The patterns and the colours slowly faded as she felt pressure on her lungs, and with a gasp, she reached for air, sucking it in like a new-born infant. She grasped for something on the surface she was laying on--cold, the surface was cold--and suddenly, there was something in her hand--warm, the object was warm. Gripping the object, she slowly opened her eyes.

There was a face gazing down at her, haloed with the glow and the hum of flourescant lights. The face was smiling, full lips against golden skin, wrinkles around pale green eyes. It was smiling at her. She brought her hand up into her vision, and realized that what she was holding was another hand, the one that belonged to the face.

"Good morning," the face said, its voice deep, a little husky. She said nothing, she couldn't really. The face smiled a little wider, however, when she blinked. "I'm initiating the final start-up sequence, now. Hold still, okay?" Again, she said nothing, but she released its--his hand, and rested her own by her side.

Placing a forefinger just between her eyes, the face drew closer and murmured in a rhythmic, quiet voice. "Startup sequence three point zero initiated. Seastorm, meadow, desert, starlight. Name, please?"

"Ocusa." The word escaped her mouth like a sigh, before she'd realized she was saying.

The man removed his finger from her forehead, and again that smile was spread across his golden face. "Welcome to the world, Ocusa. I'm Ichafore, your creator."

The words sparked something inside of her. Her... creator? "What am I?"

"You are an artificial life-form; an android." He smiled even wider. "Usually your kind don't think to ask that question until much later in life." He brought a hand over her hair, brushing the knotted strands behind one ear. "Please sit up?"

She did so. Bringing her knees up to her chest, she clasped her arms under them, and rested her forehead on top of them. "I'm artificial?" The word summoned up information she didn't know she had.

"Yes, but that only means that you were created from synthetic parts, not grown from flesh and blood. Hold still a moment. I'm going to be testing your teleparts."

'Teleparts: internal Cyborware. Functioning to imitate the telepathic bond between dragon and rider.' The description came into her mind unbidden, like someone had spoken it to her. She blinked again, but didn't move.

Respond if you can hear this, please. The same voice as the man's--Ichafore's, was suddenly inside of her mind, nothing more then a gentle whisper, but enough to make her start.

"I heard it."

"Good." Ichafore nodded, face split with his grin, though she couldn't see it for position she was in. "Now try to respond back in the same way."

"...how?" Ocusa asked.

"Just..." think. The last word was inside her mind again.

'Think.' I am thinking.. Ocusa furrowed her brow in the semblance of concentration.

Perfect. I'm hearing you loud and clear! Ichafore tapped her shoulder lightly, and she looked up at him. "Care to stand?"

She nodded and took his preferred hand, swung her legs over the side of the table, at carefully placed one bare foot on the tiled floor. She looked up when she heard a low whistle, and caught sight immediately of another man standing in the doorway. "Nice model, Icha'!" The man leered at her, "She an entertainment unit or something?"

Ocusa stared blankly at him, while Ichafore reddened in the face. "Of course not. She's my Master's project."

The new man barked with laughter, slapping the pair of gloves he'd been holding against his thigh. "You clever bastard! Buying favors with a body like that!" He wiped a tear from his eye. "Hell, if you can't hop into bed with them, why not build someone to do it for you?" Ocusa decided she didn't like this man very much.

"You're such an ass, Burton." Ichafore replied, shaking his head. "Get your mind out of the gutter."

"Oh, right. 'All life is beautiful, it is our job to make life beautiful.' Sorry, by-the-book-boy." The man rolled his eyes. "I forgot you held Larsin's manual like the effing book of life."

Ichafore turned his back on the other Journeyman, at first grabbing a shawl to cover the android's nakedness, and then turning his pale-green gaze back upon the man. "Hey, if it means I get my Masters and you don't... well..."

I do not like this man. Ocusa thought, and Ichafore grinned down at her, amazed at the speed with which she was progressing. He'd be wearing his Masters pin before he knew it--

"Hans, if you want your Masters, you're going to have to look outside the box a little." Burton shook his finger at them, almost chastising. His tone was more serious then before. "Sure, that's a nice piece of body, there, but you know the requirements."

"And you know I don't make dumbwaiters, Burton." Ichafore glared at the man.

"Yeah, yeah. But you expect this lady to bond a mutt?" Burton was now leaning against the door-frame, his arms folded over his chest.

Ichafore looked down at the android again, but she still had her gaze fixed emptily at the other Journeyman. What was going on behind those eyes? "She'll do it..."

Burton shook his head. "No way, man. You know mutts. Most of 'em only go for the flesh-and-blood, even if it's alien-blood. They'll never even look at her, unless they're shriveled mutant bastard left-overs from Cyborware tinkering." He grinned smugly. "The only reason the Masters are where they are today is because they fiddled with live-elements. Does she have any of that shit?"

Ichafore shook his head. "I'm trying something that I believe will work."

"Okay, sure, yeah. Well, there's always the offworld freaks that keep showing up around here."

Ichafore cringed. "They aren't freaks..."

Burton let out another laugh. "Uh huh. Believe whatever you want. I'm just saying that they're freakish enough... hey, I'm just looking out for you, buddy."

Sure he was... Ichafore smiled fakely, hoping to shut the man up. "Of course you are, Burton. Hey, I think I hear a customer calling... you'd better get back to work."

"Ah, shit, you're right." The man disappeared through the door again, leaving Ocusa and her creator alone amidst the piles of parts.

"What is this about bonding?" she asked, her voice innocent, holding more personality in it then it had only a few minutes ago.

"Right... that. How about I talk about it with you when we get outside..." Ichafore rubbed a hand over his head, messing up the hair that had once been in a meticulously kept dark ponytail. "Here, I have some real clothes for you... you'd better put them on."

Ocusa nodded. She hadn't enjoyed Burton's reaction to her, and she didn't want to experience it again.