robopriest | FIORA CATCH-ALL

Well, you're in for a treat. If they ever have any movies here, you have to go see one. It'll blow your mind.

Hehe. I'll make sure to check it out if I get a chance. There are all sorts of things I've never seen before already.

I'm sure. From what it sounds like, there's a whole lot that's unfamiliar to you.

[There's a long pause. He seems to be considering something.]

Hey, Fiora. This might be a random question, but...you haven't met anyone here yet that's like you, right?

Huh?

[ she blinks, not seeming entirely sure what he means. Of course, there's one obvious possibility. ]

Well... no. You mean the Mechon thing, right? There's Alphonse, but I haven't asked him about it. It feels impolite.

[ but she'd wager a guess that he's a machine, too. Nobody is in their armor all the time - especially not full plate like that. ]

Oh. Right, Alphonse...need to talk to that guy sometime, actually...

[And a shrug.]

Anyways! I just wanted to say that you and I might have a lot more in common than you think.

[ in common? The thread of the conversation makes it obvious what he's referring to, but he sure doesn't look like a machine. The races of Mechonis were always very obviously mechanical, like Fiora, or the Machina. ]

... Do we?

[ she tilts her head, looking puzzled. ]

[He nods his head, glancing out towards the expanse of stars.]

Fiora...can you keep a secret?

I can, yes.

[ a beat. ]

... I know it's not exactly something to be proud of.

[ if she could keep hers a secret, she would. ]

Huh?

[He actually just. Blinks at her?]

Oh, it's not because I'm not proud of it? Not at all. I just...well. I just don't feel like I want everyone and their grandmother to know it, that's all.

Oh.

[ oh............. well. MOVING ON. LET US NEVER DISCUSS THIS AGAIN. ]

Are you really a machine, too? They did a much better job on you!

I'm not totally a machine, but...

[out of context this will read very wrong but he lifts up his shirt, slightly - underneath is not a flesh and skin abdomen, but interlocking panels of metal, with some wiring.]

Its about seventy percent of my body, give or take.

[ scandalous!!

except not really, Fiora is a mature 18-year-old and watched someone's head get lopped off a few days ago. She just looks a little surprised. ]

So it is true. [ and she had no idea. Is she comforted by the company, or not? Even she doesn't know yet; her feelings are mixed. ] You were born a Homs - I mean, a human, and then... turned into this?

[ there's an unspoken "like me" in there. ]

Yes, I was.

[He lowers his shirt, smiling down at Fiora. Someone has already told him some things, which is why he follows up with:]

Like you, right?

[ damn who is out there gossiping about her... RUFUS!! ]

... Yeah. I'm the same. [ a sigh. ] I didn't think I'd ever meet someone else like me.

[ and she'd apologize, but he seems happy with the fact that he's an abomination, so... she won't. Maybe other worlds aren't like hers. ]

I've really never met a person like me, either.

[surprisingly..............not rufus]

Hm. You can tell me more, if you want. I know our situations are different, but its always nice to find some common ground, don't you think?

[ she knows rufus would never actually gossip but it was funny

At his comment, her eyes drop to the ground, and she looks thoughtful. It is comforting, to an extent; it would be more comforting if the Mechon body itself was the only problem. There's a lot more, and she doesn't want to talk about it. ]

Yeah, of course, [ she replies, somewhat offhandedly, then glances back up at him. ] I'm more curious about what happened to you, Hansa.

Well, all of this was my own doing.

[He places a hand on his hip, raising the other and curling and uncurling the fingers, staring at them for a moment before he lets it fall back to his side.]

The Church offered, and I said yes.

You had it done willingly?

[ it's hard to imagine, and it shows on her face a little. ]

... The similarities probably begin and end at physical, then.

...This isn't the first time that someone's told me something like that.

[His face falls into something more neutral, but there's a slight furrowing of his eyebrows. And of course, that answers implies...]

Just because the only similarities might be physical doesn't mean that we can't meet on a further level. I'm willing to listen, but I won't pry. Your body is your own. Mine is my own. We went through different experiences, bad and good. Sometimes it's just nice to have someone around that at least looks like you, I think.

It is. Don't get me wrong, I'm grateful you shared this with me, especially if you wanted to keep it a secret. That was really kind of you. It's just...

[ fiora laces her fingers together, anxious. She's not sure how to put this. ]

... It's complicated. For a lot of reasons. [ a small, apologetic sigh; she offers one of those reasons, just because she feels like he's offering her a lot already. ] It's hard to feel camaraderie when this body hardly feels like me anymore.

Edited 2020-10-09 02:34 (UTC)

[He nods. He understands it, in a way.]

One man's blessing is another's curse. I get it. [He lets out a low sigh of his own.] Anyways...I'm just glad to get to know you, nevertheless. You seem to be a sweet girl. Body or not, that doesn't change that.

[ Fiora offers a chagrined smile. ]

Flattery will get you nowhere, mister. [ but she shakes her head. ] Sorry, it's not like me to get down - I'm doing just fine. I'm basically used to it already. Besides, it does have some good points.

[ a beat. actually... ]

That reminds me - has your body been working normally? I'm missing some functionality that I usually have.

Hey, its not flattery if its sincere, you know. Quite the opposite of flattery.

[And that...is a good question. He twists his mouth in a frown, glancing to the ground for a moment.]

Its working fine, but...some of the things installed aren't accessible. I can imagine its the fault of our favorite Realm.

So it's not just me. At first, I thought I knocked something loose when I jumped at that barrier... I'm glad I was wrong.

[ the last thing she needs to do is go falling apart prematurely. ]

My radar and drones are completely offline. That on top of me missing one of my knives. If someone tries to come after me next, I won't be able to fight as well as I usually can.

That's terrible. I mean, I guess you can fight with one, but...you're still in a vulnerable position.

[Fiora, please keep yourself safe....]

FIORA CATCH-ALL

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