@Luz_Noceda
Hiya!//
Mint looked up at their brother. “Cal, nothing’s here except for food…”
“Keep looking,” Calix insisted.
Hiya!//
Mint looked up at their brother. “Cal, nothing’s here except for food…”
“Keep looking,” Calix insisted.
Kasey shrugged and decided to start walking, she eventually heard voices from what seemed to be a kitchen and announced "Hey, I'm Kasey!"
Mint smiled. “I’m Mint and this is my brother Calix.”
Calix nodded. “Hey.”
Kasey smiled back. Out of nowhere her stomach grumbled very loudly and she blushed a little but laughed it off, "Toss me some peanut butter will ya while you're in the cabinets please?"
Calix tossed her the jar of peanut butter. “Here you go.”
"Sweet thanks" she said while catching it "do you know if there's any others in this house?"
“Other people? Yes. More food? Probably in here somewhere…” Mint answered.
Kasey smiled "Thanks, could you show me where the other people could be?"
The younger sibling nodded. “They’re in that room,” Mint pointed to the room where the others were.
"Oh, um thank you." She nodded and then waved as she headed to the room
“You’re welcome,” Mint smiled and muttered.
Abie whined softly and waved her foots. shep want belly rub. give shep belly rub!!
Arwood froze and stared at Apz with hard cold eyes. Will he ever escape him, or will he always be on the run?
Thea drew in a quick breath and walked slowly backward, nearly tripping over Abie. Gathering the shep in her arms, she itched behind her ear in hopes to keep Abie silent. If this was indeed a machine sent by Vladimir, there was bound to be fighting.
“Arwood,” she whispered, “if they-”
Arwood’s left hand only twitched, and she fell silent, clutching the animal close and spreading her weight to the balls of her feet, ready to run or fight if the need arose.
Arwood, however, walked right in front of Apz.
“Peacekeeping?” He asked, not unkindly but guarded, “I have heard that one before. If you were originally a peacekeeper, what made you change?”
His gaze roamed about the room, he didn’t like the fact if there were indeed more creatures like Apz out there, they were in the house unobserved. “Where are the rest of your kind?”
Abie shep-giggled and wiggled happily. shep love to have a snuggle and a pet.
Mashka, meanwhile, drew tentatively closer to the group. Her hair was swirling around her face as though stirred by an unseen breeze, the ends drawn up as though lifted by invisible strings.
“Perhaps I should’ve been clearer in my sarcasm,” they’d quietly say, mostly to themselves. Through what limited motion of their head they could manage, they tilted it down. “I was a war machine if anything. Still am, technically. The difference between before and now is that I chose who I want to follow. I don’t have to listen to the codes in my mind, what the humans say to me. I do whatever I see fit in the moment.”
Apz paused. “Trying to shove three minds into one body generally doesn’t work well, either. I’m not sure why they thought it was a good idea. But if it weren’t for that, I may as well not be here right now. The other two beings did not want to follow orders. So,” Apz gestured out with their left hand, fanning out their fingers for a moment. “They broke free. And I followed along.”
Apz had to pause, to think a little on their next answer. Others of their kind - well, there were probably some, out there. Somewhere. But most, to their knowledge, were..
“Destroyed.” Their answer came, their voice going neutral. “The only original, surviving model is myself. The others are newer. Made within the past century or so, and none of them are like me.”
“None of them are with me,” they quickly added.
(gentle cough)
Abie, sensing Thea's distress, batted at her face gently with one of her foots. is thea otay?
(Oh my goodness, I have completely forgotten about this!! I'm gonna be more active, sorry!)
(Sounds good!)
(I have returned from the depths of insanity and worse)
(How does this thread still have a pulse)
Jarrod looked between APZ, and Arwood and Thea. "Calm down guys. Unless this looks anything like something you're used to, I'm pretty sure this– APZ, sorry–is from another universe, like you and I."
Felix walked into the room then, timing as impeccable as always, and stopped dead. His eyes widened at the metal man before him and he reached for his gun, the tattoos on his arms glowing.
"FELIX! NO." Jarrod shouted.
"WHAt?! It's a clanker! What do you mean, no?!"
"Not a clanker! Sentient!"
Felix's arms stopped glowing and he just looked confused. "But it's it doesn't look like a heap of junk!"
Jarrod sighed, rubbing his temples. "This is what happens when you go do your own thing, you end up behind. Give me your gun, and give me an anchor point."
Grumbling, Felix walked over to Jarrod, eyeing APZ warily, and handed over his gun and a piece of paper.
"Thank you. Now, Felix, APZ. APZ, Felix."
Felix looked the robot over and stuck out a hand, before pulling it back. "No offense, but I'll just… wave. Or something. Nice to meet you."
For a moment, the possibility of a fight showed up in their mind. However, things seemed to smooth over - or at least, not be at the risk of a fight. Apz could feel Zaghiel pulling at his binds; the possible taste of a fight had seemingly awakened the monster. It was best not to let Zaghiel take the wheel, given he wasn’t the best at playing nice.
What resembled a sigh escaped their being, Apz proceeded to fold their arms. “Y’know, don’t appreciate being called a ‘clanker,’ whatever that is. I’m a…” Apz stopped - there was no drifting off, nothing. They’d just fallen silent all of the sudden, maybe in thought. But it wasn’t a long pause, since they continued within a few seconds.
“Nevermind. Just call me by my name, okay?” Have I seriously forgotten my model out of all things?
Apz glanced over, their head only tilting just a bit. “None taken.”
Mint and Calix continued to mind their own business as Calix held his sibling close.
Abie batted gently at Thea's face again, her tail twitching slightly.
"I don't know," Thea whispered in Abie's ear before turning to Arwood. "Hem, am I okay?" She asked, careful to use one of his many pseudonyms he adopted through the years. She had slowly relaxed, losing her tight hold on Abie.
Arwood remained staring at Apz before nodding slowly.
"For now, you are." He said over his shoulder before turning back to Apz. He gracefully touched his forehead with his first and second fingers, nodding his head toward the newcomers. "My apologize for mistaking you for a…anyway, well met Apz, I am.." He froze for a moment then shrugged. There was no use trying to keep his name a secret, the people here already knew it. "I am Arwood, and this is Thea, daughter of Wilan."
Thea only nodded her head in their direction, her lips pressed into a thin line before she turned her back and starting for the door.
"I'm going to explore Wood. If you need me, just say my name and don't go all…" she gently tapped her temple with her forefinger. "You can come if you want Abie," she said, setting Abie back down upon the ground, she twiddled her fingers at Jarrod and Felix before striding out of the room, thankful to get away.
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