Horseasaur Sighting?, Tag: Mikew

[this occurs before Si's part in the current plot; otherwise he'd be hiding, and that just wouldn't work well at all xD]

This had to be a prank. Seriously, there were legends about hot dog men and all kinds of oddities that walked around Folder's Point. Si himself even happened to be a hybridized monster of sorts. Yet this sounded... insane. According to the reports, there was a... half dinosaur, half-horse wandering around the Residential Area. The Knights had insisted that it was probably a new resident, certainly nothing to fear. But people had been quite insistent, and they'd simply demanded that a Knight be sent to look it up.

Enter Si.

The Knight sighed and shoved his hands deep into his pockets. He'd considered even asking Karla along with this one, since it sounded like something rather silly. He supposed they needed to talk about things, hash out some details and stuff. But he'd reconsidered, when he'd stopped to think about what exactly they were supposed to be looking for. Knowing Karla, she'd shoot first and consider asking questions later, particularly if this was some kind of beast.

So Si was wandering about the residential district by himself. He had his weapon with him, and he'd made certain to put on his official jacket and grab his Knight's emblem. Basically, he looked as official as Josiah Clacher could manage. Yet he still found himself feeling decidedly out of place, and more than a little nervous.

A noise made him stop. Si dug into his holster, working at his gun, stumbling as he tried to pull it out. As he did so, he called out to the noise, hoping that he wasn't about to bother a cat or something:

"You there! Are you alright!? Come out so I can see you!"

It could be a kid or a cat or something completely normal. Si was just a little keyed up right now, particularly with the Dreck still crawling about inside, making itself and its desires quite well known.

Mikew had been researching. Researching the standard architecture of Folder's Point and how easy it is to find someone who will let you sleep in their home. Most people would probably look at some of the myriad of brochures at the Offices of R&R or book themselves some computer time at the local library to achieve the same goal, but they almost certainly would cause less havoc than Mikew had caused. Quite a few of the hysterical residents who had called the Knights claimed that half-horse, half-dinosaur had been breaking and entering. He wasn't actually breaking in, as the doors were unlocked, but there were more broken windows in the residential than before Mikew went on his research mission.

Mikew wandered around the residential area, looking lost. He was actually lost, trying to find someone to let him in so he could apologise. He had been so preoccupied with his task, that it had taken two hours of trespassing before he realised how much distress he was causing. He felt like an idiot, and walked with his head down and his tail tucked in. Of all the people he had upset that he could find, all of them had quite quickly shut their door on him, so none of his attempts to apologize succeeded. Though Mikew had an idea to get his message across.

A proxy, someone to speak on his behalf. He could not communicate with his victims, but someone else could. Someone leader-y, someone official...

Mikew stumbled over a bump on footpath, making a loud scratch on the concrete. "You there! Are you alright!? Come out so I can see you!" [/i ] Mikew trotted around the corner to see a human-like creature, wearing a badge and holding an unknown object. [i] Hello, Mikew projected, Who are you and what is that you’re holding?

Wow. Just. Wow.

"You actually exist," said Si. He lowered his weapon, staring at Mikew. He blinked. He reached up and rubbed his eyes. He blinked again. Yep, there was a creature standing before him, something that looked a cross between a horse, a dinosaur, and maybe a dash of man. There was definitely intelligence and understanding in those eyes, quite possibly the glimmering of what was commonly known as a soul. The creature reminded Si of something out of one of his films, a fantastical being.

Definitely nothing he needed to shoot.

The Knight put away his weapon, fumbling for quite a bit as he eyed the creature. the amazement simply wasn't going away. Wait a moment. Hadn't the creature... said something? Not with its mouth, but Si could have sworn he'd heard a voice inside his head Telepathy, that was the word for it. Sometimes you ran into people who used that here, more frequently than you'd expect, actually.

"Err, I'm sorry," said Si, shifting his feet nervously. "I was, uh, I didn't catch, um, I'm Josiah Clacher, Knight of the Fold, and, uh, people were calling about, uh, you."

Yeah, that sounded confident. Clearly Mikew was going to spill absolutely everything for this obvious authority figure.

"You actually exist,"
Mikew nearly replied to that, but he stopped himself before he did. It probably was one of the things humans and other inhabitants of Folder's Point didn't expect you to reply to, and called you sarcastic when you did. Mikew learned that the hard way.

Mikew noticed some moss in a crack off to the side of the pavement. He reached over slowly to eat it, keeping a close eye on the humanoid. He seemed nervous, and nervous people were the people Mikew worried about. Confident people calmly told you to leave, or merely tricked you, nervous people were the ones who beat you with broomsticks. Mikew didn't quite now the full extent of broomstick technology. For all he could tell, the gun Si was holding could be turned into a broomstick with minimal effort.

As Si returned the gun to its holster, Mikew calmed down a bit. The humanoid was obviously still nervous, but it didn't have the retractable broomstick in his hands.

"Err, I'm sorry. I was, uh, I didn't catch, um, I'm Josiah Clacher, Knight of the Fold, and, uh, people were calling about, uh, you."

Mikew had heard of the Knights, but he only vaguely knew what they did, something about keeping the law. Mikew took his neck away from the moss, having nearly eaten all of it, and faced Si. I could imagine that people have called about me, I have been causing quite a bit of havoc. He turned a critical eye towards Josiah. Am I making you nervous?

the creature seemed perfectly peaceful, which was certainly a plus. It meant that Si didn't have to actually fight it, which meant that this wouldn't turn into Dreck vs. Dinosaur in the middle of the street. Wouldn't that be ever so much fun? Well, anyway, the creature was eating moss and plants, which hardly qualified as an act of danger or sedition.

"Huh? Oh, yeah, there's been some complaints and... stuff. Didn't I already say that?" now Si was getting incredibly confused. he really hadn't expected to actually encounter anything. People had a tendency to get jumpy and report things that didn't actually exist. This creature looked like something more from imagination than reality, after all. But there it was, and it was actually talking, talking quite calmly in fact. Si had to admit that the creature seemed more in control of the situation than the Knight who was supposed to be dealing with him.

"You're not really making me nervous. I'm just, kind of nervous anyway, really," offered Si. He laughed, shifting his feet and rubbing the back of his head, nervously. "I'm not exactly the most, uh, anyway, so, uh, did you need help, or, you know, something? Because it kind of seems like you're wandering, and uh," he pointed toward the moss, "i think that moss technically belongs to somebody.

Because they were still in the residential district, right near homes. Chances were that people wouldn't care that much about the moss, assuming it wasn't somebody's children or something crazy like that. Knowing Si's luck, it would be.

The Knight sighed, rubbing at the back of his head.

"Do you have a name?" he asked. "or something I could call you, maybe? And what are you doing here...?"

Those were the important questions now, really.

The humanoid seemed to be rushing off in all directions, figuratively speaking. Mikew tried to get a word in edgewise. Though the fact that Si was talking fast and not really pausing was not the only difficulty for Mikew. The dropped and added words translated, some what, but they were shunted around in the sentences and made things a little confusing. All Mikew could really do was look at the whole context and hope he didn't get it too badly confused.

He straightened up when he heard that he had stolen moss. It seemed crazy to 'own' moss, something so natural and abundant, but Mikew felt even guiltier for scaring people and stealing. Lilikan culture had something resembling the Earth Prime concept of stealing, but at heart it was much closer to kidnapping or maiming someone. To Mikew, it was almost like he had just eaten someone's children. Almost, considering that moss was inanimate.

When Josiah finished talking, Mikew tried to gather the answers to the questions into one big answer. I do need help, but I'm not sure your the person to do it. I've caused more than my fair share of worries around here, but either I've forgotten where the people I worried are, or they won't let me in. I think the best way to apologise would be to have someone with authority do it on my behalf, He paused and gave Si a pointed look, And I am Mikew, former elder of a Lilikan herd. I was researching, but considering what i have done, continuing is most likely unwise.

Oh wow. Clearly Si needed to remember to stop and pause between sentences. The sudden rush of information that came telepathetically into Si's head nearly overwhelmed the poor lad. It didn't help that Drecks were particularly susceptible to mind control and various psychic powers. For several seconds, all Si could do was stand and gape, which at least gave Mikew plenty of quiet to digest things.

"Err, um, maybe?" tried Si. "Yes? No? I need a real answer here," he stopped, holding out his hands as he took a deep breath. Pretty soon he wouldn't be making any sense at all. And really, Mikew wasn't that unusual. Not like he was a giant talking hot dog man or anything like that. Wouldn't that be something to see?

Oh, right, conversation. Si should try doing that. "I might not be the best person to help, no," he admitted, chuckling, "but I can probably get you in contact with someone who could. There's plenty of people out who would appreciate talking with you, particularly if you're a wise man."

It was Si's general experience that wise men had a tendency to be, well, wise. This creature did have a certain bearing about it too, something nearly regal. It made the subservient Si more than a little nervous, and probably didn't help his already evident communication problems. Si swallowed again.

"You really don't have to worry too much. We're used to new people around here, and more than willing to help," he tried. there, that should at least sound somewhat helpful. "Maybe I could escort you? Find you a guide or something?"

That sounded like the police officer type thing to do.

As Josiah processed the information, Mikew stepped closer, turned his head and stared into Si eyes. It was plain to Mikew that something was wrong. Even though he appeared calm, he was turning into more of a calamity than it actually was. In his short time at Folder's Point, Mikew had gotten used to people reacting oddly at his telepathy, but they generally didn't lose themselves to this world for a whole minute.

Mike stepped back, half believing that his psychicness was to blame, and if he moved far enough away, Si would snap out of it. Mikew had walked three paces when Josiah started up again.

"Err, um, maybe? Yes? No? I need a real answer here."

An answer to what? He nearly instinctively projected that, but he stopped himself. It had barely twenty seconds since everything went quiet because of his method of communication.

It didn't take long before Si started to make sense to Mikew again. "I might not be the best person to help, no, but I can probably get you in contact with someone who could. There's plenty of people out who would appreciate talking with you, particularly if you're a wise man.You really don't have to worry too much. We're used to new people around here, and more than willing to help. Maybe I could escort you? Find you a guide or something?"

Mikew visibly relaxed when he heard that some people would actually find him a useful source of information, they were used to new people, and happy to help. Sure, it was nice to stand on your own to feet, but help was nice. He tensed up however when Si offered to find him a guide. Mikew knew that getting a guide would probably be the most wise course of action, but detested the idea of being guided. He had been a guide himself, of his herd, and many of the youngsters in his herd. it was something that children needed, not someone well into elder age like him. He had his pride, and he also enjoyed the thrill of finding something out for himself.

It is good to know that there are people who would enjoy speaking with me, Mikew projected. His tone became more serious for the next part, I however would NOT like a guide. He projected it in a way that filled it with venom, a calm regal way that an evil overlord would use to crush dissidents, and possibly scare the pants off a certain knight.

{{OOC: Gah, rogue post of doom! I didn't mean to write so much, in fact I didn't expect to go past the 200 word mark. Sorry!}}

Si's obvious lack of confidence wasn't helping make the creature feel that much more safe and secure, that much was evident. From what Si saw, and what he "heard" it seemed like everything he was doing was going a long ways toward destroying any chances he had at garnishing some respect from this creature. Worse, Si was beginning to suspect that he was talking to something almost as old as him, and in some ways, possibly older. Si had learned that simply living a long life wasn't enough. When your life was as narrow as Si's, you didn't pick up the wisdom that someone else did.

The sudden force of the telepathic response nearly rocked Si back. He wound up coughing and nervously shifting his feet. "No, I can see that wouldn't work," he managed, though his voice was nearly squeaky and he'd definitely lost all semblance of command or respect. While he hadn't exactly been hoping for an overly enthusiastic response, he'd also been hoping for something a little more positive.

"Well, uh, what could we do for you then?" tried Si. "I mean, we obviously need to help you get out of here, maybe to a house of your own. Or whatever you want to live in. You know what i mean," blasted telepathy was making Si overly nervous. He ran his hands down his pants, swallowing hard, "I don't want to leave you without help, if I can help at all."

That much, was honest, and sounded more heartfelt, if not exactly authoritative.

[no worries; I can deal with posts of most any length, really, so long as there's something there to work with]

"No, I can see that wouldn't work,"

Mikew slunked down when he saw how scary he was when projected that he didn't want a guide. He didn't mean to be quite a scary as he had been. He had intended to be a little intimidating, but he didn't expect to be that scary. He admitted to himself that he probably should have expected a reaction like that. He awkwardly bowed down and looked up apologetically at Si, trying to look as small and sorry as possible. He would have projected his apology telepathically, but it seemed to Mikew that doing anything telepathic around Si was like dealing with an unexploded bomb. Quiet at first, then BOOM! And you then had quite a mess.

Mikew ignored Si's second offer assistance for the moment. He realised it would be practically impossible to communicate if he didn't know why Josiah reacted in an unusually negative way to projection. He picked out the words in his head, trying to sound as nice as possibly while keeping the message short. After a little while, he worked out what to say. You seem to have some trouble with telepathy. Why? he projected.

That... wasn't the response that Si had been expecting. Yet again, the young man was left standing there, blinking and wondering. Why was it that things like this kept happening? you'd think the movies would have prepared him for any and all crazy situations by now, honestly. But nope, things like this just had to happen.

"It's... uh, my race, really," offered Si. "We're, uh, really tough," try nearly indestructible," but we're also, uh, kinda stupid," as in formed of nothing but primal feelings and emotions, "so things like psychic powers kinda can, uh, affect us, you know, a lot," as in completely destroy us, or even flip the switch from "normal" to "insane psychopathic killer."

Si gulped, wiping his palms on his pants. It wasn't likely that this creature was going to go on the offensive any time soon. If anything, Mikew was acting more like a model citizen then, well, most of the model citizens. Still, Si couldn't quite quell that stupid gut-reaction. He swallowed, smiling in spite of his ill ease.

"It really doesn't have anything to do with you, honest," he insisted. Now he'd almost started talking too fast, his words tripping over one another in a rush to get out of his mouth. "I just, I'm not comfortable with psychic communication yet. I'm trying though, and I really don't hold it against you or anything, so don't take it personally. It's just, yeah, that's the way I'm built, I guess. You're nice though. And I do want to help..."

And Si sounded like a retarded child instead of a skilled Knight with nearly a hundred years under his belt. The man sighed, wishing he had some of Karla's confidence. Or just Karla; she could handle this much better than he.

Mikew watched and waited for Si to reply. He guessed his message was short and sweet enough to not cause problems, but he was talking to an unknown quantity. Si had shown to Mikew that he was iffy around psychic powers, but Mikew wasn't really sure how iffy he was. Mikew was getting less and less concerned though, considering that so far, nothing disastrous had happened.

"It's... uh, my race, really. We're, uh, really tough, but we're also, uh, kinda stupid, so things like psychic powers kinda can, uh, affect us, you know, a lot."

Mikew nodded sagely. I wouldn't say you're completely stupid though, you have the wits to realise your weaknesses. Weakness is something more people should acknowledge, in my opinion. He shook his head when he realised what he had done. His weakness at the moment seemed to be remembering what was said a few moments ago.

"It really doesn't have anything to do with you, honest. I just, I'm not comfortable with psychic communication yet. I'm trying though, and I really don't hold it against you or anything, so don't take it personally. It's just, yeah, that's the way I'm built, I guess. You're nice though. And I do want to help..."

I don't need help, but the offer is nice. Mikew projected, trying to keep his communication as short as possible. He turned around and started to walk away, he didn't want to bother Si, considering his only way of communicating messed with Josiah, and the Knight probably had better things to do. He had only walked a few paces before he turned around and projected What race are you?

Not stupid for recognizing his weakness? That sounded like something that Bali would say, or anyone who was "old and wise." Just what was this creature? Had he mentioned something about being a wise man? Si watched him for a moment, his brain churning as he tried to figure out what to do with this new information and the strange individual who presented it for him.

He started following Mikew as the creature walked away, knowing that he couldn't quite leave the creature alone just yet. still, he was surprised and taken aback when the creature turned to address him, the question even stranger than expected.

"What? Err, Dreck," he answered, blinking. "it's a race from Tyr..."

Wait, should he be giving out that much information? It wasn't hard to figure out what a Dreck was, not with Si being properly registered and all. But he liked to keep his exact race a secret. The mental communication had just flustered him too much, made him leak information that he would have kept secret otherwise. Blast.

"Err, I'm going to have to, uh, escort you, at the least," explained Si. He fell into step beside the creature. "Because, you know, compliant and all. You sure you don't have a house around here or something? They usually assign every Transient one...'

"What? Err, Dreck. It's a race from Tyr..."

Mikew nodded when Josiah answered. It wasn't a knowledgeable nod, but rather a nod of someone who had just gained knowledge, even if it was useless on its own. He was tempted to ask more about the Dreck, but considering that he nearly through Si backwards when he tried to communicate dissuaded from the idea. It was very frustrating trying to learn when the person your trying to interact with couldn't cope with psychic powers. Though really, all Mikew needed to know was that Dreck were humanoid and that psychic activity never did them any good, which he already knew.

"Err, I'm going to have to, uh, escort you, at the least. Because, you know, complaint and all. You sure you don't have a house around here or something? They usually assign every Transient one...'

Mikew tried to think back to when he was registered, trying to remember if he did get a house. I'm fairly sure I don't have a home here, though they might have given me one without my knowledge. You would have to ask that lying cat, Mikew projected, However, that does leave the question of where your going to escort me.

Somehow, Si got the feeling that Mikew didn't really feel comfortable or particularly like him either. Shame, really, since Si really liked to think that he was a fairly likable person, really. But the circumstances being what they were, Si also really couldn't blame the creature for feeling ostracized or something. Not like Si was keeping perfectly calm and reserved or anything. Almost the opposite, actually.

Still, Si hadn't been expecting the response that Mikew gave him. The creature hadn't been given a home. Didn't seem to really understand what was going on. Though the reference to the lying cat was quite telling, and could only lead to one conclusion worth having. It seemed like Si was cleaning up Scamper's messes, which was unfortunately an all too common occurrence for the Knights.

"Sounds like your first real encounter was with a certain bureaucrat named Scamper," supplied Si. He nearly winced. "The cat's not exactly the best representative of people here, but there's not a whole lot anyone can do. You probably do have a home, or can get one. Did you get, like, a welcoming packet or something? Or maybe someone mentioned a guide?"

They really needed someone to better handle things like that, honestly.