Fiction: One Interesting Thing
Jan. 16th, 2013 11:48 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
clare_dragonflyTitle: One Interesting Thing
Word count: 1,326
Rating: G
Prompt:![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png)
rainbowfic Tyrian Purple 9, Trojan horse; Heart Gold 20, Love is an irresistible desire to be irresistibly desired. - Robert Frost; novelty beads (Someone is lovelorn.)
Notes: And new theme: Moira backstory! :D I am enjoying getting to know her history.
There was an old wall out in the woods behind the school where Moira and her friends would sit to hang out, smoke, and drink—usually on weekends. But today it was empty, because Moira was the only one cutting school, and that was the way she’d planned it. She hadn’t brought any alcohol, but she had brought a full pack of clove cigarettes, and she intended to sit there until the pack was gone or until she felt better, whichever came first.
She did feel better, if only a tiny bit, the moment she sat down. The woods were beautiful, despite the litter of empty foil packs and cigarette boxes that they’d left around the wall. The area had been declared protected a couple hundred years ago, and now they were green and bursting with life.
The cigarette didn’t make her feel much better, but she puffed at it determinedly, swirling the flavorful smoke around in her mouth before expelling it through her nose, like a cartoon of a bull. There was no one here to make her feel like she looked stupid.
Until, suddenly, there was; walking through the trees, a girl about her age, with dyed lavender hair and a quick, unhurried walk. Moira sat up straighter, trying to get a better look at the girl. It definitely wasn’t anyone she knew. She was wearing weird clothes—a black dress over baggy jeans and sandals with low heels.
As the girl approached, she seemed surprised to see Moira as well, but she walked up to her anyway. “May I sit?” she asked, gesturing at the wall next to Moira.
Moira shrugged and sucked on her clove. “Sure, I guess so.” She’d planned to be alone, but this girl wasn’t any of her friends—wasn’t anyone from around here, and that meant she didn’t have any expectations of Moira. “Clove?” She held out her pack.
The girl, sitting, looked at the cigarettes and shook her head. “Thanks, but I can’t smoke.”
“You can’t smoke?” That made Moira do a double take. And that hair… there was no sign of dye. “You’re a robot.”
“Does that make you uncomfortable?”
“No, I mean, I guess not. You’re the first robot I’ve met, that I’ve known about. You know, it’s all human at school, though I guess some schools have robot teachers.” She sucked on her clove again, then looked at it. “Does it bother you that I smoke?”
“No, not at all. It can’t get through my skin.” The robot smiled and waved a hand in front of her face. “And it’s an interesting smell.”
Moira frowned slightly, trying to look the robot girl up and down without being too obvious about it. Other than the unnatural perfection of her hair, and the fact that she had black pupils, there was nothing to distinguish her from a flesh-and-blood human. But that was the point, wasn’t it? There was something odd about this robot compared to what Moira knew about them, though, and after a moment she had it. “How come you look my age? A teenager?”
The robot shrugged. “When I was made, that’s what the people who paid for it wanted.”
Now that really made Moira stare, not caring if she was caught at it this time. “You’re a robot slave? I mean, you were, right? No one’s trying to keep you enslaved now?”
“Oh, no,” said the robot quickly. “No, that was many years ago, of course. But I enjoy looking young, even if sometimes it does cause people to deny me things.”
“So you’re… really old.”
“Yes, I’m over a hundred years old now.”
“Sorry, that was really rude.”
The robot shook her head. “It’s all right. I like having someone to speak frankly to.”
Moira laughed. “Most of my friends hate it. So that’s cool. Um, I’m Moira, by the way, but you can call me Mo. What’s your name?”
“Elwyn.”
“Cool. Nice to meet you, Elwyn.”
Elwyn smiled more widely. “Nice to meet you, Moira.”
“So what are you doing out here in the woods?”
“Wandering.” Elwyn shrugged. “I find it interesting to explore new places. When I was tired of the last place I was working, I quit and picked a direction. Sometimes I just walk in one direction until I run into something interesting. That’s what happened today.”
“So I’m interesting?” Moira grinned, blowing smoke. She tried to blow a smoke ring, though she didn’t try very hard.
“I might have found the wall interesting enough if you hadn’t been here. You don’t see a lot of old ruins like this.” She laughed. Moira hadn’t known robots could do that. Of course, they were mostly indistinguishable from humans—if you built a robot that never laughed, people would probably start to get creeped out by it eventually. “And what about you?”
“Am I interesting?”
“No, what are you doing in the woods?”
“Oh.” Moira leaned her chin on her hand and blew smoke out sharply. “Do I have to talk about that?”
“I’m certainly not going to make you do anything. We just met.”
Moira rolled her eyes, staring out at the green, misty woods. “I guess. I mean, it sucks. My girlfriend just dumped me.”
“Oh. I’m sorry.”
“That’s the shitty thing, though.” Moira stubbed her clove violently against the stone wall. She knew that her response to Elwyn’s comment was totally irrational, but now that she’d started talking, she couldn’t seem to stop. “I didn’t like her that much. At least I didn’t think I did. I guess I must have liked her a lot, or I wouldn’t be so pissed off about it, right?”
“That seems to follow. If you didn’t like her that much, why did you stay with her?”
Moira shrugged. “It was convenient, I guess. It was nice to just… have somebody.”
“So it upset you when she felt convenience wasn’t enough anymore. All you wanted was to have somebody, and now you don’t have anybody. It’s not her specifically—it’s just someone to fulfill your life.”
“Yeah. I guess that’s it.” She turned to look at Elwyn, surprised. “How’d you figure that out so fast?”
Elwyn grinned. “When you live over a hundred years, you hear a lot of problems from a lot of people. I’ve gotten pretty good at advice.”
“You didn’t give me any advice.”
“Would you like some?”
Moira kicked her feet against the wall, considering. “Yeah, I guess so.”
“Find something to do with your own life. Something that fulfills you without having to rely on another person, because other people are unreliable.”
“Huh.” Moira lit another cigarette, but held it between her fingers without taking a drag. “That’s a pretty good idea. But what?”
Elwyn shrugged. “You’re going to have to figure that out for yourself. Or if we get to know each other better, I might be able to tell what your interests are. Do you know what you want to do as a career?”
Moira shook her head. “As long as it’s not what either of my parents do. I haven’t figured that out yet.”
“Well, maybe that’s where you should start.”
“Yeah… that could work.” She sucked on her cigarette. “So now that you’ve found your interesting thing, do you think you’ll stick around here?”
“Sure. I don’t make friends very often.” Elwyn pushed herself off of the wall and landed on her feet. “I’ll explore the woods. You can find me here, until I decide to go somewhere else.”
That wasn’t what Moira had expected when she said Elwyn could stick around, but she had to laugh. She didn’t know the robot well yet and yet this seemed completely, perfectly in character for her. “All right. I’ll find you.”
“And stop smoking,” said Elwyn.
“What?”
“It’s bad for you.”
Moira laughed, shook her head, and put out her cigarette. Then she jumped the wall and headed back toward school.
Did you enjoy this story? You can read more stories in this world or see all my fiction posted at Dreamwidth!
Word count: 1,326
Rating: G
Prompt:
rainbowfic Tyrian Purple 9, Trojan horse; Heart Gold 20, Love is an irresistible desire to be irresistibly desired. - Robert Frost; novelty beads (Someone is lovelorn.)Notes: And new theme: Moira backstory! :D I am enjoying getting to know her history.
There was an old wall out in the woods behind the school where Moira and her friends would sit to hang out, smoke, and drink—usually on weekends. But today it was empty, because Moira was the only one cutting school, and that was the way she’d planned it. She hadn’t brought any alcohol, but she had brought a full pack of clove cigarettes, and she intended to sit there until the pack was gone or until she felt better, whichever came first.
She did feel better, if only a tiny bit, the moment she sat down. The woods were beautiful, despite the litter of empty foil packs and cigarette boxes that they’d left around the wall. The area had been declared protected a couple hundred years ago, and now they were green and bursting with life.
The cigarette didn’t make her feel much better, but she puffed at it determinedly, swirling the flavorful smoke around in her mouth before expelling it through her nose, like a cartoon of a bull. There was no one here to make her feel like she looked stupid.
Until, suddenly, there was; walking through the trees, a girl about her age, with dyed lavender hair and a quick, unhurried walk. Moira sat up straighter, trying to get a better look at the girl. It definitely wasn’t anyone she knew. She was wearing weird clothes—a black dress over baggy jeans and sandals with low heels.
As the girl approached, she seemed surprised to see Moira as well, but she walked up to her anyway. “May I sit?” she asked, gesturing at the wall next to Moira.
Moira shrugged and sucked on her clove. “Sure, I guess so.” She’d planned to be alone, but this girl wasn’t any of her friends—wasn’t anyone from around here, and that meant she didn’t have any expectations of Moira. “Clove?” She held out her pack.
The girl, sitting, looked at the cigarettes and shook her head. “Thanks, but I can’t smoke.”
“You can’t smoke?” That made Moira do a double take. And that hair… there was no sign of dye. “You’re a robot.”
“Does that make you uncomfortable?”
“No, I mean, I guess not. You’re the first robot I’ve met, that I’ve known about. You know, it’s all human at school, though I guess some schools have robot teachers.” She sucked on her clove again, then looked at it. “Does it bother you that I smoke?”
“No, not at all. It can’t get through my skin.” The robot smiled and waved a hand in front of her face. “And it’s an interesting smell.”
Moira frowned slightly, trying to look the robot girl up and down without being too obvious about it. Other than the unnatural perfection of her hair, and the fact that she had black pupils, there was nothing to distinguish her from a flesh-and-blood human. But that was the point, wasn’t it? There was something odd about this robot compared to what Moira knew about them, though, and after a moment she had it. “How come you look my age? A teenager?”
The robot shrugged. “When I was made, that’s what the people who paid for it wanted.”
Now that really made Moira stare, not caring if she was caught at it this time. “You’re a robot slave? I mean, you were, right? No one’s trying to keep you enslaved now?”
“Oh, no,” said the robot quickly. “No, that was many years ago, of course. But I enjoy looking young, even if sometimes it does cause people to deny me things.”
“So you’re… really old.”
“Yes, I’m over a hundred years old now.”
“Sorry, that was really rude.”
The robot shook her head. “It’s all right. I like having someone to speak frankly to.”
Moira laughed. “Most of my friends hate it. So that’s cool. Um, I’m Moira, by the way, but you can call me Mo. What’s your name?”
“Elwyn.”
“Cool. Nice to meet you, Elwyn.”
Elwyn smiled more widely. “Nice to meet you, Moira.”
“So what are you doing out here in the woods?”
“Wandering.” Elwyn shrugged. “I find it interesting to explore new places. When I was tired of the last place I was working, I quit and picked a direction. Sometimes I just walk in one direction until I run into something interesting. That’s what happened today.”
“So I’m interesting?” Moira grinned, blowing smoke. She tried to blow a smoke ring, though she didn’t try very hard.
“I might have found the wall interesting enough if you hadn’t been here. You don’t see a lot of old ruins like this.” She laughed. Moira hadn’t known robots could do that. Of course, they were mostly indistinguishable from humans—if you built a robot that never laughed, people would probably start to get creeped out by it eventually. “And what about you?”
“Am I interesting?”
“No, what are you doing in the woods?”
“Oh.” Moira leaned her chin on her hand and blew smoke out sharply. “Do I have to talk about that?”
“I’m certainly not going to make you do anything. We just met.”
Moira rolled her eyes, staring out at the green, misty woods. “I guess. I mean, it sucks. My girlfriend just dumped me.”
“Oh. I’m sorry.”
“That’s the shitty thing, though.” Moira stubbed her clove violently against the stone wall. She knew that her response to Elwyn’s comment was totally irrational, but now that she’d started talking, she couldn’t seem to stop. “I didn’t like her that much. At least I didn’t think I did. I guess I must have liked her a lot, or I wouldn’t be so pissed off about it, right?”
“That seems to follow. If you didn’t like her that much, why did you stay with her?”
Moira shrugged. “It was convenient, I guess. It was nice to just… have somebody.”
“So it upset you when she felt convenience wasn’t enough anymore. All you wanted was to have somebody, and now you don’t have anybody. It’s not her specifically—it’s just someone to fulfill your life.”
“Yeah. I guess that’s it.” She turned to look at Elwyn, surprised. “How’d you figure that out so fast?”
Elwyn grinned. “When you live over a hundred years, you hear a lot of problems from a lot of people. I’ve gotten pretty good at advice.”
“You didn’t give me any advice.”
“Would you like some?”
Moira kicked her feet against the wall, considering. “Yeah, I guess so.”
“Find something to do with your own life. Something that fulfills you without having to rely on another person, because other people are unreliable.”
“Huh.” Moira lit another cigarette, but held it between her fingers without taking a drag. “That’s a pretty good idea. But what?”
Elwyn shrugged. “You’re going to have to figure that out for yourself. Or if we get to know each other better, I might be able to tell what your interests are. Do you know what you want to do as a career?”
Moira shook her head. “As long as it’s not what either of my parents do. I haven’t figured that out yet.”
“Well, maybe that’s where you should start.”
“Yeah… that could work.” She sucked on her cigarette. “So now that you’ve found your interesting thing, do you think you’ll stick around here?”
“Sure. I don’t make friends very often.” Elwyn pushed herself off of the wall and landed on her feet. “I’ll explore the woods. You can find me here, until I decide to go somewhere else.”
That wasn’t what Moira had expected when she said Elwyn could stick around, but she had to laugh. She didn’t know the robot well yet and yet this seemed completely, perfectly in character for her. “All right. I’ll find you.”
“And stop smoking,” said Elwyn.
“What?”
“It’s bad for you.”
Moira laughed, shook her head, and put out her cigarette. Then she jumped the wall and headed back toward school.
Did you enjoy this story? You can read more stories in this world or see all my fiction posted at Dreamwidth!