#[[for dingo's birthday - here's a drabble where he doesn't appear :p

[tomahawk-swing]

The Day Before

Tyee was used to spending summer afternoons alone at home. His wife was busy preparing her future classes at school, and Dingo was off playing in the forest with Shanka. Tyee appreciated it even more when they all gathered in the evening, and shared a meal together.

When the sky started to take clear orange hues, Tyee grew a little worried. The days were longer in the summer, and it was well past dinner time. Since Dingo could be anywhere outside the village, he decided to go check on Makhta instead. Her whereabouts were about certain.

Indeed, Makhta was at work - but she wasn’t working on her teachings.

The school building was made of two classrooms, each with a much smaller, window-less room that served a reserve, or an office. Makhta sat behind her old computer, the bulky screen taking up most of the desk’s space. The only light in the room came from the computer screen.

“You should at least switch the lights on ...” Tyee sighed. He pressed the switch, and watched his wife jump at the sudden change in brightness. 

“It was fine when the sun was still up. I was about to come home, anyway.” Makhta argued. She stared at her screen, and had a long sigh. Truthfully, she had been planning to spend the night at her desk.

“You’re still working on that project ?” Tyee questioned, a little concerned. “You know you still have a few days to finish it, right ?”

“I only have a few days left.” Makhta retorted. “And I’m far from finished. I still have to run some tests, make sure that the AI isn’t glitchy, fix some texture and design issues ...”

Tyee shook his head. As much as he loved his wife’s determination, he didn’t like seeing her ignore her own health. He squeezed past piles of carefully stacked boxes, and walked behind the desk, so he could place his hands on Makhta’s shoulders and gently massage them.

“I’m sure it’ll be just fine. I may not know a thing about all that computer tech stuff, but I trust you.” Tyee had a mischievous smile. “That being said ... if you’d at least show me what you’re working on, I’d have even less of a reason to be worried.”

Makhta didn’t hold back a sigh. “I thought you me wanted to keep it a surprise for you as well. You know that you can’t keep a secret.”

“Hey ! I can keep a secret ! Especially for something that important !” Tyee proclaimed, with a hand over his heart. “I swear that I will not let anything slip. I’d rather keep it a secret for three entire days, than wait all that time without knowing.”

Makhta went silent for a moment. She gestured for Tyee to grab a stool, and opened a few more tabs on her computer screen. 

“I still haven’t settled on a name for him.” Makhta confessed. “I still have to tweak a few parameters, especially in the personality department, and like I said, with his design too. Some parts might be a little too bulky ...”

Tyee located a three-legged stool of his making, and plopped in front of the computer. He tried his best to listen to his wife’s words, but his attention was all focused on the screen. His eyes devoured every detail of the 3D model that was displayed there. 

“He looks so cool.” Tyee eventually said, admirative sparkles dancing in his dark grey eyes. “He seems like a friendly little guy. And he looks really strong, too ! Like, enemies might underestimate him at first, but he’s actually super tough. And look at that axe ! It’s like it came straight out of a real forge !”

“He will be strong.” Makhta nodded. “... And friendly. I figured that Dingo might need that kind of influence, in case he ever escapes yours.”

Tyee’s mind drew a blank for a moment. He didn’t like to think about the inevitable day when Dingo would leave the village. With this spunky Navi by his son’s side, at least, Tyee would be less worried. 

“You’re right about that.” Tyee laughed. “Our son isn’t exactly the friendliest kid ‘round the block. Maybe this Navi’ll help him look a little more approachable to new people. After all, he’s gonna be the coolest Navi in the entire city ! No, the entire world !”

Tyee’s enthusiasm brought a rare, fond smile to Makhta’s lips. “Don’t get your hopes up too high. For all I know, I could have programmed him all wrong, and he’ll end up being mean and sarcastic. Like me.”

“That’s not a problem !” Tyee had a knowing glance for his wife. “He’s gotta have a little bit of us both in him, if he’s going to be Dingo’s little brother.” 

Makhta felt her cheeks warm up. She hadn’t imagined that Tyee would pick up on the hints the fast. Truth be told, she was already halfway through coding the Navi, before she noticed how similar he was to her husband. Dingo had inherited most of her own personality traits - it was only fair that Dingo’s Navi took more after his father.

“I did intend to make him a little bit more responsible than you are, so I don’t know if you can call him a little brother ...” Makhta had a quiet laugh. “Who knows what kind of adventures Dingo will rope him into. I can’t keep counting on Shanka to keep an eye on him 24/7.”

“She’ll appreciate the thought, for sure.” Tyee chuckled. He went silent for a moment, his eyes still glued to the screen. “We need a name for this little guy, though. We can’t keep calling him “the Navi” forever.”

“I know, but ...” For once in her life, Makhta was hesitating. This was a decision that would affect her son’s life for the rest of his life. “All I know is that it has to end with -man, it’s an unspoken rule for NetNavis.”

“-man ? Like he’s a superhero ?” Tyee had a hearty laugh. “That sounds fitting ! But then, how about ... Totemman ? No, Axeman ! Wait ... Battleaxeman ! That’s the one !”

Makhta shook her head. “Cliché, too obvious, too long. None of these are right.” 

“Hmm ... Alright. Gimme a second. I’ll find something.” Tyee was silent for a few seconds, deeply lost in his thoughts. Suddenly, he snapped his fingers and exclaimed :

“Tomahawkman !”

Makhta didn’t reply right away. She looked up at the screen, and slowly nodded.

“His weapon is not a tomahawk, but ... I’ll allow it. Maybe Dingo will stop trying to steal yours, if we give him his own Tomahawk.”

“I was going to let him have that one on his birthday, anyway. That’s two tomahawks for the price of one.” Tyee laughed. “Then it’s settled ! We found a name for the lil’ guy !” 

“Tomahawkman.EXE.” Makhta repeated. It sounded right.

“I can’t wait to see him in action. He’ll make a great partner for Dingo, I’m sure of it. You’ve done an amazing job, honey.” Tyee reached for Makhta’s hand, and leaned to plant a kiss on his wife’s cheek. He watched her look away to the side, flustered. “They’ll be just like brothers.”

Makhta got over her slight embarrassement, and squeezed her husband’s hand in return. 

“They will bicker a lot, certainly. They might get mad at each other, call each other names, maybe even try to get rid of each other ... But they’ll be a formidable team. They’ll share an unbreakable bond. They’ll fight as if they shared the same brain ... and the same heart.”

A sniffling noise had Makhta’s gaze shoot upwards. “Are you crying ?!”

“Of course I am ! What you just said ...” Tyee wiped the tears from his eyes. “It was so beautiful !”

Makhta rolled her eyes, but she didn’t object. She had poured a lot of herself (and her husband) in this being made of 0s and 1s. This immaterial, self-aware creature, that would stand by their son’s side for the rest of his life. It truly felt like bringing a child into the world all over again.

She couldn’t wait to meet her second son for real.