Forums » General Roleplay » Trick or Treat: At (robot) Ghost-Grandma

(Emily, 3rd page)

"... and the flight home just got delayed three hours", Cris's voice snorted over the comm; Emily's sound cards could make out the frustration in her voice. "I'm sorry, ma - I didn't mean to leave you in charge of the fort for so long..."

"No, no, it's okay", the robot woman assured her adopted daughter. "We've just finished setting up the pumpkin path to the courtyard. It's all ready for Halloween. And it's only late afternoon - there'll still be plenty of time when you arrive. The lights are on, we have all sort of treats sweet and salty, Martin is helping the kids with their costumes..."

"Think you can take over the trick or treaters until I return, then?"

"I think I'll manage", Emily smiled. "You only think about getting on that flight and staying safe. I'll handle this." And she glanced over the lavish manor house, all set up with Halloween decorations. There were cobwebs at the windows, and rows upon rows of shiny black and orange pumpkin streamers, matching the confetti all over the ground. Jutting on the roof, half-perchedon a windowsill, was a headless figure with a black cape - which didn't fully conceal what looked like a red-and-white Santa costume underneath; a large carved pumpkins emerged from a bag on its back.

Several cauldrons had been hauled on the porch - one for sweets, one for salty snacks, and one for gifts - this last one filled with the brim with gummy skeleton keychains, spinning tops painted to look like witches, miniature action figures and all kinds of knick knacks and gadgets. Even the last-model doorbell had been replaced by an ancient-looking knocker representing a skull's head.

It was the time of the year in which Emily could show her damaged robotic parts and dust off her old "ghost bride" wedding dress without getting weird looks from the neighbors. Presently, Chiara and Reyn also rushed outside; the little fox girl was wearing a spectacular blue gown with snowflakes decorating the skirt, while the boy's costume looked like some kind of zombie pirate (not at all surprising, considering who his parents were).

Emily smiled indulgently at the kids and then looked out onto the street. Take over the trick or treaters. Sure, she could do that. At least, if that demon friend of Cris didn't show up to scare the hell out of her this year too...

((Alrighty, here goes nothing! I know it's TERRIBLY late but I really had zero writing energies before and October's really RACED past. But! There's still some days until Halloween so if anyone wants to join and say hi to Emily and the fam... be welcome!))

Floating down the way was a most odd sight: A large, chunky-looking lizard with an outlandishly hot pink head and a hunched-over, pitch-black body. It makes not a sound as it moves, barring the occasional “tink” sound as faint sparks of red jump out from its feet to the ground below. Even its pink-plumed tail seems to hover right above the ground, swaying as the creature turns to face the manor. But this was no wild beast.

Two white points glow dimly inside of the creature’s open, jagged maw; flanked at the sides by messes of glassy hair. The puppet within the costume observes the strange decorations, her stare both blank and searingly sharp. Soon after, the two children who had bolted outside catch her attention, prompting her to motionlessly watch for a moment.

Far, far away, electrical activity dances across a great web of bio-circuits, a key decision being made of what she should do. The choice is divined by the living machinery, relayed back to her distant, biomechanical avatar. In response, Leaves lifts both of her arms and waves eagerly, causing the costume’s blocky head to wobble around in an amusing manner.

"Ganny Em!" Little Reyn grabbed the hem of Emily's veil and tugged slightly, beaming. "Look, Godzilla!"

"Nooooh... Godzilla is green. They're pink", Chiara chided her brother before waving back eagerly and rushing toward the newcomer and clapped her hands delightedly. "Hi!! Your costume is so pretty! I love pink!" She then did a little swirl to make the blue dress shimmer and threw a handful of white confetti around herself. "I'm Elsa!"

"Godzilla! _Cool_ Godzilla!" Reyn insisted before pointing to himself. "Eyn.... Bombie Zombie!"

"Calm down, kids, not all at once!" Emily laughed, ruffling Reyn's blue fringe before she turned to the newcomer and smiled. Oh, perhaps the kids might not realize it yet - but she had already figured out that standing before them was another mechanical creature, much like her. Her optics had scanned what little was visible under the costume, and a spark of recognition lit up her gaze, added a touch of familiarity to her smile. No robot type she knew of... then again, she herself was rather a one of a kind. "Welcome", she said with a friendly nodd and a welcoming wave of her arm toward the cauldrons, particularly the one with the toys and gadgets. "Would you like--"

"Botty Godzilla!" Reyn suddenly exclaimed, his little nose twitching as he looked up in awe at their guest. That nearly got a double take out of Emily before she realized what her optical recognition software told her, must already be known to the kids due to their keen fox sense of smell.

“...Godzilla?” The Great Processor muses to herself, unable to find an exact match for the term despite her vast data stores. Being rushed by the children does not seem to trouble her as she floats in place, staring down at Chiara as a smile tugs at her lips. “Ah, thank you-“ But before Leaves can fully answer, she hears the word “Bombie Zombie” as the puppet’s head snaps up. The costume’s jaw bounces, looking as if the lizard chomped the air. With a little whir and a plastic-sounding creak of her joints, she places a hand on her own chest while letting out a crackly chuckle. “Ah-ha ha. Oh my!”

All the while, those little crimson sparks keep arcing from Leaves’ feet towards the ground, the noophasic emitters within her legs keeping her stable.

Sparing a glance towards Emily as she addresses the costumed Processor, Leaves finds herself looking back towards Reyn as he interrupts. The many odd materials making up her form, both organic and inorganic, certainly smell strange to those with a good nose. Her gaze is incredibly focused, perhaps in an unintentionally intimidating way. A moment passes, before...

“Oh!” Leaves suddenly perks up, registering what he meant. “Oh, yes! I am a purposed organism; a living machine, indeed!” The puppet answers Reyn, her feminine voice carrying a synthetic hum to it. “The costume I wear is not, ah, intended to be a ‘Godzilla’, but I shall accept this interpretation.”

Floating higher, the costumed puppet assumes a more quadrupedal stance as she curls her fingers in like claws. “In truth, I am a meat-eating lizard-beast often found hunting in the subterranean grottos beneath my frigid homeland. Grrr- Grrr- Hiss-!” She growls with all the ferocity of a basic text-to-speech device, pawing the air as she does.

The fox kids were mesmerized by the crimson sparks. Reyn clapped his hands, then turned to Emily and pointed at her. "Ganny Em botty too!"

Emily couldn't refrain from smiling at his childish enthusiasm. Then, she gave a welcoming nodd to the Great Processor. "Nice to meet you. Please, make yourself comfortable", she gestured to a long wooden bench that ran alongside the porch, strewn with more pumpkins and some soft bat-shaped plushies, with orange and black balloons lining the backrest. "Would you like a trick or treat present?"

"We helped mama and granny choose them!" Chiara happily informed Leaves, extending a tiny hand. "Come see if there's any you like...!" At the mention of the lizard-beast she was meant to be, the little fox girl's red eyes widened, but not in fear or shock - rather, in genuine awe. "These lizards are _just_ so colorful?? Can we come see them? Can we pet them?" She turned toward Emily. "Granny Em, can we?"

"You'll have to hear your mom about that", Emily chuckled. Of course, knowing her heart's daughter as well as she did, she didn't doubt for a minute that the answer to a vacation in an unknown world to see new animals would be an enthusiastic--

"Grrrrr!!" Reyn gave into a delighted squeal and made his best impression of a fox's growl, but with a definite playful edge to it. He raised his tiny arms and flailed them over his head, like a zombie.... or, perhaps more to the point, like a zombie trying to swat a giant fly. "Grrrr-arrrrr! Bombie Zombie... pirate!"

If the soft rustling of bouncing wings on her back wasn't the first to announce Xihuitl's arrival, it was absolutely her call to the family.

"Happy Halloween, Miss Emily. And to the little ones as well!"

A beaked helmet of leaf-like feathers sat above her own. For those without an Avian's eyes for the creature, they could seem authentic, despite resembling wide, round fractals rather than any Earth beasts' feathers. Meanwhile, her tail was enrobed in what appeared to be a sleeve of scales. Fake, of course, as it was fashioned of fabric with layers of wood painted in bright colors, layered in a way the glossy 'scales' clicked occasionally. The wide, sleeveless blouse she wore was decorated in the same scales.

In the harmony of the costume, resting on her arm was a sizeable yet typical jack-o'-lantern bucket. Already it housed some fruit candies and toys.

Once she made it up the porch, she looked to the machinoid already ahead of her. Her jaw tightened, forming an Avian's smile that reached her eyes.

"What lovely colors on your costume." She didn't speak loudly at all, but well enough that she could be heard amidst the excitement of the children.

As the familiar voice greeted the kids, at once the two vulpine heads turned toward Xihuitl.

"Xiiii!!" Chiara's spelling had somewhat improved (though it still had more of a fox-like hiss to it than in proper Avian language). She sprang toward the graceful bird and happily threw another handful of white confetti toward her. "Want some snow?"

"Shish-wish!" Reyn waved happily at her... and beelined for the jack o' lantern, all but throwing his lil muzzle in to see what Xihuitl had found whilst trick-or-treating.

"Reyn, how many times?! Don't look in people's bags like that-" Emily called after him, laughing despite her attempt to reproach. Then her eyes trailed on to Xihuitl, and she smiled. "I've heard so much from Cris about you, miss Xi. A honor to meet you in person now."

“Oh, hm?” A still mostly horizontal Leaves rotates in the air to face Emily, directed by where Reyn was pointing. It was then she fully noticed the exposed mechanical components across the woman’s arm, an odd feeling of similarity washing over her. Though the living machine’s puppet is in good condition, her grand other half sitting upon a distant world has certainly seen better days. A gentle red glow pulses in from behind her costume’s head, though it fades away as slowly as it comes.

Leaves then tilts back towards a more upright position, her arms naturally falling back towards their usual resting position. Hearing Emily speak of a present causes her gaze to jump towards the knick-knack filled cauldron, prompting her to float closer towards it so she can take a better look. “...Yes, please. I would like to take a little keepsake back with me.”

Reaching over with a hand, the puppet pauses as she hears Chiara exclaim her desire to pet a real lizard-beast. A million different thoughts ran through her far-away mind in that moment: The dangers, the logistics, the heaps of rotting infrastructure she’d need to bring back to par. Never mind the danger the Great Processor herself poses to the homelands below.

How would she explain that? And the fact that her Benefactors might not allow guests to the Tenth Garden in this current time, even if they technically are absent. Oh dear. Oh dear.

“Aa-ha ha...!” Instead, Leaves simply laughs the idea away rather than work her bio-circuits up any longer; the authority would foremost lie with their mother, of course.

Another ghostly red glow envelops her hand, telekinetically lifting a few of the gadgets from the pumpkin before she’s intimidated by Reyn and his fearsome display. “How frightful!” She exclaims, tipping back as her costume’s tail sways.

It is then Leaves hears the Avian’s arrival, slowly twirling to face her as she lets the knick-knacks carefully fall back into the pumpkin. “Why, thank you.” The puppet answers with a pleasant tone. No mind is given towards the nosy Reyn, knowing how children can be. Her head sharply snaps down, then up as she appraises Xihuitl’s own costume. It looked like the lizard-beast had nodded as its head bounced around.

“Your costume is also aesthetically pleasing. The scales remind me of what my Benefactors would often wear.” Leaves states not with a sense of longing, but instead with a sort of gentle fondness and appreciation for the work behind it.

A twitter-like chuckle escaped Xihuitl as the children came up to her, one offering her 'snow' and the other diving for her bucket.

"Snow, just for me? Thank you, Elsa!" It appeared she brushed up a bit on some of Earth's pop culture before the season. Then, she looked from Reyn and Emily. Her smile lingered. "Likewise. It is good to meet more of a close friend's loved ones."

Her arm lowered a bit so Reyn could get a better look. Amidst the small bags of recognizable brands from Earth, there were packages made of unique materials and various shapes, likely from worlds beyond. They were mostly fruit snacks and candies, some of hues the average human cannot even perceive. A few others seemed to feature small arthropods. They were either encased in the candy or coated, such as caramel.

"It is alright. He can look. I am actually gathering treats for a group of Avians we met recently." 'We' obviously being the Goodall's crew. "They are refugees, so I took it upon myself to provide something nice for their children."

She needn't mention escaped Ascendants before the little ones, much less explain what they are. Instead, she listened to the robot with patience and empathy. She nodded once she finished, sounding a soft, 'Mhm.'

"My thanks to you as well. I am dressed as an animal from Avos, my kind's homeworld. We call them 'cuahuitl dragons' - or so is the best translation. They have no limbs and use their wings to sail in the air. They can be likened to kites, except their bodies are the strings."