The two stood there awkwardly shaking hands before Iris let go a little flustered and started fidgeting.

Bo turned his head, wondering what she thought of his metallic appearance. It didn't seem like she had any reaction, but his first impressions of her left him feeling like she might be different from other humans he had remembered.

He could try asking her but that might make the conversation turn even more awkward than the atmosphere was already.

His old database that was installed into him had a ton of information, but most of that was basic knowledge of the world so he could operate efficiently. As for how much information he currently remembered, he wasn't too sure because if he didn't remember it, then he forgot it.

Even with that knowledge, human culture was complicated and individuals were even more complicated. He needed to take future socializing more carefully and try to slowly understand and learn about human culture.

Bo didn't realize this as he was stuck in thought, but there was a solid minute of awkward silence between the two.

Iris wasn't sure what to do standing there fighting and watching Bo stare off into nothingness. Unable to bear the silence any longer, she sat down and reached into her backpack looking for her cooking tools as her stomach grumbled with hunger. It didn't take long for her to rummage through it and pull out a complete set of tools.

She had an entire setup consisting of pans, pots, utensils, all alongside a large quantity of fresh food ready to be cooked. Bo noticed this and silently wondered if her entire backup was just for the sole purpose of bringing along food.

The centerpiece was a small portable fire pit which she lit using some sort of orange crystal cylinder that Bo didn't recognize. She placed a giant pot onto the fire pit while her hands began to dance to the rhythm of the food.

She began to cook up the raw ingredients and a delicious aroma clouded the air. The smell hit Bo hard, it was his first time smelling something and he was thankful it was a delicious smell.

Taking deep whiffs through his nostrils, he slowly approached Iris wanting to see what she was cooking.

He stood behind her, watching her work her cooking wizardry and was truly fascinated and entertained by the entire experience.

Iris didn't notice, instead she was fully concentrating on her cooking; dicing vegetables, adjusting the spice and taste testing along the way. The faint sound of beasts roaring and heavy vibration of battle occasionally interrupted the sound of the stew sizzling but it didn't seem to distract either of them.

After a few minutes, the food was ready to be served.

Inside the giant pot was a piping hot stew made of various vegetables and meats waiting to be eaten. A comfortable aura of heat and an enticing aroma blanketed the stone platform.

It was then that Iris finally turned around and flinched at the sight of Bo, not realizing he was watching her closely the whole time.

“How long were you watching?” She asked curiously.

“Since you started cooking. I couldn't help but get drawn in by the aroma of the food and then I was fascinated watching you lose yourself in your cooking.” Bo explained.

She waved her arms in front of her face embarrassingly. “I'm sorry! You looked lost in thought so I just went ahead and started cooking… Umm… Would you like some?” she mustered the courage to ask Bo.

He raised his eyebrows, could he even eat things?

‘No better time to test it out.’ He surmised.

“I'm sorry for losing myself, it's been a long day. If you wouldn't mind then I would love some of your food.” He apologized and sat down next to Iris.

Gleefully smiling, Iris poured a large ladle full of stew into a wooden bowl and handed it over to Bo, warning him the stew was hot.

Bo was excited at the chance to eat something for the first time and didn't hesitate to take a large slurp of stew.

Slurp!

“Amazing! Delicious!” He couldn't help himself from exclaiming after tasting the stew.

Not feeling the heat due to his skin, he inhaled the rest of the hot stew down in one swift motion and breathed out a wave of steam from his mouth.

Iris happily offered him another bowl— she had plenty. The two happily spent the next few minutes quietly eating, feeling the warmth of the stew fill their bellies up.

After finishing his fifth bowl, Bo leaned back with a relaxed expression, completely satisfied. He watched Iris gradually finish her second bowl and thought now would be a good time to ask some questions.

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“So Iris… I was wondering… You don't find this appearance strange in any way?” He slipped her the question that was floating in his mind.

“Not really. I'm gonna assume it's an ember, and asking for details about someone's ember is considered rude. Even if it's something else, I've seen many things much stranger than metallic skin.” She rambled on an explanation, more open now that her belly was full.

“Really more strange than this? Like what?” He leaned in closer with curiosity.

“I've seen people transform into animals, creatures capable of swallowing entire boats whole in one bite. There was even the time— oh!” She clasped her mouth.

“What's wrong?” Bo asked.

She looked away and gently said, “it's a long story, but just know that I think your appearance isn't anything crazy… Unless you wanted it to be that way?”

Bo laughed. “No no, thank you! I just thought I would be seen differently like this but I guess not. Whatever your story is, it seems immensely fascinating, I want to see all these things and more!”

“Don't worry I wont press for details.” He reassured her.

The sun of the glade was lowering, almost ready for night time but the two wouldn't be able to rest just yet.

The sudden sound of a fight rang out nearby, prompting the two to look behind them and spot a tall muscular woman fending off against two orange panther-like beasts twice her size.

In her hands was a mighty battle ax just a few inches shorter than her own height which she swung around easily, attempting to fend off the beasts by keeping them at bay.

Blood was dripping down her body from wounds all over, her time was quickly running out and the beasts knew that. They stood on either side of her and attacked one by one, slowly whittling away at her energy, but even then she held her ground.

She was trying to inch closer to the Trial Fountain ever so slowly so that she didn't leave an opening for the beasts to attack, but with her injuries lingering her chances of escape were dwindling away.

“I gotta help her!” Iris shot up in a panic and began to rummage through her backpack looking for something useful.

“What do I do? what do I do?” her hands were shaking trying her best to find a solution.

“I'll go help her as well, don't worry.” Bo suddenly spoke up.

“You shouldn't risk your life if you don't want to. I-i can do this myself.” Iris stammered.

“I'm confident in this body.” He slapped his face.

TANG!

“See? I'm pretty resistant. And don't worry, saving someone in peril is the right thing to do anyways, right?”

“O-okay then let's do this. I think I have a plan.” She pulled out a vial of sickly gray liquid and handed it over to Bo.

“Can you run fast?”

“Of course.” Bo said. ‘I have no clue!’ Was what he actually thought.

“Get as close as possible to the fight then throw this near the beasts. Then you gotta help her make it back here before the potion wears off. I'll be right behind you in support.” She explained.

Without waiting any further, Bo took off.

Iris' face paled, forgetting to tell Bo the most important part, she ran after Bo but was much slower so she could only scream hoping he could hear her. “MAKE SURE YOU COVER YOUR EARS BEFORE IT BREAKS!”

Bo didn't hear that and instead focused on not falling over while running. It was awkward at first; he’d either move his leg too outward, too inward or not far enough in front. He had to focus fully on moving his legs, not forgetting to swing his arms and keeping his body straight so he wouldn't fall over.

Then it all of a sudden clicked.

His body took off at almost twice the speed, now his body was moving as one and his mind was free to focus on other things, especially the things right in front of him.

Now only about 50 feet away from the woman who was being hounded left and right by the panthers, he used his momentum to throw the potion successfully but ended up tripping.

He face-planted rather roughly but that didn't hurt him, instead he looked up at the women and heard something he didn't expect— laughter.

instead of worrying about bleeding out and her incoming demise, she was grinning and laughing like a mad woman.

“Haha! I'm just getting warmed up!” She cackled and took a large swing at one of the lunging beasts but the attack was easily sidestepped by its agile maneuvers.

The two tussled before the beast backed off and the other came in its place.

It was then he spotted the potion he threw soaring over the head of the woman, its fragile glass shattered against the ground and an ear piercing scream blared out.

Both the beasts shuddered and threw themselves to the ground trying to cover their ears the best they could with their animal limbs. Bo followed suit, he curled into a ball and reflexively put his hands over his ears which were currently ringing from the brief time it was exposed to the scream.

Oh shit, he couldn't imagine how the woman was faring when she was much closer to the source, he lifted his face and saw the women still standing like nothing had happened.

She rubbed an ear with her finger while shaking her head, then sauntered over to the struggling beasts and casually lugged her ax up high and beheaded each beast with a single swing.

She looked behind her at Bo and smiled with blood dripping down her face before fainting onto the bloodied grass below.

Bo felt someone touch his shoulder and turned to see Iris holding strange foam cylinders in her hand.

These must be ear plugs?

He grabbed them and hurriedly shoved them into his ears preventing the scream from shattering his eye drums, but even with the protection it was still incredibly loud and intrusive.

They rushed over to the woman and saw the state she was in was truly dreadful, wounds covered the entirety of her body, each still bleeding. Sweat and dirt covered anywhere that wasn't bloodied but even then Bo could see her beauty.

She was easily a head taller than Bo, filled to the brim with muscles and had a gorgeous set of red hair that flowed down to her thighs. Her clothes were ripped up but he could tell they were simple leather armor and tight black battle shorts that paired well with her colorful features.

“We gotta carry her back to the fountain before more beasts show up! I'll cover your flank if you can carry her!” Iris shouted in his ear so he could hear and he nodded in response.

He hoisted her into princess carry and ran back to the fountain, trusting Iris to cover his behind.

It didn't take long for the beast roaming nearby to smell the powerful scent of fresh blood and rush over to their location. Bo could already spot two beasts a distance away charging over to them, and by their speed they would reach Bo before he could get to the fountain.

Bo could feel the sound of the potion fading after getting a certain distance away meaning the beasts probably wouldn't be too bothered by it.

“Just keep running.” Bo repeated and looked forward, towards his goal.

As he got closer to the fountain he realized it was only a matter of seconds before they came into contact with the two beasts.

Boom!

A sudden explosion occurred to his left, rocking him to the side but he recovered and looked to see a beast thrown through the air from the explosion's intensity.

‘Holy shit, was that Iris!?’ Bo could only assume.

Then his vision caught sight of a beast near him, it jumped in the air ready to pounce on him when a potion of brown liquid appeared next to its face. The potion exploded and a clump of rocks shot out in all directions, smashing the beast to the ground.

Bo ducked out of the way of an incoming rock and finally managed to slide past the finish line and onto the fountain's platform. Iris was right behind him, she waddled to a stop and started breathing exhaustively resting her hands on her knees.

Bo gently placed the women onto the platform and took a second for himself.

“That was close. Was that you with the explosions?” Bo asked.

Iris nodded and after catching her breath she hurriedly began to wrap the women up with some bandage she had in her backpack.

“Ah right I shouldn't dig any further since it's rude.” Bo forgot.

“It's fine to ask, some people dont mind. I myself don't care too much but we need to deal with her wounds before anything.” She explained.

“Do you need any help?”

“Fetch me some water, I should be able to deal with the rest.”

The next few minutes were spent fixing the woman up, cleaning her wounds and making sure she was going to make it through the day— now becoming night.

Bo didn't really do much, and it wasn't like he could. He didn't have any medical knowledge, he mainly just grabbed things Iris asked for.

Now the sun was gone and darkness descended onto the Glade, the Beast Tide still going strong.