kismet_loop_logs | "Home" is a shelter from storms

Entry tags:

"Home" is a shelter from storms

Who: Hiro, Sam, eventually Dirge, ETA: Breakdown
What: Since Hiro has to have somewhere to stay, Sam's helping him get situated.
When: Following this thread
Where: The Hub.
Warnings: Dirge, and predictably, profanity.

From the hall, there was little to distinguish Sam’s apartment. Its door was one among many in the human-scale section of the Hub’s habitation wing, and could’ve easily been exchanged for any of the others found on the third floor. Still, it was Sam’s, and even outside that showed. It was in her ‘here we are’ attitude, and the way she set a shoulder against the doorframe in pausing. Some introduction seemed appropriate, so…

She shrugged, smiling.

“It’s not my house, but all the same? ‘Enter freely, go safely, and leave something of the happiness you bring.’”

That said, she opened the door.

The room it opened onto wasn’t unusual in its design (a kitchenette with a partial wall, the principle living space, one wide window with a decent view, closet, corridor) but it was unusual in its décor---burnished copper covered the floor, the walls, the ceiling, in solid sheets. It wasn’t entirely unbroken, as darkly-varnished branches had been laid across the walls like latticework, and a couple of shaggy rag rugs covered a portion of the floor. A third (green, rust-red, and ochre, like the others) had been thrown over the couch, which was wicker (matching most of the furniture) and more of a stubby settee.

“It was weird enough I fell in love when I found it.”

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Rude? No regrets.

Sam spread her arms (best she could, standing so near someone) as if to say it was what it was; she had no explanation, or excuse. "It was like that when I got here. Most of the apartment was. I took down the hammock whoever had it last had up, and brought some stuff in---mostly for my room---but yeah. Why? We may never know. I ever find the original occupant, I'm more curious as to why there are some scratch marks around the front door at the top of the frame, instead of the floor." She meant to ask after that... even if she risked regretting it. Whatever the answer, she'd regret a missed opportunity to ask more.

"You'll see them when we go out again. Given where where're going, you'll have to give me a minute." Motioning to Hiro to follow her, Sam started for the living room. Her communications drone was there on its threshhold, hovering in the nomansland junction of the entrance and kitchenette. She waved the little robot over, and began to type out a text. "You'll also have to give me your word on something serious, since I'd really rather have nothing horrible happen to you. The warehouse has all sorts of stuff, and sure, we're going to stock up there, but don't go alone, okay? Like, ever. Have me or Wing or someone with you."

Hiro's crouching down to examine the bathroom tiles a little closer, but he looks up and in the general direction of the front door, frowning thoughtfully. Scratch marks and hammocks and copper. There's only one logical explanation:

"Must have been a werewolf."

...well, it could have been! This place is full of robots, after all. That settled, Hiro scrambles up and after Sam, brightening a little at the little drone. His own is where he left it on the couch, staying put like a good little bot. The request gets a momentary frown.

"Why? Will they dissect me and sell my liver to Jupiter?" ...he's only partially kidding. Considering he doesn't even want to be in the other room by himself, he won't be wandering off anytime soon.

~~...it's only a matter of time, though. Let's be honest.~~

"I've seen some shit, so," This time, the word was out before Sam could censor herself, but softened somewhat by her half-joking. "specify an especially neat werewolf---I've only seen my own shed hairs here---and it's perfectly plausible. An American Werewolf In Haven? Maybe not quite, but maybe close."

She stopped texting to answer, unsmiling. Before, she'd been more or less serious for certain assertions, but now? She was entirely serious. "Because Dirge." The adept pulled her drone to the side and sighed, PTC floating obediently at her elbow.

"I'll give you the quick, condensed version. As far as I know, all of the giant robots we have hanging around run off of energon, except Dirge, who runs off of energon and literally anything he can cram down his throat. Chunks of metal, normal fuel stuff, normal food stuff, and abnormal food stuff. The last thing is the thing that matters, because Dirge does not understand why there's something inherently wrong with eating people." She paused, one hand rising to smooth over her hair. "I don't think he's eaten anybody here, and a lot pf people have made it clear that if he does, he's going to be made to regret it, but it's still something we don't trust him not to do and only part of the problem. The rest stems from Dirge being the greediest jerk you're ever gonna have the misfortune of meeting. He can be bartered with, but he doesn't give anything up easily, and he's kind of claimed the warehouse where basically all the non-grocery goods Haven has to offer are. This doesn't mean we can't take stuff---I've been, since he moved in---but it does mean we'll have to be careful about it, take some precautions."

Hiro looks mildly startled (because come on, he has the ULTIMATE boy scout for an older brother. Had. Either way, swearing isn't something he's used to), but he has to grin, because Sam's quick to follow it up with a joke. That's another thing he's noticing, and it's a relief to see the kidding around wasn't just an act. "Maybe it was some super-neat-freak guy who just happened to go all claws and fangs once a month. Everyone's got problems."

Still, he'll go over to scoop up his own drone, giving it a few nudges until it hovers beside him as well (he did throw it at a pig a few times, so he'll be gentle). The reasons behind their caution get a startled laugh, just because it's so weird. A giant robot who eats like a garbage disposal. It's a little unnerving, but at the same time sort of awesome. "For real? Can he even digest all that stuff? Do robots even have a digestive system? Also how come he hasn't eaten everything in the warehouse yet?"

Sam's inclination to kid wasn't an act at all---it was ingrained. Joking about something until it stopped being strange (and often, even after) had long been her habit, and in Haven, the strangeness was sustained. "Too bad for him, lucky for me, and luckily, I haven't heard howling." Hoping that wouldn't change, she took a step the the side and knocked on one of the little woodblocks her wall unit held.

"Yes, apparently, and this one does, along with the soul of an especially avaricious magpie." She stepped back, taking her drone in hand. "If he ate everything, he wouldn't be able to use any of it past that point---not for its intended purpose, not for trading, not for selling. A thing's worth is a big deal to Dirge, and however he assesses that, usefulness is a factor. Beyond that, it's hard to say what's up in his crazymaking head."

If Sam had been about to add anything else, her drone's chirping cut it off. She turned the little robot to better see its screen, and then released it, looking pleased.

"You and I won't have to worry about that too too much today, though. Finish your pop, get your shoes on, and we'll go. I said before I wasn't too proud to call for back-up? Seems we've got some coming."

Hiro is naturally a ~~snarky little shit~~ joker, so it's 100% due to Sam's kidding around that he isn't currently hiding in his new room and refusing all social contact. Rather, he's chugging down the rest of his soda, burping loudly (gross) and giving the woodblock a curious look.

Well. Time enough to ask later. Now they're going places and hopefully getting stuff. Hiro wants to ask a million questions -- are they going to ride on that weird skidoo thing? How are they going to carry everything? What are they going to barter with, considering the whole no-currency thing?

But he sticks to: "Back-up?"

Although she'd been pulling her boots on by Hiro's belch, Sam paused to hold up one fanned hand... and the first two fingers of the other. 7/10 isn't bad, but while the burp had both volume and pitch, its length was lacking. An immature assessment, maybe, but after living alone for a year and change, having a roommate once more would be sort of strange---if still a welcome change, and a strange she would have some fun with.

"You're going to meet him in a minute." That was it; the entire explanation before Sam started for the door. She stopped in the hallway, waiting for Hiro to shove his sneakers on and come along, but didn't say anything else (in spite of the kid's curiousity) until they made it to a door that opened on outside---then it was her happy "Breakdown, hey!

Breakdown was waiting. He stood in the street across from the place Sam had claimed as her own, big hands on wide hips and just...waiting. Sam's voice draws his attention and he gives her a bit of a lopsided smile, shifting to go to a knee. Hey, it puts him at a more conversational distance.

"This the 'guest'?" He eyed Hiro. Scrawny little thing, wasn't he?

Hiro takes a moment to scowl (because that burp was at least an 8.5, thank you very much) then clatters along after Sam. There might need to be a preventative apology to any neighbors, since Hiro, like most teenagers, sounds like a herd of elephants whenever he goes anywhere. Considering his relative tininess, that's actually sort of impressive.

The zillions of questions that Hiro still has (up to and including some petulant whining about who "he" is), disappear when he does, in fact, see for himself. His first reaction is to freeze in the doorway -- he's only been here for like a day, he's not used to giant robots being the norm -- but his second is, of course: snark.

"What if Dirge eats him? Then we're totally screwed."

"Yeah. Hiro, Breakdown, Breakdown, Hiro Hamada." Grateful that the second Hiro had spent still and (importantly!) silent had afforded her time enough for introductions, Sam turned on the teen, amused and---for a moment---mock-incredulous. "Oh, ye of little faith! While you're right in that we'd be just wholly hooped, it's not going to happen."

Breakdown smirks, one massive hand transforming into a massive mallet. "He'll find me rather hard to swallow." He smacks that hammer into his other palm, a confident, and almost eager, grin on his face.

...Breakdown is now the coolest one, sorry Sam, you're still awesome, but you can't turn your hand into a mallet.

Sam does get a wide-eyed, almost hopeful look. "Do you think he'll try?" Aka: is Hiro gonna get to see a huge robot fistfight?

"I didn't know you could do that!" There were no apologies necessary---Sam was as impressed as her guest, and it showed. She started towards the big bot in the same breath she'd spoken, obviously intending to inspect what had been his hand. "I don't even know if it's the just-you 'you' or the you-guys 'you' I should be using. Can all Cybertronians do that, or something similar? Do you have other rearrangements?"

She cast a glance over her shoulder to Hiro, unwilling to ignore his question in favour of her own. "Maybe? Good sense should stop him, but for all his greed, that's one thing Dirge seems to be short on. It probably depends on if we piss him off."

Ooooh, did he just show off? Well, maybe a little. He smirks and puts the hammer down on the ground for the two humans to inspect.

"Not all, but a number of us can change out our hands for something. My partner has a buzz-saw and a drill, me, just a couple of hammers." He'll let his other hand change, then change back.

And of course Hiro is right over there to poke and prod and examine this awesome hand-hammer up close. "Woahhhhhh dude! How do you do that?!" He's not totally expecting an explanation beyond "because it's awesome" but lbr he'll totally accept that.

Unabashed in her investigation--both palms pressed to the hammer as she stood shoulder-to-shoulder with Hiro, insofar as the youth stood still--Sam concluded "That is so cool."

She leaned forward a little, wondering at the seeming seamlessness of the metal beneath her hands, and sounded hopeful in asking, "Do it again, please? Can you do it slower, or is it a started-no-stopping-no-slowing sort of thing?"

Edited 2015-04-21 00:15 (UTC)

"I can slow it down a little bit." He'll pull his hammer back and change it back to his hand as slowly as possible. It's not too slow, but should be slow enough for them to catch some more details. "Better?"

Hiro is absolutely enthralled, standing on tiptoe so he can catch every detail and nodding rapidly, like it makes perfect sense to him. Maybe it does, who can tell?

"Okay, nevermind, nobody's eating you at all. Ever. Period. Where were you when the whole pig fiasco happened?"

"Much. Thank you!" The adept couldn't keep from grinning, not that she would've bothered to try---Breakdown had made her day thrice over already, what with agreeing to act as escort, the surprise of his hammers, (to say nothing of the accompanying information regarding Cybertronians' shape-changing abilities,) and his humouring her request so readily. It was a small thing, sure, but still something she appreciated.

Good friends help you move.
FACT.

She snorted some sort of half-laugh at Hiro's question, shaking her head... and holding her tongue. For its entertainment value, the story of 'the whole pig fiasco' would be told by the boy, without her interrupting.

Edited 2015-04-21 13:19 (UTC)

“Dunno. When’d this pig fiasco go down?”

Once they’d had their look he transformed his hand back to normal, then stepped back and transformed again, popping the near door open for them to crawl in. Unlike Wing, he has an Earth-based alt that accommodates passengers, though this will be the first time he’s actually had a human, let alone two, in his cab.

"When I first got here--" Hiro's going to break off and skitter backwards a little, bumping into Sam, because wow, okay, nobody mentioned Breakdown was also a car.

Truck. Car. Cartruck. Have a very confused kid turning to you, Sam, and silently asking for an explanation.

Sam huffed quietly (and unconsciously, attention all on the big bot before her) at being bumped into, but stood where she was long enough to clap her hands together, both delighted and impressed. 'Surprised' was too strong a word to be accurate, if applied---she'd known Breakdown could transform into something, but she hadn't anticipated that something would have an interior in which she could comfortably sit.

"Roughly the size of my whole house! Hot damn." She paused long enough to spare Hiro a shrug, and explained over a shoulder as she made for the open door, all over the unspoken invitation. "All of the tall dudes---I think?---have a second shape they can change back and forth between, but not all of them have space for human-sized people inside. Gigantor here is the first of everyone who's offered me a lift. And the lift is very much appreciated, thank you, and pardon me."

The adept climbed into the cab, scooting over as soon as she sat so Hiro would have room to follow. Once seated and settled, she didn't touch anything other than Breakdown's upholstery, though she studied his interior with open interest.

Breakdown lets out a laugh at the both of them. Their reactions are vastly different, but both funny just the same. “Any Cybertronian can transform.” Even the grunts back home had alt modes.

His rearview adjusts a bit to watch Sam settle. It....actually felt kind of weird to have a person sitting on him like this. Not bad, just...weird. He mentally shrugged it off and turned his attention back to Hiro.

“Comin’ kid?”

Hiro hesitates for a moment -- is this really okay? They're climbing inside someone they were literally just talking to a second ago, after all...

But Sam's already up there and Breakdown seems cool with it, so if he's actually resentful or upset about it, Hiro can't be blamed, right? Another deep breath and the kid's climbing up (carefully) and settling himself next to Sam, looking somewhere between totally stoked and nervous.

"Uh...th-thanks."

Small though it was, the mirror's movement caught Sam's attention and she grinned at her reflection before turning her attention back to everything else. To sit inside someone was kind of weird, but Breakdown had set the bar for personal space/its invasion day one, and it wasn't that different from being carried in a cupped hand. 'Inside an alt,' she decided, was definitely doable, though there was one thing:

"I have no idea what the etiquette is for this." It wasn't a confession as much as an observation; Sam shrugged, sitting back, and made a small amused sound. "Sorry. 'Hands off just about everything' seems like a safe bet, should apply to someone else since it applies to someone else's just-a-car car, but... seatbelts? Yeah, nah? You, I trust; it's just other drivers I'd eye as iffy."

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject