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Post by Tania on Jul 17, 2015 20:16:47 GMT
The android child that went by the name of Tania had just recently gotten back from her brief trip to planet Vegeta. The trip itself had been a disappointment. While she made a new friend in Mr. Green Guy, she hadn’t seen a single Saiyan, nor had she gotten to do any exploring. The girl didn’t even get to help Mr. Cipher 24 with whatever his important mission was! Now, with everyone busy at the moment and no missions to go on, the kid found herself with little to do.
Boredom was never something that Tania had coped well with. When left to her own devices to deal with the lack of activity, the things that the synthetic child came up with to combat it tended to be a bit... odd. This afternoon in particular, she found herself wandering a forest near the Southern shore of the continent, a little ways out from Site A. Things started out normal enough. The pink-haired little girl was working on her Rocket Punch. She wanted to see if there was some way to get a hang of its faulty guidance system in hopes of getting her arm to come back to her more often. Sadly, that’s not how things worked since the problem lied in the programming, but it at least felt like she was getting somewhere with it.
Though, what had started as an intended ‘training session’ had almost instantaneously devolved into game of hide and seek between Tania and her arm. She would aim in a random direction after making sure there wasn’t any wildlife in the way, close her eyes, and fire it off. The girl would then scour the area until she found it and reattached it, only to repeat the process once it was back in place. To make it more challenging, Tania switched over to the usual rules that she used when playing with other kids. There was no flying or sensing energy allowed. Of course, it’s not like sensing energy would have helped track her arm down since it had no energy to sense. Even with rules set in place it didn’t take long for the girl’s little game to become stale. Thankfully, she had an idea on how to spice things up further.
”Attention! Anyone who doesn’t want to get hurt should stay back because it’s time for my ultimate weapon!” Tania announced proudly with a single, determined finger pointing directly in front of her. It might have sounded a bit more impressive if the only living things around to hear this little declaration of hers hadn’t been trees, bugs, and the occasional rodent scurrying about. The pint sized android closed her eyes and held out both of her arms. She couldn’t help but allow a grin to spread across her face as she prepared herself. ”Tania’s Super Special Double Rocket Punch of Bad Guy Beating! Pow!” Tania shouted gleefully as fired off her left arm. ”Double pow!” she sounded off again as right arm was fired off as well. This would definitely be more of a challenge than just looking for one at a time. At the very least reattaching them should have been more interesting.
After standing there for a few moments with her eyes shut, Tania’s eyelids snapped open and she scanned the area. Unlike a regular game of hide and seek, the girl didn’t have to actually count. It would be cool if her arms could find actual hiding places, but really they just landed wherever they landed and stayed there. ”Ready or not, here I come!” squealed happily before taking off deeper into the forest.
It would have looked rather strange to see a small girl scampering around without any arms, but Tania felt way better now that her weight was a little more balanced out. Running with just the one arm made her want to lean to the side too much. Having shed even more weight than she had during the previous rounds, Tania felt incredibly free. She had to remind herself not to just go charging ahead so she could actually look for her missing limbs. She wasn’t really sure what she would do if she couldn’t find them. Oh well, who had time to think about that when there was a game afoot?
As it turns out, not being able to find her arms wasn’t something Tania had to worry about at all. It only took a short amount of searching to find them, much to the child’s disappointment. Both had gotten caught in the branches of the same tree. Man, that wasn’t nearly as fun as Tania had anticipated. She was supposed to find them one at a time, with both of them feeling like their own little separate accomplishments. Though, finding them like this presented a new challenge altogether. How was Tania supposed to get them down? They were at least thirty feet up. Even for most kids her age, she was pretty short.
Tania waggled her arm stumps as she stared up at her detached limbs and tried to think. She only had a couple inches from her shoulders to work with, so those were fairly useless to her. Hmm... Wasn’t it common advice in tough situations for someone to use their head? Perhaps that’s exactly what Tania needed to do in this case. Of course, she took it in a far more literal sense than it was meant to be used. The little girl bent her knees and leaned back. Her eyes were shut tight. She then flung herself forward at the trunk of the offending tree, leading with her forehead. It slammed straight into the tree’s rough bark with a thunck. Tania could feel the thick trunk vibrate slightly upon impact, but when she opened her eyes she saw that her arms were still stuck in the same place they were before. Had she not hit the tree hard enough?
Not one to be deterred, Tania narrowed her eyes at the towering tree. ”Okay Mr. Tree, I need those back. Are we gonna do this the easy way or the hard way?” she asked, leaning back again for another strike. The girl held her position for a few seconds, still staring the tree down. No answer came. ”Hard way it is! Yaaaaaaah!” Tania sounded her slightly squeaky war cry. She pounded her forehead into the tree yet again. Without bothering to stop and check her handiwork, she pulled back briefly before slamming into the tree a third time. The armless android continued to headbutt the tree over and over again, feeling the trunk shake against her forehead each time her synthetic skin smacked its bark.
By the time Tania opened her eyes again, her forehead was starting to hurt. She was built to be far tougher than the average kid, but whoever had designed her never had this kind of punishment in mind. To her frustration, she saw that neither arm had budged from its spot. ”Come on!” Tania groaned as she plopped down on her rear, not taking her eyes away from her detached limbs. She supposed she could always just fly up and get them, but that would mean breaking the rules of the game, which would mean that the tree had won! She simply couldn’t have that. Tania wasn’t exactly known for being a sore loser, but it was a tree for goodness sake! Tania couldn’t admit to being bested by something like that!
The little girl puffed her cheeks out as she continued to eye her stationary adversary. Why couldn’t it at least have been an apple tree that her arms had gotten stuck in? At least in that case she could have knocked loose something to munch on while she tied to figure out how to get her detached appendages back. It could have been a different kind of fruit as well; Tania wasn’t picky. It may have looked a tad awkward trying to eat an apple off the ground using only her face, but she had done far stranger things before. Such acts weren’t beneath her.
Tania jumped to her feet. If she had use of any of her fingers, she would have been pointing at the tree in a most dramatic fashion. ”I bet you think you’ve won, haven’t you? Well, I hate to burst your bubble, but I’m just getting started!” Tania huffed. The synthetic child drew her right leg behind her as far as she could stretch it, balancing on her left foot. ”Justice... Kiiiiiiiiiiiiiiick!” Shouting out a fancy attack name that she had come up with on the fly, Tania sent her foot flying forward. It collided with the tree and caused it to rumble for a brief second. However, the only thing shaken loose from its branches were a few leaves.
Tania furrowed her brow at her opponent and tapped her foot impatiently on the ground. The trunk was too thick for her to try to shimmy her way up. Normally she would have just used her Rocket Punch to jostle them loose, since there was no rule against it. However, for obvious reasons, that wasn’t really an option. This tree was one tough customer...
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Post by Etoru on Jul 17, 2015 20:58:54 GMT
Current Thread PL 2310
Etoru was taking a nice stroll out in the forest. Today he was bored of training, not exhausted. Weird. I know. Any who Etoru decided to fish. Not just any kind of fishing though. Fishing using his ki! Etoru flew until he found a nice clear shimmering pond. Etoru let out an excited giggle as he ran towards the edge of the pond. He knelt and rubbed his finger across the mud leaving a line. "Okay...! T-t-t-t-time to fish!" Etoru yelled excitedly. "Um...how am I going to do this...? I can always...um...I could t-no...ugh this wasn't how I hoped it would be..." Etoru let out a long sigh of boredom and disappointment. Then his eyes widened as he thought of a great idea. "Alright...! Here I go..." Etoru slid his foot across the ground concentrating. "Er...Hyaahh!" Etoru let out a what seemed menacing to him, but to anyone else it might of sounded too cute or innocent, yell as he stomped the ground. The ground rumbled a bit, shaking the water before it launched up into the air and a few fish tumbled down on the land. They were all flopping and Etoru couldn't stop laughing.
"Okay...time to put you guys back now. Ha ha!" Etoru threw all the fish back into the pond, leaving maybe one or two for lunch later. Etoru felt bored again and just started to sweep the dirt with his tail in frustration of not being able to find something. "What to do...what to do...ughhhh....I never felt so boooredddd before!" Etoru dropped to the floor dramatically exactly when he heard something crash into what sounded like a bunch of branches. "Um...was that me...?" Etoru quickly checked the floor for any leaves but found nothing. He got into a fighting stance and kept his guard up. After a minute or so, he heard a high pitched yell, but couldn't really make out what she was saying. Then he heard a few thumps again and decided to check it out. Etoru floated slowly towards the sound, arms and legs looking like a doggy paddle form just without the paddling. His eyes widened when he saw the girl with no arms but for some odd reason Etoru wasn't really frightened. "Um..." Was all Etoru managed to speak out. He floated upside down, causing his hair to stand up from the gravity and approached her face to face. "What happened to your arms...Oo! Are you a...magic statue? My name's Etoru magic statue." Etoru let out a toothy smile.
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Post by Sanngrior on Jul 17, 2015 21:10:33 GMT
[Thread PL: 20,000]
The Southern Islands were an interesting place. The wilderness didn’t speak to Sanngrior anywhere near as much as the Southern Capitol, but it was… still familiar, in its way. Temperate, it reminded her of the place she had spent her formative years.
The woman flew through the air, keeping her senses open for any sign of interesting forms of life. There were plenty of animals of course, but they were… smaller, than the beasts she was used to dealing with. She wasn’t sure what she was expecting from Earth; it was, after all, some sort of backwater planet, it wouldn’t have made much sense for it to remain backwater if its inhabitants were naturally noteworthy. There was, however, a noise that came floating up through the treetops to her ears.
Tink. Faint, squeaky shouting. Tink tink. More shouting.
Odd. She couldn’t sense any energy down there.
When Sanngrior descends from above, to land behind Tania, the little android might be in for something of a shock, especially if she’s still got her sensors off so she won’t have the benefit of preparing herself in any way for the shadowed figure’s arrival. She descends silently, announced only by the sudden shadow cast over the childlike android, and the faintest gust of wind from behind her.
The woman in her hooded jacket looms above the diminutive figure, the cowl pulled forward far enough that darkness and shadow hides her features – at least for the most part – from casual view. Given how small Tania is, the childlike android may be in the near-unique position of being able to see up underneath that cowl, to the dark, scarred features beneath. That… is almost certainly not much of an improvement, all things told.
Her clothing is, at least, clean – which is something of a rarity – though that too is offset a bit by the bloody halo smeared into the air above her head. A dark crimson gash in the air which is most definitely… not, normal. Sanngrior arrives on the scene just moments after Etoru comes crashing in, and the assassin’s hood drifts from the bumbling girl, to the human child, up to the arm lodged in the branches.
Sanngrior is not one for amusement, as a general rule. Nor does she look much like the kind of person who would help a child retrieve anything from a tree… that, is not an impression she does anything to break. Instead, the figure just… stares, creepily, down at the little android. Who would create a robot like this? And for what purpose? It was… absurd.
When she speaks, Sanngrior’s voice is raspy; a low, gravely noise as though the words did not come particularly easy to her.
“It seems, you are suffering, from a malfunction, android.”
Well would you look at that. Despite wearing such a very vision-obscuring hood, it seems that Sanngrior’s powers of observation remain completely undiminished. Though there’s something in the way she holds herself, in the way she speaks, which turns even this casual observation of events into some sort of … implicit threat.
Then, slowly, her hood turns to face Etoru, “And you, child. What are you doing, holding yourself like, that? It is not, an … efficient, way to fly.”
The assassin’s neck cracked beneath her jacket, and her fingers flexed at her side. Elements of this seemed too familiar to her. Children, alone in the woods, but… they were entirely too happy for it to be natural. Weren’t they scared? Weren’t they desperate or angry at being abandoned, or else terrified of what dark fates might befall them before they reached their families again? She was no scientist, but she didn't think robots grew in the same way as organic children - so perhaps this was some manner of artificial companion? But even in that case, it clearly didn't belong to the child who though it was 'magic'.
She was usually an incurious soul, but this whole ... situation, bore further examination.
“What, are you two doing, out here?”
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Post by Tania on Jul 18, 2015 20:56:04 GMT
((Just to fit in, thread PL is 1,696. )) Tania continued to indignantly stare down the tree in front of her as she wracked her mechanical equivalent to a brain on how she was supposed to get her arms back without breaking any rules. She supposed she could try to negotiate with the overgrown sapling that when deciding to fire off both arms, she didn’t technically say that the original rules were still in place. That sounded a little cheap though. There had to be some sort of secret solution to this self-made puzzle that she was missing somehow... ”Huh?” Tania tore her intense gaze away from her opponent when she a voice address her from behind. She spun to see that it was a boy with dark hair that looked roughly the same age as her. He was floating towards her on his back, moving his arms and legs above him like he was swimming upside-down. Tania wasn’t expecting there to be anyone else hanging around in the forest, but it was a pleasant surprise. The synthetic child always liked company. ”Hi there!” the girl greeted the newcomer with a cheerful smile. She tried to wave at him, but was immediately reminded of the fact that she was still armless. If he looked closely enough, the boy might have spotted movement from Tania’s arm stump under her fluffy shawl, but since it was only a couple inches from her shoulder is was fairly easy to miss. After taking a moment to toss a quick scowl up at the tree’s branches, Tania looked back to the kid. ”Nice to meet ‘cha, Etoru. I’m Tania! I was playing hide-and-seek with them and they ended up getting stuck,” the girl introduced herself and explained her current lack of upper limbs, but she paused and tilted her head once she was done speaking. ”Uhh... What’s a magic statue?” she asked curiously. Their name sounded obvious enough; it was a statue that was magic. But what exactly did they do? Did they grant wishes? Did they guard treasure for heroes to claim only after a tough battle? Did they guard a bunch of doors with only one correct one for travelers to proceed on their path, but they only found out which was the right one after figuring out a riddle? Whatever they did, just the idea that they were magical was enough to catch her interest. It sounded like the kind of thing she would want to keep an eye out for as part of the BBA. Also, apparently she looked like one. While Tania’s mind was buzzing with silent possibilities on what Etoru could have been talking about, a figure descended upon the two kids from above the tree tops. The small girl didn’t even realize that the third person was there until the shadow they cast blocked out the sun’s warm rays on her hair. The synthetic child turned her head to see what appeared to be a woman with a red disk floating above her head. Wasn’t it a kind of warm out to be wearing such a thick coat? She could just barely see the outline of the woman’s chin from where she was standing, though the rest of the forest was well lit enough that she couldn’t see much else under the hood. Oddly not bothered in the slightest by the woman’s unannounced appearance right behind or, or her appearance in general, Tania gave her a big smile and once again attempted to wave hello without thinking. Ugh, she forgot again! ”Nah, not a malfunction. I was just playing a game,” Tania explained, shaking her head. The lady’s voice sounded awfully hoarse when she spoke to her. Did she have a cold? Unfortunately, Tania didn’t have any cough drops to offer since, as an android, she’s never had that issue. The child wasn’t allowed to lead people back to Site A either. ”Are you feeling okay?” the child asked innocently as she looked closely at the woman. Anything threatening about how the woman looked or carried herself was completely lost on the small android. While there may have been a few out there that would call it bravery, the reality of the matter was actually a lot closer to cluelessness. Tania didn’t do subtlety very well. Heck, anything short of a brick to the face was likely to go unnoticed as far as situations where most kids her age would fear for their safety. The pint-sized android briefly looked back and forth between Etoru and the lady in the coat. Now that there were actual people here to talk to, it was time to put the game on hold. Tania quinted her eyes, giving a disapproving look to the tree. If either one of them listened closely enough, they could hear her whisper to it. ”Don’t you go getting full of yourself. You didn’t win; this is clearly a draw,” Tania mumbled as she activated her flight ability, propelling herself by the bottoms of her feet off the ground until she reached the offending branch that had been keeping her arms hostage. ”Look out below!” She called out before ramming the top of her head into the branch. It snapped, sending both it and her detached limbs tumbling to the forest floor. The girl landed next to them, back where she was originally standing. Now came the tricky part. Tania bent down and grabber her right arm with her teeth just above the elbow. She then got to work trying to lock it back in place.
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Post by Etoru on Jul 18, 2015 22:42:22 GMT
Etoru didn't really know what she was, and was a bit confused as why she had no arms. He was more curious and scared that's for sure. "Oh um...a magic statue? I dunno, it's like...um...a magic statue I guess. Cause you have no arms....what are you?" Etoru asked. But that's when a raspy voice could be heard off in the distance. Their beautiful sun shaded view was covered by a shadow of a hooded woman. Etoru didn't really know if it was a woman or not. Nonetheless Etoru didn't trust her. "Um...Tania, I...don't think talking to him...her...is a good idea...no offense Mr or um...Ms..." Etoru clenched his fists in caution. "And...to answer your question...I think flying like that is I dunno fun?" Etoru let out a slight giggle but had to keep serious or else she might take advantage.
Then Etoru's eyes widened when Tania spoke to the woman. As clueless Etoru could get, couldn't anyone see that seeing someone hooded like that in the woods is not normal? But that's when Etoru finally caught his senses to the hooded person calling Tania an 'android'. "Oh you're like a...um...monster? You don't look like it...what's an android...?" Etoru was really curious now as to what was an android. He got the 'she's and android' part down but not 'what is an android' down. Etoru watched her bump the arm down and Etoru let out a little "Eep!" before jumping back holding his tail to make sure nothing hit it. His cheeks were flustered as he realized how far the arms feel and it would in no way reach it.
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Post by Sanngrior on Jul 19, 2015 7:20:46 GMT
"I'm fine."
Sanngrior's expression is difficult to read, thanks mostly to her efforts to keep her face shrouded from view, which in turn makes it tough to tell whether Etoru's reaction to her is actually offensive in any way. The hooded figure does watch in fascination as the little android rockets up from the ground and slams her head into the bottom of the tree branch. When it snaps, she raises her hand above her head, and neatly catches the tumbling tree limb in her hand. The other limbs are allowed to tumble where they may.
The offending wooden arm-catcher is then carefully set down next to her, and her eyes slide over the two children. It was a strange situation to be sure. She could hardly blame Etoru for his suspicions, but the other child - now trying to reattach her arms with her... teeth... - was clearly a great deal more trusting.
Whilst Tania works with the right arm, Sanngrior bends down to pick up the left. She brings it to her eye line, examining the socket in a contemplative manner. She'd seen a few androids, but they were rare compared to her usual targets - most androids are in menial service positions, it was the unique and special ones which get above their station and sometimes were targeted for... removal.
She wasn't an expert in these things in the least, but she moves to Tania's left side, and bends down to her knee as she tries to slot the thing back into place. It doesn't exactly look like an overly complicated piece of machinery. What's the worst that could happen, she install it upside down? Compared to the normal situations where she finds herself handling the severed arms of children, this could be considered something of an improvement.
"Here."
Sanngrior's hood then finally turns back to face Etoru. The lingering sense of menace hasn't dissipated all that much, despite the fact she just went out of her way to assist the little android girl in recovering her limb. Maybe it is because the two children remind her of what she never had, maybe it is because she's in a good mood after her recent payday... maybe it is just because of a whim, but she didn't actually feel any desire at all to traumatize the pair. In fact, she intends to offer some advice.
"You, boy, need to be more careful."
She took a deep breath, cracking her neck beneath the hood as she did, and then continued. "I don't care if you trust me or not, but there are those who would, take exception. Out here, in the wilderness, on your own." Her hood drifted its attention back to Tania, too.
"The wild is, no place for children. You can be ... hurt. Stay close to your homes. You never know, what, sort of ... monster, you might meet."
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Post by Tania on Jul 19, 2015 9:58:08 GMT
”Nerse kertch.” Tania attempted to compliment the strange woman, but her speech came out muffled since she was still trying to push her arm back into its proper place with her mouth. While trying to adjust the limb, she felt something nudge her left arm socket. The small girl shifted her eyes over without moving her head to see that the woman was trying to assist her with her other arm. That would definitely help speed things along. Grateful for the help, Tania twisted her shoulder and leaned into the other limb until the telltale click of it locking into place was heard.
”Thank you, Miss... Um...” Tania briefly trailed off after removing her arm from her mouth and pushing it back into its socket with ease with the aid of her left arm. It felt nice to be able to wiggle her fingers again. ”What’s your name? I’m Tania, and this is Etoru,” the little girl introduced herself and the dark haired boy. The thought that the boy may not have wanted the lady to know his name didn’t even cross her mind. After all, she seemed perfectly okay to her. Her wardrobe choice may have been a little odd, and there was still that strange halo floating above her head, but neither of those things made someone bad.
Anyway, now that her mouth was no longer obstructed, she could answer Etoru’s earlier question. She had never had to explain exactly what she was to anyone before. Everyone she had come across in her travels so far had known about androids. It left her scratching her head for a few moments as she tried to come up with the right words. ”An android is like a person, but different,” she started to say, not really intending her answer to be as so vague. That’s just kind of how it came out. ”Instead of bones and organs, I’ve got a bunch of metal and electronics inside me.” Hopefully that much would be enough.
The hooded woman cracked her neck after giving Etoru a warning to be more careful, and then proceeded to extend that warning to Tania. ”Monster?” the child repeated curiously. Her eyes lit up and she excitedly started scanning her surroundings. What monster was she talking about? Tania didn’t see anything or anyone aside from Etoru and the lady who was talking to them. It wasn’t every day that she got to meet a monster. Sadly, there appeared to be no such creature roaming the area at the present. With a shrug of her shoulders, Tania turned back to the woman after reluctantly giving up her brief search. ”Monsters aren’t a problem. Real adventurers like me aren’t scared of them,” Tania said with a cheeky grin. In an attempt to accentuate the idea that she was the ‘tough adventurer’ type, Tania stood with her feet shoulder width apart. She placed one hand on her hip while holding out the other hand and making a ‘V’ symbol with her middle and index fingers. She was trying hold herself as heroically as possible.
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Post by Etoru on Jul 19, 2015 18:22:13 GMT
Etoru was awaiting for his answer watching the woman help Tania put on her arm, still a bit cautious though but then he finally got his answer. "Oh...I see...! Um...what are electronics...heheh...I was raised on a farm and never really seen or talked to anyone very much besides my grandfather." Etoru simply shrugged. Sure he talked to other people before, but usually it was usually a brief conversation, a question about his tail, directions, etc. They never really talked to Etoru to just...well talk to Etoru. Etoru doesn't mind it though. He doesn't get all nervous around people. It feels natural. Although one could already tell that he wasn't really social just by seeing mistakes social people wouldn't usually say while talking to him. He doesn't really think before he talks.
Then the woman gave advice about safety which made Etoru gave out a little snort. At this point, Etoru wasn't scared, even though he fakes his 'brave and amazing' ego. Although he probably would be frightened if he did see a so called monster. "Yeah, what Tania said. I'm not scared of no monster, I can handle my self! See!" Etoru let out a big grin before taking a step back. "Here it goes." Etoru rolled his hands into a ball creating a fist and placing each one down to his waists before letting out a roar. A white aura surrounded him sending a bunch of dirt skidding around and causing leaves to fall off trees, maybe even a few twigs or sticks. Finally the aura blinked and the wind stopped. "See..." Etoru giggled a bit.
PL: 23,170
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Post by Sanngrior on Jul 19, 2015 18:39:58 GMT
“My name is Sanngrior.”
The woman’s voice is quite calm as she speaks, straightening up now that the android has been re-armed. The explanation of what an android is draws a faint chuckle from within the hood; the noise is unpleasant, like the gurgling of a drainpipe, and she shakes her head slowly from side to side. “Bones and organs, blood and viscera. Yes. Quite.”
Both children are brave, but then, children always are. It isn’t until Etoru shows his true strength that Sanngrior begins to grow concerned. The power the boy revealed was equal to her own; perhaps even a little greater, and he claimed to have grown up on a farm? It was completely unlike the other inhabitants of this rock. But, she’d seen his tail, too. He was clearly of saiyan stock… but to have developed a power level that high whilst remaining so young…
If he was on Vegeta, the boy would be hailed as a prodigy. Out here in the boonies, he seemed completely and totally at ease with himself. It was fascinating. To her surprise, there’s actually a part of Sanngrior which is tempted to try and take the boy for herself – what she could craft him into, given time, would be… a true wonder to behold. But that would be absurd. Aside from the fact that his power already rivalled her own, he had people who cared for him. A life. Family.
Although she counted herself amongst monsters, she was not that terrible.
“I see.”
The words are spoken slowly, carefully enunciated in the wake of Etoru’s display of strength, and Sanngrior’s hood turned to take in the girl, as well. Androids were always tough to get a read on; some could be torn open as easily as a tin can, others… could prove stubbornly troublesome to deal with, and there was no way of knowing which was which until one tried to bury their spear in their chest. One of these days, she’s going to have to invest in a scouter, just for that reason alone. But using such things beneath her hood was… troublesome, at best, and she was loathe to show her face to daylight.
“The most dangerous monsters look just like everyone else.” She says, at last. “But you’re right. You probably can handle yourself. Just, keep that in mind. Monsters are everywhere. Do not let your guard down, and… look out, for one another. I do not wish to find two corpses when I next come passing through this way.”
It is the best advice she can think of to offer, and she has no wish to try and traumatize the children any further. Despite his insane level of strength, the boy was still… innocent, idealistic. Sanngrior could be cruel, yes, but there was a line to be drawn in such things, and she’d never felt comfortable with hurting children. Even children who could match her blow for blow if she tried. If this planet allowed kids to remain kids for longer than those she’d been on before… then that was a good thing, wasn’t it?
So long as the Saiyan Solar Empire or the Arcosian Empire continued to hold up the treaties and didn’t decide to make the place a bauble in their collection. Then, perhaps, it would be necessary to try and toughen up the children a little more.
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Post by Tania on Jul 20, 2015 0:24:14 GMT
While Sanngrior said she was okay, it really didn’t sound like it. Was she one of those types who acted tough when they were actually really sick? Tania sure hoped not. Not knowing when to take it easy wasn’t good for you. The girl squinted her eyes at outline of the woman’s chin from under her hood. She still couldn’t make out any details from the little of her she could see; that made it kind of difficult to gauge exactly how healthy she looked visually. All she had to go off was her voice so far, which didn’t sound good at all. Oh! Maybe that’s why she was wearing that coat of hers! Wasn’t keeping warm something that people were supposed to do to get rid of whatever was making them ill? If that were the case though, why wasn’t she wearing something warmer to cover her lower half? Hmm, she’d have to keep a close eye on this one for further information...
Etoru’s admission of not knowing what electronics were was enough to rip Tania’s thoughts away from Sanngrior and leave her mouth agape. H-How?! How could someone have never heard of such a broad term for technology? Sure he grew up on a farm, but to not even know the basics of what most people used in their everyday lives was a bit of a shock. Perhaps she was so stunned because she herself was a product of technology. A world without electronics was a world without Tania, and she did too good of a job of brightening people’s days to even think of such a world! ”Umm... Wires and electricity?” she asked meekly, trying to find a term that the boy might recognize.
Still reeling from the idea that there were people out there who didn’t know what electronics were, Tania suddenly perked up when Etoru began to power up. Oooh, so he was a fighter? The pint sized android was used to the idea of people being so strong from the shows that her ‘creator’ would always watch, as well as her time spent as part of the BBA. It was always neat to find more of them during her adventures though. Now that her little game was over, Tania did a quick scan on him via the ki sensors in her ocular lenses to see that he had a power level of over 20,000. ”Cool!” she squealed at the display. He was definitely a lot stronger than any other kid she had come across. Then again, most kids couldn’t fly and didn’t have tails either.
While she was at it, Tania did a quick scan on Sanngrior at well. While the reading she got was a little lower than the boy’s, she was pretty strong too! The woman’s words were confusing though. Monsters that looked like people? That was nothing like what she saw in her picture books. They were almost always giant creatures that were covered in scales or fur. They were also often depicted as having big pointy teeth and were capable of gobbling people up. She liked to think that there was more to them than that, but she had never met one herself. ”I’ll be A-OK! The biggest rule about adventuring is to always be prepared. That means being prepared for monsters, too, ” the small girl confirmed. Most grownups didn’t let go of the idea that it was too dangerous for Tania to be wandering around on her own. It was a nice change of pace to see-wait a second!!!
Tania’s attention was suddenly fixed on Etoru; the girl narrowed her eyes at him and started to look him over very carefully. Had she been a seriously outdated model, the gears in her head would have quite literally started to turn at this point in order to fully access her memory bank. He looked like a human, but had a furry monkey tail. Wasn’t that how Charlene described Saiyans to her? Tania hadn’t actually seen any during her trip to the planet Vegeta, but her friend had clarified that that’s what they looked like when she mistook Mr. Green Guy for one. Porsalynne had mentioned something about them being strong before they left, too. ”Hey! Are you a Saiyan?” she asked curiously, still looking him over with skeptical eyes.
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Post by Etoru on Jul 20, 2015 3:23:18 GMT
Etoru gave that cocky smirk of his after he went to full power. Too bad he doesn't know how to use that power. Sure he's been trained to fight but he hasn't really been trained well. If anything it was more of buffing up. Anyways deep within that fake ego was a bit of fear which could easily be drawn out in the right circumstances. As he was watching the hooded woman observe he tried to look as 'amazing' as can be. He loved it when people commented on his strength. Though he could sense that she wasn't far off. What sort of made Etoru nervous about this stranger was that he assumed she could be holding back.
"Miss, I could sense ki...duh...oh um sorry if I offended you! I meant duh as in well duh who's going to sneak up on me. I can sense ki...hello...!" Etoru giggled. His training paid off finally. This whole time he's been the weakest of whatever group, but now he felt new and improved! Nothing can stop him now! Etoru threw a few fast jabs into the air. "Wires...and...electrik...electreety electrecaty...oh! Um...is it like magic? I saw this magic box...called a...a um...oh right! A TV! I asked a few people they mentioned...electrecatee?" Etoru couldn't really pronounce the words right but he definitely heard the term.
Etoru began to rub the back of his head in confusion. He stared up in the sky and began to think. "Um..." One would think that Tania probably broke Etoru. Etoru did ask for a TV before but his grandfather just gave him a very stern 'no'. Etoru didn't really care, but it did interest him. Then he heard Tania ask him a question he sort of hates but is learning to get over it. "A Sayian...um...well..." Etoru still had trouble with this situation. Although, Maeve's lecture did teach him a thing or too about not wanting to be labeled as what you are so he had to get over it sooner or later. "Yes but...I'm only half Sayian. Like um...my mom was a Human...and my dad was a Sayian...I don't really want to explain anymore. Okay?" Etoru gave a bit of a glum face and wanted to change the subject desperately. That's when it came into mind. "Okay...why can't I sense your ki Tania?" He gave a glance at the hooded woman and back at Tania giving her a really confused face.
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Post by Sanngrior on Jul 20, 2015 6:58:53 GMT
The shadowy figure was prepared to leave it there, really; Tania clearly understood her concerns, but Etoru... doesn't. That's interesting. He had clearly been suppressing his power, but he was confident in his ability to avoid being taken by surprise. How much of what this boy is doing is instinctual? Its... fascinating. It took her years before she was able to master the kind of things he was doing as though it were no big deal at all.
"Always be prepared. Hrgn."
It was certainly a motto to live by, but it wasn't one that Sanngrior found very convincing coming from someone she'd just seen headbutt a tree to get her limbs back. If that was Tania's idea of being prepared, the poor little android was going to wind up scattered around the woods before she can say 'oh dearie me I seem to have misplaced my arms'. Sanngrior was faintly surprised to discover that she didn't actually want that to happen. She couldn't remember the last time she met someone that she didn't think would look better screaming in pain, but... here it was. Two of them at once. Disgusting. She was getting soft.
"I'm not offended." She confirms to Etoru, and then carries on. "The galaxy is a dangerous place for adventurers. Always be prepared, to run away."
That sage advice given, Sanngrior begins to walk away from the pair again. As the boy and the android talk about his heritage - which is something Sanngrior had, mostly, figured out for herself though it is nice to have confirmation that humans don't also come with monkey tails, because that could have gotten confusing - the woman in the hooded jacket begins to walk away into the woods. As she does, her power level plunges. Suppressing and smothering her energy is something that she's very good at, as an assassin, it often came in handy. The woman's power drops until it is almost entire indistinguishable from the background level of the trees and the animals - though with Sanngrior so close, there's not many animals left there. For some reason, animals just didn't seem comfortable to remain in her presence as a general rule.
When she's managed to walk a good few paces into the woods, amongst the trees, she'll pause and look at the pair, curious to see whether they've paid any attention to her movement, or noticed that her power has dwindled away to nothingness. She's good at blending in with the surroundings; mostly the dark shadows cast by large trees and foliage. If the pair have remained as sharp as they've promised her they will be, as impossible to take by surprise as 'true adventurers' ought to be, then there'd be no problem at all...
... if they've let her slip their notice entirely at this stage, though, then it might be time that Sanngrior provided a more objective lesson about the dangers faced when out and about in the woods, on your own, as children Even very powerful children.
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Post by Tania on Jul 21, 2015 11:06:26 GMT
Etoru threw a few jabs at an imaginary enemy before asking further about Tania’s explanation of electronics. It appeared that the boy was having difficulty getting his head around even her simplified version of it. Well, he wasn’t completely in the dark on this. He at least knew what a television was. ”Ee-lek-trih-city. It’s what lets you turn the TV on and off, but it’s not magic,” Tania tried to clarify. Magic was way cooler than electricity, as far as she was concerned. After all, what kind of adventurer went on epic quests to find technology rather than magic? Maybe if you were into the old, outdated stuff, but all of the modern devices could just be bought from a store or something.
As Tania was still trying to figure out how to make things a little simpler to understand, Sanngrior made the comment that they needed to be prepared to run away. The small girl’s face twisted into a pout at the idea. Running away was boring... It was important to know when to retreat and all, but it was so unfulfilling! ”Mmmm, I know,” Tania grumbled quietly. She really didn’t want to admit that Sanngrior was right, but she knew better than that after already having spent enough time on the road. That didn’t change the fact that it was a last resort.
After giving her last bit of advice, the lady turned away from the two children and began to walk into the woods. Huh, she must have needed to go home or something. ”Be sure to get lots of rest! Cough drops are supposed to help, too!” Tania called after her, still convinced that her throat sounded the way it did because she was trying to hide a cold. Hopefully Sanngrior took her advice.
The synthetic child watched the woman walk away for a few moments before turning back to Etoru. ”Aww, okay,” Tania mumbled as he cut his explanation short. Still, it explained why he fit the description of them given to her by Porsalynne and Charlene. Now that she had confirmed it, she would... do absolutely nothing with the information. She had honestly just been curious. ”I was just wondering because I just came back from Vegeta, but I didn’t get to see any Saiyans. I think your tail looks neat!” She tried to explain her interest in what he was, but the boy was quickly trying to change the subject on her. Oh well. If he didn’t want her to pry, she would leave it alone. ”I’m not really sure, you know? That’s just how we androids are built,” she responded, going with the new topic.
Since she had to actively run a quick scan to detect someone's energy signature, she was completely oblivious to the fact that Sanngrior's departure from the area may have been a little too sudden to be believable...
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Post by Etoru on Jul 21, 2015 20:40:33 GMT
Etoru's tail started to twitch. He wasn't used to thinking like this and it was just getting on his nerves. Heck this was more challenging than learning his techniques! Then again his grandpa did say he was a fast learner...Then she began to break it down for him. As she was saying it he tried to mimic her to get it right. "Ee-lec-um...trih-city. Electreecetay?" Again his he just couldn't wrap his head around it. "Wait...a TV could turn off and on?!?" Etoru was shocked. Really he's only ever seen them on since that's how they show them off in the city. He doesn't really recall seeing an 'off' TV. "Well...at least I know it isn't magic. I never seen magic but my grandpa told me stories before! It sounds sooo cool!" Etoru was excited just by thinking about it. He really loves things that are out of the ordinary, which explains why he wants to know so much about electricity. But wait till that backfires on him when he does see something out of the ordinary, but it ends up being either deadly or scary. Curiosity did kill that cat after all.
While Etoru was trying to wrap his head around this all he heard Sanngrior's comment. "Huh? Pfft...I don't run. No matter what!" Etoru tried popping his chest out to look 'strong' and 'proud' although that was a lie. Etoru would run away if he was that scared. It's such a shame really. All that power but fear holding you back. Well of course he has to learn to overcome that fear if he wants to join the Z-Fighters, but right now that wasn't what was important. What's important is that the hooded woman began to leave. He in fact didn't notice it as her power dropped to being hardly noticeable at all. He noticed it when Tania called out to her saying to get some rest and cough drops. "Oh um...yeah bye!" Etoru waved as she slid through the trees. Then he turned to Tania. "Huh? Oh...um ha thanks?" Etoru turned his head around towards his rear to get a good look at his tail. Truthfully he was actually happy she made that comment, in fact she was probably the first. Everyone else usually makes fun of it or is scared of it or just keeps their yaps shut. "But...what's Vegeta?" Etoru was informed about his race recently, but to a very minimal. His grandfather wasn't a Sayian and knew very little of them so that wasn't the best information to go to.
"Vegeta is a funny name..." Etoru was thinking of all the possibilities it could be. That's when his eyes lit up. "Oh um...why are their Sayians there?" Etoru was catching on a bit now, but it wasn't enough to actually figure out what Vegeta was. His mind quickly shifted to another subject as his question was answered. "Oh seriously? Wait you were built? You are magic! I knew it!" Etoru didn't really think of it the other way. He thought of built as in magical essence formed into one to create well...Tania. Then once again Etoru thought of something else that topped all the rest. "Um...why did you think that scary lady had to go Tania?" Etoru began looking around for any sign of her but no luck. "Y-you think she could be watching us...? S-she d-did it before..." Etoru was letting a bit of fear show at this point. He knew her power was high, and worst of all he doesn't know what kind of techniques she could use. But he had to act tough in order to scare her away. "Come out! Or else! You don't want it to end bad for you...!" Etoru looked at Tania curiously. "Could you use one of your maggggiiic abilities to um...I dunno find her."
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Post by Sanngrior on Jul 21, 2015 21:43:08 GMT
There was some faint amusement to Sanngrior watching the pair. There's a level of innocence between them which is unfamiliar to the dark and shadowy figure. As they speak, she watches, and she waits. Things would progress in one of two ways from here on out - and when Etoru finally seals the deal, Sanngrior is surprised that she's so disappointed. There's a part of her that wanted to frighten the child, but, she had told herself that if the boy or the girl seemed to genuinely be on alert... she'd just leave them alone.
A child with that much strength was probably safe from all but the most frightening of threats anyway; the kind of thing that even Sanngrior had to worry about, and there weren't many of those on the planet. At least, not many that she'd encountered thus far. If the boy had remained as oblivious as Tania, Sanngrior may well have chosen to strike - but as it is, his decision to announce that he knows he's out there... it shows that she's gotten into his head.
If she made her exit now, the boy could never be fully certain that she - or someone like her - wasn't watching from the shadows. He'd have that nagging doubt at the back of his mind, that he could be attacked at any moment by someone just as strong as himself; that, at least, is what Sanngrior is hoping to achieve. It isn't that she delights in tormenting children (though... she does enjoy it more, perhaps, than the average person) - but she wants to make sure that the kids, if they are going to wander around in the wilderness, are properly prepared.
WHY she wants to make sure of that is something she can't really put into words - it just seems... necessary, somehow. Children shouldn't have the kind of hideous upbringing she did, or that she'd seen replicated all throughout the galaxy, should they? That was... wrong. Unfortunate. If it was in her power to help keep them safe by playing the part of the bogeyman, then, that was as good as could be.
It might be the first time that she had done something that could genuinely be considered a good act in her life - and even this was resulting in some uncomfortable and frightened youngsters.
But it is with that faint sense of amusement and contentment at a job well done that Sanngrior melts back into the shadows, and begins to silently pick her way across the forest floor. It wouldn't be that far before she was able to fly back to South City without worrying about being detected, but for now, this was perfectly fine by her. Let the children talk and play; she still had work to be taking care of, after all.
[Thread Exit - When this goes up for grading I'd like zeni please. Thanks guys! Fun scene!]
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