Peaceful Town, Mabe Village
A dirt road leads in from the north here, heading both east and west as
it enters this small village. A large house stands in the middle of this
plot of land, a doghouse affixed to its side. The ground is well-traveled,
but weeds spring up in the margins all around.

Smoke boils into the air as Gforte pushes his Lobstrocity closer to the small town before them. All in all, besides the time he had lost in the mountains, he and his new companion had made good time over the hills. Even if it had been akward for him to stay in his mech the ENTIRE TIME. Thank god for built in septic systems.

Jillian had followed along at an easy pace, seeming both interested and disinterested at the same time; she didn't speak much, usually unless spoken to, during the course of the route. She typically tended to let her tail do the emotional display during the trek; normally it spent its time bound around her waist, but occasionally would unwind and flick in random directions.

Gforte calls his mech to a slow halt, and flicks on his speakers again. "Huh. This isn't a place I remember. Course it's been a while since I was last moving around, but you'd think I would notice these kinds of things."

Gforte takes a quick survey of the town and then shrugs. The place was too small to warrant any special notice out of him. "You need to stop for a rest down there? Or can we bypass this place all together?"

Jillian looks up at the mech, her expression neutral. "It is entirely your call. There are towns, cities, and everything else, I would wager. I don't tend to see many differences between the lot of them."

Her tail wafts idly about her backside, and Jillian tilts her head gently, giving a small and barely noticeable smile, disconcertingly.

Gforte frowns from inside the lobster. "You know, if you weren't so hot, I might just find you irritating. Right. Let's bypass this speck and head on." Pushing forward, the lobster sets one foot forward before making a terrible noise. "Oh. Fuck." Suddenly, the mech's foot slides out from under it's leg!

The foot shoots away and rolls to a halt about ten feet from where it began. Gforte gets a terrible lurch in his stomach as his construct over-balances, and then makes more terrifyingly metal sounds before slamming to the ground. "FUCK."

Jillian remains where she is, blinking but a single time. After a moment, her tail lifts up in interest, and she trots leisurely over to where the metallic foot got off to, bending over straightwise near it in inspection.

Jillian peers at it on a couple of sides for a moment or three, then straightens, turning to the discheveled lobstermech. "I think it broke."

"You're kidding. You have to be kidding me. Are you kidding me? Fucking goddamn bullshit pig-iron bolts." Growling and cursing, Gforte slams his lobster's claws into the ground and lifts himself up into a sitting position. "Shit. Just my luck. Must have cracked during the hike."


Jillian pivots on one foot, turning a half-pirouette to face you. "Something that big is going to need constant attention, considering the weight put on it in travel. How long has it been since last maintenance?"

You say ' The last maintenance on my foot? Jesus, I don't know, something like whenever the hell I was made? Mark me, it's shoddy bolts. Damn used parts salesmen up in Rocket town screwed me over.'

Jillian just looks at you, her expression unable to be discerned in whether she is taking him seriously or not.

Gforte looks at Jillian and sighs. "Right. This isn't working anymore is it?"

Jillian says 'I'm not sure I understand what you mean. My main concern at this particular moment is what route we take from here. Shall I see about fixing this for you, or do we end our tour prematurely?' She looks fairly unperturbed, her tail meandering listlessly behind her.

Gforte is too busy growling and banging around inside his mech, and finally boots the hatch in it's chest open. Wincing at the sunlight, he climbs out for the first time in what might be weeks and stretches. "Goddamn. Much as I love being surrounded by metal again, that sucked."

Jillian looks from the mech to the person once inside of it, her expression mild. "Is this the part where I say 'I think you have some explaining to do'?"

Gforte casts his eye over Jillian and shrugs simply. "Eh. I'm a guy that likes to have things in reserve you know? People see a giant lobster, they deal with a giant lobster, not a guy piloting a mecha that looks like a giant lobster. Dig?"

Jillian says 'Not particularly. I don't generally approve of the notion of hiding behind something without reason. A good reason, at that.' She's suddenly gained a rather haughty attitude, her tail snapping lightly. She looks somewhat annoyed.

Gforte shakes his hand at Jillian and starts examining the lobster's ankle. "Fine. You want a good reason? Grab that foot and I'll tell you about it. After all, in my experience I'm usually not the only one hiding shit behind a face."

Jillian nods in agreement (but to which part?), and bends down again, hefting the mechanical appendage with apparently little effort, though she does take both hands to do so.

Jillian shuffles over to Gforte, dropping the foot down near him with a loud -thud- on the ground, smiling faintly as she does, but without a word.

Gforte raises an eyebrow at the woman, and then shakes his head. "Yup. Like I thought. Eh, I suppose I'll give you the truth. Gets boring with the same lie all the time. I'm hiding in the lobster because I'm worried my old body will recognize me and try to kill me in a fit of rage and broken memories. Also because I miss being made out of metal a bit."

Gforte starts examining the foot and easing metal shards of a shattered bolt out, shaking his head all the while. "I mean you never really notice how much being made out of metal is a boon until it's gone." Wincing, he pulls his hand back quickly and frowns at the bead of blood forming on his thumb from a particularly sharp shard. "Like that. Flesh brings a good bit of new sensations to the table, but god if it's not weak as hell."

Jillian listens quietly, looking between you and the machine. She strides over to the damaged section, looking down between the ankle and the foot, consideringly.

Jillian looks to stretch her arms, but stops before doing so, thinking better of it. "A soul should make the best out of the corporeal home it is given, I would think. I've found out recently there seem to be opposite people of the sort."

Jillian says 'Bodies without souls, souls without bodies. It's when we stop being true to ourselves and what we're supposed to be, that the world begins to fall apart around us.'

Gforte looks at Jillian flatly and smirks. "Bodies without souls, and souls without bodies. Sounds like someone really hates zombies and ghosts then. I don't suppose that's what you are then, some kind of supernatural hunter what goes about and brings the world to order?"

Jillian shakes her head. "If I recall, I told you what I was at our first meeting. A soul without immediate purpose, but given to that which I am assigned. You could say that I am merely one half to a whole."

Jillian says 'But for absolution purposes, my name is Jillian. Jillian Maxwell.'

Gforte scratches his chin. "Hold on a second Jill, you just pegged yourself. A soul without a purpose? One half to a whole? Call me out if I'm over-thinking but you got a lot of spiritual talk on your head. As for me, this body doesn't exactly have a name yet. I suppose I'll call myself Haut for now, out of paranoia for my previous reasons still."

Jillian closes her eyes for a moment, then opens them again. Her vertical irises flicker momentarily, but that's all. "I'm a succubus, specifically. I would have figured my tail would give it away. And as far as spirituality goes, it only has to do with my affinity to this world."

Jillian says 'Have you heard the story about the Goddess of Mana and her Tree, by chance?'

Gforte shrugs, and holds up a finger. "Just a sec." Walking back to the lobster's hatch, he pulls a backpack out of it before bringing it back and sitting down again. "Right. Mana tree? Never heard of anything like that." He begins fishing in the bag for a nice looking bolt while listening to Jillian

Jillian sighs, looking a tad distant, briefly. "It's an encompassing story. If we had more time, I'd be happy to share it. I also get the impression it isn't something you're too terribly concerned with."

Jillian says 'Nevertheless, I did ask you a question earlier, to which I received no reply. Did you want me to fix this, if only temporarily?'

Gforte smiles at Jillian, apparentally genuinely, and shakes his head before looking back to the mecha. "No. This is something I'm good at. This whole thing was built by my hands. And I'm sorry. New knowledge is a good thing to learn, I'm just a bit distracted right now. I'd be happy to hear if
you'll still tell your tale."

Jillian looks upon the mech again, half-studiously. "I see. No worries, then." She turns, kneeling down nearby, but away from him, waiting as he works.

Gforte busies himself with replacing bolts and checking hydraulic lines inside of the lobster's leg. While he does so, he talks absentmindedly. "You said you didn't have affinity to this plane. Does that mean you come from another one? Like, this world's heaven or hell?"

Jillian says 'We succubi generally come from the underworld, yes. Like any sentient being, however, there are times when some of us are made out to be more than what our race is destined for. I am one of those exceptions.'

Jillian says 'I answer to a higher calling most of the time, but when she has no immediate need of me, I am merely a wanderer. Hence why I did not hesitate to join ranks without, despite my lack of knowledge of your current agenda.'

You say ' So what you're saying is you're on a mission from God and you have no intention of either putting out or getting the band back together.'

Jillian says 'Even if I pretended to know what you mean, I don't think I could give you a straight answer. As I said, I am an exception to the "normal flock" of my kind. I have my own agenda, however, if that is what you are asking, yes.'

Jillian looks up, and southwestish. "In fact, if I'm not mistaken, we seem to be on the same path, more or less."

Gforte smiles at his own joke, and makes a few final checks to the bolt-mounts before nodding. "Same path? Hows that then?"

Jillian says 'Oreyndur Forest is southwest of here. My current desire is to go there, though the time it takes to do so is of no consequence to me. It only seemed as though we are going in that direction, as of late.'

You say ' Yeah, the forest is one of the places inbetween where I want to go. I just hope the land hasn't shifted too much since the last time I was out this way.'

Jillian says 'Then I can assume you do not have quarrel with a "pit stop" as we pass through. A certain child and his father are in need of my counsel, and it is currently all I seek to do.'

Gforte hefts the foot with a much more considerable effort than Jillian, and jams it onto the mecha's ankle before scrambling to shove several bolts into it. "ft. Heh, that sounds like -hupf- a bit different than what Succubi are usually like to do for sure. Get in there you Bastard!" Slamming a final bolt home, Gforte begins tightening nuts down on them with a wrench.

Jillian doesn't say anything further, possibly having expected such a response. Typical.

"Aww, what's wrong. Surely you didn't expect more out of a Simple idiot like me eh?" Gforte puts far too much emphasis on the word simple and stands up before brushing off his knees and ass. "Right, that should do her. I may not be able to keep up conversation, but shit if I can't jury-rig a joint. You still wanna walk, or do you want a ride until we hit the forest?"

Jillian stretches, turning to either side about her slim waist as she does. "I'm still capable of walking, but thank you. I am ready to leave when you are." Her demeanor seems to have reverted to a neutral state by this time.

Gforte shrugs and flings the backpack back into the lobster's hatch before swinging himself in there too. Pulling the hatch closed, he smiles at the feeling of metal all around him again. "Right, let's get on with it shall we?"

Jillian says 'As well, then. I'll let you know when we are near my quarry. I can track his mana flow with little problem, so it won't be an issue.'