002 ✤ c l o s e d

[akito]

Who: Akito + 1^st three PCs to tag in (+ 2 enablers huffhuff)
What: Swimming & Eating
When: August 22^nd
Where: Southwest Sector Farmland
Warnings: Nudity (probably)

-

It hadn't taken Akito very long to find a stream leading to the southwest and, once he had, he was loathe to leave it. Yes, he always dreamed of living life outside of the laboratory walls, but he hadn't expected it to be so... Scary. He had an abundance of knowledge yet it's useless when he has no idea how to apply it practically. And if this really isn't the Earth he learned about then that leaves him at an even greater disadvantage...

So no, once he found a place he felt comfortable with he was hesitant to part with it. There is enough food in and along the stream to keep even his high metabolism sated - foods he never had the chance to try back in the lab, where he was limited to fish and rice for the most part. Any foods Akito recognizes are quickly sampled, and while at first the flavours were overwhelming he quickly grew to love the sweetness of fruits and certain vegetables.

Akito swims as deep in the stream as he can, a small waterproof bag filled with strawberries clutched to his chest like the precious treasure it is to him. It takes only a few minutes for him to reach the large pond the stream empties into that he's claimed as his own. He never experienced feeling territorial before, but after he has dug himself a dry den in the bottom of the pond to keep his precious items safe, Akito noticed himself feeling irritated whenever someone came nearby. Not enough to frighten him, but simply to cause idle curiosity.

Because he's in farmland, Akito only comes out of the water when sun sets and there's no risk of anyone coming across him as he lounges on the shore. It's quiet in a way he isn't used to - a lively quiet, with the ambient sounds of nature he only ever heard before through speakers.

He keeps the tip of his tail under the water, swaying back and forth slowly, indicating his contentment while leaving small eddies swirling in its wake. His dorsal fin makes it impossible to sprawl out on his back, leaving Akito stuck sprawling on his side in a classic mermaid pose as he stuffs his face inelegantly with his stolen strawberries, but he refuses to shift into his fully human form. The cool breeze roaming along his shark skin is too pleasant a feeling to give up at the moment.

Comments

[a_little_red_in_the_face]

Breakdown is just cruising around, like usual. It's...it's so strange to be "home"...on Cybetron...especially when it looks like Earth in some places. Like the Southwest. And yet, oddly enough, he...kind of likes it out here. Really though, like it or love it, all that mattered was that his partner was here.

He transformed not far from the pond and walked along. What really caught his attention was that pale skin about glowing in the moonlight. Geez, boy, you pale. But...something looks off about him. It's not until Breakdown gets closer that he realizes what.

"Huh....I didn't know humans could transform like that."

[akito]

Akito's senses are heightened, yes, but with everything around him smelling and sounding unfamiliar it's difficult to pinpoint any threats. He feels safe enough in his pond that he doesn't keep his guard up anymore - not after the first couple of days. Clearly it wasn't long enough, because the sudden comment frightens him half to death; Akito abandons his strawberries and dives to the bottom of his pond, swimming partway into the den he dug for himself to keep most of his body hidden while still being able to peer up and wait for the robot to go away.

[a_little_red_in_the_face]

Well, he’d not meant to scare the kid. He gazes at the water, trying to get a look at Akito below. “Not gonna hurt you, kid. Didn’t mean to scare you either.”

Because throwing the fire guy who can't swim at the fish guy is the best plan.

[hotheadwarmheart]

Lea hummed idly to himself as he headed back to the gate, anticipating digging into the fresh bread currently in his backpack with Jendayi when he got home. True, it would have been easier just to go to the pantry, but sometimes he just liked his bread extra fresh. Plus, there were a few gingerbread cookies in there as a special treat for the two of them.

It was kind of late, so he decided to take a short cut past the pond, in hopes of cutting a little time off his trip. He didn't expect to meet anyone else out here. And especially not someone who looked like a refugee from Atlantica.

But that was exactly what he came across, a young merman, laying in the grass at the pond's edge, munching on strawberries. Moreover, the merman looked familiar, at least from the waist up. Lea gave an amused half-smirk as he approached. It'd nullify the time he would have saved with his shortcut, but he deemed this worth short delay.

"Well, well," he said as he approached, "was wondering what had happened to you. Now I see why you were so interested in bodies of water."

oh man i don't think it'd even occur to akito that some people can't swim

[akito]

Frightened by the unexpected company, Akito swiftly abandons his meal and dives back into the water to hide. It takes him a few minutes to place the voice and face to Lea - someone who had been friendly to him and helped him find this pond in the first place.

So he tentatively swims back to the surface, poking his head out just enough to peer at Lea suspiciously. He'll speak with his voice in a moment if need be, but for now the suspicion and worry in his eyes should be enough to convey his message.

That should make things interesting. X3

[hotheadwarmheart]

Lea isn't entirely surprised that he startled Akito to diving back underwater When the young merman doesn't surface after a long moment, Lea sits down on the grass near where Akito had been shortly before, backpack next to him, and waits.

That's where Akito sees him when he pokes his head out of the water again. Lea gives him a little wave, hoping to set the young man's worries at ease. "It's OK," he says. "I don't bite. And you're not the first merman I've seen, so if that's what you're worried about, you don't have to."

yuss

[akito]

Akito continues to keep a safe distance, tip of his tail breaching the surface in unconscious warning, but eventually lifts his head enough that he can speak.

"You can't tell anyone."

He ignores the part where Lea said he's seen other merpeople before, because right now his priority is keeping his secret, well. Secret.

[hotheadwarmheart]

Lea shrugs. "If you don't want me to, I won't, barring an emergency," he says. "That is, if you or somebody else would be in serious, immediate danger if I didn't say something. But you don't strike me as the kind of guy who'd be worried about keeping secrets in those kinds of situations anyway."

"Though really, trust me when I say that you're far from the weirdest being around here," he adds. "Just among the Guardians- the ones in charge around here- we have a pixie, a dragon, and a cat-like energy being alien. So you're in pretty good company, if you asked me."

[akito]

That doesn't seem to relieve him any, though it's good knowledge to have. "I just want to be a normal human teenager."

[the_earth_laughs]

Irja was very attuned to the plant life on this planet, and feeling some taken from an area where they were no workers today...has her curious. Not worried, not like the farm is off limits, just curious.

And so the little fairy flies out to find who might be enjoying the berries. Akito will be easy enough to find, and when she spots him eating strawberries she knows she found the right person. She giggles, flitting through the air on her petal wings.

"Nice and sweet, aren't they?"

[akito]

Akito's first instinct is to flee - to dive into the water and stay there until the 'intruder' goes away. But he recognizes her as being quite obviously another cryptid, meaning he has less to fear from her than he would a human or robot person. That doesn't make him any less shy, however. Akito sinks his lower half further into the water until only the upper half of his torso is visible above the surface.

He nods at her question, then holds out an uneaten strawberry for her to take if she'd like.

[the_earth_laughs]

She accepts it with a grin. “Well aren’t you just the sweetest thing? What’s your name, sweetie?”

She’ll use a small...well, it looks like a piece of a vine, but it’s far too thin and looks sharp like a knife...she uses this “blade” to slice off the very tip of the strawberry and then offers him back the larger portion.

omfg i was positive i tagged this a billion years ago

[akito]

His cheeks flush, though it's hard to tell given how he's hidden a majority of himself beneath the water. It's only when she performs some kind of magic that he lifts his head enough to accept the portion with a small 'thank you', and answer her question.

"I'm Akito, ma'am."

XD No worries. ~<3

[the_earth_laughs]

“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Akito. I’m Irja.” Her expression is soft, her smile genuine. Really, you’re such a darling! “You’re pretty new here, aren’t you? Are you settling in okay?”

[10_20_15_5_50]

'Movie night' had turned into a serious undertaking, even with just one title tabled. Everyone seemed to be all for it, which was well and good, but it was becoming a proper project on account of everyone---wherever they set up, they'd have to be able to accommodate everybody, and with Cybertronians in the audience, accommodating everybody was worthwhile but not exactly easy. An outdoor apparatus would make it a little easier, but where?

Sam had set out to find an answer, scouting on her streetdoo. The modified skidoo might've been meant for city streets, but it was fine for fallow or empty fields. Empty fields were all she'd expected to see, so spotting a figure---even far off---was something of a surprise. Since whoever it was seemed to be a stranger, she shrugged to herself and turned her Polaris into an approach.

[akito]

Luckily for Akito, the streetdoo is a sound familiar enough to him that he knows to flee. He slinks back into the water entirely, quiet as can be, and regretfully leaves behind his strawberries. If the stranger continues to approach and investigate, he'll come to the surface again - but only enough to show his human half and, if need be, he will shift his tail out again for human legs.

[10_20_15_5_50]

Oh.

Hopefully she hadn't interrupted; hopefully, the other wasn't feeling so unsociable as to be driven off entirely by her 'hello'ing. Frowning beneath her helmet, Sam pulled up alongside the pond and parked the streetdoo. After a moment's thought, she turned it off entirely; that way, there would be no engine-noise to speak over, or headlights glaring off into the air.

"Hey...? I'm sorry?" The adept pulled her helmet off, uncertain. "Just wanted to say hi to whoever."

[akito]

When the helmet comes off it's easier for him to recognize her as one of the people who tried helping him on his first day. Still, Akito hesitates a while longer before slowly returning to the surface and poking the top half of his head out to peer at her, expression questioning.

[10_20_15_5_50]

"Hello!" Relieved to see that she hadn't frightened her new acquaintance away, Sam set her helmet on the seat of the streetdoo and took a few cautious steps towards the water. Even moving slowly, the hitch in her stride showed---if only a little---and when she crouched at a conversational distance, she did so sort of stiffly. "I'm sorry for disturbing you, but I was hoping to be friendly, just say 'hey'. Akito, right?"

[akito]

Akito nods, diving back under the water for a moment so he can swim back to the shore more quickly. This person is a girl, so it might be more comfortable to interact with her while female as well. The physical shift is easier to accomplish while submerged, so by the time Akito resurfaces a few seconds later, he is now a she; overall no obvious change save for the almost imperceptible widening of her hips and the addition of small, pert breasts - neither of which would be noticeable should she be clothed.

Unfortunately for Sam, Akito is definitely not clothed.

"Hello," she offers tentatively, pulling enough of her torso on shore that she can relax again, but not so much that her tail is visible. "I don't remember your name."

[diagnosispuberty]

Why is Hiro out and about? What is he seeking? Why is he carrying a blender with legs? It is all a mystery, really (the nearby strawberries is part of the reason for the blender, though, because Dirge is a butt and he's not supposed to go to the warehouse alone).

The point is that, in his wandering and meandering he's found himself by a pond. And, since he was raised by monster movies rather than fairy tales, he assumes the worst.

"Shark!!"

Have a poor, long-suffering little drone flung in the general direction of your tail, Akito. Apologies in advance to you both.

best first in-person meeting y/n

[akito]

Akito lets out a loud, almost inhuman shriek of fright at both the shout and the projectile-drone. He slaps his tail against the surface of the water, swatting the drone away, and quickly dives into the water to escape whatever was trying to attack him.

VERY Y

[diagnosispuberty]

Hiro scans the water for a moment, then flops down on the shore, looking very satisfied with himself. "It's okay!" he calls out as his little drone comes woefully floating back. "I got it!"

hiro y u attack him. akito gets sneaky revenge now ok

[akito]

It takes Akito far longer to surface than the average human could hold their breath - something he always forgets to keep in mind - but when he does he only lifts his head ouut of the water enough that his eyes and nose are visible. Once he realizes just who it is that scared him (while trying to 'protect' him from his tail, it seems), Akito dives back under the water and reappears a second later by the shore. He peers at Hiro curiously, enthralled by the sight of another boy his age. It's so strange...

Something inside of Akito makes him want to pay Hiro back for the scare with a trick of his own. Harmless, but fun. So before he pulls his torso onto shore Akito concentrates for a moment, shifting his body into an equally comfortable female form.

When Akito's torso is sprawled across the damp earth this time it's as a she, hips imperceptibly wider and chest accented by small, pert breasts. She knows from books that most humans balk at nudity, so not only is this an amusing prank, it's also a good learning experience.

"If that was a real shark you would have saved me for sure," she hums.

how rude

[diagnosispuberty]

Hiro is...not expecting that. What. Whaaaattttt happened. Have a moment of blank confusion, because mermaid? Shark...maid? Naked...people? What even is his life right now???

Finally, the picture of eloquence: "Huh?"