{open}

[fuckinstoplights]

WHO: Kagerou + OPEN
WHERE: around De Chima & Maurita Falls
WHEN: Early April
WHAT: Local sheltered robot wanders the streets at night and gets into trouble.
WARNINGS: none

A) DE CHIMA
[He's been informed his usual habits of skulking across the rooftops and observing aren't the right ways to go about learning more about human beings. He'd thought it was fine. That nothing was wrong with watching people for a while. Remembering how they acted with each other, and carrying that out later, with others.]

[Granted, it never really worked out so well. But you got points for trying, right? Surely you did.]

[So, tonight, or today, depending, he's crouched atop a building again. But with something else in mind. Something better, he thinks. He's going to run into someone, and interact. So, abruptly, he drops down from the roof, all 17 feet of green ninja robot landing in a crouch in front of the unfortunate passerby.]

Hello. I am Kagerou.

[Well... that's. A start.]




B) MAURITA FALLS
[This is the house he was assigned, and the house he hasn't visited before. For a little while, he lurks outside, debating whether or not to go in. Just standing in the driveway like a big, looming shadow.]

[Other than that, however, he ghosts in and out of the streets and alleyways. Looking for cars running on gasoline. Anything. Even a generator or two. If he ever finds one, he's going to make a game attempt to siphon the gas out of it. As stealthily as a giant robot can.]

[Which is... not very.]

[He's pretty obvious. Since he's seventeen feet tall and made of green metal. Anyone could see him.]

Comments

b

[notgneiss]

[shale is in the same area as kagerou only because she'd decided to check out the house, too. she gets to the gate at the front, realises it's basically just a regular human house, scoffs at the idea of living with or near any of them and turns away.

right into a giant... something picking at a car. fearless, shale stomps closer.]

What on Thedas is it doing? Does it wish to get into those machines? They are clearly too small!

[fuckinstoplights]

[He actually jumps about ten feet in the air, at that. Thrusters igniting to keep him aloft as he spins around, attempting to identify if this is a person or a threat or --]

[That's a rock.]

[That's a talking rock.]

I need the gasoline. [Deadpan.] Who are you?

[notgneiss]

[the what? fuck it, shale's just going to do what she's been doing with all this future tech stuff; fake it until she makes it.

admittedly, kagerou being a giant metal being and flying is a bit of a shock, but thankfully she doesn't have a soft organic face that betrays her emotions so easily.]

I see. [no, she doesn't. what the hell is "gasoline"] I am Shale.

[a pause. no, her curiosity is too much.]

How is it flying without... eugh, wings?

[fuckinstoplights]

I am Kagerou.

[He lands, then. This is some kind of rock creature. Something... new. He has no baseline for this. And also can't tell if he should be upset over the rock calling him "it".]

[So he opts for not.]

I have wings. See?

[He turns, enough to flick his wings in her direction.]

[notgneiss]

And yet it doesn't use them.

[she doesn't assume kagerou is a piloted being - that sort of thing is beyond the technology in ferelden. shale watches him closely, how he moves, how the joints work. it's beyond her, but fascinating nonetheless.

she walks around him, curiosity only growing as she talks aloud to herself.]

It clearly isn't a golem... but it's similar to the metal machines that plague the streets... is it some form of enchanted car?

A) De Chima

[candor1]

[Cassian has the wherewithal not to throw or drop the bag of supplies he'd just been bringing home. Nor does his hand twitch for a blaster that isn't there. Nor does he… you know… scream and run.

Not because he hadn't been astonished. (More than that. But fear hasn't really registered for him as "fear" for years; when it's so constant a state, and you don't necessarily care if you stay alive, you get a much more mechanical outlook on it.) And he had indeed dropped into something of a combat-ready crouch—from which he slowly straightens.

So no, not for lack of shock and alarm. Mostly: he just knew that any of his available tactics would be worse than useless against a battle droid. If it meant him harm—which it was probably most reasonable and actionable now to assume it didn't, since it could have killed him without presenting itself like this. So given those things, the best option by several lightyears, (not run, not try to fight,) was to try to talk to it.

It helps that, unlike most who grew up on stories of the Clone Wars, he still likes droids.

And if this one's behavior is a bit aberrant? All the easier to relate to.

…It's when he tries to speak that he realizes his throat had closed up a bit.

This is interesting.

It would make sense, though, for fear to start to reenter his being. This time around… he actually does care about getting home alive.

…This time around, he has a home to go back to.

(Not the building, per se. But the person who expected him to be in it.)

All this reflection takes less than a moment to run through his mind, then be shunted to the back of it. First things first. Concentrate on the immediacy of the… admittedly mind-blowingly enormous droid.

He clears his throat and finds his voice.]

…Uh… hello—

[thank goodness for learned-eidetic memory or he couldn't have recreated the name for shock]

—Kagerou. What can I do for you?

[fuckinstoplights]

[Maybe he should have been more subtle. Or not simply dropped down in front of someone on the street. However, Ulvida had made it very clear that hiding in the shadows, as he was used to doing, wasn't the way to go about meeting people. She made it sound as if he needed to be abrupt. Needed to be forward.]

[It had never occurred to him to use his human form to accomplish the task. Not once.]

[This human is clearly on edge, but hasn't attacked him. Hasn't started shouting apparently inappropriate words at him, like the pirate did. Instead, there's just staring. Which he doesn't quite understand.]

[His head tilts back and forth, like a bird's, the scanner over one eye flickering as he takes it all in, waiting for the human to speak. He'd already greeted him -- right? The human takes the next step, doesn't he? Wasn't that how this worked?]

[The human speaks, and his wings flick, lowering from where he'd held them tense and aloft behind him. After some deliberation, he extends a hand forward. Like he'd seen other humans do.]

I am... being social. Hello.

[It comes out stilted and forced, like a script he hasn't quite memorized just yet.]

This is how humans meet, isn't it? They grip hands.

[Kagerou, your hand is too big for this.]

[candor1]

[…

…

…

…Um.

Okay then.

Cassian blinks, wary of himself for wanting to project his own assumptions onto the situation. That is a dangerous thing to do… lulls one into a sense of greater understanding than is actually warranted, makes blind spots and missteps much more likely.

…But it's just so Kay-Tu.

…What the hell. He's enjoyed helping with this sort of training before. And unlike with Organic Life Forms, his threshold for assuming trustworthiness/straightforwardness is much more immediate with Technological Life Forms.

Cassian smiles. And shifts his parcel to one arm.]

I see. And yes, you're right. Have you already calculated the appropriate force to use on an organic hand?

[He held his own up, not yet to return the offered grasp, but for Kagerou to inspect.]

I only ask because your hand is much stronger and more durable than mine. And I know damaging mine wouldn't be compatible with your goal of sociability.

[fuckinstoplights]

I... what?

[He blinks as well, taken aback by the question. Settling onto his heels, then. Really, he hadn't thought of that. Not even remotely. But it hadn't been a problem, had it? He'd had Sabriel, and now the two soccer players.]

[He hadn't injured them.]

No. But I haven't hurt a human being since I arrived.

[Just sort of casually leaving out before this place. Because that's a whole other discussion he doesn't know if he's that up to right now. When he's trying to make human contact.]

Sabriel, Ulvida and Gran. They're helping. They've told me to use a finger. Or another form.

[candor1]

[The feeling of interest is genuine, if it's a conscious choice to make sure his expression reflects it.]

Another form?





[ooc: heheheh, it's totally not necessary, but if you're interested in checking out my permissions post, the power sharing possibilities could be worth exploring…!]

B

[bindsthedead]

Kagerou.

[Sabriel pinches the bridge of her nose, just a little irritably.]

You know, I could just take you to a gas station and buy you some fuel.

[fuckinstoplights]

[He should have known someone would see him. But he forgot. And leaps up a few feet into the air, thrusters igniting until the voice processes.]

[Oh. Right.]

Ah...

Hello.

[bindsthedead]

Hello. [Sabriel's not angry, just a little resigned. Honestly...]

Do you need more fuel?

[fuckinstoplights]

[He lands a few feet away, shifting nervously.]

... yes.

[bindsthedead]

You know I'm supposed to stop imPorts from breaking the law, don't you? Let's go to a gas station and I'll buy some fuel for you. [If she buys him what he needs so he doesn't steal it, that's preventing crime, right?]

a;

[itssacrifice]

[For his part, Andrew only stumbles back a step or two, clearly caught off guard. It's not every day that a seventeen foot robot drops down on you from the sky. But Andrew is used to having strange and unexpected things happen to him, so his recovery time is spectacular.

But...what does he do in a situation like this?

Addressing himself in turn seems like a good first step.]

Hi, Kagerou. I'm Andrew. It's...nice to meet you.

[He sounds the slightest bit uncertain about that.]

Did you jump off the roof?

[fuckinstoplights]

[His head tilts. One way, then another. Like a bird inspecting something shiny. Which would make sense if he were in his bird mode. But apparently, some things still carry over. His green eye blinks.]

[Brightening slightly at the greeting.]

Andrew. I haven't seen you, before.

[Then he's holding out a hand, fingers extended. Like how humans shake hands.]

Yes. Why?

[itssacrifice]

[Well to be fair, Andrew is shiny, what with having a flow of light surrounding his head. An actual 'halo' if you will. He raises a brow but allows the robot continue his inspection.]

I've been around for less than two months, so that's not surprising. Unless you've been watching Nonah News on the regular you wouldn't have had much chance to see me around.

[He looks at the extended hand for a moment before offering his own.]

It's just...dropping down in front of people isn't the best way to get their attention. Also, someone could get hurt.

[fuckinstoplights]

[Well that's. Weird. He leans over the human, attempting to peer more closely at the light. It doesn't help him figure it out any better.]

No, I don't watch news. The house only ever has soccer on TV.

[He considers the human hand, and slides a fingertip under it. Attempting to shake hands that way.]

I didn't land on anyone. I'm careful.

[itssacrifice]

[Being quite tall for a human male, Andrew isn't used to being towered over, and he's not quite sure that he likes it much. Especially when the robot decides to lean into his space.]

Ah, well you're not missing much. [Soccer though?]

Not this time maybe. But accidents happen. You're not exactly tiny, you know?

A

[specialise]

Holy —

[ raven's hand goes straight to her chest as she tries to balance her unsettled footing. taking a deep breath in, she seems to calm herself, but that hand remains against her sternum for a couple of minutes longer. people jumping from rooftops is the norm back home, where trees replace buildings and friendly startlers are actually bloodthirsty grounders. it takes her just a moment to remember she's not in danger. for one, grounders don't introduce themselves like this guy does. ]

[ her hand balls into a fist, and that's where all her pent up anger seems to go. she looks at him, a little puzzled. ]

Hi?

[fuckinstoplights]

[He just looks at her. Tilting his head back and forth, like a bird's. As if he really doesn't understand why she's at all bothered by his sudden appearance. And, honestly, he doesn't. It seems senseless.]

[After all, Ulvida said the just staring at people was worse.]

Hello.

I am trying to be social.

[specialise]

By jumping out of the sky?

[ as someone who literally fell from the sky in a hundred year old metal contraption, it's a little ironic coming from her. but raven's hand falls away as she eyes him for a moment. her voice isn't as high pitched as it should be, calming herself as she realises that he's not really someone to be worried about. ]

You scared the shit out of me. How are you not hurt?

[fuckinstoplights]

No. From a building.

[Like it should be obvious.]

[He blinks at her a few times. Why would he be hurt? It doesn't occur to him that this is not a thing normal people do.]

Because it... wasn't that high?

[specialise]

If I jumped from up there [ she gestures with her hand up toward the roof, looking up at it. ] I'd be broken bones.

[ she returns her gaze to him. he isn't hurt, which is interesting. he also seems a little taller, different in his build than what she's used to seeing. ] What were you doing on the roof, anyway? Trying to talk to the birds?