Synthetic Heart [ENGLISH]

Episode 05 ♥ Soul

     I had written the book on treating every face differently.

     And frankly, it was starting to become quite tiresome. Depending on who I was dealing with, I'd put on a specific persona; energetic, serious, sullen, or emotionless. For example, with the professor Timur I was often energetic, though I also had to be serious around him. The main reason being that he had been there since the first second of my existence, and at some point, it became impossible for me to act indifferent even if I wanted to. Fortunately, Timur never attributed this behavior to the possibility that I might have emotions. In his mind, I was merely imitating them. After all, he had designed me with just enough micro-expressions to function efficiently, but not enough to be mistaken for actual feelings. To him, I was nothing more than a mimic.

     There was only one person who saw things differently. The one standing beside me now, the man who had figured me out, who knew the depths of my heart, and who understood that my mimicry was more real than I cared to admit: Kıraç Kardelen, or the captain... whatever you wanted to call him.

     I looked up at him. His expression locked on the massive temple doors in front of us was as vacant and desolate as a barren graveyard. I wondered what thoughts simmered behind those molten, fire-like eyes, but curiosity didn't drive me. His face was smooth, freshly shaved for the meeting ahead. The scent of the same aftershave from the day we first met drifted through the air.

     "You smell like coconut," I muttered.

     He glanced at me briefly, the weight of his seriousness unbroken. His hands rested behind his back, his posture steady. He exhaled through his nose. "I just grabbed it. Didn't check what it was."

     A grin tugged at the corner of my lips. "Typical of you."

     "I usually smell like mud and gunpowder, Aura."

     "Aura?" I arched an eyebrow. "Is Aurora really that hard to say?"

     "This sounds better." He lifted his chin and turned to the door. "And if you keep talking nonsense, I'll start formal proceedings against you."

     Normally, I'd have a lot more to say... but he's holding quite the trump card.

     I suppose I haven't told you yet where we are. We're at the Monument, the council chamber of Avalon, though it's a little more than that. I groaned with boredom. "We've been standing here for an hour... The rest of the team hasn't come out. What could they possibly be discussing for so long?"

     While I scuffed my boot on the ground, Kıraç responded in his flat tone. "You said you could hear through walls. Listen and find out."

     I looked up at him, stunned, our eyes locking for a brief moment. "You're really setting a great example, Captain."

     "I'm more concerned you'll explode from curiosity."

     I kept scuffing the floor with my boot and muttered, "Just so you know, these walls are soundproof... I tried."

     A brief silence fell between us. Sensing it was the perfect chance to bring up what was weighing on me, I straightened my back, took a breath, and asked quietly, "Have you told anyone?"

     Kıraç kept his eyes fixed on the dark granite door for a moment longer, then exhaled slowly through his nose. "No. And you won't, either."

     His tone left no room for argument. We both knew exactly what we were talking about. I nodded. Without looking at me, he spoke in a firm voice: "There won't be a problem as long as you follow my orders. But I'll say it again, you will follow my orders, Aura. Do you understand me? You will follow my orders."