Scene #7704: Prototype Procurement Ploy

Owner	Pose
Cantio	Word spreads quickly whenever a prototype is created. New technology, refined methods of production, never before seen ideas, and other such things are sure to attract unwanted attention. Traveling with such a thing can be dangerous, too, and those with more questionable motives are certain to show up out of the woodwork to try and hijack such creations for their own needs. That's why, upon hearing about the planned delivery of a new prototype something-or-another from a remote mountain village in the Layered Deeps, Cantio shows up to lend her aid to the researchers trying to get their invention somewhere safe. She's certainly not here to try and make a good enough impression that bringing such a thing to Concord territory would be safer for them overall, but purely out of the goodness of her own heart! Or so she says. She's got the bright purple anime hair to help sell that idea, at least.
Kale Hearthward	One of the researcher's assistants is out sick. Dr. Byrd (first name Sung) is fresh out of a prestigous multiversal Generic Research School, with a PHD so fresh that it's in danger of hitting on someone. His credentials are relevant to the task at hand, and they all check out, and the credentials most certainly weren't forged by Paladins black ops, so there's no issue with hiring him on to help short term, right? He also raises concerns about the purple-haired Concord member showing up to help out. "We can handle the delivery just fine on our own," says the research assistant who most certainly isn't Kale, and most certainly isn't trying to convince them to let their guards down so that the Paladins can confiscate the new prototype.
Cantio	So far, so good. It's a relief, to be sure, but Cantio's not going to let a lack of bandits and the like deter her from trying to convince these people that they'd be safer aligning themselves with her own. "I don't doubt that you have something hidden up your sleeves in the worst case scenario, but... That's not always enough." She puts on a reassuring smile, not quite realizing that Dr. Byrd is anything but what he claims to be. Why would she? It's not like that same birdman she's run into twice in the past week would show up here of all places, too. That'd just be absurd. Those in charge of delivering this mystery thing also don't suspect thing. They're just kind of stuck sitting awkwardly waiting for the ride to end. "Even if you're almost home free, unexpected things can happen at any time. The Concord could always use bright minds like yours, and you'd be well protected while focusing on your work." She pokes her head around briefly to see if they're being followed. "That's why I'd really like you to reconsider the offer. We still have a ways to go, so there's no rush to decide right now."
Kale Hearthward	"The Concord looks out for number one - The Concord, and everything else is secondary to that," says Not-Kale. "They'll offer some token amount of protection - right up until they decide that they've gotten all they want out of you, and then they'll leave you high and dry." "If you ask me, you should consider a group that has everyone's best interests in mind - the Commonwealth, just to throw some example out there." He glares at Cantio, as if something's personal going on right now. "Besides, then you'll be working for, I dunno, Guzma - do you really want to have a thug like that as a 'boss'?"
Cantio	"That's right. The Concord does look out for its own, and joining us means you would be one of our own." Cantio says with all the practice of someone that's probably had this exact argument with herself in the shower at one point. "You're mistaken about a few things, though. We reward loyalty well, and even those that reside in Concord territories enjoy a lot of safety and personal comforts outside of work." She scoffs lightly at the mention of the Commonwealth, sounding somewhat disapproving of the mention. "They have a good PR department, but their hiring practices can be rather questionable. People that are willing to kick people when they're down and claim the moral high ground while acting like they're better than everyone else, for one." There's a visible grimace at that. When Not-Kale mentions Guzma, meanwhile, she narrows her eyes. "Guzma is an honest and good man. He's become a much better man than he was back when he had been a mere 'thug', and I believe he's going to accomplish great things one day. Do you have a history with him, Doctor... Byrd?" There's a suspicious glint in her eyes as she says that and stares right at his beak, almost as if she might be suspecting something* about this new doctor. *She doesn't think he's licensed to practice dentistry at all.
Kale Hearthward	Right now, Kale should back off and not take the bait. "Some people need a good kick to make sure the lesson sinks in. And it was to the side, not the teeth." Obviously, Kale does not back off. "All that protection is still at the whims of a bunch of superpowered wildcards with, basically, no accountability whatsoever. The quality of your life is going to be dependent on if, say, someone shows up who's more interested in Making Friends than protecting you... or someone who's more interested in crushing the enemy with scorched earth tactics than anything else." Dr. Byrd crosses his arms.
Cantio	"To the side? No, I was talking about... Wait a minute. Are you...?" Cantio keeps her focused gaze on Dr. Byrd, her hackles rising just a bit as she remembers what had happened mere days ago. That anger she felt in her gut after seeing Guzma getting kicked in the side, and that overwhelming desire to get back at that one particular birdman that this one sort of bears a resemblance to, the closer she looks. ".. You're related to him, aren't you?" Cantio asks, staying quiet for a moment before shifting into an exceedingly polite smile that isn't hiding the more malicious thoughts probably swirling arund in there. "Ah, I'm so sorry to hear that. Don't worry, though. I understand what it's like to not be able to pick family." The smile is just a little smirkier at that. "I'm sure he gave you a one-sided version of what happened, but the Concord actually knows what it means to act as a role model for people instead of just allowing its members to be... Well.. Like that. No offense intended." That's a complete lie, and Cantio is pretty bad at it right now. "And unlike the Commonwealth, the Concord can actually protect its people from disasters. Not like what happened with... Ehm. You know." She doesn't say what she's referring to outright, but she does look like she genuinely feels bad for thinking about whatever it was. It's probably the first time she's felt bad about something she said all day.
Kale Hearthward	"Related to... mmmh... I'm not sure what you're talking about?" At this point, Kale makes a judgement call. Getting the research team to drive Cantio away isn't working, and he doesn't quite know everything Cantio can do - so can't risk her being around when the delivery is taking place. So best to rip this particular bandaid off right now. And Kale has a particularly subtle and nuanced way of doing so. "Hey Cantio, is that something interesting right outside your window?" he asks, and then goes to try to dive and tackle her out of the moving vehicle. "Cantio... whatever your last name is!" he yells as he attempts to pin her, dropping the accent he'd been using. "You're under arrest for attempted technology theft!" "Imagine, these poor researchers, not knowing you were going to attempt to sieze their precious cargo!" he adds, loudly, projecting like crazy (in every sense of the word).
Cantio	For better or for worse, the (actual) research team has been quiet this whole time. They've just been enjoying the show, having turned that awkwardness into entertainment over the drama unfolding before them. Their patience is rewarded, however, when Doctor Byrd directs Cantio's attention outside. "Hm? Is there? I don't see a-" The plan works flawlessly, and the purple-headed woman drops right out of that moving vehicle with Kale revealing his identity to her and the researchers' surprise! "What the... It's you! What the heck are you talking about? I don't even have a last name!" Cantio shouts as she struggles beneath Kale, thrashing about to try and throw him off before just going for a move she's only seen before and never actually tried: A headbutt to the beak! That potentially sharp beak that is probably harder than her forehead. "Theft? Seizing? I was doing no such thing! Geh... I was only here to recruit them! And how do we know you weren't here to just confiscate everything under some false pretenses?!" She projects right back, much to the amusement of the now-stopped vehicle. They are enjoying this way too much.
Kale Hearthward	KONK Kale's beak is pretty hard, as it turns out! "Sure you were only trying to recruit them," he says, trying to shake off the bonk. "And I wouldn't just come in and confiscate everything," he lies. "I was here to keep an eye on you and stop you - and clearly you were up to no good!" He gets out - oh, that's a pair of handcuffs, not a weapon. "Like I said - you're under arrest!" He probably can't get both of them on so easily, but he's still going to try!
Cantio	Still reeling a bit from that self-inflicted face-stabbing, Cantio shakes her head once while continuing to thrash and working her legs up to try and get a little more distance from Kale's beak. "And that's why you were pretending to be one of them? Why would someone from the Paladins need to do that unless you were planning on springing a trap on them yourself?!" Out come the handcuffs, and Kale actually manages to get Cantio's wrists in one of them. "This is just... Kh... You're just trying to abuse your power without evidence of anything!" Kale very nearly gets both of the handcuffs clapped on, but Cantio finally manages to get her knees up. She pushes forward, trying to kick the birdman right off to get herself some distance to regroup. "Is this really what the Paladins are reduced to? Trying to... Arrest people for not even a thought crime?" She lies. Confiscating everything actually isn't a terrible idea. She'll have to remember that one.
Kale Hearthward	"What - no, I'm not trying to abuse my power! I'm trying to prevent you from abusing your power!" As far as barbs go, this rates up there with 'I'm rubber, you're glue'. Kale tries again. "At least arresting people is better than letting the Watch literally eat them! What the heck were you doing in Utana, anyway..." He gets kicked, pushed off, but he's close behind and pursuing Cantio. "What even are you doing in the Concord, anyway? You do know the sort that's there with you, right?" He just simply tries to dive and tackle Cantio again. There's no nuance or style to it, just mindless pursuit.
Cantio	"That'd be a lot more convincing if you weren't hiding and attacking me for talking!" Cantio's own barbs aren't particularly strong at this point, almost as if she's still learning how to come up with them on the fly and hasn't been doing it for long. The effort is there, at least. When Kale speaks of the Watch, meanwhile, Cantio lets out a "ehhhh-hm" sort of vaguely agreeing noise. She doesn't try particularly hard to defend the Watch. Or at all. "I was called in to investigate the kidnappings. Maybe if the people there trusted the Paladins more, they wouldn't need to call on us and the Watch at the same time." She coughs once, spitting out a bit of dirt and blood, then brings her hands up in an almost brawler-y stance. Alas... She's only seen it used by people rather than actually practiced it herself. The tackle nails her right in the gut as she stands her ground, nearly toppling over in the process and losing her footing enough to get on one knee. "If you're really interested in why... It's because I'm tired." At that distance, she tries to leverage her frustration into rapid slams of her elbows against Kale. She aims for whatever she can reach, just bashing away with barely any finesse to speak of. "I'm tired of cleaning up after everyone... I'm tired of being overlooked." It's mostly frustration speaking now. "I'm tired of being weak! The Concord... They know I can be strong. They've helped me become stronger!" "Besides... Aren't you in some kind of empire? Why are you of all people with the Paladins?"
Kale Hearthward	He's with the Paladins because he got fired. But he's certainly not going to tell Cantio that. "I'm certainly not with the Paladins because I got fired!" he yells. There, a perfectly crafted lie. "Maybe if the Watch wasn't full of terrorists and thieves they wouldn't be - wait, no, you'd agree about that. Nevermind." He brings up his arms, trying to block - he's no trained hand-to-hand fighter, but he does a decent job of keeping any really critical parts from getting hit. "... You're tired, huh." Kale doesn't follow up with another attack right away. "Of being overlooked? Of being treated as being weak?" He lowers his arms, taking a step back. "Well I can understand that, and..." he says, in a sympathetic tone. And then... However untrained his hand-to-hand is, the sucker punch he suddenly throws is straight out of the pirating playbook, though. "It just means I'll have to crush you before you become strong, weakling!"
Cantio	"Then... Wait. Then you haven't answered anything!" Cantio snaps again, somehow taking that at face value despite their entire conversation preceding this point. "I mean, the Watch is... There's some good people there, even if they're misguided." That's probably the best thing she can say about them right now, and it's probably not too hard to tell who those people are sooner or later. Unlike Kale, Cantio's attacks are not quite up to snuff. She's more a defensive fighter than anything, so trying to go on the offensive as she has been really doesn't seem to be working all that well. She pants lightly when Kale steps back, even lowering her guard a bit when he sounds almost... Understanding? And then he punches her right in the face. Cantio's not expecting that one bit, and her hands go up after her head snaps back. There's a brief stagger as she tries to counterattack, swinging at the air once before dropping onto a knee again and bracing a hand against her other knee. "You're... Tch. You're just the same as her..." Cantio spits out, sounding particularly vitriolic as she staggers back onto her feet. "Acting like you're... Fighting for people that need protection, but-" She staggers back a few feet, standing dangerously close to a steep incline! She'll probably survive even if she slides down, but it'd be pretty uncomfortable to fall that way. She looks like she'd go down pretty easy with a quick shove, though. "Who are you really protecting here?"
Kale Hearthward	"Hmmf. I'll give you that answer..." Kale opens his beak, and then closes it most of the way - basically pursing his lips. And then he blows a tiny puff of air, like blowing out a candle - a seemingly small movement, but the resulting gust is like a full-on shove. "If you manage to actually become strong enough to beat me!" he calls after her.
Cantio	Cantio's already bracing from the first part of Kale's response. She's heard that first part enough in her world's shows to know what's coming next! Verbally, anyway. She's not expecting to get blown back right off that ~~ledge~~ incline, reaching back to brace her head and neck as she goes right down. "Guh...! Next time, Kale... You! You won't b-" Alas, she can't finish that 'promise' as she's soon tumbling head over ass repeatedly on her way down the rest of that mountain. MEANWHILE The researchers, having watched the end of that show, settle back into their seats. They exchange slow looks at each other, nod, then start driving away slowly. They're kind of hoping nobody noticed that their bodyguard(s) aren't with them anymore.
Kale Hearthward	Kale watches Cantio fall for a bit. "..." "What was I doing out here again?" he wonders to himself, trying to remember.