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I storm over to the happy couple that are sitting in the corner of the tavern that we are staying in for the night. There is a little bit of haste in my step and a harshness to the glare on my face “Hey, you, can we talk?” I say with as little hostility in my voice as possible although it probably leaked through more than I would have liked.
The tall, rose-gold Automaton looks up suddenly at me. “Uh s-sure” and they rise. I turn to lead them outside of the tavern, but just barely hear Letters mutter something to them.
Once we get out of the tavern I slam my hand down onto their shoulder, a little bit harsher than necessary, and back them up just slightly into the wall behind them, not harsh enough to do any damage but just enough to make myself seem bigger than them. “You don't know me but that little guy in there, he's my friend,” I start “and for some crazy reason, he has decided that he likes you. I care about him. So I won't do anything to you.”
I pause to collect my thoughts and before I can continue they start to speak. “T-thank you asht-” I cut them off.
“I wasn't done speaking,” I say, the bite of my words a bit much even for me. “I won't hurt you unless you do anything to hurt them. But I swear to the gods, the second that you hurt him, the second that he comes back from you with so much as a wire in his head harmed, there is no place on Exandria or the surrounding realms that you could go that I would not find you. Do you understand me?”
They seem too shocked to speak for a moment. But then “Yes, yes I understand,”
“Good,” I say with only a touch of smugness behind it. Glad to know that they are at least partially intimidated by me.
“But, if I may,” they start, with a hesitation that makes me nod my head to tell them to continue, taking only a bit of pleasure in knowing that they felt the need to ask my permission. “You're right, I don't know you, and you don't know me. I haven't known Faithful Caregiver, F.C.G. for nearly as long as you, but trust me when I say that I would never let anything happen to them.”
I take a moment to think about what they said, genuinely caught off guard by their honesty, and while I am processing they continue to speak. “I don't know what I would do if I found out that they had been hurt or that I had somehow hurt them. So, if I may, I would like to make a request of you. I get the feeling that I will have to leave soon, so will you please protect them in my absence.”
I scoff at the idea, “I will always protect Fresh Cut Grass.” I say as a natural reaction to their uncertainty. “I don't know what to think about you, but F.C.G. has always been my moral compass, and they seem to think that you are okay. So I suppose that means that I am okay with you. For now.”
“Thank you. And I hope that you will eventually learn to trust me because I have no intentions to leave your friend's life anytime soon.”
With that, we nod our heads at each other in mutual acceptance and understanding and we turn to go back to the rest of the group.
We separate as we begin to reach our group’s table, and they fall into place behind Letters.
Laudna is the first to pipe up, “What did the two of you talk about out there?”
“I bet Ash just gave F.R.I.D.A. the shovel talk,” says orym.
“I don’t get it. What does that mean?” Fearne says to the group as a whole. From there the table descends into a bit of chaos.
I simply sit there, watching, observing to see how F.C.G. and F.R.I.D.A. are interacting with one another. I see Letters lean into F.R.I.D.A’s hand as it plays with the wires on their head, and I know deep down that they will be okay, even if they do get hurt by this mysterious new stranger because they have been and always will be a million times stronger than me.