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 Posted: Thu Apr 26, 2012 8:00 am
 Caecilius x Tayce Mouse x Rain Start Date: April 12th, 2012 Gin Rin Caecilius: AHHKERGPFLP~! *skid* I hate you forever. -_- *takes off visor and cleans dirt from it while grumbling* Roserain Tayce:
*Tilts her head as he goes past, following his movement from behind the golden sheen of her helmet. Curious, she takes a step closer when he removes his visor, trying to get a better look at it.*
...? Gin Rin Caecilius: *Finishes cleaning his visor and replaces it, looking around as his sight 'returns', spotting the tan armored female* Oh, hey, sorry if I scared you. Nice armor you've got though. Roserain Tayce:
*She watches him replace the visor in mute fascination, ears perking as he turns to address her. Waving her tail faintly in acknowledgement, she simply tilts her head the other way and continues to stare.* Gin Rin Caecilius: *He brushes the dirt off of himself while she stares at him* So uh...where did you get a hold of armor like that? Looks pretty expensive. Roserain Tayce:
*Extending her arms to investigate the gauntlets as if for the first time, she turns her wrists this way and that before looking at him again, bringing her knees to her chest and wrapping her arms around them. Resting her head on her knees, she continued to stare at the male, her ears twitching curiously.* Gin Rin Caecilius: Uh huh...did you break your helmet or something? *He flops down across from her, crossing his legs beneath him as he quickly checks his own gauntlets and greaves, brushing off any dirt before returning his gaze to her*
*Raising a hand to knock on the side of her helmet, giving it a sound rap, she grinned at him from behind her faceplate... though chances were that the male would not be able to see it. Inching closer to him, scooting across the ground on her butt, she continued to examine him and his gear with unspoken curiosity.*Caecilius: *He continues staring back at her, reaching a hand up to his visor to cycle between the different spectra, the world shifting from one color to the next as the image processor did its best to give color to that which had none. Nothing seemed to be wrong from the outside at least, no radiation leak that would suggest a short or other breakage. Sighing softly he set the visor back to the visible spectrum once more, watching her scoot towards him, slightly confused.*Tayce:
*Continuing her butt-crawl until she was right in front of him, she craned her neck until they were visor to faceplate... staring at him. Tilting her head yet again in a slow and awkward manner, she continued the staring contest... until she reached for his visor at any rate. Stretching her whole back to reach out to his face, she made to grab it so she could get a better look.
Not that she told him that.*
Caecilius: *He watched her scoot right up to him, unsure of what she was up to, but still wondering why she wasn't talking. He realized almost too late what her goal was, and bared his teeth in response, his body pulsing briefly in a blue aura.*
"You could have just asked, you know."
*His voice wasn't doing a good job at hiding his aversion, but he didn't stop her either.*Tayce:
*Hesitating at the new phenomena; Tayce switched goals and went to grasp at the blue light, only to have it fade away before her fingertips could brush it. Driven into a frenzy of activity by this new thing she got up on her hands and knees to circle him, trying to see if there was anything left of that blue stuff. Disappointed, she came back around to face him in exasperation. Ears folded back in her obvious vexation, she cocked her head at his comment. Rocking back to sit up and rest on her feet while kneeling in front of him, she shook her head several times despite the bulk of her helmet. Reaching up for her own throat, she patted it briefly with her fingers, trying to get him to understand.*Caecilius: *His eyes tried to follow her as she did a circle around him, turning his head the other way to watch her resume her spot in front of him, still not sure exactly what her deal was. It was his turn to tilt his head though, as she patted her throat, the gears finally starting to turn in his head as he figured out what she meant.*
"Oh...I guess that explains a lot..."Tayce:
*Putting her fists on her hips and shrugging her body as she stared at him as if to say, 'no s**t.' she shook her head at the lackadaisical answer and went back to her prior investigations. Prodding him along what she took for tattoos, she poked this and that until his visor caught her attention again. Pointing at it this time, she gave her demand silently.*Caecilius: *He decided it might be best simply to stay quiet for the moment, given how well talking had been going for him so far. Looking down, he watched her poke at his tattoos, skin twitching slightly at her touch. Not surprisingly, she turned her attention once more to his visor, though at least this time she didn't flat out try taking it. He nodded and removed it, flinching slightly as the nerves disconnected before offering it to her.*
"It won't work for you, it links up to my nerves, here."
*His faded green eyes blankly staring at where she was prior, he reaches up to push his hair away from the connection site, trying to show her the small metallic implant*Tayce:
*Taking the offered headgear gingerly, she turned it this way and that as she examined it. Looking to him again as he spoke, she tilted her ear towards him before looking at his face. Eying him with curiosity she followed him movements as he brushed his hair away. Pulling closer to him, she raised her hand as if she would touch the... port, she supposed. Hovering her touch a few inches above the implant, she hissed in apprehension, commiserating. Trying to make eye contact with him she realized that it was impossible, and not for the normal reason of her helmet being in the way either. Cocking her head the other way, she passed the hand she still had raised past his face... or more specifically, his eyes. He was... blind?
Her ears folded back in this realization, feeling guilty that she would ask for his 'eyes' from him, and worse yet that he willingly handed them over. Being that vulnerable must be horrid, about as bad as her having to remove her helmet.
In fact.
Scooting back a bit to give herself more room, she gently laid his visor on the floor before reaching up for her own headgear; easing the release mechanism. The bulky thing gave way with a slight hiss of air coming from her filter, which accompanied her racking cough. Wheezing as she struggled to adjust to unassisted breathing, she blinked back tears from her efforts. After several agonizing moments she was able to get the pain under control and laid her helmet gently in his lap. It seemed only fair after all. Taking his visor in hand again, she placed it on her own brow, taking in the world through a different view. ...Not that it was doing much for her, but being able to see things without a golden tint was a nice change of pace anyway.Caecilius: *He smiled at the only sound he had heard her make so far. Assuming it was because of the connection point, he lets his hair fall back into place...more or less. Hearing the sound of a mechanism of some sort he tried to re-orient himself, 'looking' at where the sound was coming from, his smile faded into concern when she started coughing. She seemed to get it under control, however, and he felt something placed in his lap.
He instinctively looked up at her, before realizing that it served no purpose anymore. Running his hands along the object, he smiled again when he realized it was her helmet. Working his hands around it, he figured out which way it was supposed to face, and tried putting it on. Surprisingly it wasn't that heavy, and the weight it had seemed to rest in just the right places. There was even a bit of airflow. He pondered this for a bit, letting the gears turn some more, wondering if she was born this way or if something had happened later on.
Resting his hands in his lap, he grins behind the helmet as tries to stay facing towards her, wondering what the view from it was like.*Tayce:
*Watching him run his hands over her helmet she felt a bit ill at ease; she finally understood that saying about someone walking over your grave. Sitting quietly as he investigated this intimate part of herself, she ran her own fingers along the hard ridges of the visor, wondering what it would be like to have your 'eyes' on the outside of yourself. Wheezing softly with each unsteady breath in, she smiled ruefully. It was probably not too different from having your 'lungs' in your helmet.
Worrying her bottom lip as he brought the helm above his own head, she felt nervous as he slid it on. Did he feel the same anxiety about handing over his visor? It certainly didn't look pleasant when he... er, disconnected? She took off the head piece and looked at the inside of the device, wondering exactly how it must work. Scooting closer to him as he now donned her helmet and sat at ease, she brought her face close to her own faceplate, marveling at seeing herself in some ways. This is how she looked to the world. It was different seeing it on a living, breathing person rather than just at rest on a bed or dresser. She tapped on the gold glass affectionately, huffing with the effort it took to circle the male again, nodding in approval despite his sightless eyes. She was content with her mask to the outside world, and was actually feeling rather naked without it.
Kneeling in front of him again, she gently depositing his own headgear into his lap. Thinking better of the exchange, she picked up his hands by means of grabbing his armored wrists and guided his touch back to his own eyes. Caecilius: *Sitting motionless for the most part, he felt a bit awkward in his silence. It wasn't as if he couldn't talk, or that he was necessarily trying to imitate her in order to make her more comfortable or anything like that. Even if he did say something, he wouldn't be able to see her reaction to any of it. Something about this exchange seemed to render them both unable to communicate. The tapping on the faceplate roused him from his thoughts, and he patiently waited for her to do something, worried that trying to move would be problematic in his current state. Luckily she realized this one way or another, feeling her guide his hands back to the visor.
Nodding lightly, he eased the helmet off, holding it against his head for a few moments. The air in the helmet was too pure for him, and his head was swimming a bit because of it. Carefully holding it out for her with one hand once the dizziness went away, he felt around for his own headgear with the other, making sure it hadn't moved. He opened his mouth to say something, but hesitated, figuring it might be better simply to wait until they were both back behind their masks. That last word stuck in his head for a moment. What an odd irony they had, trapped behind masks, instead of intentionally wearing them.*Tayce:
*Resisting the urge to snatch the helmet away the moment he removed it, she waited patiently while he reorientated himself, only taking it back once he held it out. Grasping it gingerly, it took her all of a moment to don it again; the movement smooth from practice. Biting one of the tubes coming from the filter she sucked in hard, her lungs filling with precious air. of course that also sent her into a sputtering fit that left her feeling dizzy. Falling back to sprawl out on the floor, she paid the male no mind while she focused on her breathing, drawing the sweet oxygen into her lungs and letting it go slowly. It would be some minutes before she found the right rhythm again, as it always did when she was without any breathing support. With her eyes firmly closed behind her golden faceplate, Tayce just lay there, mentally urging her airways to open fully to the life-giving air.*Caecilius: *After handing off the helmet back to its owner, he picked up his visor, making sure it was oriented the correct way before sliding it into place. The 'jolt' of information that hit his nerves whenever the connection was made or broken certainly wasn't pleasant, but he imagined it was just an inconvenience compared to the distress he had heard her going through when she took off her helmet or put it back on. He looked up at her as his nerves calmed down, her outline awash in a multitude of colors as they settled into their correct hue.*
"You...didn't have to do that..."
*Looking over her prone form, he watched her chest rise and fall, her breathing seemed forced. 'That will teach you to open your mouth' he thought, berating himself for instigating this whole ordeal. He shook his head and lightly sighed, then stood and turned, walked a short distance away from her. He shifted his weight to the balls of his feet as he came to a stop, his body igniting in a bright blue aura as he raised a fist above his head. Focusing his biotic nodes, he poured all of his frustration into forming a mass-increasing field around his fist, and slammed it into the ground with all the fury he could.*
"Haa-AAAGH!"
*Crouching down on one knee as the small debris cloud settled around him, he pants softly in front of the new impact crater, letting the biotic aura fade away slowly as he tries to calm his thoughts.*Tayce:
*lifting a hand straight up in the air to acknowledge that she heard him, she still had her eyes closed behind the plate of glass as Tayce mentally counted as she breathed. A moment later she let her arm fall back down to her side, finally feeling the tightness ebb away. Now if only the dizziness would leave her. She could hear his soft sigh and rolled her helmeted head towards the sound, only chancing to open her eyes after she'd stopped moving again. From her point of view Tayce watched as he walked away from her, sideways in a gold-hued world. Curious, she tried to lift her head from the floor only to have her vision swim and force her lie back again.
Suddenly there was a flash and Tayce watched as he seemed to burn in a pulsating green light. Ignoring the motion sickness this time, she tried to rise as quickly as possible and had just managed to get her feet beneath her when he assaulted the floor. Opening her mouth in a wordless scream that perhaps only dogs could hear, Tayce tripped and fell backwards, more than likely bruising her tail. Scooting away from the dust storm that was starting to dissipate, she put her hands against the sides of her helm as if that would steady her vision. Miserable, her ears were tucked uncomfortably tight against the back of the metallic casing of her headgear as she watched with whimper as the greenish light winked out.
She'd seen power, sure. Aggressive, adrenaline-ridden fighters who lusted for violence. Weapons and tactics, bombs even, but this was different. It came upon him in a flash and vanished just as quickly, and it wasn't any sort of thing he'd ever seen before. At first she had thought he was under attack, but now she was unsure if she wasn't the one about to be under fire.* Caecilius: *He stayed in his crouched position as he caught his breath, trying to piece together his thoughts. This wasn't like him though, sure he got riled up and into trouble, but this was something else. Everything that had happened was his fault, of course. He didn't realize she couldn't talk, and the guilt when he figured it out just shut him down. He was...responsible for her suffering, from being without her air supply, and why did he put her helmet on at all? Being blind was bad enough, but not being able to help made him feel worse. To top it all off, somewhere in there he was...happy. Someone who didn't see him as just a volatile punk, though he might have screwed that one up too with his little outburst. As the final indignity, his stomach growled loudly, he had used up a lot of energy.
As the drained feeling spread through his body, he didn't bother trying to stand, and simply fell back onto the floor. He realized that she probably didn't understand what he did or why, at least if she had recovered. Tilting his head back, his heart sank as he saw her up-side-down form cowering away from him, either terrified or worried or at the very least not happy. He just couldn't do anything right, could he? He opened his mouth to try to say something comforting, but all that escaped was a soft whimper, his ears pulling back flat against his head. Could he even say anything? 'Sorry that I just blew a hole in the floor because I'm a mess.' Yeah, that would fix everything. Turning his head to the side, he felt his eyes water a bit. His vision wasn't affected of course, but he still tried to blink them away instinctively. Sighing softly as he closed his eyes, he tried to piece together something to say, anything.*
"I...I'm sorry. I didn't mean to scare you."
*'Yeah, that'll work. I'm sure she'll completely forgive you and you can go back to dancing in the tulips' he thought to himself, but then again he was never good at this sort of thing. He continued to lay there as an overwhelming sense of hopelessness washed over him. His stomach growled again to let him know that it was still unhappy.*Tayce:
*Nervous and unsure of herself, she didn't move when he tumbled, instead staying huddled some distance away. Her ears did perk though as she stared, waiting cautiously. She did take note when he moved his head enough to see her. Or, 'see' her? It was obvious that once the visor was linked up he could track her at the very least. That thought gave her a slight chill.
Tayce couldn't hear his sigh, but the apology was loud enough. Tilting her head as she continued to stare, she considered him again. There had been several moments where he could've caused harm had he wanted to, so why the sudden outburst? Chewing her breathing tube pensively, she unclenched herself and fell forward until she was on hands and knees. Crawling forward, she kept her pace steady so her breathing would stay even. It would be some hours before she wouldn't have to monitor herself to safeguard her health, but this was nothing new.
While she approached Tayce considered that maybe these charges were things he had to give off every now and again. Too much built-up... something. He didn't seem hurt from it though. Well, maybe. She continued her approach until she was almost right above him. Staring down at his face through the tinted glass of her helmet, she blinked at him and tilted her head. He seemed... weary. Drained. Worried?
Leaning in closer, awkwardly close, her head cocked the other way as she tried to figure him out.*Caecilius:
*His stomach growled again, reminding him that it did not tolerate this insolence, to which he growled back at it.*
"Shut up."
*He had burned through a lot more energy than he thought, but at least he wasn't expecting trouble, or he would have been done for. Though, then again if he were fighting with the female he probably wouldn't have expended so much power in one shot. He probably forgot to bring food as well, this was going bad in just about every way possible. He breathed slowly, deeply, willing his body to recover enough to do something about the female. 'Good luck coming up with coherent words, you probably can't even stand up like this.'
He groaned lightly, he should probably see if the female was still afraid of him, or even there anymore. Opening his eyes a bit, he noticed the lighting was different. He couldn't have moved, he had been laying here the whole time, unless there was something over him...? Turning his head to look up, his felt his cheeks burning as he found himself nose to nose with her, or...nose to helmet anyway. Well, that was a good sign, she hadn't run away right? He opened his mouth to say something, but what could he say? 'Glad to see you're alright', 'Thanks for not freaking out', 'Don't worry I won't hurt you.' The last one might work, but...obviously it wasn't true, he had already caused her pain.
"...Hey...?"
*He ended it almost as a question, unsure of both himself and of her. 'Wow, masterfully done. You could end wars with that one.'*Tayce:
*Her ears turned to catch each sound he made, curious. She was tempted to nudge him, to stir his prone body and see if he was alright after all, but then his head started to move. Moving back an inch or two in quiet surprise, she lowered herself closer to the floor and leaned so her helmet was right above his face; tracking his movement. Her head moved as his did until he was 'staring' straight up, at which she tilted her face inquisitively.
Leaning in to get a better look at his visor, wondering if it shorted somehow, she paused when his mouth fluttered open for a brief moment. An ear flicked back as she worried that maybe he was injured or something, come to think of it he was looking a bit flush. She was about to raise her hand to feel his cheek as a test for fever when he vocalized.
She smiled as her tail dusted the floor quietly, though it was doubtful he noticed these things. Her ears perked up noticeably though, and just in case he wasn't sure if she was happy to see him well or not, she raised her hand and waved frantically at him, her while body wiggling with the movement.*Caecilius:
*Smiling at her frantic movements, he stared up at her golden faceplate for a bit longer, rather shocked that she seemed...happy to see him? Why wasn't she terrified that he was a biotic, like just about everyone else was? Maybe she didn't know or truly didn't care, was that even possible? His ears weren't helping the situation either, betraying the turmoil in his mind as he tried to sort things out again.
Asking her directly might get him a better answer he concluded, and he carefully rolled to his side before completely flopping over. But...the floor was soooo comfortable, maybe he could rest here for juuust a minute and...NO! He refused to be beaten by his own body! Putting his hands underneath him, he pushing himself up, carefully sitting back on his legs. Staring at the floor, he pondered for a moment, before looking up at her again.*
"You're not...afraid of me? Even with...with this?"
*He raised his arm in front of him, making a fist to trigger the biotic nodes briefly, a light flare of blue traveling from his elbow up to his hand before disappearing again.*Tayce:
*Her grin broadened as he smiled in response, having spent nearly a lifetime behind glass having done nothing to curb her facial expressions. But then he started to move, or roll to be more precise, and she backed away to give him space. His movements seemed sluggish and she debated with herself on whether or not she should aid him in sitting up. Her hand reached out to touch his back, but before her fingertips made contact he was moving again. Tayce withdrew quickly and scooted back even further as he pushed himself upright.
Sitting across from him, she gave him a curious look, one ear folding down as her chin tilted up and to the side. His words sounded unsure but sincere, and she puzzled over them for the brief moment prior to that odd greenish hued light flaring to life. Before she could pursue better judgment, Tayce reached out for this strange fire that didn't burn, but once again it was snuffed before she could catch it. Huffing, she crossed her arms over her chest and sulked, wanting to know more about the oddity. Though... maybe only he could touch it? Maybe that was why he was blind? But that didn't make a whole lot of sense. Caecilius:
*He barely contained his laughter as she lunged for his arm, letting out a snicker or two before he stopped himself. He supposed that he had his answer though, for whatever reason she wasn't afraid of him, and even seemed rather curious about his ability. Sighing in relief once he got himself under control again, he smiled up at her. He felt as if a weight was lifted from him, finally someone that wasn't perpetually afraid of him simply because of what he could do. Or at least someone that he wasn't hostile towards that wasn't afraid of him, he had no qualms about bluffing an opponent out of a fight. What easier way to win without violence than having the other person think you could control their mind?
When she sulked at him, he wondered if perhaps there was a way to show her what the aura was from. Without smashing another hole in the floor, of course. There was no way he could risk using his biotics again without food or something though, he would definitely be out for a few hours in that case. Patting at his pockets, he was relieved to find a single pouch of the energy drink he kept as an emergency. Fishing it out, he thought about it for a moment, and decided perhaps it would be safer to go without it for now. Better to have less energy in case he messed something up. If he used a full-power field on her she might panic, or it might injure her somehow, or both. He set the pouch aside and looked up at her again, offering his hand out to her, palm facing up.*
"Here, take my hand. I'll show you."Tayce:
*Her ears only drooped lower at his laughter, adding to her pout. She was still sullen as he patted himself down, though her eyes followed him movements with interest. When he produced a package of some sort her ears twitched a little, raising an inch or two. She leaned ever so slightly towards it, trying to get a better view. It seemed... squishy? Her head tilted with the curiosity, but then it was gone as he discarded it.
Looking at his face, expecting him to explain, her ears sprang up when he offered his hand. She looked at him sideways, arms still crossed over her plated chest. Tayce relented and reached out to poke the center of his palm, drawing her face closer to see if there would be a reaction of some sort; after all, she had no idea how that light was triggered. When nothing happened she turned to look up at him, puzzled. Did he really mean for her to take his hand? Her ears faced backward for a moment as she pondered, finally sliding her gauntlet-covered hand into his own.*Caecilius:
*He watches her, patiently waiting for her to accept or decline his offer, grinning a little when she tries poking at his palm. Smiling at her when she places her hand in his, he takes hold of it gently as he focuses, the blue aura slowly appearing around his arm as he triggers the nodes. He keeps his gaze on her as he softly explains.*
"I'm going to form a mass-increasing field around your arm, but just relax, it won't hurt you. It's the same thing I do to myself. It will just make your arm a little heavier and a little harder to move, but it's only temporary."
*Flexing the appropriate muscles, he keeps a gentle hold of her hand as he triggers the nodes again, the blue aura slowly advancing about halfway up her forearm. He tried to counterbalance her arm a little, lifting his hand slightly to support hers as he sustained the field for her. A field this small wouldn't be too much of a problem, even in his current state, and from her previous reactions he assumed she would want to investigate it. With his free hand, he reaches up to turn off the filter on his visor, so that the entire spectrum would be 'seen'. He smirks lightly as he looks back down at their hands, the familiar patterns faintly glowing from under his light armor, ending at the edge of the aura and before the exposed parts of his tattoos. He wondered if she had something similar, as it was hard to tell if there was anything hiding under the blue light dancing along her arm.*Tayce:
*Flicking her ears nervously as he gripped her hand, she looked to him for a moment before the show began. When the light appeared again she straightened her back and brought her face closer to their hands to watch as the flickering green light started to grow. Her ears turned forward as her other hand raised slowly towards his arm, as if she were afraid to scare the light away. She paused in her hand's approach as he spoke, her whole body starting to lean forward in her sneak attempt upon it.
When she had just made her mind to reach out and snatch it the aura went ahead and marched up her arm, eliciting a harsh wheeze from her that might've been a shriek if not for her damaged cords. Her whole body recoiled from the sensation of her arm turning into lead, moving the rest of her body as far away from her infected arm as she possibly could. It was only then that she noticed that he wasn't afraid at all. Peering at him curiously, she looked at her arm again, and him holding her hand aloft.
He wasn't... hurting her, per se. Her arm just felt like dead weight. She tried wiggling her fingers and found she could with quite a bit of effort. This was the effect of the green light? Cautiously, she crept closer to their joined hands again, her ears folded back firmly as she looked on. Reaching out with her unaffected hand once more, this time much more timidly, she covered their clasped hands with her free one, unsure.*
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Posted: Tue May 08, 2012 7:37 pm
Caecilius:
*Smiling softly at her curious, almost nervous reaction to his demonstration, he keeps a gentle hold of her hand as she seems to investigate. His smile fades into worry, however, when she reacts to the biotic field being passed to her. He silently scolds himself for letting this happen, he shouldn't have put the field on her, he should have known better. No wonder people feared biotics, they did stupid stuff like this and people just never understood.
He nearly pulls his hand away from hers, hesitating when he realizes this might make her panic even worse. He relaxes when she thankfully calms down, focusing again to keep the field going while trying not to increase the power behind it, he didn't need her in a perpetual state of fear from this. Speaking quickly, he tries to explain better.*
"This is why I only put it around your arm, the sensation isn't what I would consider pleasant."
*'Yeah, sorry for scaring you half to death, but it's okay, right? Idiot.' He mulled this over as he focused on sustaining the field, staring into the blue flames dancing between them, lost in his thoughts. Did she actually trust him, or was she just waiting for him to let go before she ran off forever? If she did, it would just be another in a long line of people he had thought might understand him. His meditation was interrupted when she placed her other hand over their connection. Surprised, he looked up at her as the biotic aura faded, his focus lost. Did she trust him? Would she? He tries to reassure her, speaking just above a whisper. Or maybe he was just fooling himself into thinking everything was okay?*
"Don't be afraid. I won't...I wouldn't hurt you..."
Tayce:
Curiously tilting her head to the side as the glow softened and then winked out all together, she looked up at him questioningly to find him staring at her; his eyes obscured by the opaque visor. Though his words were lost on her, the intensity of his stare certainly wasn't. Her ears flicked back in acknowledgment, not sure how to react to that level of emotion.
Checking the hand that had rested atop theirs prior, she examined her palm and stretched out her fingers as if examining for some sort of residual effect before standing on tiptoe to pat the male on top of his head. Stroking his hair, she smiled at him, though there was no way for him to see.
Caecilius: *He watched her examine her hand, a hopeful smile pulling at his face, she still seemed only curious about his biotics, and not terrified of them. That was good, right? A little surprised when she reached for his head, he leaned into her slightly as she stroked his hair, unsure of what to do or what it meant. Was this her way of reassuring him, or was she just patronizing him? 'There there silly biotic, of course everyone is afraid of you, you're a loose cannon.'
Releasing his grasp of her hand, he rests them on his legs, unsure of how to respond as he kept his gaze on her. His stomach angrily reminded him of his priorities, however, and he sighed as he reached for the energy pouch he had fished out previously. He looked down at it as he rolled it around in his hand a little, realizing that if he did run into trouble, this would be his last one for a while. Was it worth the risk of passing out at a crucial moment?
Looking up at the armored female once he realizes the distraction his hunger caused, he wonders if she would understand. Maybe it was best to save it for now, he would just have to take it easy for a while. That couldn't be too hard, right? As long as he didn't have to defend himself he would be fine.*
Tayce:
*Letting her hands fall away as he withdrew his, she sat back on her heels and eyed him curiously. Tilting an ear his way as he moved for the thing again, Tayce leaned in to watch him handle it. So it was the thingy again, but what was it? Inching closer as he rolled it, she kept scooting closer until he looked up at her.
Freezing instantly as if she'd gotten caught with her hand in the proverbial cookie jar, she sat completely still, not even breathing as her faceplate stared at his visor. A moment passed, then another, and finally with a twitch of her ear she snatched the pouch from his as quick as you please and scrambled backwards out of his reach.
Skittering away as she held the thing, she examined it with her hands while backing up enough to buy her time to take a closer look. Finally stopping once she'd gained a second or two of distance, she looked down at her 'prize' and rolled it in her hands as he had done earlier. It felt... sloshy. It was liquid? Curiosity satisfied, she held up the pouch in a relinquishing gesture, her tail beating against the floor in her ill-gotten glee.*
Caecilius:
*Continuing the staring match, he decided that it was probably best to save it for now, he could manage without it if he didn't do anything stupid. He would have put it back into one of his pockets, if she hadn't snatched it away first.
Blinking a few times, he watched her skitter away with the stolen goods, and throws his arms up.*
"Come ooooon!"
*Pulling himself to his feet, he marched over to where she sat holding her prize out, and roughly swiped it from her hands*
"What is your deal?! I would have let you see it if you had asked! Or even if you just pointed at it, like you did with this!"
*He motions with his arms as he scolds her, pointing to his visor to clarify the first thing she had 'asked' to see. Pausing for a moment, he drops his arms as he reconsiders. She hadn't done any harm, it was just...irritating almost. Holding up the pouch, he tried explaining it for her.*
"Look, this is just something to boost my glucose and electrolyte levels, the biotics tend to drain them pretty hard. Especially for...things like that..."
*He motions over his shoulder to the new crater in the floor as he hangs his head, rather ashamed of the lack of control that caused it.*
"I'll...fix it, don't worry. Anyway, I won't bore you with the details, but that's the gist of what this is. I created a lot larger of a field than I should have, so I need to monitor myself a bit to make sure I don't burn out more or less. It has some info on the label as well, if you wanted to read it..."
*Hesitating for a moment, he decides there would be no harm it letting her see it, now that he wasn't startled by her actions. Kneeling down in front of her, he holds out the pouch again as a peace-offering.
'Oh noooo, you're as calm as a lake. No unstable biotics here!'*
Tayce:
All Tayce understood was that she'd made him angry; extremely angry. Tucking her ears back as she hunched down to try and appear as small as possible while he raged, trying to follow his miming. From what she could gather, the pouchy thing she'd hijacked was used to power his visor, which was what allowed him to make giant dents in the floor.
She made a mental note to never touch the pouch or his visor ever again. Just to be safe. It wasn't like her helmet ever detonated.
Tayce was just starting to unwind herself from the curled position since he was seemingly calming down when he crouched in front of her. Cringing away from him just a hair, she turned her head suspiciously to eye him through the golden haze of her faceplate. When he offered her the pouch though, she visibly avoided the thing, her body bending in an uncomfortable way just to make sure she was keeping a healthy distance from it. No way did she want to become a few chunks of smoking armor in the center of a crater. Her ears flattening out in fear, all she could do was make the smallest whining sound, forcing air through her mouthpiece in a lowing rush.
Caecilius:
*Nothing seemed amiss until he offered to let her see the pouch again, she reacted as if she was...terrified of it. He had almost expected her to cringe or back away when he was blowing a dampener, but this just didn't make any sense. The pouch wasn't dangerous, it was just a juice mix fortified with some fancy crap that scientists came up with. Why would she be afraid of it? But the sound she made, that wheezing... His expression followed his heart as it sank.
Looking at the pouch again, he decided perhaps it was best if he didn't push his luck, and stuffed it back into one of his pockets. Maybe giving her some space would help as well? Scooting back a bit, he leaned over, resting his exposed forehead on his hands. He just couldn't seem to get this right, and now he was getting a headache, of all things.
He let out a half groan, half whine as he slid his visor off, dropping it into his lap as his world went dark. Slowly rubbing at his face, he willed the headache to go away as he tried to figure this out. Where had he gone wrong this time? Why was she so afraid? The pouch was completely benign, he had even explained what it was and what was in it, and rather doubted he could have said it any clearer. Unless...was she deaf as well? If she was, she wouldn't have known he was talking to her, right before he left an impression of his fist in the floor. Maybe that was just coincidence? Sliding his visor back into place, he looked up at her, pointing to one of his ears as he spoke softly.*
"Can you hear me?"
Tayce:
*Her ears perked as he replaced the pouch, though she didn't dare to move otherwise. Instead she watched in warily from her bent position, her back protesting as she held the pose. Though when he moved back she eased slightly, letting out a hiss that would've been a sigh of relief had she full vocal range. That quickly changed to horror, however, when he removed his powerful visor, letting it fall. She quickly scrambled backward in case such careless movement might set it off; though a few hard-earned feet of distance would probably do little to protect her.
When nothing happened Tayce took a deep breath before looking at him again. He seemed to be... in pain? Concentrating? Keeping them from blowing up? Inching closer, her ears flicked this way and that for any hint of whatever a bomb going off would sound like. She couldn't remember hearing anything before he redecorated the floor, but she'd been too focused on being frightened to be sure anyway. With every passing moment Tayce became a little more bold, thinking perhaps her armor would protect her, as his seemed to. Or … no, that wasn't right. How did he make her arm feel so heavy? How was that related to the weird light and the pouch? Confused, she didn't notice he'd put his visor back into place or was even looking at her until his voice made her jump.
Startled, Tayce whined at him, instinctively backing away again until she noticed that his tone was questioning and he was pointing at his own head; or rather his ear to be more accurate. Unsure what he was asking of her, her hands first ran over her own ears to make sure they were ok before tilting her head at him. Was he concerned about his own? Maybe the light damaged them? Maybe that's why he looked like he was in pain?
Tayce hesitated a moment before rocking her body towards him, trying to work up her courage to come closer. Her hand reached out for a moment before she pulled it back. She shook her head at him, unwilling, but then she thought of his obvious frustration earlier, and thought that if she was in pain and the only one around was a stranger, she'd certainly hope they'd be kind enough to help her.
This time she simply moved before she could think too hard, scooting closer until she could reach his ear while kneeling, biting her lip as she did so. Delicately tracing the outside of it with light touches, she couldn't see anything obviously wrong, nothing felt broken or damaged. Even when she brushed his hair back, taking care not to touch the visor, she still found no outward sign of something that might cause him pain. Struck by a curious notion, she pinched either side of his ear in her hands and stretched to peer inside his ear, being quick about it because it felt rather awkward. Still finding nothing, she shook her head and backed up, shrugging apologetically at him.*
Caecilius:
*Furrowing his brow slightly at her reaction to his question, he realized that this only produced more questions for him. She was still terrified of him, or of something he was doing, but why? He watched at she inspected her own ears, but that didn't answer anything for him, it could have been because of his question just as easily as it could have been his gesture. Maybe he would have to try something different, like just talking or just gesturing, or maybe even doing both but with completely different meanings? Then he would be able to figure out what she... Pausing his runaway thoughts when he noticed her scooting towards him, he hesitated a bit, unsure of what she was up to. The last time she did this she tried to take his visor off, and didn't that end spectacularly.
He sighed lightly when she retreated, no need to tempt fate yet again. Which of course meant that she would simply reach up and touch his ear immediately after he thought that. He froze, trying to remain calm even though he had no idea what she was doing. Her touch was rather gentle though, and he relaxed as she continued to do...whatever it was she was doing. Maybe she just liked how his ears looked? Hers weren't that bad looking either now that he thought about it, the green tufts were a nice accent. He resigned himself to relaxing at her attention, until he felt and saw her peer into his ear, which was...odd at the very least. When she backed up and shrugged at him, he tilted his head in response. What was she trying to tell him? She had handled his ear almost as if she was checking it, similar to her own ears. At least now he was mostly certain that she either couldn't hear him or couldn't understand what he was saying. Which was pretty much the same outcome really. She seemed to understand his gestures though, for the most part. Maybe if he focused on those instead of trying to talk? But where would he even begin?
"Hmmm..."
He shook his head and waved his hands in front of him just a bit, then pointed to his ears before giving her a thumbs-up. Hopefully that would come across as 'No, my ears are fine', but somehow he expected even that to be mistranslated. What else could he do though? He didn't know anything about sign language, and even if he tried to download something on his omnitool the queue time for the Extranet would probably be hours, if not most of the day. He knew combat gestures of course, from merc'ing around for money, but those wouldn't help him here. 'Hold, move forward, you go that way, shoot that guy' didn't seem like good conversation material. He had to at least try though, and decided to 'asking' her something. Pointing to her at first, he then cupped his throat before giving her another thumbs-up, and then shrugging his hands and shoulders. 'Is your throat alright?' With any luck some things would be universal enough for her to understand.
Tayce:
Rocking back on her heels, she tilted her head inquisitively as he hmm'd to himself, unsure what to think. Then he gestured at her and she grabbed her tail to fiddle with it while trying to understand. Was he grateful for the grooming? Then why the head-shake? Afraid that if she attempted to respond that she'd be saying the wrong thing so to speak, Tayce just sat and waited. Then he raised his hand to point at her and her ears folded back until they were neatly tucked against the slick metal of her helmet. Then... throat? Shrug? ...Oh.
Smacking the brow of her helmet with the palm of her hand, she shook her head. He had pointed at his ear earlier to indicate sound, it had nothing to do with his pouch-powered visor. He wanted to know why he couldn't hear her? Holding up a finger to indicate for him to give her a moment, she readjusted herself to sit cross-legged on the floor. So, charades eh?
Tayce patted her throat and then shook her head, exemplifying her point by letting out all of her air in a sharp wheeze. Then she pointed to the mouthpiece of her helmet, her fingers tracing the slitted ridges that helped form her filter, trying to draw his eyes there. She then took an exaggerated breath, still indicating that part of her headgear. It helped her breathe, could he understand? He heard her coughing fit when she removed it for him to investigate with his hands, so maybe? Tilting her head again, both ears stood on end as she waited to see how he'd respond.
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Posted: Thu May 31, 2012 8:54 am
Caecilius:
Easing back a little when she smacked her helmet with her hand, his ears folded back as he wondered how bad he had been misunderstood this time. He couldn't really imagine what it might have been misconstrued as, but he was sure there was a way somehow. Then she seemed to tell him to hold on a minute, before rearranging herself into a sitting position. Well that was a good sign at least, typically you don't sit down before decking someone for insulting you with hand signals.
He visibly relaxed and signed in relief when she started gesturing to him, she was trying to 'talk' back to him, finally progress! Throat...No... She had no throat? He didn't think that was even possible. Continuing to watch her, she traced out something on her helmet, and then he could hear her wheeze again. It almost sounded like how she was when she gave him the helmet, but..muffled obviously. Along with that, he knew the helmet did something to help with the air, which is why it made him really dizzy after wearing it. Maybe it was a good idea to have put it on after all then? Regardless, what was she trying to tell him? Perhaps she understood what he meant by the throat gesture? Not throat per se, but speaking! She couldn't talk...which he had guessed at already. Okay, so then the helmet gestures and the wheezing must mean...? She seemed to need the helmet to breathe easier, her pained coughing without it made that a reasonable answer, and he nodded enthusiastically to try and show that he understood...hopefully.
Either way, it was a breakthrough, and he tried explaining his own headgear. He decided against asking if she could hear him again, since whether or not she could hear him wasn't really an issue if they could understand each other this way. This time he pointed to himself and then to the side of his visor, before placing two fingers spread apart against the front of the visor to indicate his eyes. Next he pointed towards her with the two fingers, but also drew them in a horizontal arc in front of him, trying to indicate a sight range more or less. With any luck that would come across properly, and when he was finished he leaned back on his arms, ears focusing on her as he waited to gauge her reaction.
Tayce:
She had absolutely no idea what he was trying to say.
When he gestured towards his visor, and then connected it to her in an arc though, Tayce wheezed in fear and dropped to her belly; scrambling out of his line of vision as quickly as she could manage while pressed against the floor. Skittering away from him as her armor dragged with a horrible scraping sound across the floor, she pulled her ears down with her hands and cowered there, waiting for long, quiet moments.
When she didn't explode, Tayce let go of her ears so they could spring up and rotate curiously. Picking herself up slowly, her hands patted down her front, checking to make sure she was all in once piece and she didn't gently, secretly blow up or something. When her fingers found her whole and unfazed, she looked up at him, her eyebrow quirked behind her faceplate.
Creeping back over to him, she approached slowly and cautiously, darting away from him every time he brought his visor to focus on her. When she got close enough where averting from his glance was impossible, she tried to redirect it by pointing at his pocket. Sneaking closer, she prodded it gently, knowing the power pouch was in there, somewhere. After that, she raised a hand to gingerly indicate his visor, waving her hand in front of his face, then gently tapping on the side of it, jumping back in case that was enough to make it spew that green light again.
When nothing happened, she took a deep breath and tapped it again, then firmly grabbed his chin so she could adjust his line of sight, pointing with the other hand at the crater he had made earlier.
Getting up and walking over to the giant dent in the floor, Tayce lowered herself into it, looking around for a moment before deciding how she was going to act this out.
Standing tall in the center, she began to pantomime what she believed happened, since at the time she'd been lying with her eyes closed. Waving her hand in front of her own faceplate, than tapping the side of her helmet just a she'd done to his visor, Tayce then put a fist on each hip and stood square and tall; trying to give the impression of being a man... of being him.
With that motion done, she tapped the side of her helmet again, and then pointed at the ground, trying to suggest it was his visor that made the damage. And just in case that wasn't clear, she threw up her arms and jumped back, trying to suggest a large explosion happening. She lowered her ears and shook in exaggerated fear, then pointed at herself square in the chest plate, before falling over in the crater, flopping about on the ground for a moment before lying still. She even held her breath, doing her best to suggest her own death.
Caecilius:
He froze when she dropped to the floor and scraped along it to get away, rather lost as to what had prompted that. Was it because he pointed at her? He nearly got up to go make sure she was alright when she let go of her ears and dusted herself off, and instead just watched as she checked her armor. Almost as if she expected something to be amiss? Before he could try and figure out this puzzle any further, she was moving back towards him, but it was as if she was wary of him.
'Just calm down' he told himself as she jumped around, 'don't make any sudden moves and maybe things will be'...why was she pointing at his pants? He looked down at them to see what she was pointing at and she slunk closer to actually poke them, or specifically the pocket that he had stuffed the pouch into. Was she still upset that he yelled at her? Would she have even understood what he was saying? Maybe that has something to do with--she didn't give him any time to think, and was signaling to him again as he watched her hand wave in front of his face, before she tapped on the side of his visor and then...jumped back? Well, she seemed terrified when he tried to explain that he was blind, maybe this had something to do with it? He curiously watched her as she came back to tap on the visor again, but was taken by surprise when she simply grabbed his chin to turn his head. Before he could voice his complaint he realized she was trying to point something out, the nice dent in the floor he had made. This was probably going to be bad...
Sighing a little, he turned to face the crater as she walked over to it, trying to figure out what she was saying. Watching her act out the signs, he gathered that she was saying he made the crater. He supposed that she hadn't actually seen him do it, but it wouldn't be too hard to assume, right? But...why point out the pouch? And why was she so afraid of his visor? Unless... She had indicated his visor the same way she had done before, struck her pose, and then pointed to the visor again and to the giant dent. Was she saying that the visor made the dent? And with the pouch...well, he did kind of tie those three together when he was blowing a dampener, before he figured out that she couldn't hear or understand him. He buried his face in his hands as she pretended to be dead, this was going to be difficult to fix...
First off, he got up and walked over to the 'dead' female, kneeling by the dent in the floor and leaning in to poke her in order to get her attention. Then he started trying to correct her, pointing to the dent she had 'died' in, and flaring the biotics on his forearm for a moment, running his other hand over the blue aura on his arm to try and clarify what he was talking about. He then pointed to himself, before making a fist and lightly pounded his chest, nodding as he tried to signify that the power came from within himself. Mostly accurate, but how was he to explain the finer details anyway? Just to clarify, he pointed to the crater, then to his visor, and then shook his head. Hopefully that would come across correctly. He didn't bother trying to explain the pouch yet, just fix one thing at a time.
Tayce:
The only acknowledgement she gave to his prodding was the flop of her helmeted head; still keeping up the 'dead' ruse. It only took her a few moments to become bored though, so she sat up and gave him her attention as he started off another round in their game of charades. The moment his arm lit up with that green aura though, Tayce backed away as far as the dip in the floor would allow, not wanting anything to do with that stuff. He did the same thing when he made her arms feel incredibly heavy and...
He was associating it with the crater? Held tilting as he pounded his chest, she hadn't the faintest what he was trying to say, other than the light he made was very heavy. So much so that he made the dent in the floor maybe? Another indication of his visor, and her ears went back. No? No visor?
She shook her head, echoing his own movements; not really understanding. Exasperated, she pulled her legs up towards her chest and rested her guarded chin on her knees, breathing in deeply through her filter in her frustration.
Caecilius:
It was getting to be fairly clear that he still wasn't making any progress in communicating with the female. Sighing lightly in frustration, Caecilius rocked back on his feet, arms resting on his thighs as he tried to figure out what to do next. Maybe he was going too fast? Might as well back up a step then and try again if that were the case.
He pointed to his visor again, since there wasn't really any easy way to explain his biotics, especially without being able to communicate well to begin with. Carefully sliding the mask from his face, he pointed to his eyes, then to the inside of the visor. Likewise, he carefully turned the headgear and pointed to the outside surface of the visor, then back to his eyes. Was that simple enough to convey in gestures? There was a lot more to it of course, but as with the biotics, there wasn't any simple way to explain the complexities just yet, if at all.
Caecilius slid the visor back in place and sat back a bit in order to see her reaction, perhaps finally make some headway, when the amber gauntlet of his omnitool flickered as it struggled to operate, and the static-laden voice of his boss for the time-being buzzed through.
"Hey rookie, report! Stop dicking around in there and make sure the Eezo is all accounted for! We have a buyer coming in a few cycles, and I don't want anything missing or out of place this time, or I'm DOCKING YOUR CREDITS!"
Grumbling to himself, Caecilius placed a hand over his visor, mannerisms from before he was blinded still much a part of him. Granted, his boss acted like a moron, but he was paying well for such a simple job for some reason. Might as well get it done and collect his chit. Holding up a finger to the armored female, he raised the omnitool as it continued to labor at maintaining the amber hologram, barking back at the call.
"The Eezo's all here and accounted for. I was just checking the last containers, so get off my back already."
With that he let the omnitool fade away and stood up, dusting off his clothes and armor a bit before turning to the female, though he didn't think she would understand him anyway.
"Welp, it's been a blast not being able to talk to you, but I gotta run. Hafta do my job so I can eat ya'know. See ya!"
Giving a mediocre salute with two fingers, he turned and headed towards the door of the warehouse, trying to come up with a reasonable explanation as to why there was a dent in the floor. Maybe he could just move some of the crates around and claim ignorance?
Tayce:
She could tell he was frustrated, it wasn't hard to extrapolate that at the very least from his body language, and the sigh was a dead giveaway. Some things were universal, after all. But then he started trying to 're-explain' that his visor allowed him to 'see'. Tayce gave him a dour look, not that he'd be able to notice that behind the tinted faceplate. Well... maybe her ears would give her away.
It still wasn't clear to her what that piece of headgear was, or how it related to that green stuff. It was very hard to separate all the oddities about him in her head, to her they were all related, and they all came under the header of "Very Strange".
Something bright gold flickered to life on his wrist, and she dove for the floor. A different color could mean a different result, but maybe just as potentially painful. When a voice sounded she peeked up again in time to see the male put a hand to his face. Another pretty much universal sign. Sneaking around to the other side of his arm, she went to stick a finger into the glowing and noisy static when the visored male held a finger up to her. Perhaps to wait, or perhaps in warning. Either way, she slunk off as he talked back at the odd glow.
It disappeared just as quickly as it had flickered into life, and then he faced her briefly to say something she couldn't understand and then salute.
The salute she understood.
And him turning around to leave couldn't be clearer. Ears drooping, she started to follow him, not sure what else to do.
Caecilius:
Well, that was an adventure, at the very least. Certainly better than dealing with his boss, but he'd have to do that eventually if he wanted his credits. Might as well get it over with and move on with his day. Caecilius strode towards the giant warehouse doors, trying to mentally prepare himself for whatever 'client' would either be stupid enough or have ill-intentions to be buying Eezo on Omega. The buyer of the last shipment was a real shady one, which was a little surprising since he was a -- he was being followed?
Turning to look over his shoulder, he spotted the tan armored female slinking along behind him. Well...he couldn't be seen with her outside the warehouse, they'd probably both wind up dead, and he would rather stay living for now thanks. He turned to face her and threw his arms up in a shooing motion, taking a step towards her.
"Go on, you'll get me in trouble if anyone sees you in here! Just get out whatever way you got in."
He didn't have time to dally though, and just motioned with her away with his hands once more before turning his back to the female. Walking with purpose towards the cargo doors, he impatiently smashed his fist against the holographic locking mechanism. Pulling up his omnitool again, by the time the amber gauntlet had stabilized enough to be used, the small access door had opened, and he stepped outside to log the shipment into the system.
Tayce:
Skittering along behind him, she stopped when he did and cringed back when he waved his arms at her. Ducking behind a crate in case that odd light thing he did happened again, she waited for several moments before peeking around the corner.
And panicked when she saw him unlock a door. Scrambling after him so she wouldn't be left behind, Tayce skidded to a halt at the hatch, looking around and past him at what was most certainly a place she'd never been to before. Things she'd never seen, and never even heard of.
A soft and long wheeze escaped her filters as she stood for a long moment, completely overwhelmed. Her mouth piece was struggling to keep up with her panicked breathing, hisses and whines from both her own throat and the helmet's equipment marking her distress.
Backing away quickly, she shook her head at it, the whole damn situation, and suddenly disappeared as she activated her stealth cloak; dropping back into the only place familiar to her in this world. Tucking herself amid the crates in the warehouse, she rocked a little, trying to come to terms with everything.
Caecilius:
Hearing the now-familiar wheezing behind him, he let his right arm fall to his side as the omnitool faded away; he had already finished entering the shipment. Caecilius turned around with a growl, ready to tell off the armored female for following him out here, but...there was nothing. The only indication that anyone was around was the sound of footsteps fading into the warehouse.
Stepping back through the access door, he turned off the filters on his visor, scanning about for anything that would reveal where she had ran. Growling lightly in frustration when he didn't see her out in the open, he switched his visor back to the usual filters. He wasn't about to check behind every crate, and he didn't have to time to do so even if he wanted to. Not caring whether she could understand him, he called out a warning to the warehouse, just in case she was still in there.
"You'd better not be around when the buyer comes in! If he cancels this deal because of you, don't expect me to protect you!"
Huffing a bit, Caecilius turned and walked back out the access door, letting it close and lock behind him. He needed a better job...
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Posted: Sun Aug 26, 2012 10:24 am
DONE
Total posts: 51
Pages: 3.4 (15 posts per page)
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