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THE THIRSTY MINNOW - AFTERNOON
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Scilla scrambles downstairs, after spending all morning in bed... and maybe in some denial, too. The genet looks like she wants to hide from the world, but eventually one has to eat and to be honest staying still and inside has never really been her 'thing' all that much. She's dressed in her overalls somewhat haphazardly put on in the vague direction of 'right'. Ordering a big hearty stew and a drink to go with it, she sits down at a table near the bar.
Mia doesn't really do much 'eating' these days, if only for the sake of it, and to keep herself feeling persony. She does partake in sweetrolls, and hot chocolate, because they taste nice, and it's good to get out in public out of her stall. Nevertheless, she's not able to distract herself from her work for long. Right now, she's got a little 'bug' that she's designing. The design is still in that 'vague idea' stage, trying to make something that detects 'oddness'. It buzzes up mid screw turn, and buzzes over to Scilla's table, giving a little 'anomaly' retort before getting in closer...and then ignoring Scilla entirely, and going for her stew, pulling out a small splinter of wood that had fallen from the rafters in there when she wasn't looking! Mia is already getting up to follow after, looking rather flustered...
Scilla blinks at the bug in surprise as it buzzes at her... then at her stew. Though she gives a bit of a blinking smile as the bug pulls out the bit of wood from her food. "Oh. Uh... thank you?" She looks around for the source of the bug, and gives Mia a wave as she notices the cat.
Mia: "Ah..sorry Scilla!" She looks a bit bashful, her tail flicking behind her. She's dressed as she ever is, though is now perhaps a shade more obviously artificial, taking the time to 'shine' herself, giving her a somewhat more glossy finish. "It's still in the prototype stage ,so.." She plucks it out of the air "Not ready for production"
Scilla giggles despite her mood a moment ago, rather welcoming the distraction: "It's cute, though. What's it do, or is picking up stuff from stews its' only purpose?"
Mia: "Well, the idea is that it scans things and works out what's 'normal', then spots things that are different from that baseline. The tricky bit is what it's establishing as normal" She sighs "It's taken so long to get it to stop triggering on myself and eventually I just had to hardcode that away, but eventually, I hope it will be able to spot problems developing before they get really bad..well..like someone eating a splinter!"
Scilla smiles, leaning back: "I like it. Though yeah, what even IS normal, that's the question isn't it? Kinda tricky to..." She waves a hand: "Well, that. Actually, how would you word it other than 'normal', anyway?"
Mia: "Eh, I'll work out a way to say it that doesn't get people upset after it starts working the way I want. I don't mind!" She grins "I'm not normal, and it would be silly to pretend I am"
Scilla: "I'd like to think I'm sometimes normal, but then I'm always proven wrong. Too many generator incidents, I guess."
Mia: "The generator is sort of my motivation" She chuckles "It's done a few too many odd things by now"
Scilla tilts her head: "Odd how? I've heard rumors, but not really much from anyone who's actually been there."
Mia: "Well, I wasn't always this metallic"
Scilla: "Oh. Oh yeah. I think you mentioned about that."
Mia: "I'm..fine, with what happened? But I don't think I'd want anyone else to go through it. I'm fairly sure I got very lucky"
Scilla nods slowly: "Yeah.... always good to try and make sure mistakes don't repeat. At least to someone else."
Mia: "That's the plan" She agrees "What about you? What have you been up to lately?"
Scilla glances towards the stairs: "Well... kinda shut-in, I guess. Call it a break from jobs for a bit."
Mia: "Oh? By choice? It's probably better to get out, even if you're not working"
Scilla: "Yeah, it is. Just uh..." She hums for a second: "...needed to sort my head, you could say. Nothing earthshaking, just learning about the oddities of this town?"
Mia: "Ah! Well, it is a bit odd. Anything I can try and explain?"
Scilla lifts a paw to her chin: "Have you come across a wolf by the name of Phoebe, by chance?"
Mia: "I..think we've met? Maybe once or twice. I wouldn't know her that well though"
Scilla nods, then remembers that she wasn't supposed to be talking about this. "Ah well. Doesn't matter I guess. She gave me something to think about, I've got it sorted, am back outside to be active."
Mia: "Well..okay!" She doesn't pry "What are your plans to get back into the business then?"
Scilla hums: "One of the airship crews right, they asked me to go locate some metals for them. Don't have much of an idea where to start, but wandering outside the walls should give me a clue once I get the feel for the ground. Besides that, probably just fixing stuff as usual in the meantime."
Mia: "Sure! If you want something to do, do you want to take that drone with you? It needs to collect as much data as it can, and maybe keeping it away from me is a good idea. I'm not really 'normal'"
Scilla blinks, then giggles: "Sure, why not. Could be interesting.
Mia clicks her fingers, and the little aerial scarab lands in front of Scilla, and buzzes twice. "Alright, there we go. It'll follow you around. Won't go seeking any weirdness unless it detects something super, super strange"
Scilla looks at the bug, grinning: "Neat. Well, maybe it'll help me... dunno, something. But let's get this lil' bugger calibrated if nothing else."
Mia: "That's the plan!" She grins "Just bring it back after a while, and we're good. I also actually pay for it, since this is work and all. It'll keep you in stew and drinks for a bit"
Scilla giggles: "And muffins, let's not forget about those." She clicks her tongue and the scarab lands on her head: "Heh. You're cute."
Mia: "Ever since the accident, I've found that cuteness helps people accept all the techy stuff"
Scilla looks up at the scarab, then at Mia: "Well, you're not wrong! Not that everyone thinks something like this is cute, but they're obviously wrong."
Mia: "Well. This is just the first draft. I can surely improve" She chuckles "Worst case, I paint it pink"
Scilla giggles: "That'd be pretty adorable."