Essentia: Heat and Motion

Chapter 6: First Connections

Calor eventually found Vivran back where they had had their first encounter; by the dojo's cooling spring. Apparently, he had forgotten his luggage in the aftermath of the morning's events and had ran off in search of it. Said luggage was a single, albeit massive, backpack that seemed to be stuffed to the brim with various items. Multiple bulges were visible on the black and brown sack, and it gave off the sense that it was about to burst at the seams from overpacking.

What could be in there in such a quantity? Is he a weapon user?

Calor twitched at the thought a bit, but shook his head immediately after. The way Vivran conducted himself in a fight made it painfully clear that he only knew how to rush in with fists blaring at max power. Using tools in a fight would require diligence and strategy, while the silver-haired boy valued speed and stupidity.

"Ah, come on, please be okay, please be okay..."

As Calor approached, he heard Vivran muttering while frantically trying to unzip the giant rucksack. He seemed to be in a mild state of panic, the same as when he had taken off.

Honestly, Calor thought. How truly dull. It's probably just filled with camping supplies that he had thought he'd need. Nothing to fuss so much over.

And yet-

"What are you doing?"

Calor still felt the need to call out to the boy.

"Ahhhh, Nanny Yeast said she packed them for me, I hope they didn't get damaged by any loose debris from the tornado..."

Calor blinked at Vivran's answer which didn't even sound like it'd been aimed at him.

Nanny... Yeast?

Was that a family member? Had they'd packed some sort souvenir for the Trash-Monkey to remember them by?

Calor felt a slight pang go off in his chest as the image of a pale-haired girl flashed in his mind. His expression softened just a tiny bit. Rather than calling off the boy like he had planned, Calor decided to remain silent and let Vivran examine the insides of the bag.

"Ah! There we go, the zip finally got unstuck."

Both boys held their breath in anticipation as the knapsack started to open. There wasn't even a breeze present; the only thing that filled the air was the sound of the slowly unfurling zipper. A single bead of sweat rolled down Calor's cheek as his whole body tensed, his eyes focused completely on the sack. It was only after it had crossed 90% of the bag's surface that Vivran took hold of the flaps and splayed it open to reveal the insides. Calor leaned slightly forward to view the contents and what he saw was-

Bread. Just bread. Lots and lots of bread. It came in different variations, all the way from baguettes, brioche, and sourdough to more exotic types such as peachkin, gratup, and yussa. There were even different pastries equipped with spreads that miraculously hadn't been smeared everywhere.

"Oh thank God, most of it's fine!" Vivran sighed in relief. "A few broken off crumbs here and there, but who cares about that! NOM!"

With a huge bite, the boy started to dig into the first piece he could get his hands on. After gorging for a few seconds, he seemed to remember Calor had been standing behind him and turned around to see why the other boy was suddenly so silent.

What met his eye's was Calor's face of disgust, pure and simple. Actually, maybe not so pure...? Compared to the last one, this felt way more personal for some reason. And was it Vivran's imagination, but did he also look a little embarrassed?

Vivran blinked and extended out his hand holding a piece of pastry.

"Croissant?" he offered.

"I take back every compliment I've ever said about you."