[center][b]intermission // Georgia & Carolyn[/b][/center]

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Georgia blows a bubble with the gum she had managed to barter from a patrol returning from outside Bunker Chicago. She blinks as the pink sugary sweet grows before her eyes before suddenly popping. She jumps, having startled herself with the volume and looks about the garage, wondering if anyone had even noticed. The trick was pretty neat, one of the grunts who had found the sugary sweets had shown her how to do it before saying if she wanted any she needed to trade for it... So far, it was worth the stack of comics. Sweets like these were rare enough as is, leave alone so much fun! -- She draws the sticky gums back into her mouth and starts to smack it as she moves further into the garage over to the familiar mech with duct tape and teddy bear marked on it with a sharpie. "Hey Cara? You here?" She raps on the mech lightly, hoping to draw her out if she was too far in the zone.

Slowly, the cockpit of the partially refurbished mech opens, only for the door to get stuck. A few kicks later, and the door opens with a pained whine. An oily, ruffled looking Carolyn pops out, her hair a ruffled mess and her jumpsuit's top zipped open, arms out of their sleeves, sleeveless t-shirt on underneath, sweat rolled down her arms and from her brow. It mist be an oven inside the cockpit. She blinks seeing the silver hair and smiles awkwardly. "Hey. What's up?"

 Georgia smiles a tad and hops up to sit on the edge of the mech, holding out her arm to show a band-aide with a cartoon cat on it. "Back from the lab... They stuck me for tests..." She furrows her brow, looking at her toes and kicking her feet lightly. "Wouldn't let me take Thomas in with me for some of the tests. Like the one with the sticky-cups on my head." She makes suction pop noises as she motions to her head. She shrugs and leans in closer to Carolyn, blowing a big bubble right before her face to show off.

Carolyn giggles as as pokes the bubble and watches it pop in Georgia's face. "Aww. I haven't had this stuff in years. They call it gum right?" She says with a soft laugh, relieved to be out of the cockpit. She wipes the sweat from her brow and breathes heavily, having been working hard. "Tests? What for?"

Georgia rubs over her arm, "Changes..." She furrows her brow, trying to remember what they had said. "With my head. Mu... Mutations?" She shakes her head and pulls on her hair, showing the silvery white locks, a bit nervous before she releases it. Instead she runs her hands into her pockets and procures the packet of gum and offers it out to Carolyn. "I can do a few new tricks, I guess?"

Carolyn grabs a stick of gum and pops it into her mouth, chewing and grimacing slightly. "Oh these are old." Still, she keeps chewing anyway as she softly touches the silver hair, a spine tingling shudder going through her as she did. "What happened to your hair..."

She furrows her brow, lowering her gaze. "Same thing like with my eyes..." She bites her lip uncertainly, "Just another thing that makes me different... That makes them call me a freak or... Or a mutt." She wrinkles her nose at the term some of the grunts threw around. "I don't like it. I miss my hair... It was like... Like mom's... And Thomas'..."

There was a bit of happiness in her, noticing that Georgia was recognizing that Thomas the bear was not Thomas her brother, and yet, that was overwhelmed with sympathy as she frowns and draws Georgia into a warm embrace. "Ahh... I'm sorry they're bullying you again..." Then the both of them felt it as Carolyn brushed against Georgia's hair with her shoulder, a small shock of psychic energy like static which vanished as quickly as it came. "... Woah." Carolyn says as she blinks in surprise. "Um... Was that supposed to happen?"

She shudders and nods slowly, "A-ah... Yeah... I just felt... well..."She furrows her brow, wondering why Carolyn was feeling sympathy, but tries to ignore it as she raises her arms up to hug her as well. "Just a little shock, I think." She couldn't have accidentally read Carolyn from just that little contact...

"Heh..." After a few more moments of hugging, Carolyn snaps back and snaps her fingers. "Right! I forgot! I got something you will looove from R&D! Close your eyes." Carolyn says with a warm smile as she climbs back into the cockpit to grab something.

 Georgia blinks before closing her eyes and raising her hands to cover them as well. She pauses for a moment, so tempted to peek through Carolyn's eyes that she fidgets and squirms in her spot and looses quiet whimpers. "Oh gosh, hurry, Cara. You know I can't handle surprises! The suspense is kiiiiilliiiing meeeee!~"

Just as it seemed the wait was going to kill her and time was going to stop, she hears a robotic bark. "Open your eyes!" Before her was the head and body of a robotic puppy, connected to a small battery. He barks again, his electronic eyes staring up at Georgia with happy emoticons. "Robopuppy!... Or what I've done so far." The legs were laying beside the body, disconnected from the form with dozens of wires and screws laying with them. "Isn't he adorable?!"

Georgia gasps and lets out a giddy squeal as she sees the robotic dog, "Oh my gosh! He is so cuuuuute!" She giggles and reaches out to pet the puppy. As her hand comes into contact with him, his LED displays show bits of static here and there. She smiles and looks up at Carolyn, "What's his name?"

"Ditzy." Carolyn says as she notices off-hand the sparks. "Touch him again." She says with curiosity.

"Why?" Georgia asks curiously, scratching under Ditzy's jowl like she would a real dog, looking at Carolyn. Even as she does so, his display fuzzes over again.

She points at Ditzy, resting her hand over Georgia's hand. "Look for yourself." Ditzy's bark sounded a little off, there was static in his voice.

 She looks down and frowns, "Oh... Right." She wriggles her fingers beneath Carolyn's, a slight flicker of a smile passing over her lips, "I told you it was a shock earlier."

"Yeah..." Carolyn says as she tries to blow a bubble, and fails. "... How do you do that?"

She smiles and puckers her lips like she's about to give a kiss, "Like this, then you blow."

Peckering her own lips close to Georgia, she attempts to blow a bubble. The first couple of attempts fail until she adjusts her lips to just the right angle, then with one steady blow, a bubble finally comes out. Popping it herself, she smiles and leans back against her "new" mech, patting its leg with her hand. "This piece of junk is a lot of work." Ditzy barks again, causing her to roll her eyes as she rests her hands behind her head, happy to have air conditioning blowing by to cool down her exposed arms and face. "You too, Ditzy." He whimpers, only for Carolyn to frown with her eyes closed. "The good kind, Ditzy."

Georgia looks over Carolyn curiously, shifting closer and sprawling out beside her. "Hey Cara?..."

Yeah?" Carolyn replies as a couple pilots pass by, staring in awe for a moment before they move quickly away when Carolyn looks at them with a knowing smile.

"We'll still be friends even if I keep changing, right?... Even if... If I weren't human?" She looks at her face, watching for her reaction.

Carolyn seems to pause a moment. Not in thought, but in surprise. "Of course... You will always be my friend." Her hand reaches out and grasps Georgia's hand. "So long as you'd keep being my friend if I was horrible mutilated in combat."

She frowns and looks at Carolyn with shock-widened eyes upon hearing that “Cara, that won't happen! I won't let it happen...” She squeezes her hand tighter and gives her a serious look that looks out of place on her softly rounded face. “I... I'll keep you safe.”

Carolyn looks at Georgia eye to eye, breathing softly before she slowly reaches out and ruffles Georgia's hair. Again, Georgia felt a hint of warm emotions from Carolyn. “Don't worry...” There was a hint that Carolyn was uncertain. “I will be fine. I will...” Her hand leaves Georgia's hair, wringing out her wrists nervously. “Hey, could you help me?” She lifts up some duct tape. “the jumpsuit is too big, as usual. They still don't make them in womens' sizes, leave alone in someone with my shape.”

Georgia's eyes drift to the duct tape and instantly her face melts to glee, “Hand me the stick silver, my amigo!” She holds her hand out, a big goofy grin on her face as looks her over, sizing up where she would have to doctor up the suit... and do other adjustments just to make sure she was as spiffy as possible. No friend of hers was going to go about in some silly duck-suit unless it was the most impressive one out there.

Carolyn smiles and giggles as well, handing her the duct tape and then going silent momentarily as she spreads her arms and legs out to be taped at the joints. “So, Georgia... We have our own apartments now. I was wondering something...”

She draws out on the tape sharply, hearing the sudden crrrrriiiiip-ing sound of duct tape with a satisfied giggle before she starts to tape along her best friend's joints to give her a snug fit. She furrows her brow, patting the duct tape along her thighs to make sure the tape sticks before she looks up, “Uh, yeah... What were you thinking, Cara?”

She stretches out, bending her back and admiring how her clothing now fit her properly as she zips up her jumpsuit. “Would you move in with me? I don't like the idea of you living alone.... Neither does your mother.” She says softly.

Georgia toys with the roll of duct tape in her hand as she chews on her lip. “I... Yeah. I admit... It's been a bit lonely with just Thomas... And he's not very good company lately.” She lowers her voice, “Don't tell him that... He'll get grumpy and then he'll just be unbearable.”

“Ha... Unbearable...” Carolyn mutters quietly, obvious concern on her face as was usual when Georgia talked about Thomas. “Regardless... You should stay with someone. Why not me? It'll be like old times, the sleepovers, remember? With Ritz, my German Shepard, and your sparkly plugs. Only permanent so I can keep you close... So how about it? Stay with me?” Offering a handshake, Carolyn looked at Ditzy as he barked, completely unaware of the situation.

Georgia smiles a tad and takes her hand with both of hers. “I'm a big girl, Cara. Different, but a big girl. They send me out there just like they do you, don't they?” She shakes her head as she draws her into an embrace, “But I'd love to move in with my best friend... And I do miss our sleepovers.” She says the last bit with a blush and a slight ruffling of her hair.

“Aww you are so cute when you blush!” Carolyn says in a friendly way, before handing Georgia a wrench. “Now want to help me with my mech and Ditzy?” She says with a small grin.

Georgia rubs her cheek, trying to will the blush away as she grips the wrench, “Definitely!” She looks at the duct tape about her other wrist and holds it up, “Hey, do you think Ditzy needs stick silver too?”

“Maybe, but not right now I think.” Carolyn says with a soft, though almost remorseful smile. “Now come on, let me show you about the cockpit.”

She tries to hide her pout as she follows Carolyn, “Lead on, captain.”