|
Post by whiplash on Jan 10, 2012 0:03:03 GMT -5
Whiplash considered her words as he moved smoothly through the traffic. He was a model driver. He was using his signals, being mindful of those with which he shared the road, and overall being as inconspicuous as possible. Jessica might guess that this had something to do with the fact that he was technically driving with a stolen sidecar, but he had stolen it somewhere far away, and was not worried.
“Oh, like a vid. I’ve seen vids.” Mostly they were instructional--records, how-tos, stuff like that. But a vid that told a fictional story was a new concept for Whiplash. So, he supposed that mostly what he'd seen was like those "documentaries." His voice was rather calm and subdued, and in that same serene tone of voice, he asked, “What the fuck is a ‘penguin’?”
Clearly he had been doing research where it counted.
Before she could answer, though, he asked yet another question. “Drive-in? Is that like a place that shows movies, for cars?” He turned away from the tangled suburban thoroughfares onto a quieter road, one lined with tall trees that provided pleasantly dappled shade against the harsh, yet cold, winter sun. His holoform was looking right back at her, not keeping his eyes on the road, because, well, it was an entirely unnecessary thing for the holoform to do.
|
|
|
Post by Jessica Ross on Jan 10, 2012 0:13:54 GMT -5
Jessica managed not to laugh at the question. "A penguin is a type of flightless bird. It is actually an entire species with a bunch of sub-species. The most famous of the sub-species are Emperor Penguins that are quite large and live in Antarctica. Every year they migrate to where they then huddle to keep the eggs warm so more penguins are born next year," she explained and smiled a bit.
She eventually calmed down a bit as he drove normally, and actually acted like a sane person. She relaxed a bit more as they drove down the road and she beamed at his connection. "Essentially. Keep your eyes on the road or your holoform could be arrested for reckless driving. Or they could attempt it. I really don't want to see what would happen then and have to explain that to a panicked brother later. But a drive-in is more for people to sit in their cars as they watch instead of getting out and going inside. It is a throw back from a time when it was the best way to get to the movies," she explained, looking up at him to give her explanation.
Which was the only reason she knew he wasn't looking at the road. She then looked back at the road and sighed in contentment, staring at the beautiful dappling along the quieter suburban road. "This is nice Whips," she murmured softly.
|
|
|
Post by whiplash on Jan 10, 2012 1:17:37 GMT -5
Whiplash’s holoform was still staring steadily at Jessica, nodding slowly through her explanation of penguins. Eggs, he understood eggs--that was similar to the pods that sparklings between bonded mechs came out of. And of course he knew of Antarctica. It was at the opposite end of the Earth that Lord Megatron had crashed into.
“Eh, If I see anybody I’ll pretend to pay attention,” he responded. “I mean, I am looking at the road. My holoform just ain’t and that thing’s not really real. I mean, it’s real but it isn’t me--but, uh, well it sort of is? It’s like…” How was he to explain it to a human? “It’s like an extra tentacle. Kinda like that. Hell, if I gave it a mouth I could even eat food with it.” He didn’t care much about giving his holoform a proper face under that helmet except for the prospect of eating.
He had heard from others that human food was not an experience to be missed, but he wasn’t sure if he was curious enough to go through the trouble of building a decent holoform. “The drive-in sounds okay. We should check it out later.” It was about then that he noticed Jessica was relaxing, and he felt quite proud of himself. Whoever was normally in charge of taking care of his human obviously wasn’t doing a good enough job if she was so tense all the time. Sheesh.
He’d have to come back and check up on her regularly. If he didn’t think it would upset her, he might have decided just to take her with him, but Whiplash was not out of touch enough to think that she wouldn’t miss her family. You didn’t fuck with family; family was sacred. “Hey, glad you like it. We could make this a regular thing, eh?”
He fell into a pleasant silence. Whiplash had more difficulty relaxing than most, but this drive was therapeutic for him, as well. He passed under the trees in silence for a while, simply enjoying the feel of the wind over his chassis.
“So,” he asked, very casually, a few moments later, “what’s a ‘bird?’”
|
|
|
Post by Jessica Ross on Jan 10, 2012 1:38:02 GMT -5
Jessica chuckled softly as they drove down the road. "Residential area. Notoriously nosy. I have no doubt at least one person is looking," she commented softly before she continued to stare out a the dappled shadow road. She hummed softly as they continued to drive along. She was enjoying herself, mostly because the wind was blowing across her face and that was enough.
She smiled and then looked over at the holoform. "That sounds like a plan, Whips. Though, you'll probably have to go to my house. Because I'm home-schooled, which means I get taught in my home," she responded cheerfully and closed her eyes.
After the silence, she wasn't surprised by his question. "A bird is a feathered animal that lays eggs. They come in all types, split between two groups of flight and flightless birds. Within those types are even more sub-species, such as raptors, owls, and various others. I don't actually know all of them. They are warmblooded, lay eggs, and are covered in feathers. It is also popular scientific theory that they are descended from dinosaurs," she answered calmly.
She opened her eyes again to watch the houses go flashing by. It was enjoyable. This...was really nice. "Whips, do you know where the drive-in is?" she inquired.
|
|
|
Post by whiplash on Jan 10, 2012 2:43:06 GMT -5
Whiplash gave a non-committal huff through his vents, but did swivel his holoform’s head to face the road. He went very quiet as she hummed. He was not used to that sort of thing--to singing. It wasn’t too bad to listen to. He waited until she was satisfied with her own song, and moved on to speak.
“Yeah, I know where y'live now. Wouldn’t be too hard to swing by and pick you up..” Hmm, unless her family started poking around, asking awkward questions--or taking too close a look at the motorcycles gas tank. The Decepticon symbol was emblazoned on either side, after all, and Whiplash wouldn’t think about removing those. He’d have to be careful. He didn’t want to freak her family out, after all.
He didn’t know what “dinosaurs” were, either, but resolved to ask someone else about them. Something about the world was just strangely appealing… “Nah. I mean, you said sundown, right? We got plenty of time just to drive around before then.” Whiplash was not a road maniac like some of his fellow Decepticons, but he enjoyed a good, leisurely drive. “You know where it is, right? Figured you could just show me.”
|
|
|
Post by Jessica Ross on Jan 10, 2012 12:08:22 GMT -5
Jessica smiled. She hadn't even realized she was humming. It was just something she did when she was relaxed. So, she really didn't hum all that often anymore. She looked back up at the holoform and looked back to the road to hide her smile of victory. She nodded a bit and she grinned. "Probably not too often and only when Dad is off. He doesn't do that as much, but he would insist on meeting you. And from different things you've said, I don't think that you can really "take off" the helmet," she responded softly.
She shrugged a bit at that and continued to stare down the road. This was...actually really nice and calm. There was no rush to get anywhere and it was nice. She resisted the urge to laugh, mostly because it was for no real reason. "Yeah. They can't show them earlier. They start playing movies at sundown, starting with those old 'Let's go to the lobby' preview things. With dancing hot dogs and things on it. And yes, I know where it is. My brother took me there during a break between boot camp and actually starting his life in the Army Rangers," she answered cheerfully.
She wondered how to get to the hill. "They usually play old black and white films, as I said before, so they are a bit cheesy. Though not for the technology of the time. I saw the original The Day the Earth Stood Still there. It surprisingly does pretty well, considering that it's something people don't really consider going to anymore," she added after some thought.
And while she had mentioned the hill, she wasn't sure if he would want to go there. "The hill has the perfect view of the screen. If you don't want to be in your altmode while we watch the movie. There is also the option of driving in and watching it parked among everyone. The only bad thing about the hill is that we wouldn't be able to hear the movie. The speakers are built down where people can hear them," she added, obviously thinking before her wording.
|
|
|
Post by whiplash on Jan 10, 2012 13:21:36 GMT -5
Whiplash silently took note. “Dad” must be the human term for a mech progenitor. Hmm. If he was going to do this properly, he was going to have to be crafty. He made a mental note to check into possibly (ugh) doing something about a more sophisticated holoform, even just temporarily.
As Jessica attempted to explain the drive-in to him, Whiplash’s holoform shook his head. “Okay, about half of that I understood. But I have no idea what the frag a ‘dancin’ hot dog’ is.” He knew about the Army, of course, considering the Decepticon’s numerous run-ins with them. Though Jessica had mentioned her brother taking an interest in some sort of football game that pitted different branches of the American military against one another, it hadn’t occurred to him that her brother would be part of that military.
Possibly, she had told him before, or hinted at it, but Whiplash was not always the most attentive of hosts.
That was another complication. Had it been anyone else, they probably would have decided that keeping contact with a human with so many open opportunities for disaster would not be worth the risk. Whiplash was an ornery and contrary creature, and obstacles only made him want to try harder to keep his pet.
He silently logged away all the terms she threw at him, deciding that he would have to get acquainted with them later. He might need more help, though, as far as research went, but he didn’t want to look stupid in front of Jessica. He slowed slightly to take a turn onto a road that curved deeper into the trees. “Heh, that’s not a problem. Watch.” He made a few rapid, internal changes to his program, and abruptly music blared out of the speakers he’d been speaking to her with--but not through her headset. It was some manner of dubstep, with a bass line that reached out and punched the listener underneath crisp Spanish lyrics.
Just as suddenly as it came, it was gone. “I‘ve got the audio covered,” he announced smugly into her headset.
|
|
|
Post by Jessica Ross on Jan 10, 2012 17:11:13 GMT -5
Jessica chuckled softly. "A hot dog is a type of food. In animated ads, they would give the hot dog arms and legs and have it dance. It isn't a real hot dog. And last time I checked, no, they are not actually made from dogs," she answered with a smile.
The travelling was nice. She was enjoying it and was beaming as they continued to drive along. However, even as she brought up the problem that would have come from being on the hill, she realized that she really should have known better.
She was travelling with an advanced robotic alien. The lack of audio should really have been something she knew better. "Ah. My mistake. Well, at least this way we'll both be able to watch the movie as ourselves," she stated and grinned.
She snuggled back a bit in the sidecar and closed her eyes to the trees that rushed by. She was calm and was already back to humming softly. She still hadn't realized she was doing it, but that didn't matter. She settled, eyes closed against the soft breeze that came from riding in the sidecar.
Well, soft was an exaggeration, but it was nice. She smiled contentedly, still humming along.
|
|
|
Post by whiplash on Jan 11, 2012 0:35:36 GMT -5
Whiplash was once again lost. He didn’t know what a dog was (though he thought it was probably a pet), or why anyone would want to eat a dog in particular (frankly, the idea of eating animal life at all struck him as weird), but he let it rest. It was good that Jessica was willing to share information with him. She was shaping up to be a proper, obedient pet.
“Yep. And since we won’t be down with the rest of ‘em, I‘ll get to stretch out.” If he was going to relax, he was going to do it out of his alt mode. That wasn’t to say he disliked traveling in his alt mode, but it wasn’t the same as sprawling out on the ground. There was something special about that sort of thing.
Jessica had started humming again. Whiplash was a little confused as to why she was doing it, but he didn’t mind. He knew a little bit about pets that were kept on Earth, and a little bit more about some that had been kept on Cybertron. One they had in common were birdlike creatures that had been kept in cages. The creatures would sing for their masters.
He supposed, then, that this was like that; Jessica was happy to be his pet, and was singing for him. Well, he could appreciate that, so he drove in silence, letting her hum to herself and concentrating on the gently winding road. After about ten minutes, he spoke again. “Got anything you wanna do in the meantime?”
|
|
|
Post by Jessica Ross on Jan 11, 2012 0:50:58 GMT -5
Jessica grinned and nodded in agreement. "Yeah, it's always best to be comfortable when going to see a movie," she answered and relaxed comfortably in the sidecar. She was relaxed and felt as if she was going to probably find herself dozing, something she hadn't done in a moving vehicle for five years.
She continued to hum softly as they drove along the winding road. She was, mentally, keeping a careful track of the turns and twists. She wondered about the past month, wondering what it was that had attracted a lot of difference in her life recently. While she had no idea what it was, she was glad it happened.
She looked over at Whiplash at his question and looked thoughtful. "I like the driving, and I really didn't have any thoughts. Though, I don't want you to get bored with driving around," she stated.
She didn't tack on her thought of 'tiredness' being the way. They had a few hours till the sun set and from there they would show movies till midnight, with five minute breaks as the price of admission covered the entire night.
Unless you went to the hill. Then you were in the clear. "Though, if we're going to see a movie later, I am going to need to get stuff to drink later. Like bottled water," she added, slightly cautious.
While the sidecar wasn't him, it was something she was going to be careful in bringing up.
|
|
|
Post by whiplash on Jan 11, 2012 1:21:56 GMT -5
“Nah, I ain’t gonna get bored. I like it. You might be surprised t'hear this, but I don’t really relax much. Back at base I’m trying to keep everyone off my back.” His engine growled aggressively just thinking about the fights he had gotten into (and, for the most part, instigated) back at the Decepticon base. “You can’t turn your back on ‘em, not for a second.” So, needless to say, he was taking advantage of this opportunity to chill out.
It was highly unlikely that Jessica had any doubts whatsoever that Whiplash had a hard time relaxing.
Whiplash turned his attention to her as she carefully voiced her desire for refreshment. “Oh, you mean snacks. Yeah. I can take you to get some snacks, no problem. I mean, the least I can do is feed ya.” It was somewhat ironic that Whiplash didn’t notice how attentive he was being to Jessica. Though he was firmly convinced that he was the one in the position of owner, they were really more like equals than he intended, and he certainly was treating her much more kindly that he had ever treated a superior.
“I’m gonna be honest, I kinda wanna see what you get. I don’t know a lot about food.” A thoughtful pause. "Seems kinda weird if you ask me."
|
|
|
Post by Jessica Ross on Jan 11, 2012 2:09:13 GMT -5
Jessica smiled a bit, unsurprised at the fact he couldn't relax around people he was supposed to work with. Her eyes closed slightly and kept relaxed as they drove around. However, she was a bit surprised that he agreed to take her to get some snacks. She smiled at that and nodded a bit. "Yeah, like snacks," she responded calmly and relaxed in the sidecar, wincing mentally at the fact that she was going to have to navigate through a store to get snacks for later.
She really wasn't looking forward to that. That would be the one downside to the hill. She just couldn't get snacks there and she let out a quiet sigh. We should probably head to get them now. It'll take me awhile to get through the store to get snacks,"[/b] she admitted, resisting the urge to snarl at the thought of navigating while people stared.
Oh, she hated the stares. They made her uncomfortable and nervous. She shook off the thoughts and let out a quiet sigh, before she began to hum, purposely this time, as they traveled down the road.
|
|
|
Post by whiplash on Jan 11, 2012 4:15:33 GMT -5
Whiplash’s holoform nodded, but he did not otherwise reply. He began to make his way back to the suburbs proper, in a leisurely, winding fashion, enjoying the easy drive and the sound of his pet singing for him.
When they found a place to stop, he parked himself. His holoform immediately hopped off the bike and went about removing Jessica’s wheelchair (for the most part, gently, though he did give it a vicious yank when it refused to come free at first), and helped her into it. Rather than wait outside, however, he grasped the handles of the chair and wheeled her forward himself. He didn’t ask her permission, or even what she would have preferred.
Once inside, he did follow Jessica’s direction, guiding her towards whichever aisle she wanted to investigate. Though he was technically following her orders, he was actually enjoying having control over where the girl went. It made him feel stronger, more capable. So this was why people kept pets around! He was utterly silent as he moved through the store, only responding to any questions thrown his way with a nod or a shake of his head.
Jessica probably would have noticed something a little unusual while they were browsing the shelves. There were plenty of stares directed their way, but very few of them lingered on her. Most of the people were instead staring at Whiplash’s holoform. After all, a helmeted youth without an inch of skin showing, moving in utter silence with an unnerving, almost inhuman fluidity through the aisles was bound to draw attention.
On the rare occasion someone did notice the frail-looking girl in the wheelchair, they were treated to a silent, steady stare from behind Whiplash’s tinted visor. Subtlety was clearly not his strong point, but at least he hadn’t gotten into a fistfight… yet.
|
|
|
Post by Jessica Ross on Jan 11, 2012 4:33:04 GMT -5
Jessica had been surprised that Whips was taking her inside, as she had just finished settling, putting her helmet next to her in the wheelchair, but it was...well, it left her able to go through the store almost completely normally. Well, she eventually got to that point. She smiled a bit and turned to Whips. "Let's get the beef jerky first. It should be up two aisles," she began and with that, she talked her way through the store. She was polite and practically cheerful in her directions, occasionally looking back at him to make sure that he didn't start any fist-fights.
She did, however, notice how everyone was staring at Whips. "Told you, you should work on the breathing thing," she told him with a bright smile as she made sure that nothing fell from where she had settled it around her in the chair.
She occasionally felt stares on her, but whenever she tried to figure out who it was, they were gone. Like they had been scared off.
She had also decided that she would not point out how much he stood out with his outfit. Whips would do as he liked. She just, once again, hoped he wouldn't start fist-fights. "All right, I think I've got everything. We should head to check-out. And don't glare at the cashiers. They go through enough day by day to get glared at from under a helmet," she explained softly before she went back to humming, enjoying herself greatly for the first time in a long time out in public.
|
|
|
Post by whiplash on Jan 12, 2012 13:00:41 GMT -5
Whiplash nodded and wheeled her over where she wanted. He had a passing interest in human food, but that was primarily because he might one day get a chance to try some. For the most part he spent his time dawdling or glaring at his fellow patrons. He wasn’t as curious about his surroundings as some might have been, considering this was his first time inside a building like this. He seemed more concerned with asserting his dominance.
When Jessica began muttering to him, he leaned over the chair to hear her better. He shook his head and shrugged in response to her words; his holoform apparently couldn’t talk at all, and he couldn’t articulate his response in simple gestures. He did not seem angry, however, and he made an effort to relax his body language as they approached the cashier. He wasn’t doing a very good job of appearing no threatening, standing there as he was, utterly motionless.
Luckily, he was distracted by someone who had come in to use the ATM, and had swiveled to stare at the both of them. Slowly, liquidly, Whiplash turned his head to stare at the woman, who blinked back at him for a few moments before she turned right back to the machine, fumbling with her card to get her business done quickly. Whiplash watched her the whole time.
The cashier rolled his eyes, unimpressed with the whole display. He only had two more hours before he could go home, and that was all he was thinking about. Nevertheless, he was grateful that the weird young man in the helmet wasn’t looking at him, and told Jessica her total, adding, “You guys stay safe out there.”
Slowly, ominously, Whiplash turned to face the cashier. Just as slowly and ominously, he nodded.
The cashier shrugged and waved the next customer up.
Once they were back outside, Whiplash spoke, his voice emanating, of course, from his alt mode. “That was a brave man.”
|
|