Neglect

7 1 1 [Necessary break]

- Some hrs later ( Day 5 ) -

XP looked at their phone to check the time. It was 12:43.

" Oh god, it's already day 5. " XP mumbled.

" What? " Nintendo said, looking at XP's phone.

" I said it's already day 5! " XP repeated.

" No problem! We can get there faster than the day ends.. I hope. " Pup said, stopping. " Have any of you realised we barely ate anything? "

" How do you not realise you haven't eaten anything in the last couple of days? Do you feel hungry? " User asked.

" ..I'd ask the same thing to you. "

" That's fine, lets just find somewhere to sit and eat. " XP said.
User looked around and noticed a black cat that looked like a merchant, pulling a cart full of items. He got scared, thinking it was that cat again. Taking a closer look, it wasn't. The cat seemed to be struggling with pulling the cart. User slowly approached the cat.

" Where are you going? " Pup asked.

" To help that cat over there. I think it needs help pulling that cart. " User responded.
He walked up to the cat. It didn't notice him at first, but when it did, it greeted him calmly.

" Hello there, Traveller! " The cat said.

" Hello. Do you need help pulling this cart? " User asked

" Yes, I do. I've been collecting items from every area to bring back to my town, and the cart is heavier than normal. "

" XP! Nintendo! Come here! " Pup shouted. " We are going somewhere! "

" Oh? You travellers want to come with me? Sure!! The more travellers living temporarily in my town the better. "
User started pulling the cart. It was heavy, obviously, but not that heavy.
------
After a while, User started getting tired of pulling the cart. The walk felt like ages, and he didn't know if they were furthering away from his escape to this world. The cat noticed this and assured him that they were almost at their destination. Pup slept in the cart, in between the items while XP and Nintendo followed.
------
The cat stopped suddenly. " We are here! "
A small town next to a lake that seemed a bit desolate.

" Welcome to Traveller's Bay! " The cat said. " And, thank you strange traveller for pulling the cart for me. "
User let the cat pull the cart to its last destination.

" Interesting, I guess we could stay and eat here. " Nintendo said.

Meanwhile, the cat pulled the cart into a shed full of items. It turned around to start placing the items from the cart on the racks, but Pup was still sleeping in the cart.

" Excuse me, white dog, could you please get out of my cart? " The cat asked.

" But its comfy here.. " Pup said.
The cat tried to pick up Pup, but he was too heavy.

" Ok fine. " Pup got out of the cart. " What's your name by the way? "

" Oh, I don't really have a name, people usually just call me 'Dabloon cat' or D.C for short, because I sell items for dabloons! " D.C said proudly.

" ..Dabloons? " Pup asked confused.

" Yes, dabloons, it's a currency in this world. It's created by my creator, TikTok! "

" Tik- WHO?! "

" TikTok. "

" I- ok, I'm just gonna get back to the others. Cya. "
------
Everyone ate at the picnic table. D.C had brought some food for free at the table.

" You know, I'm glad we came here, but I still have 1 more day before I have to go back. " XP mentioned.

" We have enough time, XP, stop worrying so much. Besides, we got free food. " Nintendo said.

" Well yeah.. but- "

" Hey D.C, do you have a map for this area and the surrounding area? " Pup asked.

D.C nodded. They took out a map from their cloak and handed it over to Pup. User took a look at the map. They were 6 hours away from Blue Cave.

" We are.. almost there! " User said excited.

" Are we though? " Pup asked.

" What?- "

" You're heading to Blue Cave? People say it's guarded by a bird that doesn't let anyone inside the cave. " D.C explained. " If you want to successfully enter the cave, you'll have to first, probably friend the bird. It's known to immediately trust anyone that's nice to it. "

" A bird? " XP asked.

" Yes, just a normal bird, but it's aggressive if it doesn't trust you. "

User looked at the map again. " Apps? Websites? Games?? You're telling me, there's like, Apps that live in the Apps area, and vice versa? "

" No shit. " Pup said.

" Pup! Where did you learn that language!? " XP asked.

Pup smirked. " Jee.. I wonder. "
XP looked at User. User didn't notice as he was still looking at the map until D.C tapped his shoulder.

" What? " User asked, before noticing XP looking at him menacingly.

User slowly got out of his seat. " So, um, can we go? "

" Sure, and keep the map, if the cat allows us. It may be useful. " Nintendo said.

" You can keep it. "

" Great, then let's go. "
They said their goodbyes to D.C and went on their way.