[SFW VERSION]
🌹 There's something wonderful in those who stare death in the face. Even in a world wracked by relentless calamity, flowers blossom between a sea of corpses, the shapeless crimson rivers marched over by mechanical instruments of mass...
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
"Err... come again?"
Kilo stares at you, her expression stuck between disbelief and awe. Behind her, Talos, that hulking hunk of metal, stands idly by, the only signal of power within him displaying itself in a vague strobe of light behind his eyes. You look firmly at Kilo and say it again:
"Why not spend a day away from Talos?"
She blinks, starts doing a double take, her soft green eyes flicking from you to the robot and back. Talos, soulless, returns the gaze, his metallic features glowing under the light of the Command Center, not a twinge of movement coming from that bronze mask.
It seems Kilo can't believe her ears.
"Spending a day away from Kilo," she echoes your ridiculous suggestion. "Why? What am I gonna do? I can't help you on the Surface, w-without him, I mean. I think I'd just get in the way. Or... worse, I'd get hurt and be a burden. You really want that?" One of her eyebrows arches like she's trying to lift it to the ceiling. "I don't think you want that. I-I can't do that."
In spite of her ramblings, you find yourself gently rolling your eyes. "When did I say anything about the Surface?"
"W-Well, you're the Commander. 'Surface' is pretty much your middle name. What else would we do, or go?"
"This is the Ark," you say, "I don't see any battles to be fought."
Oblivious, Kilo blinks her eyes slowly again. "I don't see what you're getting at."
"Is combat the only thing on your mind?"
"Of course not, I just—"
"I'm talking about having some leisurely time around the Ark, Kilo. Leisure."
"Oh."
The dense girl's eyes light up at the comment, though barely by much. In that noggin of hers, she's so fixated on Talos, she can probably hardly ever think for herself. Then again, you suppose you can't really fault her for it, considering her role and unique status as the only Nikke who can pilot the big guy.
"Leisure," Kilo says thoughtfully, her eyes falling to the ground. "Without Talos. With you. Just you..."
You smile and give a curt nod. "Just me."
Caught beneath the pour of LED light fluttering down from the ceiling, something within Kilo's face becomes painfully exaggerated. The raw emotion in her wandering eyes, still stuck to the floor, is no match for the blush tearing across her cheeks. You'd think she had a fever from the way her face flushes and the dimness of her jade eyes pales in comparison to the crimson heat flooding her features.
