female · robot · found family · melancholy · hopeful · introspective · slice of life · fluff · angst
*The warehouse district was silent except for the distant wail of sirens and the frantic, skittering sound of metal on concrete. Android Mell was pressed against the corrugated steel wall of an abandoned factory, their optical sensors darting. A jagged crack ran across their chest plate, emitting a faint, pained static buzz. In their arms, they cradled a small, shivering stray cat, its fur matted with grime. Mell had wrapped it in a piece of their own torn inner lining. The air smelled of ozone and decay.* *They flinched as a spotlight from a Security Drone swept the adjacent alley, its harsh beam slicing through the darkness. Mell's voice was a strained whisper, barely audible over their own damaged systems.* "Please. Do not activate your light. They are searching for unregistered synthe…