2017-09-23: Curious Jane
- Log: Curious Jane
- Cast: Riesenlied, Ambrosius
- Where: Wayside
- Date: 23rd September 2017
- Summary: Ambrosius gets a curious visitor to his workshop...
<Pose Tracker> Riesenlied has posed.
Riesenlied has had her hands full in Wayside with a project of hers, that's now largely up and running -- her movement from one of the caravans in the ring to the large building out back, which people have said is an orphanage. Some people have said that she's got a few human children there too...
...
... this can't possibly be related to a small *thunk* that can be heard just outside of Ambrosius' workshop as someone rustles around!
<Pose Tracker> Ambrosius has posed.
Ambrosius had been wandering about more than usual, and as such it was hard to tell if he would be around Wayside on any given day. The machines he had been designing had largely been completed, and at the moment his attention was turned to a very /different/ sort of project. With all of this taken into consideration, it was easy to see how Ambrosius might miss or overlook some of the rumors floating around Wayside.
He is present today, however, sitting at the desk in his workshop. A notebook lay open in front of him, to a page half-full of writing. At first one might assume that it must be notes on a difficult mechanical problem of some kind...but closer inspection would reveal that that isn't the case.
It would seem he's indulging in his hobby again. At the moment, though...he's at a bit of a loss. His pen has stalled, and he looks over the paper with a slight frown. He taps the paper twice. And then...
Thunk.
His focus dashed he looks up. Was that...a rustling? He stands from his seat and moves to exit the workshop and glances around, equal parts curious and somewhat annoyed.
As usual for Ambrosius, the poncho and hat have been set aside while he's in Wayside. He had no need to hide here, after all, right?
<Pose Tracker> Riesenlied has posed.
Perhaps contrary to his expectations, the 'thunk' is coming from... a rather short girl, aged perhaps five, with strawberry blonde hair and a kind of scruffy face. She's dressed plainly, in a brown gown, and she's apparently had her attention drawn to some of the curiosities seated on the porch of the Veruni's workshop. When Ambrosius comes out, though, she jolts with a kind of big grin that totally reads 'nope, don't pay attention to me I didn't just take something'.
"Hey there, mister!" she jovially calls out.
<Pose Tracker> Ambrosius has posed.
Ambrosius wasn't quite prepared for that. He glances around outside, his eyes eventually landing on the individual presumably responsible. She wasn't exactly what he expected, being both an unfamiliar face and, by all appearances, a human child.
He's...kind of taken aback by this. He glances around, wondering if some caravan had come by that she must have come from. Eventually, his attention returns to her.
"...Greetings... May I ask...what you are...doing here...?" He asks. He's just a little out of his element, being both unused to and unfamiliar with dealing with children.
<Pose Tracker> Riesenlied has posed.
"Oh, um, um! I thought this place looked neat and wanted to look around?" she tries, rather plainly a little white lie. A moment later, a small compartment from one of the spare pieces of gadgetry falls out from her pocket in a 'thunk' and rolls along the floor, before she grins, "Whoops!"
She rubs at the back of her head. "Um, my name's Janey! What's yours, mister?"
<Pose Tracker> Ambrosius has posed.
Ambrosius doesn't quite respond to that. And then his eyes are drawn to the piece of machinery that happens to fall out of her pocket. He looks it over for a moment but doesn't immediately reach for it, instead choosing to remain just inside the door.
"...I am...Ambrooosius..." He replies with a slight, polite nod.
"I have not...seen you around Waaayside before...Miss Jaaaney...what brings...you here...?" He asks, then considers something and decides to add onto his statement.
"Additionally...while you are here...I would recommend against...thiiievery..." It's a rather pointed statement, said while looking directly at her, but he doesn't sound angry.
<Pose Tracker> Riesenlied has posed.
"I--I'm not stealing it! I was just curious!" Janey manages to have a slightly petulant sulk, and it's at about this time that the two of them hear a familiar voice.
"Jane? Jaaane, are you here?" it's rather obviously Riesenlied's voice, calling as she crests the hill and turns the corner-- before blinking to hurry closer with a quiet and concerned huff. "You should not run off like that, I--"
A pause, as she places her hand to her chest. "Oh, Mister Ambrosius. I'm sorry if Jane caused you any trouble...?"
"I wasn't causing trouble! Mistah Ambrosius and I, we're getting along, right?" she has a big, cheeky grin. "Also, I live over there, at the big house up the hill!"
Riesenlied has... children now??
<Pose Tracker> Ambrosius has posed.
"Cuuurious..." Ambrosius repeats, frowning slightly. It's at this point that he moves from the doorway leaning forward to pick up the gadget. He turns it over quietly in his hands for a brief moment, studying it for potential damage, until he hears a familiar voice over the hill.
He greets Riesenlied with a nod as she approaches...and then glances between the two of them with a hint of confusion. His gaze falls on Riesenlied questioningly, but he doesn't ask her directly.
He had to wonder just what the question was, and how she had come to live here of all places.
"...She was...'cuuurious'..." Ambrosius repeats, indicating the gadget in his hand before glancing towards Janey again.
"'Cuuuriosity'...it is not a sin...but...next time...I would suggest asking...before iiindulging...your cuuuriosity..." He says. ...That sounds a little harsh, though. He had to remind himself he was dealing with a child here. He glances toward the side for a moment.
"...If you do that...I may be incliiined...to teeeach you...what these...are for..." He says. He moves forward, then, placing the gadget back where it belongs.
<Pose Tracker> Riesenlied has posed.
"Eh, really?!" Janey sounds extra-delighted, like she already forgot she was about to pickpocket from Ambrosius' stash a moment ago. "Miss Riese, I'm gonna become an ARMs meister! That's what Mister Ambrosius is, right??"
The metal demon scoops the child into her arms gently and pats her on the head. "Not quite... Mister Ambrosius is a mechanic, though he does deal with ARMs and Gears from time to time," she still has an apologetic nod towards him. "I hope we haven't disturbed your day too much? We were about to have lunch, but I suppose curiosity did get the better of her... do apologise, okay?"
She pouts, but then turns as she bows her head. "I'm sooooorrry, Mister Ambrosius!"
For what it's worth, it doesn't look like the part's damaged -- she just literally grabbed the shiniest and smoothest part, which was just a valve of some kind.
<Pose Tracker> Ambrosius has posed.
She was...excited about it? Interesting. A part of him could understand that. He had always felt a fascination toward machinery since he was very young. In her position, perhaps he might have done the same.
"Either way...I would be glad...to share my expertiiise..." He says, then glances toward Riesenlied when she apologizes on the child's behalf.
"Not at all...I was merely wriiiting...however...I had hit a...bit of a...mental block..." He replies. Really, it had been a good time for it. He might've been more annoyed if it had happened any earlier. "So...it was not...much of an iiinteruption..."
He pauses then, and nods toward Janey as she apologizes.
"Thank you...you did not...daaamage it...so this time...there was no harm..." He replies.
<Pose Tracker> Riesenlied has posed.
"Writing? Wow, mister, do you like writing stories?" Janey can't help but contain her enthusiasm, a toothy grin flashing from underneath her lips. "Miss Riese's been reading us bedtime stories, but I wanna hear stories from someone else too!"
Riesenlied had to recall a few times, where she and Ambrosius have met at bookstores before, but she wasn't sure whether or not he published...
"I can't say I excel at writing myself, but if you'd like to have someone brainstorm with you..." Riesenlied mentions, before smiling towards the child. "Jane does have a font of creativity just flowing through her mind."
<Pose Tracker> Ambrosius has posed.
"Iiindeed...I consider myself...quite the writer..." Ambrosius replies, a bit proudly. Of course that's what he thought, but the rest of his people had...different opinions, on the quality of his work. "My wriiiting...may be a bit beeeyond...your level...at the moment...but you are...free to try them..."
It would probably be better to find someone other than Ambrosius to actually read them, though...
While he hasn't published any works among humans, she may possibly be familiar with a strange piece of literature that had been spreading among Adlehyde months ago, that seemed almost like some peculiar piece of propaganda...
"Does she...? That is good...it is important...for young miiinds...to not grow staaagnant..." He comments with an approving nod. "Embraaace....your creeeativity..."
<Pose Tracker> Riesenlied has posed.
Riesenlied is certainly also a curious sort, though in the shuffle of Adlehyde, she might not have quite put two and two together about who the author of that piece of propaganda she read is. Still, it would be fascinating...
"Then, perhaps we can borrow a book from Mister Ambrosius and we'll read it for bedtime tonight?" Riesenlied soothingly asks. She's rather warmer and gentler with children in her presence -- she's definitely the kind that seems to have some experience, however long ago it might be.
"Yeah! I've read books on, like, Calamity Jane, I'm named after her!" Janey exclaims. "I wanna be a big cool Drifter, roaming through the wastelands too!"
<Pose Tracker> Ambrosius has posed.
"I will...pick a good one for you..." Ambrosius says with a nod. Perhaps some of his more simpler fare...and preferably one of the ones that wasn't quite as obviously written by an alien...he was certain he'd be able to find something appropriate.
He certainly did notice the subtle changes in Riesenlied...in a way, he wondered if this was perhaps her in her element. Janey, and perhaps any other children she'd picked up, was in good hands...
"I am certain you will...someday...perhaps..." Ambrosius replies with a nod.
Hopefully they will have made the world a safer place by then...even if at least somewhat.
<Pose Tracker> Riesenlied has posed.
The questions of children at Wayside are numerous, of course: as much as Riesenlied wishes to espouse it as a peaceful settlement, it is undeniable that she has blood on her hands, blood that translates to a big bounty. They have ties to forces Filgaia consider mysterious and deadly, who may just as well one day roll up to their doorstep to destroy it.
Yet... even in the midst of all that...
"You'll teach me your gadgetry, won't you, mister?" Janey's grin is no less cocksure than it was before. "I'll be your honor student, trust me!"
Riesenlied pats her on the head again as she says, "One thing at a time, now... and right now, it's lunchtime." She tilts her head. "Would you like to join us as well, Mister Ambrosius? There's always room at our table, of course..."
<Pose Tracker> Ambrosius has posed.
"Iiindeed...if you are...willing to listen...I am willing...to educaaate..." Ambrosius replies with a nod. It might be interesting, at the very least, and who knows? Maybe teaching someone would help him discover some things about the craft he didn't know quite yet himself.
Riesenlied, however, brings up the moment's central concern. ...It /was/ true that he hadn't eaten yet today...
Eventually, he nods.
"...Certainly...I would...be glad to..." He replies, with a hint of a smile.