Felicia woke up to a brilliant sunny morning. Bright yellow rays streamed in through the cracks in her curtains, painting her walls a warm gold. Bacon was sleeping on the floor, his breaths deep and rhythmical.
"Morning, Bacon." she whispered. The dog did not wake, content doing what he so often found himself doing: sleeping. "Sorry ahead of time." She reached off of her bed and pulled open the curtains, startling the canine awake.
He didn't complain, of course, instead snapping his eyes open and immediately stretching. Felicia shifted out from under her covers, yawning and rubbing her eyes as she looked out her window.
It was a pretty morning, the sun only just peeking over the horizon. Her vantage point on the second floor of her house allowed her a good view of much of her fields, as well as the barn.
She squinted against the brilliant daylight to see the barn itself, finding that the front door was open. It looked like Horus was already awake. Assuming he'd fallen asleep at all. She shrugged and pulled the curtains closed before getting dressed.
Her silk nightclothes were exchanged for heavy-duty denim jeans and workboots, as well as a short-sleeve plaid button down. She looked at herself quickly in a vanity mirror mounted on top of her room's desk, chuckling as she realized she looked like the spitting image of her mother. Albeit, much more country than city.
She'd need to give her a call sometime soon.
Shrugging, she left her room and prepared for a day's work. A quick stop in her pantry and refrigerator gave her what she needed for the day's breakfast. A tortilla, some eggs, and some leftover hashbrowns and sausage.
She pulled open one of the heavy wooden drawers near the stove and grabbed a skillet, placing it on the stove. A gas stove, the room smelled only for a moment of gas as she waited for the fuel to ignite. With a 'pop' the fire sprang to life, and she leaned against the counter while she waited for the skillet to heat up.
The hashbrowns and sausage were thrown into the microwave and heated up. The skillet was soon preoccupied with the tortilla and eggs. The smell of breakfast wafted through the house, and it was enough to bring Bacon down the stairs.
"Morning, bud." She said as she knelt and scratched behind his ears. Wagging his tail, he looked at the skillet hungrily. "Sure. The burrito will be too big for me anyways."
It wouldn't, but she couldn't really resist Bacon's puppy eyes. He knew it, too.
As the last of the food finished heating or cooking, she rolled it all up inside the freshly warmed tortilla. The breakfast burrito was soft and warm in her hands, something she relished before tearing it in half and giving it to her dog.
As she ate in companionable silence with her canine friend, there was a knocking sound on the front door of her house. It was quiet, and for a second she actually thought a solicitor had somehow managed to come all the way out to her house.
Then she saw the huge shadow painted across the window at the top of the door. She huffed a single laugh before standing and opening it to greet her extraterrestrial guest.
'Wow. Not even a day and it already feels normal.' She thought. 'That's…is that bad?'
He was standing away from her door, which was covered with a small awning. His towering form, covered in heavy plate, loomed over most everything in her house. Bacon growled in the background.
"Morning, Horus!" She chirped gleefully. "How'd you sleep?" Horus's face was decorated with a gentle smile, his eyes crinkling at the corners.
"I do not need to sleep." He replied gently. Felicia gave herself some points mentally for guessing that one, but quickly returned her attention to him. "How did you sleep?" Felicia shrugged, taking a small bite of the burrito she still had in-hand.
"Eh, not too bad. Had some weird dreams, though." Horus chuckled, and she grinned. "You want some breakfast? I can whip something up real quick for you." Horus shook his head.
"I will be quite alright. The stew you gave me yesterday will suffice for several months at the rate I consume energy here." What?!
"What?!" She echoed her internal dialogue. "How?" That didn't make even close to any sense! He'd have to consume at least six times her food to keep his body running!
"It is the way I was made by my father." He replied matter-of-factly. Like it was the simplest explanation in the world. "Though I am capable of eating more food, it does not give me sustenance."
Ugh. Being a space human like him sounded so awesome. No need to sleep, no need to eat food beyond enjoyment, and superhuman strength to go with it.
"Well, do you want some food anyways, then?" She stepped to the side and gestured inwards towards her kitchen. "As you saw yesterday, I can make some pretty good stuff." Horus shook his head again.
"I could not impose on your hospitality so. I actually came to ask a question." Horus's expression was almost…nervous? She couldn't quite tell. Looking down at one of his hands—which she noticed didn't have any armor on it—she saw it was twitching ever so slightly.
"Shoot," She replied, crossing her arms under her chest.
"I…" Horus looked away for a moment, before returning his gaze to her. It was markedly different from the confident sadness he'd shown yesterday. "I spent a great deal of the morning, ah, improving much of your equipment. I am no Vulkan, and certainly no Ferrus, but I like to profess some degree of technological prowess." We're those names of some of his 'Astartes' friends? She still didn't know what those were, to be honest.
"Improving?" She asked flatly. She wouldn't ever say no to a free mechanic, but she liked the way her farm equipment worked. If he'd goofed some of it up, she'd have some choice words for him. "How do you mean?"
"I did not change any of its inherent functions," he explained, gesturing towards a tractor in her front yard. "I simply repaired any damage I could find, and there was much to be found." She looked around him at the tractor in question, finding no cosmetic differences.
"You didn't stick a space-age motor in there or anything, did you?" She really hoped he didn't, but at this point she wasn't really sure what to think right now. Horus shook his head.
"No, nothing of the sort." he replied. "I simply fixed a problem with the…internal gear mechanisms. Or, several problems with several gears. I do not know the names of any of the parts, I confess."
Crap. He probably thought he was helping, but it was possible, even probable, that he'd put something back together incorrectly. As if her old tractor didn't have enough problems already.
"Uhh, okay," She diplomatically kept her voice even though she could feel her blood pressure rising. A quick step around him and a controlled stomp through the grass had her sitting in the tractor's seat. "Let's give her a check."
Horus looked positively nervous as she turned the key she left in the ignition, and the old tractor chugged to life. It was as loud as expected, though the starter took quite a few less turns before the main engine started to grumble with fuel.
A coincidence? Maybe.
She checked all the gears, the shifter sliding into each with remarkable ease. Driving the tractor a few dozen feet or so in each one, she sighed in relief as she realized that Horus had indeed repaired her tractor.
"Thanks!" she cried as she hopped off of it. Horus looked both relieved and happy. It definitely looked better on him than a somber mood.
WOW! Holy cow that's some serious positive reception! Glad you guys like my story so much! I like it too, don't worry! Here's another chapter as proof! Another update may come a wee bit late, as I move in two days. Hopefully won't have to move for a while after that one, but we'll see. In the meantime, enjoy! I have a few chapters backed up and ready to go in case something comes up, but hopefully nothing will.
Please read and relax! I'll see all y'all next time!