"Good job, how's his body holding up..?"
- Foryan inquired, back facing the girl that is reporting to her.
"Everything has been healed.. thankfully there was Layla who constantly supplied him with energy.. had she didn't.."
She trailed off, causing Foryan to hum in response before turning around.
"Do not go into that. For now.." - Foryan's lips evolved into a small smile.
"Yes..?"
"Remember your punishment..?"
"..Oh..Yes.. Because of the...earlier this day was it?"
"Indeed." - Foryan scoffed before continuing;
"Your punishment is this.."
————
Crisp golden-haired that is beautifully complimented by the orange illumination of the lamp, and deep-blue coloured eyes that resembled an ocean reflecting away the shine of the sun.
"I've been tasked.. To be your caretaker,
I'm Charlotte."
The lass stated, her arms carrying a box that contained a bunch of medical tapes, vials, and some neatly folded clothes.
"Ca..caretaker.." - Calestro mumbled, causing Charlotte to slightly tilt her head. - "Wh..what why? I don't need a babysitter..!" - He then proceeded to cover himself with his arms, face visibly appalled.
Seeing such a scene, a visible vein throbbed on Charlotte's forehead before her eyelid twitched, her grip on the box tightening.
"Why are you making this sound so unorthodox..? I'M SIMPLY doing my job here see.." - Charlotte smiled, the darkness around her not-so-friendly eyes further amplifying the dagger-like tonality of her voice.
"An..ortodoz..? What's that?" - The young man this time tilted his head with eyes slowly filling up with child-like curiousity.
Charlotte stared at the young man's irises for a few moments before mumbling out. "..Huh.." - The once chilling smile on her lips dissipating. -
"Are..you perhaps..illiterate..?" - Charlotte walked over to the table where all of the equipment was laid on, as soon as she approached, her face bursted into a complete awe which caused her to nearly stumble.
"Wo..woah..!? What the heck is this!? Are you building a generator or what..!?" - Charlotte yelped, eyes scanning the array of wires, screws, metal beams, wrenches, pliers, and weirdly-shaped objects resting motionlessly on the wooden surface.
Calestro scratched his cheek before diverting his eyes upwards, his lip repeatedly twitching to that of a subtle grin and a solemn clench.
"..No..No..? I was just..en..engaging in my.." - Calestro trailed off, glancing at the curious eyes of the lass. "..Ho..hobbies that's all..!" - The young man exclaimed.
Charlotte momentarily paused before her face transitioned to that of a smirk and a side-eye.
"Hooh..?" - She muttered, causing the young man to flinch. "..You're doing..something..not good are you.. That's why it must be kept hidden.." - Her eyes squinted as the other side of her smirk continued to rise even further.
"..!" - Calestro's mind suddenly flashed a memory, where his hands, despite shaking violently kept turning, fixing and hammering away on the idle heads of the bears.. before pausing and then.. clenching themselves to forcefully push away all of the tools on the table and towards the floor.
*Clang..!* *King..!* *Thunk!*
As if weakened, the hands planted themselves on the table as a few drops of water began to secrete out of his face and onto the wooden surface.
— After the recollection was finished, Calestro's face remained still until a reddish hue quickly overtook his countenance.
"Nononononononono..!! Of-of coucourse nonot..!! I wasn't dodododoing anything..!" - the young man stammered out before quickly diverting his flustered face away, hand covering the visible cringe from his lips.
"...tha..that was.." - Calestro whispered to himself, before slowly and cautiously bringing his look on the lass that sustained her gaze at him in silence for a while now.
"...?"
"..."
"...pff.."
- A small puff of air escaped the desperate closure of the lass'es lips, before her smirk transformed to that of a small 'c'-shaped smile.
"Ahahahahahahahaha!"
- She then chuckled! Resulting to a widened-eye expression from the young man.
"..You..you're really fun to tease! You're..face is beet red..!" - She wiped a small tear from her right eyelid.
"Grr.." - Flustered, Calestro could only growl as the lass continued to laugh at the visible pinkish colouration on his cheeks.
Charlotte then slowly hovered the box over the wooden surface of the table while keeping her gaze on the young man; who maintained a pouty, yet furrowed-eyebrow expression.
As the lass slowly rested the box on the table, the weight transferred from her arms and unto it.
"Ahahaha..!! You know I though—"
Causing the 3-legged furniture to have it's center of mass shift forward from Charlotte's position.
As she released her strength, but not her arms from the bottom of the box, she found herself;
*Fwoop..*
Falling with the furniture, Calestro's tools, and the box..! Which is way too heavy for her to lift up from a freefall!
"Wa..Watch out..!!" - Calestro yelled as he rushed and extended his hand out.
*CRASH!*
As the small shack was shaken from all of that weight falling over, a fog of dust began to proliferate around the two. The once neatly-folded clothing now crumpled with dirt branded on it for good measure, the vials? now shards on top of a puddle of bluish liquid, the tape? scattered everywhere. The essentials? If not lost in some small openings on the floor, the screws are either flung away or—
*Shh..*
"..Are..Are you okay..?" - The young man coughed, trying to make out the lass beneath him.
As the smoke began to clear up, Charlotte was revealed to be lying down atop an array of messed-up iron tools and screws, narrowly avoiding her body. Except for the place..
*Drip..*
Beneath her head, where Calestro's already bleeding right hand was situated, whilst the left one stayed planted and straigthened on the floor beside her.
"He..hey..!"
Charlotte momentarily remained in a daze before she blinked.
"O..Oh..yeah..I..I'm fine.." - Charlotte whispered before analyzing the situation they're in.
"Ca..Can you get off of me now..?"
"..Oh..Okay..! Wa..wait.." - Calestro, despite still having his right hand in between Charlotte's head on the floor, attempted to lift himself up.
"Ca..can you stand up..?" - The young man asked, feet now planted on the flooor yet his body still bent-over.
"With..a little help..I think.." - Charlotte whispered, a small chuckle escaping her mouth.
After the confirmation, Calestro's sweaty face transitioned into a soft smile before slowly pushing Charlotte's head up into a sitting position.
*Drip..*
Charlotte took notice of the blood dripping out from Calestro's right hand.
"..Erm..Char..Charlotte right..? Are you..alright?"
The lass became dazed for a second, finding herself staring at the young man's hand that upon closer inspection; there were nails, screws, metallic shards, and some broken glass pieces digging deep unto it, with some even barely-perceptible because of how deep it was shoved in.
"You..you're right hand.." - Charlotte muttered, causing Calestro to look at it before rubbing his head with a goofy grin on his face. "Oh I see.. Ahahaha! No worries..! It's been like this even before you came in..!"
Upon hearing the nonchalance laced in the young man's intonation; Charlotte found herself basking on the dismissive, yet cheerful attitude of the young man, causing her eyes to lighten up a little and her shoulders to slightly slump, as if some longtime soreness was softly alleviated.
—
"This..man..is a bit weird.."
Flashbacks began to flicker inside the head of the young lass.
"Ow..!! Get it off..!!"
"Heal it damn it..!! You're so slow!!"
"What a whore..!! Hey get back here!!"
"It hurts!! What if you're the one he—"
—
*Crack.*
—
"Hey! It's no worries.. The hand has been this way even before you came in so.. No problem..? Yep no Problem..!"
—
"But.." - Then, the pale canvas of a face brought by a series of cold, pent-up emotions was suddenly colourated with a lively-mixture of warm, and rather unusual feelings all coalescing into an apparition of a soft smile appearing on her pinkish lips.
"The 'good' kind of weird..? I guess..?"
—
"Ahahahaha!"
- After a long second of being in a daze, Charlotte suddenly erupted into a hearty chuckle that made the young man beside her; flinch.
"Wha..what now..? Di..did I say something funny..?" - Calestro's once goofy grin transformed into an expression consisting that of a raised brow.
In response, Charlotte wiped another tear off her eyelid before looking towards the young man;
"I take it back..You're really weird..!"
- She squinted her azure-deep coloured irises as she tilted her head downwards, her dishelved clothes revealing a portion of her skin; from her top shoulders to her collarbone as the crisp-golden hair rested softly on her shoulder while she maintained a steadfast gaze on the frozen young man,
The sight, sending a transmission from the young man's unresponsive brain towards his empty stomach that nearly consumed itself due to having gone days without a single grain entering it.
—The stomach, expecting food but was instead greeted with a message from the inactive brain that simply read;
"butterflies."
-
"awawa."
"..?" - Charlotte blinked. "..Awaw..wa?" - before the young man mumbled;
"awawawawawawawawawawawa...*
Steam quickly exited the ears of the young man before he quickly turned his head away, lifting his severely injured right hand to suppress the goofy smile assuming dominion on his countenance, his eyelid twitching repeatedly as a pinkish colouration began to colourate his cheeks once more.
"Too much...! this is too much..stimulation...!!"
— The young man inwardly exclaimed.
Seeing such a reaction from Calestro; Charlotte blinked before she noticed her slightly disheveled medical uniform that revealed a small portion of her petite shoulders and collarbone.
"Ahahaha!"
- She once again released a hearty chuckle; which the young man jerked up to.
"Is this..too much for you?" - Charlotte inquired.
"No-no.. I'm just a bit.."
"Oh crap.. what do I say...!? I can't look at her..! Haustor...—"
- A distinct interaction flashed inside of the young man's head.
"Cale.. don't you fucking dare harbour such lustful eyes towards girls that aren't yours. You get me?"
"Haustor.. where did that come from.. I'm just washing dishes here.."
"—..taught me to be respectful..!"
- With each passing second amplifying the hollowing, yet exciting feeling inside of the young man's chest, he scrambled his already non-existent brain for a possible response.
"Think Think Think Think..!"
- "Well..! I'm just a bit.. saddened!"
...
...
"Wha..what the fuck am I saying..!?"
"Saddened..?" - Charlotte repeated, confusion prevalent on her intonation.
"Out of billions of things to say.. "saddened"!? it doesn't have a single connection to what we have here..!!"
After a momentary pause, Charlotte added;
"Oh..I see.."
"Oh no..! She..might think it's because of her now..!!"
"Huh..Hm.."
"Way to go..Dumb Cale!!"
...
...
*Clang..* *Cling* *Pwsh..*
"Is it because of this..?"
Charlotte inquired, a soft smile colourating her face. Hearing the question caused the young man to slowly look back at the lass with his eyes widened.
Charlotte, was holding the head of the Papa Bear.
"..Tha..that's.." - Calestro trailed off, causing the lass to open her mouth again, the smile never dissipating.
"Beams cradling expertly crafted wires that transfers Aetherna from a singular core towards the main processing node, though flawless in its 'Input and Output' section, it still holds some regions that noticably requires some improvement.. I have never seen such magical software as this."
- Charlotte recited, her eyes scanning the contents of the Papa Bear's head.
"Wha..what.." - Calestro could only mumble as the lass'es words entered his ears.
"You're saddened because of this right..?" - Charlotte looked at him with a few specks of light on her eyes.
"I'll fix it with you.. :)"