abandonware | i n [B] o x . // acata.

[A2 holds her ground.]

Takes a lot more than that.

[She'd know. She'd tried to throw herself at things just to see if a death would stick, only to leave disappointed.

Zero's next response makes her finally jerk back a little, startled, off-balance.]

What?

[what.]

[ Now that A2 has retreated some, she leans her elbows on the edge of the fence– chin resting on her palms. She looks at A2 skeptically. ]

What do you mean what? You never been hit on before, stupid?

[The silence in response should be answer enough, but instead her mouth opens, like she's about to say something insulting, then closes, because nothing comes to mind, for once.]

...

No.

[ She raises an eyebrow, a genuine sort of surprise on her face. ]

Seriously?

[ a beat ]

How?

[ A genuine question, finally. ]

Does it matter?

[She answers finally, teetering on the edge of defensive.] I just haven't.

[ There are a lot of things that could mean. She is a tinge curious, but it is not and will never be in her way to pry when it comes to things that matter. ]

No, it doesn't.

[ She says simply.

Zero steps away from the fence and returns to her work. ]

He told me I needed hobbies.

[ She says, suddenly, a derisive snort following her words. ]

Could never see another flower again and it'd still be too soon, but my options are limited.

[ She looks up, again without actually moving her head. ]

So, this is what I do now to kill time– aside from the other two things I offered, mind you.

He's always saying that.

[If it were anyone else, she would almost sound fond.

Zero's mention of other things makes her ears feel warm, for some reason, and she does not make any further comment on that. There's no way in hell she's asking about sparring right now. But she does tilt her head, curious.]

What's wrong with flowers? [She liked them, even though this is something she would not admit.]

Seriously?

[ She stops, mid-snip, as if frozen by how ridiculous she finds the question. ]

You wanna' look at me and take a fucking guess?

[ Her voice is flat, not angry. She comes to life again, snipping a last few leaves with more aggression than necessary. ]

Never had great luck with em', even before one started growing out of my eye.

[A2 takes this in with customary silence. Contemplative.]

Strange that you're helping, then.

[There's a vine twirling around the post of the fence. She reaches out to stroke one of the leaves, weighed down by droplets of water.] Where'd that thing come from, anyway?

The ground.

[ She says simply, taking one of the flowers between the fingers of her prosthetic hand and examining it. ]

Thought I was finally going to be put out of my misery, and then what do you know– stupid thing pops out of the dirt and decides it has other plans for me. Figures.

[ She lets go of the flower in her hands, frowning and scrunching up her nose like she's suddenly smelled something foul. ]

Can't trust any living thing, even if it can't talk.

[She has no real comment on wanting to be put out of one's misery, because honestly, same hat. She assumes that the strange flower has to be related to some sort of "magic," again. There was nothing mechanical that would animate the near dead and allow them to keep themselves. Not in her world, anyway.

Magic. It didn't make any sense to her. She's made somewhat uneasy by it with each new facet of it she discovers.

The dead should stay dead.]

And you can't get rid of it?

I could.

[ Her knees hurt from crouching, so she finally falls onto her butt, sitting on the ground. ]

Means I might die, or worse– lose an arm.

[ She glances down at her prosthetic, flexing the fingers and watching the black metal glimmer in the light. ]

Wouldn't be ideal, not being able to fight properly when people like you are running around.

[ There's no malice in her comment, even despite its nature. It's stated like a simple fact. ]

i n [B] o x . // acata.

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