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The forest is strangely quiet, thinks 9S, for a place so full of life. It was almost haunting, the first time they set foot amongst the tall trees, the green thick haze surrounding shapes, woods and leaves dampening every sound, thorny brambles catching on their clothes. He’s getting used to it, the android thinks, while walking around one of the tall stone pillars in front of the castle and scanning the zone for approaching enemies.
He had been feeling a bit absent-minded lately, something he isn’t quite sure about is definitely bugging him, lurking at the back of his thoughts and tangling them like wire.
Could it be the strange machine they’ve met in the middle of the Ruins? Pondering the meaning of life has never been something he’s actually interested on (at least up to that moment), but aligning his synaptic transmissions with it sure brought its burden to deal with.
Why am I here?
A sudden noise resonates in the empty courtyard and he gratefully turns his attention to it, right hand drifting towards Cruel Oath’s hilt from sheer force of habit, and relaxing immediately once detected the source.
It’s 2B, gracefully landing on top of the stone archway, elegant and sharp as always, just like Virtuous Contract’s pristine silver.
It’s puzzling he thinks, how much she can stand out amongst their peers, even if androids are built very similar to each other. Maybe it’s the dim light that bathes the hazy woods, most of it filtered by a thick blanket of leaves, but the stark white of her hair is almost blinding, a fierce contrast with the grey dullness of stone. The soft black of her uniform like the night sky, pierced by the silver and dark velvet embroiders on her back and chest, waving gently in the breeze like a silent warning. Her beauty it’s a rare thing he muses, like the desert rose they found the other day, smooth flowy curves and sharp angles, untouched by the scorching fire of unending war.
It appears she found something up there, a wooden stick of some sort she’s just now twirling in her grasp as if testing if it could be useful in battle.
Maybe it’s the way she moves.
Her quick gait, almost weightless be it on concrete or sand, the elegance of the soft sway of her hips and the cold calculated precision she puts in every action. Hands always steady and back always straight, no matter how bloody and gruesome the situation is.
9S realizes that 2B has been built to fight, that to her waging war comes as easy as breathing, but never before has he thought that destruction could be so alluring.
She’s a sight to behold, dancing on the battlefield like a frozen flame, consuming foes like tongues of fire and striking them down with icy cold determination.
He tries to scan the place around them again, to find something to do that isn’t blatantly staring at her, but actually fails miserably when she turns around and looks down at him from her vantage point on the tall archway.
How can a simple gaze bear such weight he really doesn’t know, but he feels it burning a hole through his chest. And how easily he smiles up at her, the mere sight bringing about this sense of belonging, this warmness he isn’t quite sure what to think about, but it has been growing and growing as of late.
She’s a puzzle to unravel. A worthy endeavour for a scanning unit such as himself, but surprisingly hard and alyways so engaging.
2B is relentless, a blade of quiet resolution, so unlike himself. Amidst cold observations and meaningful silences she hides, her stoic demeanour a mask to disguise the many emotions boiling just under the surface. A shield of reticence easily shattered by those in need, because she’s so kind after all.
They helped so many people he thinks, all they had to do was to ask her. She could have said no a thousand times yet she never backed down, bringing so graciously on her shoulders the weight of others hopes, fears and futures.
They started to get closer too he suddely realizes, the fuzzyiness in his chest growing more insistent, their conversations getting longer and deeper, her sardonic wit finally brought out to light in many occasions (often directed against him to be fair, but he can take it all day if it means he gets to see this side of 2B as well).
She’s still gazing at him through her black visor and he can’t really stop beaming at her (probably looking silly enough but at the moment he really doesn’t care), savouring this moment of quiet, pure happiness and amicable silence.
9S can’t really recall if it’s always been like this, his memory of their first encounter sadly lost to his grasp, but her grounding presence feels like an anchor in times of uncertainty.
She’s like the moon, pristine white amongst the blinding darkness of the night, a beacon of faith for the lost.
Why am I here?
The easy answer would be to fight machines. For humankind. To reclaim this ruins for them.
The difficult one is just now running towards the forest castle, the silver flicker of Virtuous Contract lighting his way.
He doesn’t know if this war will ever end, but as he dashes to her side, he’s grateful to be part of this beautiful world they get to explore together.