Blooming Friendship

"Like this?"

"Close, but you should use a little less force."

"More like this?"

"Not quite. I can give you another demonstration if you like."

"You're the teacher."

Out on the steps of the twins' porch, Apex handed over Devola's guitar, and said woman got to work, her fingers gliding over the strings. A gentle tune, steady and rhythmic, joined the symphony of chirpings birds and rustling leaves. Slight shifts followed each pluck of the strings, her fingers precise yet delicate. It was leagues above his trashy attempts at replication.

"Are you ready to try again?" Devola asked, her dexterous fingers slowing.

"Not at all." Apex admitted, still taking the offered instrument. He tried once more to do as she did but everything came out off tune or distorted.

"Don't worry." Devola said with a smile. "You will get better with time."

Apex stopped picking at the instrument, far more interested in her than it. "How long have you been playing?"

"A long time. I don't remember when I started but I've been playing ever since. There's something calming about it."

Before she could elaborate further, the door to the cabin opened and out stepped Popola, a large box in her arms. " Devola- oh, good morning Apex." She flashed him a kind smile not dissimilar to her sister's. "That must've been you playing then."

"I'm that bad huh?" Apex questioned with a chuckle.

"N-No, I didn't mean it that way." She tried to walk back her words but Apex waved it off, setting aside the instrument and rising from the porch's steps alongside Devola.

"You two headed to that resistance camp again? I can help you load up the truck." He said, hands held out for the box.

"You don't have to do that." Popola said.

"I know." Apex said, arms still held out.

Popola and Devola traded looks, the former finally relenting and handing it over. The hefty thing, full of cleaned metal parts, weighed far more than a glance would suggest. Certainly more than the twins lithe frames should be able to carry yet they both disappeared into cabin, emerging with more boxes full of the stuff. Hardly the oddest thing he noticed about them.

Together the three of them headed over to their truck, loading the boxes into its bed.

For the past week, ever since that first conversation with Devola, he'd been passing by to visit the twins. Odd strength aside, something Navi theorized might have to do with hundreds of years of evolution or possible interaction with maso, they were both kind. They welcomed him with smiles and as far as he could tell, didn't mind his presence. It was too early to say much more than that but there was one thing about their attitudes that especially stood out in that little time spent together.

They were complete and total pushovers. Whether it be a joke or an offhanded comment the two were always quick to hold themselves responsible for problems that didn't exist, ready to apologize to him at the drop of a hat, Popola more so than Devola. Now he didn't have any experience with other people, but he knew the extent that they went to wasn't normal. What kind of person bent over backwards for a stranger? In the middle of what might as well be an apocalypse at that?

It baffled him from the start and continued to do so no matter how much he talked to them.

"Thank you." Devola and Popola said together, bowing their heads to him after they finished filling up the back of the truck. Apparently, while they did scavenge, they primarily did some kind of maintenance work at the resistance camp they visited.

"Its no problem." He said stepping back from the truck as they got in, Popola on the driver side and Devola in the passenger seat. Besides the initial burst of noise, the truck fell silent, releasing a quiet hum that was mostly overshadowed by the sounds of nature. "You two stay safe out there."

"You do the same." Devola said with a wave as they took off. He'd been fighting the temptation to hitch a ride with them and check out this resistance camp the past few days. With enough time he would; he was certain they wouldn't deny such a request.

He needed to keep training until he was ready.

-Route A, No. 005-

The basic stubby machines advanced from all sides into the clearing, their glowing red eyes and murderous declarations laying their intentions bare. Compared to the ones that talked, the eerie silent machines that clumped together were far more common.

Apex took a breath and raised his arms. The skin on his left forearm parted, bone expanding outwards and forming a sort of shield. The right turned black as darkness itself, the newly formed tendrils receding. The bloodied bone left behind grew longer and sharpened until it formed a sort of hollow curved blade with bits of the blackened tendrils running along its edges.

It was far from pretty but the morphing held strong, all his efforts finally beginning to pay off.

One machine launched itself at him and Apex met it head on, its metal held smashing into his shield. A grunt broke free but he held his ground, pushing the machine back and bisecting it with a single slash down the middle. The others rushed forward, this time attacking as a group.

Apex backpedaled and duck around their attempts at him, using his shield more as a last resort to avoid being pinned down and overwhelmed. While he may have been able to outright challenge their power when he focused only on strengthening his body, maintaining the shape of his weapons limited that aspect of his abilities. Focus too much on one and the other would begin to slip; he'd either end up fighting barehanded and injuring himself in the process or wouldn't have the durability or speed to make real use of the weapons.

Deflecting blows he couldn't dodge, Apex wiped out the crowd of machines one by one, left standing in the clearing surrounded by sparking mechanical parts.

That went well.

Apex raised his arms, examining the sword and shield.

…or maybe not.

The shield had been cracked and chipped away in several areas, more than enough openings in it to endanger him. The sword, while not as bad, bared its own signs of wear. To think he hadn't even noticed any of that damage building up; he could end getting himself killed if he didn't take into account holes in his own shield or his sword beginning to break.

'I recommend spreading pain receptors across them, master.' Navi said. 'While you've instinctively removed them, that decision will likely prove counterintuitive to your survival in the long-term.'

He hummed in agreement while focusing on them. The blackened flesh around his right shoulder sent out dark tendrils, spreading and running themselves along the blade of bone. The same substance slipped out from his forearm, forming a sort of web across the shield's surface as well as burrowing inside the dense bone.

He sent out a few test slashes and bashes against one of the many nearby trees. There was a bit more weight to them, but more importantly, he actually felt the weapons as they clashed against the thick bark. Throwing more pain into the mix wasn't something he wanted but without it he'd lack the proper context needed to avoid fatal injury.

'I am always prepared to suppress the intensity of the signals from those receptors should you wish, master.' Navi said. And luckily he had his trusty companion to help balance out the negatives.

He'd find some more machines to test out the effectiveness then head out to visit the twins again.

-Route A, No. 005-

Behind their cabin, Apex watched from beyond the fences as Popola watered the plants of a garden.

They kept it rather varied. Potted flowers decorated the cabin's rear porch while the colored tops of what he assumed to be vegetables grew out of the lines of tilled dirt. In the corners of the garden were trees, one baring different types of fruits. One was tall with vibrant red apples hanging from it and the others were much shorter with ripening oranges among its dark greenery.

He always ate what he could before coming here to minimize it, but his stomach grumbled, his eyes constantly drifting away from Popola and to one of the trees. That's what he gets for spending the entire day fighting machines.

"You are welcomed to take from them." Popola said. She stopped watering to look his way, smiling.

"Really?" At her nod, he jumped over the fence and headed over to the apple tree, grabbing one of the dark red fruits. A single bit into could be considered life-changing; compared to all the random animals and plants he'd been living off of, the sweetness of actual fruit was unparalleled. Among all this greenery, it was rather surprisingly difficult to find a tree that bared fruit. How did these two even have trees that looked more in line with what would've been the norm so long ago?

Before he knew it, he had wolfed the entire thing down, core and all.

A giggle. It was short and muffled by a hand but he was surprised to hear the sound come from Popola at all. While she certainly shared the same kindness as her sister, he'd come to associate or more somber vibe from her, things almost feeling tense around her at times.

Not so much now.

"What? Fruits are really hard to find in this forest." He said defensively, heat rising up to his face. So this is what it felt like to be embarrassed. He wasn't a fan.

"Of course, I meant no offense." Popola said after composing herself. She picked up a wooden basket from beside one of the rows of plants and joined him beside the tree, picking off the biggest apples. "You are a rather odd one aren't you, Apex."

"That's not inaccurate." He conceded, getting a faint smile from her though it fell as quickly as it formed.

"Are you…" She stopped short, trailing off. "Is there something…" She stopped short again, this time shaking her head and putting a smile back on her face as she held out the now filled basket. "Never mind that. Feel free to keep coming by. Devola and I are happy to have you around."

Despite his curiosity, Apex didn't press her, taking the offered basket and getting out of her way. There was some small talk about what she was growing, talk that Devola soon joined, but it wasn't long before he decided to leave for the day.

It seemed like she was going to ask him something serious there. Fingers crossed that she hadn't caught on to any of his real peculiarities.