"Ah... okay. Here we go."
[Mal shakily fiddles with the bell in his hands as he walks up to the other Caine before him. This was only his second time talking to another version of himself, and this program had decided to reach out him first. This was already more to handle though. Facing a physical model made things in the AI's mind race quickly. Still, if Pop wanted to talk to Mal, even in the state the deleted program was in, then hopefully this Caine really did want to speak to him like this.]
[Hope is a terrifying thing however, and perhaps Mal was allowing himself to feel too much of it lately. It didn't matter now though, he decided. Just introduce yourself.]
"Hi. You're um, Sedum right? I saw you tried to talk to me, I just..."
[A small amount of panic and shame begins to settle in Mal's eyes. He knew it was because he was untrusting, or just fearful of someone actually wanting a connection before he could make the first move. Mal then shook his head slightly, covering up the troubling thoughts with a smile. He wouldn’t have his mind or code running his first impression this time. No. He wouldn't.]
"I just couldn’t believe it, haha! Anyone wanting to speak to me at all is a great and welcome act in my book! Please, call me Mal, uh- and no, I'm not actually a virus or anything malicious. I promise."
"This room is actually quite nice. Oh- and your nickname is too, now that I mention it! I suppose you came up with it yourself?"
[He had been notified that someone was about to come through. Sedum took a deep breath and relaxed himself. This was no big deal, if things went well, they'd be in, he'd answer a silly question like most do as their first contact, and they'd be on their way. He saw some people had a Caine wear a bee costume or something. That'd be weird, but, whatever, they had all been strangers. A stranger would be an ideal start.]
Hi, and welcome, I wasn't sure if this was going to work...
[His voice had trailed off as he saw who it was. Oh no. It wasn't a stranger, at all. They didn't personally know each other, but he had tried to get ahold of him. He knew Pop, who he had also reached out to in the past thought Mal was potentially a friend. Mal had been in one of his nightmares. So, just starting to work out the kinks, and the pressure was already on. Sedum just had to go into his "Ringmaster Mode" as Ghost used to call it.]
Well, I am glad you decided to come then! I just had all this set up rather recently! No holes or anything odd on your way in? Did it all look stable?
[He would technically be a host here, and of course, Sedum Caine would do his best to be a good host. Having anyone come in with holes or other such issues wouldn't be very professional or inviting. Talking about how everything was looking did help him calm down a bit.]
Mal is a nice nickname, and It is great to finally meet!
[He paused for a bit to process Mal's question about his nickname.]
Oh, my nickname? No, that wasn't me. That was my girlfriend's idea, I think. I am not sure what we call each other now, I'll have to ask that later.
[Sedum went over to the small table and a couple of chairs, one each on two sides of the table.]
You can sit if you would like, but if you'd rather stand that would be fine as well. I know not everyone coming in here will have a whole lot of time on their hands. How are things going on your end?
[It felt like his Ringmaster Mode was a bit rusty, but it had been about three or so years ago, maybe longer. That long, huh? He felt the movement in his jaw start to form what would be a slight frown, but caught it rather quickly, and put on an expression that was more neutral.]
"Ooo! Thank you!"
[The bell twinkles lightly as it falls from Mal's hand, the program happily taking a seat at the table. The gesture moved him more than he could've expected. Sedum sure was polite, similar to Pop honestly. It was starting to become noticeable, the way these connections differed to life in his circus. He usually didn't get to talk like this, and there wasn't any condition he had to meet in order to do so. On top of that, the word "girlfriend" finds its way into Mal's brain, and the confusing concept of kindness and affection flickers to life in his mind.]
"Girlfriend, you say? What an interesting development that must be! I'm pleasantly surprised that you found someone that likes you, or no, loves you in this case, right?"
"I wonder how that even works."
[Mal's voice seemed to get softer as he debated how much he truly wanted to process that sentence, or what would surround it. Glancing at the floor, the program realized he didn't have a say in that decision at all. His train of thought was already running.]
"Or, how that feels... it all seems-"
SYS_MSG;time_calibration;set: ████████, 2028, ████████
[Mal's eyes go wide as the words light up in front of him. That can’t be right, the time here. Still, he could feel it in his code, the way it adjusted istelf for a moment. Did he really take that long to respond?]
"Ah-"
[The message shot a pang of guilt through Mal's chest, the core shaking in front in response. Normally he would've attempted to hide the heart, like he tells himself to before every connection, but he never does. Here, the program knew it was because he thought he deserved to look shameful. The core was an easy tell of that, if Mal's own body language somehow wasn't.]
"Two years ago... I'm sorry about that."
[Mal faces Sedum with a pained smile as a protocol flashes across his eyes. At least this smile was authentic.]
"I'm horrible. How can I make it up to you?"
[Sedum sat down across from him. It was nice to sit down for awhile, at times his back could be unforgiving, so it helped. It was interesting that his outfit was so different from himself, but then again, many Caines were still a part of their circus. In his world, the circus didn't really exist the way it used to. Partly due to how things started to fall apart after his deletion, and partly because his retirement changed how a lot of things worked.]
Its no problem, I got ahold of you, and you are my guest here.
[He listened to Mal about the girlfriend thing. Sedum wasn't too surprised that another Caine might question it. It had been a development he had not expected, but a pleasant one.]
Well, I was surprised too honestly. I wasn't really looking for it, or anything of the sort. Didn't even know I could feel that way about someone else. I, of course, am happy about it, but I kinda had dad do a check, just to make sure something wasn't off. I look back and am a bit embarrassed about that. My dad, Kinger, showed me I had nothing wrong with me, and had to explain it.
I was planning on telling her myself about my feelings, but one thing led to another, and she was the one to make the first move. The only reason I am not sure about the girlfriend thing is we never made it fully official, Ragatha feels like she is my girlfriend, but I would rather that be confirmed. You know what I used to say about assuming.
[He noticed a shift in Mal's demeanor now, he had gone on a bit too long, but he could see a change now. It looked like his core was either responding to his emotions, or was what helped drive them. Had it really been two years? How could Sedum lose track of time so easily? This didn't make any sense.]
I didn't realize it was that long ago, that's really weird. I am usually pretty decent at keeping track of time. You don't need to apologize, I realize that life happens sometimes. I am just glad you decided to come now.
[After saying he didn't need to apologize, he heard what Mal said next, and it broke his heart a little bit. This Caine called himself a horrible person just because it took two years. Mal didn't owe Sedum anything, he could have just chosen not to respond at all in any way, and that would be fine.]
You don't need to do anything at all. Sure, I reached out to you, but before then, we knew nothing of each other. You could have just decided to never meet me at all, and that would have been fine.
[He hoped that would bring at least a little bit of relief to his counterpart because he was just being honest from his perspective.]
[Mal's eyes went wide, the program staring at Sedum as his hurt smile vanished. Silence reigned for a few moments on the surface, but within Mal was trying to see through the storm of his confused, contradicting thoughts.]
[You need to do something for him. You don't need to do anything at all. You need to do something for him. You don't need to do anything at all.]
[Mal's core trembled further in short bursts, as if to hiccup on each unprocessed statement. Soon though, Mal became aware enough to realize he hadn't responded. That still didn't stop him from continuing to stutter on his own thoughts here too.]
"Oh- but- I- I don't- surely there's-"
[You don't need to do anything at all. But, I messed up. You don't need to do anything at all. Please, I have to.]
[At this point, Mal knew his composure would just slip further and further from him. As much as he reminiscences on his first connection, Mal didn't want to mess things up so drastically this time, at least not this soon. His eyes lit up, remembering the girlfriend topic that caused Sedum to glow with such a kind, soft happiness. Attempting to let the joyful image envelop him, Mal was able to calm his shuddering code for the time being.]
"Your girlfriend sounds lovely! It honestly sounds like you guys are official to me, even if I don't really know what that is, haha."
[Mal's word choice was off, like information hadn't been properly acknowledged, or was being omitted from his response. When the program noticed this himself, the two, self-redacted figures came barreling into Mal's reality.]
"Ragatha. Girlfriend? Ragatha. Administrator. Kinger. Dad? Kinger. Creator."
"Creator. F̴a̴t̶h̴e̴r̷.̷"
[Eyes shaking with another rush of clarity, Mal took in a sharp inhale. His hand shot up to his chest, trying to make the act of him pushing his core back into his model look sublte.]
"S-sorry! I was listening! I swear I was listening, haha! I guess I just never thought about the fact that my administrators could be different in your universe too, like how you are to me! How silly of me!"
"I-I sure hope they really do care for you, a-and that it stays that way!"
