Belong

Chapter 4 - Reflections

The other had his back turned towards him, while working with the yellow sparks that gave off warmth. He didn't understand... Why did the other help him? What was the other going to do with him? He seemed kind enough... but he had learned long ago that his life existed mostly of fear and pain.

"Here, I made you some food." The other turned towards him, with an expression that seemed to elicit kindness and goodwill. He held out a container of... something. It did smell nice... And the gesture seemed similar to how the other had held out the cloth that was now snugly wrapped around him, just before pushing him down on the longer soft cloth. Deeming it safe, he grabbed the container from the other, before stopping. Inside the container was a liquid. He knew how to eat food, in the facility he had also eaten, but this was different from anything he had had before. Glancing over at the other, he saw he had a container as well. Judging by the smell it contained the same liquid as his. The other lifted the container to his mouth and drank from it. He copied the movement.

When the liquid entered his mouth he sputtered and nearly spat it out again. It was warm, and did not taste like anything he knew! But if the other could consume it, then he could too, couldn't he?

"Are you alright? It's called soup. My friend Amy made it for me, she's the best cook I know! Said she made it as healthy as possible so I could get enough nutrients. She's a really big worrywart sometimes!" The other spoke a lot. While he understood the words that the other said, they carried no meaning to him. What was soup? What was a friend Amy? Not knowing what was happening shrouded his heart and mind with fear. He took another sip from the container to distract himself. He did enjoy the way it tasted...

Between taking sips of his own container the other kept talking. Realising that it was probably not aimed at him particularly, he tuned him out and started studying the other's body. He somewhat knew what he looked like, he had seen his reflection in a glass wall in the facility once, a long time ago. He suppressed the memories that started to coil in his head and turned his attention to the other again. They had the same kind of quills, he saw. Five on their brows, and two longer ones protruding from the back of their heads. And the other also had fur around his neck, though his was orange while the other's was white, and a bit shorter. Most notably, the other had the teal marks on his hands that he usually had too, though his were entirely greyed out at the moment. He figured it was because of what happened when he... no, he wasn't going to think about that again. He intensified his focus on the other, and took in some differences. The other's hands were white, instead of the grey of his fur... how odd. He also had two spiky-looking tufts coming out of his back, which he himself lacked. Didn't that hurt? He took a peak at the items covering their feet, and noticed that the other's looked a lot better than his. While his footwear consisted of simple black fabric, the other's shoes were taller and looked a lot more sturdy, not to mention more colourful.

Having gotten lost in his musings, he nearly didn't notice the other looking at him intensely. A "hey!" made him jump up and nearly spill his liquid all over himself. The other quickly grabbed his container with the teal-coloured power he also possessed, and gently put it down next to him. "Sorry, I didn't mean to scare you. You were looking kind of lost in thought there, but I wanted to ask you something." The other looked... apologetic? But why? He simply couldn't wrap his head around it...

"This might be an odd question to ask now, but what is your name? Then I know how to refer to you." Name? What did the other mean? Wasn't his name PK-HMH? Why did the other not know this already?

Silence prevailed, he had no idea how to react. After a few seconds the other made a sad huffing noise. "That's alright, you don't need to answer. I can see you're still kind of spooked. But I mean no harm, really!" The other was quiet for a few seconds more. "Actually... can you even understand me? Do you know what I'm trying to say?"