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I'm not going to say it was damage, but it was damage.
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Apr 10, 2024 12:51:43 GMT
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Post by Robot on Jan 7, 2020 15:12:04 GMT
Serenity is all too pleased to be doted on, giving Thel's face a thorough tongue-grooming when he is done brushing her tail. The boy can't help but notice he is getting quite a bit of attention from the odd male passerby. Not in the same sense as their stalker the day they'd arrived, but a sideways glance, a small smile here or there. Must be the perfume!
The fat, owl-faced owner of many bikes had a great many shifts of expression at what Muku had to say. Indignation, confusion, surprise, then awe. His bejowled face pulled up into a thoughtful frown under his bushy brows as he considered his shop of new and like new, well maintained and calibrated shiny bikes. "Wait here." He heads into the backroom, where there is some shuffling and a bit of banging as though he were struggling to get something down from a high spot. Come time he's finished, he wheels a bike out, kicks down the half rusted stand, and begins to fetch tools from that darkened space. In a faded red, nearly pink from sun exposure, the lettering is so far gone now that it is illegible.
Terra finds heavy coats that give her a sense of comfort and self-assurance that her shell had before everything happened, tools for finding pieces of rare rocks and minerals, equipment for every outdoor occasion. Including some kind of dome that you stick poles into so the rain doesn't fall on you? That probably sounds nice. Amidst the Pokemon items, there are fangs and claws of indistinguishable origins. Bright and shining gems, at least one of which she recognizes as a Rock Gem. Roots, a strange series of brightly polished disks with 'TMs' listed under the display, and in a display case as a centerpiece is some form of heavy duty vest, advertised in a variety of sizes for Pokemon.
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Post by DataNinja on Jan 7, 2020 18:50:06 GMT
Thel giggles at the reciprocation from the Ninetales. This is the kind of things that he could have never dreamed of before - just sitting here, enjoying himself with a friendly Pokémon, not needing to worry about much.
...although, all the attention is a little worrying. Did they know? Was he going to be found out? It doesn't seem like malicious intend, what with the smiles at times, but... it could be something. He doesn't know. Probably best to meet up with the others. So, cleaning-time finished, he goes searching for them.
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Post by birdy51 on Jan 7, 2020 23:37:44 GMT
Crossing the room with a pair of clitter clatter hops, Muku lands next to the bike. She wastes no time in running her eyes up the bike with curiosity ablaze. This bike was something special. Something loved. Sometimes they could find things not like this. Things left behind. Old lunchboxes. Toothbrushes. Pots and pans abound with rusting decay. This was like that, but not. She could see on the ghost of a hand print on the handles, a whisper of a life it might have had before abandonment. The wheels groaned with delight just moving across the room, perhaps happy just to be in motion once more.
Yes. She could sense something in this bike.
Maybe. As a general rule, her judgement was usually pretty awful. But as she pulled back her dark black hair through the cracked glass of a rearview mirror, she couldn't help but feel a sort of familiarity with it. Kinship. She forgot hating the owl, at least for this moment, as she called out to him in the back. "I think Muku likes this one. How much does- do I need to pay you?"
As she says this, she hurriedly searches through her bag for change. She didn't have much money. Bikes like this however were a special exception, so maybe she could just pay the rest in shiny rocks and twigs that she thought would make a good nest.
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Apr 22, 2024 21:31:55 GMT
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Post by Greenwolfkate on Jan 11, 2020 2:35:35 GMT
It was an interesting experience to find so many things that the humans had to sell to just other humans, before even getting to things for trainers with pokemon. The coats were nice in a way, however after counting her money, Terra did not have enough for them. She did purchase a pair of better fitting shoes. Much easier to walk around in. The items for pokemon, she asked for details about what were their improvements were. Settling on a root for one of her pokemon, saving it for later when she was finished. There was something that she spotted and remembered seeing occasionally from her home, a long stick with string attached. She hadn't enough for it, however she had made a mental note to herself to keep it in mind during her travels to get later, when she had more.
She finished her trip of shopping after she had tried some honey and purchasing a bit. Leaving the building she found a spot to sit and go over her recently acquired 'treasures' as well as taking a chance to catch her breath. Letting out the pokemon she had bought an item for, blue and green, she paused before handing over the root to him. A present that would improve his battle prowess some.
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I'm not going to say it was damage, but it was damage.
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Post by Robot on Jan 11, 2020 2:58:01 GMT
The bike's owner finishes setting out tools and paints of all manner on a mat beside the bicycle. "It is going to cost you showing me you are willing to learn how to maintain this bike. Your absolute focus. I'll be asking questions about the process when we're done. If you get them right, you can show them what a wonderful classic can do. If not, it goes back into storage." His bushy brow set low over his glasses as though daring Muku to defy him. Those angry, angry owl eyes. He gestured to a small tapered red cylinder with a stalk jutting out of it. "That's an oil can, one of the first things you will want to do is lubricate the gears and the chain. Go ahead and pick it up..."
(Muku is going to be repairing a bike as an extended action. She'll need to make a Technology Edu or a General Edu check with a +6 Bonus, her DC is a 10)
Thel finds Terra combing through a series of items on a bench amidst town. Terra's Pokemon taking the root reverently and working its face against it. The tuber was too tough to eat, but it seems to enjoy it.
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Post by DataNinja on Jan 11, 2020 3:16:13 GMT
"Hopefully you were able to find everything all right?" Thel asks Terra. "And things went well enough? I keep getting glances..." he says. "I'm worried that people might have caught on, that something might happen soon. We might want to maybe find Muku? Just in case?"
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Apr 22, 2024 21:31:55 GMT
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Post by Greenwolfkate on Jan 11, 2020 4:31:08 GMT
Seeing the reaction of the Lotad, she nods to herself. He seemed satisfied enough with it. At the question, Terra looks up to Thel. "I found things," she states with a motion towards the root then to her new shoes. "There were lots of things that were more than what I had," she adds. "But that's okay. Don't need a lot."
At the mention of glances and his concern, she looks at him with a raised eyebrow. Not too sure of what he meant. However she would put what she had in her hands back into the pack. "If you're worried, we can start looking for her."
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Post by DataNinja on Jan 11, 2020 4:34:20 GMT
"I mean... it's up to you, you'd probably have better judgement than I," he says. "And she can take care of herself... I just worry a little about her getting into something, and us not knowing where she went."
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Apr 22, 2024 21:31:55 GMT
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Post by Greenwolfkate on Jan 11, 2020 10:09:23 GMT
"You've been here longer than I have," Terra points out as she zips up the pack and stands up. "Unless you just get unnerved very easily?" she asks. Her thought to listening to him was that he might have a good reason to be that worried from before she joined them. "Does she get into things?" she follows up curiously if it was a often occurrence.
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Post by birdy51 on Jan 12, 2020 11:26:32 GMT
Muku stares at the bike with determined eyes. Yes. This bike. This bike was her friend. It was also her enemy. She would defeat this foe, this challenge by any means necessary. Inept as she may be, Muku was going to do her best to fix this bike. Unfortunately, she was asking to try do something that was not her strong suit...
Technology Edu. 6r1zHEF11d6+61d6+6
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Post by DataNinja on Jan 12, 2020 20:32:42 GMT
"I do... tend to react a little cautiously..." Thel admits. "And you're a lady. Therefore that means you have better judgement. I might have more knowledge, but that doesn't mean I can use it well."
"She does tend to... get into things, yes." He says.
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Apr 22, 2024 21:31:55 GMT
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Post by Greenwolfkate on Jan 13, 2020 16:40:40 GMT
At this information, Terra crosses her arms slightly as she thinks it over. "Well, is there anything specific that we should be really worried about while we search for her?" she asks curiously not too sure how to process his statement about judgement versus knowledge.
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Post by DataNinja on Jan 14, 2020 9:13:26 GMT
"We should be worried about what we don't know we should be worried about..." Thel sighs. "She has a knack for finding problems that we had no idea existed."
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I'm not going to say it was damage, but it was damage.
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Post by Robot on Jan 14, 2020 14:42:34 GMT
The search for Muku begins in earnest, Thel and Terra going from shop to shop. They roam the open market, even Goldenrod's underground with a brief stop by the Scrapper's Den. The clues seem to be running them in circles but at least it is narrowing things down. They happen to stumble across the Games Corner in their wanderings. Bright lights, loud noises, lots of shiny and flashing things. It seems like it could very well be Muku's new hangout.
Muku, meanwhile, is being run through the fine points of tightening a chain, inflating tires, changing and tightening wheels, adjusting gears, changing seat height and learning the finer points of operating a bike. "Let's see what you've learned. Can you name every part of this Bicycle?"
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Post by birdy51 on Jan 14, 2020 15:05:24 GMT
Muku returns a 'of course I can name every part of this bike, are you stupid', kind of look and turns back to the bike in earnest to begin this simple task. Her fingers point the machine as she tries to explain the bike to the best of her abilities. "Ok. So. So. This is the beep-beep-ching-thing, you smack that thing there and it makes a ringing sound, which is important because communication is key to not hurting people with a bike, because bikes go fast, but sounds go faster and I like loud noise making machines. This is ah... Uh..."
Mouth agape, she points at the gear shift. "This is the... Ah... Right! It's the... Stop-Go? Or is it the change speed..." She pauses. "The handle is the handle? It makes it... Turn?"
She makes a pointed effort not to stare at the owl's face. This was already becoming a true debacle and Muku knew it. Still. She would press on. Onward and onward into the disaster that was her life. "That's the roost, where you put your butt. Having the butt in the right place is important because posture is important and knowing where to put that is good. The two spinning things with the spokes are wheel and... And ah... The chompy bits. The chompy bits are connected to the other chompy bits by the nope-rope, which you need to oil to make sure it's not going to get dirty and gummy. Because that's how it goes. The bike. It goes."
Last part. She puts her hand on the tire and pushes into it. "This is the black strip. The black strip needs air, and the right kind of air. It's weak against cuts and stabbing attacks, but can be fixed with the sticky strips more air. Because metal on ground isn't good? Right, right. Because is metal is weak against ground. Clearly."
Muku stares at the bike expectantly, searching for anything else that might need her undivided attention. She points at the rear of the bike. "That's the reflector? I only really got that one because it's name kind of made sense. It reflects light, so you don't get hit by by things at night from behind. But it's bad to be out at night anyways, so... Ah... Maybe you don't need it?"
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Post by DataNinja on Jan 14, 2020 17:16:40 GMT
Thel's a little disheartened and worried by the lack of finding Muku. What if she's disappeared, too? "That... looks like her type of building," Thel ventures. "She likes the bright excitement, and flashing stuff. I think. I don't know..." He hasn't been right as of yet, though...
Oh, well... nothing ventured, nothing gained. He heads for the place, to see if she's there.
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Post by Greenwolfkate on Jan 17, 2020 16:54:21 GMT
The statement of being worried about what they don't know, results in Terra first tilting her head with a slight frown before shaking her head deciding not to linger on it any longer. If these unknown threats had something in mind, they'd have another thing coming.
The search for Muku was frustrating in an annoying sense. First it seemed that the former pokemon would be at one place, but when they got there there was some other hint that said somewhere else. Though that didn't show too much, as she was curious in seeing more of this large territory, first time being in one and all. "One way to find out," Terra comments at Thel's words before moving beside him into the bright and loud building. A slight grimace at first due to the stimulation that she was taking in visually and audibly. "Why would people come here?" she asks more to herself, glancing around while looking for their third group member.
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I'm not going to say it was damage, but it was damage.
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Post by Robot on Jan 18, 2020 1:39:30 GMT
The Owl-Faced Man's scowl deepened at the corners of his beakless face as Muku gave her names for the pieces and what they did. The functions she'd gotten easily enough, but she seemed to not have retained a single whit of the nomenclature. Until they got to the reflectors. At that point his face softened. She had remembered how to repair a tire, and the functions of its parts, what did the names matter? She also seemed a bit touched, but what could it hurt, letting his cherished cycle see the light of day again.
"Alright, you have passed. You may take this bicycle with my blessing." He smiled, head tilted back, eyes closed. The old man looked downright benevolent for a moment, until he stood fully upright and half lidded his eyes, the twin stares were bullets that pierced Muku's very soul. "If you mistreat it, or ever call me anything but 'Sir' after this, you'll regret it." Then it was over. "Have fuuuuuun!"
"Hey there, you must be new here!" A well dressed attendant approached the pair. "The Games Corner is a place to win fabulous prizes and to test your luck! The counter behind me will provide some starting Coins and a complementary case to keep them in. The counter along the back wall has the available prizes! There's Voltorb Flip, and the slots open today!"
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Post by DataNinja on Jan 18, 2020 1:46:25 GMT
"Oh, I'm sorry," Thel says, "I... really don't know what Voltorb Flip or slots is. We just came here to look for our friend, Muku. She's about this tall," he makes a gesture holding his hand at Muku-height, "black hair, brown eyes, very, very loud and excitable. Have you seen her at all?"
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Post by Greenwolfkate on Jan 18, 2020 21:17:58 GMT
So far, no Muku. At first being greeted Terra watched the greeter with a wary gaze. Humans are strange, they flip Voltorb? She remembered that pokemon like that were volatile and exploded often. Though that did seem like an interesting challenge? Was the goal to flip the pokemon the most or the furthest before it exploded?
Free things didn't come often in this society, so even if they didn't know much about how earning coins worked, she wouldn't turn down a free thing. Letting Thel describe Muku's description while she decided to get the case and coins.
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