open

[eternalcutie]

Who: czeslaw and you???
Where: various locations in aldrip
What: czeslaw's adventures in february.
Warnings: implied violence? that's about it.

nerding out

[czeslaw sits at a table in the aldrip library, mostly hidden by several stacks of books. they bear titles such as "history of aldrip", "beasts of aldrip", "natural history", "biology", "physics". should one go looking behind the piles, they will find czeslaw deeply engrossed in a book about chemistry. it seems a little...advanced? for his apparent age? he can't be older than ten or eleven. his feet barely scrape the floor from his seat.]


relaxing on the docks

[despite the cold weather, czeslaw has convinced some local spot to serve him a luridly pink popsicle. he sits on the edge of a dock, just far enough out for his feet to be dangling over the water, and enjoys the bustle of people hurrying around him. he seems to be really enjoying that popsicle, too. savoring every lick.

should you wander to close to him, he looks up with a gentle smile.]

Sorry, am I in the way?


Panik

[near the edge of the forest, a strange, high pitched sound can be heard. it is, of course, czeslaw screaming his lungs out. he's running, too, sprinting in fact. he's surprisingly fast for someone of his size, but that's probably because he's motivated - he was just walking through the woods when he stumbled onto a human-sized plant that starting growling at him. it didn't even have time to try and bite him - czeslaw was long gone by that point. no way in hell he was sticking around to get eaten by a monster!!

are you unfortunate enough to be near the screaming either in the woods or right outside them? czeslaw literally dives behind you as soon as he spots you, screaming ceasing as he gasps for breath.]

M-monster!! Monster!!

[he's pointing wildly behind him.]

Comments

panik!

[abandonware]

[In such an unfamiliar place, the sound of screaming cutting through the air is almost nostalgic. A2 watches birds startle and take flight from a treetop, and begins to move, and quickly, in the direction they'd fled from.

The boy she hears before he all but slams into her, and she places a steadying hand on his shoulder to keep him from hitting her knees, which would be more painful for him than for her.

She recognizes this kid. The one she'd retrieved from the coffin — what was he doing out here alone?

She remembers that the juvenile machines had done this too, run off and gotten lost. Then she would have to retrieve them... it seemed human children were similar in this respect.]

Stay here. I'll take care of it.

[She draws her blade and walks forward.]

[eternalcutie]

[czeslaw barely clocks that he's happened to run in to someone he knows - he's doubled over, gasping for breath. running like a crazy person really takes it out of a guy!]

W-wait - [he gasps, but she's probably already far enough ahead to not hear him. the monster in question is probably a football field's length away in the forest, and it's already gone back to....whatever human-sized bitey plants do when they're unobserved. it's quite the tranquil scene.

czeslaw will be waiting for her when she comes back, pondering in the meantime why so many people around aldrip seem to have swords??]

[abandonware]

[Despite arriving more quickly than a human might, A2 is greeted by nothing but a peaceful clearing and silence. No slavering monster to fight... she sighs in disappointment and trudges back.

Her sword is back in its glowing lock when she returns to Czeslaw, and she only barely manages not to sound disgruntled when she speaks.] It must've run off. Area's clear.

[A beat.]

What the hell are you doing out here alone? You could've been a monster's breakfast.

[eternalcutie]

[he's mostly caught his breath now, at least. he still seems frazzled though.]

I just wanted to take a walk! How was I supposed to know there are - giant plants and - other stuff!

[abandonware]

[Arms crossed, expression serious, A2 says:] In an environment you don't know, you should be prepared for any threat.

[It's spoken in a way that suggests it might be a recitation. A rule, perhaps. But she softens some, and with a huff, follows up with:] I'm out here all the time. I can keep an eye on things if you want to explore.

[eternalcutie]

[he hates to be essentially scolded this way, but then again, he feels like he kind of deserves it? he had read there were monsters around, he just didn't fully believe it. like realistically what are the odds you would run into a literal monster in a forest?? pretty high in this place, apparently!]

I-it's all right. I wouldn't want to be a bother.

[is what he says once the scolding is over. part of him is afraid to go back in the woods anyway, even with a bodyguard.]

[abandonware]

[There's a "tch" under her breath at his response.] If it was a bother, I wouldn't have offered. I don't do shit I don't feel like doing.

[Top ten A2 lies of all time.

And then she just starts walking, motioning over her shoulder for him to follow.]

C'mon! We're exploring.

[eternalcutie]

[he hesitates, shifting from foot to foot, but nope she's still walking, so with a loud huff he reluctantly follows her. he's definitely staying behind her, though, this is dangerous!!]

It's all right, really! We don't have to!

[abandonware]

So what are you gonna do? [Asks A2, after listening to his repeated protests.] Be scared the whole time you're here?

[She glares at him over his shoulder, expression almost defiant.] We're exploring. Keep up!

[This last bit has the tone of command. A2 feels strange, bossing a human around. But he's a child, and so she's more in her element. She turns back to keep her focus on their path.

Finally:]

Don't be afraid. Nothing's gonna happen.

[She wouldn't let anything happen.]

nerding

[manifestering]

[Octavian has been lurking the library more often lately. He has no particular interest in history or, really, anything that the AI in control of this place could manipulate, but he's come up with a way to test it.

That way is quite literally just reading the books on topics he's an expert in and seeing if there's anything strange or incorrect, but, like. He's got time on his hands.

At present he is carrying two books on engineering, basics manuals, and as he passes behind the young boy at his table, he drops both books with an inappropriately loud thud. Ah. Oops.]

...Apologies. My dexterity takes a while to catch up.

[That's a sentence that makes sense for sure.]

[eternalcutie]

[caught up in his reading, czeslaw jumps like a skittish cat and whirls around, only relaxing when he sees the source of the noise was, apparently, dropped books. what was he expecting? god only knows.]

Oh, you startled me. [OBVIOUSLY. he settles back in his chair a bit, letting his nerves calm down.] What were you doing, juggling them?

[manifestering]

[Oh, jumpy. Octavian fixes him with a profoundly mild look, for a beat too long before he stoops to pick the books back up. He has a little bit of trouble with getting purchase between the edge of the covers and the floor, but he'll get them in a second.]

No. I lack dexterity. As I said. My body is only temporary.

[Anyway, more importantly,] What are you studying? You have so many volumes.

[eternalcutie]

Temporary?...

[he stares quite openly at octavian, trying to decide what he could possibly mean by that. but he starts a bit at the question aimed at him, feeling caught out.]

Oh, this and that. I just took down everything that caught my eye, really.

[manifestering]

[Octavian moves to tuck his books precadiously under one arm so he can peer at the stack on the table, shifting a few to look at the spines. Hmm!

Oh yes, right,] Quite. I have some hours.

[He makes a sort of quiet scoff then, lifting a book off one of the stacks.]

This one is terrible. Unbearably dry.

[eternalcutie]

I don't mind dry.

[if he did, he'd have a lot harder time getting through certain texts of fields he's interested in.]

Are you terribly familiar with the books here?

[it's not the hugest place, but what are the odds of him picking a random book and recognizing it?]

[manifestering]

I have been to the library before.

[And he, too, tends to pick up what are essentially textbooks to read before he even considers wandering over to the novels, so-- happenstance, and nerd recognizes nerd.]

I intended to make a project of it. Verifying the accuracy of certain texts to judge the, [he waves a hand,] knowledge base of the AI.

But some were quite dry.

[eternalcutie]

Some topics can't help being dry.

[some esoteric sciences...it is what it is.]

What conclusions did you draw about the AI? Or was the material too dry to finish?

panik;

[dorotabeau]

[Kabane doesn't recognize the frantic blur that dives behind him, but when he hears the word "monster", he decides he doesn't need to. He quickly extends a gloved hand, protecting the poor victim from any potential projectiles, and bends his knees in preparation for both fight and flight. Not one moment of hesitation seeps through the crack between his calm expression and the intensity in his stance.

He keeps his gaze trained in the direction the guy had been pointing, doesn't even attempt to make eye contact as he asks, in all seriousness:]

Do you think I could win if I fought it?

[Apparently, he expects this poor stranger to read his mind and know exactly how strong he is. Welp.]

[eternalcutie]

Fought it?? Why would you?? We should run!

[he's tugging on the back of kabane's shirt even as he catches his breath.]

It was huge!

[...lots of things are huge when you're czeslaw's size. to be fair.]

[dorotabeau]

[At 4'11, Kabane isn't too tall either, but he's already fought enough giant monsters that he doesn't immediately comprehend why this other kid is bringing up size at all. Lucky for Czeslaw, he doesn't have to. Rather than wasting time on figuring out all the details, Kabane's strong suit is charging head first in whatever direction he's pointed toward.

When he's told to run, he gears up to do exactly that.]

Got it.

[Just those two words. Then he grabs the kid's suit collar and kicks off with inhuman speed. He drags his poor victim behind him all the way to the city center. Only then does he trust they'll be safe.]

[eternalcutie]

[czeslaw barely brushes up against 4 feet tall, so he really is in the short leagues. but more importantly-]

Wha--

[czeslaw shrieks lightly as he's whipped off his feet and dragged along. holy shit, this is like being on a roller coaster without a restraint. czeslaw is not a fan!! he gasps for breath when they stop, trembling slightly from adrenaline. of course, any scolding he might have offered dies unspoken as he realizes where they are.]

O-oh...thank you.

[dorotabeau]

[Kabane nods, proud of himself for earning that "thank you". He even reaches out to steady Czelaw's shoulders. It's just too bad that he completely misinterprets the poor guy's distress.]

You don't have to be scared anymore. Even if the monster followed us, there are lots of strong people here. They'll stop it.

[eternalcutie]

D-do you really think it could have followed that?

[they were going so fast!!]

[dorotabeau]

I don't know. [Hilariously matter-of-fact.] I didn't see the monster.

[eternalcutie]

It...didn't seem very fast, so...

[he's still trembling a bit. adrenaline.]

But it was a monster! It tried to eat me!

[that's a very generous retelling of what happened, but okay. go off czes.]