[SPELLBIND - IC CONTACT]

[oneandmikleonly]

action 💧 telepathy 💧 other?

Comments

[deem]

I can meet you there. I've got a prototype for you to try.

Haven't found another reading like yours yet though.

[He'd have liked to relay good news on both fronts, but...]

[oneandmikleonly]

Maybe it's for the best. This world's too damp for Edna; I'm sure she'll catch up with us on one with a more suitable climate.

[there's a couple of emotions tangled up with those words, gratitude and a touch of regret both, and a guarded eagerness at the word 'prototype']

All right, I'll see you in a little bit.

[deem]

I'll keep watching out for her.

[He can well imagine how he'd feel if 2B had simply vanished]

Anyway, it shouldn't take me long to reach you.

[oneandmikleonly]

[he's curious enough to wander outside the coven house itself, so hopefully he can catch 9S there...]

[deem]

[In true android fashion, 9S books it right to the building. He moves quickly enough that no human could outpace him, rounding a street corner without losing stride and halting when he finds Mikleo waiting.

There's an unnatural precision about the way he can stop...meanwhile he'll stumble in sand the same as anybody else]

Sorry for the wait.

[oneandmikleonly]

[puts his hands out in an aborted attempt to catch him when he stumbles, long habit from doing the same thing for Sorey and, more occasionally, his other friends]

It wasn't much of a wait. Did you run all the way here?

[deem]

[Maybe it's lucky 9S can catch himself, albeit without the odd grace androids typically display. Sand, truly a menace. But he remembers that he was heavy to Mikleo in dragon form, so he appreciates the sight of those hands regardless.

A nice guy, just as he'd already known]

Yeah, I didn't want to make you wait around for me.

[oneandmikleonly]

You didn't have to rush yourself, but--thank you.

[9S, you're also a pretty nice guy!!]

Did you need me to do anything particular, to--test the thing?

[deem]

Yeah, I'd like you to use this for a while so I can get some field data...

[He pulls from his pocket a small, scutate brass pin. By all appearances, it's quite unassuming. This object he offers to Mikleo with an open palm]

I'd recommend putting it on your collar, or somewhere it won't be covered up. It'll generate a small field that'll influence light when it makes contact with you.

[oneandmikleonly]

[he takes it, turns it over in his hands briefly. he never expected such a momentuous sort of item to come in such an unassuming shape, but then he's from a world where magic and the seraphs are rather flashy in most of what they do, even if they're a largely unseen people. he reflects for a moment on the alien dichotomy between them, magic and technology, things that apparently function purely on the solid unmagical rules of the world unfurling to reveal wonders...

to bring the seraphs to the same level of perception as other races is something he's thought since childhood would need a grand quest; some momentous shift in the fabric of the world itself. not even Sorey's sacrifice had been able to accomplish that in one go. he'd been prepared to work a hundred hundred years to see it come about.

and now he might, at eighteen, and all because of a talented robotic friend and the small piece of metal in his palm.]

I...I admit, I still don't know what to say -- well, thank you, of course. Also I should probably ask you to pinch me; it feels very much like I'm dreaming.

[deem]

It should work under normal lighting conditions, but...don't thank me just yet. We'll have to get it optimized, and I'll need your help for that.

[Truly, he's pleased that he was able to do something for Mikleo like this. The guy had always been kind to him, and he believes that kindness is extended to others just the same. He may not know him especially well, but Scanners are intuitive and well aware of it. Because of that, he's quite sure he isn't wrong.

Besides, he can imagine how lonely it must be to go unseen by others. He'd never lived that reality, but he does know what it is to feel alone. It's fortunate that Sorey could see him, but it would be hard if few others could]

It should automatically record and transmit data to me, so you don't have to do anything besides use it. What it'll send to me are light readings so I can see whether different environments respond the right way.

[That can depend on a lot of factors, like a given world's atmospheric conditions, its sun, the weather... But 9S is determined to make it as functional as possible]

[oneandmikleonly]

I can thank you for even opening up the possibility. I'm not sure Sorey won't bearhug you too when he sees you next, you know?

[he looks it over one more time, smile small and complicated, and then pins it to his tunic, like a badge of honor]

I'll be careful of it. Is it okay to take it off at some points? I'm not sure if transforming would mess with it, for example.

[deem]

Yeah, you only need it on you when you're using it.

[Although this reminds him that he should look into something to increase durability just to be on the safe side... Something to go on his list of research to do]

But uh...what's a bear hug?

[oneandmikleonly]

Oh --

It's just a really hard hug, no actual bears involved.

[actually he supposes he doesn't know if 9S knows what a bear is. oops]

[deem]

Oh, I see. I'm a bit hard, but I don't mind if he doesn't.

[In point of fact...]

What's a bear though?

[Sorry Mikleo, the distant future loses a lot of variety]

[oneandmikleonly]

It's a big furry animal with a lot of strength. Maybe it's better if I show you, actually...

[BEAR! it's a telepathic sending of an illustration rather than a real animal]

It's more a figure of speech than anything. No one actually wants a literal bear hug.

[deem]

Oh, so that's what it looks like... I don't imagine being hugged by a real one would turn out that well.

[That animal definitely looks like a predator]

Does Sorey really hug people that hard?

[oneandmikleonly]

No, though I think you'd stand up to it better than most.

...actually, you might stand up to Sorey's better than most, too. He tends to pick me up and swing me around if he's overexcited, but he can't deadlift your weight under normal circumstances, I'm pretty sure.

[deem]

Yeah, I'm pretty sure it's only 2B who can lift me like I'm nothing.

[Although Mikleo certainly soldiered through it, in dragon from]

That sounds kinda fun though, getting swung around like that. I mean, so long as it's friendly. I've had enemies toss me about and I can't say that's the best experience.

[But what he described sounds pretty lighthearted]

[oneandmikleonly]

[dryly]

Sometimes it's fun, sometimes Sorey takes it in his head to swing us over a yawning abyss without warning, which is less fun. I'd almost rather the enemies.

[almost!]

[deem]

[9S grimaces in sympathy]

Geez, if you don't have anybody to give you a lift, that'd be scary.

[Understatement, but he's gone crashing down from heights before. Not fun]

[oneandmikleonly]

It gives you a head for heights, at least. Always a silver lining.

[his mouth quirks]

All that said, you want to get lunch together or something? It's about the right time of day.

[deem]

[So seraphs do eat. He wonders for a moment whether it's optional for a spiritual being as it is for him, but it might be rude to ask. Maybe?]

Oh, sure! As long as it's not mackerel it's okay with me.

[It tastes great and all but it's sort of lethal]

[oneandmikleonly]

[gestures toward the market; he's been doing some stuff for the Palai so he doesn't mind buying food]

Why not mackerel, of all things? Not that I was planning for that exactly, just...

[deem]

[Following that indication, 9S starts toward the market]

It basically turns my blood into sludge. Same goes for 2B, or any other YoRHa model.