LOTUS .

                               ” ——so you’re a wanderer, huh? Hopping                                from place to place? " orders. What had                                she been before? Something military ???  

—- Luctu's eyes rested              on the tiny device next to the bigger one. As              if she had any idea what any of those kinda              things were called. She knew people who we-              re a lot more experienced than she was when              it came to technology. In fact, almost everyone              was a lot more experienced than Luctu. She              was completely clueless about everything.

             But she remained silent about that. Ask no ques-              tions about something you have zero knowledge              of. She had little pride, but didn't feel like making              a fool out of herself either.

                       " Wanderer... I suppose... But not too often.                           Once every few years. It's very tiring to go                           out. Something you must be familiar with,                           too. At least, I suspect you are.

     ”Well if there are more players, yes.       I sometimes tried to  set  up my friends against the weak       assling on the board but it didn’t always work out because       apparently that’s not how you play Monopoly but whatever       it was worth a try. “

—- The strange guy             sure talked a l o t . She would almost be anno-             yed by his speech if she had been listening in             the first place. She seated herself in front of the             board, watching how he set everything up of the             game. The board, the dices, the silver pawns. A             dog was one of them. Earthly animal, though al-             so reminded her of her favorite pet.

                        " Would you mind... if I took the dog? "

        Just because the two didn’t know each          other than a few days didn’t      mean      Mabel          felt some kind of betrayed.      As someone who         despises liars and enjoys  the truth this certainly         wasn’t something she took dearly.        Perhaps          because she already kind of felt  b o n d ed    to          this   creature.

                      “DON’T say that! “

—- Unlike the poor              little girl, Luctu felt no connection to the Earth-              ling whatsoever. There was no bond, nothing              that caused the guardian to feel at ease around              the child --- she couldn't care less about her.               But despite her sympathetic attitude towards               the girl's feelings, her reaction to what luctu had              said did  surprise her. She let green fingertips              drag down over her face, until they would rest              from her neck, on top of her shoulder. 

                        " ... I don't see why you feel so bothered                           with whatever I've said. You're sensitive.                           But I'm not sure --- are you too sensitive,                           or am I too insensitive? And I doubt you                           know the answer. "

             Her question ---- actually caused something               deep inside of her stomach to twist. It felt nas-              ty. As if the girl was filled with such miserable               disbelief, that the species of the lady must've              mattered. As if she couldn't possibly be as sen-              sitive, and as human as the child. It stung.

Thick wisps of inky air   flow out betwixt black lips, curling into   the air & dispersing within the sky. her   head cants towards the other &  eyes   cease to prick with unshed tears. yet   again, she conceals & suppresses   longing, lonesome emotions. shoulders   roll, & the triad of eyes she possess   blink in sync. eye contact is nonexistent.    the other sports bangs which cover   the top portion of her visage. 

  Curious. the gaze the other seems   to give pierces her own steely one. it   bothers her —- it’s been a while since   someone’s intrigued her in a manner   such as this. shaking off the depressive   emotion, the alien straightens herself   upon her perch on the rock which serves   as a seat.

—- What a shame.              No tears were spilled. The threat of a salt              smell soon embracing her nostrils had di-              sappeared, and somehow she felt disap-              pointed. She didn't necessarily like the strong              scent, but neither did she hate it. She just              appreciated its presence at certain moments.              Especially when it wasn't her  who had to               spill tears.

             Alas, this time all she could feed herself              with was the dark vibes the other emitted,              even if it was only for a while. She turned               her head away from the creature as she               could feel the last bit of emptiness slip a-              way from her senses again. Pondering the              question, the guardian heaves a deep, ti-              ring sigh.

                       " I don't know how I would feel. I                           don't have a life, or lives, as terri-                           ble as yours, it seems. I think I                           would feel.... upset. I prefer eter-                           nal death over memories, any-                           way.

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