|
Post by Nicholas J. Traptory on Apr 28, 2008 12:19:34 GMT -5
Everything was in place. Nicholas had set up the target roughly 60 feet away against a small tree, and here he stood with his new piece of hardware, ready to test. It might look like a simple Magi-Teck Pistol, but there were differences. Namely the long and blue crystal-like-apparatus inside the barrel of the gun. It was an experiment in advancing technology, and as everyone who worked for MAGI knew, Magi-teck experiments were always done by the same person.
The person who signed everyones checks, Nicholas himself. He lowered the gun at the target, gripping it in his right hand. And squeezed down of the trigger.
The blue crystal-like item began to glow faintly, then the glow increased, and then again. The gun hadn't discharged yet, as he held down the trigger. This was unusual... Then a crack of energy flew from the center of the gun and it seemed almost electrified.
"Yeouch!" He exclaimed in surprise, as he dropped the proto-type from his smoking, but gloved, hand. THAT was why he always wore gloves, you never knew when something like that was going to happen. But still, this test was a failure and he had to find out why.
He moved over to the tree where his target was and sat down, throwing out a leather cloth to lay the gun out on. From his jacket pocket he produced a set of tools and began to dissect the gun right there.
Taking apart a proto-type in full view of any number of people was just foolish, but Nicholas didn't really care. This was his toy, and he was going to figure out why it didn't work. So engrossed was he in his little experiment he paid no attention to his surroundings.
|
|
|
Post by kandy on Apr 28, 2008 16:45:23 GMT -5
Kandy was strolling by after closing up her shop for lunch, when she spotted the familiar-looking man aiming a gun at a tree. Well, that certainly wasn't nice of him! What did that tree ever do that merited shooting? She stopped to watch nearby, frowning. Hopefully that gun wasn't strong enough to blow up to poor tree...people tested objects on all the wrong things! Let them test them on the bastards who tried stealing from her shop, instead of living things! Innocent living things, that is!
She tilted her head to one side, and then the other, as she puzzled over why he looked so darn familiar. Maybe he bought something from her shop, once? Leave it to Kandy not to recognize the head of MAGI...
She clamped a hand over her mouth to muffle a giggle when the gun attacked his hand. Oh, that was mean of her, laughing at someone else's misfortune! But he just looked so surprised that she couldn't help but laugh a little. She waited until it seemed safe enough to approach, that is, when the gun was being dissected, and then made her way over.
"Hey Mister, is your thingy broken?" She called merrily, waving to the gun he was working on. "Lemme see, I'm pretty good at fixing things!" Granted, she probably hadn't ever worked with something as high-tech as his fancy gun thingy, but it was worth a try, right?
|
|
|
Post by Nicholas J. Traptory on Apr 28, 2008 17:30:58 GMT -5
Nicholas was poking around in the gun when he heard someone address him. His tool was particularly close to the crystal, which he had called an 'M-Battery'. Rather simplistic, but it was a description in the name, which meant less time trying to decipher a complicated name. The voice didn't cause him to jump or be surprised, and it was a woman! Nicholas would never ignore a woman, it was just poor manners!
He looked up, to find the woman quite near to him, and his eyes went large for a split second. Holy hell was she hot, and friendly looking. He was so taken by surprise that his tool slipped a bit and another small shock of energy flew from the M Battery at his hand, his glove stopped it, but not before he yanked his hand back out of reflex. Luckily that pulled his eyes away from her and back onto his contraption for a bit.
His mind went into deep thought, not about the gun at his feet anymore.
Ok, so she doesn't recognize me, or pretends she doesn't. That means shes either a competitor trying to get close, someone too embarrassed to admit that she's talking to someone super famous, or just some super airhead... He looked up at her again and then quickly shot his gaze back to the gun on the ground.
But in all honesty....does it matter?
He smiled. "Ah, yeah it's broken. I'm pretty good with machines myself too, it's kind of my hobby." He said bending over it again. He thought about it, then figured he'd go with his first thought.
"I know it is quite rude to not look at someone when you are speaking to them, especially a lady, but when I looked at you I got so distracted I almost broke it. So I need to keep myself from being distracted by your beauty until either I fix it or give up on it." He said, using his left hand to rub the back of his brown hair sheepishly.
He was never one for lying, especially to woman. It was one of his major rules, besides it got too hard to remember what woman he'd have lied to then, and that was just begging for trouble.
Nicholas did have his reputation as a flirt, but he also had a reputation as a gentlemen at the same time. Sure he'd talk up all the women, but he would never do something so crass as trying to take advantage of people just because of his position, after all, that was exactly what he didn't want to do.
|
|
|
Post by kandy on Apr 28, 2008 17:55:24 GMT -5
"Oh, that's nice of you!" Kandy remarked, beaming at his compliment. She didn't get compliments very often, for some reason, so that made it all the better when she actually did manage one. She didn't really consider what such a compliment could mean, deciding that the unusual man was probably just very kind...and unlucky, by the looks of it.
"Let's see..." She glanced at the parts, checking for anything that could be out of place. Everything looked generally okay, as far as she could tell. "What exactly is it supposta do?" She queried. She could probably help a lot more if she knew what he was trying to accomplish. It didn't look like an ordinary gun...she never saw one of those zapping batteries before! Most of the things she repaired were simple enough, watches and the like, practical, nothing too complicated.
Hmm...maybe I'm lookin at it wrong. It's a gun, so he was probably trying to fire something, soo...what keeps a gun from firing?
"Can I pick things up without getting shocked to death?"
|
|
|
Post by Nicholas J. Traptory on Apr 28, 2008 18:35:29 GMT -5
Ok so theory three looked to be bit more accurate then he had thought. That seemed obvious as she took the compliment much the same way as a girl would take a compliment on her hair. At her question he poked another part of the gun with his tools, trying to find what the problem was.
"I've been working on a new kind of Magi-Teck firearm, so it is supposed to take the energy from here." He said, gesturing towards the M-Battery. "Pull it along the length of the barrel to this little chamber here." He said, poking the next piece. "And then once enough of the energy is drawn out and fills the chamber to a certain point, it discharges. Of course, all that is supposed to happen in the blink of an eye."
"And sure you can pick it up without getting shocked, the Battery there." He said gesturing to the crystal. "Is pretty dangerous stuff, so just be careful not to touch it. This is the smallest invention it's ever been used in, so it's really condensed, could be kind of dangerous."
He smiled and turned in her direction, without looking at her. "If Inventors had any idea what we were doing, it wouldn't be called 'experimenting' now would it?"
|
|
|
Post by kandy on Apr 28, 2008 19:41:51 GMT -5
"So, really, it's just like a normal gun, but it shoots energy instead of bullets?" Kandy blinked at the M-Battery. Best keep away from that thing and let Mister Inventor play with it!
"Sooo...if it was a normal gun, why wouldn't it fire? Unless there's something wrong with your Super Dangerous Shocking Battery...could the thing be jammed somehow?"
She began to look through the parts again, this time picking each up and examining it individually. All except the M-Battery, of course.
"I think the thingymabobber is busted."
|
|
|
Post by Nicholas J. Traptory on Apr 28, 2008 20:06:06 GMT -5
"Yeah, it's similar to a normal gun..and I- wait...jammed?"
Nicholas blinked and stared at her, as she was looking over the pieces. Jammed? That was unlikely, the item hadn't been used yet! What could it have been jammed on? But still, the theory said it should work perfectly, and if there was something blocking the energy discharge, then it would build up and short circuit, and possibly explode if it wasn't fixed.
...Which was exactly what had happened before...
At her very scientific analysis Nicholas was left confused again. "Thingymabobber?" He asked confused. He wondered what piece she was referring to, after all, he knew all of them.
|
|
|
Post by kandy on Apr 28, 2008 20:32:07 GMT -5
Kandy giggled at his confusion, as if he should have known exactly what part the thingymabobber was. She waved the thingymabobber at him pointedly; the part she was inspecting last was still in her hand, and she suspected it of jamming. "Yup, that's right! This one, silly!"
She made a preparatory swinging motion with the part, as if she was about to chuck it at him, and why not? The only part that was dangerous was the M-Battery, anyway, it the one she had was probably already busted! "Here, look! Whaddya think?" She tossed the part to him, underhand, so it wouldn't smack him on the head.
Then again, that would be kind of funny...she giggled at the thought, then turned in into an awkward, nervous cough when she realized she started giggling for no apparent reason. Yep, this one was gonna think she was weird, all right...
|
|
|
Post by Nicholas J. Traptory on Apr 28, 2008 20:45:19 GMT -5
Nicholas caught the part deftly, and held it up to his eye, looking over his glasses so it wouldn't be tinted in color.
The part was practically worn away! But it hadn't been used before, and the wear was recent, so that meant.
"The material is too flimsy to deal with the power the gun is pushing out, the wear and tear on the pieces is just too much." He nodded to nobody in particular. He then looked up at her, setting the piece down with the rest of the gun. "You're pretty sharp on these things, do you work with machines often? You've got a good head for them."
|
|
|
Post by kandy on Apr 28, 2008 21:29:55 GMT -5
Kandy watched his reaction intently. When she saw him nod, she enthusiastically pumped her fist in the air and gave a little cheer at guessing correctly. The thingymabobber was indeed busted!
"Thanks! I'll do little repairs for my customers sometimes, but that's not my main job. I guess there's not a good repair shop around?" She shrugged her shoulders. It wasn't too long ago that she started fixing things for people. She generally thought it was a pretty boring job, not very exciting at all. Really not her thing...but it made people happy, so she was glad to help out if it was only in small amounts.
"Here you go! Thanks for shopping at the Magical Pet Emporium, have a nice day!" Kandy handed a bag of Padma's Premium Pet Chow to a stressed-looking man, smiling widely.
"Thanks..." He grumbled as he took it, holding it with one arm so he could check the watch on his other wrist. "Goddamnit, the damn thing's stopped, and I have to pick up Billy from Janine's house...do you know the time, by any chance? Damnit, I had to pick up bread, too, Marie is gonna kill me..."
"Lemme see it!"
"Eh?"
"Lemme see it, I'm pretty good at fixing things!"
"I'm sort of in a rush..." He insisted, but ended up handing the watch over, anyway.
Kandy examined the watch, front and back, brought it up to her ear...and then thwacked it across the counter.
"DON'T DO THAT!"
"All better!"
"...what?"
"The spinny thingy was outta place, so I put it back!"
So he told his friend, and she told her friend...and pretty soon, she had people coming to her asking to fix their whatevers, and she would for free...with the purchase of any of the store's merchandise. Her method was peculiar, and the people knew that, but she made things work. Cheap, too!
"Oh, I'm sorry! My name is Kandy - Kandyce Saele!" She knocked knuckles to her head lightly.
|
|
|
Post by Nicholas J. Traptory on Apr 28, 2008 21:35:17 GMT -5
Name? Crap! Nicholas thought. If she indeed didn't know who he was, he didn't want to shatter the little illusion. But still, it was a rule of his to never lie to a lady.
Quite a conundrum he found himself in...And then he had it.
"Ah, my name is Jacob, sorry to be so rude as to not introduce myself Kandy." He said with a big grin, gathering up the parts and reassembling the gun. He stored it away so he could safely transport it when he needed to.
"So do you live here? Or are you just taking a break from it all around here?"
|
|
|
Post by kandy on Apr 28, 2008 21:53:54 GMT -5
"Nice to meetcha, Jacob!" Kandy beamed, and started to extend her hand as if for a handshake.
Wait...no one shakes hands these days! What am I thinking?!
She ended up flexing her fingers and looking momentarily uncomfortable, before she slapped her happy face back on again.
"I work not too far from here, but I don't live here! There's not all that much room on this island for houses and stuff, yaknow? I'm from, um, Florida, actually! I like it here, though. It's pretty nice. What about you?"
|
|
|
Post by Nicholas J. Traptory on Apr 28, 2008 22:02:46 GMT -5
Before she could pull back her failed attempt at a handshake Jacob pulled one of his numerous flirtatious maneuvers. He swiped up her hand and knelt low, placing a kiss on her finger tips. Before rising and giving an almost childish grin.
"You say you work here eh? Then we are just opposites I guess! I live around here, but I work off in New York. And I agree, the island is pretty nice, it's a good place to kick back and relax."
|
|
|
Post by kandy on Apr 28, 2008 22:31:48 GMT -5
Kandy might have been a tad bit unobservant, but a kiss on the hand was rather difficult to mistake. She gave a surprised little "Oh!" and promptly turned red enough to match the little jacket she so often wore.
She flexed her fingers again, and let her hand slowly drop down to her side, lest it be kissed again. That certainly didn't happen every day...she didn't really know how to take it!
Now...what...just...act normal! No big deal! Keep talking, everything is perfectly normal! Right!
She blinked, and tried to remember how it was people talked.
|
|
|
Post by Nicholas J. Traptory on Apr 28, 2008 22:47:18 GMT -5
Nicholas seemed to realize that she was rather flustered by his amorous action. Well at least she wasn't totally clueless. Figuring that he better tone it down a bit, he steeped back and half turned, still addressing her.
"So you said you work on the island right? Well what do you do here?"
|
|