and
and
Caora looked up at the new girl who approached the table he was sat at; a look of confusion crossing his face. he hadn't seen her before, had he? A few possibilities crossed his mind, and another look rushed through his complexion. However, it quickly died down as she introduced herself as Marianne. He had really hoped Hope had finally been allowed to join them on their adventure... But at least some new faces had come and joined them in her stead!
"H-hi..!" he smiled at the girl as she gave her introduction, "I'm Caora!" the colour and energy seemed to be returning to him, much to Shaun's appreciation. Apparently being in proximity to others genuinely helped him.
"H-hi. I-I'm Shaun, Infinite... Web Developer..." a slight look of embarrassment flushed him, as he said his Infinite title; seemingly slightly shamed that he was, by far, the nerdiest of the group.
The girl gave a little... Talk, to his companion; something that seemed to awfully entrance Caora, but bore little to no meaning to Shaun. Perhaps the Infinite Trap was just trying to not think about the events that had transpired the previous night, but Shaun couldn't stop. And maybe Marianne was just a tad naive, especially since she was new... But suffering wasn't always external, and sometimes herbs and tea didn't help.
Cyrus, the Infinite IED, entered the room, and Marianne stood to greet him. Caora had started talking again, and seemed about ready to burst out of his chair to talk to some of the others. Shaun, instead, noted the pain the girl appeared to experience. If he didn't know any better, she was wounded. Or recovering from surgery...
He hoped it was the latter. He turned to face his companion, and was about to let him off his metaphorical lead, when Daimyon came to them.
"H-hi, Daimyon..!" he gave a small smile, and Caora almost bounced out of his seat; aparently not wanting to sit still any longer, "U-um, Caora had it... H-he wasn't sure who i-it was for, b-but we figured it out e-eventually..."
"Hiya Mr Poet! I, well... Nobody gave me anything! Were we all supposed to get something? Did you, Mr Spider?" he chirruped and questioned, and Shaun shook his head.
"I-I didn't, no... I g-guess nobody f-figured out which was m-mine..." he smiled again, and let out a small laugh before tucking his mouth behind his scarf.
His head turned, however, as the door opened. Both their heads turned in the direction, and their eyes widened.
It was the Carnage Sisters, dressed as Elves. The Sisters Shona had destroyed.
On instinct, Shaun stood from his hair, and attempted to duck behind it. They couldn't kill them, they couldn't... Thoughts raced through his head as he climbed behind the chair, but all shattered save pain as a gift box slammed into the back of his head and fell to the floor. Caora let out a squeak, causing Shaun to immediately face that direction; only to watch as a box hit him square in the chest, and caused him to fall backwards in his chair.
Confetti flew across the room, and once all was said and done, every person began to open their gifts. Caora and Shaun regrouped, and did the same; finding a book titled "Puntaru" and a set of pencils and a sharpener respectively. A quizzical look crossed both their face, trying to figure out who got what.
Shaun already knew who would be receiving the gift Caora had gotten. Krista, the pun Queen herself. Who better to receive such an item? However, his own gifted stumped him. As did the location of Krista. The only person he knew who wrote in pencil was Daimyon, with his notebook...
Bliss had been pretty quiet. Responding politely to people when approached, but few of these conversations lasted very long. Maybe this was because she was heating up sandwiches for everyone. Either way, she wasn't really doing a whole lot to stick out or hold people's interest. Aside from the occasional over shoulder glance, Bliss did very little observing of the other infinites. This changed after she was struck from behind with a gift. It wasn't a particularly violent blow, but it did startle her. The nanny opened up her gift just enough to peak inside before surveying the group. At that point, it became apparent that Bliss was looking at the children in the group: Shaun and Caora. She weaved through the break room, holding the gift box in one hand and steadying herself with the other. She placed her hand on just about everything she walked past. Tables, chairs, even people's shoulders! Bliss whispered “'Scuse me” to everyone she passed on her way over to them.
“Hey guys.” Bliss did not greet them with a smile. She actually looked nervous. “Mind if I sit here?”
The scarf laden boy looked up from their gifts, and to the woman hovering over their table. He had remembered seeing her as he entered the room, though hadn't paid her much notice. If he was right, she was also the first of the new round of Infinites. The first to leave the Elevetors after Shona's death.
Caora, too, looked up. His eyes rested upon her, and for some reason he couldn't explain... Calm ran through him. Looking at her made him think of some of the nurses from Axis Mundi. The nice ones, the ones who read him stories. He had no idea who she was, what she wanted from them, or why she was dressed as she was; with bright colours and vintage style that he couldn't place. But even still, he felt at ease - even with the distressing location and events.
"Um... Y-yeah. You can s-sit..." Shaun said almost cautiously, still apparently on edge from the attack that had just occured. Then, he looked back to Caora, and gently shook his shoulder.
"...O-oh, h-hi..! I'm Caora!" he chirruped, "A-and I'm Shaun."
“You both have very nice names.” Bliss sat down across from the boys. “I'm Bliss, the infinite nanny.” She smiled. It didn't look forced. “How are you guys making out? Did you eat breakfast yet?”
"Nice to m-meet you... A-and, n-no, I'm... Not hungry..." Shaun cast a glance towards Caora, still looking towards the woman. Then he looked back, "I-I dont think he is e-either..."
His hand rested on the table, and slightly tapped the counter top. To the right of it, the gift he had received sat. He still had no idea, though the only person he could think of was Daimyon. This Bliss didn't seem like one to do much drawing, either.
"I-I know breakfast is the m-most important meal... B-but, y'know..."
Bliss nodded her head while her smile slowly faded. “I-I understand. You don't feel hungry with what happened.” Bliss sighed and lowered her gift onto the table. “Something tragic has happened, something not in your schedule, and it's causing you to deviate from your normal activities. But!” Bliss's head shot up. “A schedule is very important to maintain happiness, and especially for children!” She reached out and took Caora's and shaun's hand in her own. “It is important that you continue to eat, sleep, and play at regular intervals to maintain your happiness!” She let go of the children and stood up. “Wait one second!” The infinite nanny wandered back over to the toaster, again touching everything she walked past. She returned the same way apologizing to the people she touched before lowering a plate with two hot sandwiches on it. Unlike davis's sandwiches, the grease had been toasted out of them. So they weren't as messy looking. “Go on, eat!”
Shaun's eyes darted to the womans hand as she took his, and Caora's. He was not a child! Well... He sort of was... But he needn't be treated like one. Caora, on the other hand seemed perfectly fine to let her grasp his hand. Something told Shaun he'd even be happy if she tussled his hair or similar...
In the next second, the woman was gone; headed off through the crowded break room to where she had come from. Shaun hadn't a clue what was going on, though the title "Infinite Nanny" seemed to have something to do with it. Was she always like this? He shuddered to think.
"Th-theres something off about her..." he muttered under his breath.
As she made her way back, he noted the way she touched everything around her. Like she had some kind of... Need. Maybe she just had bad balance, and needed to keep herself upright using objects and people around her, but something seemed off about that hypothesis.
Upon returning, Bliss placed two sandwiches on the table. Despite his lack of appetite, Shaun, upon looking at them, felt oddly hungry - as though he were compelled to eat them. Like there was soom kind of pull towards them. There was something terribly wrong...
...he stopped thinking, as he reached down and picked the sandwich up from the plate. In the next second, it was to his mouth, and then inside; teeth locked around it as he bit a chunk from it. He glanced over to Caora. For the longest time, he hadn't said much. It was odd... He always spoke... In his hands, just the same as Shaun, was the sandwich the Infinite Nanny had brought him. His eyes darted back over to her, and looked her over. What on Earth was she..?
“Isn't that better?” Bliss smile and folded her hands together. “I don't typically enjoy fast food, but it just goes to show you what a little bit of love can do. Just the process of toasting the sausage patties off the buns instead of throwing the whole thing in the microwave makes a world of difference. So remember that! Effort, even a little bit, can make anything better.” Bliss looked between Shaun and Caora again. “So you guys must be friends if you're sitting together like this. Is anyone else your friend?”
Shaun took another bite of his breakfast sandwich, and gently placed it back down on the plate. He looked over at her, and took in each of her words.
"W-well... We're somewhat fr-friends with Daimyon, the, uh... I-Infinite Poet..." he looked over the room at him, and scanned the room as he made his way back to Bliss, "O-other than that... N-no, not really..."
Caora glanced back up from his own sandwich, almost finished. Apparently he had been hungry, and had - ever since it had been placed in front of him - been devouring it one bite at a time. Just as he went to swallow, he jumped into the conversation.
"I-I have Fang..!"
Bliss Looked over her shoulder. “Yes, Damiyon. He seemed nice. Almost... too nice.” The nanny turned to look at Caora. “Oh? Fang? Can I see him?” The nanny waited for Caora to present the sheep. “What a remarkable... Sheep?” She giggled. “Well, I can't wait to get better acquainted with all of you. I'm especially eager to hear what sort of adventures you nd Fang have been on but.” Bliss lowered her hands onto the table. She turned to look at Shaun. “I would like to speak with Shaun for a moment. We're going to be just outside that door, but we'll be right back. That's why you and Fang have to make sure we still have a seat when we return, okay?”
Caora gave her a puzzled look, much the same as Shaun did.
"Sure! I'll just be here then!" he lifted Fang to his face, and whispered something, waited a second, and giggled. Shaun gave a slightly nervous glance towards Caora, then looked back towards Bliss.
"Wh-why would you... N-need to speak to m-me? A-all I can do for y-you is... M-make a website..." his eyes trained on the tabletop, looking almost slightly sad.
“Oh, well I actually could use some help with that too.” She offered Shaun her hand. “We'll be coming right back, Caora is a dutiful watchman and won't let anyone take our spots.”
Shaun reached up and took her hand, unsure of why she'd want to see him or why he would even bother. It wasn't as though he had any reasons not to, of course. But he couldn't help but feel as though the woman had ulterior motives beyond needing help with a website...
"L-lead the way..."
After waving to Caora, Bliss snatched up her gift box and stepped out of the break room with Shaun in tow. They were alone out here, aside from the cameras that looked out at them from a distance.
“I'm sorry Shaun. I think my gift is for you, but due to the nature of it I didn't think it would be polite to give it to you in front of Caora.” Bliss reached inside and pulled out the make up kit. “At a glance, you'd think that this would be for some fashion models. However it's formulated to match skin tones and hide scars, so it is clearly most intended for you.”
The boy folllowed Bliss out of the room, attempting to avoid looks from the others wondering where exactly the two were going. Once outside, he went to speak, but was cut off by her.
She presented him with a make up kit, which Shaun took. He turned it over in his hands and took in every detail he could. Then, he opened it, and took and inventory of what was inside.
"U-um... Wh-why would this be f-for me..?" he said, looking up at her.
Bliss sighed, but kept up her smile. “Shaun.” She shook her head. “You seem a little too mature for the nannies know everything speech, but it is true. But my gift was intended for someone with scars, i'm sure of it. So my second line of reasoning was that if I couldn't see the scars, it was because they were hiding them. I guess Mondatta could have been the recipient, but his armor is clearly there to do more than just hide his body.” Bliss giggled. “But isn't it a little warm to be walking around in winter wear? It does make you look adorable, and it could also cover a scar your ashamed of.” She keeled down on the floor so that she was shorter than Shaun. “You don't have to tell me if I'm right or wrong. You can just re-gift it if I am. But...” Her smile widened a bit more. “I'm sure everyone would like to see the cute boy behind the scarf. Especially Caora.”
Shaun wavered a little, as though he were stunned and unsure of what to do. His hands seemed to shake slightly, and his eyes glistened as he formulated a response.
"I... I..." all that came out of his mouth were chocked sounds. A sleaved hand reached up and wiped his eyes, then he smiled down at the woman. A smile somewhat bigger than those he had previously given.
"Th-thank you, Bliss. I-it means a lot..."
Bliss returned to her feet "well, we probably shouldn't keep Caora waiting." Bliss walked ahead of Shaun. "I'm sure Caora is going to have a few stories for us. I don't want to miss them."
He nodded, then followed behind her. At the door, he lingered for a second, and caught his breath. Then, he stepped into the room - avoiding all eyes - and made his way back to the table Caora was sat at.
"Hiya guys!"
1x Laugh
