Anything But Lonely

[small_compromise]

WHO: Omega and you-mega
WHERE: Around Temba
WHAT: Scouting and getting to know the locals
WHEN: The rest of July
WARNINGS: N/A
NOTES: Will match pose prefs!


It's been easier to deal with the fact that she's on her own by deciding to take it upon herself to conduct her own recon. "Then, if the others ever come, I'll give them a full report," she tells herself, smiling lightly as she fastens her weapon's strap in place, smoothing out her uniform.


i. City Center
For the time being Omega's decided it's easiest staying at the hotel, at least while she gets to know more of the city. Not having to worry about paying for a room certainly helps, but she's found that the proportions for things around here are very interesting. She's not so sure she likes having to go up the stairs in these sorts of buildings, however. Going up them is more like climbing for her, and while jumping down the abnormally tall steps is a little more fun, it's bound to get tiring if it's more than one floor.

Outside she can be found about any of the buildings accessible off the main street from the city center. If she's not looking for a snack at the kitchen or marveling at plants in the greenhouse while looking for edible fruit, then she's probably distracted by mothkittens somewhere.


ii. Hospital
She's not sure what she was expecting in going to the hospital, but it's a bizarre thing to puzzle out. The tubes are both interesting and a little uncomfortable to see so many of them about. Clearly a transportation system of sorts.

It's here she finds her first datapoint outside of the one at the fountain. If you don't catch her cautiously exploring the campus then you might find her sitting on the floor a bit dazed after touching the datapoint.


iii. Hangar
It's taken some walking and the terrain's not all that inviting, but Omega makes it out to the old hangar, possibly holding onto some hope that she'd see a familiar Omicron-class attack shuttle there. She doesn't, but it won't deter her from having a look at the ships that are present.

When she comes to the Bloodsport, she's pleased to find it actually allows her access, not hesitating to step aboard. The interior aesthetics reminds her a little of the Marauder, although definitely more roomy and passenger-friendly. She's fascinated by the fact that there's not only sleeping quarters but a kitchen!


iv. Fill in the Blank
((OOC: Got any specific ideas you'd like to run with? I'm all ears!))

Comments

Unooo

[on_repeat]

Speaking of mothkittens–

One of them perches on the narrowest window-like ledge, its legs and paws set – perfectly symmetrical, if they weren't surrounded by a wild fluff of fur that seems to have a mind of its own.

Feathery antennae flicker as its eyes stare directly at Omega, watching as she wanders through. And every so often, the strange noises it emits sound like something's amiss in a motorized toy engine, whirring and vibrating between purrs.

[small_compromise]

Her senses aren't as sharp as Hunter's, but it's hard to shake the feeling of being watched. More so is it difficult to ignore the strange sound, a running motor or the underlying hum of...no, that doesn't sound like anything electrical.

"Hmm..." Omega frowns thoughtfully, looking around as she moves more cautiously. Where is it coming from? She presses her back against a wall that she ducks around, waiting, listening.

[on_repeat]

Rrr? ... Rrrrr?

It's closer now, more distinguishable against the quiet ambiance now that the wall acts as a soundboard for the noise. Between uneven pauses it almost sounds inquisitive. Non-threatening.

And...overhead?

Why yes. The mothkitten looks down to see where Omega went, unblinking as its head tilts slightly to one side. Wings then flutter, slowly before picking up in speed to fly toward another perch at ground level.

[small_compromise]

Some kind of...animal? Given Omega's previous experiences with creatures it would be more than understandable as to why she's being so cautious. At least it doesn't sound very big, nor hungry. At least, she thinks it doesn't.

She hears movement and she holds her breath. Looking around for better cover, she quietly inches her way towards the inner alcove of a doorway. There's just the slightest crunch of gravel under her boots as she slips around it, pressing into a corner. Time to play the waiting game again.

[on_repeat]

Ears perk, turning in the direction of where the gravel moves. The mothkitten hunkers down, waiting, slinking down once nothing appears to cross its path.

Instead of flying off, it meanders, curiosity piqued. Its treading is almost too light to hear on approach, but it's hard to miss the small creature when it crosses the worn path to the alcove. Another misshapen purr escapes it as it stops to sniff the air, nose pointed upward in question.

[small_compromise]

The small shadow comes into view, but Omega resists peeking around just yet. The little sound made is soft and cute in a way, and when it looks like the creature's stopped again, the girl finally lets curiosity get the better of her.

She slowly peers around the edge of the alcove, brows lifting at the furry thing there. And with wings! She lets out a quiet gasp in pleasant surprise.

[on_repeat]

The gasp leads the mothkitten to look straight at Omega, eyes wide and antennae twitching in her presence.

It doesn't seem afraid, however; its wings trembling as it stays where it is, waiting to see what she does next.

[small_compromise]

"...hello there," the girl says softly, smiling faintly as she slowly eases just away from the wall so she can stoop down to the ground to be more at level with the little creature. "Was all that noise from you?"

[on_repeat]

Another rolling purr answers her question as it steps back, then pauses. It eventually walks toward her, circling her once. Its head then butts against one of her legs, stopping halfway to stare off at nothing.

[small_compromise]

Omega laughs, watching as the mothkitten wanders around her. She almost falls over when it brushes against her, smiling as she holds out a hand. "Hm? What do you see?" she asks as it looks off somewhere, tilting her own head to try seeing whatever had caught the little one's attention.

[on_repeat]

Hand snack distraction. The mothkitten's whiskers twitch as turns to sniff Omega's fingers, nose close before tentatively pawing at her open palm. Once satisfied with that, it decides to butt its head into her hand.

Ah, yes: a perfect fit.

So much purring occurs. The time spent isn't wasted, and it continues to go between being preoccupied with Omega and having its attention pulled elsewhere. The latter soon wins out, however, as the creature scampers off to fly and turn sharply, disappearing around the corner.

Somewhere on the other side of the building, there's a yelp.

[small_compromise]

She hadn't expected that, but it isn't so much surprising as it is funny. With a giggle she gives an experimental scratch to the fuzzy head. "You're so adorable..!" she grins.

The sudden movement does catch her off guard, and with a gasp she watches as the little mothkitten runs off abruptly. "Uh..?" she starts before getting up and cautiously heading towards the corner. The sound of someone yelping has her stop at the edge, and she carefully peeks around the wall.

[on_repeat]

'Adorable' isn't the word the mothkitten's current victim would call it right now.

"Tony! I thought we had this talk..."

Omega will know the accent. In fact, she's heard many others like it.

Standing with his back to her, the ARC trooper holds the meowing mothkitten firmly by his scruff, pulling the thing away from his helmeted face. Little paws stretch out in a last attempt to touch him, face innocent despite knowing full well what he's doing. "–Hey. No."

[small_compromise]

She freezes at the voice, that tone. She knows it, she's heard it all her life. And once she catches a glimpse of that armor, Omega gasps and pulls back around the wall, but it's not for long that she starts to look around it again. She's seen the color combination before.

"Captain..?" she wonders, mostly to herself. No, not quite. The armor's similar, but...

[on_repeat]

Tony meows, briefly meeting Omega's gaze before she hides again.

Blue. A shade of blue against the white and gray of his armor.

The silhouette almost matches what Omega remembers of the Captain with minor differences amid the details. The kama and the winged pauldrons are mismatched. When he turns to look around, a hand print prominently marks the right side of his chestplate.

"...Not like you're listening anyway," he says to Tony after a few beats. The curving stripes on his helmet follow his head movement as he shifts the mothkitten from his grasp, balancing him on his arm. "Go on. Go fly."

With the lift, the mothkitten meows and flutters, aimlessly circling about to land on a rooftop. Echo sighs, shaking his head as he goes to continue his earlier circuit through the center.

[small_compromise]

Grimacing as she catches the mothkitten's eye, Omega brings a finger to her lips. Shh! After a moment she peers back around again to look. No. Not quite the same, which meant she needed to be on her guard. Ezra had said people were from different times here, still a strange concept to her, but all the more reason to be careful.

She watches as the ARC Trooper tries to dismiss the winged creature, stifling a laugh behind her hand as Tony goes off. Her lips pursing in thought, she waits a little for the man to get further along down the street before stepping out from her cover to follow.

[on_repeat]

Tony yawns, licking his nose in short order. He croons, forgetting anything about being shushed while keeping watch down below.

So far, Echo hasn't noticed Omega at all. He's already fallen back into his routine, keeping a casual pace that bears a weight to it.

[small_compromise]

Omega keeps low as she trails after, keeping close to walls and trying to look for the next best spot for cover as she moves. She really isn't sure who this clone is, although there'd been something vaguely familiar about him. Still, she hadn't much to go on. But then if they were really so far away from home, would he eve know who she is?

A careless step sends a bit of rock skittering, and so caught up as she is in her sneaking that she tenses and ducks behind a pile of rubble that might have been part of a wall.

[on_repeat]

The clone stops, reaching for one of the 'borrowed' blasters he keeps at his hip, hand hovering over the grip as he looks around.

"Who's there?"

He's not paranoid, but the low-key caution in his voice is audible. Sure, it sounds silly to ask if anyone else is around when the population of the city barely hits fifty. But considering the fact that it's Temba and stranger things have happened here, it's always best to stay on his guard.

Besides, what kind of clone trooper would he be if he slacked off?

Waiting it out allows him to relax his posture, letting his hand drop back down to his side when nothing jumps out at him. He walks, ignoring the shadows flying overhead.

[small_compromise]

The girl hunkers against the wall, hugging her knees as she tries to make herself smaller. She holds her breath, waiting until she thinks she hears him start to walk off again. Her eyes flick upwards at a glimpse of movement above, a flicker of a smile touching her lips before she turns and carefully looks out beyond the wall. Then it's up on her feet again.

And then what does she do after all this sneaking around? Who knows where this trooper is going, and it's not like she's learned the city all that well yet.

[on_repeat]

That's a good question. A question that is easily interrupted by a meow.

Tony returns, flitting daintily onto the wall Omega used earlier to hide behind. His wings twitch as he meows again, loudly, expecting all the pets.

[small_compromise]

Omega practically jumps at the sound, having looked back after Echo as she slipped back into stealth mode. Her shoulders hunched, she turns her head to look back and forth from the noisy mothkitten to the direction the clone trooper had gone.

"Shh, you're going to give away my position," she scolds quietly, shaking a stern finger at Tony.

[on_repeat]

Misunderstanding the scolding, Tony playfully bats at the finger shaken in his direction, head tilted even further as he tries to catch it. He meows again, letting it end in a rolling purr.

The first glimpse Omega has of Echo initially told her he was still heading straight. In the next during the mothkitten distraction, he's gone.

Uh oh.

[small_compromise]

"Nn-" Omega sighs, trying her hardest to maintain a serious expression and failing miserably. When Tony meows again, the girl tries to scoop him up, hoping it will hush him. She glances over her shoulder back to where Echo had gone, blinking.

"Oh no- where'd he..? Now look, you've made me lose him!" She huffs a bit, starting down the path, looking around for clues like she thinks Hunter would.

[on_repeat]

Prrrt? Tony finds himself in Omega's arms, meowing in protest because this is only half of what he wants. He stretches upward, butting the flat of his head against her chin while they're in motion, oblivious to the fact that she lost the clone.

Why do you make the huffing noises? Nothing is wrong. Here, pet me.

Fresh tracks in the dirt give her a hint of a heading, vanishing for a bit before showing up again elsewhere along the way. It curves off, nonexistent where there is stone, eventually returning to where the ARC Trooper now stands, checking his device for any updates.