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Post by Person on Jan 4, 2013 23:20:19 GMT -5
Silent Storm was taken aback by the barrage of questions. He hadn't expected such a ravenous curiosity from the professor, but chose to answer the latest inquiry.
"Honestly, I don't know all that much a-about him," Sil said to the elder equine, "He told me his name is Turnkey. We really met quite by chance, I helped him out of a tangled string of lights in town. He was hungry, so I invited him over to m-my house for dinner."
"We had a little... competition," He said, pausing momentarily and recalling their little sparring match, then continued, "Then we w-went to sleep. He's very good at building locks and even better at picking them. He said I should meet his f-friend, who I assume is the one who he's presumably talking to know, and then brought me here, as you can most likely see. I'd appreciate it if you could tell me about your friend, you know if y-you wouldn't mind."
Sil looked to the now closed door of the kitchen, and voiced his thoughts.
"I wonder what could be going on in there?"
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Kiernan
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Post by Kiernan on Jan 5, 2013 0:00:18 GMT -5
"He doesn't fit in well with other ponies. He brought me to his house last night, and I noticed ponies went out of their way to keep away from him, as if he was some kind of monster!" Turnkey brought his eyes to meet those of his younger brother. "I told him that you knew what that felt like. You can help him to seem more like a pony. Someone that other ponies don't fear."
Akaitora stared up at his elder brother, and said, "So you assume that his situation is the same as mine used to be, is that it?"
"No, only similar. Both of you have an unorthodox appearance, both of you have ponies changing their paths just to avoid you. I don't know if he has many friends, and I know you don't have that many. Besides, you always wanted to work closely with a pegasus since that mishap last year."
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luemas
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SHE BLINDED ME WITH SCIENCE!
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Post by luemas on Jan 5, 2013 0:36:08 GMT -5
The professor took it all in stride. "His friend you say..." He mused carefully. He thought back to Kai and tried to remember if he had mentioned any friends or the like, but unfortunately his memory failed him.
Geoff turned back towards Sil. "The owner of this fair abode is named Akaitora, or Kai for short. He's friendly enough, an amazing chef, and has... mysterious connections. Look." He said, uncapping and shoving the canister of gun powder in Sil's face. "Smell it. Isn't that amazing? Nothing like the smell of fresh gun powder. He was able to find me the saltpetre for it. Fortunately I still have some left to make more." Geoff realized he was rambling at this point and took a breather.
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Post by Person on Jan 5, 2013 1:08:06 GMT -5
Silent Storm listened to Geoff's particularly undescriptive answer, but held onto the name, Akaiatora. At least he had the name of the partially mechanical unicorn. He was lost in thought for a moment when suddenly a canister of black something was thrust beneath his snout. Sil inhaled unintentionally and a small amount of it was sucked into his nostrils, irritating them greatly. Geoff cheerily announced that the substance was gunpowder and an instant later, Storm sneezed, pouring bright blue flame from his nostrils into the air and onto the can of volatile powder.
The can immediately combusted in a large white explosion with a loud *BANG!* Silent Storm was thrown backwards by the blast, and his cloak was ripped off of him, revealing his draconic visage. He collided hard with the stone wall nearest him at high velocity and sank to the ground, vision blurry and ears ringing. Instead of getting up, as he knew he could and should, Sil just lay there on the stone floor, thinking what have I done?
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luemas
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Post by luemas on Jan 5, 2013 1:21:01 GMT -5
Geoff stared in horror as he saw Sil sneeze, and then when he sneezed fire Geoff yipped in terror and tried to pull the gunpowder away, but he was too slow. As the gunpowder caught in a bright flash he let go of the canister, but the resulting blast was still enough to blast him over the table and skid into the kitchen. He sat there dumbfounded and then began to check his body for injuries. Fortunately the worst of the damage seemed to be some charring of his fur. Geoff sighed and thanked his lucky stars that he didn't take any shrapnel from the metal canister. Or more accurately, as he rolled his head back and stared at the blackened husk, that it hadn't turned into shrapnel.
Geoff laid there and stared at the two ponies discussing in the kitchen. Then he realized he was staring. "I'm sincerely sorry Akaitora. I was showing my gunpowder to your guest's guest and..." His vision strayed over to Sil and he did a triple take. He realized he had rudely not gone over to see if he was ok. And then he did another take seeing the membranous wings splayed.
At that Geoff just shut down and sat there with his mouth open. It had been a long day and in conjunction with the explosion his brain stopped working.
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Kiernan
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Post by Kiernan on Jan 5, 2013 2:18:05 GMT -5
Just as he was about to explode in his elder brother's face, the thin stone wall than made up the sliding door shattered , and a flying navy blue earth pony came flying into the kitchen. As soon as he realized that it was Geoff, he calmed down slightly.
"I'm sincerely sorry Akaitora. I was showing my gunpowder to your guest's guest and..."
Akaitora looked back into the living area, where, just as Usutora had mentioned, the newest guest looked completely different than any other pony he had ever seen. He turned to his brother, and, giving him a stern look, said, "We're not finished with this conversation. It's on hiatus until further notice, understand?" when he received a nod in response, he turned to Geoff, sitting on the floor, mouth agape and wide-eyed. "When I said you could build explosives in my house, I didn't mean you could set them off in my house, as well," said Akaitora, almost able to chuckle at his own joke.
He stepped into the living area, and examined the room he had only cleaned not two hours ago. The walls and ceiling were charred a bit, blocking off most of the room's light. Right now, the only light in the room came from the kitchen, which wasn't enough. He lit up his horn, and drew a rag from the pocket of his cape, which hung on the wall, unharmed. Thank you, book on enchanting clothing, he thought, using the rag to wipe some of the residue off of the ceiling, revealing more light in the room. He looked around to take stock of what tasks he would have tomorrow. His table was now over by the wall, and in more than one piece. He would have to replace it. His cushions, which he mostly used as chairs, were scattered about, and just a bit burnt. Still, though, they were usable. His reinforced chest had a few scorch marks on it, leading him to suspect that the contents were safe. Still, he flipped the latch up and opened it, just to make sure the pages of his manuscripts fluttered a bit at the rapid intake of air, when he suddenly remembered, air pressure. He summoned a small portal in the corner of the room, to allow the excess air pressure to escape, and allow the room to equalize with the air pressure outside, but slowly, so as not to suck somepony through the tiny hole.
Stock taken, he stood next to the pegasus with the fiery mane. He just stared at him for a few moments, pondering what he was, and how he might've come to be. After a few moments, he kicked at his guest gently, making sure he was well enough to respond. With it, hey iterated, "Hey."
After Kai had left the kitchen, Usu got to work on cleaning up the mess. Broken fragments of the door were piled up in a neat stack in the corner, then he turned to the earth pony that had delayed his beratement. "Are you alright?" he asked, holding out his hoof.
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Post by Person on Jan 5, 2013 16:11:49 GMT -5
Silent Storm rose his head from the floor as he was nudged by Kai's hoof. He slowly opened his eyes to see the unicorn towering over him, and immediately stood up, folding his wings by his sides. He looked into the steely eyes of the owner of the house he'd just managed to ruin and trembled with fear of what he would do, yell at him? beat him? kill him?
"I'm so s-sorry, it just... I-I..." Sil stumbled through the apology, "I don't have much money, b-but I can give you what I have to help repair this. If you want, I can... I c-can..."
The young pegasus scrambled through thought after thought of how he could make it up to Kai. His thought yielded no viable result, and finally, he just kneeled before the makeshift alicorn, his head downcast, and squeezed his eyes tight. "P-please don't h-hurt me." he said in a barely audible voice.
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Kiernan
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Post by Kiernan on Jan 5, 2013 16:40:07 GMT -5
Kai smirked at the pegasus kneeling before him. Usually, his guests never offered to pay reparations on his home. Then again, most of his guests trashed his home on purpose, and didn't clean up their mess at all. This one, on the other hoof... This one seemed a bit more obsequious. Depending on how the rest of the night went, he might come to enjoy this new friend of Usu's.
"Good, you're responding," said Kai. "You also seem to not be badly injured, as you can still stand and move around. Undoubtedly, you're sore, though. Stone tends to not be very lenient, and I wager you hit it pretty hard, albeit not from too far away, based on where you were standing when I left."
He levitated into the living area, from his own bedroom, a tall mirror, propping it up against the wall for his guest. "Give yourself a quick examination," he commanded. "Broken bones, broken skin, I want you to gather up this information and let me know the results. This is the first step to repaying me." He then stepped out of the living area, into his bedroom.
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Post by Person on Jan 6, 2013 2:30:14 GMT -5
When it became clear that Akaiatora was not, in fact, going to harm him, Silent Storm opened his eyes and raised his head, listening intently to his instruction. Sil watched as Kai entered another room, then stood, facing the mirror provided by his host. He meticulously began looking himself over, from rump to snout and back again. He pondered why his gray-green coat hadn't been charred in the least, but chalked it up to either luck, or his abnormality, which did stem from fireproof beings. He did note, however, a small trickle of deep red blood coming from the back of his head. He ran his tongue over his teeth, confirming that none had been chipped or broken when he'd collided with the wall, careful not to lacerate it when the rows shifted from molar to sharp, angular incisors, another so-called "gift" from the dragon blood that ran through his veins.
Sil was about to report his minimal findings to Kai when he thought, looks can be deceiving. He stretched each leg, putting each through its full range of motion. He then went to stretch out his wings, but yelped as a sharp pain burst from his left wing. He examined it more closely and found that one of the bones that made up the frame upon which the wing's membrane was attatched to was bent at an odd angle, and appeared to be broken, but thankfully not fractured.
Sil walked over to the room Kai had entered, and tentatively poked his head in. "M-mister Akaiatora? Umm, I seem to be fine e-except for an injury at the back of my head and a p-part of my left w-wing could be broken." he reported.
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luemas
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Post by luemas on Jan 6, 2013 2:59:19 GMT -5
Geoff grabbed the necklaced pony's hoof and unsteadily rose to his feet. Taking a couple of deep breaths and shaking his head he tried to regain his capacities.
"Thank you for the hoof up. I don't believe we've met before. My name's Geoff. If you can't tell, I have a penchant for explosives. I didn't expect that poor... pony?" he paused, unsure of the species that Sil was now. He shook his head again and continued, "To have a penchant for fire to say the least."
Another thought passed Geoff's mind. The damage to the living room was extensive. His savings were existent, and he could probably repay Kai's expenses, but he'd have to go hungry for a little while in response. He grimaced at the thought, but his honor was more important than his hunger.
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Kiernan
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Post by Kiernan on Jan 6, 2013 4:17:56 GMT -5
Turnkey," said Usutora, helping the earth pony to his hooves. "You must be one of Kai's friends." He thought for a moment about exactly who he was talking about. "Or somepony who is working closely on a project with him... That seems far more likely, considering it's Kai we're talking about." He walked over to the sink, wetting a nearby rag, and wringing the water out with a sharp twist. Holding it out to Geoff, who was covered in residue from the recent happening, so he could clean himself up a bit. "You're not hurt, are you?"
Kai was glad to hear about the injuries Sil had received. Rather, he was glad to hear of their small number. The only part that troubled him was the broken wing. Sure he could fix his wings, when they broke, but that was as simple as replacing a bronze rod or two, or at worst an entire feather. This was living tissue, though, and his use in repairing bones was limited to his own legs. there would be far greater consequences if he didn't do it right than if he were operating on himself. Not to mention that Sil might not stay still long enough , or might break his concentration, which was never a problem when repairing himself. Still, unless Sil or Geoff knew more about broken bones than he did, he would have to be the one to answer 'yes' to the question: "Is there a doctor in the house?"
Kai was self-taught in self-treatment from books, mostly. He only had ever practiced on himself, due to living alone. Then again, he had some experience: Falling off a crumbling balcony onto a sharp chunk of metal jutting out of the ground when he was young started him on repairing muscle fibers, falling out of a tree because he misjudged the amount of weight the branch he was standing on could hold started him on repairing his skeletal structure... If Sil were to be perfectly still for the entire process, he could re-position the bone better, due to actually being able to see what he was doing. In theory, it was easy. Or at least, easier than repairing your own hind leg using broken spears and a wrapped coil of an old blanket as a splint.
"Let's take care of that injury on the back of your head, first," said Kai, hanging a few of the sheets of paper on the wall, and splaying some on the large cushion that functioned as his bed, and even a few on his nightstand. They were anatomical papers, detailing the wing structure of several animals, from birds and pegasi to bats and dragons. Some showed bones, some showed muscle, but all of them showed something important to wing structure. He even laid out some blank ones, for his own notes. his goal had been to try to find some sort of reference to his guest, so he could best assist him. But no record of a pegasus quite like this had been found. He knew there were similar wing structures, like that of Princess Luna's elite personal guard, but their medical records were kept on file in a location that Kai was not allowed to venture yet. And now that he had a way of growing his own food, theft was out of the question. "Come over here, and we'll do what we can about that..."
[Author's note: I'm sorry that I keep trying to make Kai sound like a hero or whatever, I'll try to rein it in more. I almost feel guilty for being the guy with every solution. I'll try to stop, but... WHY DID I MAKE KAI SUCH A STRUCTURALLY SOUND CHARACTER WITH SO MANY USES BECAUSE HE GREW UP ON HIS OWN AND HAD TO ADAPT TO KEEP HIMSELF ALIVE IN SUCH A HARSH ENVIRONMENT SUCH AS A CRUMBLING CASTLE IN THE EVERFREE FOREST SURROUNDED BY VICIOUS BEASTS WAITING TO RIP HIM LIMB FROM LIMB IF HE EVER GAVE THEM THE CHANCE!?!?!? WHY, I ASK YOU!?!?!?]
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luemas
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SHE BLINDED ME WITH SCIENCE!
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Post by luemas on Jan 6, 2013 18:15:30 GMT -5
Geoff gratefully took the washcloth. He'd probably need a trimming to get rid of some of the singed fur. He wrinkled his nose. Or a bath first. It was certainly not a pleasant smell. Nonetheless he did as well as he could with the cloth and soon felt marginally better.
"Pleasure to meet you Turnkey. I guess I am working together with Kai. Although I'm not sure on what at this point. The eclipse as far as I can tell. Except nopony seems to know anything about it."
Geoff gave himself another look over. His back was a bit sore from breaking the door and being landed on, but he came from farmers, so the back pain wouldn't bother him. "I think I'm all right. Unless I have internal bleeding or something else I don't know about. But I doubt that I have anything to worry about. I come from sturdy stock."
Geoff turned towards the gap where the door to the living room used to be. "Do you think we should go and try to help them?"
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Post by Person on Jan 6, 2013 18:17:20 GMT -5
[It's okay, Gin, Sil lived in the Everfree from the ages of two to seven, granted he led a more feral lifestyle, scavenging and such for food and just barely surviving. Kai's more of a forest settler, with relative luxury.]
Silent Storm gave a nod at Akaiatora's command and tentatively entered the room. He saw all the paper scattered about the room, as well as the quills and ink near several blank sheets. Taking a careful look at the parchment, observing each displayed image of a wing, finding that some looked similar to, but not identical to, his own.
"If you need s-something to compare my wing to, my other wing might work," Sil suggested, "But I don't know much about medical things, so it might j-just be useless idea."
He slowly approached Kai then turned and sat facing away from his host, providing him access to the rear of his skull.
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Kiernan
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Post by Kiernan on Jan 6, 2013 19:38:04 GMT -5
Usutora looked back into the living area, where Sil had left. The room was even illuminated, slightly, which meant there was somepony in there, but then the glow faded, which meant they had both left that room. "I think they'll be okay. Meanwhile, we should get this place cleaned up a bit, don't you think?"
Akaitora first did his best to clean the light wound with a rag he kept in his bathroom for just such occasions as this. At first, just water, to clean it, then an antibiotic to sterilize it. Finally, a spell he knew would patch up the skin. Well, he didn't really know it, but he had a book. It was also in his bathroom, because that was where his washbasin was. He had only taken to using it in the past six years, as he didn't really understand it entirely before then, but it was somewhat useful.
As he skimmed through the pages, he wondered aloud, "So, I'm assuming Turnkey told you my name, or mayhap Geoff. This puts us in an awkward social situation, as you know my name, but nopony has told me yours." He found the page he was looking for, and the back of Sil's head glowed with the pale blue aura of Kai's horn as the skin grew back together before his eyes. "Care to take the high ground?"
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Post by Person on Jan 6, 2013 20:24:34 GMT -5
"My name is Silent Storm," Sil said, "but y-you can call me Sil or Storm, but I'd rather you didn't call me Stormy." That one's reserved, he thought. "Though I suppose most ponies call me 'freak', and I'd prefer you didn't call me that as well."
He felt a tingling sensation, then squirmed slightly at the feeling of his scalp knitting itself together again. Once the tissue had completed healing, or at least once the tingling and writhing ceased, Sil turned to face Kai. He stretched his left wing as far as he could without causing himself large amounts of pain, and the portion of his wing that appeared to be broken was made blatantly obvious by its skew position. He also unfurled his right wing to keep himself balanced, then flattened it as much as he could, hoping to give Akaiatora as clear a view of it as he could.
Sil yelped as a jolt of pain shot through his left wing, but managed to keep it as steady as he could, determined to maintain its stability for Kai.
"This is g-going to hurt a lot, isn't it?" Sil asked the elder pony, his eyes large with concern.
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