Calliacrobatics in the Hendrix Fencing Studio
Accomplice Teh Dave walks in carrying a huge pile of lumber, and a bucket of joints, screws, and nails. He sets it all in a corner, and pulls an easel with blueprints already taped up out of his pocket.
Accomplice Teh Dave sets the easel in the corner, sights along the walls, and gets to work.
Accomplice Teh Dave has a good portion of the beam-grid complete, sawdust littering the floor.
Accomplice Teh Dave 's heart tattoo is spinning wildly in its shell, and the beams are sanded, cut, and attached to each other, all in smooth movements, no tools to be seen.
Accomplice Teh Dave humms a bit as he works, an old tune, far pre-emp. He's currently got a grid of beams roughly half the room long, and about three quarters of the room wide, still working on length.
Accomplice Teh Dave realizes something that might hamper further construction, and pulls a ladder out of his lab coat, walking over to the wall with it.
Accomplice Teh Dave climbs up, and affixes a pair of pulleys to the wall, to help lift the grid off the ground to install the legs of it.
calliaphone clank-skids into the studio, leaving a long track of grubby icing sugar in her wake. she looks round, a bit breathless, eyes wide. “Dave? WHATCHADOIN?”
Accomplice Teh Dave grins as he threads a rope through this pulley, and tosses the end to calli. “Oh good, you're awake. Here, tie this on that side of the grid.” He points to the far, outside beam.
calliaphone doesn't need telling twice. she drops the bucket and tea-kettle, grabs the rope, and scrambles for the beam in question.
Accomplice Teh Dave shifts over to the other pulley, and threads rope through that one, tying it off on the far beam. “Right. . .gotta lift this up to put the legs on.” He grins over at calli.
calliaphone is no sailor or girl scout. the knot she ties is one of her own invention. it is strictly unorthodox, but it'll definitely hold.
calliaphone glances at the blue-prints on the easel. her eyes widen. “huhh?”
Accomplice Teh Dave 's own knot is one that Gordia would be proud of. Or or. He sets up a couple springs under the beam, to help push it up, then takes his spot by a rope.
calliaphone glances from blue-print, to lattice, to Dave, to blue-print. She coughs delicately. “ahm, Dave. hangabout. doncha want to get the legs on it first?”
Accomplice Teh Dave blinkblinks, considering. “Oh. . .erm. . .build them over it. . .then flip. . .” He laughs. “Right, much better idea. Thank you calli!” He beams at her, then goes to start collecting legs.
Accomplice Teh Dave blinkblinks. “Oh, lemme grab something real quick.” And dashes out, bouncing down the Guest House to head to his workshop.
calliaphone nods dazedly, still returning dave's beam, and tripping over all the beams on the floor.
Accomplice Teh Dave returns! with a Power Drill! It's battery powered, thankfully, so it doesn't need a cord. He holds it out to Calli. “I'll hold you drill?” He grins.
calliaphone 's grin gets just that little bit more ginormous. she takes the drill from dave, and hefts it, then gives it a quick burst of power, just for the hell of it.
Accomplice Teh Dave laughs, and grabs a pre-cut beam to hold in place, trusting in calli's ability to know where to place the joints and drill in.
calliaphone advances on the beams, humms for a moment as she chooses her first angle of attack, then positions the drill and hits the POWER.
calliaphone leeeeans into it. It's either that, or she goes whizzing round attached to the handle. S'happened before.
calliaphone bares her teeth at the wood, and her eyes gleam. She powers down the drill, blows sawdust away, and locates a nice big bolt and a socket wrench.
calliaphone sits down and ratchets the bolt into place. Some sounds just never get old.
Accomplice Teh Dave holds the beam steady, so's calli can work proper.
calliaphone grins up at Dave. “probly best if you tighten the bolts up the last bit.” she flexes a puny arm at him, to illustrate the point.
Accomplice Teh Dave chuckles, and nods. “Soon as they're all in place, I'll tighten 'em all up. No use swapping out for every bolt.”
calliaphone says, “right y'are.” and moves on to the next one, drill in hand.
calliaphone moves gradually around the corners of the grid, powering up the drill, creating little piles of curly sawdust, ratchetting bolts into place. Oh man, she is HAPPY.
calliaphone stands back at last, dusting herself off with sugar-sticky palms. “right, i reckn that's nicely braced, don't you?”
calliaphone detaches herself from the drill-handle with some difficulty. it has also now acquired its own coating of sugar-gloop.
Accomplice Teh Dave nodnods, as he finishes wrapping the last of the legs in thick carpeting, and steps back to admire the work. “Looks good. . .” He grins, then bounces from leg to leg, giving the bolts one last turn
Accomplice Teh Dave will have to dust the drill off later. For now, there's a forest of brace-legs to dodge through, securing and tightening the bolts.
calliaphone nodnods, eyeing the carpeting with some confusion. “it looks very good!” pause. “what is it?”
Accomplice Teh Dave grins, and tugs on a rope, to make sure it'll hold the now-heavier woodwork up as it lifts. “It's. . .erm. . .” He ponders a moment. “A grid of wooden beams.” Nods matter-of-factly.
calliaphone looks at the structure again. “ah, yes. so tis.”
Accomplice Teh Dave chuckles, and points to the other rope. “Alright, let's flip this baby over, and I'll show you why it is.” He grins.
calliaphone says, “alriiiight”, and stumbletrips towards the rope. gottit. “ready!”
Accomplice Teh Dave nods, and pulls. With calli's help, the giant frame lumbers upwards, and sweeps out to flip itself over. Dave pushes out the bottom as it nears vertical, to move it across the room.
calliaphone follows Dave's lead, huffing a bit as she keeps the tension on the rope.
Accomplice Teh Dave guides the construct down slowly, making sure it's set as close to center in the room as possible, then nods to calli. “Alright, we're set.” He grins, and hops up to sit on a beam.
calliaphone blinks, and looks up. At Dave. At the lattice. At the floor. A small gleam appears in her eyes. She jumps, catching hold of the beam next to Dave. For a moment she dangles, then swings herself up.
calliaphone is sitting on a beam. Well, that doesn't last long. Calliaphone is standing on a beam! No, make that hopping from foot to foot.
Accomplice Teh Dave chuckles, and hops to his feet, balanced on the bar. He hops across a few bars, then sits back down, taking out a tin of apple spice muffins, a small covered bowl of whipped cream, and a jug of milk.
calliaphone hops a bit more excitedly. “FOOD! you didn't say there'd be FOOD!”
Accomplice Teh Dave grins. “Yup. Stanlygirl special.” He takes a muffin, dabs it in the whipped cream, and proceeds to devour it, eyes half-closed, pretending not to watch calli curiously.
calliaphone is overtaken by excitement. there's a flash of movement, and she's in the air and turning. a front flip, tucked around the accordion. and landing neatly on her feet, a little way along the beam.
calliaphone turns to Dave, presents demurely, and then grins her head off.
Accomplice Teh Dave takes a swig of the milk to wash down the muffin, and crosses his feet under him on the beam, watching with a grin.
Accomplice Teh Dave laughs, and applauds.
calliaphone flips again, backwards this time, and lands on her hands. upside-down she pirouettes, her plaits dangling down onto the wood. good job she's got a secure harness for that accordion.
calliaphone struts along the beam, still on her hands. her form is not textbook. a little too showy and untidy for a purist. but she doesn't stumble, doesn't slip, just kicks her legs to counteract a wobble.
Accomplice Teh Dave grins, and laughs, and applauds, and devours another muffin-with-whipped-cream.
calliaphone grins too, upside-downily. orienting herself along the beam, she pauses, then suddenly drops into a roll, and comes to rest sitting up, red-faced, and only moderately dizzy.
Accomplice Teh Dave passes a whipped-creamed muffin over to calli. “Good show there. Where'd you learn to tumble like that?”
calliaphone leeans across, but can't quite reach. she stands up and does a forward handspring which takes her across three bars, to where Dave is sitting. almost. she slightly undershoots the landing.
calliaphone grabs at the beam as she slides past it, and manages to hang on. a moment of kicking, and she's swung back up alongside Dave. seated, she takes the muffin.
calliaphone says, “fairgrounds. there was always troupes of tumblers.” and she takes a huge mouthful of muffin. “mmmmfphhh!”
Accomplice Teh Dave nods, grinning. “Fairgrounds? You used to go to the fairs a lot?” He finds the tray of gingerbread, and breaks off two pieces to make a whipped cream sandwich.
calliaphone watches what Dave's doing, and copies him. Because, Dave knows what's what. As she does so, she chuckles. “y'could say that. i grew up around fairgrounds.”
Accomplice Teh Dave nodnods, and washes down the sandwich with a swig of milk. “Is that where you got interested in machines and engines and all?”
calliaphone is possibly exaggerating here. It is debatable whether she ever really grew up. But she's right about the fairgrounds.
calliaphone says,“yeah, pretty much. i was born into it, y'see. my people were Trypsies. travelling tractioneers. we jus' went from fairground to fairground, running all the machines.”
calliaphone takes a bite, a swig. pauses to hiccup. grins. and explains, “there was all the fairground machines, an' then we'd help on the farms and mines too, if they needed heavy kit or maintenance.”
Accomplice Teh Dave nods sagely. Yep, that explains a lot. “That sounds like fun, actually. Get to roam around, fixing machines, living the fair. . .” He grins, and munches on a muffin. “Never had alot of those..”
calliaphone smiles, just a touch wistfully. “it was fun.” she says. “it was home.” then, she looks at him. “never had a lot of what? fairs? how come?” hard for her to imagine, this.
Accomplice Teh Dave blinks. “Erm. . .lived in a big city in America. . .worked a lot, didn't get much time to go out to 'em, since they were mostly out in the Country. . .then again, that was all before the EMP. . .”
calliaphone says, “America, huh?” Where is that? “Before the EMP - you remember that?” she looks at him, sidelong.
Accomplice Teh Dave nods, and raises an eyebrow at the look. “Yeah. . .I remember. . .why?”
calliaphone says, “you don't look very old.” tactful callia.
calliaphone has a foggy sort of notion about when the EMPs went off.
Accomplice Teh Dave chuckles. “Ah, well, that would be the Island's doing. . .” He takes a bite of whipped-cream-on-muffin, and a swig of milk, thoughtful.
calliaphone says, “the island?” her brow furrows. “but . . . Uncle Bernard's old.” Really old.
Accomplice Teh Dave scratches his head. “Erm. . .Bernard's. . .erm. . .” He furrows his brow. “Honestly, I'm still not sure how he works.” He shrugs.
calliaphone giggles, and slips round to dangle upside down by her knees. possibly unwise after whipped cream muffins, but it's ok, she's a professional.
calliaphone isn't really a professional. (you knew that, right?)
Accomplice Teh Dave chuckles, and walks along the beams, arms out to help balance. “I think. . .the Island is different for everyone. Me, I ended up like this. . .Bernard. . .is Bernard. . .” He gives a shrug.
calliaphone says, “so you got younger?”
Accomplice Teh Dave frowns a bit, then decides to be diplomatic, and glaze over his time as a Zombie. “Yeah, eventually.” He hops from beam to beam, not performing any tricks. He's not a pro like Calli is.
calliaphone , still dangling bat-like, processes this new information. She swings herself up into a sitting position again, snags another muffin, and slathers it in cream. “was you very old?”
Accomplice Teh Dave chuckles. “Positively antidelluvian. It's a wonder I survived my first few days here. . .” He makes his way back to the muffin tin, to liberate another, and some more whipped cream.
calliaphone pretends she knows how old that is. she gets the gist, though, and makes wide eyes. “wow.” then she says, “old folks are tougher'n people think. Most of the Trypsies was old folks. Wiry.”
Accomplice Teh Dave nods, chuckling. “Yep. Never underestimate the Old Folk. A lifetime to learn the tricks, and perfect most of 'em.” He grins, and sits cross-legged on a beam intersection.
calliaphone realises this is why Dave knows what's what! She grins, glad to have solved that mystery. Finishes her muffin. Gets to her feet. Balances.
calliaphone springs gently on the spot for a moment, testing, feeling her weight and balance. “what i don't get. . .” she does a backward somersault before continuing, “. . .is why.”
Accomplice Teh Dave tilts his head, knowing the question, but also knowing she has to ask it, herself. “Why what?”
calliaphone says, “why'd you get younger? why'd Ari go invisible? i mean, i seen a lotta magic tricks before i came here. but y'know, i bin thinking lately.” a LOT. “here's different.”
Accomplice Teh Dave nods. “You're right. Here's much different, different than anywhere else in the world. It's the Drive. . .it. . .” He pauses, takes a swig of milk. “It changes rules. . .”
calliaphone wobbles, steadies, considers this. “rules like, no shoplifting and twocking cars?”
Accomplice Teh Dave shakes his head. “No. . .deeper rules than that. . .things like. . .” He pauses. “Things like “Objects at rest will remain at rest upon acted upon by another force” or the inverse of that. . .”
calliaphone blinks, disentangling the language. she's never heard it put like that before, but it makes sense.“that's a rule? i thought it was just the way things was.”
Accomplice Teh Dave nods. “Well, everywhere else, yes. It's called a Law. . .but not one someone decided on. . .it's one people had to figure out. But here, it doesn't always apply. . .”
calliaphone says, “oh.” and then, “oh.” she frowns. “an' that's because of the Drive?”
Accomplice Teh Dave nodnods. “It's a strange thing, and I'm not sure I could explain how it does what it does. . .but it changes those rules, from time to time. . .everyone calls it “improbability”. . .”
calliaphone has heard them do exactly that! “you're right!” she bounces. “they do!” flashkick, land, present. “but wow. that Drive. that's some kinda machine.” she sounds impressed.
calliaphone says, “d'you think, it'd let me, y'know. take it apart? just for a looksee, like. i wouldn't hurt it.”
Accomplice Teh Dave 's face screws up slightly. He's always had a hard time with this bit, himself. “I. . .I think it's more than that, actually. . .It seems to have a will of its own, at times. . .”
calliaphone nods. of course it does. it's a machine! she says, “is that why everyone gets mad at it?”
Accomplice Teh Dave frowns, and shakes his head. “Not just because it's got a will of its own. . .but what it does with it. A lot of people think it's evil, or mean. . .I just think it has a sense of humor, myself.”
calliaphone says, “huhhh.” and sits down suddenly on the beam. “evil or mean? but . . . dave. no-one's evil or mean without a reason.” she looks indignant. “someone oughtta TALK to it.”
Accomplice Teh Dave smiles, and leans back along a beam, staring at the ceiling. “Y'know. . .I think so many people get it in their heads that they're supposed to destroy it, no one stops to talk to it.”
calliaphone shakes her head impatiently. “but that's wrong, s'like smacking gremlins around. that's mean.” agitated, she executes a series of forward handsprings along the beam.
calliaphone lands, wobbles, and doesn't quite get it right. she takes a sideways step. into thin air. and lands with a crump on the mat beneath. “ouhff.”
Accomplice Teh Dave winces, and scrambles down to inspect the damage. “You alright there?”
calliaphone looks up. puffs a little to get air back into her lungs. and gives Dave a rueful thumbs-up. “yuhh. no harm.” she's had a fair bit of practise, with crash landings.
Accomplice Teh Dave grins, and reaches down to offer calli a hand up. “So, still you, even if you're better on your feet up there.” He laughs.
calliaphone take Dave's hand and swings herself up onto her feet. “yeh,” she says, “still me.” she yawwns suddenly, and claps a hand over her mouth. “i should probly rest” she says apologetically.
Accomplice Teh Dave nodnods. “'salright. Mi Casa Su Casa.” He grins. “I'm gonna head out for a bit.”
calliaphone smiles. and suddenly hugs Dave tight. “thankyouforthe. . .everything.”
Accomplice Teh Dave laughs, and returns the hug. “You're welcome. Feel free to have another muffin or two, but leave some of the gingerbread for Ari.” He smiles, gives calli a squeeze, and starts heading out.
calliaphone nods. when he's gone, she snags a muffin and leaves all of the gingerbread for Ari. and then she trots out herself, to find her hammock.