The Living condition

8

Life on Copper-9 was not nearly as bad once you'd worked yourself into a routine. Sure, that routine depended on the social life of a socially-anxious and emotionally repressed teenage drone, but it was a routine nonetheless. You'd eat cold canned food that wouldn't fully heat up no matter how long you ran it under flames in the doorman's kitchen area (that was..mostly unworkable. You assume it must've been someone else's home prior to the drones, but whoever it was didn't take care of themself in the first place) You'd lounge around the living room and wait for Uzi to either wake up or leave her room, and then follow her around like a stray.

Most days, she'd 'sneak out' of the outpost to spend time with V and N. If you were a bolder person, you'd confront her on wanting to spend so much time with the creatures that kill worker drones, but you don't have the heart to do it, less she locks you out of her warmer room.

You'd wait until she'd open her door and just stare out of it and look around suspiciously. It was a new learning process. She didn't want her father to think at all that she was being more friendly with you than was normal for Uzi Doorman.

She would confirm to herself that no one else was in the house before letting you inside of her room.

Some days, you really did feel like someone's stray dog, but at least there was no cage holding you down to anything, no real rules or regulations and nothing too extreme to worry about. You'd gotten past the teeth marks in your arm, emotionally. The pain had started fading early on to subtle aches and pains of blood clotting the wound, and you found no point to hold onto any ire for Uzi. you couldn't fathom being under the same roof and staying pissed at someone. Again, anyways.

"I don't get what it is about them." Uzi would sigh, slumping back against the spinning chair in her room as she twirled around to face you on her bed "They were purposefully broken. There's gotta be something about that."

"They were made to kill. Can't it be that simple?"

"It could, but is it? Doomed from the start." Uzi groaned, sliding her hands down her visor in frustration "Don't kill, don't live. It's not like there's a steady stream of oil anywhere other than–" wordlessly, she sharply gestures at herself

"What about Doll's room? You said she was eating people. Did she eat all of it?"

"No, but–..I don't think we're that desperate." Uzi huffs "'Least I'm not."

"What are you going to tell your dad? Or when– I guess?"

"Not until it's forced outta me. 'Hey dad, your already freaky kid got even MORE freaky when you weren't watching. I eat people now.'" she scoffs "I imagine we'd get locked outta those doors just as fast." The drone crosses her arms over her chest.

"Is it good to hide something so..drastic, from him?"

"Are you gonna question every decision I make?"

"Well, what if you snap?"

"I'm not going to snap. What am I, Feral?"

"Are you?" It's said in Jest. You know she wasn't, and you hoped that she wouldn't be again. Sure, it was a little in the air, but it's not like it was any sort of imminent danger. She'd proved just fine that she could unfurl her wings and be a menace in the sky without gnashing teeth just fine.

Uzi scoffs a surprised laugh before she breathes out forcefully. "Wow. Real nice of you, Fleshbag."

"Name calling?"

"Bite me."

—

The Landing pod within the corpse spire was a very comfortable part of your routine. Not the seats, no, vastly uncomfortable and made of materials that were definitely meant to cut costs wherever possible. But it was comfortable and warmer than the outside as it always was.