I woke up early. More or less because I'm used to it. I swung my legs over the edge, and rubbed the sleep out of my eyes. It took a moment for me to remember where I was, before I stood up. Stretching my back, and doing what I can to fix my hair. Tying it into a low pony tail. I sat back down, thinking to myself, as I rummaged through my bag to find my phone and check the time. The next bus leaves in about twenty minutes. I could hear a conversation take place downstairs, which I didn't think much of. Until I heard a loud bang, and the cluttering of silverware. I slung the strap of my bag across my shoulder, quickly wrapped the scarf around my face, and headed downstairs. Slowing down when I reached the turn in the stairs, looking towards the table to see the two androids, and Alice, sitting around the table. With an additional rodent on it.
As I got closer, Ralph was the one to notice me first. He was facing me after all. "(Y/N) is a human. She'll know" he said, approaching me. "Huh?" I hummed, as he stopped in front of me. "Humans eat dead animals. Ralph knows that" he started ranting. I looked past him, to the table. "So that's what it's for... well, Ralph, you should know that all meat has to be cut, cleaned, and cooked before we can eat it" I yawned. I ended up being dragged into the kitchen by the gardener. He put me in front of the counter and placed the rodent on it. And the knife beside it. "Oh.. I see" I commented, and picked up the knife. "Would you like to know?" I glanced behind me, seeing that he was still there. He nodded, holding onto my shoulders and leaning forward. "Well. First you need to cut off the head, tail, and legs. It's not usually necessary with most rodents, but this is a big one" I did the steps, and then flipped it onto it's back. "And then you want to gut, and clean it out" I kept going, taking out one of the water bottles to clean the rodent. "And then skin it, like so" I finished my tutorial, ending up with a bloody mess and a rodent's back muscles. "And now for the most important part. Cooking it. Since rodents, especially wild ones, tend to carry a lot of pathogens, you need to cook it properly to kill the bacteria, or humans will end up very ill" I continued, being lucky to find an oven tray. But since this building doesn't have any electricity, I returned to the dining room. And balanced the tray, with the rodent meat, over the fire. "Worst case scenario; we die from it" I added. The entire time, Ralph had been paying close attention to my instructions. If I'm honest, I have no idea what I'm doing. But I'm just trying to make sense of it from what I know. Nor do I want to upset the Android.
I sat down by the table, noticing that Alice wasn't looking very comfortable. I dug through my bag, found the sandwich I bought, and handed it to her. "Here. I'll take the rodent if you don't want to. It's not my first time at this rodeo" I said. I used to travel to a few countries in the past, and I just got curious of their local delicacies. Some of which were different rodents.
She thanked me, holding onto the plastic container. "I saw the body upstairs" Kara stated. I turned my head towards her, furrowing my brow. Before turning to Ralph. That's a bit of a sudden remark, if you ask me. But I guess that explains the smell, if anything. "You killed that human didn't you?" She continued, staring at him. "No... no he was like that when Ralph found him" Ralph answered. Unless he dragged an already dead corpse inside, then that's a clear lie. It's been six years, and it would have decomposed long ago. Leaving only a skeleton behind. That is, of course, if he's been living here for the entire time.
"You killed that man, Ralph. There's no point in lying!" Kara raised her voice. "You hate humans, but you're just like them. You're a murderer!" she kept yelling, leaning closer. "Ralph didn't mean any harm!" he threw the knife on the table, tightening his fists. I glanced back and forth between them. I don't exactly want to be caught in between them. "No..." he sniffed, looking down. "It's just that..." he paused for a moment. "Ralph can't control his anger" he breathed out, looking back up. "When his anger comes. Ralph doesn't know what he's doing, he... he becomes stupid. Full of hatred" I very hesitantly put my hand on his shoulder. He pulled away from me, glancing towards me. But quickly recovered. "Ralph is sorry"
"Why aren't you scared of him?" Kara snapped towards me, seeing that I'm touching him. "Because I know why he's angry at humans. I was there when it happened" I answered calmly. "Six years ago... He got attacked by a gang of delinquents" I started a short explanation. Taking Ralph's hand in mine to try and keep him calm. "Heating up a knife, to then slash his face. And I got jumped too when I tried to protect him" I explained. Taking off the scarf. "I understand why he hates humans... and I don't trust them either. Even if I am one" I added. Taking a deep breath before continuing. "People have always been rude to me when they find out I actually treat Androids like people. Some even beat me, throw stuff at me. Push me, spit on me" I continued my story. "And I was forced to hide who I was. Even still today... all because I believed in equal rights for androids... It... pains me to see you being beaten and used for fun. Especially deviants who understands what's happening" I finished my story. I should say that I had to cut it there, as there was a knock on the door. Ralph grabbed his knife, and told us to hide. Leading Kara and Alice underneath the staircase, while I scurried to the kitchen. He hurried back to the center of the room. Right in time for the door to open.
Another android. One of the most recent models from the RK line. I quickly hid behind the wall again, pulling my scarf up, and I could hear them approaching Ralph. "I'm looking for an AX400. Have you seen it?" the RK asked. Very demanding. "No, it's just Ralph here" he answered. After a few more back and forths, and the stress increasing in Ralph's tone, I couldn't take it anymore. I stepped out of the kitchen. "Back off!" I called, brandishing my butterfly knife. "Don't you dare hurt him" I said, with heavy breaths, as I stepped in front of Ralph. "I'm sorry. But I'm here to investigate-" I cut him off. "I haven't seen whoever you're looking for. It's just the two of us, now. And you're putting Ralph through unnecessary stress" I answered. "Go ahead and look around. But you won't find anything" I added, and he walked to the kitchen. I walked backwards towards the staircase, leading the android behind me. Keeping my eyes and focus on the RK, to make him think that I'm just protecting Ralph, and not trying to cover anything up. I had Ralph sit down by the boxes, as the RK returned. He looked behind me, to see the gardener hugging his knees. He continued upstairs, and came down after a minute or so. "I'm sorry for the inconvenience. And take care of your android. But be careful" he started. "I know he's deviant. But it doesn't change anything when he's a friend. Now, off you go" I answered calmly, closing my knife. He apologized once more, before leaving.
I walked over to a window, making sure that they had left. After that, I returned to the group, and told them that it's safe to come out. "Thank you" Kara said. "We'll be leaving now" she added. I nodded as the two went out the front door.
I turned back, to help Ralph back up. "You'll be safe now. I need to leave too if I want to get back home" I said. I had already missed the first bus, and the next would be going in about ten minutes. I turned around to leave, but was stopped when Ralph grabbed the strap to my bag. "No... Ralph doesn't want (Y/N) to leave" he said. "I have to. I have a home and a dog to take care of. I'm sorry" I said. It took a moment for him to let go of my bag. Looking down at the floor, with his fists together. "I thought you didn't like humans. I'm a human, why do you not hate me?" I asked, turning to face him again. "(Y/N) is not like other humans. She is nice... she protected Ralph from the bad ones" he answered, looking up at me for a moment, but returned his gaze to the floor.
I quickly went upstairs, and found an old hoodie. I sprinted back downstairs, and told him to put it on. "You can come with me if you'd like. You'll be safe with me. In a nice house with a big garden" I said. Holding the hoodie in front of him.
And now here we are. Waiting on the bus until we reach my stop. He was sitting closer to the window, holding the rim of the hood, shielding his face. While I had taken and folded the woven cloak he had on. I'm pretty sure it's a torn tarpaulin for cargo. It does say cargo on it, so it's a good guess.
It's also a good thing that the bus is fairly empty. I put my hand on his leg, to reassure him. "It's going to be okay. I hope you like dogs" I said, to lighten the mood. "Her name is Tai, and is a full grown Tibetan Mastiff, who still thinks she's a lap dog. She might growl at you when she first sees you, since she doesn't know who you are. But she'll quickly see that you're a friend" I continued, telling him story after story about Tai.
