2020-03-02: Memories on a Card
- Log: Memories on a Card
- Cast: Gami, Rikku
- Where: Meria Boule - Castle Square
- Date: March 3rd, 2020
- Summary: A pair of shopping trips, a single kitten, and a lot of curiosity make for a memory.
==================<* Meria City - Castle Square *>==================
Located just north of the heart of business in Meria City is the castle square, the last portion of city just before the fortress that houses the royal family of Meria Boule and acts as central command to its knights and Musketeers. Here live mostly the families of guards and servants and others who work in the castle but live outside it, though there is room within during wartime for them to huddle under the protection of the Merian military.
Its most notable features are largely eateries and places to relax for those coming off of shifts within the castle and old structures that allow a thriving business in maintaining and sharing history. The stories of the Sword Magess are celebrated here, and there is a curiously high population of stray cats. It is one of the mysteries of the city.
BGM: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nj2d8U-CO9E
<Pose Tracker> Rikku has posed.
"Wow - I can't believe how fancy this shop is! Could I just... you know? Hold that?"
The camera store was set up to cater to the elite of Meria Boule, and the Upper Middle Class, which meant that Rikku looked decidedly out of place there. Cameras of various stripes were lined up within cases of glass which made it feel like a fancy jewelry store.
The salesman, in his double breasted suit gave her a carefully controlled look. "You mean - the merchandise?"
"Yeah!" Rikku said exuberantly.
"No." The man said flatly.
"Oh but why not? I just want to get a feel for it before I buy."
"Madame. If you're done window shopping - you can move along."
"I'm not window shopping though."
"The camera you wished to grasp within your filthy paws is worth more than what any common laborer would make in a y-" A bulging bag of Gella suddenly landed on the counter. "-...ear..." He stops short as three more bags land there.
"Say do you exchange these gem like things? I could probably take two of those bags back if you do..."
As she dumps a pile of rupees on the counter as well, the man gawking at her.
"R-Rupees? Not... normally..."
-=-=-
~Not long after~
"Madame you forgot the manual!" The man shouted into the square from the front of the store.
"Keep it! Where's the fun in a manual?" Rikku calls back, as she finishes slinging the camera strap around her neck, humming as she stuffs a few extra packages of film in her pack.
"You know, kinda refreshing dealing with someone who just looks down on me for looking poor." She notes to herself, before kneeling down across the square, in front of one of the statues of the Sword Magess.
"This shouldn't be so hard - I've seen Citan do it enough..."
She puts the camera up to her face, makes some adjustments in the focus... and...
Mii~
Suddenly finds herself altering trajectory to point it at a stray cat.
"Aw - hey little guy. Want your picture taken?"
The cat - sits expectantly on its haunches, and opens its mouth.
Mii~
Clicking off the flash, she presses the button, and with a click and whirr of activity...
A white bordered card slides out of the front of it. Flapping it in mid-air as it develops, she holds it up alongside the cat.
"I think I got your good side." She declares, before opening her pack, and withdrawing a piece of jerky for the cat to nibble upon.
"Memories on a card." She says quietly to herself.
It's something Spira does all the time with Spheres, but there's something magical about doing it in a way that's unlike where you came from...
<Pose Tracker> Gami has posed.
Rounding the corner with gentle steps is a very, /very/ tall woman. She might not be instantly noticeable since Rikku is focused on the cat, but her steps grow soft when she looks down and sees:
A little stray cat, and a human girl, feeding that cat. So, she steps closer, padding despite the sheer /size/ of her boots and form.
The tall woman, dressed in pale yellows and deep reds, comes to a stop not all that far away. She looks down, and lowers herself to one knee as she does. "Hello, little one," Gami tells the cat, and smiles briefly to Rikku as well. "I see you're making friends, mii. This little one is very friendly, is he not?"
She is dressed in clear armor; the seams here and there in her flesh are visible to those with the right kind of eye, as are a number of places with parts that seem quite worn down. But she talks like a person. ...And in her hand is a large bag full of vegetables. It should be heavy, but, well...
<Pose Tracker> Rikku has posed.
Rikku has an affection for stray cats because they feel a little like Al Bhed to her. Everywhere, and unwanted to the people of Spira.
And so as the cat nibbles, she doesn't dare a pet, knowing that street cats are usually shy about affection from distrust.
Even if that's not her, it's something she can at least understand.
Looking up as a tall woman shadows them. "Oh - friend of yours?" Rikku asks, "He's a friendly little fellow! Or maybe a hungry one." She clarifies.
But with every second, she notices more details about the woman she's looking at. The seams in flesh. The armor.
Rikku double takes at her impression of the Machina woman, because the idea of shopping for vegetables is so normal.
"Oh my gosh! You're-"
Gami sees a dotted line, as Rikku suddenly is on one side of her. Then another.
"Whoa!"
Then another.
"Amazing!"
Then suddenly out front and she's holding out a hand as if to offer it for a shake. "You're incredible!" She blurts out, "The name's Rikku! Sorry if I seem so excited it's just you're the second Machina woman I met, and it's just as great now as it was the first time! There's noone like you back where I come from..."
A beat.
"... okay there was but she was just passing through."
<Pose Tracker> Gami has posed.
Stray cats have been a part of human settlements for a long, long time. They are familiar to Gami, in their uniqueness; no cat is just like another. Gami can appreciate them.
"A bit of both, mii, I'm sure," Gami answers. "My bags usually end up just a little bit lighter when I pass this one."
Oh my gosh! Rikku is suddenly examining her and Gami slowly blinks. She waits, for whatever Rikku has in mind, and then sees the hand. Still lower to the ground than her full height, Gami reaches out and accepts the hand, shaking it carefully. It seems she is familiar with the gesture which is probably not all that surprising. "The second?" she asks first. "...You must have met dear Kamui, mi. There are not many of us anywhere, anymore."
"...I do not mind the excitement entirely, since it seems that you mean well by it. My name is Gami. It is pleasant to meet you, Rikku."
Gami delicately rubs behind the cat's ear, and lets it be to eat, though not before pulling a little morsel herself and setting it down nearby. She returns her attention to Rikku. "'Machina' is a term unfamiliar to me, gami... Is it what the people of today call our kind? I did not expect a special word..."
<Pose Tracker> Rikku has posed.
"Heehee - Oh that's just great! Even Machina Women love cats!" Rikku says as if she just learned something wonderful. She already knew they loved Chocobo, but this is a /new/ thing they love.
"Yep! That's her name! ... didn't want to assume. And it's very nice to meet you Gami!" Rikku says as she gives Gami's hand a vigorous shake for a human girl but what must feel like a hummingbird fluttering against her hand to someone with Gami's strength.
"Oh it's... a Spira word for what's called ARMs here..." The Al Bhed girl notes, "Not that I'm saying you're an ARM!" She says as she extracts her hands, waving her hands in mid-air. "It's just 'Machina' 'Woman' is the best approximation of what you'd probably be called where I come from. As far as I'm concerned you're a girl like me!"
Rikku says cheerfully, before she amends.
"Just way stronger and way tougher!"
She has nuance to this belief, as a result of meeting Marivel. Hob and Nob may be nothing like Kamui or Gami but it introduced her to the idea of 'AI'.
Rikku sees Gami petting the cat, and this results in Rikku crouching down. Rikku takes a moment to pat the cat with her leather gauntleted arm now that she's seeing Gami do the same.
"Ahem. Who are you shopping for?" Rikku asks, a little nosily, she may be trying to dance around the question 'Do you eat?' by asking it this way.
<Pose Tracker> Gami has posed.
"They cannot make me sneeze like they do to some humans, mii." She does not really say she doesn't love cats though. Her fondness is obvious. "It is good policy not to assume," she allows, and she seems to find the handsahke satisfactory--maybe she just has high touch sensitivity. Either way her treatment is feathery for a squeeze on the hand.
"Ah, Spira," Gami answers, inclining her head slowly. "I appreciate your clarification," she says simply, and smiles faintly. "Thank you. And... mii." She laughs faintly. "Maybe."
Gami does not take up too much cat time. Instead, however, she looks to Rikku at her question. "Though not only for her, mostly for a good friend, gami. She eats such junk most of the time... I worry. Organic beings can be very fragile..."
"Are you enjoying your camera? It looks new, mi. I am glad that they still have this technology in this era."
<Pose Tracker> Rikku has posed.
"Really! Even though you have a nose?" Rikku seems both astonished and delighted at that simple thought of a Machina not sneezing despite having a nose.
"I'm good with maybe." Rikku says with a cheerful sort of acceptance, "Everything being certain is pretty boring."
Rikku considers the idea of a Machina shopping for a friend.
The idea of her squishy organic fragility just causes her face to momentarily fall.
That's something she just takes for granted after how her mother left her, yet sometimes it still hurts when feelings are brought up by such thoughts.
Regaining her cheer as she goes back to the thought of trying to get a friend to eat better, she notes, "That's so considerate of you! Do you cook for her too?"
The subject changes to the camera, and Rikku taps the side of it, "Yeah! It's incredible! Back home we don't have things like - well we have stuff /kinda/ like it - called spheres, but spheres can only record one thing at a time. And they're a little more cumbersome to carry around."
She says in an excited clarification.
"I never thought much of using a sphere before but..." There's a distinct pause, and she shrugs with a knowing little smile, "Well, after I started to travel to other worlds with some really special people, the thought of recording memories doesn't seem like such a bad idea."
<Pose Tracker> Gami has posed.
"I have a nose, but what I do not have is allergies, gami." But maybe--hmmm. "...Yes," she says at the matter of certainty. "I agree."
She looks over Rikku with some concern as her face falls--but will not make her dwell on the difficult subject. "I intend to with these," Gami answers. "It has been a long time since I have tried but I picked up the skill at one point." 'Picked up'; clearly outside her design, which... might make sense. "She is a very good friend," she says simply at consideration.
"Interesting..." Gami nods thoughtfully. "Spheres.. I would like to see more of these, sometime. They seem interesting." But she pauses then, regarding that smile, and inclines her head again. "Yes, some memories are precious," she agrees. "I hope that you can remember these times with those people, and that they are long."
She considers, looking Rikku in the eye for long moments. Rikku might be familiar with that occurence, though Gami is thoughtful, not suspicious.
"You have a pattern in your eyes that I have not seen among humans in the past," she notes. "It is a lovely pattern. Is it more common in Spira? I have never been." She pauses. "Forgive me if the question is impertinent, gami. I am still catching up to the modern world. I have not been awake this time for very long."
<Pose Tracker> Rikku has posed.
"I guess not being like us in that way has some benefits." Rikku says, clearly impressed by a lack of allergies, wondering if it extends to all illnesses and poisons.
Before then indicating, "Whoa! You really can cook too? That's impressive!" Rikku does recognize the fact that it's not a skill most Machina would upon creation. She now knows the idea of AI being self-learning, self-evolution in that sort of way...
"Well, a good friend is always worth cooking for!"
She adds instantly, like that's simply how she feels on the matter.
"Well - I mean..."
Rikku reaches into her pouch and holds up a simple Ability Sphere.
"... here's one. Though it's not really the same thing as the kind we're talking about. It's not really recording memories in the same way."
She holds it up to Gami's face.
"You can still see the pyreflies floating about inside though. They're really pretty."
A beat.
"And yeah, so do I. Memories are nice."
Usually she'd add - but that's all they are.
She doesn't though.
Gami is staring at her, and for a moment Rikku stares back like its a staring game, but then Gami indicates what she's staring about. "Oh!"
Rikku suddenly takes a bashful step back, both her hands clutching up. "It's like you're saying my eyes are pretty. I've... never actually heard that before."
Her statement sounds pretty genuinely astonished, before she starts to explain.
"Well you see... back home, all Al Bhed - that's what I am - have eyes like this. And... noone is ever really happy to see us."
She sounds just a little sad when she notes that.
"But I was pretty happy when you said my eyes are pretty." With a fingertip she rubs her cheek as if delighted, "It feels good to know there are places where people would think that..."
<Pose Tracker> Gami has posed.
"It is different," Gami answers. "But I think I am a fair cook. I am lucky in that my design included taste sensors and the ability to eat food like humans. I believe that judging taste is quite important in cooking, gami."
She smiles faintly, at the mattter of the good friend. And then she peers into the sphere thoughtfully. "...Yes, I do see. I am not familiar with these pyreflies..."
Gami has a lot of feelings about memories, herself. But first, she tilts her head at Rikku at her answer. The explanation comes, and Rikku may well be able to /see/ the slight dimming of Gami's expression to something sadder. "...People are as they are," she answers, and if there is a melancholy note to it it at least does not remain as Rikku mentions her happiness. "Then I am glad that I said it, even if at first it brought you bad memory, mi."
"..Much as you seem to have an interest in 'Machina'--there are few I have met here who automatically understood my form for what it is, gami--I confess to some interest in organic life, as well. So, I pay attention to details, gami."
"Hmmm," she considers. "Would you like to take a picture together?" She recalls Rikku's excitement at meeting her and for the camera itself. "You may tell these friends you travel with that you met another 'Machina Woman', and have a record."
<Pose Tracker> Rikku has posed.
Rikku internally squeals at a Machina having taste sensors and the ability to /eat/. "It so is! I know a guy back home who burned his tongue really badly and long story short he never cooks anymore."
It's a tragedy in a sense, but Rikku simply doesn't dwell on that so much. Life's too short to concentrate on just the bad.
"I haven't seen any outside of Spira. Which raises all kinds of questions!"
Rikku says, excitedly. Her beliefs on pyreflies would already be considered heretical back home.
"Oh no - it's okay." Rikku says happily, "I feel way more happy than sad about it - promise. And that's fine. Bad memories just... they're there, but I think they make the good ones better."
Though she's astonished on- "Wow so it's like - you enjoy studying us - and we enjoy studying you?" She then coughs into a hand, "Well - I think that's pretty admirable. People should try to learn about things that are different from themselves."
A question though even interrupts that train of thought. "Would I!?"
...
...
...
"That's rhetorical of course I would." Rikku finally says, remembering that sometimes Kamui could take things really literally.
Rikku suddenly moves up against Gami, and takes the camera strap off her neck - turning it around. Gami being really tall causes her to stand on her tip toes and scrunch in close enough that the shopping bag will probably be in the picture. "Okay - we should both give a big smile!"
And Rikku does just that, waiting a few seconds.
Her opposite hand she puts up in this little V of her fingers.
"Three-two-one-!"
Unless Gami stops her, at the end of the countdown she hits that button...