Around the words 4 - Neos' world

Nathalié smiled kindly. "It won't backfire on Neos if you don't tell anything." She sighed. "But you should be more careful, next time. The prince counts many powerful mages among his friends, and few are as comprehensive as me."

Karl thought it over for a moment, then gently bumped his elbow in his arm, as he had seen Neos and Michela doing a lot. "Maverick. You should not underestimate you that much."

Michela made a solemn gesture. "I swear, shall a lighting strike me on the spot if I ever speak about this." She relaxed a bit on the armchair, preparing to get up. "Um... also, Madama, if I may ask. Do you think Neos will graduate soon? He was so enthusiastic about that", she added.

Maverick blinked, then smiled and bumped him back a bit. "I don't, don't worry. I have other qualities, I think, and brute strenght just doesn't seem to be my best one!", he smiled more. "Are you strong, Karl?"

Nathalié held back a kind laugh. "I still need to test his abilities. But there is still a few things for me to teach him, sadly. It won't be fore today," she answered earnestly. "He is lucky to have found you, though."

"... I don't know," Karl answered him. "I haven't tried my strength before. Should I ?"

Michela couldn't betray the look of disappointment that flashed on her face, before she composed herself back again. "He is? Why so?", she asked, getting up from the armchair.

Maverick scratched his head. "Well, I don't know. Not if you aren't interested in it. Are there things you'd actually want to try or?"

"It's nice of you to worry about such thinks as his graduation. But, you know... I'll just have to ask him to stay here for a couple of weeks, so that he can show me what he's learnt. Then, and only then, will I allow him to graduate."

"I don't know. I mean... It doesn't feel like anything I need." Karl was confused, now. Should he want such things ? Should he not ?

Michela smiled. "Then I hope you won't mind me sticking around. I want to support him. I will do my best not to distract him during these weeks, I promise", she added with a small laugh.

Maverick smiled kindly at him. "Hey, don't overthink it. If you feel like you don't need it, then it's ok!" He swung his feet back and forth, humming, looking at the sky. "You know what I love? How the sun feels on my skin. I bet you do too! Everyone does! ... well, except for Michela I guess..."

Nathalié smiled kindly. "Good. Have fun, and... please stay out of the knight training camp during your stay", she told her as a last advice. She then stood up, and went back to her desk, to tidy some papers.

Karl smiled, and nodded. "Yes. But I think I don't feel it exactly the way that you do," he told him, as he watched the skin of his arm crackle a tiny bit, just like earth getting dry. "I am not fully organic."

Michela hummed in agreement, nodded slightly to her in greeting and then went out of the office, closing the door behind her. She let out a loud sigh, walking away. Well, got to be more careful from now on... Meanwhile, her brain was working overtime. Why did everyone want her to stay away from the knights?

Maverick looked curiously at Karl's skin, instinctively reaching to tap on his skin. "Uh, you're right, it probably feels different. We should be wary about you getting to dry then! I don't want you to crack up and fall apart or something", he said, concern on his face as he lifted Karl's arm to look at it closely.

Neos was waiting for her in the next corridor, and sighed in relief when he finally saw her coming back. He walked towards her, a bit awkward. "Hey."

Karl let him do it, without protesting. "I think that's ok. From what the golems told me, this is normal. Apparently, if I get hurt, I will just need to find suitable dirth or rocks to grow back to normal."

Michela smiled at him. "Hey", she said, stopping in front of him. "I am sorry for the... intrusion", she said a bit awkwardly, looking down.

"Oh! Cool", Maverick said with a smile, letting his arm go. He then kept silent, fidgeting a bit, looking anywhere but to Karl. "Um... say, Karl, when you were an android, have you ever felt like you wanted to be with someone?", he blurted out. Wow, way to be clear.

"It's... okay", Neos sighed. "I mean... What were you even doing there ? Why did you come ?"

Karl tilted his head. "Well, I did leave my maker to travel with Michela and Neos, didn't I ?" No, he didn't get the hint at all. He was completely oblivious to romance and its implications.

Michela stretched her mouth in an awkward smile and scratched her head. "I was just exploring the place... and I was having fun by following random people. I saw that one - the prince, now I know - entering there and... oh, you know how is it with me and my curiosity", she muttered, looking at her feet.

Maverick sighed. He fidgeted more, now even more nervous. "I didn't mean that, I... was thinking more about, um, being with someone the way... Michela and Neos are?" He kept his gaze fixed on a nearby tree, to avoid becoming even more red.

Neos sighed, but smiled in the end. "Well, at least nothing bad happened to you, and you were only caught by my master," he said, before he gently had her lift her chin so he could peck her lips.

Karl seemed more curious, now. And gave it a long thought. "I haven't thought about it before. Is it... how does it feel, actually ?"

Michela pecked him back, smiling. "Your master said that you are lucky to have found me, you know?", she said, her smile getting smug as she slid her arms over his shoulders. "I wonder just how well you must have talked about me ~"

Maverick sighed again. "Not easy", was the first thing that escaped him, before he could corewct himself. "I-I mean, it depends on the other person! If they feel the same, and stuff... but generally, being in love is really... how to explain...", he tapped his chin deep in thought. "... it's a messy mixture of a lot feelings that coil all in your guts. It's mysterious, really."

Neos blushed. "I... I didn't even talk about you. She just... must have guessed stuff," he told her, looking away. He was always a bit flustered when she showed him so much attention in public places. "... By the way, I got the key to my new room. Do you want to take a look ?"

Karl tilted his head, curious now. "So you're in love ?" Welp, that's the conclusions he got.

Michela tilted her head, a surprised look on her face. "You have a new room? I thought you'd have got it only when you graduated... but yeah, why not, let's check it out."

Maverick made a high-pitched sound, and quickly hid his face, blushing furiously. "W-well I- maybe!"

"Well, I... I'm officially starting two weeks of graduating exams, but that means I do get my own room, because I'm no longer a wandering student," he told her, as he took her hand in his and started to lead her through a few corridors.

"...Is that a bad thing ?" Karl asked him, now worried for his friend. This feeling seemed to cause much distress in him, which confused him. Wasn't love supposed to be good ?

Michela hummed in aknowledgement, keeping his hand in hers. "Got it. I will be rooting for you for these two weeks then ~", she said with a smile, letting him guide her. "I have a question, if I can. Why is everyone so scared of the Eastern wing? Well, of knights in general."

"Well, no, it's not bad... it is just a bit difficult, that's all", Maverick said, his voice muffled by his hands. "It's- I just didn't expect you to draw the conclusion so bluntly", he sighed, finally removing his hands from his face and resting them on his legs.

"We're not... scared, per say. But the admission trials are coming up. And trust me. Both contestants and nominated knights may be pretty nasty. Actually, my master fears something bad will happen this year," Neos whispered to her, once he had made sure no one could hear them.

Karl smiled kindly at him. "I'm sorry. But I'm also happy for you. From what I've understood, love brought happiness to Michela and Neos. I hope you'll feel that way too soon."

"Yeah, I had guessed...", Michela mumbled, frowning slightly. "... listen, I... promised your master that I wouldn't tell anyone, but I'll tell you anyway." She proceeded to whisper about the conversation she had overheard, which was the real reason she had ended up in Nathalié's office.

Maverick gave him a sad smile. "I don't think. But thanks for... the wish." He let his gaze wander over the garden, looking at the people who were walking around, admiring the clothes of the mages and the shining armours of the knights. "I wonder were do the civillians come from. I didn't see a city, when we arrived", he thought out loud. Gotta change topic.

Thankfully, Neos brought her inside his new bedroom right after Michela had started to tell him everything she knew. He froze. ".... This is bad. This is really, really bad. What did my master tell you about it ?"

"... I did feel it," Karl answered. "It's by the sea, beyond the forest. It felt quite big. Would you like to go take a look, someday ?"

"She said that whatever I had heard, was to stay between me and her", Michela answered with a serious expression. "So don't let her know that I told you. Ok?" She looked around. "Well, the upside is, you got a great room!", she observed with a smile.

"Yes, it would be nice", Maverick said. He kept silent for a bit, his gaze still wandering far away. "Um... I'm sorry if I get back to the topic, but... how would you take it, if someone confessed to you that they are in love with you?", he asked, hesitantly.

Neos nodded, as he looked around. Indeed, the room was nice, had a large window, a double bed, a desk for his studies, and a private bathroom. But he looked at Michela with a worried expression. "Michela. Promise me you're not going back to the knights until their admission trials are over."

Now Karl felt a bit lost, with all this jumps back and forth into the subject! "Well, I... I have no idea," he admitted. "I don't know what love feels like, so I don't know how I should react. What I should say, or do. It's not natural for me."

Michela sighed, raising her hand on her chest. "May a curse descend on my non existent soul if I will disobey", she said. Then she launched herself on the bed. "Woo!"

"O-oh. Yes, you are right. I'm sorry", Maverick said, withhe an embarrassed laugh. "What do you think of this place... ? It seems like they are getting ready for something big..." He decided not to get on the topic anymore. If he didn't know what love was, then... then he had a chance to make him discover it.

Neos' worried look didn't leave his face. Instead, he sighed and moved towards the bed to sit on it, looking at her.

"... I'm sorry Maverick, but it's been a lot of questions so far", Karl answered him, a bit uneasy. "I... can we go back to walking around, a bit ?"