M groaned as he finally came back to. He could still feel the lingering pain in the side of his head, starting to fade now that the dent had gone.
Curse those drones.
Stupid, smart prey. He was still hungry, and it's been so long since he'd found something edible like that, too.
As he sat up, wings retracting and a layer of snow falling into his lap, he noticed something was.. off. Curious, he moved a new window to the front of his vision.
"New program!?" he cried, "Nooo nononono, cancel, cancel!"
But it was too late. The bar had already filled out, and he was met with the suddenly agonizing sight of a new window telling him the download was finished. He hissed, swiping at a nearby fallen street lamp. His claws tore the metal like paper.
"Ugh! Stupid, stupid prey!"
He flopped onto his back, glaring up at the moon as if it was the one who offended him so. His tail lashed, jabbing at the ground furiously. Then, his upset movements slowed to a stop.
Prey? he felt himself question, looking back at the recorded memory of him staring down at the two worker drones, staring at him in fear, Why were they prey? They're small… vulnerable. He could practically feel his thoughts straying from him.
Why had they been so unprotected? It was dangerous on the surface… dangerous… dangerous…
Small.. need… protection..?
Protect?
"I can protect…" M heard himself mumble out loud, against his better judgment.
Yes… M was strong, wasn't he? Those two were weak, small, he could protect. Why were they small, though? So small, so fragile, so vulnerable to teeth and claws..
Were they..?
Young?
Young are weak, his code started to reason with him as he sat back up, they need protection. Protection, and… shelter?
M suddenly gasped, shooting up.
"Nest!" he cried, whipping his head around. He didn't notice how warbled his voice had become, how low and rumbly it was, like some kind of growl.
Instead, he focused his attention on searching the area. He quickly spotted a large chunk taken out of a tall building, exposing the floor to the world.
Nest, home, safe, his head chanted as he unfurled his wings again and shot toward the artificial outcrop, protect, shelter protect.
He landed at the edge of the floor, noting how a small chunk of the corner was exposed to the lower floor, and briskly explored the floor. It was large and mostly empty, ground covered in miscellaneous rubble and trash, all covered in a layer of frost.
At one point, M found himself on all fours, rubbing against the walls and any pillars he came across. Scent, his code reasoned, and he accepted the answer despite knowing he doesn't have a smell. Well, maybe oil, but… hmm…
Soon, he found a section near the entrance he deemed comfortable. Claws dug into the floor and roof, tearing out wires and drywall, carefully picking out the sharp parts and throwing them out a nearby window. M chirped quietly as he arranged the debris into a pile, a small divot in the middle.
By the time he finished, he could see the sun rising through the windows and open entrance, just barely out of reach of his— his—
His what?
For a moment, M stopped, staring at his claws.
Why did he waste the entire night doing this? What was he even doing!?
Nest, his programming so helpfully elaborated.
He breathed out a shaky sigh, claws retracting back into hands.
"Nest…" he slowly agreed.
As he curled up in the middle of his nest, tail coiling around his form, he stared out at the sunrise. It felt so foreign, so unfamiliar, so utterly breathtaking, but… M just couldn't focus on that.
All his fuzzy mind could think was about where the young went, and how he could protect and care for them.
"We literally just wasted all of our daylight."
Aiden fidgeted on the floor underneath a struggling dining table, rewiring their new camera. They watched anxiously as Chad paced back and forth in front of them, practically making a hole in the floor.
"I mean, it's not that bad.." they mumbled, pulling their jacket closer to them, "we've got a hiding spot…"
"You— urgh!" Chad cried out, ruffling his hair furiously. He turned to Aiden with an exasperated glare, "'Not that bad?' We're stuck in an Italian restaurant, Nerd! And I'm pretty sure spaghetti sauce looks suspiciously close to blood, and blood attracts MURDER DRONES."
"Hey!" Aiden protested, "For the record, workers like us have oil, not blood, and—"
"Ugh! Stop being such a nerd, Nerd!" Chad cut them off with another furious cry, "That's not my point! My point is that we're SITTING DUCKS, BRO."
"Sitting in safety," Aiden corrected matter-of-factly.
"No we're not!" Chad retorted, kicking an old wooden chair. It practically crumbled from the force, "We aren't 'safe'; we're trapped. And that means we aren't going home. Which means we'll never see our friends and family again, which means I'll never see Thad again and—" He instantly interrupted himself when he noticed the catty smirk on his friend's face.
"Not a word."
Aiden snickered, making a zipping motion and pretending to throw away the key.
The second Chad turned back to anxiously— and now also flusteredly —pace again, Aiden snatched the imaginary key off the ground and "unlocked" his mouth.