Dinner had to be adapted, somewhat, given the fact two of the three there didn’t need—or, frankly, had any ability—to eat. They’d spent quite a few weeks, at first, figuring out what worked best for all of them. Eventually they settled on calling it “maintenance,” where Helyana would eat and Rhuni and Mekha would self-assess their conditions and do minor repairs. With their lives as busy as they soon became, it gave them all the time to talk, and to do the vital things they might’ve neglected otherwise.

“Oh, I’ve almost finished my commission,” Helyana remarked. “It was a well-paying one, too, for the limited amount of work I had to do. And I… thought it might be nice, if we take a little trip when I’ve gotten my pay. A family vacation, perhaps.”

Rhuni considered it. “What about the humans here, though? The demons aren’t going to stop just because we aren’t here…”

Helyana frowned. “With the other Automations, they’re more than capable of fending the demons off. The two of you aren’t the sole reason Cyrene is still standing. You’re worth more than your service to the city.”

“I know, Mother,” Rhuni said. It was then Helyana realized she might’ve come off as harsh—Rhuni shrunk, slightly, as she continued. “I was just worried. It’s been three years since they were without our protection…”

“I understand that,” Helyana sighed. “My apologies, dear. I must be a little tired.”

Tired of the other humans keeping her from spending time with her children, more like…

Mekha nodded nervously, but it proved to be a part of a distraction. “I think it sounds like a good idea, Mother. Where do you think we’ll go?”

She grew a smile at the idea. “I’m not sure yet. I tried thinking of something before, but it was hard to come up with a place where we could be unbothered by work or familiar faces. Where would you want to go?”

“Oh! Could it be somewhere with a lot of animals? Or at least puppies?” Mekha asked.

Rhuni gave him a quizzical look. “Puppies?”

“Mhm! I made a new human friend today, and he had a puppy. It was cute!” He seemed to think of something else, though, because he looked back at Helyana. “Mother, could we get a puppy? I promise I’ll take extra good care of it! And I’m sure Rhuni will help, too, once she sees how cute it is!”

Helyana couldn’t help but muffle a bit of laughter at his excitement; the feeling soon faded, however, to something more melancholy. “I don’t know. Animals take a lot of work to care for—even if I figured out how to make one. Then there’s… the lifespan. Most dogs only live for about thirteen years. It might seem like a lot now, but those days will go by before you know it…”

“We’re already going to outlive every human here, aren’t we?” Perhaps the worst part wasn’t that Rhuni asked the question, but that she sounded like she already knew the answer… that she knew she was right. “As long as we’re able to be repaired, we’ll likely see many more generations. A loss of a pet now might prepare us for the loss of other loved ones later.”

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“I… suppose you have a point,” Helyana said slowly. “I hadn’t thought about it that way. You’re right—humans only… live so long, and the two of you are practically immortal…”

The realization brought her a considerable amount of distress, actually. It reminded her that, one day, she’d need to say goodbye to her children. There’d be no way she could keep up with them forever. It was impossible, after all, for a human to attain immortality…

Though, seven years ago, people would also say that Automations were impossible, and she proved them wrong. This was her family—she wasn’t about to give up and accept her fate so easily. She’ll find a way so that they never have to be apart.

“Well, that’s enough of that,” Helyana announced, shaking her head to clear it. “Rhuni, I don’t think I’ve heard about your day. How—“

A regular Automation walked through the doors, saying blankly, “You have an urgent visitor, Miss Helyana.”

This visitor—a panicked citizen—didn’t wait for a cue to introduce themself. Instead, they went straight to the news. “There are demons heading for us from the east! There’s a lot of them, and they seem to be stronger than most of the others. The leader of the Fallen’s Angels is with them, along with many unfamiliar beasts. We’re afraid we’re not going to have enough Automations to take care of them while still keeping enough in Cyrene in case more demons appear.”

Rhuni and Mekha were up even before they’d finished.

“We’ll be there right away,” Rhuni said. She quickly put away the tools she’d been using before.

“I’m already done,” Mekha offered. “I’ll head there first, and you can meet up with me.”

“Neither of you are going anywhere!” Helyana demanded, slamming her hands against the table. She didn’t process what she did until she realized they were both staring at her. “I—I mean, it sounds dangerous. I’m worried about the two of you going out there—I haven’t had the opportunity to look over both of you since the last battle…”

Rhuni, despite clear uncertainty, gave a small smile. “We’ll be alright, Mother, I promise.”

Mekha nodded. “We’ll come back like we always do! This will help keep everyone safe—then we can all go on that trip without anything to worry about.”

“Alright.” Helyana couldn’t look at them, though, out of a mix of guilt for yelling and the fact she still wanted them to stay. “I’m going to trust you, so make sure to take care of each other. I think there’s a couple of Automations in my workshop that are nearly repaired—I’ll finish those and send them to your location to help.”

The citizen looked relieved. “Thank goodness! With all of you working together in some way, I know that we’ll be able to fight back the demons. They’re going to regret messing with Cyrene!”

The three of them gave a mumbled agreement, though Helyana knew none of them truly believed it. The truth of the matter—there were new, stronger demons, in rapidly-increasing numbers—was a little too hard to deny.

She watched Rhuni and Mekha leave with the citizen, then went to work herself. She’d walked right to her workshop and to where the half-repaired Automations were, but… something else did cross her mind.

On one of the workbenches, there were some of the notes she scribbled down while she was researching souls. It hadn’t meant much to her then, but glancing over it again… perhaps that was the answer to her questions.

Until, of course, she got to the part of what it would cost.

And while she told herself it was a price she wasn’t going to pay, she still tucked the thought away in her mind…