happy mystery!

          while he didn’t let his guard down , worry easily made its way to wilson’s face . even if this person wasn’t human , what with the clicks and whirrs coming from their body still being clearly audible and still unnerving , he could still tell that they were … a child . at least , at heart . and while anyone sane would want to go back to something familiar and comforting , the feeling must’ve been tenfold for someone so young . poor thing .

          the man crouched down a bit , putting his free hand on his leg to support himself as he held his torch a little closer to watt , though obviously not enough to where there was a threat to burn the cotton of their sweater . maybe the warmth of the fire would help ? somehow ? it wasn’t like he had a lot on him at the moment , so that was probably the best thing he could’ve offered .

          at the statement of what they wanted , his brows furrowed a bit , and his lips pressed into a thin line as he took in a deep breath . home ? he had lost hope in trying to escape the constant forever ago . how was he supposed to tell that to a strange , glass child who was obviously scared and upset ? his eyes closed , as he let out the breath he was holding .

          ❝ if i knew how to leave this place , then i wouldn’t still be here . i’m sorry , kid , ❞ he spoke after a moment , with a subtle shake of his head . now , he didn’t want to invite something new and unpredictable to his one place of safety , where if they so wanted , they could wreck it from the inside and leave him defenseless and vulnerable , but he felt like he had no choice . ❝ maybe i have something back at my camp that can help you . do you want food ? … can you even eat food ? ❞

The child fixated on the fire as it was moved closer, pleasantly hypnotized by the varying levels of heat it produced as it went about licking at the charred wood. Watt looked down at his hands, then lifted them up in the air closer, both to observe the dancing reflections on his fingers and to better absorb the warmth.

Even if he lacked much of what normal children had, the capability to be easily fascinated and intrigued evidently was not.

“iT oKAY...”

He blinked, managing to tear his eyes away from the flames, but continued to move his fingers about to coat them in the heat.

“i LIKE eLEC-- eLEC-- LEC....”

Watt stared for a moment. Sometimes, words that were difficult to pronounce didn’t come to him immediately.

“eLEC.... TRIC.... eLECTRICKETY!”

          okay , so whatever this thing was , they weren’t human . that was blatantly apparent from the sudden loud buzzing coming from them , and the quick , albeit apparent , light from their head . with how quickly it happened , it only made the man scream once again , but at the same time , it gave him a good visual of who he was dealing with . they definitely had some type of glass for skin , which was unnerving enough , but the lightbulb-like metal on the inside of their head only magnified it . this must’ve been some kind of robot or something , because he sure as hell couldn’t pin anything else as an explanation . but granted , that lack of knowledge would apply to a lot of things there .

          watt ? was that their name ? or something they wanted ? this whole thing was already starting to mess with wilson’s head , and frankly , he still wasn’t sure whether the other could even be trusted at all . if they could make light with their head , then why not just stick with that ? did they need some sort of power ? if they did , why couldn’t they just get it themself ? unless they didn’t know what this place was like …

          after a moment of inner conflict , wilson finally dug one of his heels into the ground , holding his place and giving watt a chance to enter the light . as much as he didn’t want to , as much as this seemed like some sort of trap to him , the slim chance that this was someone else trapped in the constant with him couldn’t just be passed up .

          ❝ are you … okay ? ❞ his reluctant expression looked like he was bracing for some kind of attack , but he could never be too cautious in a place like this . he , too , was already way out of his comfort zone , so he wasn’t going to leave himself entirely vulnerable . ❝ how long have you been here ? ❞ 

The first instinct he felt, like any frightened child, was to touch, to hold, to feel any sort of close contact that would calm him down and bring him comfort. Thankfully, he’s intelligent enough to take visual cues, and their expression told him that they most likely wouldn’t want to be touched (or wouldn’t react well to it).

Instead, he holds on to the bottom of his sweater, empty fingers digging into the cotton. He almost felt suffocated by the lack of electricity, and there was no best friend of his here to hold him close and melt away his worries.

He felt cold, empty, tired, afraid, and most of all, alone -- even in the presence of another being.

“i dON’T KNOW...”

A faint rattling sound fills the air as he begins to tremble, likely emitting from the unseen metal bracelet on his wrist. There’s a sharp, high-pitched whine of electricity that follows.

          darkness . it was something you got used to after a while in the constant ( well , more accurately , you got to know how to combat it ) . it wasn’t like anything normal ; an unseen monster lurking within would surely bring one’s demise if they were to spend long enough without some form of light . now , wilson , who had spent what seemed like an eternity there on his lonesome , was more than used to keeping his supplies in check after a few too many nasty and lethal blows to his body . it was not pleasant in the slightest , getting attacked from within by sharp claws . no , sir , he was going to stay as far away from that as possible .

          and typically , he only needed to worry about himself in that department . it wasn’t like there was anyone else around to potentially get hurt . things that already belonged in whatever dimension he was in weren’t targeted by the shadow beast . as far as he knew , and what with his countless years spent with practically the same routine , he was the only outsider , the only foreigner . perhaps that was what the beast was after ? no one except her could really say for certain .

         so an unfamiliar cry for help was certain to get his attention .

          a paranoid swing of his torch through the pitch black followed , trying to locate the source of the voice . yes , he had merely heard disembodied voices in the past , but that would just be attributed to an unhealthy and untreated mind after enough time spent in the constant . this time was … different . the voice was much clearer and understandable , and far unlike what he had heard before . he didn’t want to bank on it , but perhaps it was … another person ?

          even with his silent wishes , the sight of the other coming into view in the torchlight took him completely off-guard , with a prompt trumpet scream escaping him . he hadn’t seen a new face in … god knows how long , but even beyond that ? this person looked … strange . was their skin discolored , or was that glass ? it was hard to tell with what little light was hitting them , and knowing the kind of tricks the constant liked to pull made him wary of approaching any further . he pulled his torch back alongside a cautious pace backward , eyes refusing to leave the other .

          ❝ wh — hello ? who are you ? ❞

Although the source of light had turned out not to be a desperately-needed electrical source, he was still attracted to it, as if it were a nightlight in the corner of some bedroom that provided a nightmare-stricken child a sense of security. Normally he would shy away from a stranger, but he was already miles out of his comfort zone, and they wielded the welcoming light that he had longed for.

The abrupt, harsh noise that they made caused him to jump and make a fearful sound of his own: the buzzing of an electric current startled to life. The filament within his head ignited as an accompanying response, but it flickered, and only for a few brief seconds.

Watt was tempted to draw backwards and mimic the other’s movement, but the fear of being immersed in darkness once more kept his feet moving forward.

“wAT T...”

The boy quickens his pace slightly, but still keeps his distance.

Originally, I had planned for Watt to have oil tears, but now that it’s established he “runs” entirely on electric power, I have a worse better idea.

Darkness typically wasn’t something Watt was afraid of. He almost always had an electric source to rely on, be it Ampoo or otherwise. If it made him uncomfortable, all he had to do was think, and then it would be gone.

This wasn’t typical.

His usual bright, yet comforting light was dampened by shadow, and it had begun to flicker as if it were overwhelmed by the oppressive darkness. As if they were being flipped by a switch, his emotions swapped between fear and exhaustion. He’d had nightmares before. Maybe if he just laid down and closed his eyes, he would eventually wake up again?

Before he could do so, another flickering light wavered some distance away from him, and he automatically began to shuffle towards it with the promise of a shred of comfort.

oh stars, he does the thing!  what is it called again? it’s… the ‘blep’, right? yes, the blep. that is incredible. this is an absolutely pure being, and geno would already do whatever he could to ensure his happiness. his, his… he… who is he? does he seriously not know his name yet?

❝ oh, duh! ❞ with a laugh, he smacks himself on the forehead with the heel of his hand. ❝ how could i forget? i don’t think i properly introduced myself! ❞ gathering his knees beneath himself, sitting ‘pon his calves, geno folds his hands over his lap with his winning smile.

❝ i’m geno. welcome to rose town inn! i actually live here! ❞ the details are plentiful, yet they remain unspoken. the poor guy seems to be under a lot of pressure already, so making things even more of a baffling mess is not part of his game plan. all this stuff about star spirits and good wishes would probably break him. ❝ i don’t believe i got your name? ❞

Genie’s eyes widen for a brief moment as the other hits themselves on the forehead, unfamiliar with and worried by the gesture -- but it’s lucky that he’s always quick to put the pieces together. It must be some sort of custom to do when one is forgetful; a custom he’s never seen before.

He subconsciously mimics the next movement he observes, and folows in tucking his legs underneath himself.

“Geno? W-Well -- ahah, my name is Genie. S--”

The automatic apology is thankfully caught before he can dwell on the fact that he’s likely done so plenty of times already.

    ●.    Oh seemed to be having the same dilemma.. He had no idea what a chimera was.. or frankly what anything was on his planet. The Boov were an intelligent species, but nothing could of prepared him for this change of scenery. This person seemed friendly however.. perhaps he could help. “Oh no no.. I am a Boov.” A tilt of his head, 

           one where his nostricles perked up slightly. 

  “Are… you beings a humans persons?” That didn’t seem right.. none of his research of Earth told him about anyone like this. “Hopefully.. you are nots a violent one…” 

“Oh, you can talk! And you’re a... a Boov? I-I... you’re fascinating, that’s for sure! It’s like you have the legs of an octopus, the hands of a frog --”

He blinks, observing the creature’s expectant expression. Something had been asked -- he needed to answer them before he got lost in the natural excitement of seeing something completely new.

“E-Excuse me, my bad. I’m... not human, as much as I’d like to be, ahahah...”