"Speach"

'Thought'

«Other species»

[Writing]

Robin was woken up by scaly snouts that pocket his side.

Jawing he turned to the other side. "Basil, it's way too early… go back to sleep…"

The poking stopped, and instead, he could feel a small head trying to wrestle itself under his arm.

Robin tensed for a second, his hand automatically reaching for his toolbelt, which he had started to wear at night as of late, even though it was currently holstering only a single item.

His hand could feel the small copper tube that was firmly attached to the belt, the cape that covered its needle still in place. Having ensured himself that the antidote was still with him, he finally relaxed, allowing the enthusiastic Dragonbite Viper to join him with a chuckle.

It had been four weeks since Basil had come into his life, and he had started getting used to his presence. Despite him quite licking the little snake, he still had some kind of primal fear from him, as an ancient instinct told him to run every time he saw Basil. That was also the reason why he had gotten an antidote from Anturia shortly after coming back from the forest with Basil.

Luckily it had already been late when that happened which is why nobody else except the nurse had seen his new "roommate" that day and she (quite reluctantly) had promised to not tell anyone else about it, which is how he avoided making quite a scene.

He however knew that he couldn't hide Basil forever and while he knew it would be better if he told the rest of town himself, he still dreaded the event.

From the visits of Anturia, and also Gamma, the only people who knew about Basil so far, he had learned that the snake was always on the edge, observing everyone he didn't know from the corner of his eye while refusing to relax.

This caused others to feel uncomfortable around Basil as a constant vibe of danger seemed to be radiating from him, almost as if he was about to attack at any given moment.

Robin however also knew the other side of Basil, the one he was only willing to show when they were alone. When Basil felt safe in his surrounding, he turned into a whole other person, or snake in this case, who was a lot more cheerful and relaxed. In that state, he was no longer on the edge and even became a bit playful at times, exploring his surrounding while teasing Robin every once in a while.

It was that hidden, almost childish side that Robin liked about him, a side seemingly only reserved for those he trusted the most. He hoped that the viper would be willing to also open up towards Gamma and Anturia, but despite having slightly warmed up towards them, he still seemed far away from trusting them.

He pushed those thoughts away for now watching Basil curiously studying a mechanical clock he had received as a gift from Gamma. Curiosity is another key factor in the snake's personality.

Since the day he had taken his new little friend in, Basil had shown great interest in everything unfamiliar to him, be it a simple vase or complex machinery, everything caught his interest.

He often spend a lot of time studying said things as well as he could in a quest of trying to figure out what it was good for and being super tragic and apologetic when he broke something while doing so in an attempt to gain Robin's pity (something he often also received) which sadly happened quite frequently.

Robin knew from the books he had gotten from the library about viper's behavior and life that that wasn't something his species normally did, and he was pretty sure that Basil had copied it from the dogs and cats in town after seeing how effective their strategies were at getting the affection from their owners. Well as good as he could, considering he didn't have eyebrows, but it still worked.

Talking about books, Basil seemed interested in the books Robin was reading, oftentimes curiously peeking over his shoulder while looking at any pictures as long as they were present. He wondered if it was possible to teach a snake how to read.

SHATTER!

Robin snapped out of his thought to find the mechanical clock on the ground, or its fragments to be more precise with Basil next to it, who shifted around nervously.

Robin rolled his eyes, letting out a soft chuckle. "It's alright, don't give me those puppy eyes again. I will simply ask Gamma if he can repair it. That guy loves his job after all so it's not the biggest deal in the world…"

He started to collect the broken pieces, Basil watching him from atop the nightstand, putting them in a small bag.

"Be so good and don't break anything further until I'm back, alright?"

Basil curled himself up on the bed which he took as a yes for now, so he grabbed the bag with the broken clock and left the house. He considered for a moment if he should lock the door, which he finally did. While Basil was still way too shy to wander off on his own, he didn't want anyone to get in and find him. For one because almost nobody knew about Basil living with him which would end badly with no one to explain. A fraction of his mind also still wasn't willing to trust Basil without him being around.

He started heading towards Gamma's workshop when he came across a most peculiar sight a street further, where Jimmy was hanging halfway up the trunk of a tree, arm tightly clinching around the wood.

"Well that gives the term tree hugging a whole new meaning." he joked walking up to the man. "Trying to harvest some apples?"

"Nonsense! I'm trying to find cover from the machinery of that mechanic. I can only advise that you do the same…"

"Come on, Gamma isn't that bad. He's only a bid…"

"GET COVER!"

Robin whirled towards the source of the shout, seining something heading straight towards him… fast! His training as a guard kicking in, he quickly jumped out of the way, barely dodging the thing.

His heart was still running a marathon, when he turned his head towards the object, trying to figure out what it was. He didn't know if he should be surprised or not when he saw the familiar figure of Gamma who was sitting on top of a carriage. Some kind of machine was strapped to the back of it, giving off a whirring and hissing sound while continuously spitting out clouds of steam.

He didn't get a closer look as the mad machine disappeared around the next corner, leaving behind only a trail of dust and a bit of steam.

"LOOK O-"

CRASH!

Robin quickly hurried around the corner, finding the carriage in pieces having driven through a fence and against a wall, one of the wheels rolling around the marketplace. The machine that had been strapped to the back of the transport was laying among the debris and currently let out a final hiss before it ceased functioning.

"Are you alright?" Robin said, running over to Gamma, who was being helped up to his feet by a few bystanders. Luckily nobody else got hit.

"Yea, I'm still in one piece." he replied with a pained groan. "The prototype didn't fully work as planned…"

"Well I hope so, what are you working on this time?"

"I been trying out the so-called "vehicle engine" from my diary. That's a modified version of the steam engine I use to charge my tools. I was hoping to get one of the bigger machines in my diary up and running, but it still needs a bit work…" he replied with a sight, before looking at the remains of his carriage. "OK, a lot of work to be fully honest right now, especially the breaks."

Robin looked around, noticing the crowd of bystanders that was slowly forming. "Well, I was looking for you. The clock you gave me got broken by…" he stopped himself almost having said Basil's name. "…the usual. I was wondering if you could repair it."

Gamma nodded, understanding the hint, before taking the bag with the broken clock from him. "Sure, I can do that. Could need some lighter work after that crash… Just come by tomorrow, I should be done by then. I'll repair this fence tomorrow once my hands stopped shaking."

"Thanks, I appreciate that." he replied before heading back home.

He mentally chuckled. "Always when I think he can't surprise me anymore he succeeds in doing that nevertheless. Really should know better by now. Let's hope that he won't start causing a mess outside his workshop from now on, the things he does at home are destructive enough… Well at last I'm safe from that at my own home… in theory at last."

He finished his train of thought before opening his front door. "Basil! I'm back!"

The viper looked up, quickly showing something under the bed.

"What are you doing?" he walked over to him, reaching under the bed… and pulling out the remains of a broken lamp.

He groaned at Basil's cheap expression. "Are you serious? I have been gone for barely an hour!"

—000—

The Empress of Safe Harbor was currently overseeing the rebuilding of the city, one of the way days she left the underground bunker to visit the reconstruction site.

Progress was smooth and defenses were mostly up again, although she wasn't sure how much she could rely on them after they failed her last time.

"Your highness, you should see this…"

The Empress of Safe Harbor looked up when one of her messengers came storming in, bowing in front of her.

"At ease." she replied watching the messenger get back to his feet. "Is it the indestructible city again?"

"No your highness. There's some new development from Blue Wave Harbor."

"Blue Wave Harbor?" the Empress asked, thinking. "That's a minor harbor near the Saphire Delta if I remember correctly. Not too outstanding, other than the fact that it's one of the few harbors on the continent and has some minor dragon defenses. Why has it suddenly become a place of interest?"

"Remember the strangers they found on the beach a few months ago?"

She nodded, recalling the little side note about something along those lines in the last rapport she had gotten from the harbor. "I do. Stop beating around the bush and tell me already."

"Apologies your highness. The stranger now works as a mechanic at the harbor and has successfully redesigned and manufactured anti-dragon siege machines. According to the most recent rapport he's now working for the guard and overhauling the defenses. The place has become one of the best-defended harbors on the continent over the course of a week."

The Empress read the rapport she was given with newfound interest. The day when that Desert Dragon had destroyed Safe Harbor was still fresh in her mind.

"Guess I'll have to visit this town shortly. The Mechanic could prove helpful for the efforts of the empire…"