Chasing a lie I thought I believed in

[littlecrowgirl]

WHO: Kay and whoever stumbles upon her.

WHERE: Junkpile

WHEN: Today

WHAT: Kay's exploring the Junkpile for some items. If you cross her path and talk to her she'll most likely find an item for you.

WARNINGS: She's a little grumpy after being embarrassed in front of Alpha Trion. Feel like cheering her up?

There's nothing worse than being made a fool in front of your idol.  And Kay had learned that all too quickly.  Cliffjumper had not only pranked her into thinking he'd been turned into a guitar (a guitar that was now gone, whether by Trion's correction or her own disposal), but some things, like your own competence shouldn't be called out on.  At least that's how Kay saw it.  But bottling yourself up in your room was getting old, so she took it outside, trekking all the way to the Junkpile to relieve some teenage-girl steam.  Although this didn't keep her from her promise to Kagerou either.  She sent a text to the robot saying she'd meet him there if he was well enough to go.

From pile to pile she leapt, searching for anything and everything.  There wasn't much to find that didn't get scavenged earlier, but it provided a great distraction from everything.  She sat crouched, examining what looked to be a whisk before tossing it to the side, scanning this pile once more.

"Stupid."

Whether she was talking about the whisk or something else was to be debated.  She flipped her hair out of the way, giving a big sigh before hoisting herself to her feet.

Maybe the next pile would have something.

Comments

[littlecrowgirl]

"What do you mean 'what do we do'? We do the same things you guys do, except with less metal and guns."

Good explaining, Kay. Maybe you should elaborate on that slightly.

"Well...I mean, we like things, we don't like things. We listen to music, we write stories, we watch things for entertainment..."

[goingdownfighting]

Yeah...that, uh. That didn't help at all. But you know what? He'll bounce off the 'same things you guys do' and see where that goes.

"You miss anybody?"

[littlecrowgirl]

Oh, now we're getting into that territory. Her eyes drift off, not quite as spirited as they had been a moment before.

"Mmhmm. Someone really important."

[goingdownfighting]

"And that would be?"

Come now, Kay, tell your good pal Cliffjumper all about it. Even if he probably won't understand. He just really likes conversation, okay?

[littlecrowgirl]

"My dad. He's been gone for about...ten years."

That may not seem like a long time to Cliffjumper, but she doesn't know that.

[goingdownfighting]

Yeah... that's seriously not that long at all. Don't even get him started on how little he realizes about dads and how important they are.

"Oh yeah? So where did he go?"

HE HOPES SOMEWHERE NICE.

[littlecrowgirl]

His face causes her to give a little half smile, like the one you put on when you try and lighten the mood. Her hand traces along his armor idly, her gaze soon following down to it.

"He..uhm...died."

[goingdownfighting]

Oh.

Well, that smile didn't last very long, did it? Cliff feels just a tiny bit embarrassed right now. Oops.

"Yeah, that'd certainly stop someone from coming back, wouldn't it?"

There's a pause until Cliff suddenly realizes something. ...Isn't he the dead guy?

"Or you know what? Maybe not completely..."

[littlecrowgirl]

Kay saw his smile fade, patting his shoulder and giving a soft smile in return. "It's okay. I know he can't come back, but...missing him isn't such a bad thing, right?"

Her head tilts.

"Wait...what?"

[goingdownfighting]

Cliff leans back, then holds out his hands because he likes to 'talk' with them. Get ready for story time.

"Alright, now try to picture this. So there I was, waking up in a temple, no idea why. On a planet that's supposedly mine but not. But it's not so bad! Next thing I know, I'm being greeted by some familiar faces. ...And not so familiar faces who somehow know me! Regardless, it was quite the welcome party.

...Until they told me something. The kind of thing that makes you go 'wait, what?' I believe it was along the lines of 'you died'. Can you believe it?

Now, I know I didn't die before coming here, I think I'd remember that. ...But it seems like every time I have a chat with someone from my 'world', they just have to bring up the dead thing. If I didn't know better, I'd say maybe... just maybe... I might have died!"

He gives a small chuckle, but it's not like how he normally does. No, it's the kind of chuckle where you try to accept some unbelievable news and make light of it...but damn! It's hard!

"What I'm saying is, at the off chance that they're right, maybe your guy will come back too."

[littlecrowgirl]

She listens intently. No matter how much Cliffjumper talks, she really likes his stories. Maybe it was the way he used his hands to practically 'illustrate' the story, or maybe it was how his voice changed pitch at just the right moments. Either way, he had a gift, and everything he said had Kay's full attention. So far? It seemed like a rather nice story! Getting greeted by your friends...making some new ones...

Wait, what.

No she had to double take.

She doesn't interrupt the story, but her face says it all. She did NOT expect that out of him. Her hand rubs along those neck cables gently, realizing he's just trying to laugh it off to make light of it.

"So you..."

She can't help but look sad at that.

"Maybe you're right..."

[goingdownfighting]

You know, it's really hard to keep going when someone's rubbing one of the more sensitive places of your body. Cliffjumper squirms a little at the touch, attempting to still look somewhat respectable, but it's hard... Anyone could see it in his eyes, that feels good.

"Y-Yeah, so--ooh--uh, there's always that. Never know who's going to show up."

That's all he can manage before closing his eyes. No, please, continue.

[littlecrowgirl]

Kay's no dummy, she can see his mood shift when she rubs those neck cables. It was an interesting experiment, and she kept removing them and continuing where she left off.

Yep. No doubt about it.

Cliffjumper liked being rubbed.

Cue a wide grin as she starts rubbing more rapidly.

[goingdownfighting]

Cliffjumper's eyes have never gotten so big. He's trying to have a serious moment here, it's not really fair that you have tiny soft hands. So begins the wobbling, he's trying his hardest to stay upright.

"H-Hey! Listen to me! If you don't cut that out, kid, I'm going to fall over."

And that would probably mean she'd get hurt in the process.

"I'm--ah--not messing around here."

[littlecrowgirl]

She watches those eyes become the size of flying saucers, and her own literally sparkle in return. The wobble throws her off slightly, but she makes sure to keep ahold.

"Well, sit down then, silly."

Her hands temporarily lift up from his neck, although still hovering.

[goingdownfighting]

"I am sitting."

That still won't keep him from falling forward on his face. But hey, thanks for stopping. That means he can reach over there and pluck her away from his sensitive neck. Time to lay down some ground rules.

"No!"

That's rule number one.

[littlecrowgirl]

As soon as she's picked up, her arms fold, giving him the biggest pout.

"I was just trying to make you feel better!"

[goingdownfighting]

"Uh, I'm not upset. I'm pretty sure it was the other way around."

He sets her down, raising an eyebrow. Kay is so weird, it's like she can't make up her mind on what's what. One minute she's mad and he's the jerk, the next thing he knows he's apparently depressed and she's trying to make fix it...? What is even going on.

[littlecrowgirl]

When Cliffjumper sets her down, she looks up.

"You said you didn't want to talk about that..."

[goingdownfighting]

"What? When'd I say that? That doesn't sound like something I'd say, hey! Don't you want your sofa thing? Look~ It's probably comfy~"

He points at the sofa. See? He remembered it's a thing.

[littlecrowgirl]

"You're really bad at subject changing, for a guy who likes to talk."

She sits on that sofa, looking up at him expectantly.

[goingdownfighting]

That's a weird look, what is she expecting from him?

"Okay, what do you want?"

[littlecrowgirl]

Her face turns slightly serious.

"Do you really think I'm dumb?"

[goingdownfighting]

"Just a little bit."

He holds up his hand to show 'a pinch' to emphasize his point.

"But that's okay! Want to know why? I am, too. Just ask Arcee, I'm sure she'd agree with that in an instant."

[littlecrowgirl]

The first part makes her look down to the ground. There's no way 'you're dumb' sounds like a positive thing. Ever.

But her head snaps up when he admits that about him.

"You make it sound like it's okay..."

Wait.

"Arcee?"