Chapter Text
Ena glared out her bedroom window into the front yard. It was early in the morning, and while nothing skyward moved in this lamp to change its lighting, she could tell from her watch it was almost time for work. She had only been up for half an hour or so. She should be heading off soon… but…
Tap!
Ena watched another small, pixelated cube bounce off her window.
That may have to wait a few more minutes.
Ena grumbled to herself as she headed for her door, shutting it behind her and going down the stairs. Thankfully the servers didn't seem crowded today, as it loaded faster than usual. She passed her cog in the living room as she was sweeping. The younger looked up as Ena stormed past, but Ena was a bit too busy to notice her.
Ena pushed the front door open, glaring at a suspicious bush in their yard. Now a bush was rather hard to be suspicious of, but since it had never been there before, it had managed to gain the title. Ena clasped her hands on her hips.
Silence… then.
“Ena? That you girl?!” A voice whispered from said suspicious bush.
“Right name, wrong one.” Ena’s white half said sternly.
The bush ‘Eepped!’ Tensing a little.
Red Ena snapped over. “You're also clicking on the wrong window. Please turn off your computer and touch some grass elsewhere.” Then white took over “YEAH! Go moon somebody else in their front yard!!”
A groan erupted from the bush, then Moonie peered out from behind a neighboring house. Undaunted by the runaround, Ena turned from the bush to glare at her.
“You always talk to plants, old lady?!” Moonie grumbled.
“I can recognize when my files are renamed, thank you.” Ena snapped, hands moving in a scattering motion “Now shooo!”
Moonie growled at her, until what Ena was trying to avoid happened.
“Moony?!” The young cog poked her head out from behind Ena, it floating in place over her shoulder. “Dearest, it's been too long!” She switched over to blue sadly. “You never write!”
“I-na! Tell your mean mom to stop being such an old coot!” Moony shouted back. “Come on! I wanna hang out again!”
Ena felt her eye twitch as her ward mumbled behind her. “Oh, I mean, she’s not my, ahhh…” Then she switched back to yellow. “ Ahh, caregiver! Perhaps we can make a business proposal, in which Moony and I could make profitable, quality time?”
“Proposal denied.”
“Whhhhaaa?!” Blue was back. “But… but why?!”
“You have failed to explain how ‘quality time’, though I highly doubt there is enough quality in it with this one involved, will fulfill your needs and provide you with a valuable product.”
“Well snort you to, yah old hag! I got so much quality it leaks out of my craters!” Moony snapped at them.
Hrumph.
“Oh but, it will supply fun, delight, and adventure!” Young Ena said, pulling on her elders shirt. “Perhaps even alcohol!”
“Doubly denied.”
Younger Ena pouted and seemed to deflate.
Ena frowned at her. “ You don't need that to run a successful business. You need substance and shelter, all of which is provided here. So here you will remain for now! Working on your own capital.”
“Urgggh! You're such a dingus!” Moony shouted, floating closer. “You keep Rena locked up in your house all damn day! You just want someone to do your stupid chores cause you're lazy!”
“Lazy?!” Ena echoed, then switched over to white. “LAZY?!”
“Mooonny…” Younger Blue Ena moaned, already knowing the battle was lost.
“Who are you callin’ LAZY, you floating freeloader!!!” Ena snapped, pointing up at the Selenite angrily. “You look like you've never worked a day in your life! Grifting off of another planet’s orbiting pull, reflecting the light of the sun and calling it your own!!! You're so lackadaisical even your own gravity is half hearted!!”
“Tsk!” Moony rolled her eye. “ Work, work, work! Is that all you cry about?! There's more to life than work you ol’ bag!”
“More to- MORE TO-” Red Ena gasped and her hands flew up, covering younger Ena’s ears. “Blasphemy! Absolut sacrilege!!! Non- senergyristic!!”
“UGGGH! You know what you sound like?”Moonie snapped. “Wah, wah, wah!” Moonie mocked sarcastically. “I’m an old corpse that nobody likes, that drags myself around to do work cause I got nothin’ else to live for! Stinkin’ up the place and making everyone grossed out by my ugly face!” Moonie scowled. “All I got left for hobbies is kidnapping somebody fun who actually has a future and stuffing her in my closet for safe keeping!”
A flip switch.
Elder Ena went from cartoonishly enraged to…. Cold. She glared down at Moonie with dark eyes, her red half dimming slightly. The silence stretched on and Moonie clearly felt the tone shift, trying to hold her smug, angry expression, though her darting eyes and slight sweat wasn’t very convincing. Ena let go of her confused Cog’s ears before dropping her arms and hissing out slowly, her voice a bit staticy.
“GET. LOST.”
Her red half flickered black for a second.
Moonie swallowed but coughed and grumbled. “Yeah, well…. I’m just going ‘cause I’m hungry! I’m not going for any other… like… reason…” She started to float away and yelled as she went. “This ain’t over yah ol’ hag! Y-ENA is my friend even if you got your business britches in a bunch about it!”
And with that the moon waned down the street until she was out of sight.
“Awww…” Her cog whimpered with a heart broken tone, her blue half in control. “Moonie… Why can’t we just hang out a lil?”
Ena glared down the street darkly. “Not good veggies.”
“Can’t you teach her to be a good veggie?!” Ena asked sadly, looking up at the elder. “Please? Please? Please?”
Ena huffed, but seemed to lighten now that Moonie was gone. “Attempting to alter a person usually ends in sorrow and an HR meeting.” She looked down at her Cog. “This is for your best interest. Stay inside, do your chores, read some of the manuals I’ve accumulated. You will find your time filled.”
“Time filled but not fulfilled…” Her cog muttered sadly, heading back inside. Ena just queried a brow in confusion, but shrugged and shut the door behind her.
She had better leave, or she’d be late for work.
Ena arrived just a few minutes early; her co-workers were all assembled when she jogged in and Froggy took a quick look around.
“Alright, we're all here.” He muttered, writing something on a clip board. He paused to glance up at Coral glasses. “ Is everyone here employed with us?”
Taski seemed confused but Coral nodded. “ Yes.”
“Good.” Froggy mumbled simply, writing something down again . “Welcome to another day everyone! Good news, it's the first of the month, that means deliveries!”
There was a small sound of disgruntlement from Coral Glasses and the Receptionist. Even Froggy was making a face.
“I know, but we needed to refill the snack counter and the blood fountain.” Froggy sighed. “Also when I took inventory yesterday I noticed we seem to have lost some of the Leggit fish. I’m not sure if something's been eating them or something else, just keep an eye out for any weird activity in the water or around it.”
“Is anything else A.W.O.L?” Ena asked curiously.
“Nope. Since we got the casino chips back, everything else is in order. Not a speck of sand missing.”
“How much sand do we have?” Taski asked next.
Froggy hummed and flipped through his clipboard. “1 billion 998 million 201 thousands 99 particles.”
“Oh! We’re up from last year!” Ena remarked happily.
“Yeah, someone track more in.” Froggy nodded, letting the papers on his clipboard fall back. “Anyway, I’ll need everyone in the Lamp to help with putting things away. Ena is the only one who’ll be working out of the Casino as usual. You get through the bolt door and turn off that energy forcefield.”
“Then we aim for the guts!” Ena agreed with him, winking.
“Yup!” Froggy smiled.
“Hey, umm, Can I ask…” Coral raised her hand. “Why are we trying to get to this… boss?”
Ena and Froggy shared a look for just a moment. Then glanced back at her in a synchronized motion.
“Classifed.” They both said.
Croal frown. “Ohhh…. Ok?” She sighed. “This is just so confusing. For a guy that's not even born yet apparently everyone sure wants to be him.”
“Everyone wants to be their own boss. Very few actually get to be.” Ena said back cryptically. Then her expression defaulted to something sour for a moment. A certain celestial, though certainly not heavenly, body appeared in her mind. “Even fewer are actually qualified to be one.”
“What's got you all flip flopped?” Froggy asked, eyes narrowed. “ Don’t think I’ve seen your red half so… white.”
“Oh that Selenite is back.” Ena mumbled unhappily. “She seems desperate to keep my cog in her gravitational pull.” She rolled her eyes, white taking over. “ At least until the tides pull her under.”
“ Oh, your cog’s friend… what was her name… Moonie?” Froggy hummed, rubbing his chin.
“Might as well be Trouble!” White Ena snapped.
“Oh, come on, how bad could she be?” Froggy asked, brow raised. “They're both just dumb kids.”
“I think she was giving the damn cog spirits! She hasn’t shut up about wanting booze for the last few days.I mean this isn’t the company holiday party!!”
“Oh.” Froggy hummed, now looking thoughtful. “Well, that's less than ideal… but teenagers are always experimenting. At least it's just booze and not something like cocaine, 1-UP, Electronics Cleaning Dusters or Aspartame…”
“Booze is bad enough!” Ena growled, running a hand down her face. “To be honest I have no idea how old she even is, her resume was almost completely blank.. She might not be a teen even…”
“Oh. Yeah that's bad then.” Froggy nodded calmly.
“How do you not know how old your kid is…?” Coral mumbled softly, though no one heard her.
“So what are you going to do?” Froggy asked Ena, tilting his head to the side.
“The issue is resolved.” Ena started cleanly, switching back to red. “She has been told to not leave the house and to complete her tasks. So long as I continue that until ђ๏๓єՇ๏ฬภ can collect her, then all will be well.”
“Mmm hmm-”
“WAAAAAIIIIITTTTT!!!!”
Froggy was interrupted by a yell before two little hands grabbed onto Ena’s suspenders. She turned to find Taski was trying to scale up her body like a mountain. The smaller woman planted her paw-like feet on Ena’s legs before hoisting herself up higher. Coral was panicking lightly behind them, spluttering and wilting. “Taski, wait! No! What are you-?!”
Then Taski blocked Ena’s view with her head. Ena had done nothing to stop her assent. In fact her crossed arms acted like a very good foothold for the feral woman. Froggy also just blinked, mildly intrigued by what the new hire was up to. Once they were face to face the cat woman puffed out her cheeks and shouted at her.
“WHAT DO YOU MEAN YOUR KEEPING HER LOCKED UP IN YOUR HOUSE?!”
Ena stared back, undisturbed, their faces inches apart and a small bit of spit on her cheek. “ What do you mean, what do I mean? Her chosen work partner was horrible and her decisions were not financially sound. She’s stuck inside for her own good.” Ena looked Taski up and down calmly. “You know, I think this close quarters verbal combat could have been an email.”
“NO! NO! NO!” Taski Maiden shouted, stomping her little feet on Ena’s arms. “THATS NOT OK! Kits can’t be locked up inside all the time! It's bad for them! They need their friends and to play outside so they can run wild, learn lessons, gather food, and hunt each other for sport!!” Taski glared at Ena. “Playing and getting into trouble is VERY IMPORTANT to rearing kits!”
Ena blinked. She then spun her head to Froggy. “Is that… true?"
“Welll, Kinda?” Froggy mumbled, rubbing his neck. “Sometimes you do need to lock kids inside, but that was always more of a punishment when I was a tadpole.” He huffed after a moment. “I dunno, I don’t have any kids!”
“Well I DO know, and they need fun and lessons and a little danger and orange slices!” Taski growled, shaking Ena’s suspenders.
Ena blinked and looked at Coral now, who jolted under the attention. “Is she right?” Ena asked, her red half looking like it was slightly concerned.
“We-well…” Coral winced. “I don’t have any kids either… but, I guess it is? My-... when I was a child I did spend a lot of time inside and studying, but I recall playing outside much more fondly…”
Ena then turned to the Receptionist, who was polishing her TV screen. The robot scoffed.
“I don’t care. This conversation doesn't seem worth paying attention to.”
Ena mumbled in her throat, head spinning around the back of her body before she was looking back at Taski. “So… young employees need to be free range?”
“I mean, if you leave food out they usually come back. That's what my mamma did!” Taski shrugged, starting to look calmer now. “ Look, how is she gonna learn to do anything stuck inside like a rock all day?!” Taski released the suspenders to stand, her full weight now resting on Ena’s arms, though the woman didn’t even seem to register a weight change. Taski then rested her arm on Ena’s head so she was leaning on her. “Plus it must be really lonely all day! Nobody to plot with, no cloud to hunt with… so mind meltingly borning to…”
Ena frowned now, switching to her white half. “Lonely?” She echoed, looking at the ground for a second.
“How do you know so much about this Taski?” Froggy asked, tone conversational and bland.
“I just do!” Taski smirked back at him, the two figures popping up out of the aguayo on her back.
Coral suddenly spluttered again behind them. ‘WAIT! HOLD ON! Are those your kids?!” She asked, pointing at the two creatures.
“Or are they, like, pets or something?” Froggy asked, brow raised.
Ena looked up from the ground quietly. “Dinner?”
“It doesn't matter!” Taski waved them all off simply. She ignored Coral’s very soft ‘it kinda does..’ as she continued to speak. “Whats important is that your kit needs support and the ability to spread her claws!”
Ena hummed, mulling over her words. “Well, it seems rather unanimous that you are correct… but I still don’t approve of the company she decided to hire.” Ena mumbled unhappily. “That Selenite is nothing but trouble!”
“Oh like your so unproblematic, Miss Purge event!” Taski snickered.
“THAT-!!!” Ena ruffled angrily, white returning. “THAT WAS A WORK RELATED DRUG TRIP!”
“Suuuuuurrrreeeeeee.” Taski said smugly.
“Froggy! Tell her!” Ena insisted, glaring at her leader.
“Yeah, kinda.” Froggy agreed.
“See!”
“What… is a Purge Event?” Coral asked, sounding lost. Everyone turned to her quickly, though each with a very different expression.
“They're great!” Taski smiled.
“Horrible!” Ena spoke at the same time.
Froggy sighed heavily at their antics before speaking to Coral. “A Purge Event is an illegal event in most Lamps.” He explained simply. “The point is to party and get as high on 1-UP as possible. Then everyone, usually while hallucinating, kills and eats each other.”
“What?!” Coral looked pale. “That's… I don’t understand! How can people do such a thing?!” Coral asked in shock.
“Yeah, it's pretty wild. Though it can bring a pretty intense feeling of release and euphoria.” Froggy said, writing something down on his clipboard. After a moment he froze and started to sweat slightly. “I mean-! I’ve heard that…”
“Yeah, it goes from everything being loud! and crazy! and in your face! To just be calm and quiet.” Taski nodded. “Feels like a total reboot.”
“Ah?! Wait, you’ve killed and eaten people?!” Coral asked in shock.
“Oh I kill and eat animals allllll the time. I'm a very good hunter.” Taski bragged, shining her nails on her shirt. “But other beings? Only at purge events. Not that it counts there anyway.”
“What does that mean?” Coral asked, looking unconvinced.
“Pruge Events only operate with the drug 1-UP.” Froggy explained to her. “1-UP is made from crushing up an ‘Extra Life’.”
At Coral’s blank look he continued tiredly. “ An ‘Extra Life’ is a consumable that only spawns naturally in certain Lamps. A whole ‘Extra Life’ can be used to take decades off your own lifespan and reverse any adverse effects or illnesses. It can also bring someone back to life if administered before they die. They’re worth a lot of Fatty Catties. More chocolates than you can even imagine. So whatever Genie owns the Lamp that makes them is usually rich.” He tapped his pencil on his clipboard. “If you crush up an Extra Life, it can be distributed to a lot of beings at once. The effects are just now limited since it's stretched out. For a few hours after it’ll bring you back to life after you die, though it's just for a short window of time now. On its own, an ‘Extra Life’ isn’t a drug, but crush it up and mix it with hallucinogens? Then you have 1-UP. .”
“Oh. Well that's not too bad then.” Coral muttered.
“Yeah, unless the event runs too long OR whoever made the 1-UP skimps on the Extra Life dust to save money or didn’t evenly split the dust. One wrong move and suddenly a lot of beings are dead for real, and that's not great.” Froggy grunted. “Hence why Purge Events are usually illegal and hidden.”
“As long as you hear the whistle you're fine!” Taski scoffed. “If that stops, that means the 1-UP wore off. That's when you get out of Dodge!” She paused and dubbed her chin thoughtfully. “Or if you hear police sirens.”
“Look!” Ena adjusted an arm to grab Taski under one armpit, then used that to hold her in place when she moved her other arm to do the same, taking Taski’s perch away from her. “The point is, that was a work thing! I’m not going to Purge Events or Extinction Parties or whatever for my own self-deprecational pleasure!!”
“Yeah sure.” Taski rolled her eyes.
Ena scowled. “You don’t know me Maiden!”
“NOPE, but you also don’t know your kit’s friend all too well either!” Taski tisked. Then in a sing-song voice she said “♫ Maybe stuff just looks worse than it actually is ♫ ?” Then she lifted her arms up and slid right out of Ena’s grasp to the floor. Ena stared into the space where Taski used to be for a few seconds in thought.
“Alright! Alright! I’m glad we could use company time to talk about child rearing and drug parties but we need to get to work!” Froggy shouted from the side, gathering everyone back on task. “Ena, Bolt door! Receptionist, Receptionist desk! Everyone else? Follow me to carry in the blood bags.”
Everyone dispersed. Coral mumbled as she went about not being hired for this before Ena found herself alone. She was still holding her arms out like Taski was in her grasp, looking lost in thought.
After a moment she hummed, looking uncomfortable.
Ena sighed as she started down the walkway to her house. It was another busy day at work, but she found she couldn’t focus at all. All day her thoughts kept drifting, and thus her lack of focus meant she hadn’t managed to get the energy forcefield turned off… that was pushed back to be finished tomorrow, but Ena hated leaving a job unfinished overnight. The itch that it caused to form behind her eyes and the back of her throat…
She had no idea how the cog had managed to endure that feeling for so long.
She sighed loudly and glanced up at her front door.
Yes… The cog. Taski’s advice danced around her head like a moth over an open flame.
Did the young she was mentoring need time outside? Having fun? With friends?
Ena herself had no such experiences to draw from…
Mayhaps Taski was right. After all, Ena herself wasn’t what she would call fully functional. Maybe this was the missing ingredient that she could learn to add now? Maybe the moon was the key? Though loathed as she was to admit it…
Sighing, she came up to the door and entered.
“AHHH! Caregiver!!”
Ena stalled when she looked up, finding her… very out of breath cog was there to greet her. The younger shot her a much too big smile with her blue half. “You are home! Now! Home now!!”
“Yes?” Ena said in confusion, looking at her. “I have… arrived?”
“Wonderful! Joyus!” The cog shouted, then thrust a piece of paper into her face. “Behold! My chores for the day are completed! Job complete!”
Oh? Was she hungry? With how malnourished she had been it was hard to keep her satiated sometimes. Not because Ena was struggling to give her enough, but because, sometimes, the feeding was too much and the cog started to feel bloated. Then though it would revert hours later and she’d be hungry again. It was difficult for them both to navigate…
“Yes.” Ena took the list and glanced at the chores she had quickly assembled for the younger. “Good work. The task is complete intern.”
She saw the other light up out of the corner of her eye as she started to take off her shoes. Her thoughts were swirling. The cog seemed alright now… maybe Maiden’s advice was unnecessary…
“Ah! Caregiver, you must be… tired after such a day!” The cog said, catching Ena’s attention. She looked back up in confusion as the younger started to… wring her hands. “Perhaps you should go to your room? For rest?”
Huh?
“Rest?” Ena repeated, her eyes narrowing as she suddenly felt more suspicious than confused.
The younger twitched, smile almost stapled forcefully to her face.
Hmmm.
Ena straightened up to stare at her intensely. The younger one wavered under the gaze once… twice…
Then her eyes darted momentarily to the hall closet before focusing back on her, starting to sweat.
Ena herself looked to the closet and she heard her cog ‘eep’ softly. With narrowed eyes Ena studied it, finding nothing out of place.
Wait. There was a light glowing through the Louvered door slats. Her hand shot out and yanked it open.
Inside she found Moony, squashed on the floor, a jacket haphazardly tossed over her. She blinked when Ena revealed her before grunting in annoyance.
“Ah farts.”
Ah Farts indeed, young one. Ena sighed to herself. She had been hoping for more time to ruminate and remunerate before coming to a reviewed and possibly renewed opinion…
But why wallow in the mud of indecision. There was no good business in that.
Ena stared down at Moony quietly before running a clawed hand through her hair under her hat. She looked over to her cog, who was completely morose and drooping in posture. Ena muttered to herself before letting the closet door go, moving around her cog and heading deeper into the house.
“Come both of you. We shall have a meeting.” She said as she went, sounding tired. “I will supply refreshment.”
Ena entered the kitchen, unsure if the Selenite would want to stay or bolt for the door with the way clear. Either way she plucked down three cups and boiled the kettle.
When she returned to the living room Ena found Moony had decided to stay. The moon floating over the couch, looking slightly on edge. The cog was sitting beside her, hands clasped and foot tapping, the picture of anxiety. She really couldn't blame the children, this was a new reaction from her and uncharted territory for all of them. She set down the drinks on the coffee table.
Moony stared at the offering wearily, but then shot a claw machine crane out of her empty crater. It adjusted over a tea cup and dropped down, hooking around the lip of the cup and reeling it back up to mouth level in expert fashion. The moon sniffed the liquid before humming.
“This Da Hong Pao Oolong?”
Ena blinked for a moment. “Ugh, no… It's just "No Name” Ooolong.”
““It is hot.” The younger Ena explained to her friend. “You must expel air over it.”
Moony groaned a bit before looking at her friend. “Ina, I know that. I used to drink so much damn tea as a kid it might as well have replaced my blood, spit and tears.” It was a rude response, one older Ena expected, but when younger Ena frowned with her blue half at the exchange, Moony winced. She muttered before making a grand show of blowing air over her tea for her companion, who brightened again. Once done Moony pursed her lips, said “Pinky out.”, flexed one of her claw crane flexors out away from the cup, and took a slurping sip.
She smacked her lips noisily for a few seconds after.
“Yep, that's some shit oolong.”
Ena felt her eye twitch.
“Yes, well. I suppose it is.” Ena ground out and took a sip of her own cup.
“Alright lady, we’re all copacetic and domestic.” Moony spoke, looking over at the elder Ena with a stern face. “What did you want to talk about?”
Ena felt her eye twitch again.
Still she managed to contain the irritation.
It was clear Moony was expecting the same assault from a different angle. As if yelling at her to go away wouldn’t work, so now Ena was trying to reason her away in conversation or something.
Instead Ena just said what she needed to. To the point and simple.
“I realised today that I may have been too rash to dismiss you outright…” Ena spoke, though her pride and Ego were certainly trying to hold the words in. “It has… come to my attention that children require comradery and opportunities to prove themselves to properly form. As such….” Ena grit her jaw painfully. “I have decided that you two may, indeed, make profitable, quality time… together.”
Moony blinked but the cog responded first.
“Weally?!!?!” She asked, excited. “We can hang out again?!”
“Yes, I suppose.” Ena sighed heavily. “Though we will have to make some agreements before that can happen.”
“What kind of agreement, old lady?” Moony asked, eyes narrowed.
Well, the kid liked to read the fine print. That was a shot in her favour.
“First of all, you may not be more than two lamps away from this one at all times. Any work outside of our territory will result in termination of contract” Ena began, holding her finger up in counting. “Secondly, we close at 9 pm. Please return the cog before then or this will result in termination of contract. Thirdly. No drugs or alcohol on company time or-”
“Or that will result in termination of contract.” Moony sighed. “Ok, ok, I get that!” She turned to glare at younger Ena. “I mean, I don’t really give her any drugs or beer or anything, she keeps grabbing it herself…”
“It's magically delicious!” Yellow Ena smiled
“No girl… Just no…” Moony grimaced uncomfortably. “Me and Merci both keep telling you to stay off that shit! You're a scary drunk…”
Older Ena stared between the two, slightly shocked and maybe a bit relieved at this revelation. It seemed Moony had been trying just as hard to keep spirits out of the young cogs' hands… though to no avail.
Well, that was an interesting discovery…
♫ Maybe stuff just looks worse than it actually is ♫ ?
Ena shook the memory away just as Moony looked back at her. “Alright, alright. No running off, back before nine, no booze, what else?”
The Selenite was being oddly agreeable… Hopefully this wasn’t some kind of stratagem on their part.
Ena sighed.
Keep the olive branch extended.
For now.
“The last, most important, and non-negotiable caveat to our verbal contract is that you may not give Ena any commands to do Sisyphus-ion tasks.” The elder Ena said, scowling a bit. “By which I mean no task that is incompletable or TOO difficult.”
“Huh?! What do you mean?” Moony asked, grumpy. “Like my dares, bets and pranks and stuff?”
“Like getting her to race you to the top of the Wish Maker Runas. Very few actually do make it that far.” Ena said sternly.
“Well, so what? Ina is just as good if not better than those losers. She could make it! What's the harm in a stupid bet anyway?" Moony scoffed, rolling her eyes.
Naive neglect rather than Malice intent then, but that was what Elder Ena expected.
“Our kind subsists on a diet of completed tasks. We do tasks for other beings and in return, we siphon some of their energy.” Ena explained, slowly and slightly agitated. “We are earning our keep quite literally, and you can usually see when we eat because we will illuminate.”
“Wait, is that, that glowing eye shit?” Moony asked, eyes widening in realization, looking at her friend. “She did that a few times. Usually when I asked her to get me a pop or somethin’...”
Well, at least the cog had been fed once or twice.
“Indeed.” Ena grunted, still feeling a bit irritated with how blase the Selenite was reacting.
But…
Ena frowned. “She had no idea what she was doing.”
“You mean like you don’t?” Froggy asked, brow raised.
Keep the olive branch extended.
“So it also stands to reason that if we should NOT be able to complete a task, we do not consume any energy…” Ena continued, pressing on the words a bit more to try and stress the importance of their meaning. “Which means we do not eat… though food is dangled just out of reach…”
Moony blinked before seeming to understand. “Wait, so I was like, starving her or something?”
Ena clapped her hands together once, loudly. “She can be taught!” When Moony seemed to scowl at this reaction Ena decided to just keep talking and spare themselves an argument, if only for the cog’s sake. “More so, an incompleted task is like an irritant. Something that claws away at you, scratching and itching the longer it goes unfinished.”
She could still feel her own uncompleted task, pawing on the inside of her skull stubbornly.
“Itching?” Moon echoed, then seemed to think. However after a few seconds thought turned to anger. “Oh. My. Gods… THAT STUPID QUACK DUCK DOCTOR!!!”
Both Ena blinked and leaned back a little at the outburst.
“Wha-”
“INA!!” Moony turned to the young cog. “Remeber that idiot doctor we went to see when your throat got all scratchy!? He said you had allergies! What a jerk!” Moony then turned back to Older Ena tiredly. “We couldn’t figure out what she was allergic to! We tried flowers, plants, cleaners, pets, people… we were pretty sure it was people…”
“We are not known to have any allergies as far as I am aware…” Ena agreed.
It seems Moony cared enough to take Ena to a doctor. Another shot in her favour…
Moony seemed to think again, frown growing before she swung back around to her friend. “Yoh! Ena! If you're, like, still carrying around any jobs or bets or whatever I asked you to do, then like, don’t, you know? You can let ‘em go.”
“Let them go?” The young cog asked, looking surprised.
“Yeah, just like, control Alt Delete that shit. Don’t matter!” Moony insisted.
“Oh… well alright.” Ena frowned, putting her hands on her lap. She closed her eyes, instinctively releasing all her unfinished tasks from Moony.
Then she jerked and toppled back onto the couch, looking boneless. She spluttered for a moment, crossed eyed, then melted back into the couch with a groan, rubbing her palms into her face.
“Oh shit! What happened?!” Moony asked, shocked.
“I think she just managed to fully relax for the first time in a while…” Older Ena spoke with a wince.
Moony clicked and rotated back around to older Ena quietly.
“Ok. No more bets and tasks or stuff. Not if I dunno if she can finish them…”
Well. This was going better than she expected.
“Then I think that is everything! The meeting is adjourned!” Ena declared, taking a big swig of her now cold tea.
“Seriously? Sweet!” Moon held her own tea up a little higher and drank more down. After a second she grunted, making a face. “Yeah thats still shit.”
“Shhhhiiiiittttttt.” The young cog echoed beside her.
The elder just sighed.
Well, nothing could be perfect, unfortunately.