(open log) First mix

[digitalprincess]

Who: Aelita, anyone!
What: New Pokemon that is also learning how to be alive, do chores and commit violence
When: April
Where: The city (Cheri berry guild, the training rooms, beach)
Warnings: Heights? Possible talk of child endangerment and everything about Aelita's background sounds Unfortunate without context.



Cheri Berry Guild
Berry collection
[Having to collect food was one of the many new things to her. Though from what she'd learnt from the others, humans didn't collect food. Her friends had mentioned going to a canteen but Aelita was sure that wasn't as involved as this.

Because she had a small woven basket tied to her back and was nimbly climbed up the thinner branches. Filling it with a few berries, then scurrying back to place them into a larger basket for someone else to collect.

The height didn't bother her. She regularly had to navigate worse when doing her patrols.

What did make her pause was the big berry. Something that had become apparent very quickly was that... She was small, very small. And this berry was more than two inches larger than her. It wouldn't fit in her basket and even if it did, she wasn't sure how much it'd weigh.

Time to return to platforms. Then she darted to the first Pokemon she saw.]

Hello there. Are you busy? I need help carrying something.

Leaving present
[For the last year, Aelita hadn't need to sleep. She'd spent her time looking for Xana activity, helping Jeremie on the materialisation program, talking to Jeremie, browsing the internet when Jeremie was sleeping.

So the first time she fell asleep was... Probably a bit more literal than it should have been.

But she knew better now! She could recognise when she was sleepy and where to go. She'd been given a pile of leaves. A majority of those leaves remained as a bed. The rest? They'd gotten tangled in her curly fur. Though some did fall out when she moved suddenly. Or when the scruffy creature did a full body shake.]

Quest related
Not a minior ma-
[She just wanted to help. Aelita hadn't liked watching the Minior when they were...in pain? She wasn't sure. But she'd not had the skills to help with their healing process.

What she could help with, was making these catapults. Her little paws were great for tying knots, climbing up and placing delicate parts of the mechanism. She was light enough to avoid brea-

With an actual squeak and she was gone.

Good news! The catapult works. Bad news, the rodent is airborne.]


Other
(ง •̀_•́)ง No longer an escort quest (debatable)
[Aelita didn't fight. She had powers on Lyoko, but those required life points to use and they weren't practical in the same way a sword was. There was a difference between an actual weapon and manipulating the terrain so foes would take themselves out.

Since arriving she'd had a few bursts of power. Shooting off uncontrolled sparks of electricity (her first sneeze). No one had gotten hurt but it was probably better to learn what she could do.

That was how she found herself in the training rooms of the Spire... Now what? She awkwardly waited by the sidelines until another Pokemon seemed to be done, then waddled over with wave.]

Excuse me. Um... How do you know what to do?

Coastal charms

Can you really touch it without being destroyed here?

[She'd been sat in the sand for a while, just watching as the waves ebbed and flowed. Though she never got near. When it seemed like the tide was changing, she'd get up and retreat further up the beach and away from the water.

Aelita hadn't even looked at the approaching Pokemon. She'd just spoken without moving her gaze from the water. Those who'd met her before might notice that she was a lot more subdued. She wasn't looking at everything, marvelling at the feel of the sand...just listening and observing the ocean.]

It's beautiful...

[Was this what her friends had wanted her to see?]

Comments

[wolfcut]

[ Oh. She wants to be quick about this. He's still in the middle of processing when she calls out to him, making his fur bristle immediately. ]

Yeah, yeah. Coming.

[ It takes him another second, but he does indeed follow as cautiously slow as he can. At least he's pretty comfortable on all fours. That gap, though...

He's going to do the smart thing and not look down, instead backing up to brace himself for a leap of faith. It's not even that big of a jump, but the moment he lands on the branch, he's holding onto the branch with everything he has, taking short, rapid breaths like the scared little rodent he is. Give him another minute. ]

[digitalprincess]

[She'd been given a job to do and she was going to do it... Then ask for more jobs. Because her entire year of existence had been goal oriented. Even if what she'd been able to do was severely limited.

Luckily(?) for Bigby. Aelita didn't completely abandon him, she had to make sure he knew where they were going! So she was waiting on the other side.

Getting a front row seat to Bigby's....she wasn't sure. She was just going to stare and tilt her head at him.]

Um...

[Did he trip?]

[wolfcut]

Wh-what?

[ He looks up at her with a slight scowl, until realizing he's still pathetically clinging onto that branch with his whole being. With a small sigh, he slowly pushes himself back up onto his feet, very pointedly looking at her and not what's below. ]

C'mon. I'm fine. Let's go.

[ His ears are shaking a little. Don't worry about it. ]

[digitalprincess]

[Was looking at her beady green eyes much better though? Especially when her brow furrowed. What was the movements for?

Well, he said he's fine. So she was just going to accept that.

Aelita turned and darted off again, then paused once to point at the big iapapa berry.]

There it is.

[There were iapapa berries on the bush too. Each of them larger than the average Dedenne. Could she lift one? Maybe, but getting it without dropping it? That wasn't happening.]

[wolfcut]

[ Anything is better than staring into the abyss down below, even if a kid giving him a look isn't exactly making him feel better about any of this. When she darts off ahead, he instead takes his time, looking up when she finally points the berry out. ]

These ones, huh?

[ Something about the sour scent makes his nose twitch, but he pushes past it. No point in turning back around just because he's not going to eat them. ]

How about this: we can pull it loose together and carry it back. [ His ears droop a little. ] I have some rope too in my bag. Just in case.

[digitalprincess]

Yeah, they're really big so that's a lot of a food. [Little did she know about the seed inside the berry. But it was fine. Probably. It was still quite a bit of food and someone would eat it, even if it wasn't as good as she thought it was. ]

It should be easy enough to get down. Though I was worried about dropping it once it's disconnected. [Because then the weight wouldn't be held by the bush.]

Would we be able to use the rope to stop it rolling away? [What would they even tie it around? The fruit seemed too round for that to work.]

[wolfcut]

I was thinking we could use the ropes for us.

[ Forget about dropping the berry. All he's thinking of is falling over while trying to grab it. ]

I guess... instead of pulling it from the stem, we can break off a bit of the branch. That'd be easier to wrap around than the actual berry. [ He looks behind himself. ] Just have to tie the other end on a more stable part of the tree.

[digitalprincess]

Huh? [Would that work? Like the fruit, Aelita was pretty round. She was going to climb a bit higher up the branch. Just going to examine that for a moment.]

How are we going to break it? [The berries normally snapped off easily enough where they were connected]

[wolfcut]

[ Anything works if you believe hard enough. At least, that's how it works in the fairytales.

He watches her make the climb, finding it easier to look up than down, until her question makes him tilt his head. With a slight squint, it takes him another moment to realize she's being serious. Slowly, purposefully, he bares his rodent teeth, then demonstrates a few loud chomps on air. ]

You've got those don't you?

[ Maybe she's still too human to use her mouth. He pats his cheek with one paw. ]

Or a strong enough bolt or two can break it. I've done it before.

[digitalprincess]

[Aelita tilted her head, ears flopping to the side.]

Oh... Mayaka-chan told me not put things that weren't food in my mouth. [She'd been using her cheek pouches. She still did, but she didn't carry twigs and leaves to make her bed any more.

For another few seconds, Aelita just stared. Thinking about it.

Well... he seemed a lot like what she was.

She chomps the branch, perching towards trunk side...By chomp, she'd just straight up bitten into the wood. There was no gnawing here.]

[wolfcut]

Mayaka... [ Paw to forehead. She's not really wrong, but. ] It's different. You're just ch— [ Oh. ]

W-wait, that's... hold on. [ Just running that paw down his face now. He's going to make his way up to meet her, though he's definitely not happy about it. After a small nudge, he hands her one end of his rope. ] Let's just secure this part of the branch first, huh?

[ He glances at the little teeth marks she left in the bark.]

You're supposed to chew through it, by the way. Not... latch on.

[ Why is he giving lessons on how to be a rodent. How is this his life now.]

[digitalprincess]

[She unlatched and stared at him holding the rope. Giving it a stare with those beady rodent eyes. Right, securing... that meant tying the rope. She could do that.

Just... Sorry Bigby, but tying the rope is going to take several tries. In her defence, she'd never had to tie something before. Her knowledge was from watching humans tie their shoelaces though a camera.]

Like that?

[Maybe don't trust your life on it.]

[wolfcut]

... It's a start.

[ He's not going to hold this against her. She's a kid, and he's no expert either. That's not going to stop him from undoing it though. ]

Tying it like a ribbon won't hold much.

[ Handing her the other end, he quick inhales before slowly making a simple bowline knot. Serviceable. ]

This way's more secure. See? [ He tugs at first, only for his ears to flatten. ] You, uh. Want a demonstration for how to gnaw things too?

[digitalprincess]

[Ohhh. She was now focused completely at him. He was now Teacher. At the offer to show her how to gnaw things, he got an enthusiastic nod. Look at her ears flap from the force. ]

Is it as difficult to learn as chewing?

[Her first few meals had been a mess to say the least.]

[wolfcut]

[ A beat. ] It's... different. [ There's a technique to gnawing off bark, but chewing is just chewing. ]

Did you, uh. Not have teeth before here?

[ If he used to be a wolf, and Fireheart was a cat, then surely this isn't a weird question to ask. Assuming everyone is human is what's weird. ]

[digitalprincess]

[Give her a moment to just stare at him with the beady rodent eyes. Her mouth opening. Then she frowned.]

I had teeth. But I didn't need to eat until I came here.

[Why DID she have teeth? Were the teeth on her Lyoko model accurate. Bigby, you've just raised so many questions.]

[wolfcut]

[ Don't worry. He's staring right back at her with his beady rodent eyes. ]

You didn't need to eat?

[ Sudden concern is distracting from his fear of heights at least. ]

How is that— ... is that how it is where you're from?

[digitalprincess]

Um... It was just me. My friends had to eat.

[She was still staring at him, waiting for this lesson in rodent-ing. Though her ears flopped as she thought about how to answer.

Well, the answer she'd given others had worked so...]

I was connected to a machine.

[wolfcut]

[ His ears go flat. Of course the first thing he thinks of is a hospital. ]

Sorry. I shouldn't pry. [ How many times does this old man have to learn his lesson. ] This must be a lot to jump into.

[ Bigby glances back at the branch, awkwardly rubbing his cheek. ]

When you eat food, you have to grind it, right? This is more like chiseling it down with just your front teeth. [ He makes a bit of a face. As a wolf, his instinct is to just rip pieces out, but he's not working with his usual set of fangs. ] Look, I know. It doesn't come naturally to me either, but it's good to practice.

[digitalprincess]

[It wasn't a lie. She'd 100% told the truth. But going by his reaction, she still felt bad. Even if the lack of questions was helpful.

Just going to reach out and awkwardly pat his arm.

Then back to watching, she was ready to learn. ]

So, you just chew little bits of it to....shave it away?

[wolfcut]

[ Even while actively trying not to, he's still made it awkward. Great job. ]

Uh. Right. Yeah. [ No better way to teach than to demonstrate. He still hesitates though. ] Like... like this.

[ One deep breath before he starts chipping away, just like he said, until the branch gets weak enough to creak. Immediately, he jumps back. ]

That should be weak enough to snap now. Wanna do the honors?

[ He pats his cheek before grabbing the rope again. A Thunder Shock from a safe distance should do it. They'll just need to be ready to hold on and swing the berry toward the platform. ]

[digitalprincess]

[Copying! She is absorbing this information like a sponge. Though there was one slight issue... Aelita wasn't sure what he meant by the 'honours' for a good second she just stared. Tilting her head.

She also held the rope. Then gave the branch another chomp.

Yes, that was a squeak as it gave way and there was suddenly weight on the rope.]

[wolfcut]

[ Bigby might've realized his mistake a bit too late. ]

Wait, h—

[ The slack rope immediately goes taut, and he's desperately trying to skid to a stop before him, Aelita, and the berry branch go tumbling overboard. ]

Shit. Shit. Shit. [ His little rodent heart can only take too much. Luckily, they manage to stop right at the edge, but his chest is practically pounding from all the rapid breathing he's doing. He takes another minute before looking over at her. As much as he wants to be mad, he can't when it was technically his fault. ] N-next time. An Electric move. As far back as possible. A-alright? [ He hopes to whatever god exists in this world that there will never be a next time. ]

[digitalprincess]

[Fortunately, Aelita had been crouched and clinging to the branch so she could reach to do The Chomp. So instead of being yanked straight off the branch, she'd been dragged along.

Physics... They sure worked a little differently here to the virtual world.

For a moment Aelita just blinked as she stared over the edge. Then she'd back-pedalled from the edge. It wasn't the digital sea. But it was quite a drop, maybe about 10 life points of damage.]

Um... I don't know any.

good to wrap here!

[wolfcut]

... R-right.

[ Bigby can't remember if she actually mentioned this earlier, before the whole "not knowing how to use her teeth" bit. As much as he wants to rub his face in exhaustion, he's very much holding onto that rope. At least he's starting to catch his breath. ]

I'll teach you one of those next time too. Preferably not up here.

[ Electric rodents have to stick together. He starts to sway the rope to get the berry branch over to the platform. ]

Let's just deal with this for now, and then we can talk about it, okay? [ A beat. He knew he forgot something. ] Name's Bigby, by the way.