To become a true hero [private]

Sielus looked up from his task and smiled, how is it he had to meet such a sweet and understanding troll? he couldn't help but feel his sudden dark mood lift with her there.
he quickly finished cleaning the surplus potatoes and set them in a bowl, cursing the his distracted mind for peeling so many.

ﾒ_0 then i guessss we b0th have 0ur l0ng term c0mm0n g0al, t0 f0rge a new reputati0n f0r sseadwellerss!

sielus move over to the table and took a seat in front of one of the bowls, his mouth watering at the aroma coming from the stew.

ﾒ_0 w0w, thiss l00kss delici0uss!

Meeting a troll who has quite the same ideals as her is quite pleasing. In the past she had been bullied for other highbloods for defending the lower ones and helping other out with not payment, not to mention most lowbloods, in fear of what her caste it and in panic, have also been mean to her. She smiled at him as she was also eating her strew and bitting a piece of bread.

As for the stew, it literally tasted like heaven thanks to the soft meat of the stingray. Sky fauna has a very different taste than the sea one, pretty much life if one were actually eating the puffy clouds in the sky. And cooking that with milk instead of water as most do not carrying if it is sky or sea food, made the flavor pretty unique to the palate.

Sielus took a spoonfull of stew and gave it a sniff before sampling the unusual food, any home cooked meal was strange to him, befor now he had live in raw food that serpent dad had caught or packaged foods that required no cooking.
out of habbit of eating less enjoyable meals he instinctively swallowed the spoonful with out tasting it, and was surprised at the warmth gliding down his thought and warming his insides. curious to the taste of this dish he took another spoonful but this time he forced himself to taste it, and he wasn't disappointed, the rich flavor of the stew was divine to his palette, causing him to really dig in to the bowl of stew before him.
with half the bowl gone in moments Sielus looked up at his dining companion.

ﾒ_0 w0w thiss iss g00d, eassily a milli0n timss better thae what me 0r ssrepent dad c0uld make!

he grinned as he bit in to a slice of buttered bread

Albali blushed a little, was the first time she cooked for anyone else aside herself, so never got a compliment for her cooking skills. She fluttered her fins in happiness and smiled softly at her new friend. Then she stood up and offered him a can of soda once again, an apple flavored one and kept eating her own serve.

<Y> If yah want more, be my guest and fill your bow again, pal, I'm really glad you're enjoying it. Sometime yah should cook something if you want to as well, I bet you're skilled on this ~

Albali has this tendency of assuming stuff based of blood caste, she knows than higher the blood, the troll is supposed to be skilled in many things, yet not always that's the case...

Sielus smiled grimly and set down his spoon, wondering how to word the fact that he had never cooked in his life, in facted the closes he came to cooking was himself when his psionics set his respitepod in fire

ﾒ_0 heh, w0uld y0u belive that i d0nt kn0w h0w t0 c00k?

sielus blushed a bit and looked down, wondering if he was supposed to know how to cook being a seadweller, was it a required skill that he was now lacking in? could he be culled for such a thing?

Albali looked at him confused, wasn't like all of her caste supposed to be skilled, or at least known how to do plenty of things? Yet, the little reaction he got made herself blush again.

<Y> No no pal! don't feel bad please! Is not something bad, since you're my equal I was just assuming yah had to cook for yourself and I was curious of how good you're at it. I can teach yah as well, free lessons aside training. You have been up to plenty of things in life yet you need a lot of experience, thing I'm willing to share with yah. Wanna more? ~

She winked at him as she stood up to fill her bowl with more stew and pointing to Sielus' bowl.

Sielis smiled at Albali's offer, he could probably keep eating the delicious stew untill he exploded if she let him, he held out his nearly empty bowl to her noding

ﾒ_0 well truth be t0ld i ussually eat my mealss c0ld and unc00ked, it'ss kinda hard t0 sstart a fire underwater t0 c00k a fissh, ss0 i n0rmally eat like sserpent dad... i d0n't rec0mmend that...

Sielus grimaced at the memory of eating raw fish for days on end

ﾒ_0 ss0 yeah! if y0ur willing t0 teach than yeah! id l0ve ta learn t0 c00k fr0m y0u!

<Y> Oh... so yah are of those who sea dwellers who live underwater? ~

Albali adjusted the ascot she had surrounding her neck. Another reason she was a teasing victim of her own caste was her lack of gills. Belonging to the rare Amethyst shade of the Violet caste, she is a very special case. She is not considered a mutant cos the genes are present, she is a Royal lady for all her characteristics, yet the rare Amethyst still need to breath exclusively air like land dwellers for some reason, and never grow any type of gills. And the uncommon blood is not seen around that frequently so plenty have no idea of this condition, and make fun on the Amethysts. So she just ended doing what most Violet do: cover her neck like if she where protecting her gills with a big ascot of her blood color.

<Y> Fortunately, yah won't have any need of eating raw stuff ever again, chum! For the time yah remind here I'll cook for us and teach yah so yah could prepare yummy stuff for yourself... ~

She served him the bowl full again and gave it to him, then made the same with her own bowl but now she kept adjusting her ascot, making it more obvious she was hiding something.

Sielus scratched an itchy gill located behind his earfin as he thought about the question, he preferred to live on land, close to the water so he could be near serpent dads habitat, but since he has less then no ability to swim, he regarded living in the water as unnecessary.

ﾒ_0 heh, nah, i lived 0n that badly parked b0at 0ut there, and bef0re that, i lived 0n the c0asst, i 0nly really sspend a l0ng time in the water when i fall 0ver b0ard and have t0 walk back t0 ssh0re. that can be ss0me hundred pluss miless bef0re i hit a beach.

Sielus smiled and ate a spoon full of his renewed bowl of stew, tho he could hep noteiceing the obvious manner Albali was fiddling with her ascot, did she have a rash? an itch, or was she nervous about something?
Sielus continued eating while he thought of how to approach the subject

ﾒ_0 ssay, iss y0ur sscarf thingie getting unc0mf0rtable? might be a g00d idea t0 take it 0ff if itss ann0ying y0u?

real smooth Sielus, real smooth

"Walk back to the shore"... "Walk back"... Wait, walk? What a way to say "swim" he has, but she wouldn't question his way of speech... Bun then he mentioned the thing about her scarf! she sorts of stroke it even harder and faster, eating a couple of spoons of her stew before giving an answer and bitting another piece of bread.

<Y> Fortunatley for me, Orcamom can do both things, swim and fly, so she is always around me... and... Oh!? My... My ascot?! Oh nonono! I'm doing quite fine with it! why would you think this is bothering me, pal? hehehehehe... ~

She ended making her ascot surround her neck way thither that it already was, something unusual in the Violets! that could hurt the gills of the ones who had those on the neck! Why is he doing that anyway?

Sielus cocked and eyebrow at her response, that was a bit odd, was there a something under her ascot that she was hiding? a birth mark? scars? ooo he liked scars, please let it be scars!
unless... there was a collar under the scarf? a mark of being a slave? a brand perhaps?
Sielus continued to form scenarios of what might be under the scarf while he ate his fill on the delicious stew. each plot more outlandish than the next as his imagination ran wild

ﾒ_0 heh, i didnt meant t0 make y0u unc0mf0rtable, y0u sseem t0 be tugging 0n it a l0t, i th0ught it might be imitating ss0mething, heh, musst be my imaginati0n, i didn't mean t0 pry...

Sielus looked down at his metallic arm and the secrets of his own that it hid, with luck he wont have to reveal any of it to Albali, tho he was never that lucky

Hard enough, Albali left alone her ascot by removing it, revealing her wetsuit covered her neck almost completely, and a collar holding a whistle that she uses to call her mom, but that was not exactly what she was worried at all. Maybe her gills where located somewhere else so she covered almost all her body in that black thing, but such attire is even more mysterious, how many scars is she hiding behind? Or why she uses that thing if she is always around the sky?

<Y> Oh... No, no, my friend. See? Everything is just fine, really! Well, there is something that worries me. Helsmen, Pilots and Flighters need a very good vision and it worries me the scars yah have on your eye and the fact you keep it closed most of the time. I don't think you made it well in the physical exam, did you? ~

sielus let out a silent sigh of relief when the ascot was removed and reveled nothing sinister, just a collar to hold her whistle, it must of been rubbing the wrong way it seems.
he didnt question the use of a wet suit that much, in truth while many seadwellers prefer little to no clothing while swimming, sielus was usually fully clothed when he is ever in the water, perhaps he should take to wearing a wet suit as well? he wondered as Albali asked about his physical wounds, importantly the loss of his right eye.

ﾒ_0 0h heh, well itss ss0me timess unnerving f0r ss0me tr0llss t0 ssee ss0 i keep it cl0ssed the guy that made it had n0 ssensse 0f sstyle, i had it replaced ss0me time ag0 with ss0me fancy cyberneticss, it ssee'ss well en0ugh t0 passss the physsical exam, th0 a EMP can kn0ck it 0ffline and leave be me blind f0r a while

sielus opened the damaged eye to show her its bionic replacement, colored blood red with a violet rune, something he had not bothered to change for something more natural

Albali fluttered her earfins in amusement, not just a metallic arm, but also a bionic eye! This guy is radical! She was indeed fascinated with his little things, yet she didn't want to abuse the growing confidence so she didn't ask of the story of those, she was more curious about how it feels and how all that works.

<Y> o0o Dude! It looks quite cool! How is your vision with it? I mean... Do you have any fancy visuals with data and the like or you just see like with a regular eye? Was it hard to you to get used to your arm? Oh, my bad, I'm just too curious about this technology, the closer I can be to feel like a machine is when piloting Vasuki, you see... ~

Sielus smiled at her enthusiasm, thankful that she wasn't repelled at the sight of his 'upgrades'.

ﾒ_0 heh, at the m0ment i ssee thingss much like n0rmal tr0llss, but it iss c0mbat grade hardware ss0 my r0b0ticss tech added 0ther ssetting f0r me t0 ssee in, but they make my head sspin if i usse them f0r t0 l0ng.

Sielus took another spoonful of stew and then reached under his mechanical arm to fiddle with the quick release switch and disengaged the heavy limb, which he then sat on the table for Albali to have a closer look at

ﾒ_0 the arm wass a cusst0m 0rder, becausse im rather clumssy it wass made extra t0ugh ss0 i cant break it eassily, it wass actually quiet eassy t0 get usse t0, there are ssenss0rss all 0ver it t0 ssend ssignalss t0 my nerv0uss ssysstem t0 ssimulate t0uch, th0 pain recept0rss are dissabled, didn't ssee a p0int 0f having them 0n...

Albali puffed her earfins when he removed his arm, in a little panic way, but then she fluttered them with a curious feel as she picked up his arm and started to analyze it. She sized her hand with the one of the arm and hers was tiny, she applied her almost unexistent strength to it to prove resistance and pretty much toyed with it a little.

<Y> It feels... Like Vasuki. I mean, the tech used on this reminds me a lot to how my Mechanical Serpent is made. Maybe the troll that made yah this can help us in built you a mech! It could even had an integration so yah could use your robot better as armor unlike me that I ride over it and had to watch out things... ~

Sielus smiled at how inquisitive she was about the mechanics of his artificial arm, he on the other hand couldn't fathom how the appendage worked, all he knew about it was it's functions and how to do basic maintenance, if he ever had a malfunction with it he had to make a trip to his robotics expert to fix it.

ﾒ_0 heh, that might be a g00d idea, i w0nder if he can make 0ne like Vassuki? it l00kss like a really reliable and verssatile dessign, if y0u w0uld all0w it t0 be c0pied 0f c0ursse?

Sielus finished off the bowl of stew one handed and half dayderamed about what his future mech would look like

With every movement Albali made to the arm, she fluttered her earfins, was a very funny thing to look at.

<Y> I guess yah might want a thing similar to mine, right? Vasuki is unique in his model, the Imperial Feet managed to almost clone him if yah remember the models used for the exam, so anyone can build you a robot like him. Or even different, as you like ~

She handed the arm to him again and finished her own stew. Now it was time to see what to do with SerpentDad, Orcamom was again complaining about him outside and the big serpent was hissing at her. Was not like they would get along any time soon as she and Sielus were doing.

Sielus took back the wayward appendage and reattached it to it's housing, fliching in pain as the nerve endings reconnected and flooded him with freash feelings in his arm

ﾒ_0 heh, yeah, i ss0rta n0ticed that, th0 they sseemed a l0t newer, heh, i guessss ill find 0ut my 0pti0nss when i g0 ssee the tech expert

his fins pricked up at the sounds of the lusi outside being noisy, and began silently praying that serpent dad wasn't doing something stupid again, that would suck if he had to pay for restoration of the deck out side because of him. with a sigh, sielus followed the captain out to the deck to find out what the ruckus was

Serpentdad had wrapped himself around Orcamom, not in an attempt to eat her, more in keep her quiet, but the big flying creature was more noisy like that. That of course scared the life of Albali and roared in panic holding the sides of her head.

<Y> WHAT YAH BOTH ARE DOING! MOM! TOLD YAH TO KEEP AN EYE ON HIM NOT TO TEASE HIM TO EAT YOU! WHAT?! O'COURSE NOT MOM! YOU'RE THE ONE WHO PICKED ME HOW CAN I ADOPT SOMEONE ELSE AS MY GUARDIAN!? WHAT?! I JUST MET HIM LIKE 2 HOURS AGO DON'T SAY THAT! ~

Whatever Orcamom said about they both even made Serpentdad to giggle a little, while Albali got a deep blush on her face.

Sielus couldn't understand understand what the Orca was saying in this exchange, since he only learned to communicate with his own lusus, but from Albali's expression and words, he could guess that the orca felt like she was being replaced, and that she thought he and the captain of this air ship were quad mates.
the thought of being in a quad, matesprit or other wise, made sielus blush a bit, would that be a possibility? no don't be silly, he is just her apprentice, she wouldn't be interested in him like that... would she?
shakeing off the distracting thoughts, sielus approached the tangled snake and sky mammal and spoke with a quiet tone with a hint of malicious intent, to the great serpent

ﾒ_0 w0uld y0u kindly let the lussuss g0

loud hissing could be heard from the serpent and it replied

ﾒ_0 im n0t intressted in wh0 sstarted it, im ending it, let the 0rca g0 0r y0u can g0 hive, i w0nt have y0u harming any 0ne here

the serpent was about to retort but clamed when it saw sielus's steel fist turning super heated yellow, a side affect of him focusing his psionics to just his hand and heating up the air around it

The Serpent calmed enough so the big cetacean could free herself and hide by the side of the airship, where Albali then walked by and started talking to her.

<Y> Here, mom... You're barely an adult Orca I know, you adopted me so young and I understand you fear I could take a more mature and experienced Lusus as my guardian but no! Don't think that please! You've seen this guy has lost his hive so I'm just taking him and his lusus with us until he approves the Fligherts Exam! We are just acquaintances I'm not dating him and I won't... ~

Wow, that last one sound a bit breaking and realized her mistake, but when she turned to see Sielus reaction he was doing that weird thing with his arm as it turned yellow.

<Y> Sielus... Dude... Is everything fine? What's going on with your arm? ~

Sielus looked down at the glowing fist that threatened to singe his trousers and realized what he was doing, unclenching his fist and shaking it to help cool it down, Sielus moved the arm away from anything that might get set on fire.

ﾒ_0 heh, err ss0rry ab0ut that, arm musst 0f 0ver heated, happenss ss0me timess if it getss t0 tensse....

that was mostly a lie, he was tense, but the overheating wasn't a fault with the bionic arm, should he tell her? no, not yet, it wasn't a major dark secret or anything, let sleeping bark beasts lie, ya know?
besides, he was a little distracted at her announcement that nothing could happen between them, well stung a bit, no chance at all? not that he was planing of jumping in a quad with her right now, but maybe in the future? maybe?
realizing he was getting of track again he tucked the steaming hand behind his back and gave a reassuring smile and gestured towards Orcamom

ﾒ_0 iss sshe 0k? i h0pe dad didn't ssqueeze her t0 hard....

<Y> Oh boy, did I broke it when I was looking at it? ~

Said the captain trying to look at his arm behind him quite worried of the fact she might have damaged the arm, and for the wrong assumption she made of not dating him... Like... She sounded so closed to possibilities... But why would this guy have a thing for her anyway? He hired her for help him, and he had had a more interesting life that she has so no hopes anyway.

<Y> Mom is doing fine, don't worry. Seems your dad just wanted her to be still and to shut up... ~

The orca was now hiding in the water, just her dorsal fin was seen on the surface.

<Y> Yah see... She it not actually my mom, more like a sister. I was adopted by a group of sky orcas and the older female was our mother. Orcamom and I are or the same age more or less. After our formal mom passed away the group divided so we are the only ones left, she fears I could choose some other lusus as guardian for what happened to our group, but she means no wrong I assure yah!... ~

Sielus gave a smile at the explanation and stuck his hand in a watering can, which bellowed out steam as he cooled of his hand

ﾒ_0 nah, i d0ubt y0u c0uld break it if y0u tried, itss a c0mbat m0del, and cusst0mized t0 be 5 timess m0re durable, im kinda pr0ne t0 misshapss ss0 i needed ss0mething t0ugh

pulling out the now cooled hand from the watering can, sielus approached the orca and looked down at her from the railing

ﾒ_0 heh, and d0n't w0rry, sserpent dad c0uld never replace y0u, hess way t0 lazy t0 take care 0f an0ther tr0ll, and bessidess y0u d0 a grate j0b, Albali l00kss really happy becausse 0f y0u