RP: Cirrus Station [Episode 6] Sunny Side Up

Jaw clamped tight, she breathed out heavily through her nose. This--maintenance--was supposed to be easy. Usually was. But then she usually had something for a bench, and a toolkit, and all the necessary things.

The forearm was easy, and on the bathroom counter. The bicep followed, exposing the slightly raw, real flesh at her shoulder. And the neural leads and tiny servo-motors implanted into her shoulder bones. The muscles of her shoulder were clearly visible, but held back behind a transparent screen of cartilage. In the mirror, it all looked as it had for years.

Keziah laid the two pieces of her arm out on the counter, the synthskin puckered, receding into the reservoirs that generated... whatever it was made out of. Slowly, the metal was being revealed.

But Claire's words drilled into her. She knew that, that holding it back wasn't good, especially right now...

Exhaling sharply, she went to the door. "Fine," she said as she opened it, standing there with only one arm. "Let's talk. You can watch me fall to pieces. Literally."

"Abeck- ah, Christ." Noboru dropped into a combat stance as the drunken patron from before leered at him, mumbling something vulgar involving Noboru's intestines and leg warmers. The drunk opened the strike first, a hard right hook that would've connected with Noboru's head in a painful manner had he not squirmed out of the way at the last second. Noboru caught the Nepleslian's arm and, with a hard yank, jerked the drunk up and over the Yamataian's back. Taking advantage of the drunk's momentum, Noboru flipped the patron onto the ground next to him, slamming him down hard with an audible thud!.

"Hold on, I'm coming." Noboru said, legging it over to Abeck's embattled position. He opened the assault with a running drop kick to the ID-Sol's chest, which barely fazed the mountain of muscle and angry. The ID-Sol reached out with one hand, wrapped his hand around Noboru's ankles and slapped him against the floor like a human flyswatter. Noboru's head swam, from a combination of alcohol and pain, as the heavy impact jarred his brains around a bit and dizzied him up. He pulled himself to his feet again, with the ID-Sol already making his next move. Unable to dodge, Noboru caught a massive fist with his face, and was quickly laid out on his back again, his nose already swollen and red. Not broken, but the next best thing.

Noboru rolled out of the way just as the ID-Sol attempted to curb stomp him American History X style, and attempted to drag one of the supersoldier's tree trunk-like legs out from under him. He yanked as hard as he could, and successfully managed to yank the leg out from under him. The supersoldier didn't fall, but it put him off balance long enough for Noboru to shove him over onto his back, temporarily putting one more bad guy out of the fight.

Claire gave her a slightly frustrated look, "You know that's not what I'm wanting. I can wait for you to finish with your maintanence first if you'd rather." She folded her arms underneath her chest in her usual fashion. "If you'd like any help with that, though... I'd be happy to." She walked over to the other side of Keziah so she wasn't blocking the door.

"Just say whats on your mind, don't worry about offending me or anything... that's actually pretty hard to do, so I'm told." She gently laid a hand on Keziah's shoulder. (The one still attached.)

A gulping sound echoed from the corridor, muffled by the sounds of the brawl and the smaller scuffle just beginning. No-one was paying attention, so they wouldn't notice the Id-Sol in just his trunks setting down an empty jug, ducking into a low stance and breaking into a dash towards the fight, covering the distance between himself and the aggressors quickly and loudly, feet pounding heavily on the floor, seconds slowing as powerful muscles, the creation of years of biological tampering, came backwards, like a cocked trigger before hammering forwards.

The man nearest Stovaa would barely have enough time to turn before Stovaa's haymaker swing was almost upon him, sinew and muscle turning the blow into something that could have been believed to split asunder solid rock itself.

(Overuse of commas in the first paragraph, the hallmark of a lazy and terrible writer. Didn't want to write "stovaa ran like shit on fire and went medieval on some asses" and godmode two out of the right, so just laid one out. )

"I get sarcastic when I'm one-armed." She smiled crookedly at Claire, and turned to the two pieces of her arm.

At least she hadn't asked the question too many people ask; how did you lose your arm? Mentally, Keziah sighed in relief. Outwardly, she put her hand over her detached arm. The synthskin was like molten plastic now, transparent and hiding nothing.

"Okay, I'll talk." She turned back to Claire. "Why did you need Stovaa before you would even talk to me? You spend weeks ignoring me, telling me to go away, and suddenly you're all smiles and innuendo and why him and why not me?" Her voice had been steadily rising with each word, almost becoming a shout as she reached the last word.

Breathing deeply, she steadied herself. "You're the only person I've ever kissed, or been with, that I've actually cared about. Yes, I could've made you shoot me, but you didn't have to treat me like shit afterwards!"

Claire took a deep breath. She was expecting to get chewed out, but it still hurt a little. She needed to keep her voice even though in her response. "Stovaa... had nothing to do with you. You need to understand that I've... slept around with people a lot. Monogomy is something I've never experienced or considered. You may think less of me for it, but it's a habit I've never been able to break." She had more to say, but she needed to address the second part first.

"I could tell you that I'm sorry, which I am, and give various reasons for my behavior, but they won't be enough. I acted like... a complete and total bitch. And I acknowledge it. I do not wish to treat you that way, and if you are willing, I'd like to put that behind us."

Claire took another breath and decided to answer the question of 'why not her'. "Keziah... When I sleep with someone... I do it for fun. Mostly, it holds no meaning beyond that to me..." There was a slight pause, "But like I said... I really do like you, Keziah. I don't think I could do that with you like with others. If I decided to take you to bed with me, I... would want it to mean something more. I'd want to be doing it to show my affection for you. That's something I haven't been able to do before, and it worries me... That's why I've hesitated."

Keziah sighed and paced a tight circuit to the toilet, to the door, and back. She ran a hand through her hair, but it looked odd and lopsided with only one arm. After almost a minute of pacing and silence, she stopped in front of the counter and stared at her arm. The synthskin had completely disappeared now, letting the metal gleam softly in the light.

"I don't want to have to share you." She looked over her shoulder, her empty one, and fixed Claire with a look. "But if you won't change, then I don't want to see them with you. I can get pretty jealous."

She looked away and grabbed one of the resort towels, and began to swiftly disassemble her arm, laying out muscle, metal bones, and a dozen other small pieces that stood out against the white of the towel. Her movements were incredibly precise and displayed well-practiced ease.

"Keziah... It's not that I can't change, I'm sure I could... It's just that it's so very difficult, because I-" Claire stopped herself all of the sudden, her fingers running over her marked palm once again. Whatever it was, she seemed unwilling to give her reasons now.

"I would not be mad at you if you found someone else to have fun with, Keziah. I suppose I don't really see it as 'sharing', and wanting you all to myself actually sounds somewhat selfish to me... but perhaps that's just from my perspective. Maybe I'm wrong." Claire shrugged her shoulders and sighed heavily. She leaned her back against the wall. It was fairly obvious that Claire felt bad enough about the whole ordeal, but she also felt bad that she was growing attracted to a woman who had almost the opposite ideal of what sex was to her.

All the components were now wrapped up in the resort towel. She'd need to scrub them down to get the salt residue off, but for now there wasn't anything else she could do. Sighing softly, she turned on Claire. There was something else there, lurking beneath the surface. Maybe we're not so different.

The thought flitted errantly through her head, becoming stuck there. Keziah bit her lip, thoughtful for a moment. "I'm not like that, despite everything that's happened to me. I'm not lucky like you; I have to show the world my scars."

She shrugged her empty shoulder for emphasis.

Claire chuckled, but it was in no way a humorous one. "Lucky? Kaz, I'm anything but that... I'm sure compared to you I am, perhaps... but..." She trailed off again. Something was nagging at the back of her head, but she seemed unwilling to speak still.

"Keziah... If it means that much to you, I will try to quit my ways in regards to sex... I can't garuntee you instant success, as it's been a long standing habit. But I will try for you..." Claire looked tired, and probably was at this point.

"Although... You speak as though you're disappointed I haven't shown my full affection for you yet..." Claire moved behind Keziah and off to her left a little, wrapping an arm around her waist. "...That can still be corrected, you know. I may feel a little awkward about it... but that doesn't change how I feel about you."

MoonMan said:

Both Lenny and George shook their heads as Tweak asked them the same question. "Naw, like I said before, Lenny an' I ain't never seen a beach. Heck, this might be our only chance," George said, keeping his eyes pasted on the misty horizon on the distant beach. "So I thought it'd be cool to, yannow, share it. Maybe. A lot funner with someone other than Lenny to talk to, yeah?" By that point, the three of them had reach the midway point between the resort building and the actual water. When Lenny was able to make out the distant sandy shore, he stopped for a moment and released an "Oooooooo..." of admiration.

Tweak and George, from their perches atop Lenny's shoulders, would only have a moment before Lenny began moving again. The large ID-SOL started with a simple walk, hindered somewhat by his immensely large rubber flippers. However, Lenny's pace quickly began to pick up as the seconds went by, coming to the point where both Tweak and George were both getting some pretty rough turbulence from their seats. "Whoa...haha...Lenny, uh, slow it down some," George called out nervously, trying to find some sort of grip along Lenny's large collarbone.

Lenny did not slow down, however. Quite the contrary, the ID-SOL seemed to not hear his smaller counterpart and continued to gain speed as he barreled for the beach front. By the time he was passing the lightly-occupied cabana-bar, the three of them were moving at a thundering pace, kicking up wet sand behind them as Lenny headed straight past the sand and made for the water. George, in the meantime, was making futile attempts to halt the massive fellow as held on for dear life.

"Whoa Lenny stop whoa Lenny stop WHOA LENNY STOP LENNY STOP STOP! LENNYYY!!"

Click to expand...

Tweak's eyes didn't leave the sand moving by beneath the ID-SOL's feet as George replied to her question. Then the ride began getting a little bumpier, and the sand moved by faster. She looked over at Lenny and the slowly-panicking George, then at the rapidly-approaching surf.

The neko wasn't ready to take a full-dunking yet, even if the rain had soaked her to the skin already, so she swung her feet off to the side and prepared to drop off the giant' shoulder. Glancing back, she gave herself a mental shrug. If George wanted to avoid the sea, he could do the same. So she jumped and landed on sand that seemed to harden the instant her boots impacted, causing her to stumble forward a few steps. Regaining her footing, Tweak turned to see how George was faring.

Instinctively, Keziah leaned into Claire, resting her hand on Claire's elbow. She closed her eyes for a moment, relishing the silence and the warmth. "I'd like that," she said eventually, opening her eyes and half-turning to look at Claire. "But not right now. I'd... like to have both my hands."

There was a faint blush spreading across her face before she fully turned into her, resting her head on Claire's shoulder. "Trying is enough." For now.

Claire wrapped her other arm around Keziah and hugged her tenderly. "That's fine. I understand that..." She had noted Keziah's mechanical arm a long time ago, but had never approached the subject, figuring she might be a little sensitive to that. Of course, If she wanted to share, then she wouldn't turn away.

"I'm sorry that I can't make it into a promise, but I'll do my best for you." Claire paused for a moment then moved her hands down and gently ran them around Keziah's hips. "Maybe I can show you why it's difficult sometime soon, hm?"

Keziah purred softly, wrapping her arm around Claire's neck. "Maybe," she murmured, then pulled out of the embrace, a soft grin on her lips. She moved lightly to Claire's side and unwrapped the bundle of cybernetic components. They were dry now, but she had to be certain they were clean.

"I promise not to keep your bathroom for too long." She filled the sink with cold water and dumped the whole bundle into it, letting them soak for a few seconds before she brought the first piece out, her cybernetic hand, and started to scrub it clean. It was clear, though, that it wasn't a simple task for her.

"Tis fine. Feel free to hang your wet clothes next to mine." Claire smiled genuinely this time, actually content now. She was glad to have finally talked it out with Keziah, as neither of them enjoyed the spat they had been maintaining for over a week.

She moved her hand down Keziah's side softly as she stepped towards the door, "I'll be right out here if you need me... Don't take too long, now." Claire gave a small chuckle as she moved back into her room, almost closing the door behind her, but not quite.

Abeck had been fairing well, all things considered, while Noboru rushed to help. Clearly not new to the idea of fisticuffs, the guard captain was able to parry and return a blow or two between the three men assaulting him. Of course, the odds as they were, even Abeck was having trouble besting them all.

The husky Nepleslian Noboru had flipped aside thudded harshly against the tiled floor with a pained grunt, and lay there for a moment before scrambling back up and giving chase behind the Yamataian as he combated the ID-SOL. Noboru's attempts to topple the ID-SOL were met with mixed results. The lumbering giant did indeed fall like a hewn tree...but after sitting on his back for but a few seconds, the large man leaped back up with a bounding body-spring; apparently not all ID-SOLs were the cumbersome giants many would akin them to.

By that time, the whole group of brawling Nepleslians would see one of the smaller and much unluckier assailants sail across the hall, his head planting itself into a large potted plant in front of one of a store display. Stovaa's large clenched fist stood where the man used to rest; the three buzzed brawlers took special attention to Stovaa, particularly the ID-SOL amongst the three, who smiled contemptibly.

Abeck took the opportunity to move over and check on Noboru, giving the man a pat on the chest to ascertain his steadiness. The guard captain a reddish bruise or two, but overall looked ready to continue. "Took a big hit there there, Noboru. Still feel like drinking?" Abeck joked, keeping his eyes on their foes.

With one unlucky Nepleslian taking a literal dirt nap in a busted planter, the odds were suddenly much more even; two disgruntled Nepleslians, two mighty ID-SOLs, one very handsome Nepleslian and a seemingly out-of-place Yamataian. The three opponents took a moment to gather close to each other and size up their opponents...although the ID-SOL seemed to already know exactly what he wanted, his eyes staring intently at Stovaa's form.

"Nice trunks scarface," the ID-SOL called out with a smirk. "Your boyfriend buy 'em for you?"

---

As Lenny continued barreling towards the shore, condensation and fallen rain spewing from his snorkel tip like a steam-spitting train, George apparently was having a much harder time finding an opportunity to detach himself from the runaway ID-SOL. A few meters from the sea-dampened sand, the short Nepleslian finally found the courage to leap from his perch, tucking and rolling for a few feet as he collided ungracefully with the wet sand, finally coming to a rest face-down in the salty grit.

As the waves barely began touching Lenny's feet, the ID-SOL turned his sprint into a hulking, rather impressive leap into the air towards the wave. While the jump itself was near awe-inspiring, the splash was the one to steal the show as the darkened waters exploded into a skyward flurry when Lenny finally hit the water.

Deacon looked away from the suddenly quiet companion he had met in the cabana bar and turned to the tender.

"I would like a white wine and strawberry juice if you have it. Or one or the other if you can't get both."

The hyena Kohanian then turned to take in the rest of the bar, canting his head slightly and inadvertantly making his tongue loll out the side of his mouth as he smiled at the wonderful surroundings.

Make no mistake about it, Deacon did not mind living on a station or a ship, but having the dirt beneath his feet, feeling the real sensation of rain falling on his pelt and slicking it down with it's moisture awakened a primal side of the Kohanian that he thought he had lost going through SMoDIN boot camp. With that grin still on his face, he got up and began to walk around, introducing himself to any others that found themselves in the shelter of the bar from the deluge outside.

"A bloo bloo bloo," Noboru said, stumbling a bit as Abeck hit him on the chest. The Yamataian was clearly disoriented from his recent unwilling fist-to-face encounter, and bruises were clearly becoming obvious around where his welding goggles touched his face. Shaking his head, Noboru snapped back to reality and bit back a yelp as he noticed the sharp pains that constantly arced through his head.

"I'm fine," The Yamataian stammered, turning back towards the fight. He sized up his opponent-to-be, a shifty looking drunk who always kept his hand close to one of the pockets of his cargo shorts. Probably ready to reach for some sort of weapon, just in case.

Noboru moved first, a lightning-fast finger jab to the man's throat, causing his victim to hack and reel backwards, tripping and falling very near the planter where his mate had just bought the farm.

It didn't take long before Keziah was working with two hands again. The metal skeleton of her false arm made things much easier, and she was reinstalling the cleaned components almost immediately. It was practically helpful, too, since the readout in her eyes updated with each piece of the puzzle. Once or twice the arm's sensors caught an unclean area even after she had scrubbed it down, making her remove the part and clean it again.

Wasn't long before her arm resembled the real deal, sans skin. But even that had begun to form, a thick, translucent gel flowing over the components of the completed arm. It hardened in spots, then in whole patches along her forearm and bicep. She pulled her clothes off and stepped into the shower, and her cybernetic arm was already indistinguishable from her real one.

Complete again, she took a hot shower, letting the steam cleanse her as much as the water.

"Man, everytime I get away on vacation, there's always some guy ogling my crotch. Like I told the last guy, I'm not looking for that kinda fun," Stovaa said with a sneer, cracking his knuckles and dropping into a fighting stance.

"When you wake up, tell your mother I said hi, though," he finished before launching himself forwards, swinging an uppercut at his foe's jawline. His thoughts rushed through his brain like whitewater rapids, fighting moves learnt from different styles and teachers from different towns and cities across the length and breadth of Nepleslia Prime, fitting together like tetris blocks in his mind, planning his next move before he'd started his last one, years of barfighting experience coming to the fore.