1274/Uncanny Ice Cream

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Uncanny Ice Cream
Date of Scene: 21 April 2020
Location: An Ice Cream Parlor
Synopsis: Sally meets the Stepford Cuckoos, catching their interest with her unusual abilities. She makes them an offer that won't have potentially disastrous consequences at all.
Cast of Characters: Sally Houki, Stepford Cuckoos




Sally Houki has posed:
Renting out an ice cream parlor was actually Sally's idea. Because why not? Believe it orn ot, if they're ALL gonna hang out, they need a place where she can be a little discrete. So she... rented an ice cream parlor.

This is her idea of discrete.

When the Cuckoos arrive, there are... six of her.

Five different and eccentrically garmented versions of the girl that Mindee had met previously off the rippling oddities of her consciousness, and a sixth dressed in vintage ice cream parlor attendant costume behind the counter.

She is presently serving... herself.

Stepford Cuckoos has posed:
"...Well, this is a bit more than I expected," a young woman murmurs in a rich as the bell on the parlor door rings to announce their latest customer, the click of her heels sounding sharply against the pavement.

"Your new friend really knows how to throw a party, Mindee," replies another identical girl. They are both tall and slender, around sixteen years of age with wide blue eyes and defined, elegant features. Honey blonde hair cascades past their shoulders to their middle backs. Each wears a dark blue headband, white blouse, blazer, and relatively modest pleated blue skirt.

Three more such girls walk behind them.

"So, we have the entire place to ourselves...?" A particularly solemn looking blonde has taken the lead now, walking with purpose as the others fall in behind her. "Ah. Perfect."

"Hello, Ms. Houki," the girls call out in perfect unison. "Mindee's told us... Basically *nothing* about you, but it's lovely to make your acquaintance. It's- ...hmm?"

The group stops short. The middle most girl pauses for a second, cocking her head to the left and then sighing softly. She speaks in a near whisper. "This is the first time we've been outnumbered at a gathering. Fascinating."

Sally Houki has posed:
"OH HAAAAI," squeals the girl behind the counter, with a similar variety of greetings from the ones talking amnongst each other when the Cuckoos walk in. "Name your flavors, folks," she says, "and I'll get 'em delivered right up. Hi Mindee!" She nas no idea which one of them is Midneed, but she greets them anyway, as they're also the oinly one she knows by name. "You can call me Sally. There's no need to be so formal, anyway, at least right now! So! Who wants a Sundaaaae?" She already told them make their own orders, but she's already got a sundae on offer like she forgot she just offered that.

Stepford Cuckoos has posed:
"A sundae sounds /lovely/. Buttersco-," one of the girls replies. Another starts slightly, a little ways down the line of blondes, and they all turn and look over their shoulders as one so that they are staring at each other with the quietest of the quintet in the center. Their gazes are like daggers made of icicles being driven into one another's hearts to slay one another like stakes made for some sort of Snow Queen vampire.

Finally, the blondes pivot to face Sally. The front most plasters a beatific smile across her perfect, unblemished features that doesn't quite offset the tightness around her eyes and finally replies, "Yes. /Strawberry/ would be lovely. ...Do you have sorbet?"

Sally Houki has posed:
There's a smattering of confusion amongst the various states of Sally as they observe this occurring. Some of them don't even notice. They were busy on their smart phones or eating their own ice cream. But then the Sally behind the counter is making strawberry sundaes, casually, and continuing, "It's pretty cool, right?" she adds. "Becaause we're in an ice cream parlor. Cool. Right?" Then her phone rings. But only one of them. In fact, despite having phones, they all have different phones and clothes. They're as different as the Cuckoos are seeming similar.

Stepford Cuckoos has posed:
"...Cool. Right." The lead Cuckoo frowns, while the middle most cracks the briefest smile before quickly banishing it to join her sisters in relatively serenity.

"Merci," the girls announce before moving to encircle one of the tables nearest the middle of the parlor. They pull out their seats as one and then turn and slide into their respective seats with perfect aplomb.

Suddenly the quietest of them speaks up, "You rented the entire ice cream parlor? I suppose it IS only appropriate. We don't need anyone else interrupting us. So." A beat. "Mindee tells us you're not really siblings?"

All eyes are on the Sally who did hte most of the talking, even as the igrls cross their legs and politely fold their hands into their laps.

Sally Houki has posed:
"We're not siblings, no," answers another Sally.

"OR ARE WE?" answers another.

A third: "It's a mystery."

There's some laughter amongst them. The Sally behind the ice cream counter is still preparing ice cream sundaes and alkmost didn't actually hear the question directed at her until one of the *other* Sally's texts her and her phone rings and she looks down at it, then up. "Oh!"

"Yeah, we're not siblings"

"STOP RUINING THINGS," yells another Sally back to her.

Stepford Cuckoos has posed:
"Mystery or not you can't really hide it from us." one of the Cuckoos (fourth from the leader in clockwise order, for those who are counting) replies loftily, shrugging her shoulders. "So..."

Pale blue eyes settle onto Sally once more. As usual, the blondes move almost entirely in unison, such that it is even more dificult to tell them apart than it would ordinarily be. They are attentively studying the Sallys' reactions.

"Ruin what, pray tell? ... What ARE you then?"

As this is asked one of the girls takes a moment to briefly glanc around the parlor once more.

"Six. ...Are there more?"

Sally Houki has posed:
"There /could/ be," replies one of them, sitting at a table with her butterscotch-drizzled-vanilla. "And maybe I don't even know the answer." Another bite.

Ice-cream vendor Sally shrugs her shoulders and then walks over with a tray of strawberry Sundaes. "Come on, Have a seat, all of you. WE can all talk .It'll be really cool."

"I've been looking forward to it since Mindee picked up my trail," adds another . Maybe that's the one Mindee met? Or maybe not. It's hard to tell.

They do interrupt each other, talk over each other, and talk TO each other like they're...not the same person, even though they quite clearly are.

Stepford Cuckoos has posed:
In the case of the Cuckoos, on the other hand, one might be forgiven for thinking that they are, indeed, the same girl in quintuplicate, utterly identical in every facet. As one they cock their head to the left, lifting their left index finger to rest it against their cheeks as htey take a picture perfect "thinking" pose. "Cool, hmm?" Once of them murmurs. Then they straighten in their seats, hands dropping to their laps once more. The ice cream is briefly allowed to languish beside each of the girls, unloved.

"Alright," they announce primly, their combined gaze taking on a fierce intensity, like lightning on a winter morning.

"Let's talk."

Sally Houki has posed:
The straberry milkshakes are handed out to each of htem and then there's a bunch of Sallies taking seats across from individual Cuckooks to regard them curiously. Seems like they're ALL gonna talk to EACH of them. Questions are going to be asked. The subtle differences between each version of Sally become more apparent in this proximity. They're identical, but... *not* somehow. There's just something little off about each one from the other, something that would be almost unsettling to most.

Ice Cream Parlor Sally returns to behind the counter as the other five ask questions about where the Cuckoos are from, and what kind of things they enjoy doing. They don't all ask the same questions the same way, it's definitely a getting to know you session.

Stepford Cuckoos has posed:
The Cuckoos are a bit more reserved, for hte most part, though ironically the quietest girl seems to have the most animated conversations. She's demure not shy, apprently. She actually smiles and chatters away for a moment, and then she just... Pauses. Each of the others maintains a degree of composure and decorum, sitting straight and folding their hands itno their laps as they ask simple questions about the women confronting them. The quiet girl smooths her skirt with her finger tips and twists slightly in her seat before taking on a similarly serious expression.

"So," they begin in unison, asking of each of their respective conversational partners. "How long have you been like... This? You're not sextuplets. Or clones? So... Self duplication, perhaps?"

Sally Houki has posed:
They touch their nose in unison.

They've been talking to the Stepford Cuckoos long enough to get that they'll appreciate the gesture.

"That about sums it up. Oh, we've been doing this for *years*. It gets alittle confusing on some days." REally, it's much the same. Th8ey all answer the same way, more or less, but it's... divergent. There's just *slight* differences. Intonation, a slight difference in body language.

Stepford Cuckoos has posed:
"I am afraid there are only the five of us," so far as they are aware. "We were born this way. So was there originally one of you, then? Do you remember whic hfo you was the first one?" There's an earnest sense of curiosity to that question, blue eyes glimmering slightly as the girls lean forward in order to better examine Sally herself.

The leftmost girl suddenly chimes in on her own with, "Do you have any sort of - link? Psychically... Physically?"

Three of the other Cuckoos immediately turn to throw a sharp glance in their sister's direction. They get no reply. The last just.. Fidgets. A little bit.

Sally Houki has posed:
"Eh," replies the Sally behind the counter.

"Eh," agree all the other Sallies, their eyes turning towards the one who spoke out of turn briefly before htey go back to conversing with their own. Again, there's variation, but only small and slight.

And all of them are just... a little off. All except the one behind the counter in the old school ice cream vendor suit. Sooner or later, they'll pick up on *that* too.

"We're all the same and we're all not the same," come a variety of answers. "It's complicated. As for why, well, I don't have a great answer for that one that isn't super weird and hard to explain. Let's just call it 'a whole bunch of nonsense and wooery', because it's close enough to be accurate."

Stepford Cuckoos has posed:
"Well," the Stepford Cuckoos reply together, tossing their heads in a perfect waterfall of golden tresses. When they're done each has folded their fingers together and those blue eyes have all shifted to hone in on the Sally behind the counter. "That sounds like a fascinating story. Tell us more. Maybe we can teach eachother something interesting."

Sally Houki has posed:
"Oh, I do wonder what you could teach me."

"On the other hand, I tend to be careful. People aren't always super welcoming of weird things. I get the feeling you understand discretion, though, yeah? My 'business' requires it, to an extent. This is the most showy I've gotten for anyone in a very long time."

"When you picked up my trail, I was a little surprised, but it's really cool to meet you."

Again: the discordance between them, the disharmony, is the opposite of the Cuckoos. They're so CLOSE to being the same and just... /aren't.

Girl behind the counter waves her hand and shrugs. "Shows over, anyway, for the moment."

And like that, they're *all* gone. She strides towards the gathered cuckoos from behind the counter and takes a seat. "They're real and they're not, but they're all me."

Stepford Cuckoos has posed:
When the various Sallys suddenly vanish almost inexplicably into thin air the Cuckoos freeze. They are silent as one, even as icy blue eyes turn their way to Sally herself and the quintuple blondes take a moment to examine her gravely.

"So," they begin in tandem. "That was an interesting trick. Illusions?"

There's a pause. The leftmost girl asks, "They acted differently than you do. But they're all you? Hm."

There's a faint shrug from the girls in unison and then they turn back to their ice cream for a moment. "They do say discretion is the better part of valour," one of them opines.

"At least it should be interesting."

Sally Houki has posed:
"No, they're me and also not me. It's complicated, but if you're telepaths, you know that we're... interconnected?" Which is certainly true, they're connected, but then, there's definitely something strange and alien about Sally's mind, isn't there? She smiles. Licks ice cream. Gets it on her nose.

She stares at the door for a moment. "It's hard to explain. Extremely."

Stepford Cuckoos has posed:
"I suppose I could probably figure it out," one of the girls remarks.

"If we dig deeply enough," another adds. A third looks over toward Sally then, but she is busy licking clean a spoon as her blue eyes survey their companion.

"Your mind isn't like other people's. It's different. The connections are weird. Maybe it's your power?" This blonde (the middle most) briefly purses her lips.

Then they speak all at once. "You're making it very hard to respect your privacy. We love complicated stories."

Sally Houki has posed:
"I'd prefer you don't go rooting around too deeply in there. It's all crazy quantum physiscs and scientific woo that doesn't make a lot of sense to me." She takes a step forward, leaving an after-image of her behind her. But it's not just an image.

It's another her.

This her waves at the quintuplets, cheerfully, before turning to head out the door, the bells tinkling.

"That version of me is the version that is going home to get the cupcakes out of the oven that I nearly forgot about."

Stepford Cuckoos has posed:
"Well, at least they're doing something practical," one of the Cuckoos resolves. Each flashes Sally a beatific smile then before picking up their respective spoons. "For now we'll call it even. The ice cream is wonderful. Thank you."

Sally Houki has posed:
"Of course it's wonderful! I didn't make it! Trust me, you don't want me to make ice cream. I'm terrible at it."

Sally looks down at the ice cream for a moment, curiously, before having another tqaste. 5r
"My cupcakes are all right, though. When I don't burn them, and besides, maybe someday... maybe someday you'll want to surprise someone with a sixth one of you, and I can make that happen."

She's definitely smiling, raising her ice cream up towards them in a toast.