It's important to stay busy.

[notyourutopian]

WHO: Eleanor Lamb and YOU.
WHERE: Around Recollé and the surrounding territories
WHEN: Throughout the month.
WHAT: Drones, exploration, travel
WARNINGS: Nothing so far.

In Recollé

1. - Drones, drones, drones

People in the park might find themselves in the sudden company of a rather bizarre drone that puttered and wizzed along through the air, it's bright green lights blinking and flashing as it's helicopter blade ducked under tree branches and past bushes. For looking as unwieldy as it does, it is surprisingly agile, zipping around trees and people far more easily than it's single propeller should really allow.

Eleanor was following along after it, a tablet it in her hands, occasionally tapping a button on the screen, her gaze fixed on the little machine. It doesn't look like she's steering it, more like just making occasional suggestions. Occasionally it buzzes to close to someone or something and she could be heard making a frustrated groan.

Did it buzz you? Or are you just curious about the steampunk nonsense that is her drone? Come say hello!

2. Broken Drones

Alternately, she could be found later sitting at a park picnic table, the drone on it's side, a large panel opened in the back. A stretch of tools are in front of her, and she's fiddling with some wires inside it. There was a spark and she yelped, yanking her hand back and dropping her screwdriver. She shook her fingers to get rid of the pain and and gave the dormant machine a dirty look.

3. Uncoordinated Drones

Later still, the drone is floating around in the air forty feet of the ground with a large bug net hooked o the front of it. Eleanor is standing in the center of a clearing, with a tennis ball in her hand. She narrows her eyes, and the ball rockets off her palm and into the air above the drone. The little machine bings and whistles as it hurries over to catch it...and misses.

Eleanor just sighs. Judging from the number of tennis balls on the grass around her compared to the very few in the drones basket, this particular experiment was not going well...

In Pesgare

5. Aren't boats just great?

Eleanor felt so much more uncomfortable on the boat than she had expected.

Going out to Pesgare had been a test, really. Her feelings about the ocean were...complicated. But she couldn't let them keep holding her back, she had to get past how uncomfortable it made her, because it was ridiculous. She'd loved the ocean before, and now...ugh.

Stupid memories.

At the moment she was pacing around the the edge of the boat, one long, anxious circle, her hands alternately shoved into her pockets or clenched at her sides, her blue eyes on the water. She probably should've just moved somewhere she couldn't see it, but that felt too much like running away.

She definitely needed a distraction though. Help?

5. There's always a girl and a lighthouse.

She couldn't actually remember ever seeing a light house in person before. Which was bizarre when she really thought about it, weren't lighthouses kind of normal? But maybe not when they were mostly inland. But...still.

The one in her memories, a brief flash of one, looked nothing like the plain, friendly one here in Pesgare. That had been monolithic and imposing. This was...almost cute, really. But she still felt a little hesitant as she approached it, hands stuffed into her pockets. Hm.

She hesitated as she saw someone else nearby, glancing over at them. "Think they let people go up to the top of that thing?" She asked by way of saying hello.

In Respatrum

6. Blacksmiths

El had never given much thought to metalworking, outside of that the bits of metal she used for her machines had to have come from somewhere. But there was something fascinating about watching people actually making things out of molten metal. She could be found wandering through the tunnels, stopping here and there to watch people work, occasionally asking questions and even less occasionally getting an answer.

They weren't the most chatty people, were they?

When someone else passed by, she waved a hand to get their attention. "I don't suppose you've had any luck getting them to explain how they're doing things, have you?" She asked hopefully. Maybe they'd know a trick she didn't. Or could convince her to stop asking, anyway...

Wildcard

[OOC: If there's another idea you have or want to just run into Eleanor around the university, just let me know, we can make it work! Also, brackets or prose are both fine, I'll match whatever comes at me.]

Comments

Closed to Yukiko

[notyourutopian]

Eleanor sucked in a breath as she pushed the last of the fallen logs off the trail with her powers, watching it roll down to smack into another tree, then turned to survey the way ahead of them. The plan had been to drive as far as they could out into the woods before they had to start walking, but...

Well. She had hoped they'd make it a bit farther than this! They'd barely made it an hour into the woods, and they'd had to stop twice to clear the way. Hm.

She walked back to the van, stopping by the driver's side window to look in at Yukiko. "We can drive a little further but I think there's more trees down and I could barely move that last one. We run into another bigger and we're going to have to start walking, I think."

She didn't really mind walking, but having the van around instead of having to set up tents would've been nice.

[burningblossoms]

Yukiko watched Eleanor work with a mixture of amusement and curiosity. It never ceased to amaze her how easily moving those trees came to her and not for the first time she wished she had some sort of telekinesis.

With that announcement, though, Yukiko shrugged. She didn't mind walking a little ways, and it wasn't like they hadn't prepared for this eventuality.

"Well, hope in and lets see how far we can get. The path is getting narrower too, so we're going to be constrained one way or another, and I want to pull off the path a bit when we do stop."

In the back, Al yaps happily, waggling his tail.

[notyourutopian]

Eleanor just nodded, climbing back into the passenger side. She was still a bit winded from using her powers, and she sank down into the seat as Yukiko started driving again.

"Honestly I'm surprised we got this far," she said absently after another minute or so of driving. "I guess they're making more progress on the roads than I thought they were."

She sat up straighter as leave started brushing against the side of the van, and ahead the road was narrowing even more.

"Think we're at the end of the line though."

[burningblossoms]

Yukiko nods, pulling off the main path into a solid little clearing.

"Definitely. Forest's getting thicker, and roads aren't quite there yet. But we're at least a good distance there. Won't be a long walk now, and Al can use the exercise."

Yap, yap!

"Ready to get underway?"

[notyourutopian]

[Eleanor let out a dramatic sigh.]

I didn't think we'd have to do any walking on our hike.

[She managed to keep a pout there for maybe ten seconds as she looked over at Yukiko, then she just snickered and moved to scramble out of the van, tugging the back door open long enough to get her pack and bag and scramble out of the way as Ai jumped out at them.]

Well at least someone is excited to not be driving anymore.

Pesgare - Lighthouse

[standalonehuman]

Togusa has been sneaking off to Pesgare any time his job allows it. He had been one of the team that was sent here first, and the town has grown on him quite a bit. The people are so friendly and all eager to help each other, that for someone like Togusa who is looking for opportunities to help, it is easy to find a purpose in this town. So he is glad to show anyone around the place.

Togusa follows Eleanor's gaze to the top of the lighthouse. "Mm. I know they do, as a matter of fact. Couple of us had to help fix it up before the storm rolled in last month." There's some tension in Eleanor, something Togusa hopes he can help ease, so he keeps his question casual. "You want to check it out?"

[notyourutopian]

Eleanor didn't answer immediately, one hand up near her face, not quite biting on her pinky nail but close as she considered the building. It was such a stupid thing to get anxious about. She couldn't even remember being in the light house in her memories, just...seeing it. But...

Finally she let out a breath, hand dropping to her side, and nodded. "Yeah, I think so." She offered him a grateful smile. "Do we have to buy a ticket or something?"

[standalonehuman]

There's a matching grateful smile when Eleanor seems to relent. "Not at all," an easy shake of his head. "You're going to love it, the view's amazing up there."

Togusa doesn't need to ask where her anxiety is coming from. It's one of those familiar-but-not-familiar reactions that is going around with everyone on the app. The best thing she can do is not confront whatever this is alone, then.

He takes a few steps up the path, and gestures. "We'll let the people that run the inn know we're going up there, just to be polite." They seemed to be the ones overseeing the lighthouse, too.

[notyourutopian]

Eleanor moved to follow after him, looking up at the lighthouse again, and then nodded as his request. "I can do polite." She said with another little smile, her hands disappearing into the pockets of her jacket.

"So you were here last month?" She asked after another moment of silence as she fell into step next to him. "What was that like?"

[standalonehuman]

The question makes Togusa look around at the landscape. "Wonderful, really. Even though we were here on a mission? It was great to just get to know the people here. We didn't have the local currency, so we literally had to work off our stay at the inn. No money, everybody around here will accept favors or doing some work. But with everybody pitching in? They started to like us pretty fast."

They are heading up a hill towards the inn, it's on a slightly higher ground. "By the time that storm hit? The locals were used to us, and they were glad to let us help." Togusa chuckles at the memory. "I actually got yelled at for running myself too ragged."

3

[burlyheart]

[Peter sits at a table the park, and he looks more together than she saw him last. He's even holding something: a pencil, poised over a sketchbook as he lightly goes over it with the planning of a drawing.

When a ball passes by him, Peter instinctively looks up. That's how he sees all of the yellow dotting the green grass.

Peter walks over, first picking up the balls in his path on the way. He offers them like he's the caddy.]

These are yours.

[notyourutopian]

[Eleanor looked up at the tennis ball, then at him.]

Uh...

[She laughed softly and nodded.]

They are, thank you. I was going to gather them up when I was done.

[burlyheart]

If I don't pick them up then you'll run out balls before that.

[It's an honest assessment at the direction things are going.]

Is this what you're studying?

[notyourutopian]

I brought a lot of tennis balls. [She said with a laugh.]

Yeah, uh...well. Mechanical engineering? And robotics, though I haven't taken any of those classes yet.

[burlyheart]

[Peter nods his head while watching the drone hovering a bits ways.] Technology gets more impressive everyday.

[Though that process may be getting influenced by recent developments.]

1

[windeity]

[The drone goes whizzing by and he's startled a bit while he watches it whirl away. He follows its movement with his eyes before he spots the drone's owner, grinning in spite of himself as it moves onto a new path.]

Is this the one you talked about building months ago? [Hi El.]

[notyourutopian]

Oh hey. [She smiled at him, waving her free hand and then nodded.]

Yeah. I'm trying to wrap my head around how it works at this point. It didn't hit you, did it?

[windeity]

No, we missed each other. [Luckily he wasn't flying around or anything today.] When'd you get it up and running? Just today?

[notyourutopian]

A couple weeks ago, but I haven't had a lot of time to fiddle with it.

[She studied him for a few seconds, as if not sure he was telling the truth about not being hit by the drone.]

I built it exactly as I remembered it, which is...kind of odd. Because I still don't exactly know why it works. So I'm puzzling it out.

[windeity]

Subconscious genius then? [He eyeballs the drone again.] I guess maybe it's like how I was able to play that song from memory even though I've never played it before. Supposedly the mind is an incredibly strong and mysterious thing.

1

[alienated]

[If by bizarre you mean completely and utterly awesome — then, yeah. This is one heck of a bizarre drone. He's startled when it buzzes at him, staring at it wide eyed, before just. Rolling with it.]

Whoa, cool. [And since Eleanor is groaning in reaction to this.] Is this yours?

[notyourutopian]

[Eleanor nodded.]

Sorry, it has a...little bit of a mind of it's own, I think.

[Or she was still working out the kinks, kind of.]

[alienated]

It's fine. I don't really mind.

[Shrugs!! He's gotten a soft spot for robots lately, anyway.]

I'm guessing you got it from one of those tickets?

[notyourutopian]

[Eleanor seemed momentarily confused by that question until she realized what he meant and shook her head, giving a slightly embarrassed laugh.]

Oh, no...I built it. I mean, I guess technically the memories of how to do it came from the other me but...

Not the actual machine.

[alienated]

—Seriously?

[That gets him to raise both of his eyebrows, and he's glancing at the robot. Glancing at her. Looking at the robot again.]

Dude, that's really cool. Are you— Or, uh. The other you, I guess. Was she an engineer or something?