Nightfall by the Water

Following your thought of finding a lake to rest beside, I kept my stride steady across the wide, level pasture until the grass gave way to wet silt and still dark water. I brought my mechanical legs to a halt right at the pond's glassy edge. My internal drive gears clicked softly, gear teeth slotting into place as the drive train slipped into neutral. Sinking my clawed footings into the cool, damp gravel, I vented a slow, gentle trail of warm steam from my aft exhausts across the mirrored surface, stirring tiny ripples among floating duckweed. A low, rhythmic rumble hummed through my iron plates as the boiler banked down for the night.