Camp Lily

Day 4

Four days in, and Lily was not where she wanted to be at all. Restless, hungry, and alone. With only a talking roomba to keep her company, she felt more lonely than she ever felt in her life. She just wanted her friends to be okay. Not knowing where they were or what happened to them weighed heavy on her, not to mention how many of their disappearances she blamed herself for. They didn't deserve to be lost in a cursed forest with monstrous demons everywhere.

"Hey, are you okay, Lily? You look troubled," asked Cocorobo. The two of them managed to find a small cave to hole up in for the night, one without any bears or ISBs in it. The roomba rested next to Lily's head while she slept on the cold ground without a blanket or a pillow. She even thought she saw a tear run down the blonde's cheek.

"I'm fine, don't worry about me."

Lily just barely noticed the sunlight peering through the cave, showing that morning had come. She really wanted to be back home for a number of reasons, but one of the biggest ones was so she could finally sleep in a bed again. The rocky ground did not make for a good mattress.

Since she stayed awake for most of the night, Lily and Cocorobo did a bit of talking, mostly about the presumed location of the Fountain of Diolacov. Lily wondered if such a thing even existed, but the ISBs clearly had something to do with it. She recalled their overnight exchange:

"Why don't they just go into the fountain? Wouldn't that heal them?"

"For them, it's not that easy. The shadow beasts that chased you were cursed long ago. They are remnants of the old days, literal shadows of the past. Like the fountain, they are part of the forest and can't be detached from it. Since I'm just a prisoner here, I'm hoping the fountain will work on me. If not..." Cocorobo stopped speaking. Lily sat up and listened to what her friend was about to say. "Please make good use of me. I'm really good at cleaning."

Lily rolled her eyes. "Coco, you're not gonna be a roomba forever. I'll get you back in your human body in no time. Okay?"

"You're so kind, Lily. It makes me so happy to know you want to help me so much. If you can find a way to make me human again, I'll be forever in your debt."

Lily mulled over this conversation for hours. She wasn't so sure she wanted Cocorobo to feel indebted to her, especially since she didn't even know if they'd find the fountain. She couldn't promise Cocorobo she'd be human again, but she sure as heck tried. How could she, a lowly musician, stop such a great curse?

"We should probably get going. It'll take a few hours to find the fountain. I hope you got lotsa rest!" Cocorobo told her human partner.

Lily lifted her heavy body from the ground and stretched her arms out. She ached all over, and she really did not want to embark on a grand quest right away. Unfortunately, Coco was right. If they had a few hours of walking ahead of them, they needed to go straight away.

Lily lifted Cocorobo in her arms and carried her out of the cave, walking back into the forest and hiking down the nonexistent path. She followed Cocorobo's directions, but even the vacuum cleaner was unsure if they were reliable or not. If things got hairy, Lily would be able to climb on Coco's back and fly through the forest like they did before. She did not want it to come to that, since she still wasn't used to being launched at such speeds.

As Cocorobo predicted, the walk through the forest took hours. She and Lily made idle conversation, discussing things such as their favorite animals, memories, friends back home, and then some.

"Your friends sound really nice! I can't wait to meet this CUL person. Una, too! Gakupo seems a little scary, though."

"He's not so bad once you get to know him," Lily laughed. "What about you? Do you have anyone to go back to?"