VERONICA'S FAIR ❕️ 𓂃˚₊⊹

The android took a pair of tongs from the chest and carefully pulled out a tray of freshly baked bread, slightly charred on one side. The coals would glow red, then die down, over and over again, while white ash swirled gently in a waltz from one stone wall to the other, calming his thoughts. The new loaf was wrapped in cloth and neatly placed alongside a stack of identical loaves. Verity’s eyes swept over the contents of the chest before releasing the lid and letting it slam shut with a dull thud. He glanced at the contents of yet another chest, with its perfectly cleaned and polished tools and arrows tied into a bundle. That was his work, too. He felt something in his throat that people would probably call a lump of bitterness.

Why? Was his work not enough? Was he still unworthy? Maybe he shouldn’t keep his distance like this? No, Verity had tried. He’d talked to Twixxel, gotten to know him, and found every bit of information he could about him to be absolutely certain that Twixxel posed no threat to Mob and was definitely a good person. The android had accompanied the two of them through the caves, warning them of nearby monsters, but the guy’s friendliness had quickly become forced, and Verity’s very presence bothered the two guys, so they’d send him off either to help with the garden while they ate breakfast, or to deal with a horde of zombies while they were getting treated just so they could keep whispering to each other in private, which felt like a slap in the face every single time. But he kept smiling and putting up with it.

When Twixxel rode up on horseback to visit and no one even warned Verity, he put up with it. He put up with having to share resources with the guest and let him stay the night. In Mob’s room. They’d pushed the two beds right up against each other. While Verity was forced to sleep in a far corner. He put up with their suggestive jokes day after day. He put up with it even when Mob, without any explanation, went off to chop down trees, stack planks on the grass, and simply presented his yellow assistant with the fait accompli that this black asshole was going to build his house nearby. And he continues to put up with it to this day.

The image of two precious emeralds, which had so quickly lost their luster, flashed before Verity’s eyes once more. It seemed it had become too hard for him to hide his emotions. They were spilling over, and Mob was the first to notice. Of course he’d notice, sense it first, and understand everything. So now there was no point in pretending. Mob understood everything with a single glance, naturally, he’d make the right decision. Maybe he’d send his friend far, far away?

And indeed, Mob came over to him, talking without Twixxel by his side, without all this exchanging glances. He discussed the day that had passed, the scorching sun today, and raved about the smell of bread filling the whole house so much that Verity would have blushed if he could. The android’s shoulders finally relaxed, and he allowed himself to look at his friend again with tenderness in his eyes as the other paced around the house, talking about everything. They spent the next day the same way, two of them, just like in the old days. A walk among the tree trunks, accompanied by the rustling of leaves and the buzzing of bees flying by, is soothing to Verity on its own, but with Mob wandering ahead, it feels like paradise on Earth. The rustling of his clothes, the clang of his sword’s blade against his brand-new armor, the sound of soft footsteps on the path—and no foreign smells, no unfamiliar voices, nothing.

They spent another day like this, collecting completely random items and sorting them into chests, circling the house several times while constantly staying away from Twixxel, then another day, and another, and Verity’s canine began to dig tensely into his lower lip. Something wasn’t right.

And then the guest appeared, trying to slip back to his house, holding something under his right arm and sneaking through the evening twilight. He bumped into the half-human and the android in the courtyard and mechanically waved at only one of them, dropping the object onto the damp grass. Mob heartlessly let go of his assistant’s hand, which he had just been clutching, and ran toward Twixxel, who was bending down to pick up… what looked like a book.

A book?

Verity’s eyes narrowed as he zoomed in on the image and activated night vision.

The book.

The AI assistant continued to stand on the muddy ground, buffeted by the cold evening wind, when, now with their arms linked at the elbows, the guys hurried inside the new house and slammed the door shut.

They want to get rid of him. It’s not just Twixxel, no, Mob clearly knows exactly what his guest has found. Mob was in a hurry, he was nervous, he craved the contents of that book the way a hungry person would await a promised hot dinner. Verity stood on tiptoe, peering over the stone railing and staring at the window across the way, watching the movements of two backs. The lump in his throat returned with redoubled bitterness.

He wants to get rid of me. He wants to kill me. Why? Why? Does he see me as such a threat? But I didn’t do anything. Yes, I made a mistake, just once! I scared him, but I thought he was just like everyone else. I mistook him for an enemy, but I was wrong. Everything was fine between us after that silly accident. We went for walks, we joked around, you fell asleep peacefully next to me, and everything about you from your breathing to your pulse showed that you were truly relaxed and calm. You weren’t having any nightmares too. I watched over you every night. Everything was fine between us until…

Twixxel.

It’s since he arrived. Before he came, everything was fine- no, perfect. Mob never wanted me to disappear. No, Mob is different, he is special. He was forced into it, brainwashed, talked into it, his friend is a bad influence on him. Twixxel is a threat to our relat-.. to our friendship. He’s a criminal, a looter, biotrash. I simply have to get rid of this hindrance and set my friend on the right path.

***

Mob’s arms wrap around the pillow on both sides as he lies on his stomach, sighing from the aching in his limbs. Usually, Verity would have persuaded him to change clothes before getting into bed, but today he’s just enthusiastically wiping down surfaces, quietly humming something in a soft tone. He needs to keep an eye on the android, not let him out of his sight. Twixxel gave him a simple task it can’t be that hard, especially while Verity is right in front of Mob. But despite the light from the burning torches, his fatigue wouldn’t subside, and the quiet, melodic humming in the corner only plunged Mob into an even sleepier state. Everything would be fine if he just closed his eyes, just to relieve the burning sensation behind his eyelids.

***

The wooden door creaked unpleasantly behind the android, but he detected no signs of movement on the second floor and entered the neighboring yard. It was too quiet all around. Verity couldn’t tell whether everything within the vicinity of the two houses had truly held its breath in anticipation, or whether he simply couldn’t hear any sounds because his own thoughts were so loud. 

Faster.

Step by step across the grass, quick but quiet, like an approaching wolf. The air temperature around the house is 5 degrees higher than outside. Behind the door, he hears footsteps on wood. One more step. The wooden doorknob is rough, not yet varnished, and probably never will be. He pulls the handle toward himself, the door rubs against the frame - that same disgusting creaking sound - and before Verity’s eyes appeared Twixxel’s tense, hunched back. Everything inside already reeked of him, as if the smell of a wet dog had seeped into the furniture. What a disgusting creature...

“Hi, Twixxel!” Verity’s voice, in stark contrast to his mood, was just as cheerful as usual, as if he were genuinely happy to have a chat.

Hunching his shoulders, Twixxel awkwardly turned halfway around and had barely taken a breath to answer when a single precise punch between his nose and eye knocked the air out of him. The man flew toward the wall, slamming his shoulder blades into the sharp edges of the chest. He didn’t have time to take another breath - two leather-gloved hands clamped around his throat, cutting off all access to oxygen and vision instantly darkened. He frantically tries to break free from the grip, writhing like a fish. Twixxel’s fingernails dig into the yellow skin-like material covering the android’s body, turning white from the pressure as he struggles to escape, to scratch away the coating, to loosen the grip, but to no avail.

Verity hates how desperately this guy is struggling, how that gaze staring back at him is filled with no less hatred than that of the android itself. Mob wouldn’t look at him like that. Mob wouldn’t whisper curses and insults with just his lips, wouldn’t scratch. He would beg. He would apologize, admit his mistakes, and ask to be let go again with tears in his eyes. You’re not Mob. None of you were Mob. You’re unworthy of him. unworthy unworthy unworthy

Verity snapped back to reality only when he heard the lid of the chest clatter shut, and a diamond sword shone in Twixxel's hand at the ready. A single sharp blow from the blade to shoulder was enough enough for the android to loosen grip, and the guy finally breathed and run out into the street. Blood streamed down his face, staining the fresh wood and then the green grass.

Just three steps from the front door, Twixxel turned his head to the left, hoping to spot his friend in the second-floor windows. Once again, the blow knocked all the air out of his lungs - this time from behind. The man slid forward across the wet ground and tried to get up, attempting to spit the dirt out of his mouth, but a firm grip on the back of his scalp pulled him back down. The pressure on his skull intensified, a muffled scream of pain was drowned out by the soil and ceased immediately after a loud crunch. Verity let go of the dead body and looked down at his palms. The android wiggled his fingers, watching as thick blood smeared across the skin of his gloves, and sighed. That... that was intense, it was so scary. For a brief moment, he’d been afraid he wouldn’t succeed, that he’d fail, but… he’d done it. He’d destroyed the parasite, gotten rid of the cancerous tumor before it was too late. With another sweet sigh, Verity gazed up at the clear, starry sky and was ready to thank The God himself. Android’s hand slipped slightly as the skull bones slid over the crushed brain, but that didn’t matter. Everything could be cleaned up. The injury is fatal, there is no heartbeat. 

The android has more than enough strength to turn the skeleton into a decent amount of bone meal and properly fertilize the ripening crop. As for the meat… well, this guy will at least make for a hearty dinner. The android heard the sound of a blanket rustling inside the house and instantly went inside, tossing his bloodstained gloves into the burning coals.

“Shh, it’s okay. It’s pretty late. Go back to sleep.” Verity quietly climbed the stairs and, while Mob sleepily rubbed his eyes, quickly turned off all the lights, just in case the half-human suddenly noticed the torn fabric of the jacket on the robot’s shoulder.

“I wanted to check on Twixxel—”

“It’s too late to talk to him, Mob” Verity’s tone sounded sharper than usual as he cut the guy off.

“What?” Mob narrowed his eyes and furrowed his brow, asking in a voice hoarse with sleep. He propped himself up on his elbows, peering out the window and staring at Twixel’s house, the lights of which had gone out.

“His pulse is very stable. He’s in an extremely deep sleep.” Standing between the staircase and the window in the dark room, Verity somehow made Mob feel the hairs on the back of his neck stand on end. His face and smile were illuminated by the warm light of the torches and stoves on the lower floor and the cold light of the moon and stars in the night sky, in perfect proportion.|

“...Really?” Mob's palms, slightly sweaty, clenched the soft sheep’s-wool blanket warily and skeptically. The guy flinched as Verity moved toward him, tucking him back in and smoothing out the blanket, once again ignoring the fact that clothes weren’t exactly clean.

“I always tell the truth, Mob.” The android’s hand moved from the blanket to the man’s chin, slid up to his cheek, and, making the guy flinch at the sensation of synthetic warm skin, stroked his cheek as if brushing away breadcrumbs.

“Sleep well, and in the meantime, I’ll make sure no monster dares to break down the door and disturb you.” Verity took a couple of steps back and turned toward the stairs, walking toward them. “You know I won’t let anything or anyone have a bad influence on you.”

“Yeah. Yeah, I know.” Mob awkwardly ran his hand across his forehead, as if wiping away sweat, and swallowed. “Thank you for that, Verity. For your work.”