lingeringlegacy | 04 ☆ Exceeding theoretical boundaries

Ah, speaking of that. I think I'd like to pop by your work and talk about something.

Sure thing. I should be there for most of the day, so feel free to come by any time.

((ooc: Do you want to do a formal log or a quicklog?))

Edited 2010-09-24 05:39 (UTC)

Would lunchtime be fine? I can get something for you from the Bazaar if you haven't got lunch.

[Would ttly cook something if it was more planned.]

[ooc: Quicklog please /lazy]

Lunch break works for me. And you don't have to get anything, but if it's on your way then I'll pay you back when we meet up.

[We shall commence to quiclogging, then!]

[The next day Gene made sure to gravitate towards the elevator around noon. He kind of hated to just stand around idle, so he pulled a beaten up card table close to the lift and busied himself by tinkering with mechanical fan he had found in pieces that morning.]

[Come to think of it, this would be Stellaris' first visit to the Scavenger's Yard. From all things she had heard about it, she expected piles of junk, dust and rusty metal, and hence the outfit she wore to work that morning —grey corduroy trousers, white turtleneck, sky blue cardigan and her trusty walking boots— pretty much covered all but her head and hands.

Come to think of it as well, she had forgotten to ask what Gene might like for lunch. Hence in the restaurant she had gone for the stereotypical based on his accent and picked what menu of the day with potato in it, plus sausages.

Packed lunch in one hand, cloth bag with her journal in another, she stepped out of the elevator on 5th floor. It was not very hard to find him, apparently focused on the parts on his table.]

Fixing something?

[If he knew that what she had picked out was based largely on his accent and origins, he would be terribly amused. That said, the choice she made was a good one.

When he heard a familiar voice Gene blinked, looking up at the source.]

Hey there. Yeah, thought I'd get a bit of repair work done.

[By this point he'd gotten most of the mechanical bits in the base together, he just needed to put the paneling back on and reattach the blades and guard. Figuring no one would bother his little project he rested it on the card table and pulled it farther out of the way of traffic.]

Care to take a bit of a walk before starting in on lunch?

[He had no idea what it was she wanted to address, but he generally felt more comfortable not talking about things in the open. That, and he knew of a relatively clean, unburied car in the Scavenger's Yard that would offer decent seating for their meal.]

Do all Scavengers do your own repairs? [Fred seemed to, but the other person... Aniki, didn't sound very convincing.]

Sure. [She nodded. She was not quite sure where to begin. She had a lot of ideas, and things about herself she found out since their last meeting in the party, but she wasn't sure about revealing everything yet, even to Gene. The stalling was not entirely unwelcomed.]

Ah, I hope you like potato gratin and sausages. I forgot to ask yesterday.

I think most do at least some repair. Our expertise tends to span the board, though. So if one of us doesn't know how to fix something we can ask a co-worker for input. If that doesn't work, we tend to try to sell the parts to tradespeople and see if they can do anything with it.

[He tucked his hands into the pockets of his long khaki coat as they strolled between stacks of towering junk. In this section there was a mountain of terribly abused office equipment on one side, consisting of ancient copy and fax machines that had seen better days. On the other side of their path were brightly coloured kids' toys such as plastic playhouses and miniature tricycles all stacked haphazardly.]

That sounds perfectly fine. How much do I owe you, by the way?

[Walking besides him through the field of junk, she takes note of the variety within the heaps. Most looked tarnished and corroded, though strangely without smells of decomposed matter one might associate with a scrapyard.]

That system sounds effective, with the variety of people and cultures here. But do you think it's cheaper if I get parts from Scavengers instead of from the tradespeople? I am running out of solder wires.

You can pay me anytime. [She quoted the exact price of their lunch.] Or in solder wires.

Definitely. If you're doing the sort of work where you know what to do with solder wires, you may as well cut out the middle man. [He shot her a curious glance.] What kind of work are you doing, by the way?

[The comment about paying her in solder wires got a chuckle out of him.] Sadly, I've gotten out of the habit of carrying solder wires on my person. I hope this will do. [He pulled a pouch off of his belt, fished out the appropriate amount of money and offered it to her while it was on his mind. It was still so strange to deal in wooden coinage, even after a year of being here.]

Mostly I'm just learning how to put things together based on some books from the Bookstore. Or perhaps... re-learning. It feels familiar somehow, even if the book feels outdated. Ah, just drop them in here.

[She lifted the cloth bag a little so that he could drop the coins inside. Wooden coins, yet another strangely primitive item.]

I'm giving it a day a week to study electronics. Sometimes I see things here I find could use improvement, but if I just give an empty suggestion, it wouldn't fly, right? So I need to learn first.

[He did as asked, letting the coins fall inside with a soft thump each.]

That's a good way of approaching it. I know people here tend to get frustrated when someone says "fix something!" and then don't have any input on how it should be fixed. You said this sort of thing felt familiar, has it been coming easily?

[He led them around a corner, and sedan came into view. The wheels were missing, as was the top of the hood and the engine, but a look at the interior would reveal it to be remarkably clean and untouched by the rust and ruin around them.]

Ah, this is the spot. [He approached to open one of the doors, but looked over at Stellaris before he did so.] I hope this is alright?

[As comfortable as he knew the seating was (he had tested it himself) Gene was perfectly aware that this was hardly the Ritz. He realized not everyone would be okay with sitting in an abandoned car.]

Ah, yes, they came easier than sparring and shooting. [She said offhandedly.] At least with them I don't feel like I need an instructor.

Oh. [The remnants of the sedan was quite an unexpected view.] Ah—sure. It is much better than sitting on the ground, for certain. [She pushes the car frame besides the open door, giving it a shake to gauge the stability.] It won't... tumble or anything?

So you've been dabbling in both? How's that worked out?

[He nodded when she asked if it was secure.] Yeah, I've rummaged around inside the bonnet to grab spark plugs for a project one person had going. I don't think it would budge if we tried.

[He gave her a sidelong glance.] You sure you're okay with it? It won't hurt my feelings if you say no, y'know.

[That was one of the real downsides of the Scavenger's Yard. Yes, it was rumoured to be more secure than any other place in the Sphere but, well. Classy, it wasn't.]

Edited 2010-09-25 08:43 (UTC)

Smoke had been very kind to help me practice sparring in the dojo, training my reflexes. As for shooting, I had a couple of practice sessions with Aim, and some on my own. [Though she still couldn't hear his not-exactly-real name.] What with the... recent incident, I finally got myself a gun. I still need to work on steadying during recoil, though.

[It had the look of a ramshackle old car, but Gene was right, it didn't budge. She closed her eyes for a second, exhaling softly. She wondered why she bothered, sometimes. In this place something as rock-solid as a mountain cave could change shape in a blink of an eye. If the pile of wreckage under them suddenly decided to give way and swallow them together with the car, she couldn't really whip out a logic police badge and tell them to stop breaking the law of physics.]

I'm fine with it, really! And not just because I don't want to hurt your feelings.

That's good to hear. [Both that she had been training in general and that she'd gone ahead and gotten herself the gun.] What sort did you get?

[He tilted his head slightly as she closed her eyes and let out a breath. Clearly it wasn't her preferred way of doing things, but if she was this willing to bear with it, he wouldn't question her further.]

Alright, then. [He opened the door for her, revealing gray seating inside. It would look very dated to either of them, but it didn't suffer from holes, worn spots, or discoloration. All the damage was thankfully located on the outside of the car.] After you.

It's a 9mm Kahr MK9. [Small, easily concealable, but packed quite a punch, as Crochet had commented when she made the purchase.] They said I could trade-in if I don't find good fit, though.

[She stepped into the backseat area and plopped herself onto the seat, then began unpacking the takeout.]

How have you been doing lately?

[PS. If he mentions anything about "tomorrow" being his birthday, expect some kind of cake.]

[Gene nodded in approval at the choice.] 9mm is what I would have recommended for you, and that sort should be decently easy to handle.

[He walked around to the other side of the car and scooted into the other side of the backseat beside Stellaris.]

Me? I've been alright, I guess. Busy dodging balls, bed-monsters, and everything in between. What about you? Had any interesting developments? [He had a feeling something had triggered the need to talk, but he figured she'd get to that when she felt comfortable about it.]

[RE:P.S. Aww. Sadly, he's annoyed by the fact that he's been here for a year with no change, so he planned on keeping quiet about it, maybe grabbing a drink at the bar. That said, Genius's announcement over the journals will make it pretty clear when his birthday is. XD]

Miss Crochet said something similar. Somehow I get the impression she thinks I'd fall when firing a .45. [She chuckled.] I really wouldn't! I've tried. But I do prefer the smaller grip of the sub-compact. Here you go.

[Having placed a plastic knife and fork besides the food on the styrofoam tray, she handed over Gene his lunch.]

Well, other than that, I... did a little sightseeing with new friends. Have you been to to the small island further from Stuff Inc.?

Naw, I doubt you'd fall, but they do pack quite a wallop. I'm impressed you tried it though. Some people let the .45s intimidate them.

[He accepted the meal with a smile and a nod.] Thanks. [He speared a bit of sausage and potato, popping it into his mouth as she spoke.]

Sightseeing, hm? ...Wait, you mean the one with the beaten up bridge that looks like it's covered in snow. [He blinked a little. He'd been curious about the island, but hadn't bothered crossing over since he wasn't sure if the bridge would support his weight.] I'll admit, I haven't been. What sights are there to see?

Aim has a really wide variety in his arsenal, and I am not keen to waste opportunity. [Om nom nom too.] I had reservations about that bridge, but it turned out fine. The sand shore is very beautiful, I think I would like to go back there once in a while.

The caves, though... [Pause as she took another bite. Then her voice dropped a notch, even if she had the controlled little smile in her face.] Aside from the fourth floor, the crystal and the dream, have you ever heard of getting clues from another source?

Huh. Good to hear the visit was pleasant, at least. And since it's not one of the more well-traveled spots, seems like it'd stay fairly pristine between visits.

[The mention of the caves and possible clues made his eyes widen slightly.]

There are other things. Usually mysterious writing that gives obtuse hints, but I've heard of clues being gathered in remote spots, too. [The note he and Kazahana had received in Crystala came to mind. Without quite realizing it, he let his voice drop a little as well, though a note of excitement ran through it.] Just what did you find?

[Still trying to project a smile, but those good at reading people would be able to sense the fakeness of it.]

We entered one of the caves, and soon after, the entrance just disappeared. I was there with two other people, and we heard... voices. Different voices each.

[She clenched the plastic knife, cutting a sausage in a rougher, slower than necessary movement. The irrational fear still lingered, it seemed.]

I heard a little girl.

[He could sense at least some of the strain in Stellaris's smile, but what she said suddenly took precedence. Gene's brows rose toward his hairline at the mention of the behaviour of the cave.]

Just vanished into thin air? Geez. Obviously you were able to find a way out but... still. [He shook his head. What did you do when a mountain was against you? He couldn't blame Stellaris for visibly tensing at the memory. Still she seemed more focused on the voices than even that.]

A little girl spoke to you? Could you make out what she said?

[It was not the voices that had scared her the most, but how would she even begin? She had freely spoken about space in her dream, was forthright about the tower and the battle with the brothers, but she had never told anyone about the second half of her dream. A trail of events so nebulous, in the realm of pure conjecture, emotions. How does one explain it? Not even to Gene could she find a way to begin. Or perhaps especially to Gene. Yet without a context, it felt like such a trivial thing—fear of darkness. An inferior, irrational trait. At least focusing on the voices was focusing on things tangible.]

More accurately, vanishing into solid rock. The voice was vague, I couldn't make out anything other than my name. [Then she added.] This name. Not my real one. And also the words...

'Too late.'

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quicklog :: what is it with them and cars?

Re: quicklog :: ...cars are convenient?

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