003 - Tinkering - Action at 729 Anderson Lane

[worstvikingever]

[It's a nice day, and Hiccup's in the garage with the door open. He's working on a pretty strange looking device, which turns out to be the tail replacement harness for Toothless. It's got two fins instead of just the one he had to make back home, so it's turning out to be a mite trickier than he's used to.

But he's doing pretty well. He might actually be finished with the thing soon. Or, you know. Finished enough for preliminary testing.

Any and all walk-ups are welcome. Hiccup will be so excited to tell everyone what he's doing.]

Comments

[worstvikingever]

[Hiccup's totally in shock. He just gapes at her. When he finally gets his voice back, he's still having trouble being cohesive with his thoughts.]

I... wait. It's not... Okay look. First of all they're not idiots, and... well... it's not really their fault! There were... bigger problems... and... [and there goes his train of thought.]

[ergaleomancer.livejournal.com]

[[That...seems to be the reaction Theta was going for--press buttons till he talks back. She's surprised it worked so quickly, actually.  She smiles and her smile is proud.]]

It's always someone's fault when they're acting like an idiot. But it's admirable of you to forgive them.

Now. Take a breath. People will always try to interrupt you, especially if you have something important to say. Think what you want to say first, and then say it, even if it means speaking over someone else.

[worstvikingever]

[He does take a deep breath but now he's confused again. Wait. She goes from berating him to trying to tell him how to talk? What?]

If I'm talking over them then they're not listening, though. [He's had plenty of experience with that.]

[ergaleomancer.livejournal.com]

[[According to Theta, this whiplash-inducing process is known as 'helping'. YMMV.]]

Clever~. Very clever. But I'll listen, just take your time to tell me clearly~. You don't want anyone misquoting you, do you?

[worstvikingever]

Uh... no?

[Misquoting? That's not really something he's ever had a problem with. Just a complete lack of communication in general.]

Okay. Anyway. What I'm trying to say is that for... I dunno, for generations the village had to deal with dragons attacking, and so the only thing that was important was being able to defend yourself and the village from them. And... I wasn't ever good at any of that. I only got in the way, the things I made didn't always work, and when they did they usually ended up making things worse.

But all that's different now. I... guess I'm just still getting used to being a valuable member of society.

[ergaleomancer.livejournal.com]

[[Theta's used to being a media darling. Or, more specifically, one of the hate targets of the tabloids. It's certainly come out in her overblown, dramatic personality, as well as her fear of being misquoted. She gets into enough trouble with the things she does say, she doesn't need to add misunderstandings on top of it.]]

Very good. Much better. True scientific genius isn't always recognised until late...I suppose I've been very lucky in my head start...

Hopefully by the time we make it out of here, you'll have even greater confidence in your abilities and be able to hold your own as one of the most important types of people in the world--an inventor.

If ergaleomancy existed in your world...I'm sure that you would be one to wield that power.

[worstvikingever]

[To be honest she's kind of starting to creep him out a little, with all the power talk. He's never been the sort to think that way, and he doesn't want to.]

Uh. Thanks.

[ergaleomancer.livejournal.com]

[[She's actually doing pretty well that she hasn't veered into creepy until now. Usually she hits that line long before.]]

You're sounding uncertain again~. Just relax~!

[worstvikingever]

Well, talking about being more important than everyone else is kinda doing the opposite of that.

[ergaleomancer.livejournal.com]

Ergaleomancers are more important than everyone else. And in the case of your world, which doesn't have them, then surely an inventor of your calibre must be on par.

[worstvikingever]

But I'm not. Everybody's important. We couldn't have done it without any of them.

[ergaleomancer.livejournal.com]

You're naive. You'll grow out of that~.

[worstvikingever]

[He just. Gives her a look. Then he rolls his eyes.]

Whatever.

[ergaleomancer.livejournal.com]

You'll see~. Anyway. I need to work more critically on these designs. [[She shuffles through the papers and hands him back his and the pencil, and takes hers to take home with herself.]]

I'll start designing you a leg as well, in case the town takes that from you. Where was it cut?

[worstvikingever]

[He hesitates. He kind of likes doing this sort of thing himself, but he does appreciate the help.

Hiccup gestures at his left leg, just below the knee.]

There.

[ergaleomancer.livejournal.com]

[[She nods and folds up the papers she's drawn on to stick them in her coat pocket.]]

I'll see if I can't make you something special. You can modify my designs, of course.

[worstvikingever]

[He takes a deep breath and nods back.]

Thank you.