Nina
Junior Member
Posts: 59
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Post by Nina on Dec 14, 2021 0:01:49 GMT -6
It was funny how something as small as a scale could change so much, so quickly.
Things had been different for Nina, and she still wasn’t quite sure how to handle it. For so long, she had stretched herself thin trying to do everything she needed to do all at once. There was simply no time to pick up new activities or even consider why she was so overworked to begin with. If she took the time to relax, well… she wasn’t sure she would like what she discovered.
Work always made her feel better, or at least it kept her from overthinking too much. Having less to do was a blessing and a curse in that way. On one hand, she could explore new things, and especially new relationships, but on the other hand, she had to carefully consider what was actually worth spending her time on. The fact that there was now a choice to be made only made it worse.
[2.8]
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Nina
Junior Member
Posts: 59
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Post by Nina on Dec 14, 2021 0:02:13 GMT -6
For now, she decided to pick up a brush and groom some fluffy creatures. That usually cheered her up. She started with one of her Gallor, a Ravenfeather named Nevermore. Apparently, it wasn’t enough to keep her attention, and before she knew it, she was idly brushing the same spot over and over. Her mind was drifting off into a daydream.
Nevermore angrily chirped, annoyed by the sensation of the brush raking across the same fur over and over. She snapped back at Nina’s hand, grabbing the brush in her beak and promptly throwing it at the ground. She puffed up her feathers in annoyance and hopped away. That would show her for brushing all wrong!
“Woah, wait,” Nina said in her softest voice. “I didn’t mean it... come back…”
By the time she finished saying that, Nevermore had already decided that she was done with being brushed. She began to preen her own feathers, making fierce eye contact with Nina to let her know that she was still annoyed. Nina sighed, but she knew better than to push the issue. Nevermore would get over it eventually.
[3]
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Nina
Junior Member
Posts: 59
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Post by Nina on Dec 14, 2021 0:02:38 GMT -6
“Hey!”
Nina jumped at the sound of an unfamiliar voice. She quickly turned to see who it was, but she didn’t see anyone. She was very sure that it wasn’t a part of her daydream, so she kept looking, her glowing eyes eventually settling on a small humanoid. She hadn’t been looking for someone so small, so his sudden appearance came as a surprise to her, even though she did know him.
“Yea, you. Good,” he said with a sneer. It was Lucent, one of Silver’s companions. She knew him well enough to know his name and not much else. He was very independent, if she recalled.
“I found something that I know you’re going to want to see,” he said. A coy smile crept across his stark white face.
Nina remained still, standing and staring down at him. His words didn’t match the tone he used to say them, so she was suspicious of his motives. It did not sound like he had something exciting to show her. She waited for him to finish without saying anything else, lest she incriminate herself further.
[3.2, 12.1]
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Nina
Junior Member
Posts: 59
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Post by Nina on Dec 14, 2021 0:03:16 GMT -6
A swirling black shadow flowed away from his claws and slowly revealed what he was holding: a single scale. It was pale blue in color with a bit of yellow at the edge. A self indulgent grin crept across Lucent’s face as he waited for Nina to figure out what it was he was holding.
“... No,” she said softly. Her antennae sunk and her tail wrapped reflexively around her leg. Despite this, she did her best not to look or sound too guilty. In her brain, a million possibilities were firing off. He could mean a lot of things. He hadn’t even said anything yet. It could still be okay. She could lie!
“It’s… that’s…” she said before she could come up with an end to that statement.
“We both know what it is,” Lucent said coldly. “This belongs to just the cutest little lizard, about yay big, speckled wings, sweet golden eyes…”
“You didn’t…”
“Didn’t what?”
[3.4, 12.2]
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Nina
Junior Member
Posts: 59
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Post by Nina on Dec 14, 2021 0:06:59 GMT -6
“If you hurt him…” Nina’s eyes glowed brightly with rage and her tail lashed behind her like a tiger getting ready to pounce.
“Oh calm down, I didn’t hurt anyone. I’m not a psycho,” he rolled his eyes as he spoke. How dare she think he was capable of such a thing? Well, no matter. That wasn’t the point. “It would be a real shame if our sparkly friend knew what you were doing behind their back, wouldn’t it?”
Nina was a confusing mix of infuriated and relieved. While she was happy that Iridium was (apparently) unharmed, the fact that he had the gall to threaten her was unbelievable. Next to set in was a tinge of panic. She had to think quickly to resolve the situation before it got out of hand. Unfortunately, all she could think to say in the moment was,
“What do you want from me?”
[3.6, 12.3]
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Nina
Junior Member
Posts: 59
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Post by Nina on Dec 14, 2021 0:07:49 GMT -6
“Good, good, I knew you’d be on board.” Lucent sounded absolutely pleased with himself, as if he relished in the fact that she gave in so quickly. He really thought himself clever.
Nina gave him a look like she might strangle him if he didn’t finish, so he awkwardly cleared his throat and continued. “You still have access to their accounts, don’t you? Well. I need you to buy me something. Do that, and I can forget that I ever met your scaly little friend.”
Nina considered what he said for a moment, but it didn’t make sense to her. If all he wanted was money… Well, that wouldn’t be that hard to come by. Certainly he didn’t need to blackmail someone for that. Though she regretted it the second she heard it come out, she couldn’t stop herself from asking.
“Money? Is that really all you want? Surely you could have found a better way to get some credits.”
[3.8, 12.4]
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Nina
Junior Member
Posts: 59
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Post by Nina on Dec 14, 2021 0:08:09 GMT -6
“I agree. Sadly it isn’t that simple. Do you think I would have gone through all this trouble if that’s all I wanted? No. I need you, specifically,” he pointed at her with one of his sharp little claws.
Nina was more skeptical than ever. Whatever he wanted must be important if he had done this much to get it. Why her, though? She couldn’t conceive of a reason why he would need her to do something. Shouldn’t Silver be able to get it for him? They would probably give him anything he wanted. Unless they thought it was too dangerous…
“I need you to go down to the Contest Hall and purchase something for me. Apparently they only give it to champions,” Lucent rolled his eyes. He could hardly think of anything more dreadful than having to participate in one of those pampered pet shows. If they would even let him compete in the first place, which they probably wouldn’t.
[4, 12.5]
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Nina
Junior Member
Posts: 59
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Post by Nina on Dec 14, 2021 0:08:32 GMT -6
She was familiar with the prizes over at the Contest Hall, of course. She had purchased quite a few Orbaru there, though she doubted that was what he was after. They also sold weapons there. Did he want a weapon? Nina didn’t like the way that thought made her feel, but she was pretty sure she didn’t have much of a choice in the matter.
“I want a Master Injection, and you’re going to get it for me,” Lucent said. He turned the scale around in his claws and looked up at her with a cocky smirk. “Right?”
“I will,” Nina said, lowering her head. Her voice was quiet. She could only imagine what he wanted such a wretched thing for, but she decided that it would be better not to ask. It was bad enough that she was enabling him. She didn’t need to know the details.
“Excellent. I knew you’d agree,” he said. His tone was almost joyous, as if he were congratulating her.
[4.2, 12.6]
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Nina
Junior Member
Posts: 59
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Post by Nina on Dec 14, 2021 0:09:00 GMT -6
“I’ll be going with you, of course, to make sure everything goes as planned,” he said. For the third time during the conversation. Nina felt her heart sink. There was no way out of this. While she did not necessarily intend to back out of the ‘deal’, she did feel more pressure knowing the option was closed off before she could even consider it.
Without saying another word, Nina turned her back to Lucent and started walking away. She had already made up her mind not to spend any more time deliberating. The sooner she got this done, the sooner she could forget that it ever happened. If she knew what his plans were, she may have made a different choice, but for now, all she could do was charge forward in ignorance and hope for the best.
Lucent paused for a moment, puzzled by her reaction. Was this her way of telling him to piss off? Surely not. She clearly understood what was at stake, and he didn’t think she would walk away without speaking her mind if she had something to say. He quickly floated after her, keeping his promise to keep an eye on her until he had what he wanted.
[4.4, 12.7]
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Nina
Junior Member
Posts: 59
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Post by Nina on Dec 14, 2021 0:09:21 GMT -6
The trip down the familiar path through the city was uneventful. Soon enough, they arrived at the contest hall. Nina hesitated for a moment as she reached out to open the door. It was her last chance to turn back and make a different choice… but she didn’t. She pushed open the double doors and headed over to the prize counter.
The injection felt powerful in her hand. It was as if she could feel that it had a life of its own, overflowing with magic waiting to be unleashed. Was she making it all up in her head? It was hard to say. Whether she was imagining the feeling or not, she wanted to get rid of it as quickly as possible.
Nina slowly uncurled her fingers from around the injection, allowing Lucent to take it from her. For a brief moment, she considered how similar the two of them were as creations of the labs trying to take control of their own destinies. She sincerely hoped that he would find his place some day, but for now, that’s where the crossing of their paths ended.
[4.6, 12.8]
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Nina
Junior Member
Posts: 59
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Post by Nina on Jul 30, 2023 22:18:30 GMT -6
Though her time with Lucent had been brief, it weighed heavily on her mind. There were many things about the encounter to be concerned about. Whenever her mind wasn’t otherwise occupied, a series of anxious thoughts flooded in. Nina continued to wonder if she should have made a different decision, and when (not if) the consequences for her actions would catch up to her - a sword of Damocles hanging over her head.
As she often did when she wasn’t sure what to do, she threw herself into her work. With the Zu in safe hands… er, paws… she felt safe to disconnect from the world so she could spend some quality time with her creatures. Her creatures. The idea always struck her as strange, really. Of all the creatures she cared for, some were more ‘hers’ than others.
First, there was an Izer. Tsubame was the first creature she had really bonded with, and after seeing how well they got along, Silver insisted that she take him as her own. From there, her family slowly but surely grew. Sometimes she chose them, but most of the time she felt like they chose her.
[5]
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Nina
Junior Member
Posts: 59
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Post by Nina on Jul 30, 2023 22:18:55 GMT -6
Nina had been careful not to take on too many creatures, as each one added to her already long list of responsibilities, but lately she had been feeling the urge to expand. She had more time now, so she could easily accommodate more. The thought continued to nag at her mind, but she had not acted on it… yet.
Caring for creatures was all that she really knew. It was so deeply ingrained in what she was - literally hardwired into her by her creators. She had never before thought of doing anything else. Even the project that she considered most her own, the Zu, was still just a more elaborate version of the same thing. It all came back to the creatures.
Nina was beginning to think that she should diversify her interests, but even if she did, she wasn’t too sure how to approach it. How does one just change what they are interested in? She wasn’t too sure, and until now, she hadn’t had much time to worry about it.
[5.2]
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Nina
Junior Member
Posts: 59
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Post by Nina on Jul 30, 2023 22:19:19 GMT -6
Perhaps she should start with something adjacent to what she already knew. That at least gave her a starting place, though she was cautious about ending up with another project like the Zu that was basically the same thing but bigger.
One thing Nina had always been curious about was gardening. She even already had a Nyssa she was quite fond of. Perhaps that would be a good way to pick up a new hobby without it being too different from what she already knew. Was caring for plants considerably different than caring for creatures? What about plant creatures? How did they differ from others, really? It sounded like a line of questioning worth looking into.
Thankfully, she didn’t have to start from scratch. The study in Silver’s home contained many volumes full of information about good plant keeping. She could borrow a few and plan out what she wanted to do before getting started. With a bit of help from the journals, she might even be able to unlock some memories of something she had never experienced. As strange as it sounded, she had long since gotten used to it. She didn’t know anything else, after all.
[5.4]
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Nina
Junior Member
Posts: 59
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Post by Nina on Jul 30, 2023 22:20:22 GMT -6
Once she was finished with her chores for the day, Nina made a visit to Silver’s study. While she was there, she tidied up a few things that were out of place. It was second nature for her to take care of things like that, even if it wasn’t required of her at the time. Finally, after all of that, she browsed the shelves for anything she could find about the gardens.
While Nina had no trouble finding information, she realized it would take some time to sort through it all. Mixed in among the beginner tips and tricks was detailed volumes on plants, soil, weeds, seeds, native creatures, and even the weather. Would she even need most of this? Without any experience, it was hard to know what might become relevant.
Instead of feeling overwhelmed, Nina was actually excited. There was so much to know and learn. She wanted something new to occupy her time, and she was pleased with her choice. It just felt right. She excitedly flipped pages in the books, stopping now and then to read a passage that caught her attention.
[5.6]
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Nina
Junior Member
Posts: 59
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Post by Nina on Jul 30, 2023 22:21:04 GMT -6
Her synthetic fingers brushed over a page about chrysanthemums. She liked how they had a variety of shapes and sizes, as demonstrated by some meticulously detailed watercolor drawings in the book. The many interlocking petals reminded her of feathers.
The sudden sound of the front door clicking open then being hastily shut startled her. She froze in place, her large luminous eyes fixating on the wide open study door. She hadn’t even considered closing it, for she had been alone this entire time. She was so wrapped up in what she was doing that her surroundings had completely melted away, only to come back with a sharp warning that she was not, in fact, alone.
The door opening may have been a surprise, but the person behind it certainly was not. Silver lived here, after all. Still, something about the situation struck her as strange. Nina didn’t yet know what she was worried about, but she had a sinking feeling. All she could do was silently stare at the entrance to the study and see what happened next. Soon enough, Silver stepped into the study, instantly making eye contact with the perplexed TroD.
[5.8]
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