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Clerise blinked, and felt a pang in her chest. She might as well have just have told him he was going to die in two days, from the look on his face.

"I mean, I guess it's possible, Dakota got one. But, dude, you can't bank on that. Dude was like a weed with how he shot up."

She inched over to where he was, scooping him up bridal style because she could, hugging him. "Nothing wrong with being adorable sized!"

She snickered a little, trying to hold onto him. "Dude, who cares? You can be adorable sized and still pick up chicks."

Clerise contemplated putting him down, but a mad-Otto was way better than a sad-Otto, by like, a million degrees. At least this one could pitch a fit, instead of having the most heartbreaking face in the entire world. Seriously. Like a depressed puppy who got no treats and no love and got shamed.

"Besides. You can also short and still be a certified ********' badass, dude. Cool factor isn't tied to your height."

Clerise rolled her eyes. "DUDE. If you're trying to be a badass, you're doing it so many levels of wrong, Prodigy."

She dumped him on his bed, hands on her hips. "Besides, who are you comparing yourself to, here? Robert's a dingus. Rep's a jerk. Dakota's a complete....well, he's Dakota. Enough said. What are you trying to be, here? We-- Eva, Reine, others I'm sure-- like you as is. So."

The redhead shrugged. "Or you can be a baby about the fact that genetics ******** you over, whatever. Sheeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeesh."

Clerise lazily clambered onto the bed next to Otto, making sure to give him some space. She swung her legs as he listed off facts about the people she had mentioned, nodding.

"Heh Heh. Yeah, Grumpybutt sure is something. So serious, all the time."

And then he mentioned Tenya, and she gave him a look.

"You still have her tablet, right? It's not broken?"

Clerise nodded, looking at the tablet but not touching it. She wanted to, but Balthazar cautioned that it might 'be a tad rude, sheila.' So she ignored her itching fingers, and instead reached out to pat Otto's knee.

"When Balthazar broke, I thought I was like, fifteen types of ********. It's creepy, right? Waking up and there's nothing but a yawning chasm of silence where there was chatter before. A lot of nothing when there was a comforting presence. You're alone."

She flopped back, staring at his ceiling.

"But, in the end, Clarice told me his core had just changed before it was ready, before either of us were ready. Clerise wasn't too much for details, but she remembered that day clearly: the snow, the daggers, the kiss, and a Julie snowgirl. A day of peace and mourning in the whirlwind that had almost been the apocalypse.

Usually its the weapon that powers a bond, ensuring the hunter's survival. But in this case, you're the one keeping him from breaking altogether. If you died, he wouldn't be able to reform as a tablet.

"She told me that if I died, while he was broken-- he'd die, too. He wouldn't be able to put himself back together, reform as a tablet."

The redhead gestured at Tenya's tablet. "She reformed, though. So maybe she's just sleeping?"

"I hope so," Clerise murmured. "Otherwise, it's like...A bunch of people who don't have weapons. That would suck balls."

She turned to face Otto. "Pants are overrated." She poked at the heart boxers, smirking. "But probably a good idea. Or else you might get some admirers, and some people, especially in the labs?-- are kinda creepy."

She covered her eyes with both hands. "I won't peek, prodigy. Make yourself decent."