Fixing a Car, Meeting a Knight. No Big Deal.

[Alejandra Rovella]

She was working for a mad-man. A ridiculous mad-man who felt the need to drive THROUGH a drive-thru. Seriously? What was the man thinking? Alejandra frankly had no idea. But as treasurer and resident mechanic, Wolfgang gave her the dubious honor of putting the engine back together. The limo had been fixed up on the exterior as well as the interior, but right now the area under the hood was empty. That would be because the remains of the engine were on a chassis in Wolfgang's driveway. Alejandra was spending her Saturday morning in the great man's driveway, making his engine work again. More importantly, make it work BETTER. Because Alejandra couldn't really resist making an engine top-notch.

She wore a pair of well-loved overalls, a black tank top underneath that. Her boots were on her feet, because that's what she always wore. Her hair was pulled back in a tail, keeping it out of her face. Which was probably for the best because she was covered in dirt and grime and oil. She was digging around in the toolbox, when she could've sworn she heard the sound of armor. Whaaat?

[Guest]

Clank. Clank. Clank. The idea of stealth was out the window when Amadi came stalking through the streets in her casual wear. No one knew really who she was or what she did, other than guard Wolfgang. In fact her gender itself was a question and so very few saw under the helmet. Many had tried, but a handful had succeeded and even then, a majority of them had been struck down. Such cruel people they were, to steal glimpses at a maiden without her helm. Not that she really felt girly, but her face was not to be known. Why ELSE would she use the helmet all the time? It would be an inconvenience to most people, after all. Still it didn't stop people from trying.

The ground was soft and with each step, she felt herself sink. Likely it was her weight and if she had been a normal woman, she'd probably complain she was fat. Amadi was no such way 'normal'. In fact in her own mind, she wasn't even a woman!

Her task for the day was to watch the car be fixed. It wasn't like she knew the first thing about a car, but she needed to watch for 'unusual activity'. Basically if anyone who wasn't Alejandra was there, she needed to strike swiftly and question the person. Or she'd likely chase them with her large lance... one or the other. She'd try to control herself, but when danger presented itself in the direction of her Lord, she would act before thinking. Fighting was namely instinct and discipline, emotion was purely instinct. Her head turned to acknowledge the woman, before she marched up. "Greetings," she started. Her stance showed that which could only be portrayed by a person in a suit of armor. "This one has been charged with overseeing the processes done." Her eyes were left unseen behind the metal. "Please, do not let us be a bother." With that said, she turned and stood straight like a statue and just as still.

[Alejandra Rovella]

"Greetings. This one has been charged with overseeing the processes done. Please, do not let us be a bother." Hm. Well, apparently Alejandra hadn't been wrong about hearing armor. Her eyes widened just a little. Because there it was, a giant suit of it! With a person inside of. She'd heard rumors of Wolfgang's new bodyguard, the armor-wonder. But that was about it. The armor-wonder was a mystery. Alejandra gave her a grin, mimicing the armor-wonder's speech for a moment. “This one will continue working on the car, then.” She reached into the toolbox, coming out with the wrench she wanted. Sweet. Time for some power. She went back over to the engine, curious as the armor-wonder stayed silent and stoic. She wasn't so sure that there was anyone still in there, so still they were. Time to be friendly! “I'm Alejandra, by the way. Nice to meet you!” She kind of hoped that armor-wonder would be somewhat chatty. Alejandra didn't mind working on cars by herself, but when someone was there... it was nice. Car talk, and such. It made her think of her dad's mechanic shop. Now those were some good times.

[Guest]

Ah. Socializing. Amadi was not so good at it. Luckily it was only small talk.. sort of. Her subject today, was a woman named Alejandra.. or at least that was how she introduced herself. Behind the helmet, Amadi smiled. It was polite of the woman to present herself in such a kind way. Now, how to talk in turn. There was no real point in being silent. She shifted her weight and leaned some on her lance. Her arm wrapped around it easily. The wind felt nice despite the fact she could barely sense it. Some things could be missed. It wasn't like she really missed them, but now they were foreign. When she was out of her suit.. she felt incomplete now so tings like wind were .. strange to her. She often felt as if she'd be blown away.

"This one is called Amadi." The suit said as it turned the helm to look in the direction of Alejandra. "Are cars a passion of yours?" The answer was obvious, but Amadi was not really sure how to go about a normal, everyday conversation. Especially not when it didn't have to deal with fighting.

[Alejandra Rovella]

"This one is called Amadi." Definitely an odd way of speech, but there wasn't anything wrong with that. Some people would find Alejandra's lack of filter odd... even rude. So it wasn't really for her to poke at Amadi's. "Are cars a passion of yours?" Alejandra didn't immediately respond to the question as the wrench she was holding slipped in her greasy fingers and smashed against her thumb. She swore violently in Cersian and let the wrench to fall to the ground. She wrapped the rest of her fingers around her thumb into a protective fist as she glared down at the wrench. She reached a booted foot back and kicked it unceremoniously. Stupid wrench! Stupid hands! She reached for the ratty bandana in her back pocket and began to scrub her hands off a little. She gave Amadi an apologetic smile. “Oh, definitely. Except when my tools try to kill me.”

She glanced down for the aforementioned evil wrench and found it hiding underneath the limo. She dropped down to her knees and reached under to come out with the wrench. She glared down at it for a moment, silently chastising it. Then she went back to her work on the engine. “Is armor for you? A passion, I mean? It's kind of intense.”

[Guest]

“Oh, definitely. Except when my tools try to kill me.” Amadi paused and looked over to the woman. Tools could..- what? The concept was illogical, but she nodded nonetheless. There wasn't really anything to be said in response. Clearly the woman was alright, so there was nothing to worry about. There was no blood shed, so no cause for concern. The woman was back to fixing the vehicle that the Lord had cruelly driven into a near-death dirge. He really DID need to learn better how to drive, but she doubted lessons would teach him anything more than how to make it go faster and to plow it into more buildings. It was a wonder how he got a license, but she wasn't one to question such things. As leader and Lord of this dominion, everything he did was without a question.

“Is armor for you? A passion, I mean? It's kind of intense.”

Amadi was silent a moment. An expression unseen, while she thought of how to word it. The brief quiet was cut as she spoke her feelings. "Armor is not simply a passion, but simply who we are. Those who wear such armor become a part of it and wear it as not a shield, but who we are." The armor moved with her, when she moved to look at Alejandra. "This is a way of life. A life sworn to sacrifice. Does this make sense?" The words spoken were not of malice or superiority, but of gentleness and sincerity. Amadi wasn't one to take offense easily and so, she tried not to offend others.

[Alejandra Rovella]

"Armor is not simply a passion, but simply who we are. Those who wear such armor become a part of it and wear it as not a shield, but who we are." Alejandra heard the armor clink together as Amadi turned to face her. Alejandra looked up from the engine to get a better look at the hidden face behind the helmet. "This is a way of life. A life sworn to sacrifice. Does this make sense?" Alejandra pursed her lips a little, musing over what Amadi had said. Alejandra understood strange things being a passion and a way of life. She definitely understood that, yes. Hell, she was overly obsessed with numbers and cars. Some people would definitely find that bizarre. She wouldn't consider her passions a sacrifice by any means. Cars might get her killed if she wasn't careful, but she always was. So yeah, in her roundabout way, she got what Amadi was saying.

“Yeah, it does.” Alejandra nodded her head and smiled at Amadi, turning her attention back to the engine. As much as it was to talk to Amadi and learn interesting things, she did need to get this thing running again. Wolfgang needed the car to get around and despite having destroyed it, he was terribly fond of the thing. Alejandra could relate. “Did you make your armor yourself?”

[Guest]

“Did you make your armor yourself?”

Ammy was silent a moment. She had't, but in a way she had. She'd come up with the design, but she was in no way a armorsmith. "No. We requested the design created, that was formed of the breath of an alchemic friend." Amadi paused and looked a distant direction, as if to amplify the thought. Her friend was not that direction, but when she'd gotten it made, that was wear it had been. At first he had looked at her strangely, but who wouldn't? Most people inn this day and age wanted bio-suits or techno-suits and she was asking for just normal, basic armor like from a museum. His face was most amusing now that she thought about it. A mix of shock and confusion, a touch of disbelief. He didn't question it and thought she was just trying to play pretend with it. His eyes nearly popped out of his head the day he saw her fight with it.

After that, he'd made modifications so that it was more durable. Amadi hadn't parted since then from it. Her eyes showed a softness that was a bit unseeable behind her helmet, but she adored her armor more than most things. "We are incapable of such handiwork, but we are one with it.p"

[Alejandra Rovella]

"No. We requested the design created, that was formed of the breath of an alchemic friend." Whoa. Neat. Alejandra's eyes widened slightly even as she nodded her head. Alchemy-made armor? That was kind of badass. Amadi got a little distant and so Alejandra let Amadi have her quiet, pondering moment. She focused back in on the engine, making one or two final twists to make sure everything was bolted in solid. The general fix-up of the engine was now complete. Now she just needed to add the few extras she had planned out.

"We are incapable of such handiwork, but we are one with it.” Alejandra nodded her head again in understanding. She knew the whole concept of being “one” with something. She usually referred to it as being “in the zone.” It happened a lot when she was under the hood or punching out numbers on a calculator. It wasn't really happening today, primarily because she was talking to someone. And it's kind of rude to be in the zone when someone is around. Unless you're trying to ignore them, because then it's totally acceptable. Alejandra clicked her tongue, glancing at Amadi as she grabbed at her first “extra” for the engine. “So, not to be, like, rude... what ARE you under there?”

[Guest]

“So, not to be, like, rude... what ARE you under there?”

Such a strange question. Amadi looked at this woman for roughly a moment before responding. "What is this one under here? This one is the same as what is on the outside. A warrior for His Lord. This one's will is his will and we shall abide be our life in the balance or not." Her hazel hues sat upon Alejandra not with angry or insult, but with intrigue and confusion. Such a strange situation. Was this even a heart to heart? Or was this simple chat? Amadi hadn't a clue, so she simply tried her best to not seem absolutely insane.

"What of you? What are YOU under there?" She asked the question as if it were some sort of deep question. The whole intent had gone right over Amadi's head. An inaudible WOOSH was there. She brought her eyes to a more stern stare. Not really like Alejandra could see beneath the helmet, but the tension of the stare was likely in the air. The two of them were getting along well enough, but where Amadi was serious or not was an odd question.

[Alejandra Rovella]

"What is this one under here? This one is the same as what is on the outside. A warrior for His Lord. This one's will is his will and we shall abide be our life in the balance or not." Whoa. Amadi was starting to sound kind of philosophical. It had been a simple enough question, as far as Alejandra concerned. Apparently Amadi had not understood it or just wasn't going to answer it. Either way, it was odd.

"What of you? What are YOU under there?" Alejandra looked from her box of goodies to her body. Her eyebrows raised. “Well, considering my lack of junk,” gesturing down at her crotch, “and my breasts,” making another gesture upwards, “I am a girl.” She sighed a little bit, trying to bite back on the sarcasm. She tried for a less harsh and sarcastic tone of voice as she spoke again. “Are you a chick or a dude under all that armor? Like your physical appearance?” Alejandra hoped that her new question was a little more direct. Waiting for Amadi to tackle the latest inquiry, Alejandra pulled out her first mystery goodie and began to apply the new power to the engine on the block.

[Guest]

“Are you a chick or a dude under all that armor? Like your physical appearance?” Oh.. OH! That was what she was asking. What was Amadi's gender? The question was simple enough, but Amadi couldn't pull up a logical answer. How did one explain themselves, when they themselves were unsure. She narrowed her eyes from underneath the helmet and the slits rested upon the distance. Not a person, not a place, but the distance in definition. "We have given up our gender." She stated with a slight shake. "But as for what we were, we suppose we were physically a female."

There was a silence after as she sighed. "Strange, isn't it?" She meant herself, but also the day in general. Blue skies above were beautiful and endless, not a cloud to speckle or color, and the sun was left in peace. Trees swayed in the wind. To think only a few months before they had been at war. To think they had lost a war and yet.. nothing had changed. Those who had won had then retreated. Had the battle truly meant nothing but a few lives? Was it all just a funny game to tribute lives for sake of boredom? To be one of those swept up by the waves was to be one whose life had been just a toy for the Esparian people. It just.. didn't make sense to her. She never spoke a word about it, though. The king's will was hers, but it didn't stop her from wondering.

[Alejandra Rovella]

"We have given up our gender. But as for what we were, we suppose we were physically a female." Well, that was an easy enough answer, after a roundabout way of getting to it. Amadi didn't seem particularly female... Then again, with that much armor on it was hard to be sure. Hence the question-asking in the first place. Now Alejandra had her answer and she was nearly finished with the engine. Fantastic!

"Strange, isn't it?" Alejandra shrugged her shoulders. “Nah. To each their own.” She wasn't quite sure what Amadi had meant by her comment, but she went with it anyway. There was nothing strange about Amadi not identifying with either gender. It was an intriguing thought because Alejandra always felt distinctly female, even when entering the “manly” profession of math and the “manly” hobby of cars. The whole breasts and vagina thing had taken care of that. But it was mental too, clearly. Alejandra didn't feel like she needed any other body parts or that she should have some removed. Amadi obviously had different thoughts on the whole thing, which wasn't an issue. Alejandra wiped her hands on the dirty rag she had nearby and looked at Amadi with a smile. “Can you give me a hand getting the engine back into the car?” It was easy enough, rolling the engine over the gaping hole and then situating it back inside. But the damned thing was heavy.

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