First Day

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Apex leaped from out of the trees, skidding to a stop in front of the cabin. Devola, who'd been chopping firewood on a stump beside the porch's steps, dropped the old axe in her hands and rushed over to him, looking him over for any injuries. He gave her nod and her eyes took on that intense glow. After a thorough examination of him, a sigh of relief slipped free of her, the glow fading.

"Didn't I already tell you that you don't need my permission to scan me, Devola?" He said with a shake of his head.

"I know but..." She trailed off. For one reason or another, others didn't take kindly to the twins suddenly scanning them. Despite the truth of being thrown on the table, the twins were still relatively vague about what it was that caused the other androids to treat them so harshly and he didn't press the matter.

"I know you two just want to make sure I'm okay, so don't worry about it." He assured her. "If you think something's wrong or just want to be sure, do what you think is best." He didn't want her or Popola to start walking on eggshells around him, or worse, treating him in anyway similar to those back at the Resistance Camp. "Alright?"

Devola smiled and nodded, before noticing the wrapped layers of fur beneath his left arm.

"Soap. I didn't really have anything else worth bringing from the cave." He explained as he walked past her. The two had been adamant about him not going there or at least taking one of them with him. He had to remind them that whatever data they had on humans didn't entirely apply to him and he'd already been surviving on his own for quite some time. One trip wasn't going to kill him as long as he didn't do anything stupid.

"What's with the wood?" He asked as she fell in beside him.

"Popola said we should prepare as much as we can for you." He raised an eyebrow but as he stepped into the cabin, the meaning behind her words became clear.

He'd entered the cabins a handful of times to help them move boxes but he noticed the differences quickly. The sizable main room had more candles lit to compensate for the fact that more curtains blocked out sunlight. The once empty fireplace was stocked with wood and Popola was over in the kitchen area, the wood fueled stove running as she stirred a pot.

Like Devola she stopped what she was doing to head over to him. Unlike Devola she took his words to heart, eyes aglow and scanning him before he could give her permission.

"You didn't run into any machines?" She asked, voice full of concern despite his lack of injuries.

"Not a one." He said. The benefits of traveling by tree; the flying machines were few and far between and there was so much foliage to lose them among that they weren't a real danger to him.

"Good, I'm glad." She nodded and after carrying out one more scan just for good measure, she headed back to the stove. "I'm making more of the soup from before. It'll be done soon."

He couldn't help but perk up at the mention of food, the taste of this morning's meal still lingering on his tongue. If living here meant a constant stream of food that he could actually enjoy rather than stuff himself full of just to avoid starvation, he had definitely made the right choice. Though-

Apex looked around at the lamps around the room. "This place doesn't have power?" He asked.

"At some point it did. We've done our best to repair what we could since we started living here but the wiring was so old and neither of us had any need for it." Popola said. "If we had a power source and the right materials, I'm sure we could get the power on again if that is something you want."

Parts huh? That sounded like a visit to the city ruins might be in store for them.

'If I may master, there are plenty of parts just outside.' Navi interjected. 'The machines must hold a significant power source to remain operational for so long without any maintenance. With the twins scanning capabilities my estimations project a fifty percent chance that their parts could be successfully repurposed to create a suitable generator.'

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