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xp_logsBackdated to Friday August 12th
Forge brings Maya the requested frybread and they catch up on time lost
Forge, freshly encumbered with both knowledge and frybread, went looking to call upon Maya. Computer told him which suite was hers and he had his hands full with a giant stack of frybread, somewhat he hoped was decent jam. and a Thermos full of coffee.
Breakfast of champions, rez style.
Using his foot, he knocked upon her suite door, hoping that she was actually in and not doing whatever it is that she did here at this rich Anglo school. Not that he had room to talk, bearing a degree from frickin' Harvard, but done was done.
“Did you seriously just kick my door?” Maya started to ask as she opened said discussed wooden barrier only to pause as she caught sight of Forge and was momentarily struck dumb.
She hadn’t seen him since she was ten and he was a bratty teenager off to see the world or as much of it as could be seen from the back of a Hummer.
“That Uncle Naze’s recipe?” She signed/spoke.
He held the food out to her to free his hands up. "Sure is," he said with a shrug. She looked fantastic - lean and mean and (probably) full of piss and vinegar. "You mind?" he asked, trying to not drop anything. The meat hand was singing itself with warm frybread and the artificial one was starting to complain in its own way.
“Always, but I’ll help anyway,” Maya replied with an irrepressible grin. She took the food and turned to move further into her suite, gesturing toward the small table she used to eat at when she wasn’t meeting up with the others for dinner. “Just put it all here. You can tell me what the hell happened to you.”
She didn’t do minced words or awkward silences. She’d seen the changes, and she wanted to know how she had heard nothing about it through the rez network. Sure, she hadn’t exactly been able to check back in given everything but Signal was a thing.
"And a cheerful "Good day, Forge, I hope you're doing well. Oh, look, you brought me breakfast! How thoughtful of you." he said with the withering power of NDN Sarcasm. "But since your manners died in childbirth alongside your gentle good nature, what happened is ... complicated. Short version, did a tour in the rockpile, out on patrol, some Taliban or some shit decided to get frisky, and it all went to shit. End of the day went down a hand and a leg. Discharged on medical, went back to Dallas to get Dad to help me build a new hand, and then from there, I built a hand that didn't suck and a replacement leg. Spent a lot of time healing and trying to get my head straight, Let Naze kick my ass up one side and down the other, decided to get off my ass and do something better than white people school - I went and got a degree, by the by - so I came here." he said. "And what have _you_ been up to?"
“Learning to be a hero,” Maya said in a matter-of-fact manner accompanied by a slight shrug. “Dad’s got a hit out on him and the Grandparents wouldn’t let him go alone so he got one of his friends to bring me here. Course, then that friend fucked off without even a goodbye and I still can’t really go back to the Rez, not without maybe getting caught up in all that shit.”
Maya pulled dishes and cutlery out of the drawers of the small kitchenette and served them both fry bread, taking a moment to pull a set of mugs down from a cabinet as well.
“So now I’m studying to be a social worker and hoping we eventually find out who the bastard is who set up my Dad.”
"Damn," Forge said with a whistle. "Your fam got all wrapped up with the wrong people," he said as he massaged his flesh hand with his mechanical one. "That's a damned shame. Maybe you can't go back to the rez but I can. Want me to pass along any messages?" he asked as he set down to eat. Coffee was a decent cup of mud, the frybread was pretty much just like he remembered it. "Knowing your grandfather, there's a muscle car suffering for his worry out there somewhere."
“And I didn’t even mention the fact almost getting blown up activates my mutancy.” Maya replied with a sort of grim amusement. “Probably better not to say anything, we don’t ever know who’s listening. Besides, you haven’t told me yet how you found out you’re a mutant, or how here was the best place for you to be helping. Did someone give you the speech yet?”
"No speech. And as far as I can tell, I manifested as a child. Explains a lot, in hindsight." he said with a sigh. Still not going to talk about Naze, Forge. Not even to Maya. "As far as the helping thing, I got tired of the lucrative but morally dubious baby-killer grants from the DOD," he said. "Figured if I'm gonna be an armorer, I want to arm the right side."
“Definitely explains a lot,” Maya replied with a cheeky grin before she grabbed another frybread and stuffed half of it into her mouth. “This is so good.”
"It doesn't dare be anything other than what it is. Uncle Naze would say something profound here, then ruin it with something stupid," he said. "Or maybe that's just how he is with me," he said as an afterthought. "But seriously, Maya, what do you want to be doing here in white man's school? Lots more opportunities here, yeah, but you were always proud of what you are."
“Still just as proud,” Maya noted, expression tightening at his question. “Still just as likely to kick your ass for questioning my pride in our people. I’m doing good here, Forge. Learning stuff that I can take back home when it’s time. And maybe I like being the hero from time to time. Have people look at me like I saved their damn life.”
Forge chuckled at that. "Still want to be the hero, huh? Well, guess someone has to, and better if it was one of us than yet another white person," he said while preparing himself another piece of frybread to be washed down with coffee. I remember what that used to feel like." he said.
“They’re not bad here, you know?” Maya noted as she pulled apart more fry bread and stuffed it into her mouth. Chewing thoughtfully as she tried to decide what she wanted to say. “They’re not all rich, or all white, and even when they are rich and white they’re trying.”
Forge held up his hands in mock surrender. "You know them better than I do. I'll take your word for it, as hard as that might be," he said thoughtfully. "Hey, that reminds me. I'm bad at bio so you probably don't want me working on your implants, but you need anything else? Body armor, a good gun? Let me know." he said casually. "You want to be the hero. I want to keep you alive so you can be the hero. Inspire the next generation of Rez kids, all that good stuff. Ain't nobody should be following me but you? Enhh. Maybe." he said with a teasing grin.
“Good, because if I hear from any of them that you’re being arrogant or a complete ass, I’ll be the one pulling your ear. Armor would be good though, and maybe something cool added to my stun batons too, if it’s not going to unbalance them,” Maya counted off as her lips twitched into a smile at the possibilities. “No touchy actual biological implants though. Knowing you, you’d do something odd and I’d start hearing the conversations Darcy and Doug have with the nanites and do not want.”
Forge just smiled at her. He had no idea who Doug or Darcy were, but nanites? Now that had potential. He had to focus to keep his mind on Maya and their conversation. "Drop your batons off, I'm sure I can make a few tweaks and not affect the balancer too much," he said. "Uniform, too," he added after a moment. Then he theatrically smacked himself on the forehead. "Since you manifested while I was away, what is your gift, anyway?" he asked. "Might affect the armor composition."
“I think they call it photographic reflexes. It mostly boils down to me being able to copy any physical action I can see closely enough and have the ability to do.”
Maya cupped her coffee in her hands and took a drink now that it was cool enough not to burn her tongue. She gave Forge an assessing look and then nodded in acknowledgment of his request.
“I’ll bring them by in the morning, although nothing too weird. No dayglo orange stripes or weird fins.”
"And I. of course, am the Maker. I make stuff," he said modestly. "Babykiller grants paid for a lotta rez updates. Power, water, sewer, roads..." he said, then cut himself off. "Doesn't matter too much now. Left that life behind." Then he grinned at Maya. "Promise no fins or Day-Glo," he said.
Forge brings Maya the requested frybread and they catch up on time lost
Forge, freshly encumbered with both knowledge and frybread, went looking to call upon Maya. Computer told him which suite was hers and he had his hands full with a giant stack of frybread, somewhat he hoped was decent jam. and a Thermos full of coffee.
Breakfast of champions, rez style.
Using his foot, he knocked upon her suite door, hoping that she was actually in and not doing whatever it is that she did here at this rich Anglo school. Not that he had room to talk, bearing a degree from frickin' Harvard, but done was done.
“Did you seriously just kick my door?” Maya started to ask as she opened said discussed wooden barrier only to pause as she caught sight of Forge and was momentarily struck dumb.
She hadn’t seen him since she was ten and he was a bratty teenager off to see the world or as much of it as could be seen from the back of a Hummer.
“That Uncle Naze’s recipe?” She signed/spoke.
He held the food out to her to free his hands up. "Sure is," he said with a shrug. She looked fantastic - lean and mean and (probably) full of piss and vinegar. "You mind?" he asked, trying to not drop anything. The meat hand was singing itself with warm frybread and the artificial one was starting to complain in its own way.
“Always, but I’ll help anyway,” Maya replied with an irrepressible grin. She took the food and turned to move further into her suite, gesturing toward the small table she used to eat at when she wasn’t meeting up with the others for dinner. “Just put it all here. You can tell me what the hell happened to you.”
She didn’t do minced words or awkward silences. She’d seen the changes, and she wanted to know how she had heard nothing about it through the rez network. Sure, she hadn’t exactly been able to check back in given everything but Signal was a thing.
"And a cheerful "Good day, Forge, I hope you're doing well. Oh, look, you brought me breakfast! How thoughtful of you." he said with the withering power of NDN Sarcasm. "But since your manners died in childbirth alongside your gentle good nature, what happened is ... complicated. Short version, did a tour in the rockpile, out on patrol, some Taliban or some shit decided to get frisky, and it all went to shit. End of the day went down a hand and a leg. Discharged on medical, went back to Dallas to get Dad to help me build a new hand, and then from there, I built a hand that didn't suck and a replacement leg. Spent a lot of time healing and trying to get my head straight, Let Naze kick my ass up one side and down the other, decided to get off my ass and do something better than white people school - I went and got a degree, by the by - so I came here." he said. "And what have _you_ been up to?"
“Learning to be a hero,” Maya said in a matter-of-fact manner accompanied by a slight shrug. “Dad’s got a hit out on him and the Grandparents wouldn’t let him go alone so he got one of his friends to bring me here. Course, then that friend fucked off without even a goodbye and I still can’t really go back to the Rez, not without maybe getting caught up in all that shit.”
Maya pulled dishes and cutlery out of the drawers of the small kitchenette and served them both fry bread, taking a moment to pull a set of mugs down from a cabinet as well.
“So now I’m studying to be a social worker and hoping we eventually find out who the bastard is who set up my Dad.”
"Damn," Forge said with a whistle. "Your fam got all wrapped up with the wrong people," he said as he massaged his flesh hand with his mechanical one. "That's a damned shame. Maybe you can't go back to the rez but I can. Want me to pass along any messages?" he asked as he set down to eat. Coffee was a decent cup of mud, the frybread was pretty much just like he remembered it. "Knowing your grandfather, there's a muscle car suffering for his worry out there somewhere."
“And I didn’t even mention the fact almost getting blown up activates my mutancy.” Maya replied with a sort of grim amusement. “Probably better not to say anything, we don’t ever know who’s listening. Besides, you haven’t told me yet how you found out you’re a mutant, or how here was the best place for you to be helping. Did someone give you the speech yet?”
"No speech. And as far as I can tell, I manifested as a child. Explains a lot, in hindsight." he said with a sigh. Still not going to talk about Naze, Forge. Not even to Maya. "As far as the helping thing, I got tired of the lucrative but morally dubious baby-killer grants from the DOD," he said. "Figured if I'm gonna be an armorer, I want to arm the right side."
“Definitely explains a lot,” Maya replied with a cheeky grin before she grabbed another frybread and stuffed half of it into her mouth. “This is so good.”
"It doesn't dare be anything other than what it is. Uncle Naze would say something profound here, then ruin it with something stupid," he said. "Or maybe that's just how he is with me," he said as an afterthought. "But seriously, Maya, what do you want to be doing here in white man's school? Lots more opportunities here, yeah, but you were always proud of what you are."
“Still just as proud,” Maya noted, expression tightening at his question. “Still just as likely to kick your ass for questioning my pride in our people. I’m doing good here, Forge. Learning stuff that I can take back home when it’s time. And maybe I like being the hero from time to time. Have people look at me like I saved their damn life.”
Forge chuckled at that. "Still want to be the hero, huh? Well, guess someone has to, and better if it was one of us than yet another white person," he said while preparing himself another piece of frybread to be washed down with coffee. I remember what that used to feel like." he said.
“They’re not bad here, you know?” Maya noted as she pulled apart more fry bread and stuffed it into her mouth. Chewing thoughtfully as she tried to decide what she wanted to say. “They’re not all rich, or all white, and even when they are rich and white they’re trying.”
Forge held up his hands in mock surrender. "You know them better than I do. I'll take your word for it, as hard as that might be," he said thoughtfully. "Hey, that reminds me. I'm bad at bio so you probably don't want me working on your implants, but you need anything else? Body armor, a good gun? Let me know." he said casually. "You want to be the hero. I want to keep you alive so you can be the hero. Inspire the next generation of Rez kids, all that good stuff. Ain't nobody should be following me but you? Enhh. Maybe." he said with a teasing grin.
“Good, because if I hear from any of them that you’re being arrogant or a complete ass, I’ll be the one pulling your ear. Armor would be good though, and maybe something cool added to my stun batons too, if it’s not going to unbalance them,” Maya counted off as her lips twitched into a smile at the possibilities. “No touchy actual biological implants though. Knowing you, you’d do something odd and I’d start hearing the conversations Darcy and Doug have with the nanites and do not want.”
Forge just smiled at her. He had no idea who Doug or Darcy were, but nanites? Now that had potential. He had to focus to keep his mind on Maya and their conversation. "Drop your batons off, I'm sure I can make a few tweaks and not affect the balancer too much," he said. "Uniform, too," he added after a moment. Then he theatrically smacked himself on the forehead. "Since you manifested while I was away, what is your gift, anyway?" he asked. "Might affect the armor composition."
“I think they call it photographic reflexes. It mostly boils down to me being able to copy any physical action I can see closely enough and have the ability to do.”
Maya cupped her coffee in her hands and took a drink now that it was cool enough not to burn her tongue. She gave Forge an assessing look and then nodded in acknowledgment of his request.
“I’ll bring them by in the morning, although nothing too weird. No dayglo orange stripes or weird fins.”
"And I. of course, am the Maker. I make stuff," he said modestly. "Babykiller grants paid for a lotta rez updates. Power, water, sewer, roads..." he said, then cut himself off. "Doesn't matter too much now. Left that life behind." Then he grinned at Maya. "Promise no fins or Day-Glo," he said.
