036. Practice

[electroniccrane]

((OOC: This is the Backdating With Li'l Motoko Post. Tag it 'til the end of time, guys.))

[Motoko is in the buffet. It's her very favorite place on the ship, because it has soda, and no one to tell her she has to stop drinking it

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[electroniccrane]

[Motoko's so intent that she doesn't notice Ace until he speaks. Startled, she loses control and rips the crane she's working on.]

Oh!

[That one goes on the floor.]

Yes, sir. I used to not be able to finish them at all.

[Ace is old. Therefore, he automatically gets respectful treatment.]

[electroniccrane]

[He's a weird grown-up, but Motoko's getting used to that around here. The only normal one is Batou. Obediently, she extends her hand, trying not to stare at his scars.]

[talkback_stein]

[For a while, Chase leans against a table in the buffet not too far off from the young Major's, snacking quietly on some fries - trying to figure out who the heck that is over there, folding paper. Though she's but a child at the moment, they don't even strike him as familiar. It's not something he'll be able to put his finger on from a distance and he knows it, so he does the only logical thing, and he indulges his curiosity.]

[So he sits across from her. Chase is politely curious, and he is unthreatening;]

What are you doing, there?

[electroniccrane]

[Only when Chase speaks does Motoko look up.]

'M making cranes.

[There are a few passable ones on the table in front of her.]

[talkback_stein]

Cranes, huh?

[Chase reaches out to pick one up, to inspect one, but then realises that this might be rude. He pauses mid-reach and points to the nearest one.]

Can I...?

See the icon? It doesn't look like that. XD

[electroniccrane]

Oh, sure.

[It's the act of folding them that matters, not the finished product.

...Fortunately. The crane Chase is reaching for is horribly blighted by nature, or rather, by Motoko's limited manual dexterity.]

[oblique_wisdom]

[This is too much. Jak's a child, a very young child at that. Erol is younger too, and thinks Zelda's Jak's mother. It's precisely this sort of thing that makes Zelda want to hole herself up into her room, wait for everything to die down, and then come back out.

In other words, this is the Captain's idea of 'fun', which really isn't that much fun, but is more like a sickeningly sweet torment. Zelda likes children. A lot. A little too much, she thinks and she's well aware of it. Having so many on board, however, makes her want to sweep them all up into her arms and give them hugs and kisses.

So why's she in the buffet? That place will probably turn into a food fight if all the children of the boat get there. It seems an unwise decision at first, but she's immediately turned by the younger Motoko and whatever it is she's doing. Zelda's cautious in her approach and she stands back a good distance just to analyze the situation.]

Pardon my interruption, but what precisely are you doing?

[After all, it's not like Zelda's even seen

[electroniccrane]

[Motoko starts a bit. Folding takes all her concentration, especially when working with normally-sized origami paper.

She looks over her shoulder at the source of the voice, and her eyes get wide. The lady has pointy ears. Do people do that in America? (Zelda has to be from America; she's blonde.)]

'M foldin' cranes.

[oblique_wisdom]

[Zelda doesn't seem to understand. Cranes are birds. You can't fold birds. That just doesn't work. It doesn't computer. It doesn't make sense.

Her eyebrows furrow in confusion and she lifts a hand to tap the base of her chin. There's something oddly familiar about this young girl. She inches a little closer to look at the other 'cranes', which don't look like birds at all. Well, not much, anyway.]

Folding cranes, little miss?

[electroniccrane]

[How can she be deaf with such big ears?

Wait, she's American, so she probably doesn't know about origami. She's polite for an American, though, so that's good.]

Origami, ma'am. You fold paper to look like things.

[Motoko considers her oeuvre critically, and selects the least-awful figure, offering it to Zelda for inspection.]

These are the wings, and this is the tail, and this is the head.

...'M not very good at it.

[Dated after everyone else has come and gone]

[electronichound]

There you are.

[Batou stands in the doorway before his tread approaches her. He doesn't take a seat, but just crouches down by her chair. He turns his head to show Motoko that he's looking at the cranes, because at this point she doesn't know him well enough to be able to tell what he's looking at.

Batou gently picks up a rather disgruntled looking freak of nature and turns it over in his hands.]

A fascinating replica of Grus Blennus. I'd recognise the characteristic bent tail anywhere.

[electroniccrane]

[Motoko smiles happily at Batou amid the wreckage of her paper-folding efforts.]

Nooooo, it's a crane.

You know how to make cranes!

[Obviously. Batou knows how to do everything.]

[electronichound]

[He smiles back.]

I do. Let's make one together. One of your hands and one of mine.

[Batou peels off a fresh sheet of paper.]

I'll be your left hand.

[electroniccrane]

Um...

[Motoko doesn't think that's going to go so well, but if Batou wants to try it, she's down for it.

She puts her left hand in her lap, out of the way, and reaches for the paper with her right.]

Okay!