Work Text:
Running systems diagnostic…
Applying updates to modules…
Booting up starting sequence…
She opened her eyes, feeling her systems slowly begin to wake one by one, her wires feeling rejuvenated and her joints well-oiled. She felt… new, but prepared. As her eyes worked to adjust to her new surroundings, she fixated on the blur in front of her.
Oh? Not a blur, but a girl who didn’t look any older than twelve. She had dark skin that was covered in traditional paint markings and her thick braids were pulled back into a short ponytail. She had various tools strapped around her body and a pair of thick gloves that made her hands seem much larger than normal.
“Oh, good! You’re working!” The girl said excitedly, clapping her hands. She gave a slight bow and added, “My name is Efi. Yours is Orisa.”
Orisa cocked her head slightly to the left and answered, “Orisa?”
Efi nodded eagerly. “After the spirits that guided my ancestors, and me as well,”
The name didn’t sound foreign at all to Orisa. It was a strong name that sounded almost familiar to her.
Efi looked Orisa up and down. “I’m sure you’ve got a lot of questions, being created five minutes ago and all.” She grabbed a rag that had been hanging off her belt and wiped her forehead. “I’m going to run manual diagnostics while you ask the questions.”
Orisa nodded and let the girl go to work. She stretched out all of Orisa’s legs individually, nodding as if each taught her something new. She had her lift blocks, rear back on her hind legs, and wave her arms in every direction.
“You look good! Healthy as can be,” Efi giggled.
“May I ask a question, Efi?” Orisa questioned, putting down the wooden block she had been instructed to hold. “What is my function?”
Efi pondered a moment, running her knuckles over each other. “Safety should be your primary concern. You exist to protect me and my people. I trust that you’ll be able to handle it.” She smiled.
Orisa clicked and replied, “Of course.”
“Oh, Orisa! Look at those birds.” Efi shouted. Orisa looked.
The pair were on a walk, mainly to put Orisa’s legs to use and to show her the world she had been put into. “Birds, Efi?”
“Yes, look at them! How sweet.”
It was a group of around four birds, all fat and yellow, pecking away at a forgotten hamburger by a bench. They were tweeting at each other loudly, playfully fighting to get a bigger mouthful than the other.
“Efi, what is the point of birds?” She asked, stopping a moment to gaze at them.
“Well, there doesn’t have to be a point to everything.” She said after a moment’s thought. “Sometimes things just exist, whether you’d like them too or not. Birds exist simply because they can. They’re a part of a glorious system that we call nature. They may not have a point to us, but to others, they do.”
Orisa considered the information. “So not everything must have a purpose to exist? That is interesting,”
It was late at night, much too late for a twelve-year-old girl to be up at her workstation.
“Efi, please consider going to bed soon. Staying up late is not good for a growing child,” Orisa warned. She was perched across from Efi’s workbench, working on a puzzle she had been given.
“Oh, it’s okay, Orisa. Only for a night.” She yawned, stretching her arms upward. “Besides, I’m on a roll! I can’t stop now.”
Orisa looked at Efi’s work. Whatever she was creating was much beyond her understanding, for now at least. She looked at the time. The clock had just struck midnight.
She knew just how stubborn Efi could be. If she said she wouldn’t sleep, then she wouldn’t until Orisa forcefully (but lovingly) put her to bed.
Orisa set to work. She knew what to do, having watched Efi a dozen times. It was a step-by-step process. Fill the kettle with water, set to boil, get her favorite mug, a hibiscus tea bag, pour hot water, and stir.
After weeks of intensive training, Orisa could handle small objects with just as much skill as any human. She knew Efi was proud of her progress, and despite being metal, it made her circuits feel aglow with happiness. It was moments like these that Orisa adored, the quiet understanding between the two.
Orisa held the mug gently and brought it over to Efi whose head was deep in her notes.
“Oh, Orisa, I didn’t ask for this.” She said absentmindedly.
“No, Efi, but you looked tired and this is your favorite beverage,” Orisa replied, scooting the mug closer to the child.
Efi looked up and beamed at her. She grabbed the mug by the handle and blew softly to cool it. “Thank you very much.”
…
Orisa had never seen such a storm. It was a summer thunderstorm with torrents of rain sweeping down to the ground, turning the soil to mud. She had asked Efi about rain before and learned about the water cycle and how the earth reuses the water efficiently to keep her inhabitants prospering. It was one of Orisa’s favorite topics.
She turned to the girl who was sitting on the plushy brown couch, sifting through old notes and pages. Orisa sat on her hind legs in front of her. “Efi, will you please tell me about the water cycle again?”
She smiled and set her pile aside. “Of course.” She cleared her throat, smoothed out her shirt, and began. “It all starts with the weather, the precipitation. It can be snow, or rain, or even hail. The weather will turn into runoff on the ground, which will eventually drain into our rivers and oceans. Then, when the sun comes out again, it’ll dry up some of the water and bring it back up to the clouds again, which is called-”
“Evaporation!” Orisa exclaimed. “Oops, sorry for the interruption.”
“No, no, it’s okay! Never apologize for eagerness for knowledge.” Efi replied, shaking her head. “Yes, it’s called evaporation. In turn, it’ll turn into clouds that’ll eventually get way too heavy because it’s filled with water. Then, we get weather again, and the cycle repeats itself.”
Orisa pondered. “Are we a part of a cycle too?”
Efi nodded and said, “Every person has a place, and every person contributes.”
“What is my place in the cycle?”
She reached up and pat Orisa on the head. “Your place in the cycle is to protect innocent people from threats that they cannot defend against. You are their anchor, their hope. Be strong, Orisa.” She whispered the last sentence.
“Yes, Efi, I will do my best.”
“Orisa, look where I am!” She heard a shout. Orisa looked up to see Efi who had clambered her way up to the top branches of a tree. They were on one of their walks that had somehow managed to integrate into their daily routines. Mainly because Orisa kept begging Efi to take her outside so she could learn more about the outside world and how its intricate systems worked.
“Please be careful! Your safety is my primary concern.” Orisa called up to her.
“No worries, I’ll - Woah!” Efi stumbled as a gust of wind passed through, shaking the trees as it slipped past. Her arms flailed around to grab something to steady herself but was met with nothing.
Orisa couldn’t ignore the loud crunch when Efi’s harsh fate met with the ground. “Efi!”
The girl sat up, clutching her arm. There were tears pin pricking at the corners of her eyes and her voice was wobbly when she called for Orisa.
She knelt down and said, “Please climb onto my back, I will take you home.” Efi nodded and complied.
Orisa began to trek home much faster than normal. It was her fault that Efi got hurt! She should’ve made her get down when she had the chance. All because she wanted to go see the new flowers that had sprouted just outside the city park.
“Not your fault,” She heard Efi mumble quietly. “‘S mine for climbing up so high.”
…
They made it home in record time. After a quick analysis, she realized that it wasn’t very serious and could be solved with a sling and a bit of rest. If Orisa could, she would’ve let out a big sigh of relief.
Efi was resting on the couch, soft snores echoing through the workshop. Orisa knelt down and rested her metal forehead to Efi’s, just as the girl always did to her. Very faintly, Orisa heard a soft “thank you.”
Orisa blinked and replied with warmth and teasing, “Simply following my programming, Efi.”
The moon was high up in the sky by the time Orisa got back into the workshop. She had been up on the roof, gazing at the stars in wonder. She remembered Efi mentioning that every star she saw had the possibility of being another galaxy. The thought that the universe was so big amazed Orisa, and she stayed up on the roof for hours.
She was surprised to see that the clock read one in the morning. Surely she hadn’t been up there for so long? Orisa turned around to find Efi and inquire her.
She was surprised to see the girl slumped over her desk, pencil still in her hand and headband askew. Efi was always incredibly stubborn about going to bed, as Orisa could never convince her fully that growing children - even if they were geniuses - needed a full eight hours too.
Orisa found herself wishing she could smile so she could portray the feelings she had. She felt that familiar warm glowing in her chest and fetched a blanket from the couch. Gently, she draped it over Efi’s shoulders. She caught a glance of the notes scattered all over the place. The handwriting was bold and quite literally, everywhere. Scrawled in the margins, between lines, and underneath the sketches she had drawn up. The notes were labeled as “Orisa’s Upgrades” and contained many little doodles, including Orisa with a superhero costume on. Orisa laughed a little bit to herself, it sounding more like static than a laugh. She turned her attention back to Efi.
She was a funny sight, to say the least. The normally poised girl had her cheek smashed up against her desk, arms bent at an awkward angle and mouth wide open. Orisa found herself wanting to take a picture so she could save the moment forever.
Instead, she retreated to her corner of the workshop. She sat back on her hind legs and prepared for her nightly shut-down. Quietly, she whispered to herself, “I’m glad I got to be your hope.”