trans_9 | Tavros: What problems? [OPEN]

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Tavros: What problems? [OPEN]

How long has he been on the ship, a couple of weeks? Three? Time's flown by for the dorky little troll, and he's stopped keeping track. It doesn't seem to matter much, anyway. People go about their business, drama rises and falls, and for the most part he stays out of it.

As much as he's gotten to know and like this mostly-human crew, he has to admit it sucks being the only Alternian on the ship. He'd love to see another grey face or be able to talk about his custodian without having to stop and explain what they are. And of course, there's the matter of the evaluations. He has no idea what to expect or what's going to happen if he fails. When he fails, maybe. Conversations with Alex have made it obvious to him how different troll culture is from the basic human one that governs the ship. Are they going to judge him by their standards? Will he be culled if he answers wrong?

But enough of these depressing thoughts. Alex has been spending time with Luna lately, which has left Tavros free to explore the ship by himself. Today he's decided to see what these sensoriums can really do. First comes the easy part, reconstructing his hive and the area around it purely from memory. Barn, cliffs, and far below, the strip of beach and glittering dark ocean beyond. He's done this before. The darkness is just as comforting as it was the first time.

Now for the hard part.

Tavros closes his eyes and takes a deep breath. Happy thoughts, that's how it works, think of good things, and...

He doesn't open his eyes until he feels the wheelchair drop away beneath him. He's still amazed to find himself suspended in the air, nearly seven feet off the ground.

He's flying!

He can't help it. Even homesickness and evaluations can't bring him down now. Grinning happily, Tavros takes off, swooping this way and that, only stopping near cloud level to have another look around. The forest, the ocean, the distant glow and thrum of a city just beyond the horizon, and above him...

Tavros smiles. He's spent enough time staring at these stars to replicate some of the constellations without Stacy's help. And let's not forget the moons, the huge baleful green one and the other tiny and pink.

None of this is going to fix any of his problems, but as far as distractions go, rearranging the stars is a pretty good one.

((OOC: Feel free to hop in! I'm never too busy for another thread. And don't worry, your character should be able to float or "walk" on the open air near him, unless you particularly feel like having them drop like a stone, in which case Tavros will do his best to save them. XD))

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Tavros looks away, avoiding her direct stare.

"I didn't mean that, um, I mean, of course it's not, a good thing, that I can't walk anymore. What I'm getting at is, uh, Vriska is really dangerous. I respect that, you do a lot of, uh, ass kicking, but this girl..."

He balks. Even by troll standards, Vriska is a psychopath. Tavros is underestimating Hit Girl here, but he can't help it. The thought of what Vriska would do to someone who stood up to her for his sake is almost as frightening as the thought of having her on the ship at all.

"We already, kind of, had this whole chain of revenge. Both of my friends, uh, ended up seriously hurt. Terezi's blind now, and, um, I don't know what she did to Aradia, but maybe it was worse. I just, don't want to see anyone else, uh, fall into her web, or whatever terms you care to, um, couch it in."

Maybe they're not very good friends or anything, but Hit Girl's pretty cool. Tavros doesn't want to see her killed or something.

Hit Girl turned to Tavros. giving him a smile. It wasn't a nice, gentle smile: it was the one of someone who was openly malicious and knew it. What was more, she was very, very, insistent Tavros understand something.

"You know how there are superheroes on this ship, who are so awesome that they don't kill people because they're that good? Well I'm not like that: never called myself a hero, and its really stupid to get on that high horse about not killing when I'm not super strong enough to back it up. In my world, being a hero means that you have to faster, smarter, quicker."

She shrugged. "If I was going to kill her, I won't tell her it. She won't see it coming. Anything worth happening has to be researched."

That is one frightening smile, and at this point Tavros realizes she's never going to see it his way and backs off. Obviously she's made up her mind, and all he can do now is hope Vriska never pops. Really, it's your funeral, Hit Girl.

"Well, it's not like, she's on the ship right now. So, um, maybe we can just, uh. Forget about this whole thing."

Awkward pause.

"But, thanks, I guess, for... wanting to do something about it. Even if it's, probably not very sensible."

Hot girl stared at Tavros a moment. "I can't tell you how fucking annoying it gets to be underestimated, but its probably for the best. I'm not going to get anywhere with trying to show people how good I am. I have to start square one again. If there's something I can use, I gotta use it. Just so you know, I was only half serious about killing that crazy bitch."

The other half was deadly serious though. Someone who thought paralyzing someone they don't like for fun was obviously WAY more fucked up than she was, and she knew she was pretty bad.

She smirked. "I'm not known for being sensible. I'm more of a 'talks with my fist' type of girl."

"Being underestimated, uh, is an advantage, though, I think. It's been the difference between a win and a loss for me, strategically, a few times, in the past. But, I've seen you fight, so I know you're not all talk and, uh, you probably don't even need it."

He smiles back, still a little nervous. Yes, Hit Girl, he knows what type of girl you are. It's a bit intimidating, and he's glad you're on his side.

If Hit Girl ever went after Vriska, Vriska would definitely retaliate, and the whole thing would escalate again and probably leave bodies in the wake. Not something they need when the adults already think the immature members of the crew can't handle themselves.

Better to hope she never shows up.

"Yeah, I work that to my advantage," Hit Girl said. "Some people might think that I could shuck my secret identity because I happen to be here on a ship, but it would hurt more than help. If people just see a ten year old, I won't get anywhere. As Hit Girl, I make them respect me, r get the hell out of my way. It's kind of a necessary thing."

She shrugged. "So show me something else. I wouldn't mind seeing more."

"Besides, if, any enemies from your world showed up, or something, it's best to have a way to, uh, blend in, right?"

He brightens a little as she speaks. "Really, you're not, uh, bored? Okay, there's, um, the ocean, but that's kind of dangerous. Or, um, the city, which is pretty dangerous too. You already kind of saw the forest, and..."

He shrugs, looking a little sheepish.

"I guess, um, everywhere on Alternia is pretty dangerous."

"If any of the enemies from my world showed their faces here, I would kill them," Hit Girl said plainly. "I did it before. And if that's one miserable fuck I didn't kill comes back, I'd have the second chance."

Her eyes did betray her a little whens he said this: he could see she meant that.

She shrugged. "It's not boring, just different from where I'm from. I'm used to a city, and this is all pretty new. But a danger in one place is just different from another, right? Just show me what's there. It's just a simulation anyway."

Not that he wouldn't have believed her anyway. Hit Girl sure can be scary!

"Okay, um, I guess, you have a point. Hang on..."

He concentrates, using his imagination to move the scenery around them rather than making them both fly all the way out to the distant city. See, he's learning! The dark landscape passes around them, hives and hills and more strange beasts. The city itself (http://mspaintadventures.com/?s=6&p=003994) is huge, not as big as New York City but still impressive with its towering hivestems and weirdly organic architecture.

There are throngs of trolls bustling here and there, vague shadows of beings from the world Tavros knew, nobody specific in the bunch. Not an adult in sight, however.

It might also strike Hit Girl as peculiar that there seems to be a dead body leaking greenish blood in an alley nearby. It's out of the way but appears to have been flung there and simply left in plain sight. Tavros glances at it, but doesn't seem all that interested.

"So, this is, a troll city. I know a guy who lives, um, at the top of one of these hivestems, but, I don't see him that often."

She had definitely never seen anything like this before. She had to marvel at the way that everything somehow looked different from what she was used to, and how the hivestems Tavos kept talking about seemed to come to life. It was probably the reason people liked those movies with all of this amazing color and stuff, but it didn't compare to the real thing.

"Wow. I gotta say, I kinda like it, What's up with dead body though? Is it common to see dead things just laying around and rotting?"

Tavros smiles. He's glad Hit Girl likes the city. It's a little too crowded and noisy for his tastes, but he doesn't mind coming here on visits. Before he can reply, she asks about the body.

"Huh? Where? Oh, that one."

He shrugs.

"Something will come along, uh, and drag that off, soon enough."

Clearly it's a common sight. He doesn't seem upset by it at all.

Crowded and noisy was something Hit Girl was more than used to: that was a way of life. Mind, she was glad to have some peace and quiet now, even if it was in the form of a pulsating alive ship.

Oh, that one?

She raised an eyebrow. "People on my world tend to notice things like dead bodies lying around and investigate the causes. I figured, y'know, the same might be true about this place."

Tavros looks a bit confused about the expression on Hit Girl's face. Was it something he said? People died, it was a fact of life. Damn shame when it turned out to be one of your friends, but once they were gone, what was there to do besides grieve for awhile? Tavros isn't like most trolls; he's just not the avenging sort.

"Really? Uh, people die here, all the time. It's just, a part of life. That girl could have been thrown out a window, uhh, or he could have, thrown himself out."

Tavros glances up, as if he's really going to spot a shattered window. He doesn't.

"I guess, her friends could investigate, if she has any. And then, um, get justice, if it's called for. Either way... bodies don't stick around long."

Hit Girl shook her head. "Freaky. Of course, if you want get rid of a body on my world, you usually have to be very careful about making sure no one finds out about and everything, and of someone DOES know, you usually pay to keep it quiet. I guess in this world, its easier to get away with killing a bitch."

She was SO glad her world, with all its faults, at least had some kind of a justice system, even if it was rather corrupt.

"So where does someone go to eat in a place like this anyway? What's the local delicacies like?"

If it was human flesh, that was WAY out, but she would try most anything else.

"Really? That's, pretty different. Here it's more like, you can get away with anything, um, that is, if you're a high enough blood. Unless, maybe, you have friends willing to organize and, try to kill them back, but what would that solve? All that accomplishes is that, um, you're both dead."

Alternia has a justice system all right; it's just based entirely on offense. You get wronged, you wrong them back. Unless you're Tavros, in which case you try and fail to avoid particularly nasty trolls.

"Oh, uh, local delicacies? I don't know... most Alternian food, seems to gross Alex out. Like grubloaf and stuff. I guess, uh, we could get cotton candy, if you like sweets."

Slight pause. Cotton candy is definitely a troll delicacy; he doesn't expect Hit Girl to know what he's talking about.

"That's, um, a sort of spun sugar, it's really light and usually colorful. We love that stuff."

Different, but kinda similar, when you got down to it really.

"That's a lot like most wars though," Hit Girl said. "Most conflict is 'fuck that guy, I want this' and somebody dies and either someone goes to avenge him or they decide that THEY want to get stuff so they kill the other guy to get it. It's all a big cluster fuck of wants. Revenge, at least that comes out of something better than personal gains."

She wrinkled her nose. "Yeah I don't think I'll be having something called grubloaf anytime soon. And I know what cotton candy is, we have it on Earth."

Unless he put, like, maggots in it or something.

Tavros nods along as Hit Girl speechifies. He's not really a fan of revenge; he's seen so many good friends hurt because of what seems to him like senseless retaliation. But what he believes and what his friends believe are usually different. He's cool with that.

And he seems genuinely surprised that she's heard of the nifty troll delicacy known as cotton candy.

"Really? That's, um, strange. Usually stuff that's, popular here, is totally foreign to people on the ship. But I guess, given the choice between FLARP and cotton candy, uh, I'd pick the cotton candy, every time."

It doesn't take them long to acquire what appears to be exactly the same sort of cotton candy you'd find on earth. No insect parts or grossness of any kind. Tavros, who's had enough of even vague shadow crowds, leads the way to the top of a building where they can sit and eat.

And watch the various battles and explosions that happen all the time in a crowded troll city.

She didn't meant to talk about it so much, but unless it was taking down somebody she knew was the enemy, she didn't believe in senseless killing. That would make you a little too much like a serial killer or someone who thought that human beings were nothing more than insects. She didn't believe that at all.

"That's true, but maybe cotton candy happens to be one of those things that is universal somehow." She doubted it, but it wasn't like she had cotton candy anytime recently. Who was she to say no?

She sat with him on the building, watching everything with rapt curiosity and eating the fluffy treat. "Do you do this often, Tavros?"

Hey, trolls are basically insectile. Nothing wrong with being nothing more than an insect. But Tavros and his strange inability to hate would agree with her about the mindless killing. It's just so unpleasant, why would anyone do that.

"Hmm?"

He lets the cotton candy melt in his mouth before answering.

"No, uh, I've only, come here a couple of times, to see a friend. I always kind of, uh, wanted to do this, though. Sit someplace out of the way, uh, and watch, trolls be trolls. When you're not, um, stuck in the middle of it, it's kind of, funny, I guess."

He smiles at her.

"You should to show me, the city you came from, uh, at some point in the future. I've only seen, uh, one hivestem from there. I mean, hotel."

He actually means apartment building, but close enough.

Hit Girl snickered. "I think that can be said of just about anyone anywhere. Things are always a lot less scary when they're happening to someone else. Still, it isn't often in my line of work that I get to sit back and just look at things, you know? There's always some bastard out there trying to get one over people who can't defend themselves."

Not that she considered herself this big motivator of justice or anything: she just knew when she had to step and do something.

She smiled. Was he serious? "All right, but hold on to your..um, horns, or whatever."

She closed her eyes, and the quiet settling of Tavros's world was now replaced by the sounds of traffic, merchandise selling and endless chatter. The hivestems were replaced by skyscapers that seemed to do just that. Every walk of life seemed to be on the street: businessmen, street toughs, goths, uptown civilians: everything just seemed like noise and clatter. Hit Girl was still in her suit, and they WERE still on a building overlooking the world below: it just happened to be the Empire state Building.

Tavros has to squint at first; it's all a lot brighter than he was expecting. The buildings are taller than the ones in the troll city, the people bustling below were a lot more varied and interesting than the mob of trolls in black shirts, and... okay, the architecture was something he was getting used to. Humans really liked their dead buildings of stone and metal.

Tavros lifts off the Empire State building and hovers near Hit Girl, taking in the sights, cotton candy forgotten for now.

"Is this, the same New York City that, Alex is from? Because, the buildings in his were, um, not as nice."

Hit Girl followed, smiling. It had been awhile since she'd been here: it made her homesick. Then she remembered what she'd left behind and felt a little less so: it wasn't like any of this would be the same without Big Daddy. It was because of him she took up the mantle.

"Maybe he just showed you the other boroughs," Hit Girl said. "This part looks pretty nice. We didn't have a ton of reasons to be ina fancy place like this, but it was still fairly good looking."

"Oh, you mean, this isn't, um, where you lived?"

Well, it's not like he'd know. He flies a lower to get a better look at all the people. Wow, what a crowd. So many grownups. Noise and clutter. This place would drive him nuts, but it explains a bit about why Hit Girl is the way she is. You'd have to be strong to thrive here.

"Nah, we definitely didn't have that much money to live in one of those places. We lived a little farther down. Dad had enough for, um, supplies and stuff, and the rest was just a temporary thing. It was just moderate living. But I remember seeing this stuff in my world. Where else will I see it again, right?"

She descended down, walking casually. The noise was just like background to her. She might as well be in a lunchroom or a playground. It was just a part of her world.

A world without dad though.

"We can switch back to yours again," she said suddenly. "Not as homesick as I thought.

Tavros had flown down after her and hovered nearby, looking around street-level NYC with interest as she spoke.

"Oh, you, uh, lived here, with your dad t--?"

He stops as she speaks again. Whoops, something about this is obviously upsetting her. What is it with New York humans having weird relationships with their dads? Something in the water?

"Oh, um... okay, hang on."

Tavros brings up his default Alternian location; they find themselves once again on the grassy lawn near his hive. He smiles apologetically at Hit Girl once the scene's totally changed over.

"I'm sorry, if making you go back to your city, um... brought back, some bad memories. I wouldn't have asked, probably, no, uh, definitely, if I'd known."

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