(no subject)
He knew she'd be there, he always knew, they'd been something like friends once, back before things had changed, before he forgot. But he remembered now, at least most of the time, still on the mend, hovering somewhere around 90%.
She was there, on the shore, looking more like the Creator than she had any reason to, but he didn't mind, she'd known the Creator probably longer than anyone, she'd been his disciple, in a way. Which meant that she, of all people, had earned the right to look like him once in a while. He stood quietly for a moment, waiting for her to notice, if she hadn't already.
It wasn't long before she drew back to herself, "Greetings, Tron." She said without even opening her eyes, patting the empty space beside her, "Have a seat." He padded forward then, settling lightly beside her, legs folding easily, mirroring her position. It was after he'd settled that she opened her eyes, smiling warmly, looking more like the old curious Quorra that he knew, the one that would ask questions about anything and everything until she'd driven everyone around her to distraction.
All she asked today was: "How are you?"
There was a momentary whirr of processor grinding as he thought that over, finally he nodded, "Well." He concluded and Quorra smiled, "That's good, did you want to try meditating again today? Or do you want to go for a walk?" She knew that he still did better with orders than with options, but she insisted on giving him options anyway, she knew it would be good for him, rebuild his critical thinking and his decision-making processes.
The question caused another near-growl, head tilting, taking a few moments to reply: "Meditate, I think." He knew that he liked being able to see things the way she did, or, more accurately, to feel them. When they'd first started she'd told him that he'd always be able to hear the quiet hum of the Grid itself, to feel it almost like a heartbeat. A heartbeat was one of those things that he could understand as a concept, he knew that Users had them, like their own central processor. But it wasn't until the first time she'd actually helped him make that connection to the Grid that he actually understood it.
Quorra nodded at the decision, settling herself once more, looking at ease with her surroundings, fitting in as if she'd grown there. She held out both her hands, palms up. Her head tilted and she didn't have to say anything, he remembered how this worked. He settled as well, placing his hands atop hers, barely touching, letting his eyes close after a moment. That had been the hardest for him at first, not watching everything, and there was still a momentary hesitation in the movement each time.
Once he'd done so, Quorra spoke, her voice quiet and rolling, seeming to drift with the waves against the shore at their side, "Just listen." She said, her hands warm against his own, "Listen and remember, follow the sound of the Sea"
It was easy, listening to the sound of her voice, to let himself drift, not thinking about anything in particular, letting his senses expand to take in everything, that part had been the easiest for him, it was almost like being able to see with his eyes closed. He could hear the traffic of the Grid, the low-level hum of the Grid itself over the sound of the Sea. He always remembered things when he meditated, and sometimes when he was in a standby cycle.
Sometimes it was images, things that hadn't been wiped out with updates, and hadn't been too badly destroyed by Clu's rectification, images and snippets of things he'd done or seen, voices, faces, nothing that he could put together in any real sort of order, though he didn't try at the moment, just letting the fractured memories wash over him along with the sound of the Sea
Flynn's voice simmered up from his memory, laughing, "Do androids dream of electric sheep, man?" The question had puzzled him at the time, and it almost made sense now, but not enough to dwell on, just enough to study for a moment and let it drift away again, replaced by Quorra's quiet, steady: "Don't get lost, Tron, follow the connections, everything is connected, one closed circuit that encompasses everything, we're all part of it." The warmth of her fingers against his own was enough to ground him once more, once or twice he'd drifted for longer than he'd meant to, and had come back to a very concerned Quorra, though now it seemed as if she knew when he started to drift and brought him back all without breaking the meditative state, "Remember your mantra." Was what she said next.
He used the mantra she'd first taught him, the one she still used: listen and remember, but every third or fourth repetition also included: Rinzler is no more since that was what he knew he had to remember. Once he'd settled his mind and come back to himself a little more sure of who he was, he opened his eyes slowly, only to find Quorra smiling at him, "That's much better." She said, "You caught yourself before you drifted too far, you're learning." The smile warmed him more than the praise did, if only a little, enough that he noticed it, smiling faintly in return, "Thank you, Quorra."
She unfolded easily to her feet, offering him a hand up, "You're welcome, Tron. Let's go home."
She was there, on the shore, looking more like the Creator than she had any reason to, but he didn't mind, she'd known the Creator probably longer than anyone, she'd been his disciple, in a way. Which meant that she, of all people, had earned the right to look like him once in a while. He stood quietly for a moment, waiting for her to notice, if she hadn't already.
It wasn't long before she drew back to herself, "Greetings, Tron." She said without even opening her eyes, patting the empty space beside her, "Have a seat." He padded forward then, settling lightly beside her, legs folding easily, mirroring her position. It was after he'd settled that she opened her eyes, smiling warmly, looking more like the old curious Quorra that he knew, the one that would ask questions about anything and everything until she'd driven everyone around her to distraction.
All she asked today was: "How are you?"
There was a momentary whirr of processor grinding as he thought that over, finally he nodded, "Well." He concluded and Quorra smiled, "That's good, did you want to try meditating again today? Or do you want to go for a walk?" She knew that he still did better with orders than with options, but she insisted on giving him options anyway, she knew it would be good for him, rebuild his critical thinking and his decision-making processes.
The question caused another near-growl, head tilting, taking a few moments to reply: "Meditate, I think." He knew that he liked being able to see things the way she did, or, more accurately, to feel them. When they'd first started she'd told him that he'd always be able to hear the quiet hum of the Grid itself, to feel it almost like a heartbeat. A heartbeat was one of those things that he could understand as a concept, he knew that Users had them, like their own central processor. But it wasn't until the first time she'd actually helped him make that connection to the Grid that he actually understood it.
Quorra nodded at the decision, settling herself once more, looking at ease with her surroundings, fitting in as if she'd grown there. She held out both her hands, palms up. Her head tilted and she didn't have to say anything, he remembered how this worked. He settled as well, placing his hands atop hers, barely touching, letting his eyes close after a moment. That had been the hardest for him at first, not watching everything, and there was still a momentary hesitation in the movement each time.
Once he'd done so, Quorra spoke, her voice quiet and rolling, seeming to drift with the waves against the shore at their side, "Just listen." She said, her hands warm against his own, "Listen and remember, follow the sound of the Sea"
It was easy, listening to the sound of her voice, to let himself drift, not thinking about anything in particular, letting his senses expand to take in everything, that part had been the easiest for him, it was almost like being able to see with his eyes closed. He could hear the traffic of the Grid, the low-level hum of the Grid itself over the sound of the Sea. He always remembered things when he meditated, and sometimes when he was in a standby cycle.
Sometimes it was images, things that hadn't been wiped out with updates, and hadn't been too badly destroyed by Clu's rectification, images and snippets of things he'd done or seen, voices, faces, nothing that he could put together in any real sort of order, though he didn't try at the moment, just letting the fractured memories wash over him along with the sound of the Sea
Flynn's voice simmered up from his memory, laughing, "Do androids dream of electric sheep, man?" The question had puzzled him at the time, and it almost made sense now, but not enough to dwell on, just enough to study for a moment and let it drift away again, replaced by Quorra's quiet, steady: "Don't get lost, Tron, follow the connections, everything is connected, one closed circuit that encompasses everything, we're all part of it." The warmth of her fingers against his own was enough to ground him once more, once or twice he'd drifted for longer than he'd meant to, and had come back to a very concerned Quorra, though now it seemed as if she knew when he started to drift and brought him back all without breaking the meditative state, "Remember your mantra." Was what she said next.
He used the mantra she'd first taught him, the one she still used: listen and remember, but every third or fourth repetition also included: Rinzler is no more since that was what he knew he had to remember. Once he'd settled his mind and come back to himself a little more sure of who he was, he opened his eyes slowly, only to find Quorra smiling at him, "That's much better." She said, "You caught yourself before you drifted too far, you're learning." The smile warmed him more than the praise did, if only a little, enough that he noticed it, smiling faintly in return, "Thank you, Quorra."
She unfolded easily to her feet, offering him a hand up, "You're welcome, Tron. Let's go home."