|
Post by Kahlen Jeanne Nox on Jul 9, 2010 12:29:13 GMT -5
Kahlen moved towards the back of the bus and plopped in the seat across the aisle from Less.
She moved her bag to the side and unwrapped the scarf around Mikhail. She put him back on her head and rummaged through her bag for a treat. Finding a grape, she put it on her head. Mikhail crawled forward a bit and munched happily.
"Oh, of course!" she responded to Less' inquiry about another dancing class. "I'm really glad you guys liked the one last semester."
|
|
|
Post by Less Than Beta East Tundra on Jul 9, 2010 12:41:25 GMT -5
"Mother of Alpha has given me instructions on drum dancing for me to share with you," Less explained as he held up the paper. Close inspection would reveal that a careful hand had covered the paper in writing, and that it certainly wasn't in English or indeed the English alphabet, but rather Inuktitut syllabic characters. "I thought we might try it even though it's not one my pack does."
One might note that he was staring at the hedgehog on Kahlen's head instead of looking at her directly. In fact, his eyes were following its every movement.
|
|
|
Post by Mellianne Joss on Jul 9, 2010 13:15:29 GMT -5
Mellianne clambered onto the bus and sat down next to Kahlen, fiddling with her water bottle. "Maybe this time we'll get a few more people to dance with us!"
|
|
|
Post by Kahlen Jeanne Nox on Jul 9, 2010 13:16:02 GMT -5
"Cool," Kahlen replied, peering at the paper. "What's it say? That doesn't look like English."
"I hope so," she said to Mellianne. "It'll be much more fun."
Kahlen followed Less' gaze and realized he must be looking at Mikhail. "Oh, by the way, did I introduce you to Mikhail? He's very lucky and sweet." Mikhail made a snuffling noise and continued munching on the grape.
|
|
|
Post by Kip tor Lliathen on Jul 9, 2010 13:43:22 GMT -5
"Hello," Kip said again, pushing the knitted cap up from her forehead. "I'm Kip, I am new."
She could feel a sort of tingling in her fingers and toes, and glanced at her hands. They were very slightly tinged blue. The melanin alteration was wearing off...and she'd left the device in the suitcase. The suitcase which was now bouncing along in the belly of the bus.
Beautiful. "What's in that?" she asked quickly, looking at the glass.
|
|
|
Post by Tumult on Jul 9, 2010 14:12:02 GMT -5
Tumult paused for a moment when she noticed where Mikhail was sitting.
"Why is there a hedgehog on your head?" she asked. "Wouldn't it be... prickly?"
|
|
|
Post by Kahlen Jeanne Nox on Jul 9, 2010 14:19:21 GMT -5
Kahlen smiled at Tumult's question. "He likes to sit on my head or shoulder. And he's not prickly on his underside, see." She lifted Mikhail up and showed Tumult his stomach, which was covered in cream colored fur.
"He's also not so prickly when his spines are lying down." Kahlen then put him back on her head, giving him a pellet from the bag she kept in her pocket.
|
|
|
Post by Laquinta Sebuz on Jul 9, 2010 15:23:47 GMT -5
Laquinta stepped up into the bus, and took a place somewhere to the back of it. A spot where she could see everyone, and nobody would be staring at her... those were always the best spot. Unnoticed by her, the scarf on her head was sagging, and it was slowly slipping off the snakes, which she's improvisedly tied together with a hairband - it looked rather freakish, really. One of them peeked its hooded head through the coils of the scarf.
|
|
|
Post by Susan Daunt on Jul 9, 2010 15:32:23 GMT -5
Laquinta's 'hair' malfunction was noted, but not acted on. Yet.
Susan plopped dow in a seat across from Kip and looked back to the focus of attention, namely the hedgehog on Kahlen's head. "He's cute," she offered with a smile, lowering her hood to reveal a slight case of hood hair, "Got a name for him?"
|
|
|
Post by Kahlen Jeanne Nox on Jul 9, 2010 15:42:25 GMT -5
"Thanks!" Kahlen said to Susan. "His name's Mikhail. I dance, so why not name him after a famous dancer?"
Kahlen paused for a moment. "I don't think I've introduced myself. I'm Kahlen."
|
|
|
Post by Less Than Beta East Tundra on Jul 9, 2010 15:58:06 GMT -5
Less continued staring at the hedgehog. "It is instructions for the dance, of course," he said. "Most of the people in Arviat speak Inuktitut, so that is the language my pack speaks. Mother of Alpha might have written this so you could read it, but she does not know English. Is that edible? It seems awfully spiny..."
|
|
|
Post by Kahlen Jeanne Nox on Jul 9, 2010 16:02:41 GMT -5
Kahlen nodded as he explained what was on the paper. When he asked if Mikhail was edible, she made a horrified face.
"Hedgehogs have been eaten in some cultures, but Mikail is my pet and off limits." Kahlen was smiling now, realizing that Less hadn't actually said that he wanted to eat her pet.
|
|
|
Post by Manuel Alvarez on Jul 9, 2010 16:07:03 GMT -5
"What, this?" Mannie asked as he held up the ampoule. "It's hydrochloric acid. I took some from my school labs before coming here, but I had to concentrate it first. For some reason they only give us the diluted stuff to play with." Halfway through the explanation he winced at a particularly bad throb in his burned hand. "I have some others here, too. That one is an amino acid solution, and that one over there is a sodium hydroxide solution. I wanted to get some chlorine trifluoride, but my mother said that the guy on the internet would probably just send me saltwater."
|
|
|
Post by Laquinta Sebuz on Jul 9, 2010 16:19:47 GMT -5
Laquinta sank back in her seat a little. This was better than the buses they had at home. Kind of snuggly. She wriggled around a bit, and a smile slowly appeared on her face. When she noticed, she turn a rather strange tingue of red (slightly green around her eyes), and settled down again. She felt Susan looking at her, but when she looked up she was talking about the little rodent one of the others had brought. Well, all in good time.
|
|
|
Post by Less Than Beta East Tundra on Jul 9, 2010 16:19:48 GMT -5
Less hadn't intended to frighten Kahlen or imply that he actually meant to eat the pet; he was simply honestly curious. He guessed that further questioning along that line would result in more worry, so he decided that a change in topic from edibility or lack thereof was required. "Where did he come from?" he asked. "You said he name was Mikhail, right? I do not recall him being with you last semester."
|
|
|
Post by Kahlen Jeanne Nox on Jul 9, 2010 16:23:17 GMT -5
"I got him from Mellianne's parent's ranch over the break," Kahlen said.
Mikhail scooted across her head and plopped down on her shoulder. "He's pretty friendly once he gets to know you. Sorry if I thought you meant to eat him for a sec."
|
|
|
Post by Kip tor Lliathen on Jul 9, 2010 17:38:51 GMT -5
"Ah," Kip said, nodding. "You are a scientist, then? A...chemist? That's good. My..." She had to search for the right word. "My mother is a chemist. I'm not very good with chemicals, myself. I'm more of an engineer."
|
|
|
Post by Herbert "Herbie" Skik on Jul 9, 2010 17:55:52 GMT -5
With three big steps, Herbie stepped into the centre of the bus' corridor. With his biggest grin plasted on his face, fangs and all, he looked over the people in there... and found mostly girls. Oh yessss.
"Hallo, laydies. Dis looks like a mi'ty fine place to be. Don'cha worry, thar be enough a dis for all o' ya." With a big smile, he looked over the girls (not the boys, they weren't interesting). "My name be Herbert, but'cha can all call me Herbie-" pronouncing it Hurr-bay "- an' I'll be with ya all along dis school stuffs. Ann-chan-tay." He bowed a little, almost lost his balance on his legs.
"And now, I mi't warn ya lot, dar be a sneek on dis bos. But don'cha be scared noo, 'e don' bite at all. Is just he got stuck on the bloody crunchy pleen for so long, 'e really ain't comfy still walkin' on bloody legs even longer. But noo, at least dey won' have ta put up with no more sneeks on da pleen anymore!" Apparently this was so hilarious to himself that he burst out laughing in mirth... blocking the corridor and interrupting almost all of the conversations in the bus.
|
|
|
Post by Ada Turing on Jul 9, 2010 17:59:44 GMT -5
"Excuse me," Ada said, slightly impatiently, from behind Herbie. "You're between me and my computer. Could you spare the theatrics and make way?"
|
|
|
Post by Mellianne Joss on Jul 9, 2010 18:04:21 GMT -5
Mellianne glanced up at 'Hurr-bay' and gave him a quick look-over, almost like she was considering buying a piece of steak. She then turned right back to her conversation with her friends, ignoring him. "We talked about it last semester remember Less? This is what my family does, raise animals like those. I can probably get a hold of some magical animals if anyone else wants one, course it will still cost money."
|
|
|
Post by Herbert "Herbie" Skik on Jul 9, 2010 18:04:48 GMT -5
Herbie turned around to see the next - oh sweet yes another - girl standing behind him, deftly stepped into the well of the front-most seat and grabbed hold of the armrest before giving her a deep bow, sending his braids all over the place. "O' course, ma'am. Dar be no sneek b'tween you an' yours. May I be so rude, as to inquaar to your neem?" He rose back up, dragging the ongodly bunch of dark-dark-brown braids back up and over his head. His grin was still wide as ever. His backpack clunked rather loudly as he rose back up, and his eyes darted to the side with a bit of worry. There were some things in there that were best used unbroken.
|
|
|
Post by Philbert Decanter on Jul 9, 2010 18:34:58 GMT -5
"Chlorine trifluoride, hah!" Reginald snorted from a seat nearby. He hadn't intended it to be audible, but he hadn't put any effort towards being quiet either. With the way the small boy had been bumbling around, they'd have all been set on fire by now if Mannie had gotten a hold of a vial. He was sure he had a bottle of the substance tucked into his bag somewhere - he might have to give it to the self-styled chemist some time. And then get some binoculars.
He'd only been eavesdropping to take his mind off of this horrid trip. First the oaf outside had splayed out the contents of his wardrobe cart into the bus compartment (he'd done some audible yelling then), but now he found the seats of this place completely intolerable. From his bag he had pulled out a pair of rubber cleaning gloves and several bottles of disenfectants and furniture cleaner and was in the midst of scrubbing down the pseudo-leather seats and floor before he'd even consider sitting on it.
|
|
|
Post by Ada Turing on Jul 9, 2010 18:36:32 GMT -5
Ada stared, trying desperately to parse what Herbie had just said.
"Thank you," she stammered. "I'm... um..."
|
|
|
Post by Tumult on Jul 9, 2010 18:40:38 GMT -5
Noting Ada's confusion, Tumult walked over.
"He wants to know your name, boss" she said to Ada. "Also, he's flirting with you."
|
|
|
Post by Joshua Quasar on Jul 9, 2010 19:01:11 GMT -5
Joshua sat, alone, clutching his bag. Every morning he woke up and gazed in amazement at his limbs and his mirror image. Sometimes, when everything was silent, he thought he could hear his bones grow inside him. The bus was mercifully too noisy for that.
He was more concerned with the humanoid robot, however. It was garish, to turn a machine into a shape like that, but it was very impressive nonetheless, and certainly nothing like what he had run into elsewhere. It appeared to try to keep its true nature concealed, which intrigued Joshua. A secret to hold on to and use later, perhaps?
Then there was the young boy further away, the one in white hair. He couldn't put his finger on it, but the boy reminded him of Giacomo Esposito. Except he didn't appear quite as insane, and wasn't actively trying to murder him. Perhaps he had Giacomo's malignantly misaimed intellect.
Yes, perhaps he had found the right place.
|
|
|
Post by Philbert Decanter on Jul 9, 2010 19:34:07 GMT -5
As he got busy scrubbing a particularly disgusting piece of gum that was on the side of the seat (he seriously contemplated pulling out that jar of Chlorine trifluoride just for it), Philbert spotted Joshua staring at him.
With a sneer he spat, "Focus a light imprint onto a silver halide emulsion-coated plastic sheet! It's deterioration will be noticeably more gradual!" And then he started attacking a stain on the other side of the seat where he didn't have line of sight to the boy.
"Yes, there are too many nosy individuals at this school," Philbert started mumbling to seemingly no one in particular. He suddenly nodded, as if someone had just told him a spectacular idea. "Yes, that would be fantastic!" He pulled out his DV-Recorder and mumbled in, "Work on combining elements of Experiment 75T with Experiment 48d5. We'll see how nosy everyone is once they've lost their olfactory senses!" He took a moment to rub his hands together menacingly before he spotted a section of the seat he missed.
|
|
|
Post by Joshua Quasar on Jul 9, 2010 19:40:22 GMT -5
"Yes", Joshua muttered to himself, "definitely the same kind of mad genius." He said, louder so the snotty boy could hear him, "Chemical photography? How gauche. Why bother with liquids when you can use ones and zeroes? Data would never deteriorate." He had seen digital cameras on this planet, why would they insist on ancient technology?
|
|
|
Post by Philbert Decanter on Jul 9, 2010 20:58:49 GMT -5
At first Philbert didn't seem to notice. After a moment, he started muttering, "What? No he wasn't. Yes, I guess I did mention it..." He poked his head out from the seat to see Joshua, one eyebrow arched confusedly, and asked "Were you talking to me?" His tone seemed to suggest that he was sure that Joshua hadn't been talking to him, and that he was only making a point to someone else.
|
|
|
Post by Autumpne Ravenshade on Jul 9, 2010 21:00:28 GMT -5
Autumpne peered back down and across the aisle at the boy who had just spoke. His loud voice had distracted her from her very important sulking.
Daddy was sending her back to this stupid school, despite the fact she had threated him with not eating (and only the tiniest bit, to keep her strength up), she had refused all of his care packages from home, and did not attend any of her classes.
Daddy had been very upset with her, and was not happy until she had promised to try better this semester. After that, everything had been well again, until she had to pack.
She looked down her nose at the boy, which was quite impressive, considering he was somewhat taller than her. "Don't be silly," she told him, stressing the word. "You can't hold a digital pic in your hands. It's not the same as a real photo, and it's so cheap." That's what Daddy had said, anyways.
|
|
|
Post by Jane Ebonwood on Jul 9, 2010 21:15:39 GMT -5
Jane had taken a seat somewhere near the back of the bus, the furthest distance possible from anyone. She supposed that maybe one of the benefits of a vampire was being to move almost unnoticed, but quickly corrected herself. Vampirism was a curse, and there was nothing good about it, and the only reason she needed to hide was because of it in the first place.
Although she hadn't said a word the entire time, she was in deep thought about the choices she'd made. Well Jane, you've done it now, she thought to herself. Locked in a box with humans. And you'll be spending the next four years with these people. Couldn't you just have given it up? The answer was no, of course. No, she couldn't. She couldn't just leave humanity behind because she was forced into it, she hadn't been ready at all. There had to be a way to overcome it, to not be a slave to the curse... even though everything she had learned said otherwise, she had to have hope. It was all she had left in this damned existence.
To take her mind off things, she untied and unchained the tome, reading passages from it like any other person would read a light novel during a journey.
|
|