Fate of Frailty Chapter 16
By Karen Hart
Author's notes: I believe in some areas "shaved ice" is also referred to as "snow cones". For those unfamiliar, it's ice shavings packed into a paper cone and covered in flavored syrups. Quite yummy. Also, cookies if you get the reference at the end.
Also, I'm dedicating this chapter to 100-series.
The park that Jr. mentioned was at that point less of a park and more a large collection of potted plants. On the bare deckplates sat bags of imported soil, stacked one atop another, forming a series of makeshift walls. Various small areas were taped off, seemingly at random. Every once in a while the deckplates seemed to slope either up or down, insinuating what would at one point be hills. A low wall surrounded the area. Like much of the rest of the Kukai Foundation, it was largely incomplete, but with imagination and time the results would be impressive.
As he approached the park Gaignun could see Jr. and chaos perched on the wall, talking animatedly—or at least as much as Jr. was capable, given the large shaved ice cone in his possession, the red-haired boy having developed an affinity for the frozen snacks. An almost habitual smirk played across Gaignun's face at the sight. Between them sat a small datapad.
"chaos, good to see you again."
The silver-haired young man looked up when he heard the greeting, a smile flashing across his face. The last time he'd seen Gaignun, he'd gone by another name. And Gaignun had not been in very good condition. What stood before chaos was the complete antithesis of the boy that he and Canaan had rescued years ago. "Same to you. Jr. and I were just looking over possible hull designs for the Durandal."
Gaignun raised an eyebrow, but was mentally interrupted by Jr. before he could comment.
Hey, the guy knows what we are. And it's not like the Durandal itself is a secret or anything, really.
You have a point.
"I think we've narrowed the choices down a bit. Want to take a look?" Jr. handed the datapad to his brother, and turned his attention once again to his shaved ice, taking quick bites to prevent it from melting onto his hands.
Setting himself beside the redhead, Gaignun perused the choices, one eyebrow raising as he came across the entry that'd been marked as the most likely choice. It was a long, slender design, tapering to a point at one end like the tip of a sword, with stylized wings near the base. It was also, if he read the dimensions correctly, enormous. Why does the word 'overcompensation' spring to mind? he wondered privately.
Apparently he'd forgotten to shield his thoughts, as Jr. begun to sputter a second later. The sputter quickly became a choking fit, the redhead's body going into spasms as he fought to get some air in his lungs. They subsided after a few thumps against his back from chaos. "You all right?" chaos asked, face concerned.
"Y-yeah." Jr. took a few deep breaths. "Some ice chips must've gone down the wrong pipe." Regaining his composure, he looked sidelong at Gaignun. God damn you.
What did I say?
---
"That's them?" Mary peered at the flimsy that Shelley'd obtained, blue eyes wide with curiosity.
Shelley nodded. "At least, I think it is. They seem to be correct."
Mary rolled over on her bed. They'd returned to their suite once Shelley'd picked her up from the Ironman, feeling the need for privacy. "So, what do we do now? Do we search for them or something?" Mary inquired, unaware that she was voicing her sister's earlier concerns.
Shaking her head, Shelley replied with a soft "I don't know." Perched on her own mattress, she flopped back. "If we do search for them, for real, how would they act? Would they believe us? Would they want us to live with them?" A strangely worried expression crossed both sisters' faces at that idea. "I don't know about you, but I sort of think of Gaignun and Jr. and Helmer as our family now."
"Do we have to decide what to do right now?" Mary asked.
"…I guess not," Shelley answered slowly, though she was already forming her own decision.
---
The glance that Jr. threw at his younger brother did not go unnoticed by chaos, who stored the look for future analysis. He found the URTVs fascinating, a pair of living contradictions. His thoughts were cut off just then as Jr. hopped off of the wall, manner suddenly energetic after the lull in activity. The childlike young man tugged on one of chaos's arms, effectively pulling him down.
Jr. grinned impishly. "Since I don't really have anything that needs doing, I want to show you around the Foundation."
Startled, chaos almost lost his balance completely. "All of it?"
"Well, no. Just the interesting stuff. Like the library and the antique shop and..." Jr.'s voice trailed off as he began walking away, ticking places off on his fingertips.
Bemused, chaos sped up in an attempt to catch up with his young friend. "You mentioned something about an antique shop?"
Gaignun shook his head, moving at a more leisurely pace. "He's just trying for a chance to get a new toy."
"Hey!" Jr. scowled, relenting a moment later. "Well, there is that Peter Lorre disk I want to get."
"Who's that?" chaos thought the name sounded sort of familiar, but was unable to place it.
"He was an actor on Lost Jerusalem. Mostly I go for action, but for some reason I like his work. It's his voice, I think. Reminds me of someone, thought I'm not sure why." Jr. shrugged and continued walking.
"I see."