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STRIX'S ALLEYWAY - LATE AFTERNOON
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Strix is putting his finishing touches to his latest craft. It was a simple wooden box, plain on the outside, accept for a single spiral design carved into the top of it. He carefully adds in the words with a chisel 'What's in the box?', before stepping back, and putting it on a pedestal, and..waiting. He knows that someone will wander by as he finishes up the latest shiny.
Strix gets thoughtful for a moment about that...before shrugging.
Froge has had a decent day at the market, selling off the last of his available stock, and even making a few agreements for larger quantities of firegas, leaving the amphibian croaking a song to himself gleefully as he wanders up the street away from the market, dragging his noisy ramshackle sled along, it's cargo of empty show vials clinking happily along with him. He still has two larger bulges under the wool cover, but those are special. He 's approaching a familiar alley, peering into it as he slows down.
Strix is sitting on a nearby pillar, apparently fiddling with some sort of contraption that keeps lighting up all over the sides. It's..perhaps some sort of game puzzle, but the exact 'rules' would be a mystery. In any case, he's totally absorbed in it, so Froge can act freely..for now anyway.
Froge spots the kobold, his sled clattering a bit as he stops to wave and call out. "Hello there mister Strix!" He turns to enter the alley dragging his sled along as he's peering at the curious box nearby. "What wonders are you making this time?"
Strix: "Made Element box. Needed to make to test last part of all element shiny. Can test. Think of what can be in box. Might be safe. Strix try to make safe"
Froge turns to Strix, a little confused. "All elements? Not just your beautiful fire any more?"
Strix: "Strix always working on making all element shiny. All element include fire, and other four elements"
Froge drops the vine lead for the sled, stepping over it to approach Strix. "Oh, that sounds really useful! I brought something for you, but I know it's been a while, you might not even need it."
Strix: "What does the Froge have?" He's interested "Strix can always use more pre-shiny"
Froge bounces a little, turning back to his sled and pulling the blue cover back. "Oh, I'm glad you're still interested! It's here somewhere... Ah!" He digs around for a moment, shifting bundles of empty vials before pulling out a larger bottle. It's wrapped completely in cloth soaked with a dark sap, including the top. It makes a near-empty sloshing noise as he turns back.
Strix: "What is?" He takes the bottle carefully, setting it down in front of him "Strix is very interested"
Froge croaks excitedly. "Firegas, but like water!" He pulls a vial similar to the one from their first meeting in size from his satchel. "Remember how much fire this made?"
Strix: "Firewater?" He considers "Water that burns?"
Froge chuckles a bit nervously, eyeing up the bottle. "Well... That doesn't burn, it just explodes if you light it like that. Impressive, but dangerous. That bottle holds four tens of these vials right now." He wiggles the vial to emphasize, bouncing a little in excitement.
Strix: "Strix is intrigued. Strix not sure if Strix wants exploder, but Strix could think of something"
Strix: "Strix can pay" He rummages in a nearby bag, and he shows a small bag of coins "Take how much Froge need"
Froge puts the vial away, nodding. "It doesn't only explode, but we don't have a way to use it like that. If you open it, the water turns back into firegas. Maybe you can figure out a way to let it out slowly? Oh!" He looks at the coins, stepping back and shaking his head. "No, this is a gift for you!"
Strix: "Ah. Well. Strix thanks you!" He takes the bag back, "Strix thinks you should try wooden box"
Froge looks at the curious box on it's pedestal, just sitting there. "What is it?"
Strix: "Wooden Box. Things in it"
Strix: "What does Froge think is in it?"
Froge glances between Strix and the box, shrugging. Well, what harm? He walks over to it, examining the carvings on the top though he doesn't know what the symbols mean. "Hm... Knowing you, something magnificent I'm sure..."
Strix: "Strix shall wait. Not saying anything"
Froge croaks out a giggle, putting his hands on either side of the lid and pushing up on it.
Strix is looking at the bottle while Froge opened the box. Inside was... a small bottle, filled with what looks to be the same stuff that Froge had just given Strix!
Froge tilts his head curiously. "How..?" He reaches toward the bottle with a tentative poking finger.
Strix: "Uses Element Shinytech!"
Narrator: The bottle, when he takes it, sprouts little bat wings, and fliiiies away.
Froge watches the bottle in awe, then looks at Strix, completely befuddled. Then a thought occurs to him. "That wasn't actually a bottle of water firegas, was it?"
Strix shrugs "Might be. Strix not sure" The box closes when Froge looks away "Element very hard to tech. Strix only learning little now"
Froge looks up, trying to track the sentient potential explosive, a low, nervous croak escaping his throat. "Miss guard said she'd throw me out if I helped you blow up the town..."
Strix: "Don't worry. Bottle gone now. No boom"
Strix: "Check box again"
Froge looks nervously at the box, wringing his hands together. "I... Well..." He prods the lid up with one finger, his curiosity getting the better of him.
Narrator: Inside the box was a bunch of soap bubbles, which apparently were compressed into the box, so when he opened it, the suds blast out, coating everything..and everyone nearby. While this might worry an amphibian, they're breathable, and non-toxic, and just..in general, pretty insubstantial beyond the effect of getting covered in the cold..liquidish substance.
Strix snickers a little "Ah! Strix's shiny works!"
Froge lets out a yelp as he's covered in the suds, slipping and falling onto his rear. He goes to wipe them off, but pauses. "Oh... It's wet?" Froge rubs the suds on his forehead, a slight happy frogsong rising in his throat. "Oh... Oh this I like very much yes!"
Narrator: Unfortunately, as suds are wont to do, they'd quickly dissipate away, leaving nothing behind..and again, the box would shut "Strix is very happy with newest shiny, and is happy that Froge is happy"
Froge stands back up, a little sad to see the damp vanish so soon, but he smiles when he turns back to Strix. "I knew you had something magnificent in the box, you're really just all kinds of exciting!"
Strix: "Strix tries" He sees a little down "..Try the box again.."
Froge croaks curiously, turning back to the box. Still keeping his distance a little, Froge pushes the lid up again.
Narrator: Inside is a small piece of paper, with a red X on it. Nothing else.
Strix: "Strix thought so" Strix nods "Should not use box again" Indeed, if Froge tries, he'll find that its sealed shut!
Froge was about to pick up the paper, but yanks his hand back as the box closes. He turns to look at Strix, stepping away from the box. "Oh, did I break it? I'm sorry!"
Strix: "Not broken. Just not work for Froge anymore. Element only work so many times"
Froge nods, though he doesn't really understand. "Oh... Does it still work for you?"
Strix: "No. Not work for Strix. Need others to test"
Froge nods a little sadly. "That's too bad, but it's still incredible! I think if anyone could do it, you'll find a way to make it work all the time, Strix."
Strix shakes his head "Strix not think so. Strix will try, but Strix thinks only work some small amount"
Strix: "Strix still thank Froge for Firewater"
Froge croaks happily, bouncing a bit. "I'm glad you like it! If you figure out a way to use it, I'll bring more~"
Strix: "Strix will find something!" Strix nods "Strix will give you shiny made from it"
Froge: "I'll accept it gladly!" Froge turns to his sled, putting the vials back in their place and securing the cover. "I think I'll let you get back to your inventing for now, though."
Strix: "Strix will do that" He takes the bottle up, and inspects it thoughtfully, leaving Froge to do his thing"
Froge turns the sled away from the alley, heading out with a wave back to his temporary home near the West Gate. A happy bounce and song accompany him all the way home.
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RESPITE FALLS GENERATOR - MAY'S HOME - EARLY EVENING
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Brunilda walks to the door, in a relatively good if thoughtful mood. She's not clad in her armor for a change, but rather in simple shirt and a short pants. She hesitates for a moment before knocking on the doorframe.
Maybelline arrives at the door a moment later, opening it without much of a word. She's in her work overalls, covered in a slightly thicker layer of grime, as the bags under her eyes speak to a very long shift working on the generator. "...oh, Brun. Uh... hi."
Brunilda looks at the stoat, a bit worried: "...am I coming at a bad time? I can come back tomorrow."
Maybelline blinks a moment, then shakes her head, "Oh uh no. It's fine. I've just been working. Uh, come on in."
Brunilda nods as she follows Maybelline in, ducking a bit at the door as usual: "I just came to see about swapping a book, as I think I've gotten most out of the first one... least for now."
Maybelline watches Brun enter, then follows after, yawning slightly. "Oh uh, yeah. Of course. Books. Uh, help yourself."
Brunilda steps over to the bookshelf, but pauses, turning to look at the stoat: "...you've slept even less than usual, haven't you?"
Maybelline frowns, her nose wiggling slightly, "I don't need sleep. I've still got work to do."
Brunilda now entirely shifts her attention from the books, looking at the stoat: "Those are usually words preceding some kind of accident."
Maybelline snorts, "I've pulled long shifts before. I know all the precautions to take, I'm not some low level amateur, please." She folds her arms in front of her chest, wobbling a little before she recovers her balance.
Brunilda frowns a bit before kneeling down to poke the smaller creature on the chest: "Do you, now?"
Maybelline growls at the poke, tail bristling at her clear aggitation, "Yes! I know what I'm doing! Now if you don't mind, stop poking at me and take your book. It's all you probably want anyways."
Brunilda looks at the stoat dubiously, but stands back up. "I was actually also worried, seeing you this tired, but I can leave as well." She is rather clearly not happy about this.
Maybelline is clearly overtired for certain, but she does have the sense to unfold her arms, dropping them to her sides with a sigh, "I... n-no. You don't have to... I mean... you can, but I... I just have a lot on mind right now, okay?"
Brunilda is halfway turned towards the bookshelf again, before sighing and glancing back at Maybelline: "Would talking help, or make things worse?"
Maybelline frowns, glancing away from Brun, "Talking with me? Trust me, it'll only make it worse. Making an ass of myself is apparently at the top of my todo list lately."
Brunilda raises an eyebrow, looking back at the stoat: "Well, I'm certainly no stranger to that. What happened?"
Maybelline stays quiet a moment as if she has nothing more to say, then slumps down in defeat, "Ugh... well first there was Vix, who came her to give me parts to the generator, only to admit she'd stolen them from this place whlie the building was empty. And ugh. I liked Vix, thought maybe I might actually have a frined, there, but now I just feel like she punched me in the gut while smiling to my face. Same old story there."
Brunilda sighs, lifting a hand to her forehead: "Ugh. Of course. I'll have to talk to her, probably."
Maybelline sighs, "My fault for being hopeful anyways... Same for Annika... getting my hopes up that maybe, just maybe..." She shakes her head, biting her lip. She reaches up to pull down her work goggles, mostly to cover up the fact that her eyes are watering. "But no. Least she wants to be friends... which will be fine, once I get over the feeling that I want to die everytime I Look at her. I'm such a moron."
Brunilda blinks in slightly confusion: "...I am not sure I understand."
Maybelline folds her arms again, her hands twitching slightly. "I... she... ugh. I thought... I thought maybe I could start a relationship with her. But she isn't into that. She got hurt, and I made it all about me and my stupid hang-up crush. And I don't know why I'm telling you any of this!"
Brunilda shrugs: "Saying it out loud helps." She hesitates, sighing as she holds her own hands together, tapping her forefingers: "...not that I am of any use in that department. Never been in... any relationship."
Maybelline flinches, "Yeah... well... me either. So I'm gonna work on the generator. At least I know how that works..."
Brunilda gives a wry smile: "So, more than me." She lifts one of the magitech books: "I can't even read all of this properly, let alone put it to practice."
Maybelline glances back at Brun and raises an eyebrow. "Well, no one is expecting you to go from reading the intro books to jumping into ICEE Generator repair. Besides, you're just reading to learn right? No pressure there, take your time and try to work out the concepts. I didn't exactly learn any of it overnight."
Brunilda nods slowly: "Yeah... at least I feel I am doing something maybe-one-day-useful with my time, now."
Maybelline reaches up to remove her goggles and look at Brun more properly again, though the tears from a moment ago still stain around her eyes. "Well, that's something right...? Are you enjoying reading about it?"
Brunilda smiles: "I am! It's fascinating to learn about how things work, even if I can't quite understand it yet... but I feel I can yet."
Maybelline nods, perking up a little, "You can! It's a thing I love about engineering this kind of stuff... everything has a place, and when you understand it all it all fits together and works in harmony."
Brunilda nods excitedly: "Being able to... make something that makes a difference."
Maybelline smiles gently, chuckling slightly, "Making your own BrunShiny, eh?"
Brunilda blinks: "BrunShin... oh. Well, maybe one day." She chuckles a bit, shaking her head: "I'm not sure what to even make of Strix."
Maybelline laughs, "Me either... but I think his heart is in the right place. He told me that I should make my own MayShiny, something to make me feel happy. I can take apart and rebuild just about anything... but I've never made anything for myself. I still don't even know where to begin."
Brunilda shrugs with a smile: "Well, I certainly have no idea. But... hey, maybe one of these days."
Maybelline shrugs back, "It's engineering. It's all just puzzle solving... he's just solving his own puzzles. And I'm solving one with missing pieces." She points at the books, "You're just learning how all the pieces work. Seeing them as parts of a puzzle comes later."
Brunilda leans on the wall, humming a bit: "I reckon you're right. One step at a time."
Maybelline thinks a moment, "How familiar are you with the toolset?"
Brunilda muses for a second: "I... I think I know it. Mostly?"
Maybelline waves a hand onward, "Well come on, I'll show you my workspace." She walks out from her living room/kitchen, opening the door back into the generator housing.
Brunilda follows Maybelline curiously, smiling: "Oh! Of course."
Maybelline walks down the short hallway that connects her home to the generator, opening the door at the far end, she slips her goggles back down over her eyes. "Precautions first. Goggles at a minimum. I've wearing my overalls, got gloves too. Depending on what I'm doing in there, I have head protection too." She points towards a rather large storage locker near the door, "Probably best to see if there's anything your size in there."
Brunilda nods, taking inventory at the storage locker. "Hmm... not surprisingly, nothing my size in terms of clothing, but I think I can fit these goggles." She picks up the biggest set of goggles she can find, awkwardly squeezing them on her head.
Maybelline nods as she observes Brun's prep, "Good enough. We're not really going into the generator, or even going to touch it, honestly. I just wanted to show you my workbench, but I always stress safety first." She glances at the generator and smiles. "I'm pretty proud of the work I've done so far. The replacement parts Vix returned were in good enough shape that I've raised the generator efficiency by 30%. But there's still a few things hampering output, not to mention the fact that it needs a recharge."
Brunilda nods, looking over the generator: "It's not a simple deal, that's for sure." She turns to look at the stoat: "You've done great work."
Maybelline beams a little proudly, "It's something I can do right, even if I fuck up everything else... at least I can get this working for everyone."
Brunilda nods, looking the at the generator up and down: "It is quite the piece of work."
Maybelline nods, "I've been working with the Mark 6 generators before I moved her, but the Mark 4's aren't so different. Now, the AMP generators are a whole 'nother story, but... uh... I'm only trained on ICEE. If I could get books on AMP, I'd be reading them right now..."
Brunilda hums, nodding: "I can see that being a problem... so much has changed in such a short time."
Maybelline sighs, "Yeah... the principle behind them both is pretty similar, but AMP does a lot that... that I don't understand. Yet. Someday... but for now, I just need to get this Mark 4 running, and soon I think I can even get the shield back up!"
Brunilda looks at Maybelline in slight surprise: "You think you can get the shield working again? That's great if you can, honestly."
Maybelline nods, turning her back to Brun to look up at the generator, "I was a lot less confident about that when I got here. But now? I'm pretty sure I..." She stops, her ears shifting about slightly as she goes silent, hearing a faint hiss. "Do... you hear that?"
Brunilda blinks, listening: "That... hissing sound? It's not a part of... this?"
Maybelline shakes her head, suddenly feeling a little more frantic as her eyes dart across the generator. "No, not at all... Sorry, Brun, give me a second. I need to check this out." She hops over towards where she left her creeper, lying down in place to kick herself under the generator. "Could be the exhaust vent, or one of the intakes tubes? But I really shouldn't leave anything hissing like that alone."
Brunilda kneels down: "...is this is a normal occurrence?"
Maybelline shrugs, slipping on a pair of gloves. "Eh. No. But unavoidable on machinery this old. And aside from the new parts, a lot of stuff was ill-cared for the past few... I don't know how long since they last had an engineer here. Or even if they maintained anything at all, honestly."
Brunilda frowns, looking at the machinery complex taller than her: "Yeah... doesn't seem to be in the best of conditions, that's for sure..."
Maybelline starts to move some stuff around, popping off a panel and glancing in as the sound gets louder from higher up. She frowns, mind racing, and one terrible creeping suspicion coming to mind as she peers inside the depths of the machinery. "Brun... do you see anything higher up? Like, anyplace you can spot steam escaping, or anything leaking out?"
Brunilda gets back up to standing: "Mm, let's see-e..." She goes a bit pale: "Yes. There's a bit of a... leak... uh huh. Doesn't look good."
Maybelline slips up into the machinery, the ICEE not designed for internal maintenance in particular, but her small size making it optimal. She pulls out a small orb from one of her pockets, Strix's lightglobe, and taps the button atop it to turn on the light, "A leak... is it red, black... or purple?"
Brunilda keeps looking up at the steady stream of smoke: "Purplish-black. It looks angry."
Maybelline blanches as she directs the light and spots the crack in the containment core. Whispering at first, "Fuck..." Then turning to yell as she starts to drop back down out of the generator, "RUN!"
Brunilda blinks, then hastily steps back and spins around, starting to head out with a lot less care than she came in with. She makes her way out of the generator room and into the hallway in couple of big steps.
Narrator: A muffled blast comes from the generator, almost like something sucks in all the noise, and then POPS with a tremendous bang, and gouts of purple flame flare out of the generator like dragons breath, an almost liquid fire that leaps and dances in celebration of its freedom. The room shakes behind Brunilda, and she can feel the heat of the raging magic across her back before it fades, the generator behind her now mangled and burnt, melted in places, as the wild magic soon expends the last of its energy.
Brunilda lets out a small grunting yelp at the heatwave hitting her back, then spins to look around: "May? May?!" Not seeing the stoat, she waits enough for the heat to dissipate a bit before shielding her face with a hand and diving back, looking for her friend. "May?"
Narrator: There is no response from within the machinery.
Brunilda glances about the room, forcing herself to find her friend in the flames and magi-smoke if it kills her.
Narrator: As Brunilda digs through the wreckage, she spots a faint glow up ahead, different from the purple magic flames which flare up around her, fading (but not fast enough) as the magic burns itself out. A faint yellow orb seems to float in air just ahead.
Brunilda grunts as she moves the still-hot wreckage about. Burns can wait. "May?" She focuses on the orb, squinting as she makes her way forward.
Maybelline is lying amidst the wreckage beneath the brightly glowing orb, crumpled and bloody, the stoat is seems victim to multiple lacerations, concussions, and worst of all, the right side of her body and down her back, along with her right arm, and halfway down her right leg, all completely covered with the strange purple aura of the magic, an affliction some know as ICEE burn.
Brunilda freezes for half a second upon seeing Maybelline, but then the instincts hammered into her all her life take precedence. She forces her way next to May, carefully picks her up and starts making her way out, ignoring the burns and her severely lashed back. Shielding the stoat in her arms from further flames best she can, she makes her way to the door of the room before her steps start to wobble.
Narrator: Behind Brunilda, the generator groans as several pieces collapse down where May had been, the last throes of the violent magic finally dying off, and the flames finally disappearing, almost as if, having failed to claim the stoat, they have no more reason to exist.
Brunilda doesn't look back, but her legs are starting to feel very worn. She glances down and notices a pretty big gash on her right leg, some metal bit having slashed it. "No time to worry about that yet. Let's get out." She stumbles her way to the door from the hallway, being as careful with May as she is able.
Brunilda almost falls over at the door, but doesn't dare let herself catch her breath before she's well out of the danger zone. Only once she is several steps away from the building, does she dare let her legs collapse from under her. She twists her fall enough to not have May be crushed under her, but just barely. Laying on the ground, she breathes deeply.
Brunilda stays on the ground for a while, looking at the unconscious stoat, before forcing herself up despite the pain and her own consciousness threatening to head out for coffee. She manages to get up, although the pain across her body is rather unbearable even for someone as thick-skinned as she is. "Of all the days to go without armor..."
Brunilda grumbles as she picks Maybelline up and starts making her way towards the Clinic.