Four: Raindrops on Roses

Magolor and I walk around his ship for a while. He shows me some places such as the kitchen, the library, and the front room where the Lor's control pad is as well as the front door are located. But one thing catches me eye and brings up a question.

"Copy ability rooms?"

Magolor looks at the doors in question. "Yeah… Copy ability rooms…"

"Why? Can you use copy abilities?" I ask. He doesn't seem the type to be able to do such a thing.

"I can't." He admits. "It came with the Lor when I found her…"

I look at him. "Found?"

Funny. Throughout most of the "tour" I had been practically silent, and now that I'm talking all of my sentences are questions. Probably doesn't matter, but I'm just the kind of person who takes notes on that kind of thing, I suppose.

"Yeah. I found her on my home planet, Halcandra. I excavated her from inside the volcano."

I was confused. "There's no planet named Halcandra anywhere near Gamble Galaxy! I should know; I spent a whole year studying astronomy. You're making this up."

He simply chuckles a bit. I like his laugh. It's cute, in a way.

"No, Halcandra is real! It's in another dimension! I can show you if you wish!"

I am about to reply when somebody interrupts me. A female, with an odd, almost stuck-up sounding accent and a voice that could go through auto-tuning and still come out the same.

"Magolor, the bath is ready."

Magolor looks up to the ship's roof. "Thank you, Lor!"

He then turns to me. "Come on, you heard her!"

He floats back down the hall and I follow, reluctantly.

It is strange to me; the concept of having a bath. I usually just used to find a waterfall and wash like that. Just sitting in the water... Didn't make sense. How would you get the muck out without a downwards stream? It would get the water all murky. Plus, you'd have to use your hands to wash it out and, obviously, I don't have those.

Back in the bathroom, I avoid looking at the mirror, and instead just carefully hop into the bath right away. After Magolor took off my bowtie of course. The water is warm, unlike all the cold showers I used to have, but I really like it. It's like a nice, warm blanket...

I am rather surprised when a pair of hands comes out of holes in the wall. In fact, I jump back a little.

"Oh, no need to be frightened!" Magolor giggles. "This is just the Lor. She won't hurt you."

"Unless you tell her to." I mutter, but I don't think he hears it, because suddenly, a sound rings through the room. A little tune made of three notes.

I was about to ask whether Magolor had heard that or if it was just my imagination again, but he was already near the door.

"That was the doorbell. I'll be back soon!"

He leaves, closing the door behind him. A shiver runs through my spine. I'm all alone...

I'm all alone...

I frown. The voices are back. As the Lor starts combing something through my fur,

I try to get my mind away from everything. Especially the pain from the combing.

I decide to summarise what I know about Magolor. I know he is kindhearted. He seems to get worried easily. He obviously cares about me for some reason. And he's really cute...

Wait, what? Why do I keep thinking he's cute? I've been noting that for a while now. And why didn't I notice what I was thinking? I usually do.

I don't know how to... Not anymore...

The Lor poured some water over my head. I growl at her, before remembering that she's just an AI. Now I feel stupid...

... Continuing on, I know he's apparently from another dimension; a planet named Halcandra, but... That's it. I really don't know much about him.

That fact bugs me. I want to know more about him. I want to get to know him. He did somehow bring me back from the dead, after all, and I want to know how. And why.

The Lor suddenly pours some sort of shampoo on my head and starts rubbing it in. It hurts as she runs her fingers through my tangles, but I stay as quiet as I can, closing my eyes so the soap doesn't get in. The shampoo smells like roses.

We're painting the roses red…

We're painting the roses red!

I stiffen. Somebody is singing. But who is it? It sounds like the Lor, but at the same time, it can't be. I don't know how to explain it…

Don't cry my dear,

Don't scream in fear,

Or else you'll lose your head!

I shudder a bit. The singing has a haunting vibe to it. Like it's being played through a radio in a large, empty room. I didn't like it one bit.

And with the blood of the dead…

We're painting the roses red!

A wave of hysterical laughter floods the room. I open my eyes, but there's nobody there. The room looks like it's spinning, so I close my eyes again. The laughter eventually dies down.

"Lor?" I mumble, hoping she hears me. "Was that you singing?"

She makes a whirring sound before replying. "I cannot sing. Perhaps you were imagining it?"

I feel my cheeks heating up, and I don't think it's from the water. "What are you implying?!"

"I'm not implying anything. I simply chose the most suitable answer from my database. I'm sorry if I offended you."

Something clicks in my head. Do I really think I was insane, and therefore think other people do too? Does that even make any sense?

It doesn't make any sense...

The Lor dumps another lot of water on my head before picking me up and plopping me on the floor, just as Magolor floated it.

"Oh, I see you're done!" He smiles. "Sorry for taking so long. I was just talking to a friend of mine… I wonder, do you know him? His name is-"

The rest of his words are drowned out by the Lor turning on a hairdryer… and pointing it at me. My fur flies in front of my eyes, so I close them for a few seconds, only opening them when she finished.

Who are you?

I am about to ask Magolor to repeat what he was saying, only to notice him giggling.

"What's so funny?" I snarl. I don't like being laughed at.

"Y-your fur!" He laughs. "You look like a pompom!"

I roll my eyes. "Suuure... Whatever. I don't care."

I don't care anymore

His giggles die down a bit, but I can still see a smile in his eyes. "Come on, let's go the the library. Will you let me brush your fur?"

I sigh, giving in. "I suppose so..."

He makes a sound that sounds a lot like a 'squee!' as he leads the way to his library.

I can't help but smile as I follow him. Sure, I may be... No. I'm probably at least half insane, but little Maggie here seems to really like me, and care about me.

Maybe I can get to trust him after all. Just a little bit, at least.

I trusted you...

...and now I can never trust again.