Zedd suddenly felt a bit awkward with Nathaniel asking so many questions. It was very hard to forget the boy wasn't from earth. "It's not magic, it's run by an engine," Zeddicus said simply. "It's a machine that powers the truck so the wheels turn," he added. The blacksmith chuckled at this. "I certainly wish we had magic powered cars. It'd make things run a lot smoother."
(Nathaniel's such a cutie…)
"Ohhh…" Nathaniel looked around the inside of the truck again, seeming intrigued. After a few seconds of glancing between Zedd and the blacksmith, he looked away nervously. "…I take it that that's something I'm supposed to know already?" He asked weakly. "I'm sorry… I'm being dumb again, aren't I?"
Zedd sighed. "Stop that. You aren't dumb for asking questions. Kids know the basics of a car by your age, yes, but you literally aren't even from here," he huffed. That was really what was starting to make him frustrated. All the negative speak wasn't good for Nathaniel. Meanwhile the blacksmith seemed even more surprised. What did he mean 'not from here?'
"S-Sorry, sir…" Nathaniel flushed in embarrassment and shied away at Zedd's tone, worried that he had made him angry. He jumped when the car went over a speedbump and clung to Zedd. "W-What was that?! Did we hit a person??" He asked worriedly, looking around for an injured person.
Zedd patted Nathaniel's head awkwardly. "No, it's a small bump in the road to prevent speeding- I mean going too fast," Zedd explained. It had also made him a little sad with how the angel had moved away from him for a moment. He wasn't angry at him, but how was Zedd not to get mad at all the self doubt the boy had?
Nathaniel sighed softly in relief and buried his face in Zedd's shoulder. "Phew… I thought we hurt somebody for a second there. That would've been bad…" He wrapped his arms around Zedd's neck and tried again to fold his wings, which were puffed up with fear. He only looked up again when the car came to a stop.
"We're here," the blacksmith said cheerily. "Zeddicus, were you not supposed to be open today?" the man questioned, already moving to the back of the truck.
"I'll tell you later. If I say anything now, Nathaniel will assume it's his fault," Zeddicus stated before looking at the angel beside him. "Which it isn't," he added to reassure the boy before moving to unlock the store again.
Nathaniel relaxed a little at the reassurance, but he still seemed nervous. He stuck close to Zedd as they walked, clinging tightly to his hand. "W-Where are we going to set up the forge, sir?" He asked softly, looking up at Zedd as he unlocked the door.
The door opened with a soft click. He didn't seem to mind that Nathaniel was holding his hand at the moment. On the other side of the shop was another few doors. One of them was where he made his potions, but the other was relatively empty. He never found a good purpose for it. Until now anyways. "The door on the right has a room that's nearly empty. We'll put it in there."
Nathaniel nodded, his eyes falling upon the aforementioned door. "Sounds good to me, sir. Thank you." He noticed the blacksmith coming in and quickly moved out of the way, ending up stumbling backwards into Zedd.
Nathaniel was so light, Zeddicus didn't even stumble at being run into. There was a clock hanging on the wall, and seeing that he had included Nathaniel in his own non-breakfast-eating habit, he figured lunch was a must. "Wanna go upstairs for something to eat?"
Nathaniel quickly apologized for bumping into Zedd and stepped out of the way. When Zedd mentioned food, he brightened and nodded eagerly. "Yeah! I'm starving." He darted over to the stairs and ran up them, taking them two at a time.
Zedd blinked, watching the boy run so fast. He would have never guessed Nathaniel had hurt himself so badly just the night before. Upon making it to the top of the stairs, he wondered what he should even make. "Is there anything you had to eat that you really liked before?" Zedd asked, already deciding to take out the milk and the chocolate syrup to keep Nathaniel in high spirits.
Nathaniel grinned brightly when he saw Zedd pull out the components for chocolate milk, his wings fluttering a bit. "Um… I've liked everything you've m made, sir! You're a very good cook!" He climbed onto a stool to massage his aching leg, though this didn't seem to dampen his spirits at all.
Zedd raised a brow as he looked at Nathaniel. "I've only made you one meal before. I'm really not that great," he said with a shrug. "But I was implying food you've maybe had in heaven for ideas, I don't know what you'd like," Zeddicus added.
"Um… well, usually I had to make food for myself because my parents didn't want to, so it was usually overcooked noodles of some sort. I couldn't reach the stove super well, so I usually couldn't get them off on time." Nathaniel sighed softly. "One time Lloyd made me chicken nuggets in the oven, though, and they were really good!"
Zedd wondered if it was a good idea to remind Nathaniel of his dead brother, but figured he should make what he suggested if the boy liked them. Chicken nuggets were really easy anyways as they were frozen and you just out them in the oven. After the oven preheated, Zeddicus arranged a handful of chicken nuggets on a tray and slid it into the oven for about 12 minutes. "Did you want ketchup or something to dip them in?" he asked as he started stirring in the chocolate syrup into the milk for Nathaniel.
"Um… sure! Whatever it is, it's probably good." Nathaniel kept his eyes on the chocolate milk, purring quietly to himself in excitement. Food was cool and all, but nothing could beat a nice glass of choccy milk. At least, not for him.
(Stalking your RPs is my version of therapy now… thank you Caustic for your wonderful charas and the distractions they give)
(Nathaniel = baby)
Nathaniel's answer wasn't really satisfactory for him. Humming a moment, Zedd decided he would get a few sauces that he had: ketchup, barbecue sauce, and ranch dressing. Hopefully, he'd like one of them.
Now that the milk was stirred enough, he turned to get plates and condiments.
Nathaniel fluttered his wings again, watching Zedd as he bustled about the kitchen. "How long does the food take to make?" He asked curiously, his gaze shifting between Zedd and the glass of chocolate milk that was just out of his reach.
Zedd hummed in thought before looking at the timer he had set above the oven. "About 8 more minutes. But then we need them to cool down a bit," he answered, putting a bit of each sauce on one of the plates before putting them away. When Zedd turned back around, he noticed how intently Nathaniel was staring at the milk. He took the glass and carefully set it on the coffee table in front of the small boy. "Please try not to spill?"
"Mmkay!" Nathaniel picked up the glass once it was in his reach and started drinking it eagerly. He was tired from carrying around his bar of metal and from running around, so a cold drink felt fantastic. Especially since the drink was choccy milk. He kicked his legs idly under his chair and fluttered his wings as he drank.