When it comes to first memories, They’re  often happy. You know, those memories of when you first realized you were a living, breathing person with emotions and a reason in the world. 

For me, I remember feeling cold…

I remember the chill of the frost wind as it blew through me. As I looked around and all I saw was the blinding white of the snowfall  and the silver blue hue to  the rocks around me. I remember feeling lost…

I remember the numb, fire starting to burn at my finger tips and the fact that the rest of me was cold to the bone.

They were…So unbearably hot.

I gave a slow sigh, staring up at the endless orange sky. Blinking, I slowly rolled onto my side and pouted. "There has to be… someone else like me," I muttered to myself.

That was my very first memory. It happened when I was around 4 years old . And I still ponder it almost every day of my life. My head is filled to the brim with questions. "Why," I demanded to the empty barren sandy land that stretched out over the sandstone I was currently lounging on, with the few spindled trees keeping me from growing too hot.

Titus. That was the name given to me. I wasn't born with it. I had been named when another outsider android wandered upon me high up in the snowy mountains far from my current location.

I hated it. The idea of not knowing. "Where do you even start with a stupid puzzle like this?" I muttered, beginning to rifle through my bag of things. I began to pull out spare parts, counting them. Odd things I found while exploring the underground ruins. Objects that could be used as valuable trade to the right merchant. 

"Mmm... Should be enough," I stated, before my stomach began to growl and hiss at me.

"I get it! I'm hungry!" I said to the sky and air for no apparent reason.

With a furrowed brow tightly knitted on my expression, I stood. With a shake of my bag to re-incorporate things in their place, I slid the large heavily used cloth green backpack over my shoulders. With a huff, my brown eyes set on our next location.

Off in the far-off distance, past metal tops buri ed in sand and large rocks and a river that you can't drink from, laid a patch of green. Within that patch of green, people were working hard. Androids of every kind, race, culture, and model were working to spread life back to their surroundings.

Trees grew large, and animals loved the canopy the trees gave. Birds sang out in a beautiful chorus and predators waited until night for their time to shine. Android cities were always so busy. It felt like no one ever stopped to look at their work because their work was around them constantly.

Everyone in the city had a place, a job to do. Everyone except those who malfunctioned or were  disabled, or were old models that just had ticks that didn’t help anybody.

 Though, sometimes those who didn’t have a purpose found their purpose, it was a far cry from what they felt they were built for.

Which…again. Felt ridiculous. Though, even I fall into those sort of fears every now and again. I refuse to let it stop me. I may not have been made for any purpose at all but Im not gonna let some lousy old school rule beat me into giving up my hardware and becoming one with the whispering forest.

In tune with my thoughts, I began to pump my fist into the air. “You hear that!” I said to no one in particular as I continued to walk towards the city. “Nothing is gonna stand in my way! I will find an answer to one of these questions and I will continue living until I can’t  live anymore!” 

That energetic sway in my heel only lasted a few miles before my stomach began to remind me that we were really hungry. The sort of hungry that makes itself known when the hot air is blasting in your face. When the sun is beating down on you but you have that goal of how far you need to get before you are allowed to take a god damn break.

I was half way to mine.

But my legs were beginning to tremble. My breath came in a wheeze. And yet I was so close to my little break area!

So close in fact, that when I actually reached it, my foot kept going. Which made me keep going. And before I knew it was gathering up courage to just run forward. I closed my eyes, I counted, and then with a final gust of every ounce of energy I had in my body I began to run. 

I ran and ran and when I was expecting grass-

“Hey!” A sharp voice cut into my ears. And a man with a dingy grey cloak that looked like it was new but rubbed dirt on it for the  ‘poor’ effect was standing in front of me. It was too late! It was too late!

I was running full speed ahead and gawking at the odd way in which he was dressed that I wound up slamming straight into him.

At full speed we collided,  Why the hell he didn’t move will be beyond me.

He  toppled over one another, falling, and toppling again as arms and legs became entangled in a mess and trying to figure out whose belonged to what body.

Just as I was figuring out my parts, they shoved me off!

“Just what the hell do you think youre doing?! You cant j ust be an idiot anywhere you like you know!”

I turned to scowl at the man,  This obnoxious prick, this dude who couldn’t step out of the way 3 inches to the left!

I looked into his stupid beautiful hazel eyes and his wavy red curly hair. The way his chin was like that of a statue, perfectly built into stone but smooth and curved in all the right places. The way his chest, slender, was still somehow more muscled and abstract than I thought possible on someone living in the wastes.

Stupid.

His skin was so pale, he looked like he should have been reflecting light instead of going out into it! 

“Why the hell couldn’t you move out of the way of someone obviously exhausted and trying to make it to the green and cool air of the forest!”

“Because there is literally no one on this planet who would run with their eyes closed towards a populated city.” 

“Well-!” I started, quickly trying to figure out how to explain ‘ive never run into someone on the outskirts before!’  without making it out to seem meek or vulgar.

“Just what are you doing here anyways- You are heading  towards the city not away from it. “ The man remarked, which interrupted my thoughts and made me simply grumble. Scuff my shoe, pull on my backpack and move past him. Not without bumping shoulders though.

I did have to strain a bit to hit his shoulder…on account of how tall he was… But we are ignoring that piece. 

“This part of the continent doesn’t have a lot of outer resources. So…I sneak into the cities and trade with other people down on their luck. “ My nose was lifted high. I was proud of these facts. It took a long time to get my trade routes right and figure out each and every city on this sides  little nooks and crannies to smuggle through but they were there!

They are always there.

The stranger paused.

Turning partially to me with these words hanging from his lips as though he were desperate not to say them.

“Where.” He sai d quickly.

“Nuh uh. Like I am going to give up years  worth of digging, information and occasional theft to someone I just met.” I reproached, continuing to walk with my chin in the air. I felt like I was back to being a Brilliant droid again. I had the upper hand on this idiot.

“My name isn’t important. If you don’t give them to me willingly I will take them by force.”

“You and what army! “ Bozo. Who does he think he is? It takes wits and skill to survive the outskirts. It takes more to roam around and not get lost. Not starve, not become so parched you’d take piss as a drink if only to cool your sensors.

I was skilled.

I felt pretty good about that come back, so, feeling smooth I tilted my head back and pulled at my neck with my hands strung around my neck. 

I felt slick.

I felt amazing.

Today was going to be a good day even with those weird sounds of tapping. What was that? It sounded like dirt being ground up quickly.

Thwack! As soon as I turned to curiously peer over my shoulder his fist collided with my face and my body turned. Without thinking my hand grabbed ahold of his dingy grey cloak and I pulled him down.

My cheek stung but I couldn’t really think about it because he was pulling back for another, which I followed up with a knee to his stomach.

Honestly, I had never been in a fight before. So I grabbed in odd places and I held on until my nails felt like they were digging into flesh. Like if I let go I might lose.

Another punch but it was faltered and weak.

I finally bit down on the hand holding my collar and began to shove his head as far back as I could push. He blindly began to reach for me and shake me and eventually, we were both in the mud side by side fighting like two idiots who had never fought in an actual fight before. 

We grappled, kicked, pushed, shoved, bit, scratched, and then we were both tired. And with my black eye and his swollen upper left lip we glared at each other . My brown eyes must had looked like saucers in  that moment because he looked like he had made some sort of mistake.

His lips twitched but our moment of finally beginning to understand one another was interrupted.

The sound of pounding bare feet followed by a flurry of strong heeled beasts.

Were these grims? They sounded like a family of grims..