IC Inbox: Inugami

[notglitching]

[The phone comes with a cheerful default greeting voice.]

Hello! You have reached the voice mail of:

[Cue ten seconds of uncertain rumbling.]

If you would like to leave a message, please do so after the beep!

Comments

Backdated to late 11/10-early morning 11/11; text 1/???

[copychip]

You're an asshole, you know that?

2/???

[copychip]

I mean who the hell randomly attacks a person in the middle of a hallway? Not a normal person, that's for sure

3/???

[copychip]

You suck a lot. Why the hell did you even keep the painting??? It's creepy as hell.

4/???

[copychip]

I guess it suits you. Cause you're a lot like those damn beasts with your stupid growling and you know you should learn how to talk properly because that's a thing.

5/???

[copychip]

Screw you. You're terrible. I can't believe Yori's friends with you.

6/7

[copychip]

You're on my hit list buddy. Prepare to have your dignity destroyed.

7/7 DONE oh my god

[copychip]

[This text comes fifteen minutes after the previous one.]

Oh and have fun with the little surprise I left in your room.

HOLY CRAP YOU ARE AMAZING (1/4)

[notglitching]

[....................WHAT EVEN IS THIS NUMBER???]

2/4

[notglitching]

[...oh, right. That time with the...]

3/4

[notglitching]

[.........]

4/4!

[notglitching]

[It takes a little longer for Rinzler to reply—largely due to texting Yori and making sure whatever attempt at retaliation was going on did not, in fact, involve a threat to her. Murder response averted...]

No purpose: talking to a glitch.

Warning acknowledged.

[He'll just be disabling that trap when he gets back kthx.]

[copychip]

What. I'm not a glitch! You're just a stupid growly bastard who talks like a mechaniloid! A really dumb one too!

[Good luck with that Rinzler, he's gotten very good at setting traps. Unless Yori said something....]

[notglitching]

[Axl. Axl. The room has eight things in it, and two of them are beds. Rinzler suspects he can manage.]

Smart enough not to alert my prey.

[Unlike a certain someone he could *cough, glitch* mention. Axl can take that as a reminder... or a threat. After all, if he's targeting Rinzler's living space... well. It's hard to say where the next attack might come, isn't it?

If really easy to guess how...]

[copychip]

[You think that but then...!! Okay yeah no his trapping skills aren't actually up to snuff yet. Maybe if he had a few more decades of experience, he could actually spring one on Rinzler.]

That was just a gesture of mercy! I won't warn you the next time I set a trap!

[copychip]

Also can you cut out the 'prey' thing. You're not a beast dammit you're a person

DONE

[copychip]

Actually no I changed my mind you're a beast. A dumb beast. With pieces missing from your processor.

[notglitching]

[Wow, Axl. That was almost touching until it wasn't at all.]

Enforcer.

[Not a person or a user-creature, thanks.]

Better than you.

[copychip]

Yeah, course you'd be someone's pet guard dog. Makes sense.

And for your information, I'm a Hunter. And Hunters kick ass, so I'm way better than you.

ACTION; backdated to Nov 27-29

[trap_factory]

[the last couple of days had been hectic to say the least and stressful. After a couple of days though, between Yori's gentle demeanor and Pandora's slowly recovering health, Prometheus has started to relax a little. Or, at least, as relaxed as the old Reploid would ever be.

... Sort of.

He would admit to Pandora that the sight of that annoying Maverick Hunter even in oil paint form was enough to drive his circuits to overheating. Something about him just rubbed him the wrong way... The way he talked reminded him of a certain someone if he thought about it. Unfortunately, Pandora never asked these sorts of problems and Prometheus trusted no one else enough to voice petty complaints like this. Which mean that his frustration needed a different outlet.

Slowly, over several days, the painting would be moved. To any human, the placement was imperceptible; a few centimetres off, leaning the wrong way. But that's not the main change. After the first couple of times, more and more noticeable damage would appear across the surface of the canvas. Paint being slowly cut into, the figure in the poor, abused painting slowly being scratched and torn.

One day - during classes, when Yori was away and Pandora was sleeping through the growing pains - Rinzler might catch Prometheus crouched in front of the painting, a small palette knife in hand; the main culprit behind the damage. He's so engrossed in his 'work' that he doesn't immediately notice the enforcer's presence]

all the actions all the time

[notglitching]

[While Rinzler's taken more care than usual to stay nearby while Yori's in the room, his presence during the daytime has been sporadic at best. The enforcer doesn't attend classes, but he doesn't take well to idling either, and he'd rather be out and actively searching for threats than closed into a small space waiting for use. The latter pattern was far too familiar, and as much time as might pass between Clu's summons on the Grid, Rinzler wasn't even willing to process what his admin's absence might mean here.

Fortunately, he really didn't have to. His last running commands (gather data, maintain functions) were open-ended enough to avoid problems, and the pair of maybe-threats were plenty distraction in their own right. Not comfortable, sharing quarters even briefly, but it had taken very little observation to rule out the possibility of a trick. And so far, even the more irritating of the pair had kept its promise about Yori.

When the enforcer stops by today, he's practically in a good mood. His own recent upgrade seemed to have integrated smoothly, and if the search for a proper energy source was still in progress, the tiny power packs were serving well enough as an interim solution. He'd just stocked up on them, in fact, and his backpack hangs a little lower with the weight as the enforcer keys the door and slips inside.

Visual check is automatic. Yori? Absent (expected). The second of the malware? Asleep. The uninjured one takes a second glance, though, and when Rinzler realizes just what he's crouched over, the enforcer stares, then moves to approach. His steps are silent; the first Prometheus will hear will be the ticking rumble coming up behind him.

The first thing he'll see when he looks back is a very skeptical expression. Rinzler's head angles a little, eyes moving from the reploid to the object he's destroying. There's less offense than might be expected—clearly, the enforcer wasn't particularly attached to the image. Still, he'd like some answers as to why.]

probably should have set the time to the last week of November/beginning of Dec...

[trap_factory]

[In their short time spent as 'roommates', Prometheus has learned that he'd hear Rinzler approaching via that constant rumbling of his before all else. To think, the program had the gall to say that Prometheus is the one with errors? Either whoever modified him hardcoded him to ignore the sound of his own errors or Rinzler's even further in denial than the Maverick had originally pegged him as (talk about the kettle calling the pot black). Still, he's in no hurry to acknowledge the other, waiting until he finishes on last line before he turns at the waist to look at Rinzler]

... [He grins when he spots the questioning gaze]

Why? [he spins the little knife in his hand with a flourish before using it to point at Rinzler] That's the question I ought to be asking you. Considering the subject seems to have gotten himself lost

[the scathing way he refers to Axl is unlike any other conversation he's had with Rinzler... Or anyone else in the school. There was always some sort of mocking lilt in his tone, a mysterious edge to it that couldn't be identified immediately. Here, the dislike is clear even though he continues to wear that ever present smile]

But since you asked so nicely first... [Promete plz he jerks a thumb over his shoulder to the painting; Painted!Axl's sporting a moustache carved out of paint now] I'm working on improving it and my mood.

[he drops his hand and leans to one side, almost lounging]

You don't look angry at all at what I'm doing, so I gotta ask: what's a practical guy like you doing with a painting like this anyway?

We can vagueify it!

[notglitching]

[Prometheus please is definitely Rinzler's first response. Expressed in one (1) personalized eyeroll. If the malware has to wreck something in the room, this is practically ideal. Neither permanent enough for any damage to linger nor valuable enough to care about its loss. Still, he's not sure why facial hair equates to stress relief.

The question gets a shrug, backpack clinking a little with the motion. Rinzler retrieves his phone from a pocket, crouching down to closer viewing level before holding up a short reply.]

Glitch: unwilling to reclaim it.

[Well, that's vague. Still, there's a faint aura of smug about the enforcer that might give a few ideas as to how Rinzler wound up with it in the first place. And why Axl hadn't tried to take it back.

So on this totally new topic involving pots and kettles...]

Familiar?

[He's asking about the glitch, not the tactic. Communication might be one of Rinzler's shortcomings, but he's hardly so bad a listener as to miss that tone of voice.]

[trap_factory]

[there seems to be a myriad of reasons why he chose this target. But, in all honesty, neither of them had been (re-)programmed to be forthcoming with explanations. Besides, Rinzler doesn't seem to care and Prometheus definitely couldn't care less about explaining himself. Besides, the moustache wasn't the only damage though, short of full on ripping the canvas to shreds, it looks like it will be the last bit of vandalism.

He leans over to read the phone and laughs quietly at the designation that Rinzler has assigned to the Maverick Hunter:] How accurate!

It's too bad... He kept going on about how impressive he allegedly is. But if you managed to chase him off, I have to wonder if those claims aren't just a figment of his imagination.

... [he bares his teeth. It's not a grin, but not quite a grimace either. If this Hunter was a sampling of how effective they were during the Maverick Wars--]

Hardly. He's apparently from my world... And an ineffective antique at that.

[notglitching]

[Careful there, Prometheus. By implication (and transitivity), you almost seem to be saying Rinzler is unimpressive. Where the enforcer's from, losing to him isn't a sign of weakness. It's a given for those unfortunate enough to cross his path.

Eyes slit slightly in response, though the enforcer doesn't comment on the phrase directly. True, certainly, that the glitch gave up more easily than any proper target should. He hadn't even been able to get a real fight out of it yet—and not for lack of trying.]

Different timestamps?

[It certainly hadn't come across as older than this pair...]

[trap_factory]

[kettle, kettle, kettle... Must we go over how we're the same again or will the pot just be met with the same level of denial as before? They had their games, they had their rules and they had their roles. It just so happened that Prometheus was expecting a little more out of someone who claimed to be a Maverick Hunter only to be met with some beginner's attempt at code.

Even now, Prometheus isn't certain if Axl picked up on the confirmation that they were Mavericks or not. Considering how fast Rinzler was to take the open invite to a fight...]

Based off of what he's told us? Yeah. By several centuries.

[he starts spinning the palette knife in his hand idly. His voice has been kept soft and low this whole time, as if to let Pandora sleep]

I certainly hope he's not a representation of what was expected of Hunters in his time. Though... [he chuckles softly, lopsided smirk on his face clearly meant to read as 'smug'] Not a lot has changed over the years. Bunch of weaklings.

It's hard finding a challenge out there, don't you agree?