Dragons and Haywire Contraptions

Dragons and Haywire Contraptions
Date of Scene:	09 April 2013
Location:	Dias Plains
Synopsis:	Katey's first prototype of the Faruja-bot-9000 distracts a resting sellsword on the Dias Plains.
Cast of Characters:	Katey Fray, Carnus Sirin

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Carnus Sirin has posed:
Though the plains stretch on for quite some time, atop one of the highest hills in the area lay a red-clad man. His clothing not covered by armor is a bright red, and a spellbook and sword rest beside him. His eyes are half-shut, as his hands are held behind his head, just enjoying the nice breeze and warm sun shining down on him. A tune can be heard, presumably being hummed by the resting Carnus.

Katey Fray has posed:
The quiet of the plains is something easily interrupted. In fact, that may be part of the reason that a certain churchmouse has chosen this location for one of her experiments. As Carnus rests, there is another sound other than his humming. It almost sounds like tiny footsteps, like the scurrying if something very small. All of a sudden, there is a squeeky cry that sounds like something very small shouting out the word: "Heressssyy!"

A nearby flower crumples under what looks like a tiny robot with a spear, which is making short work of the heretic plant. "Crap." This is a different voice. From up along the hill comes a young Burmecian female, donned in a Templar's light armor. She's got a strange device in one hand as she rushes up. The tiny robot-mouse turns, leveling a spear at the resting Carnus. "No no no." Katey quickly grabs the robot, who wiggles once, and then starts squeeking about vile interruptions of his duties. "Quiet you." She reaches around and tugs on the mouse-bot's tail, causing it to shut down with a slur.

Then, sheepishly, the mouse-girl looks over at the red-clothed man. "Uh... sorry about that. He gets a little excited."

Carnus Sirin has posed:
Carnus Sirin cracks his right open fully as he looks upon the Burmecian woman that's interrupted his nap. His lips part into a toothy grin as he chuckles softly, "Don't worry yourself about it, Miss." he pushes himself up to be in a seated position and gives a long yawning stretch. Scratching his chin he glances around the plains, "Beautiful day." before looking back at the familiar race.

"But I'll never get anything done sleeping." his eyes lazily glide back over to Katey as he says warmly. "So to what do I owe the pleasure of sharing this hill with one of my regent's fine allies?" he pats the grass next to him invitingly. "And please, take a seat. We all need to enjoy the sun and relax when we can. Just as important as training, really."

Katey Fray has posed:
The mouse fidgets with her tiny toy, which seems to react to her poking at it by yelling out: "Heresy!" Eventually it powers down again. She pulls out a small contained power source, but is mostly looking down at her creation with frustration. It's only then that she realizes that the man is inviting her to sit down. Blink.

She plops herself down with out a second thought, leaving tools and trinkets and armor to clank slightly as she settles. "Field testing." You know, literally, in the fields. Get it? "He's still really buggy. He keeps thinking that anything purple is a heretic and I can't figure out why for the life of me." The girl tugs down a pair of goggles that make her eyes look huge, squinting as she starts fiddling with some tools.

Stopping after just a moment, and realizing that she isn't at all being polite, the mouse looks at him, all fish-eyed. "I'm Katey, by the way. Katey Fray. Templar for the Church of Ajora." She looks more like a crazy toymaker. "And you are?" She'd caught the whole 'regent's ally' thing, but mostly the mouse just looks puzzled.

Carnus Sirin has posed:
Watching with amusement evident in his eyes, Carnus seems curious about the toy she's working on. "Field Testing, eh?" he smirks and looks around the area. "There's fields a' plenty around here." he chuckles lightly and turns back to Katey. "Pleasure to enjoy the sun with you, Katey. People have taken to calling me Dragon. I believe it's short for the Loving Dragon."

He leans back on his arms, staring upwards into the sky. "I'm a spellsword from Lindblum, originally. Was travelling the mist continent and selling my blade to make ends meet before all this happened." he waves about. "But it has given me an abundance of new sights to see I suppose."

A sigh is audible and he turns his gaze back around to Katey. "My apologies ma'am, you asked my name didn't you, not what people call me. I'm quite forgetful with it, it's why I have the nickname, not many really know my true name I guess." he makes an elegant sweeping motion as he gives a strange half-bow from a seated position. "The name's Carnus Sirin. Though Carnus or Dragon works for me." he gives a light shrug and turns his attention back toward the clouds. "What would you define as a heretic, I wonder? His view of purple being heretical may be no crazier and your views of heretics are to others."

Katey Fray has posed:
"Yep, that's why I figured this would be a good place for it." Katey responds as if this were the only possible meaning that 'field testing' could have meant. She might just be joining in a joke, but it's hard to tell. "His programming is just too buggy right now, though." She goes on to explain with a shake of her head. "He's meant to be able to get into small spaces and listen as a spy, and only to attack if he sees something really bad. Problem is, he thinks /everything/ is really bad."

His introduction catches her off-guard again, and this time she sort of stares at him. "Sounds like the sort of name you'd read about in a romance novel." She notes, looking at him quizzically, "Or around a brothel." There goes her mouth again, "Err, I mean... not that it's a bad thing to be called just. Oh nevermind." Her ears sink slightly, cheeks coloring with embarassment.

She's too flustered about her earlier stumbling over words to really respond to his actual name with more than a nod, looking down at her invention rather than at him directly. As for the question about heresy, she just shrugs. "Not really my place to claim someone or something as a heresy. That's the job of the inquisitors. I just invent things, protect people, generally keep my nose out of stuff that it doesn't belong in."

Carnus Sirin has posed:
Raises his brow as he listens about the contraption. "Sounds quite useful, if you get it to stop being a brutal and vicious killer of flowers." another brief laugh flows from his mouth into the air in a musical manner. "I'm sure you'll get it working soon enough."

Once more his laughter returns upon hearing about his name. "I've never thought too much about it. And besides, I didn't pick it, it just so happens I forget to give out my name quite often and so people picked it based on my best traits I guess. Either way, names just ways for others to know who I am. Though, my nickname does give me a small amount of pride. Dangerous and loving all at once." the grin seems affixed permanently to his face now. "Either that, or that's the most awkward proposition I've ever been handed."

He cocks his head and adds, "You don't follow blindly, do you? I mean, to have faith is a good thing, but never blind faith." he looks up at the sky again with a sigh, "Perhaps I shouldn't pry too deeply, wouldn't want your church calling me a heretic. Might get tiny homocidal toys chasing me."

Katey Fray has posed:
"Well, he hated toes before. So it's at least progress." Katey uses one of the tiny tools to adjust something in it, then checks a green read-out on her little palm-screen. "He got loose in the barracks and kept poking people in the feet. Luckily I haven't sharpend his spear yet, or I'd have been in trouble." She chuckles to herself, then shrugs agin.

"Well, I haven't seen you fight. Maybe if I do, then I'll see what the whole 'Dragon' thing is about. Not so sure about the other part." She wiggles her nose, flushing again slightly as she shakes her head. "Weird names. I guess the only nickname I've really got is 'Tinker', or 'damn you'." The later one is obviously a joke.

Being challenged on faith isn't something she's really used to. Most of the time, Katey stayed within the walls of the Holy City, where no one would dare make such comments. "Part of having faith is believing in things you can't always see." She admits, but her expression turns more serious. "Besides, I've got a life-debt, so it doesn't really matter what I think." She doesn't seme particularly bothered by it.

Carnus Sirin has posed:
Carnus Sirin smiles warmly as he hears the story of the toe-killing robotic lanceman. "Well, from toes to flowers is quite the improvement." He turns his attention back to the little device. "You'd be building robotic toes instead of robotic scouts." he chuckles again briefly.

"Well, if you ever want to train in either magic or swordsmanship, let me know and you'll get to see me in action firsthand." he flashes a proud smile. "I've spent my whole life training in both areas, mastering them into one." he holds up his left hand which suddenly bursts into a controlled flame. He turns his hand around slowly admiring the flickering fire. "Fire's my best area, it's where the term dragon comes from I'd guess." he smirks. "That and when you tear through a battlefield like a torrent of unstoppable magma, people tend to refer to you as something other than human."

He closes his hand and the flames disappear, his attention being brought back to the church. "A life-debt is one thing, just don't change yourself because you were saved by someone" he says with a shrug. "For instance, if a murderer saved your life, would you become a serial killer with him? Seems a bit far to go just because someone happened to save your life." he looks back to Katey. "Though I don't even know what church you're a part of. With all these worlds around, I'd imagine there are plenty of religions knocking about. Who knows? Perhaps you're with one that is purely a force of good in the world. I'll keep believing that until I see otherwise, especially if it's members are anything like yourself."

Katey Fray has posed:
"Well, I'm working on figuring out that project, too." As much as she had her own robotic limbs, they weren't of her design, and even now they're pretty well hidden. The fact that she wears boots and gloves helps. "Not toes specifically. That wouldn't be that useful. But you get the point." She rattles on a little bit there.

"Oh, I wonder what the higher ups would say to that." Katey snickers. "He'd probably be irked. Templars are meant to be trained in proper Templar fashion." She puffs out her chest and speaks in a low voice, then rolls her eyes. "Luckily, my commander probably would think it's good practice. He doesn't have a pole shoved up his butt like the others. I can't imagine living like that. The splinters must be terrible." She winces at the thought of butt-splinters.

"Not a lot of good being a guard, or being an unstoppable torrent of magma did for our world. It fell to the Heartless just the same." Her eyes linger on the fire for a moment, but then she looks back to him.

"I'm a soldier. It's what I do. Doesn't matter if it's in the name of my country or a religion. They saved my life. They were kind to me. They let me..." She trails off then, shaking her head, "And besides, my commander believes in them, and he was my commander even before 'all this'." With one gloved hand, she motions at the world. "I can't say everyone is good or bad in the Church. They are what they are." She smirks, "Besides, you sell your sword. Don't tell me it's that much different."

Carnus Sirin has posed:
Carnus Sirin nods slowly, seeming to understand what the woman is referring to when she speaks of her other project involving robotic limbs. His eyes scan her again briefly, checking her for metallic parts. "A fair project that one is." he says warmly.

"Ha ha, well we can call it sparring. Nothing wrong with that, is there? Not like I'm teaching you anything that way, you're just getting some practice in with what you already know." his left hand starts to rub along the hilt of his heavy sword that lay next to him on the grass.

"No, I wasn't able to act in time. You're right. I spent too long researching and learning, I didn't act quick enough." his mood takes a drastic turn at this point in the conversation. Obviously upset about his lack of ability to stop the darkness from consuming their world. "I'd been distracted with my own troubles, and it took me a while to hear about Alexandria and their heartless troops. But when I did..." he stops and shakes his head, leaving the thought be. "If it couldn't stop our world falling, it might be able to bring it back. I've been doing some research into what causes a world to fall to darkness, and how to bring them back. I'm going to find a way to bring everyone's homes and loved ones back."

A sudden shift as he relaxes again, his smile returning. "I think you misunderstand my hiring policies. I don't just take any job. I only take jobs I find to be worthy. Not because of the skill required to accomplish them. But rather who is offering the job, and why do they want it done. Usually it's hunting down a wanted criminal or helping to protect something someone cares about deeply. I've never sold my sword for vengeance or greed."

Katey Fray has posed:
The mouse's ears twitch, "I'll think about it. They keep me pretty busy." She admits, and then waggles the 'toy'. "I do a lot of repair work as well as inventing. A good good chunk of it works, too." Katey clears her throat, as if she has to defend this fact. Many of her experiments and inventions did seem a bit off-kilter, but they did tend to have some good real world applications... once they stopped blowing up in her face.

"It's not like it's one person's fault that it happened. My entire squad other than my commander and I died trying to defend Bumecia when it happened." Her rat-ish ears tuck down and she toys with the tail of the robot in her lap. "But it seems a tall order to save the world if you ask me. I'm more interested in just surviving in the one that's left." Wiggling her nose, the girl seems thoughtful. "You might try looking into what happened with Manhattan. It fell and came back. Don't know much about it, other than that some refugees we were harboring in the Holy City returned there a few weeks ago."

She unslings something off of her back which looks like some sort of weapon, aims it at her mouth, and presses a button. It pops a bit of candy into her mouth. Yes, she invented the World of Ruin equivalent of a Pez-gun. Chewing, the mouse nods quickly. "A noble mercenary then. Can't say I've ever met one before, but at least it's nice to know they exist."

Carnus Sirin has posed:
hops to his feet, grabbing his spellbook and hanging it securely from it's position on his waist. He smiles and kicks the hilt of his sword in a way that spins it into the air, just perfectly high enough for him to snatch with his right hand. "Took me ages to get that down." he says amusedly. Suddenly the blade in his right hand bursts into flames, the entire blade being engulfed in a scorching fire. He begins to idly practice his form as he talks, making quick slashes and thrusts at invisible enemies.

"Well, I'm impressed by your skill even if it doesn't work how you planned just yet." he says between thrusts. "I look forward to coming across one of your other inventions, I'm sure with the abundance of new technology you could come up with something truly incredible." Suddenly, his left hand releases from the blade, holding it at his side with his spare hand. His left hand glows for a moment as he chants, then a fireball shoots forward from his hand straight forward, exploding into a fireball a few feet in diameter in the air far above the ground after having travelled a bit. He frowns and mutters, "Not powerful enough, yet."

Looking back down to Katey a moment as the flames on his sword fizzle out. "Manhattan, eh? Sounds interesting. I'll have to go and give them a look. Perhaps they'll know something I can use. Or even know about one of these keyblade wielders. It's my understanding one of them is necessary." he gives a small nod and continues to just work on his sword and footwork.

Smirking as he notices the food-shooting machine he doesn't comment on it, and instead responds to her reference of him being a noble mercenary. "Well, truth be told I /should/ be a Knight under the employ of Lindblum, like my father and his before him. I just didn't find the noble life for me, and thus took off to explore. The world's a beautiful place and there are many people to meet. I wanted to meet them all. And to do that, I needed gil, and if I was going to help the underprivelidged, I didn't find it right to use an inherited fortune to do so, so I take jobs where I can."

Katey Fray has posed:
For the time being, the toy is put to the side as she watches him start to go through the motions of some practiced form. It's quite a bit different from the Templar forms that she'd seen during her time. Then again, most of her training was as a soldier in a certain part of the Burmecian army, so things are bound to be quite different in one place from another.

"I can see why they call you a dragon." She's quick to her feet. Like most of her kind, the mouse-girl is quite agile, even if she isn't one of the dragoons that get so much fame. The candy-gun is holstered so she can take out what looks to be a bigger weapon of some sort. After a few dials, she aims it at a bit of fire still smouldering in the grasses. When she fires at it, a blast of something vaguely jelly looking comes out, landing in a perfect square and extinguishing the fire with a hiss.

"What the?" Katey turns the gun around in her hands looking perplexed. "I didn't set it to jello." Wait, the gun has a 'jello' setting? She pulls the trigger again, and ends up spraying herself in the face with water. "Gah." Luckily, her goggles have little wind-shield wipers which come on automatically. Shrugging, then wiping some water from her muzzle, she holsters the jello and water shooting pistol.

"Never met a Keyblade Wielder. Keys don't sound like very good weapons, though. Maybe as a bashing weapon. I wonder if I could make a key-gun..." She murmurs this last part in an undertone to herself. Mwahaha, Katey the Key-Gun Wielder! "I'd start in Traverse Town maybe. Or one of those guilds that runs around, like the Shard Seekers. My commander works with them. Supposed to be that their goals are like yours. Finding shards, bringing back worlds, that sorta thing."

Carnus Sirin has posed:
Gives a small nod as he pauses in his swordplay to turn to the Burmecian. "Fire's such a wonderful element. It's warm, life-giving, can be used to cook, and has the perfect destructive properties if used with the proper care and appreciation for it." he stabs his sword into the ground in front of him, wedging it in firmly so it won't be blown down.

He looks in amazement as he gun shoots out the jelly, nearly doubling over in laughter as the food lands over the small patch of smoldering grass he wasn't careful enough to avoid causing. "That... that's amazing. A gun that shoots water and food?" he wipes a tear from his eye as the laughter subsides. "Maybe work on the aim." he watches her variety of gadgets work. "You're becoming a more interesting person by the second."

As his laughter fully disappates he mulls over the details he's been given, finally getting closer to his goal. "Traverse Town, eh? I've been there once, seemed like a nice enough place. Probably the best." a pause as he thinks more about these shard seekers, "What motivates these people to find the shards I wonder? Is it for protection, knowledge, or something else?" Giving a small shrug he reaches down and finds a small pebble, judging it's weight in his hand. He then lobs it diagonally into the air, his hands bursting with fire the moment the rock has left and he begins chanting. "Firaga!" he shouts and aims his hands forward, suddenly there's an even bigger explosion of flame far above the pair, well enough away to not cause any damage to the grass or himself or the Burmecian. A smile spreads across his face and turns back to Katey. "I'll start looking for them. The Shard Seekers are in Traverse Town too, I assume?"

Katey Fray has posed:
"I usually work with all the elements, they've all got uses." Katey explains fumbling a bit with the strange array of weapons which have quite odd behaviors all. "And it wasn't supposed to shoot jello. Well, not that time, anyways. It's meant to slip up someone trying to get away. But I think the selection dial is off." Only Katey would believe that jello is the ultimate version of the 'banana peel' trick.

"And my aim is fine!" The mouse puffs up a little bit, looking indignant. She waggles the strange weapon at him, which only causes it to misfire. This time, rather than water or jello, it shoots bubbles. Glaring at it, Katey smacks the gun with one hand. The impact of her hand to the gun has a strange metallic sound, though. "Stupid thing."

Staring down the barrel of the thing probably isn't a good idea, but she does it anyways. "I think they're from somewhere else. Fluorgis maybe?" She shrugs. Miraculously, nothing goes wrong as she has the gun aimed at her face. The sudden explosion above does jolt her from her task, though, causing the gun to misfire square bubbles this time. Don't ask how square bubbles work, they just do.

"Bit of a pyro, aren't you?" She asks with a smirk on her muzzle. "Anyways, I haven't a clue why they're searching for them. Don't really get out much." As if that wasn't obvious.

Carnus Sirin has posed:
"I have a decent grasp over the elements. Black and white magic are my domain, but fire is my specialty." Carnus begins to laugh again, grasps his gut as he lets out a loud and long bellow of laughter that echoes across the fields. "I didn't say it was your aim that was off, but the gun's." he shakes his head as his laughter subsides.

"Fluorgis? I'll have to search there then. Traverse Town and Fluorgis, seems I've got a decent bit of travelling to attend to." As Katey jumps from the explosion above them, he watches with pleasure as the smoke rises up higher and higher before disappating completely. "A bit of one, perhaps." he says mischeviously, before turning back to her fully, noting the square bubbles floating around with idle curiosity. "How wonderful." he says quietly, watching one of the bubbles before it touches his nose and pops. Wiping the liquid from his face he says amusedly. "There's a good reason they call me Dragon, I guess."

Katey Fray has posed:
It's hard for Katey to keep from smiling with the fact that he's laughing so much. Eventually, she just laughs and shakes her head, holstering the faulty gun. "Yeah, well, it'll be useful someday, you'll see." She never does quite lose her enthusiasm for invention. No matter how often people laugh at her or curse her name.

"I was meaning to head into Traverse sooner or later, myself. My appartment got ransacked by a pie-eating alien who had a cracked translator. Hopefully he's found his way, because I'm setting up a self-defense system for my refrigerator." The whole story sounds like absolute nonsense, and possibly more of the girl's crazy way of viewing things, but she does seem serious about it.

Scratching at one ear, she causes a series of earrings ot jingle, and then smiles, "Well, you might be a dragon, but I am not tasty and I do not go well with ketchup." She aims a glove-covered finger at him and waggles it.

Carnus Sirin has posed:
Watching Katy amusedly, Carnus gives a small shrug. "I didn't say it wouldn't, but that doesn't mean it's not an interesting contraption already." he reaches for his sword and quickly withdraws it from the ground, wiping the dirt off of it before sliding it into the sheathe at his waist.

Listening to her story of the alien with wide eyes, he is both highly amused and completely lost. "Right, well I'll be sure to keep a supply of pie in case I run into this 'alien' you mentioned. And lucky me I don't have an apartment or 'fridge' to be ransacked." he looks to the east, over the plains. "If you're headed that way yourself, perhaps I'll run into you there." This is assuming Carnus doesn't get distracted as he usually does by something like an orphanage with children to spoil, or a lovely looking place to take another nap.

He looks back to Katey as he licks his lips and says jokingly, "Now now, a flame-broiled rat is tastier than you might imagine." he lets out a light chuckle. "Though I'd be hesitant to devour one as lovely as yourself." he makes a quick bow and says. "I really should go get some work down, but it was pleasant spending some of this wonderful afternoon with you. With any luck, we'll meet again."

Katey Fray has posed:
"I'm not a rat!" Katey protests, and her cheeks flush at the same time, half offended and half flattered. Poor mouse. Her tail twitches, but she stands there as he bows and heads off. "If not, you can always come visit the Holy City." Somehow, even without the battery, her little toy seems to have enough power left to twitch, waggle a spear, and slowly mutter: "Heretic." Katey pokes it with a finger, "Shush you."

Carnus Sirin has posed:
Carnus Sirin laughs as he wanders off, waving over his shoulder as he heads down the hill they were stood atop. "I might do that, but I fear your inquisitors may name me much the same as your little toy there. Stay safe" and that's the last thing he says before he begins to hum again as he travels onwards, continuing his search for these Keyblade Wielders and the Shard Seekers.