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Tuning Stork

Summary:

A storch has a faulty radio, no longer able to listen to the soap operas she always did.
The source of the issue? A familiar face, a Kolibri she's known for years, has been rerouting metro transmissions on Falke's Order.

The annoyed storch is forced to do something about it, and quickly loses any chance of a peaceful afternoon alone.

Notes:

Takes place in Rotfront, in one of the cities' metro stations.
(Pre-game events, is very fluff).
(I like when the replikas just do average everyday stuff, if you can't tell).

Work Text:

She been in this same job for quite a while, nearly 200 cycles in the same slow job. One fitting for a storch, watching over the slow moving metro lines.
Her days full of keeping a watchful eye over the crowds, peaceful evenings full of radio operas to drown out the annoying chatter of the strangers around her.
It's always a pleasure when she gets a peaceful shift, and a quiet postshift rest.

But around 40 cycles ago, a familiar face popped up. One that always annoyed her to no end.
One that always dragged her along after work, One that never seemed to give her any room; KLBR-R8702, Yumao.

And only just recently, her radio module's been squealing at her every time she went near her worksite.
Her radio broadcast soap operas play no longer, replaced by an ear piercing squealing, a tester radio tone that drives her mad.

In another slow day at work, she slips through the crowd, her long legs stilting between the slow tide of people.
She's especially annoyed, ever since her radio's been on the fritz.

As she slowly monitors the crowd, she notices a familiar forehead amongst the crowd, one that she wasn't told should be there.
Her metal hooves click against the metro tiles, as she quickly approaches.
"KLBR-R8702. Get back to your station." She commands, her voice blatantly ignored by the short figure.

The closer she got, the louder her radio blares and squeals in her ears.
One annoyance on top of another, and she's starting to lose any bit of patience she had.

"OI. 8702. Back to your station." Her voice falls on deaf ears yet again.
She steps behind the Kolibri, leaning down into the short lady's face. Her hand slowly move to the distracted kolibri's head, flicking hard between the three red stars.

The squealing radio stops as she jumps to attention.
"Ack! Wha- Huh? Oh, hey Erde." She gently rubs her forehead as she stumbles a bit.

"Don't 'hey Erde' me. You've been disrupting metro frequencies for the past hour. I demand an explanation."
"Huh? Falke asked me to help with the new routing of signals."
"And what does that have to do with giving me a damn headache?"

"You can hear it? Uh, sorry. Must be a tuning issue." The absent-minded woman scratches her head, looking a bit insincere.

"Go buzz off, damn it. It's hard enough to get the Eules to stop wandering around past curfew. I don't need you on top of it all."

"Ok? I mean, I have a job to do, Erde. I can't just not do it."
"Would you rather I set the tester tone to broadcast those sappy soap operas I always see you listening in on?"
She goads the storch, smiling as she pokes Erde's hard legs.

"I'd rather you just scram, Mao." She sighs.
"Come on, lighten up a bit! Just have an ARA turn on the notch filter... I can always do it for you too, it doesn't take much."

The storch stiffens up, turning away.
"Shut it. I doubt you even know how, anyways." She spits out a short excuse.

"Is that a bet I hear? If you lose, take me to that new bookstore down the street. Your treat."
Being cornered by the shorter lady, she finally relents, holding her knees as she bends down.
"Fine. But be quick. If you can't do it, you better piss off." Erde mutters back.

"It'll only be a second, hehe" She leans in rather close, her breath tingling against Erde's skin.
Her hands slowly hug around the tall storch's neck as she stretches up, gently fiddling with the back of Erde's earpiece.
A few clicks, and the small pinhole that controls the setting's been tweaked with.

She stares up, focusing as she starts aiding with broadcasting again.
This time, the obnoxious tester tones are completely unheard by the storch.
"See, told ya! A deals a deal! Now, dinner at your place?"

"You said bookstore."
"Well yeah, but you never leave it at just that." She giggles, ruffling the storch's hair a bit.
Erde sighs, as she gets wrenched into another one of Mao's dates.
"Fine..."

It seems she wouldn't get her silent afternoon after all, but at least her company's not bad.