...Oh...this isn't good...

[Nail Strafer]

"Brute?" the hybrid raised an eyebrow at that. "Who are you talking about?"

He also didn't like the way she'd changed her tone when talking about compensation. It made him feel like he was about to sell his soul to her. Sure, right now, he didn't have many options, but he had to wonder what all she'd want him to do in return for a few bits of clothing.

"Before I agree to work for you, I want you to tell me what you need me to do tonight in return for a set of clothes."

Nail kept his tone flat and neutral, neither overly skeptical nor overly trustworthy.

[Relic Drake]

"No 12 labors or anything, pet." she said with a confident smirk. "The lady just needs some items moved. Honestly you can expect me to such lowly task?" She gave Nail a sneer at the very thought of her doing manual labor. Tucking the very old looking book away between her arms and body she turned to leave the alley, not giving Nail much time to decide if he wanted to accept. A master in the art of subterfuge and obfuscation , the white wolf was able to apply pressure in any negotiation. keeping her answers vague while rushing the hybrid for an answer.

Priscilla had a very cold walk, with an air of superiority. As if she owned the very pavement she strolled upon. Each step with confidence it would be on stable ground, never looking down to second guess herself. Her head at a slight angle up, no one would dare get in her way, why should she watch out for people?

[SOLIS]

Situation assessment: Battery life at 22%. Current time: 2242, estimated 848 until sun rise. Current environment: Apex floor of unknown building, safety evaluated at 80%. Predicted Traffic==Very Low, Cover==Very Low.

Alone on a nearby rooftop explored a small, charcoal coloured object. Closer examination would reveal it to be a curious little device, similar in appearance to a smart phone, with the letters "SOLIS" in sunken letters on the back side. Enveloped in a faint white glow, it slowly rolled around the roof top, searching for a place to tuck itself away for the night. While the rooftop had very few visitors, it wasn't particularly strong in cover. While to most this wouldn't be of interest, SOLIS had a good reason to look for it. Only a few hours before, while taking a break, a curious bird had spotted it and decided to decorate its nest with SOLIS' shiny exterior. Having escaped by pushing itself out of the creatures claws, it quickly learned its lesson. Additionally, its battery was beginning to weaken, and going to sleep would mean there was very little chance it could detect further unwanted interaction with the local sky-bound fauna. Cover was highest priority.

Dissatisfied with the current rooftop, it decided to move on and try one more in hopes that it'd be better suited. Travelling from roof to roof was simple enough, it had discovered it could simply roll off a ledge and strengthen the shield just as it reached maximum deformation, which would propel it back into the air slightly higher than it had been initially. Standard procedure, but as it rolled to the edge of the rooftop, it overheard two nodes speaking below it. Normally something like this wouldn't capture its attention, but both parties were very unusual, and their location even more so, as most nodes seemed to avoid the small space between buildings. Never before had it seen one in bright orange clothing, and the language of the other took more time than usual to parse. It decided to listen in, and from the sounds of it, one was requesting the other do some heavy lifting in exchange for new clothing. Perhaps it was wearing the orange against its will?

It tried 'leaning' in closer, trying to orient itself to hear them better, but misjudged the distance of the ledge. Its low battery slowed its reaction time considerably as it came crashing into the open dumpster "Duke" had been hiding behind earlier, and it missed it's opportunity to bounce back to a rooftop. A few noisy bounces and it settled down, turning to face up and hoping the unusual nodes wouldn't investigate.

[First post in upwards around four years, go easy on me. x~x]

[Nail Strafer]

[That's better than I could hope for unless I put in some significant effort. You're doing great =D]

Pet...?

Nail frowned at being called that. He definitely would not be hanging around her anymore once he'd completed his labor. But for now, he didn't have the luxury of choice. Nail sincerely doubted he'd get another lucky break with another crazy person not understanding the clothing he wore meant "escaped prisoner".

"Okay, I'll do it."

He said, trying not to speak louder than necessary. The handcuffs jingled as he moved his hands. Sighing, he quietly made an addendum to his request.

"Could you get a hacksaw too?"

THUMP!

Something just fell into the dumpster next to Nail. Reflexively, he looked up, but didn't see anybody above. Curiousity got the better of him, and he glanced inside the container to see what had just fallen. On top of the smelly, full trashbags, he saw a very shiny-looking device. Looked like a brand new cellphone or something. Why would something like that suddenly fall into an alleyway?

Again, he looked up, this time for open windows. Maybe someone had left their phone on a ledge by accident. But since it was late at night, all of the windows above him were closed and dark. Shrugging, Nail decided he would take it for now and work thorugh his theories later. Perhaps he could use it to barter for cash, once he figured out what it was.

Slowly, he reached inside and prepared to grab his hand around the device.

[Relic Drake]

Priscilla waited at the end of the alley way, tapping her foot impatiently. After a couple of moments a load thud could be heard off in the distance. With the sound, Priscilla finally exited the threshold of the alley way.

Relic was a block down, waiting for his master at the corner. His armor still nearly wrecked, though that would fix it's self. Same for his wounds, which had stopped bleeding at this point.

"Milady." he croaked out. His voice quiet but carrying that usual gruff tone.

"Silence, brute. I have something that needs attending to. Need to find some common clothing."

The white wolf pointed to one o the closed department stores. "Fetch."

[SOLIS]

As the ominous hand approached, SOLIS concluded two options that had the highest chances of leading to an acceptable result. It could either try to escape, much as it had before with the bird, or it could see how this node would treat it differently. Memory suggested that while nodes out in the field often either ignored or attacked whatever they fancied, these "people" inside cities seemed to recognize that devices such as itself weren't food and were to be treated carefully. Coupled with that, the hand seemed to tremble very slightly, the action having been pre-associated with fear or nervousness. It decided to let the creature handle it and find out what happens.

Even if this didn't turn out as SOLIS had expected, at least it would have more information to go on in similar future scenarios.

[Nail Strafer]

Nail gingerly pulled the device out of the trash, having to crane in a bit due to still having both of his arms handcuffed. As he pulled it out, he rotated the device in his hand, examining all sides of it. The letters SOLIS stood out on one side.

It sounds like a cell phone brand...

He'd been in jail for a while, so he honestly had never heard of this company. They must have started up while he was in. Of course, a phone didn't do him much good if he didn't have anyone to call...

Dad...maybe I can call Dad. He still lives in Capitol City, doesn't he? Now if I can just remember the number...

The hybrid struggled to remember the number, considering cell phones let you save all important numbers and thus you didn't have to bother remembering them...at least until you lost your phone. Finally, he snapped his fingers as it came to him and then tried to dial the number...

...only to realize this thing didn't seem to have a numerical keypad. Nail started poking all over the device, trying to figure out where it was.

"Come on...where's the numbers?"

[Relic Drake]

Priscilla tapped her foot impatiently at Relic. It wasn't that she expected things to be done instantly, it was at the absolute sluggish pace Relic was moving.

The extra large fox looked at his master, then to where she pointed, back at the wolf again. With a shrug he leaned forward. His articulated full helm pressed against the glass. At first a few crinkles could be heard. The the pane began to form spider webs as it started to crack. Then with a soft shatter his head went deeper into the closed store. It seemed the city had enjoyed years with out petty thefts and crime. as few places had alarms and the such. Priscilla was going to undoubtedly change that.

"What are 'jeans' anyway?" the wolf asked more to herself, but she knew Relic wasn't dumb or unwise.The wolf was answered with a lax grunt. She was standing in his giant claw as he safely carried her over the broken glass. She started scanning around the small shop. Nothing more then a counter, register and a few racks of clothes.
"Hmmm." Priscilla was looking a rather risque dress. "have these people no dignity?" her tone carried no hint of disgust, as if she was thinking of getting the tawdry thing.

[SOLIS]

SOLIS quietly watched as the wolf turned it around in his hands, feeling his fingers lightly brush against it's screen. He appeared to be examining it, which seemed to be a good sign. Turning it to face him, the wolf finally spoke, a hint of confusion in his voice.

...Numbers? Why does he want numbers? Despite having no relevance to the situation at hand, it decided to experiment. On flickered it's screen, and a grid of numbers appeared:
01 | 01 | 02
03 | 05 | 08
0D | 15 | 22
37 | 59 | 90
The Fibonacci numbers, a simplistic but unique set of numbers, intimately tied with the golden ratio. It's predefined knowledge suggested that such things were considered aesthetically pleasing. After the numbers had been displayed, it asked him in a quiet, electronic voice, "Are these good?"

[Nail Strafer]

Nail squinted and brought the "phone" closer, since he wasn't sure if he was reading the numbers right. But after a second look, he definitely knew he wasn't seeing things.

Why are there two ones? And why is there a 15 and a 90 in there?

However, the hybrid immediately pulled the phone away from his face and held it far away, as it spoke to him. His eyebrows raised at how the thing seemed to respond to his voice.

Did it really understand me? Wow, phones got a lot better since I went in. And everyone thought the yPhone was cool...

Smiling a little despite the situation, Nail began to speak very slowly and stressed each syllable carefully into the device. It was his tried and true technique for being understood by those pesky machines you had to talk to before you could reach live tech support.

"No. I - need - a - phone - key - pad."

Another thought occurred to him. The yPhone had built in GPS, didn't it? Maybe this one had it too.

"Actually, never mind. Show - me - a - map - of - here."