expiationlogs

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Who: czeslaw and you???
Where: various locations in aldrip
What: czeslaw's adventures in february.
Warnings: implied violence? that's about it.

nerding out

[czeslaw sits at a table in the aldrip library, mostly hidden by several stacks of books. they bear titles such as "history of aldrip", "beasts of aldrip", "natural history", "biology", "physics". should one go looking behind the piles, they will find czeslaw deeply engrossed in a book about chemistry. it seems a little...advanced? for his apparent age? he can't be older than ten or eleven. his feet barely scrape the floor from his seat.]

relaxing on the docks

[despite the cold weather, czeslaw has convinced some local spot to serve him a luridly pink popsicle. he sits on the edge of a dock, just far enough out for his feet to be dangling over the water, and enjoys the bustle of people hurrying around him. he seems to be really enjoying that popsicle, too. savoring every lick.

should you wander to close to him, he looks up with a gentle smile.]

Sorry, am I in the way?

Panik

[near the edge of the forest, a strange, high pitched sound can be heard. it is, of course, czeslaw screaming his lungs out. he's running, too, sprinting in fact. he's surprisingly fast for someone of his size, but that's probably because he's motivated - he was just walking through the woods when he stumbled onto a human-sized plant that starting growling at him. it didn't even have time to try and bite him - czeslaw was long gone by that point. no way in hell he was sticking around to get eaten by a monster!!

are you unfortunate enough to be near the screaming either in the woods or right outside them? czeslaw literally dives behind you as soon as he spots you, screaming ceasing as he gasps for breath.]

M-monster!! Monster!!

[he's pointing wildly behind him.]

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[In such an unfamiliar place, the sound of screaming cutting through the air is almost nostalgic. A2 watches birds startle and take flight from a treetop, and begins to move, and quickly, in the direction they'd fled from.

The boy she hears before he all but slams into her, and she places a steadying hand on his shoulder to keep him from hitting her knees, which would be more painful for him than for her.

She recognizes this kid. The one she'd retrieved from the coffin — what was he doing out here alone?

She remembers that the juvenile machines had done this too, run off and gotten lost. Then she would have to retrieve them... it seemed human children were similar in this respect.]

Stay here. I'll take care of it.

[She draws her blade and walks forward.]

Edited 2025-02-05 23:06 (UTC)

[czeslaw barely clocks that he's happened to run in to someone he knows - he's doubled over, gasping for breath. running like a crazy person really takes it out of a guy!]

W-wait - [he gasps, but she's probably already far enough ahead to not hear him. the monster in question is probably a football field's length away in the forest, and it's already gone back to....whatever human-sized bitey plants do when they're unobserved. it's quite the tranquil scene.

czeslaw will be waiting for her when she comes back, pondering in the meantime why so many people around aldrip seem to have swords??]

[Despite arriving more quickly than a human might, A2 is greeted by nothing but a peaceful clearing and silence. No slavering monster to fight... she sighs in disappointment and trudges back.

Her sword is back in its glowing lock when she returns to Czeslaw, and she only barely manages not to sound disgruntled when she speaks.] It must've run off. Area's clear.

[A beat.]

What the hell are you doing out here alone? You could've been a monster's breakfast.

[he's mostly caught his breath now, at least. he still seems frazzled though.]

I just wanted to take a walk! How was I supposed to know there are - giant plants and - other stuff!

[Octavian has been lurking the library more often lately. He has no particular interest in history or, really, anything that the AI in control of this place could manipulate, but he's come up with a way to test it.

That way is quite literally just reading the books on topics he's an expert in and seeing if there's anything strange or incorrect, but, like. He's got time on his hands.

At present he is carrying two books on engineering, basics manuals, and as he passes behind the young boy at his table, he drops both books with an inappropriately loud thud. Ah. Oops.]

...Apologies. My dexterity takes a while to catch up.

[That's a sentence that makes sense for sure.]

[caught up in his reading, czeslaw jumps like a skittish cat and whirls around, only relaxing when he sees the source of the noise was, apparently, dropped books. what was he expecting? god only knows.]

Oh, you startled me. [OBVIOUSLY. he settles back in his chair a bit, letting his nerves calm down.] What were you doing, juggling them?

[Arms crossed, expression serious, A2 says:] In an environment you don't know, you should be prepared for any threat.

[It's spoken in a way that suggests it might be a recitation. A rule, perhaps. But she softens some, and with a huff, follows up with:] I'm out here all the time. I can keep an eye on things if you want to explore.

[Oh, jumpy. Octavian fixes him with a profoundly mild look, for a beat too long before he stoops to pick the books back up. He has a little bit of trouble with getting purchase between the edge of the covers and the floor, but he'll get them in a second.]

No. I lack dexterity. As I said. My body is only temporary.

[Anyway, more importantly,] What are you studying? You have so many volumes.

[he hates to be essentially scolded this way, but then again, he feels like he kind of deserves it? he had read there were monsters around, he just didn't fully believe it. like realistically what are the odds you would run into a literal monster in a forest?? pretty high in this place, apparently!]

I-it's all right. I wouldn't want to be a bother.

[is what he says once the scolding is over. part of him is afraid to go back in the woods anyway, even with a bodyguard.]

Temporary?...

[he stares quite openly at octavian, trying to decide what he could possibly mean by that. but he starts a bit at the question aimed at him, feeling caught out.]

Oh, this and that. I just took down everything that caught my eye, really.

[Octavian moves to tuck his books precadiously under one arm so he can peer at the stack on the table, shifting a few to look at the spines. Hmm!

Oh yes, right,] Quite. I have some hours.

[He makes a sort of quiet scoff then, lifting a book off one of the stacks.]

This one is terrible. Unbearably dry.

[There's a "tch" under her breath at his response.] If it was a bother, I wouldn't have offered. I don't do shit I don't feel like doing.

[Top ten A2 lies of all time.

And then she just starts walking, motioning over her shoulder for him to follow.]

C'mon! We're exploring.

[he hesitates, shifting from foot to foot, but nope she's still walking, so with a loud huff he reluctantly follows her. he's definitely staying behind her, though, this is dangerous!!]

It's all right, really! We don't have to!

I don't mind dry.

[if he did, he'd have a lot harder time getting through certain texts of fields he's interested in.]

Are you terribly familiar with the books here?

[it's not the hugest place, but what are the odds of him picking a random book and recognizing it?]

I have been to the library before.

[And he, too, tends to pick up what are essentially textbooks to read before he even considers wandering over to the novels, so-- happenstance, and nerd recognizes nerd.]

I intended to make a project of it. Verifying the accuracy of certain texts to judge the, [he waves a hand,] knowledge base of the AI.

But some were quite dry.

So what are you gonna do? [Asks A2, after listening to his repeated protests.] Be scared the whole time you're here?

[She glares at him over his shoulder, expression almost defiant.] We're exploring. Keep up!

[This last bit has the tone of command. A2 feels strange, bossing a human around. But he's a child, and so she's more in her element. She turns back to keep her focus on their path.

Finally:]

Don't be afraid. Nothing's gonna happen.

[She wouldn't let anything happen.]

Yes?

[he says immediately with no hesitation. he is very good at being scared thank you very much!]

I don't think it's unreasonable to be afraid of literal monsters. And you could get hurt, too!

[nevertheless, he continues to follow her.]

Some topics can't help being dry.

[some esoteric sciences...it is what it is.]

What conclusions did you draw about the AI? Or was the material too dry to finish?

[A dismissive scoff.]

I won't get hurt. [And, with a disturbing lack of emotion:] Nothing's killed me so far.

[She looks over her shoulder at him again. This time, her brow is furrowed — she's more thoughtful than annoyed.] You're not curious?

The information seems accurate so far. When it comes to subjects that originate outside a simulated world. Physics and so on.

[A simulation needs physics in the programming, after all, so he would hope the applicable reading materials are also accurate.]

It is the histories of this world I am yet uncertain of. But I have not studied them for inconsistencies.

There are worse things than dying.

[he sounds way too ominous on that one, for someone his supposed age.]

Of course I'm curious, but I don't want to get hurt. Doesn't that bother you? The potential of being hurt?

You'd have to read everything the library has to offer on the subject and compare it, I suppose. But history books don't match up all the time where I'm from, so why would they here? It'd be impossible to tell what's right.

Fair point. I was thinking along the lines of overt mistakes... Inventing a figure in history. Or falsifying the events in the history of the other cultures here.

[The snake people, specifically, because he's seen the spirit visions about them. But it hasn't been his priority, so now...]

At least one of the peoples here were like us. Chosen. Then they were changed into hybrid creatures. This was a point of great shame for the AI.

[He peers a the book stack again.]

I imagine this would not be in the history books.

You'd have to compare the tomes here against something from those other cultures. Do the other cities around have libraries? Are we even allowed to go there if they did?

[but then his face scrunches up with distaste.]

Ugh...you don't think that could happen again, do you?

[Suddenly remembering the machine children, she looks over her shoulder again at Czeslaw's ominous comment, brow furrowed in concern. But his questions seem to mollify her unease: she sighs in what seems like relief.]

I don't want to get hurt. But I can push through it — focus on the objective. When you're a soldier, you can't be afraid of pain. It's going to happen no matter what.

[The damage painted all over her body seems to be an indicator of this. But it's hard to tell if she's in pain at all now, with the easy and confident way she moves.

A loud caw sounds from a tree, and she glances up, points.] That one's been trying to build a nest. Hold on to your hat.

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