Scene #3202: An Inquiry

Owner	Pose
Xiao Li Yu	RAMUH - FUJIN Research Institute Xiao Li Yu, researcher for the Murasame Zaibatsu, was doing exactly what she typically did on a day like this. What's that? Why, hole up in her lab and work on all manner of dubious and questionable projects. Which meant it was business as usual. On this day, however, she actually took the time to call for a certain someone. That someone was Lina Brand; a member of KIRIN, if she recalled right. Why did she call for her specifically? ...Who knows. She seemed excited about something or another however, rapidly typing into the computer in front of her, teetering from side to side, and humming an energetic tune. "Hmmmhmhmmm~" A glance at the clock on her computer was briefly had and Xiao mumbled to herself. "Any day now, if my predictions are right..." She tore her gaze away from it and resumed working and waiting.
Lina Brand	Tests here, practice there, pick up an Ether there and a Haste spell to get her around, Lina's rushing towards the FUJIN Research Institute. "I wonder what they need from me." she ponders as she downs the Ether to keep going. "Oh well, it's got to be something important if it's FUJIN wanting me..." a smile is on her face as she makes her way into the Institute. "Yea, I was called in? Ah, that way? Sure." as Lina gets directions to where she needs to go, she takes a stroll around, first time actually in the Institute so she's taking a bit of a sightsee as she makes her way towards Xiao's room. "Now... ah, there we are." A few light taps on the door before making her way inside, "Lina Brand reporting, how can I assist you?" she questions, a cheerful voice coming from her, "Or did I get the wrong room..."
Xiao Li Yu	Xiao looked up from her computer once there was a knock on the door leading to the hall. It slid aside, revealing Lina. "Aha! Miss Brand, yes? No, you have the right room. Come in!" She gestured for the girl come further inside with a smile. It wasn't actually a room. More like a vast lab. There was an office-like workspace up front near the door, past that were testing tables filled with various instruments and tools, shelves stuffed with books and binders off to the side, and then further in was some manner of heavy duty testing bay. If the scorch marks here and there were anything to go by. Various incomplete bits of machinery, as well as cages containing live specimen were also off to the side. Xiao swiveled her chair around to face Lina, settling her hands into her lap. "I called you here today, because I wanted to ask you something." She gestured idly with a hand as she spoke. "You use a bow and arrow, right? As well as magic?" That was mostly rhetorical. "Well, I was wondering, just what kind of arrows you used. Can you show me?" Arrows? Really? "I have an...interesting idea, but it all depends on you first!"
Lina Brand	Lina nods as she steps inside the vast lab area, "Ah, thank you. Quite a big space you have here, ma'am." LIna takes in all the sights, the lab tools, instruments, testing bay replete with marks. Yeah, she's staying away from that one... Then the cages catch her eye and then back towards Xiao. "Yes, I do use the bow and arrow. My magic isn't the best out there compared to the other monochromes but I'm still good." she comments, pulling one of her arrows out of the quiver. "Ah, sure. It's just a lightweight metal with runes hand engraved on them. It lets me target them with magic so I can reach longer distances than a monochrome." She gives a brief smile, offering the arrow over. It looks to be made of steel and machined quite a bit to a hollow inside. The fletchings are made from stiff cloth, feathered to help with balance and there's a lot of runes etched over them.
Xiao Li Yu	"Oh, it's only as big as it needs to be." Xiao replied, waving a hand casually. ...Apparently that meant it needed to be pretty big. Regardless, she chuckled after and spoke on. "And you don't need to call me ma'am. I'm probably the same age as you. That's just plain awkward. Just call me Xiao. Or Miss Yu, if you need to be polite." That said, she took the arrow offered and looked it over in both hands. "Hmmm...I see. Nice and light, I suppose these runes enhance any magic channeled through them." She mused while studying said engravings. "Yes, very good. I'm happy that your arrows are least this level." Xiao leaned back in her seat after that, casually twirling the arrow between her fingers. "I wanted to propose an idea I had, like I said. I took a brief look over KIRIN's basic personnel files and I found you. You use arrows, so it's perfect!" That said, the researcher smiled a bit wider. "Do you happpen to know what 'Trick Arrows' are?"
Lina Brand	"Fair enough, Xiao." she chuckled, "Didn't mean to make it awkward, but yes, those runes allow it to hold magic. It's not the same as a spellblade or mystic knight but it lets me hold it long enough to let it hit something. Be it ally with Cure or a foe with Fire." she smiles, "And yes, the arrow has to be light to fire otherwise it just falls to the ground too quick." She watches the twirling, listening to the scientist, giving a nod, "Well, when you have an abundance of metal, you learn to be efficent and shape them properly." a pause, a bit worried about that smile. Researchers with smiles send a shiver down the Odynari's spine, "Trick arrows? I'm afraid not. I've never had to use any other kind of arrow than my own. Granted, I know the best way to aim the arrows, but I'm interested in these... trick arrows." She reaches back to place a hand on her bow, "By trick, are you looking at bouncing arrows an' the like? Not sure how good they'd be but I'd be willing to experiment with them!
Xiao Li Yu	"I see! Well then." She stopped twirling the arrow and set it aside onto her computer table. Lina could take it back at her leisure. "What I'm suggesting are arrows that contain different functions embedded into them by default!" She raised a finger at that, continuing to elaborate. "Like yes, an arrow that bounces. But not in the traditional sense! Say you fire an arrow and it misses. Instead of embedding into the wall behind your target, a Barrier spell set into the arrow causes it to bounce back and hit the target from behind!" Really Xiao? She seemed excited enough though. "Or perhaps an arrow with a net compressed into the head. You fire it, the head breaks open mid-flight, and releases the net around the target!" Xiao tapped her chin thoughtfully at that point. "Perhaps an arrow with a cable attached to it. You could fire it into a high up place, the head will expand to grip the surface, and then you can use it to climb." This was getting silly. "But I could go on all day! Does this sound like something you'd want to work with?" She asked, glancing at Lina expectantly.
Lina Brand	Lina hmms softly, tilting her head at the strange arrow being pitched to her. "Uh huh... but wouldn't a barrier spell just cause less damage? Though, a shot to the back is nice too... better chance at disabling a target." a grin comes to her face, "Wish I had that back on Odin." she shakes her head and listens a few more times, the net arrow catches her attention, "Well, that arrow could be useful as a suppliment to my aiming techniques like if the boss needs something alive." The grappling arrow gets a grin, "You know that's a silly concept, that arrow would take a powerful bow to fire since the arrow needs to be heavy enough to support such. But yes, this is something I could wrap my archery knowledge around. What do you need me to do, I've got the bow for it. May have to strengthen it a bit with some metal to do the last one but..."
Xiao Li Yu	Xiao grinned. "Very good! I'm glad you're open to the idea! Because I've already..." She got up and walked around her work desk, over to some shelves by the testing tables. "...made a few prototypes!" Someone got ahead of themselves. What was she going to do if no one took them? Oh well. She opened a cabinet door, reached in, and took out a number of arrows before returning to Lina. "Here we are~ This one here is the net arrow." She raised it to indicate such. It's head seemed a bit larger than the typical arrow head. "Just channel some MP into it before firing. The delay before the net releases is dependent on how much MP you put into it. You may have to play around with it to figure out the timing." She put that aside and raised another. This one looked like one of Lina's but had a much more ornate rune engraving on it. "And this is the Barrier Arrow. Like the Net Arrow, channel MP into it before firing, and do not aim for your target. Aim for a surface. The barrier spell will make the arrow richohet once, and then the spell wears off." She smiled at that. "That's how it retains it's piercing power!" Finally, she put that aside and raised the last one. "And this is the Grapple Arrow. This one, I'm not quite sure of." It looked like a normal arrow, but it had a long cable attached to it, coiled together in a circle to keep it compact. The head seemed to be comprised of multiple parts that looked like it could expand. "Like you said, this one requires quite a bit of strength to fire it and gain a proper grip." She shrugged. "To activate the grip, channel MP into the cable. It will travel upwards and through the arrow." And that seemed to be all. "So, do you think you could test these out for me?"
Lina Brand	Lina blinks, "Something tells me you create first, offer later." she gives a bit of a chuckle, nodding some. As she goes to get the arrows, Lina picks up her own arrow and slips it back into the quiver, making a bit of room to fit the next few arrows given. She gives abit of a nod and listens to the explinations given. "Sounds like I have some experimenting to do when I get to the range then. Especially with the net arrow." a pause, "I'll need to make an ether bandolier now with how much MP I'm going to use with all of this." a small laugh is given as she takes the arrows and slips it into her quiver. "How reusable are these arrows? Are they sturdy enough to not break? Can I reset them?" she questions a bit... "After all, I'm sure these took a long time to create, didn't they? Would want to make sure I could recover them if needed. Never the less, I can always come back and request more, now can't I?"
Xiao Li Yu	Xiao shrugged. "Genius doesn't wait for a yes or no. If something happens, I'll cross that bridge when I get to it." That explained a lot of her actions. "Anywho! Those arrows are pretty sturdy. They're similar in make to your own, give or take a few details and such. They can withstand a bit of force, but they will break if forced too much. That's about standard I think." She rubbed her chin, pacing back and forth at that point. "Mmmn, you should be able to reset all three of them, theoretically." ...Theoretically. "For the net, just compress it and set it back into the arrow head and close it. For the barrier, put some MP into the arrow head and the spell engraving should reset. You can tell based on it's glow. And...for the grapple, you'll have to manually roll the cable back up. Sorry~!" She stopped pacing at that point, settling back down into her seat. "Of course. If you need new arrows, or if any break, just come and ask. And if you have any new ideas for different kinds of arrows, I'll see what I can do to make it work."
Lina Brand	"Right, right." Genius, huh? "Alright then. I'll give them a good test for ya and give you a report, I'm sure you want detail, right? I'll make sure to let you know how much MP I use for them too." she grins a bit and looks back at her quiver. "I think I need to add a special compartment for the arrows. Make sure I don't accidentally fire off the wrong arrow. Would be kinda funny to see a Barrier Arrow with a Fire spell attached to it." Lina's eyes light up... "I think I need to hit the archery range soon. Get some practice in. I have to show a ninja of the Confederacy some of my skills since she wanted to see. She knows how to vanish too. So maybe she's knowledgable on the way of the Ranger too." "I might put in an order for about nine more arrows each. Just in case." she smirks, pausing just lightly, "Whatcha need in return, Xiao? I'll see what I can do to get a good investement for this."
Xiao Li Yu	Xiao simply waved a hand dismissively. "No payment necessary. This is a side project. Something done for my own amusement. Just test them, and give me the details! That's all the payment I require." That said, she turned around to her computer, opening up a notepad window. "Nine of each type then? I'll have them made and sent to you. No need to come here every time, unless you want to see me in particular~?" She scientist brought a hand to her cheek, feigning embarrassment. "Oh Lina, I never knew! It's too soon!" Someone was having fun.
Lina Brand	Lina nods, "Then I'll have some tests done for you soon." she grins, "If that's all the payment, I think this would be a good working partnership. I'll let you know of any special arrow ideas I think of too. It'll take me a bit to get the reports so if you're not in a rush for them, I think I'll do some extensive testing." She gives a bit of a nod, "I'm sure you know where I live, given you have my file." a pause and a stoic looking face, "Do you treat all your guests slash testers this way or are you just teasing me? You scientist and research types confuse me at times..."
Xiao Li Yu	"Good! You do that. I'll be awaiting your results." Pause. "Well...maybe not literally. Other projects to work on. But still!" Right. "In any case, I'm not in any rush for them. Like I said, this is a side project. I have actual important things to work on in the interim, so take your time testing them out. I'll have the spares sent to your place." Lina's stoic response to Xiao's teasing earned her an amused smile. "Hmmm? Teasing? I have no idea what you're talking about." She held up both hands as if to prove her innocence. "Where is this teasing happening? I don't see it." ...Uh-huh.
Lina Brand	... Uh-huh... "Sure thing, Xiao!" she turns around and Lina starts heading towards the door, "Of course of course, you scientist types have a lot to do. I won't dissapoint you in my arrow tests. You might find the reports decently detailed too." she grins, and shakes her head at the comment about teasing, "You're right, no teasing here." She takes a couple steps and then suddenly dissapears, Vanish was such a useful ability. Lina's next destination, the archery range!
Xiao Li Yu	"Later~" Lina was offered a wave, and then Xiao turned back to her work, seemingly forgetting about the whole thing as she fell into a working trance once more. Hmn. How about that.