Closed Log

[cronusian]

Featuring: Armitage Hux cronusian, Teddy Upsilon thatsruff, Kylo Ren warfares
What's happening?: Hux enlists a helpful canine to be his test subject. Again.
Day: 3/1
Content warning: manipulation, character death (possible), animal character death (possible)

[It took weeks of work to fashion the bags to his satisfaction. With only a small amount of sand to work with initially, his primary test 'track' had been too small to do a proper experiment with. Now that he had Upsilon on board, though, he had more to work with. A willing and expendable test subject, backup in the form of his temporary ally, and six large test bags.

He had used three different fabrics, and two different weights of sand in each, one set with a thick layer of several inches worth of sand, and another with a thinner layer of only a couple inches. There were a lot of factors involved, and the testing could take time, depending on how often his test subject ended up dying in the process. He wanted to test each out in multiple situations, locations, and time frames. The Sound Eaters were not reliable. They did not always seem to come for every sound, and that made it difficult to trust the initial results, no matter how promising.

It was an important experiment if he had any hope of bringing some more lasting order to the disorganized efforts of the natives. Hux had difficulty tolerating their lack of proper hierarchy or structure, and the washing away of paths and resources that were, at least by appearances, not in limitless supply was maddening.

His willing volunteer was instructed on where and when to meet with them, and Hux had roped Ren into the experiment, with little information shared to either of them prior. At least he could count on Ren to do the heavy lifting while he kept note of the results, and the sound generated during their tests.]

Comments

[warfares]

[ Toeing at one of the bags, his attention shifts to Hux, one dark brow lifting quizzically. When Hux had alluded to an experiment, something potentially lethal, he hadn't envisioned something quite so ordinary. ]

Impressive, [ there's a begrudging note of approval to the word; Kylo Ren drops into a crouch, inspecting the bag carefully. ] Did you make the bags yourself?

[thatsruff]

[Teddy pauses on approach, looking to his handler before back to the man that had given him a mission. The two of them working together makes sense. They are both key humans to his life in this city. He approaches Ren, sitting beside his leg, and waits for Hux to explain the details of his purpose here.]

Reporting.

[cronusian]

[Hux finishes ensuring the bags are lined up properly as Upsilon makes his approach, and turns to find the canine soldier sitting beside Ren. It hadn't occurred to him that the canine might know Ren, and that bothers him. It should have, and more than that, he has a thread of concern Ren might protest if his agenda with the dog is different than Hux's own.

They did not have a good history of agreeing on plans or methods.

A brief glance at Ren and Hux focuses back on the task at hand, checking his device to find the soldier responding as expected before laying out the plan.]

Very good. I have set these bags out for you to test. You are going to walk across them to help me determine whether or not they will safely muffle sound for humans who walk on them. Remember, you are trying to mimic human movement as much as possible, so walk heavy.

We'll observe from a short distance while you test them out.

[After he sends the message, he moves back, giving Ren a look to follow suit. He doesn't need both of them dead at the same time. He had entertained the idea of killing Ren plenty of times in the past, but here Ren serves a greater purpose and Hux prefers at least one of them to be alive at all times.]

[thatsruff]

I will do my best.

[Dutifully, Teddy waits for his handler and the general to get some distance before setting a cautious paw on the first bag. It gives in a similar fashion to the sand paths to his surprise. He lifts his paw, head tilted as he studies it. Death is still something he fears, but he has faced it three times now. He can face it a fourth time.

He glances back at Ren and Hux and then steps onto the first bag, putting all his weight onto his front paws. The sound is little more than the sound of feet on sand. Stepping back, he jumps in a smooth arc from the soft ground to the first fabric covered sandbag, landing with a soft 'whump', still well muffled from sound. His ears perk, and he listens for an oncoming rush of wind, but nothing happens.

He steps off again and tenses his muscles, sprinting across the bags with his tail out for balance and turning at the last moment, intentionally throwing his body heavily down onto the last bag.

Again a soft whump follows the action, and again his head shoots up, listening and bracing for an impact that doesn't come. His actions could readily be seen as reckless, but if these are going to be in use, he doesn't want humans to die because he was not a thorough test subject.]

[warfares]

[ From his vantage point, Kylo Ren watches as Teddy throws his all into the task—there had been a flicker of surprise when Teddy had first arrived, a hesitation that was snuffed out quickly (and brutally) as the canine had settled beside him—all the while listening closely for any shift in the air, any indicator, no matter how small, of something's approach.

Having seen the Sound Eaters firsthand, he still struggled to imagine creatures of such awkward heft and bulk moving at such speeds.

Not that it made it impossible, of course.

Their entire existence was a study in how impossibilities might come to rest against each other, like cards on a game-table, forming a tower that would make any dealer at Canto Bight envious. And while he'd sooner not stick around for the invariable collapse, he had no option right now but to stay.

Which meant learning to live with these people, to work with them. Which meant biting his tongue, occasionally, and letting Hux and Teddy continue their tests while he does what he was brought there to do: offer back-up. ]