Hey Doggie (Selenus)

Classes have ended for Maria. It wasn't any different from anything she went through. Lecture after lecture and assignments after assignments, she felt awfully bored like many of her fellow students in this facility. But what could she do? She had to go to classes if she didn't want to flunk on any of them.

She walked through the corridors, exiting the building and looking around her surroundings. It was an impressive establishment. Either way, she found herself sitting at a bench where there weren't many people around. It was an environment that Maria found better suited her. Being quiet allowed her to relax. There was something in loud noises that never really did afford her an opportunity to relax. She simply watched the skies for now, content to stay there until she had to leave again to go fetch her coffin once more.

Nowadays, Selenus liked to sit down and relax so much that it had started to become a form of procrastination. He'd tell himself constantly that he needed to enjoy the sounds of the city, people, flowing water or whatever he was in the mood for to keep himself stable, but he knew perfectly well that all the time he spent doing nothing was time he could be using making himself useful in that particular way he had been implementing for the last few years. Perhaps it was some form of apathy or existencial crisis, an unusual manner of depression, or maybe he had just come to realize that his vigilante antics didn't really have any effects on the grand scheme of things. Whatever it was, it made him not really want to do anything at all. Just relax.

The robotic canine found an isolated spot outside of Seven Stars Academy. Most student's class schedules had ended by now, so he didn't need to worry about being seen. At this point however, he didn't really care if he was seen or not, all he wanted was to listen to the sounds of chirping birds and the wind. And so he did.

After a few minutes of being idle, Selenus noticed a young blue-haired girl sitting on a bench, looking up at the sky without any real intent, similar to what he was doing. Once again ignoring his excentricity, Selenus walked until he was next to the bench, then sat down. Whether the woman showed interest, didn't, or even ran didn't really matter to him right now; all he knew was that if someone liked admiring their sorroundings as much as he did, they couldn't be so bad.

"Pretty, isn't it?"

It was nice and quiet. Yet, that was going to be soon broken with a question. Her attention was veered away from the skies and towards this metallic dog of some form. She raised an eyebrow at it. Was this one like Nezha? And like with Nezha, she wasn't quite sure what to make of this situation. But, he seemed non-hostile. That much can be taken into consideration.

"...Yes. Yes, it is. And, you? How are you faring, mister--," she finally replied and then trailed off hoping for the dog to finish her sentence for her.

If he gave out his answer, Maria nodded and would introduce herself as, "I'm Maria. Nice to meet you too."

"Selenus. Nice to meet you."

She wasn't afraid. Good. Before, people who were afraid of him made him feel guilty.... Now they just annoyed him. However Maria's raised eyebrow did not go unnoticed. Selenus chuckled. "What's wrong, Maria? Never seen a talking robotic wolf before? Don't worry, you're not the first." It'd be hard for him to imagine himself making that joke five years prior... he'd changed much more than he'd given himself credit for.

"I like to admire nature myself. But to be fair, I probably do it way too much for my own good. You're a student here, right? I would've thought most people of your age wouldn't be interested in this kind of stuff. I suppose judging a book by its cover is pretty hypocritical, coming from me." Selenus looked at the ground. He really needed to stop making himself sad like that.

Maria replied back wryly, "It's not really common to see robot dogs in the first place, no.

She was right. Anyone that was moving around have always been organic living beings. Anything else was subject to becoming public spectacles that garnered attention, both good and bad. At the least, this was a robot and not a demon.

"It happens, Mister Selenus," Maria supplied with a soft smile while patting its hard metallic head, "A lot of us judge others by our exterior appearance than what we show deep inside. It's normal. It's really a matter of trying to be better people about it, I think."

The girl wasn't exactly what you call a smart person, but she spoke as honestly as she could. It was a hunk of metal as far as she was concerned, but it seemed to have a personality, compared to Nezha. Her smile slowly dropped into a pensive one. She had thoughts of what happened in the past. Her free hand was slowly clutching into a fist.

Once again, though he couldn't actually feel anything, Selenus appreciated the gesture of acceptance that was being pet. As long as people didn't accompany the pettings with words like "Who's a good boy?" or something of that likeness, he was fine with it.

"I understand perfectly, Maria. All of us have our internal struggles, and some have it worse than others. I have mine, and I imagine you have yours as well, though I don't claim to know them." Telling your tragic past to a person you've literally just met didn't seem like the most effective way to make friends, and that went both ways in this situation.

Selenus looked up at the cloudy sky once more, admiring the speed with which the morning's light-blue had been replaced by the afternoon's pinkish orange. "Y'know... you're one of the few people who I've been able to talk to who has spoken to me as a human, instead of what I am. I suppose I'm not the first thinking robot you've met? There's more of us out there than one would think." His mind shot back to the unbearable yet humorous blob of Eldritch that was his... friend? Colleague?... his acquaintance 8D.

"Ah well. Something like that, I suppose," Maria said with a sheepish smile. She shrugged it off for now. Though she had to chuckle to herself upon hearing what else the robot had to say.

Maria explained to it, "I've always been taught to be kind to others and to be understanding as much as possible. That's all there is to it. But yes, you weren't the first. Are you familiar with Nezha, he is a robot like you. Right?"

He grinned internally at the explanation Maria gave him. "Taught to be kind and understanding, huh? I wish all people knew not to cherry-pick who you apply the golden rule to." Selenus swirled his tail on the ground, making teeny tiny clouds of dust that dissipated within seconds."Nezha? Hmm..." Selenus racked his memory base. "I haven't met him personally, but I've heard his name mentioned once or twice near Lexaco Ranch. Maybe I've just been hanging around in the right place, but've never run into him due to lack of luck."

He chuckled again. "I know for a fact there are many of us, but I only really personally know one other one. He's the absolute antithesis of the stereotypical personality-less robot. In fact, he talks and acts like he's life's comic relief, or one of those characters in books and movies that break the fourth wall. If you didn't know him before he got his human body, you would never guess he's a robot. Though to be fair... you would know something's up with him, since he's dressed like a circus clown 24/7."

Selenus got so caught up in telling Maria about 8D that he didn't realize he was rambling. "Oh, I'm sorry. Did I interrupt anything when I started talking to you?"

"Oh, I do cherry pick. Just not as broadly as others do," Maria admitted with a sad smile.

It looked like there were a lot of robots in this city. It did make her feel a bit worried. What were the eggheads thinking? Honestly, she could never understand these kind of people. Perhaps at one point, maybe Isla would take better care to regulate them. Who knows? Though she had to admit some of the robots she met so far, they aren't bad.

"I...see," Maria slowly replied about Selenus' description of the other robot, "Oh, not really. I'm just relaxing. I'm not busy as of this moment, no. What about you? What brings you here?"

"Oh, I do cherry pick. Just not as broadly as others do,"

"I see. I suppose it's not that much of a problem then, as long as it isn't bringing anybody any trouble." Truth be told, Selenus did still think it was a bit of a problem. However Maria was being really nice, so he couldn't really complain.

"Oh, not really. I'm just relaxing. I'm not busy as of this moment, no. What about you? What brings you here?"

Selenus looked down and scratched at the ground lightly with his claws. "In all honesty: I'm wasting time. There's things I should be doing, but I've decided to relax instead. It's somewhat of a habit at this point."

"Haha... I don't plan on causing anyone problems any time soon, she added while pushing back a strand of her hair away from her face.

This was an interesting... thing. Then again, so were the other robots she met, but in their own way. Yet, the ones she met seemed so down to Earth and calm. She supposed they were alright, at least for now.

"I see. Well, it's fine to take breaks every so often. Not everyone can keep working at their peak level all the time," she remarked with a giggle, "I suppose I'll relax here until I have to get going. You'll stay with me, won't you?"

She started to lie down on the bench with her hands folded behind her blue head, still staring at the skies.

OOC:

OOC:

"I suppose I'll relax here until I have to get going. You'll stay with me, won't you?"

Selenus gathered info from his internal clock. He supposed he still had time before he had to do anything, or at east until he could be bothered to do anything. "I have no qualms with that proposition."

He didn't know what it was about the sky, but it certainly helped him remember that he was not alone. Other people found themselves in similar situations, and these situations would most likely never stop arising through human history. All Selenus knew was that the sky was especially pretty today...




Also that cloud looked a lot like a turtle.