"You look like you're lost." giggled a light yet raspy voice from behind him.

Markus had been so busy trying to use his newly acquired scanner, he didn't realize that standing on the corner, looking back and forth repeatedly that he would possibly attract the attention of someone who wasn't completely adsorbed with themselves. He looked over his shoulder but didn't see anyone who appeared to notice his presence behind him.

"Are you not from around here?" it was the same voice, but from a different position.

This time it came from right beside him. Whipping his head around he looked down into the face of a young woman. His movement must have been rather abrupt as she took a small step back from him in surprise. First thing that caught his attention was the cloud of dark, tangly curls that spilled across her shoulders and into her face in side swept bangs. Her wide eyes were just as dark as her hair with the bright brown skin of her face lightly speckled with dark freckles across her nose and cheekbones.

"Err.." he stammered at first, "No, I'm from here…" he trailed off, "Maybe just not as familiar with this part of town as I may have thought."

The woman cocked her head slightly to the side, letting out a soft hum, "Did you want some help? I could give you some directions. We'd like to help, wouldn't we girls?"

'We?' Markus thought to himself. He noticed the faint sound of shuffling feet from below where his eyes met the woman's face. Casting his gaze lower he saw at standing at each side of the woman stood a young girl, possibly no older than age 4 holding her hands. Each had the same traits of her with a cloud of dark curls, only pulled up into ponytails, wide dark eyes, and bright brown skin. They, however, didn't share the woman's freckles. Yet as much as they resembled her, they were complete copies of each other. It was more than safe to assume they were twins.

"Don't get used to it. They actually just got this quiet." The woman chuckled lightly.

Markus instantly began brainstorming of how he should approach the situation. The woman and children were clearly humans. He hadn't so much as spoken to a human since that night at Carl's. Most of his human interaction outside of Carl always been hostility on their part or general indifference as if he was nothing more than a mere object. To which he correctly assumed they thought of him as. He removed his LED, therefore she likely couldn't differentiate that he was an android. His experience with humans made him cautious to put it very lightly, but at the same time, he didn't want to reject the woman's offer to help. If he did, she would possibly become suspicious of him, may even alert the attention of the others around them.

"I guess, maybe some directions wouldn't hurt any." He said softly, wary of his tone and wording. He was sentient, yes but human speech was something he would have to adapt as androids are made with overly formal speech patterns and aren't prone to using slang, accents, drawls, or other things that distinguishes human speak from what an artificial intelligence thought human speak sounded like.

"Ok," the woman beamed brightly, a strong feeling of something that resembled warmth engulfed Markus's being, striking him completely by surprise, "Where is it that you're looking for? Do you know the name?"

'Jericho.' He thought but he knew he couldn't say that. One, because she wouldn't have any idea what that was. Two, he assumed that Jericho was some place for the knowledge of deviant androids like him only, something needed to be kept secret away from humans. Maybe there was a way to accept her offer to help without revealing too much to her.

"I'm looking for some pictures. Graffiti more specifically."

The woman let out another small giggle, "Graffiti pictures in a major city like this one, there's tons. You gotta be more specific than that."

Markus let out a sigh, "It looks like a rainbow, with some stars on it. It may be at the top of a building somewhere around here."

"I think I know what you're talking about, but from what I've seen of it, I think that building is abandoned. You can't possibly have any business there, can you?" her eyes narrowed a bit at him.

"No, I just wanted to look at the pictures there." Markus thought that if he kept his voice steady, he wouldn't let on how her follow up questions are throwing him off a bit.

For him to be have the brain of a highly advanced computer, he seems to be drawing a blank just talking with a human that isn't Carl.

"So...you're some kinda art enthusiast?"

"Well…" Think Markus, think, "I kind of just got into it at the urging of someone I know. He's a painter."

Just mentioning Carl awoke a small sense of sadness in him.

"I get it. You're probably an art student, possibly from some nearby school and you're under a sort of apprenticeship with some painter professor who sent you out on some goose chase to check out the art of the city or some pretentious bull like that, huh? Am I right?"

Markus felt the corners of his mouth curve up a bit. Even if she wasn't right, it was quite a guess to take. Who knows, maybe she would have hit the nail on the head in any other version of this situation between them.

"Yeah, it's something like that." He answered.

Just then the little girl on her right side, started to tug on the woman's hand. The woman looked down at her and gave her a reassuring smile. Leaning down slightly, she brought her small hand to her lips for a quick peck and then repeated the same gesture with the girl to her left, earning a smile from both. When she straightened back up to look at Markus she said, "I'm not that good with telling directions. I can show you, if don't mind the company a bit."

A small wave of panic swept through him. He surely didn't want to lead this woman and children to Jericho. Maybe he could find an excuse to shake them off before he gets to close to it.

With slight hesitation, he nodded his head while mumbling something that sounded like the words "yeah" and "sure."

"Good, first we'll have to cross this street." She motioned with her head across from where they were standing.

"Girls, hold my hand real tight, ok? Oh, too tight," She quickly said, grunting pretend pain in her voice. "You little girls are getting strong! Has grandma been making you eat your veggies?"

"No." both the girls giggled.

"I eat my veggies all by myself. Grandma don't tell me." One of them said, it was the same one who had pulled on her hand a few moments earlier.

They all waited until the rectangles on the street turned from red to yellow, then to green before making their way across.

"I'm Irys by the way." She greeted as they neared the other sidewalk, "These two little monsters are Hazel and Halle. Say hello girls."

"Hey." One said softly, casting her eyes down towards the ground away from Markus.

"Hi!" the other one beamed brightly, waving her hand enthusiastically.

When Irys introduced them, she held each of their hands up to him. Halle was the girl with the shy response, while Hazel responded more extrovertedly.

"My name is Markus." He gave a small wave to them, "Your daughters are cute." He said to Irys.

This caused Irys to smile broadly, "Why thank you."

'There it goes again.' Markus thought as the feeling resembling warmth came over him again.

On the sidewalk, Irys looked from her left, then to her right.

"It's this way." She and the twins started walking up the street.

Markus tried to keep a good pace next to the trio without feeling like he was intruding on their walking formation. He had a flashback to what happened the last time he had gotten too close for human comfort. He quickly pushed that thought out of his mind when he happened to meet Irys's eyes and she gave him that smile again, eliciting the same feeling in him.

"So Mr. Markus, what do you do when you're not scouring the city for graffiti art?"

Markus would be lying if he said he expected this to be a talkative encounter. It never occurred to him how much humans liked to talk. Not that he minded, but he was never in a conversation with anyone besides Carl this long. Let alone one where he had to be secretive.

"Umm, mostly I just used to take care of…my dad." He replied, slightly in awe at how naturally it felt for him to refer to Carl as his father.

"Ah, finally able to get some time to yourself?"

"I guess you could say that."

It wasn't really any choice of his, but now he guessed he had all the free time in the world. No more having to look after or playing go-fer for Carl, enduring the shitty treatment that Leo gave him every time he came around. Still, he did miss Carl, and he certainly didn't mind taking care of him. Enduring Leo's constant harassment was even worth it for those moments that Carl took to try to nurture his burgeoning soul, not treat him like how the rest of the world saw him as, just a machine. He felt his eyes going to Irys's face, wondering if she was anything like Carl. If she knew that he was an android would she treat him like Carl did, cringe away in disgust with her daughters like he was the demon that the pastor had called him that day, or would she yell and berate him like the protestors had? Like Leo always did? However, looking at her soft, calm face and that wide, bright smile, he for some reason couldn't see her face all twisted with anger and hate. When she smiled or talked, he realized that his eyes often fell to her lips. They were beautiful. Pouty and full, they stretched wide over her teeth that were so perfect Markus wondered if she had gotten work done or just kept up very good with her dental appointments.

"Look mommy! A rainbow!" shouted Hazel excitedly, pointing at the rainbow on top of the building.

"Yeah, I see. You saw the rainbow too, Halle?" Irys said, her voice high, attempting to match the enthusiasm of Hazel.

Halle nodded shyly, "Yeah, I see it, too mommy."

"Well I think we found you your graffiti. This is it, right?" Irys turned to Markus.

Markus wanted to look at the hologram clue in his hand but didn't want to draw any attention to it. His AI made it relatively easy for him to commit to memory though. He looked up at the graffiti and it was only a matter of seconds until he was able to pinpoint both symbols hidden within it. His intent was to scan as quick as possible before Irys's clear trait of curiosity got the better of her.

"Yes, this is it." He replied as he made sure to step ahead of Irys and the twins, so that his back was slightly to them, scanning one symbol, then quickly moved on to the other.

"I'll be honest, it's nothing spectacular. I was expecting you would be looking for something more like the murals that are all over the cities. Way more to those, and a lot easier on the eyes too."

Markus quickly finished up his scan and chanced a glance at his palm to see the next clue. It was a series of pictures of robots, and they looked like they were behind a chain-linked fence. He knew that after the first couple of tries that there was no point in trying to locate this picture using his scanner. Perhaps he could use Irys's assistance again before shaking her off.

"Sometimes a small, less extravagant pieces can say more than bigger, flashier portraits." He quipped, turning around to face her.

Irys let out a soft hum and looked up at the graffiti with the twins following suit. Markus found himself amused as how similar they all looked, especially in that moment, standing in almost in the same stance. It was like Irys made two toddlers clones of herself.

"Hmm, I guess I could see it's charm. You're the art expert here, not me." She shrugged at him, grinning.

"I'm only an expert by default really. I always had a knack more so for music."

"Oh, you play an instrument?" her tone turned to one of almost gushing.

"The piano, actually."

"Really?" Irys's eyes widened even more, and the afternoon sun hit them in just a way that made them seem like they were shining. "I used to sing. Not professionally or anything. I took some lessons and sung in a band."

"Mommy sings pretty." This time it was Halle who spoke, much to Markus's surprise.

"Does she?" Markus smiled at Halle.

"Really, really pretty." Hazel replied, getting a smile from him as well.

Irys cast her eyes downwards shyly, "So, uh, did you need any more help with your graffiti?"

"Yes, actually. One more time, if you don't mind?" he asked, meeting her gaze when she looked back up at him.

"Sure, we weren't doing anything besides going home from my mom's. We could use a bit of adventure on the walk there. Right girls?"

The twins giggled with Halle nodding and Hazel letting out a happy, "Yeah."

"Well, we're off again. What's the picture this time that you're looking for?"

"It's a row of robot pictures. They may be behind a chain-link fence."

"You give very specific descriptions of these graffiti? Were you given like a list or map or something?" Irys asked as they began walking again.

"Or something, you could say."

Irys let out small laugh, "You like giving vague answers, huh? Going for the tall, dark, and mysterious vibe? I mean you already have the long dark coat and everything."

Markus happened to notice that she was right in that his apparel wasn't supposed to attract attention, but not the way that she was perceiving his intention.

"I, honestly, just haven't talked to anyone in the city much before today. It was usually just me and my father and I was mostly to myself whenever I did go out. Guess you can say that despite living here, I lived a sheltered life and I don't think sheltered people are often the best conversationalist. Being…" 'Not human' he thought but instead said, "so sheltered, I wonder how people would take me."

"Sounds like you could have used some friends." Irys replied, "I can't say much though. I don't think there was ever a time where I had a large social circle. I sort of have this thing, where I kinda latch on to one person and that's it. Very rarely do I branch out from there. Besides my girls and my mom, I'm not out here honing my conversation skills much either."

It was in this moment that Markus realized that he relatively liked Irys. Maybe he was latching on fast because she was the only sense of kindness that he has felt since that fateful night at Carl's. The feeling he was experiencing with her in this brief time was like how he had felt with Carl, before he became sentient, a deviant. His life before was normal and calm, two things he was experiencing with Irys and her twins now. A part of him thought to himself, that if he could forget Jericho and somehow continue having a normal existence with Irys like this, he wouldn't have minded.

As they rounded the corner, he caught the glimpse of a chain-link fence to his left. As they neared, he saw the row of robots painted onto the wall.

"Yep, just where I thought." Irys confirmed for him.

Markus had already began scanning the symbols. However, when he attempted to scan the last one, he couldn't get a good read due to a board obstructing his view. He would have to go in and move it if he wanted to get a clear scan.

"I believe I can take things from here."

"Oh, ok, sure." Irys nodded, but he could detect the small disappointment in her tone. "This was a nice little walking journey."

"Yes, it was." Markus replied with a small smile.

There was a short silence between them as Irys dropped her eyes downward and Markus felt himself shuffle his feet a bit.

"If you want, perhaps we can meet up again sometime?" Irys asked looking back up to meet his eyes again.

"I wouldn't mind that." Markus blurted out impulsively.

"Good, good." Irys giggled, "Do you have number I can reach you on?"

Markus could have kicked himself. In his eagerness he didn't think out how they would stay in contact, even if he allowed himself to do so after this. Surely, she's going to be suspicious that he doesn't even have a cell. He was drawing a blank until she spoke again.

"Or would you like my info?" she raised an eyebrow.

Markus let out a small sigh, "Yes, I would like that."

"Ok, let me see your phone."

'Dammit.'

"Uh…I…um…" he stammered.

"Do you not have one?" she asked slowly.

Think Markus, think, "It died. I'm not good with keeping it charged."

"Oh, that's ok, we can just do this the old-fashioned way. The really old fashion way." she let out a small snort.

Irys shifted Halle from one side of her to the side where Hazel stood and held both of their hands in one, while the other dug out something from her pocket. Pulling out a pen, she motioned for Markus's hand. Markus slowly extended his hand to her, palm side up and Irys scribbled on it her phone number.

"There we go." She looked up at him, dropping a quick wink on him, "Try not to make yourself a stranger, huh?"

She shifted Halle back to her position on the other side of her. The trio began walking away, but not before Irys encouraged the twins to politely say bye to Markus. Markus waved to them as they walked away, watching them until they disappeared around a corner. However, he did catch a quick glimpse of Irys casting one more look his way as she rounded the corner. Once they were gone, Markus looked at his hand, quickly committing the number to memory. A part of him wondered if he would see Irys again. Another part of him actually hoped that he would.