Darky
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Veritas et Aequitas
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Post by Darky on Mar 16, 2022 16:34:11 GMT -6
Instead, she raised her arm, curved it back and curled the fingers into a fist. Seconds before the murp would have made contact, the arm suddenly thrust forwards at it.
The sphinx watched in near slow-motion as the hefty beast was suddenly yanked backwards off its feet, flung several meters and landed on its side with a heavy thud. The droid, paused in the extent of the punch, slowly retracted the fist, unblinking even if she had the ability to. A deathly silence fell over the rest of the herd as the flung one slowly got back to its feet.. Turned, looked..
And quickly began to back away. The rest of the herd was quick to take cue, as a sudden nervousness was palpable in the air. The droid hovered and notch closer, and the whole mass of giant murps backed up like frightened foals.
Meanwhile, the sphinx could only but stare, both relieved the droid was alright as well as equally confused.
(16)
Sha'Nepti: 32 (0/5)
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Darky
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Post by Darky on Mar 16, 2022 16:34:36 GMT -6
She knew the droids had been built to be hardy and resilient, the better to actually survive the rigours of training creatures, but even so, they weren't indestructible, much less blessed with the strength of the gods themselves. But that was a thought for later, as the droid looked to her and gave a nod, signalling that it's time.
Breaking free from the stunned stare, the sphinx nodded back and moved into position. The plan after that ran a lot smoother than the initiation, as the droid acted as the driving force to push the herd back towards the barn, while the sphinx ran interference on any strays. Neither of them were sizeable compared to the murp, but the display of prowess had left them nervous enough that they didn't trust even the sphinx's smaller frame as something that might not be dangerous.
Slow step by step, the herd retreated back towards the estate, and one by one each murp fled to the safety of the barn.
(17)
Sha'Nepti: 32 (1/5)
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Darky
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Post by Darky on Mar 16, 2022 16:35:00 GMT -6
Finally, with the bold one, now dusty and terribly frightened, being the last to enter, the sphinx kicked away the stones from the doors and pushed them closed, making sure to bring down the heavy latch and properly lock things in.
"Two problems down.. a few more to go," she sighed, leaned up against the barn, as the droid finally landed and turned off the jets on her back. Try as she might, the mammalian could not keep from asking any longer, and looked to her, "How did you do that?" Her hand indicating a fist through the air, "Hit it so hard?"
The droid's head tilted, seeming confused by the way the organic looked to make the issue sound complex, when it seemed so simple to herself. Finally, she intoned simple, "Magnetics."
When the mammalian looked even more confused, the droid added in a helpful tone, "It had a metal collar and chain."
(18)
Sha'Nepti: 32 (2/5)
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Darky
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Post by Darky on Mar 16, 2022 16:35:27 GMT -6
The sphinx's brow burrowed in even more confusion momentarily, before the details finally connected. Ah, right.. "Forgot that was something you guys can do there for a second.." she blinked. "I guess the situation was always under control, then?"
"Oh no," the droid shook her head.
"..Oh no?" the sphinx repeated, confused again.
"Evidence suggests it was the lead of the herd. It was the only one with a collar," the droid explained in a tone cheerful, but the expression blank. "If it had been any other murp, there would have been severe issues and the plan could have been in threat of failing."
That.. was not the type of information she had been hoping to hear, though perhaps that only made them all the more luckier the outcome was in their favour. The sphinx thought about this for a moment, before adding slowly, "So.. if it had been someone else.. What would you have done then?"
(19)
Sha'Nepti: 32 (3/5)
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Darky
Flea Market Artist
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Post by Darky on Mar 16, 2022 16:35:55 GMT -6
Immediately and without hesitation, the droid raised her arm and a small plasma spark popped to life within her palm, the beginnings of a shot that could burn through most materials with fair ease.
Darky stared at her silently, not sure which was more alarming, the fact the droid didn't see a problem with that solution, or the fact she looked to resort to it so readily. After several seconds, she finally added in a sheepish tone, "Perhaps.. perhaps we don't use that option unless it's really, really necessary.. If at all.."
"Define 'really necessary'," the droid closed her fist, the plasma spark extinguishing.
"..Okay, I'm going to be honest and say I don't know if there's a way that I can explain this without it producing some loophole, so let's just agree that any time a plasma charge is to be used, it will require prior permission."
The droid looked to her arm, then back to the sphinx. "..'Any' time?"
(20)
Sha'Nepti: 32 (4/5)
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Darky
Flea Market Artist
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Post by Darky on Mar 16, 2022 16:36:14 GMT -6
The voice could almost pass for wounded or disappointed, if the mammalian didn't know her better. "Any time," she empathised, trying to sound serious. Then pushed herself away from the barn door and began to head towards the garden, feeling that tiredness seep back in again, as she off-hand added in jest, "Short of me being dead or dying, permission first."
And the droid took that to mean literally, filing it away within her programming and her mind, for future reference.
With the chickens in the coop and the murp in the barn, the main damage control remaining was the garden. One could still make a decent meal with enough vegetables and good spices, but the murp had done such a number on it as to seem the remains as utter devastation. What plants weren't eaten had been trampled, with trellises broken, pots smashed and quite a number of root vegetables no longer rooted.
(21)
Sha'Nepti: 33 (0/5)
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Darky
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Post by Darky on Mar 16, 2022 16:36:40 GMT -6
Even so, there could still be hope. As big as the herd was, the garden was bigger and they could not have eaten everything in so short a span of time, despite their best efforts. So the sphinx and droid made a survey of the damages first, adding up the casualties, as well as the survivors. Many of the trellis fruits, beans and vegetables had largely survived, though it would be impossible to replant the stalks that bore them.
The root vegetables were worse off, with too many smashed or half-eaten to make for a decent siding, so the mammalian instructed the droid to drop by the marketplace and bring them some more to cover. Between Sha'Nepti's flight and strength, a run to the market should be an easy enough errand to pull off.
In the meantime, the sphinx remained behind to salvage what she could from the garden. No doubt much of it would need a heavy wash..
(22)
Sha'Nepti: 33 (1/5)
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Darky
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Post by Darky on Mar 16, 2022 16:36:59 GMT -6
But it was better than nothing. Grabbing some baskets from the side of a smashed greenhouse, the sphinx gingerly stepped around the shards of glass to retrieve some cucumbers and tomatoes. The latter seemed more bruised and smashed in the voracious feeding attack, but fortunately the murp had shown little interest in the cucumbers, leaving them hopeful towards recovering with a salad, if nothing else.
Just nearby was the remains of some beets, carrots and onions, but out of those only the onions survived, so she didn't even bother trying to identify the other two for anything usable - the droid was bringing more from the market to recover, anyway.
It wasn't quite the season for fruit, and largely those weren't often used for most dinner dishes anyway, although the sphinx added in a couple of apples and a few oranges just in case. Never knew when something might need a garnish, after all.
(23)
Sha'Nepti: 33 (2/5)
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Darky
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Post by Darky on Mar 16, 2022 16:37:16 GMT -6
Gradually she was able to fill up the first two of the baskets and carried them over to the back of the estate, near the kitchen. Inside was a buzzing hive of activity, though more the nervous kind than industrious. For a moment she half wondered if it would help to bring someone like Detritus or Tarhunt over, who could at least try to power the refrigerators with their innate electricity, but not much point to it now - The damage had already been done. It was all about managing the extent and covering for the missing parts.
Grateful faces accepted the baskets and quickly disappeared back in, as gentle scents of food began to draft out in even increasing quantities and types. Something was boiling, something else frying, something was being cut, something else doused in hefty spices.
Needless to say, one could grow hungry just from the scents alone, standing near the door like that.
(24)
Sha'Nepti: 33 (3/5)
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Darky
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Post by Darky on Mar 16, 2022 16:37:36 GMT -6
But the mammalian still had work to do. Where most of the garden was a lost cause, there were still some beans and squash she could recover from the wreckage, along with some sunflower seeds and what looked to be a strangely intact pumpkin. A few of the more native fruit and berries were also recovered, though she still hadn't figure out whether any of those would work for food preparation, and if so, in what manner..
By the time the next two baskets were filled, she figured the garden was going to be as 'bountiful' as it could, given the circumstances. Not even half of what it used to be, but at least a good quarter was salvageable.
When she headed back around to the estate's kitchen, the droid landed within the yard mere moments later, carrying with her burlap bags filled with potatoes, carrots and some beets, each heavy enough to topple most people
(25)
Sha'Nepti: 33 (4/5)
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Darky
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Post by Darky on Mar 16, 2022 16:37:56 GMT -6
"I take it the shopping trip was successful?" the sphinx smiled, handing over the second basket of perhaps not the most prettiest of beans, but none the less functional ones for food-making.
"Sufficiently," the droid walked over, hefting one of the bags over her shoulder, one under her arm, and the last one in the same arm's grip. "The quantity is less than expected, but I calculate it should be enough for a sizeable meal." She reached over to hand one of the bags to a kitchen's helper, and he nearly toppled over as soon as she let go, transferring the full weight of the bag to them.
Darky noted this, with a raised brow, "Perhaps it's best if we help carry these in.. I get the sense they might need all the help they can get."
The droid had no moveable parts of the face to show expression, and yet a fraction of a tilt almost felt like the crane of a brow.
(26)
Sha'Nepti: 34 (0/5)
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Darky
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Post by Darky on Mar 16, 2022 16:38:31 GMT -6
"Assisting with the food preparation process?" the tone not accusatory, but rather.. curious, to the point the sphinx felt a little self-concious.
"Sure.. What, do you think we shouldn't?" her arms crossed involuntarily, and the tail began to twitch.
There was a servo hum, almost as if vocal, as the droid moved into the kitchen and placed the bag of potatoes down onto the counter there, with the beets right next to it. "They require assistance. The time frame is much too short to perform all the tasks necessary for the completion of the meal." Sha'Nepti then turned to looked at her. "I merely observed the curiosity of the eagerness, compared to past experiences."
Darky walked into the kitchen after her, "Past experien–?" Oh. The droid meant the cookie baking time, didn't she.. And to be fair, the mammalian herself hadn't quite made the connection, until things were pointed out so directly.
(27)
Sha'Nepti: 34 (1/5)
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Darky
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Post by Darky on Mar 16, 2022 16:39:00 GMT -6
"Yes, well, I suppose each us has had an opportunity for growth in the meantime, " she shrugged with a smirk. "And besides, I might not know much about baking, but I do know how to at least prepare some meals."
The words had hardly passed her lips before the fates quickly put them to the test, a kitchen hand rushing up to them. "You have meal-making experiences? Good! We need an extra pair of hands in.. well, everything!" the frantic man gestures around them, not even letting her answer the question yet. "And the droid? Does it know cooking as well?"
It took every fibre of the sphinx's body to avoid trying to correct the poor man in explaining that 'meal-making' wasn't quite on the same level as 'cooking', least least in terms of her experience with it. But the frantic expression and pleasing face made the words stop at only the start of the impulse.
(28)
Sha'Nepti: 34 (2/5)
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Darky
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Post by Darky on Mar 16, 2022 16:39:30 GMT -6
With a sheepish smile, Darky scratched the side of her neck "Ah, yes, well.. I'll see what I can do. As for Sha'Nepti, she.." her thoughts paused to look at the droid, who proceeded to give her exactly zero input into the conversation, having little to no stance on it. "She.. She's quite good at.. cutting, dough-making, carrying things and.. can help heat things up?"
It was a wager, largely based around what she could see happening around them, but the desperation of the kitchen ran deep enough that the man's eyes opened wide with gratitude, "Yes! Perfect! The oven has been on the fritz along with the fridge, and these log fires are cooking the meat much too slow. If she could heat them up to even temperatures, we could be done in half the time!"
The man clasped his hands and his thoughts seemed to drift to other tasks even as she explained, "The spits are over there, just get them to a nice medium raw."
(29)
Sha'Nepti: 34 (3/5)
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Darky
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Post by Darky on Mar 16, 2022 16:40:53 GMT -6
When he had left, and the two remained standing in their small island of peace in the chaotic storm of the kitchen, the droid finally asked the question the sphinx really dreaded from her.
"How exactly should I attempt to heat up the meat?"
Darky closed her eyes, breathing out, as regret washed over her. Sometimes being able to improvise wasn't quite so beneficial, especially when it involved digging a proverbial stumbling pit with one's own words.
"You'll.. need to cook them.. with the plasma," she breathed out finally.
"Ah," the droid murmured. Then, adding, "Are you dead or dying?"
The mammalian's eyes rolled, as there it was, the immediate loop back around. "No, but I'm giving you permission just this once. And only on the spits. Just a little."
The droid straightened, adding a cheery "Understood." as insult to injury.
"I'll be over there peeling potatoes," the sphinx resigned, hefting the bag from the counter over the shoulder, before glancing back halfway along, "Remember! Only the spits! Don't burn anything else." before the two parted ways and began their respective jobs to finalize this hard-earned feast.
(30) - (added)
Sha'Nepti: 34 (4/5)
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