Derelicts 1} Zydeca and Tatchi

Zydeca played by Orange, Tatchi played by Link

Zyd was picking through stuff in an old house, apparently some humans moved out all of a sudden. Really suddenly, it must have been, for all of this to have been left behind. It was only on the hunt for a few specific things, old paperwork, generic valuables. It tore a drawer out of a broken dresser with considerable effort-- just socks. Maybe it would keep some of them, actually, these were some nice socks.

There was a resonant CRASH from the hallway, followed by a faint groan and the sound of some crunching glass.
"wtf is this bs", grumbled Tatchi as he got to his feet, "tht drawrs nevr open fml"
He spent a moment trying to stand the cabinet he had knocked over back up, but he was too weak. He angrily kicked it, instantly regretting his decision and gripping his toe in pain.
"omg wht a load of SHIT i was on par for a new recrd UGH fml fr"
He stretched out and rubbed the back of his neck, then stopped the timer on his watch and looked out of the window he just leapt in through with a grumpy, impatient sigh.

Momentarily alarmed by the crash-- who was it who was it who was it-- Zyd relaxed once it heard the jumbled mess of syllables coming from across the house. Definitely not a danger, and almost certainly not a highblood out hunting for no reason. It decided to whistle shortly, as to alert the other, as-of-yet unseen troll to its presence. "ARe you hurt?" it called down the hallway, not particularly interested in the answer. And then returned to the dresser it was looking through, yanking out another drawer.

Tatchi jumped in surprise at hearing Zydeca's voice. Without taking a second to think, he dashed to the doorway of the room it was in and stared it down with swaying arms. "im not hrt im to fst for pain", he rolled his eyes, realising how stupid what he just said sounded, "tf r u doin here yo ths shtshak is MY turf"

"DOn't worry about me, I'm just passing through." Bingo, some of the papers it needed. It grabbed them, folded them up, and stuck them in its bag. "PIcking up some things, you know how it is." It kind of wanted to get a good look at this guy, he certainly sounded imposing. Or like his mouth was wired shut. Either/or. It yanked out the last drawer, which was full of regular paraphernalia. Knick-knacks were bouncing around, what appeared to be tacks were strewn dangerously across the floor, and somehow there were even more socks.

Tatchi squinted at the goldblood as it spoke, and he stood up a little straighter. He was still very short, though. Electricity faintly sparked around his eyes. He wasn't sure what Zyd's intentions were; but it certainly didn't look like it was "just passing through".
"not so fst", Tatchi snapped, folding his arms, "tll me what u just put in ur bag cause i gotta knw fr" He took a quick half-step closer.

"MErchandise." That was the standard answer, and it always tried to open with that exact wording. "YOu could argue it's stolen, but hey, these places are abandoned anyway. WHo cares. I Just pass stuff along for a cut, you know." It nodded, not moving to touch the bag at all. It picked up another couple pairs of socks, and judged the two. They really were nice socks, but it didn't exactly need this many.

"heh", Tatchi shook his head with a faint smile, "idgaf wat u take s long s ur not wreckn my route, im tryna set a new record and ur shttery made me fkn fall"
He stretched out again and looked at the mess on the floor.
"ud bettr clean up aftr urself, some of us hav real jobs we gtta do"

Zyd scoffed. "IT's just a house, man, you can run through whatever you want." It really needed this guy to get going, so it could keep rooting through furniture and find the rest of the goods. There was, allegedly, some nice jewelry in here, that was all tucked away. "WHat do you mean, route?"

"i mean my gd racin route obvs" Tatchi rolled his eyes, rubbing a shoulder, "i hop in thru the wndow in the hall n jump out thru the one in the bthroom, catch up dud"
He kicked a knickknack on the floor across the room and peered out into the hall.
"i was on pace fr a new recrd fore u decidd to boob trap my circuit, not cool tbh"

"YOu fell before even reaching this room," Zyd pointed out. "IT sounded like you hit the window, and tripped then." Come on, guy, get going! This was a time sensitive deal, Zyd assumed it was some kind of blackmail. And that had the potential to drop some money in its lap at the most opportune of times, if it was right. Or maybe the shop just wanted them for no reason in particular, pass them along, rewrite them, whatever. It didn't really matter.

"tch no, thats bs, i nevr trip", Tatchi scoffed, taking a nervous glance around, "nly reasn i fell is cause u presumbly left that drawr opn like a recklss jakass"
Okay, he may have stumbled on the windowsill a little, but he totally would've stuck the landing and kept going if that drawer wasn't left open. It was SO Zydeca's fault.
"own up n clean ur shit insed a makin excuses u cok"

"THis place is literally ripe for the looting, man. IF you go through these places a lot, then you know trolls like me pick around for a couple weeks before either just leaving it or taking everything." Despite having little claim over the turf, especially in the light of the fact that this was an indigoblood, Zyd loved to argue. "YOu might as well come back later."

"i wuld come bck l8r but ik ur not gon clean ur shit", Tatchi groused, "i dont wnna end up steppn in ur caltrops cuz u ddnt feel lke showin some respct"
He sighed and rubbed the back of his ankle with a foot. His patience was wearing thin.
"rule no. 1 of lootin houses is that u dnt leave ur shit all strewn about like ur some srta crap slingin monke, its rude af to ppl like me who r actualy doin somethn wth their lives"

Zyd stood its ground, not fancying the idea of getting any closer to the highblood, but not ready to abscond completely yet. "WHo cares about the cleanliness of these places, if anything throwing it around makes it easier for everyone else." It grinned slowly, settling into a slightly more relaxed posture. If it could convince this guy to just leave, that would be good enough. It hadn't had a nice verbal sparring session in a while, anyway.

"k wel ye it makes it easir 4 ppl lik u who just wanna scrounge sox n shit but its not usefl 4 thos of us who alredy hav ther own belongins n jst wana go fast af"
Tatchi sighed and shook his head, clenching his fists with folded arms.
"b nice if u culd apreci8 the arts a lil insted a bein a self absorbd bulgejocky smh"

A wider grin. "LEmme assure you, I can appreciate the arts alright. ANd the smell of caegars that goes with them." It patted its bag, as if it had some kind of artwork in there, and not just paperwork, socks, and trinkets. "HOnestly though, what's your deal about going fast-- not challenging you here, I promise I'm just wondering." After a short pause, it remembered the first question people usually ask when talking to each other. "ANd what's, your name?"

"heh," Tatchi scoffed with a smile, before doing a quick, dramatic spin and pointing to himself with a thumb, "im tatchi emutia, the fastst trol aliv"
The bandages trailing from his arms flared out after his unnecessary anime-esque introduction. So cool.
"im fast cause bein fasts the best obvs," he gave a smug smile with his eyes closed and folded his arms, "im so mch bettr than the lugs a meat who think bein strng means a sqeakbeasts ass, cause im fast as FUK"
He coolly opened his eyes and pointed to Zydeca, with the shift of a foot, and took in a deep breath as if he was about to say something groundbreaking.
"wbu"

Zyd was indeed somewhat impressed by all the effort put into Tatchi's introduction, briefly considering applauding it. It hadn't met too many indigobloods period, but this one did seem to be an outlier (to say the least.) "Lugs a meat" would be an adequate explanation of the average noble, as far as it was concerned. Anyway. "YOu can call me Zyd, and you're watching me on the job right now. I'M a runner, but don't worry-- I'm not here looking to say I'm the fastest troll at all, runner's just a title." It nodded, before continuing. "I Just get sent to find stuff and bring it back to the shop, that's about it."

Tatchi gave a smile and an unnecessary "hmph" noise as he once again folded his arms, standing up straight. Zyd had officially caught his attention.
"so ur a thief w more steps, k den lol" he shrugged, "s cool, dont think these ppl r gon giv 2 shits what u take from em nyway"
He leaned forward and looked at Zyd's bag.
"what u got ther tho tell me"

Zyd shrugged back. "BAsically, yeah. I Just take shit n haul it. ANd whatever I want to take, too. RIght now it's trinkets and stuff, jewelry. SOme socks, I need a couple good pairs of socks." Zyd didn't own any shoes that required socks, frequently wearing a pair of slip-ons. It had them on right then, even. "NOt much important, not today. THey don't give me a lot of the really good jobs, mostly organics."

"soks," Tatchi nodded, glancing at Zyd's unsocked feet, "soks r prtty swel ye"
Tatchi looked back up at the goldblood, leaning against a dresser behind him. He tapped his fingers against his own arm and adjusted the bandana around his neck.
"so tht all sounds swel n such but whats ur end goal in all dis"

Yeah, sure, whatever, this guy definitely wasn't some kind of rat. He'd have to admit to trespassing, anyway. "HOnestly, my end goal is either to get a really big job, or maybe. ANd believe me, I know it's basically impossible, I'm a goldblood with shitty psionics. BUt fuck if I don't want to be a pirate." It decided not to immediately discuss all of the issues with making that a reality, a list that was extensive and detailed. "OR something else, I don't know. THe point is to be set for life."

"meh, piracys jus bank heistin that takes longr, but whatevr ur into idrc tbh," Tatchi hopped up onto the dresser and swung his legs a bit. He didn't even notice as he subconsciously got himself comfortable for the conversation ahead. He hadn't spoken to anyone in a while.
"im assumin its cause ur a klepto or sumthin right," he asked, "u seem 2 love stealn shit"

Zyd shrugged, thumping its bag down on the floor and leaning against a wall. "I Dunno, I'm good at it mostly. ANd I think I told you, my psionics are shitty. SO I can't do a lot of usual stuff you might see a goldblood going on about." It wasn't bothering to explain how its psionics were shitty, almost exclusively because it forgot to. "YOu like going fast? IS there some kinda story there? GOnna be honest, I don't know too much about what indigobloods even... do. 'S Not like I meet too many."

"mos trols of my cast are brainles thundrfuks who think bein strongs what mattrs," Tatchi explained, leaning his hands on the dresser, "n ther obvs wrong af, cuz bein fasts what mattrs most u kno"
He shrugged and leaned back a bit, taking a breath. He looked at the wall.
"dont mattr how strong u r if ur 2 slow 2 evn hit me, n it dont mattr how big u r if it jus makes u a biggr targt"
Tatchi folded his arms and looked over at Zydeca.
"so r u fast"

Zyd considered the question carefully. It had had to run out from under the nose of a few indigobloods, and overall agreed with Tatchi's assessment of the caste. "FAst? I'D say I'm pretty fast. NOt the fastest, but enough to skedaddle if a job goes south. I'D call it less speed, and more hide-ability. I Have, uh, some maps of parts of the city, here. THey're helpful."

Tatchi smiled with a slight nod as a faint spark of electricity arked around his tapping fingers. "gud gud, gota respct a fello speedstr"
He gracefully hopped off of the dresser, landing on his feet a couple meters closer to Zyd. He put his hands on his hips.
"orly, what kinda maps u talkin here"

"REgular maps, you know-- the Merge happened and all, and that fucked over basically every map anyone had already. YOu think you're turning onto a road, you run right into a building, it's a mess still. PEople smarter than me are definitely working on real maps, but I just grab all the old ones, some paper, and cut them all up and stick 'em together. THere's some really nice routes you can get, once you know how this place is all stapled together." It nodded, mildly enthralled in the discussion of mapmaking. "SO, what's the deal with that, electricity stuff? DIdn't know indigobloods had shit like that going on."

"nice rutes huh," Tatchi tapped his chin, almost cartoonish in his movements, "you sellin thos or wat cause i wudnt mind snatchn a few to make traks outa"
Tatchi smoothly snatched a glowing vial that had been dangling on his chest and spun it around in his fingers, before tossing it up and catching it. He grinned, and leaned forward slightly.
"indigos dont usully hav ths sorta powr, but im kinda a fukin genus," he boasted, as electricity arced from his excited eyes, "got litening in my veins, litrlly"

"LIterally?" Zyd was considerably impressed, watching the sparks fly, partially wondering if that was some kind of fire hazard. "THat's pretty cool, my psionics don't work for shit."
"ANd yeah, I have some extras, but you have to be careful with them. THey're kind of fragile, until you get a coat on them. ONly have a couple fully finished ones. ANd then you gotta know which part of the city you want, because my biggest map I'm still working on."

"dw bout ur shity sonics, naturl abilty aint wrth jak shit nyway," Tatchi said, re-attaching the vial to its bandolier, "aint nothn in life free 2 us real peeps, u gota work ur ass off 2 b da best u can b, den u cn rise bove the so calld 'giftd' sludgfukrs who xpect evrythin 2 be handed 2 em"
He folded his arms dramatically and tapped a foot, blowing a strand of hair out of his face.
"cullr me intrestd in thos maps a urs, u got ny finishd ones there 2 show off"

"EVer considered taking up inspirational speeches? I'M practically falling at your feet for that massive revelation." It punctuated its statement with laughter, while digging through its bag for one of the couple maps it had. "BY shitty, I mean that they got two settings: off, and blow-shit-up. COuldn't crack a pistachio without just obliterating it entirely." Finding a half-way decent map of the area, it pulled it out. "THis one's just the neighborhood, really, and exit points to other sectors. WE aren't that far from my hive right now, so it's more detailed than some other maps I have." It held out the map, which was furled-- and apparently covered in translucent tape to keep it from getting too damaged. It was made of cut-up pieces of what appeared to be actual maps, and its own pen markings that connected the empty space. About as comprehensible as it could be, it even had a small color-coded legend.

"nevr considrd it nop, tho id b p sik at it tbh," Tatchi said with a shrug, taking Zyd's suggestion seriously, "n blowin stuf ups a usefl skil 2 hav yo, speshly if ur a pir8"
Tatchi leaned in to look at the map, hands on his hips. He examined it in silence for a moment, blue eyes darting around the page.
"lil jank but stil p gud, nis 1," he huffed and stood up straight, "u gon port that 2 cleanr papr or just gon leav it all ransom note lookn"

Zyd was, very slightly, stunned. For just a moment. It had never considered that its lack of psionic skill would be beneficial. Even moreso in the line of piracy. Then it was back in the moment, talking about maps again. "THat's a 'beta' map, you could say, the real deal copyable one is getting worked on, back in my hive. SO's the whole city map, but I only have clean versions of sectors so far. I Carry these progress ones around with me, because I can read them at least, and losing them wouldn't be the end of the world when I can make a copy." It pulled out another map, a photocopy on blueprint paper. How it got that specific kind of paper was an eternal mystery, Zyd itself had no idea how it came across it. "LIke this one, but it's for an area north of here."

Tatchi cracked his knuckles and listened as Zydeca spoke. The prospect of having real, physical maps of the area that he could properly visualise routes on was an exciting one. He was, of course, a "suprgenus", so visualising that stuff in his head was easy as pie, but being able to lay it out physically would free his mind up to think about other things, he justified to himself.
"i c i c," Tatchi said with a nod, folding his arms once more, "id b intrestd in buyin ur maps, u on trolian r wat"

"YEah, I'm on Trollian, handle's dioramicSpectacle. ANd yours?" Zyd refurled the maps carefully, retied the rubber bands that kept them furled, and put everything back in its bag. "IT's not like the maps are gonna be too expensive either, unless you're asking me to chart out somewhere new." Finally, someone besides Thresh was really interested in its maps. And it wasn't about to sell them to its moirail, that would be in incredibly poor form.

"tachyonicyzeal," Tatchi said, momentarily speaking at a normal speed, which almost came across as condescending, "ill add u l8r, dnt cary my fone on runs cuz it usaly xplodes n sht"
He did some unnecessary stretches, almost like a video game character going into an idle animation. "nyway, i shud proly dash soonish"

It was going to ask about the highblood's phone-- palmhusk, "xploding," but frankly still needed to get back to the task at hand. "TAchyoniczeal? GOtcha." Who would put a word like tachyonic in their handle, it was practically impossible to spell. What even was a tachyon. "I Kind of have more stuff to do, too. YOu know," it gestured to some of the as-of-yet unopened, intact furniture.

Tatchi shot Zyd a speedy pair of finger guns and gave it a nod. Reciting Zyd's username in his head, he turned to face the door, waving a hand.
"jus clean up aftr urself n were gud," he said, crouching down as if about to begin a race, "nyway gota blast smel ya l8r zyd"
And with that, Tatchi zipped out the door of the room, kicking up some scattered junk on his way out. He gracefully leapt out the bathroom window and continued on his route, a smile now on his face.

Zyd returned the finger guns on pure reflex, before watching Tatchi's quick retreat. That guy seemed cool. What was it missing at this point, just a couple documents? Those couldn't be too hard to find.
Alright, maybe it should not just leave all this crap laying around. At least shove it all in a pile or something. Yeah, that would work.

Scene End