Digi-Friends

Pearl.

I continued to sit on the leathered couch while waiting for Firey to return. He had been outside for close to 10 minutes.

What to do to pass the time... Oh yeah!

I threw myself off of the couch and approached my charger. Flipping it over, I opened it up and carefully grabbed a purple pearl. There was more of them in my box, but this one was the best. I stroked the metal surface and smiled. It reminded me of him.

Teacher would've loved to see this.

Teacher would've liked to see a lot of things. Maybe I could him again. It wasn't too long ago that I was shoved into my charger box. At least I wasn't alone anymore.

Walking back over to the couch, I sat down and put the pearl in my mouth. After five seconds, it beeped and I took it out, holding it on my hand. A projection came out of the purple object and showed a bird flying. It was called a mourning dove. It flapped around for a while before landing on a tree branch and singing.

The projection kept repeating and my eyes were locked on it. Though my tail started to sway back and forth out of habit, I didn't mind. I had not seen a single animal since I got out of my box. My legs started to tap the ground.

Creak

I looked down where the sound came from and saw nothing. It didn't look like anything was of the ordinar-

"My legs!" I exclaimed to myself.

Rust was beginning to build up where my legs were jointed. It would definitely get worse, but I could still see some of the original metal. I used my hand to tug lightly on my legs. As expected, they were relatively loose. Doing the same thing to my arms, I realized they were also loose. Some of the screws felt like they could fall out any time.

This isn't any good! I could fall apart!

I carefully turned off the pearl before getting up. I made my way to the front door with my legs occasionally fumbling. I got the door and opened it, seeing Firey sitting down on the concrete. I sat next to him and noticed he was staring down at a phone, reading through some text messages.

He let out a sigh before turning off his phone and tilting his head towards me. "Was I taking too long for you?" He asked with little tone in his voice.

I chuckled and replied, "Kind of. I came to see you for different reason though."

His eyes widened while he nodded his head. He looked slightly happier. That was a start.

"I was wondering if you could take me to a robot technician. My metal isn't doing great."

"And why are you asking me? I'm sure you're aware I don't have money," Firey paused and let out a small breath of air. The joy in his eyes faded away. "But I could take you tomorrow... I get my paycheck then."

Why did that make him sad? Surely he doesn't hate me that much. He lets me live with him! Think Leafy, there has to be something that can lighten the mood.

"Well, how about we talk about ourselves. I mean, we are friends," I stated.

He let out a sigh but agreed, "How about we each ask each other one question? You can go first."

"Hmm, why do you live here? This area seems quite... lifeless."

Firey paused for a moment before staring around the place. I did the same. Everything was various shades of grey. The only real colour was from us two. Still, Firey stood out more. A soft orange glow reflected on everything around him. He looked towards me and his usually cold gaze softened.

"The government uses this place as a trash dump. They don't bother to check if anyone lives here which allows me to not have to pay for the shack. To be honest, I only came here because I ran away," he confessed.

"You must've gotten lonely living here. Though, you don't have to feel like that anymore. I'm going to stay here and help you out."

Firey let out a disgruntled sigh and looked towards my hands. Confusion filled my mind before I realized the purple pearl was still my grasp.

"Tell me about that, Leafy. What is it?" He asked, though it sounded more like a demand.

Maybe he'll like it.

"It's a pearl my Teacher made for me. It can do this," I replied, putting the pearl in my mouth.

It turned on and I showed Firey the projection of the bird. He looked worried at first. His expression soon shifted to awe as the bird started to sing. His eyes closed and a smile was brought to his face.

"That's... really cool. I know I said we should only ask one question, but let me ask one more," he paused and I nodded, so he continued to speak, "what is that creature?"

My tail lightly swayed and I explained, "It's a type of bird known as a mourning dove. They're named after the sounds they make."

"You sound old. Birds are rarely seen around here."

I laughed, "Surely I can't be that old. I remember birds existing here like it was yesterday."

"Well, the year is 2247-" Firey spoke more but I didn't hear.

2247? But... I was created in 2050... Objects don't live longer than 100 years... Is Teacher-
Dead?

I sat still and let go of the pearl. This couldn't be real. That much time couldn't have passed, right? My hands covered my face and my tail drooped. It felt like my insides crunched up all together.

"I'm... going for a walk..." I mumbled before getting up. I didn't wait for Firey's reaction.

I ran in a random direction and ignored the pain I felt in my legs. It didn't matter. Nothing else could've mattered.

I kept running until my legs couldn't handle it anymore. I fell over and slammed into the ground. The area was unfamiliar. I knew nothing of this city anymore. Everything had changed.