Chapter 2 Page 2 - Lamia and Gaming
Mati and two lamias
chapter 13
by
The Reaper
Mati gave a slow, affirmative nod, his mouth still half-full of the savory, herb-infused omelet. He swallowed hard and wiped his mouth with a napkin, feeling the lingering warmth of the meal and the sheer, chaotic energy of the young lamia beside him. He knew that once Emily got an idea in her head, there was no stopping her—it was like trying to hold back a tidal wave with a screen door.
"Alright, alright! I'm coming," he chuckled, sliding out of the chair. He felt a strange sense of lightness as he stood, his skinny frame dwarfed by the two powerful women in the room, yet he felt a growing confidence. He looked over at Emilia, who was watching the scene with an amused, maternal glow. "Give me just a second to finish the coffee, and then we can head up. I think it's time to introduce Emily to the world of RGB lighting and high-refresh-rate monitors."
Mati drained the last of his coffee, the bold flavor lingering as he set the mug back on the counter with a satisfying clink. He felt a surge of genuine excitement; it had been a long time since he’d had someone—especially someone so enthusiastic—to share his passion with. As he turned toward the stairs, he felt the slight brush of Emily’s scales against his leg, a constant, rhythmic reminder of the powerful creature currently treating him like a favorite toy.
"Just a warning, Emily," he said, glancing back at her with a smirk. "Once you see the RGB lights, everything else is going to look boring. Your room might actually start looking too dim." He started the ascent back toward the attic, his steps light despite the lingering soreness in his limbs. He could already envision the moment he pressed the power button and the room flooded with a neon spectrum of colors, reflecting off the polished scales of the curious young lamia.
The climb back to the attic felt like a victory lap. Mati could hear Emily's excited chattering behind him, a constant stream of consciousness that filled the quiet hallway. He reached the top of the stairs and stepped back into the cool, spacious room, the morning light now casting long, elegant shadows across the wooden floor. He walked straight to the center of his designated zone and knelt beside the primary server rack, his fingers itching to finally flip the switches.
"Okay, Emily, stand back a little," he instructed, though he knew she was already leaning in so close that her pink hair was nearly brushing his shoulder. He reached for the power strip and flipped the master switch. For a heartbeat, there was silence, and then the room came alive. A low, rhythmic hum filled the attic as the fans spun up, and suddenly, the dark interior of the chassis erupted into a symphony of neon. Strips of RGB lighting pulsed in a slow, rhythmic wave of violet, electric blue, and lime green, casting a surreal glow against the rustic beams of the ceiling.
Emily didn't just stand back; she practically levitated in place, her blue eyes wide and shimmering as they reflected the pulsing neon waves. She let out a gasp that sounded like a deflating balloon, her small hands flying up to cover her mouth in sheer awe. The electric blue of the LEDs seemed to synchronize with the color of her scales, casting a futuristic glow over her youthful features. To her, this wasn't just a computer; it was a magical artifact, a glowing beacon of a world she had only imagined through the fragmented stories her mother told her.
"It's... it's like a rainbow lived inside a box!" she whispered, her voice trembling with excitement. She leaned in closer, her pink hair dipping into the glow of a lime-green fan. She looked from the glowing machine to Mati, her expression one of absolute adoration. "Daddy Mati, you're a wizard! A beep-boop wizard! How do you make the lights dance? Do they dance because they're happy to see me?" Her tail began to sway in a slow, hypnotic rhythm, mirroring the pulsing lights of the server.
Mati couldn't help but beam at her reaction. He had spent years obsessing over cable management and color-coordinated LED strips, but he had never seen someone look at a PC build with the same kind of wonder most people reserved for a sunset or a miracle. He chuckled, reaching out to gently nudge one of the pulsing light strips, causing the color to shift from a deep violet to a shimmering gold.
"They don't exactly have feelings, Emily, but we can make them do whatever we want," he explained, his voice warm as he guided her closer to the monitor. "It's all about the code. I can tell the computer to make the lights dance to a certain beat, or change colors based on how hard the processor is working. It's like... painting with electricity." He looked at her shimmering blue eyes and realized that for someone who had lived a life of natural forests and ancient scales, this digital neon was practically a new dimension.
Mati felt a surge of pride as he guided Emily toward the primary workstation. He sat her down in the ergonomic chair—which she nearly slid out of due to her tail—and stepped behind her, his hands moving over the keyboard and mouse with a practiced, rhythmic speed. He opened a series of colorful windows, showcasing a high-end game with vivid graphics and a dynamic world.
"See this, Emily? This is a world we can explore. And look at the colors," he explained, pointing to a shimmering, digital forest that mirrored the greenery of the world outside, but with an iridescent, neon glow. He shifted the camera, making the landscape sweep by in a dizzying blur of light. "Everything you see here is created by those dancing lights we saw in the box. It's like a dream you can control." He watched her face, curious to see if the sheer scale of the digital world would overwhelm her or ignite her imagination further.
Emily was practically vibrating in the chair, her blue tail thrashing behind her in a flurry of excitement that threatened to knock over a nearby stack of empty cardboard boxes. She leaned so far forward that her forehead almost touched the screen, her blue eyes wide and shimmering with an almost hypnotic intensity. The digital forest, with its neon flora and iridescent waterfalls, seemed to fascinate her more than the actual forest she had lived in her whole life.
"It's like... a magic mirror!" she exclaimed, her voice echoing through the attic. She reached out a small hand to touch the monitor, her finger hovering just millimeters from the glowing pixels. "Can I go inside? Can I go in there and see the neon trees? Daddy Mati, can you make a door for me to go through?" She looked up at him with an expression of pure, unfiltered hope, her pink hair cascading over her shoulders as she beamed at him, completely oblivious to the laws of physics and software.
Mati let out a soft, genuine laugh, the sound echoing warmly in the attic space. He reached out and gently caught Emily's hand before she could actually poke the screen, guiding her finger back. "I wish I could, Emily. Believe me, I wish I could build a door just like that. But for now, the only way to 'go inside' is with this," he said, carefully placing the game controller in her small hands.
He leaned over her, showing her how the joysticks and buttons worked, his voice patient and encouraging. "You can't physically step into the neon forest, but you can control the character. See this little person on the screen? That's you. When you move this stick, they move. You're the one who decides where to go and what to explore." He watched her face intently, wondering if the transition from the physical world to the virtual one would be frustrating or exhilarating for her.
Emily gripped the controller as if it were a sacred relic, her small fingers tentatively pressing the thumbsticks. At first, her movements were erratic; the digital character on the screen spun in frantic circles, sprinting headfirst into a neon-lit tree. Emily let out a little squeal of surprise, her blue tail giving a sudden, reflexive lash that knocked over a nearby empty box with a loud *thump*.
"Whoa! He's moving! He's actually moving!" she shouted, her eyes wide with a mixture of concentration and sheer thrill. She began to giggle, a bright, infectious sound, as she figured out how to make the character jump. Each leap in the virtual world was accompanied by a little hop of her own body in the chair, her pink hair bouncing with every movement. "Look, Daddy Mati! I'm jumping! I'm a neon jumper!" She was completely absorbed, her gaze locked onto the screen with an intensity that would have been intimidating if it weren't so innocent.