[294]

 

though my memories escape me

"They're a part of my heart, just as I have thought of you"

Unit 294 would listen as Sozin spoke his protests. A soul bound to a fleshless body, and to one who did reside in a human vessel, there was little difference. Still, Unit 294 couldn't help but to disagree entirely with the narrative that was being painted and construed for him.
    Him, human?
    It was exactly for this reason that Unit 294 suggested Sozin not meet with the other Shippai. The reason he did not recommend for most humans to interact with them when it was avoidable. He'd thought it was easier for himself, since he looked so human it didn't usually set people off quite the same, but... at the end of the day, a puppet was a puppet. A human soul bound and locked within an artificial vessel was just as disturbing, just as nerve-wracking, just as horrifying to witness no matter what that puppet looked like, he supposed. Unit 294 understood that.
    But just because the man wished to cling to the hope and naive belief that humanity was something sacred that could not be stolen or destroyed no matter how the soul or energy was transferred, did not make it true.
    "I do not remember," Unit 294 answered truthfully. "But I know that I am older than every construct of Sunagakure no Sato." He could not remember such, but there were notes detailing of his ancient history. Sunagakure had not been standing for even a hundred years, and Unit 294 was at least somewhat cognizant that he was older than that at least. "Still, I cannot remember being human." He knew he was, once--must have been. But he held no actual recollection of it. "And if I have no memories of that time... no recollection of who or what I was, no memory of my family, friends, or loved ones, no attachment to hobbies or feelings or passion... if I am bound to this cold, empty shell, and if I cannot breathe or feel, if my spirit is dormant--fractured and no longer what it was, merely a ghost of the past... a remnant of will steering forth a wooden husk after being left behind--can you really say that I am human? Can you, in good faith, say that we are the same? I am very old, Sozin. I am surrounded by mankind and constantly made aware of the many differences between us--not just in our flesh, but in our spirits. I am not the same, and I am far too old to play pretend."
    "Grow up", he seemed to say.
    The only ones who ever seemed to think that he was human were other humans--though they had been the very ones who had created him to be something other than that very thing. It would have been a humorous irony if it wasn't so... frustrating.

@akira

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Enhanced Sensory

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Shin of GS + Adox

[Deleted]

He was a construct from then, the warring clan period? Most Shinobi knew the direct ages of the villages: that had to make them over 90, at the least. Age didn't matter to something that wasn't real, so Akira thought.

The issue was, was that 294 made great points: but Akira, in his own humanity could not see the argument beyond his own irrational beliefs and would choose to quite simply not believe, as such blind arrogance and hubris. It was surely human. He was human. Of course HE was human. So, naturally, it would be clear that if 294 cared - or not - to perceive Sozin's reaction it would be one of a newer disapproval. Not so obvious as to be directly insulting the - man? Thing? But enough to be perceived. "I suppose not."

"Of course we aren't the same", he seemed to say. It had soured his expectation of what he was - though it interested him in how a puppet was alive, reacting to him. There were many, many questions. As curiosity was also, human. That's all this thing was - an echo. Deep in this pit of his soul, he knew it disturbed him.

By 294's own criteria, Akira could have disqualified himself. But still, his mind was not ready to have that discussion. Did he ask more questions of the puppet? Did he stay his mouth and wait until they sought the confines of Sunagakure no Sato? Sozin wanted to test his own religious ability on the thing - to see if it did anything, but he did not. It was not human - not rendered of its ... perceptions. He wasn't sure if he appreciated or was threatened by something that was like him - in the sense of being unable to die, and therefore extremely dangerous.

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[294]

 

though my memories escape me

"They're a part of my heart, just as I have thought of you"

Sozin was bothered by the revelation, and though Unit 294 could not properly guess or have understood what distressed the man so, this disturbance had not been entirely unexpected in of itself. So, the puppet would nod slightly in affirmation when the man finally came to terms with it. No. Of course not. They were not the same. And, that dispute seemed to have been settled, then.
    And, so, they would continue to walk in silence--unless Sozin spoke up to say something once more.
    For Unit 294, the conversation was over. He had little further interest in Sozin--not out of insult or frustration. But, simply... because Sozin did not catch the puppet's interest. And the puppet held little interest in seeking out joy or company in others, so there was little motivation to pry for the sake of learning more. It didn't often make questions of strangers, and neither did it often initiate conversation to begin with. It was rare, also, that people ever said anything that stuck with him, so once most conversations were over--well, they were done with. There was nothing else to say; certainly nothing else to feel.
    As they walked, Unit 294 would tuck its arm over where its katana rested.
    Not unlike a samurai in leisure.
    Relaxed, but prepared to draw even so.
    Though, there would be little in the world that was capable of sneaking up on the Shippai. Not beneath the ground or with steadied breaths--from the shifting of sand or the movement of steel through air, he could hear all of it. Still, even without a present danger, it was good to always stay alert. And, he supposed, some things never really went away.

@akira

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The sky cast out a deeper and deeper azure - that the twinkle of the brighter stars were becoming visible. So, for the longest time they would remain quiet. Sozin deep in thought, squiggled lines in place of thought, what was more present one sided tension from the human in the desert.

Over cracked and parched land to walking on sand, absorbing his energy from him. Sozin understood the way that this was not a land for those who understood it. Perhaps it was bountiful? He had only ever seen one oasis in his life in Kaze no Kuni, and that was closer to the borders than not. Their landscape was shifting though, as they still passed through the landscapes: the mountain had descended, but it was not without its character.



If 294 was able to perceive it beyond the wind and the increasing cold, something was stirring in the sand: the sound of displacing sand falling to the ground - Sunagakure was not without its own terrors of the night. It would give them something to talk about, the world supposed.

Sozin remained unaware to those horrors.

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[294]

 

though my memories escape me

"They're a part of my heart, just as I have thought of you"

The sky began to darken, and Unit 294 knew that soon it would be too dark for humans to see. If the moon had been fuller, perhaps her light would guide their steps, but she was a mere sliver of her full glory on this eve and so the world would be consumed by shadow. Unit 294 did not mind the night--he could see in pitch darkness. But he knew it would be more difficult for his human companion to navigate, most likely. Unless Sozin carried with him a lantern of some kind, which he did not appear to, he would be out of luck.
    It had not become too dark--not just yet. But night was falling, and Unit 294 understood that they would not arrive to their destination before it had arrived. The shippai did not mind--a journey took however long it needed to, and Sozin set the pace that they moved upon, as the puppet did not wish to leave his intended companion behind when it had been his very goal to guide him safely to the village. But it did bring up a concern for warmth--what would Sozin do? Many outsiders did not know or expect that the plains of sand grew insufferably cold during the evenings--with no moisture or atmosphere to trap any heat above the earth.
    Unit 294 could not feel anything.
    But he would keep himself alert--discomfort and distress would be easy enough to notice if his human companion began to suffer. And if they needed to rest for the evening and create a campfire, it would pose as no problem for them to do so.
    Though, another concern would rise. Unit 294 had heard it--the reverberation beneath the sand, the humming of life. It had been far off--distant. But with their continued travel, it seemed that the sound had grown closer and more near and it was at a point where it was no longer ignorable. The shippai would halt, his sword drawn in an instant and with a hand held out he signaled for the human to stop walking. "Remain still," it instructed, his voice low.
    It was not the first time he had encountered such creatures--and so he was aware of their existence and did not grow frightened at the prospect of facing one. Sand shifted as the creature rose from beneath--a large, hardened outer shell and piercers that could snap a human in half.
    Sand scorpions were a native species to Kaze no Kuni--and there happened to exist a kind that were unusually large.
    Unit 294 had dealt with bigger in his past--not that he could recall it--but even if the two that awoke as the sun set behind the horizon were smaller in stature than the largest of their kind, they were still nothing to laugh at.
    They had not initially noticed the two travelers, and Unit 294 would not hesitate to cut them down should they turn hostile--but the puppet hoped to avoid any conflict if it wasn't necessary. Much a creature of nature's own, the puppet understood the language of animals and monsters alike; he knew when to stay still and when doing so would leave him unnoticed and unbothered, he knew when to strike first, and he knew when he was prey.
    Nature understood him, too. And it often left him alone, as there was no benefit in trying to destroy something that was not alive.
    He had killed giant scorpions before, and he had been unbothered by them before as well. His attention would be fixed on the creatures to discern what would become of them, this time.

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While he simmered in his own noise, the cold was starting as well. At some point he'd also dressed up a bit more warmly but that was not entirely cutting it either, and it would only proceed to get worse. The crunch of sand, of dried dirt and rock beneath his feet were the few physical noises being produced, until 294's voice became known.

Sozin came to a stop when 294 ordered him to. His eyes - human eyes - scanned the surrounding for what it was referring to. Perhaps some weather phenomena that he had not incurred before? Another caravan of testy bandits that would try to take them prisoner? It had not fallen to him that he travelled in the same area that led to the loss of life previously.

He shook his head, dismissing the thought - bringing a palm up to one of his eyes and clamping against it, and his breathing became a bit heavier, and his heart raced a bit faster: 294 would have known these things, but may had come to different conclusions about the why, and the why being on account of the Tailed creatures.

The shifting sound of sand moving was the first real indication, and that was well after Sozin had been ordered to stop. It's senses were greater than his own. But whether the scorpions had noticed or not was unknown to Sozin. The second indication of them, was the white bouncing off the dark carapaces which would ordinarily have been anywhere between brown to black. While he squinted, in the night's light looked like an oiled exterior. Sozin did entirely as he was told, if he could avoid a battle he would in this case: there was no glory or honour in dying to something like this. It did not give him any credence to give to a God when these godless things were worthless.

There did, however have some accompanying intuitive and intrusive thoughts that occurred: such as, what if he shifted his foot to send a bit of sand flying, and causing him to see in action what a... puppet was capable of? If it sensed things before he did (and by quite a sizeable margin) what else could it do; a finely oiled machine?

This thought was too, avoided on the practicality of it. Sozin waited for 294's go ahead while he quietly, and slowly grabbed his own weaponry to bare it.

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