Nicknames

Waking up Noah felt like a new man,sleeping on a couch was leagues better than sleeping on sheets of ice.Looking over he noticed Excalibur was asleep alongside him, so he got up as quietly as possible.Going upstairs to shower he was disgusted with how dirty he was.Grimacing as he washed his hair he noticed a puddle of filth formed at his feet.

Getting out the shower, he took time to admire himself in the mirror.While Noah wasn't fat before he was definitely out of shape.Combining that with his below average height made him look chubby.Now he stood at 5'6 with a lean frame and paired together with his fathers genes, Noah could confidently say he was good-looking.Heading downstairs he began cooking breakfast for him and Excalibur.

Yawning as she woke up she asked 'Where are you'

'In the kitchen cooking breakfast for us, you should go wash up the food shouldn't be done for a while' hesitating he said 'Are clothes a problem or...'

'My clothes manifest with this body and I don't have to wash either, but I would still like to shower if you don't mind'

'It's fine but ask if you need help turning on the shower'

'Thanks, and it can't be that difficult,'

She ended up calling to help and the pancakes were burnt.Coming downstairs Excalibur was amazed at the plethora of foods he made.Sulking slightly since Noah gave her the burnt ones she dug into the food."This is surprisingly good" she said smiling as she took another bite.

"What do you mean surprisingly and don't talk with your mouth full."

'Yes, Mom' she replied food swallowing the egg.She seemed to have suddenly thought of something and asked "Speaking of Moms, do you live by yourself or..."

"My mom disappeared years ago and ever since my dad got admitted to the hospital it's just been me."

They continued eating quietly until Noah broke the silence,"We're going to the mall today to but some necessities for you and future emergencies, make sure to tell me if you want to buy anything."

Nodding Excalibur asked "How are you going to explain my existence to that driver of yours."

Taking time to think he sighed "I got my license a few months ago so I can drive."

"Why'd you sigh when saying that."

"Because driving loses novelty after the first month so I usually rely on Eric."

Finishing the rest of the food Noah washed the dishes while Excalibur watched T.V.

'I've been thinking' he suddenly said through the bond 'What if were approaching this the wrong way'

'What do you mean' she asked.

'Well I kept on thinking why the thread between a ego and it's master a bond.There are better words for it like link and tether but they specifically chose bond.'

'Get on with it already'

'Your no fun' sulking because she ruined his speech 'Well bond sounds more personal like the bond you have with friends and family so what if we have to be closer on a emotional level'

'And how would we do that'

Drying his hands Noah walked towards the couch "We could come up with nicknames for each other."

"Did you come up with that elaborate speech just to have an excuse to give me a nickname."she asked stifling a giggle."Partially, I do believe my theory is somewhat true and your name is a bit of a mouthful to say"

"You came up with it, and I want to give one to you as well" she rebutted.Pulling his go-to card Noah ignored the first statement and continued the conversation,"I already have a nickname it's Noah," he replied."But as you said this is about getting closer on a emotional level" Excalibur said with a sly grin.Sighing in defeat as she used his own words against him Noah agreed.

"How about Cali"

"Too bland"

"Lily"

"Too boring"

"Bur"

"That's dumb and you know it"

"X"

"That's a single letter"

"But we could add the silent E"

"It's not happening"

"Libur"

Pausing to think she eventually nodded "That's probably the best name were going to get of the word Excalibur and at least it's not a generic name like Lily."

"Okay so you will be Libur while your sword form will be Excalibur."

"Alright, now it's my turn to give you a name," Libur said weirdly excited.

"Your nickname will be Ellie."

"No" he said without hesitation.

"I don't care that's what I will call you, but don't worry Ellie I'll call you Noah around others."

"I said no"

"Too bad I'll do it anyways ELLIE"

"Are you a child"

"Is Ellie sad about his new nickname"

Noah sighed accepting his fate,'We should get going, it's already past noon and we haven't left the house yet' he transmitted as he went upstairs to grab his father's gun and his keys to the car.He thought it would come in handy if there luck is awful and they ended up getting attacked.He learnt how to shoot a gun during an outing with his father years ago and now training would prove useful.Sure he couldn't legally use the gun outside of private property, but he also couldn't house a undocumented citizen so he was pass that point already.

Going downstairs and leading Libur to the garage he opened the garage door."Put on your seat-belt" he said starting the car.Pulling out the driveway Noah drove to the mall while Libur looked around curiously and asked questions,

"What's that in the sky"

"A blimp it..."

"Why are those people covering there Eyes"

"Those are sunglasses they..."

You get the gist.

While the Myriad Realms were just as, if not more advanced due to the combination of technology and magic, Libur spent most of her time since her sentience in storage rings or vaults.

Inside the mall was worse as she would point at random people and get surprised at every store they went to.It go so bad that they were starting to draw attention so he reprimanded her,"I understand your excited Libur but can you not be so verbose with your excitement."She nodded but still continued to marvel at her surroundings albeit at a quieter tone.

Coming out of the mall it was already dusk and Noah was exhausted.While he did get everything he set out to, they spent much more time in there than he thought they would.Libur was munching on one of the free samples she grabbed on there way out while carrying a bag filled with a assortment of treats she got from the many many stores she forced them to stop at.Putting the bags in trunk Noah didn't stop anywhere else on the way to his house less he end up staying the night do to Liburs.

Entering the house Noah threw bags on the counter and turned towards the Ego, "I don't feel like cooking so you'll have to settle with freezer food" and collapsed on the couch after throwing some pizza rolls in the oven.

*****

In another location far from our two protagonist three Infernal's could be seen seated around a table.

"So, she's dead" said one.

"Yes but we still cant locate her corpse" said another it's voice feminine before turning to the third,"You're the one that convinced us to go through with this deal but you failed to kill her despite that massive advantage you had.We even borrowed resources from THEM to complete the task THEY gave us yet you somehow failed!!!"

"I was fighting Saphira for fucks sake." the third one replied clearly on edge "I'm trying to solve this but because of the fucking Pantheon I can only sneak Hollows in and don't push all the blame on me bitch, YOU'RE the one that was supposed to seal the realm!!"

"Enough with the arguing" the first one said interrupting the two "We need to allocate all are resources to finding her corpse or were all dead.I can sneak in a few first orders without alerting the Pantheon but anymore and they will sense it."

"Are you sure," asked the feminine one "If The Pantheon finds out what we did to Saphira then were fucked."

"If we don't show up with the Dragonheart at the meeting then were also fucked"

"So were damned if we do and damned if we don't" she said and sighed regretting ever making contact those abyss-worshiping fuckers.