World Tree MUSH

    The past few days in Tokyo have been dreary. Stormclouds darken the sky and a light drizzle has been falling almost non-stop in a depressing fashion. But that doesn't stop the metropolis from running. Students huddle in their classrooms, businessmen and their shinki secretaries dread leaving the office, and all in all, the city just has a downer vibe to it.
    Especially for the homeless and masterless shinki population. Forced to find cover for themselves with nowhere to really go. Sure there's probably an underground shinki city somewhere, but for the most part, a certain, scarred, Altines probably doesn't want to show her face there for good reason.
    Said Altines is huddled with her knees hugged to her chest in a tiny nook under a park bridge that forms just enough of an overhang to keep her out of the rain.

    Hyouka has not been bothered by rain for a good long while, but it does tend to rather soak through one's clothes, and make a mess when one finally heads inside. So she's got herself a rainproof longcoat, one of her first major purchases as an 'adventurer'. She's been wearing it the whole time, which means that even now, aside from her hair and face, she's mostly dry.

    And without a need to eat or drink, she can spend most of her day out chasing down rumors. It's been a fair bit of work over the past few days, but a rumor finally seems to have paid off - after a good ten or fifteen minutes of checking tiny little nooks a Shinki might hide in, the elf-ish woman's face dips down to peek under the one her quarry is actually hiding beneath. "Aha. Found you~." One of her hands drops down next to her face to give a little wave.

    There were quite a few rumors. Mostly passed around by shinki that scowled or seemed shy about mention of a certain scarred Altines, but there are only so many places in a park even for one foot tall little helper bots to hide.
    And it looks like she's been found again. The sudden face in her space earns a startled yelp, and the shinki backs up pretty quickly against the wall, looking ready to rabbit out at the first chance she can get. Before realization dawns.
    "Oh... It's you." Recognition sets in. "You were there. That night at the docks."

    "Ah- nonono, no, it's okay-" Hyouka immediately realizes that was a dumb thing to do, and just as promptly feels awful for scaring the poor Altines. "Goodness, I'm sorry, that was... that was thoughtless of me." She turns and shifts her weight, simply plopping down by the side of the park bridge. "That was me, yes. I'm Hyouka. I wanted to make sure you were all right." She laces her fingers together in her lap, then adds, "Ah, you don't have any major damage, right? Nothing that needs fixing?"

    If she had a heart rate it would be through the roof for that second there. But that doesn't stop the little robot from clutching at her chest anyway as she seems to take a deep, steeling, breath, one hand rising up to rub at her scarred eye.
    "I'm... Fine." She says, haltingly, at first. As though she were not quite sure of how to respond to such questioning. "I got patched up before..."
    Before she ran away, but she doesn't quite say it. "... Why is everyone looking for me lately, I just want to not be found."

    "I can't speak for anyone else," Hyouka replies, "But I was a bit worried. About all of the girls there, of course, but especially you. Having all of them dogpile you like that... honestly." She snorts derisively, then shakes her head. "I still think you'd be safer in police custody, but... I guess you have your reasons to distrust that." They'd want to rehome her, after all. And after her last owner...

    "Ah, that's right, I picked something up." The cyborg turns to shove a hand into one of her coat pockets, digs around, then comes out... with a can of Jelly. "I didn't know what flavor you'd like, so I just asked for whatever their most popular one was." It is, thankfully, not a can of nitro jelly. She plunks it down on the ground under the bridge, closer to the shinki than herself. So she won't have to approach too closely.

    "I don't blame them."
    It's a pretty down-on-herself reply as the Altines shrinks back down to hug her legs to her chest, chin resting on the joints of her knees. The entire time, she doesn't take her eyes off Hyouka, though; wary and mistrusting. After everything she's been through, the thought of a new master is probably the last thing that she wants.
    Then out comes the jelly. If anything the sight of it has her locking on, brow knotting somewhere between bewildered and still wary. "... Jelly comes in flavors...?" It sounds like this is a new revelation to her entirely as she edges towards the tiny container, gaze on Hyouka the entire time, before she snatches it up and darts back under the tiny overhang, to stare at the label.
    "... I never knew it came flavored."
    Just what kind of man was that master of hers?

    'I never knew it came flavored.'

    Sure, Hyouka's heard the idea of 'words that pierce your heart' before. But until this moment she's always thought it was just a poetic flourish. Hearing that, after a second for the implication sinks in, just makes the cyborg's heart ache for the poor little shinki. It's probably obvious from the look in her face, a weird blend of anger at the Altines' master, and sorrow on the tiny one's behalf. "Well, we'll just have to fix that. I'll buy you a full spread next time, and we can see what all you like." Nod nod. It is decided. "Ah, do you have somewhere to recharge? Or... do you even need to recharge? I'm not familiar with how your power supply works, I'm sorry. Offworlder."

    Another rub at that scarred eye as if by habit, and the shinki finally begins to unscrew the tiny cap on the jelly can. "I uh. Have my charging cradle set up. Somewhere." She admits during the process before she has the cap off, completely oblivious to Hyouka's emotions until she looks up and sees the look on the woman's face.
    Almost immediately she shrinks back, as though afraid that angered look was meant for her, before the topic of conversation moves on and it becomes obvious that it's not. 
    "Mn..." Cautiously, she brings the tiny can to her lips, tilting it slowly until the fluid within touches her lips and she gets her first taste. She near sputters on it, but then tilts the can further for a deeper gulp, before lowering it and wiping at her lips with the back of a hand.
    "That was... Really good."
    It's such a simple thing. Flavored jelly. Completely normal to any other shinki. But apparently a first for this one.

    Yep. That settles it. Definitely showering her in flavored jelly cans next time. "I'm glad you liked it," Hyouka replies, positively beaming. "I only got the one this time, in case you didn't like it, but I'll be sure and stock up." She reaches up and adjusts her coat a little, an absent habit, and watches the Altines with curiosity, seeming to ponder something. "Ah, I won't press on your situation in general, but... do you have any plans for what you're going to do now? I find when I'm having trouble in life, sometimes just having a plan in mind can help me get my feet moving, so to speak."

    That sure is a plan for the future. But for now, the shinki takes another sip. Then there's a soft flare of white light, and in her hand is a similar looking jelly can, save for a complete lack of markings. Very carefully she pours the contents of the flavored jelly can into this one and re-seals it before dismissing it back into whatever storage she has, to clearly enjoy later.
    But then she frowns.
    "I was. Going to look for my sister." She admits haltingly, lips pursing into a thin line. "I don't have any leads or anything. And there aren't very many other shinki willing to help me out. But. That's what I wanted to do."

    There's a thoughtful nod from Hyouka, and then a faint smile. "That's as good a starting point as any." She changes the way she sits, then, moving to a seiza-style and resting her palms on her knees. "I'll tell you what. Let me give you my contact info. If you find any leads you need a human to follow up on," she begins, blissfully forgetful of her own elven appearance, "Or places to investigate that only a human can get in, you give me a call. Even if I'm asleep, my onboard AI can answer the call for me, so you can call any time."

    DARGN chooses that time to speak up - her voice is a slightly town than Hyouka's own, but still a bit on the husky side of the register, and haughty besides. "Hyouka. Pro-bono work is very wonderful and all, but-" Without skipping a beat, Hyouka cuts across. "Shush. It's not like I'm hurting for money right now."

    Moving to sit like that results in a slight backwards scootch from the shinki. She has every reason to be mistrustful after all, but at least she's not jetting just yet. If anything the offer of contact information makes her brow knot again.
    "Why has everyone the past few days been so..." She mutters, trailing off with a tiny sigh as she pulls up a miniature hologram screen, apparently ready to take down the provided information.
    "... Master would just call me 'Altines'. Or 'Useless'. ... But Leene called me 'Alty'." That. That seems to be a proper introduction.

    "Alty," the elven-looking woman repeats, smiling. "I'm Hyouka, Kiyama Hyouka. Japanese naming order. That other voice is my body's onboard AI, DARGN." She offers comms info, then falls silent long enough for Alty and DARGN to establish comms protocols; but the murmured question has her looking thoughtful, and her eyes drift up to the rainy sky. "...I know it's not going to be easy to accept for a while, but not all humans are bad, you know? Most of us are just... self-absorbed. We don't really see beyond our own life and environment. But if you show a human someone who's suffering, or had a hard life... most of us can be pretty empathetic. Most of us." Mutter. "...would have liked a chance to punch your owner once or twice myself.

    The smile isn't returned. If anything, Hyouka gets a long, contemplative stare from the shinki at this offer of aid. Lips purse again, as Alty links with DARGN but listens quietly.
    "My only experience with humans was master and the spectators." She admits. "They would call me things like 'Angel of Death' and I hated it." Given further as she rests her chin on her knees once again. "You and the others since that night were the first to actually... Be nice to me. It's just so confusing."

    "Well, they were pretty awful," Hyouka replies, with a firm nod. "It's not the kind of thing I imagined when I first got this body, but I certainly don't mind putting it to use breaking up illegal death matches." She holds up a hand, flexing her fingers. "I guess punching bad guys is punching bad guys, in the end." She rests her hand on her knee again, and lets her weight settle back a bit. "...just don't give up on humans, alright? I promise not all of us are that bad." Pause. "...and if you run into any more that are that bad, let me know, and I'll punch them until they behave. Or pass out." That's a real risk, with her gauntlets.