"What's the situation?"
Ever since a while ago, this was the standard greeting that I welcomed Ayda's world with whenever I stepped in it. Rather than taking a deep breath of the insanely fresh air that this planet not polluted by advanced human activity housed, I would scan the area around me to confirm it was still safe. Only after all the initial worries of mine would disappear would I dare to relax a bit.
"Hey, it's been a while since you last came."
Sitting a few meters away from the door, Ayda raised her head from the book she was studying. With her lips twisting in a slightly annoyed smile, she responded to my question.
"You know, we are not that useless ourselves. Didn't I tell you that I will protect this place?"
Putting her book on the table, Ayda looked at me with a fit of slight anger glittering in her eyes. But who was this anger directed at? Me? Her own weakness that made me worry about her every time she was outside of my reach?
