ㅤ ㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤ—【⚙️】— ㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤTHE HANDYWOMAN ㅤ

ㅤ 「 April Fools... bah. We're all fools, every day of the year. 」 ㅤ

♡Cotton oh yeah fun fact my maxwell is trans. no cisgender man has this many levels of performance

🔴 HAPPY TDOV BITCHES!!!!!!!!!!!

ㅤ 「 Oh, yes, Transgender Day of Visibility... 」 「 I suppose being extra visible for /one/ day wouldn't hurt. 」 ㅤ

ㅤ 「 You were the one who brought it up in the first place. 」 ㅤ

ㅤ 「 Does it? 」 ㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤA small smirk cracks on his face, a weakness in Enker's defenses shown. 「 I know how it feels to compare yourself to others. Trust me, I do. It won't get you anywhere. 」 ㅤ

ㅤ 「 Does the heroism of others really affect /yours/ all that much? 」 ㅤ

ㅤ 「 Definitely more noble than I've seen from other robots. 」 ㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤNot noticing how backhanded that sounded, he adjusts his tie. ㅤ

ㅤ 「 Hm. A petty creation, one I wouldn't wish upon anyone. But you say you prefer not to fight? Good on you. 」 ㅤ

ㅤ 「 You say made for combat. What kind? Are you a guard, perhaps? 」 ㅤ

ㅤ 「 Why are you apologizing? I'm the one who told you to ask. 」 ㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤHe starts massaging his wrist, just to have something to do with his hands. 「 But, would you mind if I did the same? 」 ㅤ

Charlie? It's me! Maxwell!

ㅤ 「 Ah... no. This is from... a series of old mistakes. 」 ㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤHe brings the hand closer to Enker— if only he hadn't. Even within the darkness of the hand, the veins of the hand are visible, marked with an even darker shade. ㅤ

ㅤ 「 She is. But, ah, enough about that. 」 ㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤHe covers his mouth with a hand, covering a decent amount of his cheeks in the process. His hands look... clawed, almost, tainted with some inky darkness. ㅤ

ㅤ 「 No, no. That was... an old friend of mine. 」 ㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤHe looks away, a small blush dusting his face. ㅤ

ㅤ 「 Oh, of course. 」 ㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤHis demeanor seems to lighten— shoulders a little higher, a faint smile making its way onto his face. 「 Ask away. 」 ㅤ

ㅤ ㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤAfter a moment of hesitation, he narrows his eyes and waves a hand. 「 Speak. There's clearly more on your mind. 」 ㅤ

Say pal, you don't look too good.

ㅤ 「 And thus, neither do you. I'm alright; neither a threat nor at threat. 」 ㅤ

ㅤ 「 The Darkness and I are on good terms right now, don't worry. 」 ㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤwhat ㅤ

ㅤ ㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤIt doesn't seem to matter, as he puts the book into his suit. 「 Ah, good. I'm in no shape to fight, and I'd rather not be felled this night. 」 ㅤ

ㅤ 「 Matchup? You word it like we're about to fight. 」 ㅤ

ㅤ ㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤHe looks around, eyes narrowing. 「 ..odd. I don't run into many robots myself. 」 ㅤ

── .✦ ᯓ★ ── .✦ ᯓ★  ᴡʜᴇɴ ᴅɪᴅ ᴍᴀɴ ᴄᴇᴀꜱᴇ ꜰᴇᴀʀɪɴɢ  ᴛʜᴇ ᴄᴏɴꜱᴇQᴜᴇɴᴄᴇ ᴏꜰ ᴘʟᴀʏɪɴɢ ɢᴏᴅ?     𝙰 𝙼𝚎𝚐𝚊 𝙼𝚊𝚗 𝚇 𝙾𝙲   ✎ ᴘᴇɴɴᴇᴅ ʙʏ ꜱʀᴀʀ

ㅤ 「 Are there many? I feel like suspicious robots is so specific you might as well not patrol at all. 」 ㅤ

ㅤ 「 Understood. What do you patrol here for, though? 」 ㅤ

ㅤ 「 RKN-001. A machine, I presume? 」 ㅤ

ㅤ ㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤThe book he holds slams shut, small black wisps arising from it. 「 Maxwell Carter. Now answer my question. 」 ㅤ

ㅤ ㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤThe chill vanishes, and the flower wilts once more. The man groans in response, pinching the bridge of his chin. 「 Who are /you?/ 」 ㅤ

ㅤ ㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤIn a strange move, he looks up at the flowers and... his eyes widen, looking around. Was it him..? 「 ..Charlie? 」 ㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤHis voice is rough and scratched from smoking and trauma. But when he says the name, a cold feeling washes over the whole woods. ㅤ

ㅤ ㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤHe doesn't seem to notice Enker watching him, engrossed in the book. The details are hard to make out, but it's not a narrative— blocks of text broken up with sketches and diagrams. ㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤNear him, a wilted rose blooms again. ㅤ

ㅤ ㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤIn the dead of night, it should've been rare to see humans wandering around, especially with no light. ㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤBut that's exactly what Enker saw— a man, waltzing around the forest, a book in one hand. Every now and then, he'd stop to read something, and then he'd put it back down. ㅤ

ㅤ ㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤHe drops to the ground, and despite the height, gets up and brushes himself off. 「 That's much better... your advancements mean /nothing/ on your manners. 」 ㅤ

ㅤ 「 ..ah. So you don't know what the clockworks are... 」 ㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤHe looks from Prowl, to the ground. 「 ..may you put me down, now? 」 ㅤ

ㅤ 「 I can /tell./ And how would you know? 」 ㅤ

ㅤ 「 What even are you..? You're clearly mechanical, but bigger than the clockworks I made... 」 ㅤ

ㅤ 「 ARE... are you LAUGHING at me? 」 ㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤHe stops flailing, opting to growl instead. ㅤ

ㅤ ㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤHe's got! He's got! The dethroned king of the constant is reduced to flailing about. 「 UNHAND ME, MECHANICAL BEAST! 」 ㅤ

ㅤ 「 Believe me, he didn't fit the role well. He calls himself a gentleman scientist, despite being neither of those things. 」 ㅤ

ㅤ 「 Incredibly. Especially for a so called "scientist." 」 ㅤ

ㅤ 「 I wouldn't be shocked if he was. 」 ㅤ

ㅤ 「 Musing to myself. Higgsbury is... a /colleague/ of mine. 」 ㅤ

ㅤ ㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤHe simply rolls his eyes. Then, to himself; 「 Perhaps that's why the throne had little effect on Higgsbury. 」 ㅤ

ㅤ 「 The incentive is that it will corrupt your mind, and you'll want to be rid of it. 」 ㅤ

ㅤ 「 I have no way of knowing your intents to return them. 」 ㅤ