SK   Huh?

SK   In that way?

It took months to put it to words, a few days to muster the courage to speak them.

SK   I dunno. Wouldn't it be weird?

Nevertheless, she has a way of saying exactly what you don't want to hear. So you clamp your mouth shut.

SK   What was I talking about?

SK   Oh yeah! Sora!

SK   I mean, doesn't it just sound way cooler? At least 18% cooler!

'Saiki' was the name she had come up with for him off the bat. You had reminded her to think it over, back when bonding was brand new, but sage advice tends to flow in one ear and out the other. It's unsurprising that, with how her interests flit about, she'd find a new show to obsess over and a new character to idealize.

SK   He hasn't even had it for a year. It's not that late to change it.

CE   It's their first name. Anyone would get attached.

SK   I guess...

She slouches back aggressively, shaking the bench.

SK   It's gonna be embarrassing to explain it to people now.

CE   More embarrassing than 'Sora'?

SK   Hey. Sora's cool. People know Soras.

SK   But Saiki? They're going to know that it's a specific reference!

SK   It's so... ughh... it's like a kid came up with it!

You can never understand when that matters to her.

SK   And )DON'T( say I told you so.

SK   I can see it in your face.

CE   I'll just think it, then.

SK   No.

SK   I'll smack the thought out of your head.

CE   I'll tell Saiki that you're talking about him behind his back.

SK   (Don't do that! Lame!!)

She lowers her voice into a harsh whisper, even though both of your Specters are a distance away. Her Billowfly is cheerfully fluttering around the trees, maybe looking for fellow sky-borne Specter. Your Krysmoth dutifully follows a few yards behind. You can tell Carol would prefer to rest in the shade, though.

Having them spend some time together, as well as time summoned outside in general, is valuable for their health. A bond shouldn't remove their autonomy, the Professor always says.

CE   Do you ever get scared? Summoning him, letting him out this far?

SK   Why?

SK   This is where he comes from. Nothing's gonna happen to him.

CE   You don't ever feel... like it's too quiet?

SK   I didn't think 'too quiet' existed in your dictionary.

CE   (sniff) You know what I mean.

Prior to bonding, all Specters are doing is making noise. Afterwards, it's as if you've gained a special sense specifically for her. Carol is especially soft-spoken, so you need to be within arm's reach to hear her words.

Without her within you or near you, there's a strange lack you haven't felt before. An absence louder and larger than its presence.

SK   I guess it does feel a little empty.

SK   But... how does the saying go?

SK   A good relationship needs room to breathe?

SK   If I was with Saiki all the time, we'd just make each other miserable.

SK   Like, making him watch a game with me in the living room?

SK   Pretty sure that's Specter torture.

SK   Same with him making me, uh...

SK   Climb a tree or something.

CE   Really?

SK   Hey, that's not something I can do all the time.

SK   Anyways, you've have things you want to do all by yourself, right?

SK   You're great at holing yourself up.

You look down at your notebook, currently doubling as a sketchpad. Mannequins - some already clothed, some simply posed nude - litter the pages. For some, the body is a prop that serves the outfit. Yet, you can't help but see each of them aspire to draw breath, their graphite limbs itching to break free from the ivory.

You wonder if, by being responsible for their existence, you're doubly responsible for their pain.

OS   ♡ Really?

OS   ♡ Are you sure it's not, like, the honeymoon period or something?

A week or so afterwards, you bring up the subject once more. He talks all too often about such sentimental things.

OS   ♡ Well, as long as you're asking for my expert opinion...

OS   ♡ There's nothing WRONG with it. Objectably.

CE   Objectively?

OS   ♡ That too.

OS   ♡ Like, don't get me wrong. I've dabbled in that kind of thing.

OS   ♡ Not with Agapi! Don't give them any ideas.

The greenery outside the schoolgrounds aren't as lush as Forest Grove's parks, but they're enough to keep both your Specters occupied. His Hymnotic blends in almost perfectly among the flower fields, while your Krysmoth stands out like a snowball on summer day.

CE   What do you mean by 'dabble'?

OS   ♡ Stories, shows, all that fun stuff.

OS   ♡ It's a bigger community than you think.

OS   ♡ I'll admit it! Sometimes they've hooked me.

OS   ♡ I love a monster dynamic. A sad, beautiful creature falling for a human...

CE   They're not monsters.

OS   ♡ It's about the dynamic, Mothball!

OS   ♡ Being from two different worlds makes things harder, sure.

OS   ♡ Isn't it kind of exciting, though? Seeing if it, like, works out?

Oswald's eyes are positively sparkling.

CE   Does that mean you...?

OS   ♡ Oh, not for me personally.

OS   ♡ Agapi's the best, but they're not really my type.

OS   ♡ I might be THEIR type. Which is good and bad sometimes.

OS   ♡ Like, they sometimes say stuff that make me think they're going to...

CE   Huh?

OS   ♡ Eh, I think that's just how they are. And how it usually is.

OS   ♡ At least they know when to, like, leave me alone.

OS   ♡ And not get too touchy or all in my business.

OS   ♡ THAT'S what real love should be.

CE   ...

CE   I see.

Your apprehension must show more than you think, because he sighs dramatically and pats you on the back.

OS   ♡ I guess I can help.

OS   ♡ I AM the best you've got, matchmaking-wise.

OS   ♡ So, if you're really giving up on dating people -

CE   It isn't like that!

He recoils. You swallow, dialing down your volume.

CE   I mean... I haven't given up.

CE   Humans are the focal point of so much of my art.

CE   They're my muse.

CE   Specters have their own beauty, but the human body is its own realm.

CE   I would never... cast that aside.

Little breaches those opaque spectacles, but his frown is all-telling.

OS   ♡ Okay. Sorry.

OS   ♡ I didn't mean it like that.

OS   ♡ People just have preferences, so I assumed... y'know.

CE   ...

OS   ♡ Not to mention the line between us can be pretty thin sometimes.

OS   ♡ Agapi's messed around with their human form before.

OS   ♡ It's kinda freaky, but I'm sure they'll get better with time.

CE   What made them do that?

CE   What would inspire Specters to... that is...

OS   ♡ Match our super amazing gorgeous bods, you mean?

OS   ♡ If your Specter's anything like you, I think you know the answer to that.

The conversation comes to a pause as she flutters over, blinking dreamily at the both of you.

CE   Done with the flowers, then.

CE   Do you want to take a look?

You tilt your sketchbook in her direction. You've offered to sequester her to let her see exactly what you see, but she always insists against it. She can 'feel it well enough' from where she is.

...its coming along nicely... i like that one~

CE   This one?

Among the drawn figures is a woman wrapped in an alabaster shawl.

OS   ♡ It's pretty plain.

CE   Plainly pretty.

OS   ♡ Sure. Whatever you say.

...something like that... would be wonderful, brought to life~

You don't design with models in mind. When you use your Value, they spring into motion as faceless, featureless mannequins. A hollow vessel for the clothing they wield.

CE   Not yet.

CE   Soon. It'll come together.

You take your pencil and carefully add two large, lidded eyes. A pair of soft lips.

CE   Then, it will be.

You wonder how it would look on her.