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"What is it again?"
Silence.
He stares at the beautiful view of outer world, beyond the walls of nearest iterator siblings' facility grounds. He could distantly hear far chattering of some slugcats, doing their own business, while he is busy "standing weirdly still and talk with himself", as some likes to address his tendency to just stand here and do nothing, blankly looking at the distance, but they never tried to stop him. He grimaces, he is still not used to the warm temperatures, his dirtied fur being his big disadvantage in places such as this one. He feels disappointment, but not his own, a foreign emotion, that keeps following him since that accursed incident like a angered ghost of the past. Perhaps it is the ghost, it doesn't matter to him, he never cared enough to think about it before. All he got is always judging voice in his head, that never leaves him alone.
"Such a way to think of your creator. You have forgotten your place, little saint."
Like a looming judging parent, towering over their child, she whispers through his lips, her whispers were always barely audible to everyone, which made him look quite strange for others, except for one. These complaints follows him. But these complaints grew louder ever since he met this one particular slugcat, they almost surprise him and almost make him feel... Jealous? Jealous of their care-free attitude about their life, everything in general. Or maybe the fact that they weren't chained by their unfortunate fate and never had the "pleasure" of having never shutting up weight on their shoulders, all they care about the safety of their colony... and him. Saint doesn't know when this particular development started, but he still unsure of how he should feel.
"This. Again."
Perhaps the past iterator, now an unwanted voice in his head, a ghost in his mind, that keeps him on the enlightenment path, the one intended for him ever since his "birth", was the barrier in this predicament.
Truth to be told, he never seen any other path available for him. His so called brother comes in mind, which makes him feel bitter. He is still angry at him, but with some help of his giant companion his fire starts to calm. Perhaps, they were right. There were no reasons to hold a grudge, when it wasn't even his brother's fault.
"You are heretic, and will always be one. The only redemption is to continue the journey, you don't need these distractions."
She was wrong. He was blinded by the faith and devotion for the cause, the believe he is the one and only, the solution to every life's problems. But this solution doesn't acknowledge people's real opinions about this so called solution. She believed every living thing wanted the same as her creators, but how she didn't see the truth? Maybe their fate will finally open her eyes and change her mind.
"...You won't change my mind, no matter how much you try."
He still hopes the colony leader can change her mind.
It's funny, though, he humms, amused, I carried the same attitude before meeting him.
"And you let him distract you."
That's true, and I must thank him for this distraction, as this makes my existence more bearable, Saint whispers, closing his eyes.
"..."
Now she is the one who starts the silence, which makes Saint silently chuckle. A noise can be heard behind him, heavy footsteps. His ears twitch and he faintly smiles, recognizing those footsteps, but he doesn't move, still looking forward.
"Admiring the sky all alone, huh?" Saint moves his head to the side a little bit, allowing his eyes to see Gourmand's smile and gentleness in his eyes. He just nods, still watching the big one coming closer, holding something in his hands. "I got you your favorites!" He holds up a bowl with blue fruits and cleaned gooieducks in it to him.
"Ah, the source of the fourth karmic desire, the gluttony. You truly know how to spoil me." This may sound as a harsh remark, but Saint is truly grateful. The green slugcat finally turns to him, accepting the offering. Gourmand didn't lie. The blue fruits were quite enjoyable for his tastes, even though these weren't exactly fruits, as others believe they were.
"These are bugs stuff, you numbskull!"
She is quick to complain, but Gourmand isn't fazed by this. He was made aware of Saint's predicament and learnt to ignore such outbursts of unfortunate past-iterator inside his mind. Thanks for Gourmand's understanding, he didn't need to apologize for these moments, he just thanked him for the food, moving down to sit and place the bowl on his lap, slowly placing the food in his mouth and letting the other sit next to him. There was silence again, but it wasn't awkward in any way. It was calming and relaxing instead. Saint stopped eating and turned to his companion, watching him sit with nothing, then he reached for some gooieducks and gave them to Gourmand, letting them share the meal under the beautiful sky, clouds not covering some bits of the sun. And it was even more beautiful with him, Saint finally decides.
"I can't believe this."
Sliver of Straw huffs, not enjoying this sort of activity at all, but she can't really deny the beauty of the sky in front of her, finally letting that being her own distraction just this once.