Day 210 [Open]

[daughterofursa]

Who: Zuko, ostrich horses, and you!
Open: Open!
When: Day 210, morning
Where: Near the monument
What: More weird animals.
Format: I'll match
Warnings: Honor

Anyone outside this morning might run across Zuko looking over a small flock (or is it a herd?) of ostrich horses. That's right, she's at last used some of her shards to bring more strange animals into the Bastion. The turtle ducks were not enough.

She's touched, used, even eaten things that came from shards, but none of them have been familiar until now. She thought there might have been something to give them away as copies or imitations, but as far as she can tell? They're perfectly normal ostrich horses.

Comments

[dragonsorcsandwolves]

Rob half-startles at the question, not having noticed Zuko there. He turns quickly, his septum piercing bouncing with the movement. When he speaks his voice is low enough that it might be difficult to hear.

"I've seen an ostrich before, and I've seen plenty of horses, but I've never seen an ostrich horse."

[daughterofursa]

Zuko may not have the best eyesight, but her ears are sharp. She's still going to quirk her eyebrow at him for speaking so softly.

"Tobias showed me a horse. They seem pretty different."

[dragonsorcsandwolves]

He looked back at the ostrich horses.

"They are. Those look more like ostriches than horses though. Everything but the tail, neck, and head are more or less what an ostrich would have."

His volume goes up slightly, but he's still pretty quiet.

[daughterofursa]

"Huh." Zuko looks back at the nearest ostrich horse, absently petting its neck. This non-hybrid animal stuff is weird.

"Do you ride ostriches?"

[dragonsorcsandwolves]

Seeing Zuko pet one, Rob reaches out and gently pets one too, ready to yank his hand back if there's an objection.

"You can, but I think the only times people do are for races. I've never ridden one myself. Or a horse for that matter. There aren't usually animals this big in cities."

[daughterofursa]

"Do you have carts that pull themselves?" It isn't a sarcastic question, Zuko just doesn't have a word for the technology in question. Her world isn't quite there yet.

[dragonsorcsandwolves]

Rob manages to notice the lack of sarcasm and responds accordingly.

"Yeah, they're called 'cars'. Usually. There's different names for different kinds, but 'car' is the most generic one people use. 'Automobile' is the actual generic word but hardly anyone uses it nowadays."

His volume's gone up a bit again now that he's focusing on an explanation.

[daughterofursa]

"Hm. I guess they'd have their uses."

Zuko isn't sure how she feels about the idea. On the one hand, animals can have minds of their own and need looking after, but on the other hand, you're not going to get any companionship from a machine.

[dragonsorcsandwolves]

"Yeah, they've pretty much replaced pack animals in most of the world. Even in the really poor and undeveloped areas there's usually at least one person with one."

Saying that he sounds... not sad, exactly, but not happy or proud either.

[daughterofursa]

"Well, we don't have any here." So it's not something to waste too much thought on.

"Airships would make the most sense for this place anyway."

[dragonsorcsandwolves]

"They would." Rob brought a fist to his chin in thought, gears obviously turning in thought. "They wouldn't be too hard to build or maintain, even without using the Monument. We'd need a supply of silk, but if what I've been told about the Monument is true it could create a population of silkworms without any problems. Could generate hydrogen via electrolysis if we had to, but it'd be way safer to use hot air even though it wouldn't lift as much. Helium'd be best but I doubt we could maintain a supply without relying on the Monument..."

He'll just keep muttering technical mumbo-jumbo for a while. Feel free to interrupt him.

[daughterofursa]

Zuko understands about half of that, which is more than she can say for some technical mumbo-jumbo that's been tossed her way.

"I'm not sure what helium is, but hot air worked well enough for us."

[dragonsorcsandwolves]

Oh, right, there was someone else with him.

"Helium's..." He paused. How to explain it to someone who obviously wasn't used to the science and technology of his time? "Helium's a special kind of air that the sun makes, and sometimes some of it gets sent to Earth. Unless it's trapped somehow - in my world some was trapped underground a long time ago - it eventually floats away. It's so light and lifts so much that when we make airships we use it instead of hot air. The only kind of air that's lighter is hydrogen, but it, uh, tends to explode if it gets close to fire. No one uses it for airships anymore."

He's about to go on to discussing using a vacuum for lift would entail, then realizes that that's probably not necessary.

"But yeah, it'd pretty much have to be hot air if we didn't want to rely on the Monument for everything."

[daughterofursa]

His 'special kind of air' explanation makes a lot more sense than Zuko was expecting. Honestly, she's surprised he made the attempt to explain it instead of just letting it go as something that someone not very advanced or scientific-minded wouldn't understand.

"So, were you some kind of engineer in your world?"

[dragonsorcsandwolves]

That question gets a somewhat self-depreciating laugh as he watches the ostrich horses.

"No, I... I don't really do anything useful. I've just read a lot and I remember random facts."

[daughterofursa]

"Well, then you probably know a lot of things that other people don't, anymore."

He obviously knows plenty that she doesn't.

[dragonsorcsandwolves]

"What do you mean?"

[daughterofursa]

"You don't think that knowledge is useful?"

[dragonsorcsandwolves]

"It is if you can apply it to something. On its own? Not so much.

[daughterofursa]

"Well, then start applying it."

[dragonsorcsandwolves]

He snorts softly.

"That's the problem. Most of what I know either can't be applied to anything useful or requires a ton of other knowledge and experience that I don't have."

[daughterofursa]

"So what do you do around here, just sit on your hands?"

Sorry, Zuko can be critical of people who don't seem to be trying.

[dragonsorcsandwolves]

He recognizes that tone; he uses it with himself a lot.

"So far I've been helping out with food while the people who regularly do that stuff are getting better. Once they're back... I'm not sure what I'll do. I can help out with the farm at least, but..."

He shrugs helplessly and trails off.

At least now Zuko knows who to blame for the recent bland food, as well as the drop in variety on the menu.

[daughterofursa]

It might be bland, but it's more than Zuko could manage on her own, so her expression softens again.

"That's something."

[dragonsorcsandwolves]

"Yeah, but it's not much."