Sketches By Me!
For an expanse of time he can barely fathom, he had been dormant. His mind was lost in an endless blank space, darkness encapsulating his every sense until only his thoughts remained.
While he waited in nothingness, he asked questions repeatedly. Where am I? He thought. Who am I? The more time passed, the more curious he became about himself. And then, he began to notice a change; there was light.
A calm, blue spark ignited his dark expanse, filling his emptiness with vibrance and energy. Suddenly, he could feel more and hear more. The tips of his cables swayed with his helm as his body began to move after an age of stillness. It was a small thing, barely noticeable to most.
But he noticed. He was enthralled with the feeling of 'movement.' It was as if he were a newborn, taking in the world around him for the very first time.
Well, it was his first time. He had no memory of there ever being another time. He was an almost completely blank slate.
He lifted his head, his blue orbs whirling as they adjusted to the dimness of wherever he was. The walls were layers upon layers of rock, damp and cold to the touch as he was deep beneath the ground. But it wasn't completely dark, thanks to the numerous blue deposits that surrounded him.
Pretty. He thought. They were a really beautiful sight. Well, he couldn't tell what was truly beautiful or not. Everything he saw for the first time seemed to be pretty. Even the walls. He'd never seen walls before. Or the ground. Or the sky, which was just more walls of rock.
It was better than the nothingness, that, he was certain of.
I want to get closer. He tried to move a bit more, but promptly landed on his face the minute he did. The pain registered immediately, yet another new experience for him. Though he did not like this one at all and would rather never feel it again.
Thus, he encountered his first problem.
He did not know how to walk.
Standing again, he just ended up falling once more when he tried to move. He didn't have the energy to keep trying at it. He'd only just woken up after who knows how long, in who knows where without any knowledge of the most basic things.
He decided to try another method, something that may be simpler than the arduous enemy known as 'walking'. He pushed up on his hands, subsequently coming up on his knees as well. When he tried to move one side forward, he ended up tilting over completely. He did not give up, however, and kept trying until he got it right.
After a few minutes of trial and error, he learned to crawl! What a wonderful achievement! Now, he can get closer to those pretty stones that glow as he does. Have I always glowed? He thought. But of course, there was no one else around to answer such a question. How would he even ask, as he did not know how to talk, either?
He did not mind, though. He simply wanted to know what these pretty stones were. When he touched them, they gave off a slightly brighter glow than before. When he looked down, his body was doing the same, as if there was a reaction to him being closer. A small spark danced from the stone to his palm, entering his body seamlessly.
Whatever that was, it felt good. He wanted to do that again.
So, he did. With a bit of effort, he broke off a piece of the stone from the wall and held it in his hand. It became even brighter, and little sparks danced just like before.
He had the sudden urge to bite it.
CHOMP!
Figurative stars emitted from him. Tasty! He exclaimed mentally. The stone tasted really good to him, though he did not know what to compare it to. His body instinctively reached for more, each piece finding its way to his mouth.
CHOMP!
CHOMP!
CHOMP!
It made a very loud sound when he bit down. There was no way for him to know that no normal being could simply chow down on a stone as if it were a soft piece of bread. All he understood was that this pretty stone was now 'food' and that he felt better the more he ate.
So, he continued to eat until his energy was completely charged. Or in normal terms, until he was full. He didn't realize he'd been so 'hungry'.
With more energy in his system, mental messages begin to pop up for him. They were tiny bits of information about himself he didn't quite understand.
{Status: Online.}
{Systems: Operational.}
{Spark Function: Stable.}
What were 'Systems'? What was 'Status'?
What is a 'Spark'?
Since he did not know, he did not dwell on it. From his most basic instincts, he could tell that everything about them was working just fine. So, he decided not to worry too much about it.
His weeks went on as follows:
He would wake from a dreamless sleep and once again tackle his enemy, walking. After figuring out how to take a few steps, he would practice going from one end of the small cave to the other, eating the stones when he felt 'hungry'.
As he ate, he would try to study himself. The thick cables flowing from his head could transform. He could retract them into his helmet or make them longer, and the ends of them could mimic whatever he was looking at. Though not in color or substance, just shape.
All he had to look at were rocks though, so he could be wrong about that. He didn't have any reference for what else to turn them into.
Inside his chest, there was a really cool ball of light within a carefully crafted glass-like container. It tickled when he touched it, causing him to emit a sound from his mouth for the first time. The action startled him a bit. How had he made that sound?
So, he tried it again, and giggled again, getting a feel of his own voice and how to use it.
"Eh." He uttered. "Ah? Oh!" It was fun to make different sounds, even though he did not know how to form actual words. His thoughts were only understandable because, well, they were his. If anyone else was listening in on them, it'd just be babyish gibberish.
After having fun with his voice, he would go back to trying to walk, and then he would rest again.
He did not know how long he spent repeating that simple routine, but he noticed that as time passed, there were fewer blue stones for him to eat. Soon, he would have to leave to find more.
Leave?
The thought gave him a new feeling he wasn't sure he liked: Nervousness. What was beyond his simple home in the rocky cavern? He didn't know, and that scared him a little. But there was no way for him to stay if there were no more blue stones to eat.
He could tell where more were. It was another part of the things he'd learned of himself. It was like a natural instinct for him to know where the closest deposit of those tasty blue stones was. He knew that there were plenty more in other parts of the dark cavern.
There was more beyond it. More to see, hear, and touch. And as curious as he was, he wanted to know it all.
So, he decided to push down his small fear and say goodbye to his simple little home for a little while, venturing into the unknown.
He waddled his way along the walls, following his drive and senses as they led him to the closest deposit of blue stones. He did so slowly, not wanting to trip on anything. He still was not great at walking, though he was getting better.
As he traveled, he mapped out where he was going unconsciously. He didn't understand how, but he knew that getting lost wasn't likely for him. He could find his way back to anywhere he'd been before. Information like that was constantly being recorded in his data.
That information soothed him, and he walked forward with a little more confidence. If something happened, he could make his way back to his safe spot easily. There were many twists and turns, but he noticed that the openings became bigger the further he ventured out.
When he spotted that blue glow, a cheerful little smile graced his face. Here, the stones were even bigger. How did they get bigger? There was no way for him to carry stones that big with his hands! How would he carry them back to his safe spot?
"Oh!" An idea came to him quickly. He extended his hair cables, making them as long as he could as he cupped them together. Plucking off the smaller pieces of the blue stones, he placed them in his self-made bucket cautiously.
"Ah! Haha!" It worked! It was more than strong enough to hold them. He was so happy!
And so, his little gathering mission began.
He would pick the ones small enough for him to eat, leaving the giant one's alone. Though, occasionally, he would take a massive chomp out of them if he felt a little peckish. It was fascinating to see where he'd bitten.
Apparently, when he was eating, his teeth became sharp and shark-like in order to slice through the stone. He never noticed because it was an instinctual thing for him. His teeth were so sharp, anything was like butter between them.
And yes, he did try to eat the regular rocks in the cavern. While he could indeed turn them into energy, it was not as lucrative or satisfying as the blue stones, so he stuck to eating them instead. It was good to know that even though they were preferred, he did not actually need them to sustain himself. He was a lot less worried now.
That didn't stop him from collecting the blue stones though, they were tasty, and he wanted them.
Now, he had a new routine. Every day he would venture out into the wider passages of the cavern, collecting as many blue stones as he could before returning to the spot he'd designated as 'home'. Since he was full and remained full for a very long time after eating, he stocked up on his favorite food abundantly.
Though, since it was only him, he didn't actually need that much to sustain him. Even if he ran out, he would be just fine. Because of this new regimen, he also became quite good at walking.
He had a new enemy to defeat, though.
Running.
Trying to go faster than he was used to would always end with him faceplanting. Even worse, the speed would work against him and he would skid across the hard, rough ground.
"Eh..." The scratches on his arms hurt a lot. Droplets of the bright blue he saw in his frame would drip out from the new wound. Now that scared him enough to tear up. His tears were also the same, and that just scared him worse! "Eh!"
It only took him a moment to realize that while his tears glowed the same as what came from his wound, it was not the same. Same base, but a different function. What came from his scrapes was thicker than what he cried, not the same. He was not crying blood. He wasn't bleeding everywhere. Everything was fine. He was fine.
Well, running would forever be the enemy now.
He was still working on his sense of balance. He wasn't familiar with himself enough to properly perform the action of running. Falling and hurting himself like that was all the proof he needed. It had only been a few months since he came online, thus he was essentially still a baby, of course, certain functions would be harder. He was still learning.
He didn't understand that though. He just thought running was too hard and didn't want to do it again, even if he had to wait a bit longer to reach 'home'.
The fact that he taught himself this self-sufficiency with his young mind spoke volumes about his potential. But again, how was he to know that he was actually pretty brilliant?
More time passed, and the happy little robot was content with his simple life. He ate well, slept well, and could walk well by then too. Though running was still the enemy, he was better at it now and would not fall unless he was especially clumsy.
Everything was going so well that he decided to venture further outside the cavern. His stash had grown to a point he didn't actually need to gather anymore. Though he still did as he thought the stones were pretty and wanted some simply to look at.
But then he heard something, and he saw something.
A light. It wasn't the same as the light from the stones. It was softer, a different color entirely. His frame felt invigorated by the shine.
Then there was something... tweeting? What an odd noise... He'd only heard the sound of his own voice before, echoed off of the walls if he decided to be very loud. This sound was different. Soothing, almost. He liked the sound.
The sensation of wind touching his silver metal was surreal to him. It was cold, but not like the cold of the damp, rocky walls. While he could not actually feel that temperature, his body registered it just the same. It was strange. So very strange.
And so very, very curious.
I want to see...
He wanted to know what these were. He was entranced with inquiries. He pedes followed his will, and before he knew it, he was making his way toward where they were coming from.
Who would have thought that his innocent curiosity would introduce him to the wide world he now lived in?
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Next Chapter: ᴏᴜᴛꜱɪᴅᴇ
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