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The night was settling in slowly.
WX-78 tread forth to their special place up on the hill, as the last of the sun's rays disappeared and the light grew dimmer. But they didn't fear the looming darkness, not this time, for today, the full moon would return at last.
They've awaited its recurrence since the last time it passed. They've never once missed out on any of those particular nights, always making sure to know when they'd come back.
Always making the most of them.
This giant spherical rock in the sky felt very dear to them for some reason. They felt obligated to give it the respect it rightfully deserved. Worshiping it like those foul fleshlings should've worshiped them.
Speaking of foul fleshlings, it appears one of them had managed to find their special spot... This was not a good start to their night. In fact, this was terrible!
It was that disgusting, smelly Plantling. He was sitting there under the only bearable to look at tree, taking his sweet time, relaxing… Not to mention, he sat exactly, where they'd always used to sit, as if he owned the place now, this only infuriated them more.
How dare he, out of any corner of this wretched forest, decide to steal the one they specifically OWNED. This wouldn't stand. NO!
Ignited, they marched towards him and up the hill, ready to beat some sense into that mindless beast.
But they stopped short at the very last second.
Something wasn't right…This creature looked…Different…
The usually extremely hideous monster looked…Frankly much less hideous. Even as to say…Spruce.
That ugly branch was covered up by a large pret– passable flower of unknown origin. With swirl-shaped embellishments and sprouting white anthers that spread strange pollen, swiftly contaminating the whole area.
He was in full bloom, WX-78 could tell, but this was not his regular blooming, where he was smothered in ugly shades of green and pink. It wasn't even the season for that actually, that they think about it.
Though, this time, acceptable hues of indigo and teal covered him instead...
WX-78 wasn't sure what to make of this. They weren't even sure if this was the same plant or another member of his species that they randomly just stumbled upon.
Their dumbfounded state had passed however when they heard him calling out.
-"Oh, robot friend! What you doing here?"
Yup, this was most certainly him. With that, their aggravation returned.
-"SCOFF WHAT AM I DOING HERE? WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE, YOU VERMIN?! THIS IS MY SPOT, GET OUT NOW OR I'LL MAKE YOU LEAVE!"
He was taken aback, if only for a moment, but then, the obnoxious serenity of his returned.
-"Oh, this your place? Didn't know, sorry. It's really pretty! You can join! We can watch night ball together!"
The next thing Wormwood knew, the automaton was up in his face, looking even madder than before.
-"DID YOU NOT HEAR WHAT I JUST SAID? GET OUT. NOW!!! "
They shouted, pointing straight back into the forest's gloom. This idiot wouldn't get it, if the order wasn't literally displayed in front of him.
The Plantling frowned. Good, he should feel ashamed.
-"Okay, sorry to bother. I just…wanted to look at mom– ehr, I mean, moon– NIGHT BALL! Not– um … I will leave now…"
WX-78's facial plate shifted into confusion, and then bewilderment shortly after.
-"WAIT, STOP. WHAT. WHAT DO YOU MEAN 'MOM' WHAT DOES THAT MEAN??!"
Wormwood suddenly looked quite uncomfortable, but WX-78 felt no pity toward him.
Although their interest was admittedly peaked. Yes, he may have said this, only to persuade them into letting him stay, but they just couldn't imagine a fool like him being capable of such strategic manipulation.
He looked so lost as he spoke out those dreadful words...
-"I…My…Mom…?"
WX-78's eyes then widened as they came to a possible realization. No. This couldn't be. He couldn't possibly be…
-"ARE YOU…TRYING TO TELL ME THAT THE MOON IS…YOUR CREATOR…?"
Wormwood wasn't sure what exactly he should respond with, so he simply nodded.
Before the Plantling could process what was happening, he was being dragged back onto the hilltop, from which moments ago he was being pushed off.
He was forced to sit down, next to a very fascinated WX, who seemed to stare at him now, as if he was actually worth looking at.
This didn't help him feel any more welcome.
-"FIRST OF ALL, HOW AND WHY. HOW DID THIS HAPPEN? WHEN DID THIS HAPPEN, WHY DO YOU EXIST? HOW DO YOU EXIST? HOW OLD EVEN ARE YOU? WHAT ARE YOU REALLY? ARE YOU TRYING TO DECEIVE M–"
-"STOP! Please just stop! No more asking!"
All these questions only made the plant's head dull worse, he really didn't mean to shout, but...
WX-78 wasn't sure how to respond to that reaction. Who wouldn't want to talk about their superior creator, especially if it just happened to be the moon? Why was this fleshling so stubborn and difficult all of a sudden?
Wormwood sighed, exasperated. He'll give them what they want—enough of it.
-"Okay so…I um…Long ago, I fell from the sky. From home on night ball … I think. Not sure, memory really fuzzy. I think I wasn't me back then yet
Some time passed, then I was me I am now. Happy?"
Despite how horridly awkward his storytelling ability was, WX was enamored by the tale.
For all this time, such a beast turned out to be made by the purest of divinities. Now that they think about it, it did make sense, the moon has created some truly atrocious monsters in the past.
It wasn't one to bother and make semblances of itself like certain gods and deities. Instead choosing to ponder the more disturbing agenda. This was understandable, nothing could truly compare to its greatness. It was a well-known fact. Any attempt at replicating itself would come with immense struggle, even to the great numen.
And yet… Looking at this creature– Wormwood now…Perhaps they judged him too harshly.
His face, while crooked, still looked better than that of most fleshlings. And the leaves, how deficient they made him seem before, now added a somewhat charming aura to the Plantling.
That odd flower was certainly a pleasant add-on.
And then, there were his perfect gem and those gleaming milky eyes…WX-78 can say, neither of those was ever ugly to them, in fact, those were the only parts of him that were ever tolerable to look at...Well, before.
...Or maybe that's because he wasn't actually that hideous, to begin with.
How inane they feel, realizing this.
There's also the possibility, that the single fact he comes from the moon suddenly made them feel this way… Or was it that something deeply hidden and buried, newly back unearthed...
Nevertheless. They wanted to know more. They needed to know more, more about his origin, more about his gem, more about his powers, more about him overall.
The sole focus of their monthly trips, nearly all but forgotten.
-"TELL ME MORE!" They demanded of the other, cupping his petite hands within their own much bulkier ones.
He seemed more hesitant, was the moon upset with him? Were they asking too much?
But they couldn't stop themself, they craved knowledge. Lunar knowledge to be exact, and after learning all of this…
After learning this about him…
-"I WON'T TELL ANYONE, I SWEAR. YOU CAN TRUST ME–"
This was apparently a poor choice of words, for Wormwood's face shifted. He deadpanned at them, not believing their statement whatsoever.
…That's reasonable, considering their past actions, not even from half an hour ago.
WX-78, realizing their mistake, cleared their throat. So to speak.
-"I MEAN…JUST THIS ONCE...PLEASE, I NEED TO KNOW!"
They knew they were beginning to sound desperate, which was embarrassing, yes, but justified via the circumstance.
Wormwood looked as if he was contemplating this over in his head, he was even scratching his chin for emphasis.
This gave them hope.
Then, he looked up at them with a small smile.
-"Can you…keep a Secret?"
They eagerly nodded.
-"YES! A SECRET! NO ONE ELSE WOULD GET ANY INFORMATION OUT OF ME, I PROMISE YOU THIS! -BECAUSE THEY CLEARLY DON'T DESERVE NOR APPRECIATE THE MOON JUST AS MUCH AS I DO! I'D TAKE IT TO MY…"
In the process of their rambling, and out of pure excitement they didn't notice how they were crushing Wormwood's hands. He winced in pain, trying to pull away.
-"Um...Could you...?" He asked, glancing at his arms and then at them, back and forth with a plea.
The robot understood immediately and let go of his hands.
-"SORRY"
They didn't know why, but they felt…Bad about hurting him this time. This didn't make a lot of sense to them. They were ready to beat him up not long before, how come one measly piece of information about him made them feel these things…
Instead of contemplating this over more, they retracted their hands, rather putting them on their knees, in a seiza position.
-"Okay…Here goes."
When WX-78 looked at the Moonling once more, his eyes were closed.
Then he raised his hands towards their face.
They instinctively flinched away.
Wormwood sighed and mumbled out a simple order.
-"Stay."
They complied, very reluctantly.
His touch felt...Off. Ominous. Even as to say...Unreal or ghastly, yet it was far from the worst feeling they'd ever experienced.
They still had to restrain themself from speaking a word of complaint though. Whatever secrets the plant held of its creator, or himself to an extent, were worth the temporary discomfort.
Wormwood's eyes remained closed.
He leaned in closer, this time when they tried to pull away, his grip was firmly locked onto their face, not too roughly, but amazingly, he was somehow strong enough to make them stay still…
The minuscule proximity made them feel uneasy, in a weird way, why couldn't the organic just say it out loud? There was no one around. Not even darkness herself, because of the big, bright moon shining up above.
Or at the very least, he could say it in a more hushed tone, It's not like they wouldn't have heard it, especially with their enhanced hearing.
The other fleshlings never got so close to their face when telling them their own secrets. They most definitely would never let that happen in any other situation. And…even when the others did get somewhat close, the positioning of their hands was usually next to one of their hex bolts, cupped around it, as if trying to cover it.
Quite the pathetic attempt at deafening their surroundings, considering their hex bolts had nothing to do with their hearing.
Although, the one thing they were pretty sure of, was that the person was always located diagonally to them, on either one of their sides, whilst the Moonling was sitting right in front of them, his hands cradling the parts of their face where cheeks and ears would've been… Or used to be.
Was this how plants shared secrets with each other? Or was it just Wormwood…
With this, WX-78 attempted to voice their doubts.
-"THIS ISN'T HOW NORMAL SECRET-SHARING WORKS, MOONLING...IS THIS SOME KIND OF A–A... A .. plant..ritual… ?"
Their tone of voice faltered as they looked back at his face.
He finally did open his eyes and...Oh…
Oh.
They looked so much Different.
They now glowed brighter and swirled around like gyres painted in soft blue hues.
They were…absolutely gorgeous, the most beautiful eyes the automaton has ever seen. They weren't generally the type to take any interest in others' appearances, especially ones of lower species. Their seeing modules included.
And yet...His were so...
They just couldn't get enough of them, they couldn't make themself look away.
Mustn't.
Even if they wanted to, they felt…Paralyzed. Not one joint in their superior metallic body would move.
It was as if in itself their body was in a state of deep sleep, while they themself were still wide awake.
And frankly, they didn't care if they could move or not, not at the moment. Not now.
...Even if this did turn out to be just a dream, they didn't feel like waking up. Not ever.
Wait, Did they even dream? They couldn't recall…
Not like it mattered.
They were completely mesmerized by those swirling orbs.
Then, Wormwood began to speak. It wasn't in any known language they had ever registered in their database. It sounded so foreign, maybe even...Ancient.
As soon as the words reached their hearing module, it was as if they were hit by a giant wave of fatigue. Something they've not experienced before. not in a long time.
Even whilst in the process of shutting down, it was never like this... Their eyes felt heavy and the world started swimming around them, blurring and fading away into the depths, as if they had just been thrown underwater.
This feeling felt so alien, so…scary.
The image of Wormwood gradually became distorted, as did his eyes…
They realized then and there, they were starting to lose consciousness. This meant they wouldn't be able to look at those two enticing spirals anymore.
For some reason, this idea absolutely terrified them.
-"no..." They whimpered. Too exhausted to feel humiliated about producing a sound so meek and human.
And like on impulse, their hands twitched back to life, then moved directly towards the other, gripping onto Wormwood's mane's leaves. Not strong enough to tear them, of course, they were too debilitated for that anyway. But firm enough to try and keep themself awake. If only for just a little longer.
They mustn't lose sight of him.
-"NO! please…I need to..I..I NEED TO SEE– don't…DON'T LEAVE…!"
The chain of whispers stopped for just a moment, their vision clearing, if only slightly.
Wormwood then put his finger up against their mouth, signaling for them to stop speaking.
They obeyed without any protest.
-"Shhh... It's okay. Everything is okay. I won't leave. Promise."
His voice was so warm and comforting…So much so, that for the first time in a very long time...They felt completely safe.
It made them think that nothing in this entire world could ever hurt them in any way, not with him around…
They never let themself feel safe, not since before the…Their entire existence as a robot, they didn't trust anything that wasn't a machine, or resembling one in a way…Yet even then not every machine was friendly towards them...
To have complete trust in anyone at all was foolish and dangerous, and it never ended well...
But somehow…
Now, they found themself safer in the hands of an organic creature of all things, than they've ever felt, near anything or anyone at all.
And on a beautiful moonlit night.
Right, this wasn't just any organic, they were made by...
Their grip on Wormwood's mane lessened.
That was apparently the cue for the whispering to resume.
The world kept growing darker by the second, they couldn't even see Wormwood's face anymore. Although they could feel him gently pulling them closer, embracing their whole stature, letting them rest their head on his leaves...Still chanting the incantation softly.
It all felt so…Nice.
They felt as if they were right at home within his hold. They didn't want to lose this.
They didn't want to lose him...
The last thing they heard from him was a whisper.
-"Goodnight..."
And everything faded to black.
When they awoke, they were back in their tent, under the covers they rarely ever used.
All alone.
They were confused for a moment, then almost disappointed…
That's when they noticed small, white petals sticking out around their right eye, they gently picked at them from their placement around their hex bolt.
It turned out to be a single lune blossom, or was it a gardenia? They did look quite similar…
Guess they actually learned something from the Librarian for once.
...Since no one else was there, they allowed themself to smile fondly at it, caressing its petals with a softness that didn't come naturally to them.
So this wasn't a dream After all. Of course, it wouldn't be, that thought alone was foolish as it is.
That meant Wormwood really was a creature of the moon...And that he…
Of course, they weren't surprised, they'd take it as they're at fault, this once.
They should start paying closer attention to him from now on.
Perhaps start visiting that frivolous little garden of his, maybe leave by a couple of seeds and other filth they found on the ground.
It was obvious, he didn't trust them yet. That's why he left them alone after all …But they'd show him.
They'll prove themself to him yet.