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Post by Kitiana Shinso on Jul 26, 2018 12:14:37 GMT -6
Kitiana was starting to feel even more at a loss... It'd been at least a few months since she'd last seen another living being, She'd gotten decent at hunting small game like rabbits but... She wasn't cut out for this life, maybe she should just go home. Living out here all alone, Sure she had Zeni but... She didn't know where she even was in truth. Retracing steps shouldn't be too hard, just... look for them. But Kitiana was no tracker, She was a young girl... Who knew almost nothing of the outside world. "What're you doing Kitiana... This was a dumb idea, Even if you found him what would you do?" She asked herself, staring at the ground as she sat there leaning against a tree. Shaking her head she sighed softly "It's too late now, I can't get home even if I tried." She sighed once more, turning her attention to the campfire. She pulled the rabbit away from the fire, starting to tear into it. Was this her life now? Stuck out here... Alone...
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Post by Saizomaru on Jul 28, 2018 7:41:39 GMT -6
Saizomaru PL: 43,000 (Base)
A sweltering heat with no signs of a cooling breeze—typical weather for the Southern Tropics. The sun beat down overhead the plains, smothering everything in its exhausting temperatures. The rain a few days prior only added to the humidity of the climate, making the atmosphere feel sticky and muggy.
The only respite from this unforgiving climate was in the shade. The forests proved to be the perfect shelter from it all, the expansive canopies of the tall trees providing more than enough cover from the sun to house an entire civilization. But the only life that teemed within these verdant lands were the critters and creatures that called it home, from the smallest of rodents to the largest of beasts.
The lack of human presence made it a good place for Saizomaru to relax, to contemplate, and to train.
Heavy boots treaded softly against the shin-high grass and mud-like soil, the rainfall having not evaporated completely from the forest floors. The android trekked through the roughly-hewn game path, taking him through the underbrush of the jungle-esque environment. A metal arm pushed away at hanging vines and drooping tree branches as he made his way to a clearing he had known for years, settled near the center-west side of the forest.
When he had got there he was surprised to see another person. He suspected that whoever this girl was, she was here to get out of the heat and into a more comfortable environment.
"Yo," he called out as he made his way towards the center of the clearing, towards the ember-flecked camp fire. He noticed a few sticks encircling the flame, some roasting small game on the ends of them. It had occurred to him that she wasn't here just for the shade. "You planning to set up camp here?" he asked with a straightforward question, though his intent was more interrogative than that. He wanted to know her story.
Kitiana Shinso
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Post by Kitiana Shinso on Jul 28, 2018 11:15:04 GMT -6
Soft rustling was all too common in this forest, twigs snapped all the time from the various wild life that went through. Kitiana was so wrapped up in her own thoughts that she'd begun to tune most of the small noises out, birds chirping or things falling from the tree... Those sorta things. Small, minor things... Things that seemed insignificant too Kitiana anyway. If this was to be her new home then she needed to start acting like it, She needed to just get used to it. But that's when her attention was grabbed by something else, words? Her head shot up quickly as her eyes scanned the nearby area for the source, and that's when she saw the source... A... Robot? Kitiana's eyes narrowed quickly, Why would it be out here? Kitiana hardly had a reason to be here in truth so why was this robot here? Well he seemed friendly on the outside anyway, and if things go south then she could always just flee into the forest. Sure she wasn't a native to it, but she'd been here for at least a month or two so surely she'd have some kind of advantage to it right?
Well time was the only beast here that knew, and time didn't reveal the future. Her eyes scanned the robot for a few moments before she responded "Y-Yes... Of sorts anyway, What brings you out here to the middle of the woods far from civilization?" She asked, a very specific question. Kitiana was young and naive, but that didn't mean she couldn't see when there were other motives at work. Maybe this man was just here to enjoy the forest... Maybe he had no ill intent... But for someone who hadn't seen another living creature aside from these beasts in so long, This robot suddenly appearing didn't make her feel too comfortable. 'As if you'd even be able to do anything anyway, He's probably just as strong as that... demon.' Private thoughts... or rather, self-doubt. But beasts know fear, they can smell it... And Kitiana wouldn't allow herself to show fear, even if she didn't fully understand why. Her tail, however, at this point was whipping back and forth against the ground next to her, showing that she was at the very least nervous.
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Post by Saizomaru on Jul 28, 2018 11:31:51 GMT -6
Saizomaru PL: 43,000 (Base)
For a moment Saizomaru stood and watched the young girl. Her eyes narrowed at him as though suspicious of the android. He didn't blame her, but he maintained his usual calm, naïve demeanour—he didn't want to make her any more cautious than she already was.
He gave a shrug, then responded, "Oh, y'know, just taking a stroll. Seemed like a good enough day to do that." He walked around until he was opposite Kitiana, with only the campfire separating the pair. He looked down at the sizzling meat that roasted over the open flame. "Rabbit, huh? I've heard they're pretty good sources of protein. Taste like fatty chicken too, supposedly."
He took a seat in the grass, leaning back on one hand while he rested the other arm on a bent knee. His other leg stretched outward, almost touching the bundle of tinder that formed the edge of the fire pit. He let out a gentle sigh and looked up at the sky, seeing the light shafts that beamed down from between the abundance of tree leaves.
"Did you know," the android began, "that certain brown hares change to a blonde colour in the summer so their coat don't absorb excess heat?" He looked back at her from over the flames with a small smile. "I bet humans wish they could do that to get out of the heat without having to strip naked, eh?"
He paused for a moment, then swept one of his silver-grey bangs from his face. "Name's Saizomaru by the way. Sai is good too if you don't like long names. And you? Got yourself a name?"
Kitiana Shinso
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Post by Kitiana Shinso on Jul 28, 2018 11:51:24 GMT -6
Kitiana's attention remained locked on the individual, taking only a small few bites at the meat that was in her hand. As he sat down Kitiana pulled away ever-so-slightly, Noting just where he was in relation to the campfire. "They're... Alright, Good enough to survive on anyway" She said as he made his statement about how Rabbit tastes. Her tail quickly wrapped around her waist as he took his full seat down against the ground, Both of her legs pulling backwards towards her slightly. "Uh... I suppose that might be a useful trait to have..." She responded in kind to his next statement, That's when the robot gave it's name... It had a name? Saizomaru... Well it's an interesting name at least.
"My name? It's uh... Maple." She said with a slight nod "So... You came out on a stroll? Pardon but uh... Can you even really appreciate the forest? I mean... y'know... because you're a robot and all..." Kitiana was hesitant to say anything, but damn that curiosity of hers.
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Post by Saizomaru on Jul 28, 2018 12:23:42 GMT -6
Saizomaru PL: 43,000 (Base)
Saizomaru gave a light nod. "Well as long as you're happy with your food, then that's all that matters," he responded. His hand took hold of the ends of a bundle of twigs that had broken away from the trees, tossing them onto the fire. A few embers licked from the main body, coupled with the crackling sound of burning wood.
Despite the girl's anxiety around the android, she had at least given her name. "Maple, huh? Nice name," praised Saizomaru, giving a light chuckle afterward. "Kinda like a maple tree. Ironic considering where we are." He gave a quick glance toward their surroundings. There wasn't any maple trees, but the joke still stood. "I wonder if you're as sweet as maple, though," the android jested with a slight smirk, trying to get her to open up a little more from her shell.
Her remark wasn't as sweet though.
"Aw c'mon. That's just rude," he replied to her question in feigned offense. He scoffed, and then continued, "What? You think that robots can't enjoy the great outdoors from time to time?"
He gave a humoured hum before looking down at his hand. His fingers curled, then relaxed. "I was human once. Still am for the most part, even if I am in this metal body." He lowered his hand and looked up at her. "What about you? Look like a saiyan to me. You got any parents? Any family?"
Kitiana Shinso
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Post by Kitiana Shinso on Jul 29, 2018 10:09:17 GMT -6
Happy with her food? Hardly. Kitiana missed her Mother and her cooking, She knew her Mother would be worried sick about her. Kitiana grew somewhat silent after that, Listening to Saizo as he responded to each of her remarks in kind. Her eyes staring into the flickering fire in front of her. A nice name? Hardly, It was a name that haunted her like the plague. As for if she was sweet? She used to be. But what was she now? What was she going to do? Where was she going to go? Did this robot even realize how young she was? Probably not if he hadn't said anything about it to by now.
That's when he said something that made Kitiana look up, He was human? Nevermind the party where he claimed to be 'mostly human' still. Kitiana was about to speak, but that's when he asked about her family. A moment of hesitation followed by Kitiana looking down and away, Just as her eyes closed. "My family..." She muttered after a few moments "Doesn't need to be involved." She said hastily afterwards, still not looking back towards the robot. Her family... The only family she had, She disappeared on... She knew her Mother would only be thrilled and happy that she came back but, She couldn't return. Not until Maple told her who she was. "But you're wrong, I'm not a Saiyan." But even as she said that, the tail that had wrapped around her waist said otherwise.
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Post by Saizomaru on Jul 30, 2018 14:01:11 GMT -6
Saizomaru PL: 43,000 (Base)
The android hummed a little. The girl wasn't one to open up about her family, sheltering herself from any form of conversation involving them. It seemed as though it was a sore spot for her. Saizomaru could only imagine why. He thought of the worse for them. He sighed before apologizing, "Sorry…"
His eyes shifted to the crackling charcoal that remained of the bundles of wood and sticks that formed the base of the camp fire. Flames flickered higher from the fire's peak that showered the area in a warm orange glow. For a few moments he sat silent with only the sounds of the fire and the winds to stifle the tension of complete silence, until Kitiana responded once more in denial of her apparent heritage.
"Oh?" responded Saizomaru as he looked back up at her through the curtains of hair that framed his face. "Well you certainly look like a saiyan—human-like looks with a little tail about you." He cracked a smirk before picking up another handful of twigs and dried grass, tossing them onto the open fire to ignite it a little more.
The girl was anxious, so he believed. He surmised that she was not one for telling the truth around strangers, even denying her race despite looking like a textbook example of a saiyan. She probably lied about her name too. While the android was fine on continuing the charade of accepting whatever she told him, inwardly he felt that her cloistered disposition was doing her no favours.
He was going to have to subversively play hard ball with her.
"So what're you doing out here anyway?" he asked, his expression more sober than his usual cheery self. "You not got school in the morning? You run away from home? On the run from the feds?"
Kitiana Shinso
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Post by Kitiana Shinso on Jul 31, 2018 14:24:30 GMT -6
Kitiana's legs shifted upwards as she wrapped her arms around them and placed her chin on her knees, staring down into the fire she shook her head "I'm telling you I'm not a Saiyan." She repeated again, twitching slightly in her spot. To be honest this robot was starting to become more and more untrustworthy, While true she had asked why he was out here it was more of a joke question that he actually answered. "Why am I here?" She muttered to herself a few times, letting out a soft sigh she closed her eyes "Because I'm looking for someone that I know nothing about, That's why." Okay so she knew some things about Maple... But it was mostly his name and face and Kitiana wasn't good at describing things like faces. What was she even gaining by having this conversation? Who even WAS this robot? It had to be more than coincidence that he was here, and to be honest Kitiana didn't want to find out.
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Post by Saizomaru on Aug 1, 2018 5:05:13 GMT -6
Saizomaru PL: 43,000 (Base)
The android chuckled at the girl's insistence of her heritage. "Okay, okay," he relented with a smile, "I believe you. But you still look like a saiyan." He watched as the girl continued to shelter herself from him, though he wasn't sure why. He didn't think he'd put himself forward as aggressive or anything else to make her act the way she was.
He looked up at her as she explained why she was here. The man raised an eyebrow, confused as to her reasoning. If she wasn't sure as to who exactly she was looking for, then what chance did she have?
"Someone you know nothing about, huh?" he repeated. Slowly he stood up to his feet and patted down his rear with a hand, brushing off the dust and dried grass. "I think the phrase 'looking for a needle in a haystack' is a good pseudonym for what you're doing." He hummed and made his way around the campfire over to her, taking a seat beside her. "But then again, that's why I'm here. I'm pretty awesome at tracking people, if I do say so myself."
He stretched out one leg and kept the other bent close to him. He rested an arm on the elevated knee as he stared at the campfire. "Having access to Earth's military databases is a pretty cool quirk after being in the army. Everything and everyone is known to me for the most part, especially if they're on the military's radar, so to speak." He turned to Kitiana with a smile. "So… you got a name for the person you're looking for? I'm sure I'd be able to find them in all this data."
Kitiana Shinso
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Post by Kitiana Shinso on Aug 3, 2018 11:28:24 GMT -6
So maybe he wasn't as terrible as she thought, He was keeping a respectful distance between them at least. Well he was anyway, Shifting uncomfortably as he moved around the campfire and made his way next to her. Kitiana quickly shifted away a few inches as he came to rest, Her eyes staring at him with a gaze that might very well piece his soul... If he had one. Clearly made uneasy by his sudden closeness, She listened only partially to his words. Even as he spoke of his extensive database, it did nothing to ease Kitiana "I doubt he'd be in your database, He likely isn't even from this world." Her attention remained on the robot, Her tone carrying a certain timidness too it. "I uh... Should maybe get going anyway, Not like I'm getting anything done here." She mused as she stood up, patting her own pants off before starting to kick some dirt into the fire to put it out. She reached down and grabbed her backpack, turning back towards the robot "Uh... Thanks for the company, I think..."
With that Kitiana's tail would unravel from her waist, as it began too flick behind her she gave the robot a short bow. Turning around she began to simply walk away, ready to head out and try to continue tracking down her target. Kitiana stopped about 6 feet or so from the robot before turning back around "Oh uhm... Which was is the closest town?"
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Post by Saizomaru on Aug 4, 2018 18:31:28 GMT -6
Saizomaru PL: 43,000 (Base)
Saizomaru didn't mind if the girl had decided to shift away from him. He still smiled, still maintained his jovial attitude. She was defensive enough as it was and he didn't want to make her feel any more uncomfortable. Even as she shot him that soul-piercing glare he did nothing but smile and give her a quick look before turning back to face the campfire. If he had called her out on it she would end up cloistering herself further from him.
Just be open was what the android thought to himself. He wanted both of them to be.
She spoke a full sentence, at least, so there was that going for him. Kitiana did not give a name for the person but she had let Saizomaru know of this person's gender. Cool, that narrows the results down to around three-and-a-half billion, thought Saizomaru inwardly, but he couldn't help but curl his lips into a smirk and let out a stifled snicker.
"Not from this planet, huh?" replied Saizomaru, feigning ignorance that there was life outside of this world. "So this guy is like… some sort a space alien, then? Ah, well then I definitely won't have him down on record somewhere." He gave a shrug, then put his hands behind his head as he laid back against the trunk of the tree.
But now the girl was getting ready to leave. Saizomaru glanced up at her, not moving from his position, as she stood up and began to tidy up the area. The light of the fire quickly died down until there was only flecks of orange-red against the dirt ground. The heat soon gave way to the chill of the wind that blew against the fire pit, scattering the ashes of charred wood across the ground.
Saizomaru gave her a light nod of his head as she said her goodbyes, bowing to him as she did so. She was polite, at least. But before she could leave, she found herself stopped in her tracks, asking the android for directions.
He blinked. Then sighed. He lifted up an arm, pointing with a metal finger in front of him—south of their position. "That way. Four miles. You can't miss it." He pushed himself up from the ground, dusting off the dirt with both hands. "I'll take you there so you don't end up getting lost—make sure you don't walk off the edge of a cliff or anything."
Kitiana Shinso
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Post by Kitiana Shinso on Aug 6, 2018 12:27:16 GMT -6
Kitiana nodded as she was given the directions towards the nearest city, well at least she wasn't too far from one... Maybe there she could get a decent meal. Hell if she was really lucky she'd find a place to shower! It'd been far too long since she had taken a proper bath or shower that it would be most welcome. At the mention of leading her however, she wasn't entirely for it... But he had a point. Sure she could walk southwards for 4 miles, but who's to say she wouldn't wander off the right path? Kitiana knew she'd likely just get lost, hell she'd probably been circling the city for weeks now with her luck. After a few moments of thoughtful conversation to herself, Kitiana looked up and nodded "Sure, Knowing my luck I'd probably get lost anyway..." She said with a slight chuckle "And I can't fly so walking off a cliff would probably be pretty bad..." She sighed inwardly before turning to head off, this time with some new company for now.
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Post by Saizomaru on Aug 6, 2018 17:56:07 GMT -6
Saizomaru PL: 43,000 (Base)
Saizomaru gave a small smile when the girl had accepted his offer to escort her. He nodded before making his way to her. "Well we can't have any of that, can we?" he said in a rhetorical manner, assuring her that she would be fine. He followed by her side as they made their way out of the forest clearing.
The duo made their way south down the game trail, a rugged dirt path created by both man and machine that passed through here from one area to wherever the road connected. Years ago the place used to be a prime area for hunting, whether it was for food or for animal parts to be used in medication or household items. Over time the place had become protected by various private and government organizations, primarily conservation activists. Poaching in this place had become illegal ever since the neighbouring villages were able to provide supplies via trade with other prosperous villages and settlements.
There was a profound silence between the two. The girl was shy and defensive, and Saizomaru wasn't one to pry too hard when it wasn't needed. But he still had that tingling in the back of his mind, a nagging notion that cried out for clarification.
He had to have an answer.
"You said you were looking for this guy, right?" he said as he looked down at her. "You know nothing about him, and yet… you need something. Who is he to you? I mean… what's the deal here?"
Kitiana Shinso
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Post by Kitiana Shinso on Aug 8, 2018 13:34:50 GMT -6
Kitiana had chuckled at his statement of not being able to have any of that, Though she kept her eyes pulled away from the robot. As they wandered Kitiana's eyes kept wandering everywhere, keeping an eye out for another rabbit most likely. She'd been feeling a lot hungrier ever since that incident, it was... strange for her. It felt natural but it also felt completely foreign... One might even say demonic. Kitiana absentmindedly licked her lips, both hands gripping the backpacks straps that was slung over her shoulders. Well maybe by having him here things would be easier? He was probably better at catching things anyway, so even if they did happen to get lost at least she might not have to worry too much.
That was when she heard him speak up again, Looking up towards him for a moment she thought for a moment... Truth be told why was she looking for him? Because of an offhanded comment he made? One that was probably lies? Or... was it? Kitiana honestly didn't know at this point, She had always wondered about her heritage but her Mother rarely spoke of it. "To be honest..." She paused, even in movement. Standing still as she stared down at the ground "I don't know. But he said something, and I want to know why he did. It isn't something one just says, He had a reason for it. So I guess it's just because I want to know why he did."
As she stared at the ground she could see the glimpses of that.... 'fight'. How easily he seemed to just dodge something as powerful as what she had released, All of what power? He said she had an enormous amount of it but he seemed like she was nothing still compared to him... So why? Even thinking about it now made no sense and made Kitiana's hands grip her backpack straps tighter. "He said I had a lot of power inside me... He said he could see it, but..." She went over towards a tree, bringing her fist back and slamming it into the tree as hard as she could. Kitiana didn't even flinch as her fist struck the tree, doing nothing to the tree but doing nothing to her in return. As she turned back to the robot she held the back of her hand up so he could see "He said "She’s probably got a punch like an interstellar rocket" And yet I can't even scratch a tree... I want him to tell me why."
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