Forums » Sci-Fi Roleplay » Summer Soiree: Planetary Potluck (CLOSED)

"Oh! I think we startled her," The Operator told the bird-woman and knelt down at the kitten's level. The kitten moved away a safe distance. "It's all right, love. I won't hurt you," she said in a reassuring voice trying to show the kitten they were not a threat.

She glanced back at Xihuitl. "Don't worry, she's quite harmless," The Operator said. "I think she just wants to be friends."

Eleanor wasn't quite sure how to react to the robot. It let off a breath of steam, just stood there like a deer in the headlight... She was wondering if she was a little too in the robot's face?

Regardless, once she had finished saying hello, another guest showed up! Wait... Was that a cat?

Eleanor approached Hecate, who was now seated comfortably in the grass. Eleanor loved creatures of any species, and it had been a while since she had seen an Earthen kitten.

"Awww, hello," She crouched down and held out a hand. "Where'd you come from?"

She had seriously hoped this was just a stray and this kitty wasn't owned by anybody. It would be hard to locate its owner.

Hecate's head tilted back and forth comically as her gaze flickered repeatedly between Eleanor and The Operator. She could understand what everyone said, and was reassured by their words. These people seemed nice. Maybe they weren't cat-dislikers after all? She was still a bit worried that she had upset the bird-person, but her excitement to meet new friends was renewed as Eleanor drew near.
Letting out a little 'mrow', Hecate leaned forward to sniff Eleanor's hand a few times. Although she was fully capable of using her telepathy to communicate more efficiently with the humans, at the moment Hecate preferred to keep acting like a normal cat. With that in mind, the kitten gently nuzzled Eleanor's arm with her nose, adding in a purr for good measure. She wanted to get a bit of petting time in before exploring the venue more thoroughly.

Everyone certainly seemed to be getting along quite well. Alas, for the rather passive void-dancer, it was hard to find a social opening to join in. Not that Starlit-Wisdom minded. Observing all these different species interacting was entertainment enough. Especially as an empathic scientist from a highly social species. Every word was a learning experience that etched into Starlit-Wisdom's rapid-learning void-dancer mind.

It was amusing to the void-dancer that the small feline appeared somewhat more intelligent than the other guests and even the host seemed to suspect. But the cues were there. Void-dancer empathy mixed with familiarity with body-language communication gave them an above-average insight into the situation.

Using a fingertip this time so as to not have to fumble with a stylus, Starlit-Wisdom wrote another message on their tablet, attempting to flash it at the cat whenever she seemed to be looking in the general direction whilst nobody else was. Their eye was squinted into an amused expression.


Was the message. Of course, there was no data yet to go on as to whether the cat could even read in the first place; but even so, attempting such communication was the best opportunity Starlit-Wisdom felt they had to get involved.

"Don't you worry about the clean up, I can see to it", Andrew hastily assured. his sense of responsability - itself the product of military training on top of being brought up in the strict Aliprandi household - already kicking in.

To his relief, it seemed that not all the hors-d'oeuvres had been lost; sure, the survivors were a little roughed up, but hopefully still edible. The avian lady seemed to think along the same lines, because she tried one and was favorably impressed. Whew! Maybe he could make up for his clumsy debut, after all.

"Ah, I think you picked the avocado and cream cheese ones - but I didn't exactly make them myself, my cook-bot did", he explained with a sheepish smile. And added jokingly: "I already consider it a strike of good luck when I can assemble my field rations in something edible! If I didn't have ol' Benny to cook at home I'd mostly live off toasts and shakes, heh." Extending his hand to her in old-fashioned chivalry, he introduced himself: "Colonel Andrew Aliprandi, pleased to meet you, miss...?"

Her next exclamation caused him to look down in surprise, and thanks goodness he did; tripping over another pet was definitely not in his to-do list, thanks so much! "Huh, guess all the food must have drawn out this cat... or maybe they belong to one of the other guests?"

It was about this moment that The Operator noticed the latest newcomer and scowled. "Yoo-nit," She called to the metal box. She waited until it noticed her and came over.

"What are you doing here," She demanded sounding a bit cross. "A better question is, how did you get here? I found that teleporter in a maintenance tunnel that required a ladder to get into. How in the galaxy did you manage to descend a ladder, find the teleporter and get inside it? Also, weren't you supposed to be watching the van?"

It was then she noticed a plastic bag. Its handles were loosely hung around Yoo-nit's antenna. "What have you go there," She asked curiously. Suddenly, The Operator seemed a bit less annoyed with the little droid.

When the little droid heard its mistress's voice it suddenly came to life again. Its eyes scanned the area until they got a lock on her. A moment later, it zoomed across the area and stopped in front of her. It's eyes tilted upward to gaze at The Operator in the way a puppy might who had followed its owner into the loo.

"What are you doing here," She demanded sounding a bit cross. "A better question is, how did you get here? I found that teleporter in a maintenance tunnel that required a ladder to get into. How in the galaxy did you manage to descend a ladder, find the teleporter and get inside it? Also, weren't you supposed to be watching the van?"

This list of questions caused the small mobile computer to go into a series of mechanical noises and flashing lights as if it needed to process all of the information before answering. Finally, there was a ding, the light bulb on its head lit up and the chain on its shoulder caused the metal flag to bob up and down. It concluded with an obnoxious noise and a puff of smoke or steam.

"Ship," it corrected her when she referred to their transport as a 'van'. It continued to answer The Operator's questions without missing a beat.

"I came to assist you," The robot replied in a deep monotone voice. Its words had no inflection and were evenly spaced. "I arrived here via the teleporter in the maintenance tunnel. I used the maintenance hatch to access the tunnel for droids and disabled beings which is mandatory under statute 1.265356.67022.-A4-2342350-0892-ABQ-29 which requires equal access to such areas under IGOSHA guidelines. The message in the teleporter invited you to a potluck. It is intergalactic custom and courtesy to bring something to share. You did not have anything. I went to the Space 7-Eleven to get you some space Doritos... Doritos... Doritos..."

Suddenly, the droid appeared to get stuck and began repeating itself over and over again.

Initially, Xihuitl was overwhelmed by the creature clambering around, on top of everything else. It seemed to work out in her favor anyway; this 'cat' was not dangerous at all.

"A. . . cat?" Dark eyes peered down at the feline as it sauntered away. "Oh, dear. I did not mean to offend the poor creature. . ."

Xihuitl turned to the table briefly, visually scanning it for any meat products. It seemed like it ate meat products, didn't it? Soon enough, she found a fish kabob to peel a cube of meat off of. It's discarded gently onto the ground for Hecate to sample; whitefish, flaky and tender.

"I hope she likes it. . ." And then her attention is drawn to Andrew. "Oh? Well, it was quite delicious. I do like cheese, though I can only really have it in small quantities. Avian lactose intolerance and all that." She returned a hand to allow the shake gently. "I am Xihuitl. I-It is good to meet you!"

For a moment, her gaze wandered - notably from the table to the cat. Andrew's words probably triggered her following thought process.

"Have you any experience with cats? Cat? I am unsure of the plural word. This is my first time seeing one, as embarrassing as it is to admit. . ."

"Lactose intolerant? Oh, then you should indeed stick with safer goods, like the mushrooms tarts, if any survived... you can eat mushrooms?" Andrew asked, just to make sure it wouldn't be harmful as he scanned the remaining hors d'ouvres that hadn't been lost to his unfortunate head first fall.

He wondered if Avian people couldn't get their food intolernces genetically fixed, but maybe it had to do with their bird heritage? His cousin's kids too had something similar, if he recalled correctly they couldn't eat chocolate. But, he figured it'd be rude to ask, so he just shrugged off his curiosity. "Shee-wee-ch? I pronounced it right?", he asked.

Following her gaze to the cat, he shrugged. "Not with biologic ones, I'm afraid. My brother and his wife have an EthernAI-Friend, though - it's an artificial pet sold in store... I guess they're pretty similar to biologic cats, but they don't eat and stuff..."

"Ship," it corrected her when she referred to their transport as a 'van'. It continued to answer The Operator's questions without missing a beat.

"Don't argue with me you daft little toaster," The Operator snapped.

"I came to assist you," The robot replied in a deep monotone voice. Its words had no inflection and were evenly spaced.

"Assist me? How did you even get here," The Operator asked bewildered when it dawned on her she'd gone down a ladder through a manhole cover.

"I arrived here via the teleporter in the maintenance tunnel. I used the maintenance hatch to access the tunnel for droids and disabled beings which is mandatory under statute 1.265356.67022.-A4-2342350-0892-ABQ-29 which requires equal access to such areas under IGOSHA guidelines. The message in the teleporter invited you to a potluck. It is intergalactic custom and courtesy to bring something to share. You did not have anything. I went to the Space 7-Eleven to get you some space Doritos... Doritos... Doritos..."

Suddenly, the droid appeared to get stuck and began repeating itself over and over again.

The Operator gave the droid a good, swift kick and that seemed to reset it.

"Sorry," She replied. "He does that every now and then. All it takes is a good swift kick, which can be rather therapeutic on my end."

She turned back to the droid. "I have so many questions... how did you manage to get to a store, buy chips and all that? An even better question is how you managed to pay for them since you haven't got any money or arms!"

"Um...," The robot replied.

The Operator snatched the Space Doritos from around Yoo-nit's antenna and removed the bag of chips, opened them, and placed them on the table.

"We have chips now if anyone wants any," She offered.

Hecate spent a few moments with Eleanor, but the kitten's bright blue eyes darted around the venue, infinitely curious. As it turned out, staying still to be petted could be really difficult, when there was so much else to see and do. And that fish the bird-person had left on the ground... There was no way that wasn't meant for her, right? It smelled so good... Hecate adored fish. It was easily her favourite thing to eat in all of the worlds. So, it wasn't long before the little cat left the human's side to pad over to where the delicious fishy treat sat on the grass. She sniffed it a few times, out of habit. Definitely smelled like fish. No problem here. Before starting to eat, however, Hecate looked up at Xihuitl to give her the Slow Blink of Feline Appreciation, though she wasn't sure if Xihuitl would recognize the gesture. Regardless, after that Hecate began to eat the fish, trying to be as delicate as possible though she really just wanted to chomp it all down in an instant. But eating more slowly helped the flavour to last longer, as well as seeming more polite to most people.
Once the fish had been consumed, Hecate began to walk around slowly, observing the sights, sounds, and smells of the venue. She noticed the one-eyed alien creature holding out a tablet, and recognized the writing on it for what it was; Hecate knew what written letters looked like, but she could not read them, and so had no idea what was actually written on the tablet. She didn't even know who the message was for, anyway, so she simply opted to ignore it (though she gave the person holding the tablet a quick sniff before walking away.)
Hecate's next destination was the table where, not long before, an open bag of chips had been deposited. Hecate had never had a chip before. She needed to try one. First, she considered leaping up onto the table to get at the bag. However, it was quite crowded with food, and she didn't want to knock anything onto the ground. (Seemed like that had already happened today; though Hecate had arrived too late to see it firsthand, she had seen the last of the clean-up, and could still smell food on the grass.) Not wanting to cause another mess, and also knowing that many people didn't appreciate cats jumping onto tables in general, Hecate decided to use a little bit of magic. The kitten levitated herself into the air, so that she was in front of the table and level with the opening of the chip bag. Then, reaching into the bag with one forepaw, she dragged a chip out, letting it drop to the grass before returning to the ground herself. If anyone had witnessed that little feat, Hecate would remain nonchalant, as if floating in the air was a perfectly normal cat activity. It was also possible that no-one had seen it at all, if they didn't happen to be paying attention.
Regardless, Hecate was now sitting on the ground with a chip that was about the same size as her face. She gently batted a paw at the strange food object, unsure of how to eat the chip now that she had obtained it.

After spending some time with Hecate, Eleanor watched with a smile as the kitten trotted away to eat some fish. Around Hecate's neck was a lavender ribbon, but no tag. Eleanor figured the cat must've belonged to somebody, but with no way of identifying the owner, Eleanor was feeling stumped.

'We have chips now if anyone wants any,' The Operator called out, causing the scientist to perk up.

"Oh!" Eleanor wandered over. "Thank you! You didn't have to, since I figured most who found my teleporter wouldn't have been prepared for a potluck, but that's very kind of you!"

Elliot had just finished cleaning up most of the food littering the ground. They did not touch the food on the table, since they figured that stuff wouldn't have been contaminated by the soil. Once that was done, Elliot had begun making their way back towards their host.

Along the way, Elliot noticed a chip had fallen on the ground, and while it was small, they went to pick it up anyway. However, once Hecate suddenly came into view, the little alien flinched. Elliot examined as Hecate batted at the chip, gurgling unintelligible words all the while, before they decided to leave the kitten with it. If someone was interested in it, then they wouldn't interfere.

"Thank you, Elliot," Eleanor nodded, just as Elliot had begun climbing up her leg with the intent to perch on her shoulder. "It looks a lot better now."

The two watched approvingly as guests conversed and helped themselves to the food. This was proving to be a great success!

Xihuitl smiled nervously, waving a hand slightly.

"No worries! Just a little bit will not hurt me. . . but I would enjoy trying a mushroom tart as well. Thank you. Feel free to help yourself to the feathercrowns." She gestured to the fried red vegetables. "I made them myself. They are quite spicy, although Avians cannot really taste spice very well, so I am unsure how much it would be to a human. Apologies if it is not to your liking!"

As Hecate ate the fish, she seemed content. Excited even, gleeful that she accepted her offering. She admired the creature's cuteness for just a bit longer before turning back to Andrew.

"Yes, that is good!" She didn't want to criticize a stranger's pronunciation. That came off as a bit rude to her. "So, a mechanical cat? That sounds incredible. I suppose it makes sense these things exist, no? To give others comforts that are easier to upkeep."

Starlit-Wisdom noted that the cat seemed not to recognise the text on their device. With a shrug, they erased the message and tried to find another way to enter the social aspect of the event. Whilst it was true they were content observing and learning from all the different species present, it did not make for being a good guest - and many found silent observers to be creepy.

Alas, with the focus of conversation centred around food, Starlit-Wisdom was at a loss on how to get involved. In the end, they sat themselves down under the sunlight, placing the tablet on their crossed legs, and turned their palms upward to feed on the sunlight. It was difficult to do so whilst remaining awake, but Starlit-Wisdom managed it, keeping their eye open and fixed on the others so as to maintain enough focus to stay awake. If everyone else were eating, they supposed they had no option but to do the same.

Hecate, meanwhile, was still contemplating the chip she had managed to obtain. (In retrospect, she wasn't even sure why she had wanted it so badly, but now she had it and was determined to enjoy it.) After a few (very unsuccessful) attempts at fitting the chip into her mouth, Hecate decided that there had to be a better way to go about this. It was just too big to bite in any efficient way, she thought, so maybe... it just had to be smaller? 'Make it smaller, I can do that!', she thought. Thus, after a few more moments of thinking, Hecate began crushing the chip under her paws until it was a pile of crumbs, small flakes, and cheesy dust. Considering this to be a successful outcome, the kitten began to lick up the chip fragments, happily munching them until they were all gone. After that, she licked her cheesy paws, walked a few steps away, and sat back down on the grass, looking quite pleased with herself.
Now, the cat wasn't entirely sure what to do. There were plenty of people around here, but the majority of them seemed to be engaged in conversation. Interupting people when they were talking was rude, right? She was pretty sure that was rude. There was the one-eyed creature with the tablet, sitting in the sunlight... ('A fellow sunshine-enjoyer,' Hecate thought, 'I can respect that.') She wondered if they were doing anything in particular, or if they were just enjoying the warmth. Their sitting position looked kind of like that 'meditation' thing Hecate had heard some humans mention in the past. Well, it didn't matter what they were doing, Hecate decided. The creature clearly had the right idea, because sitting in the warm sunshine was awesome (even if it was summer and everything was warm.)
Standing up once again from the soft grass, Hecate padded over to the sunny spot where Starlit-Wisdom was seated. The kitten lay down a little ways away, so that she was also in the sunlight, but not too close to the other creature in case they wanted privacy. Purring contentedly, Hecate stretched out her paws, gently kneading them in the grass. Her eyes drifted closed; this actually seemed like a pretty good opportunity for a nap (because when cardboard boxes weren't available, soft grass and warm sunshine were the next best napping conditions.) It wasn't long before Hecate found herself drifting into half-sleep, listening to the buzz of conversation from the party.

The Operator tried a little bit of everything and kept an eye on Yoo-nit who seemed to be studying the small cat. Given it was a computer and had no emotions or body language it was difficult to tell what it was thinking. Yoo-nit raised its eyes just above the table to study its contents after watching the kitten for a bit.

Although The Operator was used to talking to a variety of beings though out the day, her interactions were brief. Typically, someone needed a directory listing or they were having trouble placing a call. She never got to know the people she was speaking with nor did she see their faces. Usually, she only spoke to whoever was on the other end for less than a minute.

She began to realize how little social interaction she actually had traveling alone in her van with only Yoo-nit to keep her company. Glancing around, she saw Starlit-Wisdom sitting alone watching the other guests. "So, uh, how is your research going," The Operator asked turning to address them.

Starlit-Wisdom's eye followed the cat with curiosity. From their witnessing of the feline's behaviour amongst the other guests, they could hazard a guess at the feline's motives for keeping a distance, as much as Starlit-Wisdom did not actually mind. In fact at this point, they would have welcomed social interaction. But they were used to being unreadable to many other species, as much as they were capable of reading in return. They were not offended.

Palms glowing extra brightly as they gathered the direct sunlight, Starlit-Wisdom watched the cat relax, even themselves finding it adorable, despite the presence of facial features their species didn't traditionally find cute. The very idea of a mouth for instance was quite the culture shock to a void-dancer. Pretty much every species on their homeworld fed off radiation. Nothing had a mouth, and very few creatures were capable of any form of auditory communication - that including the Day-Singer void-dancers, who could whistle like bird-song through their nostrils. Despite being void-dancers as well, Night-Watchers like Starlit-Wisdom had drastically different respiratory tracts to their diurnal cousins. Needless to say, Starlit-Wisdom was quite used to mouths by now, thanks to their time spent as a space traveller.

Unexpectedly, one of the party guests approached the feeding void-dancer. Their instinct to being addressed was to stand and perform one of the communicative dances their species was named for; but the first jolt of movement toward that end reminded them the presence of the tablet on their lap and subsequently the fact that they would have to rely on it regardless of their preferences over sitting or standing.


They wrote upside down, keeping the tablet on their lap so that they did not need to keep flipping it around. They had a keen estimation on human reading speeds, so factored their writing into that. The screen's anti-glare properties and the bold handwriting brush Starlit-Wisdom was currently utilising added to the legibility, allowing for someone to still be capable of reading it whilst standing.

You are aware of my scientific endeavours?

The Operator read Starlit Wisdom's words and nodded. "I figured you were researching something since you were observing everyone and clearly not drawing them. That would have probably been my first guess," She explained.

They wrote upside down, keeping the tablet on their lap so that they did not need to keep flipping it around. They had a keen estimation on human reading speeds, so factored their writing into that. The screen's anti-glare properties and the bold handwriting brush Starlit-Wisdom was currently utilising added to the legibility, allowing for someone to still be capable of reading it whilst standing.

My research is progressing as expected. Apart from the untimely demise of my subject Prickly-Branches, but such is the tragedy of being a shrub. Thankfully, they were not a particularly rare specimen.

"Always sad when we lose someone," The Operator replied. "Plant or animal. Although I'm not sad about germs, harmful bacteria, wasps, ants, zeetles, oggs, lawyers or especially telemarketers. I hate those most of all!" She laughed slightly.

And the entity responsible allowed me to attend this gathering, which itself is a fascinating source of study.

My beliefs may prevent me from assigning a value to an individual life, as all life is sacred and spiritually connected, but if any event was to lead to the demise of a living thing, one that provides opportunity is preferable to one that doesn't.

The Operator nodded. "I wish more beings had such beliefs," she said, sighing.

Xihuitl is in the middle of finishing off a mushroom tart as she watched the others. Aside from the rollercoaster of emotions she had experienced in one day, it was enough to satisfy her desire to learn human culture. Togetherness is the key then, she pondered. Like an Avian feast. Everyone connects under the watchful eyes of the gods and celebrates. Summer was definitely something to celebrate. Good food, good friends, good adventures. . . perhaps this was enough of an adventure for one day for her!

Clapping crumbs off of her hands, she made to discard her plate and napkins afterwards. To Andrew, she dipped her head. "It was delightful to meet you, truly! I appreciate the chance to get to know human culture on a more intimate level. What is more, making companions in that endeavor. I need to take my leave now, so I bid you many blessings from Kluex."

She waved before turning on clawed feet towards the Operator and Starlit-Wisdom.

"Forgive me, I came to say goodbye," she explained. "I will not intrude on you two any further. I wanted to say I appreciated our time, though brief, together. I have learned so many things!"

"Farewell," The Operator said to the bird person with a wave. "It was good to meet you as well. I fear it is time for me to get back to my work as well." She turned to Starlit-Wisdom. "I have enjoyed our brief chat. Sadly, I have a tunnel full of cables waiting for me. This was a nice break, however. Come along, Yoo-nit!"

The Operator paused to say goodbye to their hose. "Thanks so much, love. I had a lovely time! I hate to leave, but I've got to get back to work. Maybe our paths will cross again someday," She said before heading for the teleporter to return to the maintenance tunnel where she'd been checking communication cables.