Private Finished Choosing Your Family

Sprinkles was, to put it simply, uncomfortable. He sat in the student lounge reading a book on the human body, trying to prepare himself for what was about to happen. His dorm parent had wanted him to meet other NEK0s so he wouldn't feel alone. For the most part, they were right. Sprinkles felt like knowing other NEK0s was like building a new family, from his memory, the one he would meet today was affectionate with the other NEK0s. It may be awkward in the beginning, but it might be nice too.

But Sprinkles also didn't want to get too attached to any of them. Unless the others went out of their way to extend their life, they would all die eventually. Sprinkles couldn't tell how successful he was getting at extending his lifespan, but the best-worst case scenario was he would outlive them all and see each one drop dead. What was the point in getting attached just for that to happen?

When Sprinkles noticed the NEK0 approaching him, he was quick to close his book and give his full attention to what he hoped might be a new friend. And already, Sprinkles was caught off guard, even though he shouldn't have been. Sweetpea had started off with a bow, something he had gotten used to as not being very common here. So in response, Sprinkles also gave a polite, "Hello," and bowed.

Now that introductions were done, Sprinkles realized he hadn't planned any conversational topics, leading to short awkward silence. "So, uh..." he rubbed the back of his head, "I'm happy to meet another NEK0. Makes me feel less lonely here... How's the island been for you so far, actually? It's been pretty chaotic for me."

This was... not fine. Not fine at all. Sprinkles put on a tense smile and nodded a few times to show he was understanding Sweetpea. Then Sweetpea began curling their tail around Sprinkles' leg, and that's when he couldn't take any more of... whatever this was. Maybe this Sweetpea wasn't as old as he thought. Either way, this was uncomfortable, so Sprinkles shook his leg a bit to help them get the idea he wasn't very comfortable with this.

"I enjoy learning too, but only on my own time. Personally, I find the school boring. Having a strict schedule and all that isn't really my thing. What grade are you expected to go in? I was told I should be going into eleventh or twelfth."

The best way to describe Sprinkles' thoughts right now would be the sound of emergency horns blaring loudly. Sprinkles was clearly the adult in this situation, so he knew he needed to make it clear that boundaries were needed.

Gently, he pushed Sweetpea away and gave them a look that could've been stern if he wasn't so uncomfortable. "I'm not comfortable with being touched and cuddled like that. Once we know each other better, I don't think I'd be so against it."

Honestly, Sprinkles could see himself being all for cuddling. He loved it when he or people he knew initiated it, but random touching from someone he barely knew made him feel helpless. Or violent, but on this island, clawing someone had a good chance of getting himself killed, so helpless was the better option.

That nauseous feeling Sprinkles had been having slowly went away. Sweetpea didn't seem to mind it too much. That was good. That was great, actually. Sprinkles had worried he was being mean or not clear enough about his discomfort. Simply this going better than expected was enough for a genuine smile to appear on Sprinkles' face.

"Thank you. I'm really happy you understand. I can be very awkward, sooo, try not to take what I do too personally. But, uh, right, school! It really is strange. I've known about it from the internet, but it's still a lot... Too many people and things to do."

Tired of standing, Sprinkles sat back down into his chair, fully expecting Sweetpea to do the same.

"Favorite thing? Mm... well, I like learning about computers. Building them, taking them apart, all that stuff. I haven't been able to do that lately, though. It's too expensive, so I've been researching human biology books." He picked up his book and waved it a bit, then held it out to Sweetpea, thinking they might be interested. They looked a bit nervous, so Sprinkles tried his best to seem friendly and casual. He prided himself on being pretty approachable, for the most part.

Watching Sweetpea flip through the human biology book was fun. They looked fascinated, and that was all Sprinkles wanted. There were few things more painful than showing someone your interest and the response being boredom or annoyance. Sweetpea even called it amazing! Sprinkles was so flattered, his cheeks turned a dark shade of red.

"Well, uh... How do I explain this?" He rubbed the back of his neck, trying his hardest to keep a goofy smile off his face. "I can, uh... Well, I spoke to a god here who gives people powers, and he gave me the power to shape-shift. Since we're humans with modified genetics, I have to research the human body to properly shift."

Unsatisfied with this explanation, Sprinkles held out a hand to Sweetpea. "Here, let me show you."

A few seconds passed, and nothing happened. Sprinkles shook his hand a few times. Nothing happened. Huffing, he Sweetpea for some more time, then moved onto doing some quick breathing exercises, focusing everything on his hand.

Slowly, but surely, the lighter parts of his hands began the match the rest of his brown skin.

Sprinkles barely tried to hide the pride on his face. He loved having the attention on himself. He loved being complimented. Sweetpea didn't even acknowledge how he screwed up in the beginning. They appreciated Sprinkles for what they achieved.

And all that pride disappeared when he realized they never properly introduced themselves. "Oh shoot! I'm sorry, I thought you already knew." Sprinkles let out a few nervous chuckles. "I'm Sprinkles. I like your name, Sweetpea. And by the way, I know a NEK0 who has magic and is much better at controlling it than me."

Sprinkles was caught a bit off guard by Sweetpea's sudden language switch, but he got into the flow quickly enough. Japanese was his native language. By all means, speaking in it felt more natural than speaking English.

"I'm sure you can do it! Ganymede—the other magic NEK0—learned from studying a lot. We learn fast, so I'm sure it'll be easier for us to learn magic if we put our heart into it. I just skipped a few steps and chose the easy way. I suggest talking to a, um..." Sprinkles trailed off, unsure of who someone would go to if they wanted to learn magic. "I think a nurse or doctor could tell you if you have magical potential."

A big, confident smile spread across his face. Sprinkles was a cheerleader. Cheering people up and giving them the confidence they needed to complete their goals was his whole thing.

Sprinkles played with his phone, scrolling through his apps to pretend he was doing something. He didn't want to unnerve Sweetpea by staring at them as they read, but he didn't know where else to focus his eyes. When in doubt, pull your phone out. Still, they made sure to look up at Sweetpea when they spoke or moved. He wasn't trying to give off the idea of them being ignored.

"I try to be. I wasn't very confident here at first, but I've learned that lack of confidence can draw some bad people towards you. It's part of why I like cheerleading. Keeps me optimistic and confident." He remembered back to how quickly Tieragoran preyed upon Natsuki's fear. When Sprinkles stood up for himself, he seemed to be targeted less.

"Thooooough," he said in a sing-song, "I'm interested in what you expected. I like suberverting expectations."