Like Starlight - The Spine

Chapter One ~~ In Which Sophie Discovers the Steam Man Band

He was unsure what had happened when his eyes snapped open. Only that he had been inactive for a very long time. The rust on his body and the inability to move made that clear. His head creaked towards the sky, a hole in the ceiling gave way to an atmosphere lit with stars.

His head snapped towards the creaking of the floor boards, and a sudden crash. A woman, struggling, trying to pull herself up from the floor that had given way. He made his way towards her, carefully calculating his steps forward, before offering her a hand. Her struggling stopped for a moment, before she hesitantly accepted his offer. He pulled her up carefully, humans were fragile.

"Y-You're a robot."

He tips his hat to her, opening his mouth to speak. Steam rose before him, and the woman seemed to look on him with care as his voice gurgled. Taking a cloth from her denim pocket, wiping something from his face, before placing the oil stained cloth back in her pocket.

He closes his mouth, before speaking with robotic ease.

"An automaton."

The woman nods.

"You're rusting." The woman says, observing him slightly, looking him over. "And your clothes are dirty." She whispers. Before looking him in the eyes. Holding out her hand to him.

"I'll fix you up, alright? We can't be here much longer."

He looks around, head snapping from side to side. Looking.

"My friends... they must still be here."

"We'll come back for them."

He looks back towards the woman, her blonde hair falling just below her shoulders. Her eyes barely visible to him in the night sky's light. She seemed genuine. Holding out her hand to him.

"I promise you, no matter what. We will find your friends."

The fabric covering her features masked her face and muffled her words. He took her hand. How long had he been inactive? Would the others still function?

"I'm Sophie. By the way." The woman says sheepishly, navigating their way out of the house. It had certainly seen better days. The walls felt like they were collapsing with every second that tick, tick, ticked by. The wood in the floors had rotted, and the furniture was eaten away by moths long ago.

When they exit the decaying building, the woman pulls her mask off her face. Revealing a dazzling smile. He pulls his arm back to his side, and lets it fall.

"I figure you might as well know." Her smile seems to fall a little as she looks up at him. Looking away before pulling the gloves off of her hands.

"I- uh. I suppose you don't really have a formal name do you?"

He gives her a slightly bewildered look.

"My name's The Spine."

Her eyebrows shoot upward, staring at him.

"You wouldn't have been built with a titanium alloy spine, would you?"

"I call it my backstory."

She chuckles slightly, at the pun or at the information, he can't tell.

"Fathers stories were true."

She smiles up at him. Clearing her throat.

"Well, The Spine. We'll workshop your more human name later if you'd like one."

He seems to freeze for a moment as he thinks. Everything goes black for a moment.

"Spine. Hey, c'mon I can't move you myself."