[$] The End [VampuricWerewolf]

[VampuricWerewolf]

Momo looked over at Malcom to make sure he was actually asleep before he spoke. "he said his parents were suddenly gone, i think they may have abandoned him," he whispered, looking down. "i don't know about the dog or his age, i'm guessing you are right. probably five or six, he's been with the dog since his parents left him or they met soon after or he wouldn't have survived." he shook his head as he washed off the meat, "if-" he swallowed, "i can't help but wonder what kind of people would abandon their child. yes, survival is hard, but to leave a little child alone like that? what kind of people would do such a thing?" he had a strong suspicion it was because of Malcom's arm and that made him sick. it was just a hand, if they left him over that-then what would they have done to someone like him?  

[Your Missing Period]

"Abandoned?" Hal glanced over at the sleeping child, that tightness in his chest again. "You're right. The average human dies without a week of nutrition, three weeks if they have water. He's been on his own for perhaps a month, living off vomit." he looked back, turning the meat so Monoki could continue cleaning it. "There are plenty of reasons why he was abandoned, Monoki." he could see the look in his friend's eyes, how they flickered to his metal arm, "One, he is young. It's perfectly normal among animals to abandon their young and let them die if there are not enough resources. Secondly, his parents might have been young as well. The human reproduction age currently, last my databases were updated is roughly fourteen to sixteen. If they hypothetically started at fifteen, they're now twenty. It's impressive they managed to raise him that long so they would get some credit, in my opinion. Thirdly, he is in a sense old enough to raise himself. He didn't question eating dog vomit, I assume, knowing it was his form of nutrition."

He took the cleaned meat and put it beside the other, going back to Momo and gently holding his metal arm, stroking it and looking it over. "I can assure you, there are plenty of other reasons than his hand. They kept him this long, correct?" he gave a comforting kissto his wrist before standing and grabbing the ribs. "After this we can cook them over the fire instead of in them. Let them dry out. It will be tough to chew but they'll stay preserved much faster." We can chop them up. I'll reorganize our inventory, toss what we haven't really used or needed."  

[VampuricWerewolf]

Momo tried to pull his arm away, but even while being gentle, Hal was stronger than him, there was no way he was breaking free. the kiss made him shiver, even though he didn't actually feel it, and he knew it was impossible to feel it, he still had a tingle as if lips had touched his living flesh. "stop," he whispered, breathless as he reclaimed his arm and turned away. meat. he could focus on that, it was better to change the subject. "yeah, that will work. it will be a pain cutting the meat from the ribs, but it would be too heavy to carry it around bone in." he got to work washing, thankful for the distraction.  

[Your Missing Period]

An elevated heart rate, Hal stared at Momo, confused. Why would he eract that way? Hal was just trying to prove that having a metal arm was still all right. "Luckily we have knives, we can get to work on setting the ribs over the fire. They'll cook much faster than the legs of meat over there. We can chop those up while the ribs cook. We may eat well for the next few days, and Hal-Cujo certainly hasn't had any ill effects after eating the meat."  

[VampuricWerewolf]

Momo nodded, "once these are clean we'll get them cooking. we will keep an eye on Hal-cu-cu, whatever you call him." he shook his head as he got the last of the sand off. "go get those cooking, i'll start cutting up the legs." he stood and went to get his knife, making sure it was still sharp as he walked to the counter. he was used to butchery and the legs wouldn't take too long. it was just busy work  

[Your Missing Period]

"Cujo. Cujo is a psychological horror book written by Stephan King about a very well to do dog who was very good and loyal, but a case of rabies drove him to violence. However being that this was written in the 1980's, it went from referring to a scary dog to any dog in general, losing it's violent undertone. Being that I am Hal and he is Hal, calling him Hal-Cujo helps verify which Hal I am talking about and that I am not speaking in third person." he explained, taking some broken wood from beside the fireplace and rekindling the fire in the fireplace, putting the meat over it best he could.

"Monoki, I am sorry but, you seem to be avoiding me." he turned to look at his friend on the counter, "Have I done something to make you uncomfortable? Was, was it me referencing your arm? I apologize, I know how sensitive you are about it. It was foolish of me to bring it up."  

[VampuricWerewolf]

Momo glanced at Hal before looking back to his cutting, "it's not that." he sighed and put the knife down for a moment, "i just, with Malcom and you being gone so long-" he shook his head, "i guess i've just had a bit of a rough day. not that i have much to complain about considering the days you and Mal had." he smiled at Hal and went back to cutting, "it's just stupid human emotions swirling around and being annoying as hell. give me a bit and they'll go away."  

[Your Missing Period]

Hal listened and adjusted the ribs, "Your day was equally rough. We haven't been separated that long in quite a while. Not since..." he thought a moment, sifting through his stored video feed, "Oh, since we had to find you clothes when you were growing. We were in a city and we moved through the buildings looking for something."

Hal recalled the tightness in his chest then as well, odd, he'd felt, red flags and warnings all in his mind that time. How had he forgotten about that? He was, what was he? The warnings flags had all disappeared when he found the the teen.

"I, can relate. Swirling emotions. In a sense, as far as my robotic programs will allow me too. Many of my emotional programs have been running constantly the past two days and I'm unsure why. I've tried shutting them down but they only reappear. If Malcom came from ahead perhaps there is a town an a working computer I can connect myself too to troubleshoot. There is only so much troubleshooting I can do, and without a screen we cannot specifically locate what is wrong."

Hal turned back when he heard the ribs fall, quickly grabbing them and hissing as his nerve sensors went off, warning him that hands in the fire were not healthy, a red warning going up. "Ah," he blew on his hands, chuckling. "Thank goodness I am fire proof, no?"  

[VampuricWerewolf]

Momo smiled a little, "i remember that. it was wierd, i felt like there was something missing and then you showed up and i didn't feel that way anymore." he shrugged as he finished one leg and went to work on the second one. "think we can let the mutt gnaw on the bones until we leave?" he asked, looking at the large leg bones curiously. "your emotion programs are malfunctioning? i wonder why, what could cause that." of all the things that could break down in Hal, those weren't the ones he expected to start up first. "not entirely fire proof, be careful, will you?" he shook his head as he brought a pile of meat to Hal. "your filter needs to be replaced too, right?" he sighed and rubbed the back of his neck, "we-we might need to go back to the house."  

[Your Missing Period]

Hal looked over at the rust colored mammal, giving an nod and fixing the ribs. "I'm sure he could. I don't see anything wrong with it. Thoug hthe marrow makes a great soup, so we can have soup tomorrow if you wish to stay for a hot meal before leaving."

"I'm thinking the malfunctioning of my emotions is no doubt from the toxicity in my filters. It is radiation and radiation does mess with electricity. Once my filter is clean my programs should me fine, Momo." he gave the other a comforting smile.

"There's no need to go back to the house. That is quite a walk back. We left there when your father died." he looked at the meat, "You said you'd never go back unless it was an emergency. Multiple running programs are hardly an emergency."  

[VampuricWerewolf]

Momo nodded, "we'll make soup then. the dog can have scraps." a good soup was always welcome and the dog would be just as happy. "how do we clean your filters, then?" his father had always done that for him, he actually didn't know how to do it himself. didn't they have to replace the filter or something? "the multiple programs might not be so bad, but you can't go running around with something that might be screwing up your hard drives, Hal. it's too dangerous."  

[Your Missing Period]

"That will require putting me in a more sterile environment, and we opened my chassis once to get food, however to clean my filter we would need to be in a building in the city." he responded. "We take out my filter and your father had fans to blow and clean it out, however we may need to beat it with our hands. A high powered fan would help. And a nice dip in water. Blow out any dirt bits in it, then let it soak. There is a chemical in my filters that coats anything it traps in oil, this way when my filter is dunked in water the things caught rise to the top. In turn, you can pull out my filter as well and it has a protective covering to keep the oil from sticking." he chuckled. "Your father was a brilliant man."

He took out the ribs, checking them and flipping them over before putting them back over the fire. "You mustn't worry. My reasoning and calculating functions are still working. My programs still apply to the three laws of robotics. I still can remember everything from your birth to now. The emotion programs running can easily be ignored, after all isn't that what humans do as well?" he glanced back, giving a laugh, "We can say your father has done a good job in making me seem as human as possible, then."  

[VampuricWerewolf]

Momo bit his lip as he thought over what Hal said, picturing in his mind how it was to be done. "alright, so our goal is still the same. find some kind of city." he brought the rest of the horse meat over to Hal and sat next to him. the bones were placed as high over the fire as he could get them, smoking them for more flavor. "my father was a mad man, but he knew machines better than anyone. before or after Helga." he gave Hal a small smile, "so long as you are alright, that is all that matters. do we need to hold off on the cleaning out of us humans until we clean your filter? or just do it less often?"  

[Your Missing Period]

Hal nodded, "Find some kind of city, correct. And from there we'll work out the rest." He watched the meat, adding more kindling to the fire so that it would cook faster. But then again he had all night. He didn't require sleep. "After that sand storm, there will no doubt be more radiation in the air. I will check you both when the sun rises. I will be fine, Monoki. You really mustn't worry. Your father built me to be very sturdy."  

[VampuricWerewolf]

Momo smiled and nodded, "i know he did." he washed the blood from his hand, though there was very little, most of it had drained onto Hal. "but i am going to keep worrying," he placed his hand on Hal's arm, "you're all i have left, Hal. my only friend, my only family. without you, i'd be as lost as little Malcom over there." he laughed, "maybe the name Hal as some magical overtones that makes those named it become the central figure in another's life." he moved his hand away and yawned, "is there anything else i can do to help?"