Backwater Nexus. The Mall and The Black Dog. Shopping Run Part 2

[dens_extra_pups]

Continued from here



Aoife: *heckling passer-byes and laughing*

Marty: That's not very nice, Aoife.

Aoife: *looks at the taller woman and grins* They'd think I didn't love them if I didn't say it.

Marty: *raised brow*

Aoife: *grin widens* *simply* I'm a soldier.

Marty: Ah... *small nod of understanding*

Aoife: *laughter, and then an insult for the big dragon looking guy with the horns over his brows* *back to Marty* Alright. Anything else?

Marty: I think I still have to go to the Black Dog. *checking the card once more*

Aoife: Okay. Let's get out of the mall the quick way. *hand on Marty's shoulder* Brace yourself.

Marty: *braces herself, making sure to keep a tight grip on her shopping bag*

Aoife: *brings her to the road a few yards outside the main mall entrance*

teletubbies: *shriek and run*

Marty: *slight start*

Aoife: Don't mind the vermin. *turns toward the harbour and watches a gigantic, furry, woman wade out of the water toward an impatiently shouting baytech jet bot*

Marty: *looks toward the harbor and boggles*

Jetfire: 'Urreh up, lass! I want t' git ye somet'in' good at the 'Dog!

Aoife: *soft snerk as Seaspray stops next to the old bot and shakes vigorously*

Jetfire: *vituperation* *plating flared out as he gives himself a shake*

Aoife: *sniggerfitdie as Seaspray hums amusement and shakes again*

Marty: *blink blink* Who are they?

Aoife: Seaspray and her husband Jetfire. *as something strange and large comes from the harbour* And that's Kida. She crashes at Seaspray's place sometimes.

Marty: Ah. Alright. *small nod* *blinks as she sees Kida, and recognizes that the creature is a baby ohmu. One that is too young to be away from her herd*

Aoife: *replies to the spurt of surprise* She's an Exile. *lifts her voice* Seaspray, a thong? Really???

Seaspray: Thrrpt! *more humming laughter as she pretends like she's going to use the fur on her arm to wipe Jetfire's plating*

Jetfire: *cheerful and affectionate vituperation*

Marty: Aww... *read the Nexus 101 pamphlet Lumen left for her*

Aoife: *grins at Marty as she turns away from the scene* She's happy here. I think she chose to come here instead of staying.

Marty: Well, as long as she's happy and safe.

Kida: *gentle poke for the grey-haired lady and projects a request for dry bread*

Marty: *slight start, will check her pockets for something to give the baby ohmu*

Aoife: *taps her shoulder with a cheap romance novel* Here, give her this.

Marty: *will reach for what she's been instructed to give Kida*

Aoife: Don't squeeze it. It's buttered.

Kida: *happy mental exclamation about a butter sammich*

Marty: *soft chuckle, gives the romance novel to Kida* Here you go, hon.

Kida: *soft little trill as she takes the book and chomps on it*

Marty: *so amused at the cute* You're welcome.

Kida: *turns and zooms back toward the harbour, mental talk of fish all the way*

Seaspray: *got her breechcloth from her husband, but only puts it over her arm as she walks beside him down the road, still laughing at his blue streak*

Jetfire: *more vituperation, will fuss and fret over her*

Marty: So those two are married?

Aoife: *as she starts in the direction that the couple is going* Yup. Newlyweds.

George: *beeps*

Marty: *startles at the beep*

Aoife: *pats her gun* It's just George. He's friendly.

George: *agreeable beeping*

Aoife: He's talking about how Seaspray and Jetfire met.

Marty: Oh. How did they meet?

Aoife: *as she walks* Seaspray's rowdy for a Lu woman. She likes to fight. So she signed up to go along with Blackout's army on some of their safer missions. Jets noticed how well she could keep up, and how she sparred with the Warlady's sons during downtime.

Marty: ...So she's a soldier, sort of?

Aoife: *chuckles* No "sort of". She is. On leave right now.

Marty: Ah. *small nod*

Aoife: Jets really noticed her the day Deherree paid her to distract him while Deherree cuddled the boy she likes. He was a little cranked at the time, so he decided to sit her on his knee and investigate that pelt she's got.

Marty: *very soft snerk* I see.

Aoife: And then a few weeks ago Seaspray realized that she had to see to her family duties and start having babies. But she's given her heart to the old rust bucket.

Marty: Awww... And Jetfire's devoted to her?

Aoife: *snerk* Total suck. Claimed her the same day he brought her water from the baby fountain.

Marty: *blink* Baby fountain?

Aoife: One of our permanent sources of LOL babies.

Marty: *confused and quizzical look* LOL babies?

Aoife: Impossible nexus kids.

Marty: ...Okay then. *doesn't understand entirely, but that's alright. Is sure there are things in the Nexus she's not meant to understand*

Aoife: You know what LOLs are, right?

Marty: Sort of... Lumen tried to explain them.

Aoife: I usually describe them by saying, "*unprintable* happens."

Marty: *very soft snerk*

Aoife: Most of it wears off, but the kids are for keeps. I wonder when Seaspray's going to start showing.

Marty: How far along is she?

Aoife: A few weeks. Lu don't live as long as normal humans, but they get to carry their babies the same length of time.

Marty: Awww

Aoife: *slight smile* And those two are going to get sons before they get the daughter.

Marty: Aw.

Aoife: Lu are matrilinear. The guys are half the size of the women. And usually half the brains, too. *glances at the Dinobot castle as they walk past it*

Marty: Huh. *will also glance where Aoife does*

Aoife: *grin* Recognize that?

Marty: Isn't that Mad Ludwig's Castle?

Aoife: *laughs* Yup. Supersized.

Marty: Huh. Why is it so big?

Aoife: Because that's how the nexus rolls. *sees Grimlock up on a turret and shakes her fist at him*

Grimlock: *snort audible even this far away, and then he turns his back*

Aoife: *snerk*

Marty: Ah... *surprised at the snort*

Aoife: That's the local Grimlock.

Marty: ...I see. *mentally comparing the Grimlock she knows to the robot on the turret*

Aoife: I don't think that guy's ever been drunk.

Marty: *thinks about that* *very soft snerk* That's probably a good thing.

Aoife: He's also single.

Marty: Aw. I'm sure that there's a lady out there for him somewhere.

Aoife: *soft snerk* It usually happens pretty fast for them once they start looking. *pauses to watch a little toy ATV cross the road, a toy Transformer in a tiny bow tie driving, and a little doll made of dark teal yarn sitting in the cargo area* Wreck-Gar, where you going?

Wreck-Gar: *without stopping* I am Wreck-Gar! I am taking my girl dancing! *grin*

Lucille: *happy wave that causes her simple little dress to shimmer*

Aoife: *watches them go with another soft snerk*

Marty: *blink. Blink* Okay then.

Aoife: Just another happily married couple. Don't mind them. *still walking. And looking amused*

Marty: Alright. *trusting you on that one*

Aoife: What's wrong?

Marty: I thought working at a school for X-positive children would prepare me for anything... I guess I was wrong.

Aoife: *quiet chuckle* There are a lot of living dolls here in the Backwater. They share the pixie bar under the floor of the Black Dog.

Marty: Pixie bar? *surprised*

Aoife: *chuckles as they enter the Question Square* Mmmmhmmm. What's the surprising part?

Marty: I didn't realize they had bars.

Aoife: *outright laughter* Why not? They're people too.

Marty: To be honest, I thought they were more like Legacy's friend, Damson.

Aoife: *shakes her head* Damson's a wildling. The only thing they have in common with pixies is size, wings, and sometimes a slightly similar sense of humour. *looks around as she senses a call*

Marty: *also looks around, curious*

Aoife: *soft laugh, and then hunkers down to put her arms around what looks like a little purple naga in a skirt of giant flower petals* Rose, did you find what you were looking for?

Rose: *nod nod. Sleepy face on Mama shoulder as Mama stands up. Tail around Mama middle*

Marty: Aww.

Aoife: *smiles* This is my youngest daughter, Rose. She's a second stage nagi plant.

Rose: *crinkles one hand in a sleepy wave*

Marty: *soft chuckle* She's adorable.

Aoife: *grins* Thanks. *turns to carry baby longer than and nearly as big as herself toward the path between Brownstones, nodding to a few people in passing. Is kinda pleased that Legacy's grandmother in law to be has less hangups about sentient plants than she seemed to have for sentient dolls*

Miss McGuffin: *speaking of sentient dolls, there goes a human size black velvet rag doll with long white ribbon hair and a zebra print mermaid dress, leading a row of adorable little horrors and a few little human girls along the edge of the square on the way to the forest for a grade one biology lesson. All the little girls are wearing purple or pink puff sleeve T-shirts with a logo on the front and blue skeggings with leggings to just past the knee and full skirts to just above the knees*

Aoife: *waves to her, and to the kids*

Marty: *blinks and then she's chuckling as she realizes what she's seeing*

Aoife: *glances over* The grade one class from the local girls' school.

Violet: Thrrrpt!

Aoife: ...And my second youngest girl.

Marty: *laughs*

Aoife: *watches the kids pass into the crowd, and then snerks softly* She's been around me too long, but she's not so bad since she got a dad.

Marty: Aww. *small smile*

Aoife: *down the path* Have you noticed the air ships?

Marty: Air ships? *looks up*

air ships: *yup!*

Marty: *boggles* *jaw drops* Are those mountains?

Aoife: Well... big, pointy hills. *also looks up* Oh, that's where Noelle moved.

Marty: Noelle?

Aoife: *points with her free hand* The big green wings leaving the round blue airship. She's going to work at the Handy Mart.

Marty: *looks* Ooh. Wust Fee?

Aoife: Yup. Grumpiest one in existence. *chuckle*

Marty: *very soft snerk*

Aoife: *as Scott walks past in all his towering, scaly meepness, she chucks an insult at him just as if she hadn't already done so at the mall* And there's the guy who's trying to convince Noelle she's priceless treasure. *sure she'll gossip. If it's happy gossip*

Marty: *very soft chuckle*

Aoife: *as a strapping redheaded lady goes by, she lifts her voice* And there's the girl that married the guy who stayed home because he didn't want rain!

Mirden: *hand gesture she learned from Jetfire, keeps walking. Is laughing as she walks*

Uther: *backfires as he runs past after Mama*

Aoife: *sparkles protective shield around self, daughter, and Marty*

Marty: ... *one with her face palm* As bad as some of the kids at the school.

Aoife: *snerk* If he were human he'd be thirteen.

Marty: Oh, fun.

Aoife: Indeed. *green eyes dancing as she lets the sparkles die down*

Marty: *considering look* Is that lady's husband really that silly?

Aoife: *side glance toward Marty* He's Sideswipe.

Marty: Ah. *nods* I understand.

streak of pink: *runs past shrieking. Appeared so suddenly that Aoife didn't even have time to come up with a wisecrack*

Aoife: o.o

Rose: *grumpy sound about being woke up*

Marty: *startles* *on reflex* Scattershot, calm down!

Mal: *stops and stares up at the human lady, big toy spider dangling forgotten by one leg in her hand* o.0?

Marty: ...That wasn't Lance, was it? *realizing what she did, is amused*

Mal: Nope. But he is Scattershot. Just my Scattershot. *pushes at the bonnet that's fallen over her eyes*

DivaShot: *just realized he's not being chased anymore* Maaal!

Marty: *excuse her, she has to laugh at the tone of Scattershot's whine*

Mal: I'm right here, ya numbclock! *waves the spider at him*

Marty: *hand up to muffle her snickers as she notices all the frills, ruffles, and lace that make up Mal's dress. Also notices that the tiny thing has lacy stockings, as the skirt of the dress is actually shorter in the front than the back*

DivaShot: *going to fuss and hop in place*

Mal: Whatta loser. I gotta go, lady. This spazz needs his aft kicked.

DivaShot: Maaaal, that's mean!

Mal: Yer point? *pushes bonnet back to hang from its strings*

Aoife: ...Is he wearing leather?

Mal: WHAT? *stares after husband, then chucks the spider into a bag it shouldn't have fit into and vanishes in a poof of ruffles* Are you wearin' leather???

DivaShot: *squeals and runs*

Marty: ... *cracking up now*

Aoife: He's still got his apron on. They're either playing hooky, or aren't on shift yet. *resumes walking up the trail, smiling as she sees several bots leaning over D'Coda's hedge to talk to the entwife*

Marty: Where do they work?

Aoife: *nods toward the massive building* 'Shot's one of the waiters at the Black Dog.

Marty: *looks* Oooh.

((Written with random_xtras))

Continued here