Postby Oddood198 » Tue Oct 09, 2012 8:03 pm
OOC: Well ok, heres my crappy intro.
The echoing tapping of steel on the paved road sounded out regularly every second or so, slicing through the otherwise eerie silence, the sun shined down and reflected off of the metal contraption that walked down the street. It swept it's baleful red eye across it's path, searching for food, it was hungry. With a cry that sounded like fingernails scraping across a blackboard, the mechanical beast beat it's wings and rose up into the air, it began flying lazily, keeping it's keen eyes down, still searching.
The thing flew higher and higher, soon it's height and the view it had momentarily distracted it from it's search for food, and continued rising higher.
After some time of flying, the steel bird set it's sights on the old clocktower, there would be something to eat there, plenty of rats if nothing else. It rose to the top, it often came here, the tower was so high and there was something distinctly different about it from all the rest of the city. It sat upon one of the ticking hands, the short one, it moved slowly so the bird could safely perch on it. It looked down upon the city, it had once been bustling with life, and so much activity, but it wasn't now. The machine couldn't understand why exactly that was.
It heard a call from above it; birds circling atop the tower, real birds, with feathers and bones, weaklings. Weak they were, but their instincts of hunting were greater than that of the metal bird's, so it flew up with them. With a piercing shriek the metal bird drove away the smaller ones, which were significantly smaller than it, as well, and it took their place circling the peak of the structure.
It soon saw what had drawn the attention of the predators, some rats seemed to have made a nest in an opening near the top, foolish creatures. The bird swooped down and attacked, grabbing one rat in it's talons and another in it's beak, it flew away with it's prizes just as swift as it had come. It flew higher, seeking a place to perch where it could eat in peace, for all the strengths it had over an organic bird, the metal creation could not eat while it flew, flying made it's neck close up.
It found it's place on top of the clock tower, on the very top, it lande there and stood for a moment silently, watching another creature that seemed to have decided to make it's perch here, it was one of the big wingless creatures that seemed to have almost disappeared lately. It didn't seem like it would bother the bird, and it had it's back turned, so the machine began eating.
It was finished quickly, the furnace in it's chest lit brightly as the fuel came into it, it beat it's wings a time or two, then screeched and flew off the clocktower, coming inches from the wingless creature's face. It dived down into the city, spreading it's wings and leveling out just above the ground, it flew back to where it was expected.
It only took a few moments of flying before it reached it's destination, it found it's usual perch and landed there, it's razor sharp talons clinking against the metal plate it sat on.
"Oh, you're back, Din?"
Another wingless creature said, but this one was different from all the rest, it was the one Din felt a tug of loyalty toward, as much as it could feel anything in it's cold, hard existence. The creature under it began to move, walking, out of the derelict building it had been in and out into the warmth of the sunlight.
Valca Andean took a deep breath as he walked outside, it was actually kind of nice around here these days; no smell of exhaust fumes, no shouting people, nobody to judge him, it all had a serene feeling to it, actually. It was said that there was a month before the big nuclear meltdown that had whipped everyone up into a panic, that meant there was likely only a week more for Valca to live, but he saw it as a bit of a challenge, a little game to play with himself; try to last the full thirty days, instead of being stopped prematurely by the gun of someone who stayed behind.
He began walking down the street, partially keeping an eye out for anyone skulking in the shadows, but largely unworried. He had been in some danger once before, as someone had cornered and threatened him, but Din manage to scare the man off easily, having a steel bird perched on his shoulder was very convenient at times for Valca. His boots dully thumping as they connected with the concrete of the sidewalk, it was a little odd, most people walked down the middle of the street anymore for whatever reason, but after years of avoiding the middle of the street at all costs, Valca found it an odd feeling when he tried, and instead he kept to the sidewalks.
He was starting to get hungry, he wondered where he should go to look for food, Din couldn't help him, it ate trash and vermin, not food. Perhaps I'll check out this convenience store down the road. He thought, it seemed that it wasn't really as dangerous around as most people made it out to be; it wasn't really too difficult to avoid the gun-toting maniacs out there -or 'Toters' as Valce more often called them- and it wasnt like foo was really a necessity, many people could survive a month without food, so it wasn't like they were going to starve before things went 'boom'. But Valca didn't like being hungry all the time, so he tried to find food anyway.
He was in the conveniece store within a few minutes, looking through the rows of shelves. Nail clippers, hairbrushes, and the occasional map were all he could find, any food had long since been taken by people who would hoard and hoard food, and then maybe eat half of what they had taken before the end. Valca sighed, that was just disappointing. He picked up a map and left, going back on the sidewalk while he looked over the map to see if it listed anywhere nearby he could possibly find something to eat.
Din gave a chirp from it's perch on Valca's shoulder, "Of course it never takes you so long." Valca said to the bird, "You eat trash. I'll bet you had a dead ray today, didn't you?" The mechanical bird ruffled it's wings in the equivalent of a shrug and didn't make another noise. Valca couldn't tell what Din was saying when it made those sounds, and he was fairly certain he wasn't understood either when he spoke, but he found talking to an inanimate object as if it could actually understand him better than losing his sanity altogether.