[What with moving his things out of Eos Tower, it does take Peony awhile to get there. Still, he knows Clear is upset so he does hurry as quickly as he can. It'll be a good hour before he arrives, out of breath as he makes his way to the rooftop with his hair in disarray and his scarf barely hanging on.]
[It's nice to see him without the mask. Peony trots over and settles beside him, letting his feet hang over the edge too. His arm comes up behind Clear, hand resting on that snowy white hair as he lightly ruffles it.]
[ "Good," is what he wants to say, but he's currently conscious of how everything about him is a (possibly broken) program. He thinks about his reply for a few seconds or so before smiling. ]
[Clear isn't going to make this easy on him, is he?]
Did he? He probably did it because he thought you were cute.
[He'd managed to tickle Clear before by rubbing his ear. If he casually tucks his hair behind it and lets his fingertips play over the shell, maybe he'll invoke that involuntary giggling reaction again...]
[Can he do that? Can he turn sensation on and off at will? It's not impossible, is it. Peony stays still to let Clear fix his scarf, settling with his head on the android's shoulder when he's done.]
Thanks.
[It's so strange. Leaning on him like this, he feels human. Only as a wolf was he able to pick out anything odd about him. Sure, Clear's always been oddly childlike for his apparent age, but Peony's never suspected he wasn't a person.
Kind of like...]
...hey, Clear. Do you mind if I talk about my world for a bit?
When I first came here, I actually thought Auldrant was pretty average. Turns out it's not at all. There's no such thing as a Score on other worlds - that's the memories of our world, from beginning to end. You can even read the Score to tell the future, because it's already set.
[Peony laughs.]
Even time is different! Our years are twice as long as a year here is. By this world's reckoning I'm almost eighty. Eighty! I guess I'm pretty close to your grandpa's age after all. Wild, isn't it?
[Peony kicks his feet childishly in response, calming down only when he has to address the Score again.]
...I always thought it was scary. I hated it. Almost everyone else in the world felt safe that way, though. Like they always had a parent telling them what to do. If you know the future, you just have to follow the Score and you don't have to think for yourself.
[ No, Peony. No. Who's the actual adult here who's past the age of ten? Clear wraps his arms around him in a seat belt kind of way, not in a "I'm a cuddly robot, love me" kind of way. ]
[He allows the contact. Peony even leans into it - Clear might just be doing it to keep him safe, but he finds any sort of embrace to be comfortable.]
Asking questions like that is the first step, isn't it? People who blindly follow aren't thinking. And even when you don't just do what you're told, the idea that you're just doing what's predicted is a little hard to come to terms with if you're the independent sort. But...
[A sheepish grin breaks out across his features.]
I feel like so long as I make my choices based on my thoughts and feelings and not what I'm told, that's enough. Even if it's already been predicted, it's still me. I might be a little stubborn sometimes, but I'm not going to deny myself. If what I honestly decide is in the Score, then I'll do it. If it's not, then I would still do it.
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Clear?
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[ Clear wouldn't really blame Peony if he left him alone, but he could've waited forever too. An hour is a short period of time for him.
With his feet dangling from the rooftop's edge and a clear plastic umbrella over his head, he's ready for whatever Peony has to say now. ]
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[It's nice to see him without the mask. Peony trots over and settles beside him, letting his feet hang over the edge too. His arm comes up behind Clear, hand resting on that snowy white hair as he lightly ruffles it.]
What does that feel like?
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Grandpa used to touch me like this.
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Did he? He probably did it because he thought you were cute.
[He'd managed to tickle Clear before by rubbing his ear. If he casually tucks his hair behind it and lets his fingertips play over the shell, maybe he'll invoke that involuntary giggling reaction again...]
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It's crooked.
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Thanks.
[It's so strange. Leaning on him like this, he feels human. Only as a wolf was he able to pick out anything odd about him. Sure, Clear's always been oddly childlike for his apparent age, but Peony's never suspected he wasn't a person.
Kind of like...]
...hey, Clear. Do you mind if I talk about my world for a bit?
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He relaxes after a second. He also stops forcing a smile. ]
Go ahead. Do what you want.
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[Peony laughs.]
Even time is different! Our years are twice as long as a year here is. By this world's reckoning I'm almost eighty. Eighty! I guess I'm pretty close to your grandpa's age after all. Wild, isn't it?
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[ Wait a minute. ]
And grandpa, you shouldn't hang your feet over the edge. That's dangerous.
wow, I never got this?
[Peony kicks his feet childishly in response, calming down only when he has to address the Score again.]
...I always thought it was scary. I hated it. Almost everyone else in the world felt safe that way, though. Like they always had a parent telling them what to do. If you know the future, you just have to follow the Score and you don't have to think for yourself.
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[ No, Peony. No. Who's the actual adult here who's past the age of ten? Clear wraps his arms around him in a seat belt kind of way, not in a "I'm a cuddly robot, love me" kind of way. ]
How do you know if you're thinking for yourself?
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Asking questions like that is the first step, isn't it? People who blindly follow aren't thinking. And even when you don't just do what you're told, the idea that you're just doing what's predicted is a little hard to come to terms with if you're the independent sort. But...
[A sheepish grin breaks out across his features.]
I feel like so long as I make my choices based on my thoughts and feelings and not what I'm told, that's enough. Even if it's already been predicted, it's still me. I might be a little stubborn sometimes, but I'm not going to deny myself. If what I honestly decide is in the Score, then I'll do it. If it's not, then I would still do it.
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Mmmm... [ What if even free will was programmed though? What if they're all programmed? What if Clear was made to watch The Matrix? ]
I still don't like it... the idea that everything I'm doing is pre-programmed.
never forget