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OC-tober Prompt Responses: Days 1-5

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Now I know what you might be thinking. "Opal. It is the twenty-sixth of October. Why are you so late?"

And to that I say: yes. I am in fact rather tardy to joining in on all of the OC-themed festivities. But the reason why is quite simple: you know how people usually do Inktober or OC-tober or Rocktober or what have you with artwork? Well, I decided to use prose instead.

And I ended up writing several chapter-length works instead of writing things that were only a few hundred words long at the most.

So as one can imagine, I am rather behind.

But! There is good news! I do have the first five days done, and I am almost done with days 6-10. So hopefully I can bring you all part 2 soon. And! On top of that! Some of the responses are canon to Convergence (the WIP for Chapter 3 is real guys, it does exist. I can assure you)! And while none of them would be the same as posting Chapter 3, it does show that the AU is alive and well.

Before I show off what I've written, though, I would like to make a few things clear:

The OC-tober prompt list that I've following is the one created by @/stormyth-art, which can be found here! I've used some of the 2024 prompts, as well.

The responses canon to Convergence will have asterisks next to them. Any responses without an asterisk are not canon. (Please note that this does mean that there will be spoilers for future events in the AU! So maybe skip the ones with asterisks if you don't want to deal with those-)

Prompts from 2024 will have the words "2024 Prompt" written next to it in parentheses. Combinations between 2024 and 2025 will have a "+" sign in between the prompt names.

Some responses for certain days do come with content warnings. The warnings for these prompts will immediately follow the prompt name, and all content warnings can be found in the tags.

I will be saving my more general author's notes until the very end (save for translations of words written in languages other than English, which will be provided at the end of the applicable response (although I will be using Google Translate for most of these, so please let me know if there are any mistakes)). This will prevent breaking up the flow too much (which will become important for future responses). Any future exceptions will be given in this section, before the responses start.

With that out of the way, here's:

Day 1: First OC*

“‘Ello! Are ye ‘at new recruit I was told ta take on a tour today?” Faucon blinked at the man who had confidently walked up to him. He was a bit on the shorter side (for a man, anyway), and had bright orange hair that reminded him somewhat of an open flame. His eyes were a pale green, and worked as an interesting contrast to the more muted colors of his outfit – a dark-green button-down shirt with an even darker pair of pants, along with black boots and fingerless gloves. Perhaps he tended to be involved in stealth missions? He was also donning a green cloak, but unlike the rest of his clothes, it was obvious that that part of his wardrobe was more… amateurly designed, so to speak. Faucon’s eyes also fell on the belt the man was wearing. Rather than a gun of some kind sitting in a holster, this particular accessory was used to hold all kinds of knives instead. It was a rather rare choice for someone to specialize in melee weapons these days, but it would make sense for the Resistance to have people who could work with all kinds of weaponry. Especially considering their reputation… But even so, this guy wasn’t really like anyone Faucon had ever met before. And yet, there was something… familiar about him. Almost like he’d seen him somewhere before… “Prospective recruit,” Faucon corrected with a half-smile. “I’m not too sure if I’ll stick around yet.”

“Oh, trust me lad. Yer goin’ ta wan’ to. The Resistance is great! We always look out fer each ot’er an’ wha’no’...” He blinked, realizing something. “Ack, I’ve forgo’ my manners!” He put his hand out for Faucon to shake. “The name’s Newbert, mate! Nice ta meet ya!” Faucon gingerly shook the other reploid’s hand in return. “I’m Faucon.” Newbert nodded to him, smiling. “Falcon’s a grand name–” “Ah – no, it’s… It’s Faucon. It’s French.” “Oh, I see…” Newbert repeated Faucon’s name under his breath a few times, trying to get the pronunciation right. “Ye’ll fit righ’ in, t’en!” he said once he finally got it. “Jus’ abou’ e’erybody ‘ere ‘as a French name. All o’ my buddies do, except fer the twins – they’ve go’ Greek names instead!” “What about you?” “Pardon?” “What sort of name is Newbert?” “Erm…” Newbert put a hand to his chin in thought. “Hm… I’m no’ too sure, really…” “It sounds German,” Faucon tried. “German?” “Yeah. Or English, maybe…”

Newbert took a moment to consider this, before giving another nod, satisfied. “I reck’n ‘at makes sense! It does remind me o’ ‘ow one o’ me brot’ers used ta talk. I wonder wha’e’er ‘appened ta ‘at lad…” He shook his head, deciding to get the conversation back on track. “Anyway, ‘ow ‘bout we ge’ ‘at tour started?”

Newbert started to lead Faucon through the base, pointing things out as they went. “So - the room we’re in now is the main entrance! It’s where all our cargo gets inspected, an’ it leads into the garage ‘at way–” Newbert pointed to a door to his right. “An’ it leads jus’ abou’ e’erywhere else, too! Like… t’is ‘allway takes us righ’ on o’er to the navigation room!” They walked down the short hallway in question, and sure enough, a navigation chamber decked out with consoles and a teleporter. It was all rather professional looking – it reminded Faucon of the types of navigational areas Neo Arcadia had. “T’is room is run by our very own Joan an’ Rouge!” “Hello, Newbert,” one of the two women greeted, all without looking up from her work. “How are you doing today?” “‘M good! ‘Ow are ye and Joan doin’?” “Pretty good, I’d say – but I can’t really speak for Joan.” “I’m fine!” The blonde woman replied. “But… we are rather busy…” “Oh, o’ course! Jus’ wanted ta show our latest recruit the place! We’ll be out o’ yer ‘air, now – c’mon, Faucon!”

“...Prospective recruit,” Faucon muttered under his breath.

But Newbert didn’t seem to hear him as they continued their tour. “T’is way leads to the conference room – ‘at’s where Zero an’ all the higher-ups meet up before doin’ important t’ings. I don’ t’ink anybody’s in t’ere now, so we should be good ta go fer a quick peek if ya wan’!” “Sure.”

Newbert opened the door to the conference room, and he and Faucon poked their heads inside. But instead of an empty room with unfilled chairs around a table, what they saw instead was– “Aha! Newbert, my friend and brother in arms! Please, sit down with me!” A tall reploid with a mustache motioned for them to enter. “And don’t be shy, Newbert’s friend! You can come in, too!” Faucon reluctantly followed behind Newbert as he led the way inside. “‘Ello, Autruche!” He said, greeting the mustached reploid. “Wha’ are ye doin’ in ‘ere?” “I’m practicing my latest speech! I’ve noticed that some of our trainees aren’t feeling as inspired as they should be, so I’ve developed a bit of oration meant to rouse their hearts and minds! Would you like to hear some of it? I would appreciate your feedback.” “Hm… I ‘spose ‘earin’ a lit’le bi’ o’ it should okay,” Newbert replied tentatively. “Bu’ ‘M in the middle o’ givin’ Faucon ‘ere a tour, so I can’t ‘ear the whole t’ing.” “Oh, that’s quite alright! I’m just happy that someone’s happy to listen to me at all! The first fifteen minutes should be alright, yes?” Faucon blinked. “How… How long is this speech supposed to be in total..?” “About two hours!” Autruche responded, eyes sparkling in enthusiasm. “That’s – That’s a bit much, don’t you think?” Autruche frowned, looking confused. “Whatever do you mean by that?” “Well – I reck’n all Faucon means is ‘at the trainees migh’ ge’ a wee bit fatigued listenin’ ta ye fer two hours,” Newbert tried gently. “T’ey are new, after all. So t’ey won’ be used ta ‘earin’ yer great speeches yet.”

“Oh!” Auturche nodded in understanding. “So I should tone it down a bit, is what you two are saying.”

“Yes,” Faucon answered earnestly. “I see… in that case, perhaps I should rework things a bit before having anyone listen to me… Thank you both!”

“O’ course, lad! We’ll be ‘ere ta ‘elp anytime.”

Faucon stared at Newbert blankly. We? He barely knew this man, and he wasn’t even sure if he was joining the Resistance yet. So how could he just say something like that?

“Bu’ we’ve go’ ta ge’ goin’ now,” Newbert continued. “We’ve go’ ta finish our new recruit’s tour.”

“Prospective. Recruit.” Faucon repeated, his patience starting to wane. “Wha’ was ‘at, lad?” “...Nothing.”

“Are ya sure?”

“Positive.”

“Alrigh’! We’ll be gettin’ gone, t’en. Good luck wit’ the speech, Autruche!” Newbert smiled at Faucon as they left the conference room. “Tha’ was my good buddy Autruche. He’s in charge of the storage facil’y ‘ere on base. And he’s basically our morale officer, t’ough people don’ really like ‘is speeches none. Bu’ ‘e doesn’t mean any ‘arm wit’ ‘em! ‘E jus’ gets a bi’ long-winded from time ta time.”

“...He was planning to give a two hour speech.” “Aye! But t’anks ta us, it’ll only be… hm. I’d wager ‘at it’ll be one an’ a ‘alf ‘ours now.”

Faucon shook his head. “And you all just… let him do this?”

“Aye. We’ve go’ to! T’ere’s nobody else more qualified fer the job.”

“And what do you mean by that?”

“Oh, ya know. Most people like ta t’row in the towel when t’ings get ‘ard, or get all scared an’ try ta run away. I’ve been guilty o’ oin’ t’ose t’ings meself e’ery now an’ t’en. Bu’ no’ Autruche! He always tries ta give a good speech ta get everyone back on track – except fer when he faints. If Autruche ever faints from a good frigh’, it’s time ta give up.” “...Noted.” “Anyways, we should be – ah! Ye know, I was gonna take ye o’er to Cerveau’s lab next, bu’ since it’s on the way…” Newbert walked over to a discreet-looking door in the hall, and knocked on it a few times. The response came right after he was finished. “Come in!” Newbert pushed the door open, and Faucon’s eyes widened as he found that the door was deceptively small for the room on the other side – it was large, and filled with clothes. All of which were being organized and put onto racks. A slender reploid with long, flowing blue hair emerged from being a particularly large rack. “Oh, Newbert! It’s you – and I see you have a friend with you today?”

“Aye!” Newbert turned a bit so that he could look at both the new reploid and Faucon at the same time. “Faucon, t’is is Hirondelle. Hirondelle, t’is is Faucon.” “A pleasure to meet you.” Hirondelle came a bit closer and looked them over. “Hm… you appear to be a size seven…”

Faucon raised an eyebrow at him. “A size seven in what?”

“In jackets, of course! Surely you didn’t think you could walk into my boutique and expect to leave looking like that, did you?” Faucon balked at that, looking over himself. “And what’s wrong with my clothes?!”

“Oh, Faucon. What isn’t wrong with your clothes? I mean, that hat? So last autumn.” Faucon let out a little huff, annoyed. Didn’t the Resistance have bigger fish to fry than being “fashion forward” or whatever this Hirondelle guy was trying to be? But Hirondelle wasn’t finished yet. “Oh, and Newbert. Since you’re here–”

“No way!” Newbert cut him off fast, folding his arms. “I jus’ came ‘ere ta show Faucon the place as par’ o’ ‘is tour! I ain’ modelin’ fer ye or changing me outfit none!” “You won’t even try on a suit for a few minutes? Not even for me?” “No! I already told ye, suits are stuffy and awkward lookin’! An’ the last time I tried somet’in’ on fer ye, ye tried ta t’row out me cloak when ye though’ I wasn’ payin’ no attention!”

“I know. And I’m sorry,” Hirondelle apologized earnestly. “That was rather rude of me, wasn’t it?” Newbert nodded vigorously, but he didn’t let his guard down. “It won’t happen again. This time, I’ll just… spruce it up a bit.” Newbert narrowed his eyes at the blue-haired reploid. “Wha’ d’ ya mean, ‘spruce it up a bit’?”

“Well, some of the stitches at the base of the hood are coming loose for one. I could fix that.”

Newbert paused and took his cloak off for a moment. ‘Really?” He scrutinized the hood for a moment before letting a defeated sigh. “An’ I redid the stitches on it last nigh’, too…”

Ah, so Newbert had sewn his cloak himself. That… certainly explained a lot…

“Oh, I know!” Hirondelle said. “I saw you! You even stuck yourself with the needle once or twice, right?”

“T’ree times,” Newbert corrected sheepishly.

“Oh, you poor thing. But don’t worry. I can help you. All I need is for you to just… stay right… there…” Hirondelle then shouted suddenly. “Pic, now!” A taller reploid crawled out from underneath an unsorted pile of clothes, and started rushing toward Newbert with what seemed to be a tie and suit-jacket. Newbert squawked in indignation. “Feall!” He then hurriedly put his cloak on and ran out of the room, his boots letting out a series of squeaks on the floor from how fast he was moving. “Faucon! Run!”Not wanting to be a part of whatever this was, Faucon decided to follow along, and ran after his tour guide. Not that it was easy – while getting away from Pic was simple enough, keeping up with Newbert was harder. The guy was light on his feet, and as a result could move fast. But Faucon eventually caught up after Newbert went outside. He took a minute to catch his breath after they stopped. “What – What was that about?”

“Me friends Pic and Hirondelle decided ta play a trick on me,” Newbert grumbled. “I canae believe I fell fer it again…”

“They’ve done that before?”“Yeah. Bu’ they didn’ catch me. And t’ey ne’er will. No’ if I c’n ‘elp it…” “...Right. And… is that their job? To just… force people to put on clothes?” “Oh, no! Hirondelle’s in charge o’ the boutique an’ e’erytin’, but ‘e also does some reconnaissance-type stuff. He’s real smar’, ya see,” Newbert explained. “An’ Pic’s our resident carpenter.” “...So why were they trying to force you to put on a suit?” “Because t’ey’re ‘worried ‘at I look like I jus’ t’row my clot’es toget’er’ and ‘at me cloak is jus’ ‘some ratty piece o’ fabric I foun’ outside’. But I ‘ave great fashion sense! And yeah, my cloak is a random piece o’ fabric, bu’ it’s go’ more t’an ‘at goin’ on! …Righ’?”

Newbert gave Faucon a look that made it clear he was seeking reassurance, and the latter scrambled to come up with an answer. “U-Uh – yes! Yes. You look – You look great.” Newbert beamed at that. “T’ank ye, lad!”

Faucon rubbed the back of his head, unsure how to say a question that had started to come to him. “Although… hm…”

“Wha’ is it, Faucon?” Newbert shot Faucon a soft smile. “Ye don’ ‘ave ta be shy. I don’ bite.”

“Well, it’s just – you seem to know a lot about what everyone else does around here. But… what exactly do you do?” Newbert’s smile grew into a grin. “I c’n show ye!” He motioned for Faucon to follow once more, but it didn’t take long for them to get to where they were going. The orange-haired reploid led him to what seemed to be a small metal… house? Or barn? Or maybe… Newbert bent down and stuck his upper body into the little structure, speaking softly as he went. Even though Faucon couldn’t hear what was being said, whatever it was must’ve worked. Because when Newbert emerged, he wasn’t alone. In his hands was a large, but fairly docile looking, hen. “T’is is Penelope,” Newbert introduced, gently scratching her neck feathers with the tips of his fingers. “She’s one o’ me chickens, and my favorite out o’ the bunch – bu’ don’ tell the ot’ers ‘at. Or else t’ey’ll ge’ cross wit’ me.”

Faucon couldn’t help but gasp at Newbert’s word choice – a person needed all kinds of licenses and paperwork just to have one chicken in Neo Arcadia. But for the Resistance to, by the sound of it, have a whole coop full of them…

He didn’t even think that there were chickens outside of Neo Arcadia before today.

“Would ye like ta ‘old ‘er?”

Newbert’s question snapped Faucon out of his train of thought. “Oh – can I?”

“Aye! She can’t bite, lad. She’s go’ no teeth!” Newbert came over and carefully placed Penelope into Faucon’s arms. “She’s a good ‘en. She and I used ta no’ get along none, bu’ now she loves me! She’s still pretty feisty, t’ough. Bu’ the worst she’ll do is jump up a’ ye.” Faucon nodded, looking at the hen wearily. But the chicken didn’t make any move to suggest she was unhappy; she was perfectly content to sit in Faucon’s arms and look around. “Ye c’ n try pettin’ ‘er, if ya want!”

“I – er…” Faucon awkwardly took a hand and stroked Penelope’s feathers, unsure as to how exactly one pets a chicken of all animals. But what he does produces a displeased bawk from Penelope, and she angrily flapped her wings in an attempt to get Faucon off of her – not that it takes much. He pushed the hen away from him, holding her out to Newbert with both hands.

Newbert laughed and motioned for Faucon to try again once Penelope calmed down. “No’ like that, mate,” he corrected gently. “Ye ‘ave ta stroke along wit’ ‘er feat’ers. Like t’is.” He came over to demonstrate, humming to himself as he smoothed out Penelope’s feathers where Faucon had ruffled them. The hen relaxed again, softening a bit in Faucon’s arms. “Now you try!”

“Alright…” Faucon hesitantly brought the chicken close again, and pet her just as Newbert had demonstrated. He could’ve sworn that he saw the hen narrow her eyes at him, but she ultimately didn’t panic the way she did before. “Does – Does she like me, or..?”

“I reck’n she doesn’t dislike you!” Newbert answered. “She’s still makin’ ‘er mind up abou’ ‘ow she feels abou’ ye exactly, t’ough.” Faucon stared at him in disbelief. “How can you tell?”

“I jus’ can, lad! It’s all par’ o’ raisin’ chickens. Ye ge’ ta know ‘em an wha’ t’ey’re t’inkin’ real well after a while.”

“I see…” Faucon looked down at Penelope once again – he figured that Newbert must’ve known what he was talking about, because he couldn’t tell what the hen was thinking in the slightest. “...So they’re kinda like people, then. You’ve got to spend time with them and understand their personality.”

“Exactly.”

Penelope started to get a bit restless, and Newbert took that as a sign to take her from Faucon and put her back in the coop. “So,” Faucon started once he was finished, “That’s your job, then? To take care of the chickens?” “Aye! Bu’ I do ot’er t’ings, too. Like if anyone needs help repairin’ somet’in’ and Pic and Cerveau – he’s one o’ our scientists – is busy, t’en I’ll do it fer ‘em. Or if somebody needs ta watch Alouette – she’s our littlest lass – fer a lit’le while, t’en I’ll do ‘at, too! If somebody needs somet’in’, I’ll take care of it.” “I get it. So you’re kind of a jack-of-all-trades, then.”

“Ye could say ‘at!” Newbert turned back to the main building. “Should we ge’ back to the tour, maybe? After all, gettin’ acquainted wit’ Penelope is all well an’ good, bu’ we’ve go’ ta make sure ye don’ end up lost! It wouldn’ do fer our our latest recruit ta end up missin’ on ‘is first day!” That would’ve been the part where Faucon corrected Newbert, and would’ve tried to tell him once again that he was only a prospective recruit. But for whatever reason… it slipped his mind. “That’s true,” he said instead. “How about you show me where I’ll be staying, next?” “O’ course, Faucon! Follow me!” Faucon dutifully hurried after him, smiling to himself as he went. Irish-to-English translation - Feall = Betrayal

~~~

Day 2: Coffee Shop AU “I’ve got an order here for Luke Everdeen!”

Cerise watched as an adolescent blue-haired boy ran up to her, shivering despite the warm air of the cafe and how he was bundled up to his neck in winter clothing. She couldn’t blame him. It was pretty chilly outside, and every time the door opened, a blast of cool air would rush into the coffee shop. He smiled as he gratefully took the coffee from her. “Thank you.” Cerise smiled, nodding to him. “Of course!” Luke handed her a twenty-dollar-bill. “You can keep the change.” He took a sip of his drink as he walked off, exhaling gratefully as he did so. Cerise quickly put the twenty into the cash register before turning to check on her coworker, Woya. Woya had always done good work around the cafe, but lately she’d been… distracted. “Hey, Woya. How are you doing over there?” “Oh, you know… pretty good,” Woya responded, swooning to herself.

Cerise snickered at her, rolling her eyes. “You sure? Because you haven’t wiped off any of the counters since you got that rag.”

“Huh – oh!” Woya quickly went back to work, spraying the counters and wiping them down. But she kept pausing to look up at the door, as if she were looking for something…

Cerise snorted. “You’re looking for that one guy, aren’t you? The tall one with the brown hair who always orders a black coffee?” Woya’s face flushed hard, but she didn’t deny it. “You – You noticed..?” A loud psh came from the coffee machine. “It’s hard not to, when you keep flirting with him every chance you get.” Kai, the third person working that shift, laughed at Woya’s little squawk of indignance. “An don’t act like you don’t. I’ve seen you. You even draw little hearts on his cup before giving it to him.”

“O-Oh yeah? Well…” Woya tried to search for some kind of way to change the subject or defend herself, but she came up short. “...Whatever.”

But Kai wasn’t done yet. She came over to Woya and started lightly poking her on the arm. “You loooove him, don’t you Woya? You just want to kiss his stupid posh face.”

“Sh-Shut up!” Woya laughed as she tried to push Kai off of her.

Usually, that wouldn’t be enough to make Kai back off. But interestingly, it seemed to work today. “Yeah, yeah. I’ll spare you – for now. I’m not so much of a jerk as to embarrass you in front of that hoity-toity loser, anyway.”

“What are you talking about–” Woya gasped as the man they had just been discussing walked inside, face slightly reddened by the cold. Cerise stifled a laugh as she saw Woya blush again, and she casually moved out of the way so that Woya could work the register instead. But that had the unfortunate consequence of Kai deciding to tease her instead. “You know, there’s another guy who comes in here a lot. The only difference is instead of coming for the coffee, he comes in for you.” “Pfft. What are you talking about? None of our regulars do that. I would’ve noticed.” Kai sucked her tooth and crossed her arms. “Don’t play dumb. You know exactly who I’m talking about. I mean that orange-haired short stack that walks into the joint from time-to-time.”

Cerise huffed, shaking her head. “Okay, yeah, I know him. But him coming in here like that doesn’t mean anything.” “You know he orders a black coffee the same way Woya’s guy does, right? It’s just that Candlehead doesn’t even like the strong stuff. The only reason he gets it is because he doesn’t know how to order anything else on the menu. And he gets so awkward whenever he sees you that he probably wouldn’t be able to figure anything else out if he tried. Although, he doesn’t exactly strike me as the smart type…” Cerise furrowed her brow. “If he doesn’t like it, then what does he do with it afterward?”

“He sits down and suffers through it. That gives him an excuse to sneak glances at you when he thinks nobody’s looking.” Cerise shook her head again, denying it. “And how exactly did you notice all this? I thought you weren’t interested in romance.”

Kai furrowed her brow. “Not being worried about getting a date and having the ability to be observant aren’t mutually exclusive, you know.” “I know that–”

The conversation was cut short as a loud giggle came from Woya. “Kai! Can you start one black coffee, please?” She beamed as she silently turned her back to the register and held up a little piece of paper. Look what I got! She mouthed.

“Oh, great,” Kai muttered sarcastically as she got the coffee machine started. “She got his number. Now we’ll never hear the end of it…” The next hour went by fairly quickly, with the coffee house being busier than usual thanks to the chilly weather. But towards the end of the morning rush, a certain patron with green eyes and orange hair walked in. “Well would you look at that?” Kai said with a grin. “Candlehead’s finally showed his face.” She walked over to Cerise and shoved her over to the register. “You’re up, Ceri.” “But it’s your turn on the register next–” “Don’t care. You go do it.”

Cerise was about to meet Kai with a quippy insult, but went silent in favor of her expected greeting as the customer walked up closer to the register. “Hi, welcome to Kawa! What can I get for you this morning?” “Oh, uhm…” The man blushed a little and rubbed the back of his neck shyly. “I’ll – I’ll ‘ave… erm…” He attempted to make eye contact, but failed miserably; he could only pull it off for a second or two before his blush deepened and he looked toward the ground. “S-So’ry, I – I seem ta ‘ave forgot’n…”

Cerise couldn’t help but do a double-take. She had never noticed any of this before – but come to think of it, she had never worked on the register when this particular customer came in before, either.

But Kai had.

Accepting defeat (to the tune of Kai cackling to herself in the background), Cerise offered the customer a smile. “That’s alright. Take your time.”

The patron nodded, swallowing a little bit. “T’ank – T’ank ye…” He took a deep breath before trying to order again. “I’ll ‘ave… a black coffee, please.” Kai let out an intense snort at that, while Cerise did her best to keep her eyes from widening. Everything was going just as her coworker said it did. “Okay! And what name will it be under?” “Erm – N-Newbert.”

“Alright! I’ll have that ready for you in a second, Newbert.”

Newbert’s face turned a deeper shade of red. “Oh – t’ank you…” He went ahead and sat down, putting his hands to his face in an attempt to cool it off – but it was in vain to a certain extent, as he was wearing gloves. Kai made Newbert’s coffee with the biggest smirk on her face Cerise had ever seen. She went to say something as she put the lid on it, but Cerise put a finger up to silence her before she even started. “Shush.” “I didn’t even say–” “Shhh. I don’t want to hear it.”

But lucky for Kai, Woya had her covered. “He likes youuu-” “Shut it!” Cerise took Newbert’s drink from Kai once she finished writing his name on it. She walked over to the appropriate counter, and– “One black coffee for Newbert!” Newbert rose from his seat sheepishly, blushing once more as he handed Cerise some money. “T-T’ank you again…” “No problem.” Cerise watched as Newbert slowly returned to his seat, and stared at his cup for a while. It was almost as if he was getting the courage up to drink from it – or maybe not “almost”. Once he finally picked it up, he took a deep breath, closed his eyes, and had a little sip from it. And his distaste for the beverage was immediately apparent. His nose wrinkled, and he made a strangled choking sound before swallowing. On his second attempt, he actually gagged a little. Cerise couldn’t help but feel bad for the poor guy. She had half a mind to head over there with some cream and sugar packets and just… start dumping them in his drink. Whatever made it more bearable for him. And she would’ve done it, too, had Newbert not tried to look up at her at that moment – only to realize that Cerise was already looking at him, thus leading to him hurriedly turning to face the window out of embarrassment. Woya approached Cerise, having witnessed the whole scene. “You should talk to him.” Kai let out a loud HA! In amusement. “Oh, please. He’d spontaneously combust if she tried that.”

“...That’s not what’s stopping me,” Cerise mumbled. “I mean, it’s just… what would I even say to him? It’s not like I know the guy. But I can’t just ignore him liking me when he acts like… that.” Doing so would just make her look dense, wouldn’t it?

“Hm… You could ask him about his hobbies? Or his favorite food?” Woya suggested. “I don’t know… Does anybody ever really… just walk up to somebody and start talking about those kinds of things?”

“Here,” Kai started. “I’ll give you a conversation starter.” She slammed her hand on the counter, getting Newbert’s attention (as well as that of a few other patrons nearby, but that was neither here nor there). “Hey, Candlehead! Why don’t you order a drink you like next time?” Newbert scoffed, annoyed. “Why don’ ye mind yer own business, Kai?” Apparently, he suffered this kind of treatment from her often – he knew her well enough to call her by name. “Why don’t you gain a couple inches in height? I mean, 5’7”? Really?”

“‘M taller t’an you, aren’ I?” “I’m a girl, smart guy. What’s your excuse?” Newbert sighed and looked out the window, irritated, while Cerise tried to glare a hole into Kai’s head. “What? What’d I do?”

“Why in the world would you bother him like that?”

“Why not?” Kai chuckled, completely unintimidated by Cerise’s scowl. “And anyway, now you have a reason to talk to him.” “And what reason would that be?” “To apologize for me getting his goat. I sure ain’t gonna do it, and you know a big part of our so-called mission statement is “hospitality” or whatever. So unless you want Woya here to sneak an anonymous complaint to Big Daddy Corporate and get us all in trouble, you’ll take care of it.” “Woya wouldn’t do that–” But Cerise found herself eating her words, as she saw Woya giving her a sly look out of her peripheral vision. Which meant that Kai had successfully gotten her to agree to play matchmaker with her… “I hate you both,” Cerise grumbled as she stepped out from behind the counter and walked toward Newbert’s table. Newbert was still looking out of the window, but he seemed to be more at ease now. He watched as snow fell outside, smiling as the flurries gently went toward the ground. But that also meant he wasn’t paying attention when Cerise slid into the seat next to him. “Hey–” Cerise cut herself off as Newbert jumped, startled. “Oh! Sorry – are you okay?” Newbert nodded, face pink from surprise. “A-Aye–” He tried to clear his throat in a desperate bid to get his bearings. “So, uhm – wha’ brings ye o’er ‘ere, erm…” He stared at the ground again, ashamed. “‘M so’ry. I don’ reck’n I’ve e’er caugh’ yer name…” “Cerise,” she offered kindly. “I’m Cerise.” “Cerise…” Newbert said the name somewhat wistfully, like he enjoyed the way it sounded – while also thinking it was a shame that he didn’t get to hear it until now. “Nice ta meet you, Cerise.” “Nice to meet you too, Newbert.” Cerise couldn’t help but notice how timid Newbert got at that, with him nodding and bashfully taking another sip of his coffee – only to narrow his eyes in regret as soon as he did. “I just wanted to apologize for the stuff my coworker said. She’s just… like that, I guess. I don’t know why, but she is.” Newbert snickered a little. “It’s s’okay,” he assured. “‘M pret’y used to it by now. She’s like t’at whene’er I come in ‘ere…” “Oh yeah? Well, I’ll talk to her about it.” I’ll even smack some sense into her if I have to. She’s been asking for it, anyway. “You shouldn’t have to deal with that just because you happen to be in the same room as her.” But Newbert shook his head. “Oh, no! Ye don’ – Ye dun’ ‘ave ta do ‘at. It’s okay. I’m… I’m no’ really concerned wit’ ‘er when I come in ‘ere, anyway…” “...Then what are you concerned with?” Cerise asked, daring to push the envelope. She had a feeling she already knew the answer, but she just… wanted to be sure. Newbert let out a little squeak and flushed again. “Oh… well… ya know…” The soft sound of him tapping his foot against the floor could be heard. “Erm… jus’... jus’ wit’ ot’er stuff.” Cerise chuckled a little. “So… I take it the coffee’s not on your mind either, then?” “Nay, Cerise.” Newbert started tapping his foot again. “C’n I… tell ye a secret?” “Sure.” Newbert looked around the coffee shop like he was on the lookout for the police, then he lowered his voice to a whisper. “I don’ even like t’is kind o’ coffee,” he said, pointing to his still mostly-full cup. “It’s awful.” “Pfft–” Cerise struggled not to laugh, despite already knowing that. “Then why do you buy it?”

“Because I dunno ‘ow ta order anyt’in’ else! I mean, wha’ even is a mashi-ato, anyway?” Cerise lost the fight against her diaphragm at that, and ended up laughing for a good little while. “Wha’? Wha’s so funny?” “It’s – It’s pronounced macchiato,” she corrected gently. “Oh–” Newbert hid his face in his hands, embarrassed once again. “Hey, hey, it’s fine! I kept mispronouncing cappuccino as cup-of-sino when I first started working here.” Newbert lowered his hands, smiling at her. “Aye?” “Yup. We have another coworker named Finn, he works the evening shifts now – he would not stop teasing me about it. And when I finally started saying it right on a regular basis, he actually got sad because he didn’t have anything to make fun of me for anymore.” “He must be one real mischievous bloke t’en, yeah? Imagine gettin’ in a fuss because ye can’t make fun o’ a lady anymore…” Newbert made a playful tut sound. “‘E mus’ be pret’y young t’en, too.” “You say that like you’re on the older side of things.” Newbert shrugged. “No’ really.” “How old are you, then?” “Twenty-one.” He glanced over at Cerise shyly. “Wha’ abou’ you?” “I just turned twenty-four back in the fall.”

“I see…” Newbert’s foot went back to tapping, and he pursed his lips in thought. “Hm… Wha’s yer favorite color?”

“Magenta. So much so that I dyed some of my hair to be that color. See?” And sure enough, Cerise’s hair was a pleasant combination of a dark magenta and a soft lilac, with her curls alternating between various shades of each.

“So that’s why ye did ‘at…” Newbert muttered to himself. “I always t’ough’ it was a lovely color on y– I mean! I mean, erm–”

“No, that’s okay! I don’t mind. I… appreciate the compliment,” Cerise said quietly. She found that she was blushing as well now, right along with Newbert. “Uh… What about your hair? Is it naturally that color..?”

“Aye,” Newbert confirmed. “Bot’ me an’ my brot’er go’ it from our dad.”

“You have a brother?”

“Mmhm! We’re twins, actually. I’m the oldest by twelve minutes.”

“Oh? So what you’re saying is that you’re not the only Scottish guy with green eyes and hair like yours that I should be worrying about?” “Close! ‘M Irish.” “Ah,” Cerise sounded. “That was my second guess.” “And ye don’ ‘ave ta worry abou’ gettin’ me an’ muh brot’er mixed up none – he’s English.” Cerise blinked at that. “How is that possible?” “Our parents got divorced when we were still itty-bitty lads in cribs. Me brot’er went ta live wit’ me mam in England, an’ I stayed wit’ my dad in Ireland.” “Oh…” Cerise looked at him thoughtfully. “Was it hard, having to grow up away from your mom and brother like that?” “Yeah. I mean, some days were bet’er t’an ot’ers, bu’... I dunno. Knowin’ ye have a whole brot’er and mam t’at are jus’ across a shor’ ways across the wat’er, bu’ no bein’ able see ‘em in person whene’er ye wan’ is…” He sighed a bit. “...’S rough’.” “...I’m sorry.” “Oh, no. It’s alrigh’! I ended up leavin’ Ireland anyway, as ye c’n see. So now I c’n go anywhere I wan’.” “So you’re just… passing through, then?” Cerise found herself pressing the tips of her fingers together, wondering if she was just more of a short fling to him – if they even got that far, anyway. The poor guy was just so nervous around her (but then again. That was kind of flattering)... “Well… ‘at depends. I… t’ink I found a good reason ta stay fer a while,” he mumbled, his cheeks starting to turn a soft red color for the umpteenth time that day. “Did you?”

“Mmhm…” Newbert put his hands to his face again, not realizing that doing so really wasn’t as effective as hiding how flustered he was as he thought. “Bu’ it – it depends on if – if I’m righ’ abou’ the whole idea. Because I don’ really know a whole lo’ abou’... my reason.” The tapping started up again. “Bu’ – Bu’ I would like to.” Cerise nodded, understanding what he was saying. “I’d like to know more about you too, Newbert.” The Irishman blushed furiously at that, but didn’t bother trying to make it go away. “A-Aye?” “Yeah! We should… talk more. Maybe even in a place where you don’t force yourself to drink a type of coffee you hate.” Newbert laughed inwardly. “‘At would be nice…” He hesitantly took Cerise’s hand, and she hummed, letting him. “We could… go after yer shift ends, maybe..? I don’ ‘ave ta work until nigh’ time, so…”

“I’d like that,” she said, clasping his hand in return. “I’d like that a lot.” ~~~

Day 3: Modern AU (2024 Prompt) (Note: this response contains implications of child abuse and child neglect. Reader discretion is advised.) “Alright, all of you have a great day – no running, Mr. Richard – Ms. Victoria, I may have given you an extension on the paper until the end of the break, but that doesn’t mean you should wait until the last minute to give it to me – Ms. Louisa, I hope you have an excellent time on vacation – I said no running, Mr. Richard!" Palice sighed after saying goodbye to each of his students, all of them eager to leave for their fall break after the bell rang. He couldn’t entirely blame them. They were getting out early that day due to the poor weather outside, and the sooner they got home, the sooner their break could start. Although, there was one exception to that rule – his favorite student (although he’d never admit it out loud), Wren, was doodling in her notebook, and had made no move to do as much as start packing up to leave. He chuckled a bit as he approached her desk, curious as to what act of tomfoolery she was trying to pull off now. “Ms. Wren,” he said, leaning against her desk. “Surely you’re not so absorbed in those swirls your drawing in the margins to have not noticed that everyone else has left?” “Don’t worry. I know,” Wren answered. “But I think I’ll just stay here.” Palice laughed openly at that. “Aren’t your parents coming to pick you up soon?” “I walk home.” “Alright. But once the rain lets up, you should try and get home.” But Wren just shook her head. “That’s not what I mean! I meant I’m going to stay here. For the whole break!”

Palice blinked, surprised. “How do you think you’ll manage that?”

“The same way you do! You live at the school, don’t you? Like all the other teachers?” “Pfft-!” Palice put a hand over his mouth, trying to keep himself from laughing again. He could always tell when one of his students said something silly in earnest, and he would subsequently do his best to try and keep them from feeling bad. Children couldn’t be expected to know everything, after all. “Oh – We don’t live at the school, Ms. Wren.” Wren’s eyes widened, and she stared at him with an open mouth, flabbergasted. “You – You don’t?!” Palice couldn’t help it then – he started to howl at that, and Wren crossed her arms. “Don’t laugh at me!” “Ah – I’m sorry. I’m not trying to make you feel bad,” Palice said, quickly reigning it in. “It’s just – I wasn’t expecting that, is all. After all, the school isn’t exactly the most accommodating place for a person to live…” “What do you mean? You have everything you need here! You could use the showers in the boys’ locker rooms. And get food from the cafeteria.” “There wouldn’t be any food in the cafeteria, Ms. Wren. Only enough is cooked for the students and teachers each day.” “...So the cafeteria workers don’t live here either..?” Palice shook his head, smiling kindly. “Oh.” “And in any case, where would we sleep? There aren’t any beds here, either.” “You could use the mats in the gym.” “An interesting idea – but I think we’d all suffer from back aches if we slept on them every night.” “I guess.” Wren pouted, looking back down at her notebook.

That got Palice’s attention fast. “Is everything alright?” “...Yes,” Wren murmured, still looking down at her desk. “...Are you certain of that?”

Wren let out a sigh. “I – I wanted to stay with you the whole break…” Palice blinked, shocked. “You don’t want to go home and be with your family?” “Not really,” Wren mumbled, shrugging a little. “Hm.” Palice became quiet at that, thinking to himself. Admittedly, he had been… noticing certain things about Wren ever since she became his student. Like how she was smaller than the rest of her classmates – she was already naturally short and fairly small, but it was getting to the point where he was starting to worry that her growth might be stunted. She also seemed to be surprised whenever an adult noticed her doing much of anything, and she couldn’t really stand whenever people started yelling. Especially not when the yelling was directed at her… “Wren?” Palice softened his voice, doing his best to make sure the girl didn’t think she was in trouble. “Is everything okay at home?” Wren didn’t answer – she just shrugged again, swinging her feet timidly. “...You can tell me if it’s not,” he offered kindly. “I can help you.” “I… uhm…” Wren suddenly closed up her notebook. “I – I have to go home now! Have a good break, Mr. Blaque! See you later!” While she rushed to pack up, Palice pursed his lips. “Wren, it is raining in sheets outside. It would be irresponsible for me to let you walk home in this weather.” “I’ve gotten through worse!” Wren insisted.

Palice crossed his arms, somewhat amused. “Have you?”

“Yes! I walked home when it was snowing, once! All those people whose parents drive them home were stuck on the road for hours because of all the ice! But I was home in thirty minutes!”

“I’m glad that you were able to get home so easily,” Palice began, “But that was then. Right now, it’s raining more than I’ve seen it rain in a while. That’s going to make it hard for you to see where you’re going. And even if you did get home safely regardless, you’d likely become ill from how much rain and wind there is outside – unless, of course, you have a sturdy umbrella with you?”

“Yeah! I have one!” Wren pulled a wrapped-up umbrella from her bag – but it was rather flimsy looking. So much so, that Palice wasn’t too surprised to see a large tear in the side of it. He carefully pointed out to her. “...Ms. Wren…” “Huh?” Wren looked at where he had pointed, and let out an annoyed groan. “...Galar da. How did that get there..?” “Looks like you’ll be staying here for a while.” “But – I…” She sighed again, starting to accept defeat. “...But I’m half a score and two years old,” she whined, using her last line of defense. “I can handle walking home in some rain. Even if my umbrella has a hole in it!” “Yes, well, I’m thirty-one,” Palice challenged, “And I’m going to be waiting for the rain to let up, too. I personally wouldn’t drive home in this weather.” Wren stared at him. “You wouldn’t?” “Not in the slightest. I’m not even sure why the school decided the best thing to do was to dismiss early. It would’ve been safer to put us on a lightning hold…” Palice let out a disappointed tsk. He loved working at this school, he truly did – but some of the decisions made by the administration were… questionable at times. “In any case, I’ll be staying here for a while longer.” “Oh…” Wren thought about that for a moment. “Well, then… I suppose I could do the same thing,” she decided finally. “Since it’s the real adult thing to do.” “Indeed.” Palice nodded to her, satisfied with how that conversation went. He got ready to try and re-direct things back to Wren’s home life (the matter was too serious to just brush off, even if that’s what Wren might’ve preferred). Only– “Are you sure you don’t live at the school?” Palice laughed again. “I’m quite sure.” “But then how come I don’t see you out in public?”

“It’s most likely a matter of coincidence.” “Hm…” Wren narrowed her eyes, unconvinced. “O-kay. Then does that mean you don’t keep all your clothes in your desk drawers?” “Haha! – Ah, no, no, of course not! I don’t think they’d fit in there.” “Not the ones near the top! I mean the big ones at the bottom. Everyone thinks you just keep boring old papers that need to be graded in there, but I know better.” “Pfft – Well, I’ll tell you what. You’re half right. I don’t keep my papers in there. Would you like to see what I do store in those drawers?” “...I can? For real? You’re actually letting me?” Palice gave her a nod. “Oh!” Wren hopped out of her seat. “Then yes. Let’s look.” Palice led her over to his desk at the front of the room, and pulled a set of keys from his pocket. He slid a gold one into the lock on one of the drawers, and after getting it open, revealed a bunch of board games inside. “See?”

“Ohhh…” Wren put a hand to her chin in thought. “Those are some of the games we play on our free days sometimes,” she observed.

“That’s correct. And here are the rest of them.” He opened the other drawer up.

“What – But then what do you keep in those cabinets?” Wren pointed up at the cabinets lining the wall near the back left corner of the room.

“Those are for what needs grading,” Palice explained. “As well as a few cleaning supplies.”

“...Oh.” Wren put her hands behind her back timidly. “...Now I feel silly…”

“Don’t feel bad. You asked an innocent question, and I gave you an answer. There’s no harm in being curious.”

“...You don’t understand,” Wren started. “I thought teachers lived at school since – since I was five.”

“...You weren’t entirely wrong,” Palice offered. “If this were a boarding school, then perhaps I would live here.”

“...Really?”

“Yes. And I’m quite sure many of the other teachers would do the same.”

Wren’s brow furrowed. “Even Mr. Whytte?”

“Yes, I believe he would as well.”

“Oh, bother.” Wren let out a huff. “I’d rather be wrong than live with Mr. Whytte…” Palice looked at her thoughtfully. “Well, you wouldn’t have to worry about that, since the dorms for men and women would be kept in different parts of the school. But… May I ask why you harbor such animosity for the man? He’s not even one of your teachers. He teaches honors history to eighth graders, if I’m not mistaken.” “Because he’s mean to you!” Wren threw her hands up, exasperated. “How could I not get mad at him? He goes out of his way to treat you poorly!” “I wouldn’t say–” “And you don’t have to defend him, either! He’s a bully, and you know it!” That’s putting it mildly, Palice thought. He and Mr. Whytte… never really got along. Not even back in law school. And for the life of him, Palice just couldn’t figure out why. He had lost contact with him after he had given up being a lawyer in favor of teaching, and had hoped that time would have mended whatever had caused the bad blood between them when he had heard Mr. Whytte was seeking a job at the school after Palice had gotten hired.

But he had been… quite wrong about that. Palice let out a sigh. Wren wasn’t wrong, but it wasn’t as if he could simply admit that. It would be unprofessional for him to speak ill of one of his coworkers, regardless of how much they disliked each other. And encouraging Wren’s vendetta against Mr. Whytte would only serve to cause problems for both of them down the line, especially if Palice followed through with his plan to recommend her for his class next year (because while he might not like the man, there was no doubt that Mr. Whytte knew how to teach. And Wren was more than capable of keeping up with his style). So he resigned himself to being… tactful in how he expressed himself. “It’s true that we often have issues socializing with each other,” he admitted. “But that’s between me and Mr. Whytte. And while I appreciate your concern, I would prefer if you didn’t take it upon yourself to become so… invested in adult happenings.”

“…You could’ve just told me to mind my own beeswax,” Wren pointed out, crossing her arms.

“I know,” Palice said with a grin. “But where’s the fun in that?”

Wren snickered a little, but her attention changed to something else as she looked out of the windows. “It’s still raining…”

“Indeed it is… Do you have any work you need to get done before the break ends?”

“No. I did all of it already.”

“I see.” Palice looked over at one of the now closed drawers. “In that case, how about we pass the time by playing a game?”

Wren’s mouth became a little “o” shape. “Like – Like one of the board games?” “Yes. We have plenty of them, and it looks like it’ll be a while before the rain lets up.” “But I thought… I thought that you didn’t know how to play any of them,” Wren murmured sheepishly.

“What makes you say that?”

“Well, you never play them with us during our free days. So…”

Palice laughed warmly at that. “Ms. Wren, I’m going to let you in on a little secret: the free days are an excuse for me to get caught up on entering grades.”

“What?! Are you serious?! Is that why we always have one after a test?” “Partially – but I also think you all deserve a break from time to time after working so hard.”

“Ah.” Wren looked over at the drawer now, pulling it open (Palice hadn’t yet locked it back). “Can Monopoly be played with two people?”

“I don’t see why not.”

“Okay! Can we play that, then?” The next two hours went by relatively quickly, with the game going on for a rather long time – but that was to be expected. Monopoly was infamously known for taking an extensive amount of time to finish (once, Palice had a group of three students take three whole free days just to complete one game). But eventually, Wren ended up conceding. She had ended up landing on just a few too many of Palice’s properties with houses on them. “Oh, bother,” she mumbled to herself afterward, only somewhat annoyed. But her mild discontent fled just as quickly as it had arrived. She held her hand out to Palice. “Good game, Mr. Blaque.” He shook it firmly. “Good game to you as well, Ms. Wren.” He turned to the window afterward, and blinked at what he saw outside. “Why, would you look at that? It’s stopped raining.” “Really?” Wren took a look for herself. “Oh! So it did.” She pouted a little afterwards, and Palice didn’t need to guess why. He knew the girl was essentially back to square one, having to go home even though she didn’t want to. He tried to think of a way to get her to open up, and get into the specifics of why she was so insistent on staying at the school earlier (although, he most certainly had his own understanding of the situation). But he wasn’t sure if now was the most appropriate time to bring up her home life again. The sun was starting to set, and soon it would be dark. And he’d rather not have Wren walking home alone at night by herself. “...Ms. Wren?” “Yes?”

“Are you positive that your parents won’t be picking you up today? Not even if you or I called them?” “Yeah. I don’t have a cell phone, and my mum doesn’t answer the phone for numbers she doesn’t know. And my dad’s probably still at work.” “I understand.” But Palice wasn’t one to be defeated so easily. “In that case, I’ll just have to drive you home.”

Wren let out a gasp, excited. “Like you did last month! When I caught a fever.”

Palice nodded, trying not to wince – he preferred not to think of how tired and pale the girl had looked when she was ill… “That’s right.”

Wren moved quickly in cleaning up the game, now ready to leave. “Can I sit in the front this time?”

“I’m afraid not – that’s for adults only.” “But I’m a whole half a score and two years old!” “Ms. Wren, you do understand that’s essentially the same as saying that you’re twelve, yes?”

“Yeah, yeah…” “So you’ll sit in the back and behave, then?” Wren nodded vigorously, despite how she had been put off by being kept from the experience of riding in the passenger’s seat. “Good. I’m glad we’re on the same page.”

“Mmhm!” Wren put the lid of the board game back into place. But she had an oddly solemn expression on her face. “...Mr. Blaque?”

“Yes, Wren?”

“Thank you for… sitting with me. And for keeping me from going out into the rain.”

Palice smiled at her. “Of course, Ms. Wren. It was my pleasure.”

Wren looked up at him, shocked. “So you’re saying… that you like hanging out with me?”

“Yes! You’re a joy to be around.”

Wren grinned widely at that, so much so that she let her teeth show. She went to say something – but then shook her head, cutting herself off before she even got started. She put the box away and went back to her desk to grab her things. “Come on, Mr. Blaque! We haven’t got all night!” Palice nodded as he put the game away, and locked his desk back up. “Alright! I’m right behind you.” Welsh-to-English translation: Galar da = Good grief

~~~

Day 4: Outfit Swap (2024 Prompt)* Kai let out an annoyed groan as she looked at herself in the mirror. “Do I have to wear this..?”

“Yes!” Woya insisted from outside. “You lost the bet, and you said that you would switch clothes with me if you did! So!”

Kai huffed, wishing she could kick herself for agreeing to do something so stupid. What she wouldn’t give to change into literally anything else. She took another glance at Woya’s dress, foreign and strange on her body. It wasn’t even that Kai minded wearing things like skirts and dresses and the like — it was just that she didn’t want to wear this one. The bottom half of it was a light blue, going down past her knees and halfway down the main part of her legs, with the top being black with long sleeves. It wasn’t a bad looking dress, by any means, just…

Not her style.

At least there was the small mercy of Woya’s feet being too small for Kai to borrow her shoes as well — that left Kai in her own pair of black flats, thank you very much.

“Okay!” Woya called out from the other side of the door. “You ready for the grand reveal?”

Kai let out a bitter sigh. “Yeah. I guess.” She trudged over to the door of the bathroom, and reluctantly unlocked it.

As soon as she did, Woya opened the door up with a wide smile on her face. “Ta-da!” There she was, in Kai’s usual shorts and shirt, with the bandana that Kai usually wore to keep her bangs out of her eyes while she worked tied around her hair like a headband. Woya grabbed Kai by the hand and brought her back over to the mirror. “Woah, look at us! We look like totally different people!”

“…Yeah,” Kai muttered. “We do.” She turned to look at Woya. “Why did you want to do this, anyway?”

“Because I almost always see you wearing the same kinds of clothes, no matter the occasion! Although, it’s not like I’m much better. And with that in mind, I wanted to go shopping with you! I thought we could help each other get out of our comfort zones. But whenever I ask you if you want to go, you either say no or come up with an excuse. So I figured this would be the next best thing.”

“Right…” Kai let out another sigh. “So, have you had your fill yet, or..?”

“Oh, come on, Kai! Don’t you want to see if people can still recognize us like this?”

“No,” Kai stated bluntly. “Not really.”

“Alright, alright,” Woya relented. “We can switch back. If you don’t like it, then that’s fine.”

“Yeah, yeah. Let’s just get this over wi—”

“Oh!” A new voice caught Woya and Kai’s attention. “What do we have here?”

Kai narrowed her eyes at the sight of Dynamo, already getting the sense that he was going to find some way to make this situation more miserable than it already was. “What do you want, Dynamo?”

“Nothing. Nothing at all,” Dynamo sounded, his voice oozing with mischief. “I was just passing through when I caught sight of you two.” He snickered at the two women before him. “What are you two trying to accomplish, exactly? Are you switching lives or something?”

“No. Just clothes. Now bug off so we can change again.”

“Sure thing. Just… give me one moment…”

Click!

Kai blinked, the sound of a camera shutter going off catching her off guard. By the time she realized what had happened, it was too late — Dynamo was slipping his cell phone back into his pocket. “Dynamo!”

She lunged at him, trying to get ahold of his phone — only for Dynamo to hold it above his head, well above where she could reach it. “What? Do you want this? Hm?”

He raised it higher above him when Kai tried jumping for it. “Come on, give it!”

“What’s the magic word?”

“Now.” Kai made another leap for the phone, only for Dynamo to toss it in the air and catch it with his other hand. She let out a low growl. “Or else.”

“Hm… that’s three words, if I’m not mistaken.” He laughed as Kai kept reaching for it, but soon went too far and started keeping her away from him by pushing down on her head: as if she were some kind of child…

Thoroughly ticked off, Kai hissed and started swinging at him, and Dynamo soon realized his mistake. While Kai was significantly shorter than him, she was a heavy hitter. “Alright, settle down. I’ll delete it.”

“You better,” Kai snapped. She forced herself to back off, crossing her arms.

“Okay, okay…” Dynamo tapped on his phone a few times, and soon brought up the picture. His thumb hovered over the delete button…

…Only for him to spin on his heel and make a mad dash in the opposite direction at the last second. “DYNAMO! You jerk! I’m gonna kill you!” Kai rushed after him, still able to move fast despite her flats — nothing less could be expected of the reploid once seen as the clone of X, after all.

But Woya was left calling after her in vain. “Kai! What should I do with your clothes? We were supposed to switch back, remember? …Kai?” There was no response, with Kai having already chased Dynamo a few yards down the hall. “Kai!”

~~~

Day 5: Hair Up (2024 Prompt) + At Sunset* Luke wasn’t normally one for sitting down and watching scenery like this – but today was an exception. He had caught a glimpse of the sun setting outside, and realized that the sky had turned a peculiar pink color, with the sun itself being more of a gold. He would be lying if he said he wasn’t fascinated by it; he found himself wandering outside of Noltion’s base, entranced by the way the sun and sky slowly darkened in hue as time passed. And he was mystified by how the clouds became a warm pink color, their fluffy forms streaking into longer shapes. But it wasn’t long before something he felt was just as beautiful as the sunset caught his attention. “H-Hi, Luke!” Luke turned automatically at the sound of Katherine’s voice, his heart starting to increase in pace as he looked at her. “Hey, Katherine…” His eyes were drawn to her hair, having picked up on her dramatic change in appearance almost instantly. Rather than her long, flowing black locks being down to her waist like usual, it was up in an extensive ponytail. “Your hair…” “W-What – o-oh! I – I wanted to try doing – doing something different with it today…” Katherine went to start pulling on it out of habit, but found herself unable to as it was tied up out of reach. “Uhm–” With nothing else to do with her hands, she tugged at her shirt instead. “Do you… like – like it?” She asked, audibly fighting to keep her voice from dropping to a whisper.

“Yeah! It’s – It’s…” Luke’s breath hitched – did he dare finish his statement? He swallowed, and tried to steel his resolve. He had faced Neo Arcadian soldiers, cruel humans, and mavericks on several different occasions. So there was no way that the leader of the Junior Soldiers was about to let himself be bested by simple anxiety over giving a compliment. “...It’s cute.” “Eep!” Katherine let out an especially loud squeak, and covered her face with her hands. Panic washed over Luke in an instant. Did he make a mistake? Had he overstepped by saying that? What if Katherine thought he was being creepy? He struggled to think of a way to salvage the interaction, only for Katherine to murmur a soft “Thank – Thank you…” as she continued to hide. “Oh, uh…” Luke exhaled in relief. So did that mean that she… liked that he said that? He paused, trying to figure out whether or not it would be appropriate to say “You’re welcome” in this type of situation, only to see Katherine carefully lower her hands, revealing a pink tinge to her face that wasn’t dissimilar to how the sky looked when he first came out here. His own face flushed as he thought that it added something to Katherine’s overall “cute” factor. “...No problem,” he muttered finally. “U-Um.” Katherine went back to tugging at her clothes. “D-Did… Did you… um. Come out to w-watch the – the sunset… too..?” “Sure did!” Luke confirmed eagerly, grateful for the change in subject. “It’s – It’s gorgeous out here…”

“Y-Yeah!” Katherine agreed, smiling at him. “I like when – when the sky turns purple the most. It’s the best part. And I think – I think it’s almost time for that…”

“Won’t that mean we’ll have to go back inside soon?” Nexus, the head of Nolition, had a strict rule: Katherine could not be out after dark. Humans (or betas, apparently) just couldn’t see as well outside as reploids could. Not without modifying themselves somehow. And with everything that had been going on in the world, Nexus did not want Katherine getting kidnapped (again) because she couldn’t see somebody coming at her. “Y-Yes. B-But that’s okay! I don’t mind, as long as I get to see it…” And then, at a tone just barely audible, so much so that Luke had to strain to hear what was said: “But… But I wouldn’t mind staying out longer, if – if you were with me…” Luke’s whole face burned with warmth afterward, and he could almost swear he was starting to overheat. “Oh! Well. Um. I don’t know if N-Nexus would like that, but… we could… go inside and – and hang out. Maybe.” Katherine nodded sheepishly. “What – What should we do..?” “You wanna… watch a movie with me? Or two? We’ve got some really good ones. There’s this one called The Terminal that I think you’d like a lot.” “R-Really? W-What’s it about?”

“This guy that’s stuck in an airport. He wanted to visit America, but customs won’t let him through because they don’t think the government of the country he’s from is legit. And he can’t go back because his country’s at war. So he has to figure out how to live in the airport for a year.”

Katherine nodded again, eyes wide. “Th-That sounds really c-cool! Not – Not the ‘stuck in the airport’ part, but – but the actual… movie…” She shrunk into herself after another squeak, shamefaced. “I get it,” Luke assured her. “It’s definitely one of those things you’d much rather hear a story about than experience. I don’t know about you, but I’d probably go stir-crazy if I was trapped in a place like that for that long.” They snickered a little, the atmosphere losing some tension. “But we could also watch another movie, if you want.” “L-Like what?” “Well, I’ve been wanting to re-watch Little Shop of Horrors for a while. I think you’d like that one, too.” But Katherine just blinked at him. “That sounds – That sounds like a scary movie…” “It’s not! Well – okay, maybe it is a little bit. Do you… not like horror?” Katherine shook her head vehemently. “Ah, I see. We don’t have to watch it if you don’t want to, then. …Or maybe we could. I could – you know. Hold your hand during the scary parts, or… or cover your eyes, and stuff…” Luke released a rough exhale, unsure why he said all of that out loud. But none of it was untrue. He would do all of that for her. And more, if she wanted him to. He’d hold her if she got really scared, or let her hide behind him… …His face was burning again. But he wasn’t alone: Katherine was turning pink for the second time that day. “You – You would?” “...Yes,” Luke reaffirmed quietly. Katherine gave him a flustered smile. “Maybe – Maybe I will watch it with you, then…” She then let out another squeak. “If – If that’s okay.”

“Yeah! Yeah, that’d be fine…”

Both of them turned back to the sunset, with Katherine beaming at the dusky purples that now filled the sky. Luke found himself smiling as well, but not just because of the sight outside. He kept peeking over at Katherine, noticing all the ways her face changed when she was happy.

And with that in mind, it was hard not to feel the same way himself.

~~~

And so ends the first five prompts! I hope you enjoyed reading them all as much as I liked writing them!

A few notes before I conclude this for real:

A lot of how the Resistance is depicted in the first prompt (specifically the jobs Pic and Hirondelle have) are from a story @bruggle and I are working on! I tried thinking of other things for them to do, but I couldn't really come up with any (canon does not give us a lot to work with, I'm afraid). So I'd like to give a thank you to her for giving me permission to use those ideas here as well!

Day 1's prompt (First OC) takes place before anything else that's been written for Convergence so far! I chose to write about Newbert for this prompt since he was the first full-blown OC I ever made that was related to the Mega Man franchise in some way. Although, Katherine actually existed before he did! But she was for a different fandom (and I... may have... forgotten about her prior to creating Newbert...).

On the other hand, the response for Day 5 takes place a long time after Convergence Chapter 2. It's to the point where plot elements that haven't even been introduced yet are brought up.

Day 3's response is actually canon to my Mega Man human AU "All in the Neighborhood". Although, it's in a "10-20 years later" sort of way.

Palice actually isn't thirty-one in Convergence's canon, but I bumped his age up for the third day's response so that he would have time to go to law school, have a career as a lawyer for a few years, and then become a teacher.

If you have any questions about anything related to my characters, I will be more than happy to answer! I love talking about my kids. I'm basically the equivalent of that one relative at the family function that has a wallet full of photos of all their nieces and nephews.

As always, I would like to thank @crystalclear365 for beta-reading! You're a real one, homeslice. I know it couldn't have been easy, with how long some of these are...

Thank you all for reading, and I hope you have a wonderful day or night! Stay safe, and may God bless you!

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