New Soul (Open to two)

She hadn't wandered very far today from the place where she had been activated not all that long ago, still a bit hesitant to venture too far off from what little she knew in fear of being overwhelmed by an infinite number of sights and sounds that the place she was now in had in store for her. Despite her eagerness to absorb knowledge about everything she could, she was still a bit frightened by just how large this 'world' seemed to be, how there wasn't a wall to separate the city she was currently in from any other place that might have been there, unlike the walls that had separated the rooms of her creator's house, however little she had seen of it. She had no map to guide her, no sense of duty to tell her where to go, only her own fascination at the sight of every soot stained brick in the wall that she wondered the origins of, and the mystery of the 'metal' her brain told her she was often looking at.

She wore neither a smile nor frown as she walked, trying to drown out the last words her creator had spoken to her still ringing in her mind by all the questions that wouldn't stop coming to her every-time she blinked. Currently, she was following a series of noises that she had heard echoing down the alleyway, more than curious as to what could have been causing the repetitive clanging that never seemed to stop.

Eventually she came to what her electronic mind  processed as the words "Construction Yard", though she had no idea what this truly meant. Large sheets of metal seemed to be moving around due to the aid of machines, and she could only ponder as to why at the moment. Her thoughts on this were only momentarily when she saw the image of someone who   she had yet to identify as herself shine in one of the metal beams. It was not until she reached out her fingers towards it that she realized this was most likely her, or someone copying her movements as pale fingers touched the cold metallic surface, her mind having trouble processing what she was seeing. Innocent thoughts came to her like they would have with a child: If that was her, what was she doing in there?

Sentinel had just finished meeting a new employer who had seen some of his work, and wanted him to create a new website for the building they were putting up in this very location. He decided to take a look around and gather what information he could about the design of this building, though his employer had been very generous in his dreams and hopes for the building and even the end design of the project. While this helped immensely, Sentinel wanted to take a look at the material they were using and determine if it could aid him in persuading browsers of the internet that this building would be worth the cost. The more valuable the material the more it would be worth the cost of course, after all these steel beams could not contain emotions or traits of hard-work or excitement.

However, his analysis would have to be brief as Maria was waiting for him back at home, and he did not want to leave her alone for too long. Though she had received very strict instructions not to answer the door under any circumstances, unless she had cleared it with Sentinel. He was on his way home until he noticed a women, in her 20's or so it appeared touching some of the metal sheets. The women appeared to be out of it, quite out of it actually. Such behavior could lead to injury, and while he was in a hurry Maria was not in any trouble as far as he was aware of. He would approach her and call out to the woman.

"Pardon me, but you do not have the proper authority to be in this construction site. Please come over here before you or someone else gets hurt." It lacked the authority of an order, but the warning was clearly there. Whether she followed it or not was completely up to her.

Rosewater had been so perplexed by seeing her twin "other self" in the sheet of metal in front of her that it was almost a rather large scare for her to hear someone address. Her left hand jerked a bit when the stranger made her jump, a curious reaction of her mechanical limbs that she only had seconds to wonder about before she turned her head to see the man who was talking to her. Her eyes, still adjusting to having other persons within her sight, found it a bit hard to concentrate on what was being said to her when it was so hard to fight the temptation to scan and take in every detail of the stranger standing before her. She would have studied his physical body for many minutes more than she needed if she had been given the chance, taking in the knowledge of the color of his hair to the length of his eyelashes. One could perhaps call it an attraction, but such a term would be horribly misleading, as she would have held the same reaction to anyone who had taken the time to talk to her, taking in the beauty of everything the world had to offer.

The newly created robot was rather surprised by the words that were said to her, as it had truly never occurred to her that she could get "hurt" by standing here. Well, she didn't honestly know what it meant to get "hurt" with the recent creation she was, but she could recognize it as a negative term, and the word itself just seemed to make her uneasy as a world. Whatever it meant, it was clear that she should probably avoid it, so the best logical course of action would be to listen to the orders that had been given to her.

"I'm sorry. I didn't know. I wouldn't have come here otherwise. " still ever bright eyed and somewhat joyful as she had been when she had first entered the construction site, as she was now excited at the thought of having a conversation with someone new " Thank you. I don't believe it would have been a very good thing if I was 'hurt', after all." she added, wanting to seem...polite was it? Some word along those lines. She didn't want a repeat of what had happened with her creator after all, and as far as she could tell, forming positive connections with others would probably be in her favor.

When she was but perhaps only a foot away from the stranger who had aided her, she still couldn't help but look back at the sheet of metal which had shown her reflection to find her "twin self" gone.

The thought escaped her lips as it passed in her mind: " Did she...disappear?"

((I'm sorry this took so long for me to reply to forgive me friend ;n; ))

((It is fine, now pardon me for my delay.))

Sentinel would watch Rosewater approach him after a slight delay, she apologized to him claiming that she did not know better. Which was odd for someone of her age, surely someone of her age knew that she was not supposed to be in such a dangerous area without proper authorization. Furthermore, she did not appear to know what "hurt" meant....how strange. Was this woman suffering from Amnesia? If so that would explain her wandering, possibly reduced cognition, and a lack of memory. Sentinel began to search his data for the location of the nearest hospital, in case she was in need of medical attention. He had made sure to log that data into his databases in case Maria got hurt. However, this woman stopped a foot away, and turned wondering where "she" had gone. Sentinel looked around for anyone, but he did not see anyone.

"No, being hurt or injured is never a pleasant thing. After all our natural instincts condition us to avoid pain as much as we can." Sentinel would reply, as he searched the area for this mysterious "she" that the woman before him had spoke of. He would look back to Rosewater, and simply ask, "Pardon me for asking Miss, but do you know who and where you are? Did you hit your head recently? Are you injured? And who is this "she" you are looking for? Perhaps, I can be of some assistance." Sentinel would inquire, he was caring by nature. As his main directive of protecting Maria Farren, soon spread to a general kindness toward others or those who need it.

A thought struck him, what if she was dangerous? Would she ask to stay at his home? Such a question would be answered with a "no", as for all he knew this woman could be a serial killer. Letting her in his home would only put Maria in danger, and that was simply out of the question. What if she followed him, thinking that he was an easy mark....perhaps it would be wise to initiate evasive protocol 845 in order to ensure that he was not tailed back to his home. While he was not concerned about his safety, he was concerned about Maria's, and quite frankly that was his only concern.

Strengths and Weakness:

Rosewater nodded at Sentiel's explanation, trying to appear as though she understood what he meant, even though she had no previous knowledge to truly grasp what "pain" was. For now she was just satisfied in knowing that it was a negative thing, and that Sentinel had explained to her that it should be avoided. Perhaps she'd find out later.

A look of confusion crossed her face for a split second as the man asked her if she had hit her head recently. Why would he ever think something like that? Hadn't Ruo asked her something similar as well? She was starting to wonder if her behavior was truly abnormal to how she should act now, as it was to becoming obvious that she was doing something very different or wrong than most. At least that was the only conclusion she could come to, since there had probably been something wrong with her from the start if her own creator couldn't stand her. The thought that she was still constantly making mistakes made her a bit nervous, not really wanting this man to shout like he had. She hadn't like that very much. She began to unconsciously shit from from foot to foot, the mechanical wiring inside of her imitating human uneasiness.

"My..." she paused for a second, as if trying to pick her words carefully, wondering how much she was expected to know "My name is Rosewater if that's what you're asking, I'm a mechanical creation and... " Once again she paused. And what? She couldn't think of anything else to add to that. She knew she'd answered that wrong. She had a feeling she should know more about herself than that, right? "I don't know the name of where I am, no. I don't think I'm injured, unless I don't know about it."

She was trying to answer the questions asked to her as best as she could, but she felt as though she was failing miserably. She didn't quite understand that she was being asked these things because Sentiel was concerned about her, but rather saw it as another test like the one she had been given upon her activation, which had been a total disaster. Her cheerful smile was fading, not sure what she should do.

She wasn't about to ignore his last question though, as it was perhaps the only one that she could answer properly.

"There" She pointed to the steel beam she had been staring into earlier, but did not get closer to it as she had been told this was dangerous "I thought there was someone else inside of there, but she was moving the exact same way I was and had the same clothes. I was wondering where she was. But I now that I think about it, it might have just been me...and I was just able to see myself in there somehow." She looked back to Sentinel, hoping that she was right and had answered his questions correctly. She knew so little about what was write and wrong, the only thing she had learned so far was that reading what she had identified as a 'book' was a bad thing, since she that had made the first person to talk to her very upset.

Sentinel listened to Rosewater introduce herself, and she called herself a mechanical creation. That certainly explained a few things, her lack of knowledge, and confusion being the main ones. Undoubtedly she was clay that could be easily molded to a cause or purpose. The fellow android seemed to struggle with the answer to his other questions, as was natural he too struggled with human concepts and questions. Granted, he still struggled with a few of the more abstract concepts, but he understood most human expressions and how to use them.

Then he followed her finger to the steel beam as she explained what was called a "reflection", what was her creator thinking when he or she created Rosewater? To leave such information and knowledge of humanity out...did they want to remove her morals in order to mold her into the perfect killing machine? No, she seemed too unsure to to even consider taking a human life. This meant if Sentinel so desired she could act as a friend and caretaker for Maria....granted that might be dangerous as Rose had no idea how to deal with a child. The woman may not even know her own strength, and end up hurting Maria. Hmmm....this would require more observation.

"Well Rosewater you may call me Alphonse, but I must warn you. Do not let others know of your mechanical origin. They would think you insane, and most likely think you were an unstable individual. Being an android is beyond the average human understanding, they simply that androids do not exist. Except those that know the truth, like myself." Sentinel would warn her, his tone was serious but not upset. Almost...understanding...perhaps he felt what humans called camaraderie or a kinship with Rosewater.

After that explanation he would point toward the steel beam, "What you saw there was your reflection. It is an image of you or whatever object or person is standing within a certain distance of it. The image is reversed so if you lift your right hand it will raise its left. It is not really there, but it is caused by the effect that light has on the surface of a mirror." The android would explain to Rosewater, before looking at her and examining her once more behind a fairly impassive face. He was trying to learn all he could about her before they departed so he could make a decision what to do with her.

Her child-like smile seemed to return as she learned of the other's name, the bit new knowledge suddenly rekindling her interest rather than her previous nervousness. Perhaps it was due to the fact that she no longer felt like she was being tested, or that she simply felt more comfortable now that they seemed to have changed topic. By now, all of her focus had shifted once again to who she had just learned to be Alphonse, fascinated to learn from and about him.

"That's a lovely name " she responded to him, though she would have probably said the same of any name she had been given, as each seemed to be as beautiful as the last to her. Her expression dropped for a moment as he mentioned part of what she had said was perhaps for the best, but quickly regained her cheerful attitude as she realized that it was a mistake that was harmless for now, and just something she'd have to keep in mind for the future. This type of knowledge, though small, was the kind she needed most.

"Right. Thank you. I'll keep that in mind."

She traced his finger to the steel beam she had seen herself in before, more than happy when he explained what she could not have found through reasoning. Understanding this previously strange phenomenon was truly better than any other gift he could have given her, and her eyes almost sparkled in delight at the new information.

"Peculiar, that's very interesting. " she replied, looking back at her new-found teacher.

Sentintel would nod in response to her compliment, it seems she had manners, that alone earned her points. After all thugs, crooks, or criminals tend to lack the small details, which makes them stand out quite a lot. Her attitude seems to swing though, what determines that? He had better investigate more into her origin before making a solid decision about her, after all he could not afford to put Maria into anymore danger. If he were to help this woman and give her shelter...he had better make himself 110% sure that she would not prove to be of any danger to Maria.

"I find it strange that your creator did not give you more information, or guidelines as to how to behave. Tell me what is your primary directive or function? Who was your creator? Finally, why does your mood change?" These were far from normal questions, but Sentinel had to know in order to be sure about whether or not this android could be of use to him.

The look that Rosewater gave in response to his comment about her lack of knowledge was a rather confused one, not understanding that these were duties her creator should have at all. Wasn't it normal that she had to discover these by herself? Was she supposed to have been activated with knowing human behavior to begin with? She had always thought her lack of information on the subject had been a natural lack of experience.

"I did not know it was abnormal" she replied honestly "It looks as though I just have some more learning to do."

She was still trying to be optimistic about her situation, though it became a bit harder when the next questions were asked. Though she had started to figure out by now that Alphonse was only trying to help her, she didn't like thinking about the difficult questions which still constantly troubled her. Once again, she was no longer smiling as she spoke.

"I don't know. I...." She shook her head slightly, feeling as though what she had just said might not have been entirely truthful "No...I think I was meant to be 'Eve'. That's what he called me when I first woke up. He asked me questions , he put me through these 'Logical tests'. That's what he called them. I was meant to be something I wasn't, I understand that much." her hand had drifted to tangle in her short white hair by now, her eyes eyes closing as she recalled the scene in her mind, feeling that odd pounding in her chest again as her mechanical body reacted to her emotions "After I lost the game of chess, he went out of the room for a while and I started reading a book that he had left on a table. He didn't like seeing that when he came back." she clenched her eyes shut even harder as she repeated what he had said to her, word for word, though her voice was much softer than his had been.  

"What are you doing?! No, no! You ignorant fool! I create you in a greater than any man has dare gone, to bring to life the perfect being where the divine cannot reach, void of original sin and the human temptations of which you cannot begin to understand…and this is how you reward me, not an hour into your existence?! " She took a small breath, though she couldn't find out why she had paused, why it was hard for her to continue talking "Seconds left to yourself, and already you've bitten into the apple of knowledge without so much as a serpent to tell you that rewards await. Already you reach for what you don’t have and devour it like a rabid wolf! Out! Get out of my home you worthless abomination!"

She took another deep breath, grateful that part of her explanation was over as she looked back at the other android.

"That's what he told me. I never knew his name. I don't...I don't know why my mood ...changes. I didn't know that was...abnormal."

She hated it though. She had been so happy to obtain new knowledge not a minute before, but the minute she remembered her first few hours of existence, it turned her into a nervous wreck, once again worried about her every move and word. The very sense of fear that had been purposely programmed into her to be stronger than a human's, something designed to protect her when she was expected to be kept and admired, was clearly not in her advantage.

"It may not be abnormal, every scientist has their own style and views of how to create a being such as ourselves." Sentinel would quickly answer, not meaning to correct her but to state a simple fact. Then Rosewater began to explain her story of her creation and how her creator's mood suddenly changed. Interesting judging from what she had said, which was evidently difficult for her as it was a bad memory, but it seemed like her creator has a religious background. Perhaps he sought to see if he could create a being untainted, and see what became of it? Sentinel managed to feel a kinship with Rosewater. They had both been betrayed by their creators...the burden of such betrayal was evident on both of them. After a few moments of silence he would speak up offering his own hypothesis.

"From what you tell me, it sounds as though you were created to be above humans. To be incorruptible to the vices or sins that humans indulge in. In your creator's opinion "knowledge" is simply one of those sins, which is ironic given the fact that he had to have knowledge in order to create you. Perhaps, you are correct in saying that you were meant to be something you were simply not. I cannot speculate further in that regard, only you will find or learn such an answer. Or so a few self-help books I have read have pointed out." There was a moment where he grew silent and glanced down at his right hand, his visual receptors picked up blood for a single moment, but in the next it was gone. Such a situation seemed impossible to Sentinel, but he had learned that this is what humans called, "Hallucinations." Where an individual perceives something that is not really there. Hmm...this was concerning....he would have to run a self-repair program to ensure that he was not malfunctioning.

"I will say this though. Do not fear knowledge. You must do what you believe is right, or what your primary directive guides you to do. We androids are just as capable of sin as humans, but like humans we should not indulge into them. They can lead to our corruption, and perhaps our eventual destruction." Granted, Sentinel was not sure how an android could engage in such activities, but a distant look in his eyes returned as he recalled his creator's last words. Finally, he would look toward her once more and correct her about what she thought to be abnormal.

"Mood change is not abnormal, especially in a human women who is experiencing her period, but your mood change seems to be triggered by something. Do you fear being wrong? Is that the reason behind it?" Sentinel did not know, and thus he was asking. Perhaps she knew, but then again seeing her innocence...would she even know?

Strengths::

It was a scary thought, now that she had forced herself to think about it, how her existence, as real as it was to her and those she interacted with, was dependent on one man. To know he was the only reason why she was here, barely aware of her purpose...she didn't like thinking about it much. It always made her want to go back to where she was created, to shuffle through the notes she had seen on his desk to find out exactly what she was. She knew she couldn't do that, but it was frustrating to no end to instinctively know she was different from any man or typical android, and yet not understand why.

She nodded to Alphonse's suggested explanation, staying silent as she put the last puzzle pieces together in her mind. She understood now, and knew that it was unlikely for there to be another answer to the question of why she had been created in the first place. Her purpose had simply been to exist as his image, and she had failed that. She had been defective, and thrown out into the streets as a result. It was hard for her to think of the being responsible for her existence as wrong for what he had done, perhaps she had been programmed that way, but it was still quite shocking, especially given what Alphonse had just told her about the 'knowledge' which had seemed to cause her so much trouble to begin with. It seemed as though him and her creator did not say the same thing about this topic. Who was she to believe?

A part of her wondered if it was wise to question the very person who had made her, no matter how he had treated her, but yet her papillon heart, dominating her mind due to the absence of any directive which would otherwise,  told her that she didn't want to stop learning about the world around her.

When she knew she should have been thanking her current companion for his help, it was near impossible for her to formulate the words when a thousand other were swarming through her mind. Did she truly have no goal then? She had though she could have found out what it was if she just gained enough knowledge, but clearly this was not the case.

She almost felt dizzy now, new questions and ideas near overwhelming her as she focused all her strength to answer his question.

"I did, I mean...I do. I see now that I was never given a directive. All I've done with my existence so far is try to understand the world around me. " Once again, she paused, thinking back to how she had felt when her creator had been shouting at her. Fear. That was the right word for it. "Yes. I am...afraid."

The woman before him was silent for quite a long time. She was new to this world, should he be overloading her processors with such information and speculation that will no doubt influence her future behavior? He may have made a miscalculation given her situation....hmm...he would make a note to be more careful with his words in the near future. After making that note, she would speak up claiming that she was never given a directive, and that she felt fear. This confused Sentinel, was her creator that absentminded that he failed to give her a directive? What kind of scientist or engineer was this person? Could it be possible that she was hiding this directive? ....while Sentinel doubted it, there was always that possibility.

Suddenly his internal electronic clock dinged in his head, informing him that he should be home by now. Maria was no doubt getting hungry by now, and would be confused as to where he was. "If you feel that learning is the right path then continue down that path. I can not help you with fear...that is something that you may overcome and learn to face on your own. I apologize that I must depart, I have a prior engagement that I am late for. It was a pleasure meeting you Rosewater, perhaps our paths will cross in the future." He would say before waving goodbye and hurrying home.

((Exit))

The already overwhelmed android tried her best to comprehend the last piece of advice that Alphonse would give to her this evening, but still struggled to make sense of it. Face her fears? Every programmed instinct she had told her that fear was something to avoid, as the presence of it indicated danger, and she struggled to see the logic in staying in a dangerous situation,  even if she couldn't understand what it meant for her life to be at risk. She couldn't begin to judge what the "right" path was to take, much less plan ahead for her own future now.

Yet not even a second after she had been given these extra dilemmas to dwell on, she was told that the person who had given her more information than anyone else so far was about to leave her, and it was difficult, even for her, to bite her tongue and simply nod in response.

Don't leave me, I still have so much to ask..

But even she was aware that such a request would have been unfair and childish, as he had no reason to stop and help her if he had more important things to attend to.

She stayed rooted in place for a few minutes more, trying to sort out all the questions in her mind well enough for her to move away from the construction site. She had more to think about now than she ever had before, and she wasn't looking forward to the nights were those doubts would haunt her.

((Exit))