It'll Take Your Breath Away ​

Chapter. 8


Looking up at the old, wooden sign with Kalmari Town’s named carved in it, Alba smiled to herself that she was finally back home. South Nova was always a pleasure to visit, but nothing could ever compare to the place where she grew up in. Taking a few steps to make her way back to her home, the Squid suddenly stopped when she felt a pretense behind him. Giving a small laugh, she already had an idea who it was.

“I suppose you came out here to walk me home?’ She turned around to face the Gordo a few feet away. “Such a charmer, aren’t you, Gordy?”

“Only for you, my dear.” Gordon summoned several of his hands to carry her luggage. He quietly followed her as they both made their way to her house, until he decided to bring up the situation with Bate. 

“Hey, Alba, I…have a favor to ask.” 

“Hm?” She faced him. “Yeah, sure! You know you don’t need to ask me, Gordy."

“Y-yeah, I…I know. ” He shyly spoke, not really sure how to explain their predicament. “It has to do with Bate. You see, there was a small incident a few days back and we’ve been sorta waiting for you to return so you can help us.”

“Really now...” She raised an eyebrow. “What happened, is he okay?”

“He is now, but I can’t say the same about Meta.” With a small sigh, he figured to explain the whole situation that happened several days back. He filled her in how his students became absolutely terrified after the incident, and how overly protective Meta’s become of it.

“So I see Arthur’s finally calmed down, that’s good.” Alba nodded, after hearing the chaotic week while she was away.

“It took him a bit, but Meta’s still as clingy as ever. Just this afternoon, he made sure all the food he was preparing was okay for him to handle. He kept thinking he was allergic to mushrooms for some reason and hit it out of his hand when he saw him with it. He also refuses to let him dust or even clean without having to help.”

“Sounds like both parties are getting stressed from this ordeal. Meta’s constantly getting anxious over every little thing his mentor does does, and Bate’s getting fatigued from dealing with it.” She softly hummed, thinking what she should do. “I’d like to have a word with Meta, if possible. I’ll see if I can try to help him get over his phobia. Hopefully I’ll be able to help, but it’ll be up to Bate and Meta in the end to mend it.”

“They should be at home, I don’t think Bate planned on going out since Meta keeps insisting on tying warning signs to his wing.” He tried not to laugh once saying it. “I’ll admit, I still find that one adorable.”

“From your reaction, I can only imagine how ‘amused’ Bate is by it.” She couldn’t help but give a chuckle as well. 

After finally reaching Bate’s home, Alba was the first to enter. She saw Bate look up from his place in the living room, and eagerly get up to greet her.

“Oh, Alba, I’m so glad you’re here. Did Gordon inform you about, the…incident?” He tried not to speak loud to cause attention to the others in the home, specifically Meta.

“Yes, Gordon filled me in when we got here. I knew the little one cared about you, but for him to go to this length to protect you, it must be quite tiresome.

“Y-yeah, it’s not a week I’d like to repeat. I just hope you’ll be able to help. I feel like you’d be the best one to talk to him….ah, you have a certain air that none of us really have.”

“I appreciate that, Bate. I’ll see what I can do. Is he in his room?” She asked. 

“Yeah, he should still be up and about. He still has an hour or so left before bed.” He glanced at the clock to double check. 

“Then I’ll head in right now. I may need your assistance, so expect the two of us very soon.” She said, heading down the hallway.

Alba gave a small knock on his door once he reached it, and quietly entered. She saw the little puff in the center of the room coloring, but eventually gave a wave once she saw her.

“Oh! Hello, miss Alba!"

“Good evening, Meta." She went over and saw what he was drawing. "Ah, what a nice picture of Bate." She giggled when she saw the crayon drawing of the elder.

"Thank you!" He smiled. "Do you think he'll like it?"

"Oh, I'm sure he'll love it." She sat next to him. “Speaking of Bate, I have a question to ask you, if you don’t mide.

“A Question?"

“Yes.” She nodded. " I heard you and the others went to the beach a few days back."

She saw Meta frown once she said that, and the child looked away. "Y-yeah..."

The Squishy hugged the Warrior. She had a feeling he already knew what was coming next.

"And I heard that you've been quite cautious after Bate's little incident when he went to the attic to get your swimming gear."

He didn't speak, but nodded.

"Oh, Meta. I know it was quite scary to see Bate like that, but he's okay now."

"B-but, what if it happens again?" He started to tense up. "It was so scary, Miss Alba, I don't want to see him like that ever again. 

Alba continued to hug the little warrior. "Shhhh, it's alright, Meta. I know how frightened you must've been, but accidents happen."

Meta wiped his tears and listened to her. 

"Bate's been hospitalized numerous times because of it, even before you were born. But constantly being scared if it's going to happen again won't help him during an attack."

Alba picked up the warrior and led him where Bate was waiting. 

“I’ve know him for so many years now, but please trust me when I say, he knows how to take care of himself. Bate will always have his ups and downs, but you can't be worried if something's going to happen. It's going to happen, but thinking about it and being scared for him everyday isn’t something Bate would want.”

Once entering the living room, Alba placed the child on his lap. He slightly sat up as both puffs listened to Alba.

“Meta, do you think you can tell me what you did once the boxes fell on him?”

“I……ummmm….” With wing now lowered, he softly mumbled his response. “I was crying…..”

“And Bate?” She then spoke to the warrior.

“I tried to push the boxes off of me.” He tried to recall what he did that morning. “But when I couldn’t, I asked the pair to get my medicine.”

“And did he?” She asked. 

“He didn’t know what I was saying. But they did get Gordon instead when they realized something was wrong.” He said, lightly patting the Puffs head.

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 Species © Nintendo/ HAL Laboratory
Interpreted characters created from said species © Rhylem