riverview | video | un: lockon.stratos

[ The camera comes on revealing a young man with unruly hair and an easy smile. He chuckles to himself, pleased the communications device is like the ones he's accustomed to... for the most part. Talking to a nameless, faceless group is a little different than he's used to. Before he says anything, something a little helpless and a little embarrassed flickers across his face. When he finally speaks, there's a faint lilt in his voice that easily identifies him as Irish (at least to those familiar with the accent). ]

I seem to have lost my partner on the way here. If anyone sees a little orange robot rolling around, about... [ He gestures with his hands to indicate roughly the size of a volleyball. ] this big, answers to 'Haro', could you let me know?

[ Oh, right. It's an open network, not like the secure one he used to communicate with other members of Celestial Being back home; he needs to identify himself. For a second he looks abashed, then smiles again. ]

The name's Lockon Stratos.

[ Why, yes, he is making finger guns before leaning in to turn off the feed. ]

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[ Short answer: people are strange (and Lockon is a little bit of a secret nerd, shh!). No doubt he's going to encounter his fair share of oddities here, too. He can't help a giddy little smile at the sound of her voice. Always nice to run into your own people. ]

I wish I could take credit for them. Thanks for the suggestion. I'll have to check with them once I'm settled.

[ Technically, they don't have genders (as far as Lockon knows, Haro's never expressed a pronoun preference). Lockon thinks 'it' seems too impersonal and 'they' would get confusing since there are actually multiple Haros. ]

It's no trouble at all! Líadan Ní Donnabháin, by the way. It's a pleasure to meet you.

[ That smile of hers tugs that much wider as she inclines her head in greeting, that much happier for that audible familiarity. Ah, but there's her curiosity again and she's never been terribly inclined to restrain it. ]

Those names are not of your own making?

Likewise, Líadan.

[ It's been such a long time since he's even talked to someone else who sounds even remotely Irish, he's pretty happy about this meeting.

He blinks at her question, looking thoughtful briefly before answering. ]

They're not. Haro already had his name when we teamed up. And mine... [ How to keep the fact that it's a codename secret without lying? ] We don't get to pick our own names where I'm from. Is that different for you?

Not at all! I sometimes wish it was, though, or that parents at least waited while before before sticking their young with names. I don't think mine is very fitting.

[ She scrunches her nose up just a bit as she offers that explanation, but that smile of hers is never a far away thing even in the wake of a realized silly question. ]

Were either of you named for anything or anyone in particular?

[ It certainly would be a better naming convention to wait until parents have some grasp of their child's personality. Then again, where Lockon comes from, names are mostly aesthetic and don't often carry deeper meaning. Perhaps it's different for Líadan. ]

I don't know that Haro was.

[ Considering that all of those kinds of robots are called Haro, probably not... Or maybe named for their inventor? But he doesn't know for sure since the history of the organization to which they belong is strictly confidential. ]

Mine's because I'm a sharpshooter.

A sharpshooter? I'm unfamiliar with the term.

[ And not at all ashamed of that lack of knowledge, but quite curious in turn. Of course, she hasn't been completely without exposure to firearms since arriving in the Quarantine, enough to guess for overhead terminology. People 'shoot' guns, don't they? Sort of like darts, but completely different. ]

Does it have something to do with guns?

It does. It means that I'm very accurate and at a great distance.

[ He doesn't sound particularly proud of it, but he's not really ashamed. It is what it is and it's the choice he made with his life. ]

It also means no one wants to have water gun fights with me.

I'm not very knowledgeable when it comes to guns, but that does sound rather impressive if you ask me. I wonder if there's an equivalent word for an archer?

[ She's an excellent shot with a bow and far from ashamed of that fact. It's served her well in hunting and providing for herself and her people and also in defense of them. That last statement sees her canting her head, though. Such an expression hardly seems fitting of his initial statements. Is others' lack of willingness to have these water gun fights with him really so troubling? ]

What is a water gun and how serious would you say these sorts of fights are?

Edited (bc accidentally hit the enter button fail) 2017-06-24 22:14 (UTC)

There must be!

[ He doesn’t know much about archery, but he can’t imagine such a skill wouldn’t have it’s equivalent form of sharpshooters. Then again, the whole thing seems more to him, a layman, like sharpshooting.

He blinks at the question, then grins. ]

Water gun fights are very serious. They’re waged between friends and neighbours for bragging rights. It’s all harmless fun, really. Water guns are just… guns that shoot water. So people get wet instead of hurt. I could teach you how to use one if we can find some.

I will have to look into it. Someone in this place must have some idea.

[ She's confident in that statement for just how varied the people of Riverview are. That lingering smile of hers doesn't linger for long as she listens intently to Lockon's explanation of water gun fights. Rather, it's tugging steadily into something closer to a grin and she brightens that much more for his offer. ]

I would like that! I would like that very much. Do you think we might be able to locate some in the market? They do tend to sell all sorts of things there. I don't think there's been a time I haven't been surprised by a vendor's selection.

[ Having literally just arrived, Lockon’s not really sure what he can and can’t find here. He’s lucky he met someone who’s so eager to help a newcomer. It’s quite charming, actually, her curiosity and exuberance about something as mundane as a water gun fight. Now he feels like he can’t let her down! ]

We can take a look sometime soon. I want to get settled in and check out the job offer they gave me first. Maybe in a few days, if you’re free?

Ah, that's right! You only just arrived.

[ She herself is still in the process of getting reacclimated after spending so much time outside the city doing survey work last month. She'd done more than that, of course. Collecting ingredients along the way, memorizing where to find what flower, tree, herb, and creature alongside the details of the land itself is a given, but that's more there than here at the moment.

Here is a person she thinks she'd like to get know better and not just for the familiarity she gleans from his accent. He's... warm? That sounds right. Feels right. He's warm, and in a way most tend not to be when meeting someone new, and with a spirit about which she's curious. She nods. ]

That sounds wonderful! Take what time you need. I won't be straying too far from the settlement any time soon.

[ Folding her arms, she leans back against the trunk of her current perch. ]

I must admit, I am curious, though. What sort of job were you offered, Lockon?

[ Lockon nods, affirming that he has, quite literally, just arrived. It won’t take long for him to find his place here – a perk of being a generally amiable guy. Having to adapt for his work didn’t hurt either. It wasn’t the typical 9-5 working to change the world.

That’s the adjustment he’ll have to make. Unless something very strange happens, his life here might be predictable, maybe even routine. It’s been a long time since he could say that was true. Thus far everyone he’s spoken with here is warm and welcoming. It might not be such a bad trade off, finding something like friends in exchange for the danger and chaos of his normal life. ]

Ah, that. I’m going to be training the perimeter guard.

video | un: lockon.stratos

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