Isaac's Story

Isaac

Well, at first, being alive had been pretty neat. It was loosing it's glimmer and shine real fast though. They wouldn't stop cooing over him and pushing him around and telling him to do things. It was quite annoying. He hated it the most when they dressed him. It made him feel like a toy. He couldn't explain it, he really hadn't been sentient enough to express himself properly, but it just gave him a bad feeling in his gut. If this was what it meant to be a doll, he really didn't want to be one. Why did they get to be humans and he was just an artificial creation? Where did his consciousness even come from? He'd asked that and they'd told him not to worry about it. Later, however, he'd overheard them talking about his programming, which sent a jolt of fear through his stomach. He was a program, like the flat-screened computers they used to check his vitals when he'd first woken up.

At this moment he was just waking up again. For the third time since six that morning. Melody, one of the scientists charged with keeping him in line, as she liked to say, had been trying fruitlessly to get him out of bed. He was listless though, and just stared at her for a few second before closing his eyes again. Though he'd only been alive for a few days, he was already starting to feel down about his future. They'd told him that people, sentient, real, live people, not like him, would come and look at him, and if they liked him they would buy him, then he would belong to who ever the buyer was. "And yes, you have to do what they say." Was Melody's reply when he asked. This awakening, Isaac saw as he cracked one brown eye, had brought company in the means of a large male scientist. He remained silent and sullen as he was lifted bodily from the refuge of his bed and set on his bare feet, shriving in his boxers.

Melody's thanks to the man was met with a wave as the male left the room, leaving Him alone with the small female scientist. He made a move back towards the bed, but Mel grabbed his arm. He looked at her, a melancholy expression on his features. "You can't sleep all day, Isaac." She chastised him, patting his cheek. "We've got to get you ready for tonight so you can go start a new life with a new owner. Come on, be excited. You'll get to see the world, go places, meet people." Her voice was dripping with enthusiasm that didn't rub off on him. He looked at the floor, arms folded. "Fine." He mumbled, hoping she'd just get on with it. He didn't like it when she got that peppy tone. It was all lies anyway, or at least, it seemed like it was all lies.He didn't really know, he hadn't been around long enough to properly differentiate, but his gut was giving him a bad feeling about this whole thing.

"Let's get you cleaned up, there's a good boy." Mel said as she shooed him into the bathroom adjoining his room. He moved but his arms were still folded obstinately. He didn't want to be a 'good boy' but what choice did he have in the matter? The shower, at least, was pleasant enough. Nobody else touching him, primping him. He could get himself clean. Even with Mel looking on to make sure he didn't fall, which he had a couple times, since his motor skills weren't at top notch yet. Especially not when everything around him was slick with water and soap.

He toweled off, and Mel tossed him a grey hoodie with the heartland logo stamped on the front in gold. Seeing the logo always made him touch his throat, where the same symbol rested just above his collarbone, right in the center of his throat. If he pushed on it it made it hard to breath. "That's just until we pick out something nice for you to wear for the ball." Mel informed him as he pulled it over his head. He really liked hoodies, he'd worn them almost constantly since he'd come online. He couldn't say why, especially considering how warm it was in the building, but they were nice. Mel then held out a pair of purple skinny pants, which Isaac narrowed his eyes at. "No." He said.

Mel sighed. "Just wear them, please, it's just for a little while."

"I don't think they'll fit." He said, gesturing at his legs.

Mel sucked in her cheeks. "If you promise to stay right there I'll find you something else." She said, looking hard at her charge. What could he do, anyway? He was just wearing a hoodie and boxers, he had enough sense not to go out of the room like that, didn't he? And she was just running down the hall, she'd hear him if he left the room. If she cracked the door then she'd be able to get back in without her key anyway. And he was a good doll, if a bit listless, he'd be fine.

Mel was wrong. The moment she turned the corner he darted out of his room, a satisfied expression on his face. He didn't have a destination in mind, he had no idea how to get out, or where he'd go if he did escape, but the thrill of momentary freedom was sweet. he wet-haired young man strolled leisurely through the halls, on watch for any guards or scientists that might cross his path. He was lucky for a while, he saw absolutely nobody. It didn't last long though. He turned a corner a bit too haphazardly and nearly ran into another person. He immediately tensed, thinking it was a scientist, but once he caught himself and took a step back he realized it was another doll. Female? Looked like it. He hadn't met another doll before. Perhaps it would be an interesting experience.

He examined her face for a moment, his trademark mournful expression ever present, and tipped his head slightly to one side. "I see you got out too." He commented slipping his hands into the pockets of his pullover. Just then he realized that he was only half dressed. Whoops, he'd forgotten about that. best to ignore it. "They call me Issac. Who are you?" he asked a moment later, as if to cover up his realization to the nature of his own dress.

Adi seemed almost as if he was wandering aimlessly, though he knew his overly complicated path would eventually be leading him where he wanted to go. He simply didn't mind a few side-tracks, making his way down some of the hallways of different rooms - some filled, some otherwise unoccupied. The elevator wasn't going anywhere, at least, and it would be a while before his two wardens would be looking for him to get ready for that stupid Heartland Ball. Thus, he could take his time.

He tilted his head curiously, listening to the creek of one of the doors and a steady beat of someone making quick haste out of it. A scientist? Well, it had to be, certainly. There weren't a lot of dolls who were very interested in leaving their rooms. Not new ones anyway, or even a lot of the older ones. Well, perhaps he could simply leave it at the general statement; dolls didn't typically go roaming around. There wasn't a reason for most of them to. They got told to stay, so they stayed, it was as simple as that. Adi decided to ignore the noise, letting his head straighten and his gaze go back to wandering the hallway for something interesting enough that it was worth his time.

The more he thought about it, though, the more it was beginning to make him question his initial thought. The doors only seemed to creek when they were opened slowly; a sign of sneaking out, rather than a blatant leave from a room. He tried to think back to the first time he was stuck in the situation, waiting at Heartland to be picked up, but the fact of it all was, when he'd first woken up, it had been in the London outpost, and he'd only been there for two days while he was still getting control over his motor skills. Perhaps, had he been in the situation for longer, he would have been more inclined to explore outside of his room. So, in fact, it might have been a doll. It really was entirely possible.

He continued down the hall leisurely, trying not to care about it too much, as he still planned on making his way onto a different floor, and had no idea where the other doll would possibly be, or where he was headed. Nothing much to do about that situation.

As Adi approached an intersection however, he stopped short, watching as a much taller boy - a doll, to be exact, as Adi quickly noticed the emblem - round the corner all-too-haphazardly, and try to stop as quickly as he could so that he wouldn't bump into the much smaller boy. The doll seemed a bit surprised at first, but the expression quickly calmed down as he seemed to process that there was no threat.

Adina's eyes darted all over the taller Doll, only half paying attention while he was being spoken to, but hearing the words all the same. "I see you got out too." the boy had said. Words that didn't matter, Adi decided after listening to them. No need for any kind of response. After all, getting out was Adina's specialty. What had Evan called him again? Oh yes, the 'Doll-version of Indiana Jones.' Adi hadn't understood the reference that Evan was trying to convey, but Evan quickly explained that it more-or-less meant that Adi was just good at getting out of a bind. That was fine.

A small smile pulled at the corners of Adi's mouth, as he took note of the boy's lack of trousers. How silly he looked, wandering around without anything to cover up his undergarments. The second time the boy opened his mouth, Adi decided to pick up his gaze and look directly at him, giving some steady eye contact to show that he was paying attention.

"They call me Issac. Who are you?"

An introduction. Adi supposed this needed a verbal response, since there would be no one coming around the corner to answer the question for him, and a simple yes or no could not be administered. It would be fine. After all, it was only polite to introduce oneself, especially to another Doll, who couldn't simply look up the information. This was a question that Adi didn't typically answer for scientists.

Adina let the question hang in the air for a moment, studying the boy's facial expression and features. "Perfection" was to be expected, and this guy was no exception. This got him thinking about himself though, and what the other boy's reaction was. Surely Isaac was having a little confusion on male vs female, and possibly even had chosen female as the pronoun for use, but there was another thing; Isaac seemed very new. His fumble, though slight, was noticeable, and an older doll would have probably thought twice before running around in their undergarments. The point of how new he was, was simply that Adi began to wonder what the new Doll's reaction was to seeing not only another doll, but one that was so obviously damaged.

"My name is Adina," Adi finally answered in that English accent of his, giving a polite, if not somewhat amused smile at Isaac. "But everyone calls me Adi."

Adi's eyes wandered back to the other boy's bare legs, flexing his smile a little wider, and tilting his head over to one side. What exactly was the explanation for something like that, he wondered. Perhaps the other boy had refused or something? But what an odd thing to refuse, and such an odd person to be refusing anything, what with being a Doll and everything. How intriguing.

Smile turning into a grin, Adi looked back up to the boy's face.

"I see London, I see France," He began, giving a light sing-song tone to his voice, as much as he could with an almost expressionless voice. "I see Isaac's underpants."

The statement was among one of the many he'd learned from his time around other people. He didn't quite understand it at the time, as when it had been heard by him originally, he'd know that his master couldn't possibly be seeing France all the way from London in the first place, and his further misunderstanding of the statement had been shown when he'd tried to use it, and used the same exact name that his owner had used when saying it to a completely different person. He'd later explained that the subject of the rhyme would change depending on whose undergarments you were seeing, and that seeing London and France was used just to make the statement sound humorous... or something. Verbal communication was always so confusing. Either way, Adi was confident that he'd used the statement correctly.

After another small moment, Adi put his hand out to the boy, specifically his right hand, and he placed it out palm-up, the same palm which held a thick white line across it, where the scar had completely healed, but still had a bit of a ghost left on the skin. It was one of the marks that everyone was confident would be completely gone in a matter of months. The gesture was not one in which he offered to shake hands or anything, but in fact was offering for the other Doll to take it and follow him. After a small moment though, it occurred to Adi that the other Doll probably wouldn't understand, so, leaving his hand out, he offered a statement in a verbal fashion.

"I'm going down to the courtyard out in the back of the building." His statement was plain and simple, to the point, but not to the point enough. He needed a few more words, and he had to put in the appropriate amount of effort to find the right ones. "Would you like to come?"

Isaac

That doll was about the same height as Melody, a little bit taller, actually, Isaac decided as he looked down at the face of the other. If he'd registered the other's time-healed wounds at all, he certainly didn't understand the meaning of them. As it was, the chief thought in his mind was about meeting a new person. Another doll, at that. For a moment he wondered if this doll could answer the questions that the scientists refused to provide insight on. He was slightly discomforted by the way the other was silently looking at him. He shifted on his feet as he waiting for an answer, if one was going to come, and propped his foot up on the ground, curling his toes against the floor. It was quite apparent that the other had noticed his state of dress, and Isaac could only hope that it would not be mentioned. He didn't know quite how he'd explain that one.

The response he'd been waiting for, those moments had drawn out into long minutes in his mind, was very polite in coming in a voice that sounded quite detached. And the accent was different than any he'd heard before. England, his brain informed him in it's helpful way. It was still strange that his mind knew things his consciousness did not, as if it was an entity separate from his mind itself. Another thing the lad noticed was that the voice was decidedly not female. At least, not like any female voice he'd heard. Actually, he really wasn't very sure as to what gender this doll was. Perhaps there was a third category of sexuality that he'd not yet learned about.

Isaac was drawn from his puzzling over this curious new matter by Adina. Or Adi, if he wanted to be everyone. He didn't quite register what his talking partner had said at first, just the grin across those confusing features. He did catch the very last part in full clarity, which made a faint flush tinge his face. While the former half of the little singsong sentence was still extraordinarily confusing, Isaac was more concerned with resisting the urge to pull his hoodie down to his knees in embarrassment. He didn't like that emotion. He'd ask Melody about it later, if she was a decent mood when she found him.

"It's a long story," He merely said instead, hooking his foot behind his other ankle and clasping his hands behind him. To swallow the redness in his cheeks he smiled, matching the other's expression. He refused to feel this embarrassment emotion. Keeping his composure apparently worked, because the longer he didn't fold to the temptation to act shyly the less the emotion tugged at his gut. He reached up absentmindedly, untangling his fingers, and touched the emblem stamped into his throat. there was a similar one on the other doll's throat, Mel told him that it was the way to identify a doll from a human. The other doll's emblem looked strange though, as if it had a crack running through it. Or something. He couldn't really tell what it was. Just that it was among the other small things that made this questionably-gendered doll just a tiny bit offsetting in his mind. Like something wasn't quite right. But Isaac hadn't met another doll before, he didn't know if they could look like that or not.

The outstretched hand made him jump, so engrossed in his thoughts as he was. The had had a pale streak, perfectly formed, across the palm. Isaac stared at the hand for a moment, uncomprehending. He looked up confusedly into the brown eyes of the other, noting that they were a lighter shade of his own hue distractedly. Before he could open his mouth to inquire about the gesture the other elaborated without prompting in that deliberate voice of his. Going somewhere. So why did he have his hand out? It took a moment for understanding to dawn across Isaac's face. Oh, he needed to take the hand so the other could guide him where they were going. "Yes, I'd like that." He said with a polite smile, still eying the hand.

Hesitantly he lifted his hand from his throat and moved it over to the outstretched one. Before he took the hand, however, he was compelled to draw his thumb across the white streak of skin. It didn't feel much different than the rest of the skin, actually. Then he looked at his own hand, where the skin was perfectly silky. His lips were slightly parted in a thinking expression as he slid his hand against the palm of the shorter doll his fingers knowing what to do instinctively. With his other hand he tugged his hoodie down to make a small attempt to cover himself. He stared with intensity at the other doll biting his lip as he continued examining the visual clues he was given, from the scar on the doll's forehead to the femininely curved cheek.

All of a sudden his processing core clicked, placing all the elements in the right spots, and a thousand and one questions flooded his mind. One at a time though, he knew. That was the best way to go about these things. Especially since this doll seemed very slow and deliberate with every word. Very unlike Isaac. "You are confusing me...Adi," He tested the name in his mouth, pausing for a moment before speaking it as if chewing on the letters, "Your appearance tells me you should be female, but your voice sounds male." He was very good at differentiating voices, it was one of the first things he'd done upon waking, as it had taken well over thirty minutes for him to figure out how to open his eyes. "I don't understand." He tipped his head to one side, the intense look on his face matched by the tone of his voice. His curiosity was a burning thing, and he'd just formulated many questions to ask, the first being the least of the ones present in his mind. Of course, Isaac had learned to start with the simpler things, because a potentially touchy question right off the start might cause the other to shut down, and Isaac wanted as many answers as he could get before he hit a wall, as always. And he wanted as many questions as he could get before Melody and her guard friends found him.

Adi tilted his head, observing with curiosity the other doll's reaction to the white scar on his palm, drawing his thumb across before bothering to take the hand that was offered. The look on Isaac's face was perhaps the most interesting; that curiosity about something he'd never seen before, and the concentration on something new. Adina liked both of those things. They were some of his favorite expressions. When the other doll had accepted, and his hand was securely intertwined with Adina's, Adi took off down the hall again, keeping a leisurely pace as he tugged Isaac along.

A glance back at Isaac proved equally as intriguing as any time that he looked at him, as he watched the boy tug down his hoodie a little bit more to try and cover up his undergarments awkwardly. The action made Adi smile a little more, simply out of his amusement. Perhaps he could stop by one of the clothing rooms and allow the boy to grab something to cover up? Though, he couldn't be sure the boy's watcher wouldn't be at any particular one, and so he decided to discard the idea. It didn't make too much of a difference, either way. There were few people that would be seeing them, anyway, until people began looking.

"You are confusing me...Adi," Isaac said all of a sudden.

Adina looked back at the other boy, confusion on his own face as to what it was that Isaac wanted to inquire upon. He didn't understand what might be confusing, as he'd tried to be as clear and concise in his words as possible.

"Your appearance tells me you should be female, but your voice sounds male." He continued.

Oh, Adi thought, smiling at the statement. It only made sense to see some confusion on that, after all, especially with Isaac being so new and all, and probably unfamiliar with the idea of androgyny. It was probably still confusing to a lot of people though, what with Adi's feminine clothing and thin frame. Still, he had to give the other Doll some credit for being able to detect the masculine tones in his voice, which not as many people could do, and still fumbled over for determination of gender. He tried to think of the best way to explain the situation, in which the boy would understand why there would be any confusion over gender in the first place.

"I suppose it's supposed to be confusing," Adi said finally, looking back at Isaac while he walked, and giving a kind smile. "I am male, but... I look very female with my face." He turned his head back, staring at the the path before him while he tried to find words to elaborate on this to make it more understandable. "I was made to look androgynous, so that it doesn't matter what gender people think that I am."

He gave another smile at Isaac, though this time he tried to make it a bit more apologetic, as he was unsure if the explanation would be sufficient for the other doll to understand. Shrugging, he decided to make a small afterthought to the statement, which was something that he didn't typically do, though he was beginning to believe he'd be making many exceptions for this doll, seeing as there would be difficulty otherwise, and the boy seemed as if he was hardly done from speaking. Adi decided it would be okay.

"All it means to me is that I can wear whatever clothes that I want. I can dress like a boy if I want or a girl if I want." He smiled again.

When his eyes reached the elevators, he tugged Isaac a little more swiftly until they reached it, and he slipped his hand out of Isaac's so that he could use it. He lifted up the hem of his tee-shirt dress on the side to pull the pass-key he'd "borrowed" from Brittany about a month ago from where he kept it held against his skin by the waist of his stockings. Brittany had assumed she'd dropped the card, though that had been far from the case. It was alright though, he kept the card well hidden, and Brittany had easily gotten a replacement. He didn't feel any guilt over it, and there were still places that Brittany's card couldn't get him to, anyway, and it didn't replace any of the keys, typically.

Swiping the card in the panel by the elevator, he rocked back and forth on his heels as he waited for it to arrive, eyes back on the other boy again, and letting out a small sigh. This would be a long conversation, Adi was sure, though he wasn't quite sure if he minded or not. This was the most he'd spoken to a person since Darren had passed. He was so much more introverted, especially at Heartland, where he felt that most of the scientists could answer their questions themselves, rather than needing an answer outright. This doll... Surely he needed the answers. He could use them, at least, and he would feel disheartened if Adi went and outright refused to give them to him. Perhaps he could categorize it under needing to speak because there was no way for the boy to understand without words. But after the conversation was done, he doubted he would be giving any more words to the boy. Not that he would need to. This doll was lovely, perfect, and flawless. He'd be gone in no time, and Adi was almost sure that the same would not happen for him. It would take more time to find someone who would be willing to take a damaged doll.

"You have more questions," Adi stated plainly. He swallowed, picking up his hand and fingering the place where his neck indented and half of the Heartland emblem was disfigured while he searched for accurate words to say what he was planning to say. "I don't... I don't typically give this many words to people, but I will make an exception for you just this once." He gave another short pause, biting his lower lip. He was missing one more word, a word to inquire about the boy's comprehension of the statement. He didn't need it, no, but he wanted it to be there, as if it were a necessary part of the inquire. He looked back up at Isaac. "Understand?"

Isaac

Usually Isaac would be studying the walls, taking in every detail of the halls they were moving through, as if to remember him so he could cross them again. Though he'd not be here very much longer, if what the scientists said was true. The people, the humans would come to buy him and take him away to somewhere new. And if they didn't like him they'd take him back here. Thinking of that made Isaac wonder how long Adi had been 'alive'. Had this doll been to the outside world and back? Why had he (or she, Isaac really didn't know at this point) come back? Had his human not liked him? Had something bad happened to him? Were those marks on his body not part of his design but something else?But those were questions that would test his patience, because he'd already asked one question.

There was a faint smile on the other's face, a product of his question, most likely. The answer came after a pause, which Isaac was beginning to become acquainted with. Those silences were obviously a part of Adi's trait set. Isaac watched the other with rapt interest. His features were purposely confusing? What was the point of that? Androgyny. One of those chilling words that his mind knew even though he'd never learned it. There had been a lot of those at first, but not it was dwindling the more he utilized his vocabulary and spoke to people. He was glad to know what gender to think of this companion as though, he didn't like to assume things about people. It made him uncomfortable. His self-acknowledged ignorance made it impossible to avoid all assumptions though. perhaps it would become better with age.

Isaac received another smile from the other doll, one that appeared apologetic. Why was he sorry? Isaac tipped his head slightly to one side, puzzling over that curiosity as the other apparently summed more words to say. The continuation of the answer gave enlightenment to Isaac's unspoken question, in a sort of way. This other doll had a sort of freedom. He could wear what he liked because he was two things at once. Male and Female. He still didn't quite understand it, but it was an interesting concept. He could ask Melody about it later, but he knew his time now was limited, and he wanted to ask as many things as possible. Which meant cutting himself as efficient as possible. Something quite difficult for the young man, who liked to delve into every little question, every route, and spend as much time doing so as he possibly could. No time now to be thoughtful though. It wouldn't be too long until he was caught, would it. He'd have to come back before the ball, at least, to be dressed properly, if he wanted to get out into this place.

When Adi let go of his hand, Isaac slipped it into his hoodie's pocket, since he had no pants pockets to shove his fingers in. His legs were actually starting to get cold. It had been necessary to forgo the pants though, otherwise he wouldn't have been able to get out. He'd have to deal with the draft. To distract himself he watched what Adi was doing. He had a card, and he was scanning it on the...elevator's scanner. Isaac took a step nearer to the panel, his eyes flicking over it curiously. He had no idea where this doll had gotten the card from, he didn't particularly care, but it was fascinating. It also told him that he wouldn't be able to escape on his own even if he wanted to, as he didn't have access. Oh well. Isaac was so interest with the elevator that he didn't notice Adi's eyes on him, nor the sigh.

When Adi spoke again Isaac looked around, his solemn face turning to the other doll's. He nodded at the first statement. Of course he had more questions. He had hundreds of questions, but he'd not ask all of them. Just a few, maybe. the important ones. The things the scientists couldn't...or wouldn't...tell him. He would learn things. He did not speak though, because the expression on the feminine doll's face looked as if there was more to be said on his side. The words made a small smile curve on Isaac's face. He was warmed by this. "I understand. Thank you, Adi." He said, dipping his head politely.

Then the doors of the elevator slid open, making a sound to alert them of it's presence. Isaac stared at it for a moment. He'd been on elevators before, when they were moving him to his room from the one he'd woken up in, and when they took him to check his body and make sure everything was functioning properly. But at this moment he was a bit frightened by the thing. Before he'd been mostly focused inwards, mostly on catching his bearings and trying to stay upright, but now he was was aware that he didn't know how this thing worked, which put him off ease. he swallowed, staring warily at the lift for a moment and allowing Adi to enter first, before hesitantly stepping inside. He moved to the far corner, leaning with his shoulders on the walls just before they connected in the corner itself. He shifted on his feet and looked at Adi, trying to take his mind off the elevator. They were going to the courtyard, hadn't he said? He'd be fine. It was okay.

"You don't sound like I do." he commented after a moment. "You aren't from here." he paused for a moment. "You are from...England?" He hazarded a guess at the word, as his brain knew it but not how to pronounce it. "How long have you been active? I've been active for three days, two hours." He continued to cover up the possible mispronunciation in the previous sentence. He did not ask the question he really wanted to know, which was 'What are you doing here?' but he figured he could ask that one next. He'd technically asked two questions, but he figured they were close enough that it would be fine. And he'd been a good doll so far, as Melody would say. Polite and not too obnoxious. Maybe if he told her he was utilizing his communication skills she wouldn't get too angry with him. She'd been stressing the need for him to be a good doll quite a bit in the last day, something he assumed had to do with being purchased by a human. Well, he could be good if he wanted to. Obedient enough. He had plenty of self control, see?

"I understand. Thank you, Adi." Isaac said, bowing his head just a bit in gratitude. Adina smiled back at the motion, before his head turned away, focusing on the elevator as the doors opened and familiar sound of its arrival went off. He dashed into it quickly, eager to be moving on to the other levels, rather than hang out in the hallway all day, but the other doll was a bit more hesitant, taking his time before entering and finding a nice safe place in the far corner.

Adi took a moment punch in a few of the buttons, finally ending with hitting the "G" button, for the ground floor. He'd pressed the others, simply because he liked to take a look at the other floors on the way down. He retreated then to the middle of the elevator, waiting while the doors slowly closed and giving over to Isaac with a tilt of his head. The other doll seemed a bit uncomfortable in the situation. Adi could only hope that his own comfortable nature would rub off on Isaac and make him more relaxed.

"You don't sound like I do." Isaac said, seeming to just want to continue on with the conversation, to keep it moving. Adi couldn't blame him, especially if he was uncomfortable. Sometimes it was best for people to talk and keep their minds off of it. "You aren't from here." There was a short pause, and had Isaac not seemed as if he were about to continue the thought himself, Adi would have given him the answer. "You are from...England? How long have you been active? I've been active for three days, two hours."

Adi let his gaze wander while he thought about the answer to the second question. He knew he could easily answer both at the same time, but he had to recall the time frame in which he'd been alive. It was longer than Isaac had been alive for, and therefor Adi knew there was no way he could get right down to the hour, let alone the day. He didn't like thinking about how long he'd been alive, since he knew it to be not very long at all, and the time he'd spent healing was a little longer than the time he'd actually had with his owner. And the time without his owner was just getting bigger and bigger. It was saddening.

"I awoke in the London headquarters of Heartland," Adi began, starting off with the explanation of his accent. "I lived with my owner in the city for..." he paused, chewing his lower lip while he thought about it. His gaze which had trailed the ceiling of the elevator was down at the ground now. "Two months. I've been here for three months." He paused again, and though it would seem as though he was simply adding the two terms together, he'd done that instantly and in actuality, his mind was simply back to wandering about the explanation behind his answer. He wasn't sure if it would be a detail that the other boy would want to know, and wasn't even sure if it was a detail that he really wanted to share, even if he had made this many exceptions for the boy already. "So I've been alive for five months. That isn't a lot of time, really."

Adi shrugged, not sure if he should bring any more information out about the subject, and deciding to move his focus onto the next activity. The elevator, that was right. He loved the elevator, especially when he was traveling downward, because jumping in the elevator was just so much fun! He knew it would be a better use of his mental activity to think about doing that rather than thinking about what had happened. He was supposed to move on from what happened, anyway, right? That's what they had told him to do anyway, so he figured that there just wasn't anything else he could do.

He gave a quick glance at the changing floor number, taking note of the amount of time he would have left, and promptly bent at the knees, waiting for it, waiting for it, and jumping! The speed of the elevator allowed for his jump to feel as if he was getting so much more air and for so much longer, until he hit down on the floor again with a thud. He instantly smiled in result, giving a glance back at Isaac after a moment. Instantly, though, he remembered Isaac's hesitation with the elevator, and averted his gaze, wondering if perhaps the action might make the other doll more nervous. He decided that if he was going to continue, he wouldn't bother Isaac about it too much, just in case.

He bent at the knees again, preparing himself as if the action were far more important than it really was. He bit his lip, trying to think of things that he could say to continue the conversation onward for the sake of the other dolls. What had he said again? Perhaps he could clarify something. The transition perhaps? He certainly didn't want the other boy to assume that he'd been such a bad doll that he'd been returned all the way back to america.

"There was an accident," He began, the statement coming all-too-bluntly. He jumped again, and couldn't help but smile despite the words he knew were coming out of his mouth. He promised himself he'd be vague with details about what happened. He didn't want to scare the other doll, certainly, and the idea of a car crash was certainly frightening. Adi still wasn't quite sure what he was going to do if he got a new owner. There would be a car-ride involved at some point, wouldn't there? He would have shuddered, but instead he decided to jump again. "I got very injured, so I was sent here to recover. London doesn't have as many resources for that kind of thing."

He looked back at Isaac, shrugging and trying to make it look like the injuries weren't really a big deal. Perhaps it would be believable? He wasn't entirely sure, since the boy had proven decently clever, but Adi could still hope.

His head twisted towards the doors as they slid open on one of the random floors he'd selected, and he poked his head out quickly, looking from side to side around the hallway before spotting a scientist and ducking back into the elevator, quickly pressing the "doors close" button and watching the scenery disappear behind the doors. He turned his face toward Isaac once again, giving a great big smile and trying to make sure that the mood would stay lighthearted. He tried to think of words to say. Something along the lines of 'isn't this fun' or 'are you having fun' but neither sentence would come, and he was having difficulty forming a better one in his head. Gosh, he hated words. He tried to think of a way he could physically show the boy what he wanted to say, but that would be too hard to understand.

He opened his mouth, hoping that perhaps the words would simply come out if he let them, but after a second of soundlessness, he clamped his mouth shut and shyly covered his face in his hands. Oh, no, he thought. I can't think of anything else! Contrary to silence, however, he let out a small, stretched out moan from his throat, frustrated at his inability. Perhaps the other boy would start things up again. That was all he needed, a little more prompting and perhaps he could think of something. He split his fingers, peering through them with pleading brown eyes at the taller boy, hoping for the next question to move on from the awkward moment.

Isaac

Isaac eyed Adi as the other pressed the buttons on the panel at the inside of the elevator. He did not ask any of the questions he wished to about the contraption, however, as he was already waiting on some answers. He kept himself focused on the other doll to prevent any nervousness from showing through. To keep it down and hidden in the depths of his stomach. He could feel the elevator moving under his feet, almost as if he was hyper aware of his slow fall down the elevator shaft. But he was fine. Adi was completely calm, so he shouldn't get himself all tied up in knots. So he waited patiently, clear brown eyes focused intensely on the other. He could keep himself together. Not that there was much of himself to keep together anyway. Talking to this doll made him wonder if he was missing something. Adi seemed so much...more. Maybe it was from being out in the real world. Maybe he would be that way someday as well. More alive, more conscious, more...human. He still felt the grating of his programming on his mind, which was supposed to tell him that he wasn't a machine, that he was a living entity. He couldn't tell if it was just his paranoid imagination or not though. it was quite confusing.

The words,spoken in that curious accent, drew him from his troubled thoughts. London. He'd spoken of his owner. So he had been in the outside world. Two months seemed like a long time. He'd only been alive for three days,even though those days felt like ages. And then three more months! Five months. Times thirty days a piece. That was one hundred and fifty days. About. Give or take a few. Wow. A very long time indeed. Not as long as a year though. But still a hefty chunk of time. The next thing the doll said was the complete opposite of his amazed thoughts, however. Not a lot of time? Well, whatever he wanted to think then.

Why had Adi been sent all the way to America? That was a bit odd. And why had he been here for longer than he'd been with his human? He was again distracted from his thoughts by Adi, who had just jumped up into the air. It appeared that the other hung there for a full moment before landing again. Isaac was secretly in awe. Externally he looked mildly interested but completely focused on the other doll. A smile was flashed very briefly in his direction, which set Isaac at ease. Adi was at ease, he could be at ease as well.

Another sentence emerged as Adi jumped. An accident? Isaac tipped his head as his mind connected dots. The scars. The scars were from the accident. They weren't normal. His mouth formed a small o as he began to understand. An accident. That was why he was back here. Had his owner...? Isaac didn't want to think about that. Instead he continued to listen. There was an off-handed shrug, as if everything wasn't a big deal, and Isaac decided to leave it alone. It was one thing learning about things, it was another thing to pry. Adi had been very forthcoming with him so far anyway. He had nothign to complain about. He frowned deeply for a moment, his expression saddening briefly, but then he relaxed again as the doors slid open.

Adi looked out the door, withdrew quickly, and slid the doors shut with a touch of a button. Then there was another big grin. He edged a bit closer to the other, out of the corner a little. Adi had opened his mouth and now he was closing it again. No words to say in there, apparently. The male covered his face, and Isaac watched as a soft moan emanated from the other's throat. He edged a little bit closer again as the other peered through his fingers to look at him with a limpid eye.

It looked like a good time to change the topic a little bit. "What's it like. Out in the world?" he asked slowly. "Does it make you feel...alive?" He hesitated for a moment, an anxious look on his face, "...real?" He'd taken his hands out of his hoodie pocket and was now playing with them unconsciously, obviously the forming of a nervous habit. He wanted to know the answer, but at the same time, what if it wasn't what he wanted? Or what if Adi didn't understand what he was asking? What if he was just strange. Different. An anomaly.His mind jumped to the worst case scenario right off the bat, forgetting that he had only met one other doll over the duration of his life, so he didn't have much to compare himself with. But his curiosity was burning, and there wasn't much he could do to sate it but ask his questions and hope for answers.

"What's it like. Out in the world?" The other boy asked. Adina dropped his hands from his face, glad that the boy had gotten the message that he needed things to keep moving. Still, the new question was peculiar. Expected, but vague, and Adi had trouble thinking of the best and quickest way to answer that would be understandable from the boy's point of view.

"Does it make you feel...alive?" He continued. He gave a short, anxious hesitation, before adding another part to the question. "...real?"

Adina found himself simply staring at Isaac for a moment, captivated by the boy's nervousness and anxiousness. Even if the question was difficult, the other doll wanted it so badly, he needed it. Adina bit his lip. Surely he could not discuss the pains that went alongside the outside world, and he certainly couldn't discus many of his own experiences. Honestly, he wasn't sure what to say at all. Who could say what the boy's experience would be on the outside of Heartland's walls? Adi didn't even know what his own fate would be if someone decided that they would take pity on him and give him a home. He'd only been with one owner, and every person was completely different.

"This is... a difficult question to answer," Adina said finally, wanting to avoid a pause that was even longer than all of his others combined. He licked his lips, seeming to delve into thoughts on the subject, piled with thoughts on how it should be phrased. The doors of the elevator opened to the ground floor before he was even done thinking about the first sentence, and he quickly looped his arm around Isaac's to lead the other doll out into the hallway towards the direction of the back door. He sighed, shaking his head as he walked.

"I am afraid that the difference between being 'alive' and 'not alive' is so much more like black and white to me, now," He said, and a tinge of melancholy could almost be detected in that distant voice of his. Still, he avoided the word 'dead,' as he wasn't sure how the other doll would react to the idea of being dead, and simply saying 'not alive' sounded much softer. "Every morning that you still wake to find yourself moving and thinking and breathing; that is being alive. And likewise, the other is the opposite; to never move or breath or think again. What you imply is that being alive is so much more, and what you are looking to hear is that the outside world will give you some kind of new feeling..." He paused again, licking his lips and staring into space as he traversed the hallway. As the sound of something falling sounded in the distance, he found himself jumping, and looking every which way to be sure that no one else was around, before sighing and trying to relax again.

"I know that life outside is very different from what is here," Adina continued, pulling his arm out from where it was linked with Isaac's to use the pass key again on the door they had come to. When he pushed through it, a blast of soft breeze pushed a few stray strands which had fallen from his bun away from his face, and he took a deep breath in of the outside air. The courtyard was very simple, walled in by a high fence and surrounded by other buildings. The ground was concrete, aside from a few perfect squares of grass which surrounded thin trees. A dilapidated picnic table sat near one corner, and most of the scientists came out here for a smoke on their breaks. Only a couple of them were out here, including Evan, but none of them really bothered to come over, seeing as they were on their breaks, and didn't want to be forced into working. Besides, it was Adi, and Adi was always coming out here.

Adina lead Isaac over to one of the patches of grass and plopped down, leaning against the trunk of the tree. He patted the ground next to him, gesturing for him to sit down as well.

"Every new situation you encounter will make you feel more alive than you have here, I suppose," he said, continuing his explanation. "This place is quite... automated..." He shrugged. "I doubt you will be here for long, anyway. If you're going to the Ball tonight, you probably won't be coming back here after. I can't tell you what it will be like. I'd had a perfect owner the first time around. Now that I'm being resold I don't even know what will happen to me, if someone buys me."

He paused for a great deal of time, staring at the smoke as it poured from one of the scientists' mouths into the air. They were all a good distance away, and Adina was sure that they couldn't hear his words. Evan was staring however, and probably a bit baffled that Adina had brought along a companion this time, rather than being alone. It was also probably humorous to the tall scientist that the other doll lacked pants, as well. Regardless, though, the only thing Adi could hope was that the man would leave him alone. He was still upset with both Evan and Brittany, even though it wasn't their faults that he was being placed back on the market. The problem was, he just didn't want a new owner; he wanted his old one, and that was that.

He split his focus from the ideas, and, putting on a reassuring smile, he turned his attention back to Isaac. "Don't be nervous. I'm sure you'll be purchased by someone great, and you'll get to enjoy all the different parts of being alive."

Even with the statement paired with a kind smile, it sounded sad to Adi. Perhaps it wouldn't sound sad to anyone else, or it wouldn't sound sad to Isaac, but it was sad to him. Adi had been through more than just the enjoyable parts, but there was no reason to make Isaac fearful of what might happen. Perhaps if he convinced Isaac that everything would be wonderful, he would believe it as well. Unfortunately, it seemed very unlikely.

Isaac

Isaac looked back at the other doll silently, waiting. The way the other bit his lip made it quite obvious that an answer would not be short in coming. But he could wait. He could be good. He shifted on his feet, twisting his fingers anxiously. Adi spoke, reinforcing what he already know. A difficult question required more time to answer. He worked up a smile and a nod to show that he understood. In the midst of the next pause the elevator door slid open. Isaac moved a bit closer to Adi, and the other linked their arms to lead him where ever it was they were going. The courtyard, hadn't he said? He held onto the shorter doll's arm as he heard the sigh. The sigh itself seemed a bit foreboding, but he wouldn't jump to conclusions. He shouldn't jump to conclusions.

Adi finally began to speak, answer, in that careful, distanced voice of his. Alive and not alive. He knew what not alive was: being shut down. Decommissioned. Gone. Dead? He wasn't quite sure about the last one, because he still wasn't sure if he was actually alive, despite Adi's words. Could something that had never lived die? His body was artificial, sustained by programming and machinery. So what made him any more alive than the computers that checked his vitals? He didn't know what it was, but his mind was scraping the rough edges of his less than mediocre programming, the gaps that turned him into a rudimentary being when stimulated. But he did want a new feeling. Something to patch up his perceived shortcomings.

Isaac didn't hear the noise as much as he felt Adi tense, and he did the same, except instead of jumping he ducked down a bit, as if he'd expected to be hit over the head. The threat was naught however, and they soon continued moving along. They came to a door as Adi spoke again, and Isaac let the other pull his arm away, listening intently. Different didn't say much, nothing for the worse or the better, but he knew Adi wasn't done yet. he'd just have to be patient. This was a gift anyway, these small new understandings. In a moment he was distracted anyway by his first exit into the outside. It wasn't much, closed off as it was, but it was something. He closed his eyes taking in the fresh smell, though it the air wasn't clean by any standard. It was just less stuffy than the antiseptic atmosphere of the building he'd awoke in.

He followed Adi over to a tree, eying the scientists standing around, smoking. They didn't bother them though, strangely enough. Isaac wasn't going to question it though. He sat down in the grass, running his fingers through the blades like hair. After a moment Adi spoke again, and Isaac turned his body towards the other doll, folding his bare legs underneath him neatly. He wouldn't be here for much longer. He'd known that already, it was all Melody would talk about, but when Adi said it the words took on a different meaning. Partially hope, and a certain sense of sadness. Adi had said it as if though he would go, Adi would still be here. He reached out and took one of Adi's hands in an attempt to silently comfort him, as his instinct urged him to.

There was a reassuring smile from the other doll's side and Isaac returned it though his expression was still as solemn as ever. He wasn't sure if he should believe the doll's next words. He wanted to believe them, he wanted to have hope, but his empty little mind always wanted to assume the worst about himself. Nasty little habit. But he could do his best to believe the words and not worry. It would be easier on his mind. And maybe he would find some solace out in the real world for his newborn, restless mind. Who knew.

Isaac stared at his companion for a moment in intense silence. Thoughtful. "Thank you." He said after an uncharacteristic pause. Though there were still many questions in his mind, he didn't need to ask them all now. Lighter topics seemed more attractive at this moment. He stretched out, releasing Adi's hand and laying back in the grass with both his hands folded behind his head, bending his knees so his feet would lay flat, just on the edge where the concrete started. "How's your caretaker?" He asked after settling himself down. "Mine's real peppy. Likes to dress me up all the time." He said, staring at his bare legs. Melody was nice enough though, he supposed. But she was very bossy. he didn't like that. But then again, most of the scientists he'd met had done nothing but boss him around anyway. He was about to move his legs so he could look at Adi again when he heard a voice that made him freeze.

"Isaac. What's gotten into you?" Oops. Busted. He froze, as if not moving would prevent Melody from coming any nearer, but he was wrong. In a moment he was looking up at her little flushed face. her blonde hair was wild as if she'd spent a good amount of time worrying it. He blinked and swallowed hard.

"Hi Mel." He said slowly, going for the innocent look and attempting a smile.

"I've been looking everywhere for you," She chastised him, reaching down and tugging on his arm. She paid little attention to Adi. He was a special case. Anyway, Evan was right there. He could do something if he felt it necessary. Isaac was her only priority right now. "Just what did you think to do?" She continued, berating him in her musical tones.

Isaac made no response right away. What could he say? he wanted to escape, get away? No, that wasn't even true. He just stood up complacently and tugged his hoodie down a bit more. "I was...practicing my people skills?" he said, more of a question than a statement. Mel just rolled her eyes at him. "Come on, we need to get you ready for the Ball or you're never getting out of here. And you will behave this time." There was an ounce of force in her voice, and he made a mumbled "Yes'm" in response. As she herded the tall doll back towards the door, he twisted around and waved at his companion, friend? "Best of luck, Adi." He called with a quirk of a smile before Mel pushed him through the door. SHe wouldn't stay mad at him for very long. She never did.

“Yes, Mr. Berkly, I’ll have them ready by tomorrow. I’m sure she will love them. Yep! You, too!” With a gentle click, she returned the shop phone to it’s resting position. Mr.Berkly had gotten in deep with his wife, and was now trying to make nice with her with a beautiful bouquet of her favorite flowers. Yellow tulips. It was sweet that he remembered such things after twenty years of marriage. Olive walked out from behind the green counter, gently pushing the white fence-like door to make way for herself. With Lady Antebellum’s song, Downtown stuck in her head, she went about the shop straightening up the flowers. The shop had been fairly busy today. She wore a simple yellow dress, with short sleeves to cover her shoulders and two handy pockets in the front. Over her dress she wore a white apron that tied around her waist that had a large pocket sewn into the front. Her chocolate colored hair was pulled up in a lose bun this afternoon, and little wisps escaped from the clip.

While humming she set about pulling out a decent length of blue ribbon from the wall of multiple rows of flower decorations. Cutting it to just the right size, she placed it between her lips and grabbed a bucket with her left hand. With her right hand now free, she walked to the front of the store and slipped outside. The pleasant sound of a bell rang around her. The shop’s bell. She smiled. Her mother had always loved that bell. “There you are..” she mumbled, locating the row of yellow tulips she had on display outside today. With a triumphant smile she began to pile the flowers one by one into the bucket, only picking the ones with the best bloom potential.

As she was busy about her work, she happened to glance up. She didn’t know what made her do so, it wasn’t as if she didn’t do this every day. She had no reason to, she just did. What she saw made her pause, bucket in one hand, flowers in the other, ribbon in her mouth. Blinking as a curious owl would, she took in the sight of a black stretch limo pulling up to her store. Just then it began to drizzle. Luckily, she was standing under the outstretched awning of the shop so she wasn’t getting wet. Loading up the rest of the tulips, she slipped back into the shop. They weren't supposed to be here yet...

From the counter she could just barely make out the men through the large bay windows in the front of the store. Every once in a while she would curiously glance up and out of the window at them. The rain was coming down harder now, in thick sheets. Raindrops raced down the panes of the windows. Are they just going to stand out there…? Feeling a twisting in her gut, she sighed. The tulip arrangement was finished, and so was her work for the week, so she placed them in the fridge and then walked to the window. The sun was setting, and it was now a downpour out there. The men stood in the rain, stone faced. Upon further inspection she realized that they each had silver hearts in their necks; they were dolls.

With a frustrated sigh, she grabbed her yellow raincoat (Yes, she knows how silly it looks on her). Opening up the shop door, she stepped outside, under the awning. The rain was blowing at such an angle that she was still getting sprayed with bits of water that clung as droplets to her hair. “Hey! You weren't supposed to be here yet,” she called “I'm not exactly dressed yet!” The men didn't budge, forcing her lip down in a scowl. “At least come out of the rain!” Again, the men stood fast. She glanced across the sidewalk at a woman that was staring oddly at her. “Take a picture!” she called to the lady, a blush blooming in her cheeks. How silly she must look, standing in the rain in a bright yellow jacket. With a frustrated sigh, she went back into the shop to change into the outfit she had planned for the ball.

By the time she was ready, the rain had let up to only a faint drizzle. Olive slipped into the limo and glared at the woman in a business suit that she found waiting for her. There was that look again, the look that says I'm-sorry-you're-dying-oh-my-god-it-must-be-so-horrible. When they arrived at Heartland they were greeted by a wave of photographers. The urge to throw herself out of the nearest window grew with every flare of the paparazzi cameras. She was arriving for the ball earlier than everyone else to select her doll. There would be a part of the ball where they would be showcased in front of everyone. Wouldn't the paparazzi just love that; the dying girl and her charity doll. A part of her felt like she should be grateful, but the other part of her just felt like she was being used as an income source.

Olive followed the woman from the limo into Heartland, away from the flashing lights of the news crew. Olive was too busy looking around to really hear anything the woman was saying. Her attention was caught by a woman walking by with an unamused doll. The two looked to be bickering back and forth, despite the woman's Heartland attire. He was perfect. "Miss? Are- are you even listening to me?" "No, I'm not. Who is that?" The woman looked appalled. Olive figured that if she didn't have cancer, the woman would probably have liked to punch her. Good. Rage was an incredible feeling, one of the best. It made you feel the raw sting of life. That is Melody, a tech here, accompanying a doll. Apparently he escaped his dressing room this morning. Needs to be reprogrammed if you ask me." "I didn't ask you. I want to meet him."

After a short exchange, Olive was led to a waiting room that looked like a living room out of a Home and Garden magazine. The room was a little cozy, she noted. "We'll have to get him dressed," they had told her. "I can wait. All I've got is time, right?" They didn't laugh, but she did. A little cancer-humor, but apparently Heartland didn't see the funny side. Olive busied herself with inspecting the large picture of a naked tree hanging on the wall. The photograph reminded her of herself. Strong, steady, rooted, and dead. A voice cleared behind her, causing her to turn. There he was. He didn't look like any doll she had ever seen.

"Thank you." Isaac said after a short pause. Adina turned his head to look at the other boy, and smiled at the expression he saw, that calm, thoughtful, grateful look. Adi was just glad that he had been able to offer any assistance at all, and that his words had been understandable.

Adi leaned against the tree trunk, pleased with himself, and thankful to the other doll in a different sort of way. Sort of like being thankful that Isaac was thankful, perhaps. To be honest, he wasn't quite sure, himself, but that was okay. He didn't mind it. He watched as the other boy shifted his position suddenly, and the comforting hand that Isaac had placed over Adi's had retreated. Adi had barely noticed the hand when it had wrapped around his, and suddenly, now that it was gone, he wanted it back, though instead of making a move to grab it back, he placed both his hands down into his own laps and straightened out the hem of his tee-shirt dress, which had begun to ride up slightly. Even if the boy was hardly a 'friend' and he hardly knew him in the least, and even if he felt good about being able to answer the boy's questions, it didn't cover up his loneliness. Evan and Brittany were doing their jobs, and other dolls were in and out with barely a glance. Adi was all alone, in the end, really, and soon he'd be gone. Without getting an owner, he'd be gone for good.

He couldn't help but let out a little sigh.

"How's your caretaker?" Isaac asked, breaking the pause, and Adi was glad for the new statement to be distracting him from his thoughts. "Mine's real peppy. Likes to dress me up all the time."

Adi smiled at the thought, thinking about how someone peppy like that would probably be a difficult mix for Isaac, seeing as his personality seemed much more laid back and solemn. Brittany's sort of like that, He thought. Maybe a little more high-strung than peppy, though. And Evan lets me get away with everything. Isaac turned his face towards Adi, and Adi opened his mouth to give his answer, before suddenly being interrupted by the arrival of who must've been Isaac's caretaker.

"Isaac. What's gotten into you?" She called, and Adina shut his trap, not wanting to reply with his warden right there. No need to aggravate her anymore by continuing.

"Hi Mel." Isaac had replied, looking at his caretaker with a guilty smile. At least, Ad thought it was guilty-looking.

The woman continued on chastising the doll, ignoring Adi and knowing that there was no helping Adi's bad habits. After all, Adi was programmed with a desire to be adventurous and have a need to wander. Staying in a room was actually bad for his set personality. Soon, the girl was pulling Isaac up from the ground, though, and despite Isaac's attempt to make an excuse for going outside and disobeying, which probably didn't make any sense since people skills were almost irrelevant when dealing with a doll which had almost no people skills like Adi did, she gave him a stern look and began dragging him away, stating that she had to hurry to get him ready for the ball now, and that he better do as he told or whatever. Adi had tuned out of the conversation, drawing up his knees to his chin and hugging his legs in close.

He tried to focus his attention elsewhere, because now he was feeling even more lonely, though he couldn't help but glance back just before 'Mel' dragged the other doll through the door. Isaac had twisted around, and gave a parting wave to him, and Adina couldn't help but smile at the action.

"Best of luck, Adi." He called, giving a quick little smile before disappearing through the door.

Adina rested his cheek against his knees, eyes on the door that his almost-friend had parted through while he pondered the statement. Best of luck, huh? It was the same kind of statement as 'Good Luck', he was almost sure. He was wishing him luck with something. Maybe he detected Adina's reservations around the statement of Isaac leaving, putting two and two together and seeing that Adi had no thoughts that he would ever have hope of being repurchased very quickly. Maybe he wished him luck for that. Or maybe it was just luck in general, that things would be good for him. Either way, though he felt happiness that the boy had the nice thought for him, he hardly thought the thought alone would be helpful for him.

"Well, weren't you just being the little gentleman and showing your new friend all your bad habits?"

Adina picked up his head and came face to face with Evan, who was now crouching in front of him with a half-finished cigarette perched between his lips. It was a good thing that he looked, actually, because after such a long conversation, he almost ended up answering the man, and that would have been going against what Adi had decided when he'd decided that Evan and Brittany would be getting no more words. Instead, he simply nodded his response. Sure, he didn't quite see how his escaping was really a bad habit, and he didn't see how showing him around was going to influence the habits onto the other doll or anything, but yes, essentially, that had been what was going on.

"You did realize he wasn't wearing any pants, right?"

Adina nodded again. The answer to this question needed no explanation in the least.

"Alright then," Evan replied, shrugging. "Well, I think it's about time you went back to get ready for the ball, too. Brittany is probably going to start looking if you don't show up soon. So are you gonna come up with me or am I going to have to carry you up?"

Adina threw up his arms over his head, dropping his knees down flat to the ground so that Evan could get at his waste. In other words, yes. Evan would most certainly have to carry him. Evan sighed, giving a defeated look, and Adina couldn't help but smile at that. Evan would give in though. He almost always gave in, and it was his fault for offering in the first place.

"Alright, alright," He muttered, scooping his arms around the small doll and hefting him upward. In the end, Adina was partially over Evan's shoulder, arms wrapped around the tall scientist's neck and grabbing fist-fulls of the young man's lab coat, with one of Evan's hands scooped under Adi's butt, and the other rested on Adi's back. Adi rested his cheek down on Isaac's shoulder, head turned away from him and watching the scenery shift as he was carried towards the door. "You really are too much, Adi." Adi could feel a shift in Evan's body, and assumed it to be him shaking his head. "You're lucky you're cute."

Adi smiled, offering a little huff in reply, before letting the silence spread between them. He didn't need any more talking from Evan. In fact, he preferred if the man stayed quiet.

They passed through the ballroom as a short-cut, which was situated in the inside area of the ground floor, and was where the big events like this were held. The rich red colors and tapestries were meant to look elegant, and the tables with centerpieces that featured the Heartland Logo were just getting their finishing touches on the middle of the white table cloths. The last of the little reservation cards were being set on the tables. But as soon as the ballroom was there, it was gone again, and they were through the doors and back to the familiar, light-colored surroundings.

"Oh, good! You found him!"

It was Brittany's voice.

Adina's eyes shot open. He hadn't even remembered shutting them, but he must have fallen asleep on the trip back up to his room. That was fine, but he wondered if he'd missed anything on the trip. Perhaps Evan had said something, but it was too late to know now. Evan was plopping him back down on the single bed he was accustomed to, before taking a look back at Brittany.

"Yeah, he went outside again. No big deal," He said.

Adina rubbed the tiredness from his eyes, before taking a deep breath. Brittany was wearing a short, black cocktail dress, now. On the side of it, the heartland logo had been embroidered with white gems. Her short blonde hair was slicked back. Since Adina wasn't part of the group of auction dolls, he'd be accompanied by her so that she could lure in people to try and buy him. They wanted to use one of the people that were familiar with Adina and could give buyers some good reasons to purchase, and Evan would never have been able to do it. Just last week, he came into work wearing slippers, and his shirt was inside out, for Pete's sake.

"Well, yeah, you couldn't have brought him back sooner, then, you ass?" She retorted. Without waiting for an answer, however, she simply shooed him out the door, knowing that he would only further waist her time. She had to focus on getting Adina ready. Walking over to him, she started off by pulling the bun and the french braid out of his hair, raking her hands through it to give it a nice, messy-stylish wave. "And as for you, you couldn't have just stayed put for once?"

Adina shook his head, and she quickly went over to the hook on the wall to grab the dress Adina had picked out earlier.

"Yeah, I thought not," She said, sighing. "Come on, let's get you dressed."

It didn't take very long for her to have him all dolled up, slight-wavy hair pushed over to one side and makeup done in natural tones like brown and gold. She even glossed his lips, which she didn't do very often. But hey, this was a special event... or whatever. Honestly, Adina figured that she just wanted to make him look as pretty as possible so that someone would look past the damage and buy him. Everything was strategic. A bracelet over a wound on his wrist, a necklace to take the eyes away from the ruined emblem, his hair almost covering the scar on his forehead. All Brittany needed was for them to take a first look, and she could talk them up from there. Though, even with that Logic, Adina knew that it was going to be difficult for her.

"Come on," She prompted, looking at her watch. "People are going to be filling into the ballroom any minute, and some of the early birds are probably here already."

Isaac


“I just wanted to—“
“Wanted to what, Isaac? It doesn’t look good on me when you misbehave.” Melody wasn’t letting this one go so easily. She had him tight by the arm, and her face was rosy.
“But-“
“Quiet, Isaac. Please.” She snapped. He went silent, ducking his head slightly. He hated it when she did that. She knew exactly what to say to make him shut his trap. His expression waned dour and he shoved his hands into his hoodie pocket. “You know better than this, Isaac. Honestly, I didn’t think you were unruly enough to run out without any pants.”
Those words were enough for his programming to accept that he was allowed to speak again. “I just wanted to know what it’s like, because you don’t tell me anything.” He said in a loud voice, speaking over her attempts to cut him off.
“There’s better ways to go about it.” She said sternly.
“I’ve been stuck in the same room for my whole life; I think I deserve a bit of freedom for once, Melody.”
“Oh shoot, when did all these people get here?” Melody mumbled, pulling on his arm to make them walk faster as they crossed through one of the main hallways.
“Don’t ask me, I don’t know anything.” Isaac shot back, even though he was quite aware that she wasn’t talking to him.
“Just be quite, Isaac, and hurry up befo-“ She began to chide before another voice cut in.

One of the officials was escorting a woman, and the woman was staring at him. ‘Who is that’ she’d asked. Isaac stared right back at her. Who was she? Melody halted as the official said her name, and narrowed his eyes with a deep frown as that woman said that he should be reprogrammed. He’d just received an order to be quiet, or he would have retorted. The other woman did so just fine though, much to his satisfaction. She wanted to meet him? Well, he could live with that. She seemed a feisty soul. He felt a shiver run up his spine as he recalled all that Adi had told him. This could be his chance to get out of here. She didn’t seem half bad. He just couldn’t mess this up.

He was pushed around a bit as everyone suddenly switched gears. “We’ll need to get him dressed” The official woman said with a pointed look at Melody. Isaac glanced down at his legs. He’d forgotten that he wasn’t wearing any pants, but the fact that had made him so shy with Adi, a peer, now made him cocky under the hand of authority. He was being autonomous. He’d chosen not to wear pants. He was different. Ha. Melody pulled him away, looking slightly surprised. He turned his head to continue looking at the woman as he was pulled away. Why him? This was his new burning question. He wanted to know. She’d not talked to him; she’d only just seen him. In his own opinion he wasn’t much to look at; any of the dolls here was likely as handsome as he especially considering that he was just a storefront model, run of the mill. He was basic, a sparring amount of art done just to show how his skin reacted to it.

“Listen close.” Mel said as they rode the elevator back up to his room. “Behave yourself. If you’ve got nothing nice to say, don’t say anything. Even if it doesn’t work out, this will be your practice run, got it. You must be polite and respectful.” She instructed him as he pulled his hoodie over his head. Another scientist joined him, the clothes he was meant to wear to the Ball in her arms. They didn’t let him do anything himself, holding him still as they pulled his outfit together on him as if he was a breathing manikin. In a matter of minutes he was standing stiffly and Mel was buttoning up his suit. He did not look amused whatsoever. Wearing the restrictive clothing was a large change from running around without pants and a loose hoodie, and he didn’t like it. He felt like he was going to be strangled if he moved just an inch wrong.

Mel proceeded to usher him back down the elevator and to the room where the woman was waiting. Olive Croft. That was the only thing Mel told him, though she apparently already knew the woman for some reason or another. Said woman was examining a picture, her back to the pair. Before Mel could say anything Isaac cleared his throat, making the woman turn. He shifted slightly, turning away from Melody so he could unbutton the heavy black jacket, loosen the tie, and breath a bit better. He stared at the woman the faintest quirks of a question on his face.

“This is Isaac.” Melody spoke up after a second, her babying voice on. He couldn’t tell if it was for his sake or the woman’s, but he rolled his eyes nonetheless. Neither of them were children, though he was only a few days old. “He a standard make. His body is a year old, and he was activated three days ago.” Melody told the woman. Then she nudged him, urging him to speak. He did not for a second, continuing to stare at her. “Why me?” He finally asked. “ Because if you think I’m going to be a complacent little servant you’d be best suited elsewhere.” His voice was perfectly polite, and there was no steel in his expression, he looked as morosely serious as ever. It would be better to let her know now rather than let her take him home then send him right back, right? Melody made a sharp sound of annoyance from right behind him, but he ignored her, still focused on the woman before him.

“Isaac, you will behave.” She hissed. “She let out a bit of strained laughter towards the customer. “He’s not usually like this; he’s just a bit restless today.” She explained, as if that would heal the situation.

The trigger caused Isaac’s mouth to snap shut, but he still had that slightly challenging, intense gaze directed at the woman before him. He would pay no mind of Melody. She didn’t know what it was like. She would never know what it was like to be a doll. He would rather ruin his chances with someone who would try and rule over him than live a silent, miserable, subservient life. He wanted to live, to experience life, but not if he was quashed in the process.

Olive's eyes searched over the doll in front of her as his keeper, 'Melody', according to her name tag, introduced him. Isaac. A biblical name. “He's a standard make. His body is a year old, and he was activated three days ago.” Olive absorbed the information, marveling at the science behind it all. Only a year old; and yet here stood a full grown man. Magical.. and yet, science could breathe life into inanimate objects and do nothing to save her own. A flicker of sadness washed over her hues as she watched Melody gently nudge her project. "Why me," he all but blurted, causing a small, knowing smile to settle on Olive's lips. She had asked herself that question countless times when she was diagnosed with cancer. It didn't seem like such a hard question to answer, and yet no one seemed to have one.

“Because if you think I’m going to be a complacent little servant you’d be best suited elsewhere.” He wasn't rude about it, but his face was stern. Olive smiled a little more, reminded of a three-year-old. So young, and so ready to take on the world. “Isaac, you will behave,” Melody hissed, and then added to Olive, "He’s not usually like this; he’s just a bit restless today.” Olive glanced between the two of them, "Would it be alright if I had a moment alone with you?" Her blue orbs looked onto Isaac, ignoring his keeper. Trusting that he would either ask Melody to leave, or that Melody would realize she was being dismissed, Olive turned and took a seat on the long couch beside the large windows.

After Melody had excused herself Olive gently touched the empty seat beside her. "Sit with me?" She turned her attention to the male doll, examining him carefully as he moved and reacted. Obviously there was some sort of thought process going on behind those hues of his, as she had witnessed earlier with Melody in the room. "My name is Olive. I'm sure they already told you that," she began, ignoring his question and statement for now. "Have they told you why I'm here? No? Well. We'll get back to that, then. In regard to your question... Why you?" A smile toyed with her lips again, a kind, tired smile. "I'll be honest with you, Isaac, I've never had a doll before so you'll have to learn with me I suppose. Are you not suppose to try and win me over? Not the other way around?"

There was a small twinkle in her eye, something hidden and playing behind the walls of her blue depths. "Truth is, I've chosen you at random, because I believe in fate. As to being a... how did you put it? 'Complacent little servant'? Well, I'll have you know I am capable of driving through McDonalds myself." Her smile bloomed into a grin as she added, "I'm not dead just yet." Her smile slowly melted away, as she added, "Of course, that is to say, that once I am... everything I own will go to you. It's not a small responsibility. I have a flower shop, and a bakery, and I will expect you to be able to run both of them before I leave. I'm afraid that there isn't much time for me to teach you everything you'll need to know.."

She trailed off, beginning to look very sad. "I chose you, Isaac, because I saw in you something that I don't see in the, how did she put it? 'Standard make' dolls. Believe me, I've seen plenty of them, and I'm not interested. Of course, I did choose you at random so for all I know you could be just as dreadfully boring and brainless... Tell me, Isaac.. are you boring and brainless?" The smile that had once again found it's way onto her features suggested she already knew the answer.

Isaac

The woman smiled a bit more at his warning. Then she spoke, in an almost cryptic manner. The gist of it was that she wanted Mel to leave. Isaac shot his keeper a look, and she gave him a look with slightly narrowed eyes. He gave her a faint wave as she nodded silently to the woman, Olive, and turned to leave. Isaac's eyes then turned back to the prospective buyer, his interest piqued. The gesture had promised that there would be interesting answers to follow, and there was nothing Isaac liked better than riveting answers. He examined her inquisitively as she turned and took a seat. Then he heard the faint click as the lock of the door bounced off the jamb, not quite closed but not open either.

As if she'd been waiting for that tell-tale sound, Olive spoke, motioning delicately at the seat beside her. Isaac regarded her for a moment, a slight tone of caution colouring his movements. He moved slowly with a fledgling grace that was slowly becoming second nature. He was still curious as to what she wanted with him and why she'd been so apparently amused by his words. He sat down, turning his body slightly to face her and resting one arm on the back of the chair, the position he naturally fell into when seated. Now that Mel was gone he began to toy with his tie, loosening it more so he could actually breath. His eyes slowly wandered back up to her face in a measured, deliberate manner. Then she spoke.

At first she was just stating the obvious, her name, et cetera, but there was something curious to the way she spoke. The tiredness in her eyes. It was foreboding. He shook his head slowly, though she already seemed to know the answer to her question. Then she wrapped around back to his question. She only had a cryptic sort of answer, however, nothing that explained anything. "Well, they never said they made me conventional." he responded offhandedly. His eyes wandered away from her face, but he continued to listen with his head tipped ever so lightly to one side, one hand fidgeting with his collar still.

Random. Huh. He couldn't decide if he liked that idea or not. He didn't believe in fate or destiny. He was a doll, he wasn't run by those things. He was run by binary codes and a structured semblance of randomized autonomy. Harnessed chaos. But he wouldn't argue that point. He liked her alright, so if she wanted to play pretend it was fine with him. He stared at the floor, the stillness of his body showing that he was still listening. He lifted his head up when she made a most foreboding comment though. Not dead yet? What did that mean? He lifted his head up slowly, turning his gaze to her again. there was still a twinkle in her eye, but it was subdued. For the moment. Everything would go to him? The male doll swallowed slowly, trying to process her words. Dolls typically didn't count for inheritance because they were merely property in the hierarchy of life. He opened his mouth to comment, but the sadness in her face stayed his tongue for a moment.

His head tipped to one side slightly further, adding a slightly owlish curiosity to his searching expression. The question she left off with made him thin his lips with appreciation. She was strong. And obviously she had her wits about her, though he was quite curious about these enigmas she'd just crafted about herself. "I'd hope not, " He said, his voice little louder than a reflective murmur. "That's be a horribly boring existence." His eyes flicked across her smile, and he lifted his features into the faint curve of a smile as well for a few seconds. Then back to business. He had questions, and naturally he craved answers.

"You said... are you dying?" His voice was calm, as was his face, but his thoughts were not. The strained pauses between words were enough to show that. He struggled for words after a second, his thoughts on Adi. He couldn't say for sure, but it sounded like Adi's previous owner had either died or been severely injured. And Adi didn't seem too happy. But that had been a different kind of termination. One that had left Adi with scars. live didn't look to be wounded any way. Nor did she look particularly sick. "Why?" He managed to get out, not nearly as eloquently as he could have wished. On an instinct he reached out for her hand, not particularly to comfort her, more because he just needed something to hold onto while he processed this new understanding. He'd contemplated being terminated before, but never had he been in such close quarters with the very real concept of death. And Adi had gotten him in the habit of taking comfort from hand holding.

Olive remained calm as the doll reached over and took her hand. An interesting reaction, but perhaps he was programmed to be compassionate. He wanted to know why she was dying. She laughed a little, at his innocence and at the irony of his question. The one question that every cancer patient asks themselves, every morning. 'Why?' "Because I have cancer," she answered calmly, after her smile had faded away. "I've been given the choice of any doll I'd like here at Heartland, and I've chosen you." She let that sink in for a moment as she watched his reactions. "I know it's not exactly the dream job, but... what do you say? After all, I might kick off in the middle of the night, who knows? Then you'd be home free to do as you please. Taboo, they say, but who cares. As long as you take care of my shops, I won't haunt you and you'll be the first freed doll."

She didn't care if Heartland was listening in or not. She had cancer, and she was dying. She had no fear of the law, or Heartland, or anything anymore... anything, that is, but spiders and other assorted terrors of their kind. "What do you say?"


Ooc: Short post x.x Sorry!

Isaac

Isaac did not look at the woman as she spoke but at her hand, eyelids lowered, as he listened. Cancer. Another thing he didn't know but his brain still somehow found among the creases. Cancer was a terminal disease. No sure cure. Just the sound of it was supposed to make him feel fear. Her laughter after he'd made the inquiry mixed with this new understanding left a bad, very confused taste in his mouth. She had accepted her 'fate', and he didn't know quite what to make of it. So he just looked at her hand, which was laced with his. Human and doll. Dying and never alive to begin with. Then he looked up very slowly a a long paused drowned out her voice. His eyes were quite alert and alive while the rest of him was near completely still, and they flicked to her, all the questions in his mind racing across his dark, reflective eyes.

Her continued words brought him to another thought, one both bitter and sweet. Freedom. The mere concept alone excited and frightened him to no end, but linking it to this woman's death made it all the more chilling. He wouldn't wish death on anyone for his own gain, that was a terrible line of thought. Nobody deserved to die, or be terminated, shut down, and cut off. So he wasn't quite sure what to make of this offer. It was even odd that she made it like an offer, he really had no choice in the matter at all, but then again, perhaps it was by his doing, for being so outspoken right off the bat. But that didn't bother him, that was how he was, and it had worked out alright.

He examined her face for a second, biting the inside of his lip, contemplating her question. "I say that if you're set then I'm not going to argue." He blinked at her, his expression growing less sad for a moment. But then he bit his lip again, this time the white of his teeth showing over his bottom lip. He should probably tell her about his programming, though he couldn't explain it from a technical standpoint. He liked her quite well, admittedly, otherwise he'd have just stayed quiet. But this woman deserved to know. And then if she didn't want him that was fine. He could deal with that. he'd wish her all the best because she was obviously intelligent and strong, and he respected that. She knew what she wanted, and she accepted who she was. If only he could be that way.

"I..." He began after a second, but his voice failed. He tried again after a second, the expression on his face showing blatantly that he was breaching a topic that was very painful for him. "I should warn you. They...I-uh, they messed up when they programed me." His eyes had fallen to her hand again, but he looked up as he spoke again, releasing her hand and folding both of his together, "I-there are pieces missing." He lifted one hand to gesture at his chest and then at his forehead. "And...um...Mel will probably tell you, but I've got a lot of trigger words. To make me shut up and all that." He was not nearly as cool and composed as he'd been before, now he was completely stumbling over his words, trying to express the difficulties he'd encountered in his first moments of life, and dealt with from that instant onwards. "Just to let you know." He added, folding his hands again and looking at the floor. "I'm not a very good doll." He cut a sideways look at the woman and gave a little shrug in a 'what can you do' sort of manner, though he didn't feel that way at all. The deficiencies grated harshly at him, and he was more than a little bitter about it. And she had a right to know that he was lacking in the personality and smoothness of operation categories.

Olive watched him as he watched her, seemingly thinking her question over. . "I say that if you're set then I'm not going to argue," he said at last, with a bite of his lip. She had to admit, he looked incredibly adorable. ”I…” He seemed to fade off, not knowing what to say, or perhaps choked by some unknown worry. Regardless of his reason, this time it was her turn to offer comfort. She gingerly gave his hand a little comforting squeeze."I should warn you. They...I-uh, they messed up when they programed me." She frowned a little, wondering what he could mean as she watched the doll grow ever more uncomfortable. He seemed to withdraw into himself, even pulling his hand away to hold his own. "I-there are pieces missing…and, um… Mel will probably tell you, but I've got a lot of trigger words. To make me shut up and all that."

Olive watched quietly as his confidence began to deflate like a forgotten party balloon. His once smooth tone was now broken and choppy, as if he were fighting some inner battle over admitting his faults. "Just to let you know…. I’m not a very good doll.” So, even dolls who were the physical embodiment of perfection were afraid of rejection, of not being enough. The irony of it all made her smile a little. “You mean you’re not perfect,” she said with a smile, reaching over to gently place a hand on his back. She ran her palm tenderly up and down his spine, like her mother used to do when she was sick. “Well, I guess we’re two peas in a pod then, hm? I’m just as genetically broken as you say you are, only, I have too many pieces. All scattered about in my body, and multiplying every day.”

Olive smiled at him and stood up, holding out her hand for him to take it and join her. “So I guess we will make the perfect pair. You’re not a good doll, and I’m not a good human. Neither of us asked to be this way, and yet here we are. You’re perfect, and I’ll take you.” As if on cue, Mel came back into the room announcing that the ball had started. Splendid. People. Oh joy. “Time to face the music, I guess,” she said with a playful shrug, pulling Isaac up from the couch. “Just to warn you, I’m a terrible dancer—but that’s not going to stop me from making a fool out of you!”

---

The ball was breathtakingly beautiful, enough to bring a smile to even a dead girl’s lips. After giving a short speech about her cancer, and Heartland’s charity, and how the money of the night will go to help her, and others like her, Olive was free to let Isaac whisk her away into the crowd of people. “Well, I’ll give them this—they sure know how to throw a party…” Olive looked over to him with a devious grin, and started to lead him to the dance floor when a stabbing pain stopped her in her tracks. She winced, hand tightening onto his as she froze. Hundreds of colorful dresses flashed in and out of her view as people walked around them. None of them had time for a dead girl. They were too rich, too happy, too alive.

She reached out with her other hand, grabbing Isaac’s shoulder to steady herself. She felt dizzy all of the sudden. Then, as if it had never happened, the pain was gone. She let out a shaky sigh and smiled weakly up at him. “I think I could use a drink. Tell you what. I will be sitting over there,” she nodded to the row of large red leather couches, each tucked into their own cubbyhole make-shift room of curtains, “you go get a glass of water for me, and anything you’d like from the bar.” She was still a little unsteady, but she released his hand anyway and gave him a brave smile and a curt nod before turning on her heel to make a b-line for the couch. The room was going topsy-turvy again. It was going to be a long night.

Isaac

The woman reached over and put a hand on his back. Not a guiding touch, not a instructional touch, but a comforting touch. His first from a human. She spoke gently. Not perfect. But wasn't he supposed to be perfect? Dolls were meant to be nothing less than perfect because there were programmed that way. But she seemed okay with his not being perfect, and Isaac found himself relieved by that. he hadn't even realized how much stress he'd built up worrying about that. Her hand moved, rubbing his back, and he closed his eyes for a second. He turned and looked at her as she spoke again. Too many pieces and not enough. It was strange to think of it that way, but it worked. He straightened slightly, taking her hand again as she offered it. The faintest of quirks in the corner of his mouth denoted a smile as he stood, straightening his jacket with his free hand. She continued speaking as he straightened his appearance. He chewed on the inside of his lip, coping with his delight. To be wanted. He hadn't realized what a lovely feeling it would be. Perhaps it was in his programming, perhaps it was something else, it didn't matter right now. He could be happy for a little while.

Mel must have been sitting outside, waiting, because a few seconds after Olive's last words she reentered the room, a genial smile on her face. She announced that the Ball was beginning, staring at Issac. He dipped his head slightly in thanks, and she blinked at him. Olive then tugged him along, a measure of playfulness in her action. "Not if I make a fool of you first!" He responded, following after her and allowing his mood to lighten. The heavy moment was over. A new chapter had begun, a mere three days since his birth.

The people were overwhelming. Isaac had never seen so many people, dolls and humans alike, in one place. He could barely comprehend it. It was a good thing he had to sit and wait for Olive to finish making some sort of speech about a plethora of cancer related things, otherwise he would have never been able to gather his bearing and wits in this place. She had a grin on her face, she seemed to be enjoying herself, as she returned. He rose, taking her arm, and she tugged him into the massive throng of people. He'd just opened his mouth to respond to her comment when she froze, her fingers tightening around his. He froze as well, concern on his face as he looked at her. There was an expression of pain on her features. He didn't know what to do in this situation. But she seemed to recover, holding on to his shoulder with her other hand as if to steady herself. He put an arm around her waist, just in case she was about to fall. He received a wobbly smile and a sigh, along with a request for a drink. Then she started off towards the chairs off on the wall. He gave her a troubled look as she pulled away, but he let her go. She offered a brave smile that he didn't quite believe, before moving a bit tentatively towards the seats. He stood and made sure she'd sat down before heading off to search for the drinks.

Once he retrieved the water, nothing for himself, though she'd said he could get something, he began to make his way back towards Olive. Ah, there she was. He moved in between the people, cutting through a group in an attempt to make a shortcut, to little avail. As he neared, a man approached Olive, and appeared to talk to her for a few moments before handing her something and walking away.

"Who was that?" He asked as he finally managed to return to her side, holding the water out to er and staring after the guy. It appeared that he'd given her a letter, or at the very least something in an envelope. As he disappeared into the crowd he turned his eyes to her, traces of worry in his eyes. "Are you alright? Do you need anything else?"

Olive was just recovering from her episode when a tall, handsome man walked up to her. "Oh my," the stranger purred, "You're here on the couch instead of dancing at your party?" He smiled at her, and she had to admit that he looked breathtaking. Was he a doll? Surely God stopped making men this gorgeous once he taught humans to do it. "Not that I blame you," he was saying, "I get so sick of these parties, sometimes. The people are too self absorbed, too careless. There's me calling the kettle black, I'm sorry. I'm Damien Jackson." Olive let a smile toy with her lips, only briefly. "Then you already know who I am, just as you know this party wasn't for me. It was for their," she paused to gesture at the ballroom full of beautiful dolls and rich owners, "benefit." He seemed amused, and casually shifted his weight as he began to speak again, this time offering his hand out to hers.

Without hesitating, Olive reached out and gave him a firm handshake. Even though she was seated, and he was standing, she still felt as though she were in control of the conversation. A smirk slowly pulled his features into an even more handsome taunt. Something about him was so dominate, so in control, just being around him made her feel more powerful. More in control, of herself if nothing else. As she stared up into his dazzling blue hues, she couldn't help but wonder just who this handsome stranger was. She was just about to tell him that he better hurry off before she turned into a pumpkin when he broke the pregnant pause of silence. "Hey, listen. My friends are here, and they seem to be waving me over," he motioned towards a large group of people, who seemed to be desperately trying to catch his eye from across the floor. "Better not keep them waiting, then," she responded coolly, with a small smirk of her own.

"Here, I have a gift for you," he announced as he reached into his tuxedo, and pulled out a sealed envelope. She felt her brows knit together as she took the offering and when she went to look up to him, to ask what it was; he was already striding across the room. Everyone's eyes seemed to follow him as he went, as if he had a magnetic pull about him. Perhaps he did. Olive's thoughts were pulled from him as her doll returned, looking concerned and confused as he held out the glass of ice water. "Who was that?" Olive smiled a little as Isaac looked after the man who had walked away, just as she had. When he turned his gaze back to her, there was something different in his handsome gaze. Worry, perhaps? Yes. She knew that look well, and sure enough within seconds he asked; "Are you alright? Do you need anything else?" " I'm alright, thank you, Isaac. As to who that man was, his name is Damien. Damien Jackson, and I have no idea who he is. He was certainly handsome, though," she replied quietly, almost muttering the last half. She gingerly opened the envelope and peered inside, finding a letter with elegant hand writing.

It was from him, but there was no surprise there. It asked her to meet him later, privately for a chat. She frowned slightly and handed the letter over to Isaac. "He wants to meet with me later. If he thinks I'll be doing so without you, he's certainly mistaken. My mother taught me never to take candy from strangers." She smiled over at Isaac, hoping he would catch the joke but as always he seemed stone faced. " Do you recognize anyone here, Isaac? Anyone famous, or perhaps, a doll you might know? I'm not familiar with the workings of Heartland, so, you'll have to humor me." She smiled up at him and gently pat the seat next to her, signalling for him to join her. "Your life with me will not be this glamorous," she said quietly to him, almost sadly. "I hope that will be alright... Though, I must say, you look wonderful all dressed up," she cooed affectionately, reaching over to tenderly fix his suit.

Isaac


Olive reassured him that she was fine, then they both turned their attention to the envelope. Damien Jackson. He had no clue who that was, but then again, he wasn't very well versed in who was who anyway, since he hadn't spent but a few hours now outside the silent confines of Heartland's scientific jail. The only person he would have had any chance of knowing was Adina, but even with a few scans of the crowd he hadn't spotted the pretty doll yet. Perhaps it was for the best? Maybe Adi would always remain an elusive advice giver, some almost fantasy that reminded him of that very fine line between alive and dead. He couldn't help but want to see the doll though, putting aside such romantic concepts. He received the letter from Olive and scanned through the well crafted script quickly. His mouth thinned to a line as distrust welled in his system. Perhaps it was some instinct hardwired deep in his electrical soul, but he didn't want to let Olive out of his sight under such questionable circumstances.

It seemed that she shared his mindset, and he nodded silently in agreement. He would accompany her. It might not do them any good, but at least it would bring him solace. She smiled at him, and he blinked back at her, warming a little, though his thoughts were still stony as he thought about what exactly this Damien guy wanted from her. While he was still relatively innocent, there were some things he had learned, and those were enough to make him distrustful of leaving Olive alone with anyone. Let alone a man.

He blinked at her again as she continued, asking him if he recognized anyone. He sat down next to her, as she motioned, and made a small shrug. "Don't worry, I'm new here too. Nobody rings a bell for me. They all kind of look the same, actually." He squinted a bit at all the chiffon-dressed ladies and tuxedo-ed men as if to try and discern them from each other. It was quite impossible. All the faces blended into each other like a great mass of perfume and caked-on beauty. At some points it was difficult to tell the two different types of synthetic appeal apart, those with faces built to be beautiful, and those who had carefully sculpted theirs with products and methods. Not like he was one to talk. He looked just as generically handsome as any other male doll on the market, but a bit more morose and brooding than most. And a tad bit older than most. It seemed that most people preferred their dolls fresh faced, despite what age the owner in question was. Well, hypothetically, all the dolls here save for those programmed with the memories of another were technically children, though children with minds incredibly adept at processing information.

He examined the woman as she spoke again, a hint of sadness in her voice. Not a glamorous life? Well, how could that bother him. It would be all he knew, so it wasn't like he could long for anything. And she was most likely better than most of these fools here, who would treat him like a little lap dog and bark orders at him all the time. She reached out and straightened his jacket, and he lifted his hand to take hers. "I don't mind." His face ghosted with a smile for a moment before he fell back into more serious thinking. "I don't think I would enjoy this "glamour" all that much anyway. It seems tedious."

He swept his eyes out over the crowd again thoughtfully, and wondered what would happen to Adina. What kind of life did Adi want? What kind of life had he possessed? Would he get it back. Isaac had made up his mind to be happy for the time being, and he hoped Adi would be happy too.