Beauty and the Machine (Charles)

What was this?

Sky shifted through some old junk in the back of the shop when she found the odd stick with an even stranger circle on the end. It looked like some sort of vacuum cleaner, but after some poking and prodding of the item, Sky found that the item was not that a vacuum at all. No. This odd thing was not for cleaning. Instead it was for finding stuff. Metal to be precise.

As Sky swept the store with the item, listening to the clicks and whirls of it, she found herself grinning as she suddenly had the impulse to go out and see exactly what she could find with the thing. Going along with the emotion, Sky took the item outside and began sweeping the ground with the item. While neighbors and store owners simply watched her curiously, Sky made her way down the streets of the shopping district and moved towards the residential area stopping every now and then to examine a find here or there.

She found dropped coins, lost screws, some broken metal to who-knew-what, and other objects that were only interesting enough to hold her attention for a few seconds. Continuing down the path, Sky would continue to amuse herself with her hunt until metal detector alerted her to something that did not quite fit with the norm.

Hmmm?

Sky listened as the metal detector whirled a bit more louder than usual as she came to a lot of old and seemingly abandoned houses. Pausing in her walk, Sky would move the metal detector a bit noticing it was leading off the path she was currently on and through some grass that led deeper into the collection of house. Not sure what the metal detector was picking up, Sky veered off the path following the loud clicks and whirls until she finally stumbled upon something. An odd house that appeared to have something inside that was making the device go crazy. Huh? What was in there? Turning off the metal detector Sky looked around for a way into the old home where something of interest rested…

Charles opened his eyes. Rows and rows of old, abandoned, rusty houses surrounded him. He looked around, only to see more such houses. He had apparently ended up in some abandoned, run down neighbourhood, huh? He had no idea such a place even existed on San Malarus. Wait... he was still on San Malarus, right? Kneeling down, he grabbed some of the dry soil with his hand, raising it up and letting the wind slowly blow it out of his grasp... It was during such simple acts that he could feel somewhat better with himself and so he walked through the island with his eyes closed, always ending up at different places whenever he walked long enough... And that was what he resumed at that point - walking. He walked through the rows of houses, entering them every now or then and looking at bare rooms which were once brimming with life. He imagined what happy families might have been spending their dinners on the broken tables in dining rooms of the empty houses. He imagined the dogs sleeping blisfully on the carpets, unable to truly comprehend the emotions of their owners, yet still loving them just the same as other humans would...

"..." Maybe Nilo too had such a family. Maybe he had such a lovely pet... But it was all gone now, and it was his fault...

Charles' thought were suddenly interrupted by a strange beeping noise which faded after a few moments along with footsteps approaching and circling around the house. Was someone there? He walked over to the back door where the footsteps were headed and pushed them open...

With the metal detector in one hand, Sky would move around the old house, searching for an easy way in. While she knew she could easily break a window or something, it was always much better to preserve old houses by finding entrances made by decay or forgetfulness instead of slug holes into history without thought. So she continued to walk around until she came to the back door.

Pausing she tilted her head at the find. Unlike the front door, this one looked like the sturdier of the pair. Sure the paint was peeling, but outside of that, it looked fine. Hmmm, if it was unlocked then maybe she had found a safe way into the house….and if it was locked….well she’d have to deal with a window, wouldn’t she?

Deciding to keep the adventure through the window as a last resort, Sky moved up the path and towards the door. As she moved, she could’ve sworn she heard something shuffling about inside, but the chances of that being a person was low. After all, outside of this door, there were no other safe entrances in, right? So that sound had to be an animal that maybe got in from underneath. It was the only thing that made sense as she came to a stop in front of the door and reached out for the handle only to find herself gasping lightly in surprise as the door was pushed open from the other side!

Taking a step of shock back, Sky blinked at what she saw in the doorway. It was a young man wearing a long blue scarf. He appeared to be a more or less average looking person, but it was the eyes that caught this odd collector off guard. Those strange red eyes….

Sky stared for a moment intrigued before blinking once more and shaking her head to pull herself back to reality. Now was not the time to be fascinated. This guy had probably heard her and her machine and probably had come to back door to defend his territory…even if it was hard to believe someone had actually gotten in without leaving a trace. Odd…very odd….

Anyway….back to the issue at hand. Sky gave the other an apologetic smile as she lifted her hand in a light wave.

“Oh! Hello there. I didn’t know anyone was in there…Heh. Sorry for disturbing you,” she said trying to remain friendly while secretly hoping this guy would either get out of the way or could be persuaded to let her check out the inside of the house. She really wanted to know what the dector had picked up earlier, so she hoped this wouldn’t turn into a problem….and if it did turn into a problem. Well…the detector wasn’t just a finding tool now, was it?

As he opened the door, Charles found himself standing in front of a girl... He raised an eyebrow at her smile - he really did not expect he would meet someone around these parts. Plus, she seemed to be carrying something. Was that machine making sounds? Could she have used it to somehow locate him? Who was she?

"You are...?" He asked, his eyes shifting every now and them between the girl's face and the strange machine she was gripping in her hands. He leaned against the other side of the frame of the door with his hands crossed at his chest and legs stretched all the way across to the opposite side so she had no way of entering for now, unless she wanted to push through him. If she wanted to try, that is. She didn't seem hostile and he didn't consider this house as 'his territory' or something like that, but he felt it would be better safe than sorry.

A raised eye brow and quick analytical eyes. Sky saw it all as the other observed her when he opened the door appearing to be equally shocked to have bumped into someone in a place like this; however, mild shock soon became suspicion it seemed for the guy began eyeing the detector she had with her. Yeah, the machine was curious, but what wasn’t curious when it came to Sky?

In any case, she held the machine loosely in her hand as her smile faded slightly as the other pretty much blocked the door and asked who she was.

Really guy? she was thinking as she took in the positioning of the other and wonder if this meant she couldn’t go in. She honestly didn’t want to make this hard, but if he was going to stand between her and treasure….

Agitation aside, Sky looked up at the other with an even gaze as she shifted her weight to the right, looking him up and down carefully.

“Sky, a collector looking for new treasure,” she told him easily enough. “And you?”

Her voice and actions remain non-hostile, but only a fool would lack to notice the slight impatience behind those cold eyes as she did her best to remain civil to someone interfering with her trade.

"Treasure?" Charles looked at the girl. What treasure was there to be found in this house? Was she one of those people who just gathered forgotten scraps and imagined they were something special? Her smile also disappeared rather quickly from her face. She must've been agitated by the stance he took in front of her. There was a slim chance she would be able to crack at him or something... was it worth it even? This house wasn't even his.

He shrugged and stood up, his hands crossed at his chest as he moved out of the door frame. "Charles." He mumbled and took a step forward, attempting to simply waltz by her and go his separate way, as he had no more business here now that she has arrived. Besides, if she was indeed interested in looking for her odd treasures, she wouldn't have minded if he went away, or rather, shouldn't have.

Sky remained more or less calm despite her displeasure at the strange guy blocking the door way. When he questioned her about treasure, Sky tilted her head lightly at the other.

“Yeah. Treasure. I mean there has to be something interesting in there otherwise I don’t think I’d be standing here now,” she told the other in casual tones, but whether the other cared or not was hard to say. He seemed to listen to her, but then after she had stopped speaking the other simply shrugged and began moving as he introduced himself as Charles and then proceeded to leave.

Okay….that was an odd encounter, but hey odd things happened everyday and besides the guy moving out her way made it that much easier to go into the house. More interested in the treasure within than the guy she had bumped into, Sky let the guy pass without saying a word. She honestly didn’t care if he didn’t want to stick around to see what she had found and besides the guy wasn’t that social anyway. Perhaps if she had more of an heart this would’ve bother her, but alas she didn’t. As she stepped into the old house, she moved the center of the old building and then paused to turn her detector back on.

The machine clicked and hummed, but the further she moved in, the more the sounds got lighter. Odd…she could’ve sworn something of importance was in here….

Frowning she turned towards the door, the machine sweeping the ground...and surprisingly getting louder. Oho what was this?

Sky wandered back to the door with the machine, tilting it here and there until the signal got stronger. As the signal clicked rapidly blue eyes would travel from the device and along the direction the guy called Charles was walking. Oh?

Sky turned off the machine as she leaned against the frame of the door and crossed her arms, quietly observing the other for a moment before red lips parted.

“So tell me, Charles, is this how you treat everyone you meet? Quick hellos and no goodbyes?” she called out the other before falling silent with a smirk on her face. She had found her treasure and like it or not he was not getting away from her so easily.

As Charles walked away, his mind returned to blank. The encounter with this 'treasure hunter' lady stil lingered loosely in his thoughts, though, but was overshadowed by the bellowing whiteness he hid behind to escape the feeling of guilt.

The veil was, however, raised the moment he heard the loud beeping noise coming from behind. He quickly turned back to face the same girl, now standing at the door in a similiar matter to how he had been standing earlier. She had a peculiar smirk on her face... What was that machine? Wait, a metal detector? But that means she was... Oh. He frowned at her. "Only those people I have no reason to attend to." He answered. Would she have taken him as her treasure if she found his secret out? He was sure she would've ran after him, and at this distance, he probably wouldn't have been able to outrun her with his patched up leg... The only option was to stay alert for now and avoid raising suspicion. If she doesn't yet know that he is an android, and she presumably does not, then she must be thinking he is holding onto some kind of a shiny metal object that she'd like to snatch like a greedy magpie.

The guy kept walking, but quickly turned back when he heard the machine beeping. It was an interesting reaction. Was he reacting to the sound or was he reacting to the thought that this little machine had just found out something he didn’t want found out? Hmm…what a curious creature; however, as intrigued as the girl was she didn’t go charging after him as she instead spoke to him in calm tones.

She could see his frown and heard his answer to which she only gave a light amused snort to as she pushed herself from the door frame of the old house and casually walked down the stairs and towards him. Her steps were slow and deliberate, the machine she held positioned loosely at her side as she approached the other, stopping within a safe range of him as she leaned forward with a frown and pout.

“Oh and I am not worth attending to?” she asked in a low voice playful voice that would make a normal man or guy nervous or excited depending on how they played, but something told her this tactic would not work here. This one had an odd way of speaking and even odder way of behaving. He kind of reminder her of Phalanx except, he cute rather than sexy. A small point, but an irrelevant one at the moment. What did matter was the behavior part. Unless this guy was just a strict human, she had her hunches on what she was dealing with for she had seen one before, but she wondered if this one, if she was right, would be as helpful as the last. Even if he was not, he was still an interesting thing to pick apart.

Curious about this one’s build, she began to scan him up and down as she circled him slowly and spoke.

“You look like a human and dress like one, but the air about you doesn’t match,” she said as she settled in front of him briefly before jumping forward and attempting to grab his hand. If she was successful, then touch alone would tell her exactly what she wanted to know and if she failed she would still learn something about the guy. Win-win all the way….well at least she was assuming this. This small little experiment could end up disastrous...especially if he found the move to be a threat.

Charles watched the girl carefully as she made her way slowly to him. He wanted to run, but something was stopping him. Maybe it was the glint in her eyes. She definitely wasn't going to let him run off easily, that was sure. "No, you aren't." Her tactics weren't going to work on him. She could've talked in that candy voice all day, it wasn't gonna change anything.

However, Charles was taken by surprise when the girl spoke the next time. He frowned at her from above and took a step back. "Huh, what do you mea-" When she threw herself towards him, Charles had virtually no time to react. Tch, he definitely shouldn't have let her come this close to him. She could smell it on him, she knew. He felt something gripping his hand. What the...? Why would sh- Oh.

Charles quickly pulled his hand out of her grip and practically fell backwards and straight onto his butt. He would've tried to get up and skitter off into one of the nearby houses, but it would've taken him a while. Definitely more than enough time for someone like her to stop him in his tracks before he could even get up.

“Well, well, well. Aren’t you an honest one,” Sky said with that same smirk on her face as she continued to make her way towards the other that was miraculously standing his ground. A brave soul or fool for doing such a thing? Perhaps. Or maybe something stopped him from fleeing. The possibilities were endless, but they were irrelevant to the girl. What mattered was that her curiosity had been perked and now she wanted to learn what she could from this stranger.

When she spoke about him only appearing human, the other was caught off guard and was on the edge of asking a question; however, before he could finish his thought, the curious collector had hopped forward and closed the distance between them. Her hand shot out towards the young man’s and wrapped around the skin that was cooler than a human’s and the scent that lingered on him…

Ah. So he was another machine. How very curious.

When the other snatched his hand away and fell backwards, Sky hardly reacted as her blue eyes closed for a moment as she nodded lightly to some thought before looking down at the other. With even and long strides, she close the distance between them as she crouched down before the other and rested the machine she had carefully on the ground. She would tilt her head at him as she watched him with unblinking eyes.

“You look human, but aren’t. I wonder what sort creature you are then? Alien or machine?” the young lady asked as she analyzed him with open curiosity. She wasn’t being hostile as she watched him carefully. Clearly this was a game between a cat and a cornered mouse, but the question was what would the corner mouse do? Fight, flee, or something surprising? Oh how she was eager to see!

What to do, what to do? Charles ended up in a pretty tight spot, with the girl crouching in front of him as he sat on the ground, leaning backwards onto his hands. The girl seemed to be enjoying herself like this... It was almost unnerving, who knew what she would do to him next. "M-machine. I'm a machine, yes." He somehow stuttered through his teeth. Shit, she got him to talk... Why did he even speak, he should be running away! "What has that do with you? What do you want, a prize, trophy?" He began slowly backing off from her. There was virtually no chance of escaping and he knew it, so he had to find another way. He also knew that her intentions weren't clear and that this situation crossed the line of safe a long time ago, ever since she laid eyes on him and realized what he was.

Oh what a very curious thing Sky had found. Not only had he fallen down, but this strange creature showed feared as she remained in her crouched position her bright blue eyes locked on her prey that was leaning away from her. He wanted to get away? Oh how cute! The action made Sky smirk as she gave no hint as to what she wanted with this one in the first place.

When he surprisingly answered her question, the smirk became a grin of pleasure as Sky nodded lightly.

“Oho! So now I have found two,” Sky would say with a light chuckle before tilting her head at the one trying to retreat as her grin faded and her face became blank.

“What does it have to do with me?” she asked as she blinked at the other once. “It has everything to do with me. I told you before I am a treasure hunter and when I find a treasure, I like to examine it,” she said and then unexpectedly she would crawl over the other’s side and stretch out on the ground next to him. She didn’t care that she was in his personal space bubble as her blue eyes shifted the right to look at him.

“I don’t want anything that cannot be gained with work. I just find you very interesting and wonder why you are trying to run away. You were pretty bold earlier. Do I scare you? And if so, how is that a machine can know such a thing as fear?”

Two? He wasn't the first one she encountered? That explained how easily she was able to tell that he wasn't human, though. But what could've she done with that first one she met? She was a treasure hunter, but what did she mean by that name? He was certainly a valuable "treasure"... Examine him? She was just toying with him, wasn't she? Charles stopped backing off.

Charles frowned as his demeanor changed suddenly from scared back to bold, all thanks to that sily little realization. If she wanted to play, then they were going to play. While she crawled over to him, he would stand up, not because she 'invaded his personal space' or was being unusually seductive, but because he couldn't stand sitting like an idiot any longer in this situation. He'd stay silent until she would've gotten up as well before speaking. "Fear? It is natural for living beings to feel fear, isn't it?" He stared her straight in the eyes.

Oh, how amusing this one was! Sky would stay by his side for a while watching as this strange machine went from scared to being bold once more. As he found his way to hold his ground once more, Sky would remain on the ground looking up at him with a smirk on her face as she watched the other play with the words she had said in his mind coming to his own conclusions in the end.

Even when he stood, all she did was move into a sitting position on the ground, crossing her legs as she leaned back to look at the other with calm, yet intense blue eyes. As she and he made eye contact and a question was asked, Sky’s expression became a thoughtful one as she looked up at the clouds and balanced her weight on one arm as her free hand came up to her lips and tapped them lightly in thought.

“Yes. Fear is natural to all living things, but is a machine living or are is it something else? Are they simply puppets for performing their master’s wills? Or are they truly free thinking beings?” she asked before looking back at Charles and giving him a grin of pearly white teeth.

“Can you answer that, Charles? And if so will the answer be scripted or your own?” she asked as her eyes narrowed in delight. She was unafraid of this one and unfortunately by confronting her about her question, this one had just wiggled his way even more into her web and now there was no escape. She had wanted to play and now this one had decide to play with her. The question was: how long could the machine play with the tiger, hmmm? She was eager to find out.