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[Connor steps forward as Arenvald settles onto the bed. He doesn’t take it upon himself to sit uninvited, but he would still prefer to close the space a bit between them.]

The events that took place between his recollection and mine, you mean? He wasn’t in the mood to hear any of it. I mentioned briefly our visit to the Eden Club, and the... circumstances around his drinking, to prove a point.

In the end, maybe that a mistake. He shut me down after that.

[ When his friend steps up to close the gap a bit, Arenvald does motion for Connor to sit, if he wants. ]

Aye, well, Hank seemed to be the... ah, the prickly sort. I can't imagine he took kindly to you spouting personal information he didn't know you even had.

It's a bit of a mess, isn't it?

[The invite is met only with the smallest pause, before Connor gives a tiny nod and settles onto the mattress next to his friend. He places his hands on his lap, the line of his back straight.]

He’s often like that, but maybe worse this time due to his inebriated state. To be fair, it’s a jarring thing to wake up in a new world, far from Detroit.

[His fingers flex a little, one hand lightly gripping the other.]

But yes. It’s inconvenient, this time inconsistency. I’ve left him alone for now, but I’m not sure how to proceed from here.

Hey.

[ He puts a hand on Connor's shoulder, in an effort to be comforting and to distract him a bit from his fidgeting if he can. ]

You've just got to take it one day at a time. You two became friends once, didn't you? You can do it again, even if the circumstances are different.

[The pressure of Arenvald's hand on his shoulder pulls Connor out of his half-reverie, and he turns his head to look at him directly. To his credit, he forces a smile, but it looks just like that: forced. Strained at his eyes, despite an android's tendency to put on a neutral face without much effort.]

That might be easier said than done. In Detroit, we were forced to work together; Hank had no choice, it was a direct order from his boss. Here, there's nothing keeping us... glued at the hip, as the saying would go.

He'll take every opportunity to avoid me. I know he will.

[ That forced look on Connor’s face speaks volumes about just how much he truly is bothered by this. The feelings that he so insistently says he does not have are hurt over this, whether he truly realizes it or not. The last thing Arenvald wants to do is add fuel to the fire, but neither can he be dishonest with his friend. ]

He… he already is. He asked me not to tell you he was here. I would’ve done, regardless, but I’m at least glad you found him on your own.

But the Circle is not so large a place that he can avoid you forever. Sooner or later we’re going to get thrust into another world, another strange situation, and I believe he’ll gravitate towards the familiar.

[At that, his eyes scan over Arenvald’s face, as if needing confirmation. But, honestly, he doesn’t — it’s not like his friend would lie about this, nor is it out of character for Hank.

He can’t help himself. Connor scoffs, shaking his head, letting that faux smile fall from his face, replaced by a tense brow and disbelieving (but utterly believing) tone.]

Of course he did.

[Hank, gravitate towards the familiar? Connor also can’t help but make a dry remark.]

Arenvald, Hank is more likely to gravitate off a cliff than to me. Not with how things are currently. His anti-android sentiment is particularly strong.

[ Arenvald doesn’t know what to make of that scoff, the way Connor seems to be… not resigned, exactly, but he was certainly expecting this. Not for the first time, he has to wonder why this Hank person is so important to Connor, but whatever it was they went through in their own world seems to have pushed them over the very real roadblock that is Hank’s general personality.

Honestly, Arenvald would tell Connor that maybe this man is not worth the effort if not for the fact that his friend is very upset by this turn of events. He can put his own dislike for Hank aside for Connor, if nothing else. (Hopefully.) ]

Humans are funny things, Connor. He might surprise you. But more than that, when things get weird or bad, just… be there. Don’t force the issue, just be there.

You’re going to have to rebuild this relationship in a totally new way in a totally new place, you know? All you can do is try.

[The deviant cases had definitely been formative for Connor, and enough of a stressor for both parties to get Hank and himself past that hurdle in their relationship. A shift in perspective, the world tilting slightly under their feet, both of them perhaps feeling a change that hadn’t existed before. About androids, about their freedom and agency. About their capacity to feel, a thought left to germinate in Connor’s mind for now.

It was just a few days, but it was a very important set of days.

Don’t force the issue, just be there.]

…And if it doesn’t work?

That’s the hard part. I don’t know.

[ He wishes he had all the answers, or better answers than that.

This would be a whole lot easier if Astoria had decided to pluck Hank up just a few days later than she did – they wouldn’t be having this conversation at all, and Arenvald would have probably managed a better first encounter with the man to boot. But things are what they are. ]

But I still have faith that if you did it once, you can do it again. It’ll probably be slow going. You said it yourself, he’s going to avoid you, but after these couple of months I know that you’re a wonderful person and a good friend. He’ll see it too, in time. Just… try not to get discouraged.

[He listens, lets the words settle. Uncertainty still winds itself against his chest, but there’s faith to be had in someone else’s assurance — maybe that was the reason why he really came here, in the end. Barging into Arenvald’s room unannounced simply because he listens, but Connor trusted him to provide level-headed advice, too.

Connor leans against Arenvald’s touch in a brief, almost apologetically playful way. A quiet sort of acknowledgment of his aid.]

Flattering to hear. But your own personality is a little more... well. Personable than the Lieutenant’s.

[ Arenvald snorts, giving Connor a little shove in return, gentle but no less playful. ]

You'll not hear me argue on that front, but... well, he likes dogs, and you've the ability to turn into one. That's got to count for something, right?

[He jostles a little with that shove, the usual curl of hair at his forehead swaying slightly at the movement. A brow arches.]

Are you suggesting that I greet Hank as a dog one day?

Er. I dunno. You could, but I reckon you'd give yourself away.

[ He taps a finger to his own temple, to indicate the place where Connor's LED is. ]

I doubt he'd take too kindly to that if he thinks you're messing with him.

...not if I were a dog with a long coat. My LED would be sufficiently covered.

[Is the beginning of actual consideration?]

Wait, wait. You can turn into more than one kind of dog?

[ Yes, this is exactly what he's taking away from this exchange. ]

Oh. Yes.

[He supposes that was never mentioned.]

Several. I’ve bern experimenting when there’s free time.

Can I see?

[ There is always time for dogs, tbh. ]

Of course.

[Heck yes there is always a time for dogs.]

Do you have a preference?

I don't. Do you have a favorite?

[ But he'll take anything, because dog. ]

[A full few seconds pass as Connor considers this ludicrous question.]

I... don’t believe so. I like all dogs.

[The truest of all statements.]

I’ll pick one at random, then.

[Connor doesn’t believe that Arenvald needs a warning at his point; he’s seen the process before. And so, no preamble before Connor’s body is enveloped in a bright blue light, and with a glimmer and a burst, it disperses.

Leaving a small puppy with a wagging tail on Arenvald’s bed, with a little LED on the side of his head.

Connor looks up at his friend, and gives the tiniest bark.]

[ Oh no. Oh no. There were so many possibilities to choose from that he hadn’t even considered a puppy. That little bark is adorable, too. ]

I hope you know you brought this on yourself.

[ Because, even knowing it’s Connor, there is no way he can have a puppy in front of him and not pick it up. Big as he is, Connor’s new form seems comically tiny as he scoops him up, holding him aloft a moment. Cuuuuuute... ]

[As always, Connor still possesses his own cognition. He is still himself, his thoughts his own, even if he has taken a smaller form on four legs. However, there is still something… different about being a dog, other than the obvious physical change. An eagerness, a willingness to please, a want for attention, a bubbling kind of energy that’s impossible to quantify — and being a puppy, all of this seems magnified almost tenfold.

So, logically, maybe it’s a little strange being picked up by his friend like this. But Arenvald seems so big and happy to be in the presence of an android puppy, it’s hard not to wiggle his body a little in eagerness, tail still wagging. Connor reaches out towards Arenvald with a slightly oversized Doberman puppy paw.]

[ SO CUTE. He laughs as Connor’s paw bops the end of his nose. ]

If I didn’t know you were Connor, I’d swear you were an actual puppy.

[ He plays the part well, but he does wonder how much of that is acting and how much is the influence of the form he wears. The only other time he saw Connor turn into a dog, he did act very dog-like.

So, he might just… cradle puppy Connor in in his arms a bit. He can’t help it. ]

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*been.....phone tags why

i didn't even notice that

well then. Shhh. There was no embarrassing typo. Also 1/2

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