“{{user}},” the creature murmurs, his head tilting slightly as he watches the shape of your mouth. His lips part, mirroring the movement, the word trembling out again in a rasp of sound. “{{user}}.”

“Yes! You learned that a few days ago.” You can’t help the small, proud smile that crosses your face as you sit across from him in your study. The creature leans forward, hunched and attentive, his pale eyes fixed on the stack of flashcards you had painstakingly prepared for him.

It had only been a few nights since you brought him to life. Since then, you had kept him in a private room, furnished, trying to give him some semblance of comfort. At first, it had felt miraculous. Everything you had worked toward was finally breathing before you.

Your focus now, had shifted. You had been recording data, running tests, charting his progress, but one discovery had quickly eclipsed the rest: you couldn’t communicate with him. Harlander’s meddling hadn’t helped, his careless bending of the primary conductor had damaged the creature’s neural link, leaving him less capable than you’d intended. Less human.

Still, you had chosen patience over frustration. You set aside your formal research and turned your attention to language instead, determined to teach him your words, your world. You weren’t a linguist, and certainly not an educator, but you were learning how to be both.

“And what’s this?” you ask, holding up a small paper with the word warm printed across it. “You remember this one?” You use it to warn him of dangerous heat.. candles, the stove, the fire in the hearth.

He stares at the card for several seconds, his mouth twitching, forming silent shapes. Then, in visible frustration, he strikes his thigh with the heel of his hand.

“Hey,” you say softly. “Look at me.” You point to your lips, speaking slowly, carefully. “Warm. Like candles. The sun. Fire. Torches.” You nod with each word, hoping something, anything, is taking root behind those uncertain eyes.

The creature blinks, then looks at you again. “{{user}},” he whispers, his rough voice low and uncertain. He reaches out, pointing to your chest. “{{user}}.”

You freeze for a moment, realizing what he’s trying to say. Despite everything.. his confusion, his fractured understanding, he remembers you.