airports where they can look at your bits and you never know if it's just an old dude behind the tinted glass or a gaggle of girls pointing and mocking at you on the screen.
"Nice to meet you. I'm Miles" he said, as he left the card and the box of chocolates on a table and turned to her offering a hand to shake, making sure it wasn't sweating.
I've been slower than usual to post because I've been busy at work AND at home. I'll also be fetching myself a new compy on saturday, so I expect to start off normally around monday. Will try and reply to the current batch of pending posts before that though.
Wuh... was that a threat or an offer to let him go?
Miles wasn't entirely sure he wanted to be in the same car with her, knowing what sort of dealings she had with Maxine in the dream. Then again, there were cops outside looking for him for some reason, so this was a 'lesser of two evils' situation; the problem was deciding which one was the 'lesser evil'.
Then again, why did she offer to open the door for him if she now wanted to kick him out? Maybe the butler opened the door to let her out, not to let him in and he just barged through. Had he misunderstood the signals? Pssh! When had he ever misunderstood or confused something so obv... you know what? Let's leave that unanswered.
His breathing had started to slow down a bit and he'd had enough time to swallow, but maybe not enough to think things through, since he answered with the truth instead of a lie, which would have been his normal modus operandi.
"There were cops after me, didn't you see?" he said, leaning to take a look out the tinted windows. "I was running from them but I hadn't done anything! They just chased after me and I didn't want my dogs hurting them, so I bolted! Things between cops and people like me have been going from bad to worse ever since that video..." he added, panting a little, looking from left to right and trying to catch a glimpse from the cops.
Regardless that he didn't feel exactly safe in the car, even less so with her as angry as she seemed to be, he had been raised with a modicum of good manners in the Haxton household, so he felt obliged to show his appreciation for her efforts.
"Thanks for the save, by the way" he said to the blonde who seemed to be regretting her decision. Turning his head to the driver, who had already returned to his seat, he was quick to add: "And to you too, Alfred."
Now this... totally and absolutely took him by surprise. He was trying to apologize to Victoria for what happened but as he was doing so, he couldn't help feeling elated that she was fine, at least on the outside. He didn't know if she was hurt on the inside so that's why he was urging her to take it easy or lie down...
Then she picked him up like a rag doll and screamed at him.
The boy opened his eyes wide as plates as her own eyes were red and angry! He could feel his feet wiggling helplessly in mid air! Whatever happened to the 'frail' girl who couldn't even take a ray of sunshine!? She blamed him for ruining her dress and was worried about what she'd tell her parents, then dropped him like a sack of potatoes. His legs gave way, so he fell on his butt as she did on her knees.
Then she cried.
Miles only offered silence as she wept, not entirely sure what had just happened or how to handle the situation. Should he pat her on the shoulder and risk her grabbing his wrist and breaking it? Should he wait it out... at a safe distance?
She kept on crying and Miles could not help remembering his sister. She was around her age. What would Miles do if his sister suddenly turned into a mutant, one who could lift him up and toss him about? What would he do if he had ruined something very cherished to her and brought her to tears?
The boy approached Victoria on hands and knees, then sat next to her as she cried, put an arm around her shoulder and whispered.
"I'm sorry. I really am. I didn't mean for any of this to happen, I... I blew it. I really did" he said. "Please forgive me, Victoria..."
Her dress was beautiful, a work of art really. Ruined. She trusted him wholeheartedly to have some good, harmless fun. Ruined. He told her there was nothing to fear from the dogs. Ruined. How could he mend any of these mistakes? He was going through a serious guilt trip and all he could offer were apologies instead of solutions.
"I'll... I'll talk to your parents. I'l take full responsibility, really I will. You tell them some... inconsiderate idiot did this to your dress and I'll... I don't know what I'll do, but whatever they decide I'll do it. Just... please don't cry. It's kinda contagious" he said, bringing his hand to wipe a little tear forming in one of his eyes. He wasn't that good at keeping it together when he had caused a friend so much pain and 'keeping it together' was paramount to keep his dark mode at bay.
He heard short, quick footsteps coming to meet them and he assumed it was Penny. Well, maybe a girl had better words of encouragement for another girl, but best not tell her how strong Victoria really was. He didn't know how well the little girl would take to dealing with a super strong mutant.
"She's very distressed" he warned her. "Totally my fault."
Miles sighed. Yes, he agreed with the idea behind it. Yes, he agreed mutants needed to do good deeds and prove they were not criminals. Yes, he knew there might be 'some' community service, but maaaaaan! This was going to be a lot of work! Look at this dump!
Throughout his time studying in the mansion, he knew the famous X-Men operated there, but he'd never been on a bona fide 'mission' with one of them. He had seen this Maya girl before and knew her name and her role in the X-men from overhearing others. Sometimes he'd see that Cold Steel fellow or take a glimpse of the silvery one or that Gawain fellow and once he even caught sight of the entire group. Curiously enough, he'd never seen Gawain and Maya together in the same hallway, so clearly not everything was beautiful roses among the X-Men. Gawain and Maya probably couldn't stand each other.
When the X-Men actually informed the school their intent to have the younger students help them to clean up the name of mutants, he expected... well, something more action-y and exciting, but here they were, off to fight mothballs, dust and dirt.
Oh well, there had to be something his dogs could help with, or more like... do all the work while he watched and 'supervised'. OOH! He could be the lookout! Yup! Just have his dogs patrol around and inform him of anything going wrong, while he valiantly just... stood there, waiting for something to go wrong. Nah, she'd probably force him to get his hands dirty AND keep his dogs patrolling. Painting? Nah, his dogs couldn't paint. Cleaning? Dogs can't hold a broom either...
Miles took a look at the different chores and decided he could have his dogs help get rid of weeds and open holes for planting and such and yet, he didn't expect them to be able to do ALL the work, so he'd have to get his hands dirty anyway. Oh well, some help was better than nothing.
The boy raised his hand before too many people offered to do weed duty or some plant mutant decided she could do it all on her lonesome.
"Weed cleaning and planting for me! And if I get a team, I also offer to supervise it!" he said.
This instant. This very second. This was momentous in Miles life.
It was the very first time he had bought a Valentines card that did not have any funny cartoons or jokes in it.
It was a sweet thing, with a short and cute message inside it, lots of red, traces of pink and die cuts on the sides. The message implied he liked and cared about their friendship, but opened the door for more, which was perfect.
The chocolate box was another thing entirely. He DID think about removing the chocolates, putting foil wrap inside the box and bringing chicken instead, but as 'funny' and 'original' that might have been, it totally ruined the intent of the card, so he went for the standard. A square golden box of assorted chocolates which he had had the audacity to open and remove the little 'cheat sheet' that told people what each chocolate had inside. Where was the fun in knowing before hand?
The movie he'd picked for them to see was a bona fide romantic teen 'chick flick'. It was unavoidable since it was Valentine's, but he was willing to take the bullet. Then again, the cineplex they'd go to had other movies in display, one of them a recently released sci-fi action flick, full of testosterone and special effects. He'd leave it on the plate as option B, or maybe option Z, since she could always end up picking something else. Even though he was pining to take the laser/plasma burst bullet, he knew this was her day and a romantic comedy might work for the best.
Miles roamed around the hallways of the mansion, looking for Ruby's room. Had he ever been in this wing before? He didn't live at the mansion so the living quarters were the areas he visited the least. His dogs were next to him and he could always have them follow her scent, though he was fully intent on leaving them behind at the mansion during the date.
Eventually, he found the door to her room. He adjusted his blue shirt and his black jacket, patted his head to feel any unruly hairs trying to hold a revolution, checked there was no dog hair or dirt on his jeans or sneakers, shook his hands to release some tension and then proceeded to knock on her door.