[open] and all watched over

[abandonware]

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.

---

Comments

[abandonware]

[So it was possible to befriend these animals... the logical part of her wonders if any would be large enough to bear her weight, the way a boar or moose would. The other part just wants to befriend them in order to study them more. They were kind of cool.]

I see.

[She says, not revealing any part of her future plans. To do that would be to expose herself to possible sabotage or interference. Even away from YoRHa, she still keeps these basic, paranoid tenets in mind.

She falls into silence for a few long moments, keeping her gaze on the animals. Then, finally, she looks over to him again.]

If you feel bad about that... dream, don't. It's not the first time someone's tried to kill me.

[rebellions]

[ In the same way she finds the wolves fascinating, Ragna watches her with a mix of mild interest and... wistful nostalgia. The way she seems to fixate on things that any other person would consider perfectly mundane brings back the memories of his sisters, leading him to wonder if her past was similar in nature. He won't ask, of course, because he's not the type to pry into other people's traumas, but just the suspicion alone makes him feel oddly protective of the woman.

The comment about the dream catches him off guard, and Ragna blinks as his mind struggles to catch up. Oh yeah, that. On one hand, he probably owes her an apology for all that mess... on the other, he was kind of hoping they might never talk about it. ]

... Doesn't matter. Used to it or not, it shouldn't have happened. [ No, that's not quite right; he makes a brief pause, then corrects himself. ] I shouldn't have let that happen.

[ He knew all too well how Nu is, and how that whole scenario usually goes; that he didn't stop her sooner, or figured out a way to stop it from getting out of hand is entirely on him. It was his memory, and his responsibility. Not the first time he fucked that up. ]

So... what I'm trying to say is... [ He clears his throat awkwardly. God, why is this so damn hard─ ] ... Sorry.

[abandonware]

[In the wake of his apology, A2 falls silent again. Her gaze drops to the ground, too-long bangs falling in front of her eyes. She's like that for a while: quiet and contemplative.

Then, without warning, she shoves him with enough force to make it clear that she's serious about it. Her petite frame belies a considerable amount of strength — it seems that part of the dream hadn't been illusory.

Normal response!]

[rebellions]

[ Perhaps under different circumstances, he'd be better prepared for this development; he is more or less on guard almost all the time. Right now, however, with his thoughts drifting back to that dream and considering all the ways he could've handled it better, not to mention making the tremendous effort of forcing himself to apologize, Ragna is wide open ─ and her shove comes completely out of the left field, leaving him with no time to react with anything other than a shout. ]

─HEY!!

[ The man stumbles back, and with his balance already impaired from the missing arm and eye, falls to the ground; he certainly doesn't stay down, however, as he's almost immediately back up, this time in a defensive stance. ]

The hell do you think you're doing?!

[ Yeah, the indoor voice time is clearly over. There's no way the wolves haven't heard this commotion. ]

[abandonware]

Would you shut up?

[Says A2, tone sharp and low. She's crouched lower in the brush, her attention fixed on the wolves, who have indeed noticed the ruckus. They become alert in the order A2's come to recognize is an aspect of their individual personalities: the bonded pair who took up the lead first, ears pointed forward, eyes fixed in the direction of the sound. Then the dark wolf looks up from licking cheese remnants from his paws with a curious huff. At last, the young, roughhousing trio seem to catch on to their pack's sudden quiet. They're all as still and eerie as statues. As still as the black-clad androids who had once been deployed in teams to hunt her down.] I didn't even shove you that hard, you baby.

[And then, more softly, she adds:] ... Don't apologize to me. I told you, it's fine.