Private ✪ Stokbon We'll Workshop That

[Luna Avalbane]

Magitech was so cool and interesting. Of course it was, it was a new thing. Even as a veteran, Luna couldn't help but find her attention captured by it. She wanted to understand it, to improve upon it, to create something incredible. Of course, it was pretty hard to actually do those kinds of things without time, money, materials and a place to actually do any tinkering. There was only so much that could be done with a portable toolbox and scrap metals, after all. Eventually, there came a point where refined metals and an actual workspace was needed to create things that were truly impressive. Finding a workshop that was available to be rented out to people that needed it was a pretty big miracle, in Luna's eyes at least.

Seeing the price for a week, however, was not a miracle.

If she hadn't lost a lot of her belongings during the time she'd been disconnected, maybe she could have afforded it, even if she'd not exactly been a rich player even four years ago. But now, she had absolutely no shot at getting this place by herself. Now, four years ago that would have been a problem, but nowadays, Luna had something that her past self had desperately been lacking.

Confidence.

The past Luna would have never been able to ask for any kind of assistance for something like this. Now, though? Well, she was wandering through the city, trying to catch sight of anybody that might look like they'd appreciate a workshop, perhaps a blacksmith or a fellow magitechnician like herself. Upon spotting the large magitech construct walking around, she grinned, practically racing towards it.

"Ah! Hey excuse me!? Do you have an owner?" She asked the construct, wondering if it was capable of speech. "If you do, can you tell me where he or she is please?"

@Mystia

 

[Mystia]

"Mmm… I know she said that I'm accepted and all that… but now I have no idea where to go. I was so excited that it completely slipped my mind. What now…"

The voice was barely audible as the girl mostly spoke to herself. And if not because of her quietness, then most certainly due to the mechanical whirrs of the machine that she rested on top of. The magitech golem was walking through the city at a leisurely pace, doing an excellent job of getting the attention of just about anyone on the street. People would nearly fall over one another as they scrambled to clear the path for the hulking beast who walked aimlessly, seemingly uncaring for anyone's wellbeing.

It was quite unexpected then that someone who approached the 10-feet tall construct and started asking such questions. The machine would turn its head toward the girl, staring at her for a brief moment in the most menacing way imaginable. Anyone who had witnessed the confrontation would step back in terror, their minds running wild with the idea of a fight breaking out. A bloodbath right here, in their own city! Indeed, the mechanical beast would raise its hand… and salute.

"HI."

There was absolutely no sense of animosity in its voice. In fact, despite still clearly synthetic in nature, it did a rather good job at sounding pretty human. Manly, even. Alluring? Handsome, even!

"THIS UNIT INDEED BELONGS TO A SLAVER WHO DRIVES THIS UNIT RAGGED WITH TASKS BEYOND ANYONE'S ABILITY. SHE IS A TERROR AND A MENACE TO SOCIETY. PLEASE, SAVE M—"

"Hey, what is that I'm hearing?! Stop this slander, or I will do my best to become the person you just described!"

With her petite body, the fae was able to hide rather nicely atop the machine, laying on a small flat surface right behind its back. Now, however, she leaped up and was leaning over the construct's head, eyes staring directly down at the girl who approached.

"Yahoo! I built this big dumbo~! Is there a problem or something?"

@Luna Avalbane

 

[Luna Avalbane]

Uh, well, that was quite interesting. The description didn't fill Luna with much confidence, though when she saw the shorter Faerin girl approach, she blushed slightly, giggling at the strange dicohotomy between the girl and the machine that she had apparerently built. Such a strange duo, but there was a nice charm about it that she could appreciate. Maybe she should try to build something that was sentient or could talk, rather than just the weapons and gear that she threw together aimlessly?

"Ah, no there's no problem at all!" She paused, blinking. "Well, there is a problem, but that's more on my end and I think you might be able to help me with it, maybe?" She looked at the construct, then at the girl again, having to look up at the girl even with her tall, beastkin body. The creator of the machine was definitely pretty and she HAD to be a genius if she could create something with a sense of humor.

"My name is Luna Avalbane, I'm a magitechnician myself. I don't know if magitechnician is the actual term, but it's what I've been using." She rubbed at her arm with the opposite hand awkwardly, toeing a line in the ground beneath her. "You see, I've found a fully stocked, equipped workshop that can be rented out to people, but a week is too expensive for me to afford alone. I can cover about three quarters of it, but I was wondering if you'd be able to cover the final quarter and we could rent it together?"

@Mystia

 

[Mystia]

Mystia didn't expect to be approached by anyone while pondering on the back of her trusty mech, so she was very much interested in seeing who it was that wanted to know of her. As things turned out, it was a fellow engineer! The beastkin didn't quite look like it; the tiger features leaned more toward an individual who would be savage and rough rather than calm and refined. Don't judge a book by its cover, as they said! Especially when the discussion shifted over to the topic of a workshop that the girl was apparently looking for a co-renter for.

It most definitely grabbed the fae's attention. Shifting about, she stood up first before leaping off of the mech's back. In a show of a relatively straightforward interaction and synchronization, the machine bent its arm to ensure its owner had a platform to land on halfway through. Ten feet was pretty high up for someone of her tiny stature. Once fully on the ground, Mystia would stand high (as much as possible) and proud, hands resting on her hips as, this time, she looked up at the tall beastfolk with a smile.

"Interesting proposal. A workshop, huh… that sounds like it would be better for tinkering than out in the woods. Aaah, but I would feel bad if we didn't split the rent at least half and half~! Then again, I am a bit new and don't have much funds yet… oh, but now that I work for MIT, it should be fine, right?"

As the girl was going off, the mech decided to chime in as well, in its own way.

"WORKSHOP. NO NEED TO SLEEP IN THE RAIN? YES, WE AGREE. THE DEAL IS CLOSED. THANK YOU FOR YOUR TRANSACTION!"

"Hey!"

@Luna Avalbane

 

[Luna Avalbane]

The girl was just incredibly cute, leaping off of the mech, only to be caught by it and lowered more gently towards the ground. Now that she was fully visible, Luna couldn't help but give Mystia a look up and down. She was definitely short, when compared to Luna who stood at nearly six feet tall, but now that she got a good look at the girl it was a little easier to tell that she was an engineer.

Still, she remained silent whilst the girl began to mull it over, about to raise her hand to cut the girl off when she mentioned splitting the rent half and half, but instead she ended up cut off by another comedic input from the construct that Mystia had made, which was followed by another comedic outburst from Mystia. It was probably nice to have that kind of constant companion. Honestly, it made her a little jealous, remembering her time as a beast tamer and her favorite, best pet, Natiri, the white tigress she'd worked with.

Those thoughts just made her sad...

Instead, she giggled at the display in front of her, shaking her head. "Ah no, there's no need for you to bother with trying to go fifty fifty with me. I can pay three quarters easily without damaging my own funds too badly, but it's only right for me to pay more, considering I'm a veteran and everything."

@Mystia

 

[Mystia]

"Ooh, a veteran?"

Hearing that, Mystia perked up even more. So much so that she jumped in place, only for the mech to once again insert its arm beneath her feet to act as a platform, lifting her up until she was eye-level with the beastfolk.

"Understood. I'll take the hit to my ego and split the payment the way you want, but in exchange, you'll have to tell me more about this game~"

She might have already experienced a major event and built herself a rather useful mech, but that didn't mean there was still a lot to be discovered. MIT seemed like the perfect organization to allow for that while getting a lot of hands-on experience with the more technical aspects. But aside from agreeing to the terms presented, the fae caught a glimpse of something else just before.

"That said, the way you laughed just now… are you alright? Were you that worried you might not find someone to share the workshop with~?"

As a teacher and someone who underwent quite a bit of training, Mystia was pretty good at catching glimpses of frustration and other emotions in students. Paying attention to them and then helping with whatever the issue was, that was part of her job and passion. She simply couldn't help but ask if something was going on with Luna after she heard what sounded like a giggle meant to mask a bit of sadness.

@Luna Avalbane

 

[Luna Avalbane]

Luna rubbed the back of her neck when Mystia perked up upon learning that she was a veteran, chuckling slightly as the mech raised Mystia up to eye level with her, chuckling again when Mystia mentioned it being a hit to her ego, though she nodded in response to the added terms from Mystia. "I don't know if I'll be able to tell you much that you don't already know, but sure, I can tell you a thing or two." Including what it was like to die in the game, though hopefully Mystia didn't ask about that.

As for the way she laughed, Luna smiled and nodded. "I'm fantastic, thanks for asking. I was just worried that there'd be nobody to share with, yeah." She gestured to herself. "I wasn't always like this. I used to be incredibly timid, not even able to share more than four words with somebody without stuttering like a broken record." She smiled fondly, remembering those days and thinking about how far she'd come since then. And it would be nice to share the workshop with somebody instead of having to tinker alone in the silence and being left with only her thoughts as company.

"So, shall we go and get this rent done?" She smiled. She would have offered a hand to the girl, if she wasn't going to ride on her mech anyway. It looked really strong.

@Mystia

 

[Mystia]

"Ah, I see. Then all is well~!"

Reassured that nothing bad was going on, Mystia nodded and smiled even brighter. Literally, anyone could have been on the other side of that avatar, but the fae always chose to believe that it was probably children who could use a bit of guidance or reassurance. She was no Lions Arms, trying to protect the weak, but she would always make herself readily available if she were needed.

"I'm happy to hear you were able to grow so much, then~! I'm sure it'll be a lovely experience chatting with you. We can do so while you lead the way."

Just like the feline predicted, the mech would bring its owner back to the original spot where she was. Though instead of lying down and being lost in thought, the girl remained steadily seated toward one of the beast's shoulders so she wouldn't fall out of view for Luna.

"ANNOUNCEMENT - THIS UNIT HAS, DUE TO THE LACK OF SOMEONE'S SKILL, NOT BEEN PROGRAMMED WITH A NAVIGATION SYSTEM. PLEASE, LEAD THE WAY TO A NEW HOME. I WISH NOT TO BE STORED IN MUD ANY LONGER."

@Luna Avalbane

 

[Luna Avalbane]

She might as well have been a child that needed reassurance, though she didn't feel like that as much anymore, far from being the girl that needed to be taught everything and have her hand held throughout every single trial that she ever underwent. Still, Mystia's bright smile was reassuring. The girl really was very pretty, smiling so brightly all the time. And her personality only made it better, being so kind and helpful towards others.

"I'm looking forward to getting to know you and talking to you too." She smiled, before being shocked as the mech suddenly spoke up, mentioning that it lacked a navigation system and needed leading towards where they were going. "Oh right, of course! Just follow me and we'll be there in like, five minutes. It's only a short walk from here!"

And with that she began to lead them away, towards the workshop that she wanted to rent with them, turning to look at Mystia. "By the way, I never got your name, or the name of your mechanical friend here? I think I introduced myself though, but in case I didn't, my name is Luna Avalbane. I played this game four years ago, joined a few months before the servers went dark."

@Mystia

 

[Mystia]

Everything was moving by so fast that Mystia didn't even realize she had not given out her name. Something she should probably get used to, given how it usually worked in these games. Unlike most here, the fae wasn't that much of a 'gamer' out in the physical world. At least she was plenty good at regular social interactions. Should have those in this place as well.

"Ahaha, my bad~! You can call me Mystia. Or Misty, if you want~! As for the big guy here… mm, I've never actually given him a name. I guess he'll just have to wait until I'm struck with a revelation"

"TO BE FATED TO ROAM THIS WORLD WITHOUT EVEN A NAME TO CLAIM AS MY OWN, THE CRUELTY OF MY CREATOR KNOWS NO BOUNDS."

After the brief comment from the machine, the fae girl simply patted the metallic head as if she was going 'There, there, it'll get better'. She also seemed quite interested in the fact that her new companion was a veteran, even if not by that much.

"Few months is still better than joining a week ago like me. Say, did the game change much in those four years~?"

@Luna Avalbane

 

[Luna Avalbane]

"Misty! That's a really cute nickname." She smiled, though she couldn't help but feel sad for Mystia's creation, hearing that it didn't even have a name of its own. It'd probably have been way too forward and extremely presumptuous to attempt to suggest a name herself, though. Which was a shame, since for some reason, she was looking at the mech and instantly thinking of 'Petey' as a name. She really wasn't sure why that was, aside from just enjoying the idea of such a big mech having a really friendly sounding name. It would make him way less intimidating to people that didn't find magitech fascinating.

Still, she couldn't help but giggle at the comment that came from the machine. They really had quite the fun relationship.

On the subject of if things had changed much, Luna nodded, a bright smile lighting up her face as she thought back to those days. "Oh yeah! It's really changed a lot, actually. A bunch of masteries are different. Magitech is brand new and SUPER exciting to play around with. I used to have Arcanamancy before the four year break and it was way different than it is now. It used to be all about firing laser beams of raw arcane power."

She thought back to her pet, Natiri, bright smile fading to something that was a little more bittersweet. "I used to be a beast tamer, back in the day. I got my beast taming skill so high that I actually unlocked the ability to fuse with my pets. My first ever pet was a white tigress called Natiri. I was fused with her on the day that we all got disconnected and stuff, so I think my current form-" She gestured down to herself. "-might be as a result of that happening."

@Mystia

 

[Mystia]

Five mere minutes of walking was hardly enough time to dive deep into any topic except maybe today's weather. But if the two girls were to share a workshop together, then they would have plenty of time to pick up where they would soon likely leave things to figure out the more mechanical aspects of rending a place in a virtual world. A bit of a shame that the current topic did not match the enthusiasm from before. Sure, the first topic was interesting, and hearing about how even the game's core mechanics changed was insightful. Still, there was an undeniable sense of sadness after Luna started talking about her pet of the past.

"I see. Sounds like a wonderful pet. If nothing else, you two are never far apart now."

Of course, Mystia had no idea if that would be of any comfort at all. She had just met this individual, so there was no way for her to know how to go about these things. But to reinforce the gesture, she tapped her fingers on top of her golem's head a few times, which then made the large construct extend one of its hands and try to pat the tigress on the head. It might have been a bit rough due to the size and material of the machine, but hopefully, the gesture still counted.

@Luna Avalbane

 

[Luna Avalbane]

Ah, damn it. Luna nearly palmed her head in frustration at the realization that she'd just poured her heart out to some stranger that really didn't need to hear any of that. She sighed inwardly, admonishing herself for being so open with somebody that just didn't need her to be that open. Her fellow engineer was only here, after all, because they were essentially sharing a business cost between one another. She did grunt slightly as a big metallic hand pat her on the head, but she looked up at the mech and rider, giving them a smile.

"Sorry I got talking about all that personal stuff. You can ask me more about what the game was like after I go and get this purchase over and done with!" She pressed her hands together, before the man that was renting the warehouse came into view, exactly at the spot where she'd left him, telling him that she'd be back with all of the money he'd requested. "Oh, there's our guy. Would you like to come with me to get the rent sorted out, or do you wanna just give me the money to get it done? You can watch me the whole time, to prove I'm not just trying to take your money."

@Mystia

 

[Mystia]

Looking down at seeing at least a bit of a smile, after all, now that was a relief. Not because it meant that the heavy talk was likely over, but because it could be easy for a person to remain in the dumps over such things. Mystia was acutely aware of just how much pets could mean to people. Even the digital ones. Tamagotchi was still a thing, after all.

"Oh, don't sweat it. Sometimes a person just has to get something off of their chest. I don't mind listening to other people's woes if it helps them~! That said, a smile definitely suits you much more."

The fae grinned as she spoke, trying to reassure the girl that it was okay and she did not need to admonish herself for what happened. If everyone could be so open with everyone else, the world would surely be a much better place.

"Mmm… I'll be honest, I haven't really done any trading or anything of the sort, so I don't quite know how to go about it, hehe~"

Quickly opening up her menu, she started searching frantically. She was an IT expert; surely, the option to trade with another player would not be that hard to find.

"ONCE AGAIN, MY MASTER'S INADEQUACY WILL THWART THE PLANS TO MAKE THE WORLD A BETTER PLACE."

"Oh shush!"

@Luna Avalbane

 

[Luna Avalbane]

Luna wasn't the type of person to get caught on the negative if she could manage to inject some kind of positivity into herself. Though hearing the Faerin say that a smile suited her more made Luna blush, rubbing at the back of her neck. "Heh, you think so? I try to smile a lot, make up for all the times I stood there mumbling to myself and collapsing inwards whenever the world put any kind of pressure on me."

Though with that said, when Mystia mentioned that she'd not done much trading or anything, Luna nodded. She'd kind of expected that, though it wasn't like she herself had much more experience. Or any experience, for that matter. She quickly opened her menu and sent Mystia a trade request, seeing that the girl was struggling to find it.

"You have to focus on the name of the person you're looking at or intending to trade with, for it to just find their name, unless you feel like typing it all in manually."

@Mystia

 

[Mystia]

As the trade request arrived, the girl paused for a moment to readjust herself and then accepted. Having the amount already there and requested made it a lot easier. Mystia simply accepted the terms, and the funds were transferred. Even if it wasn't *that* much, it sure managed to make the fae feel a whole lot lighter. The money wasn't even physically present on her person in the first place, but what of it.

"I see, I see. So the game utilizes even tech like this… hehe, it's still impressive no matter how much I'm exposed to it~!"

Well, she was currently riding a mech that appeared to be actually sentient. Though the development of AI was something Mystia was actually more familiar with, and she already knew what kinds of black magic neural networks could cause.

"Alright, all should be in order then. Go ahead and make the purchase. I don't doubt your intentions, so I won't be looking over your shoulder or anything~"

@Luna Avalbane

 

[Luna Avalbane]

"Well, I think you can actually physically handle the money, if you really want to. Some people do it for immersion and stuff like that, but yeah, handling everything via the inventory is just so much more convenient than carrying it all around physically." Luna did not want to imagine how uncomfortable it would be to have to lug around a sack with thousands of gold coins or whatever, just to be able to buy stuff like food and shelter and stuff like that. Still, with the funds firmly in her metaphorical hands, Luna nodded, before turning to make her way over to the landlord.

After an animated conversation, which Luna had TRIED to keep as short as possible, along with some pointing at Mystia to prove that she was here with somebody, Luna returned to Mystia and her mech, clutching a single, gleaming key in her hand. These kinds of workshop were so new that the keys weren't rusty, which was a nice feeling, to be sure.

"I've got the key! We have to give it back in a week, unless we make another payment. Lemme show you to the workshop!" She gestured for Mystia and mech to follow after her, a bright smile on her face as she approached a large set of what almost seemed to be hangar doors, tall enough even to allow the mech to step inside, even if it would have to duck slightly.

Unlocking and opening them, Luna stepped through into the darkened workshop, frowning.

"Uh, are you able to produce any light? I've got fire, but I don't wanna risk there being anything flammable in here."

@Mystia

 

[Mystia]

Mystia simply observed Luna converse with the (presumed) NPC with a smile. It was almost as if she was watching a student of hers finally handle things independently. Of course, in this situation, she was the one with lesser knowledge of things. No matter that, Luna was back fairly quickly with a key that, unlike the money, did appear to currently physically exist.

"I hope that the system recognizes us both as owners now if we only have one of those~"

It was more of a joke, but it could have also been a legitimate concern if that item could not be duplicated. Though even if that were the case, they'd probably figure something out later on. For now, the dynamic duo followed Luna all the way to the door, where Mystia hopped down again to walk on her own legs for once. Upon the other girl's request, she looked back up at her mechanical friend, who let out a slightly glitch-ey sigh and proceeded to use its own hand to hit its head a few times. A result of which was that its eyes started glowing like two flashlights, illuminating the insides of the building.

"Are there no windows? A workplace can get depressing quickly without any natural light."

@Luna Avalbane

 

[Luna Avalbane]

Well she hadn't thought of that, but she honestly wasn't sure that something as simple as a building being locked or unlocked was managed by any kind of game system. "I honestly don't even know if it works like that. I think as long as we have the key, we can get in." Though she did wonder, if they made a spare key out of the materials that they had, would that even work? It would almost definitely be breaking some kind of rule or law that existed, there was no way that it wouldn't.

Wasn't making a cut of somebody else's key illegal?

Once they were inside, though, she heard the mech somehow give off a sigh, before it began to shine two lights from its eyes, giving them some light to work with. Luna looked around, able to see now with some illumination, before finding a chord. When she pulled it, it tugged off a sheet that had been placed over a set of windows.

"We have natural light! And look!" She pointed towards the back wall. It really did have everything. A furnace and smeltery, anvils, quenching pots, collections of different screws, nuts and bolts. "They have all sorts of cool stuff here!"

@Mystia

 

[Mystia]

As the blinds fell down and the entire room was illuminated, the girl let out a small "Ohoo~" as she saw everything that showed before them. Wooden floors with metallic rails going through the paneling, numerous tables, and even a curious mechanism in the corner. On the other side, there was the smithy corner that Luna mentioned as well, which was somewhat surprising. Was this place a smithy before, perhaps?

"HOME, SWEET HOME. THIS UNIT WILL NOW PARK ITSELF."

Just like that, the mech moved itself into one of the empty corners and squatted down before shutting down. Well, it was a long day of walking, so the fae allowed it. The machine probably needed its batteries recharged, too. For now, she was most curious about the lever near one of the windows. Walking over it, she smirked and pulled it without hesitation.

A moment later, creaking could be heard from the outside as the sound of rushing water filled the girl's ears. There was a small trapdoor below her that, once opened, revealed a stream of flowing water. And looking outside, Mystia finally noticed that there was an entire wooden wheel outside, now spinning due to the water that pushed against it.

"Oooh, renewable energy! There is a small river outside that can move the wheel, generating energy for us. From here, we can stop things or re-direct the water elsewhere if we so wish~! Guess it's an S shape, going side by side with the workshop, snaking under it, and then continuing into the city or something."

@Luna Avalbane