Fire & Water

She has come to his lab after school since she was a small child. She and her father would walk home together and share their day. He would tell her about all the beautiful inventions they were working on, and she would tell him about her day spent learning and playing with her friends. Even now, after moving to Vlarlee, the biggest city on the Feesia continent, they continue this tradition so that she can attend the prestigious Pifianka Academy of Polytechnics. But it was different when she was younger. Khaly had been allowed to wander the lab, question the assistants, and work with the robotics.

The staff enjoyed answering her questions and sharing their knowledge in the field. It wasn’t cute at seventeen anymore, with her knowledge and skills far surpassing theirs. They were put out by her constantly correcting their mistakes. To them, she was a child overstepping her bounds by assuming she knew more, which she did. She watched in sheer agony while they poked and prodded at the inner workings of their newest project. When they tried running their tests, the tiny man would lurch to one side and tip over, so they poked and prodded some more. It walked in circles. On another try, it did nothing but open and close its mouth or spin its head in circles. They ran their computer simulations, tested the software, and inspected the hardware but never made headway. The discussion between the two lab workers grew increasingly agitated with each test.