One-sided altercations

[canismetallusfamiliaris]

Who: Erek and anyone
Open: Open!
When: Day 273
Where: Skyway
What: Erek continues his quest to acquire enough shards to FILL THE BASTION WITH DOGS. He runs into trouble, and he both can't and won't fight back. You can find him when he's searching or when he's been ambushed
Format: Prose somewhat preferred, but I'll match!
Warnings: He may not actually approve of rescue attempts.

It still doen't sit right with Erek, asking anyone else to fight in his defense. It's just too close to the limits of his programming against violence. If he asks someone along to help should an altercation happen, that makes him responsible for any ensuing violence. Tobias sometimes gets scouting requests, but that's all.

He may encounter others and keep them company for awhile, but eventually, Erek winds on his own today. He usually stays hidden when there aren't other people around. This time, though, keeping a low profile doesn't seem to have been quite as effective a deterrent to trouble. His presence has been noticed, whether through the scent of metal or the fact that grass moves and is squashed flat without anyone visible on it.

At first it's just a few squirts, and Erek stands and takes the blows with no hesitation. Then he ses a Gasfella coming, and with it, a much higher chance of being knocked off the edge. Erek drops to the ground, fingers digging in. If he just lays here, presumably they'll lose interest after awhile. At the moment, more creatures are arriving, but none of them seem to have weapons or natural abilities that would do him real harm. It doesn't hurt, and he isn't even being dented. He's not waiting for help, just for the situation to change. If nothing changes, he'll probably make a run for it eventually.

Erek's hologram of near invisibility flickers with every particularly significant blow, revealing the android body underneath.

Comments

[notachickenhawk]

<I know. But it takes time. At least I don't have to worry about other birds on my territory here.>

It's kind of a joke, but not really. Owls and falcons are assholes and no one understands.

This tag made me laugh, but then I took forever to replyyyyy.

[canismetallusfamiliaris]

It seems a little odd, to be having this conversation while on the run from creatures on the Skyway, but then, neither Erek nor Tobias needs interrupt their breathing to speak. One because he speaks mind-to-mind, the other because he does not breathe in the first place.

He asks, "How often was that a problem at home?" And Erek makes a mental note to discourage the acquiring of other birds of prey for the bastion, should anyone mention considering it.

"Seems like we've got plenty of time here to get used to things." Erek is still not necessarily okay with that. Loss of a second home planet, and of the rest of his people. He has tenuous hope here for the Pemalites, hope that he can't bring himself to voice, let alone trust. But that doesn't negate the loss.

It's okay!

[notachickenhawk]

Tobias isn't too concerned about the creatures on the Skyway, to be fair. He can always morph away any damage as long as he's not outright killed.

<Sometimes. The area I had wasn't very big, but I had to muscle some other birds out of the way. And even then I didn't really 'own' it during the night, since that's when owls come out and hawks don't have great low-light vision. ... Better than humans, but not great for a bird.>

Not enough to really hunt reliably, at least. And Tobias is trying to hold out hope... but hope is hard when you've just been trying to survive day to day for so long like he has. Either here or at home, there's nothing to do between missions but try to distract yourself and not think about the odds.

[canismetallusfamiliaris]

Erek is likewise not especially concerned. The only damage they're dealing that he can't take would be throwing him bodily off the Skyway. He'll lie down again if more Gasfellas appear.
"Well, I'm usually all for biodiversity, but I think we can manage fine without other birds of prey here." Tobias is Erek's favorite bird of prey anyway. Most of the others aren't particularly friendly. Some of the bigger ones even attack small dogs.

The nothing to do between missions issue is one that Erek hopes is mitigated somewhat here in the Bastion. At least Tobias can have conversations with anyone, can maybe even read some books, can take language lessons from a dragon. There's a little more of a life for him outside of surveillance and battle here, but Erek wishes he had that at home, where the rest of their friends were. It shouldn't take the loss of a world for Tobias to be able to come out into the open. But then, Erek can't talk. It's not as if he was out of hiding back on Earth either.

[notachickenhawk]

<Yeah, I think so too. We don't want to put too many species here anyway since there's so little land. We've got enough trouble feeding ourselves sometimes. We don't need to start introducing an entire ecosystem, too.>

He does miss home, though. He misses the people, most of all. One day they'll find them. They just have to keep looking.