Private 16? who cares!

[Cartri Keswoll]

Location: Suicide slums, apartments
Objective: Work out and chill on birthday
Timeframe: 4 days before the soles protest
Tag: Daiya / Brie Jaxx / Xan Deesa / Yula Perl / Doc Painless / And anyone else who he has interacted with

The day had finally arrived... it was a time what most teens anticipated, where they could do anything they pleased for a whole 24 hours. Although, to a ginger haired kid like Cartri it seemed like his birthday celebration would be spent working out. For the past fifteen years he never celebrated a time like this, mainly because the orphanage didn't care about them. All they cared about was moving them to paying families, nothing more nothing less. Heck, he never really had cake before until Xan came to the apartment and shared some with him a few days ago.

Speaking of his mentor, the present she gave him was the only thing he needed. The first birthday present Cartri ever had was one to accept him into their family, something that he deeply wanted. Adding onto that, Xan was probably the only person that liked him. The possibility of anyone else coming to the door was probably going to be zero, so what was the point in celebrating the day in the first place?

Clad in a pair of shorts and short sleeve top, he began to set up the mats in his apartment living room. Dragging away the sofas and coffee table into the corner, he picked up the foldable mats from his room and placed them in the now spacious area. Before even starting, he walked into the kitchen and broke off a small chunk of the cake that was leftover, throwing the sugary dessert into his mouth. Considering he was going to be at it for a few hours, it would be enough fuel to keep his energy up.

He nonchalantly stretched off his arms as he walked back onto the mats before getting down to business, starting off with twenty press ups to begin with. After an hour of different sets, he was starting to break a sweat. However, his body on the other hand was still eager to carry on with signs of tiredness insight. Transitioning into the plank position he placed his forearms on the mat and extended his legs out, holding the position in discomfort as the time ticked away. One minute in he was still going strong and seemed like he could go longer than the proposed time given by the instructions of Xan.

Going onto the last thirty seconds, all he needed was no distractions. Stopping for whatever reason would require him to start again, and that was always something he hated...

 

[Yula Perl]

A rhythmic knock sounded at Cartri's door. Yula and Cartri had run a few jobs together, and either he'd let it slip or she'd heard it through the grapevine—but today was the kid's sixteenth birthday. Sixteen, really? It made her question her own involvement with a gang of teenage criminals and terrorists. At the ripe old age of twenty-something, Yula felt old.

But today wasn't about her and her gradual shuffle towards the mortal coil—today was Cartri's day. Zeltrons never turned down a good party, and they'd find almost every reason to celebrate. A Zeltroni calendar was bedecked with more national holidays than nearly another culture.

So if Cartri opened his door, he'd find himself face to face with a snarling Tanuki droid. Behind the bot was Yula, grinning wildly as she held the bestial droid in place with both hands. It was hissing and spitting, running in place while it tried to wrench itself free from its creator's grasp.

"Happy birthday!" She announced.

Perhaps Cartri didn't expect to be gifted with a problem.

Cartri Keswoll Daiya Brie Jaxx Xan Deesa Doc Painless

 

[Cartri Keswoll]

There were only twenty seconds left on the timer when a bunch of knocks came from the door. Shaking his head with a groan he slowly lowered himself down to the mat and grumbled to himself in disappointment, why did people have to come and interrupt him at the worst moments! whoever it was better had a good reason for being here.

Cartri raised himself from the floor and mumbled himself all the way to the door, with a slight moment of hesitation he opened it to find an unexpected guest. Yula Perl a woman who he had done a few missions with and got along with well appeared to be here for his birthday

"Yula?! I wasn't expecting any more visitors... but thank you" he said before offering a friendly smile to the fellow Darkwire member.

Slowly, his gaze would narrow on the squirming rat in her hands. From the looks of his confused expression, he really didn't know what to make of it "What in Denons name is that?" he questioned as his face got closer, his finger lightly prodding it on the metallic body.

"Is this droid one of your creations by any chance?"

 

[Brie Jaxx]

Brie had eventually swept away the thoughts that this was not such a good idea, considering her and Cartri's former encounters with another. Although, it seemed that they were on a slightly better foot with each other now than before the mission down to the Abyss - terrifying as it had been - and at least Brie herself would not forget the mission to Froswythe in the first place. Word through the grapevine said that the fellow shadowrunner turned sixteen today, just a month of so before Daiya's sixteenth birthday, which in itself was pretty insane. She felt it almost necessary, and it belonged to common courtesy to attend both birthdays, taking from one of her many holobook stories. Besides, maybe - just maybe - they could come a bit closer at accepting each other. For the sake of Darkwire and common interests.

Coming up to ginger boy's apartment, she took a deep breath before knocking twice. Brie were definitely prepared for the word ''fishbowl'' coming from his mouth at least once, and her visit would probably come as a surprise for him. Of course, she had left the ''fishbowl'' at home for an occasion like this. Instead, she were dressed in a black top and yellow skirt.

''Hi, Cartri! Uhm... happy birthday, I guess?!'' she announced slightly nervous but put on a friendly smile, before handing him a box wrapped in red present paper and white band. ''Daiya is on her way too. She might just be a little late. We heard you turn sixteen today, so...'' she continued, shrugging and haphazardly slapping her arms to her side. ''Thought we might surprise you!''

In the box laid a pair of wireless headphones similar to her own, which she had made some modifications to to achieve the best possible sound. Everyone liked music, right? She also carried a backpack over her shoulder, filled with a few bags of snacks - some really spicy and more of a gag gift - and a few beers and ciders, courtesy of Daiya. Inside, she saw Yula and greeted her with a nod and a smile.

Cartri Keswoll , Yula Perl , Daiya , Doc Painless , Xan Deesa , Ruby Jaxx​

 

[Yula Perl]

"It's a tanuki droid!" Came the jubilant explanation. That likely wouldn't clear things up, so she went on. "Yeah, one of my earliest works. Not that this one is an early model. No, you've got the upgraded version!"

When poked, the droid would respond with an angry snarl, snapping at Cartri's finger. Yula yanked the misbehaving bot backward with an admonishing tsk.

"…twice the stun power than my old model." She cleared her throat. "They make for good home guards, once they get used to you and all." Homes without small children, that was. Finally releasing her hold, the quadruped droid took to exploring Cartri's apartment.

To her surprise, the blonde from Daiya's own birthday caper was next to arrive. Yula gave returned her greeting with a two-fingered salute.

"Good to see you again, Brie. How've you been?"

Cartri Keswoll Brie Jaxx

 

[Cartri Keswoll]

Daiya Brie Jaxx Yula Perl​

"I didn't know you made this kind of stuff Yula, I'll be sure to" Hey!" Cartri yelled in alarm as he withdraw his finger with haste, only just missing the eager metallic teeth of the rat by mere inches. He shot Yula a look of concern as she continued explaining the details of her model. Even though it almost bit his finger off, from the sound of things it was sure to come into use.

"Thank you, Yula. I'm sure I'll be able to find a use for him" Cartri said to her with a grin, watching the small droid scatter into his room to investigate his new surroundings "And please, come in. The living room is a bit of a mess from my training, but make yourself at home"

Allowing Yula to come into the apartment, he shut the door behind him and folded his arms "To be totally honest with you, I wasn't really expecting any visitors" just after he said that another knock at the door was heard "Excuse me..."

Rolling his eyes he walked back to the door and opened it to reveal a person he wasn't expecting, Brie Jaxx. Cartri looked slightly surprised at first from her appearance, but his face soon turned into a thankful smile "Cheers Brie, i'm happy to hear you more clearly without your ever present fishbowl" the boy joked with a small chuckle and took the presents off her hands "But seriously, thank you for this, honestly"

With a respectful nod, he let Brie come inside and used his foot to shut the door again. His gaze was stuck on the bag and box below, curiosity and excitement bubbling beyond belief. Presents were still alien to him, so everything he received was something special compared to some people who wouldn't care by the slightest.

Sitting down, he decided to open the bag first. Quickly unzipping, he peered in to see a mixture of items; Spicy snacks, beer, and lastly cider were there to his delight.

"Damn it Daiya, you really know me too well..."

Looking to the box, his head tilted slightly before looking back to Brie with confusion "What's this Brie? I don't think I've ever seen this before"

 

[Brie Jaxx]

Just as expected, along with the ever persistent comment about her helmet, the ginger boy was more than surprised to see who were standing on the other side of his door. It was actually pretty fun to see his face, and him even inviting one of the most annoying girls he knew to his apartment. His demeanors were different than last time, kind of more likeable, despite the comment which she let go unnoticed. Upon the invite, Brie entered the apartment and raised her hand to Yula in response to her salute.

''Good! Good. How have you two been? I see Cartri did not expect to get visitors?'' Brie said with a nod, looking between the zeltron and the ginger boy, now noticing the workout equipment on the floor and Cartri being dressed for it and actually been breaking a sweat.

''It's a present! Well, obviously it's inside the box...'' she stated with delight, slightly amused by the boys alien approach to the gift. ''You just need to unwrap it to see what it is. Never mind ripping the paper. It is just a little something.'' Brie explained. This had to be her first ever given present to someone, she came to think of. It had taken a few days to come up with an idea what to give to the fellow shadowrunner turning sixteen, and inspired by her holobooks she had put all of her soul into making it perfect.

''Holy stars, what is that?'' she uttered seeing the small droid running around the place seemingly discovering new territories. ''Is it yours?'' she continued and looked at Cartri, before kneeling down to see if the mechanical creature were any social.

Cartri Keswoll , Yula Perl , Daiya , Xan Deesa , Doc Painless ​

 

[Yula Perl]

Yula settled onto Cartri's couch, and only then did she take in what Brie had already noticed; Cartri was in the middle of a workout when they'd arrived. Still, he didn't seem annoyed—just surprised that they'd shown up at all.

"Not bad. Been doin' this 'an that." Crossing one leg over her knee, Yula leaned into the cushions and observed the tanuki droid barrel through the apartment, checking out its new surroundings with the unhinged enthusiasm of a spicehead. Brie's interest in the creature made her perk up, and Yula found herself sitting up straighter.

"Ooh, that's a tanuki droid, I started making them when I lived on Terminus. They used to be really feral and unapproachable, now they're more—HEY!"

The little bot had started chewing on some wires when Brie approached. It stopped, fragments of soft plastoid casing falling from its mouth as it paused to appraise the woman.

Then it leaped, jaws wide open.

It wasn't aiming for the blonde, however—instead, it aimed to snatch away the box she'd gifted Cartri. Yula sprung after it, aiming to grapple the slippery droid before it could destroy the present.

Cartri Keswoll Brie Jaxx

 

[Daiya]

"I know, I know!" The teen offered in lieu of an apology, her body jolting from the quick maneuver. She had to glance at her legs, giving them a wipe with her palm to spot any dirt or blood from the momentary contact she'd made with the hovercart. It came away clean, and she turned her palm from her face to wave back at the cart operator retreating behind her. She was pretty sure the near-collision wasn't her fault, but Daiya wasn't about to chance a bruised ego in the Suicide Slums.

The young shadowrunner tried to avoid this ward as best she could, but tonight she was headed straight in. She clutched her haphazardly-wrapped gift in her hand, the other grasping the strap of her satchel to keep it from bouncing as she took long strides down the walkways. Daiya might have gone without her customary bag altogether, if her shirt dress for the evening had bothered to come with pockets. Tonight, though, she was form over function, right down to her purpose in going.

Knowing it was Cartri's birthday hadn't exactly inspired the teen, whose last encounter at his apartment had earned him the Daiya-appointed moniker of Knuckles. Even after coming to terms on a couple of occasions, it still took Brie's request to bring her around to the idea of celebrating the ginger boy's birthday. If Daiya had her way, she would have remained blissfully ignorant that Cartri was turning sixteen a whole month before her. "Why should he get a sweet sixteen before I do?"

Brie had some sort of convincing answer for that, enough to prompt Daiya to supply the evening's refreshments —sent ahead with Brie— and to find a gift and outfit for the evening. She would have been remiss not to wear her familiar boots, though, knowing all too well that she'd have to trudge up some old-fashioned staircases to reach Cartri's apartment. At least he moved to someplace without holes in the wall, assuming he hadn't already redecorated the place.

"I'm not late," Daiya grumbled at the door, delivering a series of swift knocks to its grainy surface. She bounced her knees a few times as she waited, nerves and thoughts rattling in her preoccupied mind. She hoped Cartri would open the door soon, the teen meant to aim straight for his shoulder for making her wait so long outside his place.

"Happy birthday!" Surprise ran its course through her veins as well at the enthusiasm she could muster so easily, pulling her punch a moment before it delivered Cartri's shoulder a new bruise. Daiya shoved her package into his arms instead, dancing around him until she was fully inside the apartment. "Hey Brie. Oh hi, Yula!"

Daiya hadn't expected to see the pink woman she often idolized, especially up close today. Words floundered in her throat until the teen spied the droid struggling in the Zeltron's firm grip. "Awwww, is that a Tanuki droid?!" The enthralled teen knelt down in front of the critter, taking advantage of its captive state to stroke the droid's chassis without harm. "It's soooo cute. Aren't you just adorable? Yes, you are. And you know what's more adorable? Not biting me when I pet you..."

Cartri Keswoll Yula Perl Brie Jaxx​

 

[Doc Painless]

The Doc hadn't forgotten Cartri's birthday. He just hadn't been quite sure how to mark it.

Sixteen might feel like a big number to the kid shadowrunners of Darkwire, but the Doc was closing in on his third sixteen. That made him the old man of the group, and by a considerable margin; combine the ages of any two partygoers, and the Doc would still be older than the sum. Given that kind of age difference, he was concerned he'd just be the crusty old buzzkill weighing down the young people's fun if he showed up at Cartri's door. Although Cartri hadn't actually organized anything or invited anyone, the Doc was sure that the kid's friends would set up some kind of party for him anyway, and he didn't want to bring down the mood for the birthday crew.

That left him in a bit of limbo. Cartri hadn't asked him for anything, hadn't even mentioned the occasion to him directly, certainly hadn't invited him over, so maybe he should just let the kid be today and wish him a late happy birthday the next time they risked their lives fighting corpo-fascists together. On the other hand, people Cartri's age didn't always directly ask for the things they wanted. When the Doc had been sixteen, he wouldn't have ever shown that he wanted his friends to celebrate his birthday, but he would've been hurt if they hadn't all the same. Not every kid had bought into that faux macho attitude, of course, but since the Doc couldn't rule it out.

So where did that leave him? Wondering what to do for a coworker's birthday... when that coworker was a teenager.

The Doc had ultimately landed on straddling the line, trying to let the kids have their fun without making Cartri feel ignored. He wasn't going to show up at the young man's door unannounced, but he was going to send him a gift and a card. Okay, progress. But what the hell did a grown man buy for a teenager (especially a teenage freedom fighter) that wouldn't look creepy or out of touch? He already had a plan for Daiya's gift - the palm-sized portable medscanner was an expression of his faith in her developing skills as a medic - but he hadn't worked nearly as closely or as often with Cartri. The Doc had spent a week agonizing over it, which was kind of funny in hindsight.

Fight a planet-wide dictatorship? Easy. Replace a damaged heart with cybernetics? No problem.

Shop for a useful, meaningful birthday gift for someone he only knew so well? Terrifying.

Alcohol was obviously out for an adult man's gift to a teenager, which was a shame, as the Doc was something of a connoisseur. He accepted that Cartri and Daiya and Cassus and Brie and the rest of the crew drank from time to time, but he wasn't about to encourage it. Weapons were out, too. Again, the Doc accepted that Darkwire was involved in a war, and that they were going to have to kill people to have any chance at building a better Denon... but he couldn't reconcile himself to putting a killing tool in a child's hands, even if the kid was going to kill people with or without it. He didn't want to do anything extravagant, as it might overshadow someone else's present...

... and he wasn't really in any position to afford extravagance anyway.

So he hoped he'd navigated that minefield and chosen something both practical and exciting. An ASN Courier Droid drifted up to the door of Cartri's apartment as the uninvited guests continued to flow in, beeping confusedly upon finding that there were more potential recipients inside than it had expected. Given that only Cartri was male, it could probably have figured out the correct person to deliver it to if it'd taken a minute to properly scan, but it wasn't paid enough to bother. Come to think of it, it wasn't paid at all. With an irritable little beep-blooop! the droid opened its cylindrical delivery chamber and let the contents slide out onto a side table.

Then it buzzed away, muttering under its figurative breath in low binary trills.

The contents proved to be a spray can with a card wrapped around it. The card was a simple affair; the Doc had clearly gone out and bought the least cringeworthy one he could find at the corner store, which meant it had colorful balloons on it instead of felinx kittens, hovertrains, or awful jokes. Although his arms were mechanical, and unnaturally steady with a scalpel, the Doc's handwriting somehow managed to be an almost illegible scrawl. Happy Sixteenth!, it read. I hope this helps you stay out of trouble even while you're out causing it. He'd agonized over that message, too. Was it too short? Too long? Too cringey? Four discarded birthday cards in his trash attested to other attempts.

The cylinder proved to be a stealth polymer spray applicator. Spraying a coat of the stuff onto one's gear would help it blend into the shadows, and also gave it good resistance to ion fire. The Doc had settled on something protective, a balance between wanting to keep Cartri safe in this war and not wanting to directly support violence. Hopefully he'd made a good choice. Across town at his clinic, he found himself still oddly nervous about it. Brain surgery didn't faze him, so why did this?! He just didn't want anyone's feelings hurt, he supposed. He cared about these kids, but he didn't always know how to show it.

Well, how to show it without coming across like an uptight, judgmental, out of touch old man trying to control them, anyway.

Feth this whole underworld war for ever getting child soldiers involved.

Cartri Keswoll | Yula Perl | Daiya | Brie Jaxx​

 

[Cartri Keswoll]

Doc Painless Daiya Brie Jaxx Yula Perl

Cartri curiously examined the wrapped gift and nodded once Brie gave her response. After a few moments, his hands slowly began to peel away the wrapping until the box was left, revealing what appeared to be a fancy pair of headphones "Wow! that's so cool. Thanks Brie!" he said with a wide smile, impatient to open up the box and give it a test run.

His eyes took a quick glance to see how everyone was doing. They seemed to be getting themselves comfy considering his front room had been changed into a temporary training area, as well as the droid was looking around its new surroundings "You might want to pick him up before he short ci- Hey! come back here!" Cartri said in surprise as the droid jumped and snatched the gift from his hands. That rat was a menace already, chewing his wires and now stealing his gift.

Cartri lunged from his knees to try and pounce on the troublesome vermin. Although, the smart creature weaved away from his attempt and took refuge behind the sofa. Grumbling some harsh words a knock suddenly came from the door, indicating yet another visitor had come to celebrate his unexpected birthday celebration "Someone grab the droid before It turns my headphones into his dinner" he said with a smirk as he pulled open the door.

In front of him was Daiya, who wished him a happy birthday and threw a fake punch to his shoulder. Cartri chuckled from the tease and happily took the gift that Daiya had wrapped "Late as usual Daiya..." the boy said back as she danced around him and joined the others. Cartri shut the door behind him and curiously shook the gift, hearing a slight metallic sound that indicated something expensive.

"Thanks for the gifts Daiya, I'll open them up in a few moments once that karking droid lets go of my present"

To his surprise, when he placed the gift on the ground and turned around Daiya had already captured the naughty droid in her grasp. How Daiya did it so easily was beyond him, but at least the headphones weren't going to be reduced into nuts and bolts "Daiya, you a droid whisperer or something?" he said with a smile while his hands reached for the gift that the droid still held valiantly.

"Come here..." he said half heartedly before snatching the present from its jaw, leaving it with only a chunk of the box in his teeth "It causes loads of trouble for a puny droid, doesn't it? I love him already"

The birthday teen lightly patted him on the head and went back to the growing pile of gifts, as well as one he received through a delivery later on in the day by the Doc. Cartri sat down and finally began finishing his unwrapping work on the headphones, his eyes shiny from how good they looked. He glared at it for a few more moments before realising a small sigh

"You know, Thank guys for coming today. I've never really celebrated a birthday before, so it's a nice change compared to treating it as any other day" once he said it a sorrowful frown crossed his lips, reminiscing on the birthdays he missed out on and how lonely he felt at that time.

"Really, you don't know how much it means to me..."

 

[Brie Jaxx]

''A tanuki droid?'' Brie repeated ruminatively for herself, as she watched but didn't dare to touch it just yet. If it had canine programming she guessed that it were best to let it make the first move. A move that came in the form of a quick and decisive jump towards but past her. The artificial creature was fast on its small paws and gave Brie no time to react before it was past her and nicked the gift out of Cartri's hands.

"Happy birthday!"

The loud birthday wishes announced that Daiya had entered the building. The fellow shadowrunner entered with a bang and all the happy energy that she were known for, even offering them all a short dance around the birthday kid. This was the mood Brie associated Daiya with, far away from any of the troubles that haunted her and that she had previously revealed to and trusted Brie with.

''Hey, Daiya!'' she greeted with mirth, smiling and waving once at the other blonde.

Luckily, Daiya the droid whisperer managed to attract the droid out from behind the sofa and give Cartri the moment to steal back the headphones.

''I don't think any of us have celebrated a proper birthday before...'' Brie responded rather gloomily, but reminded herself that those days were gone. The days before Darkwire, where each one of them, in one way or another, had struggled to move forward with their lives and fought different kinds of obstacles on the way. Darkwire were no charity organisation or heaven of pure good, but it had brought them all together in a galaxy that often were cruel to people going solo, let alone kids. Brie had wondered when her birthday really was. It sort of came with the question of where she were born and who her parents was. In time, perhaps she could figure some of it out with Ruby Jaxx , or they could just simply pick a birthday. Today were ginger boys birthday, though! And it was looking to be a good relaxed one with some of the best people!

''But anyways, it is never too late to start, right!?'' she chirped with a smile and took a seat in the sofa.

''It's nothing! You can either plug it in to a separate player, or even upload your own tracks to it and keep it wireless.'' Brie chimed in about the headphones, before her gaze once again was drawn to the cute droid tilting its head in confusion to Daiya's silly made up voice. ''So, what are you going to call him?''

Cartri Keswoll , Daiya , Yula Perl , Doc Painless ​

 

[Daiya]

"Oh, droids love me, don't they?" Daiya whispered the last part to the Tanuki droid, who still scrambled in Yula's firm clutches. She stroked the mischievous droid's chassis a few more times, only wishing it had fur instead of brushed metal underneath her fingers, and glanced up at Yula. "Mind if I take him?"

The teen took hold of the droid's neck, wrapping her index and middle finger around to her thumb, before scooping its feet up against her other palm and hugging the droid's bottom tight against her stomach with her arms. It clawed and scratched at the air, its tail whipping around to slap the bare patch on Daiya's arm, but she ignored it to sit back on one of the seats in Cartri's apartment.

"If you calm down, I'll find someplace you can dig into the wall later," she told the droid softly, "Cartri won't mind."

Daiya continued to give the droid some reassuring strokes against its head, focusing on calming the frantic mechanical program. A point behind her eyes twinged in pain, prompting a small sound from the teen, and then she could feel a tingle beneath her palm. She had no idea how far she could push this trick Yula had taught her, at least with the woman standing there Daiya was confident she wouldn't accidentally blow it up.

"You've never had a birthday?!" Daiya gaped at the ginger boy, her mouth pulling into a smirk. It was quickly diffused by the droid's tail smacking her arm again as her focus split between the two. She held the droid tighter as she explained to Cartri, "Then you're behind on the birthday punches! One for every year."

And plenty of chances for the teen to exact some soft revenge on Cartri.

She giggled with impish glee, "Oh, you should unwrap my gift, we can try it out on you!"

Cartri Keswoll Yula Perl Brie Jaxx Doc Painless​

 

[Cartri Keswoll]

Cartri placed the headphones aside and looked back to Brie Jaxx who mentioned the fact none of them had really celebrated birthdays before. All three of them seemed to be in the same boat regarding childhoods, taken away from them against their will and thrown into the teenage wasteland of lost time "You ain't wrong with that. After all, Darkwire is a new start for us so we may as well embrace the normality" He agreed, a thankful smile creeping on his face as he looked to Brie again.

"Wireless huh? I'm not that much of a music geek compared to you lot. Any of you got any suggestions as to what I should listen to?" It wasn't the fact that Cartri disliked music, he actually was fascinated by the whole thing. Because of obvious reasons he was never able to afford headphones or listen to much music at all, other than the odd sounds when he walked through the busy market places of Garos.

The ginger snapped his head upwards when Daiya mentioned putting him in one of the many holes hidden behind furniture in the room, tilting his head at the girl in the most unimpressed face possible "That droid will ruin my walls if you do that. Then, you'll be the one having to pay for it" he chuckled, momentarily watching Daiya stroke the rat calmly. Although it wouldn't last long when she smartly suggested birthday punches for all the years he missed.

"H-hey now! I do want two working arms by the time it reaches midnight alright?"

The thought of a dead arm bruised to the bone wasn't going to be on the cards tonight, especially when the protest was only a few days away. He needed to be in the best shape possible, a half usable arm would compromise that "Fine, I'll unwrap your gift. And maybe test it depending on what it is" he giggled while his hands slowly ripped away from the delicate paper from the box.

His eyes curiously peeked inside the box, and what he saw truly shocked him. What it held was a modified pistol, that had a knuckle duster and a sharp blade attached. He carefully raised it out and placed his knuckles in the duster, playfully waving it about with a grin "You've outdone yourself with this present Daiya, thank you!" he said gleefully, his right hand helping him elevate from the floor and walk over to the girl. Cartri safely put the custom weapon in his pocket and opened his arms out, hoping that Daiya would at least accept a hug of gratitude while the rat was squirming in her hands

"Thank you, I mean it..." he said, looking into her eyes a bit longer than he should have "Uh... you wanna hang out after the protest? you know, go to the fair or watch a movie?" the boy asked with a bit of nerve in his voice. In his short life, he hadn't had the nerve to ask a girl to hang out with him, nor had he told one that he loved them. That in itself was really hard for him to do, considering it was one of the worst scenarios to do it in.

"I understand if you're busy... just thought you'd want to chill out one day you know?"

Doc Painless Yula Perl​

 

[Daiya]

With Cartri under assault from all sides of the room tonight, Daiya found herself enjoying it far more than she had expected. Her face wore a grin, buoyed and bolstered by the boy's reactions to his —apparently unexpected— company. In her hands, she kept the tanuki droid busy, corralling its handsy front paws with one hand while her other stroked the back of the droid's metal chassis.

She could feel the spark underneath her palm, and the teen knew she could play with the droid's energy levels. That wasn't her goal. She frowned, timed with Cartri's ornery responses to her suggestions, her mind focused on finding a different kind of spark inside the droid. Daiya was no tech whiz, but after what Yula had showed her, she managed to open a door panel without blowing it up.

If she could just do the same with the droid, even temporarily, it would be a good night.

Daiya struggled to keep her focus while Cartri unwrapped her present, gushing over it. He heaped on the praise, and the teen found herself grinning. "I'm glad you like it," Daiya told him. She earned another set of scratches for that, the droid scrambled again while she was distracted. The sound of struggle reached her throat, letting out her frustration in a grunt before clamping her hand down again on the droid's front paws. Her voice was more strained this time, "It suits you."

The teen really did try to concentrate this time, but the ginger boy's gravel tones kept grating against her focus. She paid half attention to what he was asking, something about a movie. To chill out? Daiya couldn't pin it down, in the same moment she felt a sharp pain in her hand and she could only struggle more against the tanuki droid, which had surely scratched her enough to draw blood this time. "Feth!"

"You are so infuriating!" the teen cried, directing her anger to the droid itself. Her cheeks flushed with embarrassment when she looked up, and saw Cartri waiting for an answer. "I meant the droid, not—" It was in that moment when the droid found its opportunity, and she felt a scramble of sharp claws as the droid shot off like a rocket from her lap. Daiya gave Cartri a hapless look, "Well there it goes, have fun with that one, I guess?"

Daiya dusted herself off, tracing a finger down the new, deep gouges she'd earned in her skin, faint pink lines that turned a sharp white when she pressed at them. No blood, but definitely some wounded pride at her failure to calm the techno-critter. The teen placed her hands in her lap, shrugging as she finally turned her full focus to Cartri. "Yeah, we can do that."

Just as long as she didn't have to wrangle any droids.

Cartri Keswoll Yula Perl Brie Jaxx Doc Painless​

 

[Brie Jaxx]

Brie watched her best friend cuddle and seemingly having a really good hand with the little mechanical creature, just as Cartri agreed with her assertion about lost birthdays and suggested that they should embrace the new normal. Well, it was not that new to be honest, but it was still a destiny that they seemed to share. What was new was seeing Cartri being all nice and smiling at her, though! No one could be cruel on their own birthday, especially their very first real one! More over, dangerous and far away endeavours seemed to bring people closer together, and that was certainly the case with Darkwire.

''Oh? Hmm... Well...'' Brie uttered and narrowed her eyes towards ginger boy, trying to guess what kind of genre would fit the sixteen year old shadowrunner. ''You should probably give some electronic like pop tunes a chance!'' she said and nodded assured of her guess.

As Cartri unwrapped Daiya's present, Brie were little to not surprised of the fact that it was a weapon in the otherwise adorable wrapped box. Always the violent one, was she? It was neat looking though, but Brie gave Daiya a look with raised eyebrows before concentrating on Cartri inspecting the present again.

It wasn't long til that good hand Daiya had with the droid were spoiled and it squirmed out of her hold and scratched her in the process. Brie were happy that the little menace charged off in a completely other direction than towards any of them.

Brie exchanged glances with Yula as Cartri approached Daiya and pretty straight-forward asked her out, even though they could hear a bit of nervousness in his voice. It elicited a wide smile at the scrapped girl and she tried her best to hold back a giggle. ''I guess that excludes us then, Cartri?'' she said and remembered his ill-choosen but cute proposal to her best friend down in the Abyss.

Daiya , Yula Perl , Cartri Keswoll , Doc Painless ​

 

[Cartri Keswoll]

Cartri gave an exited nod to Brie Jaxx s suggestion of trying pop "Sure, I'll give a few tunes a listen" he said thoughtfully before moving onto the present Daiya gave him. All together he loved it, it was quite unique and different compared to any other weapon he had seen. He'd definitely use as a secret weapon if needs be, you never knew when you needed something up your sleeve. Once he was up, he asked the question he was dreading most, asking her out for a date.

The teen looked taken back slightly when she shouted he was so infuriating, or so he thought. Instead, she was trying to keep hold of the nimble rat that was squirming around in her grip. After a few more moments of violent scratching and thrashing, the crafty rat finally managed to break free and scramble around his new home freely again. Cartri sighed slightly, knowing he'd have a hard time catching that rust bucket again later. Either way, even the droid would have a use "Hmph, I'll try too"

His eyes glared to Daiya nervously while she dusted herself off, anxiously waiting for an answer to his question. He had done the hard part, whatever was to be would be now. At least he had plucked up enough courage to do it in the first place. Then, to his surprise she replied with a yes. Cartri let out a big sigh of relief and offered the girl a wide smile "Cool, we'll sort out something later" he said coolly with a new found confidence. Not only had he bagged a cute girl, but his first date.

Chuckling slightly, he lightly scratched his head when Brie asked if it excluded the rest of them "Well, you can still come if you want Brie. I'm not stopping you I guess" He said with a smirk. Believe it or not, He trusted Brie enough not to ruin it or dampen the mood. He was fine with her coming along if she wished.

Looking to his tv, he nodded slowly and looked to the rest of them with a thought in mind "Any of you guys up for watching a horror movie? I've got a whole collection of them on the TV" he said with an excited rub of his hands, rushing to the cupboards to pull out four large bowls and some salted popcorn. Filling them each to the brim, he carefully walked over and placed them on the table for each of them "Just a reminder, the toilets are to the right of us if you suddenly need it" he chuckled, sitting down on a seat next to Brie with pop corn in hand.

"And please, if one of you scare me I'll be more than happy to test that gun on you" he smiled, obviously joking about the threat. For once, Cartri felt like he belonged somewhere. What they did for him today, he'd be sure to never forget their kindness...

Yula Perl Doc Painless​