˗ˏˋ ★ˎˊ˗

A pale mist clung to the corners of Mowtown that evening. In a crooked alley where wild plants grew through broken pavement and the streetlights flickered with age, four stray cats sat in silence, ears perked.

Then, the ground trembled.

A section of the alley's concrete cracked apart, pushing upward as soil crumbled from beneath. With a mechanical hiss and a low whirring rumble, Dexter emerged from the earth, his massive yellow form rising slowly so as not to disturb the quiet.

His voice, deep and gravelly, hummed through his speakers like the low purr of an engine in idle.

“Easy now... I won't harm you.”

His heavy limbs moved with surprising care. One arm folded open at the elbow, revealing a small extendable tray. A mechanical click sounded as compartments unlatched, and he carefully placed the tray on the ground before them.

“Fish from the north stream. Cooled kibble. And... fresh water, filtered through moss. The way it should be.”

The orange tabby crept forward first, cautious. Dexter didn’t move—he simply watched, lenses adjusting with a gentle hiss as he zoomed in to observe.

The kitten pounced on a fish bit and cheeped with delight. The others followed. One—the grey tom—brushed past Dexter’s large shovel-like tail as it ate.

Dexter tilted his head, murmuring softly.

“You are not unlike the forest beasts of Machina... small, quiet, but fierce when needed.”

A distant siren whined through the fog.

Dexter’s gaze shifted toward the sound, but he didn’t move. Instead, he activated a soft chime from his chest panel—a lullaby he had once recorded from the songbirds that lived in a grove outside Jun Grant’s hideout.

“The city forgets you,” he rumbled. “But I won't.”

The calico kitten meowed up at him, tail twitching.

Dexter responded in kind—a low chirp from his vocalizer, mimicking the tone.

“That was ‘thank you’, wasn't it? You’re welcome, small one.”

Suddenly, a soft beep chimed in his ear. A drone overhead—Jun’s surveillance.

He looked up briefly and tapped his chest.

“Just feeding friends, Jun. Nothing more.”

The drone blinked green, then zipped away without a word.

As night fully blanketed the alley, Dexter slowly sank back to the ground, folding into the soil beside the cats. The lights in his lenses dimmed to a warm, pulsing blue as he spoke once more, mostly to himself.

“This is peace. This is worth protecting.”

And for that night, no machines roared, no construction thudded. Just the hum of a gentle Cardbot watching over his tiny, purring family.