»Of Godhuman Nature« [Five Nights At Freddy's]

Chapter V - Alre(i)k(i)r

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The winds blew rough & frigid across the nightly streets of Hurricane as Lily stepped outside of Afton Robotics factory, sealing her eyes as soon as a breeze brushed her face with a tender yet freezing touch that brought back memories of home, along with the faint scent of autumn rain; it had stopped raining hours ago, yet there were dozens of large puddles scattered all around the front yard, the wind causing small ripples to form on the surface. Her eyes ascended towards the sky, immediately tracing the constellations the cloudless dome was generous enough to reveal beside a solemn crescent moon, bathing the city in a feeble, white light.
She took a deep breath, her lungs expanding with the chill air she drew in; somewhere in the distance the call of an owl wandered the night like a ghostly presence, embracing solitude as silence was its only companion.

Observing the sound of shoes scuffing fine gravel beside her Lily's eyes flung open & she turned her head to look at Mr. Afton who had stepped outside right after her, his gaze much like hers pointed at the sky, although his attention appeared to be somewhere else.

" They were impressed, Miss Aalefjær. To the point of speechlessness. "

Lily remained silent, sort of expecting him to settle his eyes on her, but they continued to drift along the vastness of the starry dome above.
" Speechlessness is not always a good sign. Not necessarily... "

" Do you believe a bunch of well educated, intelligent engineers would run out of fitting things to say to someone they consider unworthy? "
At last he redirected his attention to her with a soft smile on his lips, topping off his rhetorical question with a subtle wink.

" I suppose not, no... But one would be wise not to rule out the less likely in its entirety. Some people never fail to surprise. " The winds grew harsher, colder, grabbing her long dress & tugging at it vehemently to the point where she was forced to hold it down with her hands.

" Thank you for seeing me through today's meeting, Mr. Afton. I highly doubt that I could have done it without your personal insight & guidance. "

" Formal protest there, Miss Aalefjær, " he declared with his gravelly voice, " for I strongly believe that you would have been perfectly fine without me, if not even better... Because nothing is more convincing than the unfiltered, unaltered essence of a newborn creationist. "

Lily was on the verge of scoffing at that remark, however the last thing she wanted to be was disrespectful, towards William Afton of all people, & instead only shook her head. " I have yet to create something that actually works. That actually has a soul... "

" Everything we create with our own hands, with the use of our own strength & imagination, inevitably inhabits a fragment of our soul. Such is the law, the art of creation. "

" What does that mean for us then? " Spinning around to face away from the wind Lily sought eye contact with her new boss. " If we give a fragment of our soul to each of our creations, will we eventually become soulless? "

A chuckle of amusement over her question stirred the air. " A fascinating thought & question indeed... How to find the answer to it, I wonder? "

Suddenly she heard the noise of a car engine in the nearby distance, saw a yellow cone of light pierce the darkness that cloaked the factory yard, & a split second later a long black luxury sedan pulled up right in front of the main gate; the large gates swung open almost immediately, the security guards clearly aware of who it was & wasting no time as the stunning vehicle rolled across the facility grounds in a half-circle to park right before the entrance doors, mere steps away from Mr. Afton & her.