When your in the Constant, you can't be picky on who your surviving with. This is an unfortunate thing for our maniacal robot friend, WX-78, who has a pure hatred for basically everything. How is it unfortunate? Well, when they noticed a green gem f...
that moment when you realize you've reused the same tropes the entire time but are too lazy to change it
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[DAY 32]
WX-78 threw some logs into the fire when Wormwood wasn't looking. They had been chatting for quite a while now, mostly about what their next move. It had been a few days since the attack by the beast - WX had taken up calling it the Deerclops - and both had managed to fully heal from their injuries over the course of that time. However, they both were well aware one day one of them would come across the Deerclops again, and if they couldn't find the other for assistance in time, the results could be quite catastrophic. Thus, the two decided for the rest of winter they would stick together like glue - if one was going on an expedition, the other was coming. If one was staying back at base for an important reason, the other was staying with them. That way they were more likely to properly fend off another confrontation with less injury and risk.
Once this had been set in stone, the two had sat in comfortable silence for a while, simply watching the flames of their contained fire merge with the petals of white snow falling to the ground. At least, Wormwood was comfortable. Unfortunately, the long period of silence sent WX back spiraling into their own confusing thoughts, mostly about their feelings. Their empathy module had activated more over the past weeks then it ever had before, and the other module was doing second to none to try to stop it. WX knew the cause of this phenomenon - Wormwood was sitting right there next to them - but they still didn't know why Wormwood specifically was the thing to activate it. Of course, there was their relation with the moon, but WX had been disgusted none the less by their both physical and mental plant-like features at first. But now, they seemed to find these traits rather.. cute? It was difficult to describe.
Their mind had drifted off most to the moment a few days back - where WX and Wormwood had first gotten physical. They had been so distracted looking in Wormwoods eyes, they hadn't heard Deerclops coming until it was only a few dozen feet away. Their empathy module went wild just thinking about it. This brought a lot of confusion to them; while they had decided keeping Wormwood as a close companion was a good idea, they hadn't considered these side effects.
Before WX was able to get properly lost in their own worry, they heard a soft tssshhh followed by a loud thunk as Wormwoods' head fell onto theirs shoulder. WX turned their head to properly look at them and smiled slyly. The plant had already fallen asleep, and it must've only been a few minutes since the conversation ended. Poor thing must've been exhausted. WX would have to be very stealthy in order to not wake them.
Slowly, WX began to sit up, holding Wormwood carefully, one hand clutching their head and one gripping their shoulder. However, the second the majority of the robots' physical contact ceased, Wormwood began to whine slightly, still asleep. WX's empathy module activated again, and they swiftly yet gently picked Wormwood up in their arms, legs over their right arm and torso over their left. When their empathy cooled down and WX-78 realized the situation they were in, it was too late - Wormwood had found themselves much more comfortable in WX's arms and had fallen deeper into sleep. Putting the plant back on the bedroll and managing to keep them asleep simultaneously would be much more challenging now.
WX carefully set the resting plant down on the mat and pulled the beefalo fur blanket over them, slowly drawing their arms away until they were no longer in physical contact with Wormwood. They whined for just a second before calming down a bit, still seeming tense. WX pat their head a few times, and the plant softened. As they stood up to get onto their own mat, they heard the feminine-like voice from the dark, attempting once more to communicate.
Her words were incomprehensible, but WX still didn't want to hear them. The person in the dark - whatever they were - made their adrenaline modules activate. Their modules detected this creature as a threat. They threw more logs into the fire in order to make it bigger, and moved both their own bed roll and Wormwood's closer to the light. But not too close - the plant was very prone to catching on fire. Despite these efforts, the darkness's voice and unknown words still did not die. WX used to be able to stand it enough as long as they couldn't understand her, but now, being aware she was very violent and very willing to attack Wormwood, they became very angry with her words, despite their lack of meaning. They wanted to be aware they were rid of her before shutting down - they didn't want a repeat of a week or so ago. They laid down on their makeshift bed cautiously, keeping their eye on the dark.
When WX was moving the mats, they had unknowingly put them very close to each other, maybe half an inch apart. So when they finally got the courage to take their eyes and ears off the dark and turn over, they bumped right into the resting Wormwood, who had been facing their direction. The plant muttered quiet nonsense as they began to wake. WX-78 didn't want to wake them - they really needed the rest - so their modules produced a variety of options to choose from in order to keep them asleep. WX, in a state of minor panic, chose the first option they could think of.
They had been installed with a module that produced a sound similar to a fleshling shushing, for whatever reason, so this module activated as they carried out the task. "SHHH, WORMWOOD. REST." WX muttered. They took their left hand and gently set it on the plants face, lightly tracing it down. After a few seconds, Wormwood eventually calmed and fell back asleep. WX simply laid there for a second, looking at them, before realizing the creatures voice had disappeared during all that. Relieving.
They set their hand down onto their mat again and closed their eyes, preparing for shut down. Suddenly, they felt a leafy hand take theirs. WX smiled slightly.
They shut down for the night.
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