Package Practice - RPLOG
Participants
Date
10/1/2018
Log
With the word gone out about the Parcel Service's recruiting and training exercises, quite a few folks have begun to show up. Interested parties ranging from teh naturally running-inclined to other interested parties. A large, gymnasium-like structure is in the background, and before it is a table with three individuals with sheets laid out before them. General columns line back behind each, and the Tiger, the Jackal, and the Hare are all speaking to each individual, explaining and having folks sign before heading into the building behind.
Marathon comes bounding up to the building, smiling without a care. She stops at the sign-in table and begins to stretch, looking at what has to be done. Despite her more bimbo-ish nature her signature is drawn in elaborate cursive, then continues to bound away into the building without ever saying a word.
Fenris trots up to the table, his gear jingling as he goes. "Heard you needed some packages delivered?" he prompts, an amiable smile on his round, friendly face, "Sign me up!"
The Tanuki's dress is a little outside the norm, especially for those familiar with the burly coon-dog. He is wearing a thick, leather harness across his powerful chest, covered by an open, leather vest with the words, "BIG DADDY" written out in studs on the back. The whole ensemble is topped by a leather hat, with holes for his fuzzy, round ears to poke through.
A queue. How brilliant. Phosphorus showed up dressed for the occassion, wearing her set of light armor; that is, wearing a simple light plate carrier, filled with the prerequisite plates, and carrying a lighter-than-normal equipment load, foregoing her heavy weapons for a rifle, a sidearm, and one of her swords. Pretty much every range that she could think of covered... though, the problem lies in that combat isn't actually expected. The panda is far too paranoid to leave those behind, though. Once her turn comes, she signs the paper with neither smile nor acknowledgement. Just another day at the office.
When Marathon comes up to one of the three to sign in, a speech is delivered explaining the duties and responsibilities involved in participating in the parcel service, a hand over the sheet to prevent just signing and moving along. The Tiger, whose board Marathon came up to, speaks, "Signing means that you understand all the afformentioned details and are willing to work at said wages while keeping documentation and reporting in.Do you consent?" before peeling her hand away from the sheet to allow the bunny to sign only after that's been said.
The Hare addressing Fenris gives the same schpeal before sliding their dextrous paw from the siging sheet. It seems they're pretty certain to get their words in edge-wise before someone can move ahead. Perhaps even a first test?
Those that complete the process are then directed into the building proper, passing a couple gents, a Boar-ish Piggy and a Jaded Kirin, on the way in. Once within, there appears to be an elaborate obstacle course within the expanse of the gymnasium area, and groups are being organized from those entering within. Fenris, Phos, and Marathon just so happen to be in one such grouping, led by a Vorpal Rat instructor.
Marathon jogs in place while waiting for the instructor. She's been told too many times to wait for people to talk instead of rushing along like she usually does, but she just can't stand still! She churrs and waves hello to all the other people in her group, even if they don't pay attention to her. And lastly she readjusts her sports bra and bloomers. Don't want them riding up when running!
Fenris looks over the agreement sheet, quickly reading through the requirements and expectations. "Is there a uniform?" he asks, giving a quick signature, "I love uniforms!" The tubby tanuki allows himself to be led along, watching everything around with interest and a happy little smile. He grins at the excited Marathon, glad to see so much enthusiasm.
"Please no uniforms. I like what I'm wearing right now." Phosphorus says, narrowing her eyebrows a bit at Fenris. She's met the tanuki before, she thinks, but she just can't recall... when. She slips into a parade rest stance -- even if this isn't a situation that strictly calls for it, ot
often it's best to seem a little more professional than your peers, if you can help it. Besides, for the panda, it feels fairly nautral.
"Soon as there's a budget for it," is the answer Fenris is given to the question about uniforms. Seems the priorities are on training and effectiveness before appearance, though any good organization supported by a ruling body deserves visible recognition... for safety and security, if nothing else!
The rat instructor looks over the group present, crossing her arms across her chest as she says, "Alright, then... The duties of a Parcel Delivery Agent, a PDA, if you will, involves not only being able to move swiftly, but also to recognize your surroundings and find a specific location. On top of that, documentation is key. We need paper trails, folks! And, not only must all this be adhered to, but we need service with a smile. To start off, let's see those smiles!" She shows off her own, incisors and all.
Marathon is already smiling, she's just so happy to be here! Practically jumping up and down with enthusiasm! ...and anticipation! When is this going to start, she thinks to herself. And she thinks about food. Like chocolate. She should visit that bakery she pased by yesterday for chocolate scones or something. What was she doing again? Oh right, waiting for the instructor.
Fenris has a very natural warmth to him. He does not need to smile any more than he already is. Despite his wardrobe, he looks like a teddy bear playing dress up.
The burly tanuki takes note of Phosphorus's military poise and gives the instructor a salute. A salute with a smile, of course.
A smile? When was that required? Phosphorus roughly smiles, the action seeming a tiny bit forced. She's not often one for smiles, it seems. Nonetheless... she does so, and waits. None of this is unfamiliar to the panda -- rigorously logging actions is part of her routine, after all -- but service with a -smile-... well, that's where the trouble begins and ends.
There's an affirmative nod given the grouping, though the rat's gaze lingers a bit on the red trash panda, and the rat says, "Mmmn, needs a bit of work, but I'm sure you'll get the hang of it. Gotta make sure folks are getting the right kind of service and want to use it." She walks before the potentials, to and fro, "Alright, now... I've hidden a specific parcel within the course here," motioning towards their section of the gym, "and, I need you to find it. We'll do this one at a time, each with a different parcel description. Who's first?"
Marathon immediately jumps at the chance to go first, quite literally as she bounds to the front with her hand in the air. She even gives a good churr to make sure she goes first! She then pays extra attention to what instructions the teacher is giving her, she wants to be the bestest courier ever!
Fenris smiles and unselfconciously plops himself down on the ground to watch Marathon, happy to let the excitable bunny go first. He takes this opportunity to cast an eye over the course that they will be running. . . It might be a good idea to be a little bit smaller. . .
The tanuki reaches into a pocket somewhere and produces a pair of small, emerald studs, that he proceeds to put in his ears. After they are in, the burly coon-dog gradually shrinks until he stands a bit under average height.
Phos is content to wait. She can wait a little bit for the hare to finish, and, in the mean time, observe them and get a handle on what the course looks like, handles like. So much to be learned by watching. She remains at rest, face dropping back down to a passive expression. It's far easier to do this than force a smile, yes.
Tapping against her lower lip, the rat points to Phosophorus, "You. You'll go first. The parcel you're looking for has this written on its label," before offering out a slip o f paper to towards the red panda, "And, your time starts.... now."
Marathon is sad. Not only does she not go first, but she has to wait her turn. She jogs back to where she was before in the group, then sits. Her stomach growls, causing her to pull a carrot from her pink child's backpack and start munching. Munch munch munch...
Fenris has had much the same idea as Marathon. He has produced a small packet of cookies from somewhere, though where is anyone's guess. It is not like he is wearing a lot of clothing that might hide pockets. The burly, though significantly shorter tanuki watches Phosphorus's parcel run with interest while he chomps on his sugary snack.
Looking at the piece of paper, then up at the obstacle course, Phosphorus decides she'll have to simply start going. She makes sure her rifle is secured firmly to her body, checks her pouches, before taking off at a decent clip into the obstacle course. She's not running at full capacity, simply because she's trying to keep an eye out for street signs, labels, spray-paint graffiti, anything to give a hint as to where the proper street address would be.
The mock-up of the course resembles a cityscape, complete wiht debris and various strewn chunks of buildings. While going through the course, Phos's attire doesn't seem to hinder her in the least. With her peepers peeled, clues to the location pop up here and there, from a damaged street sign to a sense of awareness of the city, the mock-up matching some of Fairhaven's layout to a degree with the names and locations of what signs there are. When Phos reaches where the paper's marked, there's a plain box there, also marked with the same address.
Marathon watches from her sitting position as Phosphorus runs the course, paying attention to what Phos notes as landmarks. Marathon doesn't even realize she also has a hand on her breast in her heat until she tries to switch hands to grab another carrot from her pack, which she tries not to destract people with once she grabs her second carrot.
It is sort of hard to see what exactly is happening in the mock up of the streets from here, but Fenris does his best. The tanuki spends some time trying to match up the layout with his own knowledge of the streets of Fairhaven. That ought to help when it comes his turn.
Parcel acquired. Time to head back. Phosphorus takes a glance at her watch, taking a mental note of the time of acquiry, then taking off to where she started, laying back onto the speed into a full sprint. Best just to minimize time, now, that she has the package. She keeps a bit of a wary eye out for traps and unwelcome surprises, but not too much of one -- it wasn't expected, after all./
The rat gives a nod towards towards Phos when she's all finished, and she says, "Not bad for a quick run. Good instincts, for certain." Glancing over towards the other groups, she motions, "Alright, to the next area, changing it up... and, you're next." She points to Fenris before handing him a slip of paper for the next search, "And, go!"
Marathon waits again, still rubbing at her breast and still eating another carrot. She keep an eye out for the courses everyone has been taking, and psychs herself up for her turn. This is going to be so much fun!
Fenris takes the proffered note with a grin, leaping to his feet and trotting off into the obstacle course. He pauses for just a moment to look over the address on his note, then tucks it away. The burly tanuki looks around himself, looking for any hints as to where he should go. There had to be street signs or landmarks to go off of, after all! If mind reading was part of the job requirements, then he was right out on this one.
A quick glance at her watch, and Phosphorus notes the time of arrival, too. She pulls out her field journal, and marks down the time she left, the time she got the package, and the time she arrived, taking a few measured breaths to recover. Good bookkeeping, after all. She slips back into parade rest, waiting patiently for the tanuki and the rabbit to finish the course. The panda doesn't have much to add, since she's already finished, and she's not about to dole out hints, either.
The racoon dog doesn't appear to be faring nearly so well. The different layout seems to be troubling, especially on the run, and when he turns a wrong corner, there's a package there, but it's incorrectly labelled. When picking it up to read its label, which was face-down, a blaring horn sounds. From the sidelines, the rat says, "Sounds like he found a wrong package," and, louder, "Keep at it!"
Fenris laughs when he picks up the wrong box, realizing his mistake and shaking it off quickly. The tanuki looks around again, hoping he has gotten a better feel for the layout of this course and leaps into action! Instead of following the streets or dodging around obstacles, he does a bit of acrobatic freerunning! He may be soft and round, but that does not seem to slow him down at all! The tanuki leaps and bounces like a rubber ball across fake rooftops and fabricated piles of rubble in search of his designated package.
Marathon jumps at the sound of the alarm, glancing around quickly for danger. Once she is sure there is no one there to jump her, she calms down and sits again. She doesn't want to deal with an alarm like that, those are really scary. She finishes her last carrot and goes back to paying attention.
Phosphorus' ears twitch towards the sound of the alarm, but she doesn't budge an inch. Steady, yes. She watches Fenris navigate through the maze idly, simply thinking on other things and waiting. Patience is a virtue, after all, and she appears to be trying to have a lot of it.
With his awareness of potential pitfalls and using his acrobatic expertise to par kour along through the course, Fenris is able to make up for some lost time. The layout better clicks for Fenris, too, and soon the coondog comes upon another face-down package! And, this one doesn't cause any blares or alarms to go off when checking it. Heading out of the course with the prize, the rat claps, and says, "Good save. Not bad, not bad. A promising crew, indeed!" She nods her head and thumbs up, "Alright, it looks like we need to take a break, and then we can set you through some more practices with more obstacles and potential issues. Just remember, keep praticing those smiles, alright?"
Fenris is all for practicing smiles! He delivers his package to the rat running the exercises and turns to rejoin the others waiting and watching. "That was fun!" he says, "Just imagine what it would be like out in the city!" Not a perfect run, maybe, but more than worth the trouble if the tanuki can get himself a spiffy new uniform!
Pft, who needs smiles! As long as the parcel gets there intact, shouldn't be anything to worry about... Phosphorus gives a polite nod, anyways, waiting for her next go at it. Shouldn't be a trouble for the panda, considering her first run at it... but a little practice never hurt anybody.
