To Otto's surprise, he actually received a visitor. To no one's surprise, it was Luke.
After hearing what had happened, Luke rushed straight to the medical bay. It took him a while, but he eventually found the right room. When he stepped inside and turned on the lights, he saw Otto lying on the bed. A small, yellow, furry creature rested on his face.
Luke's first instinct was, of course, to kill it. He didn't know what kind of creature it was, and therefore, obviously, the correct course of action was extermination.
Well…that earned him another round of push-ups as punishment. At least Otto wasn't sitting on top of him this time making it a whole lot easier.
"So?" Otto said weakly, "What did we learn today?"
"Never… attack… mysterious creatures… without asking first…" He responded.
"Good," Otto replied calmly. Silk, on his cheek, nodded. "I am glad that you understood fast enough."
Luke groaned and pushed himself up again.
"But it was on your face..."
"One more reason," Otto countered, "Do you think I would leave something on my face that I don't know?"
"How was I supposed to know that?!"
"I was about to tell you, if only you listened before acting." Otto was about to shake his head, but upon remembering the pain that would cause, he stopped himself. "Also, don't just enter my room out of nowhere, you weirdo. What are you doing here?"
"I came to visit my friend who was hurt." With one last push he was finally done. "You sure know how to treat a guest."
He got up and cleaned his clothes with gentle pats.
"I will let you know, I am doing you a favor." He pointed toward his cheek. "If it depended on her, you probably would be wrapped in web for a week."
Luke looked at the strange creature, who looked back at him as if saying 'What are you looking at?'.
"What is it anyway?" he asked innocently.
"It?" Otto raised an eyebrow.
"She. What is she?"
Otto's eyes softened a fraction.
"She's Silk," he said quietly. "My partner."
Luke tilted his head and stared at the small yellow creature curled on Otto's cheek.
"No, I mean… I never saw a creature like that. Is it an Echo?"
"No," Otto answered, voice low. "She isn't an Echo."
Luke took a cautious step closer, leaning in just enough to see the eight shiny gold eyes and the delicate fuzz that made her look more like a child's toy than anything dangerous.
"You two look alive," he blunted it out. "What's her species then?"
Otto raised an eyebrow.
'Did he just compare me with a spider?'
With the exception of their eye color, Otto and Silk shared absolutely no resemblance. She was hairy, annoying, had eight legs, was a recluse who didn't like to leave her web, and... did I mention she was annoying?
Compared to him, who was incredible, intelligent, cool, sociable, and, above all, beautiful, his little sister was too far behind.
"She's a spider," he simply said.
Luke blinked once and then again.
"A spider?"
He straightened up, eyebrows climbing toward his hairline as he gave Silk another, longer look. The tiny mandibles, the eight jointed legs tucked neatly beneath her round body, the faint shimmer of silk glands at her abdomen–it clicked all at once.
"Wow," Luke muttered. "I thought spiders were…you know. Extinct."
"And they are," Otto confirmed, "She's probably the last one in the world who isn't corrupted or dead–two worlds, even. By the way, I thought people from the main city received a proper education. How could you not recognize a spider right away?"
"People from the main city?" Luke repeated, frowning. 'Is that how Legacies talk about normal people?'
Luke shook his head slowly.
"I'm educated. It's just... Well... I forgot. Biology wasn't my strong suit."
Otto restrained himself from slapping his own forehead.
"God, sometimes you are so innocent..."
"Oh, you are smarter than I thought," Luke said. "I didn't think you would guess my Flaw like that."
…Otto blinked slowly, with Silk imitating him.
"What?"
"My Flaw." Luke repeated, "That's my Flaw: You are innocent. That's what it says."
For a few moments the entire room was silent, even the machines that were connected to him seemed to stop beeping…Wait, that wasn't good.
"...You know, you shouldn't go around telling people your Flaw."
"Of course I know that," he said, "I just told that to my closest friends. Lara, Layla, Annie, Laura, Flora… who else…oh yeah, to Ren as well, also—"
"I get it…" Otto couldn't believe someone would reveal their Flaw just like, out of the blue. But, looking back, it made sense.
He always had been a little weird. The fact that he was still friends with Otto proved that there was something wrong with him.
'Also, why are his closest friends all women? He really is a playboy…'
Luke seemed to remember something as he raised a finger.
"Right, I remembered why I came here. Since you are in the hospital, that means training is canceled until you recover, right?"
Otto smirked at his funny joke.
"Cancelled? Are you kidding? There is only four weeks until we are sent into the Dream Realm. If anything, the training should be doubled."
"B–but you are hurt, aren't you? There is no way you—"
"Besides," Otto cutted him, "Even if I can't walk I still can teach you a thing or two about the dangers in the Dream Realm."
Luke sighed, defeated. Then he remembered something else.
"Oh yeah, there was another thing. Someone ask me about you. She asked me to tell you if you could meet?"
"Meet? Me?" Who in the right state of mind would want to meet him? "Who?"
"Hm… Cas… or was it Kas… I am not sure." He thought for a few moments, "Ah right, Cassie. That was her name."
"Never!" Otto instantly refused.