expiationlogs | [open] and all watched over

Who: A2 and open + some closed prompts
Where: all over Aldrip!
What: February open log for depressed androids
Warnings: Nothing yet.

Good morning, A2.

[Pod's clipped and calm voice makes her squeeze her eyes more tightly shut before they reluctantly flutter open. Dawn is beginning to make patterns out of the shadows of the tree branches. The snow is starting to melt. Cold water drips, drips, down onto the top of her head, the shock of it waking her up properly. A2 stands up in slow and careful passes, checking herself for damage. Those dreams...

But there is no damage, nothing outside of the usual. No pain, save the tingle in limbs that had been sprawled at odd angles on the cold, hard ground as she'd slept. Androids did not dream. And yet she had.

(Evolution?)]

Morning, Pod.

[Her own voice is without inflection. She takes her sword from where it leans against the trunk of the tree she'd been sleeping under, and studies the cold, blue-gray sky. Something is budding on one of the branches, a tentative spot of green on a dark, gnarled branch. Weak early morning light begins to flow in from the west. She can hear the discordant chatter of crows, intermingled with softer cooing from songbirds.]

The season is changing.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[Besides the Boy and the Dog, she'd been watching this one, too. Her downtime left her bored and restless, which in turn made her begin to think. That wasn't good. Not usually, but especially not here, in a spinning web that a machine had constructed around her.

Instead, she'd perused the network. Knowing who and what one would encounter in an unknown location was essential for strategic movement. And he'd been very kind, so much so, that she hadn't had the nerve to tell him it was a wasted emotion on her. And because he is kind, she shouldn't be surprised when he approaches her.

But his footsteps are different from the other humans. There's no heartbeat she can capture with her internal sensors. So she jumps when he speaks to her — a barely-there flinch along her shoulders before she can catch the reflex.

Quietly embarrassed, she forces herself to relax.]

... Hello.

[It's said in a mutter.] I... you said I could visit.

[She says it like she's concerned he'd changed his mind.]

[ spooked, yes — though whether specifically by him or another person, he can't really say. all he can do is hold his hands up in the universal sign for surrender, before he lowers them slowly and says, gentle and earnest, ]

Yeah, I did. And it's brills you're here, yeah? I'm glad to see you.

[ properly, he thinks, because the flashes he's seen throughout the week must have been her; he really is glad, now, that she's at least talking to him. ]

So, what do you think, so far?

["Brills." She mouths it to herself. Some kind of slang? A2 quietly decides to look into this.

His good cheer is more overwhelming in person. Why would anyone be glad to see her, she wonders. The pleasantries are too difficult to respond to, so she focuses in on the practical question.]

... It's interesting. I've never seen this many animals. The plants are strange. Do humans really eat them?

[ oh yeah, sorry about the 80s london slang... she will become familiar with that quickly, the more he speaks, his accent very pronounced at all times. almost as pronounced as his friendliness — he continues to beam at her, more than the situation really warrants, but he's just really thrilled she's not running away, okay!! ]

Yeah, well, usually animals don't gather like this in the wild. [ except maybe on the savannah or something, if all those nature documentaries are to be believed... anyway! ] Some of them, sure. Not all, though, some of them aren't, uh, good for you.

Mm. I know. [The smile isn't returned — she has a hard time doing that. But the hardness around the corners of her mouth softens. Her relaxing is, as always a slow and arduous thing, but his friendliness is helping. She's never heard a voice like his before. Both she and Pod make note of this, record it to memory. It's data that won't be swallowed by YoRHa and the machine network to be used against her. A new experience, after years of gray sameness.]

There are boars in my world. Moose. Some birds. They usually don't congregate.

[Her eyes fall on the plants she sees. She'd read about "crops." Rotating with the seasons, these were a system of organization used to grow vegetables that humans and animals ate for sustenance. She almost tells Charles this, but she imagines he knows already.]

They aren't all edible? The plants.

[ he doesn't mind; he knows plenty of people who rarely smile, and he is well-versed enough in reading others to see that slight softening in her expression — which just makes his eyes sparkle brighter. ]

Yeah, wildlife, that's right. Some do live in groups, but it's not common.

[ as for the plants... ] Nah, there's plenty that are poisonous, or otherwise just not really for eating. Or there's stuff that you can eat, but only if you prepare it properly first. Or there's stuff that's not good for humans but is good for animals.

[ he glances around; the sheep are nearby enough... ] Come on. Wanna help me feed them?

Hm. [Says A2, after these useful explanations. She falls into silence often, especially when around someone more talkative than herself. It seems to be more out of awkwardness than disinterest, however. Someone who wasn't used to having conversations, maybe.

His suggestion makes her eyes widen in surprise, and the coollness of her expression cracks to reveal something more tentative. Uneasy.] You want me to help? [...] I've never fed anything before.

[ just as he knows people who rarely smile, he also knows how to fill in the silence, how to chat in a friendly way, how to put others at ease. it's no trouble using those skills, now. ]

Hey, that's fine. I'll show you how to do it, yeah?

[ and in case she's still uncertain... ] At least come with me? I can start, and you can try if you want. If you don't, that's also fine.

[There's a nervous twitch of her hand. She closes it into a loose fist at her side to hide it.

Eventually, she nods.]

... Alright.

[She's uneasy, though not unwilling. It's just strange, to be invited to do something like this.]

[ charles simply stands there and lets her think, his stance easy and unthreatening; he's truly trying his best here to make sure she doesn't run away. and when she finally agrees, he aims a truly blindingly brilliant smile at her. ]

Aces! Right, let's go.

[ and he'll just start leading them towards where the sheep are, chattering on the way about their names, about what they eat, all ultimately unimportant details.

once there, he takes the bag full of grains and starts feeding the sheep closest to him: roger, this one, one that scott apparently named after roger moore. once roger has eaten, he holds out the bag for a2. ] You want to try?

[She follows dutifully, and while she's quiet, she's curious in her own way — clearly absorbing everything he says despite not having much feedback of her own.

When he feeds the sheep, A2 watches with intense focus, so much so that she appears surprised again when he asks her if she'd like to give it a shot.] -Ah... alright.

[Taking the bag, she walks to one of the other sheep and mimics what she'd seen Charles do. Soon enough the sheep is eating, and A2's features resolve into something almost tender.]

... You feed them every day? [She asks finally.]

[open] and all watched over

🐑🐏🐄🐎🐤

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