I yawned while getting up from my position against the wall, removing Beth's neck pillow while I was at it. Things have been… going surprisingly well.
Amelia's training went swimmingly, even with that hiccup we had, didn't deter our progress at all. She is about as good with her E.G.O as Dakota is, and that moody teenager gets a lot of praise from Malkuth.
The party was… nice. Even if it was just everyone screwing with one another, and I had to play some music a couple of times, I still had a great time.
My butterflies quickly helped me get ready for today, these little fellas are amazing for multitasking. I kept all of my gifts inside my coffin, considering my line of work, they would get broken pretty easily in combat. I glanced at the mirror for a moment, huh… did I get a bit bulkier?
Weird…
I stretched my back while my butterflies did the last part, putting my coffin on my back. Yup… things seem to be looking up.
Hmm? This feeling…
This one is familiar to me, Binah? It hasn't been that long since we last met. Maybe she is just coming here to have a chat? She seems to enjoy those.
Approaching my door and opening, I indeed saw Binah of all people there. She is carrying an E.G.O box… she came here with it, that one is new.
"Didn't expect you of all people to bring me E.G.O personally. Am I moving up in the world already?" I joked while moving aside, noticing that she most likely DID want to come in and talk.
I think I heard a low, and intimidating to others, giggle that didn't sound like a giggle at all… kind of like 'fufufufu', "If that is what you believe, who am I to correct you?" She said while simply placing the box on my bed. I closed the door behind me while sitting on my bed.
Quickly opening the box, I saw a… rifle. Not just any rifle, but the one Jeremy had been using for a while now. I threw Binah a questioning look, "I'm guessing Jeremy got something to cover his bases?" I asked after seeing the weapon.
"Always looking behind, hoping to not see someone fall. Your fusions do not seem to affect the production of E.G.O, I have managed to extract a new Gold Rush." I hummed at her answer. Half of it was delivered quite monotonously, but the first part… I could tell she was amused.
So Jeremy now has that big gauntlet? Good for him.
I picked up the rifle and instantly felt a weird… what do I call it? Premonition? That sounds about right.
The moment I open fire, my shot will land.
Fatalism… with a gun like this, no wonder Der could speak so well about the subject. This weapon may as well be a metaphor manifesting in physical form.
"It seems Magic Bullet is to your liking." Binah stated, making me throw her a glance.
Wouldn't say it's to my liking, but I can definitely tell how to use it. This was a bit different from the other E.G.O I've dealt with, and it's probably the simplicity behind it.
'Shoot me!' It says.
Maybe later. Butterflies flew towards it and put the gun inside my coffin, "Not bad. A bit… let's say intense, but nothing that disturbing." Shrugging my shoulders, I focused my attention back at Binah.
"I've noticed that every time you stay still a little too much, your right arm seems to try to grasp something." It was almost impossible to see. This woman had an absurd amount of self-control, but from the first time I met her, I noticed that I would get nowhere unless I learned how to catch her small cues.
Not sure what, her hand seems to be missing… maybe some kind of weapon? She was an Arbiter and from what I've heard, they're like super-spies/soldiers.
Humming to herself, she took a quick glance at her metallic hand, "Ah, in my free moments or in the middle of an interesting conversation, I would usually enjoy a cup of black tea. It is not possible anymore, to my slight disappointment."
Or it could be something surprisingly mundane. I like that too… black tea? Guess learning how to make some of that would be nice.
"Any particular reason you don't enjoy one anymore? Netzach seems to be able to get high off his ass. Bad comparison, but that still means you and the other Sephirah can still get some kind of stimuli." Or so I believe, not sure on the full ramifications of that particular issue.
Binah was quiet for a moment, "I would find that change appealing, but our designer decided that I wouldn't find my chance to do so. He chained those reactions out of me." Really? 'A' is never going to stop showing me how much of a dick he was…
I scratched my chin for a moment, and suddenly I remembered someone that could help with that, "You know, I could ask Angela to look into that. She would take ANY chance to fuck over 'A'." This time I got a very small and almost unbelievable feeling from Binah.
Her eye, for a micro-second, seemed to shine in GENUINE anticipation. If I had to make a comparison… I'd say she was happy.
Not her usual 'oh my how interesting' but rather a 'I want that' happy.
I would have loved to get a bit more of that reaction, but she is still scarily good at keeping her emotions at bay. What a shame...
"I should have seen this development coming, considering your particular way of being. I would certainly be grateful if you did that." She said with what I'm guessing was a small nod.
"Yeah, that's what friends are for." I replied, would have probably brought up the feathers of my scarf, but she isn't the kind of person that would do that just to get a favor out of me. Binah seemed just slightly happy, but it was overshadowed by her amusement.
"Apply caution when extending such an invitation." Giving the Sephirah a flat stare, I couldn't help but smile broadly.
"I didn't hear a no."
"I'm simply letting your own imagination do as it pleases." An answer full of mirth, didn't expect anything else from Binah.
Chuckling at her response, I found myself enjoying this far too much… the only other people I've felt this comfortable with have been 'C' and Angela. Although 'C' feels pretty motherly, and Angela is like the sister I always wanted to have, Binah feels a bit different from those two.
Not like any kind of relative… wonder where she would fit then? Eh, not that important right now.
Huh… I really love being around Binah, funny how that works.
My attention focused back to Binah when I felt a slight tinge of confusion that she seemingly squashed instantly, "Is there anything that you'd believe pushed you into what you are today?" It was a sudden question.
One, I didn't know how to respond.
I stared at her for a couple of seconds, the only thing I could now garner from her was curiosity, "Maybe there is something. Don't know what it may be, but… does it really matter? Is suddenly finding out that you may have been guided into a path without knowing… change anything? I don't think so." I waited for Binah, in case she wanted further elaboration.
"For it is not what we know, but how we interpret it, that affects us." She finished for me, I threw her a small morbid smile.
"Kinda makes us sound like slaves trying to cope with reality." I threw a small joke. She seemed to enjoy it, even if it didn't garner a laugh out of her.
Binah looked at her metallic arm, "Acceptance comes from understanding, and all understanding is work from the eye of the beholder."
I hummed at her words, "And not everyone will reach the same conclusion. Some will rage, some will cry, born equal to grow so differently."
"All minds start young and inexperienced, but their rate of growth starts to form a separation." She continued.
And I finished, "And because of it, they will look for ways to feel similar to others, even if they have to forfeit their chance to reach their own conclusion." I would know that, I experienced it.
And perhaps, Binah did too.
The Sephirah hummed to herself, a pleasant atmosphere covering the room after our little… philosophical rambling.
This is nice.
Binah suddenly moved towards the door, "Our talk was fulfilling. I may come back tomorrow to enjoy myself again." I threw her a small smile.
"I'll be waiting for you then. Hopefully Angela will release those annoying restrains from you, so that you can enjoy a cup of black tea." My words forced a small, almost minuscule, feeling of happiness out of her, which was quickly replaced with amusement and eagerness.
She nodded at me once before leaving. Heh… she is so cryptic. At times, I feel like she is trying too hard.
I should still have a bit of free time before I have to go to the cafeteria again… I did promise myself to make something special for everyone. An hour of free time…
Taking a seat on my bed, my butterflies pulled out the combat book Dakota gifted me. May as well see if that stance I did when training with Amelia was done correctly.
It's a miscellaneous book. Lots of different things, really. It took a bit to find what I was looking for, under Boxing… the closest thing to the stance I used, the Hitman style.
While the purpose I had for it is nowhere near the one the book described, learning to throw those whip like blows… flickers, could be useful.
What I had in mind was to use Primal Impulse in my right and use it like a shield. Since it covered most of my arm, it should be able to work and with the extra info in the now named Hitman style, I should be able to make it work.
And then there is my second heart. I tried tapping into the FULL thing, but… it's like the heart itself didn't want me to, and I can see why. It was from the first hit I threw towards Amelia, I genuinely felt like my whole body was about to shut down.
Is there a way to prevent this and use its full might...? Probably, but I'll have to keep that in the back burner until I know what I'm missing.
Feeling small fists hitting the side of my face, I threw a glance at my small fairy companion… is she slimmer? She also seems a bit taller…
Sighing, I nodded at her, "I get it, I get it… you are hungry. Let's go to the kitchen then, may as well start cooking for everyone." Bell's face shone like a star, she really likes my food.
Even if my memory was fucked, that doesn't mean I didn't have a lot of dishes in my head. Like meat hand pies, also known as piroshki, they may not be as soft though… I didn't see any vegetable oil. I did see canola… yeah, that should work too.
Also, look for black tea leaves… if I remember correctly, it's normal tea leaves going through a process of oxidation to turn into a darker color. I'll have to fact-check that on a cook book.
There is quite a bit to do, but it should be easy enough.