"Water?" you had his attention now. "Where was there water?" he said the word the way some older kids might say "Santa Claus" like he wasn't quite sure he believed him that it had been there.
...now Kaiba was just baffled. How did this kid not know what water was? It was an essential element for keeping humans alive, keeping almost all life alive. How could he not know?
Still, he gestured back at the lake. "That's water. And this is water," he added, pulling out the end of his shirt and wringing it, all in a futile effort to stop feeling quite so soaked to the bone.
He stared back that way then at the dripping substance. "This is... This is water?" Yeah, he was still unimpressed. "I think I prefer food..." he muttered.
"I had some once. A small spoon for my birthday when I was little. I didn't really get much of an idea of it though... It was over too soon. But it's addictive so even if we could afford more they wouldn't have risked giving me more, I think. But I like food..." he looked down at his hands again. "I guess I'll never have any again though..." since he ran away.
"Hey, wait---" He sat back, but calmly lifted his palms in surrender. "I think there's a serious misunderstanding happening here. We're clearly from very different dimensions."
He tried to project calm.
"On my world, plants and animals are plentiful. They're our main sources of food, but we work toward sustainable practices---making sure those species still thrive. Sounds like most life has been wiped out on yours. What did you eat, then? Synthesized stuff?"
"Nutrition pellets," he said, eyes wide. What must it be like to live in a world with lots of plants and animals? "That's where food comes from?" He now felt sick and guilty that he had ever wanted food though. That he... kind of still did.
"Right. On my world there's a concept called the food chain. In nature, every animal needs to eat other, smaller plants and animals, but the energy put out allows the smaller ones to keep existing. Catastrophe happens when it falls out of balance---but there's been some progress made in creating entirely machine-made food that replicates the nutrients in meat and vegetables."
Another slow breath. "I'm assuming those pellets were developed out of necessity...but I suppose it's possible you evolved differently and you had those pellets all along."
Despite his age he listened, calming as he did. "How does the government enforce the balance so that everything doesn't fall apart?" he asked. He had an answer to the other part, sort of, but he wanted to learn more first.
"Well...we pay farmers and fishers to do their work, and to keep their farm profitable they always need to grow more. They won't get paid if the food runs out, so that's the incentive."
A very simple version, but...he's trying to keep the kid calm here.
"As bad as this situation looks...we already know there's water. So there has to be food. Now how are you feeling?"
"Cold, like it is the middle of the night," he said after stopping to think about it. And I hurt, but not broken bones hurt. But you said we, does that mean you work for the government?"
"What? Uh...no. I run a company that makes games. I was just speaking generally."
But he's concerned about that cold and scoots a little closer, looking up to see if that's okay, reaching out a hand. This boy...he couldn't leave a kid behind. Not like this.
"But... if we don't know if this place is like your dimension" that was the word he used before world, right? Did they mean the same thing? "or like mine.... shouldn't we wait to get food until we see if it is safe to do it without disturbing the balance you mentioned?"
He didn't pull away, mostly because he was cold. He looked at him, head tilted as another question occurred to him. "Two more words I don't know. Company in that context, and games."
"No, but we'll take a look. It won't take long to figure out."
This kid is just full of surprises. Kaiba settles in next to him once more. "Well...I guess in a crisis like that, you wouldn't have time for games. They're small, structured activities that people play for fun. It's like...escapism, a fantasy that plays out around you.
"We had games, but they weren't things you could sell. Like could I do my lessons faster than the day before and how quick could I clean my room, stuff like that..." So he was still confused. And cold. He dug in his pocket and pulled out some small tools and parts and started tinkering. He knew how to build fans, he could practically build them in his sleep, but fans were for making things colder. How did he make things hotter? Oh! he could start with an engine. Those were easy.
He might have forgotten Kaiba was there as he started building.
"...those are more ways that parents trick their kids into doing chores," Kaiba answers, confused. The poor kid had never had a real game. And he didn't have one to show, just a single deck.
But that would have to wait. It seemed the kid had something else to do...where was all this stuff coming from?
He didn't seem to hear him, tongue slipping part way out of his mouth as he worked, brows knitting close. But it was only a minute before he reached for a part he didn't have, and his focus broke. He blinked a few times looking around, then saw Kaiba and hunched in on himself. "Di.... Did you ask me something?"
Usually when an adult looked at him like that it meant they asked him something and he didn't notice...
"O...oh. I figured if I built a fan without blades it would make us warm, since if it is this cold with the sun in the sky, it's gotta be deadly at night, right? So we gotta find a way to be warm. But I don't think I have a cam in my pocket..." he mumbled. He shifted a bit, hand hovering over the bulging pocket.
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Still, he gestured back at the lake. "That's water. And this is water," he added, pulling out the end of his shirt and wringing it, all in a futile effort to stop feeling quite so soaked to the bone.
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"...you really haven't seen it before? How?"
CW: addiction
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He's just Very Confused here.
"Look, we'll find food. We have to. There are probably fish in the water, and there are likely plants and animals inland."
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"There are so few left and the rebels keep blowing stuff up, if we hurt an animal or a plant there won't be any more ever again!"
He tried to scramble away from Seto, oddly careful of his hands and feet as he did.
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He tried to project calm.
"On my world, plants and animals are plentiful. They're our main sources of food, but we work toward sustainable practices---making sure those species still thrive. Sounds like most life has been wiped out on yours. What did you eat, then? Synthesized stuff?"
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Another slow breath. "I'm assuming those pellets were developed out of necessity...but I suppose it's possible you evolved differently and you had those pellets all along."
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A very simple version, but...he's trying to keep the kid calm here.
"As bad as this situation looks...we already know there's water. So there has to be food. Now how are you feeling?"
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But he's concerned about that cold and scoots a little closer, looking up to see if that's okay, reaching out a hand. This boy...he couldn't leave a kid behind. Not like this.
"No freezing until we get you food."
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He didn't pull away, mostly because he was cold. He looked at him, head tilted as another question occurred to him. "Two more words I don't know. Company in that context, and games."
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This kid is just full of surprises. Kaiba settles in next to him once more. "Well...I guess in a crisis like that, you wouldn't have time for games. They're small, structured activities that people play for fun. It's like...escapism, a fantasy that plays out around you.
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He might have forgotten Kaiba was there as he started building.
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But that would have to wait. It seemed the kid had something else to do...where was all this stuff coming from?
"Uh. What are you doing?"
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Usually when an adult looked at him like that it meant they asked him something and he didn't notice...
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All he has is a briefcase and duel disk inside, and that's not going to help him much.
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