Week 17: A New Beginning (aka Fresh Meat)

Parvati stepped out of the Taxi and carefully paid the driver as he fetched the single slightly tattered suitcase from the trunk. She pulled her mule-tech over her shoulders and secured it firmly. She picked up the three books tied together with string and took the suitcase. Once the taxi had driven off she turned back to the door and approached.

It took a few moments of fumbling before she freed one of her hands and with a deep breath carefully pressed what ever looked most like an intercom buzzer and then froze, trying not to appear aggressive to whatever secreted defenses might be watching her.

Sosie was in her room, be-labcoated and de-trousered, when Bell's voice rang softly over the room. "Mom, intercom. It's Parvati." There was a click and a pause. Sosie had no doubt her daughter had scanned the newest house mate in addition to putting two and two together. She smiled a little as she heard Bell drop out and the intercom click on. "..Parvati? Is that you? Gimmie a moment, I'll be out in a sec. Bell, let her into the compound proper."

Outside, the doors opened, revealing a cement block of warehouse, with white gravel lining the inside. Thick and healthy looking ivy scaled the walls, some even dangling down in front of the door in a picturesque manner.

In the basement, the living rig hummed expectantly, and Sosie stepped away from it slowly. She removed the lab coat and the fabricky apron that absorbed the.. spills from her machine. She looked around until she located a pair of jeans, and then hopped into them while she walked, making her way upstairs. She crossed the training room and through the garage, making her way outside. She was smiling, though she looked like she hadn't slept much or well in a long time. "Over here, the littler door. Er, let me.. take your.. books?" Sosie stood in the doorway and offered her hands to share Vati's load.

Parvati crosses the small area, her eyes roamed the building well she hadn't been turned away so she might as well advance. She stepped across the gravel carefully, trying her best not to disturb it, just in case its lay was some sort of pattern.

On seeing Sosie she turned towards her and Mother Superiors teachings on being polite in someone elses house kicked in. Dropping a curtsey was not easy, especially when the weight she was holding was unbalanced, but she managed to keep her feet. "Ms Terrehaute." she says before carefully handing over the books, four books, well bound, and tied together with string all visible text is in hindi. "Thank you."she said, transfering the suitcase to a two handed grip in front of her.

Sosie took the books with a hand, and gave little sigh and a smile. Oh good, more politeness. "Just Sosie, especially if we're gonna live together." It was weird to talk in Mandarin in her house, but it was one of the languages she had grown up with. She gestured around into the garage. "This is the garage, obviously, we have room enough for a few more cars if you ever decide to get one, though it gets a big full when we're all home." Sosie's Mungo with the Seoul Waste Away logo was on the side, looking a bit beat up and like every other Mungo in existence. A good disguise.

"And in here," she said, as she entered the only door into the warehouse, "Is the training room." There was a poorly tex-tape repaired punching bag and several ones in better shape, as well as other various training implements, pads, and a wall sized mirror. She crossed the room quickly, bare feet quiet on the ground. "To the right and left are the surgery and the mechtronics lab, respectively. If you have any problems or want to know anything, Bell, our house AI and my daughter, can help you. She sleeps there." Sosie gestured around the next open room, pointing to a place in the rig where a little bed was set up. A silver skinned and green eyed replicant was sitting upright on it, wearing a pink and purple dress. She was holding a robot of some kind, a tiny winged thing, and didn't bother to look up when Sosie and Parvati entered. "The rig is available for use if you need it."

She moved to the stairs going up crossing across the expanse of empty floor. "Any questions so far?"

Parvati obediantly followed Sosie through the garage into the main area. She bows her head to the strange looking girl as she is pointed out. She tries her best to commit everything to her mind as Sosie calls them out.

Caught short by the question she shakes her head "No, I don't think I have any at the moment." She said with a small nervous shuttle.

Sosie continued, then, figuring Parvati would manage. It was a very relaxed house. "Up here are the bedrooms, fridge, kitchen, TV area, bathroom, and of course, your room." The cyberneticist took the steps two at a time, going over them with familiar steps. The floor upstairs was bright if a little.. undecorated.. Under the TV there was an upturned cardboard box with a little turret inside of it. peaking out from behind a laser "cut" door, green eye closing from behind the lumps of charred cardboard. "This is Dusty. Our security AI, and my son. Dusty, this is Parvati."

The little turret peeked out just a touch more, clicking forward on black spidery legs. "Hello!" His voice was high and childish, like a little boy's. The proud mother grinned a little. "There's also two wolves around, a cybercat, and a little lynx running around. They're pretty friendly." Okay, and terrifying. She turned back, a thought striking her and she grinned a little. She went for the middle door on the left side, unlocking it. "Did Pinkie really invite you?"

"Umm, I think so. She definitely sent the message but I think whatever translation software she used is badly set-up, so it was kind of hard to read." she said before pausing and lowering herself to one knee, both to get a better look at Dusty and to let him get a better look at her. Last thing she needed was any AI with 'security' in its job description mistaking her for an intruder.

"Hello." she said to Dusty with a warm smile.

"Hm." Sosie watched as Parvati knelt by her son. She seems gentle. Good, we can use more gentleness. Dusty opened his front panel, revealing a laser pistol.. and two tiny metal arms. He waved with one, extending and expanding his hand in greeting. "It's very nice to meet you!"

From behind them, Sosie tapped her lip thoughtfully. "I don't know how you feel about cybernetics, but I would be more than willing to buy and install an internal translator in you. You wouldn't be able to speak or read other languages, obviously, but Pinkie has one and it might make it a lot easier for you. Both of you, and just you in general. We travel a lot." The cyberneticist smiled, and opened the door to Parvati's room. She took a step inside and reverently placed the books on top of the chest of drawers.

Parvati carefully extends her hand to Dusty copying his action with a smile "And you." she says warmly. "Excuse me."

She stands slowly and looks to Sosie "I don't have anything against cybernetics," she says with a slightly nervous shrug "Just a long drilled in belief in hardwork and monetary restraint." she says with a thin smile.

Sosie smiled a little, and though it was small, it was genuine. "Well, learning all the languages of the world may take a while, and the money is of no object. You can always get it removed once you feel you've.. studied enough."

She gestured to the open door. It was a spacious room, with the holoscreen near the bed displaying a picture of the local area from above. The bed was large and soft, with gray bedding. Sure, it was Multimeat branded, but they were soft and had pictures of happy dancing Egg-U-Like eggs. "I left an experiment going in the basement. It's where my lab, room, shooting range, and armory are. I.. am going to return to it. I apologise for being so hasty, but after you get set up, feel free to visit me down there."

"Okay, Thank you." Parvati said honestly with a warm smile. Egg-U-Like or no Egg-U-Like the room was far bigger than either her old shared flat back with comoros, the tent she had spent most of last week in or the rundown hotel she'd stayed at around then. "I'll try not to be a bother or get in the way."

It didn't take her long to stow her things, a few sari's to be hung up, a couple of statues and an incense burner she made a mental note to get permission for it before she used it, no need to compound a bad first impression with setting off the fire suppression systems on the chest of drawers with the books.

And that was it, besides her cooking things. which led her to come back out and cross to the Kitchen. As she busied herself slipping her tools in amongst the others she begins to absent-mindedly sing in her native Hindi. (rolled presence+arts/culture, passed by 6)

Sosie had long disappeared, but the little replicant girl continued to sit on her bed. From her elevated position on the ground floor, she could just make out Parvati's head over the edge of the balcony, moving in the kitchen. She watched from below for a while, closing her eyes and listening intently when Parvati began to sing.

*Pinkie froze as Parvati's singing awoke her, Fell fast asleep on top of the book huh? In one smooth movement Pinkie had rolled out of bed and had begun dressing, her wolves looking up at her with expectation. Evee's head was cocked slightly to the side and Pinkie recognised the expression of a creature trying to work out what music was. She remembered it being plastered across her own expression. Pinkie had picked up her shirt and skirt after placing on her underwear but she caught herself in time and lowered the objects back to the floor. Very carefully in the case of her jacket and as Pinkie faded from vision she twisted her mind, preventing her body heat from giving her away. That is what you are doing today, head outside the interchange once you have inspected Parvati. Pinkie ran the distinguishable words through her translator as she listened, while Evee faded into the shadows alongside her. Together, with the utmost care, the pink haired would be assassin and her curious, shy and devoted omega very stealthily moved through the door, ensuring not a sound was issued from neither the door nor their own movements. Pinkie observed Parvati from afar squirrelling her... cooking implements among Rico and Darya's. She reassessed the formerly Comoros telepath. When the other telepath had first made herself known in Oracle, Pinkie had kept away. She knew that a Comoros trained telepath would be far far stronger than any basic telepathic trick that Pinkie had managed to muster and the downplayed, humble appearance of their agents was a ploy on this. Lull the enemy into a false sense of security, allow them to think they have all the advantage and when it suits you, take their weapons; whether all at once, one at a time or with a smile. In a way Pinkie was most reminded of Xu when examining Parvati. She suspected they both had a way of getting people to see their point of view when they wanted something but at least Xu knew he was manipulating people. Comoros are taught that there way is best for all and that their victory will be through the people, how better to achieve that than by fooling their own pawns into thinking it..... But she left Comoros. How, that is what will actually tell you something about the woman you now share a house with, ask her how she left Comoros. Pinkie edged ever closer to the telepath as she thought, she had never been this close to another telepath before and she expected something, whether the certainty of having maximised telepathic capacity to the slight change upon drinking a sunrise or the rush of brain juice being injected followed by light pouring straight into your mind. Something akin to one of these things was what Pinkie had expected approaching near to Parvati. Well Pinkie was disapionted, there was no great revelationary force no matter how close to Parvati she got, which in some ways was a relief. Still her skin felt slightly nummb even if Pinkie was far too focused on more overt sensations to notice. Pinkie observed Parvti moving around the kitchen until Parvati was about to walk into her. Pinkie invisibily scooted onto the counter, not even having to lift herself up to sit on it.*

**Evee had been not overly concerned by the alien sounds before Alpha-of-the-Pack had left from her rest to investigate, Evee had long ago distinguished singing and music from noises that mattered to her. However her alpha's reaction meant that this was something that warranted investigation and while Gren was fully upright before her, it was to Evee the Alpha beckoned and only the omega, herself, followed their collective Alpha out of the room. As soon as the door was opened Evee came to understand her Alpha's reaction. A new scent had greeted her nose, another human had taken up residence within the domain. Evee breathed in the new, female, scent deeply through her nose for a moment. Curious; books (unknown), cloying smoke (incense), clothes (unknown-pause,), clothes of The-Confused-Immortal. A definite ally then, Evee was aware of exactly how far her Alpha would go to protect that human. A healthy amount of cookery related smells intermixed with this newcomer's own scent, momentarily distracting the wolf part of Evee's mind. But there was something else behind it all as well. A sort of half scent the Evee could not place but was often also in her Alpha's jacket. Padding low across the room Evee rounded the table to get a clear view of the newcomer. Having confirmed visual association of the scent Evee awaited further instruction from her Alpha, idly pondering what weapons this human wielded. Evee sat as she did so, her face subconsciously peering up at Parvati in an expectant expression that no one could see.*

The door to Ace's room was open, which signified that he was somewhere in the house. Upon close inspection of the room Ace could be seen lying on the couch passed out with a data-pad stuck to his face and several more on the floor and sofa around him. He'd lost track of time working and not managed to get to sleep in anything resembling a reasonable time. Eventually he as passed out of exhaustion after dreaming / hallucinating about falling number trying to crush him and something to do with a bull attacking a bear. When Parvati came up stairs his ears pricked up at the new voice but it was so quiet and calm that nothing was seen as amiss. As clanging started in the kitchen Ace's eyes opened and had a quick look around, but everything seemed fine so they closed again. When the singing started his Internal AI decided that something was significantly different as to warrant it's masters attention and woke Ace up with a jolt. He promptly fell off the sofa with a reasonably loud crash.

"Aaaahh..."

Parvati turned with a jump at the sudden sound, the ladel in her hand instinctively coming up in a defensive position as she whirled around.

A long slow breath escaped "Ace," she said with more than a touch of relief "Oh, I hope I didn't wake you." she said, the last thing she wanted was to leave a bad first impression as a housemate.

Suddenly wide awake Ace stood up and took note of the scene. Parvarti was in SWA and hadn't been shot by the turrets, which meant she was supposed to be there. She was also putting things in the kitchen, which meant that she must be moving in.

"Well, you did. But I shouldn't have been asleep; I don't usually sleep on the couch. That's my room." He gestured towards the open bedroom door. "Are you moving in then? I didn't realise you were. Welcome to the house, I guess."

Ace stretched his arms upwards and there was a cracking sound. Then he cracked his neck.

"Ah. Well. I guess I better get back to work. Do you need any help moving things? Has Ms. Sosie showed you where everything is?"

Ace gathered a few datapads from around the room where they were scattered and went to sit at the kitchen table.