People-Watching (Open to Three)

Walks had become fairly routine for Ruo nowadays. Not because she enjoyed going around and in full sight of another person, no matter how well it may turn out, but it seemed that it was something she could do, that benefited her in gaining streetwise intelligence, as well as avoiding the mundane scenery that was her warehouse home in Iwaigodai. At the same time however, it was almost as if she was used to it. Keeping in that home was the only area she could find herself looking for use of the many things she kept there. Regardless, she would have to convince herself that the good outweighed the bad and worry, and not turn back home. If anything, she would find some trinkets from the ground, or in the river nearby somewhere, that could end up becoming of some use to her. Ruo was always fond of those sort of things.

The river stretched through most of Yoro, a bank road, usually where people would walk, with several steps up to the road where cars would go. Ruo would be walking on the other side of the road near the river on the bank, making sure not to have a chance to fall in, but at the same time, feeling comfortable enough to walk along it. She would come across a small rock on the ground, and immediately speed up a bit to it, and pick it up. The rock had caught her eye, because of its odd hue; which upon further inspection was purple. It was also fairly shiny and gleamed in the sunlight. As useless as it seemed, she would put it away in a pocket on her jacket, which was open slightly, only making her gray skin all the more noticeable, if her face, and her legs not covered by the jacket did not already give it away, as she usually tended to wear short shorts in the name of not being intrusive. She would have to keep the rock and take it home with her, hopefully finding a place to put it and use it. The rock could never go to waste after all. It should have a purpose.

After putting the rock away, Ruo would look out to see a small dock where boats could leave to go along the river. Oddly enough, Ruo was a bit interested by the notion, but would not risk falling into the water and have to experience that some other time. She would turn to her left and right, seeing no one in particular that was near her for the moment, and would sit down on the hill connecting the two roads by the dock. She would put her black hair behind her head, and sit for a minute or two. Should nothing catch her eye, she would stand back up and continue her walk. She intended to get to the end of the river, or at least…half by the end of the day. The river was quite massive. She would also take the time to look around at the people who would pass by, near her or not, to see how they acted and what they would do. The people to her views, would not be reacting to her, and it would be good to gather different ways to act in a normal environment. She would have to learn as much as she could aside from how the outside looked anyways, so this seemed like a good place to start.

Weaknesses:

She honestly couldn't tell how long it had been since since she had been activated by now, even if the memory of her creator forcing her out of the house he had built her in was as fresh as if it had only happened seconds ago. It wasn't as if such things were important to her anyways, as the newly created robot had no true conception of time as it was, and it really wasn't relevant to anything that she could think of.

She couldn't begin to give a name to the place she was in at the moment, only knowing that she had left the city covered in black clouds, and met a light source that hadn't been present in the region that she was before in the form of a giant ball in the sky. The word sun came to mind when she first saw it, but as to what it was exactly, she didn't know. She hoped she'd be able to find out someday though, as this light was much more pleasant than the grim black fog of the city she came from.

She herself had no goal in mind when she had decided to walk in the random direction that took her to Yoro, only wanting to see as much as the world she had been thrust into as she could, eyes shimmering with almost a childlike sense of wonder at each and every new object and person she saw, of which there seemed to be millions. She had even taken off her shoes to feel the ground beneath her feet,  particularly the grass which she had been so cautious to step in at first. It tickled the artificial nerves of her feet a bit, but she was so fascinated by the patch of green that she hardly cared, looking down in front of her as she tried to figure out exactly what the purpose of this "grass" was, left hand clutching black shoes and socks so she wouldn't lose them absentmindedly. She wasn't exactly a forgetful person, but she was so overwhelmed by all there was to learn about the things around her that her head was already more than full with other matters.

She stopped walking when she noticed that she had come rather close to the gray skinned individual that she had not seen thanks to having her hazel eyes locked to the ground.

She knew nothing of greetings or such, so not a word came out of her mouth as she looked her over. Perhaps she should say something to her,  but she had no idea as to what. It almost made her nervous, in a sense, wondering or not she should say anything at all as she kept staring at the one who had decided sit atop the hill.

Ruo would take a final look at the river, before slowly standing from the hill and taking a look to the road up ahead. It was quite the trip, and it was just turning afternoon if her internal clock was correct. She was probably a bit too ambitious in her goal to get to the end of the river by the end of day, perhaps not even halfway. She had not even come across the bridge she had hear was in Yoro. She could see it easy enough ahead, but she could also tell easily that there would be quick way getting there without a car or some method of transportation. With that in mind, she would end up with her own resolve to get to some distance; a quarter of the way. She was paranoid in nature, but she was also exact in her function to travel, and fight, and she acted as such. Perhaps that would be her limit for the day. She also had to learn how to use the lovely rock she found at her living quarters back in Iwaigodai, where many of her other trinkets remained, waiting to have their obvious secrets unraveled, or so Ruo thought.

She would not look to her left, until she turned ahead, and took a step or two. Her natural fear of capture or discovery, or being any bit conspicuous would always get to her and cause her much worry. She would turn behind her, and not see nary a single vehicle or person, all but one woman. She was a fair distance away; most likely a couple yards, but she could tell this woman was a bit shorter, practically silver hair, and wearing very official-looking clothing, as though she had plans to go somewhere. Perhaps she was some sort of lawmaker of the town, and had that as a code. The worst kind of clothing was the clothing like that. Far too constrictive. The woman was not only wearing unusual attire, but she stuck out being the only person in the area. She would see a biker or two fly by on the upper road, but it would not distract her from this woman. She was clearly string at Ruo, which made her uncomfortable already. She could easily be trying to figure a way to capture her, or take her down. Whether she was right or wrong, she was far too worried to take the risk. However, she would stay in place, not moving an inch near the woman. She did not want to make any sudden movements, so she did not waste time to sip up her jacket, so the grey skin on her would be mostly in view, as well as the two scars on her abdomen that were remnants of repeated designs, some failing, others unable to heal properly.

Spreading her legs ever so slightly as she stood, for a possible fight, she would put her right hand behind her back, and those fingers would turn and open, revealing her main source of physical attack: small needles as thick as pencils that could be shot from her hand at a decent velocity. She still did not know what she intended to do. She was a wreck inside, some equipment already being heated up from stress on top of being used. She would probably not attack, for even if her worries were true, she would not raise any kind of panic by striking a person in cold blood in public. Nonetheless, her hand remained on standby until she was sure she could at the very least, not expect this woman to attack. “May I help you?” she said with a monotone voice.

Weakness:

To bring any sort of harm was something that would never have crossed Rosewater's mind at this point in time, even putting aside the fact that she had no idea of the concept of hurting another soul. This stranger posed no threat to her, and even if she did, Rosewater was far more likely to run from the situation than anything else. Like a true child, she was oblivious to the tension in the other robot's equivalent to what would have been human muscles. So far she only really knew of two human concepts: that of being pleased and the contrary of being displeased. Given her creator's behavior when she had been with him, she only assumed that everyone would always tell her how they felt about her, so the stranger's paranoia never crossed her mind.

A smile crossed her lips when the other addressed her (though she did not exactly identify the tug at her lips as such), as if she was excited by the mere fact that her existence was being recognized by someone new. Her words near caught in her throat for a second, having to take a few moments to find out what it was she wanted to say in the vast, sudden vocabulary she had been given at her activation.

"Ah, no! I don't think I do need help!"



She was after, fully functional at the moment, wasn't she? Not any sort of harm had come to her, and she wasn't in need of anything she didn't have at the moment. The only thing she truly wish to hold was knowledge, and there already was so much to be learned by observing what was around her that she didn't need to start asking questions just yet. Or maybe not...

"But one question, if I may..."

She took a few more steps forward to be able to get a better look at the other soul, fascinated just as much as the other's existence as her own at this point.

" What do you call yourself? I think it'd be really interesting to know about you, if that's alright ..."

Ruo was prepared to fight if completely necessary. However, her suspicious demeanor dropped slightly externally when the woman began to smile. She would react very spontaneously and oddly. She clearly did not seem like she realized where she was, perhaps not even what she was doing. Maybe Ruo was not correct in her worries before? She would still keep the stare upon her face. She looked fairly content, perhaps happy. Her fingers would close and conceal as she regained her posture, and started to stand straighter slowly, still wary of the odd woman. “….” She was about to say something, but nothing came out. Even despite Ruo’s nature this is unusual. Then again, normally she did not speak to random bypasses so anything was possible for her. She would not walk near her just yet, as she was remaining to be wary. Though, at the very least, her fears of being her target to capture at least was diminished, if albeit slightly.

However, she would ask to inquire something, and take a few steps towards her. Ruo luckily did not act out of line and kept quiet as she walked up to her. The woman looked quite proper and clean upon closer glance. She probably kept herself quite clean, as humans apparently needed to clean themselves regularly. Ruo had maintenance as well, but it was not as intensive, and not nearly as long as an average shower. Actually, it took only several seconds to check her status. And surprisingly, the woman did not say anything noteworthy, only asking for her identity. It was nothing like she had expected. Did ever human Ruo meet acted upon greeting? It was incredibly different from her life underground with her creators, where she was not addressed, and only ordered. She was not disobedient, but this attitude confused her greatly. Looks can be deceiving perhaps. And she did not see any particular reason to lie to the woman, since her name was something she had made fairly recently, ad in no way could be used against her. Ruo would regain her thoughts, looking back at the woman, with her same neutral face she normally carried. “My name is Ruo….good day. How do you fair?” she asked a bit stiffly. She did not ask for her name, half-expecting like those she has met, to introduce her own. This was peculiar for her, as she at least grasped how to greet someone, albeit a bit poorly.

She was glad to find the other woman still standing where she was, having been slightly worried that the way in which she approached her had not been the correct way to act, and that she would have been perhaps chased away for it like she had been when she had incorrectly picked up a book off the shelf when she was not meant to. The grin kept tugging at her lips, despite her ignorance to what it meant, continuing to look over who she now knew to be called Ruo. She found it quite curious how, unlike all the other objects she had come into contact with, people were not something she could name simply by looking at them. It seemed like every person on this earth had their own given identity, and the only way to know them was to ask. To say it was special thing seemed to be an understatement at this point.

Now only perhaps a foot away from her acquaintance, she gave a thoughtful, near joyous hmm at what she had been told, more than happy to have her question answered. Realizing her shoes where still in her hand, she set herself down on the ground to put them back on with her socks, as she had seen so far that these objects of clothing where meant to be worn on her feet at all times.

"Thank you telling me. It sounds nice. My name's Rosewater...I think."  Her fingers where placed thoughtfully on her chin for a second, hoping she hadn't misused the term " A name's what you call yourself, right?"

She hadn't quite learned to separate thought from speech yet, so the words rolled off her tongue absentmindedly before she addressed the question she had been posed.  

" Well, I would think. I have nothing to complain about...I hope the same is true for you?"

The woman, now quite close to Ruo, would remain in her spot. Ruo would take a small step backwards to create some distance, but not be obvious that she was distancing herself. She would notice her shoes still in her hand. “Still” may not be the best word, as she did not notice the shoes until she approached Ruo. Perhaps it had not occurred to her to wear shoes? Even Ruo knew how to blend in that much. Maybe she had even poorer social skills than Ruo did. The woman would even give a slight hum in a very light-hearted manner. She seemed very carefree, in stark contrast to her own nature. The woman would introduce herself as ‘Rosewater’….”You think…?” she asked confused. Did she not know her own name? She had nothing to say to that however, as just recently, she had to pause herself to pick a name for herself. Maybe Rosewater was confused. At least, Ruo might be if she realized she was just threatened and didn’t know it. Rosewater seemed perhaps even more clueless when she asked her what a name was, as if she did not know. Rosewater seemed a lot like Ruo when she was first made, so perhaps that gave Ruo a bit of ease on her worries that she was even hostile.

“Yes,” she said fairly calmly. “Names are how you recognize yourself as. Did you forget at all?” she would ask curiously. Surely there was a logical reason as to her forgetfulness. But perhaps she was overthinking things. She knew very little of humans outside her creators, and knew even less of how they acted. There was a certain kind of….what was the word…? Sympathy? No, “similarities” was the proper word. Ruo was decisive in her actions despite her tendency to worry or fear and will often go through with her choices. She would not leave just yet as she did not feel threatened. However, she would look over her shoulder to look if anyone else was here, and there were not.

She would explain that she was doing well and ask her the same question. It was not often she was asked how she felt. In fact, it was rarely ever. As such, it was fairly difficult to put it into words, as while she could feel certain things, she not only could not recognize all her emotions, but could not fully express them, unless her personality would glitch and force her to do so, due to a fault in her design. But luckily, no such thing was happening as of yet. “I am fair enough. However, I did not expect a visitor to come and speak to me. Forgive me, you surprised me is all,” she explained. She did not know what to think about Rosewater as of yet. She never made early first impressions of people no matter what they do, and she would always remain wary, for better for worse.

Perhaps it was only natural as, being such a new soul to this world, Rosewater took note of every action around her, something rarely went past her attention. She was almost afraid, if only for a moment, that the small step back that Ruo took was a sign that she was above to leave her due to her own ignorance of the laws of society at this point. She glad to find, however, that Ruo seemed to be willing to stay for a few moments longer.

" No, I didn't forget. I just never knew it to begin with" she responded, strangely enough not seeming embarrassed at all by the fact. If anything, the robot looking perhaps a bit proud that she had discovered this piece of knowledge on her own "  I'm new here, so there's so much I have yet to learn."

She blinked in confusion a few times, however, when she heard the other apologizing for something that she didn't understand. Perhaps it was just the fact that she was so new to this world, but she had seen nothing odd or out of place in Ruo's behavior at all. She didn't question it, however, as much as she desperately wanted to grasp every piece of knowledge that she could. She had much more interesting things to ask still.

" Well, I wasn't either when I walked out here. But it's...hm, what's a word I could use here...nice. There's just so much to learn about this place and everything....it'd be such a shame to leave any of that information behind. It's all I really want to do, gather it and just learn everything there is. Well, it's not like I could do very much else at this point, but, that's not important. I just want to ask everyone I see their names, hear what and who they are..." If she had been human, she would surely have needed to take a breath at this point for how much she had been talking, and only paused due to the artificial mechanisms that her creator had put in her to imitate biological breathing " Oh...I guess that happens when I talk too much...but.. "

She focused her gaze that had somehow wandered off back to Ruo.

" What about you? What's your story?"

Her sudden response that she never knew her name to begin with up until now was if nothing else, quite confusing. This woman had gone through her entire life nameless? She seemed glad she learned of it. Was she innocent to the world around her? Was she, like Ruo, someone who was kept under for much of their lives? Looks can be deceiving, and it is slowly becoming truer and truer by the day, that some times, one sentence can say it all. “Surely being new does not mean you did not have a name. Are you well?” she would ask. Her only route was talking casually at this point. Perhaps she was more harmless than Ruo had previously thought. Once more, if Rosewater perhaps had a mental condition, she may need help anyway. “I see...” she responded to her, before sitting onto the hill once more. Her idea was to perhaps simulate an ease of the situation to Rosewater. Unfortunately to Rosewater perhaps, her comfort was not a matter to Ruo. She did not feel, or could express, much less feel any sympathy or empathy for others. That was under the top things on her list. But perhaps this could help in her goal to learn more about the citizens of Ueitawa. Hence, she would at least attempt a, environment she would describe as “friendly”.

The woman was quite the carefree type. Not necessarily the “happy” kind of carefree, but the kind of carefree where she did not seem to mince words with her intentions. Perhaps to some, it would come off as odd, especially given her previous words. Ruo however would take it in stride, not worried too much about the consequences if she was truly as harmless as she thought she was. “You are right actually,” she admitted. “It is best to learn of your surroundings and gain as much knowledge you can get,” she said. It appears Ruo and Rosewater shared a common interest. Ruo did seem to show indifference, but at the very least, she was willing to be as friendly as she could towards the innocent woman. The woman, having talked for quite a bit, finally took a breath and slowed down. She would then go on to ask Ruo of her own story. A short response would be to say no, but truly, this walk would end up mostly fruitless anyway. So perhaps, she would be “killing two birds with one stone”, if that was the proper expression.

“Oh, I am here for the same reason you are here today. I was walking along the road to explore Yoro, the place we are in,” she said, adding that detail in so she would get some knowledge in. Ruo had no particular reason to help her, but leaving her to her own details without any pointer did not seem proper in her eyes. She was not being empathetic per se, just calculating.

Rosewater was not quite sure how to answer Ruo's question at first, as she had wondered herself perhaps too many times if she she had a true name after she had been kicked out of her creator's home not even a day after her activation.

"I'm not sure, to be honest. My creator had called me Eve when I first opened my eyes, but he never again called me by that name the few hours I did spend time with him. After he told me to leave his home and never return, I assumed that whatever name he might have given me no longer held true, so I created my own. He also called me 'worthless abomination', but by the tone of his voice, I don't think it was a name... " Her own voice was perhaps a bit too optimistic for the short story she was telling, indicating that she didn't truly understand the weight of the words that had been shouted at her. " I think I am well, yes...unless I have some sort of malfunction that I am not aware of. "

She had no reason for letting her already rather cheerful spirits die, as she had no particular attachment to the one who had created her, and no basis on which to understand that she had been treated wrongly. She was just happy that someone else held the view she did on that of knowledge, and was glad she did not have to deal with another intimidating loud voice like last time.

" Indeed. Though there's so much to know about nearly everything that I see it's hard to know where to start" she paused for a moment, only to boldly suggest not a second later: " Hm, well that's an idea! Should we not perhaps explore it together then? It certainly would be more interesting than doing it alone..."

She wasn’t sure, but she was called Eve…? By her “creators”…? Was this woman religious at all? She does have stored in her memory that in Christianity, “Eve” was a figure in that religion. This woman, Rosewater could have been referring to God when she spoke. But in Ruo’s context, that might have a whole new meaning. To Ruo, her “Creators” were those who literally built her from the various parts and defective hardware that gave her a sort of pseudo life. Her hunch had little foundation at the moment, and Ruo was nothing if not decisive so she would not assume just yet. But the possibility was still there. This woman may be of her nature, a robot intended to perform certain tasks. But it was only speculation of course.

The idea that Rosewater seemed to have this rather unfortunate life made Ruo think. Ruo had unfortunate circumstances in her creation as well. Perhaps not in the creation itself, but in one of her experiments where she had broken down and fought to escape from her creators. And to be called a “worthless abomination” must have been set off by something. Wouldn’t Ruo be an “abomination”, as she was made to emulate actual Anti-Shadow-Suppression Weapon models, and is as such an inaccurate build of them? Either way, Rosewater seemed just as confused, as though she did not know the story or reasoning, or even if that was a name for sure based on what she said. Ruo would shake her head. “I doubt that would be your name. However Rosewater or Eve seems to suit you well enough. Perhaps those would be your best choices,” she suggested. Her name was Ruo, as she had that as her model name along with other additions as she was not the first of her kind to be made to emulate the ASSWs. She had picked it because it had worked well enough for her, and she knew she could respond to it, so her name would remain Ruo. Though, she would look at Rosewater with a passive face, still a bit confused. Ruo had no idea why she was taking it so lightly, but perhaps it would be best to keep silent for now. Especially after she mentioned possibly having a “malfunction”. There it was again; using a word that could have more than one meaning if she was anything like Ruo. Was Ruo’s paranoia rubbing off of simply being worried about being attacked or followed onto theorizing about other people? She did not know this woman and yet, she could be just as dangerous as she was if her fears were not unfounded. If she was right, and this woman was like her, perhaps Ruo should learn more about her. She knows all about what she was created to emulate, though she has never met one she knows is one or is even under suspicion of being one.

Though Rosewater seemed not to care about casually talking about things like this. Maybe she truly did not have anything to hide, or she was careless and did not care for preserving her own life. Ruo held that in her highest priorities. When Rosewater suggested to join her on the walk, Ruo paused for a moment. She looked behind her, then once more to see no one there, so for the next moment she may be safe. “I see no issue,” she said. “However, I will probably not reach the end of the river by the afternoon, so I shall not be staying long. If that is alright with you, then we may go together,” she said. If Rosewater were to agree, then Ruo would nod and gesture ahead, and turn to walk, looking mostly at the ground for possible items to pick up after what happened earlier. If not, Ruo would nod, and go on her own.

It was almost hard to focus on the current situation for a few moments after she had mentioned the events of her coming to this world, the simple question and doubt of whether she knew her name nagging at the back of her mind now that she had given it more thought. Was she right to go by the name she had chosen for herself, or was this something that would have angered her creator even more if he was still with her? Should the feelings of her creator even matter to her now that he clearly didn't want her around anymore? Part of her felt as though she should, though at the same time, she couldn't see the logic in it. She decided she should reflect on all of this later when she heard the name 'Rosewater' being said out loud by the girl she had been talking to, realizing that her mind had wandered. She would stay with 'Rosewater' for now, as it seemed to be the name she responded to, she thought.

Her lips tugged into a grin once again when she heard Ruo accept her suggestion, once again bearing that expression which always seemed to come to her when she was enjoying herself, something which she had not yet identified as a "smile". The distraction of something new to do was a pleasant one, as she would have much more enjoyment discovering more things than mulling over questions that she couldn't begin to answer.

"Well, I'd be glad to stay by you with any time you can spare. You're the first person I've talked to since my creator after all, it'd be wasteful if I said no" her tone didn't change at all as she spoke, as if she either didn't understand the weight of what she was saying, or didn't have a care in the world, or perhaps both. Her cheery, optimistic, attitude never changing as she took the first few steps next to the river with what she might have called her new friend, had she known the term. Her eyes turned to the sky to look at the bright ball of light which had been the peak of her interest since she had left the smog covered city of Iwaigodai.

Not two seconds later, she seemed to have another question for her current companion, her mind reflecting on the last thing that Ruo had said, realizing that she had used a word she didn't recognize.

" Hey, Ruo.....what's the 'afternoon' place you mentioned? And why don't you think you'll be able to reach it? Do you think there's going to be something blocking it?"

Flipping the rock and feeling at it through the fingers of her left hand, she would listen to what Rosewater was saying. Again with the creators and other things. Was this woman really an android like her? As much as Ruo wanted to dismiss all assumptions until a fact was reached, she could not help but feel partial to it, as if Rosewater had to be this way. Perhaps it was her acting up again, but maybe it wasn’t. It was at least worth to keep watch on her and see what else she would reveal, as she seemed very eager to let on all she knew. This woman was strange whether Ruo’s suspicions were true or not, but at the same time she seemed so innocent to it all. She would give a nod to Rosewater and began to walk down the pathway. It was in the afternoon already, so she would probably walk some and then return to home, and perhaps learn more about this woman. If nothing else, she was at least interesting.

Assuming Rosewater would be following her, she would still be feeling the purple rock she found with her hands, looking closely at it along the way as well as taking glimpses around to just take in what she could see. Her interest in this rock was far too great to pass up. It was visually appealing for one, like Ruo could look at the swirls of purple and grey on it for an entire day. She would catch her question about the afternoon and what it meant. Was the woman really this absent-minded or was she really without knowledge of the world around her? Ruo would nod and point to the large bridge up ahead that went over the river of Yoro. “That bridge over there, I wanted to go take a look at it, but by the time I get there, it will be late in the day and I wish to return home before the night hits,” she explained to Rosewater as best as she could. She thought Rosewater should at least learn all she could if she really did not know much.

Walking along, she would take note of the pond and the natural flow, going in the same direction the two were walking, towards the open sea. Perhaps if she went again, she would take a boat. But Ruo probably would stay miles from water. Who knows what damage it could cause to her body. She would return to face Rosewater, still fumbling with the rock and show it to her in curiosity. “Does this rock mean anything to you? I am curious to see what it does, if anything,” she said. If Rose did not know, she would nod and finally put the rock away and fold her arms together as she walked. While she was suspicious, Ruo did not get any kind of threat from Rosewater. She would be silent for a few moments before looking at her once more. “If I may Rosewater,” she started. “What did you mean by creator? Do you mean a deity you believe in or something else?” she asked. She really wasn’t beating around the bush as it were. Maybe she could learn something from the curious woman who she roamed with.

Thankfully, Rosewater didn't any more of an explanation than was given to her, as for once her intellect was able to outweigh her absolute lack of experience. It seemed that her first assumption had been wrong, and that the word 'afternoon', didn't relate to a place at all, but rather a certain time of day. She had already noticed that the lights of many buildings seemed to be turned off after quite a few hours had passed, so it made sense that others would have words to identify certain points of the day if they were to always keep to a schedule. Night must have been an even later time, by all logic.

She was grateful that her questions were being answered, though presently unaware of how patient Ruo was truly being with her. Her own behavior was, after all, not odd to her in the slightest.

She looked at the rock presented to her in silence at first, head tilted slightly as she thought on what she had been asked about it. She felt as though she was being tested again, and wondered what answer she was expected to give.

"It's..." she started to say, pausing for another moment before she could form the word in her mind that felt appropriate "It's beautiful."

Her gaze moved from the stone in the slightly gray skinned palm to Ruo's face once again, eyes hopeful like a child looking to their parents for approval.

The next question that was posed to Rosewater was slightly more difficult to answer than many would have probably thought, as it was something she had taken time to think out carefully not to long ago. The term 'creator' was the first word she ever remembered being engraved into her mind, but even she struggled to understand what it meant to her. Several silent moments were needed before she could being to speak once more.

"It's the first thing I knew. I looked at the man in front of me, the first thing I saw, and I just knew he had made me. I knew I was different from him, because he was a human and I was a mechanical creation. He was better than me. All of that was just the first things I thought, even before I was able to figure out that the word 'yellow' came to my mind when I looked at the color. " She looked straight into Ruo's eyes with a hint of a nervous smile, not knowing if she had answered that correctly "I don't know what a deity refers to, so I guess fall into the 'something else' category?"

Maybe Ruo should have made a quicker pace since they were not making too much progress. Most likely it was because she was spending time with Rosewater and it hampered her progress. Maybe soon she would have to just come another day and take more time into this. Soon she would need to leave. She almost considered it, but decided to give it a bit more time, but not too much. At the time of showing her the purple rock, she would feel a jolt in the back of her neck which would not be painful, but shocking as she instinctively grasped the back of her neck with her other hand not holding the rock. In a few short seconds, she would feel a different set of emotions. She felt practically giddy along with Rose who was practically jumping for joy at the look of the rock itself. “Isn’t it great?” she would say enthusiastically. She wished Rosewater could know the joy of staring at the rock as well as she did! That in mind she would take one more look at the rock and look back at Rose, offering it to her with her hand open. “You can have it if you want. I am sure I will find others!” she said with a grin. If she took it, Ruo would do a light hop of joy before shaking her head a bit and letting out a happy sigh. Ruo didn’t really have a need to sigh, so it was mostly just her other personality talking.

In a few short moments, her eyes would get a bit less vibrant and she would calm down as she would return to normal, still holding the back of her neck. She practically wanted to kick herself for offering. It was something she had found on her own, and could not wait to take it home and check it out. Rosewater was not to blame, as it was a glitch in Ruo’s hardware that caused her to act this way. She wondered if that could get her fixed at all. It was the time she needed to be back in control as Rosewater explained what she meant. And for that, Ruo was convinced if she claims she was mechanical. This woman was likely to be an android like her. What else could this woman do? Did she have better model specs than Ruo? It was odd that Ruo found herself a bit curious about this girl now that she may have inadvertently revealed her secret. Did she know what she was doing or was she foolish? But this woman seemed like she could use help, and Ruo probably would if she asked. Ruo would nod. “I suppose so,” she responded. She would not reveal herself to her. Rosewater really did not need to know. But it could not hurt to converse with her. “Do you have anywhere to go after today?” she would ask, slowing her pace to the point where they were practically crawling, since Ruo was planning on heading back in the next few moments, so no need to get much further.

Weakness: