Strange alerts in binary and unsettled murmurs of activity outside the bounds of the city left Ivy mostly unruffled — she'd been through worse, she thought. Still, she tuned in to Astra's small performance for others on the Fibonacci surface, the additional tension in her artificial body eased by that voice.
She lingered when it was over and others shuffled away. "I believe you did what you set out to do. They looked more relaxed. I feel it, too." Ivy held a hand over her own chest, wordlessly acknowledging something lighter in her core. "I'd like to make sure you get home all right, if you don't mind."
Her senses picked up unusual noise before the conversation could continue. Ivy's expression tensed, and she turned one ear back to listen. It almost sounded like a human in pain, but that wasn't quite right.
"Something's strange," she mumbled, turning her back to Astra as her eyes scanned the darkness for the approaching source of the sound. A figure lurched out of the dark, moving slowly but erratically. Unconsciously, her shoe slid on the concrete, spacing out her feet. It gave her body more room to act defensively and placed her more fully between the figure and the woman behind her.
"...I hear more."
— ☾ @staroflyra