For A Heart That Beats {HSHC, IC}

[Lentrax]

It is a crisp morning in late August. New York is beginning to take on the slight chill of early fall. But the chill passes quickly as the fading Summer is still trying to hold onto the season.

It also happens to be the first day of the new school year, which the local news stations and a couple (less than years gone by, but still a couple) of bus terminal posters remind everyone cheerfully. And so it is, that in the morning before school, you find yourself walking the last three or four blocks to school, the slightly chilly air nipping at whichever parts of your skin are exposed.

And that is when you hear it. A group of people cheering something on. From the calls of “Yeah, show it who’s boss!”, “Tear it to pieces!”, “Bash it to bits!”, you assume it to be one of the anti-tech groups destroying someone’s robot or maybe even some AIs body. Hard to say without getting closer.

But then you hear two other voices over the crowd. The first is an utterly human scream of pain.

The second is a young woman yelling, “No, stop! She hasn’t done anything to you! Leave her alone!”

Spoiler: Scene 1

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Unopposed roll.

Allure D8: Sweet talk some of the crowd into giving up. +1 VP

Skill D8: Convince some of the crowd they have done enough damage that they can go on with their day. +1 VP

Conflict D8: Punch your way through the crowd to the screaming. +1VP

Luck D8: Oh, look, a cop who can disperse the crowd. +1VP

[Zelphas]

<"The arrow pointed this way, but I think the sign said> 'right'..." Confused by the new language, new city, and new customs and nervous about reaching school on time, a short Chinese girl in a school uniform with brightly-colored pink and purple ribbons tying back her long black hair doesn't even notice the crowd and the shouting until she is on top of it. An eager onlooker shoves forward past her into the crowd, breaking her concentration, and she blinks up, off-balance.

"Ah..." Mai stammers, her confusion quickly changing into concern. "Ni ha-er, Hello! I think--"

The swelling crowd suddenly shifts backwards, and a larger boy stumbles back a few steps and into Mai, sending her much smaller form bouncing away from the crowd and out into the street. THere is a screech of tires and a sudden tirade of swearing, and Mai gathers herself to blink up at the white-and-blue body of a NYPD cruiser and the angry face of an officer staring down at her.

"Oh... ha-hello!" Mai states somewhat wobbily, trying to regain her feet. "A jingguan--I mean officer! There is a... a problem... over there!" she declares finally, pointing towards the crowd and the concerning noises coming from within.

Spoiler: OOC

Show

Luck Roll

+1 Strong Roll, +2 Quaint Greeting, +2 Accident-Prone, possible (unlikely) +2 Butt In (interrupting a driver by being knocked into the street) = +5 (+7 if Butt In qualifies).

[AvatarVecna]

Sophia noticed another girl get pushed into the road by a larger boy falling over. She recognized the boy: that was Derrick Hutchinson, one of the new scouts who still hadn't gotten his act together. And that probably meant his little brothers were somewhere in the crowd too. She cleared her throat and prepped her best 'mom voice':

Derrick Richard Hutchinson, what in blue blazes do you think you're doing here?! Protesting basic progress! Acting a fool! Just cuz some grown-ups have their heads on backwards doesn't give you permission to bury yours between your cheeks! And do you have any idea what time it is?! You screw around here too much longer and you're gonna be late - and on the first day back, have you lost your mind?! Not to mention your brothers, you need to set a better example for them! I've half a mind to call your mother this instant so she's not knee-deep in work when the principal calls about the three of you skiving off!"

Spoiler: OoC

Show

Using "Deep Freeze".

Skill. Strong 1 + Deep Freeze 2 + Outdoorsman 2 + Yamato Nadeshiko 2 = +7.

Outdoorsman is justified as knowledge not just of outdoorsy stuff, but also who else is in their little community of scouts. Having his mother's number lends credibility to her threats.

Yamato Nadeshiko is just mom voice here. She's got big Mom energy pouring into her voice that some more responsible teens are capable of invoking.

[Alaize-chan]

The blonde was walking as if just another day, but it isn't and she quickly became aware of the ruckus which picked her interest, she was a pacifist and all but she must know what going on there.

She knew it, it was a competition of sorts... they are comparing the size of their ears!

They should have invited her, sure her ears are small and holds no chance of winning but that's no valid reason to completely ignore her, how frustrating... Oh! but then what was that yell?

Wait, Wait, Wait..! Shotto Mate! Nani Kore!?

Someone is in troubles? a girl? What to do? what can poor Riley do? Time to put the old Wright charm to use...

Huh..? excuse meeee~ Asked in honey sweet tone the blonde as she tries to push her way into the crowd and by push it means shoving every living thing with her prodigious chest.

Can you guys... gals... just stop? it would be pretty nice of you, who has the longest ears isn't a big deal anyways~ Added the chesty blonde as she presses her chest against the back of the scariest boy who seems to be the one responsible for all the yelling and noise.

Spoiler: Ooc

Show

Woah your girls really knows how to stack bonuses! o.o
I'll be using Allure +2 due to idiot savant and Touchy feely for +1, totalling +3 to my allure roll
Edit: Alright time for being competitive... Another +2 from shameless as she is showing a good amount of cleavage and another +1 from competitive since we all are all attempting this roll for a total of +6!
And to overkill I make it an Odd Roll

[JNAProductions]

Jesse hears the scuffle, and is inclined to let it be at first. Petty vandalism is pretty common from her siblings-she doesn't LIKE it, but it's not that big a deal. But as she passes nearer, and hears the voices of actual people in pain, she looks around for anyone of authority who can help. She spots Mai, talking to an angry-looking cop, and rushes over to get assistance.

"Excuse me, sir! Sir! There's someone being hurt-right over there!" she says, gesturing to the crowd, her oversized hoodie's sleeve exposing her hand for a brief period. It's only a moment after that she realizes she is, in fact, a member of the Roughhouse family and therefore probably should NOT be talking to cops... But she's not her siblings. She can't fight herself, and she has to do something!

Spoiler: OOC

Show

Luck!

...

What, you want modifiers? Get out of here! :P

[bramblefoot]

aiden will coolly slug her way through the crowd, going for the center

conflict

Spoiler: ooc

Show

+1 from strong conflict, +1 from armed and dangerous??

[Illven]

Melinda also started approaching the confrontation.

When she got utterly distracted by the very buxom blonde.

And what does she do to very buxom blondes?

Cuddle puddle.

AAAAAAA! She squealed in delight, hugging both her, and the guy Riley was hugging. You're so cute~!

Spoiler

Show

Strong allure, Shameless, Touchy feely, Feminine wiles.

[Drakeburn]

Gretchen was minding her own business, reading her book while she made her way to school when she came upon the crowd. From what she heard, there was a fight happening in the crowd. She didn't care much about what was happening, but she was rather annoyed that all these people were in her way. The last thing she wanted was to be late for school.

"Break it up. Now." She told the crowd.

Spoiler

Show

Deep Freeze (+2), Fearsome Reputation (+2), Stay Cool

[Lentrax]

<"The arrow pointed this way, but I think the sign said> 'right'..." Confused by the new language, new city, and new customs and nervous about reaching school on time, a short Chinese girl in a school uniform with brightly-colored pink and purple ribbons tying back her long black hair doesn't even notice the crowd and the shouting until she is on top of it. An eager onlooker shoves forward past her into the crowd, breaking her concentration, and she blinks up, off-balance.

"Ah..." Mai stammers, her confusion quickly changing into concern. "Ni ha-er, Hello! I think--"

The swelling crowd suddenly shifts backwards, and a larger boy stumbles back a few steps and into Mai, sending her much smaller form bouncing away from the crowd and out into the street. THere is a screech of tires and a sudden tirade of swearing, and Mai gathers herself to blink up at the white-and-blue body of a NYPD cruiser and the angry face of an officer staring down at her.

"Oh... ha-hello!" Mai states somewhat wobbily, trying to regain her feet. "A jingguan--I mean officer! There is a... a problem... over there!" she declares finally, pointing towards the crowd and the concerning noises coming from within.

Spoiler: OOC

Show

Luck Roll

+1 Strong Roll, +2 Quaint Greeting, +2 Accident-Prone, possible (unlikely) +2 Butt In (interrupting a driver by being knocked into the street) = +5 (+7 if Butt In qualifies).

Jesse hears the scuffle, and is inclined to let it be at first. Petty vandalism is pretty common from her siblings-she doesn't LIKE it, but it's not that big a deal. But as she passes nearer, and hears the voices of actual people in pain, she looks around for anyone of authority who can help. She spots Mai, talking to an angry-looking cop, and rushes over to get assistance.

"Excuse me, sir! Sir! There's someone being hurt-right over there!" she says, gesturing to the crowd, her oversized hoodie's sleeve exposing her hand for a brief period. It's only a moment after that she realizes she is, in fact, a member of the Roughhouse family and therefore probably should NOT be talking to cops... But she's not her siblings. She can't fight herself, and she has to do something!

Spoiler: OOC

Show

Luck!

...

What, you want modifiers? Get out of here! :P

The officer, seeing that it was not Mai's intention to fall into the street to get yourself hit by a car, looks over and past Jesse where you are pointing. Then another scream draws his attention, and he starts shoving people out of his way to get into the middle of the crowd.

Sophia noticed another girl get pushed into the road by a larger boy falling over. She recognized the boy: that was Derrick Hutchinson, one of the new scouts who still hadn't gotten his act together. And that probably meant his little brothers were somewhere in the crowd too. She cleared her throat and prepped her best 'mom voice':

Derrick Richard Hutchinson, what in blue blazes do you think you're doing here?! Protesting basic progress! Acting a fool! Just cuz some grown-ups have their heads on backwards doesn't give you permission to bury yours between your cheeks! And do you have any idea what time it is?! You screw around here too much longer and you're gonna be late - and on the first day back, have you lost your mind?! Not to mention your brothers, you need to set a better example for them! I've half a mind to call your mother this instant so she's not knee-deep in work when the principal calls about the three of you skiving off!"

Spoiler: OoC

Show

Using "Deep Freeze".

Skill. Strong 1 + Deep Freeze 2 + Outdoorsman 2 + Yamato Nadeshiko 2 = +7.

Outdoorsman is justified as knowledge not just of outdoorsy stuff, but also who else is in their little community of scouts. Having his mother's number lends credibility to her threats.

Yamato Nadeshiko is just mom voice here. She's got big Mom energy pouring into her voice that some more responsible teens are capable of invoking.

The boy blushes at being called out, but he starts arguing back. "So? Mom won't care that I watched someone from the ATs beat a 'bot's skull in."

But he sees that you aren't going to back down on this, so he gives in. "Whatever. Can't see the good stuff anyway."

He skulks off, heading in the general direction of the school.

The blonde was walking as if just another day, but it isn't and she quickly became aware of the ruckus which picked her interest, she was a pacifist and all but she must know what going on there.

She knew it, it was a competition of sorts... they are comparing the size of their ears!

They should have invited her, sure her ears are small and holds no chance of winning but that's no valid reason to completely ignore her, how frustrating... Oh! but then what was that yell?

Wait, Wait, Wait..! Shotto Mate! Nani Kore!?

Someone is in troubles? a girl? What to do? what can poor Riley do? Time to put the old Wright charm to use...

Huh..? excuse meeee~ Asked in honey sweet tone the blonde as she tries to push her way into the crowd and by push it means shoving every living thing with her prodigious chest.

Can you guys... gals... just stop? it would be pretty nice of you, who has the longest ears isn't a big deal anyways~ Added the chesty blonde as she presses her chest against the back of the scariest boy who seems to be the one responsible for all the yelling and noise.

Spoiler: Ooc

Show

Woah your girls really knows how to stack bonuses! o.o
I'll be using Allure +2 due to idiot savant and Touchy feely for +1, totalling +3 to my allure roll
Edit: Alright time for being competitive... Another +2 from shameless as she is showing a good amount of cleavage and another +1 from competitive since we all are all attempting this roll for a total of +6!
And to overkill I make it an Odd Roll

You can't get to the ones in the middle, but there are plenty of sniggers as the boys realize that they could likely get away with copping a feel without you knowing who it actually was.

"Ears? Whatcha goin' on about? We're watching justice bein' done. Here,c'mere an' watch with me." One boy, wearing a football Letterman's jacket, grabs you by the waist and pulls you in front him so you can see what is going on.

aiden will coolly slug her way through the crowd, going for the center

conflict

Spoiler: ooc

Show

+1 from strong conflict, +1 from armed and dangerous??

Aiden doesn't get very far before one of the boys in the crowd pushes back, and she ends up right where she started.

Melinda also started approaching the confrontation.

When she got utterly distracted by the very buxom blonde.

And what does she do to very buxom blondes?

Cuddle puddle.

AAAAAAA! She squealed in delight, hugging both her, and the guy Riley was hugging. You're so cute~!

Spoiler

Show

Strong allure, Shameless, Touchy feely, Feminine wiles.

The boy certainly doesn't mind, and in fact, slips his hand around Melinda's waist, pulling her around to bump into Riley.

Gretchen was minding her own business, reading her book while she made her way to school when she came upon the crowd. From what she heard, there was a fight happening in the crowd. She didn't care much about what was happening, but she was rather annoyed that all these people were in her way. The last thing she wanted was to be late for school.

"Break it up. Now." She told the crowd.

Spoiler

Show

Deep Freeze (+2), Fearsome Reputation (+2), Stay Cool

Some of the crowd does, in fact, break up. This lends Gretchen a view of what the crowd was gathered around.


The center of the crowd, is gathered around what you finally see to be three men, swinging heavy pipes at what remains of a robot of some kind. From the yelling of the second voice, you guess that was supposed to look like a human woman or girl.

Right now, it looks like only so much smashed metal, but some of the pieces are still moving, and the vocalizers must have still been functioning. These men, wearing AT (Anti-Techno) merch, have probably bashed enough androids, cyborgs, and robots to know how to keep the things able to scream.

Another girl is being held to the side. She doesn't seem to be fighting, but from the amount of tears falling from her eyes, she is clearly the other voice you heard, the one who was yelling to stop.

But then the cop gets to the center of the ring, and starts putting an end to the demonstration. When he shows up, the one holding the girl quickly lets her go. Once freed, she quickly squats over at the robot's side.

Entertainment over, the crowd begins to disperse.

[Illven]

Um....so I'm not a mechanic Melinda says arms still around Riley holding her close. Is she okay? Melinda asks the cop.

[Lentrax]

The cop looks over at Melinda. "You crazy, kid? This thing is junk. Don't worry about it though. Someone will carry this scrap to the junk pile soon enough. You all get to school."

[JNAProductions]

Jesse heads for the junked robot, and looks at the crying lady. "You doing alright?"

"Okay, dumb question," she says. "Can I help?"

[Alaize-chan]

As the crowd -including the guy who was holding her- disperses the blonde gets. Better look to the now badly damaged robot and the girl, well, nothing of this makes sense, at least not to her but what with that girl? is she okay? Why is she crying? No one is hurt, or is she actually hurt!?

Also... Without the guy who wasn't so much of a gentleman Riley is left dangerously close to the other girl (Melinda) which for some reason is dangerously near her... Under other circumstances she'd like to speak to her and... Nande? Are they from the same school? Oh why yes! And the one crying looks like another fellow student, and then there's that other girl there and there and there...

At this time Riley's head was spinning a little more than usual but she somehow focused on the crying girl who seems rather vulnerable and in need of help or support or affection, maybe she wants a hug? Should she?

Da' hell is going on? Riley isn't the kind of girl to overthink things like that, she just do things... What is this fuzzy feeling? She didn't eat seafood this morning so...

Eto..? You okay? I can order a delivery if you want, like seriously, beef is cheap these days teehee~ Said Riley trying to cheer her up, because of course she must be crying for a sudden lack of beef in her system, that sort of things happens, she's a girl too and of the same age apparently so she understands it.

[Lentrax]

The girl is holding onto the robot. Parts are still moving. The pieces still trying function as though they have not been destroyed, in their now cheap façade of life.

"S-she wasn't even an AI," the girl sobs. J-j-just the family's maidbot. She was taking me to school before doing whatever else my d-dad had assigned her to do."

The girl is still holding onto what is left of the mangled frame.

'What do I tell my dad?"

[Alaize-chan]

Oh! Listen, listen, I'm Riley nice to meet you..? What? Oh! The robot? It's broken, I see, huh... Despite her good intentions Riley has no idea of how to help, fix it? Completely outside of her scope.
What then? And Melinda's closeness didn't help, not that she really minds it anyways..

[Zelphas]

Mai follows the officer off of the street, confusion and horror showing on her face as the crowd parts to reveal the scene in the center. She blinks at the policeman's callous words, looking between him, the girl, and the pile of metal that still was able to scream. <"Can a 'thing' speak in a human voice?"> she says more to herself than to anyone in particular, moving forwards into the scene.

"Ah... I do not mean to intrude," Mai begins hesitantly, moving forward to kneel next to the crying girl, "But is the truth not okay to tell? Horrible people attacked your friend. Surely your father will understand." she digs in her backpack for a moment, before pulling out a white handkerchief and holding it out to the other girl with a small sympathetic smile.

[Illven]

And by the way. When are any of them being arrested for destruction of. Mina starts before turning to the girl. Sorry about this. She turns to the cop. Property. One of my moms is a lawyer, and that's illegal. She says before cudding back up to Riley.

[Lentrax]

The cop has a sardonic grin on his face.

"Yeah. Sure. You got a description of the ones who did it? I can go get this taken care of right away."

The cop laughs before heading over to his car and driving off.

[Alaize-chan]

That was kinda rude..? Fuuuwaah!? Hey..! Don't squeeze me there... I'm ticklish, huh? Hey, hey don't cry, okay? Orihime will get sad if you keep crying you know~ tried to back up Riley in her own way.

[Illven]

****in ******* cops. Anyone get his badge number, maybe mom can file a compliant. Melinda muses out loud, nuzzling Riley's neck.

[Lentrax]

The girl manages to gasp out between sobs, "S-sorry? W-wh-what?"

[Drakeburn]

With the crowd broken up, Gretchen takes a few steps through and then stops in the middle to look at the sobbing girl and the destroyed robot. The robot catching her interest, she just stares at it with an expressionless face as she studies the damage and thinking if she is able to fix it.

[JNAProductions]

The girl manages to gasp out between sobs, "S-sorry? W-wh-what?"

Jesse kneels down next to her. "Cop's being a jerk, as usual, but it'll be okay. I'm Jesse-what's your name?"

[Lentrax]

With the crowd broken up, Gretchen takes a few steps through and then stops in the middle to look at the sobbing girl and the destroyed robot. The robot catching her interest, she just stares at it with an expressionless face as she studies the damage and thinking if she is able to fix it.

The robot is not repairable.

Jesse kneels down next to her. "Cop's being a jerk, as usual, but it'll be okay. I'm Jesse-what's your name?"

"K-kim..."

[JNAProductions]

She holds her hand out to Kim. "You're gonna be okay. Okay?"

If Kim is willing to take her hand, she'll stand up to her full, astounding four feet and eleven inches, and help Kim up with her. "I can walk you to school. Where you going?"

[Lentrax]

"Sc-school 232."

When Kim gets up, you can all see (if you hadn't figured it out until now) she is a girl. A little girl. She doesn't even come up to Jesse's chest.

[JNAProductions]

Jesse digs through her mind, seeing if she can find it without pulling out her phone. She decides to be better safe than sorry, and grabs it in her free hand to find directions. "It's... That way, right?" she says as she types one-handedly. "And let's get going-don't want you to be late."

[Lentrax]

Kim's school has the same number as yours, which means she is in the elementary school just next door to yours.

And so you all begin to leave the scene to head to school.

And as you leave, Kim begins calming down, until, by the time you reach the school, she seems okay. Still upset, but better than she was when you met her.

As you arrive inside your school, you pass the security check, and find yourself faced with a massive throng of students. All of them are gathered outside the office, which is very unusual since no one ever wants anything to do with the office and the administrators who run it.

[Zelphas]

Mai waves Kim off to her elementary school door, making sure the girl has Mai's handkerchief in her hand still. "I have plenty. Try to have a good day!"

The distraction did a good job of keeping her own anxiety from mounting, but now the new school's doors were opening and it all came rushing back. Mai is surprised by the number and thoroughness of security checks, but she passes through them without a problem, looking around nervously for where to go next. "A large group... maybe there's a class meeting?" Looking around for a place to get a little higher, Mai moves through the crowd as best she can, trying to see what's gotten everyone's attention.

[JNAProductions]

"Good luck at school, Kim!" Jesse says when she departs from the kid. She looks at the throng around the office, and unless something or someone sticks out, simply goes around it to her own class.