randomplaces | Nexus. By the sign. Masks

Hormah looked up from her holocomic book and raised one brow ridge as she saw the lanky dark-haired guy poking around the PINpoint bowl, his slightly Vietnamese features set into a puzzled scowl. Deedling to herself softly, the young Servant scanned him again and nodded slightly as her first absent scan was confirmed.

Grinning slightly, she turned her head and zeroed in on the nearby F-15C jet, then tilted her head as she listened to what Primus was telling her about the mech's spark. Expression slightly concerned, she lay back again on Scarecrow's comfortable leather seat and once more resumed reading.

And a small red-haired nineteen year old appeared behind the guy by the sign and cleared her throat softly to get his attention.

"Huh?" He started, then turned and gave her a friendly seeming grin. "Oh, hi. Do you want one of these?"

"Nah, b'y," said the red-headed holoform. "Was jes' after wonderin' if ye were lost 're somet'in'. Ye kinda looks like ye ain't knowin' what t' do wit' t'em t'ere PINpoints."

"PINpoints?" He looked at the one in his hand and gave a bit of a chuckle. "Uh... no, not really."

"Pity, t'at. 'Cause t'ey're after bein' t' quickest way fer folk t' be gittin' home." She crossed her arms and tilted her head in a friendly way, noticing his curious glance at her slightly rounded stomach.

"Really?" He perked with interest, belly forgotten. "How's that?"

"Ye feeds 'em coordinates, 'n t'ey teleports ye." Her tawny eyes twinkled just a bit as she grinned. "T' scanner's jes' o're t'ere. If ye needs some money I kin cover ye."

"I have...." She could see him pause and realize that a human being probably wouldn't have credits.

Frowning, he put his hand in his pocket, and then gave a slightly scatterbrained laugh. "I guess I don't. Thanks."

"T'is no problem, me son. I's after bein' here t' help t' newcomers." She walked over to the coordinate machine, the dark-haired guy at her side, then mimed dropping holographic coins into the slot even as her root mode sent the right electronic data for the machine to register itself as credited with the proper fundage. The machine beeped, and then scanned him, only to complain a little and scan again a couple times before it finally managed to lock on his light matrix and register his reality of origin.

Hormah grinned and took the PINpoint that the guy was holding, then poked it into the slot on the machine till it beeped. This done, she turned and handed it to him. "T'ere ye goes, b'y. Now ye kin git back wit' no purdlin'."

"Um." He blinked. "No what?"

"Trouble, b'y. She means trouble." She kept herself from grinning at his confusion.

"Oh. Why don't you just say that, then?" He tilted his head slightly, his expression full of honest confusion.

"'Cause I ain't speakin' English, so I uses t' words as goes wit' my language."

"What language is that?"

"Well, it started out as Newfoundland English, but I might 'o messed it up some." She chuckled. "Livin' in t' Nexus gits ye a lotta different ways 'o talkin', t'ough most t' ones I knows I jes' cusses in."

"Wow, that's kinda cool." He gave her a wide, guileless grin. "But now that I know how I better get this jet back before my commander blows a gasket... so to speak."

"So t' speak," agreed Hormah, having noted the purple faces on the jet's wings. "Ye have a good day, eh?"

"You too." His grin widened a little, and then he turned and loped over into the jet.

Only Hormah noticed him pixeling slightly before the 'jet' vanished with a swish and a slight flash.