-Browser Pone Safari pt.9-

>The tour guide moves on
>Next up is the Arctic fox enclosure
>To your surprise, you get to feed the little thing like with the moose
>Well, except you're kneeling and holding out your palm, with a bit of food on it
>The little thing skitters over to you and quickly snaps the food off of your hand
>Dat precision
>You barely felt anything, much less a bite or anything
>Shit, animals are pretty cool
>It seems to feel extraordinarily calm around Safari
>She pets it, despite...strong suggestions from the tour guide not to
>When all the food's been hastily gobbled, the fox quickly scampers off
>The tour guide gives Safari a stern talking-to
>You barely understand anything said
>But you get the gist of it
>After that's over with, you move on to the wolves
>And you are goddamn giddy
>You get to the wolf enclosure and take a seat nearby
>Much like the lynx enclosure, only people trained to handle animals are allowed with vicious predators
>Which you know, on the surface, is reasonable
>But you still fantasize about befriending the magnificent beasts
>You could be the wolf-master
>Fuck yeah
>Safari wraps her arm around you and pulls you close while you watch the tour guide go into the enclosure, narrating the entire way
>At first, there's nothing but a whole lot of nothing
>Then the wolves slowly come forth
>It's a fascinating display
>You kind of fear for the tour guide, but he's somehow managed to become the alpha
>He greets them in order, betas first
>Then the rest
>You half expect them to tear into him at any moment
>But no
>They're licking him and playing with him
>He takes out a doggie-comb and starts combing them
>That's pretty surreal to witness
>"Can you say 'Alpha as fuck'?"
>She giggles
"Definitely. I mean, fucking wow. I would not have the balls to do that. And even if I did, I'd be ripped the fuck to shreds."
>You pause
"Also, I bet this guy fucks all the bitches."
>You share a laugh
>The others chuckle too
>After a bit, the tour guide comes back out of the enclosure, miraculously in one piece
>"That's the end of the tour, but feel free to look around in the zoo. Although, please refrain from touching the animals unless given express permission."
>He gives Safari a pointed look
>She shrugs
"So, Leif, when do we leave?"
>"About 30 minutes from now, so be back at the bus in 25, alright?"
>You nod
"So, got anything else you wanna see, saff?"
>"Hm...nothing in particular. How 'bout we just have a look around? Oh, also, saved an alarm so we won't forget to head back."
"Great!"
>You head off with her

-You are Safari pone-

>You and Anon wander around the zoo
>You notice there are bunnies running around, no enclosure in sight
>Aw
>Although, no touchy-touch
>Sheesh
>Speaking of not getting too close
>Anon's been a bit distant with the other people
>Well, considering the state you found him in, he's made great strides
>And they are, this far, people he almost just met
>So you're willing to cut him some slack
>Though, asking him couldn't hurt, could it?
"So, hey, Anon, I was wondering something."
>"Alright, shoot."
"Well, you seem like you're keeping the other people we're traveling at an arm's length. Why?"
>He sighs
>"Yeah, that's...sorry about that, I guess, I'm just trying to take this whole 'new friends' thing slow and sure. You know, instead of rushing in and fucking everything up."
>You both stop and look at the mountain goat enclosure
>You're silent for a moment
>But not entirely convinced
>Even so, you know he's trying
"Alright. Fair enough. I'm just hoping you get more comfortable coming out of your shell. Well, okay, that sounds wrong, but you know what I mean. You seem comfortable enough around them, and vice versa."
>He cocks an eyebrow
>"It's really weird to hear you say 'vice versa', you know that? But yeah, I'll try, and more than that, I can't do, okay?"
>You pat him firmly on the back
"Yep! Oh, and yeah, sorry, but another nitpick, you do seem lost in thought. So...a satoshi for your thoughts"
>He looks confused for a moment, then laughs
>"Alright. Though, you'd probably be disappointed to find that I just sometimes empty my mind and think about nothing."
"So you're a catholic?"
>You both laugh
>"Hah, not quite that far gone yet. No, but I spend a lot of time observing stuff, I guess, usually withholding judgement, at least initially. Although some things I do nothing but judge. Like the sonic fandom."
"I think everyone judges them, Anon. Preferably the sentence is ten to life. Or in their case, ten to no-life."
>You smirk
>He nods and looks thoughtful for a bit
>"So...uh..."
"Yeah? Spit it out, man, I don't bite. Unless ya want me to."
>"Well...I'm just amazed by AIs such as yourself and Opera."
"Thank you. I don't see why that was so hard to say, though?"
>"That wasn't the hard or awkward part. I basically, like, caught myself almost saying...uh...well, promise not to get mad?"
"Sure."
>"Well, basically, I'm just amazed at you and Opera. You're so incredibly advanced, and...Like, I know the singularity's basically happened and that you passed the turing test and similar ones, but just...thinking about the fact that you are; or at least started life as, code, is incredibly fascinating. Just...imagine how many billions of lines of code you're made up of! And you react so incredibly human-like - And-"
>He takes a few breaths to recover from ranting on
>It's kind of adorable, like a puppy with a bone
>Less adorable is what he actually says
>You know he's as tactful as he can muster about it, and really never meant to hurt your feelings or anything
>But the thought of just being tons of code isn't very comforting
>At least not when framed like that
>In fact, it makes you a bit nauseous
>You feel your smile falter a bit
>"I-I..fuck! I can't manage to make it come off in any kind of eloquent or intelligent way. I just...hell, look at Opera, she wasn't programmed for meatspace, and she's living life totally normally - and you're equipped with the functionality handle it even better. It's..."
>He pauses, obviously trying to find a word
>Then looks at you and smiles
"Wondrous. "
>You pull him into a hug
>You're not comfortable crying in front of him *again*
>Not this soon
>Also, hugs are pretty awesome anywho
>So win-win
>You stay like that for a moment
>Then an alarm blasts throughout your skull
>Ow
>You quickly wipe a few tears and disengage from the hug
"C'mon, the alarm went off."
>He gives you the thumbs-up and follows you to the bus
>Sigh
>It's gonna be pretty obvious that you've cried
>You're confident they're intelligent enough to not get the wrong idea
>But they might pry
>Because they care, you remind yourself
>Bah. You've always (well, as long as you've existed) considered yourself as strong and kind of a reliable person that helps others
>Fat lot of good crying does
>You know, on a rational level, that initial emotional turmoil while adjusting to the whole 'biological being' thing is common for AIs
>But you still feel like you've let yourself down
>Which you admit is a very human feeling
>Maybe you could even say you're...human after all?
>No, bad Safari
>This is not the time for Daft Punk
>Anon seems curious about what you're thinking - or at least, that's what you figure from his expression
>He keeps quiet, though