He took a moment to touch the rug, curious about what it felt like. It felt as rough and rugged as it looked, and he found himself enjoying the sensation of touching it. 

“In love with a rug?” a voice cut in. 

He spun around to see the woman in white from earlier gazing at him with a grin. He found himself stepping away from her as if she were a dangerous criminal. Petunia came closer to the rug and therefore, closer to him, which made him step back again. She looked the artwork up and down. “It is quite impressive… you have good taste.” she turned her gaze from the rug to him, which caused him to look away. 

“So? Are you surprised to see me?” she asked cheerfully. 

He nodded wordlessly. 

She frowned, crossing her arms. “Cat got your tongue?”

“I am a Designer Child. We aren’t made to be chatty.” He explained. 

“Ah.” she said, recognizing the truth of his sentence. “Newer model then, eh?”

He nodded again, finding that a cat, did, indeed, have his tongue. 

“Well, I just wanted to thank you for helping me with Greg earlier.” she said, clasping her hands behind her back. “That guy just would not leave me alone. I got transferred to this House after I finally got up the guts to complain to my Masters about it. I can thank you and your bravery for that. I’m glad you’re at this house--you seem very nice.”

“Just doing my job.” he said without inflection. “Anyway, I should get some rest.” 

Petunia scratched her cheek. “Well. If you ever get up the guts, you should try and ask the masters for a night off sometime. I’m sure you’d be a blast to hang out with at the bar.”

Joseph merely tipped his head in response and then headed to his room. He disrobed and then climbed into bed after turning the lights out. Normally, sleep took him easily because he had nothing to think about other than his job. Tonight, however, he lay awake staring sightlessly at the ceiling. 

Despite his eyes being open, he was not acknowledging what they were gazing upon. Instead, his gaze was filled with Petunia. Moreover, it was filled with seeing Petunia at a “fun” place such as a bar. This thought concerned him. 

He didn’t know how to dance, he didn’t like company, and didn’t like doing anything that had nothing to do with his job, but he still found himself wanting to go out. 

***

When he crawled out of bed, Joseph’s eyes and head both felt incredibly heavy. He had never felt tired in his life, and he found himself sinking into the feeling as if it were a comfortable bed, and also repulsing the feeling as if it were a dog biting him. He stretched, rubbing his tired eyes, and then headed to the bathroom to shower. He found himself turning the water unbearably hot to the point where he felt it might give him a first degree burn, and wanting the feeling to wrap him up in its pain because he found the sensation curious and new. 

When he stepped out of the shower, fully clothed in his uniform for the day, he saw his father sitting on his bed. He felt the need to step back into the shower to avoid him, despite the fact that he usually enjoyed his father’s visits. 

“Don’t be shy, come sit next to me.” he patted the bed next to him. 

Silently, Joseph obeyed and padded over to his father’s side. He sat next to him, smoothing his hair back because he didn’t know what to do with his hands. His father was a tall, muscular man, which was why he was chosen as the progenitor of the Praetorian Guard. His father had a worn, chiseled face--like a rock with many creases--a long face, and a square jaw. His eyes were a dim blue in this lighting, but sometimes, when Joseph met him outside, those eyes would shine and become as invigorating as icy cold water. 

Joseph had trouble looking his father in the eyes, however, as he did with most strangers who were not his brothers. For him, they might as well have been as foreign as the eyes of the Erulanites.

“What is it, Dad?” Joseph asked. 

His father cleared his throat, sitting cross-legged. “Oh…” he murmured. “I’ve come to praise you and scold you.”

Joseph had the ghost of a tiny smile on his face as he briefly glanced at his father and then back at his feet. “Scold me?”

“Yes. Maru’Chi let me know that you  were hit by a car yesterday and you were going to get back up and go right back to work. While I praise your work ethic, I can’t understand why you would go right back to work when you were probably bleeding internally and could only have made your injuries worse.” his father explained. 

Joseph blinked confusedly. “I don’t know why she cares. My duty is to defend the city and her House. If I die, they can replace me easily.” 

Joseph had trouble reading facial expressions, but his father  definitely looked perturbed by his words. His facial expression made Joseph look away in shame. Did I say something out of line? Is he going to tell Maru’Chi?

His father cleared his throat. “While it is true that they can replace you, there will never be another Praetorian Guard who acts exactly as you do--one who’s as hard working, intelligent, or who has the same personality.” 

Joseph shook his head. “I don’t understand. Why does personality matter?”

His father smiled at him, and then looped an arm around his shoulder, hugging him tightly in silence for a moment. Joseph felt like he was caught in a snake’s constricting grasp, and he immediately wanted to be freed from it. He pushed himself away from his father expressionlessly, and looked at the older man’s face to see that he wore an expression of sadness and disappointment.