Aeolus watched the sunrise, sitting quietly on his porch. He sipped his tea quietly, feeling young for just a moment. His body felt light and airy, free of any stiffness. The mechanical parts still ran smoothly, and organic ones perfectly healthy. The sun rose a little higher, and all the oldness came back. Aeolus sighed and stood up. He was still very healthy for a person his age, especially for the human standards in this world. He turned around, taking his empty tea cup back inside. Model H greeted him as he always had. Aeolus smiled, and brushed the tip of his finger along the green Biometal's gem.
"I'll give you a proper polishing once my breakfast is done. Lan has a tendency to ignore it." he said. Model H glowed.
'Yes, quite often too.' he said. Aeolus sat down again, sighing. He stared at the wooden ceiling of his cabin. A cobweb was starting to form. He'd have to deal with that today too. There was also the matter of checking the appliances for viruses. He groaned, that meant taking out that useless Generic NetNavi. Aeolus sniffed the air, becoming acutely aware of something burning. 'Aeolus!' Model H cried out. Aeolus sprang from his chair too slow, and by the time he reached the rice, it had boiled over and burned. He stared, blinking.
"But it was working fine!" he said. He turned off the stove, holding the pot at arm's length before setting it on a potholder. The burnt rice at the bottom smelt awful. His face fell as he looked at the sticky rice under the element and all over the stove. Some of it had even fallen onto the floor. Aeolus pinched the bridge of his nose. "This is fixable, this is fixable." he mumbled. Step one. Soak pot. Aeolus put a generous amount of soap into the pot, then filled it with hot water. Step two. Put ruined rice into compost out back. Aeolus frowned as he worked with the rice. It stuck to his fingers, and squished under his foot. He looked at the sticky sheen the stove was getting, and groaned. "This is going to throw off my entire routine." he said. Model H floated down.
'I'll deal with the cobweb. You're cleaning me anyways.' he said, and left. Aeolus finally got the ruined mound of rice all together, and went out the door. He dumped the rice into the fenced-in compost area. A bird soared in, and started pecking at it. Aeolus glared at it.
"You can stay, just so long as you don't attract crows. That's all I ask." he said, and went back inside. Step three- He glanced up at the ceiling, and Model H trying his best to knock down the cobweb. The Biometal stiffened as a spider crawled over his gem. "Model H." Aeolus said. Model H came down, mildly petrified.
'Please get it off.' he whispered. Aeolus calmly let the spider crawl onto his hand, and closed it. He stepped out the door, and let the spider scurry onto his porch.
"And stay away." he said. Step three, clean element. Which involved taking it off, scraping off grime along with the rice, and then thoroughly rinsing one's hands once accomplished. Armed with cleaning supplies, Aeolus returned for step four. Cleaning the stove until it shined.
Model H came back from dealing with the cobweb, and managed to get a cleaning rag over his head. Aeolus smiled a bit, and sprayed down the side of the stove. Model H truly tried his best, but things were hard without fingers. Aeolus had to do a little clean-up on Model H's work, then stepped back from the stove. He glanced at the pot in the sink.
"I'll let that soak a little longer." he said. He took the rag off of Model H's cobweb-covered form, and held the Biometal gently. "Alright, now let's get you clean." he said. Model H glowed warmly, and Aeolus picked up his softest rag. They sat in silence for a while, just two old friends helping each other out.