A Shared Heart

🩵Chapter 14 - Heart Beat 🩵

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Wanderer:

Wanderer was halfway down the spiral when Angelica caught up with him. He wasn't fazed by her presence.

They walked in silence until Wanderer stopped suddenly to look up upon the smiling crescent and he bit the inside of his cheek in thought.

"We'll go two days from now," He concluded, breaking the silence, "We sleep tonight and prepare tomorrow before going into the desert." Well, I don't need it but... He shifted his eyes to the one next to him, "A natural organism is tagging along now," He murmured, like a thought spoken aloud. I would be there by now if I went alone... He grumbled in his head, as he sauntered his way along the trail spiralling down the tree.

Angelica:

Angelica looked at the shining moon, feeling a swelling unease about the shadows once hidden by the sun's rays now prominent to see as the world rested in an eerie silence.

She agreed beside him, unable to match the pace at which he walked, "Yes, you're right, I don't like traveling at night... The night leaves me with some disturbing memories that I wish to avoid." She spoke softly, looking down at the town, it was the only world that glowed as if battling the darkness around it and that thought brought peace to her mind allowing her a chance to think over the rest of his words - particularly the 'natural organism' comment that she felt like correlated to something he mentioned before.

Her eyes lit up with realisation, "Oh right! You mentioned you were a puppet!" She exclaimed, that led to her proceeding, to ponder a question.
Opening her mouth to ask it but stopped at the assumption that it would likely be avoided by the one it was intended for so instead, she closed her eyes and stood in silence even as the other marched on without her.

Attuning her ears to the subtle sounds around her from the chirping of birds within their eggs to the faint heartbeat inside them. She focused her intention, adjusting her attention to the boy next to her from the rustle of clothes that moved by his breathing to the flowing of blood beneath. Deeper she searched, expecting to hear mechanisms in his chest or shifting gears but instead, to her surprise, out of everything she had expected to hear she never expected hearing the lack of a heartbeat.

Her eyes flung open, "Y-you don't have a heartbeat." She breathed, in shock. Upon opening her eyes, the boy was further down the winding trail and out of earshot.

She hurried to catch up, her wings catching the wind and bringing her into a hover that allowed her to lessen the gap between them in seconds, her feet touching the place his step left behind. Again, trying to walk in tandem with him but failed repeatedly.

"That's rather... interesting, I've never encountered something or someone like you who lives and breathes without a heart." She continued.

Her interest took hold of her, her eyes focusing on the side of his face as questions tumbled out her mouth, "You spoke of me being a 'natural organism' but how do you know? What makes something a natural organism? If you can walk and breathe wouldn't you also be a natural organism? If we go with that theory, then maybe I'm a puppet as well?"

They got to the point where the stone extended out into a platform, and she hopped onto the platform before he did, twirling to see his front-on face - she only saw the side of - and of course, it was the usual emotionless expression but his eyes told a different story.

She flashed a child-like smile upon recognising she caught his attention.

"If I'm also a puppet, does that mean I can't have an opinion?" She asked, referring back to his comment when he stormed out the door.

Wanderer:

The air bellowed around them, jostling both their hair into their faces while Wanderer stared at the individual standing ahead of him spouting nonsense that he scoffed at.

"If being a puppet will make you happy, sure but you should talk about these conspiracies with The Dendro Archon, not me." He waved her off and met her at the platform.

"There are more important things to focus on like..." He tapped his chin, "Where you should stay for the night... What an oversight from The God of Wisdom, ha." He mocked.

Unless that was her plan, he stopped laughing, maybe she wanted me to figure that out... He grimaced, that... was a possibility.

And he groaned at the extra homework thrust upon him.

Angelica:

Her eyes brightened, he didn't ignore her! She giggled, "Then I'm a puppet too!"

She will happily take that as a win.

"I'll be that puppet with a heart, so if you ever get lonely we can share it and you're welcome to listen to it. Plus, you're not the only one who has missing parts - in my time living in the forest, there would be travellers who'd leave books behind and one of those books spoke of the human biological reproductive system. That is when I learned that I don't have a reproduction system like humans, so in that sense, you could say we are similar."
She placed her index to her lips, and leaned in, "So maybe we are indeed similar than we think?"

Angelica softly laughed while giving him a small smirk, "And as for where I sleep, I normally sleep among the soft grass and foliage back home. I'm not really fussed with where I sleep but..." She hugged her arms, "Well, in the forest there were nocturnal animals so I was never alone and I usually kept my lamplight on but here... It's all so unfamiliar and bad memories like to sprout out from the darkness..." She flinched away from the shadows and closer to the moonlight.

Shivering she opened her mouth, "So... may I join you under the stars tonight?" she quietly asked, a slight tremble in her voice.

Wanderer:

Wanderer was baffled, he felt his face change expressions like an animatronic that couldn't work anymore. He repeated the comment again and again in his mind trying to make sense of it, he felt his mouth open as if to say something but no words came out to form a cohesive sentence and he felt his eyes twitch against his will.

His lips parted partially as dry air rushed in creating a desert inside his mouth while time slowed down as he racked his brain to the meaning of the one sentence, 'I don't have a reproduction system like humans' and completely not hearing the next words she had to say.

Of course, it wasn't like he hadn't heard of the words, 'reproduction system'; women in Tatarasuna would rub lovingly at their stomachs as they told him of the life living inside and then carry on slowly down the street with a startling wobbliness and an expression of agony that he found himself rushing down the path to aid them.

Then the next time he saw that lady they would be kissing their husband goodbye before he left for the fields while the woman cradled a baby in her arms.

Time carried on, until he saw that lady again, patting her stomach as a child - reminiscent of the baby in her arms - rested its head beside her. He found it odd yet curious as to why she would go through with carrying another weight despite the discomfort and unsteadiness it brought upon her.

Why weaken yourself for something you don't even know? What was so important that you would throw away your balance for it?

Those questions would echo in his mind, unanswered, as he watched the family grow bigger and bigger in the passing seasons.

He replayed the wording 'I don't have a reproduction system like humans', in his mind, until he noticed something, doesn't that mean she won't go through the unsteady and uneasiness he witnessed?

"Well, good for you," He commented, a little bit relieved with his own thoughts, "I'm a puppet so I don't know much about that but... Yes, at least you won't have to be in distress like the weak humans tend to do so." He put a thumbs up and smiled in satisfaction.

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