(no subject)

[insectubus]

Who: Mikio and everyone
What: Mikio isn't fond of tree houses, especially near fairies. So he starts digging out a new home.
Where: Whitewood
When: The next day after the arriving announcement.

The blood of Mikio's mother coursed through Mikio's veins. He had the blood an insect, and a ground-level one at that. Even if he was given a tree home, Mikio decided that he'd much rather build himself an underground bedroom than sleep in the treetops where the fairies could do god-knows-what with him.

So here he is, using all four of his arms to dig out a nice hole next to a tree. He's an absolute mess, just covered in dirt. He's also topless, therefore his wings and arms are shown.  He's pretty much easy to spot at this time, considering not only the monstrous appendages, but he's also throwing dirt everywhere as he quickly digs through the rich soil. He's a pretty strong guy, so the dirt can be thrown up to feet away.

...Was someone happening to walk by at the time? They most likely just got hit in the head with a handful of dirt. Mikio will apologize for that later. He's very preoccupied at the moment.

Comments

[eyeflames]

[ Uwahh, face full of dirt! Black Rock Shooter squirms, rubbing her eyes in an attempt to get rid of the dirt in her eyes. Is this a threat? She can't see but instead she aims towards the direction of where she thinks the enemy came from.

Her grip tightens around the handle of her cannon as she hauls it towards Mikio's general direction. It's not aimed at him, but she thinks the dirt came from that way. As the flame from her eye ignites, so does the blue of her cannon with a whirrr noise. ]

[insectubus]

[Mikio hears the whirr, his antennae twitching. Was someone there?

Mikio turned, and froze when he saw the cannon. At first he thought it was another scared human attempting to drive him away, bu he notices that her eyes were closed. Can she see?

Not wasting any time, Mikio quickly jumps out of the way, making the cannon now face the hole he was digging.]

[eyeflames]

[ Rub, rub. She can't see and it's frustrating! Rub rub, there may or may not be tears in his eyes as she tries to get them out. Rub rub. It's not really helping and soon there are tears welling up in her eyes.

Nevermind the cannon fire, seeing is more important. ]

[insectubus]

[...Why is she rubbing her eyes? Was it his fault?

Mikio approached the strange girl, and placed a gentle hand on her shoulder.]

There's a creek near here where you can clean your eyes. [He spoke softly] I'll lead you there.

[Not even waiting for an answer, he begins to steer her towards the creek. He could use a quick rinse himself, to be honest, so taking her to the creek was killing two birds with one stone.]

[eyeflames]

[ She glances up at him, wondering why he would help her. Was he an enemy? Well, not really? She decides that he would be an ally for as long as he didn't try to kill her or something, and follows along in silence.

And once they're there she'll gesture to her cannon, refusing to let go of it, but scared that if she tries to wash her eyes she'll get wet. She'll stare at him until he say something else, occasionally rubbing her eyes. ]

[insectubus]

Hmm? Is something wrong? I didn't take you any place dangerous...

[Maybe she was scared by the sound of running water since she couldn't see? And why was she holding that cannon so tightly?]

That seems rather heavy. Shall I hold it for you while you rinse your eyes? [Mikio already reached his hands out, going towards the cannon.]

[eyeflames]

No.

[ She shakes her head, clutching the cannon again. She's being stubborn, but she really doesn't want to let go of it any time soon. It's the only thing she still has that can protect her. ]

Where is the water?

[ And slowly, Mikio might notice the flame disappearing from her right eye, ebbing away until there is nothing left but her squint. ]

[insectubus]

It's to your right.

[Are those...flames?]

Can you...not be near the water?

[eyeflames]

[ She gives a small shrug. ] No. I can be near the water.. I think.

[ Awkwardly, Shooter shifts to her right, taking small steps until - SPLASH! That's her foot in the water. Damn you, blindness. ]

[plainsugar]

[ he was passing by and stopped because he heard a noise and was about to turn his head towards it except his face gets pelted with dirt. he pauses at that for a few seconds before he wipes the dirt from his eyes and looks at where Mikio is ]

. . . that's a nice hello.

[insectubus]

[Erp! what was that? Did someone catch him? He could have sworn no one was around!]

...Who's there? [Although calm, his voice did have a hint of alertness in it.]

[plainsugar]

[ he notices the slight alertness in Mikio's voice so he lifts a non-threatening hand and wiggles his fingers at him in a sort of wave ]

Hey.

[insectubus]

...It's just you.

[Mikio lets out a sigh of relief. He was scared a human might have caught in in this form.]

As expected, you are well and healthy. I still can't seem to figure out how you survived my fall with not even a scratch.

[plainsugar]

[ he takes that as an okay to walk closer, so he can peer at your handiwork ]

I have a pretty sturdy body.

Besides that, what are you up to?

[insectubus]

A sturdy body...? [Well Mikio was now curious in taking off that shirt to take a look!

Ahem.]

Oh, ah. [He turns to his hole] Making a bedroom. I'm not used to sleeping in cool, high places.

[plainsugar]

You sleep in the ground?

[ he peers in again to see how deep the hole is ]

[insectubus]

Yes. Well...my mother's kind can live in the ground or in mountain regions. But I was raised in an underground home. It's much warmer and cozier. Very sturdy against the elements, too.

[The hole is diagonal, about five feet inwards.]

Also...better protection against these hateful fairies.

[Mikio slowly approaches Haruto, interested in that so-called 'sturdy' body. His gaze scans Haruto up and down, while he's describing his preferred living conditions.]

[the_ninja]

It's barely been two days but, given the increasingly dwindling likelihood that they'll be sent home any time soon, it's more than enough time for The Ninja to decide he needs to get a bearing on his new home. Orlea seems fairly straight forward- it reminds him of any number of average cities he's been to before- but Whitewood... well, it's not totally alien, at least. He's heard of one near Ataru-, no, Soldier's home planet with a similar kind of atmosphere. IGA, was it? It hardly seems to matter now.

Still, it's a welcome change of scenery. The Ninja springs from branch to branch, the leaves barely even trembling with each practiced movement. Today, he's more looking to cover ground than stop for details, to get a feel for the layout of the land- but something makes him stop anyway.

There's someone up ahead, someone very unlike the fairies he's seen so far.

More out of habit than genuine concern, The Ninja slows his pace to a wary creep, slipping from one tree to the next with even less noise than before. He's only a few feet behind Mikio now and with the gap between them closed, it's even more apparent that he's not human- he has more in common with a choujin than anything. The wings and hooves and antennae are a mystery but those extra arms definitely put him in mind of a certain demonic prince. Maybe if he wasn't so eager to get a better look, he might have been paying more attention because, the second he leans in, he gets a face full of dirt.

With a cry of surprise, he's knocked right off of his branch and sent tumbling rather ungracefully to the ground.

[insectubus]

Talk about a lucky shot!

Mikio had sensed...something coming near him. He couldn't tell what it was exactly, or if it was even real and not just his paranoia. As Ninja crept closer, Mikio's antennae went crazy. He just knew that there was something out there!

And once the strange man was very close, Mikio gasped and threw a handful of dirt in a random direction behind him. Oh, he heard that thud, and he only freaked out even more. He turned around to get a closer look at this strange person dressed as a Japanese cartoon character.

"...Are you alright?"

[the_ninja]

Spare a few seconds of shocked and, admittedly, somewhat humiliated- he's a ninja for goodness' sake- silence, he's back up almost instantly, hands out and fingers ready to move into the motions of a defensive jutsu. Still, it looks like the only thing in any danger right now is his pride- the look Mikio's giving him isn't doing much for his bruised ego.

Maybe that's why he can't help but sound a little haughty when he finally answers Mikio- he's overcompensating. "Work it out. Do I look alright?"

And with that, he lowers his hands and busies himself with readjusting his scarf- it gives him a good excuse to look away and hide his embarrassment, at least.

[insectubus]

"What a strange person..." Mikio said, loud enough for The Ninja to hear. Mikio spent a few silent minutes just...studying this curious stalker. He didn't seem to have any motives behind his doings just now.

"Have you been...watching me?" Mikio began to circle The Ninja, just taking in his form.

[the_ninja]

The Ninja gives a short, slightly irritable "hmph" at that but doesn't deny it and, as Mikio starts to circle him, he turns to make sure he never has his back to him. Threat or not, he's not comfortable with it.

Now that they're face to face, it gives him a chance to do some peering of his own; the other man is a little taller than him but it's difficult to get an idea of who the more physically powerful of the two of them is. He's slim but by no means scrawny and those extra arms can't be ignored as a potential tool in a battle. The Ninja's eyes flicker up and down his body once or twice before finally settling on Mikio's face. It's clear he's not looking to start a fight- if anything, he seems gently puzzled.

It's enough to make him relax a little more, his characteristic smile slipping back into place like he'd never lost it. "... well, it's not every day you see someone like you around, is it?"

It's not a particularly damning comment; he sounds more neutral and to the point than horrified.

[insectubus]

Mikio drooped his shoulders a little and lowered his head. Even if his face seemed neutral, he certainly wasn't. You could almost smell the shame in the air.

"N-no...I supposed not." Of course not. It's not every day you see a horribly, deformed monster mutt.

That is of course, how Mikio interpreted The Ninja's comment.

[the_ninja]

... that was a mistake, wasn't it? Whatever it was, he clearly didn't have the whole story- hell, he didn't even have the beginning- but he'd still somehow managed to cast himself as the villain. The Ninja sighed, folding his arms. Was that a new record for offending someone? For once in his life, it didn't feel like much of an achievement- Mikio just looks too quietly hurt by it. Besides, a part of him couldn't help remembering how rough young choujin sometimes had it back home simply for being stronger or faster; looking so different too probably doesn't make for an easy life.

"Come on, I didn't mean it like that. I know weirder looking guys than you," he leaned forward and tilted his head in an attempt to meet Mikio's lowered eyes, "One of my closest friends even has two more arms than you."

[insectubus]

Yeah, good going, The Ninja. GAWD.

Mikio could sense that The Ninja didn't exactly mean anything harmful by what he said. He slowly looked back up, his lonely eyes looking back at The Ninja's. However, what The Ninja said then had piqued his curiosity.

"S-six arms? Th-that means eight limbs in total. Is he an arachnid?"