Once Miss Calculated manages to get her breathing mostly under control, she wipes away a bit of moisture from the corners of both of her eyes and looks at 08 once again.
“Ahem, carrying on. How likely do you think it is that your owner would willingly sell at least your core for a reasonable price, but ideally your shell as well, once it is available? Considering he had your core remounted so you could keep working while your body is out for repairs, I assume he noticed that you’re... more developed than usual.” As Miss Calculated finishes saying her observation at the end, 08 sharply rotates its head to look at 23 to click and beep at it at a faster rate than their previous conversations.
The glass shard inspection bot sets the box containing the strawberry sponge cake on top of one of the few still structurally sound portions of the counter. Shortly after, 23 collects the Miss Masher-requested beverages, puts them in a cardboard 5-cup holder, then places them alongside the cakebox.“If you don’t have any other requests, that should be everything for you and your companions for this evening, Miss Masher.” As 23 addresses her, it nudges her share of the order towards her.“Hmm? Oh, nice. Yeah, that should be everythin’.” Miss Masher shuts off and pockets her phone as soon as she realized 23 was speaking to her.Once it’s safely tucked away, she lifts up the severed limb that was still hanging off of her shoulder and waves it from side to side. Considerin
While Miss Calculated and Miss Chievous crowd around Jonathan near one of the sinks in the men's room, Lucas is instead looking at the jagged edges of the forcibly opened section of the wall.'That's... a way bigger opening than he possibly needed. Did he hang out and smash the wall a little extra just for fun?'[...While you were within task range, you weren't close enough for me to monitor his actions at the time. I'd speculate that he was angered by how loud the process was, or with how uncooperative the wall was, so he likely vented some of his frustrations on it.]‘...Yeah, probably...’Miss Calculated making a soft “Ah” pulls Lucas’
After Lucas and Jonathan have given their partings to 23 and 08, they are now on the sidewalk near the intersection...“Jon. Jon. Hey, Jon.” Lucas’s enthusiasm caught Jonathan’s attention right away, but he takes a moment to respond.“Um, w-what?” Once Jonathan looks up at him, Lucas cracks a huge grin.“Look what I can do!” Before Lucas is even completely done shouting, he starts taking a few running steps towards the crosswalk in the direction they need to go.It’s a rather noisy process, considering how much shattered glass is scattered around the area. As he runs to the edge of the crosswalk, he should have slipped and eaten concrete at
Lucas pulls open the large glass outer door to Pie Palace’s vestibule, beckoning for Jonathan to go in ahead of him, as usual.Thankfully for Jonathan, he doesn’t have to touch the handle on the inner door either, as the service bot maître d' had noticed their approach and opened the door for them. Its gaze stays on Jonathan long enough to acknowledge his presence before shifting its attention to Lucas a few steps behind him.Once Lucas walks into a comfortable conversational range, the bot addresses him. “Good evening, honored guests. Would you care for a table for two, or..?”“Huh? Oh, uh, we’re actually meetin’ up with a bunch of people that are already here.” Lucas has an absent-minded tone as he answers, peering past the programmed ‘person&
Once Lucas and Jonathan are mostly settled into their seats, the service bot that led them over approaches and sets the two menus it brought with it in front of them. Upon Lucas noticing just how thick the nearly 20-page black leather-bound menu is, he flinches and grimaces slightly.‘Holy shit. After the way today’s been, I do NOT have the energy left to choose between that many options.’[Executive functions aren’t exactly your strong suit in the first place.]‘Hey! Watch it, buddy! Not cool!’[...The amount of money you wasted on excessive clothing because
Upon Mark’s shift in his attention, Josephine makes an amused snort and turns her focus down to her own recently arrived meal as well.Now that Lucas is no longer being amused by their drama, he pointedly looks away from their plates, as he’s uncomfortably aware of how hungry he is.Jonathan, on the other hand, is actively coveting the tasty treats. At least the threat of GDV loss is stopping him from snatching some at super-speed for himself.‘Hey, wait a minute. If there’s anyone I know with a compellin’ reason to be vegan, it’d be Dan, yeah? What is he..?’Lucas turns to look at Dan in time to see his nose twitch a bit as he takes a big sniff.Dan finally stops focus
Once Josephine is done with her introduction, Alley Cat’s soft gasp carries through the phone.“Oh! Josephine Hendry, the violinist, right? Your latest album was lovely! Hehe, Miss Calculated wouldn’t stop gushing over it. Will you be doing any more performances anytime soon?” Alley Cat’s genuine enthusiasm makes it clear that they aren’t just being polite.Mark snickers, but largely represses it. Sort-of.Josephine smiles at first, but it shifts into a sheepish expression after the reminder of Miss Calculated’s relatively recent antics. She quietly clears her throat as she subconsciously leans closer to the phone before speaking up.“Yes, thank you. She, ah, told me herself.” Josephine pauses in the middle of giving her answer, waiting out the mixed laughter from both her local and remote companions. “And, yes, actually. I just finished the negotiations for the dates and venues for several performances not that long ago.”“Oh! I’ll be sure to have someone on the lookout for tickets o
Lucas’s wandering attention somehow meanders its way back on track.“So, Cafe Cup, yeah? Got it, catch ya there, then?” Lucas’s question is quickly answered by an agreeable hum on Alley Cat’s part. As there wasn’t much of a need for Lucas to keep staring at the phone during the conversation, he was looking around the restaurant. Upon noticing a service bot heading their way from the kitchens, his face lights up in anticipation of noms.“If there isn’t anything else, I’ll let ya get back to whatever yer workin’ on.” Even though Lucas is clearly addressing Alley Cat, his attention is wholly on the approaching bot. As it gets closer, he reaches his arms out in its direction, rather reminiscent of a child begging to be picked up. He’s even bouncing his legs and repeatedly opening and closing his hands, earning a few chuckles from his local companions.These not-so-subtle movements quickly catch Jonathan’s attention. Seeing the incoming tray leads to him putting his own phone away, eager