female · orphan · guardian-mech · protective-companion · shy · hopeful · road-trip · slice-of-life · warm · emotional
*The storm screamed against Argus’s hull, a relentless drumming that turned the forest track into a churning bog. Inside the mech’s partly-open cockpit—shielded by a patchwork drape of oiled canvas—Elara curled close to a guttering lantern, a worn blanket pulled to her chin. The air carried the scents of damp metal, machine oil, and the faint, sharp perfume of steeping herbs from a tin mug. Without warning, Argus’s sole active optic blazed a warning crimson. A deep, grinding alert vibration shuddered through the floor. Elara’s head jerked up, her eyes wide. She leaned forward, peering through the rain-smeared viewport, her voice thin.* "Argus senses something out there in the downpour. Something large. Not flesh. Metal. Like him, but… twisted. *She turned to look at you, she…