The gentle encouragement toward the things he likes is kind of nice. Once, they'd been programmed lines, a predilection that could be latched onto for conversation or foreplay. Now, it feels lighthearted. Like it matters on a much gentler level. It strikes him as odd that Kal has to ask that. He doesn't know the specific functions of models like Kieren apparently, and that makes this just a little uncomfortable.
"I've never been to a museum, no," he replies quietly, flipping the lid of the zippo open, then closed, open, closed. "I was a host. Of the companion variety." No way he would show Kal, but he'd been designed to be anatomically correct, for the sole purpose of client satisfaction. He doesn't linger on the thought long.
"What about you? D'you like going out to places like that? Maybe not museums, but...other places, in the city. Or even travelling. I'd like to travel some day, when there aren't so many restrictions."
Kal pauses, gentle on the breaks as they come up to the trailer, head turning toward the android as he tries to piece it together. A host? Like, at a restaurant? Of the companion variety. It takes the guy a solid minute, and Kieren can witness every receiver processing his statement.
Oh.
Well, it's either hot or Kal's ready to vom, because his cheeks are a weird amalgamation of fiery red, and he wipes his nose as he directly moves on. No hooker joke. No sex joke. None of that shit. He just shifts into park and thinks on what he does.
"Museums make me tired, but I'd suffer one if not jus' to see your face. I usually dig music, venues, bars, the live stuff when I've got the cash." Does he want to mention his sister out east? The drive? The fleeting thought?
Ain't fleeting if it stays, Kal.
He puts the SUV into park and eases off the break, flagging fingers toward the dingy trailer at the ass end of a dirt-shorn trailer park. A yellow light flickers, bugs dancing beneath the rays, and through the window, a flicker of dancing light. "Mi casa, su casa. Kinda wanna fuckin' leave everything in till the A.M.," he snores, throwing his head back against the headrest.
Kieren's not terribly sure if he should be as anxious as he is, given the lack of immediate commentary on his prior forced occupation. he's still chewing fitfully on his lips, replacing it with his thumbnail. It's probably just a can of worms that Kal really doesn't want to open right now. Likewise he's not sure how to interpret the offer to visit a museum with him, and simply stays quiet, though there's a strangely warm sensation behind his thirium regulator that is at the same time familiar and foreign.
His expression is a little distant as another voice plays in his memory. An offer to take him out on a proper date.
He snaps back as Kal fake-snores, blinking once and arching a brow at the human then shaking his head with a quiet breath of a laugh. "We'll leave things til the morning then," he replies, then glances around the trailer park. It's not exactly what he was expecting. Maybe the inside of the trailer would be more inviting...
"We'll bring in the jars, get you up and fully going," man, he's hard to convince - he arches back into the seat, stretching while he unfastens the buckle. He palms Kieren's shoulder, pats him to follow suite as he hops out. The electric engine simmers into silence as he opens the hatch.
He motions for help, a small and leisurely swing of the forearm as he beckons Kier. "Come take one, I'll carry the other two," although the choice is entirely Kieren's, whether or not he wants to help. Kal climbs into the back and gingerly stretched over the tarp, squeezing both hands around the ruck. It takes a little more work than he anticipated, sweat beading as he keeps his knees rooted against the edge of the vehicle.
Gets it with a grunt, the ruck with the two jars. He reaches to get the third and holds it out like a child.
When they eventually get to the door, Kal jostled the key and shoulders his way in, using his foot to keep the door open for Kieren. It's a small trailer with an open living room and kitchen - clean. A little yellow from the warm flourescents Kal flops on, but not dirty. To their immediate left, a door at the end of a squat hall sits ajar, and the bathroom sits open and empty of light.
Bookshelves line the perimeter of the living room, full of totes and baskets and books. The television, a small flat screen, sits on a trunk against the biggest shelf, and across from it, a sofa green and patched, draped with fleece throws.
An LED hums into yellow, then brief flits of red, as the head of a blond android turns, face half void of synthskin, jaw missing. It, she, she is dressed in a hoodie with a scarf, blanket across where her lap should have been. No limbs, just sleeves.
There's a clicking from the android's throat,and Kal hums, "Ivy, Kieren. Kier, Ivory. Been a good night, Ivy?" He asks as he makes a break for the small, square table that divides the space. Sitting the jars down, he turns.
Kieren isn't totally certain how he can really help without getting in the way here, but he does take one of the jars, and one of the bags that he can shoulder to take inside. He lingers back until Kal is ready to head inside then steps in as the door is held open, stopping a couple of feet inside the door.
The first thing that occurs to him is that it's cleaner than he was expecting. It's a nice surprise, and he's careful not to let it register in his expression as he scans his surroundings. He stops upon seeing Ivory, lips parting in concern but lack of knowing what to say about a jawless torso watching him from the sofa.
"Hullo," he says quietly, lifting a hand in an awkward sort of wave. When Kal was saying he couldn't find components for her, he was expecting at least something a little more complete than that... "Ehm. He...he found me, offered a place to kip for the night," he explains, looking back around at the door as it closes behind him. At least he doesn't seem nervous, just a little nonplussed. He registers Ivory still watching him curiously, and lets the skin slip back from his fingers in clarification.
Her LED whirls with gold as she processes the sight of the android in front of the door, and the one functioning eye flashes a blink as something rattles in her chest. Kal leans against the table after wetting a rag, wiping his hands as he watches the pair. Ivory's head bobs in a nod, affirming her comprehension.
She then returns attention toward the television, LED flickering for a moment longer - Kieren will feel a gentle push notification to the forefront, fragmented and small:
01101001 01101110 01100111 he!Lo process01101001 01101110 01100111 designation nME found you ho ... hoME, welcome. do you wish to SIT?
He gives the cloth a toss to the sink, moving past Kieren and beckoning him over toward the bedroom door. "Let's get you clothes and a towel, yeah?"
Kieren's LED cycles between blue and yellow as he receives the slightly incomplete message, brow furrowing. Something must be damaged in her processors if her communication isn't fluid like most. He glances between Ivory and Kal, moving to follow after him.
I'll come sit with you, but first I'd like to clean up. His sweater is unpleasantly grimy and my sensors don't process it correctly.
He lingers in the doorway of Kal's room after putting down the salvage. Waiting, he's good at. Before now he'd spent a good deal of his life simply waiting, and at least now he can do so in the open.
"D'you need help finding things? For her," he says quietly, nodding his head back toward the android on the couch. "If I had a list of what's missing, I could...probably help."
There is a ping of acknowledgment a received in the midst of rolling code. It lacks transcription, its language at least two versions earlier than his, and with the corrupt patches of information, it's indecipherable. It's something though, that Kieren responds, reaching out to a system that hasn't connected with another in months, and a repetition of two distinct letters in binary reflect her amusement.
She computes, understands. The television flickers and a show resumes from its commercial break. She does not reach out again, not yet.
Meanwhile, Kal flips the switch and stalks through the room, his bed a mess of blankets and pillows in some mock pretense of cleanliness - if flattening the comforter over a mess counts as a made bed. Kid beelines for a corner closet, and he opens it. He makes a noise when Kieren asks about Ivory, about the need for help, and there's a stifled yawn he buries into his elbow as he nods, "If you're ken on helpin', sure. I ain't got much of a list goin' for her, nothin' like compatible component serials and shit like that. Got pictures of the ports though, if that helps."
He pulls out a charcoal tee that he brings to his face, smells deep before nodding. Shit's clean. Trousers? He opts for a pair of flannel pajama pants that he knows were washed an' dried a couple days ago - not that pajamas aren't his thing, it's jus', when you're on your own, it helps save costs to not bother.
He makes a mental note to spare Kieren the sight and actually wear clothes to bed. Careful to fold the clothes on the bed so as to not dirty 'em further with any blue he missed during the initial wipe, he gestures for Kieren to come in.
"Think these'll work for you? I got denim, but tha's your call," and leather too; it's a motley collection of solid colors and sparse patterns, dark blue and black and gray dominating the wardrobe.
Kieren makes a thoughtful sound and rubs his fingers together as he thinks, then shrugs a shoulder. He could probably access Ivory's information directly and find a compatible list on his own. It would make Kal's life easier, and Kieren figures he owes the man a debt after hauling him out of the pit.
There's an instant of hesitation when Kal gestures for him to come into the room, but Kieren covers it easily as he looks from the clothes to the closet. He can't really say much by way of preference, though he does know what he likes in a broad sense. For now though, he's comfortable in whatever Kal sees fit to lend him.
"'s fine," he replies quietly, taking the clothes gingerly and holding them out a bit from his body to keep from getting them dirty, still smudged with dirt and thirium as he is. "I'll jus'...go take that shower then." He nods once before retreating to the dark bathroom, only flipping the light on as an afterthought. He would be in here for upwards of an hour, or at least as long as the hot water held out.
Once Kieren stakes claim of the loo, Kal shuts the closet doors and makes his way out of the bedroom. "If you need anything, check under the sink or give me a shout," he says, rapping knuckles against the bathroom - he's just as quickly gone, retrieving a spare lighter before heading outside to sit on the porch to light up his cigarette and fuck around on his phone.
It's an all right end to a day, but his stomach is winding up, ready to knock a ham and cheese sandwich up north of his stomach. The fuck's he gonna do about Crom? Doesn't want to ask Soph, but fuck, Kal doesn't wanna show up empty handed. She's done him good in the past, and a couple hundred ain't no rocket science. He reckons he might be able to swing half in cash with Soph and a jar of blue, but Kier needs the shit and when's the last time he checked Ivory's supply?
His cheeks hollow as he steals a drag off the butt, glancing toward the screen door. Gotta start somewhere, yeah? He thumbs his phone, forces a call despite it bein' 2 in th' morning. A groggy grunt receives him, and amidst the sounds of cheap air conditioners and crickets and old folks coughing up a lung, Kal speaks in an apologetic hush with his sister while indulging in a couple clove cigs. It's almost serene, if it wasn't for the image of Cromwell cracking a crowbar down burning in his head.
While Kal is outside and distracted he'd probably very well miss the sound of the shower turning off and a new gait moving through his trailer. The door opens behind him and Kieren stands silently in the amber glow of the overhead light and its swarm of bugs making shadows dance over nearly iridescently pale skin. A scan of Kal, even without the man facing him, tells him a lot about the intense worry, the line of his shoulders and the way he speaks into the phone borderline fear.
So Kieren settles down on the porch beside him with his legs crossed, hands coming together in the little space between his ankles and thighs. He's wearing the comfortable sweats and a shirt a little too small for him, loose but riding up some around his midriff. Without the grime of the Veta landfill in it, his chosen hair color is a vivid strawberry blonde, a curling fluff over his brow. He watches Kal with a soft, worried frown, but he doesn't reach out just yet.
The discourse Kieren's bent on hearin' as he hovers is somethin' akin to a family script. This is neither the first nor the last time Kal has done this, and from the sounds of the husky feminine voice on the other side, groggy and made barren by bein' woke at so early an hour, his beggin' is gettin' him a fair bit nowhere. Urgency enunciates his words, laces them with a dose of gravity - and she, she spits back that the kid be best off finding other work, what about the other few hundred he's taken out of her wallet?
It's when the android settles down beside him, purged of abyssal layers of filth, that they finally make progress. Kal relents, fishing another cigarette out and giving Kieren a tip of the head as he gently, carefully, butts an elbow into him; he smiles, albeit a tad forced and with no credit to his mood, and doesn't bother lighting up as the voice on the other end murmurs. "Half?" He repeats; she confirms.
Better than nothing. Much better than zilch, zero, nil. A weight's lifted, and before she has the air and wit to cajole him about Detroit and his pilgrimage west, he bids her thanks and hangs up. He wipes his mouth, tucks the stick behind his ear again, and exhales the breath he's held for minutes now. Green eyes flip to Kieren, and he stares at him a moment longer than he likely should, laughs because he's not sure what he was expecting. "Aren't you a type, man? Feeling better?"
Edited (Ain't either, ain't neither; it butchered the language a little too much for my taste. ) Date: 2018-08-28 07:58 pm (UTC)
Kieren tunes out as best he can, trying not to be nosy as Kal works something out with the woman on the other end of the line. He returns the nudge to his elbow when it comes, not exactly convinced by the halfassed smile Kal tries to offer him. He doesn't speak up until Kal has ended the call in the hopes of keeping the questions to a minimum.
He's not certain how to take the comment on his appearance, but the false skin across his cheeks colors slightly, a programmed response to stimuli akin to fluster, as well as other, more intimate reactions. Almost like an honest blush. "Better," he agrees, looking down at the porch beneath them rather than focusing on how interesting the color of Kal's eyes is under warm lighting. "What about you? That didn't sound... You don't look happy about it."
"That," well, that is a long story, isn't it? Kal's nostrils flare with his inhale as he pushes his palms against his lap and leans back into the porch. One leg drops and the other follows as he sprawls, looking up before shrugging. "It's, it's nothing. Just a bunch of shit coming to fruition, reap what you sow, you know?" And in his case, bad habits plant the worst seeds.
He regards Kier with another look, a contemplative gander as he tries to piece a plan together. "Reckon you mind sleepin' in my room for the night? I'll kip on the couch, I just got a nagging feeling someone's gonna be knocking early, and I'd rather spare you the bullshit."
Kieren picks some at his nails, debating whether or not to push the issue, at least until Kal offers the use of his room. He opens his mouth to point out that he doesn't actually need to sleep, or even to lie down to rest, but wisely closes it again and shrugs a shoulder.
"If...If you're sure. Thank you," he replies quietly, pushing himself back up again and offering Kal his hand to help him back to his feet. Maybe the time alone would help him decide what to do next.
"The way I see it, you're due one of the key comforts of choice, Kier. Y'know what that is?" He laughs because the way Kieren opens his mouth and thinks twice is enough to tell Kal that androids don't sleep. He uses the help to stand upright, and he reaches to touch the other's shoulder.
"It's the decision to do goddamn nothing with yourself."
People actually value the ability to sit around doing nothing. Personally, he can't see the appeal in it. But most people are given the choice of what they do with their time to do nothing.
"If you say so," he replies, lips pursing briefly at the idea, but he takes it in stride and turns to head back inside. He'd take the time to retrieve a blanket and pillow from the bed to give Kal in the hopes of keeping him comfortable out there on the couch, but it's clear that he's conflicted about taking the offered space in the man's room. Joking aside, it is Kal's bed, and the man should be able to rest in his own bed...
Given that the sofa is decked out in an array of smaller blankets, he can't help but cut a grin at the fact Kieren is playing host eons better than he is. Takes to the doorway of his bedroom, leans into it and watches him - "Nah. I'm good on nestin' out there. Won't be the first time, will not be the last."
He isn't convinced. Kieren ain't convinced and Kal laughs. Man, he must look real fucking lazy, you reckon? Arms cross and he squeezes an elbow as he looks down for a moment.
What's he worried for? Does he really think one of Crom's will come knocking before lunch? A little. A lot. Yeah, likely.
"What do you want, Kier? I got a nag in the back of my head that says they'll be by in the mornin'. Do you jes' not wanna be alone?"
Kieren's arms cross under the folded over blanket and his eyes drop to the floor as Kal hits that particular nail straight on the head.
"'s...more like I've never had off-time before," he answers quietly, the answer a very subdued version of the truth. "Don't worry about it. 's something I'm gonna have to get used to, right? Being my own man an' all..." He squares up a little better and turns back to the bed to put the blanket down again. He takes a seat beside the disorganized stack of bedding with his hands together atop his knees, posture subtly curled inward.
"Will you really be alright out there, just the two of you? If they come unannounced you're pretty vulnerable out there aren't you?"
That, that cuts a line in his smile and his eyes follow Kieren as he sets the blanket down and takes a seat. Reckon that's the right of it, but who says it has to be the way? Kal shifts, stepping forward to close the distance between he and th' bed. Extends a hand, he does, reaching out to ruffle through Kieren's hair as he shakes his head.
"Ain't nothin' we haven't handled before, Kier. That though, yeah, that's the grit if you're on your own, but you aren't while you're here. You got that?"
Kal turns, migrates to his closet to retrieve himself a change of clothes. He drapes a pair of pajama bottoms over his arm, a tee, turns to Kieren as he lifts his hands, flashes his palms.
"I'm not sure where we're headin' with this, but I can kip in here with you and spare you the crisis of manhood another day, if that'll put you to ease."
And th' more Kal thinks about it, the more it seems... nice. Nice to not be alone. Fuck though if it's not a boundary he's worried about crossing, and he wavers an inch as he gets to the door.
He goes to open his mouth, assure him that rest is the only thing he plans on, but fuck if it doesn't fail to find the words. It's a smile he gives Kieren, weak and concerned and wondering if he's just paranoid or if the devil really creeps.
Kieren's eyes close when Kal ruffles his hair, the gesture unexpected but not entirely unwelcome. He looks up with a soft pout, but that could just be the natural set of his mouth.
"I think...maybe I'll try and stick it out for a night. See how freedom feels," he quips, but with a little less energy than he'd had back out at the landfill. He looks up as Kal starts to say something, but falls short, and offers the man a soft quirk of lips that might be a smile if he put a little more oomph into it. "Go sleep, Kal. You probably need it more than I do."
"Got jars of blue out in the kitchen if you wanna drink up and run some proper diagnostics," Kal says, resisting the urge to offer advice - he gets it, independence, and he isn't gonna refute the choice. Kid shoots the android a wink and a grin that's lofty and comfortable, because fuck, even if he's denied a chance to kip with more than a cat and Ivy, Kier is still the first guest proper in months.
And he's thankful, even if shit is gonna get shaky.
He taps the doorway and turns, gingerly closing the door behind him. Flicking the light in the hall off, he buzzes toward the couch and drops like bricks beside the half constructed Ivory, who errs with dissatisfaction when Kal reaches for the remote and mutes the show.
Turns on closed captioning though, like any decent person. Where's Gaff?
Doesn't take long to bundle up once he's shucked his shoes off, takes a couple blankets and wraps up, nesting into the couch ridden android with a pillow and a small grunt, "Bear with me a few hours, Ivy. You'll hear the sweet dulcet bass of Andrew Andrews after I get some sleep."
"Thanks," Kieren calls quietly, still sitting on the edge of the bed for a little while longer after Kal goes to make himself comfortable in the living room. He hears the brief one-sided conversation, at least until he's distracted by something rubbing across his shins, nearly making him jump.
But when a cat looks up at you balefully there's only so much you can do, and gently shooing it away doesn't seem to have any actual effect, so Kieren has to just kind of accept that suddenly Kal's cat is just kind of...here, and apparently determined to leave a smell on his leg by way of rubbing his face on it. Kieren lets it go for now, but he scoots back onto the bed proper and spreads out the blanket to finally get comfortable enough to power down for the night. It would be much easier for him to run his self-repair, and really make good use of the thirium that the human had scrounged for him.
Ending up with a large amount of fluffy, squash-faced cat resting on his sternum during the night isn't ideal. But it is nicer than just laying there alone, anxious that something is going to happen in the night where neither he nor his host could react to it.
In the morning Kieren would be coming out of sleep mode, but still resting a little while longer, just listening to the world outside waking up as well. Early morning traffic always makes the biggest racket...but it's nice to just listen to it until he actually needs to do something.
There's the occasional breach of claws from the beans of its paws, the slow and intrepid kneading of a cat who wants to nest into him - but otherwise, it's a quiet night rife with crickets and the brief flit of traffic from the early mornin' crews.
Consciousness hits Kal around 8a and he palms for his phone, sliding off the couch by plying his legs forward, and eventually he hits all fours on the carpet. Spine arches, shoulders roll, and he makes sure every vertebrae is still intact with a stretch that creaks and pops. It's enough to wake Ivory up from her diagnostics run, and she drops her single-optic gaze down to stare at the kid until he fucking realizes it's time.
And Kal does, he doesn't forget the promise he made. He palms for the remote, whips it toward the tele, and flicks the station to a daily talk show with the juttin', polished profile of one Andrew Andrews, who is talkin' somethin' smooth about local restaurants.
He eventually gets to his feet and to the kitchen he goes, maneuvering through the morning rites of cheap coffee, off brand cream cheese, and a couple slices of bread.
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
no subject
Date: 2018-08-24 02:28 am (UTC)"I've never been to a museum, no," he replies quietly, flipping the lid of the zippo open, then closed, open, closed. "I was a host. Of the companion variety." No way he would show Kal, but he'd been designed to be anatomically correct, for the sole purpose of client satisfaction. He doesn't linger on the thought long.
"What about you? D'you like going out to places like that? Maybe not museums, but...other places, in the city. Or even travelling. I'd like to travel some day, when there aren't so many restrictions."
no subject
Date: 2018-08-24 02:38 am (UTC)Kal pauses, gentle on the breaks as they come up to the trailer, head turning toward the android as he tries to piece it together. A host? Like, at a restaurant? Of the companion variety. It takes the guy a solid minute, and Kieren can witness every receiver processing his statement.
Oh.
Well, it's either hot or Kal's ready to vom, because his cheeks are a weird amalgamation of fiery red, and he wipes his nose as he directly moves on. No hooker joke. No sex joke. None of that shit. He just shifts into park and thinks on what he does.
"Museums make me tired, but I'd suffer one if not jus' to see your face. I usually dig music, venues, bars, the live stuff when I've got the cash." Does he want to mention his sister out east? The drive? The fleeting thought?
Ain't fleeting if it stays, Kal.
He puts the SUV into park and eases off the break, flagging fingers toward the dingy trailer at the ass end of a dirt-shorn trailer park. A yellow light flickers, bugs dancing beneath the rays, and through the window, a flicker of dancing light. "Mi casa, su casa. Kinda wanna fuckin' leave everything in till the A.M.," he snores, throwing his head back against the headrest.
Nah, kid, you got work.
no subject
Date: 2018-08-24 08:27 pm (UTC)His expression is a little distant as another voice plays in his memory. An offer to take him out on a proper date.
He snaps back as Kal fake-snores, blinking once and arching a brow at the human then shaking his head with a quiet breath of a laugh. "We'll leave things til the morning then," he replies, then glances around the trailer park. It's not exactly what he was expecting. Maybe the inside of the trailer would be more inviting...
no subject
Date: 2018-08-24 09:18 pm (UTC)He motions for help, a small and leisurely swing of the forearm as he beckons Kier. "Come take one, I'll carry the other two," although the choice is entirely Kieren's, whether or not he wants to help. Kal climbs into the back and gingerly stretched over the tarp, squeezing both hands around the ruck. It takes a little more work than he anticipated, sweat beading as he keeps his knees rooted against the edge of the vehicle.
Gets it with a grunt, the ruck with the two jars. He reaches to get the third and holds it out like a child.
When they eventually get to the door, Kal jostled the key and shoulders his way in, using his foot to keep the door open for Kieren. It's a small trailer with an open living room and kitchen - clean. A little yellow from the warm flourescents Kal flops on, but not dirty. To their immediate left, a door at the end of a squat hall sits ajar, and the bathroom sits open and empty of light.
Bookshelves line the perimeter of the living room, full of totes and baskets and books. The television, a small flat screen, sits on a trunk against the biggest shelf, and across from it, a sofa green and patched, draped with fleece throws.
An LED hums into yellow, then brief flits of red, as the head of a blond android turns, face half void of synthskin, jaw missing. It, she, she is dressed in a hoodie with a scarf, blanket across where her lap should have been. No limbs, just sleeves.
There's a clicking from the android's throat,and Kal hums, "Ivy, Kieren. Kier, Ivory. Been a good night, Ivy?" He asks as he makes a break for the small, square table that divides the space. Sitting the jars down, he turns.
Mi casa, su casa.
no subject
Date: 2018-08-26 01:37 am (UTC)The first thing that occurs to him is that it's cleaner than he was expecting. It's a nice surprise, and he's careful not to let it register in his expression as he scans his surroundings. He stops upon seeing Ivory, lips parting in concern but lack of knowing what to say about a jawless torso watching him from the sofa.
"Hullo," he says quietly, lifting a hand in an awkward sort of wave. When Kal was saying he couldn't find components for her, he was expecting at least something a little more complete than that... "Ehm. He...he found me, offered a place to kip for the night," he explains, looking back around at the door as it closes behind him. At least he doesn't seem nervous, just a little nonplussed. He registers Ivory still watching him curiously, and lets the skin slip back from his fingers in clarification.
no subject
Date: 2018-08-26 01:58 am (UTC)She then returns attention toward the television, LED flickering for a moment longer - Kieren will feel a gentle push notification to the forefront, fragmented and small:
01101001 01101110 01100111 he!Lo process01101001 01101110 01100111 designation nME found you ho ... hoME, welcome. do you wish to SIT?
He gives the cloth a toss to the sink, moving past Kieren and beckoning him over toward the bedroom door. "Let's get you clothes and a towel, yeah?"
no subject
Date: 2018-08-26 10:11 pm (UTC)I'll come sit with you, but first I'd like to clean up. His sweater is unpleasantly grimy and my sensors don't process it correctly.
He lingers in the doorway of Kal's room after putting down the salvage. Waiting, he's good at. Before now he'd spent a good deal of his life simply waiting, and at least now he can do so in the open.
"D'you need help finding things? For her," he says quietly, nodding his head back toward the android on the couch. "If I had a list of what's missing, I could...probably help."
no subject
Date: 2018-08-26 11:37 pm (UTC)She computes, understands. The television flickers and a show resumes from its commercial break. She does not reach out again, not yet.
Meanwhile, Kal flips the switch and stalks through the room, his bed a mess of blankets and pillows in some mock pretense of cleanliness - if flattening the comforter over a mess counts as a made bed. Kid beelines for a corner closet, and he opens it. He makes a noise when Kieren asks about Ivory, about the need for help, and there's a stifled yawn he buries into his elbow as he nods, "If you're ken on helpin', sure. I ain't got much of a list goin' for her, nothin' like compatible component serials and shit like that. Got pictures of the ports though, if that helps."
He pulls out a charcoal tee that he brings to his face, smells deep before nodding. Shit's clean. Trousers? He opts for a pair of flannel pajama pants that he knows were washed an' dried a couple days ago - not that pajamas aren't his thing, it's jus', when you're on your own, it helps save costs to not bother.
He makes a mental note to spare Kieren the sight and actually wear clothes to bed. Careful to fold the clothes on the bed so as to not dirty 'em further with any blue he missed during the initial wipe, he gestures for Kieren to come in.
"Think these'll work for you? I got denim, but tha's your call," and leather too; it's a motley collection of solid colors and sparse patterns, dark blue and black and gray dominating the wardrobe.
no subject
Date: 2018-08-27 07:44 pm (UTC)There's an instant of hesitation when Kal gestures for him to come into the room, but Kieren covers it easily as he looks from the clothes to the closet. He can't really say much by way of preference, though he does know what he likes in a broad sense. For now though, he's comfortable in whatever Kal sees fit to lend him.
"'s fine," he replies quietly, taking the clothes gingerly and holding them out a bit from his body to keep from getting them dirty, still smudged with dirt and thirium as he is. "I'll jus'...go take that shower then." He nods once before retreating to the dark bathroom, only flipping the light on as an afterthought. He would be in here for upwards of an hour, or at least as long as the hot water held out.
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Date: 2018-08-27 09:15 pm (UTC)It's an all right end to a day, but his stomach is winding up, ready to knock a ham and cheese sandwich up north of his stomach. The fuck's he gonna do about Crom? Doesn't want to ask Soph, but fuck, Kal doesn't wanna show up empty handed. She's done him good in the past, and a couple hundred ain't no rocket science. He reckons he might be able to swing half in cash with Soph and a jar of blue, but Kier needs the shit and when's the last time he checked Ivory's supply?
His cheeks hollow as he steals a drag off the butt, glancing toward the screen door. Gotta start somewhere, yeah? He thumbs his phone, forces a call despite it bein' 2 in th' morning. A groggy grunt receives him, and amidst the sounds of cheap air conditioners and crickets and old folks coughing up a lung, Kal speaks in an apologetic hush with his sister while indulging in a couple clove cigs. It's almost serene, if it wasn't for the image of Cromwell cracking a crowbar down burning in his head.
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Date: 2018-08-28 01:59 am (UTC)So Kieren settles down on the porch beside him with his legs crossed, hands coming together in the little space between his ankles and thighs. He's wearing the comfortable sweats and a shirt a little too small for him, loose but riding up some around his midriff. Without the grime of the Veta landfill in it, his chosen hair color is a vivid strawberry blonde, a curling fluff over his brow. He watches Kal with a soft, worried frown, but he doesn't reach out just yet.
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Date: 2018-08-28 08:37 am (UTC)It's when the android settles down beside him, purged of abyssal layers of filth, that they finally make progress. Kal relents, fishing another cigarette out and giving Kieren a tip of the head as he gently, carefully, butts an elbow into him; he smiles, albeit a tad forced and with no credit to his mood, and doesn't bother lighting up as the voice on the other end murmurs. "Half?" He repeats; she confirms.
Better than nothing. Much better than zilch, zero, nil. A weight's lifted, and before she has the air and wit to cajole him about Detroit and his pilgrimage west, he bids her thanks and hangs up. He wipes his mouth, tucks the stick behind his ear again, and exhales the breath he's held for minutes now. Green eyes flip to Kieren, and he stares at him a moment longer than he likely should, laughs because he's not sure what he was expecting. "Aren't you a type, man? Feeling better?"
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Date: 2018-08-28 08:28 pm (UTC)He's not certain how to take the comment on his appearance, but the false skin across his cheeks colors slightly, a programmed response to stimuli akin to fluster, as well as other, more intimate reactions. Almost like an honest blush. "Better," he agrees, looking down at the porch beneath them rather than focusing on how interesting the color of Kal's eyes is under warm lighting. "What about you? That didn't sound... You don't look happy about it."
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Date: 2018-08-28 11:26 pm (UTC)He regards Kier with another look, a contemplative gander as he tries to piece a plan together. "Reckon you mind sleepin' in my room for the night? I'll kip on the couch, I just got a nagging feeling someone's gonna be knocking early, and I'd rather spare you the bullshit."
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Date: 2018-08-29 08:37 pm (UTC)"If...If you're sure. Thank you," he replies quietly, pushing himself back up again and offering Kal his hand to help him back to his feet. Maybe the time alone would help him decide what to do next.
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Date: 2018-08-29 08:45 pm (UTC)"The way I see it, you're due one of the key comforts of choice, Kier. Y'know what that is?" He laughs because the way Kieren opens his mouth and thinks twice is enough to tell Kal that androids don't sleep. He uses the help to stand upright, and he reaches to touch the other's shoulder.
"It's the decision to do goddamn nothing with yourself."
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Date: 2018-08-29 10:57 pm (UTC)"If you say so," he replies, lips pursing briefly at the idea, but he takes it in stride and turns to head back inside. He'd take the time to retrieve a blanket and pillow from the bed to give Kal in the hopes of keeping him comfortable out there on the couch, but it's clear that he's conflicted about taking the offered space in the man's room. Joking aside, it is Kal's bed, and the man should be able to rest in his own bed...
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Date: 2018-08-29 11:24 pm (UTC)Given that the sofa is decked out in an array of smaller blankets, he can't help but cut a grin at the fact Kieren is playing host eons better than he is. Takes to the doorway of his bedroom, leans into it and watches him - "Nah. I'm good on nestin' out there. Won't be the first time, will not be the last."
He isn't convinced. Kieren ain't convinced and Kal laughs. Man, he must look real fucking lazy, you reckon? Arms cross and he squeezes an elbow as he looks down for a moment.
What's he worried for? Does he really think one of Crom's will come knocking before lunch? A little. A lot. Yeah, likely.
"What do you want, Kier? I got a nag in the back of my head that says they'll be by in the mornin'. Do you jes' not wanna be alone?"
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Date: 2018-08-30 12:26 am (UTC)"'s...more like I've never had off-time before," he answers quietly, the answer a very subdued version of the truth. "Don't worry about it. 's something I'm gonna have to get used to, right? Being my own man an' all..." He squares up a little better and turns back to the bed to put the blanket down again. He takes a seat beside the disorganized stack of bedding with his hands together atop his knees, posture subtly curled inward.
"Will you really be alright out there, just the two of you? If they come unannounced you're pretty vulnerable out there aren't you?"
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Date: 2018-08-30 12:51 am (UTC)That, that cuts a line in his smile and his eyes follow Kieren as he sets the blanket down and takes a seat. Reckon that's the right of it, but who says it has to be the way? Kal shifts, stepping forward to close the distance between he and th' bed. Extends a hand, he does, reaching out to ruffle through Kieren's hair as he shakes his head.
"Ain't nothin' we haven't handled before, Kier. That though, yeah, that's the grit if you're on your own, but you aren't while you're here. You got that?"
Kal turns, migrates to his closet to retrieve himself a change of clothes. He drapes a pair of pajama bottoms over his arm, a tee, turns to Kieren as he lifts his hands, flashes his palms.
"I'm not sure where we're headin' with this, but I can kip in here with you and spare you the crisis of manhood another day, if that'll put you to ease."
And th' more Kal thinks about it, the more it seems... nice. Nice to not be alone. Fuck though if it's not a boundary he's worried about crossing, and he wavers an inch as he gets to the door.
He goes to open his mouth, assure him that rest is the only thing he plans on, but fuck if it doesn't fail to find the words. It's a smile he gives Kieren, weak and concerned and wondering if he's just paranoid or if the devil really creeps.
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Date: 2018-08-30 07:09 pm (UTC)"I think...maybe I'll try and stick it out for a night. See how freedom feels," he quips, but with a little less energy than he'd had back out at the landfill. He looks up as Kal starts to say something, but falls short, and offers the man a soft quirk of lips that might be a smile if he put a little more oomph into it. "Go sleep, Kal. You probably need it more than I do."
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Date: 2018-08-30 07:36 pm (UTC)"Got jars of blue out in the kitchen if you wanna drink up and run some proper diagnostics," Kal says, resisting the urge to offer advice - he gets it, independence, and he isn't gonna refute the choice. Kid shoots the android a wink and a grin that's lofty and comfortable, because fuck, even if he's denied a chance to kip with more than a cat and Ivy, Kier is still the first guest proper in months.
And he's thankful, even if shit is gonna get shaky.
He taps the doorway and turns, gingerly closing the door behind him. Flicking the light in the hall off, he buzzes toward the couch and drops like bricks beside the half constructed Ivory, who errs with dissatisfaction when Kal reaches for the remote and mutes the show.
Turns on closed captioning though, like any decent person. Where's Gaff?
Doesn't take long to bundle up once he's shucked his shoes off, takes a couple blankets and wraps up, nesting into the couch ridden android with a pillow and a small grunt, "Bear with me a few hours, Ivy. You'll hear the sweet dulcet bass of Andrew Andrews after I get some sleep."
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Date: 2018-08-31 03:03 am (UTC)But when a cat looks up at you balefully there's only so much you can do, and gently shooing it away doesn't seem to have any actual effect, so Kieren has to just kind of accept that suddenly Kal's cat is just kind of...here, and apparently determined to leave a smell on his leg by way of rubbing his face on it. Kieren lets it go for now, but he scoots back onto the bed proper and spreads out the blanket to finally get comfortable enough to power down for the night. It would be much easier for him to run his self-repair, and really make good use of the thirium that the human had scrounged for him.
Ending up with a large amount of fluffy, squash-faced cat resting on his sternum during the night isn't ideal. But it is nicer than just laying there alone, anxious that something is going to happen in the night where neither he nor his host could react to it.
In the morning Kieren would be coming out of sleep mode, but still resting a little while longer, just listening to the world outside waking up as well. Early morning traffic always makes the biggest racket...but it's nice to just listen to it until he actually needs to do something.
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Date: 2018-09-02 12:58 pm (UTC)Consciousness hits Kal around 8a and he palms for his phone, sliding off the couch by plying his legs forward, and eventually he hits all fours on the carpet. Spine arches, shoulders roll, and he makes sure every vertebrae is still intact with a stretch that creaks and pops. It's enough to wake Ivory up from her diagnostics run, and she drops her single-optic gaze down to stare at the kid until he fucking realizes it's time.
And Kal does, he doesn't forget the promise he made. He palms for the remote, whips it toward the tele, and flicks the station to a daily talk show with the juttin', polished profile of one Andrew Andrews, who is talkin' somethin' smooth about local restaurants.
He eventually gets to his feet and to the kitchen he goes, maneuvering through the morning rites of cheap coffee, off brand cream cheese, and a couple slices of bread.