The two found themselves in a forest. Figure gently set down Dolli and then sat down next to her. He made a decent shield for her, few bullets getting further than denting his back. “Odds of survival beyond this point are better than they were before.” Figure said. He knew he couldn’t give any exact numbers since Dolli may panic, but this he guessed, would be enough to put her at ease, but he was incorrect. “Where are we going to go… What are we going to do… How are we going to avoid being captured again… They took Nett, I don’t think they want to take us alive.” Figure sat silently considering this for a moment. “You being quiet doesnt help at all…” She said. More silence. “I'm trying to comfort you, but your need for it to be now hampers my ability to do that.” He poked her arm, “This is worrying for me as well.” She looked at him, “Well you don’t show it.” A rapid scraping of metal emanated from Figure, his laugh, “Because my face plate definitely allows for that.” “I think I should paint a real face onto you,” Dolli said. “You know, so you can be more expressive.” Figure rubbed his hand in the dirt and smeared some of it on his face in the vague shape of a smile, “Better?” A sound that actually sounded like a laugh came from Dolli “Let me get it for you silly.” She spent some time smearing dirt on his face, trying to imagine how he’d look with a real face. After a bit she finished, the result was not a whole lot better than what Figure had done. “How do I look?” Figure asked softly. “You look wonderful Fig.” He wiped the dirt from his face and continued, “I suggest you power down for the night. I don’t believe we are going to have many chances to recharge, so power conservation is going to be important.” Dolli leaned against him in agreement, “You’re right. Tomorrow we should find a place to stay, or or or build a little shack in the woods, I think that could be fun.” Dolli’s eyes dimmed, effectively sleeping, as Figure sat alone with his thoughts, if you could call them that. He wasn't nearly as complex as Dolli, just built with basic logic. Yet somehow, he was capable of some level of compassion, anger, and sorrow. He doesn't know why he feels, he just does, and that's okay for him. His body is of a decommissioned construction bot, built to handle the extremes. Figure’s earliest memory of consciousness was long after he was reactivated. A girl named Nett had found him marked for disassembly and took him home. She saw no flaw and booted him up. He worked like normal and awaited tasks. Though a few months after his reactivation, it became apparent why he was marked. His intelligence systems were faulty, prone to sudden stops. He eventually stopped listening to direct commands and began to observe and move unprompted. This is when he came to consciousness. He had difficulty controlling his body as it felt foreign to him. He wasn't going through the motions anymore but thinking about each step and how to move without falling. Tasks that needed slight movements were especially difficult as he had yet to learn precision. Nett would assist him and help work on motor functions. Over time he was able to overcome the challenge. He got his name from Nett as he reminded her of an action figure, somehow. Dolli, who was a caretaker for Nett, gave him the nickname “Fig”. Dolli was from a line of robots meant to mimic some characteristics of humans. She was built of wood, had a humanoid form, and had a very basic face. She had a voice box instead of a mouth as it’d serve no purpose, bright eyes to illuminate an area for when traversing the dark, and blue hair-like string. Her line was built in with a state of the art intelligence system. It had the ability to simulate human emotions to help them better understand and take care of children. Nett adored these two, they were like family to her. She and Dolli both had an interest in fashion and they’d often go shopping together. Dolli’s preferred outfit of choice was a white sweater, navy blue pants, and a black ivy cap. Figure wasn't a big fan of his orange and black panels, so Nett painted them gold yellow at his request. Nett eventually moved and took the two bots with her. By morning, when Dolli reactivated, Figure was staring forward, thinking. “Hey Fig, wake up,” she tapped on his head. He got up and warmed up his joints, said some gibberish for a moment, then answered “Hello Dolli. What do you want to do?” “Lets just pick a direction and go, we will find something eventually” Figure nodded. Dolli, as they walked, couldn’t stop thinking about ther circumstance. Why had they been collected? Why did they take Nett? What if they get found again? What if they get captured? What would happen to them? What would- “How many large cities do you think there are?” Figure said. “Hmm?” “How many large cities populate the country? Speaking of country, how do you think the countryside looks?” Dolli pondered this, “Well if I remember correctly, there are actually quite a few. I’d say around 7 or so. As for the countryside, at Netts old house, there was a poster of a farm, but the background wasn’t in focus. Maybe we should visit.” “That sounds nice,” he said. They kept up the small talk for a few hours before arriving at a small town called Cirda. Whatever happened to them the day prior, seemed to have not arrived here. Dolli grabbed Figures arm, he’d keep her safe. “We will need to procure money to use the charge station, I’ll find a quick job.” Dolli shook her head, “We will find jobs, I don't want to just be a burden.” “You are not a burden to me, you are my priority. Those aren’t the same.” If Dolli could smile she would. “We will find Nett, and go back to how things were,” he said as he gently brushed some dirt off of her.

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