capeandcowllogs

WHO: Bruce Banner and Ruka
WHERE: The Laboratory of Solitude (and Occasional Soap Operas)
WHEN: later Saturday afternoon (5/8)
WARNINGS: why are all her friends monsters, older guys, or secretly both :|a this log is PG.
SUMMARY: Bruce invites Ruka to his lab, and they talk about stuff oh my god why does everything sound so awful
FORMAT: words

The invitation was not one Ruka expected to receive, all things considered. She wasn't really yet friends with Dr. Banner, in a way that would preclude social calls, nor were they from the same home "world," and as far as she knew nothing terrible was plaguing the City in such a way that team-ups of any kind would be necessary. (Not, of course, that Ruka's powers or skills were anything particularly useful on a larger scale.)

Despite this, she had accepted, and was now making her way the final few blocks to the lab. While they were not truly friends yet, Ruka was sure that potential was there, after the conversations they'd had over the network. Perhaps that was the why behind the invitation?

At any rate, she'd already arrived; she thought it was the place, anyway. How did you announce your arrival at a place like this, anyway? Knocking, or just going straight in?

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Bruce was nervous. He was not historically good with new people, even though he'd had many conversations with Ruka over the course of the year and had met her in person once. She didn't remember that, though---it'd been a younger her, a different her, an amazingly tiny her---and it was just as well, considering he'd shown his more bestial nature that day.

He'd invited Ruka to see him because he was curious, really. He knew that she was smart, intuitive, and mature for a child her age; a part of him wanted to know how and where she placed and what he could do to help her in her development. Bruce had never been a father---and given the nature of his genetics, never would---but he thought that a good adult would guide a child like Ruka. Especially in a city like this one.

His invitation had been for conversation and tea, and even though he knew what his intentions were he couldn't help but feel a little stressed.

He was an adult man and, in many senses of the word, a monster. If Ruka had had parents, he doubted that they would have felt comfortable about this.

The teakettle was just starting to go off when Archie peeled around the corner of the lab, ears flopping, yammering a steady stream of someone-at-the-door barks. Bruce had hoped to make a collar or voicebox that would ease communication between his pet and himself, but it'd all gotten muddled somewhere along the line. As it was, the translator on the dog's collar emitted a tinny "BARK. BARK. BARK." in a digitized human voice every time Archie gave a warning bark.

It was getting a little tiresome. He'd have to fix it.

He took the kettle off the stove and went to answer the door, hands still in Kitty's favorite pair of bunny oven mitts and the dog following him with an endless litany of "BARK. BARK. BARK."s.

While Ruka did have parents, both at home and an adoptive facsimile thereof in the City, she was not terribly used to the restrictions they would place; warnings against giving out personal information seemed pointless when the entire network had been invited to their home by her guardians, and meeting with or talking to strangers in general was a necessity, as it certainly wasn't as though there were enough hometown friends to rely on. Besides, if one were to examine the history to its source, Ruka's current living arrangement under her current guardians had started as little more than a case of "finders keepers." And it wasn't as though she was unaccustomed to the company of monsters—though her definition never matched anyone else's.

Ruka didn't tend to think nearly as much about how any of her friendships would look to anyone else, and as such, didn't give the matter any thought at all right then. Instead, she focused on the sound of the dog barking (was it a dog? It sounded more like a toy) and, finally, the opening door.

With her hands (wearing gloves far less ridiculous than bunnies) folded behind her back, Ruka looked up with a small smile in greeting.

"Doctor Banner."

Archie probably smelled all the girl smells of the her plus the outdoors as soon as the door opened a crack, so it wasn't surprising that he almost knocked Bruce over. He was a mess of dog legs and floppy ears, wrinkled body vibrating as he BARK BARK BARK'd his excitement. Bruce pulled at his collar with his non-mittened hand, scolding him under his breath. "No, no, down. Down, boy. You're making a scene."

He turned off the collar, the sound of the reverb already putting spikes in his growing headache. He sighed, then spared Ruka an embarrassed smile.

"Sorry about that. His manners still need some work, but he's just a big puppy. It's good to see you, Ruka. Please---come in."

Bruce pushed his glasses up his nose, keeping Archie pinned against the wall with his thigh as he opened the door a little wider for her.

The bark-and-BARKing grew louder when the door finally opened, and after Bruce's few moments of struggle, Ruka finally nodded her head in polite gratitude before crossing the threshold.

"Oh, it's alright," she replied, the door closing behind her. "Pess used to be the same way, a few months ago."

Even if Ruka couldn't speak with animals the same way she could to spirits, when she continued, she was addressing the dog with the exact same tone of voice she always used. "It's nice to meet you, too. What's your name?"

'Name' was one of the words in Archie's growing vocabulary. He had the same conditioned response to it as to 'speak', which was---unsurprisingly, "BARK BARK BARK". It was his natural bark though and not coupled with a tinny echo. His entire back half wriggled with excitement, his tail clearly not enough when waved by itself.

He didn't see people very often, so he liked them. Bruce wondered if he ought to socialize the poor dog more. He seemed happy enough in the lab, usually.

"His name is Archimedes, but he responds better to 'Archie'. But he responds best to 'treat'."

At his favorite word, Archie turned all his wriggling attention back to his master. Bruce rubbed his floppy ear with his free hand, walking back toward the sort of kitchen. It was mostly comprised of a camp stove and Bunsen burners. Bruce was nothing if not practical.

"How do you like your tea? You can sit down anywhere."

'Anywhere' included a small table covered in manila folders, materials, and something sort of like a filing system. There were chairs, though, at least---and three of them weren't holding boxes, too.

Through the explanation, Ruka's attention was fixed more on dog than on man, her grin bright. Even though she hadn't been around many honest to goodness animals growing up, she found she tended to get along better with them than she did most people (which, with much effort on her part, was more than she'd ever have expected), but she still got along with monsters best of all. As such, she only really turned her attention back to Bruce when he—and Archie, nearly dancing all the way as excited dogs tended to do—made their way further into the building; Ruka followed readily.

The next room was more than a bit messy, and at the invitation, Ruka took care to pick the seat surrounded by the fewest folders. Seated, posture straight, she folded her hands neatly in her lap before answering. "It depends, I guess," she replied. "But plain is fine for now."

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