Checking Things Out

[Deleted]

Tiberius had seen a lot of bullshit in his short life. Didn't doubt he'd see a heck of a lot more, too, but at least things seemed a little different here. He might not be a fan of the whole groups of people thing, but there were still moments of loneliness that had him wandering into the Weyrd proper, if only to people watch. And there was plenty of that to do, too, considering there seemed to be new people showing up every day. New homes had to be made, new shops fit into places, supplies ordered and picked up, and just the process of learning what was going on here. He was lucky, he had Aurora's help, and that did explain some things to him that were just strange. Not that it made it any less strange, but hey, answers.

It was a chilly, overcast day, and the teen was busy exploring a little. Boredom had him out and about, and he had gotten briefly caught in a crowd that was watching some ceremonial blessing of a new home. It was a little interesting, rather showy, and he wasn't too keen to stick around and watch it for long. Hands shoved in his pockets, he wandered off again, but it wasn't all that long before he found something else catching his attention.

It took a moment of hesitation, before he just shrugged and headed over to what he thought was a mechanic's workshop. Aurora was all about him making connections and friends and all that crap, and the teen would eventually need to find someplace to get parts for his ship. Among other things. Might as well poke around and see if this could be someone that could help. Sure, he might be in the complete wrong, but eh, worth checking it out.

"Hello?" He called out, once he stepped inside. He lingered near the doorway, not at all sure what to expect from this place. Surely no one would bite, as Aurora kept pointing out, but you could never be too careful. If something did bite, he'd probably have to punch or kick, and things would just go downhill from there, and you know, Tiberius just wasn't looking for that kind of day to happen.

[Deleted]

While she didn't have overly much life experience to call on, every bone in Meow Mix's fuzzy little body told her that the cold, cloudy sky was promising snow later. She didn't particularly care. The volcanic activity here in the Weyrd crater kept the ground warm enough not to ice over, and it wasn't like she'd be out driving. She just didn't particularly feel like being out doing anything with the weather so chilly- clearly, she was going to need to get some warmer jumpsuits, and maybe some kind of heater system for her suit's control center. Computers liked the cold, but she was no computer.

Still, though, the weather was nothing she was worried about, but cold, potentially snowy days did call for certain conventions to be observed. As such, Mixie had a fleecey jumpsuit on, some mellow tunes playing from her mecha, and was making a pot of delicious vegetable soup in a tin can on a hot plate on her workbench. She'd been experimenting a lot with local produce (it was easier to get vegetables in trade for services than anything else, it seemed) and had already found a few favorites. Her "pot" currently contained a sweet root, an acidic fruit juice that reminded her strongly of tomato, and a big handful of the tiny, seed-sized beans that had been delighting her since the first time she'd found them. With some herbs and a pat of butter for richness, it was making a deliciously savory broth.

It needed something, though.

Like bacon. She had no bacon. She hadn't seen bacon since her second day here, and was still regretting not stocking up on ALL of it, since apparently it was gonna be hard to come by. Perhaps diced bologna would be okay? It was still porky and salty, even if it wasn't all smoky and fatty like bacon.

She was about to go raid her cooler box for something appropriately meaty to add to the pot when her door opened, and a rather scrawny young human-type came wandering obliviously in. A customer! Maybe he'd pay in bacon! You never knew on this planet!

"Hi there!" she called out, waving cheerfully from the workbench. "Are you here for a space heater? I've got a couple left so long as you don't need a big one." Half the folks who had wandered in recently were after space heaters- it's like the weather had taken a turn for the colder lately or something. Repairing and assembling the damned things had been taking up far too much of her spare time. Surely there were more entertaining things to make.

[Deleted]

It was a cute, interesting little place, Tiberius decided right away. It definitely looked like a place he could barter for parts, or perhaps even the help of another mechanic, depending on what he was working on. Maybe someone here knew how to fix spaceships. He definitely had one that needed fixing, and while the teen had no real plan of leaving, he did want a back up plan. You could never be too sure if things were going to stay okay, or if they would get dangerous. He just wanted to be prepared.

Something smelled good, was really the second thing he noticed. It'd made him hungry, though he was usually hungry, so that was nothing new. He'd most certainly have to see about scrounging himself up some food after this shop. Maybe a sandwich or some fruit or something. There was this old lady with a stall that sold some interesting cheese; it was bright blue and pink, but it had a rather mellow flavor to it and it was delightful. Mm, food.

"Uh, hello." Tiberius repeated, a little caught off guard. It took him a moment to even see who was speaking to him, but maybe he wasn't as surprised as he could be, considering it was a rat that was talking. Hey, he had a talking giant eagle, so. It seemed kind of normal, really. "A space heater sounds awesome, but I'm good. Don't got anywhere to plug it in." He did kind of live in a cave, away from the Weyrd, after all. And he was kind of falling in love with the random bits of magic that some people seemed to do. Who needed a space heater when one had flat, magic rocks that stayed warm all night? All he needed to do was tuck them under some padding and in his blankets and it was magical.

"Do you know how to fix a starship?" Came the blunt question, even as he drifted over to a workbench to poke at something. "I've got a broken one. And I don't know much about them."

[Deleted]

Hey, in Mixie's experience, any conversation with a human that didn't start with "Oh god is that a RAT!?" and thrown objects was probably gonna be a decent conversation. Tiberius looked confused to see her, but that was fine. She was confused to see almost everyone in this crazy place.

"Don't know where most people are plugging them in, either," she admitted cheerfully, hitting the button on the hot plate to turn it off. She had a customer to focus on, after all. "I don't ask those kinds of questions. I figure people can figure that part out on their own. I just supply the heaters." Scampering across the workbench, she scrambled up on top of the partially disassembled heater that she'd been working on before lunch, taking a closer look at her new customer. It was nice to see a younger face around here sometimes.

His question caught her slightly off guard. "A starship?" she echoed, with a clear tone that would indicate raised eyebrows in any species blessed with eyebrows to raise. "Well. Can't say I've fixed a starship before. But basically any machine is made up of smaller bits of machines doing their jobs. Gears and motors and engines and computers and stuff. And I'm good at fixing all of THOSE things. So show me what you've got, and maybe?" At least a rat could shrug pretty obviously.

[Deleted]

Well, hey, if there were people taking space heaters and making them magically work, Tiberius was going to have to rethink that. Because a space heater sounded damned wonderful in his cave. Blankets and hides and magic rocks and a firepit were all well and good, and the cave was growing really comfortable and cozy, but a space heater, now that would be victorious against the cold and upcoming snow. He was just going to have to rethink that. “Maybe I will take one, then. What are they going for?”

Tiberius had to shrug a little, rubbing the back of his head a little uncomfortably. “I don’t have it with me.” He pointed out, awkward. “It’s back at home. I don’t live nearby.” But hey, at least she seemed comfortable checking it out at some point. “I’ve got a pretty decent idea of how to fix it, more or less. But getting the correct parts are my biggest concern. And there was a lot of damage. I might have crashed into a mountain.” He sounded sheepish. “Where do you get your supplies from?”

[Deleted]

Mixie had no answer for the boy's question save to shrug even more helplessly. "What they go for depends on what you're willing to pay," she informed him, "and what you've got available to pay with. There's no money here, near as I can tell, unless you had it in your pockets when you got here, and it'd be no good if you had it. But that's what good old fashioned bartering is for. Do you have anything to trade? I mostly want parts and tools, but if you've got any good food or, I don't know, a nice blanket or something, or if you can do me a favor or two, we can work something out."

Truth be told, she liked the barter system better. She'd never really grasped the point of money, or why so many people seemed convinced that a handful of paper was worth more than a loaded baked potato.

There was a ratty little huff as Tiberius continued. "Of course you don't live nearby," she scoffed lightly. "No one lives nearby. They're never gonna get a proper city going at this rate, with everyone scattering to the winds like this. Still, I'd like to take a look at it sometime. Never seen a starship before, if nothing else."

... was it like a space ship, she wondered briefly, or like a boat, or like a flying saucer but shaped like a star, or... it'd be interesting, either way.

"If you think 'correct' parts are the only kinds that can work, you're thinking too small," she told her guest with a resolute nod of her furry little head. "You have to think outside the box. Like I said- tear them down, and big machines are made of little machines. You can always replace bits with ones that do the same job once you break them down far enough to figure out what job those bits are doing." Look, it worked with lawnmowers and cars and mecha suits, so it would obviously work with starships, too. What could the big difference be?

"Around here," she explained, "I mostly get the good stuff in trade. The rest of it? I just kinda find. I think everything that gets lost in the world ends up showing up here at some point or SOMETHING." Another broad shrug. "Things just kinda show up. I take 'em apart, put 'em back together, get 'em working. It's something to do, right? And it gets people space heaters! Either that," she had to concede, "or it's actually all just magic. I dunno. But a magic refrigerator is still a refrigerator."

[Deleted]

Tiberius was still rather tempted by the space heater, but ugh, bartering. He still wasn’t all that good at this stuff, usually let Aurora handle it because she had a better way with words. And he certainly wasn’t too comfortable with an IOU. Mixie seemed like a nice rat and all that, but who knew what she might ask for, in the future. "I hunt and fish, to there's different kinds of pelts I have. Can bring you some to show you. I've also ended up with far too much random duct tape, and a whole mess of screws and nails." He frowned a little, thinking about what else he had. "Is there anything you're specifically looking for, right now?" So, yeah, he was a little possessive and awkward with his things at the moment. He wasn't used to having things. And sure, trading some of his things for a new thing made perfect sense, but he still wasn't all that good with it.

Not that he had any of this on him. He'd probably have to play fetch, or invite Mixie over himself. Because she was right, no one lived close to anyone. Shrugging a bit, Tiberius couldn't bring himself to care much about that, either way, “Cities are overrated. I rather like the village feel.” Cities were bad news. “I can tell you where I live, if you do want to come check it out at some point.” He told her. Maybe it wasn't smart to share his home location, but he did have a giant bird on his side. What could Mixie really do to him?

...okay, talk down to him, apparently. "I know how things work." He huffed ass he crossed his arms over his, insulted like only a teenage boy would be. "Correct parts, parts in general, whatever. Haven't had much time to start getting it all together." He didn't have a magic scrapyard where things appeared. No, he got things like glitter and too much duct tape. Though, really, he was still focusing more on setting himself up a proper place to live than getting his ship fixed up. Carving out a little piece of home was maybe a bit more important. He wasn't trying to run away right now, anyways.

But Mixie might be right. Maybe all of this was magic, and Tiberius just hadn't quite gotten himself in the right magical place. "I'm still getting settled in. Once I am, maybe we can talk trading for parts." He wasn't looking for anything concrete at his point. Ideas, plans for the future, things like that. This did seem like the right place to start, even if he felt a little insulted.

[Deleted]

Mixie couldn't help but wrinkle her nose a little at Tiberius's first offer. Animal skins were all well and good for some people, but she wasn't one of them. If the temperatures kept dropping here, though, there was a good chance that some nice insulating fur wouldn't be the worst thing to have on hand. At least it'd make a comfortably warm seat in her suit. As for the rest of it...

"... wait, did you say duct tape?" she asked, eyes going a little wider. "Like, actual duct tape. The really sticky stuff, not just the decorative junk they've been selling? Stranger, I'd give up a couple gallons of kettle corn for a roll of duct tape. If you've got the good stuff, you've got yourself a heater. Four rolls sound fair to you?" She'd even throw in delivery, if he insisted, but you never say that from the start.

"Villages are alright," she conceded, "but I'm a city girl at heart. Cities are so much better. Thousands of people from all over and all the food and the music and the lights and the noise..." there was a wistful, ratty SIGH as she thought of the world she'd left behind. "Clear skies and stars are great, but they're just not the same,"she muttered with a nostalgic little tone. There was business to be done, nostalgia notwithstanding, though, and Mixie jotted down a quick note of where to find the kid's home. Hey, she'd get to get a look at a star ship. That'd be cool.

Aaand it looked like she'd managed to insult Tiberius. Fantastic. "I'm just saying not to let yourself get stuck looking for the RIGHT parts," she explained. "Most times the right part is the one that works, even if it wasn't made for that. I'm just saying- keep an open mind and we'll get your ship back in the air. Or water. Or space. Or wherever it's going." Teenagers, man.

[Deleted]

Of all the things he thought a rat might get excited over, duct tape was not one of them. There were plenty of things that he could see a rat, and a mechanic, going for. Maybe he didn't have them to offer right now, but. Well. Duct tape? "Yeah, it's the real stuff. Nothing fancy or glittery." Which, okay, Tiberius maybe found slightly boring. It was good stuff, of course, but the novelty of seeing color and shiny stuff and glitter? Well, that wasn't going to wear off anytime soon. It was like he hadn't gotten his hands on it much in his life.

"...I'll give you a crate of the stuff. It's well over four rolls." Fine, maybe he wasn't good at this bargaining thing, and he was certainly overpaying, but you know. Good will and all of that? Rat-lady was super excited, clearly wanted it, and Tiberius just wanted to clean some space out of his cave and install a heater. Somehow. And besides, it couldn't hurt to try to win some friendly feelings, right? Gods, he sucked at all of this.

"Do birds bother you? I have one of those giant eagles with me. She can bring the crate and take the heater home with her." He didn't have to be part of part two of this interaction, right? He had done the thing. Let Aurora finish it.

Mixie's nostalgic ramblings didn't invoke any good memories or feelings on Tiberius's part, so he simply shrugged. His history wasn't really one to bring up in polite company, nor was he going to share his reasoning with a complete stranger. Instead, he turned his attention to talking about his ship, and just eyed her in bafflement. "...it goes into space. Why would it go into water?" He asked, baffled. "I wouldn't call it a space ship then."

Okay, lets face it, Tiberius was offering her more duct tape than she asked because she was putting up with his teenage self. She clearly deserved payment for that.

[Deleted]

Duct tape, actual duct tape! Mixie felt her ratty little heart singing praise to the heavens at the very thought. The number of things she could fix faster and easier with some duct tape was almost limitless. Duct tape was one of the only reasons her mecha didn't rattle itself to pieces. Duct tape bound wires and patched holes and kept casings where they were supposed to be. Duct tape was holding her front window together and more of it would be able to seal the sides where the drafts came through. Duct tape was pure magic, and she was about to have a heap of it. A dragon's hoard!

"You get me a crate, and I'm gonna owe you big time," she told him a little giddily. "Pretty sure I could get ANY ship repaired with a crate of duct tape." At the mention of the giant eagle, Mixie couldn't repress a fuzzy little shiver- she'd seen some of the enormous birds around and wasn't thrilled with them (not knowing that, by the end of the month, one of them would be living with her... along with a gravity-defying watch-wher, a French-speaking wolf, a furry firelizard, Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, a big star-speckled blue egg, and probably the kitchen sink as well, if one of those turned out to be bondable). "So long as no one tries to eat me, I don't care who does the deliveries around here," she stated firmly, stubbornly tamping down her unease. She was a business rodent, and she wasn't going to let the rodent part of that cost her customers.

She ALSO wasn't going to let her exasperation with teenagers cost her customers, if she could help it. Tiberius had called it a star ship, not a space ship, but she suspected that pointing that out wouldn't do more than irritate the young man farther. "Haven't been to space yet," she said instead. "But still. We have ourselves a deal. I'll keep an eye open for your bird-friend." Holding out a tiny hand, she offered to shake Tiberius's to seal the deal. "My name's Meow Mix, by the way, and whatever you need fixed, I'm your rat."

((Egg 11/20))
((also, I think we can just about call this wrapped up, lol))