Is it the past I see when I look up to the heavens... [Open]

[kirinoftai]

Characters: Taiki (Kirinoftai) and Open!
Content: Taiki explores the ship after joining as a passenger.
Setting: All around the Amestris!
Time: Afternoon/evening some time after the Sabotage stuff.
Warnings: Taiki being naive, adorable and perhaps a little lost, the potential for violence from Sanshi and/or Gouran if you pick on him (but that won't happen

Comments

On the top deck

[canneverregret]

The unicorn had left her hiding place for now. During the day she wandered the decks, looking for any sign of the others. So far, there had been nothing, but she continued to search.

At the moment, she was staring out of the ship to the world below. It looks so small from here... she sighed quietly, and breathed in deeply. Then her eyes widened. That scent! There was magic on board... magic like hers!

Rearing back on her hind legs, she whinnied, and then went charging down the deck towards the source.

She rounded the corner of the hall, and a familiar form made her stop very suddenly. "...Taiki?" The boy hadn't seen her yet, but she was certain it was him!

[kirinoftai]

The sound of hooves clattering on the deck didn't go unheard by him. An animal in human form, Taiki senses were more fine-tuned than most and even from a distance it filtered to him loud and clear. He looked over to the source of the noise, his eyes wide with curiosity. Animals? On board an airship?! That was unexpected!

Of course, when the one responsible for the sound came into view, his eyes lit up even more.

Unicorn!

He couldn't help himself. He ran towards her as fast as his legs could carry him, his breath coming rapidly as he did.

[canneverregret]

"Taiki!" She neighed and reared back with delight, leaping just a little closer, but did not run to him, as that would probably have caused a collision. When he came close enough, she nuzzled him happily, her joy building with every passing second.

[kirinoftai]

He knew that it couldn't have been very long since he last saw her, but it felt like a lifetime! He laughed upon being nuzzled, his voice musical and sweetly juvenile.

"You're here!" He said happily, overjoyed to see her again.

Near the mess hall

[notrueking]

It was about an hour or so before the next meeting about the investigation-too long to count as a break, but not long enough to truly accomplish anything productive. Really, it seemed like a complete waste of time, as he'd just finished a meeting with another group.

...perhaps it was best to try and get some lunch. He wasn't particularly hungry, but he hadn't had anything to eat for a while... it might start bothering him later. Human limitations were such an annoyance.

[kirinoftai]

Taiki, had be been able to perform all of the magic and feats usually attributed to his species, would have been able to fully agree with the unspoken gripe about human limitations. As it was, it was all he knew.

He wasn't hungry, so he wasn't heading to the mess hall for food, it instead being simply another avenue of exploration. The smell of food was tantalising, but it was too thick with the smell of meat to appeal to him very much. The man that he saw there, a tall one with an eye patch and a moustache, made him slightly uncomfortable, though he couldn't work out why.

He was a little scary, so he slowed his pace, approaching gingerly.

[notrueking]

...ah. Who was that? Bradley didn't recognize the young-

...

...it took him a bit longer than usual to figure out that was a boy rather than a girl, and he still wasn't sure. How odd. In any case, the... child... looked somewhat lost. Well, given how he intended to be perceived...

"Ah... are you lost?"

[kirinoftai]

"N-not really..." he said, shrinking back slightly. "I'm just kind of looking around. A-am I not meant to be here?"

Yes, this man was very unsettling. He didn't look all that mean, but he definitely rang wrong to the boy. Luckily, he wasn't worldly enough to have even the faintest hope of figuring out why. Perhaps it was the moustache. It was hairy and strange, lurking on his lip like that.

He tried not to wince or cringe.

Cabins!

[peoplenpudding]

Millie had finally located Meg, the little egg creature having gone off into the pantry. The poor thing had a stomach ache now, and Millie was taking her back to the cabins.

"Maybe next time you won't eat so much," she murmured, rubbing Meg's little tummy. "I learned years ago not to eat too much."

[kirinoftai]

Taiki rounded a corner near the cabins and found himself looking up at an incredibly tall lady. She was much, much taller than any other girls he'd seen! She was holding a cute little bird thing too, and that caught his attention quickly.

"What's that?" He asked, looking extremely interested in the creature.

He'd never seen one before, but it seemed to almost ooze happiness, even though it obviously wasn't feeling well.

[peoplenpudding]

Millie, a little surprised at the sudden appearance of a boy, smiled. "This is Meg. I don't know what she is, really, except adorable!" Meg waved to the boy, one hand on her tummy. "Are you new?"

[kirinoftai]

"She's really cute!" He said, his face lighting up as he voiced his agreement. "I am! My name's Taiki. What's yours?"

He went with his Kirin name instead of his human one. It was what he'd grown used to, after all.

Far below deck, in the engine room/forge area (or just outside of it)

[temperedsilver]

His services no longer at peak demand, the lone mechanic found himself once more in possession of ample free time. Time which was to be spent in seclusion, toiling on various pet projects at a safe distance below the more more populated areas of the Amestris, his work accompanied endlessly by the soothing rhythm of her clanging, steamy organs.

The passage of the day was difficult to measure from deep inside the great beast, but the teenager inferred that he had been hunched over his current project for hours, the scattering of small parts that had formerly littered the table now assembled to reflect the diagram pictured in his reference book.

"There," Riku stated proudly, flipping the book shut to mark his achievement.

[kirinoftai]

The day was wearing on and Taiki had a very strong feeling that he shouldn't be anywhere near where he was wandering, but he hadn't seen anybody to ask so far. He walked on near-silent feet until he reached the Engine Room and found himself curious about the boy he saw there. His hair was silvery and that, to Taiki, was very odd on somebody not old and not obviously magical, like Sanshi or Unicorn.

When he heard him speak, apparently to nobody, he spoke up, his voice announcing his presence.

"What are you doing?" He asked quietly, his voice full of curiosity.

[temperedsilver]

His thoughts shifting towards the mundane tasks of washing up and pursuing dinner, the older youth barely perceived the sensation of being watched before a small voice caught his attention. Starting slightly at the sound he turned, his eyes settling on the tiny intruder in bafflement.

"What?" he echoed automatically, quickly searching the figure up and down as he thought, thoroughly unsettled by the boy's sudden and mysterious presence. "Hah, I could ask you the same, kid."

[kirinoftai]

"I think I'm lost," he admitted, looking at the stranger nearly nervously. "I'm a new passenger. I-Is this area off limits?"

He knew that if it was, it was likely due to security reasons. It wouldn't do to have random people wandering around so soon after somebody had tried to do damage to the ship, after all.

He felt a little bad for making the older boy jump, too. It hadn't been his intention and the guilt showed on his face.

[edge_of_honor]

Now fully recovered, Edgeworth walked around on patrol. While logically he knew there wouldn't be too much trouble now that the captain was back, his nerves were still taut and his senses were alert. Even the slightest inattentiveness could bring trouble back onto the ship.

So it was no surprise that he noticed the boy practically stumbling around the ship. He wasn't skulking around like a stowaway, but rather just looked lost and rather confused. Edgeworth humphed to himself and walked over; while he doubted the child was a threat, they didn't need him getting underfoot, either. He cleared his throat as he approached, and asked, "May I help you?"

Eeeh! I've never got to play with him before. <3

[kirinoftai]

Taiki stared up at the man with wide, innocent eyes. He didn't feel as lost as earlier, but he still didn't feel quite at home. He didn't consciously make himself look not-guilty or try and make himself look sweet, as somebody with negative intentions might, and the puppy that he'd summoned to follow him and keep him away from sources of potential danger (like the Engine room -- that had been a close one!) didn't so much as growl when he addressed his master. To the contrary, it looked as sweet as the boy, from its nose right down to the tip of its curly tail.

"U-um, could you tell me the way back to the cabins, please?" He asked, speaking clearly and politely. He'd obviously been raised well, even if his sense of direction wasn't the best. "My name is Taiki, I'm a new passenger!" He said, making sure to include that to let him know that he was supposed to be there.

[edge_of_honor]

Edgeworth looked down at the boy (and his little dog too) and noted his demeanor. He was polite, if excitable, and unlike the other obnoxious pet owners he had to deal with in the past, his animal seemed well trained. However, he did wonder if this was his first time on an airship. It would certainly explain his behavior.

"You're on the right path, almost," he said. "Simply go straight and take a right."

Edgeworth paused for a moment, before he asked, "Are you travelling alone, or with somebody else?"

[kirinoftai]

Taiki committed that to memory, frowning as he made sure to remember it. If not, he was pretty sure that Gouran wouldn't forget. Even though his form was that of a tiny Shiba Inu puppy, he was far more monstrous and much more intelligent than the little ball of fluff guise he wore gave him credit for.

"I'm here alone," he said, being totally honest. Well, aside from his Shirei anyway, but summons didn't count as accompaniment, right? "That's... not a problem is it?"

He hoped not. He was only ten, but he'd not had any issues signing on as a passenger, so he'd be disappointed to find that he had to leave because he was unaccompanied by an adult. Aside from Unicorn, anyway.