(Live, damn you! Li-ii-iive~!
Oh, and for anyone wanting context for this, I'd recommend reading the three-part lead-in I wrote, starting
here)
???Ky adjusted the collar of his makeshift travelling cloak and cast a glance over his shoulder at Ruby, trotting along behind him with a look of wide-eyed curiosity plastered on her face as she took in the vast nothing surrounding them. They'd been wandering for around a week, and in that time the most interesting thing that'd happened was the ride they'd "hitched" on the automated cargo-train a couple days prior. That'd seen Ky appropriate a couple of spare tarps to create the cloaks they both now wore, and he'd also "persuaded" one of the maintenance units stationed on the train to burn a serial number onto each part of the dirt-coated armour he wore.
"K-41-LRS.....Gives me as decent an excuse as any for using my name, I guess...."He was interrupted in his mental musings by a mental poke from Ruby over their shared communications network, now far more secure than when they first met thanks to him spending most of their travel time teaching her how to reinforce her defenses.
[R: *poke* Hey. Where're we going?]
Ky cast another glance over his shoulder as he debated how much to tell her.
[K: I remember there being a city around here somewhere. Should be able to get some of the things we need there.]
[R: Ooh....okay. Wait. Why didn't we stop at that other city then?]
[K: That city was inhabited. That would've meant people asking questions I don't wanna answer. From what I can tell, this one
isn't inhabited, so there's less risk of awkward situations.]
[R: Ooh....okay. Wait. I don't get it.]
Huffing a sigh beneath the collar of his cloak, Ky debated trying to his explain his reasoning to her, but stopped dead when a flash of
something in the corner of his vision caught his eye. Tilting his head to observe for a moment, his arm shot out to snag the back of Ruby's cloak as she wandered past him, drawing a squawk of surprise from the black-haired girl. Whatever was making that glint, it was moving. He remained silent while he pondered the best way to approach this development. Ruby, however, wasn't so restrained.
[R: Hey! There's something moving way over in the distance! What do you think it is? Do-you-think-it's-a-car?-I-bet-it's-a-car-I'm-gonna-go-take-a-look-'kay?]
With that declaration, she adjusted her makeshift cloak with a gesture that was far too dramatic to
not be intentional and rocketed off in the direction of the thing before Ky could formulate a response, leaving him stood in a cloud of dust with a bewildered look on his face. After a few seconds spent watching the rapidly-shrinking figure of his travelling companion recede into the distance, he shook his head and set off after her at a more sedate pace, not even bothering to chastise her for the impulsive action.
It felt so good to be moving again! Okay, so she was moving so quickly the surrounding landscape was little more than a blur, but she was
moving! And the shiny thing was getting closer-and-it-was-a-van-and-a-van-meant-someone-driving-it-which-meant-SOCIAL-INTERACTION-and-maybe-new-friends!
[R: Hey Kai! That thing? It's a van! I'm gonna go say "Hi" to the driver! Catch up when you can!]
[K: Wha-? Hey...! *sigh* God
damnit, Ruby! It could be a.....]
EXCITEMENT[K:Y'know what? Nevermind. Go say hi, Ruby.]
YAYIt didn't take much to finally catch up with the vehicle, and she thought about running in front of it, but then imagined getting run over when she stopped, so decided to draw level with the front passenger window and wave instead....