[KashKey]

Mari

A young Reploid sighed as he looked over the books of Ciel's library. What to do, what to do...? What SHOULD he do? As boredom had set in during his time in the Life Sphere, Grey was coming to a realization. He had no clue what to do in his free time.

It wasn't his fault, really. He'd never had free time before. But now that he wasn't fighting at all times, he really didn't know what to do with himself. He felt like he was going stir crazy, just sitting around doing nothing. Ciel had been kind enough to take him in, but now that he was here, he was just at a complete loss. Books? Sure, maybe, but there were so many here he just didn't know where to start, and the first informational book he had picked up had bored him to tears. Who needed to know that much about rocks? Was half of it even true? Hell if he knew.

A yawn escaped Grey's mouth. His boredom was reaching its peak, and the sheer volume of books seemed ever larger as he stared them down, before stepping away. What was he to do with himself...? ... Well, Ciel had said to go to her if he needed help, and right now, he felt like he was going crazy with the sheer lack of an idea as to what he should do, so it couldn't hurt. He started wandering the library, looking around for her, the cables on his back trailing behind him as he walked. It couldn't hurt to ask for an idea or two.

[Doctor Ciel]

Ciel was in the kitchen, preparing some snacks and drinks. It was meant to be a nice surprise for Grey. She'd picked up some cookie dough earlier and looked up directions on how to prepare cookies, a simple enough task. All she had to do we keep an eye on it and--...Was that smoke? When Grey found Ciel, she was rushing across the kitchen. She squinted through the oven door, immediately catching sight of a fire! Alarmed, Ciel quickly turned the oven off before turning to bashfully address Grey, who she'd noticed as she was rushing past.

“...Sorry about that. I think the cookie dough I bought turned out to be fake. I have cold drinks if you'd like one, though.”

Realizing of course that there was probably a reason Grey was in the kitchen other than a coincidence though, Ciel then proceeded to move on to address him again, this time to ask if he needed anything. She didn't seem too concerned with the oven at this point, which a keen eye could still observe still had a very small fire inside of it. She did, however, look mildly concerned about Grey.

“ Is everything alright, Grey? You look really anxious. ”

[KashKey]

Well this wasn't what Grey was expecting to walk in to when he entered the kitchen. Was that... Smoke from the oven? For a moment he considered running over and helping put the fire out, but it looked like Ciel had this well in hand.

"Cookie Dough...? Oh, uh, thanks anyway, Ciel. I don't need one right now though."

He bounced his foot behind him slightly as he spoke. He just felt like he had to do SOMETHING, and it was driving him up the wall. And when Ciel questioned him on that front, he couldn't help the sigh that came out.

"I just... I just feel so... Restless. I've always been on the move since I first woke up, now that I don't have anyone I have to fight, o-or an identity to chase... I don't know what to do. I'm at a loss." He looked at his hands as he spoke, clenching them in frustration. What was he supposed to do when there wasn't an immediate threat he had to fight? He didn't know how to relax.

[Doctor Ciel]

“ Cookie dough is uncooked cookies! It's the slightly gooey mixture that, when properly baked, turns into a cookie. ”

Ciel had to pause and listen for a bit. She had a vague understanding of that feeling. Being restless once there was nothing to fight for. She'd been there before, just.. It had been relatively easy for her to slip into other forms of science. But that clearly wasn't Grey's forte, so what did she do for him? ...What was it that boys liked, again? Ciel quietly wracked her brain for a few moments. And then, it hit her.

“ ...I think I might have an idea. Follow me! ”

Ciel then lead Grey back to the laboratory area, to a little drawer, popping it open and carefully sifting through its contents for a few moments. Within laid a couple of ancient divine artifacts old video game consoles laying around. There was a NES, a gameboy color, a gameboy advance SP with a custom pink paint job redone to read 'gamegirl', a ZX Spectrum, and a Sega Nomad. ...She paused a moment. ...It might not be the best idea to give Grey that pink one. Then again, he hadn't minded A-transing into Roll before. Would he even care all that much? She decided not to worry about it, and instead decided to show him the drawer for himself so that he could choose.

“ These are computers I salvaged thinking they might be able to be used or sold, but it turned out they're all very specialized computers that aren't for working on. Rather, they're used for playing. They're all in working condition, and I've made some modifications as necessary to make them a bit better such as adding built-in rechargable batteries. I've only got a couple of games for each of them, but if you like them I can always look around for more or repair any you pick up while you're out and about ”

[KashKey]

Grey nodded after Ciel's explanation on Cookie Dough, understanding. That definitely made sense.

After he finished his explanation of his dilemma, he felt... Awkward. Ciel seemed just as lost as he did. What was he thinking, figuring she'd be able to help? How was she supposed to get it? She had this nice place, and all this science she was constantly researching... Even he knew he was doomed to be a lost cause when it came to that topic. Whenever something got to be too complicated, he had a bad habit of tuning out, to the point of still not fully understanding how A-Trans worked. This was such a bad idea.

But... It seemed she suddenly had something after all? He followed her as instructed, and had to admit, he was intrigued by what she was showing him. Computers that can only play games? What kind of games? Was he any good at games? ... He didn't know. It may just have been because it was a new experience, but he was definitely fascinated.

"Gee... Uh, thanks, Ciel. That's really cool!"

He really couldn't say no. But, each one seemed to have its own differences... He looked them all over, and made some general guesses as to how they functioned... And looked at the remodeled Gameboy Advance, flipping it open and shut. He hadn't even thought about the color or its name, instead more interested in the flip screen. He flipped it up and down, then tried turning it on, then flipping the screen shut again.

"... This looks good. I can carry it around and play it when there's nothing better to do, and if I get into a fight, I can close it so it'll be harder to damage."

Even in terms of entertainment, he was thinking about practicality. It was a mindset he was too used to, and one he had no reason to change. But, it seems his choice had been made.

[Doctor Ciel]

“ It also probably fits really well in your pockets~! ...You have pockets, right? ”

Ciel, of course, did not wear clothes with pockets. And it had suddenly occurred to her that though it was quite normal for boys clothes to feature them, she couldn't say whether that fashion trend was still true where Grey came from.

“ There are two connection ports on the device. One is for charging its battery. A little indicator light will turn red once it's running low on power. The other is... non-standard. It appears to be a connection port for connecting to other computers, for group play or data transmission. Though I don't know that you'll be meeting many other people with a device like this. I could begin working on a type of cartridge that can store the memory of games you find on it to better preserve them. ”

Ciel offered Grey a few games, a mix of gameboy and gameboy advance games--their identities unknown, for the stickers on them had been first lost or heavily damaged by the elements and had been removed in the process of cleaning and restoring them.

“ ...Ashe used to bring in things like these all the time. Apparently she loved old technology. From what I heard, they're actually not that hard to find if you know where to look. I remember her talking very excitedly about a 'Nintendo Land' theme park...? That might be a good location to find more. You'll have to tell me what you think. I've only used the device lightly myself. ”

[KashKey]

"Yeah, I can carry it around fine."

He didn't have easily noticeable pockets, but he seemed to stow it away fine all the same. And once he did so, he listened as she explained what those little ports had been for, nodding in understanding. He could work with that fine. As Ciel handed him the games, he gingerly took them, then put them away as well, nodding as he did so. And then Ashe came up. Sure, this Nintendo Land was interesting, and he'd be sure to tell her about what playing this thing was like, but that caught his attention.

"Old technology interested her? That's interesting... What kind of person is she like anyway? I haven't heard much about her aside from that she got in trouble."

So he wanted to know what the person was like that he wanted to help. Was that a bad thing? Sure, there shouldn't be a reason to help people, but knowing who you're helping certainly doesn't hurt.

[Doctor Ciel]

Ciel thought about the question for a good moment.

“ Ashe is... a nice girl. She's my age. Really pretty silver hair. She has a very nice smile. It comes off very confident and charming. She said she used to work for the Hunter's Guild, a group of professional archaeologists that apparently fought unlicensed pirates and took government contracts to take down mavericks a lot. On Li though, her day job is a delivery girl. She was really good about fetching things for me, and she doesn't ask for  very much either. She's the kind of person you can pay with a cold drink or some food. She seems to have a really strong spirit. Oh, and she owns a biometal very similar to your own. I noticed some minor differences in the mannerisms  and combat abilities of your Model A's, but they seem to be based on the same or a twin reploid. ”