8196/A new pet for Nettie

A new pet for Nettie
Date of Scene:	10 October 2021
Location:	Candle, Booke and Belle
Synopsis:	Mairin gets chewed out for getting captured, and gives Nettie an advanced robot cat named Emily.
Cast of Characters:	Mairin Moran, Nettie Crowe, Tynan Ireton

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Mairin Moran has posed:
    Mairin slides into the shop with a large gym bag slung over her shoulder, and a smile on her face. She seems in much better spirits than the last time she was here, and very good spirits considering she was just abducted the day before. But advice from the gods will do that for you.

Nettie Crowe has posed:
    The Candle, Booke and Belle was not popular on Sunday Nights. It typically closes early for the day so that Nettie can do some running around on errands, but today she seemed maudlin, distracted.

    As Mairin enters the shop, the ringing of the witch bells protecting the main door ward rings cheerily, and Nettie gives a distracted bit of a wave.

Tynan Ireton has posed:
    Batten down de hatches! There's definitely a not very happy Tynan coming into the shop. The woman is looking especially at Mairin. "Alright lass, you're going to go through some very painful and necessary lessons on how not to get abducted.", she says. The young merc glares at the scienctist.

    She storms over to Mairin, and takes a deep breath. "Where I'm from, if I hadn't gotten contacted when I did, there wouldn't have been a body to even bury! Not to mention how it makes me look. That I can't protect others.", she says. The woman seems to have taken the abduction as a hit to her professionalism...

Mairin Moran has posed:
    The fact that Nettie is out of sorts isn't lost on Mairin and it immediatly puts a damper on the spring in her step. She returns the wave, her own purposely cheerful in an attempt to long distance cheer Nettie up. She finishes pouring her tea, and then is about to head to Nettie when Ty storms in like a raging tiger.

    "I... It wasn't like that," she tries to explain as she finishes walking to Nettie. She sets the bag down on the floor, and from the way she does it, it must weigh more than it looks like.

    "I was just walking back home," she starts, including Nettie, since she already knows the woman will have her own words after the whole 'being held at knifepoint' incident.

    "I was heading home, and these men got out of a car. They asked me who I was... I told them... and then they told me to gt in the car. That their boss had a very expensive and rare robot that I was going to fix." She shrugs, "So I went with them. What else was I supposed to do?"

Nettie Crowe has posed:
    "Mmm? was Mairin abducted?" Nettie asks, looking at the two students as they come in, storming in, really, one grumpy and one stating it wasn't a Big deal. She steeples her fingers a moment, and she looks at Mairin, listening carefully as she blinks, a very neutral expression on her face as she breathes out.

    "Was there anything you could have done to stop yourself from being taken?" she questions a moment as she pushes back from the counter, and gives a small s niff as she pours from her steam kettles, and produces two cups of tea for the girls.

    "And Ty is right. An abduction leads sometimes to a body recovery rather than a person recovery. I'd rather you not get kidnapped."

Tynan Ireton has posed:
    Ty nods her head for the cup of tea. Hurricane Tynan settles down to Tropical Depression Tynan cause of the tea. There's even a small hint of fear of spilling the tea as she carefully sips it, and puts it down. "Aye she was. And from the accounts, she just went with them. I mean, how...ARG! I just can't fathom why?!", the mercenary says.

    "Mairin, do you know how...dangerious the world really is? And thats not taking into account into whatever we might step into now.", she points out. Ty takes another sip of tea, and breathes out. "I don't know anything about magic, or how its used, or what it does. One thing I do know is that you don't go somewhere willingly. Or go somewhere cause somebody tells you. There's old stories about the thesholds of doors being protection form things. Don't know if thats true, but that also goes the other way as well.", she says.

    Ty looks at Mairin a long moment. "And what if Nettie were to ask us to accompany her on something? And there's danger or something just goes, "Hey, can you step away from the magic person? You going to step out of the way?", she asks.

Nettie Crowe has posed:
    "Mairin knows how dangerous the world is. She is a child of Gotham. God, that city's a fuckin' mess." Nettie interjects, pouring herself a cup of tea.

Mairin Moran has posed:
    Mairin looks back and forth between the two, her expression slowly becoming indignant. "What was I supposed to do?" she asks back, primarily to Nettie. "Sure, I could have fought them. I could have ran away. But I don't need to have a PhD in physics to know I can't outrun bullets. I assessed the situation and the odds of survival if I ran, or if I went. And at least if I went, and did what they said, there was a chance they'd let me go." She turns back to Ty. "I'm sorry you had to come get me. I'm sorry I'm... a bother..." Her eyes are tearing by this point. "But I'm just a scientist. I'm not some mercenary... or.. or a hundred year old witch." She wipes a hand across her eyes. "I'm just a regular person trying to do the best she can to survive a world that just gets more dangerous every day."

    She sniffs and focusses on the counter and her tea, which she takes a slow sip of as she works to bring her breathing under control.

Nettie Crowe has posed:
    "Which is why, precisely, I am not mad at you, Mairin. Looking at a situation and doing the logical thing, recognizing your chances of survival, you did what you thought best at the time. I can't fault you that." she states, and motions to Tynan. "Tynan is correct, however. And given my own shortcomings, I would ask that you forgive her this moment of forgetfulness, and perhaps, calmly, explain what could have been done, given her lack of training."

Tynan Ireton has posed:
    "I'm a daughter of Madripor. So, yeah, craziness is pretty much up my alley. For starters, abductors do not like loud victims. If they were intending to kill you, they would have just shot you, and took your body away. They had the intent of taking you alive. Screaming or causing a scene would have attracted attention. Must kidnappers would rather run then have people come out looking at whats going on.", Tynan tells.

    The woman sips her tea, thinking carefully. "Another thing is that if they got close enough to grab you, breaking the Hyoid bone in the throat. Anyone can do it if they know about the small bone inside the throat. Its just above the adam's apple on a man. If fighting a woman, you slide your hand just under the jaw. Where the jaw and neck meet. Break it, and the person can't scream, and likely will sofficate.", the woman says.

    Ty looks down at her empty tea cup..."Third is pepper spray or taser. Using either can cause an abductor to scream out, which is much like the first option. Attracting attention.", Tynan states.

    "Fourth is learning vital points, and defensive escapes. Kicks to the groin, knees, strikes to the wrists and rolling wrists to prevent grabs. Eye gouges, and strikes at the nostrals.", the mercenary continues. "Give me a minute to think of a few more. Also, having a cellphone on thats recording. Police can real time track those now if they're being boardcast live. Hence why I use burner phones since I'm internationally wanted, and they can track those as well."

Mairin Moran has posed:
    Mairin listens patiently, Sipping her tea as Ty goes over all of the things she could have done. She frowns at the very idea of actually suffocating someone. But the idea of using her phone makes her look more sheepish than anything. She really should have thought of that. When Ty finishes, she sets her tea down and takes a deep breath. "I'll admit I didn't consider that making a fuss about it would have disuaded them much. They seemed very determined and.. Well to be honest, Gotham isn't the kind of place where people tend to put their noses into someone elses trouble."

    She looks to Nettie, then back to Ty. "I would appreciate you teaching me what you can. You're right that I can't just rely on other people all the time. And..." She smiles wider. "I really do appreciate you coming to my rescue."

Nettie Crowe has posed:
    "Excellent. Good show class." Nettie replies distractedly "Ty, you teach Mairin how to break the bone and suffocate someone until she's comfortable with it, and Mairin, teach Ty... something. Should all learn from one another." she mumbles, and she reaches into her pocket, and pulls out a deck of cards. They look ancient. and she's tapping down her shirt -- and then looks down and mutters a 'bloody -- other... jacket...'.

Tynan Ireton has posed:
    Ty pauses a moment, and looks at Nettie. A long pause here, before Ty motions Mairin back. Ty steps in front of Mairin, and settles into a combat pose for a moment. "Pardon?", she asks carefully. "Not quite sure I heard that part right...", she says. "Besides, I can't teach it."

Mairin Moran has posed:
    Mairin looks at Ty, then back at Nettie, and the concern on her face is painfully obvious. "Maybe soon, Ty." But the frown is turned back up as she remembers her bag. "Oh! I almost forgot. I brought you something Nettie!"

    She crouches down and opens the bag, fiddling with something inside before standing back up with... A cat! But not just any cat! No no... Mairin wouldn't be so vanilla. This is a robot cat! It's actually about the same size as a full grown feline, but without any fur. It's metalic body has still been painstakingly shaped and molded to resemble it's organic kin, and it moves with the same sinuous grace. Ears swivel and eyes blink as it looks around the shop, little internal processors computing its surroundings in adorable computing cycles.

    Mairin places it on the counter with a grin that goes from ear to ear.

Nettie Crowe has posed:
"Aye, soon. Gotta get her used to throat-punching first. Maybe kickboxing? How high can you kick, Mair--" Nettie was distracted as she rummaged around to grab the fabric packet of cigarettes, and she pauses a moment to regard the feline thing that has seemed to magically appear on her counter.

    From above, Corvax comes to land on the counter as well, feathers ruffled.

    "A cat? A CAT? What kind of generic Witch do you take Nettie for, Maireeeeeenphhbhh!" his beak is grabbed by nettie.

    "Corvax. You have caused enough trouble at the bar last night." she states in a sharp mutter, and then turns to regard the cat again.

    "Interesting. Is this a... toy?"

Tynan Ireton has posed:
    Ty just blinks a few times, and shakes her head a bit. "Alright, you're enrolling in a kickboxing school, or I could take you to the worst school you could ever imagine. Taskmaster's school for criminals. Trust me, they teach every dirty trick in the book there. Don't know if Taskmaster would let you in the front door, but well, maybe.", she tells Mairin. Really does Tynan know Taskmaster? Yes, he got her a safehouse when she first got to the states.

    "Though, Taskmaster is a very very very dangerious, yet good teacher. Just...don't take any money...credit cards....Cellphones....In fact, lets forget that idea...You're not ready for that type of stuff. Self defense course for you.", she tells Mairin.

Mairin Moran has posed:
    Laughs, but it's a little nervously after Corvax's comment. "No, silly. It's a robot. I made him for you. It's not to replace COrvax or anything. Nothing could do that. It's just to help you around here and... Keep you company." She faulters a bit, kind of waiting for a positive sign.. then bulls ahead anyway.

    I loaded him with a basic self-learning AI, but I've already included all the basic stuff. He won't jump on anything unless you ask him or tell him its ok. He wont break anything. He doesn't need attention, but he'll respond... And he can help keep the place clean."

    She takes the chance to look to Ty, because... why would she care exactly how Nettie reacted? No reason. No reason at all. "Oh... That... sounds nice?"

Mairin Moran has posed:
    The robot cat walks across the counter a little to look at Nettie, green eyes blinking, and a little "meow" comes out of it's open mouth. Uncannily cat-sounding.

Nettie Crowe has posed:
    Nettie drops the packet of cigarettes to the side, and she draws down a bit. Her aquamarine eyes go level with the cat, her nose sticking up above the edge of the counter as she wiggles her fingers a little to get the cat's attention.

    "Oh. Oh that is brilliant. Completely brilliant. The world's going to be beatin' a path to your door, Mair. Oh! Aren't you just the most brilliant little thing -- so what, he keeps the place clean? Like... a Rhubus? Tuumba?" Nettie asks, perfectly distracted by a cat on the counter.

    Corvax gives a siiiigh.

    "Hasn't slept, that one. Constaintine got a wild hare up his arse and took off, but she's rightly pissed at him."

Tynan Ireton has posed:
    Ty shakes her head a little bit, and gives her own depressed sigh before changing gears a bit. She isn't about to get a pet, real or fake. Just...not good for somebody who runs around. "Speaking of a Constantine. Permission to fight him in a duel. I mean, its all showy and stuff to get takeout from another city, but I'm just curious of how to use magic with my skill set. I want to see what its capable of when somewhere where there's no time to set up, and under pressure.", Ty says. Ty is the practical one.

Mairin Moran has posed:
    Mairin blushes a dark red as Nettie compliments her work. "It's really.. It's nothing. Just a design I'd been working on for a while and, well I was inspired to finish it the other day." She glances at Ty and the woman can see Mairin is positively beaming.

    "He can do whatever you train him to do really. And if you want him to do something in particular, I could probably modify him to be able to. That's the thing with robots.. they're really a blank slate." She 'pets' the cat down its back and he arches just like a real one would, it's tail lifting high into the air. "She is a good girl... aren't you Emily."

    Emily meows again and leans forward to press it's nose into Nettie's hand, a soft purr coming from somewhere deep inside it.

    Mairin does frown a little at what Corvax says though. "Constantine? I talked to him today. He seemed tired too." She looks back to Nettie, brow furrowed in concern. "Is everything okey, Nettie?"

    She looks back to Ty with what is now concerened confusion as she talks about dueling with magic. Mairin honestly can't think of why anyone would want to do that, but then... she also knows she's not much of an... in the field type of person.
    

Nettie Crowe has posed:
    "You'll lose. John's killed plenty of people. Not more than I have, but I was a nurse in the war -- and the other war -- and probably one more war. Awful lot of wars -- and there's just some men you can't save. And if you wanted a duel, you could have said so. I was trying to impress upon you first the basics of will and how dangerous Magic is. Your guns aren't likely to turn your hands into cupcakes if you squeeze the trigger wrong. Delicious, delicious cupcakes... Corvax, have I eaten today?"

    "Uh... no?"

    "... should probably fix that." Nettie grumps, and she looks to Mairin and Ty. "Ah, the cat's a *she*. Emily. Clever little cat. I s'pose those would hit the market in... oh, my god... aren't you the sweetest--" Nettie scritches on the back of the cat's head.

    "Oh. Ah. John and I, like I said, we go back a ways. Met him when he was a young buck, all pissed off at the world and rightly so."

Tynan Ireton has posed:
    Ty nods her head a little bit as she stretches out some. "I know. Just want to see firsthand and at full speed how magic works. I mean, I can't use anything yet, but going toe to toe with somebody on his level with just my mutant powers and brain.", she says. "If it helps, I'll use airsoft guns instead of my normal weapons.", she comments. "Sorry if it sounds wierd."

Mairin Moran has posed:
    There is nothing about any of that that *doesn't* sound weird to Mairin. "I'm sure it would be... instructive?" She looks back to Nettie and shakes her head. "No." she shifts her stancee a little, trying to figure how else she can say it. "She's not anything I want to sell... I made her... *just* for you."

    Emily inches closer to Nettie, enjoying the scratches and turning back and forth to give her more access to the rest of her. How exactly Emily is *feling* the scratches is a mystery known only to Mairin.

    But Mairin is more concerned about Nettie than anything else. "Corvax, is there some food here I could get her?" Because everything is obviously *not* ok.

Nettie Crowe has posed:
    "I'll be fine, worrywort. You're the one we should worry about more -- and oh, aren't you just amazing..." Nettie lavishes attention on Emily, and then she flicks her hand, and there's a wand in it. She raises the wand in Ty's direction and with a few mumbled words, a little violet bolt shoots out, and if Tynan isn't very fast at dodging, she might get hit.

    And if she gets hit, her hair turns BRIGHT MAGENTA and PURPLE.

    And the wand is still in Nettie's hand.

Tynan Ireton has posed:
    Ty sees the wand, and blinks a little bit. The bolt comes out, and Ty stumbles back a little bit to dodge. She grabs Mairin, and tries to put Mairin in front of her, but then slips, and falls backwards just as the bolt hits her. Ty gets up, and mutters a little bit, as she rubs her hair a little bit. "My hair feels itchy...and dry...", she mutters. She goes to look around for a mirror, and pauses...."I think I need to go home...", she mutters. Ty runs outside, and puts her biker helmet on! Yeah, thats not coming off soon...

Mairin Moran has posed:
    Mairin humphs, but is having none of it. She is actually just about to come around the counter and find Nettie some food, even if it means trying to go into the back... When Nettie starts launching magic across the room.

    "Nettie, no don't--" She ducks down under the counter level, narrowly avoiding Ty's reach, even as Emily perks up her head and flicks it around to stare dead at Ty. There is even a soft growl, but as Ty get hit, retreats, and runs out, Emily calms back down and goes back to nuzzling Nettie.

    Mairin stands back up, laughing. "Good kitty," she says as she gives Emily a pet. "Now you.." she points at Nettie, "I'm not leaving until I see you eat something. And not just a scone."

Nettie Crowe has posed:
    "And she thinks she can hit John. Tch." Nettie slides her wand back up, and she looks to Mairin, and gives a yawn.

    "I promise, wort, I'll grab something I think I've got some pad thai..." Nettie smiles, and looks back to Mairin. "So... this robot cat is truly for me, then? This Emily?"

Mairin Moran has posed:
    "MmmHmm... Where is this pad thai?" She does start to come around the counter now. She has that determined face on. The one that says she *is* going to see this through by god. No matter what.

    "Of course she is. Just for you. I... Even programed her to recognize you and..." she blushes slightly. "Protect you." God, she hasn't blushed this much in years... But she still doesn't lose her focus. Food.

Nettie Crowe has posed:
    Nettie reaches down below the counter, and raises up a to-go container. She opens it.

    She looks surprised. "... I think this was it. When did I last order pad thai?"

    "Three weeks ago."

    "... oh. That explains the mold.' Nettie comments tiredly, and then just sort of, scoops Emily up.

    "Thank you, Mair. This is... actually one of the nicest gifts I've received in a long while... most animals don't care for me much. 'Sides from crows, rats..." she whispers, and her eyes get a little misty.

Mairin Moran has posed:
    Mairin stops and gives an exasperated sigh at the old pad thai. But can't help but smile as Nettie snuggles Emily. "I'm... glad you like her." she says tenderly. "I... I wanted to give you something.. special. Because." she clears her throat, "Well... *you* are. To me, I mean."

Mairin Moran has posed:
    Emily lays down in Nettie's arms, purring, and closes her eyes.

Nettie Crowe has posed:
    "Well... she's a very clever gift. You're a special girl, Mair... this is..." Nettie states, and she looks down at the purring cat in her arms. Her eyes get a little misty again.

    "Thank you. Thank you very much." she whispers quietly.