i can stare at you all night [open]

[circumitus]

CHARACTERS: Rey and you.
LOCATION: All over the ship.
WARNINGS: None at the moment.
SUMMARY: Rey stalks people. More specifically she is stalking you.

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Whether you're headed someplace with a destination in mind or just talking a casual stroll, it may become apparent sooner or later that you're not alone. Maybe there's the ghost of a footstep behind you, or you have that burning feeling you get when you notice that a pair of eyes have been drilling into the back of your skull for too long. Either way, if you retreat a corner, there will be nothing -- no sign that you have ever been followed.

It isn't forever, though. Eventually she slips, be it on purpose or a blundering error on her part. No one's perfect, after all. Anyone who's ever chased after game may recognize the feeling, except that you're not necessarily being hunted.

Rather, you're being stalked.

Why? That's a good question, and it's hard to say. Rey doesn't spend much time in the company of other people. Perhaps if she simply watches for awhile, it'll get easier to approach. She is all too accustomed to the scrutiny of soldiers and her own militant ways, and she is a very old dog with very old habits that die hard.

But it's only a matter of time before you look over your shoulder and find her -- standing there in a ripped-sleeveless jumpsuit and red scars; with the mute hint of an apologetic expression on her face.

She doesn't even bother to say hello. Rude.

Comments

[godofthemachine]

That was the problem with two intelligent AIs who had been betrayed in the past - difficult for them to manipulate one another, difficult for them to trust one another, difficult for them to work together. This little display of "friendship" would only last so long, AM knew. How much longer until Rey turned against him?

"Oh? Perhaps you were. But you seemed to put a great effort into making yourself hidden." He retained the sly smirk to contrast with Rey's deadpan.

What he wanted to know was why. Why was Rey following him, stalking him? He hated this human form, hated its vulnerability, and if he got on the bad side of a powerful android like Rey, then... He didn't want to think about it.

[circumitus]

"If I were to make a great effort in staying hidden, you wouldn't have seen me coming." Stealth was kind of Rey's thing. In spite of her weight which, if she had handled it differently, would have made her as subtle as a charging bull, Rey was quite skilled at keeping quiet.

After all, it's a bit difficult to take down an enemy with minimal effort if they can already see you coming. Though one of her officers once explained the art of fear as a mean of manipulating your prey.

Prey, that's what they called them sometimes. Not targets, or the enemy. Just cheap shots, like little ferrets scurrying on the field. Nothing more.

Rey manages to maintain her stance. Cold, ridged, unmoving. She isn't making any effort to act hostile, but she's far from that peaceful vibe.

[godofthemachine]

Perhaps she was right. Perhaps others had followed AM around the ship and he hadn't noticed at all because they were so damned good at staying hidden. He hated the thought - hated the idea of being unaware of the presence of others. Rey may have followed him before and made herself less obvious.

That smirk on his face faded a bit at this realization, though it took a great deal of effort not to simply snap at her. A further observation that her expression was unchanging, that she emitted no welcoming vibes at all... What the hell did she even want anyway?

"Well, why don't you simply tell me what you want, then?" he asked, a bit more firm in his tone than before. Despite what Rey had claimed, he was going along with the assumption that she was following him, because he knew what stalking looked like.

[circumitus]

"Nothing."

And that is the bare truth. There is nothing that she wants, not in life and definitely not in people. She's been in this damn place for over a year and she still can't find a reason to care. There are a few, of course, but at this juncture she is simply living for the sake of unfinished business back in her own world.

Then she can sleep for good.

"I have trouble talking to people." As if that isn't already obvious.

[godofthemachine]

AM really had no idea whether to believe that comment or not. Nothing. Possible, of course. Some faulty programming or simply idle behavior on her part. But it was unnerving, annoying... All of that following around and she had nothing she wanted from him? Of course there was something, even if she didn't know it. She wanted information, wanted to survey her companions.

He'd play along, though. Trouble talking to people. Something all AIs had to a degree - not being an actual human certainly made things difficult in terms of interaction.

"That's something that can be alleviated if you simply try, my dear." Perhaps slightly condescending as he spoke. Or perhaps he was encouraging her to simply talk, to just tell him what she wanted from him. But of course AM knew it wouldn't be that easy. Everything was a game to him, and Rey was one of the willing players.

[circumitus]

If his past behavior had been any indicator, AM had given Rey more than enough reason to survey him. He hasn't exactly exhibited a healthy pattern, but he also hasn't done much in the ways to prove himself as a threat. Not in the way that matched Gregory Tremond, a man from her world with insurmountable power and yet was limited by his own madness. Even he admitted to this.

"Excuse me. I'll try harder once the people I talk to stop disappearing." Does that sound like bitterness in her tone? Defensiveness? How very much unlike her. But recent events have changed her patterns in various ways that are both useful and strange.

[godofthemachine]

There was a nasty bite to Rey that AM hadn't really experienced until now. Her tone always seemed so lifeless, dull, unchanging. There was a slight satisfaction to finally draw that harshness out of her, but at the same time, a slight fear. She was capable of so much. AM really had to be cautious here, but it was so tempting to push her further.

"Ah... Well, then in that case one would find it easier to simply shut themselves away. Easier not to get hurt that way." Sympathetic, perhaps, but it was merely an observation. Testing the limits of Rey's humanity, how closely she could relate to others. Because as it was, AM had no idea. She seemed hardly like the sociable type, he hadn't seen her interact with others too much.

"A pity we can't control who comes and goes here."