Hawk and Nightingales - IC Thread

MioDioDaVinci

Teto's Territory
Thread starter
Crevan soon abandoned the comfort of her sleeping bag and lazily followed them out onto the lawn, if you could even call it that.

It was more of a clearing that happened to be near the door, scattered with crunchy, dried pine needles and fallen pine cones. The corners of the lot had been vaguely outlined with posts, resulting in an askew square. Above them, the pines towered in a cool expanse, shading them from the worst of the sun's rays. Birds danced to and fro among the branches, singing their own high pitched little twittering song. The roughly paved road sat a short ways away from them, seeming almost out of place in the forest. Among the greens and browns, the speckled grey stood out like a sore thumb. To the side of the house, the clear blue hints of the coast line beckoned them, calling for them to come and frolic in the sand. In the opposite direction lay the mountains and a hiking trail that snaked through the underbrush, obviously not very well used. And for everywhere in between was more of the pines, gently swaying in the breeze.

She stretched, pretending not to care for the scenery. It was nice, yes, but nothing spectacular to her. You've seen one tree, you've seen them all. If anything, she had come out with the intention of watching the squirrels dart along the path in their unpredictable pattern. Perhaps she would even catch a few and be able to proudly display them as a trophy for a few moments before sending them on their way.

The virus glanced over at Kei who was rather busy flirting with the other girls. She couldn't help but flash a smile, amused at how they blushed, turned their head and pretended to hear something all while he made playful remarks about their features. She was glad that Benjamin wasn't like that. One love-struck man was enough.

((OOC: Oi, sorry for the chunk o' text. I got a little carried away with the forest description.))
 

NaughtyPichu

Teto's Territory
Defender of Defoko
Lancelotte teetered her weight on the fresh earth below her iron greaves. The entire ambiance of nature was as pleasant as ever to her; she even endeavored to relax a little, stretching her arms high above her head(though not significantly above her hair.)

The transition to the outdoors seemed to have a positive effect on most of the other UTAUs as well--just another way UTAUs were similar to humans in general. It's odd, really... humans came from the earth, so it made sense that they would feel welcomed by it, but UTAUloids came from technology, right? But then again, UTAUloid came from technology which came from humans, so...

That thought process became a little to complicated and uninteresting for Lotte, so she decided to dismiss it before she disconcerted herself... it wasn't a particularly exciting topic, after all, and there were much better things to do, such as going on that intended hike. Lancelotte lifted her each leg in a lofty, practice step. It pleased her to confirm that armour felt pretty well oiled. She slightly nodded her head to herself, almost like a smile to show her contentness.

Turning to view the others, Lancelotte's mind lingered on the threshold of heading into the woods, minding and waiting for the others to wrap up their idleness so they could begin the venture--her patience was undoubtedly a bit short, but her discipline kept her in check as it often did. If she had a harsh look... it was completely unintentional, for she wasn't cross with them or anything, but her "default" expression was kind of brooding-like anyway just because of her poor self-consciousness and general control of that aspect.
 

UtauYork

Teto's Territory
As L'Aquila continued to look around at the scenery, she heard a voice and looked, seeing Kei, who happened to be looking at her. And talking to her. Flushing slightly, she replied as loudly as she could so he could hear her, but almost failed.

"Um... Thank you." Refraining from doing so, she managed to not end the sentence like a question. Unsure if it would seem rude to him or not, she forced a few more words out. "You're... handsome as well." Shuffling on her feet and fidgeting in embarrassment from delivering a compliment to try to and act as polite as possible, her mood and stance went back into 'shy-mode' once more. She would have backed away farther out of the slowly forming group, but L'Aquila was once again confronted.

"Um- My name is L'Aquila. It's... Italian- I believe." In a more quiet voice, she added quickly. "I apologize for not giving you my name before."

'I'm obviously not that much of a talker. It's no wonder no one really knew my name.'

"It's nice to meet you."
 

Meta

Ruko's Ruffians
Defender of Defoko
Kei smiled at L'Aquila as she replied. "Thank you, as well," he said to her comment, shooting her a wink. It was cute how she fidgeted, uncomfortable, and again Kei backed off a bit because he didn't want her to get too embarrassed. He was surrounded by cute shy girls it seemed, and he was amused to see them squirm when he turned his attention on them. That in itself was pretty cute, and he might be amused for the next few days, but knew that they would get used to him eventually, and he'd have to find something else to amuse himself with. So he had to get his entertainment while he could.

Everyone had gathered outside by now, so now it was just a matter of deciding where to go. The trail towards the mountains piqued his interest, but he saw Lotte heading towards the woods. That was a good a direction as any, he figured, and so he headed in that direction with her, taking a few quick strides with his long legs to catch up to her. He listened to the sound of her armor clinking together as she stepped, and he couldn't help but be curious.

"So, what's with this get-up, anyways?" he asked, motioning to Lancelotte's armour. "Looks like you're ready for the Renaissance faire, at any rate." he teased a little.
 

Zelfie Windwalker

Ruko's Ruffians
Well, she ignored me, but at least I know her name now. Mayo thought. L'aquila, huh? Sounds like tequila... She tried to banish the thought as she was technically underage, according to her programming. But if we're androids, it doesn't matter, right? Mayo had an answer for everything, and she was starting to wonder if "--, right?" would become her personal catchphrase.

She saw Sakura lagging behind the group and wondered if she ought to say something. Slowing down her pace to match Sakura's, she decided to try and make conversation. "So," Mayo began. "Nice weather, isn't it?"

As soon as she said it, Mayo mentally facepalmed for using that famous phrase.
 

MioDioDaVinci

Teto's Territory
Thread starter
As the group made their way away from the house and into the woods, the tension that had built soon broke down into calm. Now that everyone had their own space without the roof and Ben looming over them, they felt more free to relax and enjoy the cool, fresh air.

But, their moments of relaxation were fleeting, as from within the house, they could hear Ben talking to someone over the phone, and he sounded rather exasperated. Crevan glanced towards the kitchen window and saw the man pacing around the room, phone in one hand and other in the air.

"... Hard times right now... not a very smart invest--... when I can manage... get your money...!" they could faintly hear from the kitchen, catching words and phrases out of the conversation. Despite lacking the additional information, they all knew what he was arguing about: them. Even if the UTAU software was free, the platform it was built into was not. Admittedly, yes, it was easy and cheap to make your own, most would rather buy a more professionally made version. The prices were decent unlike the VOCALOID platforms, the ones that ran for hundreds of thousands of dollars, but still. Several of them standing there meant one thing: Ben actually didn't have the money to buy them and had taken a loan from a bank or a friend.

Nervousness and apprehension slowly clouded the air. Crevan actually felt a tinge of sympathy for the man.
 

SakisCookie

Teto's Territory
Defender of Defoko
Sakura offered Mayo a gentle smile, understanding her lack of a good conversational topic. "Yes, it's very nice out here," she agreed. The girl opened her mouth to begin another friendly statement, but was distracted by Ben's soft voice.

Turning back toward the house, she strained her ears to catch every word that darted urgently from his mouth. She couldn't pick up everything, but from the snippets she managed to understand...

"Oh...oh my..." Sakura whispered, her hand fluttering to her lips. She hadn't guessed that Ben might be in such dire straights, but...then again, how could she not? It had been obvious from the first moment the UTAUloids surveyed their user's home, it was obvious that he was pretty poor. And now, looking back, the suggestion that he had stolen them almost seemed plausible.

Sakura's heart bled for the young man, her eyes sparking with sympathy. "He's in serious trouble..." she whispered.
 

NaughtyPichu

Teto's Territory
Defender of Defoko
Lancelotte didn't suffer to slow down in charity of the footfalls she heard approaching behind her, for they were quick to meet her pace.

Initially, Lotte couldn't deduce what the meaning of "get-up" was, but judging from his gesture and his mentioning of "Renaissance Faire"--a term she had more than once heard related to her appearance--she felt it was pretty safe to assume he spoke of her attire.

"Ah, well... I suppose it's just what my creator decided to fashion for me. I don't recall ever wearing anything other than what you see here, but I suppose it strikes others as a bit odd.." Lancelotte said, rather stated, in a earthly simple tone. Lancelotte was quite a "thematic" UTAUloid, the whole picture of a character but hardly resembling your everyday, modern human being. She had been "created" into the roll, and Lotte had even once wondered if her little electrical "malfunctions" were the intentions of her creator as well. Though she didn't know the person, Lancelotte could imagine they were one of those types who wouldn't mind doing something like that to their own creation... even though the said creation might be painfully rejected continuously...

Ah, but it was dishonorable for a knight to wallow in self pity, even if that knight hadn't chosen to role for herself...

Lancelotte's attention, along with that of the others, was quickly diverted to the accumulating tension of Ben's silence-pervading telephone quarrel. It was definitely a financial qualm, and, much to Lotte's chagrin, there was very possibly a dangerous loan-shark on the other end of that line.

Lancelotte had more than half-a-mind to trudge back into the house to try and convince Ben to come clean to them, at least so she could hopefully aid him in some manner--she was sure many of the others would be pleased to oblige as well. As cruel and viscous as the world could be otherwise, it's malice was manifold when money became a factor.

However, Lancelotte bid herself to try and wait, at least until the conversation ended, to decide what to do. It could be a false alarm, but she currently observed the scene like a hawk overly-endowed with feathers.
 

Meta

Ruko's Ruffians
Defender of Defoko
Kei grinned at Lancelotte's response. "Well it just seems uncomfortable is all..." he said, about to add something off, but trailing off when Ben's conversation on the phone could be heard from outside. He saw the others slowly going towards the window, peering in sheepishly, and he went ahead and joined them, watching for a minute or so as Ben argued over the phone.

It seemed the conclusion that he was in debt was right. It made Kei feel a little frustrated as he watched the man's movements. Why risk so much for them? One or two maybe, but having all of them seemed a bit excessive. Maybe he was wrong in thinking that, and he hoped that maybe they were misinterpreting the conversation as a whole. Well, no use just speculating about it. Time to get some answers.

Kei went back inside, Ben seeming to be so into the conversation he wouldn't notice him. Kei stepped towards him, whether or not the conversation was finished, and asked, "So, care to explain what's going on here?"
 

NaughtyPichu

Teto's Territory
Defender of Defoko
Lancelotte raised her eyebrows in surprise as Kei took the initiative to go into the house. So much for waiting... Lotte thought, figuring their way no point waiting around now. She quickly ambled in after him, though humbling her pace as she entered the room after him, to render her imposing slightly more discreet. She turned her gaze on Benjamin expectantly, though obliquely, as to not add to overwhelming the man. He was there master, as far as they knew... Lotte didn't want to further swarm him with opposition, as she felt might come upon him soon enough, unless it was justified in her eyes.
 

MioDioDaVinci

Teto's Territory
Thread starter
Ben glanced at them in surprise, only half paying attention to the droids while trying desperately to listen to the phone call and find a place to jut in. The man on the other end of the line was shouting. Loudly. Benjamin's voice faltered repeatedly as he tried to get a word in edgewise, soon finding himself stuck in a one sided rant.

Benjamin tried to wave the group away so he could finish the call, but to his distress, they adamantly remained. In a final attempt to end the call, he blurted out a quick "I'm sorry, I'll have to call you later," and promptly hung up, brow still furrowed in stress. His shoulders slumped as he sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. "So, you overheard?"

They nodded.

He looked to them with a dismayed expression, still shaken from the phone call. "It's not easy to put this... It really isn't. But... But in short, I had been saving up for a VOCALOID platform for months now, but then I found out about UTAUloid, realized how 'cheap' that platform was, had a little moment of 'more voices for your buck,' and before I knew it, I had ordered all of you and... It came up to more than I thought it would." he groaned.

"I know, I know," he started, flinging his hands into the air, "it was a stupid mistake! It really was! But I was... enthralled with the thought of having so many singers, all of which would have beautiful voices that never fail, and having so many... friends. So... it just happened. I borrowed some money from... someone, and now they want me to pay my debt."

He stared at them in dismay.

((OOC: Oi, pardon the fail post. Still recovering from my essay. OTL))
 

Meta

Ruko's Ruffians
Defender of Defoko
Kei's expression softened a little, seeing how distraught Ben was getting. He was under a lot of stress, and money was always the problem. He cringed at the thought that he was something to be bought, but he began to have some sympathy when Ben used the word "friends." You aren't friends with objects, but you're friends with people.

"All right," Kei said, rubbing his chin in thought. "So all you gotta do is make this money back, right? Well, that's what we're here for."

He tried to give Ben a reassuring smile. "We got you into debt, but we can get you out. It's called an investment, right?"
 

NaughtyPichu

Teto's Territory
Defender of Defoko
Lancelotte stepped over to her guitar, which was still in it sessile spot against the wall. "I hope you will feel no reason to fear for your safety, either..." She said, wielding the two handed guitar/lance-sword above her head--its blade glistening by peering sunlight from the window, elucidating it's keen edge--and lacerating the open air before her in a few showy slices of dexterious swordsmanship, "They would soon learn that it's in their own best interest to leave you to repay your loan in piece." She stated, in an attempt to be reassuring to Ben. She had made it up in her mind to serve him as her master--he had called them his "friends," she also noted, but, although it was a gracious move, Lancelotte wasn't quite ready to consider herself anything but a "tool" to her master, nor understand how he could possibly deem his "equiptment" his friends--albeit she and the others were purchased a bit precariously. She took to heart her determination to help him: to make him believe their were worth this bit of trouble.
 

SakisCookie

Teto's Territory
Defender of Defoko
Sakura lingered behind the others, watching Ben with a distant expression. The poor man--caught up in delusions of such grandeur that he dug himself into a grave of dept. Yet, he saw the UTAUloids as friends. Sad as that was, it was also deeply touching to Sakura, who took friendship as the highest honor in existence.

Her restraint faltered, and the girl leapt toward Ben to embrace him tightly. "I'm sorry! I'm sorry we caused you trouble..." she whimpered, suddenly appearing at least five years younger. Sakura turned a pitiful aqua gaze up to her user, eyes glimmering with sympathy. "We...we'll help you. In any way we can. We'll make sure those jerks leave you alone!"

Turning toward the others, but not fully releasing Ben from her embrace, Sakura tried to put on a brave front. "Guys...right? We're all in this together now. For better or for worse, we're a family."

(....we're all in this together......-restraining the urge to reference High School Musical- oxe)
 

MioDioDaVinci

Teto's Territory
Thread starter
Crevan leaned in the doorway, watching the scene play out with crossed arms. Conflicting emotions ravaged her head, but she was sure to lock them tight inside. She wouldn't let them know that she was feeling smug that she was right, angry that he hadn't told them, and shocked that he already acknowledged them as friends. Not machines. Friends. She and the others had been designed with only singing in mind, but Benjamin considered them as living, breathing bodies with emotions. Just like himself.

Sakura's comment left a deep impression on her, though. A family? Really? Part of her laughed at the girl's naive thoughts, and the other felt honestly, truly... confused. She had never really considered being a part of a "family" before, and wasn't quite sure what it entailed either. She at least knew there was something about getting married raising kids in that equation. A bit of fright creeped her spine when she realized that Kei's seemingly innocent comments to all of them might be leading up to that. She did not like the thought of that.

Taking a finally rolling glance at the gathered group, she gave something of a smirk. "Yeah. We'll help." she said, dismissing any previous impulses she had about robbing Benjamin blind and leaving in the dead of the night. He was in a tight spot, so stealing and breaking would have to wait.

Ben paused, surprised at how eager the UTAU were to help him. His heart overwhelming with joy, he embraced Sakura, hugging her tightly.

"Thank you..." he croaked. "Thank you all so much. You don't know how much this means to me."

He knew that his financial future was soon to be clear.

((OOC: Ah, how naive Crevan is when it comes to love and friendly relationships...))
 

Meta

Ruko's Ruffians
Defender of Defoko
Kei shifted a little, getting an awkward feeling as Ben got so emotional. "Ok ok. Well I'm glad that's all sorted out," he said quickly, eager to change the subject at least. No need to linger on that for too long, the whole room might start bursting into tears. He just got uncomfortable around that kind of thing.

"Anyway, we were all headin' outside. Going for a hike or whatever. Why don't you come on with us?" He asked, extending the invitation to Ben.
 

MioDioDaVinci

Teto's Territory
Thread starter
"Oh, uh, no thanks. I've got a bit of work I should get to around here. Nothing suspicious. In fact, I'll be bluntly honest, I was hoping to finally clean out that old closet of mine before you guys noticed how dirty it was." he admitted, rubbing the back of his head and adjusting his cap.

There was a giggle from Crevan.

"But, no, go ahead! Go along! Take a hike! Oh, uh,  I mean, go for a hike. There's a nice little recreational sport a little ways up the trail. I'll be here cleaning." he said, encouraging them. He gave Kei a quick pat on the back, perhaps as an apology for not telling them sooner.

The virus quickly took his suggestion, leaving the room with a turn of her heel and marching out the door.
 

Meta

Ruko's Ruffians
Defender of Defoko
Kei laughed a little, as he couldn't help but be a bit amused by Ben's slight awkwardness. "All right, all right, we'll be back in, I dunno, a few hours or whenever the sun starts setting." He grinned, stepped towards the door as he followed Crevan outside.

"C'mon, girls," he said, motioning to the other UTAU still in the room. "Show's over. Let's find somethin' to do."
 

MioDioDaVinci

Teto's Territory
Thread starter
Benjamin gave a slight smile and wave of farewell. Finally, there was some relief and he could relax.

Afterwards, the musical group tromped outside and began their hike, following the old beaten trail they had spotted earlier. From the house, they had not seen how thin the path had been, end they ended up following each other in a single file, brushing aside stray branches and wild ferns. It seemed that everything in and around Ben's house was crowded, but that could have been due to the size of the group.

Every so often there was a call from the front, warning about rocks or stray holes and cautioning the others to watch their step. The first patch of loose stones had ended with a twisted ankle, a sore toe, and a short stop for recovery. But as they progressed, they soon worked themselves into the rhythm of things and easily avoided further injury.

Soon enough though, they found themselves at the end of the trail at a babbling brook that ran at the base of a cliff. There was no lacking of trees there (as with everywhere else), leaving them in the shadows once more. The little creek was not devoid of life, as frogs and diving beetles made their merry way along the water's edge. All around, it was quiet, isolated, and calming.

((OOC: Argh, darn my horrible writing.))
 

UtauYork

Teto's Territory
L'Aquila stood awkwardly still for a moment as Mayo backed off and started talking to the another girl in the group; Sakura. Staying silent, it took a few seconds for it to process in her mind, but when it did, she felt something tug, like someone happened to being pulling on a very fragile string inside her mind. Frowning in thought, she figured it could also be an actual chord inside her head. She was... some form of a robot. But the feeling was still weird. Unnatural and odd. The sudden surge of anger that came up from it scared her, even if it was long gone now. 'Maybe I should just talk with... Master... about this. It could be something important.'

Bringing herself out of her thoughts, she realized that wouldn't be possible soon. As she and everyone crowded around inside and out as they heard Ben's excuse for his rather scary conversation on the phone, she decided she would keep quiet for now. No one would want an angry, singing robot. And if they find that out after they got it? They would be upset. Not to mention... 'He would send me back, wouldn't he?'

Shaking her head, she smiled shyly in a comforting way when a few others consoled him and followed quietly as they all went out again. As they hiked cautiously through, she delved deeper in thought. Worrying about Ben's money problem and how it affected them, she almost didn't notice when they stopped. Almost.

The frog brought her out of her reverie.

Screeching in fright as the frog almost succeeded in jumping and colliding with her face, she fumbled a bit in trying to dodge the living projectile and fell, feeling her clothes instantly begin to soak up the water that she partly landed in. Extremely embarrassed, she chuckled nervously despite her usual shyness and tried to crack a joke.

"I guess... I'm waterproof, huh?" She got up slowly and checked the area a bit, just to make sure the frog wouldn't appear again. There were too many to tell, although they were all off to the side. 'I guess they jumped out of the way in time.'

((derp. Only L'Aquila would manage to have a frog jump into her face. I honestly just needed her to do something stupid so she wouldn't seem... evil or something. :U))