sweethymns | ʜᴜᴍᴀɴ ᴀғᴛᴇʀ ᴀʟʟ

[A little head tilt of ?? goes here. What else would they want to browse, if not the books? That’s all there was in this area.

But mention of the beach pushes the conversation forward.]

I didn’t think I was properly dressed for the beach.

[She laughs a little.]

Probably not. I was thinking about taking a walk there, but we can save that for a later time.

[There's music playing throughout the mall, specifically some Daft Punk/a> and Ai starts humming along.]

Oh! Does Daft Punk exist where you're from?

[Yeah what about music Connor]

Maybe next time, then.

[He walks along (he's fine with carrying all the bags of what's been purchased so far), listening to the murmur of the crowd around them, and Ai's humming.]

Not that I'm aware of. I've only really listened to a limited array of music, though; mostly heavy metal and jazz.

[Basically whatever Hank listens to.]

Heavy metal?

[That genre of music totally clashes with how Connor looks like right now.]

Why that one? It seems stressful.

My friend is a fan of the genre. I've listened to what he likes; namely, a band called Knights of the Black Death.

[It totally seems to clash with Connor's personality.]

It’s definitely… loud. But I don’t think it’s stressful. In fact, it helps keep one attentive. Focused.

Like my coin.

Your coin... Oh, like flipping a coin?

[It's such a small, but yet another interesting detail about Connor.]

I didn't know you had a tic for focusing.

[A tic? He never thought of it in that way, but he... supposes it is.]

When I feel... anxious before something important, or if I just want to gather all my focus into a single point, I use my coin.

[Here, he digs in his pocket with a free hand. Yes, he took it with him when he changed clothes, and he only needs one hand to demonstrate.

The quarter shines silver in the light. He flips it with a high, metallic ping and catches it against his knuckles, rolling it across the top of his fingers.]

I don't know why it works, exactly, but it does. It was never something I was programmed to do.

No one taught you then?

[Whoa. Ai is enthralled with the coin trick, watching as it dances across his knuckles, no tricks, no powers, just physics and a great sense of balance that Ai is suddenly unsure she has even with her physical and psychic training. He makes it seem so effortless too!]

Could I try?

No. I taught myself.

[Granted, he has an advantage being an android, but he’s also practiced quite a bit. He makes it look effortless, as if balance were not even an issue to consider.

Smiling, he tosses the coin up in the air and catches it, then offers his hand towards her, palm-up. The quarter gleams in the light, laying flat against his open hand.]

Of course. Go ahead.

[She pinches the quarter out of his palm and puts it inside of her own to examine it. Just a normal coin, nothing more. And so she turns her hand sideways and tries to flip it first with her thumb. First one was okay, not much height. The second goes a little higher. So she'll attempt the knuckle trick, but it won't even balance on its edge across her more slender fingers, thus rolling off and almost dropping to the floor...

Until it flies back into her hand.]

Whoops. Almost dropped it.

[Good thing no one noticed that bit of telekinesis. Just a trick of light if anyone happened to look.]

[He tracks the coin with his eyes, laughing slightly. Even as it threatens to fall to the floor, only to dart back up to her hand.]

I think that's called... cheating.

[Even using powers to pick it up!]

Nuh uh.

[Ai are you two?? She's sounding indignant like she is with Lien and passes the coin over to Connor looking huffy.]

Besides, if it helps me learn that trick, I can absolutely fade it out.

How are you going to learn the muscle memory required when the muscles in your hand aren't doing any of the work?

[Connor might be teasing a little. He takes the coin back, but then reaches out with his hand, offering-]

Let me see your hand.

Well, just to get a feel of what it's like against my knuckles?

[When Connor asks to see her hand, she blinks but does without any fuss.]

Palm up or palm down?

That, and for the sake of practice. To learn how to manipulate the weight of the quarter as it rolls across your fingers.

[He takes her hand with his own, turning it palm down.] Palm down. Relax your fingers; they should have a slight curve to them. Yours was too stiff. The quarter will only ever bounce off that way.

[Not that he expects this to make it magically work for her. But it'll make it easier, if she ever does get the hang of it.]

Relax...

[It's a good thing Lien isn't here to ruin the moment or make Ai feel self-conscious. It was nice, being taught something inconsequential and yet important at the same time; important because it was something her new friend taught her.

Flexing her fingers before holding it up to her face again, she murmurs, mostly to herself.]

I got a lot left to learn...

Like I said, it'll take some practice.

[He gently moves her fingers until they're in a proper sort of position, then pulls his hand away.]

Like that.

[But then, without warning, a flash of silver. He's handing the quarter to her.]

You can borrow my quarter if you want. It's good luck, so I'm sure you'll pick it up faster.

[Whoops, almost missed that. But she takes the quarter and looks back at him.]

I'll use it for now, but make sure you take it back with you okay? I can tell you've kept this for a while.

[But she'll find them a seat in a resting area where there are a lot of indoor plants with ledges as seats and she gets to work once she settles down practicing the coin trick.]

[He follows and sits down next to her, watching her practice. Idly, Connor pushes his glasses back up his nose.]

When you get it down, I'll take it back. Until then, I can find another coin.

ʜᴜᴍᴀɴ ᴀғᴛᴇʀ ᴀʟʟ

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