"Why did your parents choose to live in such a remote village?" Asked Carman, his legs growing slightly tired from all the walking from the aqua bus station. They had to have been walking for around two or three kilometers since leaving the aquabus station.
Livre chuckled "it was the village where my mother was born. After he retired, my father was tired of the city life and wanted to relax in the countryside in his old age."
Carman grumbled, he had grown taller over the past few months, his improved diet and sleep no longer hindering his growth. And while he had been training daily, the morning sun was beating down on him.
"If you grow weary from the journey, I can carry you if you wish." said Ryuzu.
"No, I'm fine." Said Carman.
After some time, they came to the gate of a relatively short wall surrounding a small village. Following Livre, Carman found himself outside a medium sized brick house with a painted blue fence and a well cared for garden.
Livre walked up to the door and knocked.
Waiting for a bit, Carman could sense a presence moving though the house before an old man opened the door.
"Livre my boy, you are here early, where is my grandson. There he is, oh and who is this, Livre you didn't get into a relationship behind my back did you?" Asked the old man who could only be Livre's father.
Carman noticed that he had a mechanical support attached to his right leg, likely helping stabilize his knee from what he could see of its function.
"Yes this is Carman, and no, this is Ryuzu… and well… it's complicated. Shall we head inside?" Said Livre
"Ah yes, the aquabus station is quite a ways away, please come in, take a seat." Said the elderly man.
As they walked in, Livre shot Carman a questioning glance as Ryuzu ran off to do a quick sweep of the property, making sure there was nobody spying on them.
After a moment Ryuzu returned to see Carman nod to Livre, indicating that he was fine sharing the truth about Ryuzu.
They followed the sound of the old man as they walked down the hall, Livre leading the way to a small dining room.
"Here we are, refreshments, some cold tea and a treat for the young lad, a bottle of Fonta." said Livre's father as he set a tray with a glass pitcher with condensation on it, three cups, and a bottle of an orange liquid.
"So Livre boy, what are the plans today? And please if you are not in a relationship with this young lass, why is she here with you and Carman?" Asked Livre's father.
"Well the truth is going to be hard to believe, so please bear with me." Said Livre as he looked at his father. "Ryuzu, despite her human appearance is actually an automata with inner workings similar to Gardemeks, a Clockwork Automata is what she described herself."
"I see she must have been quite expensive, I have never seen such a human-like Automata, then again, it has been a long time since I was active in modern design, so are there more like her for sale around Fontaine these days?" Asked the old man
"Not a chance." Said Ryuzu. "The general level of technology in Fontaine is far behind the skill my creator used in creating myself."
"Oh, so you can respond as well, wow. Quite interesting. So how did you end up here with my son and grandson Mademoiselle Ryuzu?" Asked Livre's father.
"I was discovered by Carman during his time in the streets. I was sealed away stuck in an inoperable state after a cog came loose in my power core over two centuries ago. After learning from Livre, Carman was able to assess my situation and correct the problem many overlooked." Said Ryuzu, recounting a slightly altered version of events to the old man.
"After he repaired me, I offered my service to him as he had shown a great amount of skill in my repairs, and because that is what protocol dictated. However, instead of simply accepting my servitude, he demanded that I act as his friend and be his equal, something about not wanting to "own" another sentient being."
"Is that so? If it isn't rude, could I perhaps see some of your cogwork? A masterpiece like yourself, I am just so curious what the components of a sentient construct look like." Asked Livre's father.
Ryuzu blushed. "How uncouth, an older gentleman asking a lady to reveal herself to him to sate his curiosity…"
Carman sighed at Ryuzu's slightly over the top response. "Ryuzu I don't think he meant anything, ahem, sexual about it. He just wants to see some of your components, we could just open a panel on your arm or one of your sub arms."
With a huff and puffing out her cheek, Ryuzu turned her head away but also reached out an arm towards Carman for him to pop open a maintenance panel.
With a few presses to key points with a tool, Carman removed the panel on her arm, revealing the countless gears, axels, pulleys and other mechanisms along to move her hand with inhuman grace and dexterity.
"By the Omnissiah… how wondrous.." said Livre's father.
Carman, who had been taking a sip from his Fonta, nearly spat it out in surprise. "The what?"
Coming to and realizing what he had said, Carman's grandpa chuckled awkwardly. " Perhaps I should have exclaimed to Lady Focalors, forgive me, but my mind drifted to this enlightening work I have gotten into recently, in it there was a god of machines referred to as the Omnissiah by certain characters in the story. Due to the situation, my mind must have jumped to their god rather than our own. Heretical, I know."
Carman sat there, taking it in, his grandpa was clearly talking about Warhammer.. but Carman hadn't ever written much less submitted any writings related to that universe to a publishing house.. was there another reincarnated person here? Did Alice bring Warhammer to this world for gits and shiggles? The only other person who would know…
As Carman turned his attention to Ryuzu, he noticed that despite having her panel placed back over her inner workings, she was still avoiding eye contact, and was blushing slightly, except instead of it being out of dramatic irritation, her expression seemed almost, embarrassed? Perhaps a smidgen of guilt? It was hard to say in her usual deadpan, but the way she was actively avoiding eye contact with him said more to him than she probably wanted to admit.
Filing this to discuss with her later, Carman turned his attention back to something that his grandpa had mentioned earlier. "Plans? What plans? Dad, I thought we were just coming up here to visit Grandpa and Grandma?"
With a look of surprise Livre looked at Carman. "Carman, do you know what day it is?"
"Nooo… I mean it's… Tidesday, 18th day of the third month of the year… should I know what day it is?" Asked Carman.
Livre facepalmed. "Carman, today is your birthday."
Carman's eyes widened. He had completely forgotten amongst all the other things that he had been keeping track of. But how did Livre know which day it was?
Hearing a small, oddly smug exhale of air next to him, he realized Ryuzu had done the calculations based off of the information he had given her back when he had revealed everything to her. She had then coordinated this trip with Livre to surprise me.
"Carman, did you truly forget thine own date of birth? Hath thy mind been reduced to mush from undertaking scholarly pursuits far beyond one's own age?" said Ryuzu, a slight smirk on her face.
"No, I just don't put much emphasis on the day as it is the day I was born in a household that held no love for me, to a mother who wishes I had never been born and later dropped me off at an orphanage where I would then spend the next three years of my life being raised by adults exhausted from caring of too many children.
The room's atmosphere took a nosedive at Carman's blunt words…
"Boy come here." Said the old man.
Confused, Carman got up and walked over to his adopted grandpa, only to be surprised as the old man pulled him into a firm hug.
"It's ok boy. Grandpa is here now. And I am going to do my damnedest to make sure this day is one you will mark in your calendar because of the fun you have today."
He released the hug but kept his hands on Carman's shoulders as he lowered his head to look him eye to eye,
"Your biological parents might not have wanted to keep you, and you what, fuck 'em, you are part of my family now. And that means you have to celebrate your birthday cause that's when we get to celebrate you coming into the world, celebrate the youngin we love surviving another year in this difficult, unfair, and yet painfully beautiful plane, and the light you brought and still bring into our lives. If you need to cry, at any time, feel free. Grandpa's got you, you are safe here. Real men don't bottle up their emotions, that's just a hazard for everyone, we face them, accept them, but don't let them rule over us, and when the time comes, we let them go. Now whatcha want for lunch?"
-To be continued