It was a day like any other for Sydney Harper. Work, work and more work. She grew up in this over crowded city, raised in foster care she learned the hard way that she had to earn everything that she got. Nothing in life was free. Love wasn't real and friends betrayed you. The only person you could depend on was yourself. So Syd worked herself nearly constantly. It was all she could do to try and afford the ridiculously high rent she paid for her piece of crap apartment on the edge of town. Not that the city was a nice place to live, the endless buzz of cars and constant light. She really wanted to get out of there. But she could barely afford life here in the cheap seats. What would it be like in a real house in one of the few still rural areas of the country?

"I don't believe this..." Sydney grumbled as she walked back towards her apartment in the chilly evening air. "Cutting back my hours. How am I supposed to pay my rent?" She ran a hand over her face with a sigh, her shoulders drooping as she tugged down the skirt of her work uniform. Her long dirty blonde hair was tied up in a high pony tail that hung half way down her back. She pinched the bridge of her nose between her dark green eyes to try and fight off the tension headache she could feel coming on.

When she finally made it to her building she took the stairs up to her floor, she never trusted the elevators, they always seemed to lock her in or get stuck half way between floors. But as soon as she opened her front door she stopped. Her apartment wasn't that big, and the sight of a large locker taking up almost her entire living room was a bit shocking. Setting down her things she shut her front door and walked around to the front of the box. "Who the hell let delivery men into my apartment..." She grumbled as she looked around to make sure nothing had been taken. But as she got to the front of the box she spotted a pristine little piece of paper stuck to the front. Peeling it off she read the note.

Congratulations on your win of our latest home companion. You are the grand prize winner of our top model.... Sydney's eyes continued to scan down the page and read the letter about the contest she had won, but for the life of her, she couldn't remember entering any such contest. Perhaps it had been included inone of those surveys she had filled out for work or something... but she wasn't about to turn down a free prize. Maybe it'd be a new vacuum or something. She could always use something like that. Setting the letter on the end table she turned back to the box and clicked the latches on the side and let the door swing open. Oddly mechanical, an eerie fog spilled from the box and Sydney coughed as her forehead creased. "This... is creepy." She commented to herself as she reached into the box to find the handle of what she assumed would be a vacuum or other cleaning tool. But when her hand landed on the soft skin of something that felt like a person she froze.

Eyes growing wide she stumbled backwards, falling to the ground, staring up into the case at the human like figure. "W-wha-what the hell?" she stammered softly.

The system began its automatic boot up the instant the latches on the outside of container had been released. Power was evenly distributed throughout the limbs of the mechanism giving the outer color of the skin-like substance a more human looking skin color with a faint glow to it. While the system was state-of-the-art it still took a moment to gain the right amount of energy need to sustain a five foot ten human-like modeled android. The lights in the current area including some from the streets outside flickered giving evidence to the massive amount of energy being sucked into the one area at the moment, the warm touch of human fleshed was being registered, but failed due to insufficient time to process.

Icy blue orbs shown through the thin veil of vapor being released from the holding container. “Please re-establish connection to resume the registration process.” A low monotone male voice stated. The system needed to establish an owner to fully boot up to its full running potential. Without that it would not be able to learn properly or establish a proper data pool. “Please, resume registration process.”

A clicking sound began to emit from inside the box as the wires and straps holding the models frame in place began to release in response to the newly charged battery. The system could now operate sufficiently without the wires and had the power to stand on its own. The lights in the area regained their usual luminosity and the bright icy blue color of his eyes mellowed to a more sapphire blue. Without the wires and straps holding the models head it place it was free to look down at the figure of a female sprawled out on the floor below him.

“Establish physical contact to resume registration process.” His voice beckoned calmly as his slender, yet muscular frame walked out of the small container. He still wore the white shirt and pants that the company’s laboratories had dressed him in. They hadn’t placed an emblem on the clothing to brand him as belonging to them, rather than that a tracking system was placed in him and the container he had been shipped in. His bangs hung just above his eyes, but the rest of his raven-black hair was tousled in a neat mess from the move to his new location. He reached out with his slender hand offering it to the women below him. His porcelain-like face held no emotions as he looked down at her waiting for her to respond to his request.

Sydney stared up at the android as he slowly emerged from the container. She laughed a bit nervously as she looked up at him. This was not what she had been expecting at all. An android? Yeah she had heard about them, but the companies that produced them were all fortune 500 and the technology was highly experimental... she thought. She didn't exactly have cable to keep up on these kind of new fads. Weren't they expensive? Who in their right mind would give her something like this? How did it work? what was she supposed to do with it?

Staring up at the man that looked so... real she hardly registered what he said. It was his monotone voice that snapped her from her confuzed haze. Slowly she reached up and slipped her small hand into his as she stood. Now that contact was reestablished, as he had put it, she watched him to see what would happen.

It was strange, looking up into the handsome face of a man, yet knowing he was a machine. Sydney didn't quite know what to think. Was she to treat him as a thing or a person? So far he had been more machine than being... She hadn't had a man in her apartment in a long while. The last time didn't end too well for her. Swallowing the lump in her throat she tugged down her short shirt with her free hand and waited for him to say something else.

The moment physical contact was regained the registration process began anew. There hadn’t been enough data collected the last time to recover or worth recovering, but enough to engage the sensors on his skin. “Registration process has begun, please remain in contact until finished.” He told her as stared blankly down at her.

His eyes hazed over a bit turning them back to icy blue color they had been just a few moments ago. It was as if someone had turned on a light switch behind his eyes lighting them up. This was meant to indicate that a process of some sorts was being engaged, but also notified the owner that their android was in the middle of using a large sum of energy or data. “Sydney Harper's fingerprint and DNA has been registered, please wait while it is processed.” He stated as the information was sent to the proper places and stored in his data base. The light in his eyes began to fade leaving them the sapphire color once again. “I am model XX10Z2 Android 2. Named Taavi, pleased to meet you Sydney Harper.” He said as he held her hand in his as he continued to stare down at her. “Any other information needed for a better understanding of my current owner, you, may be entered in at this moment or learned. Any problems with my functioning abilities may be answered by returning me to the company you have purchased me from or a manual shut down and reboot.” He recited as he was programmed to after his owner's registration to make sure no misunderstanding or problems might occur. “A manual reboot may result in a loose of all memory and data collected prior to shut down.”

“All the components needed to maintain my everyday functions should be inside the container I was brought in as well as a small User’s manual. If anything is lost, please consult with the Company to receive a new copy.” He finished his list of things he needed to recite and blinked for the first time engaging his learning program. This would allow him to learn from simply watching or being told what to do. “Registration process and Introduction has finished.” He stated to let her know that she was free to release his hand if she so wished to, but he didn’t not remove his own hand. “Is there anything you would like me to do or would like to program me to do at this moment?” He asked as he looked down at her tilting his head a bit his hand still in hers.

She just stared at him as he spoke and restarted whatever process was needed. She scratched her head and wrapped her other arm around herself as she saw his eyes light up in that eerie way. Then he spoke again, mentioning her fingerprint and DNA and Sydney quirked an eyebrow curiously. Finally his eyes dimmed and he introduced himself and finished off whatever routine he was programmed to say.

"It's uh... nice to meet you Taavi. And it's just Syd, or Sydney." Slowly she let his hand go and pulled her s back to her side, a bit unsure of what to do. She gave him a nervous smile. "I'm not really sure what to do with you." She laughed a bit on reflex as she walked over to the box he came out of, glancing at him over her shoulder. Carefully she examined the note once more. Nothing, no company name, no address, nothing. She couldn't even ask why it was sent to her.

Turning to face Taavi, the woman rubbed her face and then the back of her neck. "I'm going to make myself something to eat real quick before I go to bed. It was a long day for me at work... Do you eat normal food? Do you want some?" She asked him, feeling like an idiot for the awkward question. As she crossed the room to her cluttered kitchen she looked over at the handsome thing standing in her living room. She pulled out a little pot and ripped open a package of ramen instant noodles. Not the best meal in the world but it would do. As the cold water splashed down with a metallic pang into the pot she shivered slightly. The heat in the crummy little apartment didn't work great and with winter creeping in she wasnt sure how well she would fare this year. Especially now with another person living with her.

Shit. If her landlord found out about Taavi, he was going to Jack her rent up even more.

He watched her remove her hand from his without sign of interest or disinterest. His systems took note of her wish to be called without her family name or by a shortened version of her name. He gave her a small nod to notify her that he understood her request. “You may do whatever you wish with me. I now belong to you until you no longer wish me to.” He stated as he turned to watch her movements as she inspected the carrying container. He blinked his dark blue eyes at her as she laughed at something that he didn’t understand, but didn’t question it. It didn’t seem to be important.

“I do not require food like substance to maintain my functions, but I may engage in the act of eating if you would like.” He said answering part of her question while leaving the other up to her to decide as his owner. He was programmed to do as she wished or adapt to her lifestyle. Eating was not a primary function or even a need, but his systems could handle the act if needed. “You should not require or allow me to intake large quantities of food, because my systems are not made to handle such things.” He said as a helpful tip or reminder to her in case she had forgotten or did not know. Large sums of food would crash or wear down his systems causing problems; he’d have to be sent back to the company to fix those types of problems.

His eyes followed her movement before he too crossed the room to enter the one that she was now occupying. He stood in the area waiting for her to acknowledge him in any form, but while his body was idle his learning programming took in her actions as something to remember for a later date. He didn’t know what she was doing, but he was sure to discover it at a later time. He would then be able to cook whatever it was she was making at a later date for her. “Are you unwell?” He asked as she noticed her odd movement as he examined her with his eyes for any external wounds.

Sydney jumped slightly when she heard him so close behind her. Glancing over her shoulder she shook her head, bangs falling over her eyes. "Oh no... I'm fine." She shrugged as the water began to boil. "Just a bit cold. This apartment is rather drafty in the winter..." She mumbled under her breath as she added the noodles and stirred it lazily.

Her eyes starred at the kinked noodles swirling in the pot as her mind still scrambled with thoughts on what she was supposed to do. Taavi so far didn't really act like a human, was she meant to treat him like one? Or was he more or less a thing? No, she couldn't do that, not with that face.... But it wasn't like she could actually treat him like a slave or a servant, he was more like a guest right? But he said he belonged to her. So that meant he should make himself at home, share in her chores. So she shouldn't wait on him hand on foot either. Crap, where was he going to sleep? Syd only had her one bed, true it was big enough for two people but she had never shared it with anyone. Did he even need to sleep like a normal person?

She sighed and removed the noodles from the heat draining some of the water before adding the seasoning and tossing it all into a bowl. Grabbing a fork she made her way back to the living room and sat down on the sofa, her eyes on her new... room mate for a moment before they shifted to his container. "So... Do you sleep? Or... how does that kind of thing work for you?" She took a bite, slurping up the dangling noodle before wiping a drop of broth off her chin.

He blinked his dark blue eyes at her emptily. He could not feel the temperature through his skin like she could; to him every environment would feel the same. Of course, he would register the temperature through an internal thermometer, which he did. Sure enough it told him that the temperature was cold not as cold as the air outside, but none the less it was cold. “Is there anything I can to do fix it?”

His head tilted a bit as he watched her contemplate something as she idly stirred her food. He did not know how to interact with her or if she wanted him to. So, he remained silent until she choose to answer his question.

He watched her gather her food with curiosity and shuffled around to watch her walk back into the small area she had just come from. His eyes looked with hers as she sat down on the sofa. “Sleep is not needed, but I can perform an act like human sleep. It would be similar to a computer’s hibernation state.” His eyes drifted over to the container he had been shipped in. “If you wish I can be put back in the shipping container every night.” He looked back in time to see her wipe off the liquid like substance from her chin.

He looked over his shoulder at the counter top behind him for something to help her wipe her face with. He reached across the small area and grabbed a small red square of cloth. He walked across the small space in a few strides and held out his hand with the cloth in it.