deernet | video; un: maid-in-mantle

Penny!?

Are you okay!?

Did someone hurt you?

Did you remember what they look like!?

Can I give them a stern warning to never go near my BFF again?

Huh? ... Oh! No, Ruby! I am alright!

[ She'll back away from the camera and spin around so Ruby can see - no injuries, and not even any torn clothing. ]

I am asking just in case, since my father isn't here to help. And...

[ She trails off, deciding how to word what she wants to say next. ]

A friend of mine was recently injured. I was able to help, but I would like to be better prepared for the future.

[Okay. There is a look of relief on her face when Penny says that. If anything were to happen to Penny, Ruby would destroy anyone in the room and hen herself. That's how she felt about any of her besties.]

Okay- Phew. That's good.

...That's actually really sweet. I hope you find someone to help teach you.

I can always build your friend some more weapons so he hopefully doesn't get hurt next time.

[ Penny beams when Ruby calls her sweet, though her expression lapses into thoughtfulness a moment later. ]

I do not believe he uses weapons, but...

Do you know how to build motorcycles?

Hm...

I do not know how to build a motorcycle.

But I do know a little about fixing them. I learned a little from Yang back home and while she was here. Or well the dream.

I bet we could find someone who knows more about them though!

Wonderful! We should learn how to build motorcycles, then!

I do not believe I've seen any in Trench, so I think they'll be very interesting to the people here.

We definitely should!

No I haven't either- I had a cool scooter in the dream for a little. Ended up crashing it pretty bad though one day.

A dumb tree jumped out at me.

Honestly I think they'll be blown away by it!

Oh oh! We could start a biker gang!

Yes! We can ride around in groups! And we'll wear scarves! And masks!

Yeah!

We'll need to come up with a cool name too!

Like Heckles Roses!

Oh, yes, I specialize in those areas actually, I'd be happy to teach you. I assume you have some advanced prosthetics?

[if so he can very much see why she'd want to learn to handle those herself. talk about a nightmare if they malfunction and someone without the right skillset washed up on shore.]

[ Okay. Here she goes. She hasn't had a bad experience in Trench yet, but she also hasn't told anyone directly yet. She has no idea how Viktor might react, but there's only one way to find out. ]

Actually, my body is completely robotic. A friend of mine has prosthetics, so I'm searching for assistance for both of us.

Fascinating. [that does get a blink from viktor, though given one of the council members in his city is robotic is isn't something that sends him into shock. mostly it intrigues him, though he manages to keep from asking several rapid fire questions. for the moment.]

I'd have to see the technology you both are working with but I think I should at the very least be able to give you a strong base knowledge in engineering and robotics. Would you consider yourself a beginner in the area?

Oh, I am Viktor. [right, greetings and all that.]

[ That's... a good reaction, right? At the very least he doesn't seem disturbed - just interested. ]

I can provide you some diagrams of both myself and my friend. I think I would consider myself a beginner, though I will be able to learn quickly.

[ Having a computer for a brain makes retaining information pretty easy.

Oh, and: ]

It's a pleasure to meet you, Viktor!

[diagrams are exciting, he has a bit of a fascination with technology of other worlds and this will no doubt be the most advanced he's yet seen. an entire, functioning body? possibly including her mind, which is an incredibly impressive feat.

robotics and engineering nerd stuff, though he's reminding himself treating her like a fascinating project is incredibly rude. easier to remember when she's frankly one of the more pleasant people he's met.] A pleasure to meet you as well, Miss Poledina.

Well, if either of you have need for any immediate repairs you're welcome to come to my lab. I'd ask for payment in help collecting the materials necessary for said repairs and maintenance, though I have accumulated some parts since my time here. For the lessons we can start when you're ready, and no payment is necessary. It is ah... hm, too important knowledge for you, I think, to demand payment.

[ That offer is quite generous, and one that Penny is happy to hear. But she feels a little bad that he's not asking for anything in exchange. She hesitates for a moment before speaking: ]

In that case, you should come to me if there's ever anything dangerous you need assistance with! I'm highly experienced in combat against monsters, so I should be able in most situations.

[viktor absolutely understands the need to offer something in exchange for a service, so he nods in agreement to that. frankly it'd be useful, he is absolutely useless in combat and only barely manages self defense.]

That seems a fair trade. There are often times I would like to investigate the events going on in this odd place but find it too dangerous to go alone. [and does anyway, curiosity and all.]

[ Offer accepted! Penny beams. ]

I specialize in combat against creatures similar to the beasts in Trench, so I'm sure I'll be able to assist with anything you need!

Is there anything you'd like to investigate right now?

Hm, well the portals have been interesting but dangerous. I've risked looking at a few in hopes of finding useful information or supplies but it's mostly just been eh... dramatic.

[frag grenade. enough said.] If a new batch pop up I would appreciate the help examining them, in case something does come out.

I would be happy to assist you in investigating the portals! Please don't hesitate to contact me directly next time you find one.

And if there's anything in particular you are search for, I can keep watch for it in the meantime.

[he considers that for a moment before offering,] Well, any information on purification or curing beasthood is welcome. It's something I've been working on with Allen Walker. Also information on blood gems would be a help.

[he's always on the look for Info, the real currency, truly.]

[He knew about this post, but it's still a little jarring to see. He feels a little guilty, since getting his arm ripped off is what catalyzed all of this, but he can't deny it would be great to find someone that could work on them both. He's never had as much talent for it as other people he's known, but anything they can both learn can only help, right?]

[He will be here, keeping tabs on all the responses, though he won't reply, since Penny is also doing him the huge favor of keeping his identity on the down-low.]

I consider myself to be an expert in the field of robotics and weapons engineering and fabrication. It has been a certain amount of time since I was made to repair a war machine of sufficient caliber.

If it is part fabrication you require, I can be of ass...

For my reference, what requires repair?

[Because if it was software, he was a little less sure. He'd had some ethical lapses in the past on that field.]

[ 'Weird gray person with horns' would probably throw Penny more if she weren't familiar with the faunus. As it is, Equius simply looks a little unusual. ]

Nothing requires repair at the moment, but I'm concerned about damage to limbs, power sources, and synthetic skin.

Fabrication of exceptionally unique parts is a specialty of mine. I will require extensive schematics or visuals to be able to reproduce them, but regardless of complexity I should be able to recreate parts at the very least. To clarify, it is an outside ability I possess, which permits me to conjure objects by drawing them.

As for actual repairs, synthetic skin will be difficult to reproduce but not impossible. Power sources and prosthetics are something of a regular work for me, so as long as I can size them properly I should be able to fabricate something.

I will, however, require access to the robot in question to determine what is needed.

Oh-- that does sound helpful! I'll be able to provide schematics, though it will take me some time to create accurate ones.

[ Turns out full blown androids have lots of moving parts, literally. Access to the robots in question, though... that might be harder. ]

Do you need access now, or just any time before you need to make repairs?

I...

...

[He wiped his brow for a second, sounding a little nervous. No, no. He needed to keep this cool. He knew better. He knew himself better now.]

If you have access to the robotic parts in question right now, inspecting them can allow me to have parts on hand for emergencies. But I wish to give a certain fair warning. I am a little... obsessive about robotics. I am told I am weird about it.

So, if I begin to wax too uncomfortable, you will inform me, yes?

[Pause. Hmmm....]

[Keeping tabs on you strange grey dude. Please do not get creepy at Penny, Hayato will punch you into the stratosphere.]

[Don't worry. He's too scared of Nepeta showing up and boxing his ears to actually be creepy. Still, never hurts to be careful, and he'd approve of punching someone into the stratosphere on general principle.]

[He flicked a private feed on right after.]

Is this robot in your possession, a friend, or you? I feel like I should be asking this at this point.

[ That reaction is, uh.

Weird? Penny doesn't really have any context for what to expect, but... he was up front about it, so she'll give him the benefit of the doubt. ]

Both. I myself am a fully autonomous combat android, and I have a friend who has extensive cybernetic prosthetics.

[Yeah, he was weird. But he'd behave. Nepeta's memory had a powerful pull on him, as did Aradia's.]

Fascinating. Within what is accepted, I would be vastly curious to see the methodology at work in your world's robotic engineering, to compare with my own applications...

...

But let us speak of parts first. It is better to keep it to that. I can study fabricated parts just as easily. [Ahem] What is the most likely component to break?

I'll provide you with documentation as soon as I can compile it.

[ Too bad she thinks she'll have trouble finding a copy machine in this place. Time to write all this out by hand. ]

I believe we're most likely to suffer damage to our limbs and extremities, so being able to repair servomechanisms and skeletal structures will be most important.

Fronds? Yes. This makes a certain amount of sense. They would be the more likely to be caught in a strife. Thankfully that sort of mechanism is much more easily reproduced. I just have to make sure it can connect properly.

The next question will be if you or any others include concealed weaponry in those limbs. That can be a structural issue. But we can address this momentarily. Perhaps we should meet at a time of your choosing.

[ This question would have been so much weirder if Ange hadn't seen Penny going at that person who was stalking her that one time..

But under current circumstances? She understands why Penny might be asking. Although it's also a little worrisome in its own way, since-- ]

.. did something happen?

[ Oh... Penny has heard about Ange's current troubles, so the fact that she's taking a moment to check in means a lot. ]

I am alright. I would just like to be prepared for the future.

[ She hesitates, then: ]

How have you been...?

[ Apparently Ange didn't quite expect this to be turned around on her so easily. There's a quiet, kind of surprised noise, and then a pause. ]

Ah, I'm just.. [ Her voice trails off. She still can't say she's doing great, but admitting to anything less in front of someone she doesn't know well always feels like the wrong thing to do. ]

There's obviously something going on this month.

[ With the constant darkness and all. ]

We all have to be strong.

[ Ange doesn't want to talk about it, which is in no way a surprise. Penny will leave things be. ]

I agree - and we should work together if we need to, as well.

Is there anything you all need at the mansion?

I guess.. having some more incense could never hurt. Especially since we don't know what kind of threats might end up being around the town sooner or later. [ She's infinitely grateful for Penny not seeming to put more focus on Ange's current state, and so she will gladly grab that opportunity with both hands to instead talk about this.

Still.. saying that does make her think about-- ]

.. will you be okay though where you are staying?

[ It's not even like she knows Penny well, but.. the other seems kind enough, especially with how quick she's to offer help now.

Not to mention that Penny is so important to Ruby. And anyone who's important to Ruby is important to Ange as well. ]

If it's anything like how some months went back in Deerington, it could get really bad..

Incense - understood!

[ She doesn't have any, but she's heard of its benefits. She'll be keeping an eye out.

Penny's still figuring out this 'normal human interactions thing', but thanks to her experiences with Winter she has a good idea of how to handle the taciturn, self-contained sort. Rule one: no pushing. Still, she resolves to keep an eye out for Ange. ]

You do not need to worry about me! I have extensive experience in dealing with non-human threats in sub-optimal conditions.

I'm also capable of flight, so traveling is not a problem.

[ The other sure is cheery under all circumstances, huh. It's that point that stands out the most to Ange here - especially since she's pretty convinced that most people are not exactly this cheerful when the sun has suddenly decided to give up for the month.

It leaves Ange quiet in a baffled way for a moment, especially with her current mood, but then she slowly manages to speak up again. ]

You're very confident. [ Obviously so. ] Be careful though. Sometimes the threat here isn't just about fighting things off. Many things here also try to get into your head.

[ And flying away from that is sometimes a lot harder. ]

[ Fortunately for Penny, she's both incapable of suffering from a vitamin D deficiency and comes from a region far in the north. She can handle a little bit of perpetual night.

She's not exactly put out by Ange's pragmatic response, but it's a reminder that her cheer is perhaps not entirely welcomed. And it's not like she doesn't see why, so she forces herself to take it down a notch. ]

I know - but I appreciate the reminder.

[ Still: ]

It's just... I think when a situation is especially stressful, it can be beneficial to everyone to see someone else that's calm and confident, even if they don't know that person.

[ She is specifically thinking of Ruby when she says this. ]

[ ... ]

I think you're forgetting "positive." [ Ange slowly says. ] Being calm and confident is easy.

[ Or. Well. It's easy for Ange to project that attitude outwardly, even during times when she is worrying. It's just something that she's honed over the years. ]

I think being positive in those situations is way harder. [ Yet Penny seems to be pulling that one off easily here. ]

While I have some knowledge of how to do such repairs myself, I trust only one person here to work proficiently on my own prosthetics and that is Varian.

[Considering Maul's full lower half from the lower waist down was prosthetic, he was virtually helpless if he needed work done, so he wasn't going to trust just anyone with them. Not even would he go to Peggy's Aid, an entire shop devoted to prosthetics here in Trench, with the trust issues he had.]

[ Oh, it's this guy again! Penny's understanding is that Maul is a bit of a jerk, but it seems like he hasn't been as bad as expected since Penny got here. Thus she'll proceed with cheerful caution. ]

I will keep him in mind!

If I may ask, what kind of prosthetics do you have?

[Maul pauses for a moment and his voice is quiet when he answers.]

Everything from the waist down is prosthetic.

[There's a certain absurdity when one starts to ponder how Maul even survived whatever horrific injuries had led to him being completely severed in half.]

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