yatagarasu | IC INBOX | mask or menace

[Kay blinks, gives Annie a conspiratorial, catlike grin (ohhhh is this a birthday thing?), and nods eagerly.]

No problem!

[Psh, what is normalcy in this world.]

[ Kay's not right, though her smile earns a quirking of her brows in return. Right. Look, she knows she's not being sly, this is basically bare minimum attempt at surprise. Annie leaves her shoes at the door, kind of inviting herself in and gesturing for Kay to head back toward the back before her.

Out back, tied to the railing by the short stairs is a balloon. "Happy Birthday!" it says, which Annie figures has to be the strangest thing - these things are sold like everywhere, and getting it here had been bothersome (she'd cut through a neighbor's yard). There's a box containing a cake with a bow on top of it, with a letter carefully stowed underneath, and a nice wooden box with a swing latch also on the flat part of the railing.

LOOK THIS WAS AS SURPRISE AS SHE COULD come up with when her skills are basically don't have surprises be the surprise. Anyway, Annie doesn't say anything until Kay's stepped outside (or at least opened the door), at which point she says: ]

Happy Birthday, Kay.

[Kay follows Annie cheerily, anticipation growing inside her. And when she sees the balloon, the box, the letter and the wooden box, her eyes light up, and she clasps her hands together like a little girl overwhelmed by wonder.]

Wow...thanks, Annie! This is great! [And you have some stealth skills, sis. Sorry if Kay is walking up to you to give you a brief hug.]

I can't believe you were able to sneak this all in!

[ Oh, she's awkward and stiff enough with that hug, but at least she can kind of endure it. Aracely's getting her more used to these sorts of casual interactions, with a kind of touch Annie hasn't had as part of her life for a variety of reasons. Hugs probably aren't horrible.

Probably? She's not setting out to test that theory anytime soon, glad that Kay kept this brief. ]

The yards are all connected through here.

[ Which is a great explanation, right? Annie brushes her hair back off her face. Okay, this seemed to hit enough of that surprise bit that Kay had said she liked months back. ]

You do eat cake, right?

[ You are a modern person who eats modern things, right? Not that cakes are expressly modern, but the expectation pretty much falls on those lines. ]

Yeah, but one of my housemates or anyone might have spotted you. [Maybe one day Kay will give you a tighter, longer hug, Annie, but not today.

At that question, she nods.]

Yup! I find 'em hard to bake, though. [Kay is not only a modern person who eats modern things, but she also has a sweet tooth.]

Who's even living with you right now?

[ Annie needs to update her mental index, but she has a feeling Kay's not in a full house at the moment. ]

I haven't tried. Aracely and Reiner are the bakers at our house, but that's supposed to be a good cake from a bakery downtown.

[ From a bakery still open down in the shopping chaos of downtown. Holidays are big deals, apparently. ]

Teresa, and Danger.

[She misses having a full house. Even if she could just visit Bart...or send a crow after him.

And...yes, Kay remembers Aracely well. Cupcakes.]

Teresa... the one who's friends with Newt, Thomas, and Minho?

[ Minho who she knows least about, but knows also has been here longest. Danger she remembers as being who she is, and their one conversation on the network months ago. Danger had also asked something about fathers back in June. Another strange, meaningless holiday to Annie, much like the next day will be.

The wooden box continues to sit there, the leg bands and tiny hollow message containers within meant more for the crows than Kay proper, but it'd been a thought when Annie had seen them. An oddity that'd been half a joke, and yet, for someone with a working armada of flying messengers, not as joke worthy as saying "once upon a time there were messenger pigeons, and we remember them still today."

She gestures toward the box. ]

I don't know if you can really use what's in there, but it seemed possible. Interesting to look at if nothing else.

Teresa's new. She just arrived this month and broke our doorknob. [A chuckle. Hope that answers your question, Annie. When Annie gestures to the box and talks about what's in it, sort of, Kay makes a beeline for it and opens up the latch. When she sees what's inside, her eyes shine with gratitude and interest, and her mouth curls into a big smile.]

Wow! I was thinking of setting up a messenger business with the crows...and these are perfect! Annie, this is amazing!

[ It does - Annie spoke with her in the post where she'd been talking about breaking said door. She watches Kay open the box, feeling... gratified? Yes, that's probably this feeling. Annie brushes her bangs back behind an ear, looking just to the side of Kay's face. ]

It's good it'll be useful for you.

[ tbh practical or useful gifts are about what Annie can manage, the pretty or just because ones are harder to justify. ]

[She keeps grinning as she pulls out several leg bands and message containers, examining them...well, as best one can while holding handfuls of them.]

I kind of want to try a pair out on a crow right now...

If they're willing, no one's here to say you can't.

[ It's make sense to check and see if they fit right, or the crows can handle them well without having flight be disrupted. The bands should be sized right for a crow... but it's hard to say without trying. ]

It's almost cheating because my power makes it...natural for crows to obey me. [She chuckles.

At that moment, there is a crow in a nearby tree watching these two humans. Kay calls out to it - or rather, him.]

Hey, Bobby! I need your help. [Bobby takes off from the branch where he had a great view of Annie and Kay, and wings his way down next to the box, facing Kay.]

I need you to hold still. [She puts away most of the bands and containers, except one of each. Gently, she fastens a leg band around one of Bobby's legs and attaches a message container. So far, the crow hasn't fussed.] Good boy!

[ Annie watches the crow and Kay interact, curious about the whole exchange. True as it is that Kay's power makes crows obey her wishes, and that has possible ramifications should it be abused on the side of both Kay and the birds, but it's still something she's relatively polite about. It's more fitting to her personality to be this way.

Ah, and the bands fit properly, well enough to hold one of the containers. ]

Will he be able to fly?

[Kay strokes Bobby's head, and he starts hopping about with the container on his leg. Then he spreads his wings and flaps them.]

They're pretty light, so...that might be a yes. C'mon, Bobby, try it!

[He flaps his wings some more, and hovers from the railing. At first he rises only a few inches, then soars over Kay's head, wheeling and cawing as he goes, almost as if showing off.

She cheers.]

All right!

[ She's glad to see the bird flying, crossing her arms over her chest and looking a little self-satisfied around the eyes. She's glad it worked out, even if it's not a system she can particularly use. Kay has had intentions for a while, and things like this can be useful for anyone who can't understand her birds like she does.

Message systems like this can be compromised, of course, but it's less likely, when shooting birds in many places is considered an inappropriate activity without proper licensing. Hmm. ]

Next comes the organization, hmm?

[The crow flies circles over their heads before landing neatly on Kay's shoulder. She smiles with approval and pats Bobby's head with a careful finger.

She has tossed this idea of a crow network around - whether to other people or just around in her head, but she hasn't pitched it publicly or even made any concrete planning. With the network prone to being compromised by skilled enough hackers, it might be a good idea to try this.]

With people around who can hack even private messages, it'd be useful to get as many crows as I can to be messengers around Heropa and everywhere else.

Works around super hearing as well. Not that it makes it less conspicuous... if you know what you're looking for, you'll spot the crows carrying messages. It's another detail to work out.

[ Part of a continuing process, really. Not a perfected solution, only a step along the way. ]

[Kay thinks for a moment as she carefully unfastens the band and container from Bobby's leg while he's on her shoulder, craning her neck to have a good enough look at what she's doing.

Then she replaces the band and the container in the box after Bobby swoops down onto the grass, probably looking for food.]

I could try to give 'em a talk about stealth and staying hidden...

Should you need to? It's your choice. Still, a bird should be allowed to be a bird, even if they're doing you a favor. Teaching them skills on how to survive...

[ Annie shrugs. Maybe don't send them into dangerous situations without calling for volunteers? She's not sure to what degree Kay's power allows that kind of choice, or if the crows can actually form and understand those concepts. If they're simply well trained animals, then it falls on the handler to do what she can to guarantee their safety.

Including through more extensive training. (All in Annie's opinion, thinking back on the horses the military uses.) ]

They are. That's why I sometimes leave them alone, or let them stay where they want to. It's just that some have gotten...attached to me.

[Kay does feel bad about making them fight for her - which was why she had gotten self-defense lessons. Sending messages might be a bit less dangerous, but they were black birds easily visible against colorful everyday backgrounds.]

[ Not quite as ubiquitous as gulls or pigeons, but not so bad as say, if she summoned parrots in this part of the country. Annie nods, taking what Kay says and... frankly, understanding. Animals get attached. Companions get attached. It's not like these things follow proper rules. ]

That's a natural process... I think.

[She chuckles as Bobby hops about near her feet.]

Mm, yeah, and I do get attached to them too. That's why I couldn't let them always fight my battles for me - that one time, when I asked around for someone to teach me how to fight.

Has that been progressing well?

[ Learning to fight. Annie's not sure what sort of concept Kay had in mind when she asked, or what she's been learning... hand to hand has a more immediate application as seen by everyone in this world. ]

The self-defense part? [Kay nods, extending an arm for Bobby to land on when he flies up from the ground. He promptly settles on her arm.] Yeah, Akihiko's been helping me. Mr. Armstrong gave me a few pointers while he was here, too.

Shhh Kay is not going to think it's lame

yes but this is Annie's attempt at a surprise

AN ATTEMPT IS ACCEPTABLE

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject