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Posted: Thu Jul 03, 2025 3:51 pm
For all her recent experience with tinkering, Ekstrom still wasn't the best at it. She'd gotten a bit more intuitive, yes, but when it came to constructing something from a blueprint?
The jury was still out on that, apparently.
"I don't think I was even a knight yet when they came out with this one," she murmured mostly to herself as she stared down the blueprint being projected from her signet ring. She'd read up on this upgrade, noting that it wasn't absolutely necessary but wanting it anyway. Just in case! Because goodness knows it might come in handy if she wound up in a big fight or something.
Hopefully not world-ending-snake big, like the last one, but still. There were plenty present at that fight that she had a feeling could put her in a world of hurt if they wanted to. So she'd take every bit of help that she could–including what may possibly be an arbitrary piece of tech at the end of the day.
Her attention wandered from the blueprints momentarily when she sensed an Order aura nearby, and she glanced in their direction for but a second before trying to reign her focus in again.
"Maybe I should take some classes for this…"
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Posted: Thu Jul 03, 2025 3:51 pm
Cuan had followed the ‘scent’ of the order aura, curious to see who it might belong too. It was strong, so likely an Eternal senshi or maybe a Knight. She hadn’t really interacted much with the knights, so she didn’t know as much about them as she probably should. In fact, the only knights that she’d managed to memorize the faces of had been Xibalba and that lovely little Mercury knight who’d helped usher Saiph to safety in the Hallow’s realm. She should have tried to get names, but so much had been going on!
Wandering on, halfway lost in thought, the kitten suddenly realized that the aura she’d been tracking was now very close. And she could hear a voice muttering about classes. Sniffing and snooping, she stalked closer until she could just see the back of a blonde head and a great deal of glowing blues and whites and furs. And, most interestingly (to Cuan at any rate), the girl was staring at a projection coming from a ring upon her hand. A knight then. And, apparently, the knight that Cuan had literally just been thinking of.
What were the odds…?
Clearing her throat delicately, the kitten spoke up, “Why do you need to take classes?”
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Posted: Thu Jul 03, 2025 3:52 pm
With her focus on the upgrade in question fading in and out, she had sensed whoever it was making their approach. Part of her was wondering if they'd pass her right by–a smaller part even hoped so, because she really needed focus and she was failing so badly at that right then–but when they cleared their throat and asked that question, her shoulders slumped slightly as she turned to face…
A kitten.
A familiar one, too. From that fight.
She was still working on coming to terms with everything she experienced there, but relief quickly washed over her and she dropped the projection in her surprise and excitement to see the kitten again. She reigned herself in enough that she didn't immediately pull the kitten in for a hug, and instead focused on the question at hand.
"Tech doesn't come naturally to me," she replied, a cheerfulness about her now despite the still looming task of having to figure out the blueprint. "I try, and I've gotten better since doing the repairs and stuff on my Wonder, but."
She pulled the blueprint up again, holding it out so she could see for herself. "I can't work from scratch, I think, is my issue here."
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Posted: Thu Jul 03, 2025 3:53 pm
“A knight of Mercury that doesn't live and breathe tech?” Cuan asked in a soft, wondering voice. “Well! That’s certainly a first.”
Moving closer, the kitten studied the blueprint, eyes flickering this way and that as she soaked in everything. Well, no wonder the girl was having trouble! Part of the blueprint was rather fiddly. And if you weren’t naturally inclined to such things, it would be rather disheartening to just jump right in.
“Hrmm… if I’m reading this correctly, this is an upgrade for your signet ring? Or do you have some other device that you’re upgrading? I encounter knights so rarely, that your doings are rather mysterious to me,” Cuan said cheerfully, deciding that if she admitted to some harmless shortcomings of her own, this girl would feel less awkward about her own. “Being able to work from scratch isn’t easy, even among Mauvians, you know. And when it is, we tend to forget that not everyone is similarly gifted.”
Turning her attention back to the blueprint, she nodded to herself. Doubtless, some cats would have left the knight to her own devices and said the challenge would be good for her. Frankly, Cuan couldn't see the point of such attitudes. Or rather, she could. But felt them applicable only to situations where the stakes were very low.
“Tell me what this is meant to do and how far you’ve gotten,” she ordered before smiling and offering a tiny purr. “I think I’ll help you with this. There’s no reason why I shouldn’t and it will give me better insight into how you knights operate.”
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Posted: Thu Jul 03, 2025 3:53 pm
She laughed lightly at the comment about living and breathing tech, having thought the same thing earlier on in her knighthood. Particularly with the way her Wonder was, it amazed her (at first, anyway) how she managed to navigate anything at all. Knowing what she knew now, she felt…far less impressive…but ultimately still grateful for the experience. Wallowing in self-doubt and self-pity had never been her thing before, and she didn't see why she should start now, even if it felt like she had reason to.
"Yeah. Sometimes I think the Code has a weird sense of humor with how it picks and chooses us," she replied, eyes falling to the kitten when she started speaking again.
Ekstrom nodded at the first question. "Signet ring, yep," and the nerves seemed to lighten when Cuan admitted she knew a bit less about knights. "I'm happy to share a bit about knights if you're interested. It's the least I could do, considering this is probably going out of your way." Her understanding of Mauvians was also limited, but she did know they were more associated with senshi than knights.
She quieted when Cuan seemed to focus a bit more on the blueprints, putting her focus back on it as well in case something might miraculously come to her while she stared.
Cuan's order, and subsequent announcement she would help brightened the Knight's expression all the more, to the point that she was basically beaming at the kitten.
"Thank you!" she said, very tempted to scoop her up into a hug but managing to contain it. Instead, she reached over to scritch behind the ears. "I've gotten as far as gathering the materials needed for it," and she paused to point at one of the pouches on her belt. "I don't…know about tools or any of that, not to mention the actual construction, so…"
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Posted: Thu Jul 03, 2025 3:54 pm
Accepting the ear scratches gracefully, Cuan ramped her purr up slightly. What a polite young lady Ekstrom was! The fact that she was able to laugh at herself and not take offense at a talking cat nosing in spoke very well for the knight. And it didn’t hurt at all that she was very, very good at ear scratches. Eyes flickering to the indicated pouch, the kitten nodded and leapt up onto the work surface.
“Bring them out and lay them all here, please,” she said, tapping a tiny paw on the surface. “Tools would have to be easy to find and common, I think since there aren’t just Mercury knights in the world. I suspect anything you’d use if you were to build a computer from scratch would suffice. Very fine tweezers and screwdrivers and such. Fortunately, you have a Mauvian assisting you and we can manage without. Let me see that blueprint again…”
Studying the thing once more, Cuan felt a bit of relief. It was fiddly, yes. And required a bit of customization once installed. But unless she missed her guess, it was no Mauvian or Mercury knight who had drafted this. That made it both easier and harder to put together. In fact, part of the blueprint alluded to the existence of a blank circuit board. So this might be even easier.
“The parts you have. Are any of them a tiny circuit board? If not, that’s fine. Why, once I see everything, we can doubtless have this whipped up for you in no time. What are you trying to measure, by the way?”
Really, the more she studied the blueprints, the more impressed she was. Why, this was going to be fun! And such a lovely break from trying to program an AI.
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Posted: Thu Jul 03, 2025 3:55 pm
Ekstrom produced the materials and a small toolbox–the one she used on her own Wonder, actually–when Cuan asked for them. "Yep, right here," she said, pointing to a tiny, flexible bit. "Out of all of this, circuit boards are about the only thing I can confidently identify. And with my Wonder being what it is, it wasn't hard to find at all. None of this was, actually. It's just…"
She gave a shy chuckle and left the sentence unfinished.
"Oh, um," she started to answer, grateful to have a new topic to focus on. "Vitals are also always a good thing to monitor–heart rate, oxygen levels, that kinda thing. But I'm curious about energy levels in relation to my transendence. How much I can hold onto before having to go back to my Wonder. There are probably other things I can look into with that same measurement, too. Just haven't thought of anything past that yet."
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Posted: Thu Jul 03, 2025 3:55 pm
“Delightful!” Cuan exclaimed, rooting through the things Ekstrom laid out. Seizing on the tiny circuit board, she studied it closely before chirping to herself and getting to work. She wouldnt’ judge the Mercury knight for a lack of technical prowess. That was pointless and silly. Besides, why give the girl a complex? She would learn and get more confident with time.
“This is wonderful. This is my first time working directly with Mercury tech. It’s good. Very nearly on equal footing with Mauvian tech. Now, let me see, let me see… those are all very good things to monitor, but I suspect you’ll have to pick just one for now. Perhaps later this can be re-programmed for other things. Be a dear and hand me those tweezers, please. Excellent, thank you! Now that little shiny bit there…?”
Cuan kept up a stream of speech as she worked, demanding tools or parts as needed. The kitten was in her element and feeling quite gleeful. Perhaps she would try to coax Saiph into letting her build and program things. And this was so much easier than designing an AI! Yes, it was happy fortune that had stuck Ekstrom in her path.
“There!” she cried out, purring hard enough to rattle bone. “Now, my dear, take this and ever so carefully take that bit of backing film off and stick it to your ring… there. Go ahead and activate it. Then we can figure out setting up your monitoring program.”
The kitten looked exceedingly proud of herself and sat back, damping a paw and beginning to wash her face.
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Posted: Thu Jul 03, 2025 3:55 pm
Ekstrom did her best to assist Cuan while she worked, watching and studying quietly as the Mauvian did her thing. They really, seriously, had such a way with tech. If she had half as much skill, she had a feeling she'd have had her Wonder figured out a lot sooner.
That said, timing was everything, right? At least she thought so, and so chose to believe that there had to be a reason it took her this long to make progress and get to where she now was with her Wonder rather than the far more depressing idea of having wasted all that time due to a lack of skill.
When all was said and done, the Knight gave a little applause when Cuan announced she was finished, and then bobbled her head at the instructions for installation.
"Thank you! Let's see…"
Slipping her ring off, she stuck it to the inside of her ring and activated it, blinking as a holographic monitoring interface was projected in the same way messages did when she pulled them up. Reaching for Cuan, she ran her fingers carefully along her head, occasionally scratching behind the ears.
"So you said just one at a time for now? In that case, maybe just my energy levels. Feels like that'd be more confusing to program than the other stuff for some reason."
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Posted: Thu Jul 03, 2025 3:56 pm
Eyes big as she watched Ekstrom pull up the interface, Cuan couldn’t stop herself when her tail began to swish excitedly. And if the tail swishes and purring increased a little due to being pet, well. Who could really complain or judge her for it? She’d assisted a knight and seen something new and interesting. As far as she was concerned, her night had improved greatly since she’d walked out of her room at Headquarters.
“Well, it certainly reads like it can only handle one monitor at a time,” she said. “But there’s no reason why you can’t swap things out later. I’m afraid that I can’t help much with the programming, but I’m happy to keep you company and offer encouragement while you work that bit out. I have full confidence in you.”
Settling in, Cuan stuck her forepaws under her chest and loafed. All while purring loudly.
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Posted: Thu Jul 03, 2025 3:56 pm
Ekstrom noted the purring and tail swishes with a growing smile, though she mainly kept her eyes on the information currently being projected. Cuan stayed steady in her periphery, and she continued to pet the kitten as she studied the new addition to her signet ring.
"No worries! I'm starting to like figuring this kinda stuff out, even in my day to day civilian stuff, so."
Glancing to the Cuan, she looked thoughtful for a moment before summoning a little baggy from her subspace and setting it down within reach. A thermos followed, and she briefly paused to set up a little snack station of iced tea and an assortment of homemade cookies.
"Help yourself!" she said brightly. "It's the least I can do." And she turned her attention back to her signet ring after grabbing a cookie for herself.
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Posted: Thu Jul 03, 2025 3:57 pm
“Oh, you are kind,” Cuan said softly. “I’m not feeling too nibbly at the moment, but thank you.”
It was, the kitten thought, something of a pity that senshi didn’t have similar things to help them monitor themselves. But then, senshi had easier access to magic than most knights. Perhaps, it all evened out in the end. And there wasn’t any reason why a mauvian or Mercury knight shouldn’t be able to craft things for senshi that operated in similar manner…
Flicking an ear, she decided to put that idea on the backburner for now. She was already so busy. There simply wasn’t time for a new project. But she certainly made sure to watch closely as Ekstrom worked. If there ever came a time where she did feel up to building something similar, she wanted some examples to pull from.
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