Girls' Frontline Fanfiction: Tsar of the Mountain

Poking the Griffin

"All dolls were received and accounted for. We're still getting them into their echelons, but that won't take long." Zeldri was swiping through his tablet looking over the new dolls as he decided where they would go while on a call with Helian in one of the empty conference rooms.

"Good," Helian said as she marked something off on her own tablet, "Keep me informed on the security of your base, Commander, as your situation is rather special."

"Yes, ma'am."

"Have you picked an adjunct from your dolls yet, or should I continue sending reports to Annika?"

"No, I've made AA-12 my adjunct."

"...AA-12?" Helian raised a suspicious eyebrow at that.

"I understand how it sounds," Zeldri reassured her, "But, AA-12 is actually quite competent when it comes to her adjunct duties. She'll be fine."

"...Hm." A knowing smile crossed Helian's face. "Very well. I will trust your judgment, Commander."

"Is it that amusing to have picked her as my adjunct?" Zeldri was confused about her smile.

"No, it's just interesting to see your growth as a commander." When she saw Zeldri's continued confusion she clarified, "This is the first time you've called a doll something other than 'it' or 'they'. You called AA-12 'she'."

"..." Zeldri opened his mouth to speak, but words didn't come out. He hadn't even realized he did that. Dolls were just that; machine dolls. They weren't human so calling them by human pronouns wasn't appropriate. But...he couldn't deny that his t-dolls weren't changing his perspective. That, or he was suffering from mountain madness since dolls weren't people. One of the two. "I suppose I did." Zeldri aired his thoughts. "Is that a strange thing to do?"

"No," Helian shook her head, "As far as I know, you're the only commander we have who hasn't been calling our t-dolls by human pronouns. But, none of our other commanders have your kind of background so it's interesting to see your change."

"I didn't realize your hobby was people-watching, Miss Helianthus."

"It's not, but when you work with as many people as I do you pick up on things like this more easily." The atmosphere between them was rather casual which caused Helian to speak more freely than she otherwise would. "I look forward to seeing your continued growth, Commander Zeldri."

"Growth, or mountain madness?" Zeldri played into the growing mood.

"There's no such thing." Helian feigned annoyance at Zeldri's joke. "And, even if there was, you're surrounded by enough people, doll and human, to ward it off. I'm not giving you a vacation disguised as a medical leave."

"I'd never consider such a thing."

"Ahuh." The mood was casual and light enough that a thought wormed into Helian's mind. She glanced around to make sure no one was around in her office, and that her door was shut before looking back to Zeldri. "Though, speaking of your next leave..."

"Hm?" Zeldri noticed a shift in Helian's posture as she became slightly awkward.

"...Do yo-"

"Commander?" As Helian was about to ask her question, Annika opened the door to the conference room Zeldri was using to call her. "Ah, sorry. I see you're in a call."

"..." Helian quickly shut her mouth and returned to her more normal rigid posture. "It's fine, Annika. We were just finishing up." She glanced at Zeldri. "Keep me updated on your situation, Commander."