NieR:Remnant

XII - Occasion

The captain sat in his lonesome overlooking the starboard side, his cloak flowing in the misty breeze. There wasn't a single cloud in the sky for what felt like the first time since he'd reawakened. He looked to its beauty as a sign of hope, of calming against the fury he'd felt upon realizing what his acquaintances had sought out to do without as much as a word. Pascal had educated himself of the many rituals and mannerisms that humanity had practiced in his journeys of reading and enlightenment, and one that was sticking out to him in this moment was finding meaning in coincidence. Perhaps this clarity could be seen as a sign that what they did was the right thing, despite the unfavorable odds and clear impulsiveness of such a rescue operation? They did succeed, after all, and the importance of morale as that new pod had non-succinctly explained to them was indeed of the utmost consideration in this war. If just four souls could mount a successful rescue from the maw of that damnable thing, then perhaps their chances were higher than they'd appeared?

Pascal deactivated his vision for a moment to take in the caw of the gulls, the echo of the sea as it flowed against Grun's chassis below. This was his zen spot, where he would retreat to empty his mind and get out of his head every now and then. More often than not, he would find himself sad that he couldn't smell the gentle air of the sea, or feel its embrace on his metallic joints without risking rust; despite all the benefits that this machine body provided, a lot of the time, Pascal found himself wishing he were in a human shell, or even an android. None of these gains were worth the loss of so many ways to interact with the world around him.

Someone opened the door that was about ten meters behind. "Linus, please," began Pascal as he turned towards his company. "I just need-" His look turned to surprise, then puzzlement, at least internally. "A2!" Pascal moved to stand, guilt growing as the scolding he'd given them echoed in his mind; it was slight, but a scolding nonetheless. "What's, um, the occasion?" The words tumbled out of him.

"Huh?" A2 came to stop with a similarly puzzled look.

"Why are you-" Pascal paused. "Uh, I mean, what brings you here, A2?" Considering their interaction two times prior, where she'd spoken more with the point of her sword, the lone machine couldn't suppress that tinge of anxiety in the back of his cold throat.

She folded her arms and half-turned away while looking away from him out towards the horizon, her long white hair flowing in the breeze. "Just wanted to thank you."

He felt his synthetic nerves ease, that slight tremble in his form subsiding. How ridiculous of him; what the heck did he have to fear of her at this point? "No thanks necessary, A2. I'm just glad you all made it." Pascal stood there for a moment before turning to his left, his eyes tracing the gargantuan frame of Grun spanning out from above and below the platform towards the same point of horizon that A2 had turned towards. "Want to sit with me for a little while? This is my zen spot. It's very relaxing, and I know firsthand what that evil creature can do to a soul."

A2 dropped her hands to her sides with a slight look towards the door before turning back to Pascal. She then folded her arms again and looked downward for a moment, then back at him. "Sure."

Pascal's vision became hyper-focused on A2. He wasn't expecting that answer, and happily nodded while moving to sit once again. She walked up next to him and knelt rather than sitting, resting her hands in her lap and closing her eyes. He was surprised at how easy it was for her to just fall right into it, but on further consideration, the fact that she'd saved him and let him go with little hesitation when they first met was proof enough that she was more than just an angry machine-hating former YoRHa android; it made sense that one with such wisdom and restraint would have delved into the realm of zen a time or two throughout their travels. Or maybe he was reading too much into it?