“Inside the company; those are jobs like cleaning the Automaton Array,” August managed, realising his hand was still stretched out in front of him like an idiot. “Is that right?”
For a moment, he wasn’t even sure where to put his hands, so he linked them together in front of his waist, like some kind of barrier between them or perhaps just an extra layer of cover that his leafy clothing failed to provide.
“Yes, much like that, although there were also tasks involving maintenance, janitorial work, loading and receiving in warehouses, preparing PDI orders for transport, and many others,” Haiko said, the smile in her voice as clear as day. “It would seem you’re having great difficulty looking at me again—did something happen?”
“You know exactly what happened, Haiko.” August managed, clearing his throat. “You also completely led me away from what I was trying to figure out—that’s two strikes out of three, one more, and you’re in trouble.”
“Oh?” Haiko said with a delighted laugh. “What happens when I earn the last one?”
She was supposed to be avoiding them, not earning them—maybe the expression didn’t carry over very well to the Voithos lexicon.
“Something terrible, maybe; I don’t know,” August said with a great uncertainty. “Laughing at me is definitely worth at least half a strike—and a quarter of a strike on top of that, just so you know how precarious the situation is.”
Haiko covered her mouth with one of her far too-dangerous hands, but the shape of her eyes made it clear that while the noise had vanished, her amusement hadn’t.
“Two-point-seven-five strikes?” Haiko said, eyes shining. “These strikes of yours appear to have developed a decimal point—perhaps you should go back to full ones, or soon I’ll be having trouble tracking just how close I’ve managed to come.”
“I’m just giving you ample time for the warning to sink in, that’s all,” August tried, “I think you understand, though, so maybe I’ll go ahead and reset them back to zero for now.”
August ignored the renewed and entirely unhidden laughter that his embarrassing retreat had generated and then tried to steer them back on topic as best as he could.
“I’m a little bit worried about how the rest of the Voithos might acclimatise to all of this,” August said with as much dignity as he could manage. “If you guys are all—more spirited to use your terminology—then will those that aren’t have problems fitting in?”
Haiko tilted her head to the side at the question, her potent and lingering amusement not quite vanished.
“I’m sure it will be a challenging transition for them, and though some of us have managed to play at being rather unaffected by it all, I wouldn’t say that it’s been easy for any of us either,” Haiko said, in consideration. “But, if you continue to receive them all with as much generosity and care as you have with us, then I believe they will manage, just as we have.”
Maybe things would work out that way, but he couldn’t help but worry about the potential for the growing group to fracture—Kalter and Rittan had been pretty well opposed on how to handle things, and if the eventual makeup of their society started to lean more heavily toward those who were still subservient, or sympathetic to the Children of Gaia, then it could lead to unintended consequences.
“That part was never going to change,” August said, “Things haven’t been particularly smooth so far, though, but it does appear to be getting better, so maybe there’s something to be said about just staying the course.”
Rittan stepped into view, the first of the massive pillar logs in his hand as he carried it from the pile. His path seemed to be taking him in the direction of the pre-dug hole that sat just beside the [Draft Furnace]. Boko appeared, holding up the other end, and Haiko turned to discover what exactly it was that he was looking at.
“A refinement to the process—it would appear that work has begun once more,” Haiko said in agreement. “A shame; a private moment is surprisingly difficult to find, and I was so enjoying having you all to myself.”
Despite the confidence with which she’d said the words, and the fact that he was mostly sure she was still messing with him, he was left to wonder if there was actually some echo of truth there. Haiko’s earlier comment hadn’t slipped by him about how some of them had managed to play at being unaffected by the sudden transition. She was perhaps the most confident of them all about testing him for boundaries—with the clear exception of Kalter, who must not have realised such a thing existed in the first place—but it wasn’t impossible that she might hold some hesitation about their dynamic. If she did, then it might have prevented her from seeking him out since she’d arrived or even just acted as a resistance to it—he was familiar enough with anxiety to know how many times he’d talked himself out of things as simple as trying for a potential conversation.
“I enjoy talking to you as well, so it doesn’t have to be difficult,” August said, hesitating a bit at actually saying it because he might be misreading it, and she could just end up laughing in his face. “Haiko, if you ever need me for anything at all, you should come and find me, even if it’s only to talk—if you were actually worried about something like that.”
“I was almost certain I could already do so, but it is very nice to have direct confirmation,” Haiko said, tapping a finger against her lips. “If I ever need you for anything, however, is a startlingly open-ended offer—I wonder how much you’ll regret it when I do decide to take you up on it.”
Maybe he shouldn’t have been worried about it after all, because she seemed just as dangerously confident with or without his attempt to clear away any doubts—he probably should have included a ‘within reason’ on the end of it as well, just to be safe.
“I’ll try not to regret it too much,” August hedged, “Thanks for the talk, Haiko; I should probably get back to finishing these off.”
Haiko just smiled before slipping back out into the sun, and August fought a very brief and starkly lost battle to keep his eyes away from anything dangerous. It seemed as if every day he spent on this island, in proximity to all of these too-attractive aliens and entirely without access to proper clothing, was one day closer to devolving into a complete caveman without any kind of higher thought—and he was beginning to think that might have been her plan all along.
Seeking Direction: Revised Edition is now live; It's a revised RWBY fanfiction following an OC with Direction Manipulation as his Semblance.
Please remember to leave a rating and a review, it helps a lot with visibility!
If you like my writing and want to see more of it, you can find links to my original books on Elbowsnapper.com
If you want to show some support, get early access, or see my first drafts, go check out my Patreon
Love you guys, keep on keeping on!
Recent Releases:
Ameliorate: Intersect
Reroll: Falling & Shatter
Systematic Soul Sorting: Book 1 & Audiobook. Book 2(First Draft)
Seeker's Precept: The Dragon's Marble
“Inside the company; those are jobs like cleaning the Automaton Array,” August managed, realising his hand was still stretched out in front of him like an idiot. “Is that right?”
For a moment, he wasn’t even sure where to put his hands, so he linked them together in front of his waist, like some kind of barrier between them or perhaps just an extra layer of cover that his leafy clothing failed to provide.
“Yes, much like that, although there were also tasks involving maintenance, janitorial work, loading and receiving in warehouses, preparing PDI orders for transport, and many others,” Haiko said, the smile in her voice as clear as day. “It would seem you’re having great difficulty looking at me again—did something happen?”
“You know exactly what happened, Haiko.” August managed, clearing his throat. “You also completely led me away from what I was trying to figure out—that’s two strikes out of three, one more, and you’re in trouble.”
“Oh?” Haiko said with a delighted laugh. “What happens when I earn the last one?”
She was supposed to be avoiding them, not earning them—maybe the expression didn’t carry over very well to the Voithos lexicon.
“Something terrible, maybe; I don’t know,” August said with a great uncertainty. “Laughing at me is definitely worth at least half a strike—and a quarter of a strike on top of that, just so you know how precarious the situation is.”
Haiko covered her mouth with one of her far too-dangerous hands, but the shape of her eyes made it clear that while the noise had vanished, her amusement hadn’t.
“Two-point-seven-five strikes?” Haiko said, eyes shining. “These strikes of yours appear to have developed a decimal point—perhaps you should go back to full ones, or soon I’ll be having trouble tracking just how close I’ve managed to come.”
“I’m just giving you ample time for the warning to sink in, that’s all,” August tried, “I think you understand, though, so maybe I’ll go ahead and reset them back to zero for now.”
August ignored the renewed and entirely unhidden laughter that his embarrassing retreat had generated and then tried to steer them back on topic as best as he could.
“I’m a little bit worried about how the rest of the Voithos might acclimatise to all of this,” August said with as much dignity as he could manage. “If you guys are all—more spirited to use your terminology—then will those that aren’t have problems fitting in?”
Haiko tilted her head to the side at the question, her potent and lingering amusement not quite vanished.
“I’m sure it will be a challenging transition for them, and though some of us have managed to play at being rather unaffected by it all, I wouldn’t say that it’s been easy for any of us either,” Haiko said, in consideration. “But, if you continue to receive them all with as much generosity and care as you have with us, then I believe they will manage, just as we have.”
Maybe things would work out that way, but he couldn’t help but worry about the potential for the growing group to fracture—Kalter and Rittan had been pretty well opposed on how to handle things, and if the eventual makeup of their society started to lean more heavily toward those who were still subservient, or sympathetic to the Children of Gaia, then it could lead to unintended consequences.
“That part was never going to change,” August said, “Things haven’t been particularly smooth so far, though, but it does appear to be getting better, so maybe there’s something to be said about just staying the course.”
Rittan stepped into view, the first of the massive pillar logs in his hand as he carried it from the pile. His path seemed to be taking him in the direction of the pre-dug hole that sat just beside the [Draft Furnace]. Boko appeared, holding up the other end, and Haiko turned to discover what exactly it was that he was looking at.
“A refinement to the process—it would appear that work has begun once more,” Haiko said in agreement. “A shame; a private moment is surprisingly difficult to find, and I was so enjoying having you all to myself.”
Despite the confidence with which she’d said the words, and the fact that he was mostly sure she was still messing with him, he was left to wonder if there was actually some echo of truth there. Haiko’s earlier comment hadn’t slipped by him about how some of them had managed to play at being unaffected by the sudden transition. She was perhaps the most confident of them all about testing him for boundaries—with the clear exception of Kalter, who must not have realised such a thing existed in the first place—but it wasn’t impossible that she might hold some hesitation about their dynamic. If she did, then it might have prevented her from seeking him out since she’d arrived or even just acted as a resistance to it—he was familiar enough with anxiety to know how many times he’d talked himself out of things as simple as trying for a potential conversation.
“I enjoy talking to you as well, so it doesn’t have to be difficult,” August said, hesitating a bit at actually saying it because he might be misreading it, and she could just end up laughing in his face. “Haiko, if you ever need me for anything at all, you should come and find me, even if it’s only to talk—if you were actually worried about something like that.”
“I was almost certain I could already do so, but it is very nice to have direct confirmation,” Haiko said, tapping a finger against her lips. “If I ever need you for anything, however, is a startlingly open-ended offer—I wonder how much you’ll regret it when I do decide to take you up on it.”
Maybe he shouldn’t have been worried about it after all, because she seemed just as dangerously confident with or without his attempt to clear away any doubts—he probably should have included a ‘within reason’ on the end of it as well, just to be safe.
“I’ll try not to regret it too much,” August hedged, “Thanks for the talk, Haiko; I should probably get back to finishing these off.”
Haiko just smiled before slipping back out into the sun, and August fought a very brief and starkly lost battle to keep his eyes away from anything dangerous. It seemed as if every day he spent on this island, in proximity to all of these too-attractive aliens and entirely without access to proper clothing, was one day closer to devolving into a complete caveman without any kind of higher thought—and he was beginning to think that might have been her plan all along.
Seeking Direction: Revised Edition is now live; It's a revised RWBY fanfiction following an OC with Direction Manipulation as his Semblance.
Please remember to leave a rating and a review, it helps a lot with visibility!
If you like my writing and want to see more of it, you can find links to my original books on Elbowsnapper.com
If you want to show some support, get early access, or see my first drafts, go check out my Patreon
Love you guys, keep on keeping on!
Recent Releases:
Ameliorate: Intersect
Reroll: Falling & Shatter
Systematic Soul Sorting: Book 1 & Audiobook. Book 2(First Draft)
Seeker's Precept: The Dragon's Marble
