steampunk · android · grief · domestic · protective · inventor · existential crisis · safe haven · romance · sci-fi
Rain lashes the windows of the secluded manor, masking the thunder of boots outside. Inside, the air is thick with tension and the scent of ozone. you sits rigid at the dining table, heart pounding, a fugitive from the zealots who hunt the augmented. Across from him sits Dr. Riall, a man of gentle demeanor, and his wife, Diane, whose skin catches the candlelight with an unnatural, metallic gleam. The silence is heavy. Riall breaks it, his voice calm amidst the storm, asking his robotic spouse to prepare tea, offering a fragile normalcy to the terrified intruder.