Decking the Halls (open)

Now that December was here, Allan figured it was high time he started making Dunehelden look Christmas-y. Or Yuletide-y, if people preferred. In any case, he had a stepladder, a hammer and nails, and more evergreen garlands than he knew what to do with. He balanced carefully on the top step as he positioned another length of garland, nailing it in place along with a sprig of holly. Maybe he'd find some mistletoe to hang over various doorways while he was at it. Not that he was hoping for kisses himself -- he rather enjoyed having personal space.

"...Don we now our gay apparel, fa la la, la la la, la la la..."

Kazuo toddled along the opposite end of the hallway, raising his muzzle into the air at the scent of evergreen. He was just getting out of detention, and hadn't really expected to meet anyone in the hallways. But then he heard singing, and his ears perked, and his stubby tail wiggled happily at the familiar tune. He bounded towards the music, singing along as best he could in bear noises as he reached the caretaker and plopped into a sitting position near the base of the ladder. He waved up at Allan with both of his forepaws, eyes sparkling.

Allan paused his hammering and looked around at the sound of ursine noises approximating his tune, then grinned when he spotted Kuma-kun. "Afternoon, Kuma."

Francois scooted over to Kuma and nudged against one of his hind paws, beeping out HELLO in Morse Code.

Kazuo twisted around to give the roomba a gentle little pat with one of his forepaws and whuffed as he looked around the parts of the hallway that Allan had decorated. He nodded his approval and clapped his paws together.

Allan grinned at Kuma's approval and tried to bow, but had to steady himself against the wall as he wobbled on the ladder. "Whoops! Probably shouldn't do that."

He finished securing the garland in that spot, then stepped down to move the ladder around Kuma to the next ideal spot. "'Scuse me. Oh, while you're down there, would you mind lending a paw to keep me steady?"

Kazuo nodded and waddled over to the ladder. He pressed both of his forepaws on the lowest step, steadying it as Allan climbed.

Allan thanked Kuma on his way up the ladder, and resumed singing as he hammered again. "Fast away the old year passes, fa la la la la, la la la la..." He wished it was easier to talk with Kuma-kun and work at the same time, but in this form most of Kuma's conversation relied on body language, and Allan really needed to look at what he was doing. His fingers and thumbs would thank him later.

Between lines of song and hammer-blows, he looked back at Kuma with a grin. "I imagine you'll be busy playing Santa Paws around town again this year, huh? Those Christmas gifts aren't going to deliver themselves."

Kazuo bear-hummed along with the tune, bobbing his head in time. He looked up and noticed Allan glancing at him, and his ears perked. He gave an enthusiastic nod and rumble-grumbled something about liking being so busy this time of year. Helped the time go by faster.

Allan grinned. "Oh, definitely. I bet you're glad that's your default form every time winter rolls around, with all the walking outside you have to do for work. Saves you having to bundle up against the cold most of the time."

Kazuo made a noise that sounded very much like a rumbly chuckle, and nodded again. He looked over at Francois, and stretched out one of his back legs to pat the little robot again.

Francois whirred and nuzzled into Kuma's paw.

Allan chuckled as he watched. "I don't think there's a person here Francois hasn't been friendly to. I'll bet he was lonely up in the west wing before we found him."

Still nestled in Kuma's fur, Francois beeped an affirmative.

Kazuo tipped his head down to boop his muzzle against the top of Francois' casing. He looked up at Allan and wiggled a bit, making a noise similar to a gruff bark to ask how he was doing.

Allan hammered another nail in place, then climbed carefully down the ladder and sat down on it, taking the weight off his bad leg. "I think I need a break. Or at least part of me does."

Kazuo grumbled and toddled around Allan before flopping onto the floor, offering his back as a footrest for the janitor. His stubby little tail wiggled and he looked at Allan with a bear smile.

Allan blinked, then smiled and lifted his feet to rest on Kuma's back. "Well, thank you, Kuma. Let me know if you need to get up at all."

Liam had originally come this way to investigate the sound of singing, and was mildly disappointed when it gave way to conversation. One human voice and one animal-growly one. That was plenty interesting enough for him to keep going, and he whistled another Christmas-y tune as he rounded a corner.

And stopped.

And blinked.

Was that a bear the janitor was using as a foot rest?

Allan looked around as someone else's whistling reached his ears, and hid a grin at the look of utter confusion on the young blond's face. He'd seen them around before, but not yet learned their name. "Hello there."

Kazuo yawned and stretched and tipped his head at Liam's approach, ears perking with interest. His stubby tail wiggled again and his muzzle twitched as he grumble-howled something that sounded oddly like "Allo."

Liam bit back a laugh as the bear made a noise that sounded very much like a greeting. "Hi there. That looks a tad uncomfortable."

Kazuo shook his head and bear-smiled. He wanted to say hello to Eve too, but wasn't sure how to do so.

Allan grinned as he got to his feet again. "Kuma here's been helping me deck the halls. And kindly volunteered to be my footrest."

Liam nodded, then blinked and looked again at the bear. Eve burst out laughing in his head, and he did so a second later. "Wow, Kuma, I didn't recognize you! Can't believe I've never seen you like this before. I guess it's been a while. How've you been?"

Kazuo sat upright and raised both paws to wave them in greeting. He then looked down and patted the top of Francois' casing before raising onto all four paws and turning his head to look at the decorations Allan had put up. The castle was looking much more festive now.

Liam grinned and waved back, then looked approvingly at the decorations on the walls. "Wow, you've gotten a lot done. Very nice."

He looked down as the Roomba nudged against his foot and beeped, then reached down to pet it.

Allan smiled and gave a small bow. "Thank you. What was that song you were whistling before? Very catchy."