Elias frowned, running a hand over his chest as if expecting to feel some hidden shard lodged there. "That's not exactly comforting," he muttered. "What if it's still in there, just waiting to burst out or something? What if I wake up one morning with a glowing spike sticking out of my side?"
Ikona tilted its head, looking thoughtful. "That… sounds pretty painful. But I don't think that'll happen. If it was going to, wouldn't it have already? Besides, I think the fusion thing makes us different. Maybe the shard isn't just in you—it's part of you now. Like, fully integrated. That's gotta count for something, right?"
Elias sighed, his frustration bubbling beneath the surface. "Great," he muttered sarcastically. "I'm a walking mystery even to the tiny alien bug living inside me." He leaned his head back, staring at the ceiling again. "You're trying your best, Ikona, I get that. But so am I. And right now, none of this makes any damn sense."
"Well, I suppose there's not much to do right now," Ikona said, floating lazily. "Where do we go from here?"
Elias stretched and stood up, heading toward the kitchen. "First, I'm going to cook some dinner. Then… I guess I'll take Geras's offer. Even if I don't fully trust him, he made it pretty clear I don't have a choice." He paused, grabbing a pan from the cupboard. "I wonder if Elara has a creature like you. And if all of you call yourselves Ikonas, what's your actual name?"
Ikona tilted her head, her antennae twitching. "Wh-what? I'm just… Ikona."
Elias smirked, setting the pan on the stove. "That could get confusing, don't you think? I mean, I don't call everyone I meet 'human.' If you're an Ikona, then shouldn't you have a name?"
Ikona floated closer, her small arms crossing as she considered the thought. "I guess that does make sense… human. I mean, Elias." She giggled softly, her antennae bouncing lightly.
Elias chuckled, catching her between his hands as she playfully swayed in the air. She lay on her back, staring up at him as he studied her closely. "You're like a little polka-dotted phantom or something," he teased. "Maybe that should be your name."
"Polka-dotted phantom?" Ikona raised an eyebrow—or at least, what Elias assumed was an eyebrow. "Seems like a mouthful in conversation, don't you think?"
He laughed, setting her down gently on the counter. "Yeah, you're probably right. Still, it's fun to think about something other than almost getting stabbed, shot, or blown to pieces for once." He paused, reaching into his pocket and pulling out his phone. "You said you look like a bug, right? Let's see if you actually do."
Elias quickly found an image of a ladybug and held the phone up for Ikona to see. "Here," he said, tilting the screen toward her. "See? The dots and pattern are kind of similar, but not exactly the same."
Ikona hovered closer, squinting at the screen before shaking her head. "That doesn't look like me! It has way more legs, and its eyes are all wrong."
"That's my point," Elias said with a grin, setting the phone down. "Maybe you do have a name. You just don't remember it."
Ikona considered this for a moment, her antennae twitching. "Hmm… well, what if you just called me Dot for now?"
Elias smiled. "Dot, huh? Simple and easy to remember. I like it."
"Dot it is," she said with a satisfied nod, her tiny form hovering off the counter. "For now, anyway."
"Yeah, exactly," Elias said with a nod.
Dot floated closer, her antennae twitching thoughtfully. "So you're really going to take that old man's offer? I mean, it seems strange to trust someone you don't really know."
Elias shrugged as he walked toward the kitchen. "Well, I don't know you either, Dot, but I've given you a lot of trust."
"Yeah, but I saved your life," Dot retorted, crossing her tiny arms. "So that's kind of the least you could do."
"True," Elias said with a smirk, pulling out a cutting board and setting it on the counter. He opened the fridge, pulling out a fresh fillet of salmon, a lemon, and a small jar of capers. His hands moved quickly, gathering garlic, butter, and a small bundle of parsley from the countertop basket. "By the way, do Ikonas—or Dots—eat food?"
Dot tilted her head, thinking for a moment. "Uhhh… I don't know. Whatever you're making smells good, though, so I'm not saying no to a fresh bite."
Elias grinned, setting the salmon on the cutting board and running a sharp knife across the fillet with clean, precise strokes to portion it perfectly. He dusted it lightly with salt and pepper, then heated a skillet until the butter melted into a golden pool, sizzling softly as the salmon hit the surface. The aroma of seared fish filled the kitchen as he added minced garlic and capers, swirling them into the butter.
"Wait for it," Elias said, squeezing fresh lemon juice over the pan. The burst of citrus mingled with the garlic, creating a smell that even made Dot drift closer, her tiny nose twitching. He spooned the sauce over the fillet, giving it a rich glaze, before plating it on a bed of creamy mashed potatoes, finishing with a sprinkle of parsley for color.
"This," he said, sliding a tiny plate with a doll-sized version of the meal toward Dot, "is what I'd cook as a first dinner date. Works every time."
Dot hovered over the plate, inspecting the tiny portion he'd crafted for her. "That's right! You humans usually have… what do you call them? Partners? Where's yours?"
Elias paused, leaning against the counter. "Oh, well… I've dated, but nothing ever stuck. Guess I just focused on work and trying to be the best chef I could."
Dot poked at the fish with her tiny hands, taking a small bite. Her antennae shot up as she chewed. "This is incredible! You humans really know how to make food special. I didn't even know I could eat, but I'll risk it for this."
Elias laughed, shaking his head. "Well, if I can impress a tiny, floating bug with my cooking, maybe I'm better than I thought."
After finishing his plate and stacking it in the sink, Elias turned toward Dot, who hovered quietly nearby. "So, what do you actually do?"
Dot tilted her head, her small antennae twitching. "What do I do?" she repeated, sounding genuinely puzzled.
"Yeah, like what's your thing? You're not just some pet like a cat or dog. What makes an Ikona so special? Why can you blend with shards and humans at all?" He paused, rubbing the back of his neck. "And what's this whole 'Soul Energy' thing? You said only people who can process it can see you. Why is that?"
Dot hesitated, her glow dimming slightly. "I… I don't really remember," she admitted. "But it must have something to do with the doctor. Everything I say—it's just fragments of memories I got from him. I can't piece together what his goal was with the metal box and the shard, but I know it was important."