Victoria was by the stables, cooing at Dante and praising him. He was very pretty, she believed. Even if he wasn’t natural.
“Hello pretty pony…. So pretty… yes you are… hehe… hello….”
@ghostychildren
*Dante was very excited to see the girl again, stomping his foot when she came into view, and snorting flames. As she pet him, he lowered his head and huffed softly, without the dangerous fire. He neighed like they were having a back-and-forth conversation.*
“Yer good with him.”
*Robo-Crow leaned against the side of the hangar, pausing on his patrol once he heard the quiet commotion.*
- The War Profiteer
She paused, looking over to him, hand still on Dante’s nose
“Oh- um… I… used to help with the horses back home…”
“Horse girl.”
*He chuckled, something raspy and harsh.*
“Nah, I’m pullin’ atcha. Good skill, there. Though we ain’t use many horses around here. At least Dante likes it.”
*Indeed, with the disturbance Robo-Crow brought, the horse pushed against her hand, trying to make sure she didn’t let go.*
She paused, before going back to petting his snout
“He’s very pretty… he is a…. War horse.? Is that correct.?”
Victoria pet his neck, next.
“We had a retired war horse. He was my father’s, but got injured while he fought.”
“Mhm. He is.”
*Dante neighed and stomped at that new region of petting. He liked it. The automaton man tilted his head.*
“Did you, now? Musta needed special care from you then. And sentimentality, since you didn’t kill ‘em after.”
“He healed up enough we could ride him again…”
She hummed slightly
“The injury was to his body… daddy says he was a very lucky horse. So he took him hunting a lot.”
“That’s good to hear. Uncommon. Yer daddy was a nice man, it seems.”
*He leaned off the wall and meandered closer to the girl and horse.*
“He was the nicest! I loved my daddy!”
She grinned, petting more enthusiastically
*Dante neighed. Robo-Crow smirked and shook his head at him, like he could understand what he was saying.*
“Rare commodity, that is. Wanna help oil Dante’s plates? I’m sure he’d like that.”
“Oh- um…. Maybe. Okay.”
She hesitated
“Yeah, no problem, kid. I’ll help ya out with it.”
*He patted her on the shoulder with his heavy, metal hand, walking past her to look in the stable for oil.*
“Hey buddy… I’m coming in, okay.?”
She followed Robo crow, giggling
*Dante nodded his head, making his mane flip and flop. The automaton grabbed some kit and clicked at the horse to get it to move and make room for the two people. Dante side stepped and pressed closer to the farther wall; likely a movement a real horse couldn’t accomplish.*
“There we go. You ever washed metal, girl?”
“The stovetop, yes… never a horse, I will admit.”
“Fair ‘nough. Well, it’s like… oilin’ a gun. Gotta be slow and careful. He’ll like it better that way. See, I’ll take this rag and wipe away the deposits between his joints, and you spray the oil in with the can, alright?”
*He held out the oil can to her, which had the long, slender spigot to get into the small crevices.*
“…I’ve never oiled a gun, either..”
Oh, gosh. She hoped they weren’t going to be upset about that… but she was just a girl.! She didn’t know how guns worked!
“Ah… Well, you’ll figure it out. Just watch me do the first one.”
*He set the toolbox down and put his hand against Dante, encouraging the horse to move its shoulder-blade plate out towards him. The automaton dug his fingers towards the joint, nearly looking like he’d tear it out, and took out a rag from the box. He scrubbed it hard to get the black oil deposits out. When he was done, he asked her for the oil can.*
She held it up to him, grimacing at the oil deposits
“…Does that not hurt him..?”
“Eh? Oh, no. Think of it like… not stretching after a long time. I’m helpin’ his flexibility.”
*He brought the can up and lightly spritzed the liquid inside. He then held the plate by the center and edges to wiggle it around and get it to absorb the oil. Once that was done, he offered the can back.*
“Ta-da. We’ll do a conditioning oil at the end.”
“Yeah…. But you’re… grabbin’ him like that…”
She fidgets a bit, taking the can back
“…guess I’m just worryin’…”
*He frowned.*
“Ah… I didn’t mean to worry you… Dante, show the girl.”
*Dante neighed and pushed his nostrils against the girl’s hair and neck, playfully. He was supposedly following Robo-Crow’s request to sho her he was fine.*
She giggled. That was ticklish!
“Haha- okay.! I see.! Good boy!!”
“There we go. No injured horse here.”
*He moved to the next plate, starting on it ahead of her, so Victoria had some time to play with Dante. The horse huffed warm air by her face, sniffing all around.*
“Sorry horsey! I don’t have anythin’ for ya! Hehe!!”
She giggled, petting him, before looking to Robo Crow
“You know, you sound an awful lot like my family! Where are you from?”
*The horse stopped its tickling, but kept its head close to her for pets. Robo-Crow looked over his shoulder, raising an eyebrow.*
“…Georgia, I’ve heard.”
“Real nice down there, I hear. Daddy says it’s good farmin’ land! He wanted to move down there one day, he said.”
“Mhm… I think I was told ‘bout some fields. Probably corn or wheat, or some shit. I couldn’t tell ya. Yeah? Where you from then, kid?”
*He started four or so plates to prepare for her oiling.*
“North Carolina. Daddy says he moved up from South Carolina because there was better opportunities without him ‘givin up what he believed in’. Mother says he’s a smart man like that.”
“Ah. ‘First in Flight.’”
*That factoid seemed ingrained in the machine, from Kilroy’s teachings.*
“Mm… Farmer, soldier, hunter. Jack of all traits, your daddy was. What did he believe in?”
“We owned a farm. Daddy hunted for fun.”
She hummed, handing over the oil
“His rights.”
“Ah, makes sense. Huntin’ can be a rich man’s sport.”
*He took the can, but gave her a long stare. He didn’t follow up on her answer, squeezing the oil onto the plates.*
Another nod
“He liked doing it with his friends. I felt a little bit bad for the animals, though.”
“I can figure such. You’re a horse girl, after all.”
*He gave a chortle, massaging Dante’s plates again.*
“You eat the animals?”
“No. Daddy takes them for the fur… he said when I got back from the hospital, he would have a pretty coat for me made of fur. He said that boys would see it and know I’m a lady of status.”
Victoria per Dante some more
“I do not think he was happy that some of the boys that tried playing with me.”
“Hm. I see… I bet it’s a pretty coat. Not fancy-boys? Or, not fancy enough, I s’ppose.”
*Dante stomped his hoof, and Robo-Crow patted the horse’s back.*
“Switch sides, you oaf.”
“I suppose it doesn’t matter, in the end. Mother says she and daddy were talking to this nice man who has a son, and that I would probably get married to him.”
She let go of Dante so he could move
"Ah... Yeah, I... suppose not... Sorry, kid."
*He followed after her as Dante switched. There was a noticeable different in his plates on this side, showing the quality of their work.*
“What for? I’m sure he’s a very nice boy, if what mother and daddy say are true.”
She hums with a smile, holding her head high
“He’s going to inherit his parents’ indigo farm.”
"I just meant cause you can't-... Nevermind, kid. Glad he's nice. A farm, yeah? They grow indigo? They use that for dye and stuff, right?"
*He was surprised by her positivity, and continued his work, pulling at the metal plates.*
She nods
“Mother says it’ll be extra profitable when we combine, because we’ll be able to sell pre-dyed materials.”
"Ah, now there's the kicker. You made dyes? I didn't realize that. Or maybe you made furs and fabrics. Ah... maybe you made the cotton..."
*That seemed to click for him, and he reached for her oil can.*
She nods, handing it over
“We grow the cotton. Mother says they grow and process the indigo. Very fancy. Daddy says there’s a lot of money in that business.”
"Mhm. Sure is. A whole economy's worth. Seems like your boy toy's got a whole monopoly in the making over there."
*He chortled, a sound almost just as squeaky as the oil can.*
“Oh, do you think? Imagine, we’d be rich, haha!”
She paused
“…Not… that it’s the only quality that matters, of course.”
"Take it easy. I'm not gonna scorch you fer wantin' a little cash. I ain't no commie."
*He started massaging the panels.*
“A… what?”
She begins to pet Dante again
“…I just…. I mean— money is good, yes. But mother says it’s good if you find other things to marry for, too.”
"Seems yer daddy disagrees. A commie. Communist. People too much in la-la-land, thinkin' the world can go around with people stayin' in their own lanes happily and never wishin' for just a little more. Brain-dead. That's what."
*The machine chided with a snarl, seemingly finding the concept foolish and blind-sighted to reality.*
“Well that certainly doesn’t seem good at all..”
She shook her head
“…Daddy knows what’s best for me. Mother teaches me to be a lady.. daddy can believe whatever he would like.”
*He held his hands in surrender.*
"I'm not comin' fer yer wig. I was just wonderin' what you felt on the matter. But I see that's not important to ya... Yeah. Kilroy certainly thinks so. Worked his whole non-criminal career fightin' that shit."
She flinched at the movement, but nodded
“..Ah- alright..”
*His eyes darted around, looking for the toolbox in the darkness, and picked it up, putting their current tools away for a new bottle.*
“This is the gun-oil part. Somethin’ to make the plates shine. Can you rub a cloth ‘round, at least?”
“I- I can do that, yes.”
She picked at her fingernails, taking a cloth from him
“Great. It’s probably like… brushing a horse’s coat out. Smooth motions. It’s supposed to make ‘em shine, you know?”
*He pressed the liquid out onto her rag and one for himself to start the process. He seemed to be taking the backside, so the girl could be closer to Dante’s face.*
“Okay buddy… here we go… stay still, okay…?”
She pet him a bit as she began to wipe the new oil on him, using her typical motion for when she brushed a horse
*Dante seemed relatively calm. He only shook his head once, perhaps to bat away some imagined pest buzzing around him. In the silence of their work, the furnace inside the automaton crackled softly with flame tendrils.*
“I believe you would be a war horse. You seem like you would be very scary in battle, hm? But you are still so pretty..”
*At the sound of those words, Dante neighed and stomped his hooves. If there was something the horse liked most of all, it was action. The motion made him move around some of his metal panels, and Robo-Crow kept a watchful eye to the girl’s hands to make sure they didn’t get pinched in the movement.*
“Yes, are you big and fierce? I’m sure. You would be a good hunting horse too, I believe.”
She cooed, continuing her brushing motion
“Daddy says war horses are good for hunting, because they are not afraid of gunshots. Is that true?”
She asked, despite the fact that the horse could not really answer her
*Dante neighed at her praises. His tail wagged and Robo-Crow had to shove it down to not get whacked.*
“Yes, that’s true. At least, he ain’t.”
“Makes sense… what a good boy….”
She cooed over him some more
“You spoil him.”
*The horse loved her soothing voice, and closed its beady eyes.*
“How’s the work comin’ over there?”
“Oh… um… okay, I think?”
She was about a fourth of the way through on either side
*He glanced over at it. The way the oil worked, it gave a nice layer of slipperiness that made the metal glossy and feel more healthy looking… if metal were anything alive like skin.*
“Good job, kid. For yer first time, this is acceptable.”
*He rated it in a very dry and mechanical manner, but he did approve.*
“…Thank you. I’ll do better next time.”
She gave him a slight smile
