driftfleet | Libuscha IV System Mingle (no. 1)

a. about town

[Connor had never left Detroit before. If you had asked him where his first trip outside of the city might be, 'an alien planet' would definitely not have been on the list of options he'd answer with. And yet that's where he finds himself, impossibly. Connor is quick to leave the ships once they land and head into the nearest town. He registers the cold without feeling it, knowing he'll need to keep an eye on it lest it drop below safe levels. It's not much more severe than it was back home so far but given the depth of ice here? He's certain it could get much worse.

He doesn't feel the cold, but the locals do. And those locals are very quick to notice the newcomer walking around in just a thin jacket and pants. The glowing armband and patch just serve to highlight it even more. So Connor is stopped, over and over, by concerned people telling him to rug up! Get a coat! It doesn't matter how often he explains that he doesn't need those things, there's always someone new coming around the corner. The eighth time this happens the other person goes so far as to pull out a woollen scarf and push it into Connor's hands. She can be overheard lecturing him:]

"Now don't argue with me, son! Think of it as a welcome gift for the season."

[That's so unexpected that Connor just stares at the woman for a moment too long as she turns to leave.]

But I don't need to-- [Aaaand she's already gone. Connor looks down at the scarf, at a loss.] ...okay.

[He wraps it around his neck. Maybe it'll forestall more pleas for him to dress warmly.]

b. feasts and taverns

[The merrymaking is ubiquitous, and it's nothing if not fascinating to watch. Connor learns quickly though that checking out these daily and nightly feasts means a lot of food being handed out to anyone who wanders past. This is really starting to be a problem. He doesn't want to stop looking around though, so after a while he decides on a culturally appropriate solution.

If you're passing by, you might find Connor approaching and holding out the latest shortbread or candy he's been given to you.]

Would you like one of these?

[Regifting, truly the spirit of the season.

In the evenings Connor holes up in the corner of inns and taverns, people-watching. He pays more attention to the overtly alien populace, but he's still interested to see what the 'human' locals are doing too. When it gets quieter, often he can be found considering his communicator with the device set to an empty channel, playing those unexplained metallic notes.]

c. ice caverns

[The rumours of the ice-tree sound more like local mythology than actual fact, so Connor isn't here to hunt it down. No, he's here to investigate the terrain beyond what's been tamed by the locals. He was expecting to find it unusual and alien, but he wasn't expecting to find the caves beautiful in a surreal way. It's not hard to run into him here, as he takes his time walking through the tunnels and caves. He reaches out to brush his fingers through the bio luminescent fungi, rubbing them together...

........and then sticks them in his mouth, the LED on his temple flaring yellow. Casually. Maybe he didn't think anyone was watching, but maybe you're standing right there and he did it anyway.

Later, Connor takes a more purposeful tack through the caverns as he becomes more familiar with their layout. After he came out the first time with a couple of gemstones fished out of the rock, one of the miners out the front struck up a deal with him to go back in for more. Connor wasn't about to mine anything himself, but locating seams of the precious materials? That was simple.]

d. wildcard

[Got something else in mind? Hit me up here or at

dudemeister!]

[Ben waits until Connor isn't being harassed by locals to finally approach him, hands shoved deep in his pockets. He isn't dressed much better for the cold, but at least he made an attempt to dress for it, a hoodie under his usual leather jacket, the hood drawn up for now, but it isn't like he's not used to this weather anyway. This is totally fine]

Might wanna dress the part just to avoid a million people mothering you. [he leans in as he says it, like he's afraid one of the mothering types will hear him] I hear they get feral if you don't accept their nice shit.

[he's lying, don't believe his lies]

[Connor looks up from the scarf he'd just put on, recognising Ben immediately from their call a few days earlier.]

Ben - hello. [At the comment, Connor just shakes his head a bit, picking at the scarf once more.] They don't believe me when I say I don't feel the cold. I never get far enough into the conversation to explain why.

[And since this planet seems kind of... provincial, he's not sure they'd get the android explanation either.]

That's going to be a problem.

'Sup, Connor.

[he can't help cracking a grin, if not because he's amused, but because he kind of gets it, too] You don't owe them an explanation, dude. Just wear a jacket and avoid the problem all together.

Works for me. You don't see anyone up my ass about things, right? I can't feel most of the cold, either. But no one's bugging me 'cuz I'm onto their shitty schemes and I'm a step ahead.

[he won't point out that he wears a jacket all the time, but that's just a minor detail]

It's the first time anyone's found it worrying, so I wasn't expecting it.

[Literally no one gives a damn back home if androids get cold or not. Which they don't. Connor flicks his eyes over Ben's ensemble.]

You're not wearing that much more than me.

Connor | OTA

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