Small Lurker in Milliways

[lurkingkobold]

Here is a kobold.

To people familiar with the species, it's obviously a young one, not quite three feet tall to the adults' three and a half foot average. Its fur is blueish-grey and relatively dull, a sign that it hasn't been eating properly recently, though it's not thin. It's wearing a simple animal-skin skirt and carrying a stick, not quite long enough to serve as a walking stick, but useful for shielding itself from the worst of the undergrowth at least.

It is moving through the forest at speed, not following any path, and then suddenly it is elsewhere. After a few minutes, it notices the difference in the light; after a few more, it notices that the trees are subtly wrong - wrong species, wrong growth patterns, wrong in subtler ways that defy describing, but that tell the kobold that it is not in the forest where it grew up.

After even more minutes, it stops, having come to a clearing. There is a building, which, despite not being alarmingly large, cannot be traveled around.

The kobold does not have permission to enter the building.

The kobold cannot go back to where it was.

The kobold sits, and waits.

Comments

[scatteredstars]

What appears to be two young women come out of the building, talking animatedly. One stops a little outside, telling the other to have fun, which elicits a laugh as the other runs off into the forest.

The first young woman (although, at a second look, it is not entirely clear 'woman' is the correct word), sighs, and starts to turn back to the building before noticing the bundle of blue-grey fur on the edge of the forest.

"Hello?" ze says, cautiously.

[lurkingkobold]

The kobold doesn't speak, but does watch the person, not warily, but not quite showing interest, either - she doesn't make eye contact but it seems like perhaps she might want to.

After a short delay - long enough to suggest that this is not entirely a genuine reaction - she tilts her head in an apparent display of curiosity.

[scatteredstars]

Comparing to Morph Database v.5.22.1.3...

No matches found.

(Of course not. Millways, why do you do this to me?)

"Can you talk?" Tyche asks, after a moment longer of silence.

[lurkingkobold]

The kobold nods, wide-eyed, and seems to shrink into herself a bit.

[pythbox]

A small grey cat emerges from the woods nearby.

She looks at the kobold. She makes a quiet thoughtful cat noise. She pads daintily over to inspect this novel creature.

[scatteredstars]

Tyche considers this for a moment, and then sits down, still where ze is, a short distance from Lurker. "You don't have to talk if you don't want to. It just makes it easier to communicate."

[lurkingkobold]

The kobold looks away for a moment, reaching up to scratch behind the ear nearer Tyche as she does so. When she looks back, she's still not making eye contact, but she is making a face, as if asking, 'what do you think you're doing?'

[lurkingkobold]

The kobold sits very still, only her eyes following the cat's movements.

[pythbox]

The cat sits down a little ways away from the kobold and meows inquisitively.

[lurkingkobold]

The kobold's brow furrows briefly, but she quickly goes back to staring off into the middle distance.

After a few moments, she glances back at the cat. It seems like she's marginally more relaxed, at this point.

[scatteredstars]

"I thought you might be lonely, out here on your own," Tyche says, as if this seems a perfectly reasonable reason to zir to attempt to talk to the kobold. "I can stop talking to you if you want. Do you?"

[pythbox]

The cat meows twice, in a cadence that almost sounds languagelike.

[lurkingkobold]

At the first sentence, the kobold's head jerks up in surprise - she's still not making eye contact, but she is looking Tyche full in the face for the first time, in a complicated mix of confusion and hope, with the confusion taking over as zie continues speaking.

When zie stops, the kobold moves her mouth a bit, as if preparing to speak, but instead she looks away, her eyes tracking back after a moment to see Tyche's reaction.

[lurkingkobold]

This gets the kobold's attention. Understanding, not so much, but she's watching inquisitively.

[pythbox]

The cat un-sits and takes a few small steps towards the kobold, and pauses, and meows a one-word question.

[scatteredstars]

Tyche looks mildly concerned at this reaction, but is waiting for an indication of whether or not ze should continue speaking. And so ze continues to sit there, waiting for a response, verbal or otherwise.

[lurkingkobold]

The kobold goes through a few cycles of trying to figure out what to say, but eventually gives up, gives Tyche a concerned look, and settles into staring off into the middle distance.

[lurkingkobold]

The kobold shakes her head, once, in a 'sorry, nope' sort of way.

After a brief moment, she raises her hand to offer petting.

[scatteredstars]

...that is not a response.

On the other hand, the longer ze waits, the more sure ze becomes that ze is not going to get a response.

Eventually, ze says, "Are you okay?"

[pythbox]

The cat approaches within petting distance and bumps her head against Lurker's hand in a friendly way, vocalizing another meow-word as she does so.

[lurkingkobold]

A subtle change in tension of the kobold's spine is the only indication that she's heard the question, for two or three long seconds. Then she stands, loose and calm, and moves to sit at Tyche's side.

[lurkingkobold]

The cat gets pettings! The kobold is obviously experienced at this.

[pythbox]

Purr purr.

[scatteredstars]

Tyche looks at her in very obvious confusion. "Hey," ze says, after a moment, and then waits hopefully for an answer to zir previous question.

(At least whoever this is is less tense, now)

[lurkingkobold]

No, this is a happy kobold, see? There's no reason to be worried.

She nudges Tyche's arm with her snout, asking to be petted.