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I see. [She hasn't gone through the mad scientist dungeon yet, so she doesn't entirely see, but his word is enough to accept. Keeping secrets isn't difficult for her, at least. Someone tells her not to share, and it is sealed. (Unless revealing it might be funny. That's a thing.)] We will avoid that kind of situation, then. You will be safe.
[ Cale blinks at Sophia, briefly surprised by her assertion, before the corner of his mouth twitches in a small smile. ]
Of course.
Of course.
[Satisfied that the matter is settled, she glances around.]
Do you have a brush for your hair?
Do you have a brush for your hair?
Yeah. [ He gestures to the bedside table. ] Hair supplies are in the top drawer.
[Regis can't help but be amused by both of them being so confused (for different reasons he's sure) by someone offering them a little courtesy. It truly does seem as if he didn't interrupt anything, though, so he lets the issue drop.]
What is it like for you when you are in the Leaf? Do you have a space that is all yours or is everything more interconnected than that?
[As long as she feels like she has a space of her own, it doesn't matter so much to Regis whether it is physical or data. Of course, if Cale really wants her to experience more things that a normal teenager would, then having a physical room would be necessary.]
Perhaps you can ask your friends what they think of having their own rooms if you are unsure? Being closer to your age, their opinions might make more sense to you than ours do.
What is it like for you when you are in the Leaf? Do you have a space that is all yours or is everything more interconnected than that?
[As long as she feels like she has a space of her own, it doesn't matter so much to Regis whether it is physical or data. Of course, if Cale really wants her to experience more things that a normal teenager would, then having a physical room would be necessary.]
Perhaps you can ask your friends what they think of having their own rooms if you are unsure? Being closer to your age, their opinions might make more sense to you than ours do.
[Alicia sees her her own name staring back at her next to this room, hesitating only when her gaze flicks up to read the name plate above her own:
Sophia
The panicky urge to go track down her family to let them fix this rises up within the young woman, Alicia's narrow shoulders trembling, her chest going tight. Any of them would leap at the chance, she knows they would, but at the same time, she just so desperately wants to do this one thing on her own.
So before she can talk herself out of it, she knocks at the dorm door.]
Sophia
The panicky urge to go track down her family to let them fix this rises up within the young woman, Alicia's narrow shoulders trembling, her chest going tight. Any of them would leap at the chance, she knows they would, but at the same time, she just so desperately wants to do this one thing on her own.
So before she can talk herself out of it, she knocks at the dorm door.]
Edited 2025-06-30 20:01 (UTC)
[Is it more or less reassuring when nothing happens at her knock?
The door is unlocked, however, and she'll find an empty, completely undecorated room within. On one side, the only sign of life is a seashell on the bedside table, and a seemingly abandoned Leaf resting on a folded, cozy-looking blanket on the bed itself.]
The door is unlocked, however, and she'll find an empty, completely undecorated room within. On one side, the only sign of life is a seashell on the bedside table, and a seemingly abandoned Leaf resting on a folded, cozy-looking blanket on the bed itself.]
[Both. Both is good.
Alicia peeks inside when no answer comes, peering around for her roommate before feeling more confident in stepping in and closing the door behind her. The room itself is spacious and clean, with their beds pressed against opposite walls. Even after a lifetime of having a room to herself, this doesn't feel as utterly overwhelming as Alicia had feared.
Especially if her roommate preferred to spend her time outside of their room.
So the young woman will just come to settle on the edge of the the unused bed, simply taking in the sight of the space and imagining how she might make it her own.]
Alicia peeks inside when no answer comes, peering around for her roommate before feeling more confident in stepping in and closing the door behind her. The room itself is spacious and clean, with their beds pressed against opposite walls. Even after a lifetime of having a room to herself, this doesn't feel as utterly overwhelming as Alicia had feared.
Especially if her roommate preferred to spend her time outside of their room.
So the young woman will just come to settle on the edge of the the unused bed, simply taking in the sight of the space and imagining how she might make it her own.]
Okay!
[She opens the drawer to fetch the brush, examining it briefly. After spending several weeks in the RV with the Phantom Thieves, she's witnessed the others using brushes and combs and various products, so she's not unfamiliar with the theory of hairbrushing. It's just not something she's done before.]
May I sit behind you?
[She opens the drawer to fetch the brush, examining it briefly. After spending several weeks in the RV with the Phantom Thieves, she's witnessed the others using brushes and combs and various products, so she's not unfamiliar with the theory of hairbrushing. It's just not something she's done before.]
May I sit behind you?
[She's left alone with her thoughts for a little bit, before out of nowhere the phone on the opposite bed blips with a notification noise, followed by a voice.]
Hello? Is someone there?
Hello? Is someone there?
Um... [That is a good heckin question, Regis.] It is hard to describe. There is a space, but nothing in it, because it is digital. I don't have any need for physical objects, since I am an AI. What I wear and carry comes with me, but I have no explanation for that except it is... a part of me?
[She tilts thoughtfully sideways a bit. Hard to explain what being an AI or being inside a non-physical space is like. It just sort of is.]
I will ask my friends about what to do with rooms. When we traveled in the RV, they liked to collect small keepsakes from the places we visited and decorated its interior. Maybe it's like that.
[She tilts thoughtfully sideways a bit. Hard to explain what being an AI or being inside a non-physical space is like. It just sort of is.]
I will ask my friends about what to do with rooms. When we traveled in the RV, they liked to collect small keepsakes from the places we visited and decorated its interior. Maybe it's like that.
[She scoots into the space behind him, peering at his hair, then the brush, then back again, and gently presses one to the other, gliding it carefully through Cale's locks. Her movements are very slow at first, but she'll pick up as she adjusts to how it's supposed to feel.]
[!!!
Alicia leaps to her feet, twisting around as her single eye flicks around the room, looking for the source of the voice. And for a moment, she sees nothing, until her gaze falls onto her roommates bed and the Leaf left behind.
So Alicia takes just the smallest step to start crossing the distance between her and the device, slow, as if she's afraid it might pounce at her.]]
Alicia leaps to her feet, twisting around as her single eye flicks around the room, looking for the source of the voice. And for a moment, she sees nothing, until her gaze falls onto her roommates bed and the Leaf left behind.
So Alicia takes just the smallest step to start crossing the distance between her and the device, slow, as if she's afraid it might pounce at her.]]
[Even at a distance, she should be able to see the screen of the Leaf active, and a small face peering out. Sophia can't yet see anyone, but her curiosity is piqued. She thought someone was inside.]
Um... hello? Who is it? ...Am I still alone?
Um... hello? Who is it? ...Am I still alone?
[ Cale thinks, not for the first time, that he should cut his hair short again. It's already midway down his back and a pain to manage. Realistically short hair would be nothing but an overall benefit to his slacker life, yet the thought of chopping it off is unpleasant to him. ]
You're doing a good job.
[ While slow at first, the care Sophia takes means there's no discomfort at all. Between her presence and his ancient powers, Cale allows himself to relax, letting his guard down. ]
You're doing a good job.
[ While slow at first, the care Sophia takes means there's no discomfort at all. Between her presence and his ancient powers, Cale allows himself to relax, letting his guard down. ]
Thank you... praise accepted.
[Her voice is softer than usual, not upset or anything, just quiet, as she absorbs this whole new experience. After a bit of quiet, she starts to hum a little. It's not a full song, more like a record stuck on the same circling line of notes, but she sounds happy, so hopefully the repetition won't be too annoying.]
[Her voice is softer than usual, not upset or anything, just quiet, as she absorbs this whole new experience. After a bit of quiet, she starts to hum a little. It's not a full song, more like a record stuck on the same circling line of notes, but she sounds happy, so hopefully the repetition won't be too annoying.]
[ The humming doesn't bother Cale at all, too pleased by how happy Sophia sounds to consider it anything close to annoying. It's soothing, which is something Cale could use more of these days, and combined with the brushing of his hair it makes him feel sleepy.
Relaxed and on the cusp of dozing off, a soft, rhythmic rumbling begins reverberating from Cale's chest. ]
Relaxed and on the cusp of dozing off, a soft, rhythmic rumbling begins reverberating from Cale's chest. ]
[And there Alicia sees it - the flash of bright color on the abandoned Leaf's screen, that beautiful shock of red hair. The young woman creeps closer, torn between her natural curiosity and how it's betrayed her in the past, before she's peering down at the device, gloved fingertips carefully taking it into her hands.
Alicia must look frightening in her current state, dead silent and wearing the mask that obscures her face, one piercing, pale eye gazing down upon the girl on the screen.
And then, wordlessly, Alicia lifts her free hand and waves her fingers at Sophia.]
Alicia must look frightening in her current state, dead silent and wearing the mask that obscures her face, one piercing, pale eye gazing down upon the girl on the screen.
And then, wordlessly, Alicia lifts her free hand and waves her fingers at Sophia.]
[Sophia pauses when she notices after a long moment, not stopping the brush but falling silent to listen. She tries to parse what the sound is, and before long it occurs to her that the sound is familiar.]
...cat...
...cat...
[Perks of being a baby AI still learning all the things: she's completely failed to learn all those ugly human biases. Alicia doesn't look frightening, she looks like a very grey person, that's all. Sophia blinks back at Alicia, taking in the appearance of this unexpected stranger in her room, before (like a switch being flipped) she smiles brightly and lifts her hand in return.]
Hello! I am Sophia, humanity's companion. How may I help you today?
Hello! I am Sophia, humanity's companion. How may I help you today?
[ The noise stops suddenly once she speaks, making Cale aware of what his body was doing. It's a newer change and one he isn't exactly used to yet. ]
...Not quite, but close.
...Not quite, but close.
What is it, then?
[She greatly dislikes both being wrong and not having the answer, so this is a double-whammy.]
[She greatly dislikes both being wrong and not having the answer, so this is a double-whammy.]
Dragon. [ Though Cale has a feeling most dragons don't make such a sound, so he adds: ] Specifically one raised with cats.
Edited (forgot an icon lol) 2025-07-08 03:00 (UTC)
Ah... that explains it. I have met a dragon before, but it didn't purr.
[So yeah, in other words, his belief about dragons is correct.]
[So yeah, in other words, his belief about dragons is correct.]
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