Sorry about no updates for a while, but I finished spell-checking my book, so later updates should be quicker. ^-^
We reach the lab, & I unlock the door by press making my hand upon the Indentation Detector. Steam envelopes your hand, read making the indentations on every single different hand. My hand & Peregrine's are the only hands authorised to enter the lab. My sister said she couldn't go in because it would turn her stomach, & Peregrin's parents had no interest in enter making despite their having bought the lab.
As such, I had pretty much free reign & close to infinite funds to use in the lab, as I received an exceedingly generous cheque for lab-work, a thousand bits a month, which I doubt I could ever fully use despite the high costs of maintain making my oddities & the lab. Whatever I did not use, I always return to Peregrin's parents.
I walk into the Steam Illusion Decomposition System, & wait for Peregrine to turn it on. I have not voice activated it because it has become routine for Peregrine to accompany me into the lab so nothing goes awry. I wait as it peels off the steam blend particle layers that compose the illusion of skin on my left pointer finger, my right SRDs, & part of the right side of my face. My eye itches as the machine tries to analyse whether or not my Condensed Liquiform Analytical Engine Lens is part of the illusion or not. They could be considered part of the illusion, due to the fact that it's coloured to match my left eye, which is dark brown, almost black except when caught in the sunlight, when it shines a beautiful amber brown. Or so I have been told by Peregrine. The system comes to a stop, & I step out. I eye my metal finger & shiver. I wonder what my face must look like with it's metal features to others. I don't keep any reflective surfaces in the lab, everything is matte, & the last time I saw myself without the illusion particles was years ago.
Suddenly, I notice Peregrine wav making his hand in my face & I blink.
He exhales, " For a moment there I thought maybe the machine had decomposed something in your IEMP..."
" Don't be absurd. Most of my IEMP is completely flesh. The part that is machine doesn't have aught to do with that type of thing... I think."
" Exactly my point."
" Alright, I had better get in the glitch scanner..."
" Wait."
" What?" I asked confused.
" Take out the lens."
" Why?"
" The scan is slower with it in." he paused.
" Also..." he scratched his head.
" You know I like it better when it's out." he said sheepishly.
" I don't see why. It just makes my imperfections glare out at you all the more."
" Just take it out."
" Fine. I'll do it." I grumble, tak making out the lens & sett making it down in a little box.
He smiled at see making my eye without the lens.
" Much better. I bet you are actually feel making better now. I don't know if I could stick one of those things in my eye. It looks uncomfortable. I don't understand why you do it. Your eye is beautiful."
" If it were up to you I should probably have to prance around in my undergarments, with all my metal parts show making, & my defective eye glow making with it's brightness & blind making every one who saw it."
" Frankly, yes, yes I would. The undergarments part is go making too far, because a simple dress does not count as an undergarment, in my opinion."
" You silly little boy. Undergarments & decency are not defined by silly little boys." I say, shak making my finger at him while grinn making.
He immediately puffs up.
" Now just who do you think you are call making a silly little boy? I'll remind you that I am much taller than you, & years older!"
I stick my tongue out & chant, " Silly little boy, silly little boyyy!"
" Oh yeah, Miss Shorty?"
He moves even closer, directly in front of me & puts his hand to his fore-head, mov making the hand upwards & back to his forehead repeatedly.
" See? I am clearly the taller one."
" You are slant making your hands upwards! Not fair!" I reach for his hand, try making to pull it down & make it go straight.
He sees his watch as I pull his hands down, & his eyes widen.
" Alright, just get in the scanner, it is getting late." he pauses.
" I'm still taller than you, though."
" Shut your big bazoo, child." as we walk over to the scanner & I step into it, shutt making the door before he can say anything further.
I smile as I see him say making something that looks a lot like Miss Shorty through the transparent metal that forms the scanner's body.
The scanner says " Commenc making Scan..."
I see the scanner pass making over & I have a realisation.
It worked! It's not making all those awful clank making noises anymore. I streamlined the design yesterday, removed quite a few of the gears & polished the ones I absolutely could not remove
A few seconds later, " Scan completed. Results visible on Analytical Engine's Liquiform Viewer."
I step out, & Peregrine nods, indicat making that everything is in order.
" Oh, there is actually one thing..." he says.
" Yeah? Is my finger joint act making up again? It has been a bit off now that I think about it..." I look at my finger.
" No, it's not that."
I look up & see a small smile he's trying to hold back. I narrow my eyes.
" It says you need to clean our your SRDs more often. Also, that I'm definitely taller than you."
I huff, curl making my hand into a fist, but then relax making it.
" Don't do that to me, you little kid."
I flex my finger.
" Guess nothing is wrong with my poor finger after all. I had better put the illusion back on."
" Please don't... Just this once."
I turn to him.
" Please don't what?"
" No illusion."
" No illusion?"
" Yeah."
" Why?" confusedly said by me.
" You know I like it better."
" You have never asked me to keep it like this, though."
" You know why Hermes is com making, Ollie."
" I don't know for sure..."
He stares at me, half-lidded, sarcastically.
" Alright, fine, just this once I won't, but I'm putting it back on when we return."
" Sure you are."
I look at him, my brow arched.
" & just what is that supposed to mean?"
" Nothing. Nothing at all."
My IEMP growls.
& at the command of it, we walk out of the room to (finally) go on our little picnic.
Out of curiosity, do you guys like the use of '&' instead of 'and'?
P.S. Don't forget to vote if you think people look better without illusions. :P
Legolass+
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