Rainy Day Dinner (tags)

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"I mean Id imagine most aren't. But I am, and you are never the only one of something." Tapping his fork on the nearly empty container. "Maybe I should try to find this organization. The Birds of Crime. We'd migrate around robbing things and living in church attics." A smirk. "That sounds like one of those American TV shows that are disliked here but often rather popular abroad. I'd watch it."

"I'll have to get you some padlocks to practice on. I have several sets of picks, bars, rakes, and wipers that you can use to practice. I think you'll do pretty well." Before he blinked at Feivel agreeing on his giant shrink ray idea. "That a Matryoshka situation and no mistake. Endless rays until they finally work out a way to make it small to begin with."

Finishing off his food as he nodded and took a drink. "Its true, and the city is pretty huge. And the amount of little hidden away from the public spaces I've seen just floating and gliding above it is pretty staggering. I had expected it to be...more..." he waved his hands a little. "High tech? Future like? Before I got here. As one of the main talked about super cities I had expected like huge sky scrappers for Aegis and stuff like that. But its just a normal city." Tossing the used plastic utensils into the container. "But reality often is less exciting that your imagination."

He took a more serious expression when Mouse started to talk about who knew about him. Eddie incorrectly assuming that Mouse meant his old mentor as he nodded and leaned forward a little. But it still served mostly the same purpose. Eddie doing a little side mouth as he thought of how best to maneuver around that question. "A few." A breath. "There was still a lot of Soviet Union influence when I was growing up so anyone who was different from the factory worker ideal was carefully looked at. The girl I mentioned who was part of the military propaganda? Her bosses tried to talk to me a few times and work out a deal that wasnt that great but it was still shortly after the collapse. So while a bird spy," hopefully this would just slide over. "Would be helpful for the various parties there were still far more experienced ex-alphabet soup operatives who would be far more experienced that a pickpocket and lockpicker. So luckily for me no. Its still terrible that you had to go through with what you did Feivel." Eddie picking up the empty food boxes and smiling as he went to trash them.

"Hopefully with someone to stand beside you it'll never happen again." God he hoped he never got that call. Thankfully Eddie was looking away so Feivel couldn't see his squeezed shut eyes. The boy didnt deserve what his actual bosses would want to test...

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Birds of Crime… a pretty funny idea. Feivel heard what Eddie was saying, but he had never met another mouse like him, and he doubted there was some form of organized mouse gang going on. Sure, he had heard about rat kings, but those weren’t exactly monarchies, just rats who somehow got their tails tied together. In Feivel’s opinion, they got about as much done as any other government. He grinned.

He brightened when Eddie mentioned getting him padlocks. “You’d do that? I don’t want to take up your product…” He was smiling as he set aside his plate, finished. “But thanks, Eddie.” He tapped his fingers on the table, imaging getting at a lock. It was a daunting idea, he was used to watches, but an interesting one nonetheless.

Feivel tilted his head, thinking. “Yeah… I mean, I grew up around here, so it’s all I really know… the farthest I’ve gone is some foster homes outside of Astaria City, but I didn’t stay there for long…” He shrugged, and smiled. “Were you expecting hoverboards and flying cars? There’s a ton of scientific facilities around, but they never seem to work on cool stuff.” Feivel had an interest in innovation and machines, but, to be honest, being part of a lab did turn him off of sciences. “Is it really different in Kazakhstan?”

He listened to Eddie talk about his experiences, frowning when he talked about the scrutiny that he had been under. He did let out a snort when Eddie mentioned the concept of a bird spy -- ridiculous, about as far-fetched as the possibility of the Birds of Crime, in his opinion. He ducked his head, a little embarrassed, when he said that it was terrible what he went through. While Feivel couldn’t see the tension in Eddie’s body, he heard something in his voice, and figured it was just him being scared of Feivel’s old scientists. Hey, he understood, they were terrifying to him!

“Hey, that’s why I keep you around!” Feivel said, awkwardly attempting a joke. “No one will mess with me while I have a ‘scary russian friend’.” He said, doing air quotes. He became more serious. “Seriously, Eddie, you have nothing to worry about. You’re the only one who knows both what I am AND where I am, and it’s not like you’re going to tell anyone.” Feivel shook his head, the idea absurd.

Feivel got up, moving towards the sparsely filled pantry, hands running over boxes. “Hmm, I’m pretty sure I have dessert somewhere… you want a cookie?”

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"I mean its not really my product as I currently don't run a locksmith store here." Yet that was. "I'd just buy you some. There are some you can get very cheap and you'll quickly find out why they are so cheap. Or I'll just get out the box of door locks from when I replaced all the ones here. Either way they would be starting simple for you as while I'm sure you'll do great you still would need to pick up the fundamentals." He made some finger guns. "And all the cool criminal terminology of course. To make you seem super elite." Before adding. "Just prepare your mind Feivel - learning that most physical security is just false promises and lies to even basic tools and understanding can be tough for some people to deal with. When people like me can often get in faster with tools than with the keys."

(woosh example; www.youtube.com/watch?v=s5jzHw3lXCQ )

"Well I'm glad you are here and not those foster homes. I'm sure they are better than I fear they would be but still this store is better. Its yours and you can be safe here." A shrug and an ehhhhh at the questions of what he was expecting. "Not...fully? I mean a little yeah. With all that super science and super...stuff. I dunno I'm just a birdman who can jimmy locks I'm no scientist. Just did expect more yeah." And a grumblenod. "Very much different. Thankfully a lot less pre fab drab and boring buildings that hit a bright wall at the harbor where all the new stuff is. Paid for by oil money. But despite being born there you never really get to go there because you ain't in the know. You get turned away despite your parents being there most of the time." A little throwing up of his hands. "Glad I'm here now away from all that."

The remains of the food dumped in the bin as Eddie made sure the lid was shut while also not looking at Feivel as his words clearly hit the Bird hard. All this trust Feivel had in him...when he had already turned in a report on Mouse. Already betrayed him. It made him feel like such a piece of shit. Thankfully Mouse changed the conversation as Eddie took a deep breath and finally turned around. "Sure, what flavors do we have?"

Sitting back at the counter top as he fished around in his backpack before pulling out what looked like a cigarette case and setting it on the table. In case Mouse wanted to see the tools of picking up close. Really anything to move away from how good of a guy Eddie was.

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Feivel perked up when Eddie mentioned cool criminal terminology, that sounded very interesting, and while Feivel didn’t exactly run with a criminal gang or anything, he figured it would still be somewhat useful to know. However, he quickly grew serious, nodding at Eddie’s point about weak security. “Yeah… sounds like it. That’s why I’m glad you’re on my side, Eddie.” Feivel shook his head, imagining how quickly Eddie could break into his place. No thanks.

“They were fine, most just didn’t deem me ‘a right fit’” Feivel shrugged. “Not much I could do about that. I do like having my own place though, that’s for sure.” He hummed, thinking as Eddie described his experiences, frowning in sympathy. “Ugh, glad you’re here, Eddie.”

Feivel didn’t notice anything weird with Eddie, focused mostly on searching his cupboards. Feivel fully trusted him, and he had absolutely no reason to think differently. He pulled out two boxes of half eaten Oreo’s triumphantly. “These… shouldn’t be stale. But, either way, still good.” He held up the boxes to his nose, giving them a sniff. “I think… mint and regular?”

He turned, setting the boxes on the counter, tilting his head in confusion as he heard Eddie set something on the counter. Feivel reached out, picking it up, turning the case around in his hands. “What’s this?” He tapped the box. “Is this lock-picking stuff? How does it work?”

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"Good to know you don't fully believe the opposite. I had several clients back in the old country, well off thanks to all the previously mentioned Oil money, who just wouldn't believe that security could be beaten like that. They had spent so much money after all on their locks! Madness they called it! Those were tricky clients as they never fully believed me till I showed up at their place and proved it in front of them. Then they were happy to buy extra bits."

Gently spinning the case around as he nodded. "Even if they were good its hard to have time to yourself surrounded by people. So I'm glad you have not only this place but are also not alone. That can be just as bad." A smile. "So you get the best of both worlds! And I am too. Despite all the memories of home and the you know police danger and possibly Aegis seeing me I do like it here. The food is much nicer." Not that he expected Aegis to FBI open up the store looking for him if they knew it was still something he needed to be careful about.

"Regular will do for me," he responded before setting the case down so Feivel could open it up. Inside seeing around ten little file looking items with wildly different heads on them as well as two really thin looking allen keys. Eddie getting up to go get one of the door locks as he explained. "Getting a lock to show you but feel free to take them out to look. Those are basic wipers, the L bits, for tension and then different picks for different lock types. I have a bigger set in the backpack but most basic padlocks and simple locks can be defeated with those. Even some house locks too if they are old or cheap." Soon returning with a box of locks from when he replaced the stores locks he rooted around till he found the old front door core. Thankfully with it outside the door most of it could be seen from the side. Good for demo-ing!

Feivel could clearly see that Eddie was in his element talking about this and he looked super happy about it. His eyes even flashing a bit yellow like his bird form!

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“Oh, believe me Eddie. Any chance of me feeling confident in my security definitely shattered when I saw what you could do with the right tools” Feivel joked, giving a disbelieving snort when Eddie described his clients. He gave a small smile as well, thinking of their faces when Eddie showed that he could disassemble a lock right in front of them. They probably felt incredibly foolish.

Feivel nodded, agreeing with Eddie. “Absolutely. It… it was frustrating. Nice to be around people who actually make an effort to get to know me, instead of just tolerating me.” He shrugged again, shaking his head in an attempt to drive off the bitterness that had been seeping into his tone. His face contorted at the mention of Aegis, shuddering at the thought of some authority keeping tabs on him. He changed the subject. “Ah, yeah. The food, best part of this place.” Feivel said, gesturing to the empty food boxes in the trash.

Feivel slid the box of Oreos over, not before taking two for himself. He grabbed a jar of peanut butter from the cupboard as well, dipping them in to eat. He wiped his sticky fingers before picking up the tools, running his hands over them as Eddie talked, in an attempt to get familiar with them.

“Oh, very cool.” Feivel smiled, hearing the excitement in Eddie’s voice. He held the tools with a very steady hand, used to detailing watches and other small devices. He reached out to the locks. “Which one of these is the easiest to pick?”

Feivel was shifting into a more focused mode that usually came out when he was working; he was very interested in what Eddie was teaching him.

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"Glad it didn't shatter your world Feivel. Then again you do the same with digital things so you were likely better prepared to deal with the falsehood of consumer grade security. Like how all those password protectors can be just...uhhh..." He waved his hands a little. "Opened up? Whatever your term for that is."

"And yeah - its always better to have people who know more than just your name. It was one of the tough decisions when I left my old home with my criminal buddies. Buuuut well two of them were in prison so there wasn't much for me left anymore. A bungled live demo if you would." A sigh. "I left them some notes at least for when they get out." Not that they ever would since they were never IN but shhh. "And you helped me get used to this country and city greatly so many thanks to you as well. The food is a fine bonus though."

Stuffing one cookie into his mouth to one nomph he shifted through the various locks in the box after setting the main door core on the table. Finally coming up with a smaller one that perhap Feivel would remember were used to lock the lower windows. Though when Feivel looked up again he would see a Magpie standing on the table flapping its wings at it held the lock in one of its talons as it hopped over. Mouse still catching the caws and squawks however as Eddie continued. "This window one," likely a funny scene as the beak and breast feathers still had oreo crumbs on them. And how Eddie didn't seem to notice that he had poofed to bird form as his clothes lay back on the chair. The lock being set down as the wings started to point at the bits that could be seen from the side.

"The keyway itself is self explanatory. And how the lock works is each of these pins, which you can see are different lengths, need to go above the shear line which then allows the lock to turn." A talon held up all 'Just a moment!'. "But cheep locks like this often have an easier way. Take a wiper and put the small end into the lock and gently tension it to the right. Then put innn...That wiper and jimmy it back and fourth and up and down with some vigor. Theres enough give in the tolerances of this and most locks really for you to stick pins one at a time above the shear line with basic tension on the bottom."

It would look very weird from the rainy window with a bird causing a ruckus on a table with a human sitting next to it with rapt attention.

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“‘Opened up’ works. Honestly not sure if there’s a better word…” Feivel shrugged. “I keep most of my store records on paper, anyway.” He paused, tapping a finger against his chin. “Though, I’m not sure why someone would want to steal information about who buys what kinds of clocks… but you can never be too careful about your information I guess.”

Feivel nodded, he didn’t know the exact details about the kind of stuff Eddie got up to back in his home country, but it definitely didn’t sound fun if his friends got arrested. “I’m sure they appreciated it.” Feivel smiled. “Aw, don’t worry about it.” He waved a hand, dismissively. “It was the least I could do for my fellow shapeshifter.”

Speaking of which, Feivel gave a small grin as he heard the flap of wings, and the rustling of feathers, realizing that Eddie has shifted into bird form. Feivel was grateful for his ability to understand animals -- perks of being one -- as Eddie continued to squawk at him.

Feivel listened intently, following along with what Eddie was saying in his attempts to pick the lock. Eddie was right, it wasn’t THAT different from what he did in the shop when he fixed and wound up old watches. Feivel was able to feel the metal very well, and the tension as he wiggled the pick back and forth.

After a couple of attempts in human form, Feivel shifted to be a mouse, as he could be up close and personal with the locks.

“Ok, this might make things easier, huh?” He said, the pick now taller than he was, though he was still able to maneuver it into place. His large ears twitched, able to pick up the sounds of the locks much better.

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"Ah yes paper. More people should make use of that really rather than putting things on their computer. Those things have an almost constant connection for sneaky rats." A lil finger guns. "To sneak down the wire and root around inside the box. Paper in a desk drawer is much harder to just peak into. But ohhh no thats too old and boring for people these days." An eye roll before he nodded again.

"I'm sure they will once they got out. Heck they may be out now on good behavior or something. If I suddenly get a call with someone screaming Turkish, Russian, or Kazakh through it it may for once be something nice. Its good that we morhpers can stick together and maybe more will turn up so we can make that circus. Doing amazing tricks and intelligence tests to make the masses ooo and ahhh."

It was while Feivel was working on the lock attempts that the black beak looked down at his wings before just shrugging. Oh well! But he leaned over the lock to look into the top and see the work being down. "Good good," he cheeped. "You have two of the pins up just two more. Try to push the rake more to the back and drag it back while angled upward. Before he heard the chair squeak and slide and looked over to see big ears on the other side of the lock. Eddie just shrugging and making an ok hand with a foot talon. "Hey you could probably see into the lock now and more easily visualize what you are trying to do. A good learning step before you go to just doing it by feel!"

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“True, though they don’t know about shifty birds breaking, or, flying into homes to peck through paper.” Feivel responded with a smile and shake of his head. “Computers and machines are just so much easier!” Feivel paused, with a gesture to his workshop. “Maybe I’m just biased, though…”

Feivel snorted at the idea of a circus with just morphers. “Would that be cheating? Making the people think the animal trainers are REALLY GOOD… when it’s just us.” Feivel looked mildly worried about the thought of some random people calling up Eddie, yelling at him, but he didn’t seem too concerned, so Feivel decided he shouldn’t be either.

His brow furrowed as Eddie gave more instructions, and he adjusted his attempts accordingly. In mouse form, however, it became much easier. Feivel’s whiskers twitched as they touched the lock, and he seemed to get a better grasp of the lock itself.

“Yeah,” Feivel squeaked. “It’s ridiculous I have an easier time navigating when I’m a mouse!” While he was still pretty blind as a mouse, at least his mouse senses almost made up for it, which he obviously didn’t have in human form. As Feivel gripped the lockpick with his paws, he maneuvered the pick into the right position. “Hopefully I’ll be able to do this in human form… I don’t want to have to shapeshift every time I want to break in somewhere.”

“Not that I have plans to break in places!” He clarified, as if Eddie was one to judge. “But you know what I mean. Wouldn’t it be awkward for you if you had to turn into a bird every time you picked a lock?”