Chapter 3: With These Hands That Will Not Bleed ...

[nanocerancowboy]

[ACTION - A (In and Around 458 Stone Street, Late Afternoon/Evening, OPEN TO ALL)]

[Gat is coming home from his shift at the Mayfield Fire Station when he notices that there's mail in the household mailbox. Curious, Gat retrieves the envelope inside. It's addressed to him ...]

What's this?

[Opening it on the spot, Gat pulls out a photo of-

Comments

[dclassreyvateil]

[Aurica was having the phone in the living room stuck to her ear like usual as she was laying on the couch. She heard the front door open.]

[not!]Dad? [She was getting into the habit of doing this with Gat, too. She hung up the phone and got off the couch, walking towards the door. Expecting the human she had known for about a week though, she was instead met with what looked like a suit of silver armor, though about the same height.]

Who...who are you? [She takes a step back, before remembering what she was talking with her not!parents about before. Her eyebrows moved towards each other in recognition.] Wait..is that you?

[nanocerancowboy]

[Seeing Aurica's initial reaction, Gat tries to show he means no harm by holding up both of his hands at his sides.]

Whoa there, Aurica.

[He should have expected this. At least the former reyvateil can still tell that it's him. Hopefully.]

Yeah, it's me. I'm still Gat.

[Despite the new mechanical echo to it, Gat's voice still sounds as laid-back as ever, and he's still got that Texan-like twang. His tone is a bit more gentle at the moment, though, considering he doesn't want Aurica freaking out on him.]

[dclassreyvateil]

♪ BGM: Image Of Hero (Repeat)

Dad..?

[She steps closer, looking him over with a frown.] You got back your CAST form, then?

[nanocerancowboy]

[Gat lets Aurica examine him all she wants. Despite his now mecha-like appearance, he's still just as animated as a human, albeit with more fluid movements.]

That I did. Parts an' all.

[dclassreyvateil]

[It kind of just struck her, a moment before this, that Gat was back to his original form. He wasn't a human anymore.

She stepped closer and hugged him.] I'm happy for you.

[nanocerancowboy]

[Unexpected as the hug is, it's a relief to see Aurica come around like that. Gat was actually a bit worried of terrifying the reyvateil after seeing her initial reaction.]

[Gat might be a synthetic being again, and he might be wearing somewhat bulky armor now, but he can still hug like a boss back with a gentle, human-like quality. At least, it'll feel pretty much like a human is hugging her back, save for a subtle difference in how the movement of his body "feels."]

Thanks, Aurica. ... I reckon it's gotta be odd seein' this.

[dclassreyvateil]

... [It was. She had known her not!dad to be a human for only a week or so. This was an unnerving change. It felt like Mayfield's way of reminding her, that her new family could not entirely replace her old one. She knew this; she was just playing along with the idea to bide her time, as well as forget.

There was something Aurica regretted though. She never did hug her not!dad while he was still human. Maybe it was a silly thought, as he was just a stranger to her a week ago, but she was playing House with the adults of the household, more or less.

As Aurica felt Gat return the hug, she began to feel her emotion stirring again. She had already expected entirely cold metal, but the parts of him that weren't armored felt...different. More human. Not to the point of having the same skin texture, but it was still like hugging a human being. She hugged tighter, wrapping her arms around him and resting her head on his chestplate.

♪ BGM: Epilogue 2 (Repeat)

And it was then she felt a warmth different from her own. She gasped with a

[nanocerancowboy]

[Whoa.]

[For Gat, this is taking all sorts of unexpected turns. He hasn't been around Aurica enough to have a good understanding of her yet, not like Dakki has. Though it does dawn on him, once she speaks again-Aurica wasn't expecting Gat to still have some semblance of humanity as a CAST.]

[He's not sure what else he can say at this point, so he lets Aurica hug him as long as she wants-Gat does, however, gently pat her on the head while still returning the hug with his other hand.]

[dclassreyvateil]

[A part of her deep inside wondered occasionally whether she was already getting too close to her fake parents. She didn't care right now though, as Gat continued to return the hug, along with patting her head just like a father would do for their own kid.

After what feels like forever, Aurica finally lets go of the hug. Her eyes, notably wet, get a wipe from her hands as does the rest of her face.]

I'm sorry, I shouldn't be crying over something like this. How does it feel?

[nanocerancowboy]

It's alright. This town puts us through th' wringer.

[Said in response to Aurica's apology. Gat's tone of voice is still as gentle as it had been from the start. As Dakki will make Gat more aware of later, not everyone is as equipped to deal with the stresses Mayfield imposes on them.]

Well-there sure are big differences. There's a lot of subtle things I was gettin' used to havin' as a human I don't have as a CAST. 'Least, not in th' same way. Gettin' my body back ... One minute, I had a heartbeat. Then, I didn't. Felt somethin' in my head changin'. That ... I can't describe too well, even after experiencin' it.

Though I will say-after livin' as both a human an' a CAST, I'm surprised by how close a lot of things are. Enough that I don't feel all that disadvantaged one way or th' other on certain things.

[Gat rubs the back of his neck in a somewhat bashful gesture. The movement looks all too human, although it's somewhat more fluid than a human's movements.]

Heh. Harder than I thought it'd be to describe this.

[dclassreyvateil]

♪ BGM: Clyez City ~GUARDIANS Colony~ (Repeat)

...No, I think I understand, actually. [Aurica said it with a good smile. The two universes were starting to feel a little similar, after all.]

Reyvateils were originally made to be like humans, just moreso, and without a lot of other hassle and problems humans usually had to go through.

Even if I don't know what it feels like, I'm pretty sure Misha's going through something like what you were, right now. [And maybe that'll be good for her, too... A secret smirk flashed within her smile.]

[nanocerancowboy]

[Gat tilts his head slightly. He picks up on the subtle change in Aurica's face when she mentions Misha, but-the significance of that escapes him.]

So you're sayin' Reyvateils were originally synthetic folks like us CASTs? Though, I reckon from what you'd told me th' other day, they've gotta be biologically compatible to, uh-reproduce through natural means.

[There's a hint of bashfulness in his posture at mentioning that, as he recalls the town's Lourve Hotel antics from earlier in the month.]

[dclassreyvateil]

Yes...they can. I was born from one after all.

[It doesn't help her though as she looked to the side, feeling just a pinch of red on her face. Gat's posturing didn't help much either, as she wondered...]

Do...can CASTs do that too?

[This for her was about as close to asking her not!parents what it's like without it being overly awkward or embarrassing.]

[nanocerancowboy]

[At that, Gat shakes his head.]

We ain't got that kind of function. Even if I'm closer to feelin' like a human with Gurhal technology compared to Coral's.

1/2

[dclassreyvateil]

Oh, I see.. [Feeling silly, she laughed it off, hand behind head.]

2/2

[dclassreyvateil]

Hmm...

[The girl then remembered Dakki mentioning how they first woke up in Mayfield.]

So why did both of you end up as... [The lack of a proper word stunned her briefly.] ...my parents? Do you two have feelings for each other...?

[((Why yes I'm stirring the pot why do you ask 8D))]