maybe we're just like flowers startin' down in the dirt

[nobetawedielike]

Who: Aloy and Beta! It's a clonesis adventure.
Where: The farmlands, stables, greenhouse... It's gonna be a full day.
What: It's time for the clones to go on an adventure to pet some horses and look at some plants.
Warnings: Nerd talk. Lots of nerd talk.

Comments

[despitethenora]

[Aloy doesn't necessarily expect anywhere outside to be safe, but...there's no robot t-rexes, so she is a little more relaxed than usual out there.

Besides. It feels more right than a lot of the indoors.]

It sounded like it's a cafe where cats happen to be.

Whatever a cafe is.

[nobetawedielike]

A cafe is a business that serves drinks meant to be enjoyed while sitting inside the business. So... You have a nice drink surrounded by cats? That sounds nice.

[despitethenora]

Oh, a business...that might be a problem. No shards.

[Like that's an afterthought. At least walking is free.]

Drinking surrounded by cats. They must be calm animals.

[nobetawedielike]

They are! I've read about them. They're generally quiet and calm, and they can be less obviously expressive. They're independent by nature so they're often mistaken for cold or uncaring, when they're very affectionate and companionable in reality. And they're excellent hunters.

[ as she speaks, she sends Aloy's Focus a few pictures of kitties. so many kitties. ]

They made me think of you, actually.

[despitethenora]

[She touches her Focus, and does start swiping through the images, as careless as ever about the optics of walking around apparently poking at empty air.]

They’re small.

[Hey, wait a second.]

. . .I’m not cold or uncaring.

[nobetawedielike]

I said mistaken for being cold and uncaring. The way they show affection isn't as obvious as it is for other companion animals, so some people think that means they don't care. But they do, they just show it differently.

[despitethenora]

[That's still implying she's not normal...]

...Thanks? I think.

What about you?

[nobetawedielike]

I think you're a caring person, but you're not used to showing it.

[ that's what she was asking, right? ]

[despitethenora]

[It's so weird to be the center of attention right now, how is this her life.]

I'm -

[Well okay, sure, she's not used to showing it.]

I mean if you're like a cat. Or...anything else.

[nobetawedielike]

Oh. I hadn't thought about it for me. I wouldn't mind being cats together.

[despitethenora]

[Uh huh...]

You wouldn't mind if people mistook you for cold and standoffish?

[nobetawedielike]

I wouldn't mind because we'd be together.

[despitethenora]

[If anyone wouldn’t abandon Aloy, it’d be her sister. Wouldn’t it?]

. . .Right.

Well, I think if you were a machine, you’d be a Burrower.

[nobetawedielike]

Really? They're adorable when they're not being dangerous and scary.

[ as they pass through the more populated areas of the city, Beta edges in closer to Aloy. she's confident Aloy could handle it if anything happens, but - still. being around so many people makes her dizzy. ]

[despitethenora]

Not that scary, I think.

[Which is as close as she'll get to commenting on the shift in Beta's posture. Just keep walking.]

Burrowers are good at finding things, too.

[nobetawedielike]

The squeaky sound they make is cute. I watched some on the dome in Gaia's room once. I believe their original purpose was reconnaissance, before the Derangement. They would burrow through soil and water to monitor for issues.

[ maybe one day, they could go back to their original, harmless purposes again. ]

I think being a Burrower sounds nice.

[despitethenora]

[Aloy is a well-coordinated athletic sort of woman. She is capable of hiking and staring into the middle distance.]

A lot of machine's sounds are cute. Right up until they try to stun you with some kind of sound attack.

[Which doesn't necessarily rule anything out for the clone who fed space billionaires to some robot dinosaurs.]

[nobetawedielike]

What if you were a sunwing? You could fly anywhere you wanted and relax in the sun.

[ the conversation is ridiculous, but Beta seems to be having a good time, so win's a win!

they're finally starting to hit the way out of the city, the crowds thinning. ]

[despitethenora]

[The more things thin out around them, the more Aloy can relax, too. Still not the surroundings she's used to, but at least it's quieter.

Besides. As silly as it is, Beta sells a sunwing well. Oh, to be a solar powered robot pterodactyl.]

Guess you could ride on my back, sometimes.

[BECAUSE SHE THINKS ANYONE WOULD ENJOY THAT.]

[nobetawedielike]

[ NERVOUS...LAUGHTER.... ]

Promise not to drop me?

[despitethenora]

You're supposed to hold on. It's as easy as that.

[nobetawedielike]

Easy...What do you do when your hands start to hurt?

[despitethenora]

[This earns Beta a blank look. For someone who was raised to go all in on a fight and regularly tries to grit her teeth through doing something she knows will get her electrocuted? What if her hands start to hurt???]

Check what you’re holding onto?

[nobetawedielike]

[ don't fret, beta. you'll be annoying and then aloy will decide she regrets making this trip with you before you even leave.

so she tells herself, but she's looking concerned, glancing down at Aloy's hands. she can't help it, when the surge of anxiety hits her whenever she thinks of the dangers Aloy has to face. Her thoughts immediately race while. the sort of nerve damage she could experience is daunting to think about, especially with how seriously Aloy takes her archery. ]

The temperatures up there-- Do you at least cover your hands?

[despitethenora]

[She looks puzzled when Beta takes an interest in her hands. She turns them over, so her sister can see her palms. Surely that will help.]

Wind feels like it'll cut through you sometimes, but I don't think I've run into anything chillier than The Cut. Haven't needed to worry much about covering them up so far. Why?