• Nobles of Null is a forum based roleplay site where sci-fi and magic collide. Here, Earth remains fractured and divided despite humanity reaching out to the stars. Worse still, the trans-human slaves of one major power have escaped, only to establish their own Empire, seething with resentment at abuses of the past. Even the discovery of aliens, though medieval in development, has failed to rally these squabbling children of Earth together with its far darker implications. Worse still, is the discovery of the impossible - magic. Practiced by the alien locals, nearly depleted and therefore rare, its reality warping abilities remains abstract and distant to the general populace. All the while, unseen in the darkness of space, forces from without threaten to press in. For those with eyes opened by insight, it is clear that an era is about to end, and that a new age will dawn.

Day in the Life: The Freed Chongwu: The Freedom of Creativity (18+)

TheCountryWarrior

TheCountryWarrior

Member
The office of Alymande Sphenta had undergone exactly zero decoration stages. She'd sat down in the room when she got the job, and since then she'd rarely had the chance to do much else in there but work. She contemplated decorating over the weekend, but the thought of being in this room longer than necessary gave her the most melancholy feeling. She was too busy to want to be here after hours, and besides, she had more work in the night. Work of a more secretive kind, of a slightly less sanctioned kind. For now, the day was slowly drawing to a close, and she rushed to finish the work. Information slithered through her mind, that then soaked that info up. It could then be used to further her work. Her work, at the moment, was building a city district for the freed Chongwu, a place that could accommodate all the eccentricities of their existence. She had support from the Machine Assembly, among their number being the mysterious Dr. Knowledgebot who took special interest in the process, and who supported her night job when it was time for such things.

People, Aly found, were impressively hard to work with sometimes. No matter the person. They could be fuzzy, human, the Aos Si, anyone, all could find a way to test her patience. She'd just finished three conversations at once as they battled for attention on her multiple monitors, her golden tail twitching with frustration behind her, just out of sight of those on video call. Too much needed doing, and not enough was available to go around. She'd pushed her mind to her limit twice already this week, too full of excess information to process anything new, the limitations of her enhanced creation apparent as she held a project on her back after declaring she could handle it.

She needed her weekend off. Otherwise she wasn't sure what she'd do, but it would be profoundly unpleasant and probably accidentally directed at someone she didn't actually hate at all.
 
There was a slight knock at the door, before a familiar figure allowed himself in. It was Remi, the secretary-bird-form who Aly already went on two dates with, including one passionate night. His black and white features were well combed and cleaned, the brilliance of the orange plumage around his eyes on full display, juxtaposed against the humble, blue flight suit he wore as a security guard, managing a squad of drones that patrolled the premise. Following him was a service drone, carrying two cups of coffee on top of its flat head.

"Evening, Ms. Sphenta." Remi put a cup of coffee in front of her, then clicked, to himself, before drinking from the other casually, a feathery arm crossing his abdomen. "Will you be busy in the next few days?"
 
The sight of this bird man was almost more than she could handle, but in the complete opposite direction from everything else that had plagued her week. She smiled and grasped the coffee, taking a generous sip before she sighed happily. "Remi, you've saved my life you gorgeous beast." She leaned back, finally taking a moment today to stretch and relax. "Well that depends on how long you need. If maybe you've got a weekend off," she purred, "I'd be more than happy to see what you have in store." She leaned forward, hand holding up her chin as she smiled mischievously at him. "Did you perhaps have plans?"
 
"Of course I do." Remi nodded, leaning down, closer to her face. His beak didn't allow him to emote, but his eyes were lit, and his voice modulator moved his words happily. "There's a hill on the outskirts of the city that can see all the arcologies, and it's quite pretty, now that it's snowing. I plan on bringing my art supplies and pitching a tent up there, then see if I can get some paintings done throughout the entire day." He booped Aly's nose with his beak affectionately. "I'd like company besides my drones for once. I assume you'd join me?"
 
She purred louder, instinctively nuzzling her nose against his beak as she sighed harder, her eyes closing at the mere mention of such a relaxing time. "Remi, you feathered angel, that's exactly what I need. I need to get out of this city for a while, and just breathe." She pulled back, smiling at him. "Oh! I can finally see you paint! Watch a master at work, and enjoy the sights. Now that's a date." She looked back at her monitors, then to him once more. "When and where should I meet you? I'll pack a bag, we'll camp!" Visibly excited, her tail was lashing behind her, eyes shining with apprehension. "Oh I love the idea."
 
Remi clicked and clacked, stepping back, a feathering arm covering his beak shyly. "Oh, I wouldn't call myself a master. Let's meet at the edge of the city tomorrow morning; I'll send you a location later this evening. I'll rent an off-roader."
 
"Alright Pretty Bird," she said with a smile, "I'll see you there."

She'd gone back to work with a new pep in her metaphorical step, as she technically couldn't leave yet. But as soon as the work was done, she returned to her apartment and gathered much comfier clothes, snacks, a thermos, and then showered with giddy excitement. She slept quickly, dreaming of open fields and enjoyable days, and when she awoke she grabbed her bags and had a thought. Just in case, she took some extra tools: rope and a climbing axe, emergency rations, and buried a single pistol deep into her bag, and packed a couple extra magazines just in case. She briefly admonished herself for being paranoid, and yet like any paranoid told herself it's only paranoia if they're not actually after you.

With that in mind, then shaken out with another admonition, she made her way to the edge of the city, to the location he'd sent her last night. She was still giddy with excitement, now dressed in jeans and a t-shirt, far less official looking as she marched onward to a weekend away from the city.
 
Remi was waiting next to a small, white truck with a single passenger seat, a few crates strapped to the bed in the back. In contrast to Aly, he was wearing a puffy jacket and two layers of pants, browsing on his datapad until he spotted Aly from the corner of his eye. Seeing her get up, he clicked and shook his head, walking up to her with another coat.

"You really are a city kitty, you can't just go out camping in the middle of winter with just a T-shirt." Remi teased, coming up behind her to drape the coat over her. "Luckily, I did this more than once with other people."
 
She scoffed playfully, feeling the coat press down on her. "I have fur!" She protested, purring. "Just take me to your secret wilderness cabin," she joked, placing her bag at the feet of the passenger seat. "This is how horror stories start you know," she giggled. "Two sexually compatible adults going into the wilderness together. We're lucky there's no Camps out there for a spooky bastard to call home. That I know of." She sat in the passenger seat, stretching in her new coat. City Kitty. I know it's a lil insult, but it makes me sound alluring."
 
Remi rolled his eyes in return. "If you want a real scare, there's always that unfinished floor in a skyscraper that I can always rent. Another time, perhaps." His back feathers lifted as he imagined scandalously.

The secretary-bird drove the off-roader out of the city, away from the masses and the crisscrossing skybridges and towering skyscrapers, out into a sudden, undeveloped wilderness, snow blanketing the grasslands. As their vehicle rumbled up a hilly range a few kilometers out from the city, Remi engaged Aly in conversation. He talked about the other paintings he created up here at other times of the year, running her through basic camping skills and how to handle the security drones he brought with him. The conversation turned more pragmatic when he discussed when to use the firearm, but then cheerfully looped back to daily work life, the steady monotony that came with the whole project they were both participating in, something greater than themselves.

Eventually, Remi stopped the off-roader at the peak of a smooth rolling hill, mostly barren, trees dotting the slopes. True to his word, it oversaw the entirety of New Cambridge, how it hugged the estuary and ocean shores, a wall around the arcologies that were continuously growing upward.
 
The ride was pleasant, a good start to a weekend. She didn't feel the need to tell Remi about the gun in her bag, given he had one too. Honestly, she felt safer knowing he was prepared. It made sense, given what she knew of his history. It was like her more dangerous friends said, can't be too prepared. Finally she stepped out of the off-roader, mouth agape as she looked at the view. She was transfixed, her eyes upon the glittering world she lived on and never had the chance to see from this angle. The arcologies grew taller, like the skyscrapers within, and the benefit of that was the water at it's banks glittered in the sunlight. She was captured in it's beauty, trapped as she smiled. Never before had she ever been to a world and had the chance to just... see it. She was at peace, finally, after a week of hell.
 
Remi's eyes lit at Aly's entrancement, not-so-surreptitiously taking a picture of her gazing at the landscape below, in the background, with a audible snap coming from the datapad. He clicked at Aly, then got to work offloading all the equipment from the truck, first letting the security drones out to patrol around the area, afterwards setting down a crated tent that began to assemble itself. Remi then put an electric heater in front of the tent, hooking it up to the off-roader with a cable, warming the air around them. Satisfied with the current setup, the tent assembling itself without hiccup, the secretary-bird finally got to work building his artstation, a crate of canvases, brushes, and paint, scooping up some snow in a bucket, setting it next to the heater to melt.
 
The click of the datapad roused her from her stupor, head quickly turning to see what the noise was. Cheeks flushed, she gave a little scoff, still smiling. "Like the paparazzi over here." She walked around as he set up camp, playing in the snow with a few little hops, feeling the crunch under her feet with a giggle. As he set up his station, she sat on the empty crate, watching him. She was transfixed again, watching with big cat eyes, taking the entire sight in. "You often paint here alone? Just watching the world and capturing a single solitary moment with your brushes? There's something Romantic about that. Like, the style, the era I mean. Not just the typical meaning."
 
"Heh, I suppose it does harken back to the Romantic period of human history, doesn't it." Remi clicked, setting a canvas down on his wireframe lengthwise, then setting to work on it with swathes of blue, white, and grey, with tinges of green and yellow for the sunlight and vegetation. "It helps me relax. Urban life, work life, it's all very noisy, especially for our heightened senses. For you, it's probably hearing and smell. For me, it's sight; there's just too much of it, with all the ads, the minute details of people, all the color..."

Remi made a wide, passionate stroke of blue across the entire canvas, some of the paint landing to the ground. He sighed, dipping the brush into the cold water, then continuing with a dab of white. "Painting lets me focus on what's important, visually, in this single instance. It lets me focus and relax."
 
She watched as, with skill, a blank canvas was given life. A moment stolen away and placed upon a canvas, the wizard capable of this power being her current flame, Remi. The sight filled her heart with a certain thump, watching skillful hands create like so. "It's the hearing, the smell, and in some cases the taste of the air too. Despite the gleaming brochure, the robots put people in their cities, and that's why they're so messy." She sighed, head tilted to the side. "I wish I'd have thought of this sooner. It's so..." she paused, breathing the free air. Free of the city, free of corruption, and a sign of her own freedom. "It's so damn peaceful out here. I could stay here forever," she said with a quiet sigh.
 
"Still, the city is where home is, and you really don't want to stay out here for too long, with the Grawla around the elements." Remi admonished. "It's certainly a nice break." Half an hour passed, with Remi at the painting with his brush, intermittently commenting to Aly. Eventually, he finished his first piece of the day. The painting was of the city hugging the sea and river, abstract, with wide, bold swathes of color. Remi took a few steps back, admiring his work, turning to look at Aly for approval.
 
She hopped off the crate, and approached his work to appraise it. Of course, she'd already made up her mind. After looking it over with a smile, she giggled and looked to him. "It's magnificent. I can see the city, and the bay, recognizable but not exact. There's a certain timelessness to it." Hands behind her back, smiling giddily, she said, "Do you ever sell these? This seems like the sort of thing you should be remembered for. Art, on a hill with someone you like, showing life as it was. Like I said, this stuff is timeless."
 
Remi shook his head. "The job pays me well enough for what I need. Most of these I keep in my apartment. Though... occasionally, once or twice a year, I do take commissions." At the thought, his stomach growled, and he covered himself with his arms shyly again. "Whoops, sorry about that. I suppose it's time for breakfast." He lifted a crate from the off-roader, carrying it into the tent. From the insulated compartments, Remi handed Aly a bag of dried fish and a thermistor of coffee, while he enjoyed a bag of fried scorpion himself. A mat covered the snowy ground, sleeping bags resting on top. Remi kneeled down on his, crunching away at the critters.
 
She crawled into the tent, warm and safe from the elements. She took a sip, feeling that warmth enter her body, and purred. She snacked on her fish as she struck up the same conversation. "Well if you don't sell them, and you just leave them in your apartment, then..." she fixed him with the Big Cat Eyes. "Perhaps, if you feel so inclined, could I have one? I can put it in the office, and show everyone who comes by how talented you are. Seriously, Rem, this talent is the sort that deserves some praise."
 
"Dammit..." Remi's back feathers rose, then chirped. "You're too cute to say no to. Not that I was going to, anyways. Once we're done with all the painting for the day, I'll let you take your pick. See which one you like the most."
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top