บท 9: Chapter 9: Touring a New World
[Ryuzu's perspective]
Pushing the section of wall between us out of the way and then moving it back into place, my percice cuts leaving little evidence of damage to the wall. After graduating some minor details to make the area appear undisturbed, I turned back to see my master, no what is the word... Equal? friend? Maybe Partner?
His stare displaying shock to my capabilities made me feel warm inside. It is nice being able to distinguish facial expressions. Before Mister Carman's upgrade I was able to see people but the difference in their facial expressions evaded my comprehension, it was like trying to focus on a tiny speck of detail on a large mural.
Looking at this small child who barely made it up to my waist in hight I somehow had the unresistable urge to tease him.
"Shall we get going? Or do you plan to stare at me and the wall all day?" I said whilst trying to suppress the joy I was feeling. It had been over two centuries since I was able to move about on my own. It is such an odd feeling, this amount of gratitude from just being able to move a finger, limb, to be able to converse with another being instead of confined to be a silent observer.
Being lost in my own thoughts, I only half heard what Carman had said to me. But it was to the effect of asking me to follow him while being stealthy. He is extremely vigilant and precautious for a child of his age, and the level of stealth he showed was astounding. While my superior senses could still easily detect him, it would surely be a different story to a human casually looking around.
I kept pace with him, my design easily capable of this level of movement as I asked, "Mister Carman, if I may ask, why are you living in a litteral hole in a wall? Should you not be living with your parents at this age?"
As I watched, a sad expression flickered on his face before disappearing into his own deadpan facial expression. It was the only emotion I had seen other than shock and embarrassment on this child's face. I felt a sinking feeling in my chest, as though the cogs within my chassie were caving under a strengthened force of gravity.
"I used to live in an orphanage, but a certain group kept pressuring the director to let them adopt me, I didn't like them so I ran away because I didn't want to gamble on the Director's will outlasting the group's interest. My family didn't want me, I know I was left on the doorstep of the orphanage, I checked the records, there was nothing saying that the country's legal system has anything to do with my appearance there, other than a note with my name I have nothing to prove my identity other than documents the orphanage filed for me."
To be abandoned by the people who were supposed to care for him, I could not think of what he could be going through. I have many fond recollections with my creator, but not even having a memory, it could be either a blessing or a curse. It seems like he himself didn't notice it, but as he talked there was a minor change in his facial expression, as his eyebrows knit together the more he talked about his situation before he stopped. I was half a minds to scold him for recklessly running away from the orphanage, but if he hadn't, I probably would have stayed in that sealed off room, unnoticed and dormant until they remodeled or destroyed the building.
This whole situation is in the ambiguous gray area of morality, so many contradictory arguments too and against any of the decisions that lead up to this point. In the end, this was probably the best outcome for him, at least with me by his side there will be nothing that could harm him.
By the time I finished that thought, we had reached the main street, looking up into the sky, it was much different compared to what I was expecting. Despite all of his genius, Y was never fully able to replicate the natural atmosphere of the natural world. The air had to be trapped using artificial gravity generated over several sectors. This caused the cloud layer to be significantly different compared to the original planet, there were also no major storms apart from areas where there was significant damage to the grid. This sky was not the controlled Cirrus nor nimbostratus clouds I had come to expect, there were large fluffy clouds of many shapes and sizes.
Within the ground, there was no trace of the constant ticking movement of trillions of gears working in tandem. Looking around however, there were still many sights and architecture that resembled whatI remembered of Y's world, gears worked into buildings, but the purpose they serve I would not know.
I caught sight of Mister Carman staring at me, after a moment I realized I had let slight expression of shock onto my face. "It has been a while since I've seen the sky. And from what I am seeing, this is not the sky I am used too, the atmosphere is different and more lively than the one my creator was able to create. I was previously still working under the assumption that this world was just far ahead in the future, which would explain the reason why the language was similar to one spoken on in my world, and why you are able to understand english. But it somehow feels that this place is full of much more life than where I am from."
Taking some time to process what I had said Carman nodded, and continued to show me around this city that was both completely foreign to me and yet had a comforting sense of familiarity.
[Carman: Third person Perspective]
Carman continued to walk around Fontaine, watching bemusedly as Ryuzu gaped when she gazed at the sky and buildings. It was strange seeing this amount of surprise on the automata's face, her usually emotionless face expressing more than he would have expected from how she was portrayed in the series. he showed her all of the areas he frequented, even pointing out the orphanage he used to live in.
When it was getting close to the evening, Carman decided to show Ryuzu the city from a higher vantage point, taking an elevator, Ryuzu and Carman walked out onto the elevated platform and walkways overlooking Fontaine passing by the entrance, Carman saw the statue of Focelors that was located to the side of the main walkway. It was in its dormant state, not giving off any light, but unlike it's in game counterpart, this statue was still reasonably maintained from the attention and effort from the city. At the moment it resembled the 3rd level of awakening players could achieve in game by offering Hydroculi to them.
Well, there goes one way of attuning to the Hydro element. It seems that only the Traveler is able to awaken them. Thought Carman as he walked over to the statue and didn't feel any reaction. He felt something softly radiating from the statue, but it was so faint he couldn't get a grasp of it. His best guess was that it was trace amounts of hydro energy leaking out despite is dormant state. The fact that he was able to feel the energy did get him slightly excited however, bringing him hope that he would be able to use his Elemental Sense skill.
After spending some time near the statue, Carman and Ryuzu move on and watched the sun set and send glimmers of crimson and orange hues to be reflected along the metal trims and gears on the architecture.
Waling Carman home, Ryuzu told Carman to that she would be going out for a short while, and that she would be back later. Carman tried to follow her out but lost track of her as she leaped to the top of a building and disappeared.
Giving a sigh of resignation Carman returned to his hideout and sat on his makeshift bed.waiting for Ryuzu to return.
It was at approximately midnight when there was a sudden change in Carman's surroundings, one moment, the room was normal, the next there were bags of what Carman could only assume was Mora, some scrap machinery, and Ryuzu laying face down on the floor.
Jumping up with an eep, Carman was startled by the sudden change in his surroundings but quickly put two and two together as he moved towards Ryuzu, who was dormant from using her Imaginary Gear. Hovering his hand over her upper back he could feel heat emanating from her. Deciding to wait a bit for her to cool down, Carman periodically held his hand over Ryuzu's back to see waither she was still warm or not. Once she had cooled down, Carman flipped her over and opened one of the metal spheres on her collarbone revealing a place to insert a tool to wind her up. Picking up a hexagonal key (Allen Key) he turned the mechanism until he heard a click. Pulling the key out and letting the mechanism turn, the compartment closed itself as a soft whirring noise permeated the room.
After a few seconds, Ryuzu opened her eyes again. "Why did you activate your imaginary gear?" Asked Carman, "you know that it activates your failsafe leaving you dormant again, why would you risk going through that again after spending so long in that state?"
"Because I deemed it necessary when I found myself besieged by a group of those Meka we saw as you took me around town." For some reason a lot of them were in a warehouse in the lower level of the city. I was visiting that area while gathering funds, and a lead I had brought me to the warehouse."
"What lead? And how did you get this much Mora so quickly, this has to be at least 500k in Mora." Inquired Carman.
And thus Ryuzu recounted her first encounter with the criminal underworld of Fontaine and how she raided several Sinthe dealers, causing panic amongst their ranks as an unknown entity entered the picture.
Unbeknownst to the two Ryuzu had almost caused a war to break out between Vacher and Spina Di Rosula, but fortunately for Navia, Vacher, in the guise of Marcel, was quickly able to deduce that Spina had nothing to do with the raid. Additionally though his contacts within the law enforcement, he found that the court had nothing to do with the raid either.
Rumors also circulated around all of Fontaine regarding a strong wind that had swept through the city in the dead of night, some suspected an Anemo user had something to do with it, but after no evidence was found, and the average citizen quickly moved on.
After failing to dig out who had done this raid, Vacher decided to lay low for a while, reorganize resources, and temporally stopped kidnapping civilians for his experiments with Primordial Seawater.
-to be continued.
บท 10: Chapter 10: A Butterfly's Flight
[Livre's Perspective]
I hope that kid Carman will be okay. I thought to myself as I walked down the street to the aquabusses early in the morning. I had told the kid that the shop would be closed for a few days so I could visit my parents. I did feel a twinge of guilt leaving him alone to do so, but that kid is eeriely self-sufficient. I am not sure how long he's been in the streets, as he doesn't really like to open up regarding his past.
Every day I am tempted to report him to the passing guards, but I am not sure of what life I'd be sending him back to. And at some level I feel attached to the kid, he is a mechanical genius, he is always curious about what I am doing and reminds me of myself when I was his age. With his resting deadpan, it is often hard to tell what he is feeling, but the gleam of curiosity and delight he has when tinkering to create or repair a clockwork machine brings a smile to my face.
It's my father's birthday tomorrow, and I should get going in order to make it to village at the outskirts of Fontaine before nightfall. It should take about half a day to walk from the Aquabus station there. Ever since mom passed from the flu a year ago, my brother and I are the only ones he has left.
I admire his strength to keep going, I'm sure if the love of my life passed away I wouldn't have been able to leave my bed.
Shaking myself from my musings, I stepped onto the Aquabus and paid the fair, the Melusine nodded with a soft smile as I turned and sat down. As I sat, looking over the world as it woke up to the new day I mused once more about the runaway boy I had been taking care of.
Despite the determination I could see on his face when we first met, I have not seen many facial expressions from the kid. The most of have ever seen on his face were hints of curiosity and satisfaction when working on Clockwork Mekas, and the slight embarrassment when I supprised him with snacks and a set of fresh clothes.
I am not sure how to say it, but it always feels like there is a wall between us like he is keeping his distance. But from the way he acts, it doesn't seem like he is aware of it. Before I know it it is time to get off the Aquabus.
I check the schedule for the next few days before leaving the station, by the time I make it to my father's place night has started to creep into the sky as the sun sets into the horizon. Thankfully I don't encounter anything except small animals, it seems like a band of adventures or guards have passed by recently and scared away the monsters and Treasure Hoarders.
The sun has set entirely and the moon has gotten a good start on her nightly track though the heavens when I arrive at the village gates, haven taken longer than I initially estimated to reach my destination.
I walk through the small cluster of houses, many of who's lights were still shining from the inside. I reach the door if my father's house. After knocking I am greeted with a familiar face, my brother, Caron.
"Well, well, look who decided to show up? I thought you would be late, then again you barely made it before midnight." He said.
"I was late one time. And you know that I had a legitimate reason to be late for the festival. I recived an emergency commission, and as a new business owner I had to accept it, I'm barely breaking even now." I responded, things have been a bit tense between us since I struck off to start my, what could have been our, workshop.
As boys we had promised to start a toy shop together, but when the time came to strike out on our own, he chickened out and took what he saw as the safer option and took over the small family clock shop. I will admit he has been more stable than me and even got a product recognized by the Hydro Archon herself, but it still feels like a betrayal that he suddenly backed out of our plans like that.
"Now than boys, you should know better than to start picking fights at your age. Don't make your retired old man demonstrate how he can still clean a clock." I heard our father say loudly from around the corner. Caron and I shared a glance and shuddered, our father was very much a tough love kind of parent. The number of nights one of us went to bed with a sore bottom from pulling a prank on him is too many to count.
Walking over into the main room I saw my father sitting on a chair. He was getting in years, but he seemed much brighter than he did in the shop. All the time behind the desk had given him a pale completion. The time he had been spending outside has made itself known in the tan he has now, bringing color to his once pale face.
Looking at me my father chuckled, "looks like your mother wasn't wrong all those years ago when she called you a chip off the old block. Livre, sit your skinny butt down, you look like you haven't slept for a week. You remember the time I almost died from overworking myself?"
With a wry smile on my face I sat down. I am never sure if my father is genuinely happy or just pretending, he talks about our mother quite frequently as though it doesn't bother him that she has passed. I am quite frankly curious but also afraid to ask. I know that he misses her at some level, the neighbors mentioned how often he visits her grave to leave new flowers.
We talk for a bit, spending time with my dad brings up all the memories I have of spending time with him in his worlshop. Me and Caron staring in wonder as he made timepieces for commoners and nobles alike.
Thinking of those times can't help but make me think of my time with Carman once more and I hope that he is doing fine without me and the shop.
My father seems to notice that I am a bit distracted, but thankfully doesn't comment on it. After drinking some tea, we all turn in for the night.
[The next Morning, Livre's POV]
I wake up to the sounds of someone moving pots and pans, for a second it feels like I am a kid again as I smell breakfast. How long has it been since I've worken up in a house with other people? Suddenly the apartment that I have been renting seems like a dark and lonely place.
Getting up and dressed, I double check the wrapping of the present I packed for my father. The screwdriver that Carman had sold to me a few weeks ago and some supplies to tinker with. I know that he has been longing to get into clockworking again, but his joints are no longer strong enough to use the standard tools. Hopefully this new screwdriver will let him get back into it for a bit.
Making sure that the package was completely sealed and didn't rattle by putting layers of cloth around the contents, I walked out to the dining table and greeted the family.
"A good morning and a happy birthday to you father, may Focalors ensure nothing unjust happens on you special day." I said as I placed my present in front of him next to Caron's.
Opening Caron's gift, my father and I were surprised to see a clock similar to the one that used to sit on a shelf back in our family home, what was more, there was a glass frame containing a small portrait of our family together, including our mother.
"I know some details are a bit of, since I didn't have access to the original, this was the best I could do, but this way we have something in the house to talk to when we are reaching out to mom. Sorry if that's a bit weird, it's just something I heard from an adventurer from Inazuma, and how they honor their dead there, figured it was worth a try."
In my opinion it was a beautiful gesture, even though it was probably not entirely accurate to how Inazumans honor their dead. But I could see in the small tears in his eyes that our father liked it. After setting it on a shelf above the fireplace, giving my brother a hug and wiping the mist from his eyes father say back down at the table to open his gift from me.
I felt a bit nervous as he opened the box, compared to Caron's, mine was not anything overly sentimental. When he had removed the lid, and saw the cloth, he initially raised an eyebrow at me for giving him a cloth for a present before he noticed something gleaming from underneath the fabric. Pulling it out and unwrapping it, he was initially puzzled over the unfamiliar device until I showed him how to use it. Caron was just as surprised as our father.
"What an interesting little gadget, it does seem like I would make getting screws in and out much easier. Eh, Caron, seems like if your gift needs any repairs I won't have to mail it to one of you, I can fix it here!" Our father said with a toothy grin on his face. I could see a spark of his younger self in his eyes as he looked at all the little gears and do-dads that I packed with the ratchet driver.
After he calmed down my father asked me where I had gotten it, I explained that it was something I had happened on, and the inventor had been selling it for a pittance compared to its actual value. I ended up getting stared down by my father until I explained that I had paid a fair price for it. He was a man who was eccentric but held fast to his principles, one of which was proper compensation.
After finishing breakfast and helping him sort out everything, we went outside. I couldn't help but look in the direction of the city for a bit as I pondered what Carman was doing fo the day. Caron was waling on ahead, but father noticed that I had been spacing out and tapped me on the shoulder.
"You alright son? You've been staring out into space for time to time. From the way you've been looking towards the city, is your business doing alright? Do you need any help? I might not be what I used to in the workshop, but I can sure as heck balance a book. Or is it something else, did you go and get yourself a girl while I wasn't looking?" He said with a suggestive wiggle of his eyebrows at the end.
I couldn't help but snort at his accusation at the end, "no father, it's just that..." And I told him about Carman, a runaway boy that I had been taking care of and allowing to work at my shop. I told him about my conflicted feelings regarding weather or not to report him to the guards, I am sure that they would find a good place for him, but he has brought some life to my shop that I am not sure how to describe, and how he reminded me of the time I used wor spend with my dad in his shop when I was little.
By the time I had finished, my father had already wrapped his arm around my shoulder and started walking with me. "That is quite that predicament you've found yourself in. It sounds like you got attached, I doubt the guards are going to give you much trouble, seeing as it's partially their fault from not catching the boy for so long, and what you are doing is technically still on the right side of the law. Honestly if you are this attached to the boy, offer to foster or adopt him. The way you describe him reminds me of you as a child, I can see where the bond started. You've always been compassionate to those in need. I honestly didn't expect it to take it this long for either you or Caron to give me and your mother a grandchild."
He said looking off into the distance before turning his head back to face me, "my best advice is, if this kid means this much to you, go get some legal advice, do some digging on his background, and proceed from there. And if you do end up fostering and/or adopting him, bring the kid round here next time, I'm getting closer to being with your mom every day, I'd like to have the experience of sitting a grandchild on my lap and tell them embarrassing stories about their parents, or parent in this case, but no pressure. Now go, it was irresponsible for you to leave a kid that small on the streets alone for that long, I've heard there have been disappearances going on within the city recently. I'll explain things to Caron so he knows you didn't ditch us."
He gave me a gentile push towards where the Aquabus station was located. And I started making my way towards it. Say what you want about old people going senile, but my old man always seems to know what to say, and how to end things on a light note.
Moving as fast as I can towards the station, with my mind clear of the confusion, the semblance of a plan starts to form in my mind.
To be continued.
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Blasopher
Blasopher
heya everyone,
sorry been feeling drained all day, so it took a bit longer than expected to get the chapter out. thanks for staying with me as I write this story. as always please share any feedback and advise you have in the comments section. leave a review if you want, and if you think it's interesting enough share it with others, I am actively looking for any way to improve my writing.
I hope you have a great day.
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