Chap 8 – Wheels on the Road; Part 5

𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐩 𝟖 – 𝐖𝐡𝐞𝐞𝐥𝐬 𝐨𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐑𝐨𝐚𝐝; 𝐏𝐚𝐫𝐭 𝟓:

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{ 𝐔𝐧𝐤𝐧𝐨𝐰𝐧 𝐂𝐥𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐒𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐞, 𝟐/𝟑 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐑𝐨𝐚𝐝 𝐝𝐨𝐧𝐞; 𝟑𝐫𝐝 𝐏𝐨𝐯; 𝐇𝐨𝐮𝐬𝐞; 𝟎𝟓:𝟐𝟕 𝐀𝐌 }

*𝑺𝒄𝒓𝒊𝒃𝒃𝒍𝒊𝒏𝒈*

" This should' be a good chassis…..Tho….It still feels off a little'bit… Maybe 'nother reinforced metal plate to its torso, then a-...*Continuous Babbling*"

  With the sound of a pencil hitting paper repeatedly returning followed by a heavy Russian accent of a female voice, we see our blonde genius sitting on one of the couches in the living room of the abandoned house behind the destroyed clothes store.

The young Kowalski had her legs pulled up, both of her soles facing one another in a very lazy-looking way of sitting as she held a dark red notebook in one hand while the other swiftly wrote and drafted around one of the pages in it using a pencil.

It was something she had found a few hours prior to now, when she started to look around the living room itself, finding it hidden in an almost crumbled wooden shelf resting on the room's far left edge.

And since then she has spent hours writing and drawing all the ideas she has until coming here.

  Kaela had to put these down as after she spent so much time chilling, it had made her head start to be filled and some headaches started to show the first signals that she might be almost entering an overload of ideas.

At the current time, she couldn't afford to go rogue and try any of these with her current resources, it would be suicide to attempt to create them using the rudimentary scraps she had lying around.

So she started to write one after another, taking out everything she had thought about them so far and some new ones while doing so. 

She felt better with each passing hour and page as all she had grouped in mountains of information and concepts over yesterday's course now were finally settled down to a notebook. Where she could always come back and look at them if she wanted to.

The current one she was working on appeared to be a short humanoid robot with various question marks around it connected to specific body parts.

She didn't have a way to color it so we can't see how she would design the parts, though the question marks seem to be from parts she doesn't know how to work around or lacks the knowledge about.

Most involved the machine's insides as the chassis armor was pretty explicit in detail on how she would make it resistant to a few rocket launcher shots before it started to show malfunction signs.

But even if she was certain it could hold it, Kaela left small notes everywhere around the resources needed that if the chassis was to receive a too-direct it was sure to almost immediately destroy a good portion of the reinforced metal she designed.

While finishing her scrambling that for one project had taken more than five pages of the notebook, the blonde sighs and closes it while the pencil stays inside the last page she drafted as a reminder of where she left before resting the book onto her lap.

Stretching both arms up in a yawn then shortly looking to her right, where another couch was located after hearing a small snoring grunt.

" Da!….. Kukla… Gimme....Sandvich….*Snoring*...." - Same place was where her old man was resting lying face down on the couch's armrest, talking in his sleep while carrying an accent similar to hers but way stronger as one of his arms fell to the ground off the couch.

Silently giggling to herself, Kaela shook her head in dismay at her father before resting her research notebook above the couch she was on and jumping out of it in a small hop.

" Hmm…. The sun is almost' out… Might as well make som' coffee." - Taking her footing she gave a look outside the windows to see a very faint orange tone started to shine above the forest that was outside.

Walking around the couch she was sitting on, Kaela reached behind it and picked up her backpack. - " Up ya go!" - Pulling it and using her mechanical arm to have a better time with the weight of the bag.

She whistled faintly in a very clumsy way as she strolled towards the kitchen, being quick to put her bag on top of the counter she had peeled off those potatoes yesterday.

*Shuffling* - " Okae….. Portable Stove….. Coffee powder….Now….. Sugar...." - Continuing to rummage through the things she seems to freeze in place…. - " Sugar...."

Intensifying her search she starts to put all her things on top of the counter, not finding what she was looking for to her increasing frustration.

" We ran' out….." - Although her face was as calm as ever, her voice wasn't able to hide her disappointment.

Sighing and running her palm throughout her face, the blonde wanted to curse out loudly. Even if she didn't use much, a spoon was always good to control the taste.

" Guess I gotta… jus' work with what I hav'…." - Giving up she starts to put all the things she had taken out back into the bag.

After being done, Kaela is quick to turn on her small portable stove and put a metallic kettle above it already containing some water she had poured from their private bottles.

She started to hum at some of the random songs she heard the other day while watching the sky along with her father, talking about the baldy a loud snore rang before a coughing took place.

The old man had choked on his own saliva and shot up from her couch so fast that he fell to the ground.

*𝙏𝙝𝙪𝙙!* - His back now lying down on the floor, he stared at the badly-conditioned wooden ceiling with a very blank look. - ' What a 'nice' way to get' up….'

Peeking her head on the door's frame between the kitchen and living room, Sumass could see his daughter's face. He was surprised seeing how badly humored the smith-head was so early in the morning.

Through he was watched as it went from a bad deadpan to an attempt to control her wheeze seeing the puppy look she received from the bear of a man.

Zapping back inside the kitchen after hearing the kettle go off in a screech, not holding it back as she let out a gasping silenced wheeze.

All while putting in the coffee powder and giving a good miss using a spoon before reaching for the filter and putting it on top of a coffee bottle, all things she had also taken out before while trying to find the sugar she needed.

From the living room and still lying on the floor, Sumass could hear all the noise going out, but his mind in how he had broken his daughter's bad mood which had made his fall worth it in his eyes as a wide joyful smile was now slapped onto his face.

" Breakfast's done… kinda…" - Walking out of the kitchen holding the bottle and two metallic mugs, Kaela slumps down, sitting at his side, and then pours coffee into both cups before handing it to her father.

Who gives her a raspy laughter seeing how conflicted her face looks despite its usual nonchalant look, as a father he knew how to read his dear Smithy like an image book.

" Wut's with da dead bush stare?" - Sitting up in a similar fashion to his young girl, Sumass sips the coffee and immediately notices what went wrong. 

Even letting an understanding - ''Oohhh…''

Sipping down her drink, she makes a funny grimace as if she ate dirt. - " I like'it… Jus'.... Wanted a bit' more sweet…." 

Agreeing in an audible loud humming, Sumass sips his own mug. His eyes wandered outside, where now had become way brighter than before, the orange and blue skies now having a beautiful bright mix.

" Get' dat needy face away… Pick'up ur things, we almost ther'."- Downing the remaining hot coffee and letting out a quick satisfied gasp, he leaves Kaela stunned as he stands up and walks towards the corner of the living room where he left their motorcycle.

Watching him go, Kaela stayed seated on the floor, taking sips akin to cat licks of her own given the coffee's heat.

All while staring at the tall veteran taking out his bike outside, her eyes had become just red lines in awe.

' I've jus' finished doin' it... it's essentially boilin' hot... how did Papo...'