The Soft Ones Live / They Came From The Walled City

The Soft Ones Live

It had been a few days since the Walled City 99 opened up to the outside world.

Despite their excitement, the outsiders didn't dare to adventure too far from the city without preparations for a well-planned expedition. This new world was nearly alien to them, after all. Could you imagine getting lost out there? Without any backup battery or oil?

For the time being, they only explored the close surroundings outside of the walled city together, processing the unfathomable freedom they had been blessed with.

Momo was hoping to meet the little outsider again now that they were outside, but so far... No luck...

One day, Momo was standing outside alone, staring at the sun. It didn't hurt him in any way, having glass and image sensors instead of retinas, but he sometimes found himself mesmerised by the raw, powerful brightness of the mythical celestial object, the star once only described in ancient texts...

"Mreow!"

The familiar sound sent an surge of surprise and excitement through him. He let out a high-pitched bleep as he quickly looked down to spot the cat.

Oh... But this little animal was mostly white, only a few spots were orange, unlike the little outsider...

Although a little disappointed, Momo was glad to see a lifeform he considered friendly and trustworthy.

"Eh, hey there, cat..." He said with a small wave.

The cat didn't seem to like that... This metal creature was big and made unfamiliar sounds, so the cat ran away into the greenery.

"Uh-... Hey- wait!... Do you happen to know an orange cat??..." Momo, in his excitement, clumsily stepped over bushes and crouched under branches to follow the cat, getting his coat and hat stuck to trees a few times...

Wrestling with the vegetation, the face on his monitor changed into a sad frown... and eventually changed into an angry frown.

After a few minutes, he made it to a clearing. However, after looking around him, he finally had to accept that he lost sight of the cat... He shook his head and dusted some leaves off his coat, letting out a low wobbly sigh.

But then, a sound he didn't recognize made him freeze like a statue.

It sounded like an empty spray can being forced to exhale what little air it still held. A hiss? No, it sounded like something... bigger.

With a fearful expression, he turned his head to look in the direction of the sound.

It took a moment for his facial recognition system to see it, but right there, behind a tree, a face was staring at him with wide eyes.

But it wasn't a companion.

This face did not glow, for it was almost part of the shadows of the trees. This face was round... It looked soft... a little bit squishy, hairless for the most part, and displayed such complex eyes, and a... nose... None of these features shaped like the ones of a cat, no...

Yes, Momo was familiar with this facial structure... Well, sort of. The ancient posters and paintings he collected over the decades wouldn't lie to him, would they? He had no doubt... He could feel it in his core, partially due to a vestigial piece of data in his programming that was once designed to recognize these people... This bipedal being had to be... a soft one. A human.

Although he was mostly frozen in fear, Momo's monitor changed to display a speechless, surprised expression. He cautiously tilted his head, trying to get a better look, as he let out an sharp buzz of curiosity. It was kind of his way of gasping.