Somehow In a Relationship with a Deer and a Cow
Posts: 20
Preferred Name: Kady
Pronouns: she/her
Character Name: Heather
Main Account: Heather
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Post by Heather on Jul 27, 2015 23:34:51 GMT -5
There are few defining qualities that made up Heather Forens' life. One, she hated baths. Two, she hated bologna. Third she'd probably do an alien if one just appeared from thin air. Finally she was always tinkering with something That was just the few things that set her apart from most people, though upon closer inspection, her less than stellar social skills also stuck out. It was her craft that made her stay afloat, allowing herself a few extra commodities that were definitely legal. Majority of the time, she was at her workshop almost as if she lived there. Rumor had it that at least in her office that she had a room designed for sleeping when she stayed late.
But there was more to Heather than that. Well, that would be silly, wouldn't it? If her defining features were just a couple things, when everyone else had so much more to offer. She had a system of sorts, wake up around 7 AM, be forced by one of her bot's to shower, get dressed, eat, and brush teeth. Occasionally this system was disrupted throughout the night, with her waking up panting and looking around her frantically as if she expected someone to be in her lonely room. When she knew that it was just her mind playing tricks, she closed her eyes again, forcing the thoughts of the past behind her in order to look forward to the next day. Despite her sleepless nights, Heather was quite content with her life. She had the time to work on whatever job she had, but she also had time for her projects. Those projects that she kept secret down below in a hidden area beneath her office that she almost always kept locked.
Or, well, it wasn't exactly secret anymore. At least to one person, much to Heather's dismay. Secret Police Officer had caught her in a restricted area when she had been scavenging for some extra equipment instead of just buying it. It was her quick thinking that she was able to strike a deal with that officer. On the account he didn't turn her into the Common Police or begin an investigation as to why she would need random equipment, she would help build weaponry and kinetic shields.
Kinetic Shields were always a blast for her, though she never advertised that she could make them. Her shop was technically supposed to be for vehicles, mods, and household devices or bots. If she advertised that she had an array of interesting technology that could be used to disarm threats or protect her from the government's eyes, she was certain that the Secret Police would be alllllll too happy to hunt her down and question her loyalty. Alliance or not, Heather's blatant disregard for "minor" laws is what got her into so much trouble sometimes. If it wasn't for Mops, who often covered her ass unbeknownst to her, she would have been in prison by now.
How could she help herself though, really? Sometimes, rules needed to be broken in order to make advancements in science and technology! For such a place that boasted about it's array of electronic devices and equipment, it sure made it difficult for Heather to actually enjoy herself in her engineering field. Like, really, who makes a restricted area? Dumb old fogies, that's who. It was whatever though. She still had her ways of getting around and as long as her "friend" wasn't going to rat her out, she had no reason to care. Heather was smarter than those who enforced the law, or so she believed. No one could outsmart her and catch her. No, not even him.
The man that would enter Heather's workshop at 7 PM, once a week, when she finished closing up shop. It was always the same build up too. He would walk in, she would be fiddling with something, and he would have to struggle to get her attention. She would be grumpy towards him until he asked for something she deemed was interesting. Then her excitement would build up and she'd soon become annoying to the man.
And so the scene unfolded. Heather kicked back in a chair taking apart the external shell of a deactivated household bot, her tongue sticking out, her covered in oil and whatever else she tampered with. She stretched out, her feet resting on the table in front of her, pushing off gently to lift the front legs of her chair. Even as that man came in, she didn't acknowledge him. Either she was absorbed into her work or his presence just wasn't worth something acknowledging.
They were hardly friends. Two months didn't mean much to either of them.
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Unapproved Character
Volkswagen
Posts: 8
Preferred Name: Dylan
Pronouns: He / Him
Character Name: Stepan/Volk
Main Account: aLonelyCow
Status: Active
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Post by Volk on Jul 31, 2015 20:38:50 GMT -5
Everyone under the dome had some sort of dirty business that had to be taken care of, something they would never want to touch lest they muck their hands up in blood and grime. Felons hiding among the trash were the first ones to go to when you had to keep yourself clean. Whether it was a personal request or something done for someone else, Volk never bothered to ask; wasn't his job to care. Just like the dirty job passed down the line to the man within his sights, the officer was the fool who was always given the bottom-rung work. Easily burned out and forgotten, but the government loved its paperwork too god damn much.
Assassination took a clean slate and dug it through clammy mud, forgoing the chance of giving anyone a clean slate to work with. It was a filthy business no matter who was handing out the orders or who was on the payroll. Even for the criminals, a job well done still required a cover and a thorough cleaning, Volk just enjoyed the benefits of doing said killing for the government. The cleaning crews were expensive but never missed a drip and the news had already been bought out to ignore the target zone.
The only problem was that the margin of error was zero, and when the job went to shit there wasn't a 'go home and try again' option. There'd be a chase, a fight and a significant chance to die, nothing that the assassin was eager to get into. It was either succeed and go home rich or die, either by the target or by his own superior.
So Volk steeled himself, took in a soothing breath, and aimed for the last time.
--
"For the last fucking time, man's dead, Lennard. Crew's got him now, in and out no issue.
Yes. Yes I know. Yep. Night."
Volk lowered his fist from the dented trash can outside of the repair shop, a hovel of a place but with a damn good mechanic hidden inside. His bloodstained hand forced the door open, allowing the officer to stomp in and disturb the woman on the other side. She owed him for life, after all. Might as well have given him the key.
"Yo," he began, as he had done every week in his power-game routine. "We need to talk."
As he expected, Heather hadn't 'heard' him. Even a look in his direction would have been appreciated, just for her to see that he had gone through a bit of hell. Bruised and battered around, Volk stormed right up to her.
"You ain't deaf, I said we need to fucking talk."
When all else failed, Volk reached for her project to yank it right out from her.
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Somehow In a Relationship with a Deer and a Cow
Posts: 20
Preferred Name: Kady
Pronouns: she/her
Character Name: Heather
Main Account: Heather
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Post by Heather on Jul 31, 2015 23:45:20 GMT -5
It was really amazing just how much Heather could be absorbed into her own work... That or she really was good at ignoring the bloody and bruised man standing beside her. She continued to work, her tongue sticking out slightly in concentration, brows furrowed, and about to move from the external shell to the main frame of the bot. That was when Volk decided to make his presenceknown via swiping the shell out from her. The sudden surprise and snatch forced her to tumble back off her seat, hitting the floor and looking up at him.
"Owwwww... Hi to you too," She said, rubbing her head and beginning to stand back up. "What do you want this ti-"
Heather stopped short, her green eyes noticing the bloody hand. Her body froze, words already getting stuck in her throat. This wasn't a mere cut, it wasn't something she could ignore. The man wasn't in good condition, clearly battered from whatever business. She took a deep breath, turning her back towards him.
"Wash your hands first in the bathroom," She said lowly, before adding towards one of her own personal bots,"C.S 00, would you mind giving us privacy?"
"Yes, Miss Forens! We shall see to that!"
It was the bot's cue to activate the security dampers that laid hidden within it's body. Pretty clever command, something the gearhead was very proud of. As much as their cheerfulness and optimism could be annoying to others, she absolutely adored her little creations like they were her own children. Well, technically they were, but.
"Ugh... Honestly, shouldn't you be at a doctor's or hospital or something?... I'm a mechanic, not a doctor, in case you're discombobulated."
As usual, she was ever so friendly, treating him as if he was bothering her. Though in her perspective, he was bothering her. She could be working on her project right now, but nOOOOO. Volk had to come in, looking like a punching bag, and steal the shell. He was such a fart-face.
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Unapproved Character
Volkswagen
Posts: 8
Preferred Name: Dylan
Pronouns: He / Him
Character Name: Stepan/Volk
Main Account: aLonelyCow
Status: Active
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Post by Volk on Aug 2, 2015 21:31:11 GMT -5
As much as he didn't care about her nagging worries over the sight of some gore, Volk submitted and made his way over to the bathroom after rolling his eyes at her. She nagged on and on even as he ran water and soap through the deep gouges cut in his knuckles, cleaning out the assortment of gunk his last job had forced him through to open the wound a bit. He wrapped the bloodied hand in a disposable towel just so he wouldn't have to hear her complain anymore about it.
"Not a bad wound, not worth going too far to just be patched up. Might want to just chop it off entirely. Docs can make great cash that way."
Volk had slammed a piece of gum into his mouth during his rebuttal. One of the most annoying traits Heather tended to display were her attempts at trying to get rid of him. Which was a shame to him, really, because she was damn easy on the eyes, just rough on the ears.
Despite having taken the shell in such a rude manner earlier, Volk stepped back into the main area of the shop to return it to the mechanic. "Here's your whatever-the-hell." It had a few drips of water rolling down it, but he had kept it intact within his careless hands somehow.
"Listen, we gotta talk now. Your new toy for me nearly blew my face off today, and you're lucky I'm not dragging you away because of it."
His expression grew rather grim. While he was hardly the type to smile around Heather, he had never seemed sad nor horrified in the slightest. The look of disgust was a new one for the mechanic to see.
"It did blow apart a criminal I had to take alive. It's a stunner, darling, not a fucking grenade."
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Somehow In a Relationship with a Deer and a Cow
Posts: 20
Preferred Name: Kady
Pronouns: she/her
Character Name: Heather
Main Account: Heather
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Post by Heather on Aug 2, 2015 21:49:48 GMT -5
When Volk returned with her external shell in tow, Heather snatched it up like it might has well been a bar of gold. She held it away from him, pouting and glaring at him, clearly distrusting of the fact he would leave it alone. Especially when he had NO respect for it, which she made sure to retort with, "UHMMMM, it's part of the external shell of a bot. You know, stuff that helps protect it and I dunno, keep it from looking like a creepy monstrosity in every little kid's dreams! It's essentially an art, Volk! Have more respect for it!"
With that lecture, she turned, setting it down on the table and turning completely to Volk. Now that the blood was out og sight, she was fine, able to hold a conversation with him and not feel like she was going to vomit in her own mouth. But his grim face... wasn't much better either, with her expecting him to explode for whatever reason. Though the gearhead's shoulders relaxed, when he simply was complaining about the stunner she made for him. Rolling her eyes and looking annoyed, she crossed her arms.
"Look, you said you wanted something that packed a punch, that's what I gave you! You can't expect me to make efficient gadgets when you ask me every other week for a new one!" She said, adjusting her glasses and giving him an exasperated look. It was like talking to a greedy little child... Except now the child grew into a man-child. "Do you want it fast or do you want it without flaws? You can't have both all the time!"
Playing with her hair now, she quietly added, "Besides, I don't appreciate you coming in here snapping at me when there are other important matters to discuss..."
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Unapproved Character
Volkswagen
Posts: 8
Preferred Name: Dylan
Pronouns: He / Him
Character Name: Stepan/Volk
Main Account: aLonelyCow
Status: Active
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Post by Volk on Aug 3, 2015 12:34:26 GMT -5
There it was again, the drone of her lovely voice when she went into a tangent about her work and designs. For her technical work it was a wonderful trait, but for standard human conversation it nagged the back of Volk's brain until it raked the bone. She wanted respect for the protective properties of her robots, that much he could understand. He knew how the mechanic was, though .They were her children; soulless, disgusting children.
The assassin groaned as she prattled on further, lecturing him over his requirements as if he cared at all. Any lack of time was entirely on her, after all. All it would take to shut her down would be a single report to his administrators and her world would burn to the ground. Her shop, tools and creativity all gone.
He displayed his mock concern to her with a glare in her direction, folding his arms against his chest. "Maybe you should get a little less caught up in your personal work and focus more on the jobs that'll keep you alive in the future, yeah? How about that, hm?" He only wanted it all to work, and to be completely honest time was never going to be an issue, but she was the type of person he had to throw off the cliff to better her.
It was like having an investment. Sometimes you'd have to try and improve on it yourself to see your profit skyrocket, or else your money would go to waste anyway. That was why, every once in awhile, Volk would swallow his authority to assist the mechanic.
"Ignore the damn stunner for now, then. What matters we talking about here?"
Some day he'd have to get Heather to pay him.
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Somehow In a Relationship with a Deer and a Cow
Posts: 20
Preferred Name: Kady
Pronouns: she/her
Character Name: Heather
Main Account: Heather
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Post by Heather on Aug 3, 2015 15:05:32 GMT -5
((TW: Incest mention and Heather's take on religious beliefs
aka things that heather gets heated about and can be a touchy subject regardless))
Naturally her words hardly phased the man, who only cared about himself more than anything. Well, in that aspect they were the same at least. But unfortunately, it meant that both of them were always at odds with each other. Heather and her lack of social grace and then Volk and his.... jerkiness. Jerkiness was understatement, he was total heartless jerkbag that Heather didn't have to be a social butterfly to see.
His threat also didn't amuse her either, with her pursing her lips and waiting for him to finish. His threat didn't go over her head, but threatening Heather was like challenging her. Sometimes she would be too scared to accept the challenge and other times she would accept it and run full force with it. There honestly wasn't an in between for her and countering his wit, she snapped, "Oh yeah, like I can do personal projects all the time. Not like I have other clients who actually pay me for my services. Sheesh, does your job pay you peanuts or something? Or is what they have to offer sub-par in comparison to the perfect gadgets you ask me for for free?"
Honestly, if he wanted to be threatening, he was failing. Wasn't he... like some sort of assassin? In hindsight, Heather thought, maybe her retort was rash and likely to get her in more trouble with this man than she already was. But as an opportunist, she gladly took advantage of Volk's curiousity. A hand on her hip and one metallic finger moving in circles as she did what she always did when she got lost in her thoughts.
"But okay. So like, I was watching this documentary on conspiracies of how Novus came to be, right? One of the theories was so backwards, disgusting, and simply ridiculous, Volk! They were saying that we managed to survive through another coming of Adam and Eve!" She looked heated, metal hand balling into a fist. "Do people even THINK before they even talk? Like, you need at least 497 divergent individuals to sustain a healthy population! You know, different gene pools! Otherwise, if everyone was doing their sister or cousin, THEY WOULD END UP UP DYING FROM IN-BREEDING."
The gearhead spared a glance at him, taking a moment's pause to see if this was going over his tiny little brain.
"Do you realize how important this is? What if this theory breaks out? Think of the masses who'd stupidly fall for that! It would be a disaster, a foul turn in our IQ!"
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Unapproved Character
Volkswagen
Posts: 8
Preferred Name: Dylan
Pronouns: He / Him
Character Name: Stepan/Volk
Main Account: aLonelyCow
Status: Active
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Post by Volk on Aug 3, 2015 20:27:58 GMT -5
He had to give it out to the poor girl, she had bravery to match even the dumbest drunk from the shadiest bar in Novus. While she certainly had enough security to handle any sort of thugs that would try and break into her shop to rob or hurt her, Volk had very strong faith in his ability to leave her dead at a moment's notice. Luckily for them both, he never wanted any unnecessary bloodshed. Heather was too interesting.
Electing to answer with his brief silence, Volk relaxed after Heather pulled her tongue back to get to the bulk of her point. Maybe there would be something for him do to, some little way to repay her for all of her services that wasn't just holding her future by a thread in front of her face. She had the nerve to tell him off to his face, so why not dump some small favor his way as well?
At first she had Volk's interest. His body had lifted just slightly, eyes locked onto her, listening to every small detail that poured out past her lips. He glanced down towards her hand. Exasperated, Volk allowed his disappointment to wash over him as he leaned up against the wall behind him.
Why
the fuck
would he care?
"I don't think I really care," he shook his head with a drawn out sigh. "Like, am I dreaming right now? Am I really standing here listening to you spout off about some Adam and Eve bullshit and how it's clearly bullshit? Like we don't already know it's completely fucking stupid to believe that THAT'S how we came here?"
God damn it, you idiot.
Volk took a deep breath, stepping off of the wall to step a little closer to her. "Look, don't get so caught up in what other people think, alright? No point in cluttering up your brain with their crap."
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Somehow In a Relationship with a Deer and a Cow
Posts: 20
Preferred Name: Kady
Pronouns: she/her
Character Name: Heather
Main Account: Heather
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Post by Heather on Aug 3, 2015 22:26:44 GMT -5
At first, Volk seemed so receptive to what she was talking about. He listened to her carefully, she could tell because of how he locked eyes on her. She was hopeful that maybe she was opening his eyes, making him realize the importance of how conspiracy theories were ridiculous and needed to be said as much. Oh yeah, that was what she hoped, but it wasn't what she got. Instead, the man seemed agitated with her, his sigh so condescending that she wanted to smack him with a wrench for it. Maybe he knew how they got there, but the fact of the matter was that there were OTHER people who believed in that sort of nonsense. He blew her off and she looked away angrily, though her cheeks were red from embarrassment.
She hated that feeling of not being listened to.
Perceptive as he was though, the man seemed to pick up that maybe he was a little harsh on her. Not that she herself would catch onto the fact he tried to backtrack and explain himself. At the very least though, she looked at him as he spoke, with him stepping closer to her. His piece of advice was received and currently being processed, complete with Heather playing with her hair.
"I... guess you're right. I could be moving onto bigger and better things then... I just... I dunno, this stuff is... K-kind of fun to talk about. I get to show off," She admitted, giving him a tiny smile. "I get to show off that I'm smarter than most people."
Pause.
"But by the way, I'm not showing off to impress you. I show off to hope you'll learn a thing or two. So don't get the wrong idea, you man-perv!"
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Unapproved Character
Volkswagen
Posts: 8
Preferred Name: Dylan
Pronouns: He / Him
Character Name: Stepan/Volk
Main Account: aLonelyCow
Status: Active
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Post by Volk on Aug 8, 2015 21:06:36 GMT -5
There wasn't anything wrong with that, he figured. Wanting to impress others was just human nature in the end and even he had the desire to show off what he was capable of. There didn't have to be any complex reasoning behind displaying his particular set of skills, and he doubted that Heather cared to do much more than prove what she had said. It was to show off her intelligence.
So he backed off from the subject, rolling his eyes at her 'perv' comment. Sure, Volk had his moments and displayed them even to Heather, but that was no reason to throw his name under the title. But in the interest of keeping his relations acceptable, the assassin caved in.
"Then teach me a thing or two," he shrugged, moving next to her. "Tell me about your crazy theories, your ideas, just lay them out here." His arms crossed as he gave her a confident smirk. "I might impress you, brainiac. And maybe I can teach you a little something in private."
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